Flawed (Caught By The Bad Boys Book 2)

by Raathi Chota

  “Sorry,” Nick and Liam said in unison.

  “I like this air,” Liam stated as he turned to Nick with a smile.

  “Okay,” Nick said in an ominous tone as he gave Liam a smile too. Their friendship was weird, but I knew that Nick wouldn’t leave Liam, no matter how annoyed he got.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Lana

  We arrived, and I forced myself up, then looked around. There was absolutely nothing, just a long road and brown gravel. I slowly got out of the car and stretched. On the left side of the road were a lamp post and a sign that displayed Route 28. On the right aspect of the road, a few feet away, was Ethan’s cottage. While the guys walked to the lamp post, I stared at the cottage. The cottage brought back so many memories. Now to see it deserted and the “For Sale” sign up made my stomach turn. Ethan told me his dad wasn’t impressed, and he got scolded for keeping it from him for two years.

  “See, it’s the same!” Liam exclaimed as I turned around. Nick was in the position Jack was when the photograph was taken. Benny held up the photo, and Liam looked down at his camera. I approached them and stood next to Liam as I stared at the screen. Nick held the same expression as Jack with the sign behind him, and it was identical to the original.

  “Wow, that’s kinda creepy.” I looked at the photograph of Nick and Jack.

  “I wonder who sent the picture in,” Benny said as his forehead creased.

  “If it was his family, they chose a shitty place for a picture,” Nick said as he looked up at the sign. I stuffed my hands in my jacket pockets and looked across the street again. It’s funny; I still pictured the day when Blake forced me on his motorcycle and told me to drive. The looks on their faces showed that they were afraid. Even now when we spoke about James, they looked at me.

  “Is it for sale?” Liam snapped me out of my thoughts.

  “No, that sign is just up there for decoration,” Nick replied sarcastically.

  “You know your sarcasm hurts sometimes.” Liam pouted as he placed his hand on his chest. Nick was about to say something as he approached Liam, but Benny held him back, then glared at Liam.

  “Can you two just…not annoy Lana and me?” Benny asked as he lifted his hands to separate the two.

  “He started it.” Liam huffed as he walked forward. My brows furrowed as I watched the tall brunette walk across the street and toward Ethan’s cottage. I followed him, and Benny and Nick grunted as they trailed behind.

  “Liam, what are you doing?” I asked as he studied the cottage. I followed his gaze to see that the doors were surrounded by chains, but it seemed like someone had broken them since pieces laid on the ground. Liam and I looked at each other, then back at the chains.

  “We’re investigators,” Liam whispered as he took a picture of the chains, then stepped forward.

  “You are dumb to go in there!” Nick scolded as Liam pulled the chains off.

  “Why would it be locked if it’s up for sale?” Liam asked, then dropped the chains.

  “Maybe someone has their eye on it, so Ethan’s dad is keeping it locked until he can put the ‘sold’ sign up,” I guessed.

  “Then who would cut the chains?” Benny asked as he stood next to me.

  “I don’t know, but let’s investigate!” Liam cheered as he walked in.

  “Liam, get out of there! We could get into trouble!” I exclaimed as I went after him. The place looked empty without the furniture. I noticed the walls needed a paint job because I could see the shadows left behind from the posters that had been on the walls. A few things were scattered around, like a chair, trashcan, and toolbox.

  “How do you guys know about Ethan’s cottage?” I asked when Ethan told me that I was the first person other than the four of them to be in here.

  “Kelly started a massive rumor about this place back in sophomore year. You should’ve seen the shit she did to try and get in here,” Nick replied, then walked over to Liam, who was in the kitchen. “Dude, don’t eat that! What if it’s expired?” Nick stated as we watched Liam eat a bag of cookies.

  “They expire in May,” Liam said with a mouthful of food. Nick stared at him in disbelief as his eyebrows drew together. I laughed as I walked away from the two and further into the cottage. The door a few feet away reminded me of the day when everything went to hell. I slowly entered the room and saw that it was empty.

  I stood in the middle of the room and folded my arms. I let out a sigh, still picturing everything, the bed I laid on when they entered the room. Aidan blocked my view of the living room, but it didn’t make a difference since we’re almost the same height, and when Blake kissed me. Then the realization hit me that they dealt with drugs. To be honest, a part of me enjoyed it, but a full part of me realized how much emotional pain he’d put me through. I let out a dry laugh and thought about how he fucked up every time yet moved on as if it were nothing. I was done with Blake, and I noticed he’s over me since he had wild parties, street raced, and slept around for the past week. I shook my head in amusement as I remembered when he told me there was a difference. Even though he’s a combination of both.

  “Hey, you okay?” Benny’s voice interrupted my thoughts, and I spun around. I nodded with a smile as he approached me. I put my arms around his torso and pulled him in for a long sweet kiss. He immediately responded as his arms snaked around my waist and brought me closer. “Wh-what was that for?” he breathed out afterward.

  “Just…you make me happy, and I haven’t been like that for a while.” I smiled.

  “You make me happy too. Your smile is beautiful,” he said as the corner of his mouth raised. My smile grew bigger as he pulled me in for a hug again. I rested my head on his shoulder as he ran his fingers through my hair. It was true he made me happy and carefree; I felt like a whole new person whenever I was around him. I felt better.

  “Yo, guys, come check this out!” Liam’s voice echoed throughout the cottage as Benny and I pulled away. We walked out of the room and into the hallway, where we saw Nick in front of the bathroom door.

  “Liam, what is it?” Benny asked as we stood in front of the door.

