by R. M. Lynn
Ben nods and says, “Got it. Well, it’s good to see you. Tell Scott I said hi, okay?”
As he stands straight, I can see him eye Kyler up and down. Kyler doesn’t waver. After a moment, Ben gives me a small wave and walks off toward the pool tables. Kyler downs the rest of his beer and stands.
“I’m going to go get another drink. You want something?” he asks, his smile no longer meeting his eyes.
“Everything okay?” I question in return.
He nods. “Yeah, fine. Something to drink or no?”
I shake my head and watch his retreating back as he turns and heads for where Oliver still stands at the bar. They duck their heads and talk lowly to each other. I obviously have no clue what’s being said, but it seems it’s taken a serious turn. Oliver runs a hand over his buzzed hair, and Kyler puts his hand on his shoulder as he says something. Oliver gives him a nod. When Oliver turns to face the bar completely, Kyler looks over at me. A minute later he returns with a beer in his hand and a new drink for me.
“I told you I didn’t need another,” I argue as he places it in front of me.
“You’re about empty. How about a thank you?” he comes back with and smirks.
“Thank you,” I relent and finish the old drink before taking a sip of the new one. “Is everything okay with Oliver?”
“Don’t worry about it, alright?”
“I’m nosy, I can’t help it.”
He bites back a grin but turns serious when he says, “I don’t want to change your opinion of anyone. So, you should drop it.”
I put my hand on his forearm and murmur, “I really just want to make sure Oliver is okay. He looked pretty upset. You looked upset. Are you okay?”
His eyes go from my hand back to my face before he sighs and leans in. His lips go to my ear, and I force myself not to shiver.
“That guy that came over here? Ben something, right?” he questions, and I nod before he continues. “Oliver has a sister. Last year, when we were juniors, she came in as a freshman. She went to some frat party. Her friends called Oli freaking out, and when Oliver and Dylan showed up, they found her completely out of it, in a bedroom upstairs. Three guys with their pants down around their ankles, and Oliver’s fucking sister at the center of it. That guy was one of them.”
“Oh, God,” I force out. Tears prick my eyes as my teeth graze my lip. “What happened to her?”
“She transferred. I think it’s at a smaller school near their parents, so she doesn’t have to live on campus. They don’t talk about it, not really. As soon as she was off campus, though, Oliver went and beat the shit out of the guys who touched her,” Kyler explains, pausing only to take a drink from his beer. “I went to tell him he’s here, so that if he runs into him, he doesn’t completely lose his shit.”
“Ben has always been so nice to me. He’s one of Scott’s friends,” I find myself muttering, mostly to myself. “That’s completely fucked up.”
“Don’t curse,” Kyler scolds me. “It turns me on.”
I scowl at him. “Don’t joke at a time like this.”
He chuckles and squeezes my knee. “Liv, it happened, and it’s over. That’s one of the reasons I fucking helped you to the bathroom, why I took you home that night. Sometimes, the people you think are sheep are actually wolves.”
“Oliver isn’t going to fight him tonight, is he?” I find myself asking in response.
Kyler shrugs casually and replies, “I don’t know. He might. Dylan is a shot away from fucked up, and he’s the type to start something when he gets like that. I wouldn’t doubt if he hypes him up enough to throw fists.”
“Will you?” I interrogate. “Will you fight?”
“If I have to,” he answers almost immediately. “I know you think you know Ben, but I promise, you really don’t. He’s fucking scum.”
Dylan comes over to the table, interrupting our conversation. He bends his head and takes a long drink from my straw. I scowl at him, but I can’t help but laugh at the same time. He moves to Kyler’s side, and Kyler puts his hand on his shoulder.
“Slow down, man,” Kyler warns him. “I’ve watched you have at least four drinks while you’ve been out there.”
“Fuck off, man,” Dylan snaps but grins at him anyway. “I’m going to go smoke. You want in?”
Kyler glances at me and then looks back at him. “I’m not going to leave her here.”
“Her friends are right there,” Dylan argues and gestures to Alice and Mackenzie on the dance floor both grinding with other guys.
