“It’s fine. Coach has been talking about Will Hollis again.”
Will? The Will I met at the beach party?
“I’ll deal with it.” My father’s response was quick and final.
“What’s going on with Will?” I took a bite of the chicken, and I made a mental note to thank Liz later. It was delicious.
“You know Will Hollis?” Lucas looked at me like I was crazy.
“I’ve met him. Yes.”
“Of course, you have.” Lucas chuckled, but the way he said it didn’t sit well with me at all.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Josie, please watch your mouth at the table.” I looked over at my stepmother, and I wanted to tell her to go to hell. She wasn’t my mother, and she didn’t get to act like one.
We were all quiet for a long time as we ate. I didn’t have anything to say to any of them.
I liked Lucas, but his mood swings were getting on my nerves.
My father spoke to Lucas and me again, but I barely responded. I just wanted to get away from them all.
By the time we finished dinner, I felt exhausted and completely over all of them.
Amelia was still staring up at my father like he was the best thing that had ever happened to her in her life, and I felt sorry for her.
I pushed away from the table and asked to be excused.
My father let me go, and I felt Lucas following soon behind me.
Lucas gripped my elbow as soon as we got to the top of the stairs and jerked me to a stop. “What the hell are you doing with Beck?”
“I’m not doing anything.” I tried to jerk my arm from him, but his hold was firm.
“I’m not fucking around, Josie.” His eyes bounced around my face as if he thought he might find the truth there. “If you’ve done something, you need to tell me.”
He was out of his damn mind.
We may have gotten closer since I moved here, but that didn’t mean shit to me. Lucas was being an asshole, and I wouldn’t allow him to treat me like this.
“What happened between the two of you?” I stepped closer to him, forcing him to adjust his hold on me. “Why do you hate him so badly? What did you do?”
“You automatically assume that I was the one who did something.” He laughed, and part of me felt bad for him. He looked lost and maybe even sad. Whatever happened between him and Beck had affected him whether he wanted to admit it or not.
“Beck wouldn’t—”
He cut me off as he brought his face closer to mine. I tried to back up, but he held me there, helpless against him.
For the first time since I met Lucas, I was scared of him.
“Beck wouldn’t what, Josie? You don’t know a damn thing about him. You have no idea what he’s capable of.”
I knew what he said should have worried me, but all I could think about was how badly I wanted to get to Beck. I wanted to run away from this place and into his arms.
I knew he wasn’t my savior, but he was better than this.
“I know him better than you do.” I jerked my arm again, and this time Lucas let it go. “I’m not some fool, Lucas. I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you?” He ran his hands through his hair and stared at me. “I won’t tell you again to stay away from him.”
I jolted back. “You are not my father.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m not. But I’m doing what’s best for you. He’s using you.”
I had the same thought over and over in my head, but hearing it out loud was different. Hearing Lucas say those words felt like I was choking on them.
“You don’t know that.” My voice was weaker than only moments before, and I hated it. Lucas knew that he hit his mark. He knew that I cared about Beck far more than I would admit.
“I do. Clermonts and Voses don’t mix. Beck hates us, Josie. He may want in between your legs, but he hates us just the same.”
I reared back to slap him, but Lucas caught my hand in his before I could. He looked good and truly angry now, and I wanted his hands off me.
“Don’t be his whore, Josie, because that’s exactly how he’ll treat you.”
I jerked my hand from his and moved away from him before he could say another word. I didn’t want to hear what he had to say.
I didn’t believe a word that passed his lips.
Beck and I hadn’t discussed anything beyond last night, but that didn’t make me a whore. What happened between us was far too good to be spoiled by Lucas’s words.
Even if nothing else ever came of us, if last night was all we ever amounted to, I wouldn’t regret it.
And I wouldn’t let Lucas make me feel like a whore for it.
I climbed down the stairs and pushed through the back door before anyone could stop me. I needed to get out of that house.
There, I was nothing but a Vos. In this town, that’s all they could see. But I wasn’t one of them.
I didn’t hate Beck Clermont or his family, and I didn’t care whether or not his father was as successful as mine.
I didn’t care about anything that Lucas threatened me with.
I pushed out onto the beach and pulled fresh air into my lungs. I kicked my shoes to the side and let my toes sink into the sand. The sun was falling below the edge of the sea, and I felt like I was falling with it.
Everything felt like it was too much.
Beck, Lucas, my dad. I hadn’t wanted any part of any of them, but that hadn’t mattered.
I sat down on
