"Dei Sub Numine Viget!" Bo exclaimed.
Everyone raised their red cups and yelled, "Dei Sub Numine Viget!"
They bumped their cups together and downed their drinks in unison. Bo stripped his shirt off, throwing it down and thumping his fists against his chest while howling before jumping off the roof and into the pool. Everyone cheered.
The guy knew how to run a party even if he wasn't the host.
"I thought he didn't know how to swim?" Tristan muttered from beside me.
I sighed, watching Bo floundering in the water. "He doesn't."
Two frat guys pulled him out, carrying him on their shoulders as some bikini clad sorority chick shook a bottle of champagne and aimed it at Bo who reveled in the attention. I shook my head, lighting up a cigarette.
The party has been on since noon after our final graduation practice and everyone was as trashed as they could get. We were finally one step away from earning our freedom. All we had to do was walk down the stage, accept our diplomas, and take a bow tomorrow. And then, we'd be on our way to greatness. At least that's how the protocol goes.
"You mind if I sit here?"
I looked to my side and found a guy standing next to me as I sat on the ground.
"It's a free county."
He flashed me a game winning smile before settling himself on the ground.
"I'm Chase by the way," he said, holding out a hand.
I rolled my eyes, already sniffing out the stink of his bullshit. "The fuck you want, Chase?"
He smirked. "You know what I want."
Like hell I did.
"Go suck a rotten dick."
"Come on. I'll pay ya double."
I arched a brow, raking my eyes over him. Blond. Blue eyes. Even white teeth. Flawless skin. Lean build. Overly-confident aura. He was the perfect American boy who was probably convinced the world revolved around him. The exact kind of boy who also thought he could score dope out in the open.
A fucking freshman.
I smiled. "Come here," I said, gesturing for him to come closer. He shifted, leaning into me. "You know who I am?"
He grinned. "You're Angel Lastor."
"Nah, sweetheart." I shook my head. "I'm the last fucking person you should be talking to." I grabbed his neck, taking my knife out and pressing it to his side. "I don't know who the fuck let you in but you don't come to me acting like some hot shot. You hear me, kid?" I hissed into his ear.
"My brother's the president of this fraternity," he stuttered out as if that meant shit to me.
"Declan?" I scoffed. "That guy has been begging me to let him eat my pussy for years. He'd probably watch me skin you alive if it means he can fuck me afterwards." I pressed the knife deeper, enough to tear through his shirt. He stiffened. "If you come near me again, I'll gut you and make a pie out of your intestines. You got that?"
I felt him swallow hard before nodding. I yanked him closer, tightening my grip around his throat.
"Words, bitch. Let me hear you say it."
"I... I got it," he choked out.
I shoved him off me. "Now fuck off. This is a fucking senior's party, idiot."
He ran for it, practically tripping on his feet. Tristan laughed.
"Man, I'll miss watching you make people shit themselves. It's entertainment gold."
I rolled my eyes. "It's fucking irritating." I got up, tossing him the fanny pack filled with Bo's product. "Take over."
He frowned. "You leaving?"
"I'm tending bar tonight."
"I'll walk you out," he said, standing.
I rolled my eyes. "I'll be fine."
"I'm more worried about whoever tries to get in your way," he said, grinning.
I let out a snort and let him lead the way back inside the house, weaving our way through throngs of drunken idiots making the most of their last moments in college. He was right. A bunch of people tried to get in my way and he managed to spare their lives from me by using himself as a wall to let me through.
"Hey," Tristan called as I was putting on my helmet.
I tilted my head to regard him, watching him suck on his cigarette while fidgeting with his hair. He rolled his shoulders, looking off to the side as a pair of girls were throwing up in the bushes.
"Ah, shit, I should have done this earlier," he was muttering to himself.
"What's up, man?"
He chuckled, looking over at me. "You and Andre, how far are you taking it?"
My brows furrowed in confusion. "Does it matter?"
He shrugged, squatting down by my bike and knocking his knuckles against the tire. "I'm pretty well-off, at least my family is. Probably not in the same league as yours, but I think we're pretty up there."
"What are you getting at, T?" I said cautiously.
"I just… think I'd regret not saying anything, if there's a chance." He looked up at me, a grave expression set on his face. "So what about me, Gel? Think I'll be good enough for you?"
