“You’re coming back after the summer, right?” Fallon asks.
“Yeah, my parents won’t let me stay here.”
Fallon clears her throat, and her tone sounds awkward when she asks, “Have you spoken to Hunter? He’s been trying to get a hold of you. When he asked if you’re okay because you’re not answering his calls, I didn’t know what to say.”
My anger has taken a back seat because the grief was hard enough to deal with. “I’m just sorting through the mess in my mind before I take his call.”
“Are you talking to Jade?” I hear Noah ask, which means my friends must be at Mila’s house. Noah and Mila’s fathers are twins, and the two families always spend a lot of time together.
Before Fallon can answer him, Noah takes the phone from her, and the next second, his voice comes over the line. “Bean, are you okay? The girls said you’re in Virginia.”
“Hey, Noah.”
Things happen fast over the next couple of seconds. I hear Kao, Jase, and Hunter in the background, and then the call is switched to video, and I’m staring at Noah’s worried brown eyes.
“Move to a spot with light so we can see you,” Noah instructs, and like a robot, I listen. I get up, and when I reach the first lamp that lights up the path back to the house, Noah grins at me. “That’s better. How are you holding up?”
Kao’s face pops into the screen from over Noah’s shoulder, and he gives me a caring smile.
As the words start to form on my lips, Noah holds the phone in the air so everyone can squeeze in around him. The moment I see Hunter, anger and heartache swirls in my chest until it feels like my insides are nothing but a bloody mess.
Distraught, I shake my head and cut the call.
I can’t do this. I can’t face Hunter yet.
Everything is still too raw.
My phone begins to ring again, and seeing Hunter’s name, the betrayal and hurt I’ve been suppressing wins out, and my voice drips with rage as I answer, “Don’t ever call me again. You lost that right when Brady killed himself because of you. I hate you, Hunter Chargill.” A sob cuts through my voice, but I force the words out, “I hate you, and I wish it was you instead of Brady. What did you do to him?” My emotions spiral out of control, and my voice climbs with hysterics as I scream, “What the hell did you do to Brady?”
“Jade, I didn’t do anything.” The confusion in Hunter’s voice only infuriates me even more.
I can’t believe he’s playing the innocent act right now!
“I don’t believe you!” I suck in a breath of air and bring my free hand to my clammy forehead. “I’ll never forgive you, Hunter. Someday I’m going to make you pay. I don’t know how or when, but I promise you, you’ll pay for what you’ve done to Brady.”
I cut the call and let out a scream as I throw my phone into the darkness. My breaths are coming too fast, and it feels like I’m not getting any air in. I let out another scream and start to sink to my knees, but before they can slam against the cobblestone pathway, Grandpa appears out of the darkness and grabs hold of me.
Taking hold of my trembling hand, he presses it against his chest and locks eyes with me. “Just focus on my breaths, Jade.” The first couple of breaths are painful as if I’m coming up for air after drowning. “Deep in. Let it out,” Gramps keep repeating until my breathing evens out.
When he’s sure I’m okay, his arms wrap around me, and he holds me tightly. “Let the pain in, Jade. I’ll be here to put you back together.”
My voice is muffled against his chest. “It hurts too much.”
“I know, Jade. I know.” I hear the faint echo of loss in his voice, and it feels like I’m bonding with my grandfather on a deeper level — a level where only the darkest pain lives.
I let out a scream that’s stifled by his shirt before I cry for everything I’ve lost.
Every dream. Every kiss. Every touch. Every day of the empty future stretching before me.
Because of Hunter, I lost the love of my life. I’ll never forgive him.
Chapter 2
JADE
Present.
Hunter 22; Jade 18
My grandfather once told me every time you drop to your knees, it’s a chance to push yourself harder. You do whatever you have to do to keep going. You never give up.
After I lost Brady, I spent every chance I got on the ranch with Grandpa. Whenever I visited him, I didn’t have to pretend I was okay. Instead, Grandpa and his best friend, Uncle Max, gave me an outlet for my pain and anger by teaching me how to fight.
