“Yeah … that’s what I thought,” he says just as the bell sounds throughout the cafeteria.
I cringe, knowing he’s not going to like this. “Hey, I’ve got to go. The bell went off.”
“What? But I only just got you. Since when have you ever run off to class on time before?”
“I know, but this school is different. It’s not like back home. I promise, I’ll call you tonight when I have no distractions.”
“Alright, O,” he says reluctantly. “Bye.”
He cuts the call and just like that, I'm left to suffer through the rest of the school day.
Two hours later, Milo hashes in the code for the gate at the Carrington mansion and after it peels back and he hits the gas, I find a very familiar beat-up old shitbox sitting at the bottom of the circle driveway, completely out of place.
A loud squeal pulls from deep within me and I can hardly contain my excitement. Milo jumps and shrieks beside me, surprised by my outburst. “What the hell, Ocean?”
“Hurry up,” I demand, unable to keep still.
“Why?” he questions, eyeing the car which obviously doesn’t belong. It stands out like an emo kid at a Taylor Swift concert. “Whose car is that?”
I don’t respond as he brings his Aston Martin to a stop. I’m out the door before he can even say my name or demand another answer out of me. I race up the steps to the front door, huffing and puffing by the time I reach the top. I throw the door open and scramble through it. “Where is he?” I call out to Harrison as I race past.
“Don’t run in the house,” he calls after me.
“Where is he?” I repeat.
Harrison groans. “They're in the pool house.”
They’re? Plural.
I suck in an excited gasp.
FUCK YEAH! MY BOYS ARE HERE!
“OCEAN?” My name is hollered through the house from behind me. “What the fuck is going on?”
I barge through the door of the staff quarters and race past mom who gives me a knowing grin, then I weave through tables, chairs, and the coffee cart. “I ain’t slowing down, Milo. If you want in then you better hurry the fuck up.”
“Language,” mom scolds, but she’s too late to do anything about it as I barge out through the back door and cut across the side of the house. I race around one of the three pools on the property until I finally find it. The pool house.
Milo remains heavy on my heels and I’m sure that by now he’s probably caught onto what’s going on. After all, I’ve spent the last few days telling him all about them. By now, he probably knows them better than I do.
The door of the pool house is propped open with a box and I race through it before quickly glancing around. I haven’t been in here yet so this is all new, but right now, the furnishings are the last thing on my mind.
All four of my boys are making their way around the pool house, carrying boxes, and cleaning up the old housekeeper’s things. To be honest, it looks like they’re doing more harm than good but they have good intentions, whether they’re selfish or not.
I don’t dare stop, spying Nic in the kitchen. “There’s our girl,” Sebastian beams, giving Nic the slightest warning before I crash into him. Though, that warning could have also come from the squeal that tore out of me the second I saw my boys. I haven’t gone this long without seeing them … well, ever.
I throw myself up into the sky and he drops whatever is in his hands as he reaches out and catches me with ease.
My legs wrap around his waist as our arms curl around one another. His lips instantly come down on mine in a crushing kiss and I hold on with everything I have, kissing him back. He cuts the kiss short, knowing that anything more is going to set me off. “I fucking missed you,” he grins, spinning me around.
I laugh as the other guys start making their way over, knowing that Nic and I needed this small moment together. “It’s only been four days,” I remind him.
“I know,” he says, squeezing harder. “Four days too long. I’ve never gone this long without seeing you.”
My heart flutters and I beam at him until Sebastian is there, slipping his hands around my waist and tearing me off Nic. “Come here, brat.” He pulls me in tight and presses a kiss to my forehead and I feel my world finally beginning to right itself.
Eli is next and practically pulls me out of Sebastian’s arms, only to dip me low and come at me with puckered lips. “Try it and your life won’t be worth living,” Nic warns, making Eli’s lips pull into a wide teasing grin.
His head continues down toward me and he plants a kiss on my cheek, beaming down at me. “Hey, O. Missed you.”
“Missed you too, turd,” I smile as he helps me up.
