by A. R. Breck
I take a little swig of the horrible drink which is slightly less horrible this time around.
Aric looks at me and then drops his shoulders. "I'm sorry, I'm just being paranoid. I'm not going to let my brother get in the way of what’s going on between us."
What’s going on between us?
He leans down and gives me a peck on the lips. I'm surprised, but I let him because his lips feel good and whenever Aric touches me my heart races and my palms get a little sweaty.
It feels so good.
When he releases me, I want to beg for more. I'm about to when Aric speaks up. "I'm sorry, I have to go and see what my brother's doing here..." He trails off as he looks in my eyes.
I nod my head okay and I don't know if I'm more drunk on the alcohol or Aric's kisses.
Aric grabs my hand, and together we walk up the dock and to the front of the house where Aeron is getting a celebrity style introduction.
It seems like he is instantly the life of the party and everyone loves him. He's already smoking a cigarette and has a cup in his hands. He's laughing and smiling, and it looks nothing like the angry guy who walked in the house earlier.
Before we even reach him, he spots us and gives us a sly smirk. "Well isn't it my brother and the girl next door. Literally."
"What're you doin' here, bro?" Aric walks up and gives Aeron a handshake, but I can feel Aric’s tension rising from here.
"You know me, I never like to miss one of Shane’s parties." He laughs and smiles as a girl walks towards him. "Lacy, aren't you a fucking sight." He gives her a look that makes me jealous and disgusted all in one go. It's like an atomic bomb has been lit in my chest and I'm horrified by these feelings.
I want to diffuse this bomb. I want to diffuse it so badly.
"Do you think it's a good idea to be here? You literally just got out of jail a couple hours ago." Aric narrows his eyes at Aeron, and I'm starstruck watching the strained interaction between these two.
Aeron lifts his eyebrows at Aric, staring at him for a beat too long and then letting out a bark of a laugh and slapping him on the shoulder. "Lighten up, little brother. Or get the hell out of here." He dismisses him, turning towards Lacy and putting his arm around her.
His tattoos are even more amazing up close. Mostly black and white, a few have colors but the detail in each and every tattoo speaks a different language and makes you feel a different emotion than the next. They're amazing.
Exquisite.
"Come on, Mercy. Let's go inside." Aric curls his lip up at Aeron and walks me inside. I keep my head forward, but I can't help straying my eyes towards Aeron. He's looking right at me, and the smirk he's giving me looks threatening.
Like his main goal is to get in trouble, and I'm going to be the next victim in his games.
~
"He's such an asshole. I don't know why my dad even bothered picking him up. He's probably going to be back in jail next week." He finishes off his second beer, staring at Aeron across the room as he swallows back drink after drink.
Smokes joint after joint.
I even saw him snort something, but I can't be so sure.
"What's the big deal? It looks like everyone is doing the same stuff around here." I don't get it. I mean, I get it, but why is he so pissy over his brother? It's not like he's starting shit. Actually, he looks like the life of the party.
"Because, Mercy. This is how it always starts. He parties constantly, starts getting strung out and ends up doing something stupid and letting my dad down. He's always letting my dad down."
Declan walks up to us with a huge smile on his face. "Dude, Aric. You gotta come check this out. Brent and Jake are about to duke it out on the dock." He's laughing so hard he can barely get any words out.
Aric turns towards me and rolls his eyes. "Wanna go check it out?"
"I'm okay. I'll wait right here." To be honest, I've had a few too many drinks, and I don't want him to know that the room is spinning a little bit. I’m kind of secretly hoping Sidney or one of the other girls comes to save me.
He glances at Aeron then looks back towards me. "Okay. I'll be right back."
I give him a nod and watch him and Declan walk away. He walks away with a type of swag that makes all the girls heads turn towards him. He's been by my side the entire night, though. Sitting close to me and giving me a look with his liquid blue eyes that's been slowing breaking down my walls tonight. Piece by piece.
