Kylie Bray (Love, Hate and Billions)

Chapter 7 (Kylie)

Sneaking a glance from the corner of my eyes I stare at his face,

Our eyes lock and my breathing labored.

My body freezes, Unbending at the scrutiny in his transfixed stare.

I'm not fooled by the casualness he is trying, and succeeding to impersonate, a little too well when he

asks,

“Who's the brains behind this one?”

And neither is Diamond as we exchange a silent agreement when she shifts.

Years of friendship make it easy for us to communicate without words.

We both knew this morning when we decided to do this that he of all my brothers would suspect

something because of where we were going.

But he doesn't need to know we already thought about all of that.

We have our own agenda tonight.

And although Vincent is on to us,

He lacks something vital, something only Kevin has- true perception.

You can't have it if you have emotion and my brother Kevin has non of that, he feels nothing, too bad

for Vincent he isn't here.

I wouldn't tell any of that to Vincent, he is cold and mean but he has emotion.

Lots of it going by the hard angry glare he is giving us as he taps his fingers restlessly on his thighs

waiting for us to answer.

Diamond shrugs as if she doesn’t give a shit about anything, which she actually doesn't unless there's

tequila involved or a score to settle.

I was the shit she first gave to when I decided to be a wing-man to my douche-bag classmate, Aldane

McDonelly two years ago.

Why? Because, where I come from there’s a thing called hierarchy and I am top of the food chain.

I am a Bray and part Stone which means I am a LEADER. And I didn't just lead, I RULED Liston High

Private school.

Some preppy footballer thought he’d try take over, so it was his party I was attending with Aldane.

At the time I didn't realize the only wing Aldane wanted me to man was the one between his legs when

he spiked my drink.

Michael and Kevin got there just in time.

And even though Kevin beat the crap out of him, Aldane ended up with lice on his dick, compliments of

Diamond of course.

To say I made his life hell after that was a child's statement to what I really did. My family bugged me to

press charges but I was no pushover. His daddy might be a man with connections but I have an entire

family of them.

Aldane was denied entry into every university he applied to.

His football career was over.

By the time I was done, the boy couldn't even get into a low grade college in Hong Kong. His father

eventually kicked him out last fall, when he was charged with assault.

The rest, well I don't give a damn, he wasn't important enough, to begin with.

Diamond sighs knowing we're going to have to give Vincent something to appease him.

Placing her head on my shoulder, she huffs,

“Which version do you want Vincey? The long one which has partial truth or the short one which is

complete bullshit and a waste of my time.”

I try very hard to keep my grin hidden by cupping my hand over my mouth and facing the bustle of cars

and Washington’s city lights.

Diamond isn’t one to use terms like ‘bullshit’ often and when she does, it always cracks me up.

“The one where you act your age and tell me the fucking truth for once,” he quips.

My heartbeat spikes with anger, and even a tinge of fear that I will never sanely admit to at his harsh

undertone.

Diamond however is unfazed.

I guess growing up as a biker princess does that to you, leaves you with a backbone made out of

titanium, even at fifteen.

“Okay, well.”

Checking her watch, she narrows her eyes,

“That’s the long version.”

Diamond sighs again, a sign she is already getting bored.

I think part of the reason is also to piss Vincent off.

Diamond is what I call a temper tester. She pushes you until you explode, then she does it all over

again.

She once pissed David off so badly that he took her over his knee and spanked her in front of the entire

Stone family and I mean cousins, aunts , uncles and even grandma Suzie

It is one of the things nobody talks about.

It didn’t work very well, either than just tick her off.

Two weeks after the spanking, David showed up to the Stone’s Estate blabbering and on the brink of

tears.

Mama couldn’t understand what was going on and questioned David about it.

He didn’t understand it himself, none of us did. I was just thinking, at least David was hugging mama

It took a call to Michael and a few hours later we had our answer.

Diamond mixed David's vitamin powdered shake with birth control pills and hormone replacement.

Turned out Diamond wasn’t so thrilled about the spanking. Turned out that Diamond never had a

spanking before David gave it to her.

“With traffic off the next interstate, we have an approximate of thirty-seven minutes to wrap this up.”

Diamond pauses and points to the front of the Bentley.

“That's if the tortoise in the front ups his speed by at least 20miles per hour.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Larus’s answer to Diamond’s words is the car divider going up.

Well, fuck you too buddy.