Chapter 22: The After Party
It took only ten minutes alone in a car with Court for Annette to realize she made a big fucking mistake. Ever since they left the Rosemond property, he had been bitching non-stop about Kathryn. She was such a bitch and a liar too. And by the way, did she know she was bulimic? She's a total headcase, you need to steer clear.
Christ, just murder her already.
If Annette didn't know better, she might have started to suspect that Court was still hung up on his ex. However, it was becoming woefully apparent the more he rambled, that Reynolds wasn't capable of complex emotion beyond what he wanted for dinner. No, instead his ire likely stemmed from whatever it was Kathryn was holding over his head. She made a mental note to ask her about it only to remember…oh wait she couldn't.
Annette was staring out the window blankly at the passing scenery, trying to tune out her date when she noticed something wasn't right. She had made the trip from Long Island to Manchester enough times to know the journey by heart. They were going the wrong way.
She cut off his rant. "Uh Court, where are we going?"
He flashed her a grin she was sure many of her dipshit female peers found charming. "We're going to celebrate right? I know just the place. Quiet, secluded. It's perfect."
"Great." Annette felt her stomach fill with dread.
Luckily, she wasn't kept in suspense for long. When the Lexus turned onto a narrow gravel road, the smell of the ocean began to fill her nostrils. Court pulled up onto the beach. As it was nearing one in the morning and it was October the beach was completely desolate. Glancing around Annette stared at the giant mansions in the distance that sat on the bluffs overlooking the beach. They, along with the full moon were the only sources of light. Freaking wonderful.
Annette could already see where this all was going and tried to formulate an escape plan. She could more than handle herself if Court got rough, four years of self-defense had seen to that. However, she knew all too well how that sort of thing could follow a girl around and her reputation was currently at a crucial juncture. She couldn't afford any black marks against her.
"It's nice right?"
He was so proud of himself she wanted to vomit. "Mmm, hmm," she hummed in agreement.
Court turned on the radio, something soft and ethereal, clearly not his style. She imagined him pre-programming radio stations as he prepped for tonight and had to stifle a snicker. Ten to one there were condoms in the glove compartment. Leaning over the console he took her face in his hands and told her earnestly, "You're so beautiful."
Before she even had a chance to roll her eyes at his cheesiness, Court leaned in and kissed her. Annette allowed it. As far as kisses go it wasn't bad, but nothing to write home about. Once again, she wondered how Kathryn dealt with all this mediocrity for so long.
It didn't take long for Court's grasp to extend his reach. Literally. The fucker not so subtly shoved his hand under her dress. Annette immediately pushed him away. "Court stop," she ordered primly.
He frowned before quickly covering it with yet another dimpled grin. "Sorry, but I can't help it. You look so sexy tonight."
Jesus Christ could this be any more cliché?
"I think I need to be getting home," she stated flatly. "It's late."
"Yeah right."
He was on her again in a flash, this time his hands were even more aggressive. Annette squirmed away and when he didn't get the hint, she gave him a hard shove. "Get off me. Court, I'm not that kind of girl. Take me home," she demanded sharply.
His charming grin vanished, replaced by an ugly sneer. "Oh, come on. Everyone knows you gave it up to Sebastian. Now I've been a perfect gentleman all evening. I think that entitles me to a few rights." Good god, what decade was this Neanderthal raised in, she wondered as she glared at him stonily. Court, not knowing when to quit, continued, "I mean, that prick tease routine my fly in Kentucky or wherever you're from, but you're in Manhattan now sweetie. You need to learn the rules."
Well, that settles it.
Annette calmly looked out at the dark water and considered her options. She supposed she could make a dramatic exit from the car, head to the main road and call an uber or something. However, she didn't have a clue where she was, and she wasn't exactly dying to wait around on a dark, quiet road in the middle of the night by herself. Pass. That left running out of the car and knocking on the door of one of those big mansions, asking for help. That seemed a touch too dramatic
I guess option three it is then.
Turning back to her date, Annette's scowl morphed into a seductive, knowing grin. Reaching over she placed a hand on his knee. "Maybe you can teach me."
Court's irritation disappeared in a flash. With a lewd smirk he leaned over her, hand already slipping around her waist. "That's more like it."
He moved in to kiss her, but Annette pushed him back. "I want to go swimming."
"Now?" He looked out at the ocean. "Uh, it's a little cold don't you think?"
"Ah, come on," she purred placing a hand on his dick. Even half hard he was still pretty big. Huh. "Time to sack up city boy." She gave him a squeeze and taunted, "Come on, I thought you were going to teach me the rules?"
She watched amused as he swallowed thickly, wetting his lips as he trembled in excitement. Knowing she had him dangling on the hook, Annette released his cock then slipped out of the car. They had been having a warm fall so far, but being so close to the water there was a definite chill in the air. Ignoring it, Annette stood in front of the car, well aware he was watching her as she confidently stripped out of her designer ball gown. He was out of the car before her dress hit the sand.
As she watched him prowl towards her, she remembered Kathryn once telling her how turned on Court would get when she got sexually aggressive with her. "He was so into it until he shot his load. Then I was just some dirty slut to him." Fucking asshole. She imagined he would act the same way with her if she gave him what he wanted.
He didn't hesitate to start whipping off his clothes—first his suit jacket, followed by his pressed white shirt. When he got down to his undershirt he began to tremble, hesitancy showing on his face. "Shit, it's cold."
