by K. Webster
Three car doors open and I recognize everyone immediately. First, I see Hollis climb out. Behind him, Penny follows, though I wish it were Charlotte. It’s the driver who surprises me.
“Mr. English?” I say, rising to my feet.
I’ve only met their dad a few times. He’s always been nothing but business when he visits. I know the girls have gone to stay with him at the hotel before whenever he’s in Hood River. They usually leave with shopping bags full of gifts. The last time he came to visit, Charlotte left with a cherry-red Audi TT RS. I can tell Penny’s already sporting new tennis shoes and Hollis has a new hoodie.
Must be nice to have a dad who spoils you rotten.
“Hello, Roux,” Mr. English says as he approaches. “I’ve told you to call me Garrett.”
“Sorry,” I mumble. “Where’s Charlotte?”
Garrett’s jaw clenches. He and Hollis exchange a look I’m not meant to interpret. “She’s off with her boyfriend.”
Penny makes a motion with her fist and mouth like she’s mimicking a blow job. My cheeks blaze with heat as I stifle an inappropriate giggle.
“Roan’s not here,” I tell Garrett.
“We’re here to talk to Jordy,” Hollis chimes in, tugging at a strand of my hair. “Is he up there?”
“With Samantha,” I say icily.
Garrett’s brows lift and Penny snorts out a laugh.
“His attorney,” Hollis tells his dad. “Come on.”
Penny and I follow Garrett and Hollis up the steps. At one time, Garrett was bigger than Hollis, but ever since Roan and Hollis got on their freak gym kick, my brother-in-law has bulked up. Garrett is handsome for an older man and could probably land someone like Samantha if he wanted, but he’s clearly still pining over their mom.
Good luck, buddy.
Kelsey’s boyfriend—and my legal guardian, Mike—is obsessed with her. Spoils her rotten with dinners and presents and stupidly sweet gestures. Garrett, according to Hollis, cheated on Kelsey. His loss, too. Kelsey is kind and gorgeous and the mother of his children. Garrett really screwed up.
We make it to the top of the steps and enter the apartment. My eyes skim right over to where Samantha is leaned across the table showing Jordy something on her computer. The way she looks at him grosses me out.
“Oh,” Samantha says, jerking back. “We have visitors.”
Jordy’s dark eyes land on his favorite place—my lips—and then lazily skim down my front, leaving fire in the wake of his stare.
Garrett introduces himself to Samantha as Jordy stands. He makes a beeline over to me, his body thrumming with the need to touch me. I reach for him and he moves like he might take my hand. At the last second, his hand flies up to rub at the back of his neck.
“Girls,” Garrett says, cutting through the crackling energy between Jordy and me. “Can you run along so the adults can talk?”
Jordy winces and I recoil, fuming at his words.
“I’m staying,” I bite out.
Garrett frowns, shaking his head. “Go to your room.”
I gape at him in shock. Samantha wears a satisfied smirk. Hollis has the sense to look guilty but doesn’t intervene. When my eyes land back on Jordy’s, his eyes take on that dead look he gets when he shuts me out.
“Come on,” Penny says, taking my hand.
“I want to stay,” I whisper to him.
“Go with Penny.” He nods at my bedroom before turning his back on me.
Fire bursts up inside of me, but before I have a chance to yell at him, Penny is dragging me through the living room. She has to shove me into the room and then closes the door behind her. Hot tears of anger flood my eyes, streaking down my cheeks.
“Seriously?” I hiss. “They act like we’re little kids!”
“Daddy’s meetings are always boring,” Penny says. “Trust me, we dodged a bullet.”
She nosily starts picking up picture frames, reading poetry pieces, and peeking in drawers. That’s Penny for you. Always lurking and noticing things.
“Is Char really with Ryan?” I demand.
“Yeah. He’s such a dick, too. No one but me ever sees it either.”
“I see it,” I offer. “You think she’ll ever break up with him?”
Penny’s features darken. “Right. As if the all mighty Ryan Cunningham would allow that. Oh, heavens,” she drawls, “what will the other policemen think if Papa Cunningham’s son gets dumped by the school’s queen? What a scandal!”