Mr. Afraid Of Showing Emotion is next and I turn toward him with a cheesy as fuck grin. “Hey, Kai.”
He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah,” he grumbles under his breath, reaching for me and dragging me across the floor until I’m pulled into his wide arms. “Don’t get all mushy on me, pretty girl.”
I tilt my head, looking up and meeting his hard eyes. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Who the fuck is this?” Elijah grunts, his tone taking on a dark edge, one that reminds me that these four guys are not just my best friends but also gang members, each of them with several kills under their belts.
“Is this Carrington?”
At the sound of the name, all four of them stiffen, becoming the lethal boys I know and love, more than prepared to teach Colton a lesson and deliver a not so subtle warning.
I glance back at Milo and as he takes in the four boys bearing down on him, I race forward, throwing myself in front of him before the guys can do any damage. “No, no, no,” I screech. “You’ve got it wrong. This is Milo. He’s practically been my lifesaver over the past few days.”
“Milo?” Nic grunts, his eyes becoming suspicious. The other guys relax, the lethal look in their eyes disappearing, but I see the same suspicion reflected in all of them.
Kairo nods at Milo. “What do you want with our girl?”
Milo’s face scrunches up. “Umm … nothing. She’s a friend. That’s all.”
“That’s all?” Sebastian questions, taking a subtle step forward. “I hear you’re spending a lot of time with her. No one wants to be just friends with a chick and spends that amount of time with her unless he’s trying to fuck her.”
I roll my eyes and groan. “Knock it off,” I say, walking back into Nic’s arms and collapsing against his hard chest. “Milo’s gay. If anything, he’s been hanging around so he can get a good look at you four. I heard you guys have been considering a reverse harem since I’ve been gone, and Milo here has offered to be the girl in your sandwich.”
All five of them look horrified by the idea while I grin with victory. Yeah, that got them to shut up.
“So, you’re into dudes?” Elijah questions. “You don’t want to get between Ocean’s legs?”
“Look, I’m not going to lie. Ocean is sexy as fuck and if I were going to fuck a chick, she’d be the one I’d be trying to get with, but no. I’m not interested. I don't go to an all-boys school for the stellar education.”
Nic scoffs a laugh and just like that, I know we’re all cool. Though, maybe I should rephrase. My crew and I are all cool, while Milo looks like he’s sweating bullets. These guys aren’t exactly the clean-cut type of boys he’s used to seeing around Bellevue Springs. My crew are the kind of guys who look like they belong in prison. All four of them are covered head to toe in tattoos and piercings, their gang colors hanging off them proudly, not to mention the guns I felt at each of their backs.
Milo will be alright though. If anything, from what I’ve seen of Bellevue Springs, he’s safer here with these four gang members than the rest of this pretentious town.
I turn in Nic’s arms and grin up at him. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Had to see you,” he says. “I couldn’t stand the thought of you living in that house with that prick. The first night that punk s
nuck into your room and tried to touch you and then Carrington crept into your room last night. I don’t trust them and if this is as far away as I can get you, then you bet your ass that’s what we’re doing.”
I beam up at him before looking around my small group of friends. “So you all came to help move the old bat out of here?”
“Sure fucking did, kid,” Eli says.
“You know you guys are the best, right?”
Sebastian winks. “You can pay us back in sexual favors.”
Nic reaches around my back and smacks Sebastian up the backside of his head. “Knock it off and get back to work. I want this done so we can spare an hour or two to chill with our girl before we have to get back.”
“Really?” I beam. “Will you guys stay for dinner?”
“As long as it’s your mom’s nachos,” Kai says.
I cringe. “Mom has been working around the clock so I don’t know if she’ll have time to cook but I can put it together. I’ll just have to scavenge through the staff kitchen and see what I can steal.”
“Fuck, yeah,” Eli booms. “I fucking love those nachos. There’s something about the way you and your mom make your nachos that makes it so much better than everyone else's.”
“I know,” I grin wickedly, catching Eli’s eyes. “We lace it with laxatives and then watch as you guys stuff your faces and fight over the toilet.”
