Breaking the Wrong (34 page)

“Nothing to say, Sloan?” Aniston taunts.

“I’ll say the same thing I’ve been telling you: I didn’t do this.”

“You fucked her mind up!”

My elbows slam on the table as Aniston keeps making jabs at me. I rub my temple as he keeps hissing out words. He shoves his face close, and I look in his cold, brown eyes. “You told her how much you loved her, you sick fuck. You kissed her, you led her on, and you humiliated her. You drove her to kill herself.”

I shoot up from my seat before anything else escapes his mouth. Reaching over, I grab the collar of his dress shirt and yank him clear across the table. Customers around us stop talking and watch the two of us.

Aniston’s eyes widen for a second before he tries to jerk out of my hold. I tighten my grip and stand to my full height and drag him over the table like a rag doll. Our beers tip over and shatter to the ground, and there’s broken glass everywhere.

“Stop!” I shout loudly and
pull him closer. “I’m sorry about what happened to her, but I didn’t do it!” 

Aniston breathes harshly and I tighten my hold on his shirt. We’re in this silent standoff. Both of us are waiting for the other to crack. But I’ve been broken and fucking shattered
to pieces by his sister’s hands. I have all the time in the world.

A few seconds tick by
. Aniston stops fighting and I think he’s close to breaking down.

“Sir, you need to leave,” the bartender calls out nervously.

I give Aniston a hard look before I let go and shove him back. He falls and lands on the ground. He’s sprawled on the floor, as I turn my back on him and push the front door open loudly. It bangs shut behind me and I walk down the street with more anger than I’ve ever felt.

When I’m a block away, I stop
to breathe. My back thumps against the brick wall and I close my eyes.

I know who did it.

Not only have I been betrayed by the girl I loved, but I’ve been betrayed by someone I have known my whole life.

My jaw clinches tightly as I pull out my phone and dial a number that
I know by fucking heart.

“Hey
… I can still go to that charity event if you want me to.”

I listen to the voice on the other end and clench my jaw.

“I’ll see you tonight, then.”

I hang up quickly and smirk darkly.

Tonight will be fun. I am about to take all my anger out on this one person—the catalyst—the person who started it all.

I see
no better way to break all the wrong that has come my way.

~

Julian Langley was born into money.

He is the only child to Edward and Charlotte Langley. They’ve given him everything he could want. Ask and Julian shall receive.

I’ve known him since I was a child, and when I moved back to New York for my last two years of high school, I was right back in his circle.

Clutching the glass in my hand, I look at him. He’s dressed in a tux almost identical to mine. His light brown hair is trimmed and pushed back from his face. Growing up, Julian had this charming quality that made every parent in the room praise him for being such a stand-up man. But the rest of us knew that behind the smile was a cunning personality. I knew it, but I didn’t think it would extend to innocent girls.

Never.

But now it’s different. I’ve been brought into this. It affects Emilia and her entire family. And I’m fucking pissed.

Julian leans against the bar and looks at the women around us. Tonight’s event is in another ballroom, similar to the charity function that Emilia’s parents hosted. The people around me see these events as parties, not as a way to ‘give back’ with the money they always flaunt. If they do give money, it’s only so they can check off their good deed for the year.

“You see that girl over there?” Julian asks. I look to the right and see a blonde. I try to look interested. His blue eyes flick in my direction “I fucked her at this event last year, in some closet.” He smiles wickedly. “She’s crazy.”

This is a normal conversation for us. Before I would have laughed off his words, but now they have a different effect. The picture of Elizabeth flashes in my mind and I wonder if he had ever said anything about her.

I snort and that’s as close as I can get to laughter. Julian doesn’t notice. His eyes slide over every girl. “So what’s up?” he asks casually. “I’m surprised you wanted to come.”

Leaning against the bar, I shrug my shoulders. “It’s my last night in New York. I figured we could start out here and then go to a bar.”

“Just like old times.” Julian lifts his whiskey in the air, and I clink my glass against his reluctantly. He downs the entire drink in seconds. I sip on my water.

For the next thirty minutes, I keep up the small talk and bide my time, waiting for him to fade out and become wasted.

“I’m ready to leave this fucking thing,” Julian slurs out.

My gaze cuts to him, and I give him a brief nod. “Then let’s go.”

Julian’s eyes are bloodshot and he walks like he’s been at sea for a month. I help him down the stairs, toward the door. A doorman holds it open as we pass through.

He grips my shoulder and looks over at me with a sloppy smile. “It’s good to have you back, Mac. You should just transfer and get the hell out of there.”

Grinding my teeth together, I give him a tight smile. “I was thinking earlier about all the shit we used to do in high school.”

“Those were great times,” Julian agrees. 

I’m waiting for the alcohol to take over and for him to say he regretted it all. But the truth is, he probably didn’t regret it.

“Wait a sec,” he slurs. “I gotta take a piss.” He weaves back and forth deeper into the dark alleyway. My eyes never leave his back.

Looking down at the ground, I take a deep breath before I walk forward, into the alley. It rained earlier in the day and now the ground is damp, with puddles scattered around the cement. Broken glass lines the buildings. Trashcans are overfilled with garbage and I think I saw a few rats scatter across the ground. I’d never set foot in a place like this. But right
now isn’t about my comfort level, it’s about digging the truth out of Julian. And if he doesn’t offer the truth, I’ll just beat it out of him. No one will see us here.

“I think I’ve been a pretty good friend,” I say casually. 

Julian looks over his shoulder at me, and zips up his pants. “You have.”

