"Don't forget my badge!" I yell after her, reminding her that her card won't work on this level.
After she gets the card and leaves, I let out the heaviest sigh known to man. Before I even finish the exhale, the boys surround me.
No words are shared as they box me in a hug. They're taller than I am by a bit, and their heads rest above mine.
"We missed you," Pru lets out and my body visibly relaxes.
As soon as Just nods in agreement, I lose it. The tears come. The full body-shaking sobs and the feeling of absolute failure rest on my body all while they hold me together.
"We've got you, princess," Pru reassures, kissing my temple. They both pull away, and Just lifts me in his arms, kissing my forehead as they start walking down the hall. "Last door?"
"Yes. The other one is the spare," I explain. It's the one where Mel stays or Yang... Shit. Her stuff is still in here. Her clothes. Her makeup. Her belongings.
My sobs ramp up, clogging my throat with awareness.
Just kisses my head over and over. "It's okay, sweetheart. We've got you." He carries me into my room, laying me on my bed. Not only the one I slept with Ross on but it's the one I've sexted them from.
"I-I need to take these off," I whimper, my chin wobbling with the realization I'm still covered in mud, sweat, and blood. My body shakes as I remember the horror of feeling the warmth spilling from her, touching the frozen ground beneath her. How her body felt so warm but her heart didn't beat. The way her blood caked my hands, chest, and legs as I sobbed for her.
"Shower?" they both ask.
I want to cry and never breathe again. I want to erase the horror of Yang's death, I want to forget the knowledge that what's left of her life is all over me.
"I-I don't want Mel to see us together."
It's true. Her seeing me with them would be traumatic enough. Add in blood, crying, and them trying to comfort me and it isn't good.
"Where then?" Just stares at me, giving me hopeful eyes, all while I'm literally dying from the outside in.
"Crystal," I say automatically, wondering if my card will give me access to the tower I once called home. Unlike with Ivory, there aren't communal showers. Each room has one. Since it's more like a mansion than a tower, it's more homely.
They stare at me as if asking me what the fuck Crystal is.
"The Student Gov Tower," I offer. "I might still have access."
They both nod, and I grab my caddy and escape the room.
The sky is brightening with daylight. It gets brighter a little bit earlier in these mountains. Our elevation is higher, and the sun seems to hit us a lot faster than in the city limits.
We make it to the tower, and. I go to the door when I realize I've given Mel my key card. How the fuck did I not realize this?
With a muttered curse, I smack my head on the door, and one of them touches me.
"What's wrong, princess?" Pru's voice soothes me, and I groan.
"I gave Mel my dorm key." A self-deprecating laugh leaves me, the sound choppy even to my ears.
No one litters about, and I take that as a blessing in disguise. At least they won’t have reason to further their vamp calling torture. Instead of wallowing, I do something I know I'll regret later. I pull out my cell and text Ross. I'm outside Crystal. Covered in blood. Need a shower.
My text is impersonal, wrong, vacant like my current state-of-mind, but if I offer more, he’ll think I’m going to give in to his poor excuse for a relationship he’d always deny.
His response is nearly immediate. I'll let you in, but the guys aren't going to like seeing two dudes with you.
I nearly forget they're territorial. Instead of a pissing contest, they do stare downs and asshole remarks that aren't funny at all.
How do you know people are with me?
You’re literally in front of the main lobby’s windows.
I roll my eyes at his response. He must’ve been hiding from the others.
Please, Ross. I'm desperate. I'll pay the repercussions later.
"So?" Just asks, breaking me from my texts.
I'm going to respond, but the door unfastens, and Bridger is the one opening it.
"The fuck are you doing here?" he barks at them. Not me. Them.
I stare up at his hollow gaze and shiver. It's already been a traumatic night. There's no reason we should be hostile. There's enough going on as is.
"Bridger," I whisper, hoping he can sense my fragility, something I would never willingly put to the front.
Ross comes running a second later. "Looks like socio over here was watching the feeds again," he jokes, but I see the stiffness in his posture and the troublesome expression on his face.
