Little Devil Read online

  Little Devil

  BETHANY WINTERS

  Contents

  Copyright

  Playlist

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  Also by Bethany Winters

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2021 by Bethany Winters

  All rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Photography, Cover Design & Formatting by TalkNerdy2Me

  Playlist

  American Idiot – Green Day

  Ferrari – Bebe Rexha

  21st Century Vampire – Lil Huddy

  Teardrops – Bring Me The Horizon

  Rumors – Neffex

  Bloody Valentine – Machine Gun Kelly

  Never Be The Same – Camila Cabello

  Cotton Candy – Yungblud

  Slow Down – Chase Atlantic

  This Feeling – The Chainsmokers & Kelsea Ballerini

  Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down – Fall Out Boy

  Sk8er Boi – Avril Lavigne

  Immortals – Fall Out Boy

  Listen on Amazon Music & Spotify

  “No two people are the same. And that is the beauty about people. Different is amazing. Embrace those who aren’t like you, for everyone has something to offer.”

  - K. Webster

  Dedication

  To the bad boy I married.

  Your driving still scares me.

  1

  Xander

  “You’re such a fucking loser, Xan!”

  I wince at the sound of her insanely squeaky voice echoing through the otherwise silent house, quickly ducking for cover when she tosses her black stiletto across the entryway, aiming for my face.

  Crazy ass bitch.

  The smoking hot brunette whose name I’ve forgotten glares, bending over to snatch the other shoe from her foot. “What did you just call me?”

  Fucking hell.

  “Babe,” I say softly, lifting my hands up in an attempt to diffuse the unfortunate situation I’ve found myself in. “I said I was sorr–”

  “But you’re not!” she screams, throwing her shoe at my chest. “You’re fucking laughing at me right now, asshole. You’re not sorry at all.”

  “I’m not laughing at you.”

  Her nostrils flare and I pinch my lips together, figuring it’s safe to stalk towards her now that she’s out of weapons. I met this girl at Justin’s after party last night and it seems I’ve personally offended her by fucking her, accidentally allowing her to fall asleep in my bed at four in the morning, and then calling her the wrong name while asking her to leave just now.

  To say she’s furious would be putting it lightly, and it’s taking everything I have not to burst out laughing.

  Her eyes narrow like she knows it and I cringe, mentally bracing myself for what I know comes next. I open my mouth to offer some sort of peace offering before she starts screaming like a maniac, just like they always do, but then she shocks the shit out of me and sucker punches me in the face. I pull my head back and lift a hand up to my mouth, pulling it away to examine the blood coating my fingertips.

  “Damn, girl,” I mutter, oddly impressed by the balls on this chick. “That fucking hurts.”

  She grins, pleased with herself and the shock on my face, no doubt. With that, she snatches her heels from the floor and turns to leave, flipping me off over her shoulder while she swings the front door open.

  “Nice meeting you, Xander Reid,” she calls, sarcastic as shit. “Tell Justin I said thanks a lot for setting me up with Hollywood’s biggest let down. I had a blast.”

  I crack a smile and move to follow her, honest to god wondering if she’ll fuck me with all that spunk she’s kept hidden until now, but then I spot the three motorcycles parked on my driveway and freeze where I stand. The biggest guy of the three – the one who just so happens to look a lot like the girl who just hit me – tosses her his helmet and climbs off of his bike, headed this way like he’s ready to snap my neck.

  “Oh, fuck.”

  “Come here, you little shit!”

  I’m not little, but I’m not stupid, either, which is why I have no shame in running away from him to get back to the safety of my own house. I move to do just that, but I don’t get the chance before he snatches the back of my neck and spins me to face him. Noting the fury in his eyes, I open my mouth to do what I do best, ready to talk myself out of this, but then I’m met with yet another fist to the face – a meaner one this time. He punches me in the nose and I hit the concrete, groaning at the pain shooting up my spine and through my probably cracked skull.

  “Jesus, fuck, man,” I hiss, lifting my hands to cover the sore spot. “What’re you a family of boxers or some shit?”

  Laughter rings out around me and I take that as a yes, squinting at the mid morning sun while I wait for them to leave. As soon as the sound of their engines fades into the distance, I let out a heavy sigh and force myself up to stand, half waving at the nosey next door neighbor slash eighty year old bitch who gets off on ratting me out to my parents.

  “Mornin’, Felicia.”

  Her wrinkled mouth forms a rare, sinister grin like she knows something I don’t and she waves right back, making me shudder. I stumble through the front door and lock it behind me, quickly setting the alarm in case they decide to come back for more. My nose hurts like a motherfucker, but a quick look in the mirror tells me he didn’t break it. I can already tell I’m about to be walking around with a nasty black eye to match the busted up lip his little sister gave me, though.

