by L A Cotton
My body sagged with relief, and without realizing it, my hand found Paul's and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you."
I realized my mistake instantly. A hint of hope sparkled in Paul's eyes and I withdrew my hand.
His face fell, and he stuttered out, "Hey, no hard feelings. I know you don't feel the same, and it's cool. I'm here as a fr-" Something over my shoulder caught Paul's attention and he frowned, his mouth still agape. My pulse spiked and my eyes fluttered shut as I swayed slightly from the sensation. I didn't need to turn around to know what, or who, Paul was looking at.
Everything slowed as my body twisted and my eyes found him. I knew it would be hard seeing Jackson again, but I didn't expect to feel so... so gutted. All my scars ripped open and my emotions laid bare.
My body slumped down against the trunk until I was seated. I wanted to run—to get the hell out of there, but I couldn't move. Everyone watched them stalk toward the party with Braiden and Jackson leading the team. A chorus of cheers broke out around me, but it all became background noise. Everything disappeared except for him.
Dark wash jeans hugged his muscular legs, hanging low on his trim waist. The white, green, and black jersey fit snug across his chest and broad shoulders, with his defined biceps obvious underneath the short sleeves. My eyes drank him in. His once short dark hair was longer, falling over his eyes slightly. It looked good on him. I gulped as a familiar flutter started low in my stomach, and I clamped my legs together. This was not good. I was supposed to hate him. I needed to hate him. But my body was betraying me.
Jackson didn't look over in my direction. It was as if he knew I was there and he didn't want to make eye contact. The way he positioned himself to have his back to me burned through me like acid on an open wound. The guy I had let in and trusted with my heart couldn’t even look at me.
That feeling didn't compare to the one storming through me as I watched Braiden clasp his arm around Jackson's shoulders and pull him in for a guy hug. Braiden looked totally at ease, a huge smile painted on his face. He either played the part well or believed everything was okay because to the untrained eye, Braiden and Jackson looked every bit the best friends. But that had to be wrong. It had to be. Didn't it?
Chapter Two
Jackson
“Pierce, you in here?” Braiden kicked the door open and thundered into my room. Dropping the free weights, I glanced up at him. “Come in, why don’t you.”
“That dipshit of a cousin of mine fucked up. Again. Fuck.” Braiden’s fist slammed against the desk and it shook. “I told him to back off Reibeckitt. I need to handle that shit my own way.” He paced up and down, scraping a hand over his square jaw.
He was pissed. I had seen that look a hundred times before. Wiping the beads of sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand, I straightened and said, “Talk to me. How bad is it?”
“Bad. Roman got into it with a couple of Calder’s guys. He smashed up one of them pretty bad, and Calder is out for blood. Fuck. Dad is going to lose it. He’s smoothed things over once with Declan; he won’t do it again.”
I pulled out two waters from the cooler and handed one to Braiden, saving one for myself. “Uncle Marcus doesn’t need to know. We can handle it.”
We always did.
I spent the summer handling it. Shit went bad, and I handled it. I had been covering Braiden’s tracks since we were just two scrawny kids thinking we could rule the school and get away with anything.
Braiden’s eyes softened as he waited for me to reveal my plan, and I slumped into the La-Z-Boy tucked in the corner of my room. “We reach out to Calder, mayb-”
“No fucking way. He almost killed you. Not happening. I’ll end that bastard myself before reaching out to him. Dad might have smoothed things over with Declan, but things are not okay with us and that fuck! Your plan sucks.” Braiden’s face hardened, the vein in his neck pulsating, and I knew I had lost him.
“Okay, we regroup. Stay alert. Expect payback. I’ll give the guys a heads up.”
Braiden nodded and moved to the door. “Party at Dead Man’s tonight, don’t be late and don’t do anything stupid. Don’t fuck this year up. I’m counting on you, Brother.”
