by Raathi Chota
“Lana! What the hell happened?” Aidan demanded as he approached me. Tiffany was next to him as she gaped at the guy who swayed.
“Him and his…” I trailed off yet saw no sign of his twin. The guy fell to the ground, and Aidan crouched down. He stood up again and turned to us.
“He’s unconscious,” Aidan said, then looked around. “Let’s get out of here before anyone notices.”
“Aidan, do something!” Tiffany screeched as she gestured to the guy who had a piece of glass sticking out of his head.
“Should I call an Uber for him?” Aidan suggested. Tiffany and I glared at him.
“You bitch! What the fuck?” I whipped my head around to see the twin brother with a pissed-off look. He walked toward me but was held back by someone. As he turned around, Ethan balled his fist and punched the guy.
“It’s your cocky-ass brother who started this shit,” Ethan muttered. My eyes widened as the man tried to punch Ethan, but he took his wrist, twisted it, and shoved him away. I thought he’d land against the wall, but instead, he knocked into a very pissed-off Blake Gunner. Blake was solid as a rock as he looked at the guy. As the guy got up, Blake raised his knee and kicked him in the stomach. Apparently, the guy had friends, and they came over to help. Ethan and Aidan ran to help Blake. Tiffany and I turned to the unconscious guy on the ground with clueless looks. I tapped a random blond guy who appeared drunk as shit on the shoulder.
“Your friend, he, err…he needs help,” I blurted out as the blond guy gaped at the unconscious man on the floor.
“Oh no. Should I call him an Uber?” the guy asked.
“Sure.” I tilted my head. He nodded, then stared at the man as if he waited for something.
“You should call now!” Tiffany blurted out.
“Oh yeah! Good idea.” The guy laughed, then took out his phone. Even though stuff like that happened at Jaden’s parties, I couldn’t help but get the image of Jack August in my mind. I hit him in the head too. I was snapped back to my senses when Tiffany grabbed my hand and said we should get out of here. I nodded, then followed her as we walked to the front door. As we passed, I saw Blake take on three guys who had blood all over their faces. The place looked crazy. Aidan hovered over a guy and punched him. Ethan shoved a guy against the wall, while other people started their own fights. Once we got outside, I folded my arms and leaned against Ethan’s Corvette Stingray. Tiffany and I looked at the house and heard the yells. After a few minutes, everything went silent, then Jaden shouted like there was no tomorrow.
“There they are.” I pointed to Aidan, Ethan, and Blake, who casually walked out of the house.
“Are you guys okay?” Tiffany asked as she hugged Aidan. Blake walked toward me with a concerned look; he pulled me into an embrace, then rested his chin on my head.
“Are you okay?” he asked, and I nodded. I didn’t know why, but I felt safe when Blake’s arms were around me. The past parties we went to he was by my side. At school, whenever he saw Parker, he randomly pulled me into his chest and glared at him.
“Turns out that’s the Willis twins. Jaden said they’re always harassing girls at his parties,” Ethan explained as he clenched his fist.
“It’s stupid that they’re invited,” I muttered as Blake entwined his fingers with mine. I looked down to see his knuckles had a purplish color. I glanced up at him, and he shrugged me off.
“Where’s Carter?” Aidan asked as he looked at us.
“We thought he was with you gu—”
“There’s the idiot,” Blake stated, and I followed his gaze to see Carter Halls climb out of a window, naked.
“Dude!” Aidan yelled as he covered Tiffany’s eyes with his hands. The rest of us laughed as Carter climbed down. He landed on his feet, then held his crotch as he ran toward us.
“Where are your clothes?” I demanded as he looked at the house.
“In the room. We have to go now!” He attempted to open the door, but it was locked.
“Carter fucking Halls! Where are you?” Jaden’s voice echoed from the house.
“Carter, what did you do?”
“He just caught me having sex with his sister…no biggie.” Carter shrugged as he hid behind the car. “Now can we please go!” he added. I laughed as I got into the car with Ethan. Aidan brought his car, so Blake and Tiffany drove with him. The drive to Ethan’s house was awkward since Carter was naked, covered only by a blanket.