Bridger is daunting. Tall, broad, with a lying face and terrifying eyes, he’s formidable to anyone who dares stand against him.
“I’ll repeat,” Bridger growls, his palms balling into fists. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
I turn to Just and Pru, wanting to protect them, but I know they are fine by themselves. The thought is still there though.
"We're here to keep her safe," Just practically spits.
It takes me away from the moment, settling in my stomach as I get nervous. His voice dropped a lot, almost callous and cruel. It’s a tone I've never heard him use around me. And the way he enunciated safe? It's like Bridger was supposed to protect me and didn't, and that makes my chest ache on a whole other level.
"Yeah, what about six hours ago? When she was about to be slaughtered?" Bridger prods, and I turn back to him. His normally impassive tone, flat expression, and smooth exterior are nowhere to be found. He's towering, his frame hulkish. Chills skate all over my skin. I hate it, and I love it, and it's scary as fuck, but it's also his way of showing something.
"What about you? You live here, and you didn't keep her safe!" Just throws back at him, and I'm stuck wondering what the fuck is happening and why they're yelling at one another as if they know each other.
"Guys, we need to get her inside," Ross interrupts the yelling, sidestepping Bridger. His hands clasp my shoulders, and he peers at me with so much worry, but it's not him who has my attention. It's Ten five or so feet behind him. I can barely see him, but Ten’s face seems distraught.
He stayed behind while the EMTs checked me out. He watched from afar as the cops questioned me, and it wasn't until my moms left that he walked away.
Tears begin to prick again, reminding me how broken up I still am.
Ten moves past Bridger and the twins, pulling me inside the place I used to call home, but before I can fully enter the door, I stop him.
"Guys, come on." I'm directly speaking to the twins, not wanting them too far. They'll keep the guys from pulling their normal pranks on me.
They start to follow me, but then we're all stopped by Jordan and Lux.
Goddammit. Nothing comes easy nowadays.
Chapter Four
Jordan
Covered in crimson and appearing as deathly as her nickname, Colt is still hot as fuck. It's kind of annoying that she does this to me and has since before she knew I existed. She's trembling now, though, and knowing me or one of the guys aren't the cause has me rattled.
No one gets to make her feel this way but us.
She's not anyone's to toy with.
I hear the tail end of their conversation. Apparently, Colt brought stragglers. If I didn't see them myself, I would have thought my ears were fucking with me.
"Stay," I demand, watching as Colt tries bringing them inside. She doesn't need to see this. There's been enough carnage today, enough for a fucking lifetime in Colt's eyes, I'm sure.
She shakes her head, her dainty little frame trembling from head to toe, and fuck, I hate that fear. I hate how unsafe she's feeling.
"We'll be okay, princess," one of the twins say. Not sure which one since they're practically a carbon copy of each other.
Her lips and chin warble, and I can see Ten wanting to push forward and Ross too.
The last time I'd witnessed her even slightly this distraught was after Cassidy's funeral. That day changed us all forever.
But for Colt? It was the end of her. She died that day, had been buried with him.
Colt finally relents, trailing after Ross, who guides her toward the rooms. I'm sure he'll avoid her old one. He's not cruel.
"Start talking," Bridger bites, and I wish I had popcorn to eat and watch this unravel. The twins look different with age.
"You guys are fucking dumb," Justice lets out.
I chuckle darkly. Yep, that's definitely Justice. The twins—while not around anymore—aren't new faces. They've changed a lot in the last five years, but they're definitely not any different from the last time I saw them.
"You couldn't have waited to piss all over her when she was inside? She's traumatized," Prudence hisses. He's a lot softer than Justice. He's the mellow one out of the two of them. Justice is the aggressor and always will be.
"Why are you with her? I told you in Tennessee to back the fuck off," Bridger yells.
I quirk an eyebrow. Tennessee? He went? When?
"What the fuck?" Lennox barks, breaking through. "Why were you in Tennessee?"
Bridger doesn't show his cards. While he's given an inch with Colt, showing his jealousy, he isn't willing to show the rest of us anything.
