I narrow my eyes at him as Liam leans onto his elbow, shifting his eyes between Caroline and me. “Maybe they’ll rip each other’s tops off? Wait, let’s get Jell-O.”
“Pig,” I hurl before smacking his shoulder. “Watch yourself, Brooks.”
“Damn, Van. Easy. Although I do like it rough.”
I pretend I’m going to hit him again, and we both laugh as he says, “Sorry. Jokes, I got jokes.”
A loud clang of silverware against a plate raises my eyes back to Caroline as she sneers, pushing her tray out of the way. “For this to be a match, the opponents have to be declared equal. Donovan’s out of her league.”
“So, this is a fight?” I question, already knowing the answer.
“It doesn’t have to be.”
My eyes narrow with my thoughts. And for there to be a fight, we’d need a prize. What’s your trophy, ice princess? Her eyes discreetly shift between Grey and Liam. Oh, I see. You want my seat. In your fucking dreams.
“I see. So long as I know my place? Right?”
Caroline smiles, cocking her head, before swishing her long brown hair over her shoulder. “Smarter than you look.”
She’s a bitch and a half, and if she thinks because I’m choosing to play nice that I can’t roll around in the mud, she’s also an idiot. I loathe mean girls, but that handbook came with my last name. She may have read it faster when we were young, but I’m all caught up now.
I pull out my lip gloss and open the tin top, sweeping a finger over it and running it over my bottom lip. “Problem is, Caroline, I’m already in my place. But thanks so much for keeping my seat warm.”
The silence stretches out over the table, and as much as I want to get up and leave, I don’t. I’d never give her the satisfaction. No, I stay focused on the little snake that’s glaring back at me. Liam edges my chair closer to him, draping an arm along the back and spreading his legs so that I’m in between them, as he whispers into my ear, “Welcome back, Van.”
I don’t bother to stop the smile that plays out on my face. The boys knew I could handle her, but they’re still going to pay for sitting silent. Kai takes Caroline’s hand and kisses the back, leaning in to say something that seems to appease her, and calls a truce before he looks to Grey. “Word is, Paul is calling extra practices in the hopes he’ll beat us.”
Grey shakes his head, and the talk of rowing and secret matches infiltrate my ears before I tune them out and take another bite of my food, studying Kai and Caroline. Liam leans in again, answering my thoughts.
“Kai’s bi, a powerhouse on the team, likes to stir the pot, clearly…and occasionally fucks Caroline. His mom’s an actress in LA, dad owns some all-powerful agency here in New York with initials I don’t give a shit about, but we consider him family. Caroline, well, she’s a bit more complicated to explain.”
I’m nodding, but Liam could be telling me the secrets of the world, and it’d be lost because all I see is Caroline raising her eyebrows to me in challenge. Guess the truce is over. She’s dying to talk as much shit as possible.
I lean forward, palms down on the table, not breaking our matching disdainful glares. “Don’t stay quiet on my behalf.”
She smiles big, matching my pose, and blinks her big blue eyes innocently. “That’s the last thing I’m planning. I wouldn’t spit on you if you were on fire.”
The tension is so thick it could suffocate anyone within breathing distance because while boys handle these kinds of things with clumsy brute force, girls go straight for the jugular. We’re strategic. And fucking mean.
“Then, by all means, say what you want to say. I’m all ears, Caroline.”
“I already did. You still haven’t answered.”
Her voice is so sharp I know she hopes it will cut me, but all it does is give away her weakness. You should hide your jealously better, Caroline.
“No. We’re not fucking yet. Today’s my first day, after all. You have high expectations for me. I mean, maybe by the weekend. Want me to report back?”
Grey growls beside me, scooting closer. Her eyes shoot to his, then cut back to me. That’s right, Caroline. He has my back.
“Report back? You look like the type that would spread your legs and your business.”
“Enough,” “Caroline,” and “Care” are said in unison by Grey, Liam, and Kai, but we’re too far in to turn back now.