"Don't be a pussy Reynolds," she snarled at him.
He flinched at the insult. She wondered if she reminded him of Kathryn. She wondered if it turned him on. Probably. Court began taking off his clothes quicker. Annette grinned. "Show me what you got stud."
Turning her back on him she walked to the water, removing her bra. Moments later he came running by her on the way to the water. Annette watched with a satisfied grin as he dove into the icy water yelling, "Last one in is a chicken shit!"
Court emerged from the water with a triumphant yelp. "Woah! Come on in baby."
"Just a minute," she yelled back. "I'm going to grab some protection first!"
Turning around Annette grabbed her clothes, along with Court's, fishing the car keys out of his pants pocket. Hopping into the driver's seat she threw the clothes onto the passenger's side and gunned the engine. Vaguely she could hear Court call something out to her from the water. Smiling, she threw him the finger, hit the clutch, and drove the hell out of there.
Adios motherfucker.
"Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
Kathryn smiled at the concern. "I'm good." If she was another sort of girl, she might have felt a pang of guilt for lying to her date, but alas she wasn't that girl. The truth was she felt nothing at all. Nothing pleasant anyway.
After Annette ditched her at the party to go 'celebrate' with Court, Kathryn knew she had to do something. She considered spending the night cozying up to Aunt Helen's collection of vintage scotch however the thought of spending the night alone with only her dark thoughts felt too depressing for words. So, she tracked down Jack and told him she changed her mind. He had been so ecstatic he hadn't questioned her change of heart.
The party was being hosted by Philip Blackwater, a senior she once gave head to at cotillion. It was in Tribeca, in a newly constructed skyscraper filled with luxury apartments, ultra-modern, all glass and chrome and open concept. It was a big space, but crammed to the gills with classmates, NYU students, models, influencers. Kathryn was so bored with it she could scream.
Marcus, pulled her along, stopping occasionally to chat with people. When he put a drink in her hand, she downed it in one gulp. It might as well have been water. Kathryn searched the crowd, wondering if perhaps Annette was there, but knowing she wasn't. Still she couldn't help herself. When she spotted Shiv at the bar, she asked about her whereabouts only to receive a snotty answer in return. So, fucking helpful.
Jack was talking to her and she was pretending to listen when she noticed Sebastian across the room, huddled in the corner with some peroxide blonde she'd seen on Instagram. No doubt he was pulling his usual bullshit charm routine on her and she in turn appeared to be eating it up with a spoon, all big eyes and smiles. When he looked away briefly and noticed her, his easy smirk vanished. His eyes got hard and he glared stonily at her for a long beat before turning his attention back on his bimbo. Kathryn felt a chill course through her body, though she didn't know why. Why was he glaring at her like he was the injured party? She was the one he screwed over. Misery loves company? Fuck off asshole.
Suddenly Kathryn needed to get out of there now. Grabbing Jack's arm, she dragged him away from his conversation. "What's up?" he whispered against her ear his voice laced with concern. It rubbed her the wrong way. She didn't want nice.
"I'm bored." She flashed him a flirty smile as she led him back to what she presumed were bedrooms. "Think you can help me out with that?"
He grinned and maybe even blushed. Kathryn felt a rush of adrenaline when she saw that flash of desire in his eyes. She was going to fuck that niceness right out of him if it was the last thing she did.
They ended up in what she could only assume was the master bedroom, based on the size of it. Kathryn absently wondered where Philips parents were as she locked the door behind them and launched herself at Jack. They ended up on the bed, making out hard. Jack was a phenomenal kisser and his hands, big and strong, feel good on her body. Even so, she wished he'd ditch the gentleman act and just maul her already.
And oh god, the rumors of his infamous package were certainly not exaggerated. Kathryn could feel his sizeable erection pressing into her hip, egging her on. Foregoing the lady like bullshit, she reached down and grasped it, moaning into his mouth when she felt the weight of it. This was just what she needed to make herself feel better. Kathryn unzipped his pants but before she could get the snake monster out of its cage, Jack pulled back.
"I'm sorry," he panted rolling onto his back. "But I can't."
Kathryn stared at him stunned. She could feel herself wanting to go off on him, but she tempered it down, not wanting to scare him off with her true colors. Instead, she went for vulnerable and hurt. If she had to guilt him into sex she would. Her shame was currently on vacation.
"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered weakly, averting his eyes. "Did I come on too strong?"
"No of course not. It's not that."
"Am I not pretty enough? Sexy enough?" Jesus Christ. Kill her now.
He let out a short laugh and gestured towards his comically tented pants. "Clearly that's not the problem. Trust me Kathryn, I very much want you. You have no idea how bad I want this."
"Is it Court?"
He shook his head, eyes on the ceiling. "I could give a shit about Court at the moment."
"Then what is it then?" she finally snapped. She couldn't take much more of this. All she wanted was to get laid, was that too much to ask for? "I feel like you're sending me some pretty mixed signals Jack. All evening you've been flirting with me, you ask me to come to this party with you and as soon as we're alone you're pushing me away. What gives? Do you not like me?"
"No, that's the problem, I like you too much." Jack released a deep breath before finally looking at her. There was an unknown emotion in his eyes. "This is not how I wanted to tell you this, but uh…Kathryn I've been in love with you since the ninth grade."