They said I have to fight until the fire inside of me is nothing but dead ashes scattered over the bodies of my enemies.
I only have one enemy.
Hunter Chargill.
I thought I could avoid him. I even tried convincing Dad to let me go to the rival college instead of Trinity Academy, but he wouldn’t hear anything about it. Unfortunately for me, Dad is friends and business partners with Mr. Chargill, Hunter’s dad, who’s the president of Trinity.
Unless I tell Dad the real reason why I want to change schools, but I can’t do that. I never told Dad it was Hunter’s fault Brady committed suicide. Only Grandpa knows. This war is between Hunter and me, and I won’t drag our fathers into it.
So here I am, staring up at The Hope Diamond building I’ll be calling home for the next four years.
Luckily Hunter is a senior, and I only have to survive one year without killing him. I’m not sure it’s possible, though.
HUNTER
Just like my father, I took a year off after school before starting with my studies, and I’m regretting it for the first time. Had I started at the academy right after school, I would’ve been done, and wouldn’t have to face a year of living with Jade.
I walk through the shared space where our living room and the kitchen are. The suites were renovated not too long ago, and the new smell still lingers in the air. There used to be only three bedrooms in the penthouse suite, but after the extensive makeover, there are ten rooms that take up the entire space of the top two floors of The Hope Diamond building. It’s the main dorm on campus. The Pink Star and The Oppenheimer Blue are situated across from our building. Depending on where your family’s wealth and status ranks, you’re allocated a suite in the relevant dorm.
My great grandfather and his two best friends created Trinity Academy and CRC Holdings, where I’ll be taking over as President in a couple of years. It places me at the top of the food chain alongside Jase, Fallon, and Hana.
Being one of the crowned princes at Trinity has its ups and downs. Every girl wants your attention, and every guy wants to be your friend or challenge you.
Fallon steps out of one of the suites, and her brown eyes land on me. A smile forms around her mouth. She’s grown into a beautiful woman. I’ll probably have my hands full this year, keeping all the horny fuckers away from my girls.
When I’m sure she’s alone, and I don’t have to get ready for a fight with Jade, I ask, “Still moving in?”
Everyone knows Jade hates me with a passion that has a nuclear capacity to blow up whenever we’re in the same room.
“Yeah.” She glances around, then asks, “Have you seen my lazy cousin?”
“Jase?” I shake my head. “Last I spoke with him, he said he’d be here in time for classes.”
Jase, my best friend and one of the crowned princes, will take over as CEO from his father in a couple of years. We grew up close and might as well be twins.
Fallon shakes her head, her hair falling over her shoulder from the movement. A loving smile takes the sting from her words as she says, “God help us and CRC when we start there. We’ll probably work our assess off to make up for Jase not doing his work.”
“Yeah.” I chuckle, but it fades when Jade comes out of the room that’s opposite mine.
Fuck.
Her ginger hair shimmers in the electric light. There are auburn strands I haven’t noticed before. Fewer freckles are sprinkled over her nose tha
n she used to have. After the disastrous incident, I haven’t seen much of Jade. I heard she spent her summer breaks on her grandfather’s ranch, and I get a feeling she did it to avoid being around me.
We might not get along, but I’d be blind not to notice how fucking beautiful she’s become. There’s a pang of sadness and resentment when I remember how close we used to be.
After her boyfriend, Brady, committed suicide, I tried to find out why Jade blamed me, but after two years of this shit, I’ve given up. Now I just roll with the punches.
Jade’s brown eyes land on me, and they instantly darken to black with the anger that always bubbles to surface when we come face to face.
“This is going to be one hell of a long year,” she grumbles as she gives me a look I’ve grown accustomed to seeing on her face — a mixture between hatred and pain.
“We can call a truce. At least it will be a bearable year then,” I offer.
Jade stares at me until the air grows thick with the hostility she feels for me. Slowly shaking her head, she says, “There will never be a truce between us, Chargill. Not while you’re still breathing.”
