I cringe. This isn’t exactly a conversation I want to be involved in. She should be screaming at Rivers, not me, but I guess that's the role I take on as her best friend. "I, well, maybe he was too excited about the car and didn't think about what he was doing,” I suggest, hoping that’s somewhat helpful.
"Nice try, but no,” she grunts. “Rivers is the most calculated person you'll ever meet. He doesn’t take a shit without thinking about it first. There’s no way he just got excited and drove straight here with her.”
Damn, if she knew about the shit he took on the side of the road a few weeks ago, she'd have no choice but to change her argument on the whole ‘calculated’ thing, but then, he is the guy who convinced me to make a game plan when taking down Monica rather than bursting in with my claws ready. I let out a sigh. "I don't know, Tully," I say, terrified of saying the wrong thing and making it worse. “I can’t tell you what was going through his head.”
"I fucking can," she all but yells across the room before storming off to her room with me following behind. "He's purposefully trying to hurt me,” she insists, throwing herself in front of her mirror to put her earrings in. “I’ve been talking about Rocko and whoring around, and now he’s going to do the same just to give me the middle finger.”
"Maybe he actually likes her,” I suggest.
Cringe.
"Likes her or likes the fact that she has a little, willing, pink pussy to sink into each night?" she scoffs with an attitude I’ve never quite seen from her before, telling me just how much this is bothering her.
This isn’t going anywhere good.
She perks up a little and looks at me through the mirror. “Get out there and scare her off,” she tells me. “I don’t want her barging her way into our lives.”
I shake my head. “I don’t either, but I can’t do it. Rivers is my friend too and if he actually likes her, then he deserves a chance to be happy too.”
“You’re such a fucking pushover now that you’re in love,” she mumbles. “I liked you better when you had that big fucking wall up. Nobody could even get near you then. Especially chicks like that.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Sorry for giving a shit,” I laugh. “And for the record, you guys got close and I still haven’t worked out how to get rid of you.”
“Keep letting Alyssa hang out and you won’t have an issue getting rid of me.”
“You know, Rivers will come around one day,” I tell her. “He just needs to fuck everything up first.”
She lets out a frustrated groan before walking over to her makeup box and finding a lip gloss. “He already did fuck everything up and then I fucked it all up some more by sleeping with Spencer again. There’s no going back for us. We’re too far gone which is why I’m trying so hard to move on. I can’t keep thinking about him like this all the time. It’s going to kill me. I have to move on.”
I move across her room and drop down onto her bed. “Are you sure, though?” I question, giving her a tight smile. “Are you sure you don’t want to give it one last shot with him? Maybe wait a few months. He might just need a little time to cool down. You never know.”
“But I do know,” she says with a heartbreaking sigh. “I’ve known him since we were eleven. It’s not something he’s about to budge on. I’ll be waiting years for him to come around and by then, he might be a different guy. A couple of years can change someone.”
“But would that change really matter if you’re in love with him? He’ll still be the same person you’ve always known.”
“I don’t know,” she says, shrugging her shoulders. “I just want to move on and forget about him.”
Tully drops down on her bed beside me and I instantly wrap my arms around her. “It’ll be ok,” I tell her. “If forgetting about him is what you really want, then that’s what we’ll do. You can have your date with Rocko tonight and hopefully, he’ll rock your world and you’ll fall madly in love with the guy, despite everyone else’s opinion of him. Then tomorrow night, we can find a party and drink way too much.”
She pouts out her bottom lip. “That sounds really, really good.”
Tully’s phone goes off on her bedside table and I dive for it as she tries to grab it. “Is that him?” I demand, pulling the phone out of her reach.
“Give it back,” she yells as I swipe to unlock the screen, but she doesn’t put up enough of a fight, telling me she actually doesn’t give a shit if I read her text. I look down at the screen before waggling my eyebrows at her with a shit eating grin. “It’s from Rocko,” I tease.
“Duh,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Who else would be texting?”
