by L. J. Woods
“I have news that will make things better.” My jaw tenses. All I want is no more surprises but it doesn’t look like I’m getting that wish anytime soon. Novak smiles. “You did not hear it from me but you can use some happiness.” He looks around, using the funeral pamphlet to shield his mouth from passersby. “I hear you have made it to the Bruins.”
My eyes widen. “Fuck off …” I put up a hand, apologizing. “My bad, it’s just … really?” After getting kicked off the team, I thought I was out of luck.
“Yeah!” He slaps me with the pamphlet. “You play like your dad! A monster! You did not hear from me.” He pats my back hard before he leans away. “Your mom, she is proud. Let me know if you need something, yeah?”
I nod as a clap comes from behind me. Violet again.
I sigh, “Did I mention this event is family only?”
“Thought we were family,” she smiles and with the news Novak just gave me, I’m starting to see Violet in a new light. A light that’ll make me forget my mom just got buried six feet deep. At least for tonight.
Before I can make Violet an offer for a drink, a commotion erupts from the foyer.
“Get the fuck out of here!” A loud voice comes from the entrance. And I know that voice.
Allie.
“Give me a minute,” I tell Violet, walking towards the sounds. She won't. If there’s drama around the corner, I know Violet’s following.
When I get to the foyer, I confirm it. Allie yells at someone in a dark hoodie … thigh-high boots.
Shit.
Rayne.
A weight lifts off my chest seeing her here and the relief I get when I stare into her eyes is more than I get from seeing my twin sister.
“Go!” Allie yells, a small circle forming around them. Rayne tries to settle her down and this isn't how I imagined them getting reacquainted. “How dare you even show up here?” Like my mom’s family, Allie blames Rayne. She pushes against Rayne’s chest. “Get. Out!”
Not telling her what happened wasn’t an option. After senior year, we vowed to never hide shit from each other again. No matter how dark. No matter how twisted. Needless to say, she didn’t take it well.
Lea, her girlfriend, stands beside her, backing her every word and fuelling the fire in typical Lea fashion. “You have zero class showing up here, Rose.”
“Allie!” I call to her, knowing that Violet is getting her fill.
“You invited her?” She pokes at Rayne’s chest again and while I know Ray can throw around her weight, she holds back.
She catches my eye, the room around us disappearing when she does. It’s hard to look away but if I stare at her anymore, the distance I’ve built this week will all be for nothing.
I want to hold her. I want to let it all out on her. On her body. In whatever way I can. But I fight it. “I didn’t, but—”
“Then get the fuck out!” Allie yells again.
My dad walks in at the worst possible time and like I expect, he’s already drunk, that obvious stumble in his step. But I’m more surprised to see Henry beside him.
Who the fuck invited him?
Dad falls and I’m quick to go up to him, grabbing his arm. “Is that the bitch!?” He points a finger to Rayne, not sure what he knows, but when I look up, Rayne’s heading for the door.
And Henry follows her.
"Get out!" Dad yells behind her like she’s a stray cat. "And stay out!"
Twenty-Seven
Rayne
“Rayne!”
A raindrop hits my head the minute I’m back in the chilly air, a familiar voice coming from behind me.
When I turn around, Henry’s approaching me in a black suit. Emerald tie. The colour of Christian’s eyes.
Shaking my head I turn towards the driveway. Considering how I’ve been doing in Henry’s class, I doubt he has any good news and I’ve had enough bad news for a lifetime.
“Rayne, hey!” His steps pick up behind me and when he pulls on my arm, I pull back. He smiles. My eyes narrow before he raises his arms in surrender. “I’m only checking if you’re okay. Things didn’t sound too good back there.”
“Checking if I’m okay?” Pulling my hood over my head I keep storming away. “Or here to tell me I should’ve known better than to date Perez? ‘Cause you have about three minutes until I’m off the property to do so.”
If I knew better than to date Perez, we wouldn’t be in this mess. We wouldn’t be at his mom’s fucking funeral. We wouldn’t be psychotic criminals. I wouldn’t be craving his hold. Craving his lips.
