by Mia Belle
Sophie giggles at Alexis, who’s watching us like we’re a TV show. “Aren’t you happy I talked Lia into coming?”
Alexis’s eyes skim over me from top to bottom. “No.” She pushes my hand off my best friend. “Sophie will leave when she wants to leave.” She flares her nostrils.
Ignoring her, I turn to Sophie. “Want me to call your mom?” I warn. “You know I’ll do it.” Now I address Alexis. “I wonder what she’ll say when she sees the party and all the alcohol.” I tap my chin. “Oh, I know. She’ll tell your parents.”
Alexis glowers at me for a good few seconds before pitching Sophie at me. “Fine. Take her. But you’re never, invited to my party again.”
“What about me?” Sophie slurs.
Alexis narrows her eyes to slits. “Yeah, you’re cool. But you might want to reconsider who your friends are.” She flicks her golden hair and walks off, tripping over her feet from all that beer.
Sophie staggers as she calls after the host.
“Careful,” I say as I straighten her out. “Let’s go.”
She doesn’t protest as I wrap her arm over my shoulder and pull her toward the exit. As I drag her the ten blocks toward her house, I regret not taking Caleb up on his offer. But then I trash the thought. I’m done with those boys. They might be my neighbors, but that doesn’t mean we have to talk.
It feels like hours until we finally make it to the Walker house. It’s after one in the morning and Sophie’s parents should be asleep. I scan the house, and sure enough, it’s pitch black. Reaching into Sophie’s jeans, I find her keys and haul her up the stairs. She moans, her head lolling to the side.
“Sophie,” I say. “Don’t do this again, okay? You know I hate seeing you like this.” Her response is another moan as I heave her up the stairs to her room.
“Sophie? Is that you?” a sleepy voice asks from one of the bedrooms.
I freeze. Her Dad.
“Yeah.” I try to put on my best impression of my friend. “I just came back from Lia’s. Sorry it’s so late. The movie ran overtime.”
“Okay. Good night.”
Once I’m sure he won’t get out of bed, I continue helping my best friend down the hallway to her room.
Chapter Thirteen
Lia
My phone pings. With a groan, I roll over on my bed and reach to sweep it off my end table. The sunlight peeking in through the blinds gives the room light, but the glare from my phone’s screen nearly blinds me. Ugh, what time is it?
Ten thirty in the morning.
It all comes back to me. Sophie getting smashed last night and my having to drag her drunken butt to her house and up to her room. By the time I got home I was so exhausted I fell into bed with my clothes on.
Speak of the devil.
Sophie: OMG I’m so hungover! I think I’m gonna die! Did I really drink that much???
Me: Yeah, and because of you I feel like I have a hangover too. I’m going back to sleep.
Sophie: Same. Wake me when my head stops exploding.
I drop my phone somewhere on my bed and roll over, squishing my hand underneath my pillow. The scar on my wrist catches my attention and the memory of that jerk Zane attacks my mind. I shut my eyes and try to banish it away.
There’s a soft rap on my door. “Good morning, Lia. When you see the boys—you’re still in bed?”
“It’s Saturday, isn’t it, Dad?” I close my eyes.
“Remember you have a task to do today.”
I pop an eye open. “A task?”
“Taking the Armstrong boys on a tour around town.”
My other eye pops open. “You were actually serious?”
“I’d like you to help them feel welcome in Willow Lake, sweetie.”
I try not to groan. “Dad, they’re not five. They don’t need a tour.”
“Please don’t make me ask you again. I ordered your favorite blueberry pancakes from Cecile’s Diner.”
My stomach grumbles. “You trying to bribe me?”
He grins. “Is it working?”
“Maybe. Fine, I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Thanks.”
My plan for today was to finish reading my novel and maybe catch a movie with Sophie. But considering she drank her brains out last night, I guess I have no choice. But ugh, the thought of seeing Zane…
I shake my head. Maybe the only way to survive the tour is to pretend the party didn’t happen.
