In Ruins (A Black Falls High Novel Book 1)

by K. G. Reuss

  Cole removed my rubberband, letting my curls free fall around me. He backed away as Enzo continued his onslaught of kisses on my body.

  “What are you doing?” I rasped as Cole trained his phone on me.

  “Recording you.”

  “Why? Stop.” I scrambled to break away from Enzo, but he held me to him.

  “Don’t worry, Sunshine. This one is just for us. I promise.”

  “No,” I whimpered. My vision grew blurry as tears filled my eyes. “Don’t record this. Please.”

  “Rosebud, you have to trust me on this.” Cole leaned in and kissed my lips in a manner uncharacteristically gentle for him. “Relax. I promise I’ll delete it. Just do what you’re doing. I’ve been recording since I walked into the room ten minutes ago.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat as Enzo cupped one of my breasts through my bra. Squeezing my eyes closed, I let him touch me, trying to push the idea of the camera out of my head as Enzo tugged my bra straps off my shoulders.

  “Easy, Enzo,” Cole instructed. “You know the rules.”

  “I want to fuck the rules and her,” Enzo grunted as he shifted his hips beneath me, his erection hitting all the right places through his basketball shorts.

  I let out a soft moan at the pressure building within me.

  Desperate to tumble over the peak of euphoria, I ground myself against Enzo’s hardness, my breathing short and raspy.

  “Fuck,” Enzo hissed. “Cole.”

  I wasn’t sure why he was calling out to Cole, but it didn’t take long to find out. Cole tugged me off Enzo’s lap, causing me to stumble on my feet.

  “Wha—?”

  Cole tossed the phone to Enzo, who was breathing hard, before lifting me up. My legs instinctively wrapped around his waist as he brought us to the couch and placed me on it on my back, his hard dick positioned against my aching center.

  Cole rocked against me, the heavy material of our jeans rubbing against my clit.

  “Cole,” I moaned against his lips as his forehead pressed to mine, his hips rocking with mine in a perfect rhythm.

  “Tell me you want it,” Cole growled, picking up his pace.

  My eyes practically rolled back in my head. “I-I want it,” I managed to say breathlessly. “Please.”

  Cole slowed down his movements, making me groan in protest.

  “Easy, baby. I want it too.” Cole placed a kiss on my lips. “But we can’t.”

  “What?” I sputtered out as his movements stopped.

  He chuckled and looked up to Enzo who was sitting across from us, phone still pointed in our direction.

  “You hear that, Fox? She wants it.”

  Fox? What the hell did he have to do with any of it?

  Cole moved off me and tugged me up onto his lap.

  “When this happens for real, Rosebud, you’re going to thank us that we stopped in this moment because we’ll blow your fucking mind with the real thing.” Cole’s soft voice in my ear sent a shockwave of anticipation through my body. I sagged against him, my body still wired from nearly orgasming. One more hip grind from Cole, and I’d have soaked my panties.

  “Send the video,” Cole instructed.

  I whipped my head in Enzo’s direction, horrified. “No!” I called out, tumbling to the floor as I struggled to get to Enzo before he sent the video to wherever it was going.

  Cole snatched me up, holding me back as Enzo thumbed out a quick text.

  “Enzo! Please! Don’t send that!”

  He ignored me and pressed a final button before looking up at me, a serene smile on his face.

  “Easy, Sunshine. It’s going to Fox.”

  Twenty-Two

  After the night at Enzo’s, I curled up in bed, my mind troubled. They’d sent the video to Fox. I hadn’t heard anything from him, so I assumed no news was good news. However, Fox was more dangerous when he was silent.

  I rolled over in bed, unable to sleep. My phone buzzing on my nightstand had me sitting up and reaching for it, wondering if Cole and Enzo were going to taunt me with the video like they were doing with the other one.

  Fox: Can I call you?

  I stared down at my phone in stupified silence. Fox wanted to call me? And he was asking for permission?

  Fox: I can’t sleep.