“Why do they even care?” I mumble, irritated over the whole situation.
“Same reason they cared back home. The popular people have to mate with each other. It’s some weird evolutional bullshit. Makes the merry world go round.”
“Hmph.”
She laughs and it’s not a usual sound from Penny. “I’m the grumpy one, not you. They really have your panties in a wad today.”
“I hate that Jordy treats me like a kid.”
“You are a kid.”
“Shut up. I am not.”
“You’re literally seventeen, Roux.”
“I lost the opportunity to be a kid when my mom decided heroin needed her more than her children,” I bite out. “I grew up a long time ago. Not all of us have a rich daddy we can bat our lashes at to get what we want.”
“Right. You’re an adult. Totally sold me after that toddler fit you just threw.” She smirks. “Seriously.”
I hate when she’s right.
“Have you ever wanted someone you’re not supposed to have?” I ask, frowning.
She laughs. “I once had a sex dream about the black Hoodlum.”
“You had a sex dream about Terrence?” My eyes are wide with shock.
She rolls her eyes as she sits on my bed. “It wasn’t like that.”
“Fine. Tell me about how it was then.”
“He was fucking some blond chick on the bleachers while I was playing basketball. They were being so noisy. I kept missing the baskets and I was so pissed at him. I’d just stormed his way, ready to throw the damn ball at his face, when a little kid came running out of nowhere. I got distracted helping the kid walk down the steps. When we reached the bottom, the blond chick was gone and Terrence was up there watching me.” She shivers. “Kinda creepy, huh?”
I nod. “That’s not technically a sex dream, though.”
“There was sex in it. I was there. It was a dream.”
“Hmph.”
“You’re full of those today,” Penny says, her stare roaming over me. “Are you crushing over Jordy?”
I wince at her words.
This thing with Jordy is so much more than a crush. It’s not unrequited, either. It’s bone-deep. Maddening. Burning through my veins like liquid fire. I can taste the want for him on my tongue. The buzzing need vibrates continuously through me.
It’s not a crush.
It’s an annihilation of my emotions.
“Oh,” Penny says with a frown. “You’re in love. Gross.”
“Love’s not gross. Your brother’s in love. So is your mom. Probably Charlotte too.”
Penny lies back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Hollis and Roan are the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s gross watching Mike maul Mom, but she laughs a lot, so I tolerate it.” Her gaze hardens. “Charlotte isn’t in love with Ryan. She’s scared of him.”
I tense at her words. “You think she’s scared of him?”
Penny sits up on her elbows, giving me an exasperated huff. “He’s a controlling bastard. Of course she’s scared. Charlotte has always been…trusting. Ryan is the type of guy who exploits that sort of thing.”
“Can you tell your parents? Maybe they’ll make them break up.”
“You already tried, remember? And look where that got you. My parents are scared too. After what went on with Hollis, Mom is trying to be the superhero parent and Daddy is trying desperately not to fuck up again with one of his kids.” Penny lets out a dry laugh. “Charlotte will be stuck with that douchebag until h
e dumps her for someone else.”
“I wish she would talk to me,” I murmur. “I could try and reason with her.”
“It’s not her you have to reason with.”
Ryan is who we need to break it off.
And he’s having too much fun being her puppet master.
“Everything will change soon, though,” Penny says in a cryptic tone.
“What? Why?”
Her blue eyes glitter. “Daddy’s moving here.”
“What? Seriously? Garrett’s a big-time surgeon in Vermont, though.”
“He’s tired of it, he said. He wants to be here. To open his own family practice so he can be closer to us.” Her lips curl up into a wicked smile. “Daddy can only tiptoe for so long. Once he sees how Ryan treats her—I mean really sees—we won’t have to worry about Ryan dumping her. Daddy will make it happen.”
“She’ll hate him,” I remind her.