My fists clenched and I felt like the knife was being plunged into me all over again. Only this time, it was by my own family. Braiden Donohue owned me, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
“I fucking love this shit.” Travis pumped his fist into the night sky and grinned. “All that freshman pussy for the taking. It’s good to be alive, gentlemen.” The rest of the guys laughed, but I just nodded. I wasn’t into all that. I had bigger things to think about.
We rounded the cove and wound our way through the craziness that was the first party of the semester. The music filled the air but did little to drown out the cheers and applause at our arrival. Gods. That was how the rest of the college saw us. I didn’t know who was the biggest dick—them for believing that or us for acting like it.
Girls swarmed around us, flashing their fuck-me eyes, and guys muscled in trying to be one of us. Braiden dropped his arm around me and grinned, but his body told a different story. It was tense and his grip on me was a little too tight. “Remember, don’t fuck things up. Family first.”
He didn’t need to say anything else; I knew exactly what he was talking about. After releasing me, he joined the party, but I stalked closer to the bonfire, staring at the flames as they licked the sky. I had never been into the parties or girls. Sure, I hooked up occasionally but that was it. I had witnessed Braiden do some awful things. But he was untouchable. His name meant something in Chastity Falls. He was Chastity Falls.
He could do whatever the hell he wanted to with little consequence.
"Hey, Pierce." A cute blonde strolled seemingly confident toward me, her friends watching through wide eyes. But the slight tremor in her hands and the way her chest was rising and falling at double speed gave her away. She was fucking terrified.
She stood right in front of me, pushing her tits up with her folded arms. Her long blond hair framed them perfectly. "You want to dance, or go somewhere a little quieter?"
I had to give the girl props; her voice was unwavering as she batted her lashes at me, propositioning me. Raking a hand through my hair, I shook my head. "I don't think so, not tonight.”
Her eyes sparkled and I instantly realized my error. Now she thought there was a glimmer of hope for another time.
Fuck.
"Hey, I mean I'm not interested. Period."
Disappointment flooded her face, quickly followed by embarrassment, and she turned and hurried back to her friends.
They were so quick to throw themselves at us. It didn't matter if you were short, goofy, or covered in zits like Nicky. If you wore a Fallen jersey, you were a prize to be won. Although, the morning after was a different story.
Last year, too many naive freshmen girls left the basement or one of the guys’ rooms with tearstained eyes and the regret of the night before. Things never looked as good in the morning. I hated what went on down there, but what Braiden wanted, Braiden got, and most of the team was all too happy to oblige.
The fire hypnotized all of the crap away, leaving me with nothing but empty thoughts and meaningless swirls of color. But then I felt it. That feeling of someone watching you. My body tensed, prepared for a threat. Although Calder would have been crazy to retaliate on Chastity soil, we hadn't ruled it out. Braiden had called in a favor, and a couple of patrol cars were on point along the ridge just in case.
Not wanting to out whoever was watching me, I inched my way around the fire, remaining disguised by its blaze. I had probably moved a quarter circle when my eyes found hers; eyes still trained on my position, only now they would struggle to see me properly through the angry flames. But it gave me perfect vantage point and I could see her perfectly.
Longing replaced the alert I had felt only seconds earlier. I wanted to go to her, to wrap her in my arms and just hold her. It
wasn’t the first time I’d seen her since the semester had started. I had been watching her. She never saw me—I made sure of that. I just had to know she was okay. Watching her break in front of me after I told her that we couldn’t see each other anymore was the hardest thing I had ever done. But Braiden had me, and I knew if I didn’t walk away, he would make Ana’s life hell.
Both of our lives.
So I watched from the shadows. The couple of times I saw her, either Elena and Manster or that douche, Paul, flanked her. He seemed like an okay guy, but he had a boner for Ana and made no effort to hide it. Even last year, on the odd occasion I hung out with Ana and her friends, he would sit and make puppy dog eyes at her or storm off like a sulky child. The guy had it bad, and I had probably pushed her straight into his fucking arms.
