The Revenge by Tijan

What was I saying? Shit. I was cringing, but I couldn’t stop myself and kept going.

“I can’t even say if we hadn’t had sex, because you’re you. I have to say if we hadn’t met, because if I met you, I was going to fall in love with you. So, you. It’s on you. You loved me. You let him know that. He hurt me to hurt you, and he took her away from me!”

I couldn’t—Those words!

I gasped, my hands clamping over my mouth.

I didn’t think like this or feel like this. But these words, they were coming out of me.

My mom.

Chrissy.

She was gone, and I … And now there was nothing.

I wanted to stay. I wanted to go in his arms, reassure him I didn’t mean what I was saying, apologize for them. I didn’t do any of that.

I didn’t leave, either.

He was just staring back at me. His eyes were dark and haunted.

He spoke, his voice so quiet. “You don’t think I know this?”

“What?”

He took a step toward me. “Or that I don’t think this myself?”

“Kash.” A soft sigh from me.

“You don’t think I hold you at night and curse myself, knowing I should let you go? That if I hadn’t met you, and fallen in love with you, that she would still be alive?” Another step. He was close to me, and he was whispering now. “It’s my fault. And it tortures me every fucking minute, Bailey.”

His eyes were so fierce, staring into mine, but he didn’t touch me. I didn’t touch him. Cold, biting Chicago air swung between us, back and forth, back and forth.

“She’s gone because I loved you. It’s that fucking simple.”

I couldn’t look at him anymore. I couldn’t see his pain because then I would feel it, and I was already feeling him, and it was doubling my own pain.

I closed my eyes and I looked away. The silence was deafening, and I didn’t know where we could go from there.

“I have a brother.”

My head reared up.

A brother?

He was staring at me, but he was closed off. “A twin. My grandfather raised him, and he came to me. I had him. I don’t know the reason why he’s here, but he is, and I thought you should know.”

My mind was a mess. There was too much going on.

I needed to regroup. I needed to fix this.

“Do you want me to leave?”

My heart was squeezing, but I couldn’t answer him.

I closed my eyes.

“No…”

I opened them, but empty air greeted me back.

I never heard him leave.





QUINN CALLAS’S DEFENSE WILL PROVE INNOCENCE

Quinn Callas’s defense team claims innocence, sets motion to pick jury members.

In an unprecedented move, the defense team for Quinn Callas wants to hold a jury trial, claims Quinn Callas is not guilty. Sources say Quinn “left a very toxic home environment with the Francis family. She just wanted to get out of there.”

We’ll continue to follow this story.

—Inside Daily Press





TWENTY

Bailey


We were at Naveah, and it was wrong.

Everything was wrong.

I messed up. I totally and completely fucked up.

I was a horrible, horrible human being.

A horrible girlfriend.

A horrible lover.

A horrible sister—No. I looked at Matt. I was a decent sister.

But back to Kash. I needed to fix it. Fix things. Fix everything. Kash wasn’t taking my calls, and I had tried. I’d been trying for the last hour while it was only Matt and me in the VIP booth.

“Do you want me to leave?”

What was going on with me?

Pushing Kash away? Because that’s what I wanted to do. That didn’t compute, not one bit.

“This sucks.” Matt reached for his whiskey, downed it, and held up the glass. A server signaled from the bar, and yes, it’d come to this. We’d only been here fifteen minutes, but Matt had gone through two other drinks already. The servers weren’t even circulating up here. Matt began just raising his hand and the bartender noted it and sent a replacement. I watched as the bartender was already pouring Matt’s next one and then handing it off to a server. She brought it up, her eyes taking in Fitz and Scott, who Kash must’ve told to go with us for some reason, and she sidled past them. The glass was on a tray and she placed it down in front of Matt. Her eyes going to mine, a silent question if I was okay or not.

I tapped my full drink. “I won’t need a refill for a while.”

I’d shared with him what happened on the roof. Matt was taking it worse than me.

Matt shook his head with a savage motion. “He has a brother.” He snatched his drink up, downing a good sip before swallowing, grimacing, and throwing back another drag. He put it back down. “What is he going to need me for? Nothing. I’m your brother, but I was his brother, too, and now I’m nothing. I’m going to be replaced. There won’t be any more…” He frowned. “There won’t be any more Mash.” A pause. “That doesn’t sound right. Katt?”

Matt was in his own world.

I was in mine.

We were drinking together.

He snorted, slumping back. “Our whole house is in chaos. Finding out that Hoda is still evil and in Quinn’s clutches. Kash has a brother now. Payton coming back.”