My fists clench.
I’m so fucking stupid for coming here.
“Rayne, wait.” He pulls on my arm again, turning me around. “As your professor, I know better than to comment on the relations of my students though you’re right. I usually don’t recommend it. Especially not with people like that.”
The cloud breaks and rain begins to fall as Henry takes a step forward. “Let’s go for that coffee.” He smiles, one that spreads across his face and makes his blue eyes dazzle. “I don’t think you want to be back inside, but I also don’t think you want to walk home in the rain, Rayne.” He winks when he relates my name to the weather and for some reason, his cheesy joke makes a smile pull at my lips. “Whaddya say?”
Looking back at the house, he’s right. I don’t wanna be there. And if Lexi’s there, it’s best I come back when it’s all over. “Fine. Coffee it is.”
The drive over to MOCHA helps to calm me, Henry playing jazz on the radio the entire drive. He makes a few jokes about his family and while Henry didn’t exactly grow up poor, he separates himself from the assholes in Eden.
Once inside the cafe, he orders up a couple of macchiatos before we tuck into a velvet and marble booth by the side.
“Feelin’ better?” he asks as I cup the warm golden-rimmed mug in my hands. The taste of mocha and cocoa blend on my tongue before giving him a weak smile.
He looks around before he reaches into the inner pocket of his blazer, revealing a flask. “This will help.” He winks like we're sharing a secret. “Grandma’s moonshine.”
A bigger smile spreads across my face. “Wow, Henry. You walk around with that thing?”
“Considering the students I have, I’d be an idiot not to.” He chuckles as he pours a shot into my drink.
Taking it to my lips, I let the added burn settle on my tongue. “Thanks.”
“I owe you one. You’ve made my class a lot more bearable. For the most part.” His eyes move around the room. More rich pricks in fancy attire. “As long as you don’t dumb yourself down to get into the pants of these idiots.”
“Is that why you’re failing me in class?” I ask, slumping back in my seat. “Cause you owe me one?”
His eyes narrow like he's reading me, a look a father would give. “I want you to push yourself, Rayne. This is a prestigious school. Not a community college. I know you can do better. Without distractions.”
And now he sounds like my dad. I don’t answer, taking another swallow of spiked coffee instead.
He must see the shift in my demeanour because he changes the subject. “So, why didn’t you give your manuscript to me instead of Charley at Puffin Press?” My eyes narrow, body stiff. Word travels as fast at Puffin as it does in Eden. Henry leans back in his seat and I catch a twitch of his jaw before he smiles. “I mean, it might’ve been easier to get a spot at Puffin through me instead of ruining your chances with her.”
My eyes hit the chandelier above us. “You can thank Perez for that. Since I’m failing …” I enunciate so Henry can realize this is also his fault. “He thought it would be a good idea to give Charley my unfinished manuscript. The real plan was to give you the finished thing at the end of the semester but he can be—”
“Stupid,” Henry finishes. “You had the better plan, Ray. Charley doesn’t look at crap.” When I scrunch my nose, he corrects himself, “‘Cause all first drafts are crap, right?”
“Right,” I mutter,
tipping the mug to my lips.
Having coffee with Henry Henderson should be a dream, but it's not. Not when saying what happened again makes me realize Christian meant well. He did what came to his entitled, rich mind but he did it for me.
Still, Henry’s right. It was a bad idea. Like how bad it was to ever fake a relationship with him. How bad it was to ever blur those lines between us.
“Rayne?” Henry breaks me out of my thoughts. “Did you finish it? The manuscript?” His voice sounds muffled as I blink through the blur in my eyes.
Should slow down on the booze-infused coffee. It’s going right to my head. Shaking it off, I look to Henry, “Almost.” My eyes wander to the marble bar at the front of the room, my vision blurry again.
“Well,” Henry sits up, leaning in. “I don’t have the time to look at it anymore, but, when you’ve completed the story, I can hand it to someone better than Charley.”
