Whispers and Wishes (Untouchable Book 4)

by Heather Long

  I took a bite of the burger and damn near groaned. While it wasn’t super hot or anything, it was really tasty. My stomach growled happily as I swallowed that first mouthful. “It went okay. I’m…I’m not sure what to do with it all. But I think I’d rather talk about other things for now, if that’s all right. She does want to see me again next week.”

  “Tell me when, I’ll make sure you get here.”

  “Rach, I’m really glad you’re my friend.”

  “Right back atcha.” There was a moment of silence, then she said, “Now, moving on to other things—Sharon is a cunt and she must be destroyed.”

  “What?”

  “She decided to post more of her fun little videos.”

  I groaned. I needed to add Sharon to the list of people I hated. But I just didn’t have the energy for her right now. “Of the guys?”

  “No, of you and Mitch. She cut together this lovely piece of trash to suggest you led Mitch on, but phrased it like, well what was he supposed to think since everyone else is tapping you.”

  Every ounce of my appetite fled.

  Rachel grimaced. “I wasn’t going to tell you. I went back and forth on it, then I thought if it was me, I’d want to know. Needless to say, I’ve reported it, and I’ve got my girls on it reporting the hell out of it. I also might have emailed it to the cops.”

  Setting the burger back in my lap, I stared out the window. “My phone is on silent at the moment.” I’d put it in do not disturb for the appointment. I squirmed to reach for my back pocket when Rachel cut her head in a sharp negative.

  “Don’t. Believe me when I say you do not need to see that trash. It’s lies. Anyone who was at Homecoming would see the lies.”

  “Not everybody went to Homecoming, Rach.”

  “No, but the people who matter did, and bitch showed her hand this time.”

  “So she posted it as her?”

  “No, it came from an anonymous account. I don’t know it. She, however, added it to the school mailing list, and it went out to all the accounts. That shit right there is enough to get her busted.”

  I swallowed. Phone out, I stared at the screen.

  Jake: Call me before you do anything else.

  Coop: We’ll meet you in the parking lot when Rachel gets back with you.

  Archie: Unless you decide to blow off the rest of the day, and if you do, just text us and we’ll meet you at the apartment.

  Ian: Whatever you need. Just say the word.

  Whatever that video showed, it must have been truly awful. They weren’t mentioning it all, and there was an intense vibe of protectiveness in each of those texts.

  “Why does she hate me so much? I’m not trying to be dense. But, when did I become the enemy? She and Ian weren’t even dating when he asked me out. Not that we’re dating right now, but what did I ever do to her?”

  “You’re you,” Rachel said with a shrug, stopping at a red light. “You’re the girl they all want. Everyone knew it, Frankie. All of us. The only one oblivious to it was you. Every single one of those girls always knew they were on borrowed time. Jake, you couldn’t nail down with a power tool. Coop drifted, half the time I was never sure he was even aware he was dating when he broke up with girls. Archie? Yeah, he knew. But he was never serious. It was always a passing fancy for him, and Bubba? Who the hell knows with that guy? Sharon was probably the girl he dated the longest, and even then, it wasn’t him chasing her. He never chased any of the girls. They always came to him.”

  “Believe it or not, that part I know.” I’d had a front row seat for it all.

  The light changed, and she accelerated. “Yeah, but that’s my point. You were always too close to it. But you were the one they couldn’t supplant. Because whether you noticed the guys’ interest or not, every single one of those girls was in full on competition with you.”

  “We were friends before that.”

  “Oh, honey, I love you, but no. You might have been friends with some of them, but definitely not all. Actually, I take that back, you were probably friends. They weren’t. Not all of them. You were their ticket in. Making friends with Frankie might get you an intro, and then there’s always the confidence that happens when the guys actually ask them out. But it doesn’t take long to notice—if you wanted or needed something, they’d drop those other girls without a second thought.”

  “That’s asinine.”

  Rachel shrugged. “I don’t make the rules. I’m just telling you what I see. Right now, Sharon doesn’t hate you anywhere near as much as she hates herself for not being you. Maria’s gotten over it. I think Maria wouldn’t mind being your friend again, she just doesn’t know how.”