“Oh, considering the number of guys you’ve been leading on these past few weeks, I could think of a whole list of people who’d be looking for you on a Friday night.”
“Shut up,” she laughs. “What does his text say?”
I look down and read it out loud for her.
Rocko – Hey, babe. I’m just leaving my place. Be there in 10.
Tully’s eyes widen. “Shit. This is really happening.” She stands up and looks herself over in the mirror. “Do I look ok? Is it too slutty? I’m not sure where he’s taking me.”
“You look amazing,” I tell her. “Just take a coat in case it’s somewhere classy, though I seriously doubt it. This is Rocko we’re talking about. He’s probably taking you to McDonald's, so really, you’re probably extremely overdressed.”
“Damn it,” she scolds, looking at me in the mirror again. "You’re making me nervous.”
"No,” I laugh. "You’re making you nervous, and really, there’s nothing to be nervous about. You’re hot, you look incredible, and you’re a hilarious conversationalist. He’ll love you. Just keep your legs closed, but if you really must spread ‘em, remember to use protection. He most likely has crabs.”
A pair of pants flies through the air and smacks me in the face. “I’m not a whore like you. I’m not about to give it up on the first date.”
“Uh huh,” I say with a grin. “Liar.”
The next ten minutes are the longest minutes of my life. After four minutes passed, she started looking out the window. I’d catch her quickly peeking every thirty seconds or so until the familiar car from next door pulled up on the curb.
Tully practically ran outside, grabbing her phone, coat, and bag on the way, desperate to not give Rivers and Noah a chance to interrogate him.
I close the door behind me and find myself scowling at Alyssa’s back as I walk towards them. Tully meets Rocko at his car and he insists on getting out and saying ‘hey’ despite Tully’s objections.
Out of respect for his sister, Noah walks forward and shakes his hand, though I don’t doubt he had one hell of a tight grip. I hang back and Rocko offers me an awkward smile which I have to admit is better than his usual scowl. Rivers though, he storms straight up to him, barges Noah out of the way and slams Rocko against his own car. “You fucking hurt her and I’ll end you.”
“Woah,” Rocko says, holding his hands up in surrender. “Calm the fuck down, man. We’re just going for dinner.” Rivers doesn’t seem to accept that answer and Rocko turns to Noah. “Yo, could you do something about your boy? He’s frothing at the mouth.”
Noah steps back. “Sorry, man. Not my business,” he tells him. “And honestly, if you can’t handle Rivers then you’re not good enough to be taking my sister out.”
“Suit yourself,” Rocko says before making his move. He goes to deliver a devastating uppercut, but no one can beat Rivers when it comes to fighting dirty.
“Stop,” Tully demands, rushing around the car before Rivers can do any damage. Noah flinches, not wanting his sister to get hurt, but Rivers would rather die than allow that to happen. Rocko though, he’s probably more concerned about his ego than keeping Tully safe.
Tully grabs Rivers by the shirt and pulls hard, wedging him away from Rocko before sliding herself between them, keeping her eyes on Rivers. “Back off,” she demands in a low whisper. �
�You had your fucking shot. It’s not my fault you fucked it up, now let me move on.”
Rivers eyes stay locked on Tully’s for a long pause before he finally sees something that has him pushing away. “Whatever,” he says, walking to his car and indicating to Alyssa to hurry up. “Don’t come crying to me when he fucks you over.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” she yells back at him.
And just like that, everyone is gone, leaving me and Noah standing alone, wondering what the fuck just went down.
I reach for Noah’s hand and lace my fingers through his. He tugs on my hand and my body falls into his as he wraps his arms around me. “Our pack doesn’t feel much of a pack lately,” I murmur into his chest. “Everything is falling apart.”
“I know,” he tells me, running his hand up and down my back. “Everything is fucked up.”
“Do you think they’ll ever get past this?”
I feel him shrug his shoulders and listen as he lets out a deep breath. “I don’t know. We’ll always function as a pack,” he says. “That will always come first, but when it comes to the way we gel as a group, I don’t know. If things get much worse between them, I don’t think there will be a way back.”
