Bright Young Things

by Anna Martin

  “If you want my opinion,” Adam said, grabbing Jared’s wrist and dragging him back down to the bed. “Stop thinking.”

  Chapter 9

  This was it. Jared knew it.

  He’d held on for weeks already, but his willpower had been resolutely worn down over and over by the singularly most beautiful man in the Pacific Northwest, and Jared didn’t have the energy to fight it any more.

  They were going to have sex. And if that meant Jared had to give himself up… well, he was okay with that. Adam was good at this—so fucking good—and for some strange reason, Jared trusted him.

  Clothes had long since been kicked off and they were down to boxers, just two layers of fabric keeping them from being naked together. Jared was beyond hard; his dick was aching and straining, tenting the fabric as they rolled together.

  As Jared kicked off his socks, Adam kissed his neck, hands roaming everywhere as they both furrowed their brows, licked deep into each other’s mouths, and ignored the constant buzzing of Adam’s phone. It was on silent and vibrated with a call.

  “Shit,” Adam muttered as the buzzing started again. “Let me get rid of them. Whoever they are.”

  Jared laughed breathlessly and nodded, rubbing the palm of his hand over his chest as Adam leaned away. He didn’t give a fuck about Clare anymore. She could go to hell.

  “What the fuck do you want?” Adam demanded in a voice that, not so long ago, would have made Jared flinch. “What? Are you fucking serious?” A long pause, then, “Shit.”

  “What’s going on?” Jared asked.

  Adam refused to look over and visibly squared his shoulders before responding. “It’s Ryder,” he said. “She OD’d.”

  The call had come from Mia. Adam said she sounded exhausted, her voice raw. She was at the hospital already and had taken the job of calling round and telling everyone since Dylan hadn’t arrived yet, and their parents were out of town.

  Adam swung his legs over the edge of the bed and propped his elbows on his knees, resting his face in his hands for a moment. Jared leaned over and kissed his shoulder, just once, then climbed out of bed and started to pull his clothes on.

  “Come on,” he said, when Adam made no attempt to move.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To the hospital. Is she alive?”

  “Fucking hell. Yeah. She’s in a coma, though.”

  “Then we should go.”

  Adam nodded, and Jared was worried for a moment. He hadn’t seen Adam like this before. Then he got out of bed and started to pull on clothes haphazardly, the lights off until Jared reached over and turned the lamp on the nightstand on.

  There were too many questions that were yet unanswered, and talking or speculating seemed cringingly awkward, so they said nothing. When they were both dressed, Jared took Adam’s hand and led him out of the house, nudging him to lock the door behind them.

  “Shit. Let me just set the security,” Adam murmured, and ducked back inside while Jared started his truck.

  They drove to Virginia Mason Hospital in silence, the radio playing something in the background that neither of them was listening to.

  When he’d arrived at New Harbor, Jared had immediately pegged Ryder as the fun time party girl. There wasn’t a lot of substance behind her pretty face and sweet nature; she wasn’t particularly intelligent and was probably too trusting of people. He guessed that was what had gotten her into this mess.

  Jared needed directions and forced Adam to pay attention to the roads, taking them in to the main parking lot at the hospital. It was late, nearly two in the morning, so the place was pretty empty.

  When they walked into the main building, they didn’t hold hands. That would have been too much.

  “We’re here to see Ryder Gorden,” Jared said to the night shift receptionist.

  He got a cold stare in return.

  “She’s in the ICU,” Adam said.

  “Ms. Gorden already has several visitors,” the receptionist said stiffly.

  “Well, now she has two more,” Jared said, his voice falsely bright. “Where is she, please?”

  After being given terse directions, they headed for the bank of elevators.

  “Bitch,” Adam murmured under his breath.

  In the solitude of the elevator, Jared reached over, gave Adam’s hand a quick, reassuring squeeze.

  It took a few minutes of navigating the maze-like hallways to find the ward Ryder was being kept on, and even then it was only recognizing Mia’s hunched, shivering figure that indicated they were in the right place.

  “Mia,” Jared said, calling out.

