Twisted Sins: A Dark High School Romance (Twisted Pine Academy Book 2) Page 13

  "Is that the real reason you guys were fighting that night? Because she was dating your friend?"

  "He wasn't my friend. He was my fucking enemy. That's why she picked him. She loved seeing me get angry. It turned her on."

  "Did she say something about him? Stuff to purposely make you mad?"

  "She said all kinds of shit. Shit I'm not repeating." He spreads his arms out, one of them landing right behind me. "I don't want to talk about her. Seriously, I don't even want you saying her name."

  I nod, moving over slightly to give us some space. Why is he sitting next to me? I could hear him just fine from where he was sitting before.

  "Is the water helping your knee?" I ask.

  He smiles. "I knew you were worried about me." He slides up beside me and puts his arm around my shoulder. "You won't admit it but I know you like me."

  "You're okay," I say, moving away from him.

  "Where you going?" He tightens his grip on my shoulder, pulling me back beside him.

  "Giving you some space. I don't know why we're sitting so close."

  "Because it's what I want." He rubs his hand up and down my arm. "I could tell you wanted it too."

  "Wanted what? What are you talking about?"

  "You don't have to pretend." His other hand lowers into the water and wraps around my thigh.

  "Braden!" I try to move away but he's got me in a tight hold, one arm grasping my shoulder, the other grabbing my thigh. "What are you doing?"

  "Look at me."

  I look into his dark eyes. "What?"

  He leans in and kisses me.

  I shove him away. "Braden, what the hell? I'm your cousin!"

  He laughs. "Is that why you're freaking out? Because you think we're cousins?"

  "We ARE cousins."

  "Not by blood."

  "What?" I look at him, my heart pounding. "What do you mean?"

  "Devon was adopted. He's not a blood relative. Neither are you."

  Chapter Fifteen

  "Wait—what?" I back away. "Are you making this up?"

  "No, it's true. My grandparents couldn't have more kids after my dad so they adopted Devon."

  "How do you know this?"

  "I overhead my dad telling someone on the phone."

  "He never told you this?"

  "No, and Trystan doesn't know. I don't think my dad wanted us to find out. I don't know why it's a secret. Who cares if he was adopted?" He cocks his head. "You really never knew?"

  "No! I'm not even sure my mom knew." I stare at him. "I don't believe you. You just made that up so you could kiss me."

  "Seriously?" He huffs. "I've seen the way you look at me. You've wanted me since we met. Now it makes sense why you pretended you didn't. You really thought we were cousins."

  "We still ARE cousins. Just because we're not related by blood doesn't mean we're not related. My dad is still your dad's brother."

  He slides up next to me. "But we can do what we want. We're not actually related. You're just like any other girl at school." He lowers his mouth to my ear. "And I know you want me."

  I shove him away. "Touch me again and I'll punch you like I did Kristen."

  His nostrils flare. "You do and I'll punch you right back. You think I won't hit a girl, you're fucking wrong."

  "Go to hell," I say, hurrying to get out of the hot tub.

  I race to my room, sliding the door shut and locking it. I drop to the floor and notice I'm shaking, and not from the chill of the air conditioning on my wet skin but because of what Braden did, and what he said. How he looked at me with those dark, threatening eyes. How he touched me, as if he was about to do more.

  Is what he said true? Is he really not my cousin? Did my mom know this? If so, why didn't she tell me? If Brock isn't a blood relative, what am I doing here?

  I hear Brock's voice on the patio.

  "What's going on out here?" he asks Braden.

  "Nothing. Why?"

  "I heard yelling."

  "Rumor and I were just talking."

  "It sounded more like fighting."'

  "Guess we were just talking loud."

  Getting up from the floor, I unlock the sliding glass door and shove it open.

  "Rumor," Brock says. "We were just talking about you."

  "Is it true?" I demand, standing in front of him.

  "Is WHAT true?"

  "That you got the movie role," Braden says. "She's worried you might be leaving."

  I look over at Braden. He shakes his head at me, signaling me to keep quiet. Brock has his back to him and doesn't see.

