Wicked Plans

by C. Morgan

  “I’ll look into that,” I said. “Thanks for the tip. Anyway, I really should get going. There’s a big clean up waiting at the house that I need to get to.”

  When I picked up my phone from where I’d put it on the table, the screen went on again. Abigail craned her neck to get a look at what I’d been reading when she’d interrupted me.

  “Oooh, he’s super cute,” she said, taking the phone out of my hand before I could stop her. She zoomed in on Brysen’s picture, then turned the screen toward me like I hadn’t seen the photograph before. “A little under-dressed perhaps, but that’s nothing a woman couldn’t fix. He’s got a real attitude, too. You can see it even just from his picture. He could be a fun one, Ruby. A super cute, super fun catch.”

  I laughed. “He’s not cute. He’s an idiot. I think I’ll pass. Thanks, though. See you around, Abigail.”

  Swiping my phone back, I slid it into my pocket, grabbed what was left of my smoothie, and made a break for it. Abigail was insane if she thought Brysen Burke and I could ever be a good match. There was just no way, in this lifetime or the next, in this universe or another, that I would ever—ever—think of him as a catch. And that was freaking final.

  Chapter 4

  BRYSEN

  The sun was sitting high in the sky by the time I opened my eyes. A quick glance at the clock on my nightstand told me it was well past noon.

  I groaned. Tommy was going to lay into me for missing his ‘first thing in the morning’ talk. That was for sure.

  After his warnings, I’d followed him back inside but I hadn’t stayed there for long. As soon as he stopped checking for me over his shoulder every minute, I’d gone back outside to find Tristan and Drew. We’d finished the vodka—and then some—before the clock had struck midnight.

  In the end, I’d only made it to bed just before four. As it turned out, even Tommy Burke got a little tipsy as he ushered in the new year. Obviously having decided that he’d deal more with me today, he hadn’t come looking for me again.

  Until now.

  There was a sharp rap on my door, followed by a barked command that made me flinch with my head pounding the way it was. “You’re expected downstairs for lunch. If I have to come back up here to get you, you won’t like the consequences.”

  Of course I fucking wouldn’t. I squeezed my eyes shut again and slung my arm over them for good measure, burrowing back into my mattress. “I’m just about to hit the shower. I’ll be down in a few.”

  My dad didn’t respond, but I hadn’t expected him to. A conversation with him was more of a lecture than a conversation. It was usually one-sided, but the difference was that he didn’t invite anyone to ask questions at the end of it. The gospel according to Tommy Burke.

  After lying there for a few more minutes, I decided it was best to just get this over with. As soon as it was, I could lock myself in the games room in the basement for the rest of the day. I dragged myself through a quick shower, threw on some sweats and a shirt, and headed downstairs.

  Mother didn’t approve of casual wear, not even on the rare occasions when it was only the family or when the whole family was actually home, but fuck it. I didn’t get dressed up for anyone anymore, but especially not for this shit.

  When I walked out of my room, there were no traces left of last night’s party. The catering company had already taken their stuff and our regular staff had cleaned up the rest. Yawning as I took the stairs down two at a time, I stretched my arms out above my head and made my way to the dining room.

  There was no pizza in front of the TV on a lazy day in this house. At least not when my parents were here. Emily and I used to do it all the time when our parents were either out of town or just plain out, but we hadn’t gotten the opportunity yet during break. Not because my parents had been here all that often, but because Emily hadn’t been either.

  She was growing up and she had a life of her own now. I was glad that at least one of us could be out there, living.

  As I walked into the dining room, the tension was so thick I could almost taste it. Lunch was already spread out, and my mom and Emily were stiffly eating the soup and salad that had been prepared by our cook.

  Em glanced up, shooting me a supportive look that said ‘this will be over soon, and then we can get out of here.’ I gave her a small shrug in return, only just managing to flash her a reassuring smile before Tommy cleared his throat.

  “Sit,” he instructed, his gaze following my steps as I walked toward the table. I pulled out a chair, catching my mother wincing from the corner of my eye when its legs scraped across the polished tiles.

  Tommy’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t mention it. Presumably, it was because he had too many other, more important things to lay into me about today than just my table manners. My mom opened her mouth, probably to call me out on it or my outfit, but when she caught the thunderous expression on Dad’s face, she decided against saying anything.

  Alison was all about decorum. In her mind, her husband was the head of the household and she would wait her turn to say what she needed to. It was bullshit, but it was the way they’d always operated. More like a CEO and his second in command than a married couple.

  As soon as I was seated, Jason appeared with my food. He’d been our butler for years and was more of a father figure to me than my own had ever been. He also knew everything that was going on in our family, and hadn’t spoken to me at all this afternoon. After he put my plate down silently in front of me, he left the room as fast as he’d entered it.

  Once he was gone, my father turned back to me. “As you know, we need to talk about our expectations of you when you get back to the university after break.”

  I didn’t respond, but I knew he wasn’t waiting for me to anyway. His hard green eyes—the same eyes I saw in the mirror every morning—bore into mine. “You need to get your act together, Brysen. We won’t be embarrassed by your antics any longer. At some point, you need to grow up and take some responsibility for your actions.”