I stood still, staring at him. Trying to see if he was just talking shit while high or messing with me. I'd known the guy since boarding school, though back then we'd been mere acquaintances through my friendship with his older brother. We didn't run in the same circle and apart from him reguarly buying coke from me, we didn't interact much either. It wasn't till Bo had reintroduced us during a party that I even remembered who he was. We've slept together a bunch of times, but it was mostly out of convenience or boredom.
That was the extent of my thoughts of him but evidently, it wasn't a shared sentiment. For the first time, I took a proper look at him, at the way he looked at me. It was pathetic, how he seemed so desperate right now.
"Where is this coming from?" I asked.
"Come on, Gel," he said, smiling faintly. " You're too smart to play dumb."
I sighed, squatting down next to him. "You never spoke of it, so I thought it wasn't worth noting," I said. "Why are you speaking now?"
"My father wants me to get started on establishing myself in the business, so I'm thinking it's time I get my shit together. It would be too fucking tragic if both his sons turned out useless," he said laughingly. "Besides, it's not like I have any plans for myself after graduation so I might as well do my filial duty."
My brows furrowed at his remark. "What does that mean?"
"Do you really not know?" he said, sounding just as confused as I was.
"Have I ever asked questions I don't already know the answers to?"
He snickered, rubbing his palms over his face. "My grandmother is in talks about making an arrangement between our families. She's trying to aim for you, but apparently, they've been resistant since you're already committed to Andre." He tilted his head. "Heard you were pretty high up in the hierarchy, so I thought you'd know."
I nodded in understanding. "Matters of marriage are handled by select members of the family. Once they've completed the negotiations, only then will the rest of us be involved." I passed him a sideways glance. "But that's neither here nor there."
He sighed, tilting his head back. "You know how I feel about you. I never did anything about it because I'm satisfied just being a friend. At least like this, I won't go crazy like everyone else who was stupid enough to expect things you'd never give." He leveled his head to face me. "That hasn't changed. But since I'm marrying into the Lastor family anyway, I figured I'd ask if you'd be willing to consider me."
"Tristan-"
"This isn't a love confession," he cut in, smiling. "I'm mostly doing this to get my grandmother off my back. If you say yes, good for me. If you say no, then I'll get her to move things away from you."
I sighed, rubbing my jaw as I briefly contemplated what he was offering. "You should know why I chose Andre."
"Cuz he's an attention seeking whore who'll fuck anything with a skirt on?"
I laughed. "Yeah, but also, cuz out of all the candidates offered to me, he was the only one whose reputation was comparably as bad as mine." I reached toward him, flicking his forehead. "I can't ruin something that's already beyond repair, after all."
"I'm pretty messed up too, you know," he quipped.
"Yeah, but you're fucking in love with me and I can't live with that." I picked up my helmet and stood. "And even if it weren't me, you'd do best not to offer affection to a Lastor. Exploiting people, especially their affection, is ingrained in our blood. Nothing good will come to you from loving one of us."
"Guess that pretty much answers my initial question." He got to his feet, flicking his cigarette to the ground and stepping on it. "Do me a favor. Don't sleep with my brother if you come to the wedding. I just might kill myself."
I huffed, holding back a laugh. "As a wedding gift, I'll consider Aaron untouchable from henceforth."
He snorted, patting my shoulder. "Drive safe," he said before walking away.
I followed him with my gaze for a moment, watching him approach the pair of girls who had been watering the bushes with vomit and were now giggling as they laid on the driveway, apparently tripping on something good. When it seemed like he would have himself delivered from this casual rejection between the legs of those girls, I got on my bike and drove off.
I was halfway to the bar when a cop car came up behind me, blaring its siren. I was pondering between speeding off or pulling over when out of nowhere, I caught a group of boys fucking skipping onto the road in the distance.
I was going too fast to stop in time and, cursing loudly, I swerved the bike, leaning all my weight to side as I gripped the brake. The wheels were screeching as the bike skidded on the road. I lost my grip and I quickly tucked my limbs into my torso as I rolled off. I felt my back collide with something firm, stopping me.
I was breathing harshly, the scent of burnt rubber filling my senses. Adrenaline synapsed throughout my body, my heart pumping hard against my chest. Pain was bursting all over me. I heard a rush of footsteps on the gravel, approaching me, and voices yelling out.
"Don't touch me," I snapped when I felt hands on me.
I slowly pulled myself up to sit, rolling my joints and stretching my limbs. I saw that patches of my jeans had torn off, exposing the abrasions on my calf and knee. Apart from that and a throbbing feeling on my back, nothing seemed to be broken.