  Do I ask Brock if my dad was adopted or keep quiet like Braden wants? I want to ask, but if I keep quiet, I'll stay on Braden's good side, which is what I need if I want to stick with the plan to take him down and do whatever possible to make sure his team doesn't make it to State. Then again, that plan might be over now. He's angry I rejected him. He may not even talk to me anymore.

  "Rumor, why didn't you say something?" Brock says, seeming surprised.

  I look back at Brock. "I didn't want you not taking the role because of me. It's just that with my mom gone I really want to be around family right now, so the thought of you leaving..." I lower my gaze to the ground. "Never mind. You need to take the job. I understand."

  "Hey." He puts his hand on my shoulder and my eyes lift to his. "I'm not going anywhere."

  "You're not?" Braden says, sounding disappointed. "You didn't get the job?"

  Brock stands up straighter. "The role went to someone else. Someone the writers had in mind when they wrote the part."

  "But you're dating the star," Braden says. "Morgan couldn't talk them into giving you the role?"

  "Apparently not." He clears his throat. "I wasn't going to announce this to anyone yet but I might as well. It'll be public knowledge soon enough."

  He proposed to Morgan. He said he was going to wait but I guess he decided not to. What does this mean? He'll be moving in with her and Liv? Or will they move here?

  "No fucking way," Braden says. "You said you'd never get married again."

  "Braden, that's not—"

  "I'm telling you right now there's no way I'm living with her psycho daughter. If she tries to get in my bed again I'll—"

  "Liv tried to get in your bed?" I ask.

  "She has a little crush on him," Brock explains. "But that—"

  "Little?" Braden says, getting out of the hot tub. "She tried to pay me to have sex with her. She's a damn kid. She doesn't even have breasts yet."

  "Okay, enough," Brock says. "Liv will not be coming over here again. Neither will Morgan." He takes a breath. "I ended things with Morgan earlier today. With her traveling all the time and me living here, our relationship was suffering. We've let our managers know. They'll put out a statement sometime tomorrow."

  "You have to put out a statement that you broke up with her?" I ask.

  "Of course," he says, like I should know this. "But we'll make it sound as if it were mutual, per our agreement."

  They had an agreement for how they'd announce their breakup? I don't understand Brock's world. It's so fake. I don't know why my dad ever wanted to be part of it. Maybe if he'd chosen a normal career, he wouldn't have become an addict.

  "I'm going to bed," Brock says. "Keep it down out here. That includes your music, Braden."

  "Yeah, got it."

  When he's gone, Braden walks up to me, a towel around his waist.

  "I'm going inside." I turn to leave.

  He grabs my arm. "Wait."

  "What?" I spit out, yanking on my arm so he'll let go.

  He smiles. "You didn't tell him you knew."

  "Not yet. Doesn't mean I won't."

  Keeping hold of my arm, Braden steps in front of me, his face mere inches from mine. "Secrets are secrets for a reason."

  "It's not a secret if we know."

  "It's a secret if you keep your mouth shut." He slowly lets go of my arm. "He doesn't want us to know. If he did, he'd tell us."
>
  "I'm sick of him deciding what I can know. This is about my dad. Brock should've told me he was adopted."

  "Your dad should've told you."

  I sigh. "Yeah, well, we didn't talk much when I was growing up."

  Braden folds his arms over his chest. "You find him yet?"

  "No. Why? Have you heard anything?"

  He leans in and whispers in my ear. "Secrets are secrets for a reason."

  I take a step back. "What do you mean? You know where he is?"

  He laughs. "No. I'm just messing with you."

  I sigh and walk away.

  "Hey!" Braden catches up to me. "He finally broke up with Morgan. At least we don't have to deal with that bitch anymore."

  "She's not a bitch." I stop when I reach the sliding door. "She was nice, and she seemed to really like your dad. I don't know why he broke up with her. He knew when he met her she'd be traveling for work all the time."

  "That's not why he dumped her. That's just the story he'll tell. He dumped her because she didn't get him the role. He started dating Morgan as soon as they announced she got the lead role in that movie. Dad thought she'd be able to get him a part in it but she didn't so he dumped her."

