“Here with You” by Sick Puppies starts to play, and Cole grabs my now free hand and starts dragging me toward the dance floor.
“Cole?” I whisper harshly, trying to dig my heels into the gym floor. They just slide. “Cole.” He comes to a stop and spins me around to face him. “No one else is dancing, babe.” I look around nervously as everyone starts to stare at us. The gym is packed full of students, but most of them huddle against the walls or are in line for their picture to be taken.
“I don’t give a fuck what they are doing,” he says flatly. Then he cups my cheek. “I wanna dance with you.”
A soft smile spreads across my face. “I’m surprised you know how to dance,” I say truthfully.
His wraps his right arm around my side, pulling me closer to him with his hand on my back. His left hand takes my right. “My mother taught me,” he says, making the smile fall off my face.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“Don’t be.” He lowers his head to nuzzle my neck. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever danced with besides her.”
I smile as I pull my hand away from his and wrap them both around his neck. Other couples join us on the dance floor, and I catch sight of Deke and Becky coming to dance next to us. She laughs at something he says before he pulls her into him.
Cole pulls his face away from my neck and looks down at me. I give him a soft smile. He brings us to a stop and cups my cheek. My smile slowly drops off my face and turns into a frown. “Tell me what’s wrong.” I look over at Deke quickly, but he has his tongue down Becky’s throat. “What did the guys want to talk about?”
“Nothing important.”
“Cole …”
“Don’t, Austin.” He slides his hand into my hair. I wore it down for this reason—so he can run his fingers through it. He tips my head back. “Let’s just enjoy this night. Okay?”
My eyes search his, and I don’t like what I see, but I say, “Okay.”
He lowers his face to mine and kisses me.
_______________
I wake up with a pounding headache and sore body. I moan, rolling over and digging my head into the pillow.
“You okay?” I hear Cole ask, and then I feel his hand on my bare back.
“I drank too much last night,” I mumble.
He laughs, then I feel him get out of bed.
After prom, we ended up hitting two different parties before we came to the clubhouse. Cole didn’t have a sip, but Deke got as drunk as Becky and I did.
“Here.”
I roll over and look up to see him standing by the bed, dressed in a pair of his black boxers. And that’s it. A cup of water in one hand and two Advil in the other. Sitting up, I take them both from his hands.
I watch him turn his back to me, running his hand through his hair. He’s been on edge ever since his talk with the guys last night when we arrived at the prom. Even the parties didn’t cheer him up like I thought they would. He stayed by my side the entire time and quiet. He even ignored Deke’s drunk ass when he got loud.
Swallowing the pills, I lower the glass to my lap. “What’s wrong, Cole?”
“Nothing,” he answers. His back still toward me, he walks to the bathroom.
“You’re just as bad of a liar as I am.” I know him now. “Please?” I beg. “Just tell me. Whatever it is. I want to know.”
He comes to a stop and sighs heavily. “The guys want me to pull back.”
“Pull back from what?” I ask confused.
He turns back to face me. “You.”
I narrow my eyes. “They want you to dump me?” I clarify.
He runs a hand through his hair. “They think that’s the only way that you will be safe.”
“From who?” I demand.
“Kellan. Your dad.”
“I’m not afraid of them.” I snort.
He comes over to the bed and sits down beside me. He runs his hand through my hair. Well, the best he can. It’s tangled from his hands being in it last night. “I’m not afraid of them either, but I want to keep you safe.”
“And you think breaking up with me is the only way?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I think they have a point.”
“What about my point?” I snap.
“Austin … don’t.”
“No. You don’t, Cole.” He opens his mouth, but I continue. “When am I gonna get a say? When am I gonna get to decide what happens in my life?”
“When it makes sense,” he growls, his eyes narrowing on me.
I snort. “You cutting my arm didn’t make sense. You stealing a car didn’t make sense.”
He stands. “I stole that car for insurance. It made perfect fucking sense.”
“Insurance on what?” I demand, picking up the water and standing. The room sways, but I manage not to fall over like a hungover idiot.
“It doesn’t matter anymore.” He brushes it off.
“It does!” I shout, getting pissy. “Everything fucking matters now. There are so many lies and secrets that I can’t seem to keep up with them. Deke was the only one on our side, and all of a sudden, he wants you to walk away from me?” I shake my head. “He has to have a reason. And you’re gonna tell me why. I’ve put up with enough shit to know what I’m up against.”
His eyes narrow on mine, and I arch a brow, not backing down. He looks away from me, and I know I’ve won when his jaw sharpens. “That car belongs to Bruce.”
“What?” I gasp. “Why would you steal my father’s car?” I demand.
His eyes come back to mine. “He keeps it at a warehouse that my father owns. I stole it to guarantee he wouldn’t send you back.”
“You’re not making any sense, Cole,” I growl.
He takes a step toward me. “That night at dinner while you and Celeste were washing dishes, he had told me that he was shipping you back to your mother’s with twenty thousand dollars. I asked him to give you to me. That if he gave you to me, I would keep you out of trouble.”
“I’m not some fucking toy,” I snap.
“You were at the time,” he growls back.
I fist my hands.
