Chapter 2
002: Off Limits
✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:BECCA ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:
"Becca-shit--"
Jason stumbled back, nearly tripping over his own feet.
He blinked like he'd just snapped back to reality. "Shit-I-I--thought you'd be on the phone longer—"
Ashley laughed. "Oh, so that's why you rushed?" She actually laughed. "You thought you could get off in time to pretend this never happened?" She bit her lip, amused. "That's so fucking sweet."
Jason snapped toward her.
“Stop it, Ashley.”
My chest felt too tight.
Jason isn't just my boyfriend. He's been my brother's best friend since we moved our beat-up trailer onto the lot next to his family's place. Ten years of him showing up at our door for Luke, while I was stupidly, hopelessly in love with him. And six months ago, he finally said he felt the same way.
Ashley knew the whole story.
And it still didn't stop her.
Jason dragged his jeans up. “Becca, it’s not what you think.”
"There’s a condom on your dick!" I roared. "
My throat scorched and my eyes felt like tea bags.
Ashley stepped off the couch, picking up her skirt like this was mildly inconvenient.
“Oh my God.” She sighed. “Don’t make it bigger than it is.”
I stared at her.
“You slept with my boyfriend.”
She dragged both hands over her face. "I was tipsy from the champagne. I don't even remember how it started.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I felt the tears slip down both cheeks.
She shrugged. "I actually did you a favor. You were about to lose your virginity to someone who clearly doesn’t want you. You heard him say it."
“Becca, please…” Jason reached for me.
I stepped back. "Wait.” My stomach dropped, eyes on Ashley. “You told me Jason and I had the east cabana.”
Her face didn’t change.
And somehow, that made it worse.
“You knew I’d come straight here.” My voice trembled. “Did you want me to see this?”
Ashley rolled her eyes like I was exhausting her.
“I was tipsy, Becca. Stop acting like I planned some evil mastermind thing.”
“That’s not an excuse!”
Ashley groaned. "God, Becca. So dramatic. It was just a quickie.”
There it was.
That tone.
Like I was the problem.
“He’s my boyfriend!”
Ashley folded her arms.
“And?”
I stared at her.
Like maybe I’d heard wrong.
“You’re my best friend.”
Ashley shrugged. “What can I say? They always want me.”
My stomach turned.
“You were supposed to say no.” My throat burned.. "My boyfriend should be off limits!"
She stepped closer, and there it was… that familiar viciousness in her eyes.
"I'm Ashley Carson," she said softly. "Nothing… and no one… is off limits to me."
That did it.
I shoved her.
Hard.
"You know what they call girls like you?" I stared her dead in the eyes. "Girls who fuck anything that looks at them?"
Her eyes flashed.
"Slut."
Ashley was in my face before I could blink.
"You're on my Island," she said "At my party." Her voice dipped lower. "You exist because of me. Your brother exists because of my family. So choose your next words carefully.”
I stepped forward until we were nose to nose.
“Fuck you, Ashley!"
And I stormed out, before I broke.
“Becca, wait.”
Jason called after me. I kept walking. I needed distance. Even the air felt toxic. So I walked. Faster. Then faster. My eyes burned. My throat burned. My chest burned.
At some point I started running.
From that room. From the image seared into my brain. Through the hallway. Out the back doors.
Down a stone path that led away from the music The sounds faded.
I just needed space. Air. Anything that wasn’t them.
I didn’t stop until I slammed into a door.
Ouch!
I looked up.
And froze.
PRIVATE
ALARIC CARSON….
Oh shit.
Oh shit.
My heart didn't just drop… it plummeted,crashed through my ribcage. My stomach followed.
Then my lungs. Everything inside me nosedived at once.
PRIVATE: ALARIC CARSON
It was right there on the door;
Ashley’s dad’s private penthouse.
The one no one was supposed to enter.
It shouldn’t have been unlocked. But it was.
I don’t even remember deciding to walk in. My body just… did. And now I was inside.
Tears burning down my cheeks. Heart slamming against my ribs.