I took a moment to collect myself, focusing my senses through the chaos surrounding me, before getting to my feet. My legs buckled and hands shot out to catch me. I stiffened at the touch, shoving away the cop fussing over me and steadying my footing. At some point, an ambulance had arrived. That just pissed me off more.
I centered my attention on the idiots who brought this upon me. I pushed up the visor of my helmet, closing the distance between us and raking my gaze over them. None of them seemed to be hurt.
"Did your parents not teach you how to cross a fucking road?"
They flinched, standing still as if they'd just watched me rise from the dead. We'd all have been better off if I had actually died.
"How old are you dumbasses, huh?" I demanded, looking them over again.
The skinny and pimpled little shits couldn't have been no older than fifteen, at most. The thought that my first kill would have been fucking children enraged me further. I was too high and drunk to be dealing with this.
"Shouldn't you be in bed or doing homework, or any other shit except fucking around on a fucking hi-way? Why the fuck are you even out here on a fucking school night? You fucks suicidal?"
"Miss, why don't you calm down?" one of the cops interjected.
"What?" I snarled, getting up in his face. "This ain't my fucking fault! It was a green fucking light! These imbeciles could have died and you expect me to be calm about it?!"
"I'm not saying it's your fault," he stated so calmly it drove me madder. "But you should take it easy and let the paramedics check you out."
"Fuck this shit."
I backed away, going to my bike and pushing it off the ground. I wanted to scream when I realized the tank was leaking.
"God fucking dammit," I snapped, killing the ignition and shoving it back to the ground. I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Ah, fuck. Fuck. Fuck."
"How about you take a seat," one of the paramedics said cautiously. "You banged yourself up pretty bad."
I closed my eyes briefly, letting out a steadying breath. "You do not have my consent to examine me or touch me in any way," I stated calmly, setting my gaze on her. "Hand me the AMA and fuck off."
"Ma'am. you really should-"
"Hand it over," I cut in sharply.
She glanced at the officers before going into the back of the ambulance. One of them came to my side while the other continued to interrogate the idiot boys who were apparently on their way to watch some concert. I needed to get out of here before these people realized who I was.
I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts, pressing call on the name of the lead attorney of my criminal defense team that I kept on retainer.
"Listen, Miss, we have to get your statement either way. You can come with us to the station, or we'll do it at the hospital," the cop was saying.
"Are you tryna arrest me right now?" I said incredulously, holding the phone to my ear as it rang. "Cuz I didn't want to run over those dumbasses?"
"You were going thirty over the speed limit," he replied in obvious disapproval. "And I can smell the whiskey from where I'm standing. So, what's your choice?"
"You must be fuck-"
"Miss Lastor," Gerald Clarke, the man responsible for my continued freedom, greeted gruffly on the other end of the line. "Do not say another word." I gritted my teeth, glaring at the officer. "Now, hand me over, and please remain silent until I arrive."
I shoved my phone into the hands of the officer and walked away, taking a seat on the curb.
* * *
Gerald arrived on a freaking helicopter an hour after I was brought into the ER of Lastor Medical Center's Trenton branch at his insistence, accompanied by three other senior partners from his firm. I had refused treatment and as a result, Gerald had the cops cuff me to the hospital bed and threatened to have me sedated for an examination if I didn't provide my consent.
This fucking asshole had no regard for ethics and knew I couldn't stand meeting new people who wouldn't know what to do with me even if provided a manual, and so I relented after cussing him out in my mother tongue.
I was admitted to a private suite after I finished the brain scan which cleared me of internal bleeding and was currently on an IV drop to replace my fluids. Gerald and his team were crowding around my bed, discussing amongst themselves the next steps while I just watched TV.
A knock disrupted their discourse and Gerald went to answer it, blocking the doorway with his Neanderthal build.
"Ah, hello. I was called-"
"You have the wrong room. Goodbye," Gerald replied gruffly, closing the door.
"Let him in, Gerry," I said as I turned off the TV.
"Ma'am, I advise against visitors at this time."
"He's my primary physician."
He eyed me suspiciously. "You have not assigned someone that position since Mr. Joe's passing."
I shrugged, getting off the bed. "It's about time I fill in the ranks."
"Nevertheless, I insist you stay the night for observation."
"If I set this room on fire-" I began as I laced up my boots. "-would having my last name out front spare me from litigation?"
He let out a long suffering sigh, opening the door and letting Rick inside.
