Tough Shit (Rejects Paradise 1)

“Ouch. That hurt,” he grumbles, twisting his arm to show off his tattoo that reads ‘No friends, only family.’

I let out a small sigh. “Come on, Nic. You know that’s not what I meant. You and the guys are everything to me, but this is my mom. I have to do this. What am I going to do in Breakers Flats without her? The bank has already taken our home. We lost the car last month, what else do we have to give? We have no other choice.”

“You can stay with me,” he insists, his eyes searching for something deep within mine. “I’ll get another job until you finish school and you know the boys will pitch in where they can. Come on, O. Tell me you’ll stay?”

I shake my head, hating the traitorous tears that begin welling in my eyes. “I can’t do that to you,” I whisper, my hands dropping to find his. I lace my fingers through his. “You’ve already got so much going on with the Black Widows. Not to mention when dear old dad goes down, all that shit is going to land on your shoulders. I’m only a distraction to you and it’s no secret that your mom hates me. It wouldn’t work and you know that just as well as I do.”

“O, please, don’t do this. Don’t go. We’ll make it work.”

“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. There’s nothing here for me. If I stay, I’m going to end up pregnant to some sleazeball Black Widow whom you’re just going to kill anyway. Nothing good could come from me staying here.”

Nic releases my hand and curls his around the back of my neck, pulling me in and pressing his forehead to mine. “I know, but that doesn’t mean that I like letting you go. It was supposed to be you and me.”

“You ruined that, Nic.”

“Believe me, I know.”

I let out a heavy sigh and drop my face into the crook of his neck as his arms curl tightly around me. I only have a second before I break, and I can’t have him see me cry. I want to be stronger than that.

Why does this feel like the end of something incredible? This hurts more than when he cheated. It’s like I’m closing the book on a story that wasn’t finished being written, a story that hardly got a chance to shine.

My tears begin soaking into his shirt as I slip my arms up around his neck. “You’ll come and visit, right?”

His fingers trail over the floral tattoo on my shoulder and my heart twists, clenching until it’s almost impossible to breathe. Why did I have to get that tattoo? “Just try and keep me away, Ocean. Nothing could keep me from you.”

“You know I love you, right? If things were different …”

“I know,” he says, pulling me back so he can see my face. His thumbs rub under my eyes, wiping away the tears. “I love you too, O. You’re always going to be my girl, but you need to quit this crying. You know your tears have a way of bringing out the worst in me.”

My bottom lip pouts out and I feel like such an idiot for getting so worked up. “Please don’t beat up any of my boys.”

He presses his lips into a tight line and gently shakes his head. “I can’t make any promises.”

I roll my eyes knowing he’s only teasing, though I should be worried for Sebastian after those comments he made earlier. On second thought, maybe he isn’t kidding. It’s an emotional night for us all and these guys usually talk with their fists. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone ended up in the emergency room.

I let out a heavy sigh and let him pull me back in. “Just no broken bones, okay?”

“Okay,” he promises. “That I can do.”

Chapter 2

What kind of rich, privileged bullshit fuckery is this?

The big iron gates slide open to reveal the most luxurious mansion in Bellevue Springs. I’ve never seen anything like it. Not even the mansions that surround us are as ostentatious or douchey as this, yet I can’t stop staring at it. It’s simply magnificent.

It looks like a modern version of a Victorian manor home with beautiful white pillars evenly placed across the wide span of the mansion. It’s absolutely stunning, something out of a fairy tale, and those stairs … holy hell. There are three levels of stairs just to reach the front door.

Where the hell are we? This place is ridiculous. My home back in Breakers Flats wouldn’t even fit the front gate inside of it. Not that we exactly have a home anymore. Those fuckers at the bank made sure of that. There’s nothing quite like watching your home and everything you’ve built being taken away.