Allowing myself a couple more minutes to watch her before I got made, I memorized everything. The way she tried to mask her feelings but still had sadness in her eyes. How her hair flicked out at the ends, doing whatever the hell it wanted. Curves that were in all the right places, even though she was skinnier than average. And those perfectly shaped lips that were once mine to kiss. She sat rooted to the spot, staring into the flames, swamped in a hoodie that couldn’t possibly belong to her. Just the idea of her being wrapped in another guy’s clothes made my blood boil, and I clenched my fist at my side.
“Pierce, get the fuck over here,” Braiden’s voice called, and I flinched.
This was my life.
He was my life.
I had to let her go... for both our sakes.
“So, Calder’s gone quiet?” Travis leaned up against one of the wooden beams and blew out smoke rings from off his joint.
“Yeah, he has to be planning something. I don’t like it.” Braiden sat in the corner of the room, rocking back and forth in one of the few chairs. After Roman’s stunt, he had insisted on closing ranks.
The Fallen was a close-knit team, but only a handful had more than need-to-know privileges where Donohue business was concerned. Kyler, Shaun, Dennis, and Travis were all considered as good as family and would do anything Braiden demanded, no questions asked. The rest of the team understood how it worked. Everyone knew that Marcus Donohue owned the town and everyone in it, and that included the majority of students at CFA. Although, most of them didn’t understand it, not really. As long as students kept their heads down and their nose out of places it didn’t belong, they could enjoy a carefree four years at the Academy. You only became a problem if you asked too many questions or ended up mixed up in business that didn’t concern you.
“I say we go in and fuck him up, Braid. Payback for Pierce.” Travis folded his arms over his solid chest and scowled. He was the kind of guy you didn’t mess with unless you wanted to end up in the ER.
“It’s out of my hands, for now,” Braiden replied, not saying the words. He hadn’t taken it well when Uncle Marcus told him to drop the feud with Calder. “But he’ll get what’s coming to him. No one touches a Donohue and gets away with it.”
Braiden’s eyes snapped to mine, just for a split second, but I saw it. And I heard the inflection in his voice. He wasn’t referring to himself—he was warning me.
“What’s up with that chick from the party anyway, dude? She’s been hanging around the house like a bad smell.” Kyler inhaled on the joint and handed it back to Travis before blowing out the smoke. “Didn’t you break her enough yet?”
I tuned out. Things were still strained between Kyler and me after he had held me down and let Braiden beat the shit out of me. He apologized the minute Braiden left the room, spouting some shit about boss’ orders. At least I knew where his loyalties lay. Not that I expected any different. Braiden might have put emphasis on me being his best friend, his brother, his second in command, but when it came down to it, I was still expendable.
“Yo, Pierce, did you hear that?” Braiden’s voice called across the room. “Travis wants to know he if can take that pretty piece of ass you were tapping last semester for a ride?”
I saw red and was off the wall in a second, storming toward Travis.
“He looks angry. Shit, Braiden, what did you have to go and say that f-” I slammed Travis into the wall, my hand clasped around his throat. “Don’t ever speak about her like that again, got it?”
“PIERCE.” Braiden’s hand crashed into the wooden chair. “Back the fuck off. I was just pushing your buttons. Making sure you hadn’t gone all soft on us.”
My teeth ground together as I tried to get my breathing under control. Braiden was testing me. It was a test—and I walked straight into it. Forcing my lips into a curl, I released Travis and slapped him upside the head. “You should see the look on your face, bro.” My laugh came out strained, but Travis blinked and then exploded with laughter. “Shit, man. You had me there for a second.”
“You can have her. She was shit in the sack,” I called out, as I headed outside for a breather. Barreling through the door, I jumped off the rickety steps, dropping my hands to my knees. My breath was coming hard and fast as I tried to calm the fury coursing through me. I didn’t know who I was angrier at. Braiden for testing me or myself for failing.
The door creaked behind me, and someone moved beside me. “You might have them fooled, but you don’t fool me. I won’t tell you again, Jackson. This. Ends. Now. Forget her.” Braiden squeezed my shoulder and brushed past me, disappearing into the forest.
