Cage,” she seethed. “There will be no more bodily harm from either of you today.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I muttered as I folded my hands together in my lap and lowered my gaze to the coffee table that separated us from her.
A few feet away, Dad stood with a mug of strong coffee in his hands. He was drinking it silently as he kept his eyes focused solely on Cannon. The anger and disappointment I saw in his hazel eyes made my heart squeeze because I knew he was feeling those same emotions toward me as well.
Mom went back to pacing, and with each step she took, the entire house seemed to swell with her tension. Cannon seemed in too much pain to feel it, but I was almost suffocating on it.
“Shaw,” she gritted out my name, and I hastily lifted my eyes to her face.
I gulped. “Yes, ma’am?”
“You’re grounded for the next month. No car. Nothing. You don’t leave these four walls unless it’s for school or work. And only then if your dad or I can accompany you.”
I nodded quickly. “Yes, ma’am. I understand.”
“Now, go upstairs. No television or phone. The only time you can have your cell is when you go to school, and only then because I’ll be making sure your ass is where it’s supposed to be.” She tilted her chin toward the stairs. “Go.”
I jumped to my feet and practically ran up the steps, but instead of going straight to my room, I stopped just out of sight so I could listen to what she would say to my brother.
There was a long silence, but I could still feel her anger, even from where I was standing on the second floor. Almost a full minute passed before she spoke. “Go to your fucking room, Shaw!”
Jerking in reaction to her harsh tone, I made a run for my bedroom before she decided to lengthen my grounding. I wanted to know what they were saying to Cannon, what his punishment would be, but not enough to turn Mom’s wrath on myself even more than it already was.
Once the door was closed behind me, I stripped off my clothes and walked into my bathroom. I hadn’t gotten any sleep after Uncle Shane and Lyric had woken me up at two that morning. I felt sticky and exhausted, so I took a long shower and then crawled into bed dressed in my favorite pajamas, intending to go straight to sleep.
But as I pulled the covers up over my legs, I heard a knock on my door. Before I could ask who it was, Cannon pushed it open and stepped over the threshold.
“Get out,” I growled.
“I…” He swallowed hard, and I noticed his fingers were trembling. “I wanted to say I’m sorry…for calling you a slut.”
“Apology not accepted,” I told him coldly. “Get out.”
“Shaw, please. I… Fuck, I don’t know what came over me last night. I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. I know I hurt you—”
“What you said to me isn’t the problem, dumbass. You put your hands on Violet.” I jumped out of bed and stomped toward him. “Violet. The girl who has been like our little sister her entire life. If you can do that to her, then what’s stopping you from doing it to other girls?”
He lowered his head in shame. “I’m sorry,” he rasped out. “It will never happen again. I swear.”
“I don’t want to hear your worthless words right now, Can. Just go away. I’m tired of looking at you.” I turned to go back to my bed, putting him out of my mind so I could hopefully get some sleep.
“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