Tormented Kings (Boys Of Kingston Academy #2)

Chapter 2

Sadie

I’m shivering with Declan’s coat draped over me like a blanket as I stare mindlessly out the window. I watch as the raindrops trail from the top of the glass, racing down to the bottom.

My hand is laced with Declan’s, his thumb rubbing frantic circles on the back of my hand. I know he wants to talk to me, to ask me so many questions but he doesn’t. None of them have since I’ve gotten into the car, and I’m glad. I don’t want to talk right now.

Everything inside me hurts, my chest aching with a dull emptiness.

Preston and Grayson argue up front, speaking in soft, harsh tones as if I can’t hear them, but I can.

They’re arguing over the photos that Preston saw of Collin. Just the thought of it makes my stomach roll.

“Fuck it,” Preston growls, the car jolting as he swerves, taking a sharp right.

“What the fuck!” Grayson growls. “Are you trying to kill us?”

Blinking as I look out the window, I see that we’re in a gas station parking lot.

Preston turns around in his seat, and I slowly turn my head to look at him. “Wanna tell us what the fuck is going on, Kitten?”

“No,” I say simply, blinking at him.

He lets out an annoyed growl. “We just found you walking on the side of the highway—no shoes, no jacket—in the pouring rain, and you won’t tell us how you got there or why?”

“No,” I repeat, looking back out the window.

“Preston, leave her alone. Clearly, something’s going on,” Declan warns in a soft voice. I love him for that, for not pressing me to talk.

“Hey!” I shout as Preston snatches the bag off my lap. “Give it back.”

He ignores me and opens the bag. “What the–”

Grayson leans over and looks inside the bag. I watch as his eyes widen. “Pretty Girl, wanna tell me why you have a bag full of money?”

“There’s gotta be, like, what? Twenty grand in there?” Preston hisses. “Did you rob a fucking bank?”

“Sure, let’s go with that,” I mutter, letting go of Declan’s hand and reaching between the front seats. “There’s five hundred actually,” I correct and grab a wad of cash. I pull a twenty out of the pile and toss the rest back in the bag before opening the car door.

“Where the hell are you going?” Preston growls after me as I walk barefoot towards the store.

“I’m hungry.”

“Sadie, get back in the fucking car. We’ll go and get something to eat.”

“No,” I shout.

“You’re so fucking stubborn,” he snaps.

I let out a laugh. “You're one to talk.” I push open the door. A little bell chimes, alerting the worker to our arrival.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks as he follows me past the worker whose brows shoot up at the look of me. I know I must look like a mess.

As I catch a glimpse of myself in the glass of one of the drink fridges, I’m proven right. My hair is dripping wet, makeup is smeared all over my face like a clown that cried too much.

Yanking open the fridge, I grab a Coke, ignoring Preston as he follows me around the store.

“It means you hide your feelings and deny them when they surface. When confronted, you deny. Ergo, stubborn.”

“Feelings?” he scoffs. “What feelings?”

That earns him a sharp look. “You really wanna fucking lie to me, Preston? Or were your drunk confessions back at the ball only more lies?” I raise a brow before turning to eye up the bags of chips. “It’s always you, always will be you. I want to hate you so bad; it kills me that I can’t.” I quote what he said to me while he held me tightly, floating across the dance floor. I think about how it felt to be so close, to have his hands on me, his warmth cradling me.

“It wasn’t a lie,” he mutters as I grab a bag of Doritos. “But we’re not talking about me.”

“We’re never talking about you.” I laugh. “You want me, and you treat me like shit because of it. You're so pissed off at yourself for feeling something other than hate and pain. Why? Because you're going to marry some woman who is nothing but a joke? A fucking raging cunt who makes it her life’s mission to ruin others because she hates herself so damn much!” I seeth, eyes wild as Tina’s words come tumbling back.

His eyes flick between mine. “Did she do something?” he growls. I hate that flash of protectiveness that crosses his features. “Did she hurt you? Is she the reason why we found you out there tonight?”

“No.” I rip my eyes away from him and continue to browse the shelves. “She’s not the reason I was out there tonight.” It’s kind of a lie, right? I wouldn’t have been out front for Preston’s dad to snatch me up if it wasn’t for the need to get away from her nasty self.

“But she did do something?” he presses.

“It’s Tina. She always does something, says something. She’s a bully, Preston. She gets off, making everyone's lives miserable any chance she gets. I’m no exception to that.”

“She’s bullying you?”

“Please.” I spin around to face him. “As if you didn’t know.”

“I know she’s been giving you a hard time because of me. What else has she done?”

“It is because of you. All of you. She’s left me alone for a long fucking time until you three came into my life. Everything was fine before you three!” I shout, pointing in his face so close that I almost scratch his nose. I spin away from him, my chest heaving, and start looking for the alcohol aisle. I grab the first bottle of vodka I can get my hands on and head right for the cash register.

I glare at the young man behind the register as I put everything on the counter and slap the twenty dollar bill next on top, too.

“Ahh...” He blinks, looking from me to Preston, then back to me. “ID, please? And that's not going to be enough for everything,” he says, looking down at the money.

“Listen—” I look at his name tag. “Ethan. You seem like a nice guy, right? So maybe you can cut me a little slack here. I’ve had a pretty fucked up night, and I could use a drink.”

He licks his lips, eyes flicking up to what I’m assuming is the security camera. “I can’t sell this to you unless you’re at least twenty-one.”

“Then I’m over twenty-one,” I deadpan.

“Do you have an ID to prove it?”

He lets out an annoyed sigh, and I turn to Preston. “What the–” he grumbles as I shove my hand in his back pocket.

