Sinners & Saints (Sinners & Saints #1) (10 page)

           
 
“Can we go now?” she asks, stopping our
intrusion into her emotions.

Already, the bad seeds of Manhattan
society amaze me. Jordana is clearly a girl who knows who she is but carries
with the cool vibe that lacks vulnerability. Poppy’s a girl in her own world
much like August except she genuinely is rainbows and butterflies. She chooses
to block out all the bad and embrace the good and if she has to use drugs and
sex to do it, she will. Cody’s more to be studied, but if my prediction is
correct he’s about order and not taking chances and doing what he is told, like
most kids. And Hugo, well he is indeed a cold one. His vulnerability shows
through his ability to block all emotion. He has the gift of staying flat. No
up or down for him, only in the middle. One thing I do know exists between all
of them. They all long, even if secretly, they long to be loved like of the
rest of the world.

HUGO

I long for nothing but for her to shut
up.

           
“Do
you think the Pope has sex?” Darla Sanchez, daughter of Carlos Sanchez
—
oil tycoon from Texas
—
is known for random questions just like
Poppy.

           
“If
he doesn’t, I can’t imagine how he believes in God,” I say as I flip the
channels of her television.

           
“What
if he only does oral? As long as it’s not intercourse, he should be straight,
right?”

           
I
glance at her with a blank expression on my face, hoping she’s only kidding.
She is still looking at me with that wide-eyed look. “Yeah, I gotta go.” I
stand up from her bed and begin searching for my clothes.

           
“Why
do you have to go?” She’s whining. I hate it when they whine.

           
I
grab my pants and shirt and face her.

           
“Because
I want to.” I buckle my pants then throw on my shirt.

           
“Did
I do something wrong?” Her sentiment is nauseating.

           
“You
seriously need to stop taking things so personally, Darla.” I grab my watch and
look her in the eyes, brushing my hand through her hair, staring down at her
reimagining where her mouth was thirty minutes ago. “No one likes a woman that
second guesses herself. You were great as usual. I just only enjoy the physical
connection of this relationship
—
you know
this. It’s always just me, never you.”

           
What woman takes this seriously?

Obviously Darla, because she looks up
at me now with her sweet, almond-shaped brown eyes and smiles like an imbecile.

SCARLETT

The sound of girls laughing disturbs me
when the front door opens. I’ve been sitting here in the living room of my old
home, reflecting and now laughter destroys that said peace. I am glad someone
other than the help and the idiot twin are here. I see them, Jordana Abbott and
Poppy Montgomery. Still the same, lesbian and the moron, but this girl in the
hat, tank that states foreigner, ripped shorts, and black heel boots
—
she, I do not know.

           
“Scarlett,”
Jordana says sharply.

           
“Hello,
Jordana,” I grin and stand up. “Poppy.”

           
“Hi
Scarlett!” Poppy runs and hugs me. I hate to be touched. I pat her on the back
and force a smile once she releases me.

           
 
“Who is this?” I walk up to the new girl
and she has this smirk that bothers me on her gorgeous face.

           
“This
is Juliet, our new roomie. She’s staying in your old room,” Poppy answers
behind me.

           
 
“Scarlett Brayson.”

“Juliet Spears.” I notice the accent.

           
“So
you’re from the UK.”

           
“My
Alma mater and the same school as Poppy and Hugo.”

           
“Yep,”
Jordana flashes a smug grin. “Actually, she and Hugo have made quite the
rivalry already.”

           
“Really?”
I ask, amused.

           
Juliet
laughs a little. “We’re not rivals. I just have a certain view of him.”

           
“So,
you don’t think he’s charming?”

           
“In
his way, yes he is, but he’s also an arsehole.”

           
“He’s
just misunderstood.”

           
“Everyone
is misunderstood, doesn’t make it less of a clichéd excuse to be an arsehole.”

           
I
smile broadly. I like her.
 

           
We
all turn around once we hear feet running down the hallway.

           
“August,”
I say his name and his smile turns down. He begins to hide his face lowering
his head.

           
“Hi,”
he says nervously. The little bastard has always been scared of me. I find it
hilarious.

           
“Hey
August,” Juliet greets him, waving, and his smile appears again.

           
“Hi,
Juliet.” He waves back.

           
How
sweet, the little tart has bonded with the little retard. Shame on me for
saying that about August, but as long as Hugo doesn’t hear me say it, I don’t
give a shit. Juliet’s eyes avert between August and I. She stays on me for a
moment, her precious blue eyes. I sense tension with this girl. I want to laugh
out loud because the way she looks at me with wonder tells me everything I need
to know. The new girl fancies my Hugo.

“Well, I guess I’ll leave you all and
go wait in Hugo’s room,” I say it more directly to her and leave. I can’t wait
to be caught up with all that’s happened since I’ve been gone.

