What I didn’t understand was, why?
Why would sharks care what guppies were doing?
Why would lions care about what the gazelles were up to, unless it was to eat them?
I had done my best to go back to ignoring Grace, but her approach-even for those few seconds-had put me back to square one, and I had been working on trying to shake her off again.
And then, I saw the trunk of her car open.
I had kept walking because Grace Hale was none of my business. I had kept walking because Grace Hale was not my responsibility. I had kept walking because Grace Hale didn’t deserve my time or attention. But then, I saw her put her phone down and carry over the lug nut remover to set it next to her phone.
She was going to attempt to change her fucking tire.
My heart had screamed at me to keep walking. It had reminded me that this girl didn’t deserve any of my kindness. It had yelled at me to remember what she had done to us. It had begged me to keep walking because we couldn’t survive another Grace Hale heartbreak.
Then my mind chimed in and asked me if my hate for her was so strong that I’d be able to live with myself if she got hurt. I realized in that moment that my hate for Grace Hale was strong, but not that strong. So, I had walked over to see what the fuck she was thinking.
“You’ll figure it out,” I repeated. “That’s your plan?”
Grace shrugged a delicate shoulder. “YouTu-”
I let out a dark laugh, cutting her off. “Really?” Her green eyes shot downward, and I knew she was feeling embarrassed.
I should have just kept fucking walking.
I let my backpack slide off my shoulder until it hit the ground next to the driver’s side door. “Move back,” I instructed.
Her eyes widened, but instead of stepped back and out of the way, she stepped forward, blocking the tire. "Why? What are you doing?”
I let out a huff and cocked my head at her. “What the fuck do you think?” I bit out. “I’m going to change your fucking tire.” She started shaking her head, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she looked shaken up at the idea. And that didn’t make any sense since it was just changing a tire.
Her hands tightened around her phone. “Uhm…n…no,” she stuttered. “I…I ca…can do it.”
She was pissing me off. “Grace, we both know you have no idea what you’re doing,” I replied. “It’s dangerous to change a tire when you have no clue what you’re doing.”
Her face flushed with the facts of her incompetence. “I’ll be careful,” she murmured so softly, I barely heard her.
“Why?” I asked. “What’s the point? We both know I can change your tire in under ten minutes. We both know it’s no big deal for me.”
Grace started trembling, and her hands were white-knuckled around her phone. “I can do it,” she insisted, and my annoyance skyrocketed to anger.
“I’m not going to stand back and watch you possibly harm yourself by trying to change your tire, Grace,” I snapped. “And even if you were able to change it on your own, the last I checked, I had a dick, and there’s no goddamn way I’d let any female change a fucking tire in front of me.”
And then, that backbone of hers make a quick appearance. “You don’t have to stand by and see me change the tire,” she said. She threw a nod towards my backpack on the ground. “You can grab your bag and leave.”
I felt the growl form and erupt.
Grace did that to me.
She made me insane.
“Step back. Call your roadside car service, or call your brother, Grace,” I snarled at her. “I really don’t give a fuck which one you choose, but you’re not changing that tire.”
Before she could tell me to go to hell, a voice came from the other side of her car. “What’s going on here?” I turned away from Grace and saw Sterling Hale walking past Grace’s car around the back to come stand next to her.
Grace looked up at her brother. “I…I have a flat,” she explained, her voice flat.
Sterling Hale barely spared me a glance; his focus was solely on his sister. It was uncanny to see them standing next to each other. Sterling was about my height at six-two and built like the athlete he was. However, Grace and Sterling were true twins where, all his features might be masculine and all her features might be feminine, but they had the same ink-black hair and bright emerald green eyes. And that twin connection must be a real thing because I could see it in their eyes. They were already communicating without communicating.
“You have a flat tire,” he repeated. “And you’re…going to change it.” It wasn’t a question. It was a summation of the scene before him.
Grace nodded, and she showed him her phone. “I…I found a video,” she said, and it was the single, most saddest, heartbreaking thing I have ever witnessed.
Grace Hale, unsure and humbled, was the most poignant thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
I watched, stupefied, as her brother gave her a small nod. “Okay, Grace.”
I snapped.
It wasn’t my place, but I didn’t care. “I know you’re not going to let her change a fucking tire,” I practically roared at him.
He turned towards me, his face stoic, his eyes cool. “This isn’t your business,” he replied, his tone reeking of wealth, status, and power.
But he was right.
It really wasn’t my business.
“Sterling…” Grace whispered softly.
He turned back to face his sister, and my eyes widened at how he could go from cold and indifferent to warm and considerate at the drop of a dime. “We’ll change it together, okay?”
Something was going on.
I had no idea what. But it was obvious when Grace’s eyes started to water as she gave him a grateful nod. “Okay,” she choked out.
Sterling turned towards me. “I’m going to teach my sister how to change a tire,” he remarked. “If that’s okay with you, of course.”