Skin burning like I had a fever. I should’ve turned around. I knew that. But my head was still spinning, still stuck on what I’d just seen—and my feet didn’t get the message.
They carried me up a staircase that seemed to go on forever, into a space of glass and dark wood and silence that felt expensive.
(Nobody goes through that door. Ever.)
But I can’t go back there. And I can’t leave this island without Ashley’s boat. And she said Mr. Carson wasn't even here, so…
I just need some place to cry.
My feet continued.
Through the living space.
Toward the wall of glass that opened onto a wide terrace.
The terrace doors were open.
Ocean wind spilling inside.
And there…sitting on the table like it had been waiting for me…
A bottle of wine. The label was in French, probably worth more than my entire trailer.
I didn’t care.
I grabbed it. Twisted it open. Took a long drink that burned all the way down.
Fuck Ashley.
Fuck Jason.
Fuck all of them.
Fuck my parents for giving me up.
Fuck the driver that took Luke’s legs.
Fuck me for starting that fight.
Fuck me for still being this stupid.
I paced the terrace, the wine sloshing with every step.
Why do I keep letting her do this to me?
Okay Becca, remember that time the snow came down hard enough to bend the roof of your trailer? She let you and Luke stay in one of their guest houses for as long as you needed.
When Luke's medical bills piled up after the accident, the Carson Foundation covered them. You wouldn't be in College without her. Your brother wouldn't walk again without her.
I owe Ashley Carson.
I tell myself that every time she hurts me.
But how many times does she get to hurt me before I’m allowed to hurt her back?
I’m human too.
The splash of water cut through my thoughts. I froze.
Bottle halfway to my lips.
I should get the hell out before whoever it is sees me standing here like an idiot
But I don't. My feet move toward the sound instead like I’m drawn to it.
The terrace overlooked an infinity pool that bled into the ocean.
And there… Cutting through the water…
Alaric Carson.
But… Ashley said he wasn't here. Said he was out on business.
He broke the surface, water slipping down his shoulders, and even from here I could see the lines of him...every muscle...every movement...
God. He was.. No.
Hot wasn’t it.
Dark hair slicked back. A sharp, unforgiving jaw. The same Avancula face I’d seen in photos...but the photos had been a lie. They flattened him.
Took the edge off whatever this was. Because this...This was something else entirely.
Breathe, Becca.
He reached the edge and pulled himself up in one smooth motion.
Took a sip from his glass.
My eyes dropped to the bottle in my hand.
I was drinking his wine.
My mouth went dry.
Water traced a slow path down his chest… over his abs… disappearing into the waistband of his shorts.
Now I get it… why every woman wants him.
(My dad is off limits. Especially to you.)
A laugh almost slipped out.
Because suddenly… I didn’t care.
Not about Ashley Carson.
Not about rules.
If nothing of mine had ever been off limits to her...why should anything of hers be off limits to me?
My gaze dragged upward—
—and collided with his.
Shit.
He saw me.
And he didn’t look away.
Everything locked in place. Even the air in my lungs.
His expression was ice-cold, like he was one breath away from doing something I’d regret.
I should leave.
Right now.
Instead, I tipped the bottle back and swallowed.
What are you doing, Becca?
“Liquid courage.”
Then I moved.
Down the steps. Across the deck. He didn’t move. Didn’t look away. Just watched. Waiting.
I stopped close… close enough to see the water still clinging to his skin, catching in the dip of his collarbone.
And his eyes... up close they weren't just blue. They were layered. Like ocean and ice had a baby and it came out violent.
His mouth tipped… almost a smirk but no… a warning.“You’ve got ten seconds, little girl,” Something dark curled in his voice, “to give me a reason I shouldn’t have you dragged off my island in zip ties."
A beat.
"—and I’d think carefully if I were you.”
And somehow…
through all the anger, humiliation, and wine…
The thought came anyway.
Dark. Twisted. Evil.
What if Ashley’s dad isn’t off limits after all?