by Octavia June
“Fine. Jeez.” I lifted my hands up.
My gaze raised to the person who was walking toward us.
It was Aaron.
What the hell was he doing here?
“I need a smoke,” Aaron said, and without a word, Rhys pulled out his little box.
I sighed.
Now I was never going to get them out of here, especially when Aaron sat down next to Rhys.
“Hey, Melody,” Aaron said when his eyes briefly lifted to me. “Is she bugging you with that stupid project?” he asked Rhys.
“Yep.”
Oh great.
Ignore me as if I’m not here at all.
Why not?
“My folks are fucking insane,” Aaron said, leaning his head against the wall. “I would kill for a fucking burger.”
“Then quit,” Rhys said.
“I wish.” He groaned. “But I love to play, despite all the nonsense my parents say and do.”
“Then quit your parents.”
“Easier said than done.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Melody.” Aaron focused his attention on me. “Don’t just stand there like a nun. Sit with us.”
“I’m not going to sit down on that cold stone.” I had no idea how it didn’t bother them, but I didn’t want to catch a cold or something.
The bricks were dirty too.
The last thing I needed was to ruin my favorite pair of pants.
“Then go away.” He made a shooing gesture.
“I’m not going away. Rhys and I need to work on our projects, and since you’re here too, maybe you can join us. You still haven’t finished your part.”
“Fuck. She’s annoying,” Aaron muttered.
“Tell me about it,” Rhys said. “Hey, Melody. You should get laid.”
“Why?” I crossed my arms. “You do it all the time and it clearly didn’t help you.”
Aaron burst into laughter. “She’s right, man.”
“Shut up.” Rhys shook his head.
“I’m going back inside. If you don’t show up in five minutes, I’m leaving,” I said, turning around.
I could hear Aaron and Rhys whispering something behind my back. It sounded as if they were impersonating me.
Ugh.
But I really wasn’t in the mood for their shit today.
Either Rhys could do the work or he couldn’t.
It was up to him.
Chapter 19
RHYS AND I HADN’T DONE a lot of work, especially because he’d seemed to be in a completely different place.
But today I was at Aaron’s house, and I hoped we could do some extra work to make up for it.
Aaron’s parents weren’t home, or at least I assumed they weren’t because Aaron had picked up a burger on our way here and he was wolfing it down while I was preparing everything that we needed to start working on the project.
“Aaron?” A voice from somewhere down the hallway called, and Aaron’s eyes widened, his face going pale.
His mom.
His mom was here.
He lowered the burger, looking around him in panic.
Before his mom could open the door, I snatched the burger and brought it to my lips.
“Aaron, are you—” His mom’s voice was cut short as she poked her head through the door and spotted me. “Oh, hello, Melody. I didn’t know you were here.”
“Yeah, Mrs. Oliveira. We’re still working on that project.” I took a bite of the burger.
She scrunched her nose at me, but she kept a fake smile on her face.
“Do you need something?” Aaron asked. “We were just about to start.”
His mom’s gaze traveled the room, as if she was looking for something. Maybe she thought Aaron was hiding food somewhere.
Jeez.
That was just so damn crazy.
“No,” she finally said. “I was just checking. I’ll leave you to it then.”
When she closed the door, I lowered the burger, and Aaron let out a sigh of relief.
“Thanks,” he said, but then his eyes narrowed at me. “Why did you do that?”
I shrugged. The truth was, I had no idea.
“If you think I owe you now—”
“No. It’s not about that. I just... I thought it was the right thing to do.”
He eyed me with suspicion. “But how did you know?”
“Um. I may have overheard something when I was looking for you.”
“Overheard what?” There was a threatening note in his voice.
“Not much. Just that your parents want you to count every calorie you eat or something like that.”
His shoulders relaxed.
“It’s a really good burger, by the way,” I said.
A smile stretched across his lips. “Yeah, I know. Next time, I’ll grab one for you too.”
“Okay.” I smiled back. “But we should really start working on this. I still have homework to do when I get home, and I’m pretty sure you do too.”
“Right. Where do we start?”
“Here.” I picked up one of the books and waved it.
Chapter 20
RHYS AND I MET AT THE library so we could do that part that we hadn’t had the chance to finish.
It was only supposed to be fifteen minutes. When we were finished, I started gathering my things and then I realized Rhys wasn’t moving from his chair.
Usually, he’d be gone in an instant, but now he was just sitting there with his head in his hands.
“Everything all right?” I asked, unable to help myself.
Maybe it was just one of Rhys’ bad moods.
Or his stash had run out.
Or whoever was selling it to him had figured out his dad was a cop.
“Yeah. It’s just stupid homework.” He ran his hand over his forehead as he pulled out his Math notebook. “Who in their right mind knows how to solve this?”
“Um, I do.”
“Yeah, I said, in their right mind.”
I should leave.
There was no need for me to help him. He wasn’t even nice to me.
