Raine (Gods of the Fifth Floor #2) - M.V. Ellis Page 0,15
abused his position of power, and exploited and manipulated two young and vulnerable women.”
“That’s utter fucking bullshit. They came to me. In fact, Breanna sat where I am right now and practically stripped.”
“We know that, and her sister knows that, but nobody else does, and given the current climate, it would be easy to paint a very different picture.”
Chapter 6
Raine
* * *
“Plus, you didn’t have to say yes.” We all stared at Dillon. It wasn’t like he was a mute or anything, but he tended to be very selective about when he entered debates, and rarely went head-to-head with anyone.
“What did you say?” I stood up. I might not have torn the place apart when I heard about Breanna and Charli, but I still had plenty of unspent anger coursing around my body waiting for some place to go.
“You heard me.” He stared at me, unblinking.
“I did, but I was just checking that I wasn’t losing my mind.”
“You might be, but I said what I said.” He remained seated, but he wasn’t relaxed.
Tension radiated from his body. “Why is it so crazy to expect that as a high-functioning adult in a position of responsibility, you’d make the right decision when faced with a morally questionable choice?”
“Because... pussy.”
“Oh, grow up, Raine, for God’s sakes. Your childishness and selfishness could bring this company down, taking all our hard work, blood, sweat, tears, and money with it, and you don’t even have the decency to act contrite.”
“What do you want me to do? Go to the ‘headmaster’ for detention? Write one hundred lines, ‘I will not screw pretty girls who offer themselves to me on a plate. I will not screw pretty girls who offer themselves to me on a plate…?” I could never resist the opportunity to mock his rich-boy English heritage. “You grow up Dillon, and stop thinking everything can be fixed by standing in the naughty corner. Life’s too short for regrets. It is what it is. I made a mess. We clean it up. We move the fuck on. That’s it.” I shrugged nonchalantly to make my point.
“That’s the story of your life though, isn’t it? You make a mess, and someone else cleans it up. Just ask Zach.”
“What did you fucking say?”
“Again, you heard me.” In the time it took me to pounce across the room at him, Dillon had also gotten to his feet. Nobody was more surprised than me to see that in his stance, and the way he looked me dead in the eyes, his jaw locked tight, he was as ready for a fight as I was. A fight that was unlikely to happen given that Beck and Nate had also jumped to their feet, and were now acting as a human shield between the two of us, Beck facing Dillion while Nate faced me.
“And as for no regrets, we all know that’s a tall fucking story, but I just can’t work out whether you’re lying only to us, or yourself, as well. Because we all know that your life is one big fucking regret.”
“People. Dillon. Let’s calm the fuck down before someone says or does something they regret. Beck stepped closer to Dillon as he spoke, puffing out his expansive chest. The truth was, Dillon had already said something I regretted.
“Why do we have to do this every time there’s a crisis? We should be pulling together, but instead, we waste time tearing each other apart. The enemy isn’t in here, within these four walls. It never is, but I tell you this now, if we carry on this way, we won’t need an external threat to bring us down, we’ll do it all by our damned selves without the people who are watching, hoping, and waiting for us to fail needing to even lift a finger. You both need to calm your fucking tits, and sit down, before I make you.”
I hesitated, but the fight had left my body. Dillon’s words had hit me harder than any punch ever could, and I was done.
I sat on the couch, rested my elbows on my knees, and hung my head between my arms.
“So where are we at with this? Is there a plan already in place without consulting me, or am I mature enough to be included in those conversations?”
“Don’t be like that.” Nate sounded tired. I knew the feeling. I was too. Tired of the drama. Tired of being treated like an errant child. Tired of being tired. Tired of being me.