15
QUINTON
The days pass in a blur, and I sink deeper into my routine. Breakfast, classes, and phone calls home. I do my best not to think about Aspen or the slight bonding time we shared in PE. I don’t care about her in any sense, and I don’t need her thinking I do. Still, I won’t lie. Her presence affects me in a deeper way than I ever thought possible.
I’ve just fallen back onto my bed when the door to my room opens, and Ren steps inside. He closes it behind him like someone else is in the apartment or something.
“What’s up?” I ask, a brow raised.
Ren runs a hand through his hair, almost like he’s flustered. “Matteo just showed me a video. It’s from the other day…”
My brows pinch together in confusion. “Yeah, what about?”
“What you did with Aspen. The forced blow job. Matteo took a video of it and saved it on his phone.”
Fuck. My first thought is to go and find the fucker and beat his ass, but I shove the thought away… for now. There will be a time for that.
“Look, you know I don’t give a fuck what you do, and I hardly ever make comments about shit. I mean, our parents are fucking criminals, but don’t you think…?” Ren drags his feet, and my frustration toward him mounts.
“You’re being weird and vague as fuck. If you have something more to say, then spit it out. When have we ever minced words?”
Ren shakes his head like he’s shaking away whatever is bothering him. “Never, which is why I’m telling you I think you took it too far.”
All I can do is blink while staring blankly at him.
Did he… did he just say I took it too far?
“What the fuck?” I lash out, unsure why he’s suddenly sympathizing with her. He was talking about torturing her when we first got here, and now a blow job is too much?
“I don’t want to piss you off, but the video just pushed it over the edge for me.”
I’m shocked, almost into complete silence. I don’t understand what he’s trying to get at.
“You have thirty seconds to explain yourself.”
Ren’s jaw tightens, and his eyes dart away from mine. Whatever he’s going to say, he knows I’m not going to like, and even less than what he said before.
“I saw the video, and then Luna called me a little bit after, and it made me think… if someone ever did that to her. I’d be filled with murderous rage. There would be nothing to stop me from slaughtering those fuckers.”
“If you’re trying to make me feel like shit, it isn’t working. You know what her family did to my family. You know the pain they caused.”
Ren frowns. “I do, but as your best friend, it’s my job to keep you checked in with reality. I can’t let you slip too far off the rails.” He pauses, and while he does have a valid point, it’s not valid enough to tell me that I have no cause for what I did. I don’t feel guilty for putting Aspen on her knees and fucking her throat. The only thing I hate is that there were others there to see it, but that’s what was needed to drive home the point that she is still lesser than me. “What if something like that happened to Scarlet? If someone did that to her? How would you feel?”
My sister’s angelic face fills my mind. The thought of anyone hurting her or touching her in a way that would make her feel degraded or less than ignites a fire in my veins. Still, all the anger from that statement gets directed at Ren.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I growl. “Scarlet and Aspen aren’t even on the same playing field, and that’s my fucking sister. Don’t ever talk about something like that happening to her again.” Anger rushes toward the surface, and it’s the uncontrollable kind. The kind I need to get out at the gym, so I can punch the sandbag instead of Ren’s face.
Ren shakes his head, a look of disgust filling his features. “What’s wrong with me? Why don’t you ask yourself that? You fucked a girl’s face in front of all your friends and recorded it. Then you let the other guys have a turn. If you ask me, it sounds like you’re the one with the problem, not me.”
“I didn’t let anyone do shit.”
“That’s not what it looks like on the video. You stepped away and let Matteo take your spot.”
“I stopped it right after,” I defend.
“The video cuts off after you are done with her. The last thing I saw was you walking away, and Matteo stepping in front of her. It didn’t look like you were making anyone stop doing anything.”