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“Goddamnit!”
-tossed the iPad on his bed when the familiar message letting him know that he’d exceeded today’s sign-in attempts popped up.
Six incredibly long months of being stuck in this damn house with no internet, phone, video games, television, or anything that would stop him from losing his goddamn mind. Every month, his father told him that they would consider letting him off groundation the next month, only to hear the same damn promise again the next time when he refused to give his father what he wanted.
He’d been born for one reason, to wrap his great-grandmother around his little finger and bring her back into the fold so that his parents and grandparents could gain control of Blaine Industries. Unfortunately for his family, his great-grandmother wasn’t interested in being manipulated, and when they figured that out, they’d handed him over to nannies until he was old enough to be sent to boarding school and they could forget that he existed.
Until last year.
That’s when his family decided that it was time to bring him home. At first, he thought it was because Aunt Haley and Uncle Jason had another baby, but now, there was no doubt in his mind that they’d started panicking when they realized that his cousin Cole was getting closer to turning eighteen and becoming a real threat to them getting their hands on everything that they wanted.
The moment Braxton saw his father waiting for him in his dorm room, he knew exactly why his father was there. He didn’t bother arguing with his father when he told him that he was coming home because there was no point. He was just a means to an end, one that failed miserably the moment that he picked up that brick and smashed in his father’s windshield.
After that…
His father toyed with the idea of sending him back to boarding school, one further away than the last one, only he wasn’t ready to give up yet. So, his father allowed him to stay, pounced on any reason to bring him to Aunt Haley’s house with the hopes that it would please his great-grandmother, only to grow bored when he realized that he was wasting his time. That’s when his parents decided that it was time to take a well-deserved vacation and left him behind, hoping that it would give him the incentive that he needed to do what they wanted.
It wasn’t.
Now, he was stuck in this huge house with absolutely nothing to do and only the servants who were paid to ignore him to keep him company. Except for the next two weeks, Braxton amended as he reluctantly headed to the hallway, kicking dirty clothes out of the way as he debated between a peanut butter sandwich on stale bread or another bowl of dry cereal.
Neither one sounded appealing, but at the moment, he didn’t have much of a choice, Braxton thought as he headed downstairs and-
“Open the door, Braxton!”
-sighed as he headed to the large ornate double doors while the little pain in the ass continued pounding on the door. Knowing that she wouldn’t leave until he did what she wanted, Braxton opened the door and-
“Start talking,” came the angry demand when Braxton opened the door, only to feel his stomach drop when he saw who was standing next to Mikey.
“Where are your parents, Braxton,” Trevor asked, looking incredibly pissed.
Swallowing hard, Braxton said, “They’re not here right now.”
Nodding slowly, Trevor asked, “Where are they?” again as Braxton’s gaze shot to Sebastian before shifting to Mikey, wondering how much they knew.
“They’re on a trip,” Braxton said as he watched Mikey’s eyes narrow dangerously on him.
“How long have they been gone, Braxton?” Trevor asked, making him swallow hard.
“Not long,” Braxton said, not quite able to meet his gaze only to end up admitting, “Since the summer,” with a heavy sigh that turned into a pained grunt when Mikey shoved past him and went inside only to stop, mutter to herself and turn around so that she could grab hold of his arm and drag him back inside the house. God, she really was a violent little thing, Braxton absently thought as she dragged him past the stairs with Sebastian close behind.
“They left you all alone here?” Trevor asked, closing the door behind them as he followed them down the long hallway and into the kitchen.
“The staff has been looking after me,” Braxton said, only to glare at Mikey when she said, “They haven’t been doing a very good job.”
“Where are they?” Trevor asked as he took in everything from the empty cereal boxes and food wrappers covering the counters and table before shifting his attention to the sink full of dirty dishes.
“They’re on vacation,” Braxton said as he pulled his arm free so that he could clean up the mess.
“And they just left you here?” Trevor asked, taking in the half-eaten peanut butter sandwich on the counter while Mikey made her way to the refrigerator and found himself wondering if anyone else was concerned by that homicidal look in her eye when she realized the refrigerator was empty.
“My parents always give the staff a month off for Christmas. It’s not that big of a deal,” Braxton said, shrugging it off as Trevor stood there, taking in the mess while Sebastian opened the pantry that held spices and grains from all over the world that he had no idea how to cook. Braxton watched a muscle in Trevor’s jaw clench tightly as he took in his messy hair and clothes that really didn’t fit anymore before he sighed heavily and said, “Mikey?”
With a firm nod, Mikey said, “I’m on it.”
“On what?” Braxton asked, only to sigh when Mikey grabbed his hand and dragged him back the way they came.
“Which one is your room?” Mikey asked as she dragged him upstairs.