She sat up abruptly. "Come again?"
Jack turned his gaze back on her, his expression was absolutely neutral. He wasn't embarrassed or nervous or even anxious. If anything, he was completely calm as he spoke about his love for her like he was discussing the weather. "I love you. I know it might come as a surprise to you. I've never been very good with my feelings, especially romantic ones. I was content to worship you from afar for awhile, but then you started dating Court, well I couldn't very well steal you away from my best friend. So, I tried to avoid you. Court just assumed I didn't like you. When you two broke up this summer, I was so thrilled I cut my trip to Carmel short to come back just so I could pursue you myself, but, whenever I tried to hit you up, you weren't home or were busy. In a way I was grateful, it gave me time to assess the situation. Then you asked me out and, well, I thought I blew it after that first date…I'm sorry. I know this is a lot."
Seriously. What. The. Fuck?
"I, um, need a drink." Kathryn got up from the bed, needing to put distance between her and this increasingly odd situation. She stumbled over to the wet bar in the corner of the room and fixed herself a scotch.
Jack, looking like some kind of playgirl wet dream, in his unbuttoned shirt and attractive bulge, got to his feet, but stayed on his side of the room, as if he sensed she was some kind of wounded animal who might attack. "Shit. This wasn't how I wanted to tell you. I swear, I know I must sound like some kind of psycho stalker—"
"No, it's not that." Kathryn sighed, drink in her hand. "Look Jack, you're very sweet, but the truth is you have no idea who I really am."
A sharper, knowing look flashed in his eyes as he smiled almost gently. "Kathryn, Court is my best friend…and he's not exactly a closed book."
"Oh"
"I know about the bulimia and the cocaine in the crucifix. I know how you sent Rebecca Green, that Mennonite transfer student, up with cocaine after she stole French club president out from under you. I know you cheated on Court with the guidance counsellor, that you framed Mr. Woodhouse for solicitation after he got handsy with you. I know what you did to Cecile Caldwell. So, you see I know exactly what you're capable of. It doesn't bother me. On the contrary, you're smart and you're sexy and you're ambitious and Court is the world's biggest moron for letting you go."
Kathryn stared at him for one long beat, taking this all in. Then she finished off her drink in one gulp. Had it been anyone else she might have laughed at him, but there was something about Jack's balls out delivery of all her sins, and the casual way he brought them up, as if he really didn't judge her, that she found so intriguing. That said, he couldn't have brought all this out at a worse time.
Setting her glass down, she slowly crossed the room to him. "Jack, you're very sweet—"
He grimaced. "You hate sweet."
Kathryn paused and smiled. "I do…but I don't hate you. Truth is I find you rather intriguing. Outside of your terrible taste in friends, you're smart and handsome, you're hung like a horse and you appear to have an appreciation of complicated women. However—"
"However, you're already involved with someone." She felt her breath catch. Maybe he really was some kind of stalker. Her brief panic must have shown on her face as he laughed, "Don't worry, I don't know all your secrets, but I can sense you're distracted."
She sighed. "That's a nice word for it. To be honest Jack, my life is a bit of a mess right now."
He shrugged, unbothered. "It's okay I can wait. I'm a patient guy and I've waited for you for this long."
Jack started to redress, fixing his pants, buttoning his shirt. Kathryn quickly crossed over to him in an effort to put an end to it. "Hold up, just because I'm not ready to run off and elope doesn't mean we can't finish what we started."
He gently pried her hands from his shirt and smiled reassuringly at her. Then, showing that he truly did get her he told her, "This isn't a rejection. However, I want the first time we go to bed, even if that's all it is, to be special or at least something better than a quick fuck in an anonymous bedroom with half the school on the other side of the room."
This would be the point normally when Kathryn would scream at him, attack his manhood, maybe even throw something. But something about Jack's calm, cool nature, put her at ease. She said nothing as he leaned in and placed a chaste on the mouth. "Do you want me to take you home now?"
She shook her head. "It's okay, I'm going to stay for a little while. I'll have Sebastian drive me home." Yeah, like that was bloody likely.
"You sure? I don't mind hanging out."
"No, I'll be fine. I'll call you tomorrow Jack."
He gave her one last grin as he squeezed her arm and took his leave. Alone, Kathryn rolled her eyes to the ceiling. She felt exhausted. As lovely as it was to know there might be a person out there who actually appreciated and cared for the real her, it was also kind of the last thing she needed right now.
"Jesus Christ, what does a girl need to do to get laid around here?" she asked aloud.
She wandered over to the bathroom, her mind relaying the conversation that just transpired as she used the facilities. Afterwards she began examining the contents of the medicine cabinet, more out of habit than anything else. Apparently, Philip's mother had quite the thing for pharmaceuticals. "A woman after my own heart."
Kathryn began sorting through her collection, before playfully playing a game of eeny meeny, miny, moe with an assortment of little orange bottles, before landing on one. She didn't bother to see what she was taking before emptying some into her hand. Smiling at the little white pills she tossed them back with a satisfied grin.
"Bottoms up."
"…But I'm really hoping to parlay that into acting."
Sebastian hummed absently in response to the model/actress/influencer in front of him currently sucking all the oxygen out of the room. She was gorgeous, naturally, all sun kissed skin, like she permanently summers on a yacht off the Pacific, which given the quick scroll of her Instagram he did upon spotting her, was quite possible.