I shake my head to clear my thoughts and glance across the room, seeing Aeron once again looking at me with a smirk. He bites his lower lip and I think my entire body turns to lava. When he gets up, I want to run. I’d rather go look for the safer of the two of the Reid brothers, but my legs still feel like jello from these drinks, so I just sit there like a limp noodle.
"Where'd lover boy go?" He asks me with a slight slur. He's so tall. I have to crane my neck back to uncomfortable lengths to be able to see his face. He looks down at me with his white teeth shining while the rest of his face is encased in shadows.
I want to sink into this couch, because I feel like anything that might come out of my mouth won't sound as good as I want it to.
"Outside." Okay, that wasn't too terrible.
"He left you here all by yourself?" He takes a step closer, and I take a secretive whiff of the smell that is so similar to Aric's but has a little something else, too.
Something smoky. He smells like a drug.
"I'm fine right here." I say on an airy breath.
"Well that was stupid of him. If you were my girl, I wouldn't be letting you out of my sight for a second."
"I'm not his girl." Right?
I can't deny there is something going on between Aric and me. A low simmer that's growing bigger by the day.
He's a great guy. He makes me happy. Makes me laugh. Makes me warm between my thighs.
Makes life not as depressing as it could be.
"Really? Hasn't looked like that to me. Not with the way he's sending every guy in the opposite direction with his angry glares." He laughs and shakes his head. "His loss. Come over her with me, Mercy. We're just about to have some real fun."
He sticks his hand out, tattooed all the way to the knuckles.
I stare at it like it's a rare species, something that hasn't been discovered yet. I'm afraid to grab it. Afraid that it might do to me what it did earlier.
I don't want to feel anything for him.
He seems to think my contemplating takes too long, reaching down and snagging my wrist and pulling me out of my seat.
Where he touches sears. Starts my blood on fire and makes my chest quake.
This isn't good.
When he pulls me up, he pulls me so close to him I can smell the liquor on his breath. "Yeah, you feel that too, yeah? I know you do. I can see it in those eyes of yours. They speak without you having to say a word." He mumbles so low I can feel it rumble into my own chest.
I can't breathe. But actually, it feels like my heart isn't even beating.
I take a huge breath when he steps back, but he keeps a hand around my wrist as he pulls me over to his group of friends. They sit in the corner of the large room, a coffee table in front of them with so many different pipes, baggies and cups in front of them I can't even begin to understand what all of this is.
"Who's this?" The girl from outside, Lacy, asks with a sneer.
"This is Mercy. Be nice." Aeron pulls me closer to him and eventually pulls us down on the corner of the couch. I sink in, leaning towards him because trying to pull away is impossible. One, this couch sinks so far in it feels like quicksand. Two, Aeron doesn't let me move an inch. My body is practically pressed up against his rock hard one and all I can do is stare at the tattoos on his neck.
"See something you like?" He turns towards me and whispers in my ear.
I swallow down my tongue and turn the other way. "Nope."
He puffs out a laugh and I glance around at his other friends. They all look blitzed, heavy eyes and
relaxed expressions.
What I wouldn't give to feel like that. Just for one night.
"So, Mercy. You in high school, or..." Some dark-skinned guy says from the other side of the couch. He's handsome, with his high cheek bones and dark brown eyes.
"I'm a senior." I nod my head at him.
"Really? You look like you should be in college or something." He rubs his chin with his thumb, and I think I hear a rumble come from Aeron.
"Jed, let's tap into that, yeah?" Aeron says, nodding his head towards the baggies on the table.
"Go on ahead, brother." Jed, the guy who spoke to me, says.
Aeron unglues me from his body and leans forward, opening up the baggie and spilling some pills on the table.
He leaves a couple in front of him and passes the rest to the other people sitting around the table. Lacy crushes hers up and snorts hers. I feel like an intruder, watching an Intervention video or something.