  She looked up, phone clutched in her hand, face tear-stained. As Jared slid into the seat next to her and pulled Mia’s small frame into his arms, Adam looked through the doors that led to the ward.

  “Biggie’s in there,” Mia sniffed. “Dylan should be here any minute.”

  “Okay,” Adam said. “I’m going in.”

  Jared reached over and took his hand, and saw a flicker of something cross Adam’s face.

  “Do you mind if I go in too?” he murmured to Mia, and she nodded.

  “I’m okay. Just upset, I suppose.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you in a minute.”

  When they finally got into the small hospital room, Jared couldn’t help but notice how Chris looked so out of place in the small, uncomfortable visitor’s chair next to Ryder’s bed. He’d always been a larger-than-life presence. Now he looked… deflated.

  “Hey,” Adam said, moving closer to the bed to squeeze Chris’s shoulder. Jared hung back, unsure why Adam had wanted him to come in here. He wasn’t one of them.

  “Hey.”

  Ryder was deathly pale, which was saying something since she was naturally so fair in the first place. Her hair was scraped back from her face, and her skin had a sickly gray tinge. A variety of different drips, monitors, and a cannula decorated her small body. Jared felt sick.

  “Do we know what happened?” Adam asked.

  Chris carefully set the small hand he’d been holding down on the bed.

  “Someone gave her E, not knowing she has a heart condition,” he said slowly. “It made her collapse.”

  “Who gave it to her?” Jared asked.

  “You know I don’t know that. When I do, fucker will find himself without any motherfuckin’ kneecaps.”

  Adam nodded. “Is she going to be okay?”

  “The doctor thinks so. Her heartbeat is stable again. She didn’t get enough oxygen to her brain, which made her have a seizure, so they’re keeping her in a controlled coma right now until the swelling goes down.”

  “It’s not your fault, Chris,” Adam said.

  “Like fuck it isn’t.”

  “I know what you’re thinking, and you need to stop. That isn’t going to help her right now. You need to put all that shit behind you and concentrate on helping her get better.”

  Chris nodded and ran his hands harshly over his face.

  “I don’t know why she didn’t call me. If she wanted shit, I would have got some for her.”

  Adam moved toward the second visitor’s chair, but a light knock at the door interrupted them before he could sit down. A young nurse stuck her head around the door.

  “Gentlemen, could I have a word?” she said softly.

  Adam looked to Chris, then to Jared, then led the way out into the hall. Chris shut the door behind them, then leaned against the frame.

  “The police have made contact with Ms. Gorden’s family,” the nurse said. “Due to the nature of their daughter’s condition, they’ve asked that we vacate the room of all except medical staff, family, and the police.”

  “You want us to leave?” Chris asked.

  “Yes,” she said, having the grace to look somewhat embarrassed. “I’m sorry.”

  “We’re her friends,” Adam said. “We didn’t hurt her. We had nothing to do with this.”

  “I understand that, sir, but we need to comply with the wishes
of the patient’s next of kin. She’s not yet eighteen. Her parents have the right to exclude visitors from the room.”

  Chris looked like he was going to protest; Jared could see his chest puffing up in tell-tale defiance. It wasn’t worth it, though. There was nothing else they could do here.

  “Come on, Chris,” Jared said with a sigh. Then, to the nurse, “Is it okay if we call in the morning? To find out how she’s doing?”

  “You can call,” the nurse said. “I’m not sure how much we’ll be able to tell you.”

  “Okay.”

  In the hallway, Mia was standing, waiting for them with Dylan. Jared shrugged out of his hoodie and draped it over her shoulders, nodding to Dylan in hello. It was nearly three in the morning.

  “She’s okay?” Dylan asked. He looked wrecked.

  “She’s good,” Chris told him. “Looks a bit delicate, but she’s always been a skinny kid.”

  Dylan gave him a weak smile. “Thanks for being here. My parents are on their way…. It makes me sick to think she could have been left on her own.”

  “It’s nothing.” Chris brushed off the thanks.

