I shove everything I’m going to need for school and the entire weekend into bags before silently making my way out of the house.
It’s not until I step out of the front door and the security light illuminates the driveway that I realize why I might have slept so well last night. Ashton never came home.
I look back up at the house, tempted to go and see if he’s really not here, but no sooner has the thought crossed my mind do I force it back down. He wouldn’t give two shits if I stayed out all night. Why should I allow even a bit of concern for him to fill my mind?
Fuck him and his mind games and evil words.
Fuck. Him.
I throw my bags into the trunk of my car and head for school ready to put myself through yet another hardcore practice knowing that a day off is right around the corner.
“You’ve been weirdly quiet all day, did something happen after we left last night?” Poppy asks from where she’s resting back on one of the couches in Zayn’s den.
The guys aren’t here yet, but we’ve already gate-crashed their little get-together. Perks of not only being cheerleaders but also besties with one of the player’s girls.
“Nah, I’m just glad to be out of the house. He stormed out during dinner and never returned. His bike was still missing this morning.”
“Shit, do you think he’s okay?” Harley asks, handing us both a soda each.
I look up at her with my brows raised. “No idea but it sounds like you might want to go and check him over for wounds.” I don’t mean for my tone to come out sounding quite so bitter, but it does.
“Okay, down, girl,” Harley mutters, curling her legs under her and joining us on the couch. “He’s hot, sure, but you’re my girl. My loyalty is only and always with you.”
“I appreciate that.”
“You should, especially seeing as you two have both screwed me over by getting with my brother.” She flashes a glance at me, but her eyes lock on Poppy’s before a smile begins to twitch at her lips.
“Hey, I only kissed him and... touched a little bit.” Poppy growls beside me. “I’m sorry, if I knew then I wouldn’t have. I was desperate, you know.”
“Oh nice.” Poppy laughs.
The three of us laugh and joke and it feels good just to be normal after everything that’s happened recently. I look at Poppy with a genuine smile on her face and something settles inside me. She’s been to hell and back over the past few weeks, but she’s made it out the other side. Her issues make mine with Ash pale in comparison and remind me that everything will be okay in the end.
Mom was right last night, he’s just hurting. Things will settle down once he’s had the chance to properly say goodbye and get into a routine. The thought of him attending school still doesn’t sit right with me but it is what it is, so I guess I’m going to have to deal with it.
It’s not long before the guys descend on Zayn’s den. The second Zayn steps inside, he looks totally torn between being delighted that his girl is waiting for him and horrified that his sister is also here.
It’s just something he’s going to have to get used to.
They all bring beer with them and before long someone has cranked the music up and Harley and I are dancing around enjoying life and more importantly, forgetting about a certain someone who could or could not be home yet.
We only had a few drinks knowing that we had to get up for practice again this morning. While all the other Rosewood kids are soundly sleeping in their beds, Harley, the squad, and I are running drills down the length of the gym before we start on our routines in about an hour.
Chelsea stands at the front of all of us with a whistle between her lips and looking like she’s enjoying torturing us a little too much.
“This gets harder every week,” Stella pants beside me when Chelsea lets up.
“Just a couple of weeks to go and you can get reacquainted with your bed once again,” I tell her.
“I can’t wait.”
“Right, huddle up, ladies.”
The next few hours pass as a blur of sweat, burning muscles, and the same song on repeat over and over as we strive to get our routine bang on.
Thankfully, I’m more focused than I have been the past two days, something that Chelsea doesn’t miss as she smiles at me at the top of her pyramid before I somersault through the air, landing in front of her.
“That’s more like the Ruby I’ve come to know.” She beams at me. “Things calming down a bit?”
“Yes and no. Everything will be fine though.”
“Glad to hear it. I need you on form. You want to take over cool down? I really need to pee... again.”
“M-me?” I ask, looking over my shoulder as if she’s speaking to someone else.
“Yeah, Rubes. You. It’s what you want, right?” She quirks a brow at me.
“Y-yes, I’d love to.”
“Okay, Ruby is in charge. I’ll see you all at Ethan’s tonight, right? Remember... do not get drunk off your asses. I need you all in one piece for nationals. You can fuck shit up after we walk away with that trophy, okay?”
A few grumbles sound out around me.
“I said okay?” Chelsea booms.
I can’t help smiling to myself. She used to be the ultimate party girl. It makes me laugh that now she’s unable to party, she’s stopping the others too. I mean, she might have been that way anyway with or without the pregnancy, she’s pretty headstrong and determined, but it still amuses me.
Everyone agrees before she spins on her heels and rushes toward the locker room to relieve herself.
“You did good, Rubes,” Harley says from the driver’s seat as we head to Aces after practice.
“You think?”
“Yeah, you’re going to make a fantastic captain next year.”
Nerves and excitement erupt at just her suggestion of it. “I might not get it, Har.”
“Oh shush, you know it’s yours. Chelsea loves you. Miss Kelly literally doesn’t give a shit and you know all the girls will back you.”