“That was what I was afraid of.”
“Me too, Spitfire. Me too.”
Chapter 14
“Henley,” dad yells loudly through the house at the crack of dawn that it startles me from a peaceful sleep. “Answer the damn door.”
My eyes blink open to find nothing but darkness. What the hell is he talking about?
A heavy fist slams against the front door in quick succession and my body goes ridged in bed. The last time someone came knocking in the middle of the night, I got the shock of my life.
“Henley,” dad yells. “If that boyfriend of yours doesn’t quit banging on my door in the next two seconds, I’m going to introduce him to my shotgun.”
Shit. It’s Noah?
“Spitfire,” Noah’s singsong voice comes blaring through the walls. “Get that ass of yours out of bed and open this damn door already.”
“It’s Noah,” Aria screeches from her bed. “I’ll get it.”
Dad’s booming voice is nearly enough to wake the dead. “Aria. Don’t even think about getting out of bed. There’s no way you’re getting up this early, go back to sleep. Squish, hurry it up.”
Oh dear.
I scramble out of bed and grab the blanket before wrapping it around me and heading down the hallway. Noah raps on the door again and I get to it just in time before he yells out again.
I hurry to pull the deadbolt free and unlock the door before pulling it open to find him more awake than what’s socially acceptable, standing here in all his tatted up glory, and smirking at me as though I’m not going to like what I’m about to hear. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I demand, grabbing the phone in his hand and checking the time. “Noah,” I growl. “It’s barely even four in the morning. Get lost.”
I all but throw the phone back at him and go to slam the door. “Nuh uh,” he says, jamming his foot in the door. “Go pack a bag. We’re going camping.”
I laugh in his face but my howling is quickly interrupted by a yawn that completely takes over me. “Are you insane? The only thing I’m doing is going back to bed. So, you can either come with me and risk my dad trying to murder you, or you can come back in a few hours when the sun has had a chance to actually shine.”
Noah shakes his head and gives me an ‘I really don’t give a shit what you want’ smile. “As tempting as going to bed with you right now sounds, you have about two minutes to pack your bag.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I groan.
Noah tsk’s me. “Don’t keep them waiting,” he warns. “You know how they get when they’re tired and cranky.”
“Huh?”
Noah steps back out of the doorway and I take in his car on the curb to find Tully and Rivers in the back seat of his Camaro, both scowling and certainly not impressed to be there. “You have about three seconds to explain to me what’s going on before I lose my fucking mind.”
“You wanted our pack back together and that’s what we’re doing.” I raise a brow, waiting for him to continue. "We’re going on a road trip and spending the night around a fire, hoping to talk through all our shit and get back on track. I can’t deal with their pissy attitudes anymore, so we’re forcing them to put it to rest, and if having a few drinks and spending the night in the woods is going to do that, then you bet your ass that’s how we’re spending our weekend.”
"In the woods?”
“You now have one minute to pack your back.”
“For fuck’s sake, Henley,” dad yells. “Get some clothes and get the hell out of here so I can get back to sleep. You know he ain’t going to leave without you.”
Well, I guess that answers that then.
I look up at Noah before letting out a heavy sigh. “Can you help me? I don’t know what to pack. I’ve never been camping.”
“Well, shit, Spitfire,” Noah says, stepping through the door. “You’re going to have the best fucking time. I bought marshmallows just for you.”
“Aren’t you sweet,” I grumble, dropping the blanket as I step back into my bedroom.
Noah’s hand instantly finds my ass as I stand before him in nothing but a pair of purple lace, Brazilian undies, and his old shirt. “Fuck, you look good,” he grumbles lowly so no one else in the house can hear.
“Don’t even think about it,” I warn, slapping his hand away. “You don’t get this when you wake me up at four in the morning demanding I go camping. Are you nuts?” I ask, turning to my closet and searching out a bag. “I mean, did you really have to bang on the door until you woke me up? What’s wrong with texting or calling? Maybe then hit my bedroom window. Not the front fucking door.”