***
We got to Ethan’s place and decided to stay in the cinema room again. I didn’t drink so much, so by the time we were home, I was sober. Tiffany brought clothes, but I completely forgot mine, so I had to borrow a shirt from Ethan. We watched a movie on the screen, then chilled the rest of the night. Aidan made a fort, so the whole cinema room turned into a massive cuddle fort. Tiffany and Aidan were at the top, while Carter, Blake, Ethan, and I were at the bottom and shared a bottle of whiskey. Carter came to sit next to me; I noticed he had my glasses in his hands.
“You found them!” I cheered.
“Yeah, they were in my truck,” he stated, then smiled at me. I watched as he opened them and looked at me. He slowly put them on me, then put a lock of hair behind my ear.
“Shots!” Blake’s voice startled me as he stood between us, then sat down. Carter shifted away. Ethan placed small glasses in front of each of us and filled them. I bit the inside of my cheek as I thought how the rest of the night would go.
***
I let out a yawn as I opened my eyes. A few feet away were my glasses, but the thing that bothered me was the heartbeat against my ear. I slowly looked up to see Blake’s lips parted as he slept. We fell asleep on the floor, so we had many blankets thrown over us.
“Psst.” I heard a voice behind me and turned around to see Carter with his morning hair. He motioned me toward him. I did because I was curious as to how I fell asleep. I slowly removed Blake’s arm from around my waist and put it on his chest. I shuffled to Carter and laid on my side. He brought me closer to him and put his arm around my torso. Our faces were inches away as I gazed into his blue eyes.
“How did I…”
“Well, after the many shots we took, you sort of had a breakdown. You cried about Benny.” He looked at my lips.
“What did I do?”
“You were talking about Britney, then you talked about how you missed him. Then you—err…” he stuttered as I sighed.
“What, Carter?”
“You called yourself a whore, which you’re totally not. We even tried telling you, then you got mad, and that’s when Blake came in,” he muttered as his eyes locked in on my lips. “He comforted you, and well, you fell asleep. You’re anything but that, Lana. You’re beautiful, funny, caring, and unique.” He placed his hand on my chin. My lips parted as he ran his thumb over my bottom lip. I watched as he stared at my lips eagerly. Everything happened so fast as he leaned forward and smashed his lips against mine. My eyes widened as Carter moved so that he hovered over me. On a side note, he’s an excellent kisser; no wonder he’s the player of the school! Yet I didn’t want to get hypnotized by his beauty or his amazing lips; he’s a player. He had sex with Jaden’s sister!
Out the corner of my eye, I noticed Blake stirring. Carter sensed it too, then pulled away. He landed on the other side of me, right next to Blake.
“What the heck? How’d you get here?” Blake croaked out as he squinted at the blond. Carter shrugged with a smirk molded onto his face while I stared at the ceiling. Blake held a sour expression as he looked at me, then Carter. He laid back down and turned on his side so that his back faced us. As I licked my lips, I realized that Carter Halls kissed me. I felt his hand intertwine with mine under the blankets. I turned my head to the left to see Ethan a few feet away from me, jaw dropped. My face drained of color because he witnessed the whole thing.
Very soon, everyone else woke. Tiffany had extra clothing in her bag, so she lent me her white shirt dress that I had to zip up. Ethan told us we could use his roo
m and bathroom to get changed while the guys used another room. Tiffany came out in a gray sweater and red pants. I gathered whatever I had from my last visit to Ethan’s house, along with the shirt dress.
“Hey, are you okay, Lana?” Tiffany asked as she brushed her ginger red hair.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“Carter told me that you barely remember anything from last night,” she stated as I lowered my head. “Well, now that you’re sober, what do you miss about Benny?”
“I don’t know. Seeing him having fun with Britney…it makes me confused. Because while I’m here suffering to get over him, he’s out there having fun.” I frowned.
“Don’t think that. Maybe he’s just trying to move on or hide his feelings from everyone.” She pulled me in for a hug. “Aidan told me that when he went to Benny’s house to hang out with them, Benny was up in his room,” Tiffany said as we pulled away. “Nick went to check if he was okay and…”
“Wha-What happened?” I croaked out.