Having a mind of their own, my legs carry me to my window and I squint. He’s not in his room. His sketchpad is opened to a drawing he must be working on. I can’t see what it is from here.
I rummage in my closet and drawers for something to wear. They’re basically empty. I guess Dad and I haven’t yet mastered the technique to efficient laundry cleaning. That was always Mom’s department. One of the many things she did for me that I took for granted. I bite on my cheek before I start crying.
Considering I’m just giving my neighbors a tour and not meeting the president, I settle on a plain white T-shirt with the logo of my favorite TV show and a pair of ripped jeans. I can smell the pancakes as soon as I reach the top of the stairs. Dad’s placing the dishes and utensils on the table when I walk into the kitchen.
He frowns at my torn jeans. “I don’t understand why you kids pay good money for rags.”
I roll my eyes as I take a seat. “Not rags, Dad. You’re so—”
“Old fashioned. I know.” He flashes me a smile, though like the others, it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
I dig into my pancakes. The quietness of the room still gets to me a little, but I think I’m getting used to it. Without Mom’s bright light, things will always be this dreary.
Dad finishes his pancake and cuts into another. “Don’t forget to show the boys the important spots in town. The post office, the sheriff’s station, the library, the government agencies, the mall—”
“Got it.”
He pours himself and me a glass of orange juice. No one in my family is much of a coffee person. Mom always had enough energy to get her through the day, and caffeine made my dad stay up until the wee hours of the night. As for me, I don’t like the taste of it. Never have. Orange juice every morning is our family’s thing.
When I’m done with breakfast, I shrug into my light jacket and leave the house. The sun’s strong this morning, but it’s still a little chilly. I drag myself to the Armstrong house and stare at the door. I’m really not in the mood to do this. I don’t want to spend time with any of them, specifically the buff, black-haired guy with those beautiful fresh grass eyes. But I don’t want Dad on my case. I don’t know why he’s taken it upon himself—and forcing me—to be so warm and welcoming. What the heck does he know about them?
Julia smiles when she opens the door. “Hi, Lia! Please, come in.” She widens the door for me. “Thank you so much for offering to show the boys around. Between you and me?” She leans forward to whisper, “They’re anxious about living in a new town, even though they’d never admit it. Growing familiar with their surroundings will take a load off.” She turns toward the steps. “Zane! Caleb! Aidan! Lia’s here to give you a tour around town.”
Footsteps stampede down the stairs and then Caleb appears, pushing some blond hair out of his sky blue eyes. He gives me a sweet smile when our eyes meet.
Zane saunters out of the kitchen, munching on a pickle. My gaze freezes on him for a moment as I’m transported back to last night at the party. I try to shove the memory away, and my gaze takes him in instead. The dark blue T-shirt straining against his muscular chest, the tight jeans that don’t leave much to the imagination. And the way his shaggy black hair is just the right messy that makes him look so...
I yank my eyes away.
Caleb’s nose wrinkles. “You’re eating a pickle this early?”
He shrugs. “Doesn’t say on the jar when’s the right time to eat a pickle.”
“Aidan?” Julia calls up the stairs. She glances at the guys. “Where is he
?”
“Hungover,” Zane says, the pickle juice running down his chin. He swipes it off.
Julia purses her lips. “He drank a lot last night?”
Zane shrugs again. “He doesn’t know how to deal.”
Julia’s about to say something, but then her eyes pin on me. She gives me a tight smile. “I guess you can give Zane and Caleb the tour then.”
If I only Zane could switch places with Aidan.
“Let’s go.” Caleb’s about to leave, when he turns back to Julia. “Can I run any errands for you while I’m out?”
Julia waves her hand. “That’s okay. Go and enjoy.”
“You sure? I can pick something on the way. Maybe some groceries or…didn’t Craig said he wanted a new router? And didn’t you mention—”
“We’re fine, hun.” Julia’s tone is soft. “Please go and enjoy yourself.”
He wavers, seeming to want to argue, but he nods and opens the front door.
