Kings of Brier

Chapter 2

They'd ended up heading out into the west side of town, deep into the nightlife district where all the best clubs and restaurants were in South Brier. It was one of the nicer parts of the city that was mostly untouched when it came to crime. Although, she always wondered if that was only because one of the top players had already staked a claim. Out of all the criminals in the city, the Kings and Greers were the undisputed top dogs, so for all the small players to get pushed out and stay in line it would have to be one of them.

Apparently, there was some really hot club that Sarah had been meaning to hit up for a while but it was a little hard to get into. She seemed pretty convinced that with Jules at her side, they had a pretty decent shot of getting in.

Jules wasn't so sure.

"Girl, no one is turning you down. Not with those boobs and that ass."

She couldn't help but blush. Jules was fit, she knew that-it came with the job-but she'd never really considered herself much to look at beyond that. She spent most of her time in uniform-which wasn't exactly made for showing off the figure. And when she wasn't at work she usually threw on an oversized t-shirt or sweater and some shorts or leggings. Besides Ash, no one had really paid her much attention growing up.

It was her first time in the Thomas home. Just another foster home. Hopefully, her last. Jules had been to more schools now than school dances. Not that she cared. She wasn't much of a dancer and she never really talked to boys anyway. She hadn't even been kissed before-how lame was that? Thirteen years old and never had a boyfriend, never been kissed, never had someone give her butterflies.

No one had greeted her or helped her up, but she knew better than to expect a welcome party. When she first walked in though, she'd honestly expected to see some greasy-haired middle-aged man with a beer belly like in most other homes. But Randolph Thomas was... normal. Maybe a little plain. He looked more like an office worker with his button-up and thin, wire-frame glasses. Definitely one of the most "fatherly" figures she'd seen in a home. She thought the edge of a tattoo was peeking out from his sleeve as he reached up to stroke a girl's hair. She couldn't have been more than two or three years older than Jules at the time. By all counts, it shouldn't have been anything more than a fatherly gesture... but Jules didn't miss the way he stared at the girl while she walked away. His gaze stayed low.

When he finally noticed her standing there and dragged his gaze over her, it was... uninterested, bored. She might as well have already walked away. "I'm... I'm Juliet... Mrs. Reyn dropped me off..."

"Second door on the right. Breakfast is at 7:15, dinner at 6:30, and lights off by 10:30." The words felt stale.

"Thank you," she whispered as he headed down a hall, leaving her to head upstairs alone.

"Trust me, it's better if he doesn't like you." A blonde boy showed up behind her, his eyes trained carefully on her face. It was hard to look away. "Let me show you around," he picked up one of her bags and led the way upstairs without checking to see if she followed. She did. That day and every day after that. They were inseparable, like a flower reaching for the sun...