"Can we discuss this somewhere that isn’t the foyer?" Ten offers, ever the mediator.
I smile, feeling like we're kids all over again.
"She's not your friend, Ross," Lux grumbles, punching Ross in the shoulder. "She doesn't even like you."
I'm standing with Jay—Justice Krane—and Ten. We're all watching as Lux and Ross battle over who gets to swim with Colt. Ross is Cassidy's closest friend, but in reality, he's Lux's best friend.
"Guys, stop fighting like a bunch of dicks," Ten hollers, trying to get one side to concede. "She's not worth fighting over."
But that's the lie, isn't it? Ten is the closest to Colt. He kisses her more, dotes on her more. We all know it'll be him to pop her cherry.
That was last year, when I'd first came back after Maxim's passing. Ten always tried to calm them down.
We all head to the main room. It's where meetings usually happen. Everyone sits at their normal seat, and the twins stand, showing their truths.
"Yang's gone," Justice remarks, scrunching his face as if it annoys him more than anything. These two don't care. The fact that they're soft for Colt is both telling and troubling. How can two psychopaths care about anyone?
"Yeah, fuckface, we're aware," Lennox mocks. Still covered in his own jizz that I spit on him, he's standing regal as fuck, acting as if he's not bothered by a goddamn thing. Even with the dried splooge, he's not allowing it to change what matters.
Protecting the corpse.
"We weren't aware she was at Arcadia," Prudence continues Justice's thought.
"She wasn't supposed to be," Lux informs, his posture astute as always.
I don't say anything. This is usually how these things go down. They argue, I listen.
"Well, what the hell were y'all doing? Your job is to keep tabs on Colt. Did you decide to take the night off?" This time, it's Just who stares at us all pointedly.
I wondered about this, too, though. Tonight was Lennox's night. We did the ruse, pretending we were going out of town. Shit, we even posted to the Arcadia bulletin board, saying we were heading out. We needed everyone aware of our absence.
Yang was a wild card.
"How long has she been here?" Justice questions us.
Fuck, I don't even know that. Past Emeralds are meant to check in before coming back to campus. It's our own safety net, a line we don’t cross.
"Why are you all silent?" I peer at the twins, smiling, realizing that no one has said anything because all of us know it's Lux's night, which means, he was either not on watch or he's hiding something. The twins don't rule us anymore.
They're not even technically allowed to be here.
Their names aren't even in the records anymore. Krane is long erased from history. We like to pretend they never existed. Or at least, I do. Along with the Grims and Marchettis, their story is ancient history. Their secrets and trails of blood are known everywhere.
"What did I miss?" Ross comes barreling in without Colt but with wet hair and a smug as fuck smile. Shit.
"Why are you wet?" Pru demands, his face pinched. We've all experienced that look. It's the deep-seeded kind of jealousy, the kind that stems from not having control over a situation when you believe you're owed something.
"Why aren't you wet?" he counters with a wink, and I can't help the snicker that releases from my lips. He's such a tool. Using humor and lame ass cynical excuses to hide his sadness.
"You better not have fucking touched her," Justice threatens, his voice dropping.
Look at the seven of us. Pining after pussy, the same pussy might I add.
"I don't see why you two feel you have any type of ownership," Ten bites out, the mediator persona being tucked away for the bitter greedy ex.
"Yeah, what's with this possessiveness?" Bridger grills them. His hands are on the desk, he's offering the most pensive expression, and I'm intrigued at why they're all scowling.
Can we not be men and beat the shit out of each other or at the very least see who makes her cum the most? That would be much more suitable.
"That night you went home with Melissa? She decided she'd hate-fuck us out of spite of you," Justice remarks smugly.
"Who wouldn't pass that up?" Pru adds, but in his eyes, I see pensiveness. He's not exactly happy with Just's analysis of their time with Colt.
Before any of us can truly have a rebuttal, Ten is rushing them and hitting Just square in the jaw. He stumbles, and all hell breaks loose. Lux jumps up in defense, Ross following, but Bridger and I stay seated. We're much the same that way.