Penny shakes her head. “There’s a lot you don’t know about my dad. He’s connected. It doesn’t matter where he’s at, he is connected to everyone who’s important. Watch. Within a month of moving here, he’ll be playing golf with the mayor and rubbing elbows with the police chief.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. Daddy will destroy Ryan and he won’t know what hit him.” She smiles victoriously. Then, her smile falls. “Why do you think Mom bailed? She won’t admit it, but I think she was worried Daddy would turn the whole town against her.”
“Your dad sounds like a real asshole.”
“Sometimes it’s beneficial to be the biggest asshole in the room. Or, in this case, Hood River.”
“This town has enough assholes,” I grumble.
“What’s one more?”
I let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, what’s one more? Will you tell Charlotte I love her and miss her?”
“She knows,” Penny says, giving me a rare smile. “She plays your dumb songs you love all the time ever since you guys broke up.”
My heart clenches painfully in my chest.
“I’ll be here for her when she comes to her senses,” I tell her, my voice cracking.
“I think she knows that. Let’s just hope she comes to them before she does something really stupid.”
Jordy
Sleeping on the couch sucks.
Sleeping on a thin-ass mattress at OHP with a cellmate who snores really fucking sucks.
I’ll take sleeping on a lumpy sofa at my best friend’s place any day over prison. It’s probably five or six in the morning. The apartment is silent. Just me and my damn thoughts that never seem to shut off.
She’s pissed.
That’s the thought that keeps rolling around in my head. I had shit to deal with when Samantha arrived, and I needed for Roux to not be a part of it. It’s better this way. Safer. Of course, she took it personally.
After everyone left, Roux didn’t show her face again. I’d knocked on her door, but she didn’t open it. At some point, Roan came home and checked on her. I saw him bring her a sandwich for dinner. It killed me not to go in there and talk to her.
But I can’t.
Samantha reminded me I can’t start anything with Roux. I just fucking can’t. Oregon’s laws are strict when it comes to age of consent. As much as I want Roux, it just can’t happen.
Not yet.
One day, though, I’m going to claim that girl.
Someone pads into the kitchen and turns on the light. I sit up, hoping it’s Roux, but instead see her brother. Roan is wearing a pair of sweats and no shirt as he sleepily starts a pot of coffee. I climb off the couch and head to the bathroom to take a piss. By the time I make it back to the kitchen, the coffee is brewed and he’s already poured me a cup.
“Hey, man,” Roan greets, rubbing at his eye with the heel of his palm. “You’re up early.”
“Can’t sleep.”
“You and me both.” He sighs heavily. “Fucking arsonists.”
“Oh yeah? Someone set something on fire?”
He nods, a scowl marring his features. “One was a warehouse two days ago. Last night was a house down on Fourth Street.”
“The fuckin’ ghetto, man,” I say with a snort. “Those houses need to go anyway. They did you a favor.”
“Tell the bodies we found inside that,” he says, his face somber. “They were most likely dead first and the fire was to cover the murders up. It’s been a big fiasco. Feds are involved.”
I perk up. “Oh yeah? Must be a big deal then.”
“It’s looking that way. Keeping everyone busy at the station. Mike’s being a total bitch about it too.”
“For being a huge, burly ass dude, he sure does whine a lot.”
He sips his coffee, his amber eyes locking on me. “Hollis told me Garrett’s moving here.” He closes his eyes and his nostrils flare. “So help me, if he tries to mindfuck my husband again, I will murder him.” His eyes pop open, blazing with fire.
I chuckle and set my mug down on the counter. “Garrett’s not so bad. I get he was a dick back then, but he seems cool.”
He rolls his eyes. “You two best fucking buds now?”
“Nah, your old man’s my best bud,” I joke.
He laughs. “Asshole.”
We carry our coffee over to the kitchen table and sit down. I yawn, wondering if I’ll be able to steal a conversation with Roux when she gets up or if she’ll continue to avoid me.
“Your thoughts are so loud I can damn near hear them. Are you worried?” Roan asks, his pierced eyebrow lifting in question.
I scrub my palm down my face. “Yes. I don’t like being involved with Renaldo any more than I have to be.”
His brows furrow and he nods.
“Hey,” I utter. “Spoke to Sidney yesterday.”
