Loyal Love

by Henry, Max

  “Fuck you!”

  All he can damn well do is laugh. He’s pushed me to the point of no return, and all he can do is laugh.

  I disconnect, my heart echoing its quickened beat in my ears. Fist clenched around the phone, I open the stall door to find two girls frozen at the mirror, heads turned to take me in.

  “Shouldn’t you be in class already?” I snap.

  They remain voiceless, heads slowly turning to track me as I walk to the door, satchel slung over my shoulder.

  My phone hits the trash receptacle with a solid ting, sliding down into the nest of used paper handtowels below.

  I’m done with distance. Done with people not taking me seriously.

  Tomorrow night can’t roll around fast enough.

  GREER

  I can’t contain the groan that seeps from my throat as Ingrid plants her gangly arse down beside me.

  “I’m sure you’ve heard, but I wanted to make sure you weren’t caught off-guard. Libby returns to school on Monday.”

  I prod my chopsticks into the mini sushi rolls on my platter. “Who’d she blow to get that to happen?”

  Ingrid’s top lip curls, her brow pinched as though she can’t believe I knew that, yes, people do indeed stick their mouths on men’s dicks. “Oh my gosh, Greer. Eww.”

  “As if you didn’t know.” I pop a salmon and avocado slice into my mouth and chew slowly.

  She waits for me to finish, seemingly put off by my unpredictable response.

  “She told me herself that she gave her dad’s intern a handjob so he wouldn’t rat her out when she stole his liquor,” I explain. “Have you two not had those kinds of heart-to-hearts yet?”

  Ingrid scowls, sucking a long and insufficient breath through her nose. “Anyway.” She takes another, quicker lungful. “I just thought you should know.”

  I wait for her to rise from my lunch table—yes, my lunch table; I’m the only one at it—and then add the last word. “It’s cute how much you still love me.”

  She hates me. I know it, and she knows it. But that final dig? Too good not to pass up.

  Especially when she grits her teeth and lets rip a frustrated growl that has the next two tables turning to look at her as she storms off.

  “What was that all about?”

  I lift one eyebrow at the fine mess that drops into the seat beside me. “Kind of you to grace us with your presence.”

  Colt groans, slumping in the chair and tossing one arm over his eyes. “Even so, it’s earlier than I would have liked.”

  “Why bother at all, then?”

  He peeks out from beneath his elbow. “Don’t tell me you’re still mad.”

  Mouth agape, I run the tip of my tongue across my bottom lip and sigh. “Am I supposed not to be?”

  Hell—I made it this far through the day keeping my frantic nerves at bay. Why on earth does he need to turn up now and throw them into disarray again? “I was doing just fine on my own, thank you.” I gesture toward where Ingrid sits with the others, her face still a storm. “I’m keeping them all unsettled.”

  “Anything I should know?”

  That you’re a smoking hot mess of trouble and indecision. “Libby returns on Monday.”

  He sighs, arm dropping to his stomach. “Lacey won’t sign.”

  “I don’t blame her.” I wouldn’t want to be the one responsible for condemning my brother, either. “You do realise that if she paints you as reckless enough to have caused the trouble at Christian’s, then it leaves your conduct in Arcadia under question too.”

  His blond eyebrows pinch together. “It’s undeniable that I knew what I was doing when I trashed Johnson’s truck.”

  “I’m not talking about the truck.” I prod at my remaining sushi. “Are you going to let me eat, or are you going to continue to sit there and stare at me as though I’m your lunch?”

  “I bet you’d taste divine.”

  To deny the heat low in my belly would be to claim that I’m not warm-blooded. “Enough.”

  He smirks at my hissed demand. “Just remember, sweet Greer.” The deliciously smelling prick rises from his seat, stooping low to whisper in my ear. “When you’re bored out of your mind in Biology, you could have been putting two living things together elsewhere and seeing what the outcome was.”

  “Your living thing is going nowhere near mine,” I hiss over my shoulder.

  His fingers trace a lazy line underneath the curtain of my hair, burning a path across the back of my neck. “Not this afternoon. No.”