  “And Patty?”‘

  “Eh, fuck Patty. Fuck Sharon, too. Fuck that little junior chick who got stupid with you.”

  A laugh slipped out, and I shook my head. “I just want the crap to stop. I’ve tried ignoring it and being understanding.”

  “And you know that’s not going to work, right?”

  “Yeah.” I did. “I slapped her down a while back.”

  “Good. You need to do it again. I’ll help.” She sounded almost eager.

  “Oh that terrifies me. What you would do for revenge?”

  “Revenge is such an ugly word,” Rachel informed me as we pulled into the parking lot. Sure enough, all four of my guys were right there waiting just feet away from Rachel’s assigned parking spot. “I call it just deserts. After all, she’s asking for it. Making sure we deliver it would seem to be the polite thing to do.”

  I shook my head, but I was focused on the four of them.

  My guys.

  I’d included Ian in that. But he seemed to want to be included. I really was messed up.

  “Also, I think I’m going to be a little sick with the sugar waiting for you.” As soon as the car stopped, Jake opened my door and Rachel looked at them. “I already told her what the bitch did, and she still needs to eat. So blow off fifth period, eat the food, and let’s talk about what we’re going to do.”

  “You’re in?” was all Jake asked her as he popped my seatbelt for me and then searched my face. “You’re okay?”

  I glanced from him to the guys, then to Rachel, before I swung my gaze back to Jake. “Yeah,” I said. “I’m okay. And I think Rachel’s definitely in. She’s diabolical.”

  “You might be a prick,” Rachel informed Jake. “But I’m a whole damn cactus.”

  Coop snickered. “Yeah, Rachel gets my vote.”

  “What the hell,” Archie murmured as Jake gathered up my food for me before I slid out of the car. Coop snagged my backpack from Rachel. “At least we know she can actually hit her.”

  “Yes,” Rachel said, in a tone smug as fuck. “I can definitely hit her.”

  I searched Ian’s face. This was his ex we were discussing. But all I found in his eyes was concern for me.

  The text he’d sent earlier echoed in the back of my mind. Whatever you need. Just say the word.

  Chapter Twenty

  Sorry Not Sorry

  Coop

  We found a spot away from the main doors and set up for Frankie to eat while we talked plans. The air practically radiated with anger rolling in waves off of Jake and Archie. They were so pissed, they couldn’t see straight. Another reason I didn’t want anyone making an independent decision. Jake had enough problems because of his temper, he didn’t need any new ones.

  Rachel wasn’t so much pissed as vindictive as fuck. Remind me to never get on her bad side. I was beginning to think we’d gotten off light that she’d only told Frankie about us warning guys off her. That could have gone a lot worse.

  Bubba, though… Bubba wore a toxic combo of guilt and rage. Guilt because he’d dated her, and rage? Well, the same reason the rest of us were pissed off.

  The earlier actions had been bad enough. Posting the pictures. Tagging Frankie to make sure she saw them. The verbal taunts. Even the video about our behavior and painting Frankie in a negative light.


  But this bullshit?

  I stared at the video playing on my phone. I’d long since muted it. Not that I needed the sound track to go with the text captions on the screen. This was an attack. This was using what happened to Frankie against her, and no way in hell could I let it stand.

  “Fine, we can’t strip her car for parts,” Jake conceded. “It would be fun though.”

  That didn’t even garner a smile from Frankie as she worked her way through the fries. There was no gusto to how she ate. In fact, I was pretty sure the only reason she ate at all was because we were all checking on her.

  Fuck Sharon.

  “We have video of our own,” Archie pointed out, and I flicked a look at him.

  “Dude,” I said with a slight shake of my head.

  “Let me guess, video from the summer?” Frankie asked.

  “Yes,” Archie admitted.

  “How does that make us any better than she is?”

  “Right now, I don’t care about being better,” Jake admitted. “The attacks have to stop. The only language that bitch understands is just as mean as what she’s been spewing.”