Chapter Three
Ana
"Rise and shine, chica. Today, we shop." Elena breezed into the room, no evidence of the Jell-O shots from the night before.
I pushed myself onto my elbows and glared at her, rubbing one hand over my sleepy eyes. "What time is it?"
"Time you were up. It's past ten."
Throwing back the comforter, I hopped out of bed. Past ten? I only ever slept that late before the accident or after a restless night of bad dreams and painful memories. But I couldn't remember any dreams.
"So the party wasn't that bad, huh?"
I shrugged, making my way into our small bathroom. It had been bearable until Jackson showed up. Then I spent the whole night watching him, jealousy burning through my veins every time a girl tried to talk to him. I was that girl now—the dejected ex watching from afar.
"Hurry up. I gotta pee." Elena's voice traveled through the gap in the door, and I finished brushing my teeth and stepped back into the room.
She rushed past me, mumbling something about Talia and the girls joining us. There went my good mood. I hadn't spoken to Talia since before the fight at Dead Man's Cove almost six months ago. She had never hidden her annoyance with me, but after I had revealed mine and Jackson's secret to the majority of the student population, she hardly came around. In her eyes, I had fraternized with the enemy.
Under Elena’s watchful eyes, I pulled on my dark jeans and an oversized hoodie. It was one of the few items to survive my ‘fresh start’ wardrobe. Danny had given it to me after our first date when I had gotten cold at the beach. I couldn’t bear to part with it. I had held it close to my body, crying ugly tears. I had worn it on my darkest days, wrapped in its memories. Feeling it drown my slim frame, I still felt that surge of sadness. But in a weird way, it comforted me, and I had a feeling I would need plenty of that to endure a shopping trip with Talia.
“Ready?” Elena couldn’t hide the look of disgust on her face as she took in my outfit choice, and I widened my eyes at her. “What? It’s comfy.”
“Chica, it might be comfy, but you look awful. At least wear your hair down?”
I ran a hand over my messy bun and smiled, seeing the hint of a smirk on Elena’s face. “Shit, you know I’m just messing with you. You’d look hot wearing a trashcan. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Talia, Cassie, and Lydia were waiting for us just outside McGinley. Talia smiled at Elena but shot me a scowl. It was so quick no one else seemed to notice, but I saw it. Something sparked in me, and I straightened my shoulders, lifting my chin to her.
/> “At last. We’ve been out here ten minutes.”
“Ignore T, she’s like a bitch in heat again,” Cassie said, ignoring Talia’s stern glare.
We started the walk to the main parking lot. Talia was the only one of us with a car on campus and had agreed to drive us to the nearest mall. Although, I was beginning to think she had been coerced.
“So, how was your summer, Elena? Did you get to hang out with that hot boyfriend of yours?” Cassie asked.
Elena gushed, “Yeah, he came down for two whole weeks. Dios mio, he looks hot in clothes but in board shorts…” The girls had all laughed along with her before Talia spoke up. “What about you, Ana?” I glanced at her, my eyes narrowing, waiting for whatever was about to spill out of her mouth. “What did you do over the summer?”
I forced my lips into a fake smile. “Not much. I went back home.” There was no way I would rise to her bullshit. If she wanted to say something, she could say it, but I refused to be pulled into her drama.
“Did you and Jarrod do the whole road trip thing? I bet your dad freaked.” I could have kissed Lydia for breaking the intense stare down occurring between Talia and me.
“Yeah, we drove up to Cali but had to stop a lot, if you know what I mean. He couldn’t keep his hands off me. We even did it on the hood of his car.”
How classy of you, I muttered to myself, but Talia’s head whipped up to mine, and I realized that I had said it louder than I thought.
“How are things with you and lover boy? Oh, my bad. He dumped you, right? That’s what you get for thinking you can tame a Fallen.” Talia held my glare, a smirk gracing her lips.
Elena caught our showdown and dropped back to hook her arm through mine, giving my hand a squeeze. “Ignore her. She's just jealous,” she whispered through closed lips.