Anyway, Sebastian for whatever reason thought chatting up this chick (whose name he wanted to say was Celeste/Selena/Serena) about her career prospects would somehow be more entertaining that it was currently turning out to be. No surprise. That's what he gets for having a hard on for big tits and girls who seem more damaged than himself.
As what's-her-face prattled on, he tried to focus on her inane words instead of what he really wanted to concentrate on. His gaze shifted to the bedroom his stepsister and her date disappeared into an hour ago. Mr. All-American and his wonder schlong, exited not long after. Either he was a one pump chump or they didn't fuck. It annoyed him how much pleasure he wrought from this.
Stop obsessing. It's boring.
Why did his inner voice lately sound more and more like his sisters' melodic drawl? How irritating. As if proving a point, he purposely turned in the other direction, so his back was now to the bedroom. Out of sight out of mind or something.
"My goal this month is to get up to 500,000 followers," she told him, beaming with pride.
Christ, he fucking hated his life. "I like an ambitious woman," he told her with little to no emotion.
Even when he could barely be bothered to try, he's still better than most. She smiled, big and broad and Sebastian could practically see her mentally weighing the pros and cons of going to bed with him. She knew his reputation of course. At best he would fuck her and never call again. At worst…their bedroom shenanigans would wind up on TMZ and goodbye all that sweet sponsorship money. Decisions, decisions…
"Wanna see the new tattoo I got?" She moved in close, giving him a prime view down her shirt at her braless tits as she pulled the material away from her waist to show him a frog sitting on a lily pad. It could be worse. It could be some cliched badly translated Chinese symbol.
"Cute. This might be the first time I've ever wanted to be an amphibian."
It's all so easy he started to tune her out again. This time his attention got caught outside. He could see the balcony to one of the bedrooms through the floor to ceiling windows. It was dark, but the city lights were bright enough to illuminate the figure balancing on the edge of the stone railing. Whomever it was either had a death wish or was extremely drunk. They walking the ledge like it was some kind of balance beam and they were at least forty stories up. This was potentially about to become very messy, he thought, watching the tottering figure with detached bemusement. She was clearly female, going by the outline of her figure in the black dress and the cut of her—
"Oh shit."
Sebastian's heart caught in his throat as he recognized that drunk idiot. For a whopping ten seconds he was frozen on the spot. "What is it?" laughed the blonde in front on him who no longer represented a person so much as a talking obstruction.
He blinked at her, knowing if he said anything it would have the potential to make a scene. Sebastian glanced at his mostly empty drink. "Um…I'm out of scotch. Be right back."
He was dodging around partygoers before he could hear her reply. Luckily, everyone was too wrapped up in their own thing to pay much notice of his frantic rush to the back bedrooms. Sebastian threw open doors, the first one empty, but no balcony, the second had a couple getting ready to fuck on the bed. On the third he found it open, along with the balcony doors. Sure enough, there was his step-sister doing her drunk Simone Biles beam routine.
Even though his brain was consumed by panic, Sebastian was rational enough to recognize he couldn't rush her. Instead, he approached her in the same way one might a cornered, possibly dangerous animal—slowly and cautiously. "Hey sis," he called out quietly. "What the fuck?"
Kathryn's head swiveled in his direction. The lazy grin and glazed look in her eyes, told him everything he needed to know about her state of mind. "Evening brother dearest," she cooed.
"Get down from there"
Her smile widened. "Fuck off. I'm fine. I'm on top of the world." To illustrate her point, she outstretched her hands and balanced on her toes.
"That's very cute, now let's go." Sebastian could feel the cold sweat on the back of his neck, hear the pound of his heart over the city noise. He tried to grab her hand only to have her turn away laughing. He was afraid if he made a grab for her, she'd lunge in the other direction. Sebastian tried not to think of that. Growing increasingly anxious he demanded, "Get off the ledge Kathryn, before you fall."
She laughed at him again. He knew full well there was no reasoning with her when she was like this. "If I fell would you save me?" she simpered before letting out a short bark of laugher. "Not bloody—"
Sebastian finally got up the nerve and grabbed her from around the waist and tugged her off. Their weight combined with her bucking against him, caused them to topple to the hard cement balcony. Kathryn laughed. He did not. "Way to go Superman," she slurred pushing off of his chest. "No upper body strength. Pathetic."
"Yes, almost as pathetic as trying to do a swine dive in Tribeca." Sebastian managed to get to his feet, pulling her up along with him. He needed to get her off the fucking balcony. "Imagine the headlines, drunk Upper East Side heiress goes splat. What dignity."
"Eat shit. I'm fine."
"Oh right, you look it," he sniped, dragging her back inside. "You can't even stand up on your own. What are you on anyway?"
Kathryn pushed him away and staggered to the bed. "What do you care? Get lost." Her attempts to sound haughty just made her sound like a pouty little girl. He might have felt affectionate towards her if he didn't dearly wish to strangle her at the moment.
Sebastian stood over the bed awkwardly as Kathryn climbed into it, pulling off her dress as she did. Christ, he had a feeling where this was going. He had way too much experience with drugged out Kathryn not to. He sighed. "What are you doing? Put your dress back on, I'm taking you home." Miss Five hundred thousand subscribers was going to have to wait.
She shook her head, her smile taunting. "I'm not going anywhere." In a flash her gaze went from surly to seductive as she turned it on him. "I want to fuck."