  There’s no need to turn around to make sure he leaves the damn dining hall. No. The tidal wave of titters from the first-year girls tells me exactly where Colt heads.

  Damn it. How could I let things get so complicated? I shouldn’t have left with him for lunch. I should have kept a safe distance between us and an audience at the ready.

  If being in Colt’s presence is dangerous enough, then choosing to be alone with him proved deadly. To my self-control, and my reasons for doing what I am.

  I tug my phone free of my Prada bag and set it on the table before me. The sooner this mess is wrapped up, the better.

  G: Colt told me you wouldn’t sign the document from Derek. Call me. We need to talk this through.

  Lacey can run away to Arcadia and hide, but as long as her brother remains here in Riverbourne, she may as well have stayed too. The Williams name can’t be that easily forgotten, especially when her mother keeps the gossip hounds busy day-to-day.

  Libby needs to go. Order has to return to Riverbourne.

  And in the process, I need to remove the most considerable disruption to our halls as well: Colt.

  The prince of Riverbourne must be exiled.

  TUCK

  “Tell me what you know.” I toss stones across the courtyard, playing a little game of How many can I throw before she looks?

  Maggie folds her legs on the grass beneath her, hands to her ankles while she watches Lacey chat with the moto-hoes. “She won’t like me telling you this, but something has to be done about it.”

  “So, spit it out already.” Frustrated with how easily she keeps her back to me, I release a whole handful of tiny gravel over the pavers.

  Lacey glances over her shoulder and frowns.

  “Tell me if she comes over, okay?” Maggie sighs, flopping on to her back.

  “Sure.”

  “So, you know that jerk, Christian?”

  My nostrils flare. “How could I forget?”

  “Well, his old man is a lawyer, right?”

  “I’d heard that.”

  She rolls her head to face me, utterly unaware that Beau approaches from the opposite direction. “Colt went to him for help clearing Lace’s name.”

  My fist constricts around the fresh handful of stones. The pinpricks are a welcome distraction from the rage that grows by the hour.

  Why the fuck didn’t I think of that? “And?”

  “He’s drafted some legal thing where Colt takes responsibility for all the damages at Christian’s the other weekend, and in return, Lacey goes free. Incident with that girl wiped. All of it. They can’t touch her about it, now or in the future.”

  “Touch who about what?” Beau drops to the grass beside Maggie, resting his elbow on a bent knee.

  “Shit.” Maggie bolts up to a seated position. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

  “He’s fine,” I assure her, my focus on the trio of girls as Dee approaches their table. “You can trust him.”

  With a sigh, Maggie relays what she just told me to him. “She won’t tell her father about it, and she has to answer Derek today.”

  “You saying she’s going to sign it?” Beau asks.

  “I think so.”

  Dee cautiously joins the girls, body stiff while she watches Mandy talk. I toss a stone their way and smirk at Dee when she traces its origin.

  “This shit is getting beyond us, guys,” Maggie states. “After this morning, I think we need to drop worrying about
what Lacey thinks and do what’s best.”

  “What happened this morning?” Beau shifts position stretching out across the grass on his side, elbow propped beneath him.

  “Tuck and I called Mandy out on her bullshit, and Lacey sided with them anyway.”

  “I’m totally missing everything,” he scoffs. “I’m so lost.”

  “You can’t be everywhere at once,” I reason. “I need you where you are, keeping an ear to the ground with Johnson.”

  “Speaking of.” Maggie frowns. “Where is he?”

  “Around,” Beau says. “I think he’s having lunch with Amber in town today.”

  “Heard anything about her?” I ask.

  He shakes his head; eyes narrowed while he watches Dee also. “Not yet. She has her interview at Riverbourne this afternoon.”

  “This is so fucking messed up,” Mags groans, falling to her back again. She tosses a dramatic arm over her face. “What are we going to do about your girlfriend, Tuck?”

  I snort a laugh. “She’s hardly my girlfriend when she won’t talk to me.”

