“It’s not like that,” I spit inches from his face.
“So, you two are dating, then?” He scoffs. “Is that why you’ve been ignoring someone’s texts since yesterday? You’re ghosting her, aren’t you? Because you’re freaking out. Typical Will.”
I’m not ghosting her. I just need time to sort my shit out. I’ll come back to her as soon as this is over.
“None of your business.”
“You’re right. It’s not. But maybe it’s Kendrick’s. I’m sure he’d be happy to know you’re plunging your dick into his sister every night, don’t you?”
The thought makes my skin crawl.
Would he ever forgive me?
“Good point. Why don’t we tell him together? You tell him about me, and I’ll tell him about you, deal?” I quip.
Color spills from his face.
He’s no better than I am. He dated her, too. Long before me. Even if it was a miserable, unfaithful relationship. Yes, I slept with Kendrick’s sis, but Blake treated her like shit, cheated on her with her best friend the whole time, then dumped her over text. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say I have a better shot at forgiveness.
Plus, I really fell for her.
He didn’t.
“You wouldn’t dare.” Blake tilts his head.
“Try me,” I snarl.
Defeat is written all over his face.
If I’m going down, he’s going down with me.
“Fine.” He shoves me off him.
That’s his way of saying he won’t rat me out. Satisfied, I scurry to the stairs. Alex must be halfway dead by now. He’s been Kendrick’s punching bag for a while.
“Do you love her?”
His voice is ice-cold, but a hint of jealousy melts through. I feel so awful hearing the word “love” I’m tempted to carry on walking. Pretend I didn’t catch that. She told me she loved me this morning. And I acted like some deaf asshole.
I can’t go there.
I don’t even know what that means.
“She’s everything to me.”
A deep laugh leaves his lips. “That’s not saying you love her. Did you feed her that bullshit? Man, she must be a wreck.”
Guilt slices through me.
“She said it, didn’t she? She said she loves you?”
Who the fuck is he? Dr. Phil?
I don’t reply, concentrating my anger into my fists.
“Piece of advice: don’t flatter yourself. Bitch is so desperate for attention she said it to me the first time I screwed her, too. Blame it on the daddy issues.”
I could strangle him.
I regain my composure. “About that, man. You should probably go see someone for your… problem. Maybe you can last a whole minute next time you fuck Zoey’s loose cunt.”
His eyes flare with surprise and rage—surprise because he wasn’t expecting me to know about his history with Zoey, and rage, because well… can’t be easy being a minute man.
“You know what?” He stifles a laugh. “Why am I even bothering? That’s the thing with you, Will. I don’t need to mess up your relationship. I don’t need to ruin your life.” He rams his arm into mine as he beats me to the stairs.
Seconds before he races up, he shoots me a poisonous, spiteful glare over his shoulder.
“You’ll do it yourself.”
Kassidy
“Are you going to eat that?” Ethan slants over me, swiping the untouched chocolate bar in my hand and taking a bite. Morgan stares at me in anticipation of a reaction—any reaction. She knows that, out of my many pet peeves, people touching my food is the biggest one, but to my great surprise, I can’t bring myself to argue.
All I can think about is Will.
It’s been four days since we slept together. Four long days since he said he’d be busy with the guys for a while. And he wasn’t kidding. I haven’t heard from him once. He promised the only reason he wouldn’t text me was if a life was on the line.
Boy, you better be dead.
When Morgan suggested we skip the school’s pep rally and spend the afternoon binge-watching movies at her place, I didn’t hesitate. I was foolish enough to think it would help get my mind off the hundred worst-case scenarios eating me whole. What happened at the fight with Haze?
Who won? Where the hell has everybody vanished to?
I haven’t seen my cousin, my brother, or any of the guys at school all week. Ended up texting Winter about it. No reply. Then I messaged Will, Alex, Kendrick, even Blake—yes, I was that desperate. Nothing. Not even a Read receipt. Or a thumbs-up to let me know they’re alive.
It doesn’t exactly help that I moved out of my house right as everything was going on. The day Will crawled out of my bed, Morgan invited me to sleep over. I got out of work, packed a bag, and drove straight to her place.
Then the strangest thing happened.
My mom, who’s always limited my stay at Morgan’s to a few days tops, called, allowing me to stay longer. Although, if I’m being honest, her tone suggested I didn’t have much of a choice. I didn’t argue because I know how much Morgan hates being alone when her parents are away, but… Why did my mom want me out of the way?
What are they not telling me?
Mom said Winter is bedridden with the flu, which is why she hasn’t been at school, but I don’t buy it. What are the odds of everyone evaporating at the exact same time? A big fat zero. I’ve been considering driving back to my house and seeing for myself.
“Still thinking about him?” Ethan’s voice echoes in my brain.
I blink at him. “Who?”
“You know damn well who. You’re thinking about this Will guy. Still no news?”
“None.” I nibble on my bottom lip.
I’m not nearly as mad as I am worried. What if something happened to him?
“Dick move.” Ethan presses Pause on the comedy I stopped watching two minutes in.