JULIET

 
“So that was the famous Scarlett,” I say
once we walk into Poppy’s room with August not far behind us.

           
“Yep,”
Jordana says as she falls into Poppy’s pink beanbag. “Charming, isn’t she?”

           
“I
can tell already she is. There are plenty of girls like her back home.”

           
“Don’t
know, Juliet.” Jordana shakes her head. “Scarlett is one of a kind. She is the
type of quiet scary. You never see her coming.”

           
“I
see she gave you a scare, August,” I say to him as he sits on the floor next to
me with a sketchbook. He opens it up and reveals what looks to be a drawn out
maze. Wow. It’s a labyrinth. It is a clear drawing of difficult paths.
 

           
“She
always scares me.” His confession takes my attention away from his sketchbook.
His eyes firm on the paper as he adds on to the intricate combination. He’s not
even blinking. Drawing these things is probably the only time he doesn’t blink.
“She’s bad for Hugo. She was bad for Gabriel.”

           
“August
was the one who found Gabriel in Scarlett’s room,” Jordana says.

           
“Don’t
take me back to it, please,” he pleads and all I want to do is give him a hug
and promise him to never remember that day again, but just like the good days
you never forget the bad ones. It’s also another thing besides DNA that he and
Hugo share. They both witnessed their loved ones in treacherous events.

Sympathy crosses through Jordana’s
eyes. “I’m sorry, August. I won’t take you back.” She shakes off the good then
masks herself with carelessness. “You want a hit?” she asks me, holding up an
already rolled up joint.

           
“Yeah,
it’s been a minute. Well, since yesterday.” I wrap my lips around the end and
inhale. Oh, it tastes like mango. I love it.

           
“Do
you partake in any other illegal drug?” Jordana asks.

           
“I’ve
tried some stuff in my day. I went on a massive trip off ecstasy during Spring
Break in Bali.” I laugh to myself remembering that time with my best mate Jaz.

           
“What
about coke? LSD? Muscle relaxers? Oxy? PCP?” She arches a brow. “Heroine?”

           
I
laugh at the list. “I have tried coke, but it burns and it’s too,” I make a
gross out face, “ugh. What about you?”

           
“I’ve
tried everything except heroine,” Jordana explains. “Coke from time to time
—
for the high, of course, never for the
initial feeling of snorting shit up my nose.”

           
“I’ve
never did crack,” Poppy twirls her hair in wonder.

           
“You
look like you’re contemplating on doing it,” I say.

           
“She
probably is, which is very stupid given she’s overdosed three times now,”
Jordana informs me.

           
“What
the bloody hell is wrong with you, Poppy?” I’m laughing but totally serious.

           
“Nothing!
I just like to have a good time,” she defends herself

           
“Well,
how about you work on having a good time without using illegal substances?” I
suggest.

           
She
is seriously thinking deeply about this. It’s as if in her mind the act has not
been achieved before by anyone.

           
“That
just leaves sex then,” she finally says, shrugging. We all laugh at her,
including August.

           
“So,”
I decide to bring back up the main subject. “Scarlett.”

           
“Scarlett,”
Jordana says back, grinning. “She’s probably going to drive Hugo mad.”

           
“Why
is everyone so scared of her?”

           
“It’s
who she is. Always knowing, always just ten steps ahead of everyone. She was
the queen bitch in our school and had her hooks in everyone that mattered.
She’s the type that will have you either wanting to be like her or wanting to
sleep with her.”

           
“Did
you sleep with her? I will not be shocked if you too slept with her.”

           
Jordana
smirks. “She was my first. I began as the quintessential girl, battling her
attraction to the same sex. I was shy, timid when I got here. Scarlett knew
though. She probably realized when I lingered too much at her whenever she
changed in front of me. She called me out on it after I was here for only a
week. She would flirt with me, sending me mixed signals. Of course I denied it,
but she knew. Playing with my head, basically. I was obsessed with her for
months. She tortured me by titillating me until finally I snapped. She forced
my coming out.” Jordana pauses, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. “Come
to think of it, even though I despise her, I do have her to thank for making me
become my true self.”

           
“So
again with complete respect and disgust, she is a person that uses her beauty
and people’s vulnerability and scars from whatever fucked up thing happening to
them to get what she wants. I think that’s a clear definition of Scarlett,
yeah?”

           
Jordana
and Poppy look at each other then at me. “Yep, pretty much,” they say in
unison.

6

HUGO

I walk into my room. I’m in the middle
of unbuttoning my shirt when I see her. She’s staring at my chess game. She
turns around, her blonde hair hanging down to the side like a bombshell from
the fifties and her red voluptuous lips part slightly at the sight of me. Still
beautiful. Still able to make my dark heart race from the sight of her.

           
She
walks up to me in her black heels, black pants and teal sheer sleeveless
blouse. She stops in front of me and begins to circle around me. Usually I’m
naked when she does this.