“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to feel you up.” I roll my eyes as I pull out his wallet. I grab a hundred-dollar bill from it before tossing it back to Preston. “Here.” I slap the bill onto the countertop and grab my chips, pop, and vodka. “Keep the change.”

“Wait!” he calls out as I leave the store.

Preston stays behind a moment before catching up with me. “Sadie.”

“Preston,” I sass back as I open the bottle and take a swig. It tastes like shit and burns going down. I make a sound of disgust before going back for another mouthful.

Instead of going back to the side of the car I was sitting in, I open Grayson’s door. “Pretty Girl, are you okay?”

“Nope,” I answer, sliding in and taking a seat on his lap. He grunts as I lean forward, closing the car door. “Want some?” I offer him the bottle.

“Is that vodka?” he questions.

“Sadly, not the good kind,” I sigh, taking another drink. All I want to do is get drunk and forget about this night.

Preston opens the driver’s side and gets in, slamming the door behind him.

We glare at each other for a moment before he curses and starts the car up.

I turn the radio on, blasting the music as we drive away. The whole way home, I switch between drinking the vodka, the cola, and eating my chips.

When we pull up to my house, I move to get out of the car, but the doors are locked. “Unlock the door,” I demand, swinging a glaring look to Preston.

“Not until you tell us what the fuck just happened!” he retorts, nostrils flaring in anger. “Why did you leave the party? Why did we find you on the side of the road? And why the fuck do you have five hundred grand in cash in a fucking bag?!”

Drinking before being in the privacy of my home was not a good idea. Numb Sadie would have ignored him, refused to speak, but drunk Sadie doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut if her life depended on it. So much for the warning the bastard gave me on keeping this a secret, or he would kill me. Maybe I have a death wish?

“Fine. You wanna know?” I ask, looking between the three of them. “I left to get some fresh air because the three of you swept me off my feet and spoke sweet nothings in my ear, already scrambling my fucked up mind when it comes to how I feel about the three of you. While I was out there, your peach of a fiancée–” I direct this to Preston. “Felt the need to remind me how much she hates me, how useless I was, how I don’t belong in your world, and how I should go kill myself. Oh and let’s not forget about how she told me that your arrangement with me was all a game to you three. How you would all sit around and laugh about it like I was the biggest joke in the world.” I let out a hysteric laugh.

“She’s fucking lying Sadie. You were never a fucking game and there sure as hell wasn’t any sitting around with her. I fucking despise her. She knew nothing. And if she did, it wasn’t from us.” Preston growls.

I’m not sure if I believe him. I shake my head and continue. “Not wanting to hear her toxic words, I went outside. While I was out there, some man snatched me up in a limo and fucking kidnapped me.”

“What?” Preston’s eyes widen as pure fury flashes in his grey irises.

“Oh yeah. Wanna know the kicker?” I laugh again. “It was your dear old pops. He told me to leave Collin alone. That he was meant to be married and I was just an inconvenience. Then he proceeded to show me grossly provocative photos of Collin and a woman who I was told was his fiancée—together just days prior, as well as a voice message of how much he can’t wait to see her again. Then your father gave me that money–” I point to the bag. “And told me to leave, to start over somewhere new because this isn’t my world, and if I told anyone, he was going to kill me. After that, he kicked me out on the side of the fucking road!”

I scream the last part, my chest is heaving by the time I get all of that out. But I’m not done yet. Preston opens his mouth, but I cut him off. “I’m done, Preston.” I laugh, shaking my head. “I’m so fucking done with all of this, with all of you. He was right, I don’t belong in this world. And I’ve made nothing but a fool of myself. I was stupid to make that deal with you, knowing all of you were meant to be with someone else. I told myself over and over again that it wasn’t going to be a big deal, because it was just sex. That it could only ever be sex.” I shake my head again. “I should have known better, that it wasn’t going to be that easy. Of course, I had to go and fall hard for all three of you even though I can’t ever have you. Four if you toss in your fucking asshole of a brother. I can’t take any more heartbreak, Preston.” I don’t know when it started, but tears are now spilling down my cheeks. “I can’t. I can’t, I just fucking can’t. So let me out of this fucking car before I lose my shit.”

The car is silent, the tension thick. I can tell they all want to say something, but they don’t. Preston sees the truth in my eyes and presses the unlock button.

I’m pulling the car door open and pushing my way out in a flash, leaving everything behind. I don’t want the money, Preston can have it.

Whether I plan on taking his father’s advice and leaving here or not, I’d never do it on his dime. I’d never allow someone to own me like that. Least of all him.

Knowing I don’t have my phone, or my keys, I grab the spare out from under the potted plant and unlock the door.

Slamming the door shut, I lock it. As I head towards my room, I angrily pull at my dress, needing it off my body.

Once I’m naked and in my room, I throw myself down on my bed. It doesn’t hit me just how cold and tired I really am until my body starts to shake violently, my teeth chattering so hard I fear they might break.

Using what strength I have left, I climb to the top of my bed and crawl under the blankets, wrapping myself up nice and tight.

Rolling to my side, I stare at the photos on my bedside table. One of me and Declan that we took during our movie night and the other of me and Grayson from the race track.

A tear falls, and I close my eyes. I don’t want to want them, to love them, to crave them. I don’t want to wish that they would leave their fiancées and be with me. I don’t want to believe that everything between Collin and me was a lie.

But I do. All of it. Every single thing. Because this is reality, and a world I was never meant to be in.

The world of Kingston Academy is only going to bring me pain and sadness. And it’s up to me to decide just how much I’m willing to take before it ruins me.