“One of us needs to stay lucid,” Kyler tells him in response.
“I’m lucid,” I jump in and say. “You can go have a cigarette. It’s fine.”
Dylan laughs outright. “A cigarette. She’s cute, Kyler.”
Oh. So, that’s what he meant when he said smoke. Kyler sighs, and I can tell he wants to go with Dylan, but for some reason, probably because he knows Ben is lurking around, he doesn’t want to leave me alone.
“I can go out with you?” I finally suggest. “I don’t really feel like dancing. I definitely haven’t had enough to drink for that.”
Dylan grabs my hand and pulls me from my chair. “Great,” he exclaims. “Then it’s settled. C’mon, man, this shit is burning a hole in my pocket.”
Dylan pulls me along with him toward the back door. I only know that Kyler is following when his body comes through the door and steps outside with us. Dylan walks over to Noah’s Challenger and digs in his pockets, retrieving a lighter and a plastic baggie.
“So, I’m going to take a guess and say you’ve never tried it,” Dylan says as I watch him roll up a joint.
“I’ve definitely tried it,” I laugh out as I correct him. “I definitely don’t partake in the activity often, but occasionally, I do with Mackenzie.”
“No shit?” Kyler questions.
“No shit,” I repeat, still laughing.
“Well, my bad then,” Dylan apologizes and smirks over at me while lifting his lighter.
The joint goes to his mouth, and he puts the lighter to the tip of it. It lights up a moment later, and I watch him take a drag. My eyes move to Kyler as he leans against the back of the Dodge, watching me watch Dylan. After Dylan takes a hit, he passes it over to Kyler.
“Don’t tell Noah or we’ll disown you as our new friend,” Dylan advises me. “He’s such a girl about it.”
“I’m a girl,” I inform him in case he forgot.
“Trust me, baby, I know that,” Dylan tells me and looks me over appreciatively.
Kyler smacks the back of his head and snaps, “Knock it off, dickhead.”
Dylan winces and rubs the back of his head. “You’re so testy, man.”
Kyler rolls his eyes, takes a quick second hit and passes it back over to Dylan. I hold in a fit of giggles and open my mouth to say something just as the back door opens. I recognize Ben almost instantly. His light blonde hair is a slight mess, and his polo has been unbuttoned. A girl with long red hair has her arms wrapped around his. Following the two of them is a guy I had seen in passing when going to the frat house with Scott.
“Liv, what’re you doing hanging out here with these fucks?” Ben asks me. “Does Scott know?”
“I don’t need permission from Scott to do anything,” I retort as Kyler stands up from the car, his chest hitting my back.
“Get the fuck out of here, Hemlock,” Dylan says in a low voice as he finishes the joint and tosses it on the ground. “Does your friend there know you like to spike drinks?”
The redhead’s eyes widen, and she cries, “You what?”
“You don’t know shit, buddy,” the other guy bites back.
Kyler’s voice vibrates through me as he replies lowly, “What don’t we know? Were you there that night?”
“Get back inside, Miranda,” Ben suddenly says and pushes the girl toward the door. She slips inside, and his eyes move to me. “If you knew any better, Alivia, you’d follow her in.”
“She�
�s not going anywhere.” Kyler’s voice is leveled and calm while his hand comes up and grips my arm gently. “You should, though.”
Dylan steps closer, now only a foot away from Ben and his friend, and bites out, “We all know what you did. I’ll make sure every girl here knows it, too.”
“Knows what?” Ben snaps. “That bitch wanted it. She fucking begged for it, on her knees and everything. She took it like nobody else.”
Kyler moves me aside, and trys to step in between Dylan and Ben, but he's not fast enough. Dylan's hands go up to Ben’s collar, gripping him closer.
“What did you just say?” he growls. “I don’t think I heard you right.”
Ben swallows but bares his teeth when he responds with, “I fucked her on her knees, and she fucking begged for it.”