He rolls his eyes, not believing me for a second. “In your dreams, babe. You would never do that to us. Your mom is too nice and you don’t have the balls to follow through.”
My gaze darkens. “Want to make a bet?” I question. “Just ask Milo about all the shit I’ve had the balls to do over the last few days. It’s funny how tough you have to become when you don’t have your crew at your back.”
“Fuck,” Eli murmurs, the laughter gone from his voice as Nic’s hold tightens on my waist. “Is it really that bad?”
“Nah,” I say, trying to reassure them. “I can handle it.”
Milo scoffs from across the room. “Not that bad? There’s already been attempted rape, death threats, and Jude got beat up ... but I’m starting to see how that happened now. A teacher has been arrested and the Dean might be losing his job. Add the bullshit you’ve been getting from Colton on top of that, and yeah, things are going just swimmingly.”
I glare at my new friend. “Seriously?”
Nic and the boys look baffled. “Sounds like you’ve been holding out on us,” Kai murmurs, annoyed that they’ve been kept in the dark.
Milo continues. “There’s no point sugar-coating it, girl. Shit is going bad and you’ve only been here a few days. You could use the back up in your corner and they can’t help you if they don’t know what’s been going on.”
Nic nods. “I like this guy.”
I groan. “No. You guys need to stay out of it and keep your asses out of Bellevue Springs unless it’s to visit me. This place could get you guys in trouble. You’ve already got enough shit going on back home.”
“Is that why you didn’t tell us what’s really been going on?”
“What can I say? I’m pretty good at bad decisions.” On seeing Nic’s blank stare, I roll my eyes and let out a sigh, more than ready to start defending myself. “Don’t act like I haven’t told you anything. I’ve told you the important bits.”
Sebastian grunts. “But not all of it.”
“No,” I sigh. “Not all of it. This place isn’t good for you. Don’t act like I haven’t noticed the staff watching you out of the corner of their eyes, assuming you’re stealing all their shit. If one thing goes down while you’re here, everyone is going to point their fingers at you because you’re an easy out and they have the power to make it stick, no matter what evidence you have.”
“We’re big boys,” Nic tells me. “We can take care of ourselves. It’s you who needs to be looked out for.” He waits until I nod and then continues. “Good, now, let’s get you and your mom moved in so we can go and introduce ourselves to this Carrington kid.”
I roll my eyes, grinning up at him. “I’m not introducing you,” I laugh, glancing across at Milo with a knowing sparkle lighting my eyes. “Besides, I think he’s a little caught up at the doctor’s office, waiting for some results.”
Sebastian narrows his eyes, flicking his gaze between me and Milo. “What did you do?”
Milo grins. “We may have sent an anonymous tip that he needed to get checked for an STD. He’ll be shitting himself. An STD is a non-event for most people, but for people like Colton Carrington, an STD scandal is enough to have his face splashed across every news outlet in the world for months. It’d destroy his shiny reputation, not to mention what his father would do.”
Well, shit. I didn’t realize it was that bad.
Nic grins, pulling me in hard against his chest. “Okay,” he laughs, indicating to Milo with a subtle lift of his chin. “You can keep him.”
I beam up at him and he quickly spanks my ass, leaving it stinging for more. “Excellent,” I laugh before glancing around the pool house and taking in the way the boys have been packing up the old house keeper’s things. “Let’s get this done, but first thing’s first. I’m not a control freak, but you guys are doing it wrong.”
Chapter 11
“Come on,” Elijah says, his eyes filled with excitement as he speaks through a mouthful of nachos. “Let’s go out. I bet they have the best nightclubs around here. You’ve still got that fake ID, right?”
I scrunch up my face as the other guys groan at the idea of staying out late and partying Eli style. I can’t help but think of Milo. He went home a few hours ago but I’m sure if he were still here, he would have been on his feet and dragging Eli out the door, rattling off all the best clubs within a 50-mile radius.