“I don’t know, but Benny never came down that night,” she said, her face filled with confusion. Afterward, Tiffany left the room, and I showered. Once I was done, I put on my underwear, then the shirt dress. It was still a bit cold outside, but I decided to put on my black woolen tights later. I walked out of the room to see Blake’s back faced toward me. He wore his baggy sweatpants, which meant that he still had to shower. As I walked, he spun around, and that’s when I noticed the cigarette.
“Heard you were looking for me last night.” He stepped forward, then exhaled the smoke. “Heard you wanted to screw me.”
“I was drunk.”
“Not an excuse,” he said, then pressed the cigarette on Ethan’s desk. He reached underneath for the trashcan, then cleaned it up. He turned back to me and ran his hands down my arms. “You still wanna make him jealous, baby girl?”
“We’re not even together anymore.”
“Still.” He cupped my cheeks and pressed his forehead against mine. “You want him to see what he’s missing out on.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I realized we’ll be using each other in our own way. I’ll finally get you out of my system by just doing it, and you’ll get Benny back for being with that bitch,” he whispered, and I bit the inside of my cheek. “Plus, you’ll be mine before time runs out.” I gave him a questioning look, and he chuckled.
“How are we going to make him jealous?” I asked as he eyed me up and down. If I looked at myself in the mirror, I’d see myself as desperate because, yes, I did miss Benny since I saw the good in him. He changed for me, and he made me happy. I was too stubborn to admit it, and now he’s gone. The only way to get him back was to make him jealous, to do it.
“I’ll start off slow,” Blake stated, then wrapped his left arm around my torso and rubbed my back. It wasn’t so bad—his other hand glided down the back of my body until it landed on my butt. He gave a tight squeeze, and I exhaled loudly. “I’ll do stuff like this…” His left hand went to my waist. He kissed up my neck, and I leaned my head to the side and shut my eyes. “Then when we’re alone…” I felt his fingers on the back of the shirt dress. He zipped down the dress, and I let it fall to the ground, which left me in a bra and panties. I watched as Blake went down on his knees and kissed down my stomach. His hands wrapped around my thighs as I got goosebumps. He stopped and grazed his finger over the scar I got when Axel threw the bottle at me. Blake kissed the scar, then continued to run his fingers along my skin. He kissed my hips, then stopped again as he looked at my tattoo. Blake firmly gripped my hips, then stood up. He lifted me up and gently put me on the bed. As Blake hovered over me, my fingers got lost in his hair, and he grunted. He kissed down my neck and on my collarbone. His hand went to my tattoo, and I felt his thumb rub the ink. “When we’re alone, I’ll make you feel like a queen.” He tapped my tattoo. I raised my head and pressed my lips against his because I wanted to feel his hard lips against mine. He responded quickly when he kissed back and pressed his chest against mine.
“Blake,” I breathed out, then arched my back so that he’d kiss around my bra. “We’re just doing this, right?”
“Yeah. We’re helping each other out here, baby girl.” He exhaled deeply, then continued to kiss me. I felt his hand going down to my underwear and brush it. He left a hickey on the side of my neck, and I moaned. I felt his hands go under my body, and his muscular, tattooed arms wrapped around me. He buried his face in the crook of my neck as I wrapped my legs around his waist.
“Lana! Come on, I’ll drop you off!” Carter exclaimed as he knocked on the door. Blake grunted on my neck as he left another hard, sore hickey. “Lana? You in there?”
I let out a sigh as Blake raised his head and looked at me. His jaw clenched as he eyed me. I placed my hand on his cheek and shook my head. “I’ll be down in a minute,” I replied as Blake rolled his eyes and got off. I stood up and watched as Blake ran a hand through his hair. I put on my tights, then Tiffany’s shirt dress. I walked to the mirror and looked at myself. I didn’t look pleasant at all. I had bags under my eyes, my hair was messy, and I had two hickeys on either side of my neck. Blake walked up behind me and put my glasses on for me. He wrapped his arms around my torso and rested his chin on my shoulder.