“I’m sure he has a good reason,” Morgan chimes in, her knowledge of my brother’s secret painting her a much clearer picture. I recently told her all about my brother and his friends’ illegal habits. I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore. Especially seeing as the guys consecutively fell off the face of the earth.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what his reason is. If he wanted to, he would’ve. Period,” Ethan objects. “Is he your boyfriend or not? Homeboy needs to figure his shit out.”
My heart tightens in my rib cage.
He does have a point.
On a brighter note, the last few days brought me and Morgan the missing piece to our trio: Ethan. He filled Zoey’s shoes better than she ever could. I invited Ethan over to Morgan’s house after her parents flew out of town. We watched movies until 3:00 a.m., hit it off, and the rest is history. There isn’t one day where we haven’t hung out this week.
The microwave beeps in the distance.
“It’s the popcorn, I got it.” I spring to my feet, dropping my phone on the couch.
Morgan jumps out of her seat. “I’ll come with. I’m thirsty.”
“For water or for Alex?” Ethan teases.
Morgan’s cheeks burn bright red.
“Shut up!” She picks a pillow off the couch, lobbing it square into Ethan’s smug grin. “I didn’t tell you that so you could use it against me every five seconds.”
Ethan holds his hands up. “What are friends for?”
Morgan recently admitted to having a crush on Alex. And I don’t mean a “drooling over him from afar” crush. She’s been tutoring him in math for a while now. They’ve been texting. Flirting. Crossing lines—big, important lines, if you know what I mean. I couldn’t believe how much I’d missed, and apologized for being so engulfed in my own drama.
I have reasons to believe they’re on the outs right now. The first being the distant sadness in Morgan’s eyes. She refused to go into details, but I did manage to squeeze a few not-so-fun facts out of her.
Apparently, Alex is seeing someone. A friend of Zoey’s. Mia some
thing. Regardless of everything that happened between them. And I thought Alex was the nice one…
I’ve tried keeping the boy talk to a minimum, but I can’t help it. This is Morgan. As in the girl who’s never had a crush on a guy that isn’t fictional before.
Alert the media.
Morgan and I trot to the kitchen together. I grab a large bowl out of the kitchen cabinet, dumping the popcorn into it, while Morgan pours herself a glass of water. We end up talking about Alex for fifteen minutes before retreating to the living room. We turn the corner to find Ethan laughing his head off at something on his phone.
“What’s so funny?” I ask.
It takes me a solid second to realize it’s not his phone he’s staring at.
It’s mine.
No.
“What did you do?” My pulse escalates.
“Nothing he didn’t deserve.” Ethan shrugs.
He?
Who’s he?
Will?
I dash to the couch, snatching my phone out of his hands. I was right—Will texted me. Barely a minute after we walked out of the room. Ethan’s curiosity must’ve gotten the best of him on message number six.
Willy Wonka: Hey, I’m back in town
Willy Wonka: I’m so sorry I didn’t text you before. You’re never going to believe what happened
Willy Wonka: Where are you? I’ll meet you.
Willy Wonka: I’ll explain everything
Willy Wonka: Kass?
Willy Wonka: Baby?
So now he wants to talk to me.
I keep scrolling, nearly dropping my phone at Ethan’s reply.
Kass: Who the fuck are you and why are you texting my girl?
Great.
Just great.
The three dots pop at the bottom of my screen.
Willy Wonka: I’m her boyfriend asshole. Who the fuck are you?
I scoff.
He calls himself my boyfriend?
As in a regular male companion with whom one has a romantic relationship? Because, as far as I’m concerned, you’re not a regular companion if I see you once every two years, Willy.
I stone Ethan with popcorn. “What. The. Hell. Were. You. Thinking?”
“I know you.” He laughs, shielding himself with his forearm. “You would’ve been too nice to him, and he ghosted you for days, Kass. Days! Dude deserved it.”
I open my mouth to retort, but a loud knock on Morgan’s front door interrupts our bickering.
Then another knock.
And another.
And another.
The knocks grow louder, more insistent by the second. It sounds like someone’s trying to beat the goddamn door down.
We all exchange quick “Is this how we die?” glances. Morgan is the first to make a move, but I follow close behind. I’m not letting her go alone. As for Ethan, he watches us from the living room. Thanks, man.
Morgan checks through the peephole.
“Holy shit.” She gasps.
“What?” The suspense is killing me.
She pulls away, her eyes expanding in size.
“He’s here.”
I need a moment to make sense of what Morgan just said.
Will.
Will is here.
Why is it so hard to breathe all of a sudden?
“Who? Who?” Ethan shrieks, scurrying to us in no time. “Kass’s man? Let me see.”
How did he know where to find me? Or where Morgan lives? But most importantly, why is he here?
What does he want?
His cheeks mashed against the door, Ethan peers through the small gap for long seconds. It’s his first time seeing Will. He’s heard of him a little—okay, a lot—but they’ve never actually met.
“Holy fuck,” he mouths. “That’s Will?”
I nod.
He fans himself with his left hand. “Hot damn, I’d lie to my brother too for a piece of that ass.”
