Estella may have been able to protect me around her cheerleader friends, but Crispin was something else. Fear ran through my veins, and I braced myself for the next time I’d have to see him, already afraid of the pain he’d undoubtedly cause.
Yet, when he appeared in the dining hall—looking every inch the teenage dream I remembered him to be—all the blood rushed to my head. Calm your tits, woman.
Estella seemed to notice Crispin’s arrival, too, leaning over and nudging me with her elbow. “You okay?” she asked, motioning to him. “Do I need to kick some Dalton ass?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Just say the word, and I’ll make him bite the curb,” Estella promised with a conspiratorial wink.
I averted my gaze but not before catching him looking at our table.
Crispin Dalton was like a freaking magnet. I swear every girl in that goddamn room stared, but he sauntered right across the cafeteria toward us. The noise quieted as if people were waiting to hear what he'd say. I knew my life at Wildwood depended on the way Crispin treated me. So far, it wasn’t very promising. He hated me, I thought guiltily. I was the reason everything went to hell for him.
"Hey."
God, his voice was all low and gravelly and freaking irresistibly sexy. It would be so much easier to just hate him. I wished I could. I needed to.
I swallowed hard, finally looking up through black lashes. "What now?" I muttered, despising myself. “Just, fucking… leave me alone. I don’t know how many times I have to ask you.”
Maybe he was just trying to be nice this time. But I didn’t trust him. The whole world was at a standstill as I waited for his next move. Slowly, he cracked a grin and sat down on the bench next to me as if the classroom fall had never happened. As if we were friends. I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but him being this close wasn't helping matters much.
“Reconsidered my offer?” he asked.
"No,” I grunted. “Like I already told you two freaking times, I’m not interested.”
“Suit yourself,” he ground out. “Just saying, you could be prom queen in less than a year. You could have your dream high school experience. Just do as I say. Would that be so goddamn hard?”
Staring into his eyes, I found myself falling under their spell. They were so deep and tempting but so damn cruel at the same time. “Yes, it would be the stuff of nightmares.”
I can’t think of a single way to get past what had happened. We can’t just pretend it was nothing.
"Have you been showing her the ropes?" Crispin's next question was meant for Estella, and my skin bristled with jealousy as he looked at her, pretending our conversation hadn’t taken place.
"Yeah." Estella smiled. "Don't you worry. I'm going to take good care of our little Tins."
Somehow, my best friend had managed to make me feel small despite the fact I was older. She hadn’t meant to. It was her mere presence that caused me to pale in comparison. I'd never be as pretty, as tall, as freaking loaded, or as sexy as Estella. And I knew without a doubt, if Crispin had to pick between us, he'd pick her.
I decided on the spot that he'd only come over to talk to her, and the feeling ate me up while they chatted easily. A moment later, I realized Crispin had asked me a question I'd completely missed by worrying myself sick. "Sorry?" I muttered, hoping my cheeks weren't as red hot as they felt.
“I said, how’s your mom these days?” he repeated.
“Crispin.” Estella’s voice held a stern warning. “Don’t go there.”
“I’m just asking.” He shrugged. “Is she still fucking her way to the top?”
I got up, grabbing my chia drink, but his fingers wrapped around it, too, yanking it out of my reach.
“Let go,” I demanded.
“Crispin, leave her alone,” Estella insisted.
"I was just telling Estella she should come to my party." He grinned, winking at my friend and pulling the drink out of my hand. He unscrewed the cap and took a long swig while I glared.
“Yeah, it’s going to be a blast.” Estella smiled, though her expression was still strained, glancing between Crispin and me. “Are you…”
An awkward silence lay between us. I knew what she was going to ask. My friend wanted to elicit an invitation for me as well.
“You should come,” Crispin said easily, his hand leaving mine and making my skin tingle in its wake. “Bury the hatchet.”
“Thanks, but I’d rather not.”
“Aww.” Crispin laughed. " Such a shame, crybaby. I think this is basically your last chance to drink out of a red Solo cup. You ain’t getting any younger.”