I wasn’t sure who would win in a fight between me and Sterling Hale-or Silver Hale, as everyone else liked to call him-but I knew now was not the time to find out. Something was going on with Grace and a fight between me and her brother wouldn’t serve anyone here well. Besides, I wasn’t stupid. Even if I could kick Sterling’s ass, his name and connections would have me thrown out of this school before the bleeding even stopped. I might not want to see Grace get hurt, but she still wasn’t worth me risking my future for.
I shook my head and leaned over to grab my backpack off the ground. If Sterling Hale knew how to change a tire, I’d be shocked. Of course, I wasn’t about to provoke him when it wasn’t necessary. From what Grace had told me that summer we met, she loved and respected her brother. She had shared that he was the one who took care of her over their parents, so I knew that, whether he knew how to change a tire or not, he wouldn’t let Grace get injured, and that was the whole point, right?
I turned my back on the Hale twins, and headed towards my own car. When I had turned sixteen, Harvey, the auto body shop owner had gifted me with a car. I had tried to turn him down, but he had insisted, stating that he’d been so proud of me for getting into Blackstone, he would have given it to me earlier, but knew he had to wait until I was legal to drive. He had given me a restored 1969 Chevy Camaro ZL1 that I’d seen him working on for over a year, but never imagined he had been working on it for me.
When I got to my car, I opened the door, threw my backpack in the front seat, and stood leaning against the vehicle with my arms folded over the top of the car. Like a fucking masochist, I stood there watching the Hale twins change a tire.
And I didn’t leave until Sterling Hale was finished teaching his sister how to change a tire.
Chapter 9
Grace~
Today was our birthday, and our parents chose this particular year not to be neglectful.
And it sucked.
Our parents were predictably absent most of the time, but sometimes they felt the need to put in the effort for appeara
nce’s sake. The thing that sucked about them showing up on our birthday was that it was so close to Thanksgiving, that sometimes they stayed home for two weeks straight to knock out our birthday and Thanksgiving all in one fell swoop. So, here it was, November the eighteenth, and we were all sitting around the dinner table, pretending to be one big happy family.
Oh, and what do you get for the kids who have everything?
Nothing.
But to be fair, what could they get us? We had credit cards without limits, vehicles in our names, designer clothes, expensive jewelry, passports, and the cash to take us wherever we wanted. And now that we were legally eighteen-years-old, we could literally do whatever the hell we wanted.
So, a forced family dinner was our birthday presents.
Sterling and I sat across from each other right at the center of the table, where our mother and father sat on the opposite ends. We ate in silence and I knew the vague interest in our lives wouldn’t begin until dessert was served. Dad will start questioning Sterling about his direction in life, and Mom would start asking me about the latest gossip.
I’ve often wondered how my parents ended up pairing up. They were so reserved, I found it hard to believe it had been any kind of passionate love affair. When I was younger, I would ask my mom, and she’d just put me off with simplifying it as they had met at college, my dad had asked her out, she had said yes, and the rest was history. And the one time I had asked my dad, he had pretty much confirmed her story.
Their marriage felt more like a…business arrangement than a marriage of love. Dad did his thing, and Mom did hers. It was almost as if their calendars were synced to let them know when they needed to make an appearance together, and then they’d meet up.
Of course, my dad worked round the clock, but how could he not? You didn’t rake in the money he did without working nonstop. But you’d still think he’d find time for his children. Especially, considering that he expected Sterling to take over his empire one day.
We also took after my father. While Mom wasn’t a real blonde, she was a brunette. Mine and Sterling’s black hair and green eyes came from our father. Sterling was actually the spitting image of his namesake.
He could be just a formidable, too.
Once the dishes were cleared and dessert placed in front of us, my father started in. “So, Sterling, how are those college applications coming along?”
Sterling didn’t bother looking over at Dad. “Does it matter?” he asked. “You’ve already made it clear you prefer I go to Wharton, Harvard, Stanford, or Booth.”
“Just because I prefer those colleges, son, doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to get in,” he remarked.
My brother just scoffed. “You know just as well as I do that Wharton is already sprinkling out the rose petals and getting ready to release the doves for my arrival.” My father went to Wharton, so it was a given that, even though Sterling was being facetious, he wasn’t necessarily wrong.
“Nothing’s ever guaranteed, Sterling,” my father replied. “The biggest mistake you can ever make is thinking that it is.”
“Grace, dear, how is Seth doing?” my mother asked. “I haven’t seen him in ages.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her she hasn’t seen her son and daughter in ages, but I refrained. “I’m not seeing him anymore, Mom,” I told her instead.
She gasped in true damsel fashion, clutching her pearls and everything. “But why not? He is such a good young man, Grace. And coming from the Burns Family, not a bad catch.”
Before I could contradict her statement, Sterling said, “Because that nice young man who’s a catch is a cheating asshole, Mom.”
My father cleared his throat as my mother gasped again. “Sterling, really.”
“What, Mom?” he asked. “It’s the truth.”
I watched as she flicked a quick glance towards my father. “I’m just saying, if the relationship is strong enough, you can get past a minor indiscretion.”
“Mom, it was more than a minor indiscretion,” I told her. “He’d been cheating on me for months.”