  “Your father and I have discussed the matter at length,” my mother chimed in to back him up. “We’re a family with integrity and we won’t see it dashed by your reckless ways.”

  Having said her piece, she went back to quietly eating her soup while pretending Emily and I didn’t exist. My father nodded his agreement with her comment. “You can’t be a snot nosed kid who needs his daddy to bail him out for the rest of your life, so I won’t be riding to the rescue whenever you fuck up anymore.”

  Folding my arms across my chest, I sat back and arched a brow at him. “That’s fine. I never wanted you to intervene anyway.”

  He pulled his head back, looking at me the way he looked at any opponent before he went in for the kill. “Don’t misunderstand me, Brysen. Just because I won’t be cleaning up your messes anymore doesn’t mean we’ll tolerate you getting expelled from Edgewater or dropping out.”

  My gaze flicked from one of his eyes to the other. There was a decidedly evil gleam in them, which meant there was more to this. “What happens if I don’t graduate?”

  “See? You’re not as stupid as you pretend to be after all,” he said almost gleefully. “If you don’t graduate with a degree within the next four years, I’ll close down your trust fund. No more handouts. No more free cash.”

  My lungs constricted. I didn’t like the sound of that at all. While I was humoring him by going to college, I had plans for my life beyond that. Plans that I’d need the money for.

  “You can’t do that,” I said, meeting his gaze head on. “Sure, you can refuse to give me any of your money, but I’m entitled to what grandfather left me. There’s no requirement that I graduate or get a degree in his will.”

  My inheritance from my grandfather wasn’t a patch on the cash in the trust fund my parents had set up for me, but if I played it smart, it would be enough to get me started. Tommy sat back with that look still on his face. The one that said he had me cornered.

  He raised his chin, everythi
ng about him screaming, ‘oh, you really think that, do you?’

  “First, let me make it perfectly clear that I’m talking about you graduating from Edgewater University, not anywhere else. I know how your mind works, Brysen. If you think you found a loophole just because I said you had to graduate with a degree in the next four years, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. The degree I was referring to you obtaining within that timeframe will be one from Edgewater, or my terms stand.”

  Fuck. I shouldn’t have given that away. It was a rookie mistake to have made with him. “Fine, but there still wasn’t any—”

  “Don’t fool yourself, boy,” he interrupted, eyes narrowing to deadly slits on mine. “No one is entitled to any money they didn’t earn, and you haven’t earned a single fucking cent. Your mother and I control your inheritance until you turn twenty-one. That money forms part of your trust fund now, and we’re the trustees of that fund. We can set any requirements we want and over and above that, the old man stipulated that you could access the money at twenty-one, but that the date could be delayed at our behest.”

  “Bullshit.” I glanced at my mother, wondering if she’d actually back me for once in her miserable life. These were her father’s wishes we were talking about, but she was still only eating her soup, sitting there in her couture outfit, her back so straight it was like she had a broomstick for a spine.

  “It’s not bullshit,” Tommy said. “It’s the responsible thing for adults to include when they’re thinking about where their hard earned money is going to go once they’re not there anymore. No one wants the money they worked for all their lives squandered by immature children.”

  I glared at him, but he had me by the balls. Or the wallet, actually.

  He flashed me a smug grin, then motioned to my food. “Eat, Brysen. Growing up requires fuel for your brain.”

  “I’m suddenly not so hungry anymore,” I muttered, shoving my chair back and storming out to my room.

  I knew that my parents would only see it as another example of how childish I was, but if I stayed in that room with them, I was going to end up punching him right in his smug face. Even I knew better than to risk that. I wouldn’t put it past him to have me arrested for assault at this point. It would fuck with his plans for my life if I got a criminal record but undoubtedly, he’d find a way to use it to keep me in line.

  Shortly after my door slammed behind me, there was a soft knock and then Emily let herself in. I tensed until I saw it was her. The one person in this godforsaken house who actually cared about me.

  “You okay?” she asked after closing the door again. “That was brutal.”

  I flopped back on my bed, and she came to lie down next to me without waiting for me to tell her to do it. Together, we stared at the ceiling with our hands tucked behind our heads and our ankles crossed.

  “I’m fine,” I said. “A part of me knew it was going to come down to this at some point. I didn’t know about grandpa’s stipulation, but it doesn’t surprise me.”

  “You could always try to fight them on it,” she suggested.

  I sighed. “I could, but I’d burn through all the money I might get in legal fees long before anything gets resolved. Let’s not talk about it, though. It’s too fucking depressing and I’ve hardly seen you since I’ve been home. How’s Jess?”

  My sister blushed. “She’s good. Really good. We’re talking about taking a three month trip to Europe after we graduate. Do you think Mom and Dad would go for it?”

  “Of course, they will.” I chuckled and elbowed her playfully in the ribs. “As long as it’s you doing the asking. If it’d been me, it would’ve been a hard no but they’ll do anything for their sweet little Emily.”

  She shoved me back. “I’m not as sweet as they think. If they knew Jess was more than just my best friend...”