I glance down to her chest and smirk as I meet her eyes again. “Your tits might be a bit smaller, but it seems you haven’t changed. Once a bitch always a bitch, I see.”
Caroline brushes her long hair over her shoulder and smiles sweetly, but her whole face is tight, like a spring ready to snap.
I’m ready whenever you are.
Grey must anticipate what’s coming because his voice is nothing less than a precisely wielded threat. “Caroline. Be very careful with what you say next unless you’d like this year to be unbearable for you. She’s proven herself more than equal. And let’s be real, she never really had to.”
“I second that,” Liam adds, leaning in to play with the feather again.
Boys forgiven.
I give her a wink before picking up my water to take a drink. But a tiny piece of me wonders what price I’ll pay for my win. I didn’t want to return here and play another role as false as the previous one. Then again, I don’t desire to have Caroline Whitmore eating me alive.
Sometimes you have to flip the other bitch over to establish your dominance—your place. And mine has always been between Grey and Liam.
The threat makes her face pale, but she’s a stubborn one and narrows her eyes at Liam before facing off to Grey. “Oh, I see. Your beloved childhood best friend comes back, and now your loyalty to your family shifts. I’m your sister, Grey.”
Umm, what? My body spins to Grey’s, tossing my hair into Liam’s face. I hear him sputter as I speak.
“Wait. Hold on a minute?”
Anger’s on his face, and it grabs hold of me. What the hell is happening?
“Did I miss some special Upper East Side edition of The Jerry Springer Show? Sister?”
Grey’s jaw tenses, as he shoots Caroline the kind of look I hope to never be on the receiving end of. When I glimpse her over my shoulder, it’s clear she doesn’t want it aimed at her either. My head turns back to Grey, waiting for an answer, but Liam answers from behind, whispering into my hair.
“Stepsister. Dad remarried two years after—”
“How didn’t I hear about your parents getting a divorce?” I blurt out, feeling Liam’s hand give a small squeeze to my thigh.
The table falls silent, so much so that I turn back to everyone confused, feeling like I’m missing something.
“What?”
Liam pats my leg, but all the other sets of eyes shift in different directions. My head swings back to Grey. His answer is as quiet and as empty as the expression taking over his face. “There’s a lot you didn’t hear about, Cherry.”
He pushes back from his seat and stands, directing his words over my head at Liam. “I’m going outside.”
Something’s off. I start to stand, but Liam grabs my hand. “No, leave him alone.”
“But—”
“She died, Van. Car accident.”
“She drove into a tree—” Caroline interjects, and when our eyes meet, I can see her regret. “I didn’t think. I mean, I did, but I didn’t mean—I’m sorry.”
She directs her words to Liam, who nods before turning back to me. “He doesn’t talk about it. To anyone. Ever.”
The tips of my fingers draw to my lips as I look back over my shoulder, watching Grey walk outside.
“You.” Liam launches into a lecturing tone, staring at Caroline and readjusting forward in his seat. “Stop being such a shit because you’re jealous. We still love you.”
“Wow, lucky me,” she drawls.
“Agreed. Now shut your beautiful face and eat something. You’re too skinny. You’d probably be more pleasant with some meat i
n you.”
The ice princess blushes. Interesting. Leaning forward, I catch her eyes.
“Don’t get too comfortable, Caroline. I haven’t decided if you get to stay.”
I reach down and grab my bag. Pushing my chair back to stand, I search through the windows, trying to spot Grey.
“Don’t.”
“Liam. I’m going.”
“He won’t talk. You can’t fix him, Van. We aren’t twelve anymore.”
I don’t have an answer, because he’s right. We aren’t twelve. But I just found out one of my very best friends suffered a loss. I’m not going to sit here with thoughts and prayers. My shoulders give a shrug before I turn and walk away toward the doors Grey walked out of.
“You’ve been warned.”
Liam’s voice follows me as I exit, my eyes immediately searching for Grey. A thick waft of smoke billows out from around the corner of the building as Grey steps into view, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
“You’re a smoker now…how very ‘supermodel chic’ of you.”