“First off,” he says, reaching over the top of my head to grab the bag at the top of my closet. “Shut the fuck up. I did do all that. If you bothered to look at your phone, you’ll find about twenty missed calls and texts from me, hell, even a few from Tully and Rivers. After you so miserably failed to wake with that, I tried tapping at your window but it was locked. I even scratched a tree branch across it hoping that if I couldn’t wake you the normal way, I could scare you awake, but noooo, that shit didn’t work either. Though, that’s something we need to discuss. I really need to get you some kind of security system for here, maybe even a big ass dog.”
“You’re an idiot,” I tell him, grabbing a handful of clothes and jamming them into the bag that he holds open for me.
“No,” he shoots back. “You’re the idiot. Now, hurry it up. We’ve got a long drive.”
“How long?”
“None of your goddamn business,” he tells me before grabbing a pair of undies and tossing them right out of the bag. “Trust me,” he tells me, “you won’t be needing them.”
I narrow my eyes and put the undies right back in again.
“Geez, you’re really not a morning person, are you?”
“Nope,” I grumble, “and the fact that you are is seriously making me reconsider my choices.”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” he says, ruffling my hair and pissing me off just a little bit more. “Get yourself dressed. I’ll finish packing your things.”
I let out a huff but do as he asks. I look at my choices. Sweatpants or jeans? If I'm going to be stuck in a car for a good portion of the day, then I’m going to have to go with the sweatpants.
I grab a pair and slide them up my legs before ripping off Noah’s old shirt and putting on a bra while he takes a sneaky peek. I put the shirt straight back on again and tie the bottom in a knot before rolling up the sleeves a few times and looking as cute as a fucking button.
I throw my hair up in a bun, grab my phone off the charger and slide it into my pocket before grabbing some cash for the inevitable gas station stops along the way. “Why’d you have to choose camping?” I ask as Noah grabs the
blanket from the floor and folds up it.
“Because it’s too hard for either of them to escape,” he grins as though he has it all worked out. “We’ll be too far away for them to walk anywhere, it’s my car so neither of them can take off without leaving the rest of us stranded, and in the middle of the woods, they have no choice but to either sulk in a tent or talk to one another. It’s a foolproof plan.”
“Yeah,” I scoff. “Unless they decide to sulk in their tents.”
“They won’t.”
“How do you know that?”
A devilish grin takes over his handsome face. “Because neither of them can resist a good fight.”
I look up at him as I let out a low breath. “It’s going to be a big day, huh?”
He nods as he pulls me into his arms and presses a kiss to my forehead. “You can sleep in the car.”
“Yeah, right,” I grumble under my breath, making him chuckle as I step out of his arms. I walk out the door and head for the bathroom to pee and brush my teeth, realizing I probably won’t get another chance.
The last time the four of us went anywhere and someone fell asleep, it was like a prank war unleashed upon us. Noah slammed on the brakes, screaming ‘brake test’ as a whole frozen slushie ‘accidentally’ got poured all over Tully. She will never sleep in a car with those boys again and I don’t doubt she’s waiting for her chance at payback.
“Meet me at the car,” Noah says through the bathroom door as I finish getting myself ready.
“K,” I grumble back, wishing this was all some kind of strange dream. Don’t get me wrong, I love what Noah is doing and trying to accomplish here, but camping? Really? Anything but camping. I’m not exactly one to spend my night slapping away mosquitoes and sleeping on the hard, cold ground. I guess the only positive is that I’ll get to spend the night, alone in a tent with Noah.
I walk into the kitchen and scrawl out a note for dad, reminding him what’s going on as sure as hell, he’ll forget, and I don’t want him worrying about me more than he already does.
Scanning the cupboard, I grab a packet of potato chips and a box of fruit bars to help us get through to the first gas station, not knowing if those idiots bothered to think about food. Though, I seriously doubt it. If Tully had any warning this was going on, she would have come and found me last night and we would have escaped before it was too late.
Untameable: Haven Falls (Book 3) Page 13