  “They’d learn to live with it,” I said, but I understood where she was coming from. Our parents were all about appearances and I knew for a fact that Mom had her eye on a potential match for Emily.

  Dad let her get away with everything, but not our mother. The match she had in mind was a guy, obviously, and I wasn’t sure she’d take well to finding out Em didn’t swing that way.

  “Whatever happens, I’ll always be here for you,” I said eventually, turning my head to look at her. She also had our father’s eyes, but hers were so much softer and more honest than either of ours were. It pained me that she felt like she had to hide herself from them. “You know that, right? You’ve got me in your corner, Em. No matter what.”

  And even if it meant losing every cent in my trust fund, I’d fight for her. Always. She was the only person in my life who made it worth living and the only person who really knew me. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to protect her, regardless of what the consequences might be for me.

  I was fucked anyway. But Emily? She still had a chance and I’d make sure she kept it.

  Chapter 5

  RUBY

  “It was such a whirlwind trip, but it was incredible,” Hadley gushed, staring lovingly at Daxton while telling me all about their holidays. “We stayed at the most romantic little inn for the first few days, and Hawaii was just wow this time.”

  Dax stopped stroking her hair where she was lying on her bed in his arms, groaning as he bent his arm to plant his face in his hand. “This time? Are you really never going to let me live down what happened the first time?”

  “Nope,” she said cheerfully, finally managing to tear her gaze away from him to glance at me, but the dopey smile was still on her face. “Christmas with my parents was also amazing. It always is, though. It’s so nice to just unwind with family. Don’t you think?”

  “You haven’t met my family,” I joked. “They practically lived in our house for the entire break, and there was no romantic little inn for me to escape to.”

  Daxton planted a kiss on Hadley’s temple. “We’re definitely doing that again. A getaway just for us at the start of each break.”

  As I watched the two lovebirds cooing all over each other in our dorm room, I had to admit that I was happy for them. They’d gone through a lot last semester and I really hadn’t thought it would end like this. It was nice to see them so happy now, though. I just hoped Dax planned on keeping his shit together, or else he and I were going to have problems.

  On the other hand, as glad as I was that they’d worked it out and as nice as it was to see them all loved up, listening to them was a little tedious. I’d much rather have been reviewing each and every syllabus for my classes and reading the subject material my profs would be covering over the next two weeks again.

  Since this was Hadley’s room too, I couldn’t exactly ask them to leave me to it. They had as much of a right to be here as I did. Although, I wonder if I can convince them to go spend some time alone at Dax’s room in the frat house instead…

  Before I could suggest it, his phone buzzed. He shifted on the bed to get it out of his pocket, then chuckled and replied to the text before sitting up. “Time to go. They’re on their way.”

  I frowned, but Hadley seemed to know what he was talking about. “We’re meeting some of Dax’s friends for drinks at the Clubhouse. Come with us.”

  “I’m okay, thanks. I’d better study a little. Otherwise, I won’t be getting any sleep tonight,” I said. “You guys have fun.”

  My best friend and roommate pouted at me. “Classes haven’t even started yet. We’ve already gone through all the material we’ve got for now, and I promise we’ll put in a few hours together tomorrow going over it all again. There’s time to come grab a bite and a drink with us before we really get busy again. I haven’t seen you for weeks.”

  “Cheap wings, burgers, and beer,” Dax said like that settled everything. “I’ve still got that fake ID of mine. It’s been gathering dust for months now, so the pitchers are on me. Come on, Ruby. Like Haddie said, we’ll have time tomorrow between classes to reread all the material for the next one. The first classes never take long.�
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  I weighed my options for a beat but eventually, I relented. They were right. There was time to grab a bite and I’d been wanting to go get something to eat anyway. I hadn’t been planning on having a drink with it, but it wasn’t like any of us would be tying one on the night before classes started.

  At least, I wouldn’t be. I knew Hadley wouldn’t either, but I supposed it remained to be seen if Dax was going to keep his vow to take his studies seriously.

  “I’ll go,” I said. “We need to be in bed at a decent hour, though. Okay? I’m not staying out all night.”

  “Definitely not,” Haddie agreed. “I plan to be tucked in nice and early. My first class starts at eight and I want to reread a problem statement my lecturer posted before I go. There’s no way I’m staying out late at all.”

  Daxton let out a long-suffering sigh, but then winked when she arched a brow at me. “I was just joking. You know I’ve got class first thing as well. We’ll keep it early and chilled out. Promise.”

  Hadley and I exchanged a glance, but we both followed him out when he started walking. The thing with Daxton was that his version of early and chilled out wasn’t always the same as ours. Despite his best intentions, things seemed to spiral out of control around him often.

  It came with the territory of being the campus golden boy, though. Everyone knew him and everyone wanted to be around him. Especially now that he was also a rowing champion as well as moving to the top of his classes academically. With that many followers, it wasn’t much of surprise that he couldn’t always control what happened around him.

  When we got to the Clubhouse, a popular student hangout in town, we ordered burgers and fries. Dax got a couple of pitchers as promised, and we settled in at a booth near the pool tables with some of his frat buddies.