“You’re better off without him then, Grace,” my father joined in.
My mother’s voice dripped with ice. “Oh, is she, now?”
Then my father’s voice took on a hard edge. “She’s eighteen and not committed to him through marriage or children, Serena. It’s easier to get away from mistakes at eighteen.” My stomach was turning with everything they were revealing to us. “And it’s not like she didn’t have plenty of time to get back at him like a lot of women I know.”
Before my mother could respond to his counter-accusation, Sterling had had enough. “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he bit out, and my parents didn’t comment on his language. “Frankly, I couldn’t care less who you two are screwing-”
“Sterling!” my mother gasped, horrified. “How dare you?!”
He dropped his fork on his plate along with his napkin. “I dare because you dared to give Grace advice on relationships when you suck at them all.”
“That’s enough, young man,” my father snapped. “Don’t forget who holds your purse strings.”
Sterling stood up, reached down, grabbed my arm, and hauled me up beside him. “Dad, if you’re going to threaten me with something, threaten me with something I actually give a damn about. Money’s not it, contrary to your belief.”
“I cannot believe you are ruining our family dinner just because we want Grace to find a nice young man,” my mother remarked.
Then I almost collapsed when Sterling said, “She did find a nice young man, Mom. She found him a long time ago, but because you guys fucked us up, she ruined that relationship, and had to settle for cheating fucks like Seth Burns.”
Sterling grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him as we left our parents sitting at the dinner table. And he didn’t let go until we were in my room, the door shut and locked behind us.
My eyes started to water as I looked at my brother. “Do you think Seth was my Karma for what I did to Styx?” All the tension from our parents left his shoulders as he let out a soft sigh. He didn’t say anything as he walked over to sit on my bed next to me.
After Sterling had taught me how to change a tire, we had gone home where he had demanded the complete truth from me. He knew there was more to mine and Styx’s story because the hostility rolling off Styx had been unmistakable. He had come over to help me, but anyone with eyes could clearly see he hadn’t wanted to. And so, I had told my brother everything.
And I do mean everything.
He hadn’t kicked me while I was down, though. However, he did have a better understanding of just how wretched I felt over the way I had treated Styx and others, and why it was so important for me to be better. Kinder.
After a few depressing seconds, he said, “Possibly, Grace.” And I laughed at his honestly. No matter what, I knew I could always count on my brother’s honesty.
I didn’t say anything because, honestly, what was there to say? If God had put Seth in my life to teach me a lesson, He did a damn good job of it.
I’ve learned my lesson.
“Look, Grace, I can’t make this better for you, no matter how much I want to. But you have to find a happy medium with this. While you might deserve the guilt you feel for your past behaviors, you don’t deserve to be unhappy the rest of your life.” He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. “You have to find a way to forgive yourself, Grace.”
“How?” I asked. “How do I do that when it’s not enough?”
Sterling pulled back at looked at me. “What’s not enough?”
“Leah’s dead, Sterling,” I choked out. “She’s dead. And…and so what if you ended up kicking Seth’s ass? He’s still alive. He’s still alive, and is going to go on to college, to…date, get married, have kids…and…have a life.” My eyes started to water again, and it felt like I was always crying these days. “Where’s his real comeuppance? Where’s Leah’s real justice?”
“If yo
u want me to destroy the sonofabitch, then just say so, Grace,” Sterling replied. “I’ll do it.”
I dropped my head on my brother’s shoulder. “I don’t know what I want,” I mumbled.
His arm wrapped around me again. “You’re killing me, Grace.”
“I know.”
And I did know.
Chapter 10
Styx~
It was the first week of December, and I was going crazy with this shit with Grace. She hadn’t attempted to speak to me again, but I couldn’t get the girl off my mind. She had even had me so fucked-up during Thanksgiving break that my parents had even asked me if everything was okay.
It wasn’t.
I hadn’t told them that, though. Oh, they knew about Grace, but they didn’t know the details of our breakup. I hadn’t needed the pity at home when I had been working so hard to keep it together during that time. My parents coddling me or offering me sympathy would have just made it worse.
I glanced at the clock waiting for first period to be over, but I wasn’t even sure it would matter much. I still had Grace for fifth and sixth period, so it wasn’t like I wouldn’t see her again today.
The bell rung for dismissal, and I watched Grace grab her stuff and head out. I took my time, hoping she’d be long gone when I walked out the door, but when I cross the threshold, I was surprised to see Seth Burns pulling her behind him towards the door leading to one of the many courtyards outside. My feet followed, but only because she hadn’t looked like she was following him willingly.
I do this for any girl, right?
I opened the door and let it shut behind me quietly. They were so caught up in their conversation, neither one of them noticed me as I stood in the shadows near one of the trees.
“Are you insane?” Grace practically screeched. “What in the hell do you want, Seth?”
“To talk, Grace.”
Grace hugged her books to her chest, and I could see the tight hold she had on them. “We have nothing to talk about.”
“We have a lot to talk about,” Seth argued.
The Blackstone Prep Academy Duet Page 5