"Yeah?" he asked without emotion. "Well I want to be president of the world. Now come on, let's go."
Kathryn however wouldn't be swayed. She crawled to the edge of the bed (well wobbled really) wearing the same scrap of black lace bra and panties he found her in earlier. Practically crawling up his torso, she tugged him to her. "Come on," she cooed, her hand grabbing at his crotch. "I'll let you stick it in my ass this time."
"Jesus Christ," he groaned, staring up at the ceiling. "We're not doing this."
"Oh, I think we are." She laughed, jerking him off through his pants. "You're hard for me," she taunted. "You're always hard for me. Even when you hate me. My personal fuck toy."
That did it. Sebastian shoved her away gruffly. "Knock it off." Honestly, he was so irritated with her in that moment, he had half a mind to walk out and leave her to her fate. But he knew he couldn't. Sebastian didn't even want to think about the trouble she could get herself into in this state. He had every intention of locking her in that room until she slept it off, but Kathryn had other ideas.
"Stop being such a pussy." She grabbed him by the arm and tugged him back into the bed.
"Kathryn, get off"
Ignoring his orders, she straddled him, then attacked his mouth. He could taste the scotch on her tongue. Despite himself, Sebastian kissed her back before remembering he was about to give in to a drunk lunatic. He fought her off and as he did so he could swear he heard the door behind them open. Sebastian jerked back. The door was open a hair, but no one was there. Before he could contemplate the idea that they may have been spotted, Kathryn was back at it, her hands aggressively tugging at his clothes, the sharp bite of her manicured nails nicking his bare skin. He grabbed at her wrists. "Stop. It."
When she continued to ignore him, he rolled her off and pinned her to the mattress. She fought him, struggling under his grip before biting his hand. Sebastian immediately released her. "Ow! Jesus." For a split second he had to resist the urge to slap her. She grinned unrepentedly back at him.
"I'm out of here," he grumbled. Sebastian started off the bed, only for her to pop back up and tug him back. They began wrestling around with each other playfully, but not. Rolling around with her, half dressed, he could feel himself get hard, which was the last fucking thing he needed in that moment. Frustrated, he shoved her back and demanded, "What is your problem?"
"Why can't you just love me, like you did her?"
The question landed with a silent thud. Sebastian felt as if he had just been punched in the gut. "What?"
Kathryn shook her head then twisted on to her stomach. Voice muffled in the duvet she warbled, "Never mind, forget it."
He let out a disbelieving snort. "Yeah, not likely." Grabbing her arm he turned her back around demanding, "What did you mean by that Kathryn? Kathryn?"
Her eyes fluttered closed and she mumbled something incoherent. Suddenly all thoughts of getting clarification on her question vanished. "Kathryn?! Kathryn wake up!"
He gave her a rough shake to no avail. She had completely passed out. "Kathryn come on!" His voice sounded high pitched and frantic even to his own ears. He waited for her to mumble something about him being a pussy, but nothing. He slapped her, the sound echoing in the suddenly very silent room, but nothing. Leaning in he put his head down close to her face and listened. She was breathing weird.
Slowly he pulled back realizing they were in real trouble here. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
"Oh my god, you're here!"
Annette heard Shiv before she spotted her. Pushing past a hipster Brooklynite in a suede jacket with fringe down the arms, she found her standing by the make-shift bar, arms outstretched like a model on a gameshow. Annette smiled wearily as she was embraced in a full body hug. Someone was buzzed.
"Hey Shiv, you look great." She had changed into the shorter, cocktail version of what she wore earlier. "Where's Ronald?"
Siobhan gave a dramatic eyeroll. "He went home, something about early rehearsal. So annoying. I'm all for a man dedicated to his passions, but—"
As she rambled on about all the ways she hoped to improve Ronald, Annette tuned her out, while her gaze swept through the party, searching out that familiar mahogany blow-out. Knock it off, she told herself. Don't go there.
"Where's Court?"
"Probably looking for his pants in the sand," she replied dryly.
Shiv's eyebrows rose and her eyes flashed with interest. "Now that sounds like a story I have to hear."
"I'll tell you later." Annette reached past her for a bottle of beer sitting in an ice bowl on the counter.
"The party was amazing, even without Rihanna. There's no way you'll lose the election now." Annette wasn't so confident but nodded along, distracted. "This has got to be killing princess Merteuil. What did she want to talk to you about earlier anyway?"
"It was nothing"
"It had to be something if she sent her number one boot licker after you. She was asking about you earlier."
Annette snapped to attention. "When?"
"I don't know, a little while ago."
"Wait, is she here?" When Shiv merely shrugged, Annette grabbed her arm demanding, "Shiv, what did she want?"
"I don't know, shit. She was just asking if you were here. What's the big deal?"
"It's nothing."
But somehow it wasn't nothing. Turning away from her friend, she began wandering the party, her mind going a mile a minute. Had she been too impulsive breaking things off with her like she had? She never should have let that ratfucker Sebastian mess with her head. Again. They were so close to getting things back on track and she had to let her fucking pride screw it up again.
With adrenaline coursing through her, she began scouring the party, asking a few randoms if they had seen her only to be met with indifferent shrugs. When she noticed a few people heading back to the bedrooms she followed. Annette began throwing open doors. The first two were empty, the third and fourth were occupied by couples mid coitus. Door number three featured the central tackle on the football team getting blown by the lacrosse team captain. Behind door four the student body president was half naked, making out furiously with her stepbrother. Annette's heart sank.
