by R. E. Bond
Lukas’s mom was basically always home, but she was fucking weird.
We didn’t spend a lot of time at his, mainly because she wouldn’t fuck off and leave us alone.
I knew everyone noticed me move to Rory’s other side at school to stop Claire from tripping her in the cafeteria the other day, but I didn’t give a shit.
I had to play my cards right.
Rory jerked in her sleep, making me frown.
She seemed to have nightmares whenever she slept, but she obviously wasn’t going to tell me why.
Jensen offered to tie her up and scare it out of her, but Lukas had a few things to say about that plan.
I didn’t see the problem.
It’s not like we were going to actually torture her.
I was an asshole, not a thug.
Lukas claimed he couldn’t tell us what demons she was trying to hide behind that tough girl mask, but I called bullshit.
He says the shit between them was old news, but it’s definitely the reason she fucking hated him so much.
The moment one of us mentioned trying to get it out of her, he either changed the subject or flat out told us we were imagining shit.
I couldn’t wait for her to finally break, because she was going to.
One way or another.
Chapter four
Rory
“Hey, you okay today?” Jensen asked quietly as he leaned against my locker lazily the next morning.
I smiled, seeming to surprise him as I patted his arm.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks, Jense.”
“You sure? You seem different,” he frowned, peering at me more closely as he studied me.
I didn’t feel different, so I had no idea what he was talking about.
“Do I?” I asked with confusion, watching him nod.
When I didn’t flinch back from him as he moved closer, he carefully placed an arm around my shoulders and smiled as if we were buddies.
“Yeah. What happened? Did you bury Holloway somewhere?”
“I was buried somewhere alright,” Caden’s voice said from behind us, making both of us glance over to see him watching us closely with his arms crossed.
He looked pissed off, his eyes narrowing into a small glare which confused the fuck out of me.
Jensen raised an eyebrow, seeming amused by his mood.
“Well, good morning to you too. What’s up your ass this morning?”
“You,” he muttered, his eyes watching me intensely until I started to feel nervous.
Jensen took my tense body as a sign that he was making me uncomfortable, so he moved back from me as he replied to Caden.
“I didn’t do shit. Look, don’t give Rory any crap, okay? You…”
“Rory and I are good, don’t you worry,” Caden suddenly smirked, hooking a finger through the belt loops on my denim shorts and yanking me flush against him.
Jensen didn’t look convinced, until Caden ran his fingers through my hair and I gave him a small smile, the nerves melting away with the motion.
I didn’t understand why I’d become so comfortable around him, but I felt like he understood me, and that took a lot for me to admit to myself.
Tyler and Lukas walked towards us, but before I could wave at them, Caden dipped down and kissed me, backing me into the lockers with a solid thud.
People would gossip even more, but I was beyond caring as he planted his hands on my waist and deepened the kiss, pressing his front firmly against mine.
Holy fuck, I could do that with him all day.
“What the fuck did we miss?” Tyler’s hyena laugh asked from close by, but Jensen shrugged.
“Fuck knows. I’m completely and utterly fucking confused.”
Caden was basically fucking me against the lockers with his clothes on, and I had to admit, I liked that all of his attention was on me in that moment.
When he finally moved back, he tucked my loose hair behind my ear and smiled at me cheekily.
“We should have just stayed in bed, hey baby?”
Lukas tensed up, but Tyler cackled with laughter.
“Holy fuck, you two are banging? C’mon Holloway, she’s your sister!”
People were gawking at us, but Caden just smirked and swatted my butt with a sharp crack.
“No, she’s my hot sister, dude.”
Oh my god.
He did not just fucking say that.
“Caden!” I exclaimed with horror, both he and Tyler cracking up with laughter, but Jensen rolled his eyes as if he were bored, while Lukas looked genuinely worried for me.
Eventually, Caden simmered down and headed off to class with Tyler and Lukas, leaving Jensen to head to class with me.
Once in the classroom, he gave me a sideways glance, speaking quietly.
“So, you and Caden, huh? You two hated each other yesterday afternoon, so how did it turn around to make-up sex?”
I shrugged, my face heating with embarrassment.
“It just did, okay? Now shut up.”
“Aurora,” he said gently with concern in his tone, making me look over at him.
“What?”
He hesitated, a strange look crossing his eyes before he blocked it, shrugging it off as he glanced away from me.
“Never mind.”
What was with him?
He acted strangely for the rest of class, and he kept glancing at me during lunchtime as I sat on Caden’s lap at our table.
I’d fucking had enough of his attitude by the end of that, and the moment the others had headed off to the gym for a workout, I cornered him by his locker.
“What the fuck is your problem?” I snapped, a snort coming from him without looking up at me.
“I don’t have a problem.”
“You’ve been weird all fucking day, so start talking before I make you,” I growled, fisting my hands by my side.
He raised an eyebrow and smirked at me with amusement.
“I seriously don’t have a problem, I just don’t want the girls having more ammo to throw at you. Fucking your stepbrother is serious fucking ammo. You’re hot when you’re mad, Donovan.”