  "That's pathetic."

  "It's the industry. It's all about who you know. It's like at school. You do what you have to do to survive." His eyes narrow. "If you understood that, you wouldn't have turned me down just now."

  I lower my voice. "You're my cousin, Braden. I'll always think of you that way, even if we're not related."

  "Your loss." He walks off and goes in the house.

  When I'm back in my room, I take a long hot shower to wash off the feel of Braden's hands on me. Even after I'm done, I still feel like he's touching me. I really wanted to punch him tonight, but it would've just gotten me into more trouble. Brock would ground me for even longer and Braden would find a way to punish me. He might even kill me.

  The more I get to know Braden, the more I can imagine him doing it. Getting so angry at Andrea that he pushes her off the railing. Leaves her for dead. The thought of that makes me shiver. I get into bed, pull the covers over me, and fall asleep.

  In the morning I see three texts from Jackson asking if I'm okay because I didn't check in with him last night. I usually send him a text before going to bed but last night I was so freaked out by Braden that I forgot.

  Going in my closet to make sure no one can hear me, I call up Jackson.

  "You okay?" he answers.

  "Yeah. Sorry I didn't call last night. Are you at school?"

  "In the locker room so I can't really talk, but tell me what happened last night."

  "Nothing. I was just tired and fell asleep."

  I hear some noise in the background and then it's quiet. "Okay, I'm alone. Tell me what happened."

  "I just told you. I fell asleep."

  "I can tell you're lying. Tell me what really happened."

  I hesitate, knowing he's going to freak out. "Braden kissed me."

  "Wait—what?" he yells. "Did you say he kissed you?"

  "Yeah, but I didn't kiss him back. I pushed him away and got out of there."

  "Out of where? Where were you?"

  "In the hot tub. He was soaking his knee and I thought if I went in there with him, I could get him to talk."

  "Rumor, I don't want you doing that shit just to get information. It's not worth it."

  "I thought we'd just talk. I didn't think it would lead to him kissing me."

  "Why the fuck would he do that? You're his cousin."

  Do I tell Jackson the truth? He wouldn't tell anyone. And I really need to talk to someone about this.

  "I'm actually not," I say.

  "Not what?"

  "His cousin. He told me last night that my dad was adopted. We're not related by blood, which is why he had no problem kissing me."

  "He just said that so he could."

  "I think he was telling the truth. He thought I already knew."

  "If it's true, why didn't anyone tell you?"

  "Braden said his dad doesn't want people knowing. Braden only knows because he overhead his dad talking to someone."

  "Why would Brock keep that a secret?"

  "I don't know." I hear knocking on the door and check the time. "Shit, I'm late. Trystan's banging on my door. I need to go."

  "Stay away from Braden. If he kisses you again, I'm gonna have to kill the bastard."

  "Don't even joke about killing people, especially now. The cops haven't been over, have they?"

  "No, and I don't think they will be, at least not for awhile."

  "Rumor, let's go!" Trystan yells.

  "I'm coming!" I yell back. "Talk to you later, Burt."

  He laughs. "See ya, Trudy."

  Racing to the door, I yank it open but don't see Trystan there.

  "Trystan?" I yell, but he doesn't answer.

  Grabbing my backpack I hurry to the front door and see him pulling out of the driveway. I run out there, yelling at him to stop. He keeps going, then finally stops a few houses down. By the time I reach the car, I'm gasping for breath.

  "You couldn't wait two seconds?" I say, getting in the car.

  "I'm not waiting around for you. If you're not in the car I'm leaving without you."

  I blow out a breath, fed up with both him and his brother. I seriously don't think I'll survive the whole year with the two of them, especially if Braden keeps trying to kiss me.

  "So you and Braden," Trystan says with a laugh.

  "What about us?"

  "Are you a thing now or what?"

  "Uh, no," I say with disgust. "We're cousins. Why would you even ask that?"

  "I saw you two in the hot tub last night."

  "You were spying on us?"