  With a quick squeeze on Chris’s arm, Dylan ducked into the ward to check on his sister.

  “Meet me back at mine?” Adam said, waiting for Chris’s nod before taking off down the hallway, letting the others follow.

  Back at the house, Jared hovered on the front step while Adam took down the security system. When Chris’s ostentatious pink Caddy rolled up, he ushered the big man and Mia, who still seemed fragile, inside.

  “Where’s Clare?” Jared asked as the four of them stood in the cavernous entrance hall of the Hemlock house. He’d been wondering where Ryder’s supposed friend was, and he’d been building up the guts to call her out.

  “Who the fuck knows,” Chris said, sounding annoyed. “I’ve been trying to get hold of that bitch for hours.”

  “How did you find out before us?” Adam demanded.

  “Ear to the ground, homie,” Chris said. “You gotta know who you need to know, you know?”

  “Cut the crap, Wallace.”

  Chris shrugged. “I was her last dialed number. Yesterday, at lunch.”

  “How did she get to the hospital? Did anyone take her in?” Jared asked. Adam let his hand fall on Jared’s lower back, apparently not caring what Chris and Mia saw or thought.

  “No,” Mia said. “Whoever it was made a 911 call from a pay phone, then took off. The ambulance found her collapsed on the front step of her parent’s place.”

  “Shit,” Adam drawled. “We’re never going to see that girl again. Her parents will yank her out of school and take her someplace else.”

  “That’s if she even gets out of the hospital.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Chris said. “Bitch has more spine than half the assholes at the Academy. She’ll get through this.”

  “Her heart, though,” Mia said plaintively.

  “Call Clare again,” Adam said to Chris. “See if she’s got anything yet.”

  Chris speed-dialed Clare, then shook his head. “Engaged,” he said. “Has been all night.”

  “You can crash here tonight,” Adam said. “It’ll be easier if we’re all in one place in case we need to go back to the hospital.”

  Chris nodded and led Mia up the main staircase, his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders. It was a brotherly sort of hug, not anything sexual, and Jared realized that despite all the bitching and backstabbing that went on, these guys were really, really tight.

  Since Adam looked pretty fragile too, Jared took his hand and led him to the kitchen, then up the back stairs to his bedroom. The sheets on the bed were rumpled from earlier, when they’d almost….

  He couldn’t think of that now.

  “Fucking hell,” Adam said, sinking down onto the edge of the bed, dropping his head to his hands.

  Jared knelt in front of him and removed one sneaker, then the other, tossing them in the general direction of the closet. Saying nothing, he tugged at Adam’s jeans until they were stripped from his body, then pulled off his own outer layers before crawling into bed.

  “Turn the light off,” Jared said softly.

  The gulf between them felt unnaturally wide. In the past few weeks Jared had gotten used to sleeping with someone next to him from time to time. He stayed over more than either of them liked to think about. Not once had Jared stayed in one of the guest rooms. Not once had Adam asked him to.

  Tonight things seemed different. The ache in his head was reflected in the twisting knot in his stomach, making him feel sick and something else, something he didn’t want to put a name to.

  Fear, a little voice in the back of his head whispered. You’re afraid.

  Sometimes the best response to fear was courage.

  With each passing moment, the silence and space between them seemed to grow, and Jared didn’t want that. They were close, so fucking close to taking things to another level, one that he’d not anticipated when Clare offered him that stupid bet.

  It wasn’t the time to deal with that right now, though. Adam needed something far more basic.

  He rolled over on the bed, hesitating for only a moment before neatly tucking himself around Adam. For one heart-stopping moment, he thought Adam was going to throw him off, then he took Jared’s hand and pulled it to his chest.

  Letting out a heavy breath, Jared shuffled forward and let himself both hold and be held.

  It wasn’t a night for overthinking this. He wanted to give and take in equal measures, and Adam offered him that comfort.

  After dropping a soft kiss to the curve of Adam’s shoulder, Jared let himself sleep.

  By Monday, the news had spread around most of the school that Ryder Gorden had OD’d on E.