Ignoring the fuzziness and the heat on my skin, I sit up too, meeting Henry in his blue eyes. He’s willing to give me another chance?
“Don’t fuck with me, Henry.” My finger hangs with a lazy point at him. Damn this shit hits quick.
He smiles wider. “I’m serious.”
There’s a queasiness in my stomach but I’m sure it’s the excitement. That or this moonshine is very fucking strong. “Wow, I—I dunno what to say. Thank you, Henry.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he says, his voice sounding all muffled and warbled again. What the fuck is going on? “Consider it a barter of favours, but that means you’ll have to do something for me first.”
Something lurches in my stomach, and I bring a hand to my mouth. “Uh, give me a sec,” I say, my skin cold, goosebumps rising to the surface. Pushing on the table, I rise from my seat but my legs feel weak. Wobbly. The room starts to tilt and I hang on to the table.
“Alright?” Henry’s voice sounds like he’s underwater but I hold out a hand.
“Bathroom.” That’s all I can muster as the lights above seem to shine brighter. Then they dim.
Grabbing tables and chairs as I pass them, I try to head for the ladies’ room. When I’m almost there, my shoulder slams into a wall.
What the fuck?
Pushing against the wall, my entire body feels off. Wavy. Weak.
Like I'm seasick on a boat in a storm.
“Hey,” Henry’s warbly voice comes beside me and my head starts to spin. “You okay, Ray?”
“I …” Blinking again, the room doesn’t return to me and it feels like I’m in a dream.
“Why don’t we get you some fresh air, huh?” My arm comes around his wide back, an arm coming around my waist in a tight grip as he leads me towards the entrance.
He says something to someone as he pushes me forward, my legs like noodles. I can’t understand much of what they're saying before cold rain hits my face.
My feet lift off the ground, Henry cradling me in his arms but I’m starting to lose sight of where I am. Eden? The Grove?
“Wh-what was—”
“You're exhausted from it all,” Henry says into my ear before my ass hits a seat. Leather.
The sound of a car door closing follows, the patter of rain hitting the paint. As I try to keep my eyes open, I realize I’m in the back seat of a car.
Whose car?
My arm is limp when it reaches for the handle on the door but it won’t open before someone comes in on the other side.
“Hey.” An arm comes around me again. “You don’t wanna toss yourself out of the car, Rayne.” There’s a light laugh that makes one pull at my lips but I don’t know what’s so funny. “You’re safe here.”
It doesn't feel safe.
“Hen-Henry?”
Right. I was having coffee with Henry.
One he spiked.
“Wh-what was in …” My words come out a lazy slur and if I can hardly understand what I’m saying, I’m not sure he can either.
“What were we talking about? We were talking about getting your manuscript in the hands of some very powerful people in the publishing world.” I hear the sound of a zipper. “We were talking about how you’ll owe me but it seems you got way too sloshed on Mami’s moonshine.”
How long were we in the coffee shop? My mind is a blur as my head falls on his lap.
“This is the favour you mentioned, Rayne.” He pushes my head until my nose hits something soft, smooth. Warm and velvety. “You and I felt a connection in that class until Perez came along, didn’t we?” A finger comes to my bottom lip like he’s trying to get it open. “No one will know except us. And you’ll have the publishing world at your feet, Ray. Just do a little something for me. Something you’ve been dying to do. I see the way you look at me in class.”
I’m trying to swat it away, bile rising inside me but Henry pulls on my hair, putting my lips right at the tip of his cock. “St-stop.” I push the words out of my mouth, getting ready to bite the thing off.
That’s when cold air whips into the car, and Henry’s cock disappears from my face.
Thuds, curses, and smacks erupt from beside me. They sound both distant and near. The sounds all warble together as I push myself off the seat. I’m pulled out of the car from the other side and I try to fight it before a familiar scent envelopes me.
A smack comes to my face. “Rayne? You in there, Rose?” Isaac’s voice flows through my head.
“You fucking bitch!” Henry’s voice comes after. “Is this a fucking setup? I’ll never help you again!”