“He told me no. That’s when I informed him that I had something he wanted. I pulled out the key to his car and told him he could have it back after graduation if he let you stay here.” He smiles at me. “And he accepted it.”
“That’s why he wouldn’t send me back after I got suspended,” I whisper. He nods. “You dick.”
“You don’t understand …”
“No. I guess I don’t!” I snap, walking over to the railing that looks over and down to the first floor. I grab my black bag and unzip it.
“It’s not like you didn’t know my intentions,” he says from behind me. “I never once pretended to care about you.”
I flinch at his words and yank my shirt out of my bag. “That was obvious when you cut my arm.”
“Austin …”
“Or when you had your best friend video tape me crawling all over you.” I pull the shirt up over my head not even bothering with a bra. “Let’s not forget the recording of you fucking me in the bathroom.”
“Things have changed.”
I spin around to face him. “What the hell has changed, Cole?” I demand. “Because it sounds to me like it’s still the same.” His eyes are narrowed on me. “We’re still playing a game. Just a different level. And you’re gonna do whatever your friends suggest.”
“I don’t take orders from them,” he growls.
I laugh as I grab my shorts out of my bag. Pulling them up my legs, I say, “They tell you to walk away from me, and you actually want to do it. Sounds like they’re giving you orders.”
“It makes sense,” he argues. “They made a point. Your dad is onto us.”
“I don’t care!” I shout, throwing my hands out to my side. “What is he gonna do? Give me a fake check? So what? It didn’t matter if it was real, I still wasn’t gonna take it. I don’t need it.” Between the three a
ccounts that Jerrold and Jeff had, we’ve each made enough to live comfortably. Well, I have. I don’t need much to survive. “You’ve been feeding me these lines of bullshit of how you want me to go to Texas with you, and all of a sudden, you want to get rid of me.”
“I still want you to go to Texas with me.” He runs his hand through his hair nervously. “We’ve got one final dare to do. I don’t want you anywhere near me when we do it. It’s too risky.”
I push my right hip out and cross my arms over my chest. “You drew without me present? Because the last memory I have was of you all breaking up the group.”
He shakes his head softly. “We didn’t draw for this one. It was decided long before you ever came along.”
I don’t like the sound of that. “And what is it?’
“I can’t tell you …”
“Cole!” I snap.
He stares at me. His eyes clouded and jaw tight.
“What is it?” I demand, taking a step toward him.
He lets out along breath. “To kill your dad.”
I just stare up at him.
“He deserves to die for what he did to my mother. For taking advantage of her. For trying to kill me and successfully killing three of my best friends. But he also deserves to die because of what he did to you.” I swallow. “For making you stay with your mother.” He shakes his head. “You deserved better than that, Austin. Better than me. And I can’t have you anywhere near me when I complete it. I don’t want you getting involved. Or getting hurt. That would defeat the purpose.” His eyes search mine. Still I say nothing. “This is just temporary. Give them a different kind of show.”
I take a deep breath, turn around, grab my bag, and walk down the stairs. This time, he doesn’t follow me, and I have a feeling he doesn’t plan on it either.
It’s officially over.
The game ending.
I hate that tears sting my eyes. That Cole Reynolds made me feel something for him that I never thought I’d feel. He took from me, but I also willingly gave him things I can never get back. One of those is my heart. He just shattered it.
And it has nothing to do with the dare he plans on doing to my father. He was right—that bastard deserves to die for what he’s done.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
COLE
IT’S BEEN TWO weeks since she walked out of the clubhouse for the last time. I see her in the halls and in class, but she doesn’t look my way. And I try not to look at her. It’s harder than I thought it would be. She doesn’t sit with me at lunch anymore, and I know she has completely shut me out. And I hate that things will never be the same with her.
I’ve lost her.
I knew it the moment I saw her talking to that guy from her birthday party. I can’t remember his name, but I recognized him by her locker. He had been playing beer pong with her that night I walked into Bruce’s game room. He had looked at her like he was dreaming of her naked. That look hasn’t changed.
“I don’t know how you do it, man,” Deke says as he sits down at the table in the cafeteria across from me.
“Do what?” I ask, not bothering to look at him. Instead, I scan the door waiting for her to enter.
“Not talk to her.”
I say nothing.
“I mean, I would go crazy if I knew Becky was dating someone else.”
“What?” My head snaps to his.
“Myers,” he says, looking down at his phone. “They’re dating.”
“No, they’re not.”
He looks up at me. “Yes, they are. He took her to a movie last night. And they’re going to some play this weekend.”
“How the fuck do you know that?”
“Becky told me.”
I fist my hands on the table. “I’ll break his neck …”
“You can’t do that. You broke up with her.”
“Because you guys convinced me that was my only option,” I growl.
He nods. “And I still stand by that.”
“Maybe I should call the whole thing off—”
“No!” he interrupts me. “Kellan sees you two are no longer together. We need him for the final dare. And if he thinks you two are together, he won’t do it.”
At this point, I don’t care what happens to Bruce. “We don’t need him.”
“We don’t, but he knows the plan. We can’t have him turning on us.”
I look up to see Austin walking into the cafeteria with that fucking idiot by her side. He laughs, and she smiles. I want to knock him the fuck out.
