The Enemy Series

by M. E. Clayton

  It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.

  “Uh…Deke,” Emerson’s voice broke through my thoughts, but it was more her tone.

  We were all at Ramsey’s getting ready to spend the day at the cove for another day party with a barbeque and all that shit. The only person missing was Delaney as I’m sure Ava would be in attendance.

  With everyone in the kitchen grabbing drinks and shit, I turned towards Emerson. Roselyn was standing next to her and they were both looking at something on her phone. “Yeah?”

  I watched the girls share a look before Emerson’s silver eyes landed on mine. “Uhm…did you say Delaney was meeting her parents for her tour of Dartmouth?” I nodded. “Just her parents?”

  Before I could answer, Linnie breathed out, “Oh, shit.”

  I was at their side, plucking Emerson’s phone out of her hand before they knew it, and there on the screen, was a picture of Delaney, Winston, and their parents with the caption reading ‘New school. New Beginnings. New Family. Congratulations, Delaney & Winston!’ It had been posted to social media and somehow landed on Emerson’s notifications.

  No fucking way.

  “Now, Deke,” Linnie said softly, like a trainer approaching a wounded tiger at the zoo, “we have no idea-”

  My eyes shot towards her. “She said she was going alone, Roselyn,” I bit out. “She said she was going alone and meeting her parents there. She didn’t say fuck all about Reynolds and his parents.”

  “Deke,” Emerson joined in, “for all we know, she did. Her parents could have ambushed her, you know.”

  After that disaster between Ramsey and Emerson when Ramsey had jumped to conclusions without letting Emerson explain, I knew she was just trying to give Delaney the benefit of the doubt, but that picture didn’t display a girl who was upset about being ambushed.

  “Emerson, look at the fucking picture!” I spewed, Ramsey taking his rightful place behind her by the time I was done hissing at her. She took her phone back, studied the photo, and just bit her lip, saying nothing.

  She knew I was right.

  “Maybe you should call her and-”

  I cut Roselyn off. “Fuck that, Linnie,” I snapped. “Even if she was ambushed, she should have called me and told me. Or, better yet, gotten the fuck out of there. It’s not like she’s broke and can’t afford a motherfucking plane ticket!”

  I had never been so livid in all my life. They must have gotten to her. She showed up and her parents had the Reynolds in tow and convinced Delaney how perfect their lives could all still be. They probably spent all day reminding her of the good times. And because Delaney’s always been…pliable, she probably caved within an hour.

  Never mind that she’s spent every night with me this week. Never mind that I’ve fucked her a million different ways, cumming inside her with no thought to the consequences. Sure, she ended up getting the shot Monday afternoon, but that didn’t mean shit. The dice had already been thrown.

  “Deke, you need to call her,” this from Liam. “Yeah, the picture looks bad, but...there could be a very innocent reason for it.”

  I scanned the faces of my friends, and knowing they were only trying to help, I gave in. I yanked my phone from my back pocket and dialed Delaney. I dialed Delaney and motherfucking Winston Reynolds answered her phone, “Deke.”

  “Where the fuck is Delaney, Reynolds?” I growled into the phone.

  “She’s in the middle of her tour,” he answered. “Look, Deke, don’t make this…situation harder than it needs to be.”

  Winston Reynold’s was a dead man.

  “Meaning?”

  “Delaney belongs with me, Deke,” he said, believing he was safe over the phone. “I admit I dropped the ball by taking her for granted, and I’ll have to live with that. I’ll have to live with the fact that you…will always matter in her life. But she’s always belonged with me. Our families…well, you can’t undo years of friendship.”

  I clenched the phone so tightly, it’s a wonder it didn’t crack in my hand. “You’re with her in New Hampshire?”

  “Check social media,” he taunted. “That should tell you everything you need to know.”

  I had to steady myself. Rage was threatening to shatter my psyche. I wanted to kill Reynolds for daring to come between me and Delaney, and I wanted to kill Delaney for being so weak; so spineless.

  She said she loved me, but she’d rather be with Winston because it was easier than standing up to her parents. Even though she had me to fight alongside with her, she was too weak to see it through.

  I told Delaney I would never let her go, but that was when I thought she wanted me just as badly as I did her. That’s when I thought she loved me more than she loved simplicity. And, truth be told, no one that weak belonged in our group.

  “You can have Delaney, Winston,” I hissed into the phone, pretending that rage wasn’t corroding my soul. “But a word to the wise…you better stay away from me, and you sure as fuck better keep Delaney away from me, or I will ruin the rest of your lives, Reynolds. I will spend every resource I have making you jump to your own deaths if either of you come within spitting distance of me.”

  He was quiet for a few seconds before saying the words that guaranteed we’d be meeting up really soon, “It won’t matter because, in the end, I’ll have Delaney.” I hung up the phone and threw it across the kitchen, not caring when it shattered against the wall.

  “Deke…” Emerson whispered.

  I didn’t look at her.

  I didn’t look at anyone.

  I didn’t look at anyone or utter a word as I heard Ramsey say, “Hey, baby, why don’t you and Roselyn go to the party without-”

  “You’re out of your goddamn mind if you think I’m leaving Deke like this,” she snapped. “I’m not going anywhere, Reed.” Ramsey let out a sigh because, like we all knew, whenever Emerson called him Reed, we knew she was serious.