I've partied before, many times. But hard drugs? Nope, never.
Aeron pops a few in his mouth, swigging it down with his drink.
"Should you be doing that?" I whisper under my breath.
He narrows his eyes at me. "Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong, babe." He leaves one out, balancing it in the palm of his hand. "I think you need to relax a bit. You ever try?"
"Uh, no." I say with wide eyes.
"Try it, it's good." He pushes it into my face, and I push his hand away.
"No, thanks."
"Come on, Mercy. Enjoy the party." Jed says, bending over to snort his own line.
"Leave her alone, guys. She's just a baby. You should go back with the little kids, hunny. Let the adults have their adult time." She says in such a condescending way, I narrow my eyes at her.
"It'll just loosen you up a bit." Aeron says, and the way he says it makes me think he knows what's going on inside of me.
How tight and coiled my insides are all day. All night. Worry, anguish, pain.
I'm wound so tight ever since my parents passed away, I can't shake it.
I give Aeron a look, and a big grin breaks free across my face. Pinching the pill between his thumb and forefinger, he puts it up to my lips. I snatch it out of his hand and pop it in my mouth before I can overthink it. I know if I do, I won’t go through with it.
Might as well get it over with.
Aeron’s eyes turn dark, and my thudding heart beats heavier with each second.
I swallow down the pill dry, wincing when it gets stuck on the back of my tongue. I reach forward and grab Aeron's drink, helping it finish going down and wincing once again at how strong his drink is.
"Shit." I mumble.
Aeron lets out a laugh and pulls me up.
"Let's go dance, buttercup."
"Um, I don't really..." I start, but he laughs and ignores me.
There’re a few people in the middle of the room, but not as packed as I wish it was.
I want to fade into the background and disappear for a while.
He pulls me off to the side of the dancefloor, thankfully, and not in the center. It’s dim where we are, only a dim lamp from the corner of the room lighting our area. Aeron grabs onto my hips, pulling me close and moving my body to the beat of the music.
A part of me feels uneasy because I’m dancing with a basic stranger, but the other half of me feels in my element. I move fluidly to the music, because once it comes on, I can’t not dance. Not only that, but as Aeron’s hands slide up and down my sides, it feels like they’ve already been accustomed to my body for years. He knows where to hold, how to hold. I try not to think to much into it, but how can I not?
As our bodies start to grind, slide, and move up against each other, every single touch of him against my body lights me on fire.
It sets me ablaze.
Sets me ablaze.
This isn't a simmer, this is a roiling boil.
It’s like a spark of fire follow the path his hands take.
One song turns into two, and the pill hits.
The room spins and I can't feel anything besides Aeron's hands on my body as he runs his hands through my hair, down my back and around my ass. He grips in hard, and I gasp, loving and hating the bite of pain his touch evokes.
I’m turned on and my body heats, humming a low hum as our bodies shift together, moving closer. He clearly approves by the spark in his eye. He pulls me closer, so there’s not even an inch of space between us. His hand slides up my back, up to my ponytail. I feel a tug, and my hair falls around my shoulders, creating a curtain around my face. His hand entwines deeply into my hair and creating a mess. But as he tugs my head back, my eyes collide with his.
Full speed, and completely clash into his.
His blue eyes swirl with darkness and turn nearly black.
I loose my breath, choking on air as I lose myself in his gaze.
I feel his heartbeat, pounding a heavy, slow thump against my chest. Mine is the opposite, beating erratically as my emotions go into overdrive.
I feel good—no—great right now. Whatever Aeron gave me makes me feel empowered. Invincible.
All I want is more.
More, more, more.
"What the fuck is this?" Comes a voice, snapping me out of my lust and drug induced fog.
I look over at Aric, but my mouth won’t open. My tongue doesn't even want to move.