“High fashion is a hard life. What are you doing out here? Come to console the grieving son?”
He’s terrified I might do just that because while he’s doing a fantastic impersonation of indifference, I can see his fear, and it guts me. But Grey doesn’t need my sympathy; the boy I knew would’ve hated that. He’d much rather fall into a faux indifference. He’ll only come when he’s ready, never one minute before.
“Nah. Death happens. I came to smoke,” I answer, hopping up to sit on a cement pony wall next to where he’s standing, eyeing his smirk.
“Liar.”
I shrug and pluck the cigarette from his lips, bringing it to mine to pull in a deep inhale. My lungs fill, feeling heavy as I hold in the smoke and slowly round my lips and blow. Small clouded circles float into the air as he gives a half laugh.
The rest of the smoke thrusts from my mouth in a whoosh as I speak. “God, I haven’t done that in years—” I smile at his surprised face. “I mean smoke. I haven’t had one in at least three years.”
Grey takes another drag, lifting his chin as he exhales, staring down at me.
“Years? Who the fuck lets a fifteen-year-old smoke?”
“Europeans.”
I reach to take the cigarette from him again, but he puts it in between his teeth. “Un-uh,” he says and pushes my hand away gently.
“It’s okay for you but not me?”
All he does is shrug to answer as the end of his cigarette burns bright red. He stares out over the lush greenery and neat landscaping to the riverbank, and my gaze follows. It’s beautiful. Peaceful. Something I’m sure Grey isn’t feeling.
The only real memory I have of Grey’s mom is that she was gone more than she was around. His nanny always referred to her absences as “special trips,” but we all knew that she was gone because she’d become too sad again. His mom was always sad. Too sad to leave her house, to get out of bed, to love her son.
I’d always felt terrible when I was younger for having the “good mom.” But in a way, my mom died first, because the version I loved disappeared from my life, the moment she couldn’t use me as leverage.
We stare out at the water for what feels like forever, and I take in the scenery as we stay nestled in comfortable silence. Grey takes a deep inhale before he stubs out the cigarette under his shoe and flings it toward the grass. He shifts his body toward mine, reaching for my hand, intertwining our fingers.
“Do you want to go inside? Say no,” I joke, but he isn’t looking at me. He’s fidgeting with my bracelets, spinning them on my wrist to line them up together.
God, there are a thousand things I wish I could say to him at this moment. But the biggest is that I’m sorry I left him alone to deal with all of this by himself because, for twelve years, I was the person who Grey told all the untellable things. And then I left him alone.
It might not have been my fault that I left, but I still feel guilty. My eyes don’t leave Grey’s drawn face as I stare at the dark lashes that sweep his eyelids, and his stay fixed on my wrist as he licks his lips before he begins to speak.
“Something about this river always makes me think of her.” He sniffs, clearing his throat and standing a little taller to look out, still holding my hand.
“A kid drowned in that river last year. Tried to swim across. But you have to be strong, and it has to be still. He tried to tread water, to call for help, but it was impossible. It eventually took him down. It seems peaceful, but sometimes, underneath, it’s turbulent and chaotic.”
“I’m so sorry, Grey. If I could, I’d put mine in her place.”
“Me too.”
Bringing my hand to his lips, he presses a soft kiss to the top. “Come on. Lunch is about over, and you need to make nice with my sister.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Stepsister.”
I don’t miss the smile on his damned and beautiful face as he turns away, tugging me with enough force that I have to follow him back inside.
The lights flicker outside my window, illuminating the glass as the sky grows darker. I haven’t moved from this spot on my bed since I had dinner. Alone. But it doesn’t matter because I don’t feel lonely. It’s the opposite. I have Grey and Liam again.
After lunch, the two of them both walked me from class to class until the end of the day. Probably to ensure I wouldn’t renege on my forced truce with Caroline but also because we were happy to be together again. The three minutes in between classes wasn’t nearly enough time to play catch-up, which worked to my benefit, because I was more interested in hearing about them than divulging about me, anyway.
