ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏʏs (Book 1)

xvi. abandoned

Ashton slammed Colton's back against the wall. He managed to shove his forearm against his brother's throat, pinning him down long enough for him to talk. "Don't you want to know about her?" Ashton ground out between blood covered, clenched teeth. The corners of his lips twitched upward. "Don't you wanna know who she truly is?" Colton's brows furrowed, and for a moment he stopped resisting. Ashton reached into his pocket and pulled out the folded picture he'd found in Sutton's bedroom—in her nightstand. Colton's amber eyes flickered to the image, and his expression shifted. It was a picture of Sutton and her family. Or at least, that's what it seemed like. The photo wasn't entirely clear. They were all dressed up in their Sunday attire standing in front of a well-groomed garden along the side of a yellow house. Everyone's faces were scratched out methodically, everyone's but Sutton. Her expressionless face remained untouched.

   "We were completely wrong about her," Ashton admitted matter-of-factly. "But I finally figured her out." He shoved the picture back into his pocket, and this time when his hand came out, he had his phone and showed Colton another picture he had taken. It was Sutton's little sister, Jaime, in an empty bedroom, laying in a bed fast asleep, with pills beside her. She wasn't sleeping. She was dead.

   Colton's eyes narrowed as he took the phone. He shot his knee up and bashed Ashton between the legs. Ashton groaned as he curled forward. Taking the opportunity, Colton clocked Ashton in the jaw sending him stumbling back a few paces. He spat to the side and popped his neck. "And what exactly do you plan to do with this new piece of information?"

   Ashton's brows pinched together. "Clyde needs to know," he stated as though it were obvious.

   "Clyde doesn't need to know shit. Not unless I decide so and I say no."

   Ashton's frown only deepened. "But he—"

   "You honestly think he needs to know what a shit of tonight we've made? It'll only prove how incapable the rest of you are." There was an ominous gleam in his intense amber gaze as he squared his shoulders and stood a bit taller. Ashton must have noticed. Because instantly, his eyes rolled and he wiped away the blood that leaked from his busted lip. "The rest of us?" he scoffed.

   "You know, I used to always go along with whatever you said, I never questioned you, I just did. Only because I knew Spencer was too emotional and Tyler and Kaleb were too out of control." Ashton stepped closer. Something uneasy in his empty gaze. "I don't really care to be leader myself. But the one thing I don't like is when anyone thinks they can tell me what to do."

   Colton's glare hardened. He stared at Ashton with hatred, his eyes glinting. But Ashton only continued, "I let you think you were in charge before because I didn't care enough otherwise. Now I'm just tired of you."

   Colton forced a grin, his bloodshot eyes falling hallow. Without warning, he lunged forward and tackled Ashton to the ground.