"You piece of shit!" Ten curses, and I hear a resounding smack. They're all on the floor, and if not for animosity, I'd think it was a massive orgy.
"This was counterproductive," I offer Bridger, unable to contain my amusement, but he's not amused. There's a dark fury beneath his skin. It reflects in his black eyes. He wants bloodshed. If not for his clenched fists, I wouldn't have noticed.
He's a slave to his own personality. Bloody intentions covered with sadistic tendencies live beneath the surface of his numb exterior. It's beautiful, if you watch closely. Because when he offers emotions, no matter the brutality, it's as breathtaking as watching a living painting.
"Oh my god! Guys!" Colt screams, and I do mean screams. Her voice is a higher octave. Her pitchy vocals aren't really something any of us are accustomed to. She runs to the guys, only sporting a pair of cheeky bottoms and one of Ross' oversized band tees.
I groan as my eyes lock onto her ass as it sways, reminding me of what I haven't had since that stupid party. She's a fucking treat. Adjusting my hardening dick, I lean back and play blasé, something I'm well versed in.
"Get off of him, Tennison!" Colt commands, her voice not as pitchy as before but still fueled with annoyance and rage. "You, too, Ross!"
Bridger finally rises, and with him, I decide to cut in, even if it's only to watch her bend over and reprimand everyone. Because whether they think so or not, she's fucking hot when she's angry.
Her hands on her hips, she's partially arched over, and I can't help the groan that escapes my lips as I stare at her. She turns to me with a huff and points her finger in my face.
"Don't be a pig. This isn't cute." Her face is pinched in displeasure, and her swollen eyes aren't hidden as much as she'd probably like.
That kicks me into motion. "Guys, stop being little bitches, and save this school yard bullshit for another time."
Colt's mouth pops open at my words. It wasn't meant to shock but to offer her comfort. Usually, I'm the asshole, though. And fuck, I forgot.
"We'll continue once she's gone," I add, needing her to remember I'm not nice. I can't b
e.
The twins jump up, Pru with an already darkening eye and Just with a swollen and split lip. Fuck. Their dad is going to flip his shit.
"I'm sorry," Ten apologizes, and in his expression, you can tell he means it. Tennison isn't the harsh or hurtful one, so his guilt will definitely eat at him soon.
"Me too," Ross joins in. He places a quick kiss to Colt's temple, making her flush a red coloring. Of course the twins notice immediately and glare.
"I'm not. They can both deep throat the most painful cactus in the world," Lux hisses. "Without lube."
Another laugh leaves me.
"And you?" she asks, turning to me. "Are you going to apologize?"
"For what?" I feign innocence. It's not like I'm the golden boy.
"For not getting me!"
I smirk, feeling my body relax. "Did you want me to join you in the shower, Corpse? Is that it?"
"Corpse? You fucking—" Prudence starts, but Colt holds him back with her palm.
"I'm going to go back to my tower, my room, and make sure Melissa is okay. If you guys aren't back within the next five minutes, you can find your own place to stay," she offers the twins and then looks at me. "As for you, Jordan not Winthrop, the shower was plenty busy with a dick. Don't need to add a second."
"Shit," Ross mutters while the rest stare at her in open shock. She closes my mouth, which I didn't realize was open and walks past me.
When she's out of earshot, the twins close in on Ross. "You better not have touched her," Justice warns.
But Ross doesn't flinch. He just smirks. "I had her pussy way before you, and she rides a mean cock," he quips.
He's not wrong. I didn't get to feel her on top of me, but I watched Lux ram her, and that's enough for me to confirm.
"You're all a bunch of fucking boys. Did you notice, though? We are the ones she invited back." With Prudence's last jab, the twins follow after Colt, and we all stare at each other in different forms of shock.
The twins being back.
Yang being murdered.
All of us wanting the same girl.
We're in for a messy assembly in two days. Colt better heed Ross's warning. We agreed to give her a head's up. We just didn't let Colt know why.
Here Lies a Saint: A Dark Bully Academy Romance Page 3