Sometimes it was so easy to forget how close we used to be. “Those are still a thing?”
"Why don't you find out?" Getting up, he grabbed his backpack. "My place. Nine Friday night. We're having a little get together since my... mom and sister will be out of town.”
I looked down, feeling the shame burning me. And that's all my fault.
"Why Crispin Dalton," Estella purred. “Are you extending the invite?”
"Yeah. Bring some friends." He glanced at the cheerleaders with a smirk. "Got the address, yeah?"
"Yeah," I whispered.
"Cool, maybe we'll drop by." Estella shrugged.
"See you then. Maybe."
Estella and I locked eyes, and I sighed deeply. “Tins,” she sighed. “Why are you fighting this? I mean, he’s literally offering to make your life easier.”
“I don’t need his help,” I muttered. “And I don’t want to go to his stupid party.”
“I think you should,” she said. “It’ll be good for you. Like Crispin said, it’s time to bury the hatchet.”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on,” she insisted. “I’ll even keep you company, so you don’t have to deal with him too much.”
“Maybe,” I muttered, making her squeal in excitement.
"Okay, get ready at my place on Friday," Estella said. "You do the hair; I'll pick the outfits."
“I really…” I started. “I really don’t think I should go.”
“What? You’ve got to go. His parties are legendary.”
“But, Stells, I can’t just go to Crispin Dalton’s house. My mom would kill me.”
“So, don’t tell her.” She grinned wickedly. “We’ll tell her the party’s at my place.”
I gave her a doubtful look, trying to ignore the hopeful beat of my heart. "Deal.”
He did invite me, which means…he doesn't hate me. Maybe. Possibly. Probably.
We finished our lunch, but by the time we were done with our food, I felt increasingly more guilty about the Andromeda thing and how I'd pretended not to see her in the cafeteria.
Estella walked me to my next class, and we hugged goodbye. I wouldn't see her again until the next day. She was already on her way to her classroom when I spoke up.
"Hey, Estella?"
She turned to face me again, her grin so pearly white it was almost blinding. "Yeah?"
"Um, I was wondering if I can invite someone for Friday," I said.
"Oh God," she rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me it's that Andromeda girl."
I stayed sheepishly quiet, and she groaned, shaking her head. "Honestly, Tinsley, there are cooler people who need your charity way more than that girl."
"She's really good at makeup," I offered. "Maybe she can help us get ready."
"Yeah, no thanks." She groaned. "I’d rather not go out looking like a circus clown."
I remained quiet, and she finally waved her hand in the air dismissively.
"Fine, tell her to drop by my place at seven. We can get ready together."
I beamed, running up to her and giving her a quick hug. "Thank you," I whispered into her ear. "You don't know how grateful I am. And watching out for me, too. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Babe." She took me by the shoulders, staring into my eyes. "You would be fine without me. You might even be better off."
"Wha
t do you mean?" I furrowed my brows.
"You prefer to stay in the shadows; I get it," she said gently. "But you should be the center of attention, Tins. You're the sweetest, kindest friend I've ever had, and I want the world to know it. There’s a reason you’re a superstar. And, babe... The scandals of others shouldn't shape your life. I don't care what People says. You’re your own person. Not the sins of your mother."
I managed a trembling smile, looking up at her as I muttered, "You really think I'm a superstar?"
"Duh," she rolled her eyes, giving me a wicked grin as she pulled back. "Why else would I hang out with you?"
She blew me a kiss over her shoulder and left me wondering whether I would ever really be able to move past the story that had made it to every tabloid in the world.
After all, like mother like daughter…
Chapter Two
Crispin
I drove home from school by myself this time, my thoughts filled with a certain lilac-haired girl who'd messed with my head big-fucking-time. Tinsley Sullivan never should have started at Wildwood. From the moment I found out we were going to be sharing a classroom, I knew I was fucked.
Her mother had ruined my life. And goddamn, I resented them both for it. I resented Tinsley because I knew she would be my downfall, and I resented her mother for opening my eyes to the truth that had been right under my nose all along.