Standing in the doorway like a pathetic loser, she had to stop herself from interrupting them. As much as she wanted to tear into her at the moment there was no way she'd give either of them the satisfaction. Annette closed the door and turned to find Shiv standing behind her. Judging by the triumphant smile she was wearing she guessed she had spotted them too. "Holy fucking shit," she exclaimed, practically breathless with excitement.
For once Annette didn't give a shit about protecting Kathryn. She needed to get the hell out of there. She needed air. Brushing past her friend she headed for the nearest exit which turned out to be the back stairwell. She began to pace the small landing area in small circles as she struggled to breath. Annette felt as if she couldn't get enough oxygen to her lungs. The door opened behind her and Shiv followed her out, talking a mile a minute.
"Oh my god! This is it! We finally have that bitch red handed. Just wait until everyone finds out that Little Miss Perfect is a brother fucker. They'll crucify her!" She laughed sounding uncharacteristically giggly. "Wait, did you know about this?"
"Yeah, you could say that."
"Why didn't you say anything? We could have had this election wrapped up weeks ago!"
Why didn't she say anything? Why did she allow herself to be led around by that fucking conniving bitch? And why the hell had she gone and given her heart to her?
It was with that thought Annette finally lost it.
Hands fisted at her side, she let out an unholy howl. She felt as if she had been holding it in for hours, days, years. Everything she had been feelings and repressing suddenly exploded in one furious moment. Charging at the wall she began attacking the nearest object which happened to be an innocent, radiator. She wailed on the thing, kicking at it as she screamed, "You mother fucking piece of shit! You stupid fucking asshole! I fucking hate you. I hate you!"
She screamed and kicked and punched the wall until her hands ached and her throat was raw. Still she didn't stop. Not until she was forced to.
Siobhan came up behind her and wrapped her in a tight embrace. "Enough," she ordered with a quiet firmness. "That's enough you're going to hurt yourself."
Annette went still, panting harshly in her arms as everything came back into focus. When Shiv turned her around she let her. Wiping the hair out of her face, she eyed her with concern. "So, which one of them are you in love with?"
She sighed. "The less obvious one."
It was nearing 4 am when the town car pulled up to the Valmont residence. Staring up at the gothic looking structure Sebastian let out a tired sigh. "We're here," he murmured against his stepsister's temple.
Kathryn, who had been dozing on his shoulder most of the way home, stirred awake. Her make-up had been long scrubbed off and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Between that and the oversized sweatshirt she wore, she looked frighteningly young. Sebastian slipped his hand into hers and helped her out of the car.
"You need any help?" Blaine asked, concern replacing his normal sardonic smirk. He remained in the car as if he wasn't sure he was welcomed or not.
"No, it's okay Blaine, I got her." He closed the car door then leaned into the window. "Thanks a lot. I'm sorry about earlier."
The bleached blonde shrugged handing over a plastic bag of the clothes Kathryn wore earlier. "It's fine. I probably had it coming. I'm just glad she's alright."
Sebastian nodded. "Yeah me too. I'll see you at school?"
"Yeah"
After the awkward goodbye, he turned away and tapped on the hood of the car signaling the driver it was okay to take off. Turning back to his stepsister he found her shivering in the cold, looking small and vulnerable in the too big track suit Blaine has procured from the hospital gift shop. Sebastian wrapped an arm around her and Kathryn slumped against him, allowing him to guide her inside. They didn't say a word to each other as they entered the small elevator.
This was officially the longest goddamn day of Sebastian's life. It seemed like another lifetime ago he woke up with Kathryn asleep in his arms. It was hard to believe it was only that morning. He had been happy and content and while he anticipated things with Kathryn wouldn't go smoothly there was no way he could have anticipated this. Now looking back on the shit storm that was that evening, he realized he was a naive idiot.
After Kathryn had tried her best to sexually assault him then passed out, Sebastian basically freaked the fuck out. He dragged her ass to the bathroom and tried to revive her and when that didn't work, he called Blaine for help. Blaine, who was across town having his own private party with a couple of Freshman in the Columbia dorms, instructed him to get her to the hospital. Sebastian carried her out the servants entrance. The emergency room doctors were able to revive her and then had to pump her stomach. While Sebastian anxiously paced the waiting room, Blaine showed up, making some quip about Kathryn needing help purging or something and Sebastian lost it. He threw him against the wall and started screaming at him. He had assumed (mistakenly as it turned out) that she had gotten the drugs from Blaine. He threatened to turn him over to the cops when one of the night nurses intervened.
Afterwards, when Blaine disappeared Sebastian figured he was gone for good. Eager for a distraction, he went through Kathryn's purse only to find an orange pill bottle. It belonged to Philip Blackwaters mother. Of fucking course. When Blaine returned a little while later, brandishing a change of clothes for Kathryn and a coffee for him, Sebastian showed him the bottle then offered up a sheepish apology.
In the end she was fine of course. Kathryn was like that proverbial cat with the nine lives. However, the nurse insisted she needed to stay the night and because she was a minor, they were going to have to notify their parents. Luckily, this was not the first rodeo for any of them. As soon as she left the room, he and Blaine hustled Kathryn out of there. The last thing any of them needed was for their parents or god forbid, the cops getting involved.
