tricks of time ― grayson hawthorne [the inheritance games]

004. HAWTHORNE GAMES

I cursed under my breath, half laughing in the process. Xander laughed out loud, his giggles becoming contagious enough to make the whole alley erupt in laughs, except for Grayson, of course, who was following his name and staying as Gray as possible.

Jameson gave me nothing but a wide grin, as he unbuttoned his pants, but thankfully, left them on.

"Heiress, your turn," and he motioned to me. I rolled the pin, holding my breath.

I breathed out as the ball fell in the gutter. I looked down at my wide blue jeans. I began unbuttoning it, and I felt several eyes burning into me again. I felt myself working to unbutton them, but I stopped.

"No way in hell I'm taking my pants off," I said.

I saw a muscle in Graysons jaw twist, and the rest burst out laughing.

"Leah, seriously?" my sister said, laughing. I slapped her lightly on the arm.

"Oh shut up, you would've done the same—" and she covered my mouth as she went red. Nash smiled widely at her. "Go on," he said with interest, and Leslie blushed.

"Well, I think this game is over," I said.

"I agree," Grayson said curtly, "time for dinner anyway," and didn't look twice before heading upstairs.

"Man, someone's in a bad mood," I heard Xander say under his breath as I quickly buttoned up my jeans again. I couldn't help but agree as I rushed back up to Grayson, the others not noticing as they talked among themselves. I was determined to make things right from before, because I was too stubborn to let it go.

He noticed I was out of breath.

"What?" he said shortly.

"Why do you hate me so damn much?" I asked him. "The rest of them are okay with it," I added. "They've warmed up to it. Why haven't you?" and I looked at him.

He pushed me aside, slamming me against the wall, so much so that we were out of view from those walking down the hallway.

I winced, although I didn't slam across the wall hard enough that I felt the impact. My head was still sore from what Skye had done this very afternoon.

He'd trapped me in his frame. I saw the others in the corner of my eye walk along as if they'd seen nothing. He placed his arm next to mine, leaning across the wall. I had to stare up at him.

"What, Grayson?" I asked impatiently.

"You stole everything. They're not okay with it. But they're trying to find a way to cope with it, now that this is how they'll be living forever." His breath was hot on my neck.

"You just don't get it, the billions in our grandfathers' account just went to a random girl who lived in a small town in Connecticut, all we received was a few hundred thousand? Who do you think you are?" he said, now dangerously close on the close verge of screaming.

Even as I tried to push his hand away, which was dangerously close to the right side of my face, it didn't work. He was just too strong. I tried to duck under him, and was unsuccessful again.

"We destroy everything we touch, Leah. We are Hawthorne's. And they may not, but I will destroy you, I swear to it."

"If you lay a finger on me, Grayson, I will see to it that you're killed. And I swear, I will watch you die."

He laughed dryly and let me go, but the look in his eyes, that he was always dominant, was gone. I would never, never in a million years dreamed that I would say that to anyone. But now, I had the resources. Grayson and I both knew that in a snap of my fingers, I could have Oren shoot him through the heart. But I would never push it that far.

I hated Grayson Hawthorne with my whole life, but I would never kill him.

__

"What took you guys so long?" Leslie asked intently.

I froze. "Oh—" I began to say, but Grayson finished for me.

"She had a question about how to get to the balcony," he said, and his stone cold face made it look like he was telling the truth— there was absolutely no way to know that he was in fact lying.

"Didn't Alisa show you that on your tour? She did for me," Leslie said, skeptical of us both.

I stammered. "O— Oh, no, she had to leave, because she had an important meeting or something. We didn't get to the balcony, she had to leave right before that."

Leslie nodded and shrugged. I was a master at lying, just like Grayson. I'd been doing it my whole life. Sometimes, lying at dinner, telling Leslie I was full so she could have the last piece of bread, when I was in fact dying for a whole extra meal. Or lying to Leslie that I didn't need help with my schoolwork, so she could keep working and earn as much as she could.

Funny that I didn't have to deal with any of that anymore.

"Okay. Anyway, it's dinner, so I suggest you sit down." I moved away from Grayson and took a spot next to Xander and Leslie instead. As Ms. Laughlin placed the food down, I felt my mouth get watery, my brain go crazy over all the delights she'd just placed on our table. As we were eating, I made hard eye contact with Grayson. I had no intention of breaking it. Until Ms. Laughlin came once again with dessert, and we broke it together.

He was rude, a pretentious bastard. He hated me for something beyond my control, because I got something, the one thing he didn't have. On accident, too. I would love to kill Grayson Davenport Hawthorne. He was hostile, cold, and god, so condescending that words couldn't explain it.

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word count: 1613 words