“My nerd who’s also my bad girl,” he said as we looked at each other in the mirror. I lightly chuckled, then took in my appearance again.
“Blake, what’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing, baby girl, you’re perfect,” he whispered. “We’re just fucked up people who hate getting hurt by the people we care about.”
***
I let out a yawn as I rummaged through my locker. I was up all night with Levi on the phone. It was good to talk to him; he made me laugh at the memories we had when we were young. I saw Carter approach me. Ethan gave me a ride to school today since Carter didn’t answer his phone. I turned to him with a questioning look, but he hugged me.
“Hey, sorry I couldn’t take you to school this morning. I overslept.” He avoided eye contact. I nodded, then turned back to my locker. “Lana, err…about that kiss at Ethan’s house. I was jus—it was sort of an in the moment type of thing. I couldn’t help myself and…you know what I mean? I do it all the time.”
“All the time, huh?” I stated, then bit the inside of my cheek.
“Yeah, so…” He trailed off, and I finally turned to him. We awkwardly stared at each other, and I watched as he ran a hand through his blond locks. He looked over my shoulder, and I followed his gaze to see Miranda and Melissa walk toward me. “I’ll leave you ladies alone,” Carter stated, then walked off. I admitted I had a little crush on Carter at the start of senior year because one, he was my date to Homecoming, and two, he slept over, and we bonded. After everything that happened after that, the little crush drifted away.
“Oh my god. You’ll never guess who I just saw getting out of Kelly’s car,” Melissa stated as she and Miranda stood on either side of me.
“Who?” I asked as I pushed up my glasses.
“Britney,” Miranda replied as she chewed her gum.
“And I care how?” I raised a brow. Melissa grinned as she looked over my shoulder. Miranda and I followed her gaze to see Britney, Kelly, and Jennifer walk down the hall. Kelly and Britney smiled with evil looks, but Jennifer was engrossed in her phone.
“She’s my replacement?” Melissa asked as she looked at Britney. “I’ve seen chicken breasts better than her boobs.”
We laughed as they walked past. I shook my head, then shut my locker so I could lean against it. Miranda and Melissa started to say how Britney stuffed socks in her bra to make her boobs look big while I looked around. I watched Britney as she stopped in front of Benny. He didn’t show any interest in Britney but kept his eyes locked on me. Only when her hands wrapped around his neck did he look down at her. The bell rang, and I watched the two. She stood on her tippy toes, then kissed him. I huffed as I pushed myself off the locker and walked to cla
ss. I had Biology, and it was on the other side of the school. I gripped my books as I squeezed past people to get there. The halls were crowded, so I decided to take a shortcut upstairs. The hallway was empty, and I smiled. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Blake arguing with Parker. Blake looked pissed, but Parker grinned immensely. “Blake,” I whispered and looked at Parker.
“Lana, get to class,” Blake grunted.
“Yeah, listen to your little boy toy, Willson.” Parker faked a pout at Blake, then tilted his head. “He might get angry.”
“Shut up, Parker,” I demanded. He smirked at me.
“Make me,” he whispered.
“I don’t make shit,” I responded as he bit his lip.
“Always so feisty, Lana Wil—” Before Parker finished sentence, Blake opened the janitor’s room and pushed him inside. My eyes widened because I saw a teacher walk out of her classroom, so I quickly stepped into the janitor’s closet, then shut the door.
“Are you high?” Blake asked as I turned to Parker. He laid on the ground with a lousy smile on his face.
“You already know,” Parker sang as he held up the peace sign.
“Blake, we should go,” I whispered because I wasn’t comfortable in the familiar place.
“Yeah, listen to your little bitch, because what has she ever done? Besides everyone?” Parker asked. I clenched my fists as I tried to remain calm. Parker was a manipulative person who raped me. He’s the first person I hated and would never forgive. “You look quite stressed, Willson. You know I’m here for you if you need anything, and I mean…anything.” He opened his jacket.
“Blake,” I said as my breathing quickened.
“Yes?” he asked as we glared at Parker.
“Beat the shit out of him,” I grumbled and noticed the smirk on Blake’s face.
Chapter Twenty-Six