I parked my BMW in the driveway, turning off the ignition and taking a moment to sit in the vehicle. My thoughts raced around in circles, always around her.
She was etched into my brain, a permanent reminder that everything could fall apart like a house of cards if I weren't careful. Yet there was something about her—that soft Cupid's bow that trembled in my presence, the silky lavender-colored hair, the way her eyes begged me not to taunt her—that made it impossible to stay away.
The problem was, I wasn't going to be nice to her after everything that had happened. I couldn’t be nice to the person who had ruined my life. No fucking way was she getting off that easy. An instinct to hurt her awoke deep within me, demanding she pay for the crimes her family had committed. The scandal that wrecked both of our lives loomed in the back of my mind, and I couldn't stop thinking about the life I could have had if I'd never met Tinsley Sullivan. But it was all too little, too late. She was in my life now, and I needed to fucking deal with it.
With a sigh, I got up from the driver's seat and locked the car. I walked up to the house, using the sensor to unlock the front door. Inside, I was greeted by an intense, tight hug from my little sister, India. She held onto me tightly, her chubby arms going around my waist and her trusting eyes finding me.
This was why I should hate her. She tore my family apart.
"How was school?" India asked with a big grin.
"Good," I replied easily. "How was ballet?"
"Good," she mimicked, showing off her smile with the front tooth missing. "Miss Perkins said I have the best pirouette in the class."
"Great job."
She took my hand, and we walked into the kitchen, where my mother frantically packed cutlery. The gleam of the metal’s edge flashed against the white marble countertops. "Oh, good," she said distractedly when we walked in. "Could you give me a hand, Crispin?"
I joined her behind the island to help stow our lives into neat boxes until it could be moved out of our state-of-the-art kitchen. Our moving date was fast approaching, and Mom was panicked. Instead of hiring movers like everyone suggested, she got it in her head that she needed to do anything and everything—from packing up the silverware to moving every piece of furniture in the house. Like the opposite of nesting syndrome.
I wanted her to let me do more of the grunt work, but part of me understood her need to care for the details. She was a single mom, now. She needed to feel in control, and with everything else falling apart, this was what she'd decided to cling to.
"Mom, just leave it," I said gently when she dropped a dessert fork for the third time. "I'll take care of it later."
She heaved a sigh, putting a shaky hand on the counter. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and for a second, I was worried she'd cry again, but she wiped her eyes with new-found determination and turned to face India with a bright smile.
Too bad we all knew it it’s fake as fuck.
"Would you like something to eat, princess?" she asked, and India nodded. "What about you, Crispin?"
"I had food at school.”
The unspoken question hung between us. She wanted to ask about Tinsley, but she was too proud to let herself utter the girl’s name. So, we skirted around the issue while she cut off two slices of banana bread, hers paper-thin and India's slathered with peanut butter and jelly.
The tension in the room was thick, and the subject of Tinsley remained unbreeched. I squirmed on the copper barstool, occasionally feeling Mom's gaze. I could never be nice to Tinsley. It would be the worst betrayal to my mom.
"Crispin, you should do your homework," Mom suggested before she turned to my sister. "India, do you want me to put on My Little Pony for you?"
"Yes!" India whooped as she ran over to the living room, but Mom didn't fool me.
I saw the trace of unshed tears in her eyes, something that had become a common occurrence in the past few months. To her credit, she always did her best to hide it, and I hadn't seen her cry in several weeks. These days, she did it in the privacy of her own bedroom. I didn't know which was worse—seeing her so upset or knowing she hid it from me.
"I'll be upstairs," I said once India settled in on the couch. "If you need me, just drop me a text."
"Sure."
I left the room feeling guiltier than ever. But there were other things that needed my attention. Things that didn't require me to be Crispin loving-brother-and-perfect-son Dalton.
Once I got to my room, I opened my laptop and typed a link into the incognito browser, one I'd memorized over the past few weeks. The chatroom popped up. It was a little old-fashioned, but it was the only way I'd allow the guys to discuss what had happened. Everything else—from Snapchat to Instagram—could be hacked too easily. And we needed to keep this secret. The secret that could ruin every one of us.