  Crossing one of Clare’s number-one girlfriends wasn’t a good idea at the best of times, but Clare still hadn’t reappeared from the weekend. She wasn’t answering her phone, and when Chris had driven over, her house had been empty. It was weird. Jared couldn’t help but wonder if, or how, Ryder’s collapse was related to Clare’s sudden disappearance.

  When they walked into school that morning, Jared was shoulder to shoulder with Adam, Mia on his other side, Chris next to Adam with his hand on Mia’s butt. They were solid. A team. In a strange way, Jared had been enveloped into the beating heart of this school.

  In the middle of lunch period, Ryder’s parents arrived at the school and were quickly ushered into Principal Saunders’s office. Ryder’s mother, hunched and crying, twisting a handkerchief between her fingers over and over; her father, strong and tall, his arm wrapped around his wife’s shoulders.

  “Bullshit,” Mia muttered once they’d passed. She was leaning against her locker, one foot kicked over the other, arms folded, eyes hard. “They don’t give a fuck about Ryder. They were off on their cozy little trip, leaving her alone, for fuck’s sake.”

  “What about their brother?” Jared asked. He got a weird look in return. “Tyler, right?”

  “How do you know about Tyler?” Mia demanded.

  Jared shrugged. “Dylan told me. When he was tutoring me.”

  Mia gave him a long, even glare, as if trying to figure out whether or not he was lying. “No one talks about Tyler,” she said eventually. “He’s the forgotten kid.”

  “That’s really sad,” Jared said. “I don’t think that’s true, though. Dylan adores him.”

  With a huff of annoyance, Mia turned to her locker and started rifling through it. “Maybe your precious Dylan should care more about his twin sister than their retarded younger brother. Tyler is fine, Jared. He’s just peachy. Ryder, however, is still in the ICU.”

  Clare turned up to her class after lunch with a look on her face that did not invite questions. Jared was happy to stay silent, sitting a few desks behind the enigma that was Clare Metago, looking at her hair and wondering if he was right in his assessment that it hadn’t been recently washed.

  Instead of meeting Adam at his
car like they’d planned, Jared sent a mass text to the others, who weren’t in the same chemistry class as he and Clare shared. They were going to stage an intervention.

  He still had to get through the last class of the day, a frustrating hour of French, made more difficult by the fact that he was not paying attention. He couldn’t find his motivation for languages in the same way Adam could inspire him to.

  By the time the final bell rang, Jared skipped going via his locker and headed straight for the main doors of the building and down to the parking lot. Clare’s sleek little Audi was in her normal space. Even when she was absent, no one else dared use it.

  Clare startled when she walked out of the school building and saw the group of people gathered around her car. She’d been ambushed, and by the looks of things, she knew it.

  “Where you been?” Chris demanded as soon as Clare got close enough.

  From the front, she looked even worse. Her makeup wasn’t as pristine as Jared was used to seeing, and there were dark bags under her eyes. Tiny cracks fissured around her overdry lips.

  “Flying high, Big Poppa,” Clare said, her voice raspy. She reached up and patted Chris’s cheek condescendingly.

  Chris frowned at her for a moment. Then his eyes went wide.

  “You took my shit,” he said and poked Clare in the shoulder. Mia gasped dramatically.

  “I always take your shit,” she said, looking bored.

  “You gave E to Ryder.”

  “Yeah, all right.” It wasn’t a confession. She sounded far too disinterested for it to be that. Instead she sounded almost bored, but Adam recoiled as if slapped. Jared watched as recognition dawned over Adam’s face.

  “You gave E to Ryder,” he repeated. “You evil fucking—”

  “Bitch, please,” Clare sighed, interrupting before he could finish. She looked down at her nails—which were chipped—then back to her so-called friends. “How was I supposed to know she was going to take it herself? The stupid twat knows she has a heart problem. If she asks me for shit, I’ll get it for her. Same goes for any of the rest of you.”

  “I can’t believe you,” Mia said. Her eyes were watery again, and Jared wrapped his arm around her shoulders without thinking about it. “She could have died.”