But just seeing him there all depressed, as if he had no clue where to start, I knew that I couldn’t do it. Ugh.
I was going to hate myself for this, wasn’t I?
“You need to multiply these two numbers first,” I said, pointing my finger at them.
His brow furrowed. “Oh.”
“Yeah. And then move on to this. Wait, let me show you.” I shifted closer to him and took his pen. “Like this.”
When I finished, I handed him back the pen.
He looked up at me in wonder, his lips parted.
“You’re really good at this,” he said.
“I guess. But you’ll have to do the rest yourself. I’m not going to do your homework for you. Just follow my example and you’ll be done in no time.” I offered him a small smile.
“Thanks.”
“No problem. I should go now.”
“Wait,” he said just as I was about to grab my bag. “Do you think you could help me figure out this shit? I have a test soon, and I think I’m going to fail because I don’t understand a damn thing.”
I bit down on my lip.
Did I really want to spend my time tutoring Rhys?
The same Rhys who’d taken photos of me in my underwear in the girls’ locker room? The Rhys who’d made fun of me and humiliated me? The guy who’d stolen my first kiss?
“Please,” he said, as if his mouth forming that word was the hardest thing he’d ever done.
“Fine. But I’ll have to take a look at my schedule, and you’ll have to put some more work in our project. If we’re constantly late and have to catch up, then I won’t have time to be your tutor too.”
“Okay. I can do that. Text me when you figure it out.”
“I will.” I flashed him a small smile and then hurried away from there.
What the hell had I just gotten myself into?
Tutoring Rhys? As i
f I needed that in my schedule.
But maybe at least he’d never bug me again, or maybe that was just my wishful thinking.
I totally should’ve told him no, but I supposed his pleading blue eyes had done their job.
Ah hell.
Chapter 21
MY PHONE BUZZED AGAIN and I let out a groan.
The boys had been trying to get me to come to some party at some guy’s house, and they just wouldn’t stop texting me about it.
I had no idea why they wanted me at that party, but I sure as hell didn’t feel like going to a house that belonged to someone I didn’t even know, especially when none of my friends were going to be there.
Sure, Aaron, Rhys, Zack, and Ethan were going to be there, but they weren’t exactly my friends, or were they?
And even if I went to the party, what would happen? Would I just stand alone in some corner while the boys were busy drinking and having fun?
I doubted they wanted to dance with me or something. Hell, it was more likely they’d try to convince me to get drunk or smoke with them so I could loosen up or whatever.
But I had no time for any of that.
The doorbell rang, and my mom’s brow furrowed as she turned around to face me.
“Are you expecting someone?” she asked.
“Um, no.” I was actually just finishing up my homework on the kitchen counter while I drank some juice.
“I’ll go see who it is. Maybe our neighbor saw a raccoon again.”
I gave her a nod.
If it was our neighbor who wanted us to solve all of her problems for her again, I was so going to run for my room before she came in and spotted me.
The last thing I wanted was for her to ask endless questions about school and boys, and damn, she loved to do that.
“Honey, it’s for you,” my mom said, and I blinked at her just as Zack showed up behind her back.
What the fuck?
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I’m here to take you to the party,” he said with a wide smile.
“I said I wasn’t going.” Okay, this was weird.
Why would Zack come all the way to my house just so he could take me to the party? What the hell were they planning now?
“Why not?” It was my mom who asked. “You’ve done your homework.”
She was eyeing Zack with a smile on her face.
Oh fuck. She thought Zack was here because he was interested in me, and of course she liked him, because what was there not to like?
Physically, at least.
Besides, all the boys had been acting nice in front of my mom when they’d been here.
“See? Your mom says you can go.” Zack grinned at me.
Err, thanks, Mom.
“I don’t know if I want to. What kind of party is it?”
“It’s just a party like any other,” he said. “And there’s going to be food. Lots of it.”
I pressed my lips into a tight line.
“What? You like food.”
I let out a loud sigh.
“I think you should go,” my mom said. “You never go anywhere. You need to have some fun. Not everything is about school. And I’m sure your nice friend here will make sure you’re back home safely.”
I almost burst into laughter.
My nice friend.
Oh boy. If only she knew.
Actually, if I’d told her what the boys had done to me, she would’ve kicked him out of here in a flash.
“Come on,” Zack said. “Get ready and let’s go. Just don’t take forever.”
I debated what to do.
Was it crazy to go with him? But now my mom would hold him responsible if anything happened to me at the party. Not that it was going to help me much if something did happen, but our truce was still on, wasn’t it?
I should be safe around them.
“Yeah, okay,” I found myself saying. “I’ll be right back.”
On my way to my room, I wondered if I’d made the right decision.
I supposed I was going to find out.
Chapter 22
THE TWO-STORY HOUSE was brimming with people, and the music was so loud that I could hear it almost all the way down the street.