Now, as they exited the elevator, to find the house blessedly quiet (the parentals were still at the estate) all Sebastian wanted to do was sleep for the next week. First though, he had to make sure Kathryn wasn't going to pass out in her own vomit or anything.
"Do you need anything? Water? Food?"
She shook her head, disentangling from him. "No," she spoke, her voice sounding painfully hoarse. "I never want to ingest anything ever again."
"Sounds about right."
Kathryn walked off ahead of him and he expected her to disappear into her bedroom and close the door without so much as an apology or a thank you. Instead, she went to his room. Sebastian paused momentarily rubbing a tired hand over his face. Please god, I just want to go to bed. He couldn't deal with any more shit from her.
Sebastian followed her inside and quipped, "Kathryn, would you care to come in?"
She ignored his joke and began to strip out of her clothes. Walking around to the other side of the bed, Sebastian watched her curious. Kathryn, noticing his attention, paused. She must have mistaken his curiosity for interest because she scowled and covered her chest with her sweatshirt. "We're not going to fuck tonight," she stated flatly.
Sebastian quirked a brow at that. "Are you sure? You look really sexy in those sweatpants and the vomit in your hair."
Immediately she self consciously patted her hair, looking for any stray vomit. There was none of course. She rolled her eyes at him, but he could see a smile tug at her lips. "Idiot."
He chuckled, removing his own clothes. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but all I want right now is to pass out."
"Me too. I have to get up in," she glanced at the clock and grimaced, "Three hours."
"Well I think I'm going to Ferris Bueller it," he remarked, tossing back the covers.
"We can't. It's election day, remember?"
Somehow, he had completely forgotten. He groaned crawling into bed.
Leaving her underwear on, Kathryn laid down beside him, making herself comfortable. He watched her for a moment, his chest filling with unabashed affection only to turn to fear when he realized he might have lost her that evening.
For whatever reason then, he thought of someone else.
"Do you want me to call Annette?"
Kathryn opened her eyes and stared at him a long beat. "Why would you do that?"
"I think she'd want to know."
She let out a small, humorless laugh, her eyes closing again. "I doubt it. You heard her tonight. She made it pretty clear where we stand."
Sebastian didn't buy that for a second. Annette was in love with his stepsister, the kind of love that didn't evaporate with one fight or even fifty. She would definitely want to know about what went down tonight, but he wasn't going to push. After all it wasn't his job to fix them. If anything, it was his job to destroy them. For whatever reason, he had to keep reminding himself of that fact.
Watching her, Sebastian had a fleeing instinct to reach across and pull her against him, but he ignored it, less it be interpreted as, well, anything. He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take hold.
"Hey," Kathryn called softly across the bed. "Guess what?"
"Hmm?" he mumbled into his pillow.
"Jack told me he was in love with me tonight."
Sebastian's eyes opened and he stared at Kathryn whose face was flushed with wry amusement. "Well he's fucked," he replied dryly.
Kathryn's gaze found his in the dark and they both laughed quietly. As their laughter died out, he was struck once again by what almost happened. Something about laying with her in the dark made him feel like all the walls they constructed around themselves were temporarily down. It was his only excuse for what he said next.
"You fucking scared me tonight," he confessed.
The smile slowly faded from her face as she hugged her pillow. "It's not that big a deal," she replied quietly.
"Of course it is. I can't lose you like that. Promise me you won't do it again."
Even in the dark he could sense her rolling her eyes. "I'm fine. You're being dramatic."
"Promise me," he insisted.
Kathryn stared at him quietly, as if contemplating something then nodded. "Okay. I promise."
Sebastian closed his eyes, figuring that was the end of it. A moment later he felt the bed shift and he felt her move closer to him. Kathryn tucked herself against his chest, resting her head beside his on the pillow. Without opening his eyes, he wrapped his arm around her tugging her closer. In a voice so quiet he could barely hear it she told him, "Thank you."
"For?" he murmured.
"Don't make me say it."
Sebastian smiled and placed a kiss on her head before snuggling her further. "Go to sleep Kathryn."
"That fucking lying bitch!" Annette bellowed into the cavernous living room. "I should have known, as soon as I turned my back, she goes running to him! Fucking typical."
She was well aware she sounded like a total crazy person in that moment. Annette blamed the abject betrayal and the bottle of Jack that was currently pulverizing her liver. She was very drunk. As a rule, Annette didn't get very drunk. It was sloppy and she made it a point to never be sloppy. She was a country girl who had been raised on Tennessee whiskey so she could more than hold her own. However, after the night she had all her rules and regulations had gone out the window and she was now deep in 'I-don't-give-a-fuck' territory. Bottoms up.
"Maybe you should go easy on that," Shiv spoke up nodding at the glass of whiskey in her hand. "The elections tomorrow, remember?"
"I don't give a fuck. That whole snotty school can collectively suck my dick" she sneered as she continued to tare a hole in the expensive plush carpet as she paced furiously in front of her hostess. They were at Siobhan's mother's penthouse. It was a huge, all high ceilings and floor to ceiling windows. Every wall was covered with big, loud, expensive art work, but the centerpiece of the room was the blown-up portrait of Shiv's mother on the cover of Vogue from back in the 90's. The woman in question was currently out of the country. From the way Shiv talked about it, she got the feeling that aside from the occasional holiday, her mother lived permanently out of the country.