“Sorry, Henderson.” That voice twists my gut and even without knowing what the fuck is going on, a blanket of comfort washes over me. Perez. “Looks like she’s not the one that needs the help.”
Thud!
Smack!
Crack!
The sound of beating flesh doesn’t stop until someone calls out. “Enough!” Christian again.
“Get the fuck out of here, Henderson.” That’s King’s voice. “You look fucking pathetic.”
Rain soaks my hair and clothes before I hear muttering in an Australian accent. A car door closes before wet tires speed away. Footsteps approach me, the sound of splashing water coming with it.
“Why the fuck didn’t you listen to me, Ray?” Christian’s voice is loud like he’s right in front of me. “I left my mother’s fucking funeral for this shit.”
“Dude, lay off.” Isaac helps to keep me standing. “She’s hardly conscious.”
“Isn’t that how you like ‘em, Johnson?” King asks with a low chuckle.
I try to speak but nothing comes out. Like even speaking is too much for how weak I am right now. How stupid I am.
“Fuck this, I’m leaving.” Christian’s voice turns distant before anything comes out of my mouth. “My family needs me.”
“S-sorry.” I manage to say but I’m not sure he hears it.
“What do you want us to do?” King asks, a skunky smell in the air. “Say the word.”
“I don’t give a fuck.” Christian growls. “My dad’s right. Women will only bring you down.”
“Well, damn,” Isaac says, another car speeding off and my stomach churns knowing the sound of that engine.
I’ve been listening out for it all week, hoping we’d settle whatever the fuck this is. Hearing it speed away was not what I expected.
I hear the flick of a lighter. “Fuck, Rose, you got my boy all messed up,” King’s voice warbles.
Shivering, I lean into Isaac’s hold. He’s warm. Smells like Armani and the fact that I know that means I’ve gotten way too reacquainted with Eden.
“Wouldn’t be Eden if we didn’t shell out an ass-whooping,” Isaac says. “I guess I’ll bring her home.”
I have no home.
Not when August wants me gone. Not when my dad thinks I’m the worst daughter alive.
I don’t realize I’m sobbing into his shirt until I try to speak. “I have nowhere to go.” Realizing Christian’s abandoned me too, after saving me from a sticky as fuck situation, I'm mo
re lost than when I arrived.
Isaac sighs, “Guess you’re coming with me.”
Twenty-Eight
Rayne
“Fuck you, Isaac!”
Lexi’s voice is the first thing I hear.
It rattles through my brain with a marching band already parading through my skull.
Light streams in through dusty pink curtains. Looking around the room, I blink. Not sure how I did it, but it seems I’ve made it somewhere safe.
“Oh, you’re up,” Lexi says, stopping by the bed in her frantic pacing. Perching on the edge of her mattress, she stares into my eyes like I’m a hurt puppy. I wince. “Are you okay? How are you feeling?”
I don’t realize how parched I am until she hands me a tall glass of water. I down it before I nod, leaning against Lexi’s lit-up headboard. “Yeah, thanks.”
Boxes litter the room, K-Pop posters on the white walls. A cloud chandelier hangs from above but it looks like she’s half moved in. Or half moved out.
“Well, Handsy Henry is officially fired from ERU.” Lexi crawls into the spot beside me on the large, circular bed. She shimmies herself under the covers and that’s when I realize she’s only in a large neon green shirt. She gets comfy like we’ve been friends forever. “And I’m sure after all this, the school will give you some gifts … unless you plan on pressing charges. Do you?”
I wince again, her question coming at me way too quick. I’m trying to piece together my night but it’s hard. All I remember is getting yelled at by Christian’s twin, going for coffee, and …
“Henry fucking Henderson,” I mutter, my grip tightening on the glass. “I’m gonna kill that motherfucker.”
Lexi’s eyes grow wide when she takes the glass from my hands. “Don’t worry, Christian took care of it.”
“Perez?” My stomach knots at the mention of his name, looking around the room again. Something about the space is a little familiar though I can’t remember ever being in Lexi’s room.