“You said Becky was worth the group,” I say to him. He nods once. “You said you would pick her over us.”
“Yes. And I still would, but she is not in danger.”
“I can protect Austin.” I slam my fist down on the table.
He sighs. “You’ve only got two weeks left, Cole. And then she’s all yours.”
I want to believe what he says, but what if he’s wrong? What if she never comes back to me? What if she realizes that I wasn’t enough for her? She was always out of my league. I’m just the guy with anger issues and an obsession for blood. She is more than that. She deserves more than that. What will she do when she realizes that?
AUSTIN
Graduation is four days away, and I hate that it’s so close. For as long as I can remember, all I thought about was freedom. Now, I dread it.
I’ve got no mother. I never did hear from her after she and Phillip left my father’s that night. But I never expected to. Cole is good at one thing. And that’s making things disappear.
I’ve got no Cole. I catch sight of him at school in the halls and classroom, and he looks angrier than ever. Mad at the world. Mad at me. Like I did something wrong.
I still have Becky, so that is a plus. But I don’t see her very much. She spends all her time with Deke, and he is always with Cole, which leaves me alone.
Celeste is always crying. I found her last night in the kitchen sobbing over a bowl of ice cream. I ignored her because I don’t care what is wrong with her. My father hasn’t said anything else to me since he gave me the check almost a month ago. But I think he got the hint that I wasn’t going to take his money when he found it ripped to pieces on the kitchen island.
I don’t want anything from anyone. I just want out of this town. Out of this nightmare and out of everyone’s life.
A fresh start. A new beginning.
I want to go where no one knows me. Where I can be someone different.
I pull up to my father’s house and put my car in park. It’s late. The clock on my dash reads a little after ten. I went to another movie with Myers tonight. He wanted to come over afterward, but I shut that down. I’m not ready to jump in bed with anyone just yet. I hate to burst his bubble, but I’m not looking for what he is interested in. I’m using him to get to Cole. I hope all that anger I see means it’s working.
The worst part is that, once again, I haven’t gotten to see Lilly. We talk on the phone, but that’s it. And the conversations don’t last long. I think another thing that sucks is that I know Cole is going to be a part of my life forever. Because I’m not going to push Lilly out of my life. I’m going to talk to her. See her. Watch her grow up.
I get out of my car and make my way up the stairs to the front door. The wind blows my hair around, making it stick to my lip-gloss. Opening the door, I come to a stop when I hear Celeste crying down the hall. I sigh. What the hell is wrong with her?
“Please?” she begs. “Don’t do this.”
I head for the stairs but stop when I hear a male’s voice.
“It’s over,” Kellan growls. “It’s been over. But you refuse to believe it.” Just then, Kellan walks into the foyer. He comes to a stop, noticing me.
Celeste follows behind him. “You can’t do this …” Her voice trails off when she sees me. “Austin,” she says in surprise, reaching up to wipe her wet cheeks. “I didn’t expect you to be home so soon.”
I look at her. “I’m going to bed.”
> “Have you told her?” he demands.
She shakes her head quickly.
“Tell me what?” I ask. He narrows his eyes on me, and I roll mine. “I’m tired, and it’s too late to play games with you, Kellan. What has she not told me?” Is she divorcing my father? Is that why he has been gone so much? Maybe he’s got some ass on the side as well? I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s ten years younger than Celeste.
“All her secrets,” he says simply.
“Kellan, don’t—”
“I don’t have time for this,” I say, running a hand through my hair, interrupting her. I’m exhausted.
I take the first step on the stairs when he speaks. “Why do you think you’re here?”
I pause. My eyes meet his. “Excuse me?”
He smiles, proud of himself. All of a sudden, I’m interested. “It’s ’cause I wanted you here.”
“What?” I ask confused.
“I was with Celeste when your mother called her and said that you were too much for her. That it would make Celeste look like a saint in this city to take in Bruce’s troubled teen. But she didn’t want you. She wanted Lilly.”
I look at her, and her eyes are narrowed on him. “What?” I ask, because that’s all I can say.
“So you still haven’t figured it out yet.” He smirks. “What she did. What she is capable of.”
“Don’t,” she growls at him.
His smirk just grows. “She can keep a secret, babe,” he tells her.
My brows rise. What could she have possibly done? It can’t be worse than what the guys have done.
“Celeste here”—he looks at her over his shoulder—“killed Betty, Cole and Lilly’s mother.”
My heart starts to pound at his words.
“It was an accident,” she says defensively.
“Don’t lie,” he growls.
“You what?” I ask wide-eyed. “Why would you …”
“At first, everyone suspected Liam or Bruce, but no one could figure out why they would kill her at nine months along. If they were going to do it, they would have done it the moment they found out she was pregnant. But when Celeste found out she was pregnant, she was pissed. She wanted a baby. She wanted to have Bruce’s child.” He looks me up and down with disgust. “But Bruce didn’t want kids. So, Celeste went over to her house and confronted her. Said that she wanted joint custody of Lilly, and when Betty said no, she pushed her down the stairs.”
DARE SERIES COLLECTION Page 36
