Page 6 of Prince of Pain

I hadn’t heard Dad leave but that didn’t mean he hadn’t. Running a crew was a lot of work, and as much as he made sure we all had family time, he’d stopped trying so hard lately.

I wanted to be a petty bitch about it, but it was my own fault. Every time he made plans, I dodged them and avoided the house.

If he didn’t want to try to force us to spend time together anymore, I shouldn’t have been surprised.

“You were my best friend when you were little, you know?” Mom murmured, making me frown as I glanced at her.

“What?”

“You’d follow me everywhere. You had a set of lungs on you from day one too, so we always joked that you could throw a damn good tantrum,” she smiled, sadness filling her eyes. “Then high school came, and it was like something flipped a switch inside of you. You stopped confiding in me, you started sneaking out, and you noticed boys. I have to ask this because it’s been nagging at me for a long time, but did someone hurt you?”

I snorted, putting my coffee down to tap my nails on the table. “You’re asking me this now? Don’t you think you should’ve asked this when you thought something had changed me?” Guilt flashed across her face, and I continued. “To answer your question though, no. Nothing happened. I just like sex and partying, Mom. You know what it’s like. People say it’s like history repeating itself, you know? Like mother, like daughter.”

It was a low blow, and I knew I hit a sore spot when she visibly winced. “Tempest?—”

I pushed back from the table, not bothering to finish my coffee. “Just because you were happy to give up your freedom for a family, doesn’t mean I’m going to. Why won’t you guys back off about this? I’m an adult, and I like to get dicked by random men who don’t want to stick around the following day. I like it, Mom, so stop looking at me like I’m some poor little girl who gets taken advantage of. You don’t think I’d fuck their brains out while sober?”

“I’m glad you can comfortably embrace your sexual side,” she said slowly, giving me a pleading look. “I just want you to be safe about it. Your IUD won’t protect you from STDs.”

“I am, drop it,” I threw back, walking towards the front door and snatching my keys from the hook on the wall. She didn’t chase after me, she knew it was a waste of time.

I headed outside, walking towards my BMW M4 convertible as a small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. It was a pretty metallic pink color called Velvet Orchid, and it was perfect.

Luna had bought it for me recently when she’d had a huge pile of cash land in her lap.

It was another reason I wanted to hate her. She got everything she wanted, leaving me with the scraps.

I climbed into the car and drove towards Blackwater, needing a decent coffee. I preferred the fancy barista stuff over the crap Dad insisted on buying, but he thought fancy coffee was a waste of money.

Blackwater wasn’t a fancy town but they made damn good coffee.

I cracked the window, letting the breeze whip my hair around my face as I drove, and it didn’t take long for me to pull into the parking lot at Blackwater’s diner and shut off the engine.

I stepped out, the cool morning air making me shiver. I tugged the back of my dress down to cover my ass, walking towards the diner as I checked my social media accounts.

“Morning,” Mason Ridgegate smirked as he held the door for me. “Where’s my boy hiding? Does he have a new phone number? I tried calling him a few days ago, and it doesn’t even ring anymore.”

My heart sank, knowing he was referring to Ryder.

Mason and his friends threw the best parties in Blackwater, and their pills were pretty fucking good too.

I’d spent a lot of nights in their beds letting them and Ryder rail me.

“He’s probably blocked your number. We don’t really talk anymore, so I can’t help you.”

He followed me inside as if he wasn’t just leaving, sliding into the booth opposite me.

“It’s not like you two were besties anyway, right? Is he still clean?”

“It seems that way,” I said lightly, changing the subject. “What are you doing? Weren’t you leaving when I arrived?”

He chuckled, leaning back and placing his hands behind his head. “Nah, I saw you pull in and figured I’d get the door for you.”

“Kind of you,” I smiled sweetly. “You got plans today? I’m bored.”

“If your pussy’s bored, you know I’m down,” he said without hesitation, making me roll my eyes. He came across as an absolute asshole, but most of it was an act.

Out of him and his friends, I definitely fucked Mason the most, and he was more romantic about it than most guys.