When Zack and I entered the foyer, I almost wanted to go back home. I didn’t really know any of the people, or at least they didn’t look familiar to me, and the air was thick with smoke and the smell of alcohol.
“Whose party is this again?” I had to lean closer to Zack so I could yell into his ear.
“Trevor’s.”
“Who’s Trevor? Does he go to school?” I couldn’t remember anyone with that name.
Zack shook his head. “He’s in college.”
Oh.
That probably explained why I didn’t know any of the people here. They had to be Trevor’s friends from college.
So what the hell were we doing here?
“Come,” Zack said, tugging at my arm. He led me through the thick crowd, and we ended up in the kitchen.
All kinds of snacks were everywhere.
“I promised you food, so...” Zack said with a small smile.
I eyed one of the bowls. Ah well. At least something. “Where are Aaron, Rhys, and Ethan?”
I was surprised we hadn’t run into them already, but maybe they were somewhere in the crowd or in some room.
Wait, maybe they had already hooked up with someone. Was that why Zack had brought me here? Because he didn’t feel like hooking up with anyone tonight?
Was I his excuse or something?
“They’ll be here soon,” Zack said as he opened the fridge.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you sure you’re allowed to do that?”
“Yeah.” He gave me a look as if I’d just asked the craziest thing ever.
Okay. If I were throwing a party at my house, no one would be allowed to touch anything they weren’t supposed to, but this was neither my party nor my house, so what did it matter?
Maybe Trevor was all about the whole my-house-is-your-house thing.
A few moments later, I realized Zack was making sandwiches, and they actually looked tasty.
Just as he offered me one, a group of people stormed the kitchen. They were jumping around and laughing, and it looked like they were searching for more alcohol.
“We should go somewhere less crowded,” Zack said. “I think I know the right place.”
“Okay.” I wanted to get out of the kitchen as soon as possible, before someone spilled something all over me.
But as we pushed our way through the crowd, I started to wonder where Zack was taking me. We headed toward the stairway.
A few people passed us by.
Couples, mostly. Huh.
Zack led me down the hallway and then he pushed the door to one of the rooms open.
“This one’s free,” he said.
I hesitated, wondering if I should be alone in a room with Zack.
But I’d already done that before. Sure, it hadn’t been at some shady party, but still.
I could trust him, right? I followed him inside, and we settled on the bed. The room was small, but it was nice and clean.
Was this Trevor’s room or someone else’s?
I had no idea.
Zack and I chewed on our sandwiches in silence.
“This is really good, actually,” I said as I licked my fingers.
“Yeah. Do you want me to get you some more?”
“No, thanks.” I gave him a small smile.
Zack got to his feet, looking around the room.
“Are you sure Trevor would want you to go through his stuff?” I asked when Zack opened the closet that was overflowing with all kinds of things.
“He won’t mind. Trust me.” Zack had to be looking for something. A few moments later, a huge smile popped up on his face. “Bingo.”
“What is it?” I asked.
He pulled out a bottle of something.
Definitely alcohol.
“How did you know it was there?” I tilted my head at him.
“Trevor always has something lying around.” He opened the bottle and took a big gulp, then offered the bottle to me.
“No, thanks.”
“Oh, come on. It’s a party.”
“I’m not going to drink that, whatever it is.”
“It’s just whiskey, and it’s really good.”
“Yeah, I don’t drink stuff like that.” Alcohol wasn’t completely unknown to me, but I’d never really tried whiskey or anything like it.
“Really? Maybe you should.”
I shook my head. “Pass.”
“Okay. More for me then.” He tipped the bottle to his lips.
“So how do you know Trevor?”
“He works at the same bar as Rhys.”
“Ah.”
“Are you sure you don’t want any of this?” He lifted the bottle.
“How many times do I have to say it? Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Whatever. I was just checking.” His phone rang. After he lowered the bottle onto the desk, he pulled out the phone. “The guys are here. I’m going to tell them where we are so they can find us.”
I just nodded.
Me alone with the four of them in this small room?
I had no idea how I felt about that.
Chapter 23
IN THE END, ZACK AND I ended up joining the rest of the boys downstairs.
Somehow, they’d managed to secure a corner for themselves, so there was actually plenty of space to dance. It looked like they were all more or less drunk, and maybe a bit stoned too.
Rhys’ eyes were glassy, and he was grinning at me like never before.
“Come dance with me,” Ethan said, extending his hand toward me.
Since we were already at a party, and it wasn’t a slow song that was playing, I took his hand. He pulled me to him, and I let out a small gasp at his sudden proximity.
We started moving in rhythm with the music, and I stared deep into his eyes. I liked the way he was smiling at me. It wasn’t all that hard for me to pretend that I was just a regular girl.
A girl someone like Ethan might want to date.
If he wasn’t drunk, he probably wouldn’t be looking at me with... desire in his eyes? Or maybe I was misinterpreting the whole thing.
Still, when he pulled me to him again, our lips almost touched, and I gasped.
