Inevitable (Stonewood Brothers, #1)

by Shain Rose

“That’s who I was to a sweet boy in high school. He called me those names all the time. But he’s gone. I don’t have any idea where that boy went.”

“You can handle this. The most uncomfortable situations are what make you stronger.”

I jerked back and stumbled over my heels. The heat. It meant there was fire. Fire everywhere. I was going to burn. Die of smoke inhalation. There was no oxygen. Low. I had to get low to the ground. I dropped to the floor quickly and crawled away from the door to the opposite corner.

Don’t worry, he’ll come.

Would he save us if he was the one who’d wanted us to burn?

The question forced Control, my sweet friend, out.

Memory, my sworn enemy, s...

I never knew the sweet man. So there was never any love between the two of us.

So, silence took over our meal, enveloping me in the security that without sound or improper movement, my father couldn’t find fault in our actions.

I watched the clock in the kitchen like seeing the time pass by would help, maybe diffuse the situation. Tick, tock. She didn’t speak at first. Tick, tock. I thought of what I could say. Tick, tock. My mom trusted me. Tick, tock. He stood with his arms crossed and almost stared through her. He must have been thinking of ways to punish us in those moments. Tick, tock.

I’d had enough and felt just as much rage within me as he showed toward us. “You can’t keep me locked in here forever. You think you own me?” My voice rose and I stood up. I didn’t wait for the clock to tick again. “I won’t be here much longer, and I can’t wait to leave. I can’t wait to be everything you don’t want me to be. I’ll party and have fun and eat on the couch and study in bed rather than at a desk. I will ...”

Blood. Crimson. Red. Blood.

“You want to make me bleed, Dad? You think that’s going to stop me from leaving when I graduate?”

“What the hell is wrong with her?”

“Jax,” she whined. “Who cares if she’s drunk? Just leave her. I want you ...” “Move,” I commanded. “You are an asshole,”

“You are having a flashback, Whitfield,” I drew each word out. “We aren’t in a fire, okay?” “Jax, put me down.” Her voice was firmer now and her body tensed. She strained against my grip. “Settle down.” “Put me down!” “Fine. I’m setting you down. I want you to realize that you’re talking. You’re breathing. There is no smoke. Just breathe, baby.”

“Lower your voice,” she hissed. “I have to get back to Jay. Like I said, I am sorry. I hope you will use discretion if this is the topic of any conversation in the future. I really don’t want anyone knowing what just happened.”

“What the hell are you doing, Jax?” she roared, pounding me with her fist. “You and I need to talk.” “No! Put me down,” she said in her best composed tone. Again. I hated that voice and tone.

“I beg your pardon! I weigh one hundred and ten, you ass! And guess what? We aren’t at fucking Burger King. You can’t have it your way. So, put me the fuck down.”

“Sometimes. I don’t know! Only when I’m in small places or when I feel trapped.” She whipped around to pace away from me and then paced back to get right in my face. “Don’t you dare tell Jay.” Her words held more warning than I was used to, and I’d negotiated with some of the most powerful people in the world. “You can’t breathe on a public bathroom floor. You’re having flashbacks of an attempted homicide but you’re worried about my fucking brother?” “Keep your voice down.” Her eyes narrowed to slits. “I don’t need Jay walking on eggshells around me because you can’t keep your damn mouth shut. So, don’t open it.” I wasn’t used to her commanding me, let alone swearing at me. I wasn’t used to anything about her, and that made me fucking livid. “Watch that mouth of yours, Peaches.”

“Or I’ll show you how filthy a mouth can really be.” Her eyes widened and shined anger under the dim lights of the small room. She stood a half a head shorter than me, and her heels under that dress had to be at least five-inches tall. Yet, she didn’t back down. “You have no idea how filthy I can be nor will you ever get a chance to show me how filthy you are. I want nothing to do with you.” Her comment deflated my anger. “Is that so? Once upon a damn time, you wanted everything to do with me. I was your world, and you were mine.”

