“Stagg, bro! What are you doing here?” Mike, another of those superficial friends, yells as I make my way for the entrance. He grabs my shoulder before I can ignore him and leave.
“Hey, Mike. I’m leaving. Have a good night.”
I remove his hand from my shoulder and shrug off his other attempt to get me to stay. I forgot how annoying these people can be when they’re drunk. No amount of money can give you class.
“We haven’t seen you in months. Come have a drink with us. Steve has a new hottie.” He leans in to whisper. “I think she’s up for sharing.”
He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, and the thought of being anywhere near these assholes makes me want to vomit.
“I’m good. Have fun with that, though.”
Now that I’m outside. I have no idea where to go. I don’t know where she lives. I only know her parents’ address and they aren’t home from Bordentown yet. How will I find her?
Frustrated, I grab my hair. This night could not get any worse. Just as those words play through my mind, a person I vowed to never see again walks around the corner.
There, in a dark suit similar to mine with silver hair combed in the perfect wave, stands an older version of Eli. The only thing I got from him was my eyes. Other than that, I look like my mother’s side of the family. Eli always was a true Stagg.
“Carson.” My name is a command.
Clenching my jaw, I walk over to him. Hands fisted at my sides, I quake with anger, trying my hardest not to hit him.
“Father.”
“Your mother told me you’d be here. I was curious to see why the son who abandoned his family in their darkest time would come home to attend a gala for the children.”
“You wasted your time coming here. I’m leaving.”
Before I can walk past him, he grabs my forearm and growls into my ear. “You will not make me look like a fool. You wanted to come to this event, and so we shall. After you.”
He pushes me towards the doorway. I stumble a few steps before catching myself. I’ve never been a violent person, but in this moment, I want to choke the life out of him.
“No. Your time of lording it over this family is over. Once you let Eli die, you killed the rest of my ties to you. Being a father is about more than throwing money at your sons and turning your back on them when it’s convenient for you.”
“How dare you speak to me that way? I gave you everything. I made you who you are. I am your father.”
“YOU ARE NOT! You’re a fucking sperm donor. The guy who slept with my mom and created Eli and me. And the moment you discovered Eli was different, you allowed him to be killed. You’re a fucking demon. Not worthy of the name Stagg!”
I’m yelling. All the hatred I hold for him has risen to the surface. My scalp tingles with a fury I haven’t felt since the day I left.
He takes a menacing step toward me, but I don’t back down. I’m itching for a fight. I’ve played this scenario in my head for months. I need this to happen.
“You’re an ungrateful little shit. Just like your brother with his disgusting lifestyle. It was better he died than sully the Stagg name with his actions.”
There is a time for thinking and a time for action. I react to his words like someone threw me into a burning fire pit. My fist connects with his jaw, and he goes flying to the ground.
I’m on him, raining down punch after punch. I scream out all my rage. Trying to get it out—all that’s consumed me since the first moment I knew he wasn’t going to help Eli.
I feel hands on me, but I don’t care. The only thing I want is to end his life. I want him to beg me to save him like Eli did. He needs to feel helpless and depleted.
“It’s over, bro. It’s over. I got you. Carson, look at me.” Tears make it hard to see straight and, for a moment, I can’t believe who I see.
“Let go. He’s not worth it.” Ashton pulls me into a hug. What is he doing here? How did he find me?
I howl out my pain, losing my shit for the first time. I’ve never dealt with Eli’s death. I’ve pushed it in the corner where I couldn’t reach it. It was in a box labeled “do not open”.
Sirens blare in the background but I barely hear them as Ashton pulls me over to his piece-of-shit VW Beetle. The rusted grill and missing side mirror stand out like a piece of trash in the beautiful tropical ocean.
Only Ashton wouldn’t give a fuck what these rich pricks think of him. He opens the door and shoves me in before running to the driver’s side. We drive away just as the police pull into the lot.
There’s no way my father would ever press charges and sully the Stagg name. He let my brother die for being gay. A fight is something he had more control over.
“What happened?” Ashton’s voice cuts through the silence.
“You first, how are you here?” I ask, running a hand through my hair.
“The note. You said you were going home. It didn’t take a lot of detective work. When I showed up at your house, your mom was a little pissed, but I guess she knew you’d need some help.”
“I came after Bliss. But then she found out who I was and that I knew who she was all along.”
“You, what? How the fuck did you know who she was?”
“Her brother and