“Jade.” Fallon’s voice is soft and cautious.
Jade glares at me for a moment longer, then she turns her face to Fallon. “Let me know when he’s either sleeping or out. I’ll finish unpacking then.”
Without another glance in my direction, Jade heads for the front door, and a moment later, it slams shut behind her.
“Hunter.” Fallon gives me a pleading look. “This needs to stop.”
I let out a sigh and go after Jade. Our friends are growing tired of the war between Jade and me.
Fuck, I’m tired of this shit. A person can only take so much, and the fact that I’m being blamed for something I didn’t do is grinding at my soul.
Yeah, I admit I might have overreacted at Jase’s party two years ago. But damn, Jade was only sixteen, and the thought of her and Brady having sex had me losing my mind.
I yank the front door open and shout after her, “Hold up, Little Bean.” I know using her childhood nickname will have her exploding.
“Are you looking to die today?” she growls as she swings back to face me.
The corner of my mouth lifts in a grin. “Love life too much. We need to talk and settle this thing once and for all.”
“You think it’s that easy to get away with murder?”
Not this again.
“Would it make you feel better if I let you beat me up?” I ask, reaching the end of my rope with this woman.
She doesn’t hesitate to answer, “It would.”
Hearing she’s dead serious, I shake my head. “Not gonna happen.”
“Pussy,” she chuckles darkly.
“Calling me names won’t help shit,” I bite out, aggravated that it’s so easy for Jade to disrespect me.
“Fight me, Chargill,” she snarls. Moving closer, she seems ten fucking feet tall even though she barely reaches my shoulder.
She stops when her body is only a couple of inches away from mine. All it would take for me to put her in her place is to lean down and claim her downturned lips.
What. The. Fuck?
Where did that come from?
All this fighting must be fucking with my head but not able to resist, I do lean down an inch, and I watch as her eyes narrow more. I stare into her simmering black gaze while a slow smirk pulls at the corner of my mouth.
“Never took you for the kinky kind, Little Bean.”
Her breathing begins to speed up, and it makes her chest brush against mine with every inhale. Her features set into hard lines, and then she lets out a cruel laugh.
Pretty sure my family jewels are in danger right about now.
Our past together has taught me when Jade laughs instead of cries, I’m in deep shit.
“Fucking coward,” she hisses.
Thank God for survival instincts. Just in time, I take a step to the side and closer to Jade. Her knee comes up and slams against the outside of my thigh. My hand shoots out, and I grab hold of the back of Jade’s neck, yanking her so close I can taste the lingering mint on her breath.
“Careful, Little Bean.” My voice is low, tainted with the loss of our friendship and my own rage because Jade keeps blaming me for something I didn’t do. “Your outbursts are growing tiresome. I’m only holding back because of our fathers.”
Not backing down, there’s murder in her glare. “I’m done caring what our fathers would think. Go to hell, Chargill.”
Shaking my head, I smirk at her. “You don’t seem to realize,” I tighten my grip on the back of her neck, and my eyes turn icy with a look I inherited from my father. Tilting my head, I lean so close her eyes widen. Just before our lips touch, I let my mouth skim over her cheek until I reach her ear and whisper, “I am hell.”
Her scent has changed.
Instead of the sweet-smelling deodorant she used two years ago, I get a lung full of something soft and fresh.
Staring down at Jade, I take in her features. How’s it possible she’s changed so much? There’s no sign of the sixteen-year-old who used to be my best friend.
In front of me stands a woman, devastatingly beautiful. She’s become coldhearted and vicious.
I have to admire Jade for her spirit as she reaches up and grabbing hold of my wrist, her nails sink into my skin. I let her pull my hand away from her neck as the familiar look of loathing settles on her face.
Hey, at least one thing hasn’t changed, right?
“I’ll never back down, so you better be prepared for war because I don’t intend to lose.”