  With shaky hands, I texted him back.

  Rosalie: Call me.

  I held my breath, waiting for his phone call. A moment later, my phone buzzed in my hand, his name on the screen. Hauling in a deep breath, I answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Rosalie,” Fox’s deep voice greeted me.

  “Hey.” I stared down at my blanket, unsure what to say to him.

  “I wanted to talk to you about Enzo.”

  I swallowed thickly. “OK.”

  “He told me you guys worked on a song for your audition.”

  I breathed out slowly, my anxiety dying down. “Oh. Yeah. He helped me to finish writing it today.”

  Fox grew quiet for a moment before he cleared his throat. “I’ll play guitar for you for your audition if you want.”

  I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared down at it dumbfounded. I wasn’t sure if I’d heard him correctly.

  “What?” I asked when I put the phone back to my ear.

  “I’ll play guitar for you,” he repeated.

  “Oh. Um, OK. I guess if you want.”

  “I do.”

  There was an awkward silence.

  “I can get the music to you—”

  “I already have it.”

  “OK. That works.”

  We were quiet for a moment before he cleared his throat. “How are classes going?”

  I frowned. Was he drunk? He never spoke to me, at least not in such a nice capacity.

  “They’re OK. Physics sucks.”

  “I bet. That’s why I don’t take it.”

  “Well, you probably wouldn’t be able to handle it anyway,” I retorted, biting my lip after the words came out.

  Fox laughed a deep, genuine laugh at my words. “You’re probably right.”

  I smiled, relaxing. “I’m surprised you called me.”

  “Me too.” He grew quiet once more. “The guys really like you.”

  “Surprisingly, I like them too. Most of the time, anyway.”

  Fox chuckled. “Yeah, they can be pains in the ass sometimes.”

  “I can think of a few instances.”

  Fox cleared his throat. We both knew I was referring to the blackmailing.

  “Any issues with Ian?”

  I didn’t answer right away. What was I supposed to say? Anything I did say would end up with Ian’s face smashed in again and him spilling our secret to Jamie in retaliation.

  “No.” I swallowed down my anxiety. “Everything’s OK.”

  “Good.”

  “I know you hurt him.”

  Fox chuckled, this time chills coursed through me. “He deserved it. He used you. He drugged you, Rosie. He’s a piece of shit.”

  “I could say the same thing about you guys. You used me.”

  “This is different.”

  “How?” I whispered, desperate for answers. Needing him—needing them—to be different.

  “Rosalie, come to the window.”

  I blinked rapidly. He switched gears so fast.

  “Now,” he commanded softly.

  Knowing better than to defy him, I got to my feet, shuffled to my window, and pushed the curtains back to find a shirtless Fox sitting in his window seat, staring out at me. I slid my window open as he did the same and peered back at him.

  “What are you doing?” I called out.

  “I don’t fucking know anymore,” he answered, a stricken expression on his face. “Going crazy, I think.”

  “I heard I’m a freak. I’m sure crazy is part of that. Maybe I can help?”

  Even with the distance between us, I could see the pain reflecting in his eyes.

  “I think you might make it worse.”
/>   “You won’t know until you try,” I offered, my heart going out to him.

  He looked so sad as he stared back at me. “That’s the problem. I’m terrified of trying.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’ve spent years avoiding everything about it. And now that I have everything in place, I’m not sure I can go through with it.”

  “I know we’ve been apart for a long time, Fox, but do you remember when we’d go to the old tree fort in the woods behind our houses? Do you remember when we were telling ghost stories and I said I was scared to go to sleep? Do you remember what you told me?”

  Fox let out a soft, sad chuckle, resting his head against his windowsill. “How could I forget. I told you I’d chase all the monsters away.”

  I nodded sadly, tears springing to my eyes.

  “The same stands true for me. I’d do it for you. Even now.”

  “Oh, Rosie,” he sighed, closing his eyes. When he opened them, I could make out the sheen of tears in them, a mirror of my own. My heart ached for whatever he was going through.