           
“I
see you’re still intact,” she says, reappearing in front of me.

           
“And
I see you’re still you… bewitching.”

           
She
smiles and laughs a little.

           
“How
have you been, Scarlett?” I ask, my eyes on her lips.

           
“Outstanding,
Hugo… you?”

           
“Dull…
but still pleasurable.”

           
Her
brow arches. “I bet… would you like a proper hello?”

           
I
don’t answer. She knows what I want. She always knows what I want. I grab her
waist, pressing her body against mine and slide my hand around her neck,
squeezing gently, leaning in and pressing my lips against hers. Slow and easy
first then like a starving animal, I shove my tongue into her mouth, savoring
the taste of her as she moans into mine. She grips my shirt and pushes her
tongue against mine and we devour each other. It’s the only way we know how to
be when together. This is our proper hello. I’m hard. Literally, it’s
throbbing, which is the usual effect Scarlett has on me. She bites my lip,
pulling it back before pushing me away. I stare at her ass once she walks away.
Still round and lovely. She sits on the edge of my bed as I finish unbuttoning
my shirt, taking it off.

           
“I’m
getting married.” She just lets the words spill right fucking out. It isn’t a
knife to the heart, but the knife went in somewhere
—
maybe the spleen.

           
“Congratulations,”
I say and head over to my walk in closet. “Who, may I ask, is the unlucky
fellow?”

           
She
walks over to the entryway and leans against the doorframe with her arms
crossed.

           
“Patrick
Townsend, gorgeous, twenty-seven… he’s old money. The wealthiest family in
Boston. The eighth richest family in the Northeast.”

           
“I
know. They’re Town Corporation, my father’s rivals. Also the third largest
privately owned corporation in America. Let me guess, Patrick’s the golden
boy.” I take off my pants and underwear while still staring at her. Her eyes
stream down, grinning.

           
“Yes,
he is.” She’s still staring down. “He’s actually a good person.”

           
I
arch my brow. “And you? You are going to marry him?”

           
She
fondles with her diamond necklace with her left hand, intentionally flashing
the diamond ring on her finger. “He adores me… and his family is connected and
well respected. Imagine it. Our marriage will make me queen of the Upper
Eastside.”

           
I
roll my eyes, grabbing my towel and wrapping it around my waist. “A dream we
should all aspire to.”

           
“Don’t
condescend me, Hugo,” she snaps. “At least I’m using my gifts for something
bigger, unlike you.”

           
“What
the hell is that supposed to mean?”

           
“It
means that you are still shacking up here and still fucking the usual spoiled
debutantes. Where is the ambition?”

           
“We’re
all not interested in reigning over people whose hardest daily choices in life
are should I drive the Porsche or take the limo.” I move past her and head to
the bathroom.

           
“Did
you even pick a major yet?” She follows.

           
“Yes,
I did. Art History.”

           
I
drop my towel while she huffs. “Are you serious?”

           
“I
thought it would be a perfect way to piss off my father.” I step in the shower,
closing the glass door and turn on the hot water. “Originally, I took the
course so I could sleep with Mrs. Bowman’s daughter, Gretchen. Payback for the
time she snitched on us during Fashion Week.”

           
She
opens her mouth to respond but then tugs her lips in, arching a brow. “Hmph,
not bad.” I knew she’d approve. During Fashion Week in New York, Scarlett and I
played a little game with an up and coming model that left her passed out on
oxycodone. Mrs. Bowman, well known fashion editor, was pissed and blamed
Scarlett and I, leaving us both being chastised by the people we hate the most
—
our parents.

           
“I
receive the inheritance that my mother left me and August this year on our
twenty-third birthday. I will then be free of my father.”

           
She
snickers. “Oh sweetie, you and I both know that we are never truly free of them
until they’re dead.”

           
“I’ll
be. Now are you getting in or what?”

           
She
bites her lip, giving me one last look up and down and sighs. “Sadly, no. I am
a hundred percent focused on Patrick; therefore, you and I’s physical
relationship can no longer be continued.”

           
I
frown. “You’re joking, right?”

           
“No,
I’m not. I don’t need anything fucking this up. So, continue sticking it
elsewhere.” She raises her chin at me. “Maybe you should give the new girl a
try.”

           
“She’s
a bit of a complex nuisance.”

           
“I
thought you liked a challenge.”

           
“I
love a challenge, but I don’t like surprises.”

           
“She?
Modern day Marry Poppins is a surprise?”

           
“You
haven’t interacted with her enough.”

           
“I
thought she only got here yesterday?”

“Yeah, well like you she gives a
fascinating first impression.”

She begins to frown. Scarlett doesn’t
like anyone close to being as special as she is. She’s insecure that way.

“I think you should break her.”