  “Come off it,” Maggie whines. “You two can’t stop watching each other. The sexual tension is ridiculous.”

  Beau nods. “She’s kind of right.”

  “You two would know,” I grumble.

  They’re right, though. A glance in Lacey’s direction using my peripheral vision confirms that she does continue to sneak looks my way when she thinks I’m not watching.

  Fuck this. Sitting around and playing a guessing game is child’s work. If I want to know what they’re up to over there, then there’s only one way to find out.

  “What are you doing?” Maggie hisses as I rise to my feet.

  “Cutting the bullshit and getting it from the horse’s mouth.”

  “Tuck,” she whisper-yells as I start for the table.

  I catch Beau saying something to calm her, the breeze carrying the words the wrong way for me to make out what.

  The girls at the table zip their lips the second they realise I’m behind them, cautious glares sent my way.

  I nudge myself into the only free spot—beside Dee—and grin. “’ Sup, ladies?”

  “This conversation is private,” Mandy offers coolly.

  “Awesome.” I flash her a tight smile and then shift my focus to Lacey. “Have you signed it yet?”

  “Wh-what?” It takes her a second to register how I’d know before she spins and shakes her head at Maggie.

  Mags’ eyes go wide, hands raised by her shoulders.

  “No.” Lace turns back to the table. “I haven’t.”

  “What’s he talking about?” Mandy asks, unable to hide the irritation from her voice.

  She hates being the last to know something.

  “Nothing,” Lace mumbles. “What if I had?” she asks me.

  “Then I’d say you’re fucking stupid to do so without consulting legal counsel yourself.”

  The moto-hoes can’t decide who to watch as the sparring starts between Lacey and me.

  “Of course, you would.” My girl dares roll her damn eyes at me. “You don’t get it, do you, Tuck?”

  “Get what? That you think you can save the world by yourself?” I shake my head. “This shit has gone beyond games between spoilt kids, Lace.”

  “You don’t know half of what it’s about.”

  “So fucking tell me,” I holler, tossing my hands in the air. They land on the table with a loud thud. “Stop doing this Wonder Woman routine where you have to do it all yourself.”

  “What’s he talking about, Lacey?” Mandy asks softly.

  “I know.” The entire table turns their focus to Dee.

  “What?” Lacey and I say in unison.

  “Richard told Johnson about the affidavit.” She flicks her gaze between us as though she can’t understand how we wouldn’t have figured that out.

  They’ve been talking? “Since when were they friends?” I muse out loud, spotting Ed join Beau on the lawn.

  “And what has Johnson told him, huh?” Mandy snaps. “Christ. We have a damn mole.”

  We have more than one, but I’m not about to blow Ed and Beau’s cover. “What the fuck do they have to get cosy about?”

  “Colt,” Lacey mutters. She drops her head into her hands. “Shit.”

  “What else do you know?” I ask Dee.

  “If you hadn’t stormed over here and interrupted us,” Mandy snaps, “she would have told us by now.”

  I shoot her a warning glare. She wrinkles her nose back at me.

  “Anyway,” Dee says with a sigh. “Amber will be at the party Saturday.”

  “Of course,” Cate mutters.

  “She wants to use the race as a chance to show the city kids that she’s tougher than them. That she’s leadership potential, wherever she ends up.”

  I raise a hand before me. “And how would she do that?” Is Amber recording our weekend antics now?

  “She’s invited them all to come.”

  LACEY

  “Hey!” Tuck hollers across the courtyard. He tips his chin in the air, beckoning the others over.

  “What are you doing?” I groan.

  He levels me with a heated glare that I feel low in the pit of my gut and grumbles, “What I do best: taking charge.”

  I’m out of my element—I know that. But my pride still digs its heels in and refuses to let him be the hero. He doesn’t have to be the hero. I need help. Everyone at this table knows that. So why do I keep refusing it?

  “Hey.” Maggie gives me a tight smile, choosing to stay on her feet.

  I’m not mad at her. A little annoyed, maybe, but not mad. “Squeeze in.” I shift aside on the bench seat and give her space to join us.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispers while Tuck gives Beau and Ed the rundown. “It’s just that you can’t do this on your own.”

