Rich Coven

Chapter Two

"Let go of her," Summer hissed at her brother. Beck withdrew, still leaving the same stupid grin on his face. "Put some clothes on for God's sake!"

He put his hands up in protest. "Don't get mad at me. She was the one who was in my room." 

"Not on purpose!" I defended myself swiftly. Oh no, I hope she doesn't throw me out. I swallowed hard and glanced at Summer with a clear conscious. "I thought it was my room. I should have paid more attention."

"It's alright Eden." Her gaze didn't leave Beck's. She was angry, her fists tightened in balls like she was willing to punch him for touching me. "Don't ever touch her again." She grabbed my hand and led me towards the room I was supposed to go into orginally. 

Her possessiveness stunned me, and I was left thinking about why she felt she needed to protect me from her own brother. As we sat down on my bed, she took a deep breath and began to explain. 

"My brother has a tendency of hitting on every girl I bring into this house. He's one of those you know, a playboy. It's best to stay far away from him." She opened two Notorious Pink Grenache bottles before handing me one. She took a swing before continuing. "I love him, but he lacks self-control when it comes to women. And for some damn reason, they lack self-control when they sleep with him. It never ends good." Her green eyes softened, and she sat up straight. "He's bad news, trust me." 

I nodded. I understood why she felt that way. I could tell from just meeting him that he was the type that women fawned over, so it was no surprise he was a womanizer. 

"Don't worry. I already told him he's not my type," I reassured her. The problem was I wasn't so sure of myself. Men's advances didn't often affect me, and I had no issue with turning anyone down. Still, there was an unshakeable curiosity I had towards him. I wanted to learn more about him, but hitting on the brother of the girl who was letting me stay with her seemed like a horrible idea.

"What's wrong?" Summer questioned. I had unconsciously started to sulk without even realizing. 

"Nothing." I forced a laugh. "Just wondering how I got myself into this situation."

She was quiet for a few seconds before speaking up. "Is your family the reason you ran away from home?" I stiffened. I hadn't mentioned my family since I got here, and I wasn't sure how to answer the question without choking up. "Sorry, I wouldn't have asked if I knew it was going to make you uncomfortable."

"It's okay," I softly responded. "The only family I had was my father. My mother died when I was younger. He blamed me for it, taking his anger out on me." My voice quivered at the end and I glanced down, afraid that she would see that I was still hurting. "He wasn't all bad though. He let me do whatever I wanted. He even got me the fake ID. He didn't care what I did as long as I stayed out of his way." I took a huge gulp of wine, letting the alcohol sooth the sting of pain my heart tried to forget.

"I'm so sorry." She placed a hand over mine. "It must have been difficult growing up like that."

"It was, but that doesn't matter now." I met her eyes. "You saved me Summer. I know we just met but thank you. You've been more of a friend to me tonight than I've had anyone be to me in years."

She sadly smiled. I could tell there was something more she wanted to tell me, but she didn't. "You should clear your schedule for tomorrow, we'll be having a meeting to get you set up here."

"I can't." I shook my head. "I have a job interview." 

"Don't worry about that." She stood to her feet, the half bottle of Grenache dangling beside her thigh. "We'll talk more tomorrow. You should get some rest." She started for the door before turning back. "Goodnight."