Lahat ng Kabanata ng Ravaged By My Cold-Hearted Stepbrothers : Kabanata 231 - Kabanata 240

EthanI’d never wanted to lose a game more in my life, not because I didn’t want the win, but because right now hockey was the only thing standing between me and going after my own brother in front of a packed rink.I’d caught the whole thing from the bench. Audric running his mouth in front of everybody, throwing Zuri under the bus like she meant nothing to him, and Gabriela doing her little fake-injury routine like she wasn’t the most obvious liar on this entire campus. My jaw had been locked tight since the puck dropped, and I could feel it in my shoulders every time I hit the ice, a low simmering thing that wasn’t going away on its own.First period was clean. Fast, physical, the way our games against Whitfield’s team always were, old rivalry, old grudges, nothing personal. I put a shoulder into somebody along the boards and it felt good, felt like somewhere to put all this energy that had nowhere else to go.Then Chase scored.Clean shot, top corner, our goalie barely got a glove

Zuri“Just pick something!” Mira called from my bed, where she’d already laid out four different outfits like some kind of fashion buffet. “We’re going to be late, Zu.”“I’m trying.” I held up a dress against myself in the mirror and immediately put it back down.Everything that used to fit right felt different now. The ones that looked good on the hanger clung to every curve the second I put them on, hugging my hips and stomach in ways that made my skin crawl with self-consciousness. I turned sideways, sucked in a breath I didn’t need to hold, and hated how much I was still doing that after all these years.“This one’s too tight.” I tossed a red dress onto the growing pile of rejects.“That one looked incredible on you.”“That’s the problem.”Mira sighed and got up, rifling through my closet herself until she pulled out a flowy gown in soft green, the kind that skimmed rather than clung, falling just past my knee.“Try this.”I put it on, and something in my chest loosened a little w

ZuriSomeone had dragged a low table into the middle of the living room and about a dozen of us ended up cross-legged around it, bottle spinning, red cups scattered everywhere. Mira sat pressed against my side, already three dares deep into the night and loving every second of it.Gabriela had wedged herself onto the arm of the couch next to Audric, one hand curled possessively around his bicep. Every time she tightened her grip he shifted, shoulder rolling just enough to shrug her off, eyes cutting toward me instead of her. She noticed. Anyone with eyes would have noticed. Her jaw got tighter every time he did it.The bottle spun and landed on me.“Truth or dare,” some guy across the circle called out.“Dare,” I said, mostly because Chase was watching me with that easy grin and I didn’t feel like giving anybody an honest answer tonight.“I dare you,” Chase said, leaning forward on his elbows, “to kiss me.”The circle erupted into hoots and catcalls. I glanced at Audric on instinct, a

ZuriI sat curled up on Ethan’s bed, knees drawn to my chest, still shaking even though the room had long since stopped spinning. The tears wouldn’t stop coming, quiet and steady, no matter how many times I wiped at my face.“I wanted to get you out of there.” Chris paced near the window, jaw tight, voice sharp with frustration he clearly hadn’t figured out where to aim yet. “But you were so stubborn, Zu. You wouldn’t listen to any of us.”“This isn’t the time for that.” Ethan’s voice cut in fast, harder than I’d heard him sound in a long time. “This is not the time to victim blame her, Chris. Chase is the one who did this. He’s the one we should be figuring out how to deal with.”“I’m going to kill that bastard.” Audric was standing near the door, arms crossed so tight his knuckles had gone white. “I mean it. I will actually kill him.”“You’re not exactly innocent in all this either.” Ethan turned on him. “You hurt her too, Audric. Maybe not the same way, but you did. So if you

Audric“What the fuck are you two doing?” I demanded again, refusing to believe what I’d just seen. There had to be another explanation. There just had to be. Because why the hell were they making out under the same table we’d been eating at?The shock lasted only a second before it gave way to something far hotter—anger. It erupted in my chest so suddenly I could barely breathe.Zuri snapped her legs shut, yanking her skirt down, face flooding red.“Jeez, relax.” Ethan leaned back in his chair like this was nothing. “It’s not a big deal.”“Not a big deal?” My voice climbed. “She’s family, Ethan. We grew up with her. This isn’t supposed to happen.”“Why are you acting like we’re not all adults?” Chris said, not even bothering to look apologetic. “She’s fine. Nobody forced anything.”“This isn’t the first time, is it.” I looked between the two of them, then at Zuri, something sinking in my stomach. “How long has this been going on?”“It’s what I wanted.” Her chin came up, def