I stare at Jade and slowly shake my head. “Little Bean, didn’t your grandfather teach you there are no winners in war?”
Deciding to abort the peace-seeking mission that turned to shit real fast, I yank my arm free from Jade’s hold and stalk back to the suite.
Slamming the door shut behind me, I glare at a wide-eyed Fallon. “Fuck knows why I still try.”
Fallon walks over to me and wraps her arms around my waist, pressing her cheek to my chest. “I’m sorry. I wish I could help.”
She’s one of the few people I allow to hug me freely. Fallon and Hana are the daughters of my parent’s best friends, the Cutlers and Reyes’. Our families are inseparable and loyal to a fault.
Wrapping my arms around her, I let out a tormented sigh.
“I’m not gonna lie. This thing with Jade is eating away at me. I’m at a total loss.”
Fallon pulls back and giving me a careful smile, she asks, “Have you tried beating her with kindness?”
I let out a burst of laughter. “I seriously don’t think that’s going to work.”
I’ve been staying in my room so Jade can get settled without running into me. I shouldn’t give a fuck whether she’s uncomfortable with me here, but I do.
Frustration mixes with the memories of our lost friendship. I can’t stop loving Jade the way she stopped caring about me. It’s not that easy.
Our friendship must’ve meant more to me than it did to her.
Needing a distraction, I open my playlist on my phone and turn up the volume when Love The Way You Lie starts to play.
I let the angry lyrics wash over me, and hurt and frustration boil to the surface. Wanting Jade to know how I feel about this fucking war, I yank my door open. Jase, who was just about to pass by my room to get to his own, freezes like a deer caught in headlights.
Jade yanks her door open, and glares at me, her breaths already rushing over her parted lips.
“Oh,” Jase says as he takes a couple of steps backward. “Fuck.”
Keeping my eyes locked on Jade, I can see heartache mixing with the anger on her face, and I know the lyrics are getting through to her. I’m totally taking it as a win.
My eyes don’t leave hers as the song ends. I lift my phone and press stop, but Jade makes a show of looking at her own phone, and soon a song starts to play. The words are drenched in pain as they drift to me.
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And I listen. I force myself to stay rooted, my eyes glued to Jade’s while the words lash at me. Praying. The fucking song hurts, tearing my already fucked up heart to shreds, but I don’t back away. This is the longest we’ve been in the same space since that night.
Hearing just how much Jade is hurting is sobering and tormenting. I always thought we’d somehow be able to work through this, but now I’m not so sure.
Where do I even begin to get past the walls she’s put up between us?
The song is a clear fuck you. Jade has no intention of ever being friends with me again.
When her song ends, I press play on Too Good At Goodbyes. I hope she listens to the lyrics the way I listen to hers. If this is the only way we can talk, then so be it.
Jase ducks low and rushes past our rooms. Before he disappears into his bedroom, he mumbles, “Fun times.”
As Jase takes refuge, other doors around us open, and our friends peek out of their rooms.
“They’re finally communicating,” Mila whispers to Fallon.
While the lyrics drift around us, I silently beg Jade, ‘Don’t think I’m heartless or cold. I don’t want to say goodbye. I still want to mean something to you. But fuck, you keep hurting me, and I’m only human. I’m scared the time will come where I can’t take anymore, and it will really mean the end of us.’
I can’t tell whether Jade can hear what I’m trying to say until she presses play on another song. Yeah, it’s going to be another soul-destroyer. She doesn’t care about what I want or how I feel.
The words You Broke Me First cuts right through me. I can see Jade is affected in the same way, and her raw pain screaming from her eyes is a blow that almost takes me to my knees.
I don’t choose another song, which has Jade continuing her torture session by playing another gut-punching song. It’s angrier than the first two, and I notice how the pain in her eyes dims as rage takes its place.
Crossing my arms, I lean against the door jamb while the tension keeps building. I don’t miss how Jade’s breaths keep coming faster.
I hate seeing her like this.
Coldhearted Heir (The Heirs Book 1) Page 2