  Frankie’s shoulders sagged, and I scowled. My girl was not a quitter. She just preferred direct fights. Probably because of all the passive aggressive crap with her mother. “Frankie,” I told her. “We can’t do nothing. I know you have never been a fan of bullying. I get it. This isn’t that.”

  “No,” Bubba said slowly. “It’s not. It’s retaliation, and right now, she really deserves retaliation.”

  Rachel leaned her head back and stared upward. Her sunglasses hid her eyes from me, but she drummed her fingers like she was thinking. “You have to three-prong the bitch.”

  “Excuse me?” Archie asked.

  “Hit her from three different sides. We’re not just going after her for this video, but for all of them. Right now, it’s the only power she has left. She keeps doing it because people are listening to her. So we have to humiliate her the same way she’s trying to humiliate Frankie. Chip away at what support she has left and leave her looking petty as fuck, if not dumber than a box of rocks. The kind of chick no one wants anything to do with…not even jocks who don’t care where they get their rocks off. No offense.”

  Jake grunted, but Bubba just looked pained.

  I felt for the guy. Except… “Look, Laura fucked with Frankie. She tried to mess with her head, and she was cruel. Own the fact that we made shitty choices and move on. We all made mistakes. Those mistakes aren’t allowed to lash out at her. They want us? Bring it on. But not her.”

  “Oh, it’s a good thing you’re pretty,” Rachel told me with a pat on my arm, and I narrowed my eyes at her. “Dude, why do you think Sharon is going after her so hard?” She pointed a finger at Bubba as if I couldn’t guess. “Because she wants to punish him. She hates Frankie because she wants to be her and can’t—oh.”

  A slow smile crossed her face, and almost as one, Archie and Jake eased back an inch.

  “I’m not alone in saying that smile is evil, am I?” Archie asked.

  “No,” Frankie answered, shocking all of us. “Rachel is really good at being bad.”

  “I’m a cactus, touch me and get stabbed.” Turning speculative eyes on Bubba, Rachel said, “How willing are you to get your hands dirty on this one?”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  I raised my brows, and I wasn’t alone. Bubba didn’t hesitate. At the same time, a smile pulled at the corners of my lips. The guy had been trying to make it clear he was all in.

  With a glance at Frankie, he added, “Name it. I’ll do it.”

  Perched where I was at the end of the table, I didn’t miss the small smile on her lips or the way her gaze snared on Bubba’s for a beat longer than necessary.

  Well, well…it was about damn time.

  I just had to hope he didn’t screw it up.

  “Tell us the plan first,” I reminded everyone. “We all have to agree, or we don’t do it.”

  “Pfft,” Rachel said, sticking out her tongue. “Democracy sucks. You should be a matriarchy, that way what Frankie wants, goes.”

  Jake snorted, and Archie grinned.

  I didn’t mind that so much, except…

  “I prefer democracy,” Frankie said, and even Bubba laughed at that.

  “You keep spoiling my fun,” Rachel told her in a mock whisper.

  “Sorry.”

  “No you’re not.”

  “No,” Frankie said with a real smile. “I’m not. So what’s your evil plan?”

  At least the next bite she took had a little more effort in it and a little more interest.

  That was something.

  Course, by the time Rachel was done, I wasn’t sure whether we shouldn’t be more terrified than amazed.

  Evil plan was right.

  Jake

  Bubba had upped his game some from side-eye to eye bang, and I was all for it. Later. Right now, we needed to focus on dealing with the Sharon situation. This shit had gone on way too long. I was beyond over it. If she’d been a dude, I’d have already kicked her ass sideways.

  As it was, I was half-tempted, but my mother would have my ass in a sling if I raised a hand to a girl. She’d be right, too. Still, it was really fucking annoying. I’d encourage Frankie to punch the bitch, but she had her arm already in a cast.

  “It’ll take a little coordination,” Rachel said. “But we can do it. But you all have to agree.” Almost as one, we all looked at Frankie.

  There were days when she was too damn nice. But it was that compassion that we all valued, too. The openness of her heart and ability to embrace dating all of us, and honestly, I never felt like I was getting the short end of the stick. I knew what I mean to her.

