Vile Boys (Spine Ridge University)

I breathe a sigh of relief when we’re finally back at Tartarus House.

We were so close to losing Crystal forever that I still can’t believe it.

I glance at her, but her gaze evades me, almost as if she can’t bear to look at me without questioning her own heart and why it so easily gave itself away to me. To us.

But maybe we were all lying to ourselves when we believed this could just be flesh against flesh.

Suddenly, her fingers touch mine while my hand rests on my lap, and I look her way again. She gently smiles, interlacing her fingers through mine, and it makes me feel so damn fucking good I want to smash my lips onto hers.

But it’s too soon. Too early. Too fresh after all that killing.

She used me for her own gain, pushed her mother into my father’s arms just to get closer to Ares …

I unfurl my fingers from hers and look away, but the soft, breathy sigh leaving her lips doesn’t go unnoticed.

Ares parks the car and opens the door, but the second he steps out he nearly collapses. I immediately jump out and run to him to support him under my shoulder.

“I’m fine,” he says.

“Stop lying,” I say. “Let me help you.”

He snorts. “You’re one to talk.”

“Guess we’re both perfect liars then,” I murmur with a grin. “Let’s get you inside.”

I tug him with me, but not before glancing over my shoulder at Blaine and Crystal who just stepped out of the car. Even though she stomped on my heart by admitting to her lies, it still aches for her. And I don’t think anything will ever change that fact.

I’ve fallen in love with not just one but two liars.

Blaine

Crystal looks as pale as snow, and I offer her a hand when she steps out of the car.

“I can walk,” she says, nearly falling over, but I catch her just in time, my palm fitting neatly into the small of her back.

Perfect.

“I … I …” she murmurs, a blush creeping onto her cheek.

I place a finger on her lips. “You don’t have to say anything. I know how you feel.” I smile. “Even though you only wanted me to teach you so you could kill Ares, I knew what I was getting myself into.”

Her eyes flash with surprise. “But Ares didn’t tell you why.” She pauses. “Or did he?”

I swallow and nod. “Ares tells me almost everything, except for the blood on his back, but he doesn’t speak about that to Caleb either. Not to anyone, I think.” I clear my throat. “Regardless, even if I did know, it’s not up to me to tell someone else’s story. It would’ve only fueled the hatred. Something I wish didn’t exist between us.”

She sighs and looks down. “I just … wish I knew what to do.”

I tip up her chin. “Whatever choice you make, I’ll be there with you every step of the way.”

“So you’re not mad?”

“I don’t know, are you mad at me?” I raise a brow. “We both kept information from each other.”

She snorts. “I guess we’re all liars here.”

“That’s what Tartarus is known for,” I muse, hooking my arm through hers. “Liars, deceivers, killers, gamblers, all the riffraff of society living under the same roof. I feel so lucky.”

She hides her laughter under her hand.

“Glad I could make you smile a little,” I say, winking.

“I’m surprised you almost let me kill him, though, that was very unlike you,” she says.

“Believe me, it took every ounce of my restraint.” I shrug as I add, “But you heard him warn us not to intervene.”

She frowns and looks up at the staircase where Caleb is helping Ares get back to his room. “It almost felt like he … wanted me to kill him.”

“Maybe …” I mutter. “He’s been dancing on that edge with Caleb for quite some time. Both of them keep each other alive when the other was about to fall.”

“They really have a complicated relationship,” she mutters.

“Yes. But when you came into the mix, it was like chucking a fire at a concoction of gasoline and alcohol.”

She swallows as though it falls hard on her, especially when Caleb glances at her over his shoulder. Even I can feel their palpable connection from this distance, like lightning zapping across the room, the same lightning I feel whenever I touch and kiss her.

I sigh out loud. “I’m sorry, darling. I don’t want you to think it’s all your fault. Those boys have been toxic for a very long time, believe me.”

“It’s fine. I know what I’ve done.” Her resolve strengthens, I can see it in her eyes. “I’m not finished yet. I just need to figure out …” Her words taper off as though she’s still trying to decide on the words to say. But no words will ever suffice for the complicated feelings we have.

I grab her hand and press another kiss to the top. “Whatever you choose, you know I’ll always be here waiting for you.”

Caleb

When she approaches Ares’s room, I immediately walk to the door and stop her from entering. I don’t want to get between them, but if she still intends on ending his life, this would be the perfect opportunity.

She peers at him over my shoulder at his blood staining his shirt, so I block the view with my body and fold my arms while I peer down at her.

“I can’t let you see him when he’s at his weakest,” I say.

Her gaze sweeps across all the blood caking my skin, a hint of shock riddling her face. Still, she doesn’t back away despite the horrors she just watched us inflict on our enemies, and it surprises me.

“I just … wanted to say thank you. For saving me.”

I want to believe her. I really do. But I know she’d kill him in a heartbeat too.

“Why? You still want to kill him.”

Her face darkens. “You know why.”

“Yes. I do.” The look in her eyes has definitely changed into something less vicious than before. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel hurt. “But Ares and I need each other, and I won’t let you take that away from me too.”

Her round lips part. “I … I’m sorry for lying to you.”

Her apology catches me off guard.

She averts her eyes. “I did mean to tell you about my struggle with him at some point, but I needed to prove first why I did what I did so you could understand.”

I can feel myself softening up, and I bite my lip piercing, torn between her and him. Because I know exactly why she wants to kill him. A fire has been churning inside her for so long that it was bound to burn out. “I know you want to avenge your father.” I pause. “But you have it all wrong. I just know it. And this thing? It’s breaking him, just like it broke me when I found out your mother was dating my father.”

Her eyes tear up slowly. “I …”

“Let her in.”

Ares’s voice rips through me, and she blinks away a few tears in a hurry.

“I can’t let her kill you,” I growl at him, rubbing my forehead in despair as I turn to her again. “I won’t.” I grab her shirt and pull her close. “Don’t you understand? I need you both alive. I need you, and I need him. You’re both my salvation and my downfall. I fucking need you both so much I can’t stand to live without. How am I supposed to survive when it feels like I can’t fucking breathe?” I say, desperation poisoning my voice. “How am I supposed to survive knowing you two will be each other’s end?”

Guilt riddles her blood-caked face. “But—”

“Don’t make me choose. Please,” I murmur, slowly releasing her from my grip. “I’m begging you.”

Surprise flashes across her face.

“I … love him,” I whisper, letting my hand travel down her chest as my own tightens with desire. “But I’ve also fallen in love with you.”