"Who would have thought Little Miss Kansas had the vocabulary that would make Cardi B blush," Shiv snickered. She was sitting on the couch in front of her, make-up scrubbed off, dressed in pink satin pajamas, watching her like she was some kind of exotic animal at a zoo. "So, wait, how long have Kathryn and Sebastian been hooking up?"
Annette shrugged, accidentally sending half her drink over the edge of the glass. "Since last night…or since puberty hit. I don't know. It doesn't matter anymore."
"And how long have you and Kathryn been…?"
"Since this summer." She refilled her glass, slamming the near empty bottle down with a hard thud on the expensive glass coffee table.
Shiv got up, discreetly snagging the bottle and taking it to the kitchen. "So, then you never hooked up with Sebastian?"
"Oh, I sure did, but it was just part of the bet," she explained irritably.
"What bet?"
Annette let out a long sigh then proceeded to tell a rambling, maybe only somewhat accurate account of what went down that summer between her, Kathryn and Sebastian. By the time she finished Shiv was staring at her, mouth agape, eyebrows nearing her hairline. After a beat she exclaimed. "Woah."
"Yeah." Annette slumped to the couch, tugging on the sleeves on the too-long night shirt Shiv had leant her. She reached for yet another bottle she had retrieved from Shiv's mom liquor cabinet. It was a fancy bottle in French, she was pretty sure was gin. Annette hated gin but filled up her glass anyway.
"I mean god knows Sebastian had it coming but…" Shiv trailed off, her gaze narrowing slightly as she looked her over. "I mean that's kind of fucked up."
Annette shrugged unbothered taking another swig of her drink. "Yeah, well hadn't made any plans to cry over that one."
"I guess no one is really who they seem, huh?"
She looked up to find Shiv studying her. Something about it sent Annette's teeth on edge, like suddenly she was being exposed and judged. Pushing back against it she got defensive. "Oh, you think I'm bad?" she asked, becoming loud. She let out a harsh bark of laughter. "I have nothing on Kathryn. If you only knew how fucked-up she really is."
"Such as?" Shiv asked, sitting up a little more alert.
"That tacky crucifix she carries around? It's filled with blow. The rumor you tried to start about her being bulimic—totally true. Her bedroom is a revolving door for half the assholes on the Upper East Side. She's responsible for Darcy Van Ryan going to rehab, she ruined Cecile Caldwell. That girl is fucked for life thanks to her and—what are you doing?"
Annette stopped her rant when she noticed Shiv get up and retrieve something from the kitchen. She ran back, hoping on the couch, pen and pad in hand. Quickly she began writing, a big smile on her face. "This is good shit, but there's no way I'm going to remember it all. Slow down, start again."
Her inebriated state lifted long enough for her to realize she fucked up. Annette snatched the pad out of Shiv's hand. "You can't tell anyone what I just told you," she ordered.
"Yeah right," she huffed.
"I'm serious Siobhan, you repeat anything I just told you and I'll ruin your fucking life, I swear to god," she threatened.
Her big brown eyes widened at the threat. "Okay, Jesus, I won't say anything."
Annette relaxed, tossing the pad aside. "Thank you."
Shiv got to her feet. "You know, despite all your yammering to the contrary, I think you're still in love with her."
Annette curled up onto the sofa and snickered. "Of course I am. Haven't you been paying attention?"
"Don't take this the wrong way, but you're a fucking mess."
"I'm well aware."
Shiv's warm chuckle washed over her as she threw a cashmere blanket over her and set a water bottle on the coffee table. "Girl I need to get some sleep and so do you. Big day tomorrow. You'll forget about all this bullshit in the morning."
Annette sincerely doubted it, but she appreciated the sentiment. "Thanks and Shiv? I'm sorry about lying to you about who I am and everything. I didn't mean—"
"It's cool," she told her, waving off her apology. "Actually, I kind of prefer this more bad ass version of you. Should make for an interesting school year."
"I aim to please," Annette replied dryly. "Goodnight."
"Night."
She listened as Shiv padded quietly down the hall to her bedroom. Alone now with her thoughts, she rolled onto her back and stared up at the shadows on the ceiling. Annette tried to fall asleep, but it just wasn't happening. Her alcohol-soaked brain kept replaying the events of the night, making her irritable and anxious. She reached for her phone and began absently scrolling through social media, before growing bored. Eventually she started thumbing through the videos on her phone. Against her better instincts she pulled up that infamous video of Kathryn getting herself off in the back of the taxi. Annette had watched is so many times by now, she had every sigh and eye flutter memorized. Even still she never got tired of it. As she watched, she could feel her hand make its way down between her legs.
"You fucking bitch," she murmured softly as she brought herself off watching it.
After, instead of feeling tired or sated, she just felt empty. Annette got up from the couch and retrieved another bottle of Jack Daniels. She was half way through the bottle when she got her big idea.
She wanted to punish Kathryn, but more importantly, she wanted Sebastian out of her life. But how? Watching the video again inspiration struck. If Kathryn found out he took his video of her, she'd hate him. She'd never let him touch her again. It was perfect.
Drunk and delirious Annette smiled as she posted the video on Manchester's unofficial Facebook. That would show her. Tomorrow morning Kathryn would realize the mistake she made. Smiling into her pillow, Annette rolled over and passed out.