“Seems like lyrics to an old love song, Jax. Your fans would love it.” Her tone held sarcasm. “I’m not a fan though. So, save it for your next album.” I sighed and rubbed my hands over my face. “There’s not going to be a next album. I don’t want to fight with you tonight.”

So, I wrote songs about her, named an album after her, and then tried to move on away from her. And I had moved on. Moved on and up. I surrounded myself with beautiful cityscapes and million-dollar investments. I had beautiful women on each arm and a multi-platinum album in a penthouse that overlooked my world.

“You’re right. We shouldn’t be fighting,” she conceded and tried for a nonchalant shrug. “We have nothing to fight about. Let’s get back down to the party, okay?”

“Nine. You said coffee shop at nine thirty on Tuesday. Not me. I need your help on this or I will fail. Not just C or D grade but fail ...”

“Do you have me on speaker phone while Jax is with you, you jerk?” I said far too loudly.

“You know, normally people talk when they are on the phone with each other.” “Normally, people talk to the person they called. Not with the person who hijacked the phone.”

“This is fucking orgasmic, Jackie.” She beamed. “I made you swear and say ‘orgasmic’ in the same sentence. I knew it was a winner!”

“Oh my God. Jax Stonewood is in my shop.” She shook her head. “I mean, oh my God.”

His hair was mussed as if some girl had run her hands through it before he’d gotten out of bed this morning. Somehow, that made him more attractive. And more dangerous.

He’d avoided me for years, and now after two weeks of trying to talk to me, he thought I should just cave? I smoothed my hair and pulled my lips between my teeth, trying to stay calm.

“I’m his brother, Aubrey.” He put his hand behind his neck and pulled on it as he looked toward the ceiling. “I don’t regret much, but I do regret not being closer to him. We lost years, and I don’t intend to lose anymore. You’re really going to make him pick who to hang out with while I’m in town?”

“Well, I’m not too concerned. You aren’t one to ever stick around ...”

“You’d be surprised how little he cares about that house. He might care a little more about the whole freaking town you’ll be wreaking havoc on while he’s away though.”

She would have been a perfect nature-versus-nurture experiment though. Her eyes were wild and rebellious always. The etiquette and formalities locked her up most of the time, but they had to stomp out a shit ton of wildfires, especially with me around.

“Okay, to be fair, friends worry about friends, but ...” “But he worries an exorbitant amount. If I didn’t know both of you, I’d think he was fucking you.” “Excuse me?” “Let’s save that conversation for another day.” “Let’s save it for never.”

I’d trained myself to look unaffected when it came to dealing with people’s emotions face-to-face. It was part of the Stonewood Enterprises business. If someone approached with emotion, you sidelined it with apathy. If someone hit you with more money for a deal, you stayed neutral. Someone could have bled out and begged for their life and I wouldn’t have blinked any type of emotion their way. For her though, I caved almost every time.

“Jaydon is and always has been the biggest part of my family. I would never jeopardize that, especially not for you. Friends?” Her tone was cold.

Our chemistry should have faded by now. It should have fallen apart when I shattered that little glass house we’d built for ourselves so many years ago. Yet, it was stronger than ever. At least for me. From where I sat, it looked like she hadn’t felt the effect at all.

“Just friends?” “What else could we possibly be, Jax?” “Well, once upon a time, we weren’t just friends.”

“Peaches.”

“L.P.”

“I wonder, do all your friends know how you sound whe...

“Fuck you, Jax.”

I crossed my arms, wanting to smile at the fact that she was swearing. “Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten that far lately, Peaches.” “Thank God for that.” She pushed away from the table, making the chair screech. “For someone who never wants to discuss the past, you sure as hell like to bring up specific parts of it.”

“Some parts of the past are better than others.” “Yeah and some parts remind us just how painful life ...

“You avoid those parts, Peaches, and you won’t remem...

“Get your damn book out, Whitfield. Jay’s not going to have time to help you when he’s in LA anyway.” “When was the last time you took a class, Jax?”

“Doesn’t being part owner of Stonewood Enterprises qualify me as a good tutor?”

“What are you doing with my phone?”