  “I know.” I’d simply chosen to deny a truth that didn’t align with my expectations.

  Maggie frowns, spinning to pay attention to Tuck when she overhears him mentioning the kids from Riverbourne. “Out here?” she exclaims.

  Dee nods. I can’t tell how much she wants to help and how much this is a little fun to her. Her resting bitch face doesn’t give much away.

  “Then shut it down,” Maggie implores Dee. “It’s your party. Cancel it.”

  “I don’t want to.” She eyes Maggie as though the girl’s crazy. “I’ve already bought supplies, and it took me months to talk my parents into letting me have the last round of the year.”

  “It’ll turn to shit,” Ed says. “Are you ready for the fallout?”

  “At least I might be remembered for something,” she grumbles.

  Mandy slaps a hand to her face. “Fuck’s sake.”

  “Dee. You’re worth more than notoriety from a party gone wild,” Tuck offers. “Don’t cheapen yourself.”

  “Fuck you.” She folds her arms high on her chest. “I could just solve the issue by uninviting all of you.”

  “You wouldn’t dare,” Mandy bites.

  “Suits me,” Beau muses.

  Maggie flashes him a heated glare.

  “And then what?” Cate asks all innocence and sugary sweetness. “Amber races herself?”

  “She can race me,” Dee snaps.

  “Wow,” Ed drones. “That’d be fun to watch.”

  He gets a backhand from Mandy for his sarcasm.

  “Look,” Dee says, rising from her seat. “Turn up, or don’t turn up. I don’t care. But I’m telling you that the Riverbourne crowd are welcome.”

  “They won’t give you what you need,” I say quietly, opting not to look at her.

  She hesitates in my periphery. “How would you know what I want?”

  “Everyone wants the same thing when they try to win over those jerks.” I glance up to find her annoyed, yet curious all the same. “To have rich, influential friends.” I huff a laugh. “They’re good at two of those things but terrible at the third. I’ll let you guess which ones.
”

  “If that’s the case,” she levels, “then why are you still so keen to impress them?”

  “Who thinks I want to imp—” My words die off when the silence of the table sinks in.

  They all think that I do.

  “You are dead keen on showing up to shove it in their face that you’re better off out here,” Mandy points out.

  “You’re the one who wanted me to learn how to ride so I could take Amber’s place in the race,” I counter.

  She goes ramrod stiff.

  “You want her to do what?” Tuck growls.

  Mandy frowns. “I thought she could be our fourth.” I dropped her square in the deep end, but the truth would have surfaced soon anyway.

  “So, that’s your plan,” Maggie exclaims, snapping her fingers. “You want to use Lacey to arsehole Amber right out of your group.”

  “I’m not using anyone,” Mandy bites. “I thought it would be safer than running the risk of Amber playing foul in one of the heats.”

  “Safer?” Tuck snorts. “You taught Lacey how to ride yesterday.”

  “That’s pretty far-fetched,” Ed agrees.

  “I hadn’t decided yet,” I explain, catching Mandy’s eye. “I need more practice before I know if I’m comfortable enough to do it.”

  “You’re seriously considering it,” Maggie asks, eyes wide.

  I shrug. “I need to go fast in a straight line. How hard can it be?”

  Tuck shoots to his feet. “Lacey?” He braces himself with a sturdy hand on the table. “Can we talk—alone?”

  I nod. “Yeah.” Anything to get out of this damn pressure cooker.

  Maggie makes room for me to climb out from between her and Mandy. I take after Tuck, aware the chatter resumes as soon as I’m almost out of earshot. He storms across the courtyard headed for the sports fields.

  The bell rings once to signal break is almost over. I step through the stone arch and find him with his back against the rear of the hall. Several groups of students vacate the field, talking amongst themselves and seemingly oblivious to our standoff.

  “Whatever choices you make now will impact on the rest of your life and Colt’s,” Tuck states. He stares at the ground, one ankle crossed over the other, hands slung in his jean pockets.