Zane gestures to me. “Ladies first.”
Due to his large frame, my arm brushes against his when I pass by. A faint smell of soap tickles my nose, and a chill runs down my spine. But that’s totally because of the breeze blowing in from outside.
I stand in the middle of the sidewalk and turn one direction and the other, trying to figure out the best route that would eat up the least amount of time. The sooner I can put distance between myself and these boys, the better.
“So…where to?” Caleb asks after what feels like hours.
My fingers get caught in my brown curls. “Um, I don’t know. What do you want to see first?” My eyes flick to Zane, who stands there with his legs spread apart, arms crossed, and eyes pinned on mine. There’s a look on his face. I know what thoughts are running rampant in his head.
I focus my attention on his cousin and raise a brow.
“I guess the mall?” Caleb says.
The guys trail after me as I lead them in that direction, the two of them not saying anything to each other. Willow Lake is such a small town and nearly everything is within walking distance, which means I might have to soak my feet once the tour is done. How did I let Dad force me into this?
After a few minutes, Caleb catches up to me. “The town’s pretty neat,” he says. “Nice and peaceful.”
“I guess.”
We cross the street. “Thanks, by the way.” He gives me a shy smile. “For giving us a tour, I mean. I’m sure you had better things to do on a Saturday.”
I shrug. When I glance behind me, I notice that Zane is stuck across the street. The light must have turned red before he could cross with us.
Caleb rolls his eyes and smiles. “Bet he did that on purpose.”
Zane stands in the crosswalk, once again with his legs spread and his arms crossed, his lips pressed in a firm line. His eyes, like before, are glued to mine.
“What’s his deal?” The words shoot out of my mouth before I can stop them.
“Who, Zane?” Caleb shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“Are you guys close?”
“Yeah. We’re pretty tight. They, um…” He scrubs his hand down his face. “They’ve been great to me these past six years. Like real brothers. A real family. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”
So many questions are bursting out of me. Why does he live with his aunt and uncle? What happened to his parents?
The light switches and Zane marches across the street, his arms still crossed. Is he pissed at me? He was the one who invaded my privacy.
“Since we’re here, I guess I’ll point out some shops. This is Gertrude’s Pizza, the best pizza in town. The owner features a whacky topping every week. Usually they’re gross, but sometimes they’re a hit. Down the street is an old cab service some older people still use. Right next door to that is a souvenir shop. We used to get a lot of tourists years ago because a famous opera singer stayed at the Willow Lake Inn, but she left a while ago. The peace and quiet you talked about before?” I say to Caleb. “It wasn’t always like that.” I move on.
“Would you rather have the peace and quiet or the tourists?” Caleb asks as he steps beside me, Zane once again trailing behind.
“Doesn’t really matter to me.”
My mom used to sell her delicious chocolate cookies to the inn. I remember staying up late during the tourist season to help her fill all the orders. But I was so bad at baking I always messed something up. Mom never complained. She loved our mother/daughter time.
“Lia?”
I’m yanked out of the memory and blink at Caleb. “What?”
“I asked if that’s a good place to eat.” He points to Papa Steak across the street.
“Sure, if you can handle hot food. The rub he uses on his steak is so spicy. You’ll drink water for days.”
He grins. “Sounds interesting.”
I glance at Zane, who hasn’t said a single word to me or Caleb since we left the house. He still wears that hard expression and his arms are still crossed.
I tap my shoe on the ground. “Is there anything you want to see? Got any questions?”
His gaze flicks to mine. And stays there.
“You guys have a pool hall or bowling alley?” Caleb asks, his eyes sweeping toward Zane’s.
“They’re on the other side of town.”
A group of college-aged girls pass, and their eyes immediately spring to Zane, taking in his buff form and pretty black hair and green eyes.
“Oh my god, he’s so hot,” one whispers to the other.
“Underage,” Zane mutters.
“What?” one of them, a pretty brunette, asks as she moves closer to him.
“Underage. So unless you want to end up in prison, I suggest you move on.”