           
“Well,
I think you should enjoy this glorious shower with me, but we can’t always get
what we want.”

           
“You
forget,” she opens the door and I lean in. She plants a kiss on my lips and
whispers, “I always get what I want.”

           
She
backs away smiling. She gets ready to turn around before stopping. “Oh, also
I’ll be bringing my fiancé to dinner here tonight. If you’re good, I’ll let you
feel me up under the table.”

JULIET

Dinner starts off quiet. Scarlett has
returned only now with her fiancé on her arm. Patrick Townsend is very
handsome. He has that all American thing going for him. His hair is dark brown,
his eyes crystal blue and a smile that can literally light up a room. With
those perfect white teeth and adorable dimples. He’s charming, kind, he seems
like a natural born leader. It’s clear that he is engaged to the wrong woman.

           
“So
when is the glorious wedding, Scarlett, my dear?” Ms. Eleanor asks, her eyes
gleaming at her plate of sushi temaki.
 

           
“We’re
planning for a June wedding next year,” Scarlett says, sliding her hand into
his, their fingers intertwining.

           
“Uh!
June weddings are always the best.” Ms. Eleanor clears her throat, raises her
delicate arms and begins to sing. “For they say when you marry in June, you
will always! Always! Always! Be a bride!”

           
“She
really loves classic American musicals,” Jordana whispers to me.

           
“Apparently,
things are still the same,” Scarlett says, disapprovingly. I don’t like that.

           
“So,
Hugo,” Patrick addresses Hugo who is sitting at the head of the table. “I’m
glad to finally meet you. Scarlett has always told me about you. She speaks
highly of you and says you’re like a little brother to her.”

           
Hugo
semi smirks. “Yes,” he answers and I’m noticing his arm reaching under the
table. No bloody way! Is he feeling her up?! The smile spreading across her
face right now and the lip biting definitely confirms it. Of course this Patrick,
poor bastard, he is totally oblivious. “She is too the sister I’ve never had.
You are a very lucky man, Patrick.”

           
 
“I know.” He says it with conviction.
He’s in love with her. He looks at her like she is perfection
—
a perfection she has conjured up. Hugo
looks at her the same way except I think the perfection he sees in her is the
darkness she wants to hide from Patrick.

           
“So,
Patrick,” Jordana says. “How did you two crazy kids meet?”

           
“At
a lounge. I was there with some work buddies and saw this stunning woman and I
knew I had to meet her.”

           
“How
original,” Hugo makes a snide comment. Patrick notices but ignores it while
Scarlett sways an amused but angry look at him.

           
“You
have a twin brother, right?” Patrick asks him.

           
“Yes,
he seems to have contained himself in his room,” Hugo says as Thomas pours him
a glass of wine.

           
“He
seemed scared,” I say still staring at my plate, tucking my hair behind my ear.
I can’t help myself. I look up. “He seemed scared down here. Wonder why?” I
look at Scarlett and she slyly grins at me, amused by my gallant behavior.

           
“My
brother is just tired,” Hugo says, his eyes penetrating me.

           
“So,
Cody your mother is Elaine Nichols, correct?” Patrick asks.

           
“Yeah,”
Cody answers proudly.

           
“I
went to a conference she led two years ago. Her research on Alzheimer’s was
amazing. It’s what led to my family’s funding in the research.”

           
“Yeah,
my granddad suffered from Alzheimer’s and before that his father, so she saw
firsthand what it did. She’s devoted to it.”

           
“Your
mum sounds cool,” I say to him.

           
“Yeah,
she is.” He gives it a thought. “Well, she can be when she’s not interfering in
my life and future.”

           
Some
of us laugh a little in understanding.

           
“That’s
what comes with the territory of being children of the prestige,” Patrick says
raising his glass.

           
“Thank
God, my parents are hippies.” Jordana also gives it a thought. “Well, hippies
minus the flowers and kind words when speaking to each other.”

           
We
laugh at Jordana and continue with dinner. I glance over at Hugo. I watch as he
glances around the table then back at his dish. His brow furrows and I notice
how uncomfortable he is. I don’t think its because of Patrick and Scarlett. I
think its just because the way he is. Uncomfortable with certain human
interaction maybe? And that’s when it hits me.

I quickly look away once he looks in my
direction. I’m mentally berating myself now. That one guy that my
mormor
always told me about. I always
laughed it off but fucking hell she was right! The one that I would want to
know, want to be with, think about day and night, become crazy over… she told
me he would most likely be an asshole.

Scarlett

“Hugo, where are your sunglasses?” I
ask noticing. I noticed from the first moment I saw him again. He never goes
this long without them. It’s my favorite thing about him.

Poppy giggles while Cody and Jordana
smirk. My eyes then fall on Juliet and I need no answer from Hugo. She looks at
him, her eyes lighting up and he shifts in his seat uncomfortably.