“We’ll see when the time comes. Let’s just worry about getting through nationals first, huh?”
“I’m totally focused, I’m just saying.” She winks at me before climbing from the car as the rest of the squad descend on our chosen diner ready for some much-needed breakfast.
After stuffing our faces with more pancakes and syrup than we should ever eat, Harley and I make our way back to her place to chill out before getting ready for tonight’s party. Not all that many juniors get invited to the senior parties but since we both got accepted into the varsity squad, our names are permanently on the guestlist, much to Zayn’s annoyance.
“That dress is insane on you,” Harley says when she walks back into her room with a towel wrapped around her from her shower.
“I thought it was bigger when I tried it on in the store,” I say, pulling at the hem that sits dangerously high on my thighs. I hate to think just how short it would be on someone any taller than my pathetic five foot.
“Stop, it’s perfect. The guys are going to lose their minds.”
My stomach twists uncomfortably. I bought it with that exact idea in mind back before Ashton reappeared in my life. After he vanished, I was set on forcing him out of my system with some other guy. But despite me kissing a few, none of them have made me want anything else and I’ve been left with the shame of slutting it up and it not having the desired effect.
“I don’t want them to lose their minds. I might just wear jeans.” I lean over to grab my bag, but it’s quickly snatched from my hand.
“Don’t even think about it,” she snaps, throwing it to the other side of the room. “I do think you should reconsider inviting Ashton though. You in that dress and flirting with other guys will be a lesson I think he desperately needs.”
“No,” I say without missing a beat.
“Oh, come on,” she whines.
“I get that you want him, Har. But he’s already ruining enough of my life, I don’t want
him fucking this up as well.”
“Who says he’d ruin it. He might take one look at you and...”
“And what?” I snap when she trails off after getting a look at my face.
She shrugs. “Devour you.”
“I don’t want him to, Har. I hate him.”
“Do you though?”
“Yes,” I hiss. “And you keep going on about it like I’m suddenly going to change my mind is starting to get on my tits.”
Her eyes drop to my said body part. “They look banging in that dress too.”
“Argh, you’re a pain in my ass, Harley Hunter.”
“You love me really.” She winks, spinning around and pulling out a set of underwear from her drawer. “I just want you to be happy, you know.”
She makes quick work of pulling her panties on under her towel before unwrapping it and strapping her bra around her back.
I take in her flawless, glistening bronze skin and jealousy begins to bubble up inside me. She’s so gorgeous it’s often hard to look at her. How the guys manage to keep their hands off her, God only knows.
“This or this?” she asks holding up two identically revealing dresses, only one is copper and the other fire engine red.
“Are you trying to give Zayn a heart attack?” I ask with a laugh.
“Maybe, but I was more thinking about pulling one of his teammates to give him a taste of his own medicine.” I roll my eyes at her. “You can hear that, right?” She points to the door, gesturing to where Zayn’s is across the corridor as Poppy’s girly giggle sounds out.
I can’t help but laugh at the disgusted look on Harley’s face.
“They are always at it. It’s insane.”
“Aw, Har Har, you jealous?”
“Damn fucking right, I am. I want someone to look at me like he does Poppy. It’s sickening.”
“I think it’s cute.”
“Yeah, well... ugh.” She stomps her foot like a toddler about to have a tantrum. “I just want a nice guy who’s going to treat me right,” she says, stepping into the red dress.
“Then you probably need to look a little farther than the team. They’re a bunch of dogs.”
“I know. It’s just easy when they’re so willing.”
I don’t need to say the words for Harley to know I agree, we’re both well aware of my actions the past few months.
“Sit, let me do your makeup,” she demands, pulling the chair out that sits at her vanity unit.
“Have at it.” I lower my ass to the seat, readjusting my dress once more.
She works in silence for a few minutes, adding primer, concealer, and then foundation to my skin before she pauses and looks at me.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just... I know I’m giving you shit about Ash, but I get it, you know.” She rests her ass back on the unit and lowers her eyes. “I watched Poppy hate on Zayn for years and look at them now. He affects you, like, really affects you. I’d hate to see you miss an opportunity because you’re too stubborn to see past it.”
“He affects me because I hate him, Har. He’s certainly not my soul mate or any of that shit.”
“Okay. If you’re sure.”
“I am.” I pause before saying something I fear I might really regret. “If you want him, he’s fair game.”
“Ruby,” she sighs, sympathy passing across her face. “He’s hot, but I wouldn’t... I couldn’t.”
“I kissed Zayn. I get it.”
“I was just joking about that last night. It’s totally cool.” She smiles at me and I can’t help but return it. I also can’t help the relief that flows through me that she doesn’t want to go after him.
It’s over an hour later before Harley has finished making up both our faces and done our hair, and as I stare at myself in her full-length mirror, I can’t deny that she’s not done an astounding job. Poppy appeared not long after we heard her giggling with pink cheeks and swollen lips, much to Harley’s delight, and she got ready with us, helping us drink our way through the bottle of vodka Harley had stashed ready for tonight.