  I remove my nose rings from both nostrils and run a hand through my hair, messing it up until it sticks out the way I like it. I keep the sides cut short but the top is long and dark, the ends dyed a deep shade of purple. My eyes drop to the silver cross sitting around my neck and I smile sadly at it, backing away from my own reflection to head for the kitchen. I wash my piercings at the sink and rinse them off with some saline solution, side eyeing my four year old Rottweiler while I grab a couple paper towels to dry them off.

  “Some guard dog you are,” I mutter, tilting my head at the front door. “They coulda killed me out there, man.”

  He scratches my thigh with his big ass paw and I laugh lightly, ruffling the short hair beneath his chin while I grab his food from the cabinet overhead. I used to keep it in the pantry but the greedy fucker kept clawing the door open to help himself whenever he wanted, so now I have to keep it out of reach. I set his bowl down on the floor in front of him
and grab myself an ice pack from the freezer, planning on heading back upstairs to sleep it off, but then movement to my left catches my attention and I stop, turning my head to find my mother raiding the wine rack for a bottle of red.

  “Hey, Mom.” I tip my chin, sighing when I catch the tick in her jaw. “Aren’t you supposed to be on set today?”

  She ignores me and sets a glass down on the kitchen counter, avoiding my eyes while she fills it all the way to the top. She’s wearing a black pair of leggings and an oversized t-shirt, her long brunette hair tied up in a half assed ponytail on the top of her head. She’s beautiful on the outside, tall and slim with a toned body most forty six year old moms would kill for, but on the inside, she’s a broken shell of the woman she used to be.

  And who’s fault is that, dipshit?

  My father’s cruel words hit me where it hurts and I clear my throat, not liking this awkward tension filling the air between us. Something’s up, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the answer to my question is no, she’s not working today.

  “Mom?” I try again, craning my neck in an attempt to catch her eyes. “Are you alrigh–”

  “We want you out,” she croaks, her shoulders dropping like she’s been dying to get the words off her chest.

  I blink at that, slowly looking over my shoulder to find my dad standing behind me in the kitchen doorway. His dark gaze travels over my beat up face and he glares, not even bothering to hide his disappointment at the son who ruins everything.

  “You know,” I state the obvious, nodding to myself when he says nothing. “How did you find out?”

  He cocks his head at me and I pull my brows in, but then it hits me and I let out a humourless laugh.

  Fucking Felicia.

  I ought to steal her walking stick.

  “You think this is funny?”

  “No,” I mutter, leaning back against the island to glance between the two. “You’re really kicking me out?”

  “God, you’ve taken it too far this time, Xan,” my mom cries, swallowing the last of her wine before pouring herself another one. “We can’t keep living like this.”

  “Like what?” I ask, rolling my eyes while I lift the ice pack to my face. “It was a simple misunderstanding, Mom. Mrs Quinn already dropped the charges and promised she wouldn’t tell the principal so long as I paid to get it fixed. I didn’t get caught by the press. I didn’t even get arrested. It’s done.”

  “That’s not the point, you idiot!” she snaps, raising her voice in a rare fit of anger. “You stole your teacher’s car and wrapped it around a goddamn tree!”

  Yeah, well.. I fucked her, too, but I don’t tell them that.

  “You spent the night in the hospital with a concussion and we had to find out about it from the goddamn neighbor,” she goes on, quickly swiping her tears away with her hands. “How could you not tell us?”

  “Okay, first of all, I didn’t steal her car, I borrowed it. And this right here is exactly why I didn’t tell you. You’re a mess, Mom. You need help.”

  “What I need is for my eighteen year old son to start acting like a normal human being and stop risking his life on a daily basis like some kind of adrenaline junkie!” she screams, pushing herself off the counter to shove my chest. “You know damn well how this affects us and yet here you are, still doing the same type of stupid shit that got your brother killed.”

  The silence that follows stretches for what feels like an eternity and I stay frozen where I stand, unable to move or speak.

  She doesn’t talk about him.

  Not ever.

  I’ve tried a few times over the three years since he’s been gone, but she always shuts me down, refusing to remember him.

  I remember him.

  I remember him for all of us, just like he’d want me to. I kept my fucking promise to him, and if she’d just take the time to listen to me, she’d know that.

  “Mom..” I say carefully, stepping closer to run a hand over her shoulder. “I know this isn’t gonna make it better, but you have to know I don’t do this shit to hurt you. Nik told me he didn’t want me t–”

  She flinches at the sound of his name and shies away from my touch, defensively folding her arms around her body, and fuck if that act alone doesn’t crack my damn heart in two. She never touches me anymore, barely even speaks to me unless it’s to mutter a half hearted hello or goodbye, but the worst part of it all is that every time she looks at me, I see the hate in her eyes she barely manages to hide.

