Devereux House

11

I sat in the kitchen eating a bowl of cereal the next morning feeling like a bus ran me over. I drank way too much last night that everything was a blur. Bella's fight, Jackson's fight, the random guy I beat up. My knuckles were busted. I had sweats and boxers on.

I felt like fucking shit. I was bailed out before I even got to the cells.

Jackson strolls into the kitchen in his sweats. "I feel like someone dragged me through the streets of New York." He says and I watch Ivy walk in after him in her pyjamas.

"Last night was a shit show." Ivy says sitting down rubbing her face.

"Sorry I yelled at you." I tell her. Jackson looks at me and raises his eyebrows. "Did you hit your head."

"Its fine. We were a drunk mess. Is Bella okay?" She asks and I nod. "Selina texted me that she was fine. Im going to go see her."

"Incoming." Jackson says as he looks at his phone. I lost my phone somewhere last night. "Mom and dad."

"Fuck." I say. "Tell them I am not here."

"Really?" Jackson says. I hear the lift dinging and my parents walk into the kitchen.

"Boys." My father says. "Hi Ivy."

"Hi Mr and Mrs Devereux." She says as she gets up. "I need to get myself ready." She says excusing herself.

Jackson and I were both standing here in sweats, no tshirt and hungover.

I sit down on the kitchen counter as I continue eating my cereal. My mother just stared at me. She never seen my tattoos all out. She just shook her head and put her birkin on the table before she wiped the seat and sat down by the table.

"Would you like tea or coffee?" Jackson asks

"No thanks son." My dad says. "Is there anything but alcohol in here?" My mom asks as she looked around. She is never here. I think she has been here once before when we moved in.

"Anyway let it out." I say trying to get this over with so I could go find Bella.

"Have you seen the news outlets this morning? The news papers. The media is taking your wild night out and have plastered it everywhere. You both drunk and surrounded by naked girls." My mother starts.

"I dont think they were naked. Maybe half naked?" I say.

"Not the point." My father says. "It was an insane depiction for our family. The amount of calls I have received.. from France. From anywhere. This is a nightmare."

"Then you carry on fighting with your girlfriend. Get arrested. Another headline. Criminality is now how you choose to embarrass us and your name and heritage."

"Not everything is about you." I say sighing. Funny it was. "I told you stop meddling in my life and if you would have I would have been maybe respectful of this name youre making us hold."

"Carter." My dad says. "As your father I want you to be happy and have a good time and be in a relationship. the pressure of your last name is not what I want to be steering your life. But this? This is not good for you as a person and it isnt good for our family name."

I felt shit suddenly. My dad wasnt ever supposed to be punished. "I look like a joke in France. My son being portrayed as a criminal menace."

"We trusted you with all that money and this is how you repay us." My mom says.

"Look I am sorry dad." I say sighing. I fucked things up with Bella all over me trying to piss my mom off.

"Can you do me a favour? I really really need you to lay low. My family have important elections happening in France. Your grandfather has a million things going on. Im getting the heat."