Tough Shit (Rejects Paradise 1)

I barge past him deeper onto the boat and don’t even bother looking around. I should have fucking known this was a bullshit game to try and humiliate me, but after the past week’s worth of humiliation, it seems to be sliding off me like water off a duck’s back. I guess there’s only so much Colton Carrington can do to me, or maybe I’ve just lowered my expectations of the guy.

“Fucking bullshit, man,” I hear Jude snap from the back deck. I look back over my shoulder to find Jude glaring at Colton with his arm outstretched, indicating to me. “Why did you bring that fucking bitch?”

Great. Now I have to spend my day with that douche too? Fucking perfect. And to think I could have been curled up in bed all day watching Netflix or chilling with my boys.

“Had no choice,” Colton snaps back at him. “Shut the fuck up and have a drink.”

Jude’s eyes slice to mine and there’s a dangerous warning, but what does it matter? It’s not like I’ll be going up there to spend my day with him.

I turn back and start heading down the stairs that lead into the main living area of the boat and find Charlie and Spencer. Charlie’s face lights with excitement while Spencer scowls. He clearly isn’t fond of me the way his friend is, but at least he doesn’t look like he’s about to tear me apart the way Jude did.

“Well, well,” Charlie beams. “If I knew you were coming along, I wouldn’t have brought Sara.”

“You’re kidding right?” I laugh, looking up at him. “You’ll have better luck with Sara.”

He laughs before jogging over and catching up with me. “I don’t hold last night against you,” he says. “It’s nothing a dry cleaner can’t deal with.”

I groan to myself. “Oh, great, I’m so glad for you.”

“It was an honest mistake,” he adds, not getting the hint that I’d rather be left alone. “You know, your dress and all. It kinda looked like the waitresses and you know how us guys are with that kind of shit.”

I turn on him, making him pull himself up. “You’re just as bad as they are, Charlie,” I say with a disappointed sigh. “Only, you might be worse because you’re fake about it. Choose your side. Either be a dick with them or be chill, but I’m sick of this bullshit in-between crap you keep doing. Pick a fucking side and stay on it because right now, you’re as fake as shit. At least the other guys are real with me.”

Charlie’s face falls and with that, I keep walking, pleased to find I don’t have someone following along. I walk into one of the many bedrooms and look around. This is fucking insane. I hate how impressed I am by the Carringtons. The things they can afford to have never ceases to amaze me. I couldn’t imagine a life where mom and I could ever be able to live like this.

I drop my bag down onto the bed and sit on the edge, needing a moment to come to terms with how shitty my day is going to be. I can’t believe I let Colton play me like that, but he’s fucking insane if he thinks he has even the slightest chance of getting me to play boat bitch all day to his entitled friends. I can’t help but wonder what he meant with that comment he just threw at Jude.

‘Had no choice.’

Why the hell wouldn’t he have a choice? Everyone has a choice. Either storm into the pool house and wake me up or don’t. It’s as simple as that.

I let out a heavy sigh and decide that if I’m going to be stuck on a luxurious boat all day that I should make the best of it. Bad company aside, who knows when I could get an opportunity like this again.

I get up off the bed and turn around to start rifling through my bag. Just as I feel my bikini on my fingers, a hand curls around my neck. I suck in a gasp but within a moment, I’m thrown up against the hard wall with Jude bearing down on me.

“You think you can just get away with your bullshit and not be punished?” he roars, his breath smelling strongly of alcohol despite it only being eleven in the morning.

I suck in a breath as his hand tightens and begins restricting my oxygen. “You’re a piece of shit. Get off me.”

“You’re not going to get away with this,” he growls low getting right in my face so I can see the yellowing remains of the two black eyes Nic and the boys had happily given him earlier in the week. “You come into my world and start fucking shit up, well guess what? There are fucking consequences. You’re a fucking nobody. If you went missing, would anyone even notice? I could do whatever the fuck I wanted to you out here and even if you squealed to the cops, I’d get away with it because that’s just the way things are around here.”