He was the last person I wanted to call but they wouldn't let me leave on my own and I'd rather drag myself to hell than call my brother. I was lucky enough that Rick was still at the hospital when I was brought in because if he wasn't, I'd be spending my graduation in a jail cell cuz I was going to fuck shit up the longer I stayed here.
"Take care of my discharge papers and contact Art for clean up," I said to Gerald, shrugging on my jacket. "Text me any updates."
"I've advised you to not get involved with Arthur Hagen, Miss Lastor," Gerald said grimly. "Especially concerning legal matters."
I smirked, passing him a glance. "Oh, so you're willing to get dirty?"
He pursed his lips, shaking his head lightly. "There's no need for it. The case is straightforward and I am perfectly capable of handling it within the confines of the law."
I nodded. "If you say so."
I dropped myself on the wheelchair set by the foot of the bed before putting on the baseball cap Gerald had bought from the gift shop. I glanced over to Rick as he remained standing by the door. He wordlessly came over, taking the handles of the wheelchair and pushing me out to the hall while Gerald and his partners followed behind.
"Will you be returning to your primary residence?" Gerald asked once we were in the elevator.
"No," I answered, closing my eyes. The adrenaline and drugs had worn off, leaving me exhausted and sore all over.
"Then I have to ask you to stay within the city until I've taken care of any possible charges against you."
"How long?"
"A day, at least."
"You have it."
"Do you have any further instructions?" he went on.
I sighed, opening my eyes and finding Rick staring me down through the elevator doors. "Those kids... make sure they learn something from this."
"I'm not an enforcer, Miss Lastor," Gerald said disapprovingly.
I snorted. "I meant, send them to counseling or whatever. Set them straight so they don't do stupid shit that will get them killed again."
"I'll discuss it with the presiding judge. In the meantime, please refrain from discussing the case with anyone else."
The elevator stopped, opening to the lobby and we went our separate ways. Rick remained quiet as we made our way to the parking lot. When he lifted me off the wheelchair, I didn't bother making a fuss and let him set me down in the passenger seat.
"I'll pay you back," I finally said once he pulled out to the road.
"Are you..." he began, his voice strained. "Offering me money?"
"Not necessarily." I shrugged. "If you ever need anything, tell me. I'll get it done. No questions asked."
He scoffed. "You want to pay me back?" He glanced at me and I could plainly see he was pissed off. "Get your shit together."
I sighed, leaning forward and clutching my head. "If you're going to lecture me-"
"You were three times above the legal alcohol limit, Angel," he said sharply. "How you could still stand let alone drive is beyond me but I do know that it's not normal or healthy for a twenty-four year old. You may have built up a tolerance but that doesn't mean it's not damaging your body. So yes, I am going to lecture you and you're going to listen because you can't seem to grasp the gravity of your situation."
He let out a breath, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.
"I don't know why you're so intent on killing yourself. I don't know why you keep doing stupid shit even though you're obviously smart. I don't know anything about you but what I do know is this-" He gestured at me. "- will hurt someone someday. May it be your brother. A stranger. Yourself. It will happen. It's the only end game here. I know that you don't want to hurt anyone, this incident makes that clear to me, but you have to stop this, Angel. If not for yourself, do it for the person you might run over someday because you could no longer save them from yourself."
"It's his birthday today."
"Did you hear any of the words I just said?"
"Yes." I sat up, looking at him. "I've heard those words in a hundred different forms before, Frederick."
"And you've never even considered that maybe you should listen?"
I smiled solemnly. "I've tried to be sober. It wasn't worth the pain," I said, looking away. "It's Jude's birthday today."
He let out a harsh breath. "I know. He invited me to the party but I couldn't find someone to cover my shift."
I sighed, closing my eyes. "We had a fight again."
"Is that why you're out getting pissed drunk?"
I shrugged. "It's one of the reasons."
"What did you fight about?"
I rubbed my face, letting out a harsh breath. "I shouldn't be talking to you. Gerry gets bitchy when I talk in the middle of a case."
"This is the second time I've driven you from the hospital, and I'm pretty sure Jude has no idea about this because I doubt I'm on your emergency contact list."
"You can't tell him about this, Rick."
"Then tell me what happened."
I sighed again, relenting. "We went to Monte Carlo for the Grand Prix last month. Naturally, I bailed before the race started and went to some club with my cousins."
"Of course you did."