Scowling, the three of them dash away.
Caleb sighs heavily. “Did you have to be so rude to them?”
He tightens his arms on his chest. The three of us stand there in silence.
“So…moving on?” I ask.
I point out other important locations as we approach the mall. Caleb asks questions and makes mental notes of places he wants to visit, but Zane remains the same. Other girls pass and ogle him the way those college girls did. I don’t get it. He’s not that hot. And I don’t find his scowl attractive, either. Even if he has amazing hair.
“Well, here we are,” I announce. “Welcome to Willow Lake Mall.”
Caleb and Zane study the stores. “Doesn’t look like much,” Zane says.
“So you do have a tongue,” I mutter.
His eyes whip to mine. They’re not as hard as they were before.
“Most people in town go into the city for major shopping,” I explain. “I heard they might want to tear the place down and build a whole new shopping center, but most of the people like things the way they are. Anyway, you guys want to check out some of the stores or should we move onto the next stop on the grand tour?”
“You’ve got to be shitting me.”
I turn around at the familiar male voice. Four boys from Willow Lake Academy stand before us. I swallow and take a step back, knocking into Caleb. My heart races so fast I get dizzy.
“Look who’s here, boys,” the leader of the group, Burke, sneers, his eyes moving very slowly up my body. “The whore.”
Fisting my hands, I raise my chin. “Look what the sewer spit out.”
Burke looks from Caleb to Zane. “Whoring it up with two guys at once now? Didn’t think you could sink any lower.”
My heart pounds in my head, and I can’t think clearly, or even breathe. But the last thing I want is for the scum of earth to see me like this. Tightening my fists so hard my nails dig into my skin, I say, “You should know all about it. Didn’t your principal catch you with two girls in a janitor’s closet?”
He grins so wide he looks like a possessed clown. “At least the girls I hooked up with are hot. You?” His nose crinkles as he takes me in. “You should just do us all a favor and jump off a building.”
Zane charges at him,
wrapping a hand around his throat and slamming him up against a wall.
“What the fuck?!”
“I don’t know who the hell you are,” Zane grits out. “But I suggest you get the fuck out of here.”
Burke’s arms flail around as he sputters. His friends just stand there, watching.
Caleb rests a hand on Zane’s arm. “It’s okay, man. Let him go.”
Zane glares at Burke, whose breathing is growing heavy.
“Zane, you’ll kill him!”
That seems to knock some sense into him. With a huff, he chucks Burke to the ground, where he coughs and sucks in as much oxygen as he can. His friends hurry to his side.
As they help him to his feet and drag him away, he yells, “He’s being released soon! And he’ll come after you. We’ll all come after you. You’ll pay for what you did to him, you fucking whore!”
Once they’re out of sight, I suck in my own air. A minute longer and I would have passed out from lack of oxygen. Sweat has broken out on my forehead and my knees wobble.
“Who the heck were they?” Caleb asks.
I slowly turn around to glare at Zane. “I didn’t ask you to do that.”
His eyes fill with shock for a moment, then grow hard. “I don’t need your permission.”
“Permission for what? To nearly kill someone?”
“They started up with you.”
“So? They’re harmless.”
“Didn’t sound harmless.”
For a second, something shifts in his eyes. But it’s gone so quickly I don’t have a chance to figure out what it is.
Caleb moves a little closer to me. “Who are they, Lia?”
“Just some stupid kids from that stuck-up private school.”
“Why did they say those things to you?” he asks.
I shrug. “I dated one of their friends. It didn’t end well. But it’s in the past.”
Zane’s head lifts and he watches me carefully.
The truth is, it’s far, far from in the past. And I’m not sure I’ll ever get over what happened. But I don’t feel threatened by them. Maybe a little.
One thing bothers me, though. Was Burke telling the truth? Is Josh being released from juvie? Someone like him shouldn’t be allowed to roam the streets freely. Someone like him needs to stay locked behind bars for the rest of his damn life.
