Beautiful Fiend: Chapter 12

“Holy shit,” I explode in a laugh as I walk into Elliot and Ethan’s living room.

I always go to theirs after I’ve been to Stoneview. I usually shower at my place and then seek their company to keep my mind away from hating myself.

Chantale ‘recommended’ me to a friend of hers last week. Told her she should absolutely get that great math tutor from the North Shore. So today, I’ve had to suck off a bitch’s husband just because what turns her on is watching her man dominate another. I kept fucking eyeing the money on the table the whole time, promising myself it would be worth it. At least he was hot, and I’ve been with men before. The only issue is that I’m a top, and he’s a top. Obviously, I don’t get to decide in a situation where I’m being paid.

Looking around the room, I can’t help but laugh again. Ethan is holding a bag of frozen peas to the back of his head and Elliot’s tending to Jade on the sofa. His left ear has dried blood that’s trickled from it.

Jade’s got a gauze taped to the corner of her left eye and two cottons neatly tucked in her nostrils. She’s holding ice to her cheek, and Elliot is dabbing her bleeding lip with a wet cloth. She’s slumped so far into the sofa she’s bound to disappear into the cushions at some point.

“Stop laughing,” Ethan snaps. “That shit ain’t funny, Cade.”

“What,” I shrug, “you all look like you went to war or something.” I drop my backpack on the floor and sit on the coffee table to face all of them. “So, I guess there’s no need to ask how your day was.”

“Fuck off,” Elliot growls back at me. “Your new recruit did this. Did you know?”

My heart skips a beat just thinking of Billie. No one’s even said her fucking name, and my chest is buzzing with excitement.

“Billie did that, huh?” I ask, incapable of stopping the corner of my lips from tipping up. I run my hand against my mouth to try and hide it.

Jade shifts to try and sit up and winces as she does so, bringing a hand to her ribs. She pushes Elliot’s hand away and shoots daggers at me. “You better do something, Cade. She’s not getting away with this.”

“Now, why would I do that? When Billie does something wrong, she gets punished.” And they all witnessed that last Friday when I was drunk off my face. Not exactly my proudest moment. “But as far as I’m aware, she did nothing wrong today.”

“She did nothing wrong?” Elliot retorts. “Charlotte is at the hospital because Billie’s dog feasted on her leg. Man, she punched the lights out of Reilly. Reilly!”

I nod, pride warming up my stomach. I knew Billie had a reputation. People tend not to want to piss her off. She’s a fighter, after all. But Reilly is a huge girl. Fuck, even I wouldn’t want a punch from Reilly. And she dabbles in amateur MMA, too. Obviously, that didn’t stop Billie.

“My car is riddled with bullets. Two of our guys got shot when Xi and his men showed up.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s not Billie’s fault.”

“Stop defending her,” Ethan jumps in. “Fuck, can’t you see the state she put Jade in? We’re your friends, Cade. Your family. She’s just some girl you want to fuck.”

“I’m not defending her,” I snort. My eyes go to Jade, and she must see my deadly thoughts because she shrinks back into the sofa. “Tell me, Jade. What happened, exactly?”

She gulps and her eyes dart to the side. “I was with Reilly, Lea, and Charlotte. We were walking back from a race, and we saw Billie. I didn’t know what she was doing on our turf, but we thought she was up to no good. When we walked past her, she jumped us.”

I smile, and she squirms some more in her seat. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah,” she sticks with her lie. “She punched Reilly, and when I tried to get in the way, she beat me up. She set her dog on Charlotte and—”

“Do you know what sounds a little strange?”

Her jaw tightens as she shakes her head.

“That Billie, a girl who is dying to move into professional MMA, would start a fight with not one, but four girls. That’s a big risk to take from someone who shouldn’t even be fighting outside the ring.”

What I don’t tell Jade, is that I had about a million missed calls when I left Stoneview today. Everyone wanted to make me aware of what had happened and ask where I was. I talked to Reilly and Lea, and both admitted the truth. They looked for trouble, and they found it. Of course, they want me to get back at Billie, but at least they’re not lying.

“I don’t know why she did what she did. The girl is fucking unhinged,” Jade insists.

“Okay, I heard your story. Now here’s what I think happened.” I tilt my head to the side before saying, “I think Billie was on our streets, for what reason I don’t fucking care, and you girls bumped into her. I think you picked on her because you’re being a jealous bitch who can’t accept that you’re not getting my attention and that a girl from NSC is. And I think you started a fight, except it turned against you because she’s much stronger than the four of you combined. Now you’re scared to get in trouble with me, so you’re lying to my face hoping I’ll take it out on Billie. How does that sound for the truth?”

Her eyes narrow at me before she snaps. “She left me a fucking pathway of tears!” she yells. “If you don’t take my side here, you’re a fucking traitor, Caden!”

“She left you with what you deserved. You made your bed; now you fucking lay in it.” I raise my voice only in the slightest, but she shrinks from it.

There’s a long silence before Elliot says, “Is it true? You started all this?”

She looks away, tears shining in her eyes, and crosses her arms.

“Why did you lie to us, Jade?” Ethan asks softly.

When she turns back to us, she’s fuming. “I’m telling Kay and Sawyer that you’re defending some NSC girl, Caden. I’m going to say how she can get away with everything because you’re letting her get under your skin.”

I stand up so quickly she lets out a whimper of fear. Leaning over, I bring my face close to hers. “And I’m gonna have to tell them I’ve got four cunts on my payroll who can’t even fight against one tiny fucking girl.”

“Fuck you,” she rages. “We all heard you call her pretty when you were supposedly teaching her a lesson on Friday. You were drunk and couldn’t help wanting to see her on all fours, so you could imagine what it’ll be like when you fuck her.”

Her pointing out something very fucking true pisses me off even more. I press her temple, where the bandage is, and smile sadistically as she lets out a pained hiss. “Go home before I change my mind about not hurting you. And feel free to ask yourself if it was all worth it.”

I straighten back up and move to the side to let her get up and leave. She does so in a storm of rage and slams the front door.

Elliot rakes his hands through his hair and shakes his head. “Jealousy doesn’t suit her.”

I roll my eyes. “What the fuck can she possibly be jealous of?”

I sit down on the armchair as Elliot and Ethan get their controllers and turn on their PS4. Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I google something before pulling up my conversation with Billie. It’s not much. She only ever replies with a thumbs-up when I tell her something. Or an insult. Smiling to myself, I type,