A grin graces my face as my eyes focus on the million twinkle lights outside my window. Leaning over to my nightstand, I turn off the only light in my room so that I can lose myself. I rearrange myself on my bed so that I’m lying on my stomach, chin on my folded arms, to stare at the night sky when my phone shines brightly. It calls my attention, but I leave it, choosing to ignore whoever it is.
If I thought it was anyone I’d want to speak to, I’d look, but it isn’t. I forgot to get Grey or Liam’s number today before I left campus.
The phone shines again, falling dark only to shine again, making it hard to ignore. I reach out and pull it closer with a groan, spurred on by who I believe is calling. I don’t want to deal with my mother. Right now, in this tiny moment, I’m happy, and she has a way of always ruining that feeling. But she won’t go away. I know that. I pick up the phone and tilt the screen to face me, so I can see it from where my cheek is lying on my arm, hoping I can read the text sideways.
Unknown: Hey.
Unknown: Waiting…waiting…
Unknown: Patience isn’t a virtue I possess.
My eyebrows draw together as I stare dubiously at the unfamiliar number, debating whether or not to answer. I roll onto my back, my thumbs finding the keyboard.
Me: Sorry. Wrong number.
Bubbles pop up immediately and then go away. Sorry, stranger.
Unknown: Nah. 5’6, blonde, hot af, salty af too?
A giggle bursts from me, and I hurry to sit up. What the?
Me: Who is this? Grey? Liam? Grey, this is you, isn’t it?
I’m waiting for his response, legs crisscrossed, breath bated when another unknown number pops up.
Unknown 2: Hey, Beautiful, bummed I didn’t see you after school.
Oh my God.
Me: Who is this?
What the hell? My teeth chatter from the tiny chomps on my gum that I take while I study both of the numbers. Grey and Liam. But who is who? Sneaky bastards. They must’ve stolen my phone. My thumbs hover as I bounce my knees up and down, excited by this game.
Unknown 1: Do you think we’d make it that easy?
Unknown 2: You’ll have to figure out who is who…use that dirty mind for something other than torturing us.
I answer the second text, figuring these two psychos are coordinating.
Me: I hate you tw
o. Challenge accepted. Once I figure you out, I’m changing my number and finding new friends.
Unknown 1: Liar. You love us.
I knew it. They’re coordinating. I immediately pull up the first unknown number and rename it Bert and the other Ernie. Seems fitting.
Me: Fine. I’ll keep you but only if you give me clues.
Bert: Deal.
Ernie: But we might lie…
Ernie is Grey. Has to be.
Bert: One of us already started lying…
Scratch that. Bert is Grey.
Grey
IT’S BEEN THREE DAYS OF us torturing Donovan and not telling who’s who on her phone, much to her dismay. She’s guessed a dozen times correctly—even when we’ve switched phones, she called it—but we keep lying to her mainly because we like messing with her. Also because we’re pricks.
Liam laughs and holds out his phone for me to see.
Van: What was my favorite show to watch with Grey when we were stranded at his Hampton house?
Her questions have brought back so many memories. Damn, I missed this. Her. Us. This. I pick up my phone and answer, even though she texted Liam.
Me: The nanny wouldn’t let you guys watch anything but those Mexican soap operas.
Cherry: No fair! You guys are together!
Cherry: Just tell me.
Cherry: Come on. I’ll be your best friend.
Me: I already have one. He’s sitting next to me.
Cherry: !!! This is Liam. Because Grey always liked me better.
I smile and show my phone to Liam, who laughs. This game is way too much fun. I may never tell her who we are.
“You know, playing with your phone is going to get you in trouble.”
The stench of winter-fresh gum wafts over my shoulder, as the irritation seated behind me leans into the back of my head. I turn around and take in the busty redhead I’d been trying to fuck all summer. Sometimes my dick has inferior ideas.
“Nobody’s getting in trouble, Laura. Especially me.”
“A little trouble never hurt though, right?”
Filthy Little Pretties Page 7