"Aric, where've you been?" Aeron asks, his voice like sandpaper. He doesn’t move my body from his, only tilting his head to look at his brother. My eyes can barely open more than a sliver, and I couldn’t disconnect from Aeron if I tried.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Aric snarls at Aeron, grabbing me and yanking me away from his bad influence of a brother.
"Having a good time. You left your date all by herself, I couldn't let her look like the lonely wallflower that she is."
Aric looks at me, really looks at me.
"Did you get her fucking high?" Aric releases me and goes up to his brother, pushing him in the chest.
"Stand down, Aric. I didn't force her. She was more than willing." I wish I could tell him off for being so callous. When I look at Aeron, he gives Aric such a triumphant look, I know he’s done what he intended. He wanted to push his damn buttons.
"You're a piece of shit, you know that? Really nice job, Aeron." He looks at me with hurt and anger and possessiveness that I don't know what to do with.
"Let's go." He pulls me along with him, until he stops, and I bump into him with a grunt. Aric turns back to Aeron. "Stay away from her." He barks.
When he starts pulling me again, I glance over my shoulder at Aeron who stands in the spot we left him.
The look in his eyes speaks a thousand words. No, a million.
The very first one is the one I'm most afraid of.
Want.
8
Aric
Fuming, I silently pull a barely conscious Mercy into my car. I don't speak to her, not one damn word.
I knew it was a bad idea when Declan came over to me and pulled me off. I've been watching Mercy, noticing her glancing over at my brother with just a slight lift of her eyes. I see what sits in her gaze.
Interest. Intrigue.
Everything that every other girl in this fucking planet gets when they look at my brother.
It disgusts me. When he used to be a role model, I would be jealous of him, but in a good way. Now I just feel pity for anyone that walks past his sight.
He's like a starved lion, always looking for his next meal. But that carcass will be leftover to rot afterwards. He gives zero fucks. He’ll be walking away with a toothpick, picking out the best pieces of you with a smile on his face.
"Aric..." Mercy mumbles, trying to grab onto any part of me for support.
I ignore her, tossing her into the passenger seat once we get to my car and slamming the door in her face.
I lean up against her door and let out a sigh. Why does this have to happen to Mercy? Out of everyone at this party, it's
the girl that I like that has to become a victim to Aeron's charms.
He's not a bad guy. He's just not a good guy.
I pray that my dad is sleeping when I get home. He will be pissed if he knows what happened tonight, and I don't want Mercy's image to be tampered because of Aeron's bad decisions. Well, Mercy's really, but for some reason I just can't be too pissed at her.
The moment I saw her I knew there was something about her.
She's like a tidal wave that came out of nowhere and knocked me off my feet. Something about her sucks me in deep and I stay.
I can't stay away.
She's the damn blue gummy worm in a bag full of yellows.
I peek over my shoulder, seeing her leaning up against her seat belt with her eyes closed and mouth hanging open. Her eyelashes fan her cheekbones and her petite nose wrinkles every so often.
I shake my head at her and walk around to the driver side, hopping in and driving home.
She doesn't say a word the entire time, and I think that's a good thing. If she were to be awake and pleading excuses at me, I think I’d lose my shit.
When I pull into my garage, I turn off the car and look over at Mercy, seeing her in the same position I left her in. Getting out of the car, I walk over to the passenger seat and lift her out, walking as quietly as I can with her up to her room.
As much as I'd like to put her in my bed to watch over her, if there's any chance my dad walked in, he'd probably light my ass on fire for having Mercy in my bed.
He's grown attached to her, and I think he likes her more than he likes me most days.
I push open her door with my foot and lay her down in her bed, peeling off her converse shoes and leaving the rest of her clothes on. I'll have to come check on her every so often to make sure she's okay.
She hasn't stirred the entire time.
I'm going to kill Aeron.
My fingers start twitching when I think about them dancing together. They looked intimate, like they were about to fuck right there in Shane's living room. My lip curls up unintentionally just thinking about it.
His hands groped her entire body, and she looked like she was enjoying the hell out of it.