When Rivals Fall (Bayshore Rivals 1)

“Police?” Shelby asks, baffled.

“Remember when I told you how I overheard my parents talking about setting up the Bishops?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Well, I didn’t tell you the whole story…”

It was already late and a school night, that’s why I was sneaking down to the kitchen to get a snack. I was surprised when I heard voices coming from the living room because my parents usually went to bed early, but I didn’t think too much of it until I heard a third voice that I didn’t recognize.

“As always, it has been a pleasure doing business with you,” a man spoke, his voice deep and there was a captivating darkness about his tone that had me stopping mid step.

“Likewise, Mr. Rossi,” my father replied.

“I think we’ve been associates long enough for you to start calling me Xander,” the man said.

“Very well, Xander,” my mom purred. Followed by a girlish giggle. “Thank you again for helping us with the Bishop situation.” My mom said their name as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.

“No problem at all, framing people is my second favorite work.”

“Oh, what’s your favorite?”

I can already tell the answer isn’t one I want to hear.

“Killing people,” the man confessed, without an ounce of sarcasm in his voice.

Nervous laughter bubbled from both of my parents’ throats while bile rose in mine. I clasped my hand over my mouth and ran back up the stairs. I barely made it to my bathroom before vomiting out the contents of my stomach.

Once I was able to get up from the bathroom floor I went back into my room and opened the laptop. Xander Rossi was his name, I typed it in the search bar and hit enter. Immediately I had one article after the next pop up. Most of them were from the local news channel and newspapers.

Xander Rossi was the head of the local mob.

My parents had been doing business with the fucking mafia.

Shelby stares at me silently, and then her lips part, “The mob?” she finally asks, her tone filled with disbelief.

“Yes, the mob,” I confirm. “That’s when everything started going downhill. I confronted them the next day, I started digging, asking questions. Once I opened my eyes, I couldn’t look away. All the lies, all the things I believed that they told me. I destroyed someone’s life because of them, because of their lies.”

I’m not looking for pity. I’ve taken responsibility for my actions, my parents on the other hand, have not.

“Wow, that’s…wow,” she says, her eyes wide.

“Yeah, so I’m done with them. I don’t know what they were trying to do by showing up here and acting like nothing happened, but I shut them down.”

“Good. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life,” she says, and she is right, I don’t need them in my life, nor do I need the Bishops. They were so quick to turn against me and didn’t even let me explain. Which hurt like hell. They were too busy hating me to listen to my side of the story. I thought we had moved passed our differences, let the past go, but instead it feels like they were just waiting for a reason to turn on me.

They want to be enemies again. Fine. I don’t need them, nor do I want them. They were pains anyway, or at least that’s what I tell myself as I get ready for classes.

Chapter Eleven

I spend the next two days torn between wanting to reach out to the guys and trying my best to avoid them. Apparently, they’re doing the latter, because neither Sullivan nor Banks showed up to the classes that we share.

Like the moping teenager I am, I walk to the local coffee shop in the afternoon, getting a hot cocoa and the biggest chocolate fudge brownie they have.

“For here or to go?” The girl with bright pink and purple hair from behind the counter asks.

“To go, please.”

“Hey, Harlow,” a familiar voice calls. I turn to find Caroline standing a few feet away. “Looks like you had the same idea as me,” she smiles. “I’ll have the second biggest brownie,” she tells the barista.

“Hey, Caroline,” I take in her warm smile. Shelby’s been busy at the gallery and suddenly sitting down with a friend seems more appealing than sitting outside on a bench in the quad by myself.

“Want to sit and stuff our faces with sweet goodness together?” I ask.

“Sounds amazing,”

We pay, get our orders, and sit down in the corner of the coffee shop, near a bookshelf that’s brimming with books.

“How have you been?” Caroline asks, as I shove a piece of brownie into my mouth. It tastes like Heaven and chocolate had a baby.

I shrug, “Okay.”

“You really scared us all on the boat, the other night. When Oliver pulled you out of the water your lips were blue. I was worried you weren’t going to make it.”