  "I checked the cameras. So what happened when you went inside? I didn't hear anything from Braden's room so I guess that means he went to yours?"

  "No! That's disgusting! I wouldn't have sex with my cousin!"

  "So what happened? You turn him down?"

  "Obviously. You really think I'd date my own cousin?"

  "If you're not actually related to him, then yeah."

  I give him a deadpan stare. "You know we're related."

  "Or you might be some random stranger just here to steal money from my dad."

  "Are you serious? You still believe I'm not your cousin?"

  "I haven't decided. But I did catch you stealing from my dad so that part's true."

  "I didn't steal. I was putting the money back."

  "Yeah, okay." He laughs. "And the thousand you took from your account? You hoarding cash? Getting the money out of there so when you finally ditch us and my dad cancels your card, you walk away rich?"

  "Yeah, Trystan," I say, rolling my eyes. "You caught me. I'm withdrawing cash and hoarding it as part of some elaborate scheme."

  "So what did Braden do? When you turned him down?"

  "Nothing. I went inside and went to bed. Why? You think he'll do something?"

  Trystan shrugs. "He might. If he does, it'll happen at school today."

  "What do you think he'll do?"

  Trystan just laughs and continues driving.

  When we get to school, Ms. Hemlock approaches me in the hall.

  "Good morning, Ms. Halliway," she says, taking my arm and leading me down the admin hall.

  "What are you doing?"

  "You'll be skipping first period for your session with Ms. Adams. She's waiting for you in her office."

  "The counselor? I have to see her NOW?"

  We stop in front of an office labeled 'school counselor' at the very end of the hall.

  Ms. Hemlock puts her hand on my shoulder and smiles. "There's no need to be nervous. Ms. Adams is just going to talk to you. After that, you'll be free to continue on with your day."

  She opens the door and a young woman with shoulder-length dark hair wearing a navy suit pops up from her desk.

  "Ms. Hemlock. You're right on time." The woman wal
ks over to me. "And you must be Rumor," she says in a tone you'd use with a toddler. "I'm Ms. Adams. It's so nice to meet you."

  "I'll let you two get acquainted." Ms. Hemlock leaves and I'm suddenly wishing I was meeting with her instead of Ms. Adams. As much as I can't stand Ms. Hemlock, at least she didn't talk to me like I'm a child.

  "Would you like to have a seat?" Ms. Adams says in a high-pitched, baby-talk tone.

  "I'd rather stand," I say, dropping my backpack on the floor.

  "You're going to be handful, aren't you?" She smiles and claps her hands, reminding me of a teacher I had in preschool. "Let's get started. Please, have a seat."

  I reluctantly sit in the chair across from her desk. It's one of those butterfly chairs that you sink into while your legs are pushed together. It has a furry white cover that Ms. Adams probably assumes is what teenagers think are cool. I don't. I hate it. It's making my legs itch. But the only other option is a red corduroy bean bag chair, which would pretty much put me at floor level so I couldn't even see Ms. Adams at her desk.

  "So," she says, getting a pen out. The pen is pink with a fluffy pom pom at the top. Is this lady for real? Why would they hire her? The school is so serious and she's like a living cartoon. "Why do you think you're here today, Rumor?"

  "Well," I say, taking a long deep breath and letting it out. "My mom is dead, my dad is missing, I punched a girl, and my cousin might be a murderer."

  Her jaw drops, her pen stilled on her pink and white notepad.

  I yawn. "Could be any one of those things. But you tell me. Why am I here?"

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ms. Adams clears her throat. "What do you mean your cousin is a murderer?"

  I laugh. "Not an actual murderer. I mean, he hasn't been charged or anything, but I have heard rumors. I'm sure you heard them too. About Andrea?"

  She nods. "Such a shame. I tell children all the time the dangers of alcohol, and this is why. Accidents happen."

  "So you don't believe the rumors. That Braden killed her."

  She sits up straighter. "Of course not. And you shouldn't either. Braden is a wonderful boy. A good student. A star athlete. It's pure jealousy that drove people to spread rumors that he was somehow involved."