  “I don’t know what’s going on, Fox, but I’m here if you want to talk.”

  He looked down at his hands.

  “I should let you go.”

  “If you want. I was in bed anyway—”

  “No. I mean, I should delete the video and set you free.”

  My heart kicked wildly in my chest at the prospect of freedom. Did that mean the other guys would go too? Panic set in at the realization that I was beginning to enjoy our moments together, even when they were being jerks.

  “Are you going to?”

  “I should.” He picked a piece of fuzz on his pajama bottoms. “I need to sleep, Rosie. Thanks for the talk.”

  “You’re welcome,” I answered softly as he gave me another sad smile.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams.”

  “Night, Fox.”

  He closed the window and shut the curtains behind him, leaving me to sit there wondering what the hell was happening to my enemy. Or was he my friend?

  Twenty-Three

  “Party this Friday, Rosalie?”

  I looked up from my notes. Ethan stood over my table in the library.

  “Don’t you guys have a game on Friday?”

  “We do. We’re all going to Cole’s after.”

  “Well,” I licked my lips. “Do I have to go?”

  Ethan pulled the chair out next to me and sat down.

  “I’d really like you to go.”

  “The last party didn’t work out so well for me. I think I’ll pass.”

  “Don’t make me use my power to get you to come hang out with me.” Ethan tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

  “I just don’t want there to be any problems, Ethan. I’m really trying to get through all this stuff with as little damage as possible.”

  He grew quiet for a moment. “I understand. But I haven’t had a chance to hang out with you aside from the calculus stuff and with the guys. It would be nice to have you on my arm for a change.”

  I studied him for a moment. Ethan was definitely the sweet one of the group. He wasn’t as loud as the others either. And he was right—I hadn’t spent much time with him.

  “OK. I’ll go but only for a little bit.”

  He grinned at me. “We’ll have a great time.”

  I smiled back at him and placed my pencil on my notebook. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

  “Anything.”

  “Is there something going on with Fox? He seems weird lately.”

  “There’s always something going on with Fox. You’ll have to be more specific.”

  I launched into telling him the conversation I’d had with Fox. Ethan sighed and shook his head.

  “Fox is just, I don’t know...Fox. One minute he’s laughing, and the next he’s pissed off. It’s gotten a lot worse since you came into the picture.”

  “And that’s another thing,” I pressed. “I came into the picture, but I don’t know why.”

  The thought of using Ethan to get the video prodded at my mind. Ethan would definitely be the one I’d have to cling to. I knew Fox said he was thinking about deleting it. I also knew I was growing fond of the guys. But in my experience, the good in situations was short-lived, and it was a necessity to strike while I could before things went to a place they couldn’t come back from. Ian was one of those places. He’d been lying low, but I knew he was waiting for something. I just didn’t know what I was going to do when he made his move.

  “I don’t know, Rosalie. We get bored. We noticed you that day in the cafeteria. Hell, we’d noticed you before, but it was that day when you really captured our attention. When Cole mentioned it before everything went down with Juliet, Fox was against it. But then that shit happened, and he was the one to step up. It just sort of spiraled from there.” He gave me a helpless shrug.

  “Boredom isn’t a reason to try to ruin someone’s life.”

  “Has your life been ruined because of us?” Ethan’s gaze swept over me, worry in them.

  “Not entirely, but Fox said that was the plan.”

  Ethan nodded, looking over my shoulder, seemingly lost in thought. “Fox won’t ruin you, Rosalie. He’s a good guy. He asks us all the time how you’re doing. He worries about you, even if you don’t think he does. He lo...”

  I shook my head. I wasn’t so sure about that, nor was I willing to test the theory, despite wanting to believe deep down beneath all his anger, he was still the little boy I’d loved when we were kids.

  Things seemed to be dying down at school with the guys. They’d released a lot of their control over me, but every now and then, one of them would snake their way over to remind me who was in charge. I was grateful I hadn’t been forced to sit with them at their table, enjoying the fact Ethan had started sitting with me and Jamie at lunch. Today, Enzo had joined us too.