“Sorry, I’ve got my Netflix pants on. I'm in for the night.” He rolls his eyes as though he thinks I’m a bore, but we all know he loves me more than life itself. I glance across at Nic as he lounges on the couch with his third serving of nachos resting on his toned stomach. “Didn’t you say you had things to do tonight anyway?”
He shakes his head. “Did. I fucked them off so we could hang out a bit longer. Dad can get some other poor loser to do his dirty work tonight.”
“Are you sure?”
His eyes fill with emotion as he watches me, and a small smile lifts the corners of his lips. “Shut up and eat your dinner.”
I grin down into my bowl and just as I go to respond, the door of the pool house flies open and mom steps through looking all kinds of exhausted. “Oh,” she says, wide-eyed. “You boys are still here. How are you all? I feel like I haven’t seen you in months when it’s only been a few days.”
“I know,” Nic says, sitting up on the couch to make space, knowing her routine just as well as she does. “We’re feeling it too.”
Mom gives him a warm smile and despite all the shit she told me about spacing myself from the boys and trying to make other friends, she can’t help but love them too. Sometimes families aren’t the people who share our blood. Sometimes it’s so much more than that.
No friends, only family.
Mom walks across the room while glancing around the pool house, stopping when she sees the framed photograph of us with my dad on the edge of the counter. Not being one to show her broken heart, she quickly covers the emotion and beams at the boys. “You boys did all of this just this afternoon? There must have been twenty of you to get it all set up so quickly,” she says, dropping down onto the space beside Nic and kicking off her shoes.
Even though we all know there wasn't much to set up, the boys all grin proudly. I adore the way Mom likes to make them feel loved for doing something for us out of the kindness of their little overprotective hearts.
“It was no problem,” Eli says. “You know we’d drop anything to make sure you guys had everything you needed.”
Mom smiles across at him, her pride and love beaming through her eyes. “Thank you, sweetheart. I really do appreciate it
. To be honest, I don’t think the old bat was ever planning on moving out of here.” She glances around, taking it all in before bringing her gaze back to me “It really is nice here. We’ve struck a good deal,” she says. “Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved my room in the main house but it’s nice to have our own space to relax and be ourselves. Staying in that room for the last few days was so …”
“Hotel like?” I offer when she can’t seem to find the word.
“Exactly,” she says, pointing across at me. “In here, we get to be just us.”
I smile across at her and it hits me just how much she’s loving it here. She’s thriving in her new job, loving the lifestyle, and making new friends. For once in her life, people other than her family are needing her, appreciating her, and valuing her time and she absolutely loves it. I just hope I’m not going to lose her to this world.
I slide my half-eaten bowl over to Kairo knowing he’ll want to eat it despite the two bowls he’s already chowed down. I push up from the table and make my way to the kitchen to dish up dinner for mom.
“How’s the new job going?” Sebastian asks, sitting up on the kitchen counter.
Mom sighs, leaning back on the couch. “It’s great. Better than I thought it was going to be but it’s exhausting. It’s got long hours and it’s going to take me a little while to adjust to it. The Carringtons are great hosts. I was expecting them to be like the snobby rich people you see on TV, but Charles is great and a very generous man. He gives me a great rate and makes sure his staff are well cared for, Ocean too. I’m not so sure about Colton though, I haven’t really had a chance to get to know him yet but I’m sure that will come. My feet though,” she chuckles, leaning over and giving them a rub. “They’ve been aching with having to be on them all day long. I wasn’t quite expecting that.”
“I bet,” I tell her, walking across the room and handing over her dinner. “Have you got the same shift tomorrow or do you get a break?”
“I’ve got a half-day tomorrow,” she explains. “Charles is flying out at 4 am for a business meeting across the country and won’t be requiring the staff on hand until the afternoon. Though the maids will still have to come in at their usual time and do their thing. After all, we have that big party to prepare for on Saturday. Friday is going to be insane with preparations. Maryne has been giving me the rundown on how it’s all going to work.”
Tough Sh*t: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rejects Paradise Book 1) Page 12