“Jensen!”
“What? It’s true,” he shrugged, turning to close his locker but I shoved him hard, getting in his face as his back hit the lockers with a bang.
“Stop it! You’re being a fucking…”
“You’re turning me on, babe,” he replied with a slow sarcastic groan, pissing me off more.
What an ass.
“Cut it out.”
“Nope. I can’t touch you, but I sure as shit can tell you all about how I’d like to,” he grinned, his expression faltering when I frowned at him with confusion.
“Why can’t you touch me?”
“Well for starters, you don’t like to be touched by anyone except Caden, but you two are dating, so…”
“We aren’t dating!” I replied with alarm, making him blink at me as if he was trying to figure me out.
“You sure?”
“We fucked once, and everyone knows Caden doesn’t date,” I snorted, my breath catching as he reached up and cupped my chin gently in his hand.
“I can’t touch you, Rory. I won’t do that to you.”
“What do you mean by that?” I whispered, watching the fight in his eyes.
I wouldn’t have stopped him if he wanted to touch me.
I was starting to think maybe I actually trusted him.
“I just… fuck,” he muttered, his hand moving to play with the tips of my black hair as he obviously argued with himself.
“What’s going on?” I asked softly, his chocolate hair flopping over his eyes as he shook his head.
“Nothing. I just won’t hurt you like that.”
Huh?
“You won’t hurt me.”
“Yes, I will,” he said sternly, a shiver going through his body as my hand lifted to rest on his tense chest.
“I trust you not to.”
He let out a growl, s
wooping down and kissing me hard for what felt like an eternity before he pushed himself back and shot me a hard look, ignoring the surprise on my face from the kiss that wasn’t at all unwanted.
“Then you’re stupid. Don’t trust anyone, Rory. I fucking mean it,” then he stalked off after the others, leaving me alone in the empty hallway.
What the fuck was that about?
I headed to the library to finish my homework, not at all surprised to find the guys still in the gym when I’d finished.
I leaned against the wall, watching as Caden and Jensen appeared to be racing each other on the treadmills at high speed, sweat drenching them as their arms kept pumping.
Tyler on the other hand gave me a strange glance as he lifted his weights, but didn’t say anything, and neither did Lukas, who was using an exercise bike.
When Caden finally noticed me standing there, he slowed his machine down and gave me a naughty wink.
“Hey, baby. You ready to head home?”
“I can bus it if you guys aren’t done?” I offered, but Lukas rolled his eyes dramatically.
“Trust me, we’re done here. I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” then he bailed off the bike and stalked off, making me frown with confusion.
Caden noticed the expression on my face and smiled.
“Don’t worry about him, he’s just pissy about you and Jensen locking tonsils.”
Wait, what?
My entire body tensed up, and he gave me an amused look as he grabbed his sweat towel.
“Did you think Jense would just keep it to himself? He’s my best friend, Rory. We don’t keep secrets.”
“No, I just wanted to tell you myself,” I grumbled curtly, making him frown at my discomfort.
“Hey, relax. We aren’t together, like you told Jense, so it’s okay. Maybe don’t parade it around in front of people though. Save yourself some drama.”
Jensen finally climbed off his machine and snatched his towel off the bench before stalking right past me with his jaw clenched.
Fuck that.
His body went completely rigid as I reached out and rested a hand on his arm, a slight snarky tone in my voice.
“Why are you mad at me?”
He swung his gaze to mine, his expression softening as his blue eyes clashed with mine.
“I’m not, babe. I just can’t do this shit with you, okay?”
“Okay,” I replied softly, watching in confusion as he gave me a sad smile and left without another word.
Tyler followed, leaving me and Caden to walk out to his Challenger alone.
Once we were inside it and ready to go, he sighed.
“Give Jense some time. He’ll come around.”
I gave him a look of surprise, a bit confused about him not being mad.
“You want him to come around? Do you guys normally mess around with the same girl?”
He shrugged, starting the car and causing the engine to roar to life, Pull Up by L.A Leakers blasting instantly and almost deafening me.
He reached over and turned it down a bit as he drove out of the parking lot and towards home.
“There’s nothing wrong with it. Ty would climb you like a tree too if you let him.”
“Really?” I was confused about everything now.
Tyler was always fucking around about shit, but he’d never actually shown any real interest.
Had he?
Caden was quiet for a moment before glancing up at me, his green eyes suddenly serious.
“What happened with you and Lukas?”
I looked out the window and clammed up instantly.
I wasn’t ready to talk about that.
It was still too raw, and it had nothing to do with him.
“Nothing that matters.”
“Well, it does fucking matter because it’s causing a rift between the guys. You and Lukas can’t be in the same fucking house together without starting a fight, and the guys are starting to think the worst. Do us all a fucking favour and start talking, Aurora.”
I glared at him, feeling defensive at the tone he was using on me.
“Excuse me? It’s none of your fucking business, Holloway.”