I rolled my eyes. "Well, long story short, I blacked out and by the time I came to, I was in Paris. Jude dragged me back here and told me I either go to rehab or get out. And well... you get the picture."
He eyed me for a moment. "He kicked you out?"
I bit my lip, nodding. "I haven't seen him since last month."
"Aren't you graduating tomorrow?" I shrugged. "Have you called him?"
My lips curled into a smile. "He's done with me, Rick."
"I've known your brother for a decade, Angel. And in those ten years, his top priority has only ever been you."
"And I've been dragging him down for longer. It's time he prioritizes himself now, don't you think?"
"No offense, but you'll die without your brother."
I chuckled. "I sure hope so."
He shook his head, sighing. "Where are you staying?"
I straightened, pursing my lips. "St. Paul's."
"Where's that?"
I sighed, rubbing my temples. "St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church. It's on Nassau Street."
He paused for a moment as he was configuring the GPS. "You've been staying in a church?"
I shrugged. "They don't mind as long as I clean up after myself. I don't have any money to rent a room anyway."
"Does Jude know?"
I shook my head. "He's been looking for me. That's why I couldn't stay with friends."
He was silent for a moment, tapping his finger on the steering wheel. I caught his hand move to get his phone from the dashboard and I grabbed his wrist.
"Leave him be, Rick."
He glared. "If you think hiding from him gets him off the hook, you're wrong. Not knowing what's happening to you is probably driving him insane."
I let go of his hand, looking away. "I just don't want to keep hurting him."
"Then stop hurting yourself, Angel."
I kicked the floor of the car in frustration, bending over and clutching my head. "Just wait till the party's over so he can at least enjoy his birthday for once, okay?"
"Fine."
We didn't talk after that and aside from telling me I couldn't smoke inside the car and taking away my cigarettes, we spent the rest of the ride in silence. When we got to the church, he followed me.
"You don't have to walk me to the damn door," I muttered as we crossed the street.
"Isn't this the church you burned down?" he said as if only just realizing it.
"Tried." I sighed. "I tried to burn it down."
"Same difference."
"No, it isn't," I snapped in annoyance. "Can you go now? I'm not supposed to bring male visitors."
He arched a brow, looking at the church. "I'm surprised you're even allowed inside."
"The priest is a friend of mine. He believes everyone can be saved through Jesus and all that crap. He gets to preach to me and I get to not sleep on the street. Win-win."
He looked amused. "You're friends with a priest?"
I was starting to get pissed off. "What? You think I'm lying?"
"No. You don't lie, I know that."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Come in. Just don't fuck with anything."
I went inside, dipping my fingers into the holy water inside the bowl by the entrance and making the sign of the cross before going to the broom closet to get the sleeping bag and flashlight the priest had lent me.
I turned on the light and laid the sleeping bag beside the radiator before taking off my boots. Father Sam was such a pain when it came to the whole cleanliness is next to godliness schtick. I didn't want sweep the damn floor again.
"I gotta do some laundry," I said as I hung my jacket inside the closet before taking out my duffel bag. "If you're gonna stay, you need to pray. Father Sam says it's disrespectful to not speak to God in his own home or some shit like that." I turned to look at him but he wasn't paying attention. "Hey, dumbass. You hear what I said?"
"Yeah," he said, staring at the sleeping bag for some reason. "Is this where you've sleeping for the past month?"
"No. I sleep on the clouds with all the other angels and play the harp all damn day." I rolled my eyes. "I don't have time for this. Can you go now?"
He let out a heavy sigh, tilting his head back and pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes. "You owe me, right?"
"Uh... yeah."
He sighed again, looking at me. "And I can ask you to do anything and you'll do it. No questions asked." I nodded. "Clean my apartment and we're even. I have a washing mashine too so you can even do your laundry."
I eyed him suspciously. "What's the catch?"
"No catch. I just hate cleaning."
I frowned. "I tell you I'll do anything for you and you're asking me to clean your apartment." I tilted my head. "For what? A month? A year?"
"No. Tonight. Just tonight."
I snorted. "You dumb or some shit?"
"I thought this was a 'no questions asked' deal?"
I shrugged. "I'm just saying. You're wasting a huge opportunity that most people would take advantage of but that's just me, Angel Lastor, billionaire heiress and an extremely influential public figure who can change someone's life with one phone call." I gave him a look. "Literally."
He rolled his eyes. "Do we have a deal or not?"
I smirked, throwing my duffel bag at him. "You got yourself a maid, sweetheart."