  “I’m not leaving either,” Roselyn piped up.

  “Okay,” Liam said. “Just…you girls go watch a movie…or something, while…uhm, we take care of this.”

  I could hear the girls shuffle out of the kitchen and it wasn’t until I was certain they were out of earshot that I looked up at Liam and Ramsey. With their girls gone, they let their feelings show plainly on their faces.

  They were just as livid as I was.

  “Who do you want to destroy first?” Ramsey asked.

  That was easy.

  Delaney.

  Reynolds isn’t the one who was tearing a patch in my chest.

  “I’ll handle Delaney,” I replied, cold and…just fucking cold. “You can take her parents and Liam can take the Reynolds.”

  “And Winston?” Liam asked.

  “I’ll handle him when I’m done with Delaney,” I promised. “Their blissful future is going to be her feeding him through a straw for the rest of their lives.”

  Chapter 30

  Delaney~

  I was so irritated, it wasn’t even funny. Not only had this tour turned out to be nothing like I had imagined, I lost my phone, and I missed Deke.

  Visiting Dartmouth had been a big eye opener to how much I didn’t want to be on the East Coast while Deke was at Blaineview on the West Coast.

  But more irritating than anything else had been when we had all gone out to dinner after the tour was over and the Reynolds had joined us. My parents tried to play it off as a happy coincidence, but I knew better. I also started to question the loss of my phone. Had I had it on me, I would have called an Uber, gone to the airport, and bought a ticket home.

  Now, it was late evening, and I was at the store, buying a new phone. Sure, the sales associate was kind enough to activate my backup and all my apps, but it was still a pain in the ass. Not to mention, my parents were having after dinner cocktails with the Reynolds and they were seriously expecting me to show up and play polite. And, once upon a time, I might have-but not anymore.

  Knowing Deke had my back, and was wa
iting at home to slay dragons for me, gave me a sense of strength I never knew I possessed. Sure, I wasn’t a complete pushover, but I never viewed myself as strong as Ava, as brave as Roselyn, or as badass as Emerson.

  But being with Deke made me feel all those things.

  I knew I had been played by my parents, but I was actually grateful for the experience because I knew now, without a doubt, I wanted to be with Deke wherever he went.

  The second the sales associate finished setting up my phone, it started chiming uncontrollably with notifications, missed calls, and message alerts.

  The first notification I saw was Ava’s text message begging me to call her ASAP, so I did. “Ava?”

  “Oh, my God, Delaney,” she cried breathlessly. “Where are you?”

  “I’m still in New Hampshire,” I told her. “I lost my phone and had to buy a new one. I just walked out of the store and I was about to order an Uber back to the hotel, but your text was urgent.”

  “So, you haven’t been online at all today?”

  “No,” I answered, suddenly nervous. “Even if I hadn’t lost my phone, I wouldn’t have answered it during the tour. That would have been rude.”

  I could hear Ava taking a deep breath over the phone, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. “Delaney,” she whispered desperately, “there’s a picture of you and Winston with both your parents at Dartmouth with a caption about new beginnings or something like that.”

  I could feel my lungs tighten up with the unbelievability of her words. “Ava,” I breathed, “Winston and his parents are here, that’s true, but there’s no picture. We didn’t take any pictures together.”

  “Delaney, what the hell are you doing there with Winston and his parents?” she asked incredulously.

  “I’m not here with them,” I stressed. “My parents ambushed me, trying to change my mind about marrying Winston. But there’s no-”

  “Delaney, pull up your social media feed,” she said, interrupting. “There’s a picture.”

  I quickly did what she suggested, and sure as shit, staring up at me was the picture we all took last year when we had all taken a trip to New York. I had mentioned wanting to go to Dartmouth back then, and to humor me, we’d gone to the campus and taken a group selfie.

  Scrambling to get back on the phone, I said, “Ava, that’s the picture from last year when we’d all gone to New York.”

  “Well, Winston posted it making it look like it’s from today,” she said sadly.

  “Fuck…” I muttered.

  “Delaney, you need to call Deke, and you need to call him now,” she groaned. “He’s going to be pissed, chic.”

  “I have my purse on me,” I said. “Every…everything else at the hotel can stay. It’s just clothes and stuff. I’m heading to the airport. I’m flying home now, okay.”

  “Text me when you’re getting ready to land, and I’ll pick you up,” she offered.

  I did the math; it was only 7pm here, so it was only 4pm in California. If I could get a direct flight, I could be in California by nine, maybe ten. The hour drive to Sands Cove would land me at home no later than eleven. It was a Saturday night, so Deke was sure to still be up that late. I could get to him and explain how the picture was from last year.

  “Okay,” I told her. “Let me get an Uber and I’ll text you with my flight information once I get a ticket.”

  “Be careful, Delaney,” she replied. “Be careful but get here before Deke does something stupid.”

  “Yeah, okay,” I said before hanging up and ordering an Uber.