A nasty smirk hit his face as he turned a corner, not looking over at me.
“Everything is my business, babe, so tell me what happened. You two dated and he cheated on you? He broke your heart? He…”
“Stop the car,” I forced out at a whisper, making him snort.
“No.”
“Stop the fucking car, Caden!” I shouted as panic and rage overtook me.
I unbuckled my seat belt and threw myself out of the car the moment he slammed on the brakes, the door slamming behind me.
He followed, angrily grabbing my arm and yanking me back sharply.
“You want a repeat of the other night? Get back in the car and talk, for fuck’s sake.”
“Let me go, asshole!” I shouted, but his hand clamped over my mouth and he shoved me against the side of his car.
He didn’t flinch, but I cringed and hoped it didn’t put a dent in it.
“No. You listen to me, okay? No one gets between me and my guys. The fact that you’re making everyone turn on each other is starting to piss me off. Just do as you’re fucking told, and everything will be peachy. So…”
I bit his hand hard as a last resort in my panic, an angry growl ripping from him.
When he pulled his fist back, I closed my eyes and waited for the impact, but it never came.
I finally braved a peek at him to find him watching me, his hand by his side again as if it had never happened.
Maybe it hadn’t and I was finally fucking losing it.
“Are you going to get back in the car and talk, or do I fucking leave you here?” he asked in a low voice, frustration in his intense gaze.
“I’m not getting back in that car,” I snapped, feeling proud that my voice didn’t shake, despite feeling like a panic attack was forming.
He wasn’t going to shove me in there and kidnap me, was he?
“Suit yourself,” he shrugged to my relief, climbing back into the driver’s seat and revving the engine, taking off with a screech of tires like the asshole he was.
I flipped him off as I snatched my phone from my pocket, texting Jensen to pick me up, hoping he was over his tantrum.
Rory: Hey, can you pick me up from the old tree just down from the school? Had a fight with Caden.
I only had to wait a second before he replied, my panic attack slipping away as my body relaxed.
Jensen: Sure thing, babe. Be there in a few.
I leaned against the tree and scrolled through Facebook until the crunching of tires made me look up to see the Camaro pull over on the side of the road.
Jensen rolled the window down and jerked his head towards the passenger seat, and I silently walked around the car and climbed in, waiting for him to speak.
He drove for a minute or two before glancing over at me.
“What did you fight about, and where is he?”
I laced my fingers together on my lap with a sigh.
“Lukas and other stuff. He manhandled me and went to hit me, so I wasn’t about to get back in his car. He took off towards home.”
He looked sad for a moment as his voice turned gentle, soothing me slightly.
“Babe, trust me when I say he’d never actually hurt you. He just likes to scare people into doing as they’re told.”
“I don’t care if he physically hurts me or not, I’m not some lapdog that sits when I’m told. He doesn’t own me, and the sooner he figures that out, the better off he’ll be,” I bit out without looking at him, my hands fisting into balls.
“Is the shit with Lukas really that bad? Why can’t you just tell him to shut him up?”
My gaze finally slid over to him, and I hesitated before speaking.
“It’s fucking personal, so no, I won’t tell him shit.”
He was quiet for a while, making me sigh.
This con
versation was going fucking nowhere.
“Can I stay with you tonight?”
“Like, on my couch?” he asked slowly, his pretty blue eyes glancing at me with uncertainty from behind his chocolate fridge.
I shrugged. “I don’t care where, I just don’t want to be near Caden. He’s been so nice since I moved in, but ever since he got back from his dad’s, he’s been a moody asshole.”
“Yeah, alright. But on one condition?”
“What’s that?”
“You talk to me. Doesn’t have to be everything, but I just need something. I can see everything in your mind is still hurting you, and I think opening up a little might ease your mind slightly,” he said softly, making me meet his gaze again.
My chest tightened with anxiety, telling me I was probably going to have a fucking panic attack after all.
He slowly took my hand, giving me an understanding smile.
“Not right now, later. First, I think we need a beer.”
“Caden’s pissed that you’re staying here,” Jensen stated later that night as he glanced up from his phone, making me snort from my spot on the couch.
“Good. Hope his shitty mood keeps him awake all fucking night, too.”
He chuckled, stretching out on the couch and putting his phone back in his pocket, glancing over at me again and catching me checking out his fucking abs where his shirt had ridden up.
He smirked, amusement in his voice. “See something you like, babe?”
I snapped out of it, giving him the middle finger and lying back on my part of the couch to sip my beer, hoping my face wasn’t too red.
When his gaze remained on me, I looked back at him with irritation.
“What?”
“We’ve had a few beers now, so it’s time you start talking, don’t you think?”
I hesitated before sitting up, wrapping my arms around my legs to rest my chin on my knees.
I pushed the panic down, convincing myself I could trust him, despite not wanting to.
Doubt nagged at me, but Jensen wouldn’t hurt me.
I felt it deep in my bones that he had my back, even if the others didn’t.
“Where do I start then? I don’t think I can talk about all of it, and…”