He flinches and his face sours. “Cool, bro.”
“Don’t be a fuckhead.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“Have you seen her lately?”
“Nope. Don’t have any desire to either.” He grips his coffee mug with such intensity his fingers turn bright white.
“I thought Hollis was her friend,” I say, cocking my head to the side.
His grin is wolfish. “I keep him too busy for friends.”
“Gross, man,” I grumble. “I don’t need to think about you fucking the rat.”
“Would you prefer to imagine when he fucks me instead?”
“I hate you,” I say with a laugh. “Seriously. I thought they were friends.”
“As soon as Sid and that dorky bitch started dating, she ghosted on everyone, Hollis included.” He shrugs. “Hollis was bothered by it, but he had me and the other Hoodlums. Believe it or not, he makes friends with just about everyone he comes in contact with.”
It feels like a lifetime ago when I hated his fucking guts and wanted to drown his ass.
“We gave him such shit,” I mutter. “That’s all your fault, you know.”
“Like I was supposed to know I was into him,” he says in exasperation. “All I ever knew up until he showed up was chicks. Shit got weird as I figured out what the fuck was going on with me. Sorry I dragged you along with me.”
“All that matters is you did figure it out. The rat’s cool in my book. I promise I won’t try to drown him ever again.” I place my hand over my chest over my heart and flash him a wicked grin.
“I taught his ass to swim,” he reveals. “Don’t touch my husband or I’ll cut your balls off.”
I wonder if his sister is off-limits too and what the fuck he’d do if he knew I’d touched her…
“Backtracking to your days before the rat,” I say, leaning in to make eye contact with him. “You haven’t seen Sidney? At all? Like around town?”
All humor fades from his face. “What is your obsession with Sidney? You always hated her. Three years later and suddenly you’re wanting to reminisce about her? Drop it, man.”
“She has a kid.”
“Yeah,” he grumbles. “So what? I heard she and the
nerd have another one on the way too.”
“Have you seen him?”
“The nerd?”
“No, moron, Sebban.”
His eyes sear into me. “Nope.”
“You should catch up. Have dinner with them.”
“Jordy…”
“Roan,” I bite out. “Just… I think you should see the kid.”
His face pales. “I don’t like what you’re fucking insinuating right now.”
“I’m not insinuating shit. I’m just saying you should invite them to Campfire Chaos or say hi. Just one meeting, man.”
He’s still scowling at me when Roux walks into the kitchen. I lean back in my chair, my eyes darting over to her. She’s wearing shorts that show off her skinny legs and an oversized hoodie. Her hair is messy, but she’s still cute as hell.
“I’ll say hi,” Roan agrees. “You gonna back off and not mention it again?”
I pretend to zip my lips. He visibly relaxes before standing up to go greet Roux. She squeals when he tickles her and then they start chatting about everything they didn’t get to talk about last night. She mentions her English teacher is really cool. He tells her about the arsonist. I take note she doesn’t look at me or mention snow cones or the fact I picked her up. Nope. It’s like she’s pretending I don’t exist.
“I’m going to grab a quick shower. I can make you something when I get out,” he tells Roux.
She laughs, the sound melodic and enchanting. “I’m grown, Roan. I can pour my own cereal now.”
His smile for her lights up the entire apartment. “We can pretend you’re still a needy-ass ten-year-old who can’t reach the top cabinet.” He pokes at her with his finger. “Oh…that’s right. You still can’t reach the top cabinet.”
“Get lost, dickhead,” she grumbles, fighting a grin.
He laughs. “Don’t say dickhead.”
“I’m about to call you a lot more than dickhead if you don’t take that cheesy smile away from me,” she playfully gripes. “It’s too early for your nonsense.”
He messes up her hair and then jumps out of the way before she can swat at him. As soon as he disappears into the bathroom, I rise from the table and stalk into the kitchen where she’s unsuccessfully trying to reach for the cereal box. I crowd her from behind, lifting my arm easily to grab the box. Her body heat warms the front of me. It takes everything in me not to pull her to my chest and nuzzle my nose in her hair.