I think I scream, but the whole thing happens so fast, I can’t be too sure. Dylan has Ben on the ground in a matter of milliseconds. Blood drips from Ben’s nose, but Dylan hits him again anyway. Kyler shoves Ben’s friend away when he goes to pull Dylan off. After Dylan gets another hit in, Kyler wraps his arms around him and pulls him away.
“Get the fuck out of here,” Kyler shouts at them. “Oliver would love to come out here and finish the job. Leave, and I won’t bring him out here.”
Dylan gives Ben a shove the minute he stands, causing him to fall back into his friend. The two of them curse up a storm before storming back inside. Kyler releases Dylan and immediately punches him lightly in the shoulder with a grin on his face.
“Glad it was you,” Kyler tells him. “I can’t risk my playing hands more than I already have.”
“Fuck you,” Dylan retorts but grins back at him. “And fuck that guy.”
Dylan starts reenacting the whole thing, excited and animated. Kyler steps back to me, our fingers brushing. I let out a breath at the contact, my body finally relaxing.
“You alright? Not hurt or anything?” he murmurs while Dylan carries on in the background.
“I’m fine,” I insist. “Just a little shaken. He’s… He’s definitely a wolf.” He gives me a sad smile and pulls me under his arm. I look up at him and ask, “Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m good,” he assures me.
“Fuck, guys, I’m ready to fucking party,” Dylan erupts suddenly. “Let’s fucking party.”
I smile at him and then Kyler, who rolls his eyes but laughs at his friend. Dylan leads the way, and Kyler walks me inside, his arm still around my shoulders. We find the rest of the group, get more drinks in us, and have a blast the rest of the night while Noah kills the music game. The rest of the night went off without any more altercations. In the end, we all made it home safely, and I’m pretty sure Oliver even brought home the blue-haired girl.
◆◆◆
Chapter Five
Kyler
“Guys, roll down the fucking window! I can smell that shit from out here,” Noah shouts through my bedroom door, his fist pounding on the door.
“Fucking fine, Mom!” Dylan shouts back at him and stands from the beanbag chair, laying his guitar down on the floor next to it.
I chuckle from my bed as Dylan walks over to the two windows behind him, joint hanging from his lips, and yanks one window open after the other. Dylan plops back down on the beanbag, pulls the guitar back into his lap, and starts humming to Simple Plan’s Your Love is a Lie around his joint. I flick the ash of mine into a makeshift ashtray, an empty aluminum can that once was an energy drink. Dylan shoves his, now finished with it, into his own can, and belts out the chorus for the song he was moments ago only humming. His fingers work his guitar.
“Shut the fuck up, asshole!” I hear on the other side of my wall, the wall that sits between my room and Noah’s.
“Wakey, wakey!” Dylan shouts back at Ayden, who’s holed up on an air mattress in Noah’s room after he stayed the night after our gig.
“I’m honestly shocked you’re up right now,” I tell Dylan.
“Weed works wonders for a hangover,” he shoots back before finishing out the song.
I smirk at him and release a puff of smoke. Sundays are usually the day Dylan sleeps until noon. After partying both Friday and Saturday nights, it’s a miracle he’s up before ten. Dylan starts fiddling around on his guitar, humming along, just as my phone vibrates on my nightstand.
Alivia: Hey, Kyler, it’s Alivia. I was going to text the group chat, but I wasn’t sure if everyone else was awake yet.
Alivia: God, sorry, I guess you might not be awake yet, either.
Alivia: SORRY!
I bite back a grin and dump my joint in the can. My fingers move across my screen, texting her back.
Kyler: I’m awake, don’t worry. Everyone else is sleeping. The guys always go harder on Saturdays than they do on Fridays.
Alivia: Seeing as I was present on Friday, I can’t imagine what you guys do on Saturday.
Kyler: You home now? I can pop over.
There’s a minute or so before she responds, the text bubbles coming and going a couple of times. Finally, my phone buzzes with her response.
Alivia: Yeah, I’m home. Come over.
I stand up from my bed and run a hand through my hair, still slightly damp from my shower this morning. I grab my laptop from my desk, stick it under my arm, and move to the corner of my room where my guitar sits in its stand.