I rest my shoulders against the brick building behind me and cross my arms. “I’ve watched you do some stupid shit.”

He turns around and looks at me quizzically. “What are you getting at?” 

I’ve done a lot of shitty things in past. Things that were wrong, but as I take off my jacket and place it on the broken chair next to me, I feel no remorse. I probably never will.

“Do you know Emilia Wentworth and her family?” I ask.

Julian slowly inches toward the alleyway entrance and I step closer, blocking his path. He swallows and looks everywhere but at me. “Of course. Our dads work together.”

“They have a law firm together, don’t they? I think I read online that they started it up three years ago?”

Julian squirms and nods his head. His reaction makes me smile.

I did a lot of research about Emilia’s family after my conversation with Mae. And the shadiest discovery was that after Elizabeth died, Julian’s family became close to the Wentworths. A bond was forged and it was the perfect out for Julian. No one would ever point a finger at him.

I’m not sure if Julian’s parents know what he did, but in the fucked up world of the rich, I wouldn’t doubt it.

“The last few days have been great for me,” I say casually as I take off my cuff links. “I found out that my name was on a list. Some list that is all about revenge.”

Julian narrows his eyes. “What the hell does this have to do with me?”

I drop both cuff links into my pant pocket and step closer. “This involves you, and me, and the past. You like living in your glory days, don’t you?”

My words make Julian’s face turn ashen. He snorts before he gives me a dirty look. “I’m getting out of here,” Julian takes a step and I block him.

“You need to stay,” I command.

I stand to my full height and take advantage of it. I know without a doubt that if Julian charged at me right now, I could fight him and I would win.

Julian can see the same thing. He stops in his tracks and shifts on his feet uncomfortably.

“You want to know the rest of the story?” I ask.

“No.”

I continue like he didn’t even speak. “So my name is on this list and I got curious. I started to ask questions, and you know what everyone said?”

He silently shakes his head.

“They told me that Elizabeth Wentworth would talk to me all the time. She told her sister, her teachers. I didn’t know her, but she knew me. And imagine,” I say darkly, “how pissed I was when I found out that people blame me for her death.”

“She killed herself,” Julian offers as the weakest excuse. “That’s no one’s fault but her own.”

I want to tackle him to the ground right now, but I stand perfectly still and shrug.
“Maybe, but someone had to cause this and if it wasn’t me, it had to be someone that knew me. Who would do that? Who would hate me that fucking much to put something like that on me?”

“I don’t know,
” Julian says casually.

“There was only one person t
hat used my computer. You.”

“
No,” Julian denies and backs away.

I charge him until my face is inches from him. My patience is shot and I have nothing more to lose.
“When all of this shit went down you were living in my house while your family was in Europe.”

“It was just a prank,” Julian stutters out. “Nothing big
. She took it the wrong way and…” his words veer off and he shrugs his shoulders as if everything was out of his hands.

“A prank th
at made you use my name? A prank that made a girl kill herself?”

“Look, you’re acting fucking weird. That shit is in the past,” Julian gives me his typical carefree smile, a smile that gets him out of everything.
But I think we both know that this is one time he’s not getting away with it. The truth catches up with everyone and when it does, it’s brutal and harsh.

I stretch my fingers and draw my hands into a tight fist. I can’t wait to be the person to give him the truth.

“No, for me, it’s not in the past,” I say darkly. “For you it is, but I have people that think I tormented her. I’m dealing with this shit now. Right fucking now!”

“It’s done, okay?” Julian yells impatiently. “It’s over. Let it go!” 

I refuse to let it go. Holding my ground, I stare him dead in the eye. “Tell me what happened.”

Julian shakes his head and I watch sweat gather on his forehead. I’m finally getting to him.
“I’m not doing this.”

“Why not?” I ask.

“It’s fucked up, that’s why!” Julian snaps out. He starts to pace back and forth and I watch him blankly.

“Tell me everything right now. Or I swear to fucking God, I will beat you until you’re begging to die.”

He backs away and for the first time in our friendship, I see fear in his eyes. “Fine.” Julian gives me a cautious look. “It was just a joke. I saw her e-mail on some stupid St. Xavier’s group on Facebook. I made up an e-mail address and I used your name. It was just a joke!”

“What did you say to her?”

“Anything, really.” Julian shrugs and tucks his hands into his pockets. “She talked and I pretended to be interested in the same things she was.”

My hands start to shake with anger. “And you never met with her? You never humiliated her?”

Julian shakes his head quickly. It’s an instant reaction, his self-preservation that urges him to lie to me. The action causes me to smirk because I get a sick sense of power watching the fear in Julian’s eyes. I know he’s lying, and he knows that I know. I’ve seen him do cruel things and walk away with a smile on his face.

“What did you do?” I yell.

“Nothing!” he shouts.

His eyes look
frantically behind me. I have to hold myself back. “You’re lying.”

Julian’s jaw ticks and he nods his head. “I just kissed her once,”
he admits. “It was at some bookstore she asked me to meet her at. A few weeks later, I saw her at a restaurant when I was with a group of friends, and she came up to me. So I pretended I didn’t know her, and I called her that retarded girl from St. Xavier.”

“God!” I grip my hair tightly and stare down at the ground because I feel not only Emilia’s pain but also Elizabeth’s humiliation. “What the hell made you do that?”

“It was a mistake, but it was a long time ago. Let it go!” He gives me a glance and his lips lift up in that arrogant smile of his. It shows he isn’t sorry and he never will be. “You’re upset over this one Wentworth girl?”