Blissful Hook - SAMPLE. PUBLISHED

|| Chapter One ||

"Are you sure you want to leave already? We're still booked in for a few more days, and your brother has already paid for the room. You don't want to waste his money. This trip couldn't have been cheap."

My mom's scolding is as consistent as ever as I shove the rest of my stuff into my open suitcase. No shit, the trip wasn't cheap. Brother dearest got married in Mykonos. How else was he supposed to flaunt his wealth to everyone he knows?
 
"I never asked for River to pay for my room. If I remember correctly, I didn't even want him to book me one." I scoff. "I told him not to, actually. He's the one that wasted his money."
 
"Can't you just be happy for a few days?" Her eyes shut slowly and her shoulders drop like the weight of her disappointment is too much to bear. "You've been bringing everybody down since the moment you stepped off of the plane," she replies with a weighty sigh. It's odd hearing her speak in complete sentences. Usually, she's too high to hold a conversation—babbling to herself as if she's the speaker of the house and itching at the skin on her forearms until they're raw and bloody.

"My bad." I push the top of my suitcase down over the clothes I just threw inside and zip it up. Gripping the handle in a tight fist, I pull it to my side and stretch my neck when the wheels slam against the expensive-looking tile floor. "I already changed my flight. There's nothing I can do."

Mom closes her eyes and inhales a deep breath through her narrow nose and places a hand on a jutted hip bone. The dramatic action nearly makes me laugh in disbelief: Nora Bateman almost looks like a disappointed mother.

What a goddamn sight to behold. It only took twenty-three years.

"Alright, Tyler. Whatever you want to do. You've never been one to listen."

Yeah, it's almost like I had no one to teach me how. "Alright. I'll talk to you later, then."

"Say goodbye to River before you leave. I'm sure he would appreciate the effort."

"I'm sure he would." I snort louder than I intended to and drag my suitcase behind me on my way to the door. A huff echoes behind me as I pull it open and step into the empty hallway. I don't bother looking back when the door clicks shut behind me.

She can enjoy the rest of her vacation drinking bottle after endless fucking bottle from the limitless bar until she crawls to River's room, begging for the toilet bowl. And when he flounders at the task of having to take care of his alcoholic mother for once in his life, maybe, just maybe, she'll realize that I'm the one that takes care of her, and that she's been taking me for granted.

I shove my palm towards the elevator buttons, wincing as the metal cuts into my skin. The doors open and I all but throw my suitcase inside, grinding my jaw. I didn't plan on coming to this fucking wedding for a reason. My older brother and I detest each other. I can barely remember a time when I didn't want to knock him on his ass, and leave him bleeding on the floor.