“Where’re you going?” Dylan questions me.
“I’m heading over to Liv’s. If anyone asks, you were all asleep until noon, got it?” I warn, pointing my finger in his direction.
He laughs and gives me a salute. “No problem, chief. I got you.”
I leave him in my room and run into Noah in the living room. He’s got his laptop out with a few notebooks and textbooks in front of him. He’s probably more studious than Alivia.
“Hey, where you headed?” he asks as I near the front door. “Have you heard from Alivia? We should figure out this project so I don’t have to worry about it.”
“I got it covered. I’m headed over there now, and I’ll let you know how it goes,” I assure him. “Work on your other shit.”
“You sure you don’t want me to come over there?”
“Noah, I’m totally capable of taking some fucking notes for you, alright?”
He puts his hands up in retreat and grins. “Alright, damn,” he chuckles out. “I’d say thank you, but we both know you’re only doing this for your own benefit.”
I open the front door and toss a “you’re welcome” over my shoulder before closing it behind me. Within a few steps, I’m at Alivia’s door. I rasp my knuckles against the dark green painted door. After a moment, it opens, and Alivia stands in front of me, her hair up in a messy bun, glasses on her makeup free face. She’s wearing black leggings with a long sleeve shirt that lands at the tops of her thighs.
“Hey, come in,” she says slightly breathless, and I step in. “Would you want to go to my room or stay out here?”
“Whatever works,” I tell her despite my brain screaming at my mouth to say her bedroom.
“Maybe it’d be best to go in my room. Mackenzie is still asleep, and she can usually hear me if I’m out here,” she explains softly. “That okay?”
I give her a nod and follow her down the hallway to the left. She pushes the door to her bedroom open, lets me inside, then closes the door behind us. I take a seat at her desk chair and put my laptop down on the desk top while my guitar is placed on the foot of the bed in front of me. She climbs up on her bed, where her open laptop sits next to a notebook and pen. Textbooks are stacked on her nightstand next to a white lamp and a family photo. She has posters adorning her walls of various musical groups from Journey to Paramore. I notice the music keyboard at the far end of the room in front of her window.
“So, I didn’t see you at our gig last night,” I say first. “Thought we were friends, Livy.”
She blushes and murmurs, “Only, like, three people call me that, by the way.”
“Who?”
“M
y parents, and Mackenzie,”
“Well, add me to the list,” I tell her, which makes her smile. “Enough diverting. How come you came Friday and not Saturday?”
She sighs and says, “First off, I can’t party like you guys can. I’m sure Mackenzie and Alice are more your type.”
“You’re my type,” I insist and loving the blush that creeps up her face. “And the second reason?”
“I was hanging out with Scott, that’s the second reason,” she divulges. “Happy?”
“No, fuck that guy,” I blurt out.
She scowls at me. “Now you sound like Mackenzie,” she tells me. “I know he messed up. I really do. And I’m not over it, but he apologized, and he’s trying really hard to regain my trust.”
“Livy, look at me,” I order her. When she does, I say, “If that guy even thinks about talking to another girl while he’s with you, he’s a fucking moron. Why do you want to be with a moron?”
“Can we just focus on the project?” Her voice is soft as she pleads with me. “Please? I don’t want to talk about Scott.”
I give her a nod and murmur, “We don’t have to talk about him. I’m sorry.”
She sighs, shakes her head, and mutters, “I know I look stupid by staying with him. I know. But I can’t leave knowing I didn’t do all I could to make it work. Do you get what I mean?”
“You’re not stupid,” I assure her quietly. “And as a friend, I support you.”
It nearly fucking kills me to say the words. I don’t want to be her friend, and I definitely don’t want to support her being in a relationship with a dickhead like Scott. If I were hers, I wouldn’t even think of looking at someone else, let alone talk to them. However, if she needs a friend, I’ll take what I can get. Besides, I never get this deep so soon into anything, especially not a relationship with a girl.
“Thank you,” she mutters and looks down at my guitar. “How come you brought that?”
