The Entitled (The Entitled Duet #1) - Cassandra Robbins Page 0,63

Tess! I’m done! Leave my family and me alone. You’re not mine. And, I don’t want to be yours anymore.” I can barely choke out the words, but I know these words will hurt her more than anything. And right now, I want her to burn.

I hang up and toss my twin his phone. I don’t look at him because I can feel him, so what’s the point of seeing his pain.

“Reed, you have to calm down. You can’t be serious—”

I hold up my hand. “She had her chance to come back. She is choosing to stay with her father.” I jerk on a pair of jeans, not bothering with underwear. “She’s not our Tess anymore. That girl”—I nod to his phone—“I don’t even know her. She’s not mine. And I would appreciate it if you would back me up. As my twin, and my other half, please!” My heart pounds in my temple. Jax is pale, but he nods.

“Whatever you need.”

“I need you not to talk to her. I need you not to mention her name. I’m done! She’s dead to us!”

“Just take a moment and think, Reed. She sounds bad. I… I want to try to help fix this for you two.” His face has never looked more sincere.

“If you want to help me, then don’t judge me when I fuck someone tonight. Because I have every intention of doing that.”

Jax takes a breath. His eyes, like mine, are filled with tears.

“Are you sure? This is Tess we’re talking about. She’s your soul mate. She’s all your firsts,” he croaks.

I rub my tattoo, his words nearly bringing me to my knees. I look at him. “She got all my firsts! My heart, my soul and she destroyed my very being, Jax. I gave her all of me!” I shrug. “Everything now is just semantics.”

“I won’t say her name.” I turn away because he is pressing his palms into his eyes, and I have to stay strong, angry. I haven’t stopped rubbing my damn tattoo, as if that is somehow going to fix me.

“Let’s go.” I drop my hand, pull on a navy T-shirt, and rake a hand through my wet hair.

Jax brings his hands down. “Okay, who’s it going to be, Reed?”

“Gia.” I breathe. “I want Gia and then I’ll go from there.”

TESS

Past – sixteen years old

London, England

I haven’t left my room since Reed hung up on me on Jax’s phone.

I can’t eat; I barely sleep. I have called and left so many messages that Reed’s and Jax’s mailboxes are full. All I want to do is crawl and beg for him to take me back. I tried to take a shower, but leaving my bed forced me to realize that he is gone and I’m alone. My body reacted by breaking out into a cold sweat. After that, the shaking should have alarmed me. Since I was twitching so much, I barely made it back to the bed and the warmth of my down comforter. I may be having a breakdown, but I’m too sad to care.

The door of my bedroom, or prison, depending on how you want to look at it, swings open.

My father’s leggy girlfriend strides in and opens my curtains. The day spills into the room causing me to blink in surprise as she pulls the covers off me.

“What the hell, Lana? I don’t invade your personal space,” I wail, clutching the edge of the comforter. It’s become my security blanket.

“Enough! You will get up. Take a shower and eat, or I will tell your father!” She taps her manicured nails on my dresser. “Also, Brance says your phone is dead.” She marches out of my room, high heels clicking.

“God.” Massaging my aching head, I pull myself into a sitting position and search for my phone. I find it under my bed. Some of the worst things that have happened to me have happened on that phone. I know it’s crazy, but I refuse to touch it.

Wrapping the comforter around me, I drag myself to the bathroom. The entire room, including the sink, is white marble. No wonder I freak out every time I come in here—it’s like being inside a museum.

Taking a steadying breath, I don’t want to take the chance that Lana might tell my dad anything. He would probably have me committed to the looney bin. Unfortunately, with the way I look and feel, they’d probably keep me.

I force myself to drop the comforter and shower, brush my teeth, and moisturize