Morgan snorts a laugh. Another set of powerful knocks rattle the door, and Ethan jumps as though he forgot there was a real person on the other side. Will’s not going anywhere. My car’s parked in the driveway. He knows I’m here.
Might as well face him.
“Okay. Enough. Back to the living room. Both of you.”
Ethan doesn’t budge. “But—”
“Ethan, now!”
Morgan steps in, dragging him away.
“Ah, man.” Ethan mopes.
I take a breath, attempting to gather myself, and spin the knob with a trembling hand. He’s right there, on Morgan’s porch, in a plain black T-shirt and faded, torn-at-the-knees jeans. Dark circles mark his eyes. The second he drinks me in, his features light up.
At first, he smiles.
But it’s only a second before his joy slips away.
“Who the fuck is that?” He shoves his phone into my face.
Our text conversation is pulled up on his screen. Not what I was going for.
“Are you serious? That’s all you have to say to me? You disappear for days and—”
“Is he here?” He tries to walk around me, but my palms dart to his chest, keeping him on Morgan’s porch.
“Will, stop!”
“Kass, if there’s a guy inside I swear on my life I’ll—”
“There isn’t.” I realize that’s a lie. “I mean, yeah, there is, but it’s not what you think.”
And he’s inside.
He whooshes to the living room before I can react.
“Is that him?” he snaps, going straight for Ethan sitting on the couch, minding his business for once in a blue moon.
“Stop! He’s just a friend,” I yell.
He pays me no mind, fisting Ethan’s collar and hauling him off the couch effortlessly.
“You think you can touch my girl?” Will rages inches away from Ethan’s face. “I’m going to fuck you up.”
Against all odds, Ethan smirks.
“Gladly. Your place or mine?”
Will’s face immediately pales.
“W-What?” I’ve never seen him this confused.
“Where are my manners? Hi, I’m Ethan, Kass’s friend and very much gay.”
I see the dots connect through Will’s blue eyes. I’ve told him about Ethan before.
“You mean… Ethan as in the guy you work with?” he asks.
I nod.
He releases Ethan instantly. “Shit, I’m sorry.”
While Ethan seems to find great humor in this moment, I could murder Will right now. He just attacked my friend—screw the whole story—after abandoning me without so much as a text.
“I can’t do this.” I huff, heading for the door. I don’t know where I’m going. Maybe I’ll go for a ride, drop by my house to authenticate my mom’s BS story about Winter.
“Kass, wait.” Will trails behind me.
“It was nice meeting you, Will.” Ethan calls seconds before we scamper out of the house. Will shadows me all the way to my car, grasping my hand to keep me from leaving.
“Kass, just wait a fucking second,” he begs.
“What the hell was that?” I snap. “You have some nerve, you know that? To show up at my friend’s house and make a scene when you’ve been ignoring me for days.”
“I’m sorry, I thought—”
“What? That I was cheating on you? Look, this relationship might not mean shit to you, but it did to me.”
Panic flashes through his eyes.
“What do you mean did?”
“You just disappeared on me for days! Didn’t text, didn’t call. That doesn’t exactly scream ongoing relationship, does it?”
I don’t want this to end.
Of course not.
But I can’t let him treat me this way.
“Baby, please, listen to me. I’m so sorry—I know I promised I’d text you, but I couldn’t. I literally couldn’t.”
He moves closer.
I don’t move away—I can’t. My body won’t allow it. The same way it won’t let me inh
ale a proper breath when he cups my face, his eyes leveling with mine.
“This doesn’t change anything about what I said last week.”
He zeroes in on my lips, leaning in.
“Or… what I want.”
No, no, no, don’t let him kiss yo—
Shit.
The air flees my lungs when he smashes his lips to mine, his fingers gliding through my hair and tugging my head forward. His tongue pries its way between my teeth, and I can’t contain a moan at how much I missed him. I kiss him back too fast for my liking, pushing to my tiptoes for deeper access.
I should be mad, but all I can feel is relief. Relief that he didn’t disappear on me because I sent him running for the hills. Not that it would’ve surprised me.
I did say “I love you.”
Twice.
Triple cringe.
But Will going all Hulk on Ethan indicates he’s not, as I feared, looking to exit my life after we slept together.
“For the record.” He pecks my mouth. “Four days is too fucking long to go without this.” His arms close around me, and I breathe in his cologne, forgetting how bad his silence hurt me with each loving touch.
Because he’s back.
And he’s here.
“How did you know where to find me?” I whisper, my head propped against his chest.
“Kendrick told me you were staying with Morgan.”
“And the address?”
He winces. “You’re not going to like it.”
“Well?” I urge.
“I asked Zoey.”
I back away an inch. “You did what?”
“What else was I supposed to do? I texted you, showed up at your house, at the pep rally. I couldn’t find you anywhere.”
“Do you think… she could tell Kendrick about us?”
Every time I pass my backstabbing ex-best friend in the halls, I wonder what’s stopping her.
“Eh. Don’t sweat it. I overheard her talking. She’s still with her ex. Turns out they didn’t break up at her birthday party. She never saw him with another girl. She just said that to make herself look better for fucking Blake after he left.”
Forgotten Rules: A Brother's Best Friend Romance Page 26