  More, I knew what she meant to me.

  “You’d have your hands pretty much clean,” I told her. What Rachel described would only involve Frankie indirectly. Say what you wanted about Rachel, and trust me, I could say and had said a lot, she got our girl.

  “That doesn’t really seem fair,” she pointed out. I didn’t groan, though I did scowl at her. “Not the plan,” Frankie corrected, meeting my gaze, and the challenge in those gorgeous green eyes dared me to disagree with her. “Keeping me out of it is sweet. But she’s targeting me. Whether to get even with you guys or to punish me or both. I should be involved, too.”

  “You’re a part of the decision,” Coop offered. “You don’t have to play a part in anything else. Sharon wasn’t your problem until we made her one.”

  “Until I made her one,” Bubba corrected him.

  “No,” Frankie argued, twisting until she locked gazes with Bubba again. “She made herself a problem.”

  I wasn’t alone in sighing. Frankie would give us a lot of slack, and she’d forgiven a lot of our shit. But I was with Bubba on this one. We made Sharon Frankie’s problem. It really was on us to fix it.

  On Bubba.

  He was manning up to handle it, so we’d have his back.

  “Are y’all done?” Rachel asked, bridging the silence. “Because the sweetness is going to give me a cavity at this rate.”

  Frankie laughed and bumped her shoulder to Rachel’s. “You’re just jealous.”

  “Hmm,” Rachel said thoughtfully. “Maybe. Just a smidge. But I know I’m your favorite girl, and I bet they have arguments over who your favorite is. So I win.”

  Arms folded, I rolled my eyes, but Frankie cracked up so I’d take the needling. Not that I’d ever ask her to pick favorites.

  Ever.

  “Back to the plan,” Archie said, leaning forward. “We have about five minutes before the bell rings, then we need to hit sixth period.”

  Rachel nodded. “I’ll prime the pump, since I don’t have sixth or seventh periods. A few well placed text messages, and the rumors will be generating. She’ll have heard about it by seventh.”

  “She still stalks your path,” Archie said with a nod as he transferred his attention to Bubba.

/>   “Yep,” he said with a sigh. “Unfortunately.”

  “Would it be better if she could do it in front of me, or do I need to be out of sight?”

  Personally, I wanted Frankie nowhere near it. Neither did Archie from his expression, but Coop said, “She might not go for it if she sees you. Bubba’s been giving her a hard pass.”

  “Actually,” Bubba said, twisting to look at her. “It might play better if you do ‘catch’ us and then slap the shit out of me.”

  “Oh, I vote for that,” Rachel said, arm shooting into the air, and this time, I had a hard time biting back a laugh. The girl was nuts and into our girl. Still…she was funny.

  Frankie, however, frowned, but Bubba wasn’t done. “Think about it. We’ve looked rocky from the outside, and we have been. This just takes it up a notch, and you get to play a role.” His gaze fixed on her, and I almost whistled.

  Nice. Well, at least someone had found their damn game, finally.

  “You really want me to hit you?”

  “No, but I kind of deserve it, don’t I?” When she didn’t deny his teasing, he nodded. “You bust me, slap the shit out of me, and walk off. We won’t have a lot of time in that window, and that will amp the pressure.”

  “I’ll be with Frankie,” I said. “I’m usually walking her out to the lot to hand off to Coop or Archie.”

  Frankie wrinkled her nose and then stuck her tongue out at me. “You make me sound like a football.”

  “Nah, you’re way more valuable.” I winked, but Coop had straightened.

  “That works. I’ll make sure I’m close to intercept—if we’re going with football metaphors—then Frankie can cry on my shoulder, and I’ll offer her big comfort.”

  “Yeah, that’s what you’ll offer her.” Archie slapped his shoulder. “So you have a tight window to drop that bomb in there, and Rachel has the reaction primed, and we just wait to see what she does?”

  “Best we can do,” Bubba said. “And I’ll do it every damn day until I have what we need.”

  None of us liked that plan.