Dirty Wicked Prince (Court Legacy 1)

I knew that.

We all did, Mom, Dad, and the rest of our family. My friends and his friends… We all knew things weren’t perfect for him.

We all knew he was hurting.

My grandparents’ death left a void in my life. I mean, they were my grandparents, but even still, it was different for Charlie.

They were his parents.

Charlie put on a good front. I’d give him that. He never waltzed around angry or broken. In fact, he made it appear as if he were the epitome of the opposite. He was number one in his class, senior class president, captain of the football team.

Homecoming king.

He did have his shit together, and no one would ever question that.

Maybe we should have.

Mom, Dad, and even the guys and me checked in with him all the time, but that didn’t mean he told us shit, and I wondered if Principal Mayberry was giving him something we couldn’t. Maybe she wasn’t pushing. Maybe she was letting him give in and just bury himself in other thoughts for a while. Maybe she was being different with him like we weren’t.

Charlie blinked, like maybe he’d said too much. He faced away, putting the car into drive, and I didn’t want him to. I didn’t want to just leave like this.

That didn’t mean he didn’t do it anyway.

He started us off on that more than two-hour drive, a pregnant silence in the car, and I had more than a sinking feeling. If Charlie was bottling up all this stuff, it wasn’t good, and the fact made me feel nothing but powerless. This wasn’t like when we’d been kids.

Just tucking him in and telling him we were brothers wouldn’t be enough this time.

Chapter Seventeen

Dorian - present

My dad dropped me off at the curb with a huff, and considering how pissed I knew he was at me, I just got out of the car. The other guys, Wolf, Thatcher, and Wells were out there too. They stood in their tuxes in front of the theater. They’d obviously been dropped off by their dads too.

We’d been set up.

I knew what had been coming on the way to the theater downtown, but still, seeing my buddies was a surprise. They eyed me as I exited the car.

Dad leaned over the seat, jutting his chin at my friends. “Boys.”

“Sir,” all three of the fellas proclaimed. We all had respect for our fathers. We referred to each other’s with similar terms. Our dads had all been friends for forever, but I was the only one out of my buddies to know each of their dads as a godfather. Wolf’s dad, Ramses, was closer with my mom and, from what I understood, became friends with my dad through her.

Wells’s and Thatcher’s dads were super close with my father, so they did call my dad godfather, though.

Keeping it all straight over the years really was something else, but at the end of the day, none of it mattered. All our parents held a deep bond, and that extended to us. We all were family, and the labels really didn’t mean much.

Dad nodded at my friends. “Where are your dads?”

Wells pushed a thumb behind himself. “Parking the cars.”

Dad acknowledged that once more with a nod, also in a tux like me and the other guys. I could imagine all the dads were dressed in a similar fashion.

An evening at the ballet usually warranted it.

We were obviously all dragged here tonight, but my buddies and I didn’t complain. Never did. From the street, Dad mumbled about going to park too, and I got a moment to breathe when he pulled away from the curb.

The drive up here had been tense to say the least.

I turned, and the others eyed me. Wolf pulled a joint out of his pocket, lighting up right there on the sidewalk. I let him because I needed the hit. There were also enough people loading and dropping off that we blended in enough. Most probably just thought it was a cigarette.