The Prince of Royalty (PREVIOUSLY ROYALTY HAS ITS PERKS; UNDER MAJOR EDITING)

22

"Do you think... if I'd walked in earlier, do you think I could've stopped it?" I sighed sadly, resting my cheek on Dean's head and running my fingers through his hair as we sat on his bed, legs entangled beneath the sheets.

It'd been two months since Alex had told us about Kyle. Dean was torn up about it; he felt awful, and I did, too. I wondered if there'd ever been a time where Alex tried to tell me, but didn't. It was hard, going back and forth on the guilt. But it was harder on Dean.

"Dean—"

"Really," he cut in. "If I'd walked in thirty seconds earlier than I did... and I heard him saying no..." My eyes fell shut as they began to burn. Every time I thought about it, it made me sick. I couldn't even imagine how Alex felt, having to live with it everyday.

"Dean," I whispered, sitting up so he could see me. Our eyes met, and he gazed at me so vulnerably, it made me ache. "What I know, without a shadow of a doubt... is that you would've stopped it, had you had the chance." He shut his eyes, tears littering his cheeks. It broke my heart to see him so hurt, but I didn't know how to make it stop.

I reached out to touch him, to say something, to do anything, but before I could, he slid off the bed.

"I'm going to shower. I'll be out soon." He padded into the bathroom, and I sighed heavily, gnawing on my lip.

Instead of dwelling on this until I went insane, I put my mind to use of other things. Things such as anxiety over my family's impending arrival. My birthday was in a week, and they'd arranged to come to California instead of me going home because they wanted to see my apartment.

Suzie had come to visit for a few days around Christmas, and it'd been a blast. I loved seeing her, and it was hard when she left, because it made me realize how much I really missed her, and my parents.

But, along with missing them, I was terrified. So much about me had changed, and I didn't want them to be disappointed in me all over again. I worried that they would carry expectations of who I was when I left, and expect for everything to be the same. But it wasn't. Nothing was the same.

xXx

Later in the day, towards the afternoon, Dean and I were heading to Jerry's to get a carry-out order.

When we got back to The Palace, we stepped inside and I sighed heavily, wiping my feet off from the grass outside.

"Oh. Hi." I looked up, every inch of my skin beginning to crawl as I locked eyes with Kyle. Dean's eyes went cold. I tugged on his arm.

There were so many responses we could've chosen from, but I wanted to go with the least problematic one, which was simply moving around him and walking away. "Look, I know Alex probably told you that bullshit story about the party and how he wasn't sober, but that's exactly what it is. A bullshit story." Dean spun to face him and I bit my lip.

"Bullshit?" Kyle stared up at him. "Was it bullshit when he told you to stop? To get off of him? Was that all bullshit?" Kyle rolled his eyes.

"He didn't—"

"No, shut up, Kyle. Nothing you say can change my mind about you. You lost. You lost me, you lost JT, you lost Alex and Eli. You lost." Kyle's face fell. "You took someone vulnerable and decided that they didn't have a say in what they did with their body. You're a fucking monster." Kyle scoffed.

"And you're so perfect?"

"I'm not a fucking rapist!" Dean barked. I jumped, hand covering my mouth, and Kyle flinched away. Dean's chest was rising and falling rapidly. "If it were up to me, you'd be behind bars for the rest of your life. But I'm going to do whatever Alex wants because unlike you, I have boundaries and respect for other human beings." Kyle's eyes filled with tears. "You stay away from me. Stay away from me, stay away from my friends, and that includes Alex and Eli. You stay away." I pulled Dean's arm again, tugging him away and down to the elevator. His hand was in mine, squeezing it tightly, and we rode up in silence.