  “Are you coming to the party tomorrow?” Ethan asked Jamie when there was a lull in our conversation.

  “Um, I’m not sure. Am I allowed to?”

  “I’m inviting you. And you’re Rosalie’s friend, so of course you can.”

  “OK.” Jamie smiled widely, excitement in her eyes. “I can ask Ian—”

  “We don’t keep people out of parties, but we also don’t encourage the assholes to come in,” Enzo interrupted, sitting on my other side.

  Jamie closed her mouth, but the look in her eyes told me she wanted to defend Ian.

  “Well, I don’t know if I can make it then. Ian asked me out, and we’re supposed to meet at Rocky’s for dinner before catching a movie.”

  “What?” I practically shouted. Enzo gave my thigh a quick squeeze to quiet me down.

  “I should’ve told you sooner, Rosalie. I’m sorry.” Jamie gave me a pleading look to forgive her. “I was about to give up on anything ever happening with him when he asked me out.”

  I forced a smile on my face. “Are you sure you want to go out with him?”

  “What? You’ve been telling me for ages to just ask him.”

  “I know. But do you want a serious relationship? We’re in our senior year and all—”

  “Rosalie, you know how much I like him. What the hell is the matter with you? Why do you want me to tell him no?” Her gaze volleyed between me and the guys. “Not everyone can screw around with multiple guys. Some of us prefer the ones who are more committed.” She got to her feet, her face red.

  I opened and closed my mouth several times at her outburst.

  “We can’t all be you, Rosalie, with your perfect life and screwing the entire football team.” She turned on her heel and stormed away.

  “Jamie, wait!” I called out, attempting to go after her. Enzo grabbed my wrist and held me in my seat.

  “Let her go. She needs to cool off.”

  I shook my head in disbelief.

  “But we should probably talk,” he continued.

  “I’m really not in the mood, Enzo—”

  “I
want to know when you started fucking the entire football team and why I wasn’t invited.”

  Ethan chuckled behind me.

  “This isn’t funny.”

  “Yes, it is. Relax, Sunshine. She’s jealous. She’ll get over it.”

  “She doesn’t have anything to be jealous about! It’s not like I sought you guys out to ruin my life—”

  “Easy. I thought we were bringing you plenty of joy.” Enzo waggled his brows at me. I flushed at his words. He and Cole had definitely been close to that. “Maybe you can give Ethan a chance.”

  “You’re definitely making me sound like exactly what she said—”

  “Ethan, tell Rosalie you want her.”

  I looked over at Ethan, hating Enzo had put him on the spot.

  “You don’t have to answer—”

  “I want you.”

  I blinked several times at him, unsure if I heard him correctly.

  “Our arrangement was that you belonged to us. And you’ve been mine since I first saw you, Rosalie,” Ethan’s voice was a whisper, his eyes locked on mine. “If you’ll have me.”

  “I don’t think I understand.”

  “Just go with the flow. And enjoy the ride.” Enzo gave my thigh another squeeze. “You’ll be taken care of. Promise.”

  I blew out a breath and looked across the cafeteria, trying to get my bearings about me. My gaze locked with Fox’s. My stomach twisted into nervous knots beneath his heated gaze. Juliet looked between us, her mouth turning into a sneer, causing me to tear my eyes away from Fox. The last thing I needed was to deal with her more. But I couldn’t help the pull to him, the longing to go talk to him like we did the night before.

  Rather than starting more battles I couldn’t win, I turned back to Ethan.“Tell me what that means.”

  “I can show you,” he answered, giving me his sweet smile.

  I nodded at him, feeling brave. “I think I’d like that.”

  Twenty-Four

  “There’s our girl!” Cole threw his arm over my shoulder and planted a kiss on my cheek. “What the hell took you so long to get here? Party’s been going for an hour now.”

  “I wasn’t sure if I should come,” I answered, snuggling into the crook of his arm.