“If you’re not ready, I’m going without you,” Zayn calls through the door not long later.
“Keep your pants on, we’re ready,” Harley calls back before Zayn takes that as an invitation and lets himself into her room.
His eyes zero in on Poppy who’s wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a loose, low-cut tank. I swear his eyes nearly pop out of his head.
“We’ve already listened to you two going at it tonight, chill out for a few hours, would ya?” Harley mutters.
“Ignore her, she’s jealous,” I tell Zayn. “We ready then?”
“Rubes, you look hot.” His eyes run the length of me and back up again.
“Um...” Poppy says, stepping into his side and forcing his eyes to her. He leans into her ear and whispers something that makes her sag into his hold and curl his shirt in her fist.
Rolling my eyes at them, I turn to Harley in time to see her fake gag before she storms past the happy couple.
“Come on, or I’m taking your car,” she calls to Zayn who immediately releases Poppy and marches after her.
“How do you put up with living with those two?” I ask Poppy as we follow the bickering siblings out of the house.
“Being here comes with its advantages too.”
“The orgasms, right.”
“That wasn’t actually what I was going to say but yeah, they sure help.”
I’m still laughing at her as we join Zayn and Harley in his car.
“Are you two going to behave tonight?” he asks, looking at the two of us in the rearview mirror. “I really don’t want to have to carry any of you out tonight.”
“We’ll do our best, right Rubes?” she says, elbowing me.
“Yeah,” I mutter, staring out the window at the passing scenery. The vodka might already be having an effect, but it’s nowhere near enough to block out the person I need it to.
I still don’t know if he came home. I can only assume that he’s fine or I’d have heard something.
In only minutes we’re pulling up outside Ethan’s house. It might still be early, but there are already cars everywhere and kids making their way inside, ready to start the night.
Excitement tingles in my belly. I am so ready to join them after the week I’ve had.
7
Ashton
I wake up freezing my fucking ass off. This might be the warmer end of the country but spending the night passed out on a beach in January still isn’t the best idea.
Every part of my body aches as I force myself to sit up, my eyes blinking against the early morning sun that crept above the horizon not so long ago.
I stare out at the calm ocean beyond.
I’m sure this should be a happy place. A place for people to think, to calm down, to get a little perspective. But while the alcohol numbed me for a few hours last night, the reality is now rushing back in faster than I’d like it to.
I reach into my pocket in the hope I’ve got something to take the edge off it. But I find nothing besides my lighter. I have no idea if I smoked my stash last night or if I even brought it with me. I can only hope it’s still sitting in my room waiting for me. But I don’t want to get my hopes up, I learned the hard way a long time ago that hopes are useless. They build you up thinking that something good might happen and then they drop you when you least expect it.
A little like last night. I’d hoped Dad might lay off me for a bit. But no, instead, Mom is barely cold and he’s already forcing me to think about my future as if I’ve already forgotten that I had a life outside of Rosewood only days ago. It’s like he expects me to just forget all about everything in Seattle, the people that were in it—not that there were many.
I drag my knees up to my chest and drop my head onto my forearm, willing it to stop spinning.
I know I need to go back there. I know that I don’t have much of a choice. But I really don’t want to look at his face again.<
br />
He was supposed to love her once upon a time, how can he just move on so quickly, care so little that she’s gone?
Why doesn’t he hate me? After all, I’m the one to blame here.
It would be easier if he were shouting at me, but he’s just... not. He’s just going about his life once more like she was never a part of it.
I guess she hasn’t been for a few years, but she was a huge part of mine, why can’t he just let me have this time to do what I need to do? I really don’t give a shit about tomorrow, next week, next month right now. My head is still firmly in last week and I have no idea when I’m going to be able to drag it away.
My exhaustion and the remaining alcohol that’s still pulsing around my body must drag me back under again because I wake with a start once more as a couple of guys go running past.
I watch them as they make their way across the wet sand a few feet down from me. One of them is wearing a Rosewood jersey with Hunter across the back.
My stomach twists at the thought of having to start at a new school. I barely wanted to go to my old one. But become a junior again, retake the shit I’ve already done in the hope of graduating. I’m not sure I have the energy.
Then of course there’s the other issue with that.
Ruby.
The less time we’re forced together the better.
She stirs something inside me that no other has. She awakens a need inside me that scares me. My need to hurt her, to scare her, to make her... mine?
I shake my head as an unamused laugh falls from my lips. No. That is not what this is.
Angry with myself for even going there, I stand and march back toward where I think I abandoned my bike last night.
There aren’t many people around at this time of the morning, but as a guy flips the closed sign to open on a diner ahead, I find myself walking in that direction as my stomach starts to grumble.
“Mornin’,” an older guy calls over the second I push the door open.
“Hey,” I reply, barely sparing him a second glance before I slide into an empty booth and reach for the menu.
FURY: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rosewood High Book 6) Page 5