“I’m leaving in the morning,” he announced behind me.
“See ya,” I said as I sat on the edge of the bed.
“They’re sending me to military school.” There was anger in his voice now, and I rolled my eyes.
For years, our parents had been threatening him with military school because of his treatment of Piper Bryant. I adored Piper and couldn’t understand why he was always so mean to her. Everyone who met her couldn’t help but love her. Everyone except for Cannon, apparently. It was because of Piper that Lyric and my brother were always fighting. But with Piper away at Julliard most of the year for school these days, things had calmed down a little.
But it looked like Mom and Dad had finally had enough of Cannon’s bullshit. He would actually be going to military school. I already knew which one they had chosen because they’d really been looking into it the last time he’d bullied Piper. What stopped them then, I wasn’t sure, but maybe if they’d sent him away at that point, this wouldn’t have happened to Violet.
Cannon would be spending his last year of high school in Texas at one of the most prestigious and hard-core military academies in the country.
Maybe it would be good for him. It might teach him some values, make him less selfish and so fucking entitled. Maybe it would even teach him some respect.
For some reason, however, I doubted it.
I glanced over at him, bored with his company. “Do you want me to feel sorry for you, Can? Did you expect me to be sad that you’ll be leaving and try to talk Dad out of sending you away?”
His mouth opened, probably to deny it, but whatever he saw on my face had him quickly closing his mouth. That was exactly why he’d come to me. Thinking I would help him, protect him. A year ago, I would have done just that. But not now. Not ever again. My days of being loyal to him, wanting to save him from everyone—including himself—were long gone.
It wasn’t his treatment of me in the past year that had made me feel that way. It wasn’t even his keeping me away from Jagger. No, it had nothing to do with me or his best friend, and everything to do with Violet.
After what he’d done to her, he’d lost my respect, but more than that, he’d lost my loyalty and love.
All I felt for him now was loathing.
“Close the door on your way out,” I told him as I lifted my legs onto my bed and slid them under my covers.
“Shaw…”
I stayed upright even though I ached to lay my head on my pillow and close my eyes. “I hope you take this time to grow up, Cannon. To realize the world doesn’t revolve around you.”
“I—”
I held up my hand, cutting off whatever he was going to say. “I really don’t want to hear it. Once, I might have cared, but you pushed yourself straight out of my heart last night. You’re lucky I wasn’t the one who beat the hell out of you, because I wouldn’t have stopped until you were dead.”
“Yeah, well, I’m sure Jagger would have killed me if Barrick hadn’t stopped him,” he muttered, touching his hand to the stitched-up gash on his cheek.
My eyes widened. “Jagger did this to you?” I asked him in complete disbelief.
His blue eyes darkened with pain. “Yeah. Looks like I lost everything, including my best friend.”
“It’s nothing less than you deserve,” I spat at him. “Now get the fuck out of my room, Cannon. Just looking at you makes me want to finish the job Jags didn’t.”
He inhaled sharply then groaned because it must have hurt his ribs. With a defeated look on his handsome face, my brother lowered his head and turned to go. “I really am sorry, Shaw,” he murmured as he closed the door behind him.
His “sorry” fell on deaf ears. But I couldn’t stop thinking about Jagger turning on his best friend like that. I never would have imagined those two having a true falling-out. Honestly, I thought that once they both calmed down from the party the night before, they would be thick as thieves again.
Instead, Jagger had actually tried to beat Cannon to death.
My heart clenched when I thought maybe Jags did it because he was picking me over his friendship with my brother.
But then reality set in. Jagger would never pick me. He’d done it because of what happened to Violet. I was stupid to think I would ever come first with him.
Even if by some miracle I did, it wouldn’t matter because whatever we might have been able to become was over. After what he’d done, setting me up to find him kissing someone else, I didn’t want anything to do with him. He’d tried to break my heart and make me hate him.
And he had succeeded.
Chapter 10