  Because I’m the reason my big brother is dead, and I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me for that.

  “Go pack your things, Xan,” Dad says coolly, leaning back against the wall with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. “I’ve already spoken to your aunt Karen and finalized your transfer to Lakewood Academy. She’s agreed to take you in for the rest of senior year but after that, you’re on your own, so I suggest you start looking at colleges and really think about what you want to do for the rest of your life, because it sure as hell won’t be this.”

  I nod and run my tongue bar over my teeth, not even bothering to argue with him because judging by the tone of his voice and the look on his face, his mind’s already made up and there’s no changing it. When Alec Reid wants something, he takes it and makes it happen – something I used to admire about him. I looked up to him for the first fifteen years of my life, respected the shit out of him and strived to be just like him – we both did, me and my brother – but now all I see is a cold hearted asshole with the personality of a rock, dead to the world and everyone in it, his wife included.

  My parents had one of those epic loves you see in movies – literally – they met on the set of this gag worthy romantic suspense back in the nineties and fell hard and fast for each other, but now they can’t even stand to be in the same room together.

  “I’m taking the dog,” I inform him, hitting him with a look that screams say no, I dare you.

  He was Nik’s baby and there’s not a chance in hell I’m about to leave him here and let him rot in this soul sucking hole they call a house.

  Dad shrugs like he doesn’t give a shit and tosses me his collar, leaving to go fuck knows where without so much as a backward glance. “You leave today. Take the jet and buy yourself a new car when you get there.”

  “Hey, Dad?”

  He stops with his hand on the door knob, hesitating a beat before he turns to look at me. “What?”

  “You forgot to kiss Mom.”

  He walks out without biting back and I risk a glance at her, closing my eyes when she grabs her wine and turns her back on me, as well. As soon as she’s gone, I clear my throat and look down at the heavy metal chain in my hand, forcing a cocky ass grin despite the solid kick in my heart.

  “Come on, buddy,” I call, leading the way while he follows me up to my bedroom. “Lakewood’s better anyway, right?”

  He collapses on the foot of my bed and I shake my head at him, walking through to my closet to grab my suitcase from the shelf overhead.

  Right.

  2

  Jordyn

  “You’re really not coming?”

  “No,” my mother sighs, sitting up to remove the thousand dollar sunglasses from her face. “I’m sorry, honey, but you know how hectic these things get. I just can’t get away right now.”

  She’s such a liar.

  If she were really as busy as she says she is, she’d be sitting in a board room right now, not soaking up the rays in some fancy ass hotel in Miami while I sit on the edge of the pool in our back yard, FaceTiming her because she can’t even be bothered to call me first on my birthday.

  I don’t dare call her out on it, though.

  I never do.

  “You promised me you’d be here, Mom,” I remind her, keeping my voice low to ensure no one else hears me. “Can’t you just come back for tonight and head back out there in the morning?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, JJ,” she berates me, glanc
ing off to look at something over her shoulder. “You know it doesn’t work that way.”

  In other words, she’s found a man. And if history’s anything to go by, he’s probably a younger man with a sharp jaw and a wallet the size of Texas.

  My mother’s not a gold digger – she’s got enough money to last her a few lifetimes and then some – it’s the power and the masculinity she’s hot for. My father came out as gay and left her for another guy when I was five, something that hit her self esteem more than she cares to admit. She’s been married and divorced three times since then, claiming she falls in love at the drop of a hat, but I know better.

  She’s terrified of being alone.

  She seems to forget that she has me, but again, I don’t bother calling her out on it.

  “What is that you’re drinking?”

  “It’s just soda,” I tell her, lifting my glass so she can see.

  “You mean diet soda, right?”

  My jaw ticks but I refrain from saying what I want to say, forcing a grin I don’t feel because it’s easier than the alternative. “Of course, Mom,”

  Her eyes narrow but thankfully she drops it, twirling a long strand of blonde hair around her forefinger while she looks off at something in the distance.

  I look so much like her it’s almost freaky, but our personalities couldn’t be more different. She’s driven by money and status, constantly grappling for more of each, and I’m just Elizabeth James’ obedient daughter, sole heiress to the Elizabeth James estate and everything that comes with it.

  Lucky me.

  “When are you coming home?”

  “I’m not sure yet,” she answers. “Tomorrow, maybe.”

  “Maybe?”

  “Yes, maybe,” she fires back, rolling her eyes when she catches the look on my face. “What is wrong with you? Most girls your age would kill to have a mansion to themselves for their eighteenth birthday. Wouldn’t you rather spend your night with Noah?”