  As soon as the car pulled up, and I confirmed it was my driver, I directed him towards the nearest airport. In the backseat, I dialed Deke, and when he didn’t answer, I dialed him again. After the fourth time of him not answering, I sent him a text. I waited, and waited, but he never responded or called back.

  When I got to the airport, I had to put Deke on hold to get my ticket. And because The Lord was on my side, I managed to get a direct flight off a cancellation. It costs me-or rather, my parents-an arm and leg, but I didn’t care. I was feeling…uneasy, and I needed to get home.

  I texted Ava my flight information, and after one last attempt to get a hold of Deke, I stowed away my phone and boarded my flight. To avoid being on the news as a missing persons or a runaway, I had sent off a quick text to my parents to let them know I caught a flight home. I wasn’t sure if they’d even see it, but I didn’t care. I knew, now, that they set me up and stole my phone. They wanted to make sure I wouldn’t see what Winston posted. They wanted to make sure it was up long enough to ruin me and Deke.

  But the joke was on them. This wouldn’t ruin anything between me and Deke because…well, we were in love. People in love don’t choose the words and actions of others without listening to their partner first, right?

  Sure, that picture looked bad, but once I pull it up on my social media account and show him the first time it was posted, he’d see the manipulation tactic for what it was, right?

  Right???

  Once we were up in the air, I called Deke again, but this time when he didn’t answer, I left a message. I explained that, while the picture was real, it had been taken last year. I rambled on so much, the voicemail cut me off.

  The problem was that this was all my fault, and I knew it.

  It was my fault for still harboring that deep-seated need to believe that my parents aren’t the same people who held me down and scarred my face for profit. While the latchkey kids of Sands Cove were used to absent parents, it didn’t necessarily mean we liked it that way. We were used to it, but that didn’t mean we were unfeeling and didn’t want loving parents.

  When my mother had agreed to a compromise, I knew deep down she was up to something, but the hopeful part of me convinced myself that her offer had been genuine. I knew better, but I went anyway. Deep down, I knew better, and I had to take responsibility for that.

  Sitting on the plane, I knew my life before I boarded was over. My parents would end up resorting to blackmail, and I knew I’d have to walk away with nothing to my name. After all, I was a legal adult. They were no longer obligated to care for me if I didn’t want to play by their rules.

  I thought about my bank account and how it was a joint account with their names on it. I was going to have to go into town and withdrawal as much as I could in the morning. Luckily for us, the financial foundation of Sands Cove was prominent enough that we had banks that were opened during the weekend.

  Also, lucky for me, because my parents didn’t want to deal with me, I was authorized to withdrawal as much as wanted. I was going to have to hit the bank first thing and buy a car next. The car I had now was in my parents’ names because they paid for the insurance.

  Holy Christ…I was going to have to find a job!

  I knew, even if Deke was upset with me, Ava would let me stay with her until I figured things out, but I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that. I had hundreds of thousands in my bank account, and while I couldn’t afford a house like I have now, I could easily afford a condo or something small in town. Sands Cove had a working-class population just like every other town in the world, and the people who made this town possible lived affordably in town. I could do that, too.

  I didn’t need…extra.

  I glanced at my phone and still saw nothing from Deke. The part that loved him hoped he was just partying and not checking his phone thinking I was busy in New Hampshire with my parents. The part that loved him was hoping he was playing basketball with Ramsey and Liam. The part that loved him was hoping he was in an online battle with Ramsey and Liam for zombie domination.

  But the part of my brain that trumped love with logic told me he was avoiding my calls and messages. Common sense told me there was no way Deke could avoid his phone or social media long enough not to have seen the picture or see my texts.

  Common sense told me I was in deep shit.

  Chapter 31

  Deke~

  Delaney was texting and
calling so much that I finally turned my phone off. I didn’t need it on anyway, since the only people who I gave a fuck about were here with me.

  After Ramsey, Liam, and I discussed the details of how we’d handle our assignments, we convinced the girls I wasn’t psychotic, and we all headed out to the day party at the cove. The girls hadn’t really been on board, but what could they do? Wanting to make sure none of us ended up in prison, they had to follow.

  We had arrived around six o’clock because we had convened in Ramsey’s study and did our research into the Reynolds and the Martins. It had taken longer than I had anticipated, but by the time we were done, we had everything we needed to ruin their lives as they knew it.

  Their debts and finances had been easy, but Ramsey had been able to dig up some dirt on Winston’s father. Apparently, he’s not as heterosexual as he pretended to be. And, while there was nothing wrong with being gay, there was when you were married to a woman and you were cheating on her with twinks during your random travels.

  Winston had nothing on him other than he fucked anything that moved, but that didn’t matter. Delaney knew he fucked around, and she really hadn’t cared. Anything else he did was no worse than what the rest of us did, so he was a dead end.

  His mother had no skeletons, and from what we could gather on her, she was just stupid. She spent all her time shopping and…shopping.

  As for Delaney’s parents, we were able to find out her father was in debt, and not your average household debt, but in real debt. While they were wealthy, wealth is relative when you’re placing half a million dollar bets on red. They were living on borrowed money, and he needed Delaney to marry Winston to secure his medical research and partner with Winston’s father’s pharmaceutical empire.