I waited until the clock on my desktop read 5 p.m. By then, the chatroom had filled with all four members, and there was a lively debate going on in the main channel. I changed my status to active, pressing enter with shaky fingers.
CrispySnacc: It’s taken care of. I don’t think she’ll bother us again.
Drifter_: #cryptic
CrispySnacc: Maybe you should be grateful for what I did. For all of us.
checkmate: Crispin, did you shut her up?
CrispySnacc: How many times do I have to tell you NOT to use my real name?
Drifter_: #TheRealCrispinDalton
theJoker: Would you shut up, @Drifter_?
CrispySnacc: @Drifter_ You think I’m afraid of you? Remember, I know who you are. I could fuck up your life with the click of my finger.
Drifter_: Promises, promises… ;)
checkmate: No fighting, boys.
CrispySnacc: Whatever, moving on…
theJoker: Crispy, how did the situation go?
CrispySnacc: As well as you’d expect. She wasn’t happy. But for now, she agreed to keep her mouth shut. Thanks for helping me get the cash together @checkmate
checkmate: I’m just glad it was enough. She might come back for more.
theJoker: Well, at least we’re ready now.
Drifter_: So, she’s going to leave us alone?
CrispySnacc: At least for the time being.
Guest has joined the channel.
Drifter_: …
checkmate: The FUCK?
CrispySnacc: Relax guys, it’s probably just a bot. No need to panic.
theJoker: @Guest who the fuck are you?
CrispySnacc: Don’t feed the trolls, guys.
Drifter_: Is this shit for real?
Guest: Hello, boys.
theJoker: Holy
shit.
CrispySnacc: @Guest how did you find this chatroom?
checkmate: Don’t panic yet. Could still be a bot.
Guest: I’m not a bot. I think you know who I am all too well.
Drifter_: Stop fucking with us!
theJoker: What the fuck ever. I’m not dealing with this. Too messed up for me.
theJoker has logged off.
Guest: And then there were three.
CrispySnacc: What do you want? Didn’t we give you enough already?
checkmate: Maybe it’s not her…
Drifter_: @Guest tell us who you are.
Guest: All will be revealed soon. For now, just know that I’m onto you… And I’m going to expose every one of you for the frauds you are. Starting with Crispin.
Drifter_: Fuck.
checkmate: SHIT
Guest: Nothing to say @CrispySnacc? Aren’t you afraid of me?
CrispySnacc: Come at me bitch. I’ll be fucking ready.
Guest: Oh, you bet your ass I will, little boy.
Guest has logged off.
Drifter_: The FUCK just happened?!
checkmate: Do we need to find a new chatroom?
CrispySnacc: I’ll set something up. Don’t engage with this person. Don’t say anything. I’ll send you the link to the new chatroom on Snap. We meet again in one week.
Drifter_: What if Guest makes an appearance in the new chatroom?
CrispySnacc: We deal with that when it happens.
checkmate: Guys, this is fucked up. Do you think that was…?
CrispySnacc: No names. No locations. Don’t reveal more than you already have.
checkmate: I need to go. I’ll be waiting for that new link.
checkmate has logged off.
CrispySnacc: Yo, @Drifter_ don’t panic. We’ll be fine.
Drifter_: And then there were none…
CrispySnacc has logged off.
I watched the screen with unblinking eyes. What in the fresh hell just happened?
I pushed my laptop away, closing it before flopping down onto the bed. Grabbing my phone, I tried to distract myself on social media, scrolling through a multitude of meaningless photos. There was Estella, looking stunning as ever in a pale blue, faux fur jacket, with her Husky puppy in her arms. She was undeniably beautiful, but I found myself scrolling past the photo, past everything that held no interest, until my finger hit the search bar and I typed in the one username I shouldn't give a shit about.
Boys That Tease: A Bully Romance (Lords Of Wildwood Book 1) Page 4
