Chapter 004

Brayden's POV

I stood at the floor-to-ceiling window of my living room, staring out at the hazy skyline of Berkeley. The city was finally quiet at three in the morning, but my head was buzzing with pure irritation.

I took a slow sip of water, listening to the silence coming from the guest bedroom. Janessa, my brother’s precious little girlfriend, was sleeping under my roof, and the irony of it was almost funny.

Everyone in my family thought Trevor was a saint, the perfect twin who always did what my parents wanted. I had spent my entire life being compared to him and labeled as the black sheep. But I saw right through Trevor’s golden boy act. He wasn't a saint; he was just boring and terrified of his own shadow.

And Janessa had wasted her best years on him.

It actually disgusted me. Two years together, and he treated her like she was made of sugar, completely refusing to touch her. He had her locked away in this pathetic bubble of purity, and she was just taking it, thinking it was romance. I wanted to shake some sense into her.

I didn't pick her up because I was trying to be nice; I don't do nice. Having Janessa here, in my apartment, was the best way to get under my brother’s skin. If Trevor knew she was here, he would lose his mind, which was the perfect way to remind him that he couldn't protect his own girl without help from someone else. Who sends their girlfriend to stay with their brother who's a dumb fuck boy? Heck, can't be me. 

I suddenly recalled the way she looked standing on that street corner.

She had been falling apart, her eyes red from crying, her whole body shivering in that oversized hoodie. Yet, the second those drunk guys tried to corner her, she didn't cry for help. She stood up, squared her shoulders, and ripped into them with a sharp mouth that surprised me. She was desperately trying to hold her ground while everything was crashing down.

Watching her try to play tough while she was breaking inside triggered a weird, protective instinct in my chest that I hated. I didn't want to care about Trevor’s girl; she was supposed to be a tool to mess with my brother, nothing more.

My phone vibrated aggressively against the marble counter, shattering the silence.

I picked it up, expecting Trevor to see if she was with me since obviously his fave brother tossed her out. But when I saw the caller ID, my jaw clenched.

Mother.

I took a deep breath, swallowing the tension in my throat before answering. I didn't say hello; I just waited.

"Brayden," her voice came through the speaker, crisp, clear, and businesslike. She sounded like a CEO checking in on an employee, not a mother. "I assume you're awake. I saw the schedule for your upcoming season."

"I'm awake," I said, my voice flat. "What do you want, Mom?"

"I’m checking on your preparation for the upcoming match," she said. "The alumni association is watching this game closely, Brayden. You need to ensure the team is performing at their best."

"We're fine," I muttered, leaning my hip against the counter. "The guys are training hard, and we’re on the ice six days a week. I have it handled."

"Good. It needs to be handled," she insisted. "You cannot afford a sloppy start to the season, especially with the scout presence this year."

She paused, and I heard papers rustling. She was probably in her office, ignoring the time difference. "On another note, I spoke with Caleb earlier; he mentioned there was some sort of issue at his apartment tonight."

My grip tightened on the phone. "Caleb is an idiot who doesn't know how to keep his pants zipped," I said. "That's the issue."

"Language, Brayden," she snapped coldly. "I don't care about his personal life. I care about the family dynamic, and you need to make things right with your older brothers. The tension between you, Caleb, and Trevor is becoming too noticeable, and it is bad for the family reputation."

I let out a harsh, bitter laugh. "Make things right? Mom, Caleb is a mess and Trevor is a child. They hate me, and honestly, I hate them back. I'm not playing happy family just so your country club friends think we're perfect."

"Brayden, you are being so difficult, as usual," she sighed, her tone dripping with exhaustion. "Your brothers are part of this family's future, so you need to align yourself with them, or you will find yourself completely alone."

"I'm already alone, Mom; I've been the black sheep since I was ten," I said, my voice dropping into a quiet register. "To hell with them all, and to hell with this conversation."

Before she could say anything else, I pulled the phone away and smashed the end call button.

I threw the phone back onto the counter, my chest heaving as pure rage filled me. They were all the same—my mother, Caleb, Trevor—living in this fake world where appearance was everything and the truth meant nothing.

I turned back to the window, rubbing a hand over my face to try and clear the anger.

My gaze drifted toward the guest room again. Janessa was in there, a victim of Trevor's fake world. She thought his pure, boring love was a shield, but she was completely blind to the fact that it was just a cage keeping her from actually living.

A slow, wicked smile tugged at my lips as the anger faded, replaced by something much more dangerous.

I was supposed to just help her for one night and toss her back into the streets considering the fact that Trevor would lose his shit if he knew she was with me. But having her here, right in my territory, changed the game completely. Janessa wanted a fresh start at Berkeley, and she was about to get one. I just wondered how long her precious little fairytale would last once I decided to start breaking the rules.