  “If you want me to recheck your piss, it’s not happening, bro! Remember, if it’s too yello—” Nick cut off when Liam opened the door and pulled us in.

  “What do you want?” I scrunched my nose.

  “Guess,” Liam stated with a grin as he leaned against the sink.

  “Dude, it smells like shit in here. What the hell?” Benny asked as he waved his hand over his face.

  “Exactly!” Liam beamed as he raised his hands.

  “What?” Nick asked as he stared at Liam, and I noticed he was annoyed.

  “Benny, walk to the bathtub,” Liam ordered as he pointed to the white tub.

  “Why?”

  “Come on, just do it. We’re investigators!” Liam whined as he raised his camera.

  “Okay.” Benny sighed. He did as told and walked across to the bathtub. Nick and I watched as Benny slowly spun around and looked at Liam. “Liam, what did you do?” he asked as he looked at the floor.

  “Nothing,” Liam answered as his eyebrows rose.

  “What is it, Benny?” I asked as he continued to walk back and forth. He stopped in the middle and swayed as he looked down. We followed his gaze to see the tiles beneath his feet wobble. I stepped forward and moved a tile with my foot. The one that I moved was smaller than the others. We surrounded the odd tile and stared at it.

  “Well…” Liam trailed off as he crouched down. My eyes widened as he picked up the tile. It came off quickly, as if it wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place. Then one by one the other tiles came out like a jigsaw puzzle gone wrong. I watched in astonishment as they picked up the tiles and tossed them into the bathtub. Once they were done, they stood up again, and I gaped at the thing below us.

  “Holy shit,” Benny mumbled. Below our feet lay a dusty cement floor, but what brought our attention was the utility hole cover where Benny once stood. We
gave each other suspicious looks as to why there’s a utility hole cover in an abandoned cottage in the middle of nowhere. Nick crouched down and grazed his fingers over the rusty metal. He tried to lift it up, but it wouldn’t budge, so we crouched down to help.

  “Okay. Go!” Nick exclaimed, and we lifted. As we pulled the lid up, an unpleasant smell filled the atmosphere, which was worse than the smell of the bathroom already.

  “Oh my God,” I said as we pushed the lid aside.

  “What do you think is down there?” Benny asked as we looked down the utility hole that was dark yet a few bars displayed, which I assumed was a ladder.

  “Well, only one way to find out!” Liam responded as he swung his legs over and began to climb down.

  “Are you crazy? It smells like shit down there!” I pinched the bridge of my nose.

  “We’re investigators!” Liam cheered.

  “It’s getting pretty old!” Nick sang as he joined Liam with no hesitation. Eventually, Benny and I joined the two because we didn’t want them to go down alone.

  The horrible stinky smell filled the air as we walked. I had come to the conclusion that we were in the sewers. Liam thought it was tunnels, but as he walked, he almost fell into the gooey liquid, so we were underground by the sewers.

  “Sixty-eight bottles of beer on the wall, sixty-eight bottles of beer. Take one down, pa—”

  “Would you shut up?” Nick demanded as he cut off Liam.

  “I’ve been singing for the past hour, and you only stop me now?” Liam asked as he looked over his shoulder where Nick was.

  “I was screaming in my head, hoping that you’d stop. Now I just want you to freaking stop!” Nick groaned. Liam frowned, then dragged his feet as we walked on the side. Benny guided us while I stood next to Liam. Nick trailed behind and took in every aspect of the dimly lit sewer.

  “What are you doing?” I asked Liam as he looked at his camera screen.

  “Just looking at pictures,” he mumbled as I leaned in to see them, but he backed away.

  “Can I see?” I asked, but he shook his head. “Come on, Liam; you take good pictures.” I extended my arm to take the camera. Once I got a hold of it, he pulled on my jacket to get it back. I ran with the camera and laughed.

  “Lana, come on!” he whined as he chased after me. I caught up to Benny, then stood in front of him. I scanned through the pictures, and my jaw dropped. Once Liam reached us, I glanced up at him and let out a squeal.

  “I knew it!” I cheered as I handed the camera to Benny. “Liam’s got a crush.” I gestured to the many pictures of Miranda whether she posed, smiled, ate, or walked.

  “Dude.” Benny grinned as he went through the pictures.

  “Please don’t tell her! Besides, it’s just a stupid little crush,” Liam said.

  “Aww, why, though?” I asked as Nick caught up with us.

  “There are many reasons, Lana!” he stated as his eyes widened. “Number one, she has a boyfriend. Number two, he’s a soccer player, and not just any soccer player, but the captain of the soccer team! Number three, he has nice luscious hair. I mean, did you see those brown curls, bro?” he asked Nick, who stood next to him.

  “Luscious?”

  “And number four, he has a freaking eight pack! Look at me!” Liam exclaimed as he raised his shirt. “I got a fat pack!”

  “But you play football,” Benny said as he raised a brow at Liam’s stomach.

  “Yeah, and I eat a lot of burritos.” Liam huffed as he stared at one of the pictures of Miranda and Marcus. “I envy this dude and his luscious hair.”

  “Do you hate Marcus?” Nick asked as he continued to walk.

  “No, I just want something bad to happen to him.” Liam shrugged as I laughed. As we walked, Liam continued to talk about Miranda to Nick. I smiled when he said he only showed up to homeroom because she’s there. I glanced up and noticed we’d approached a corner. The smell didn’t get any better the further we walked, and I wanted to go home.

  “Do you know where we’re going?” I asked Benny.

  “Not really,” he replied, then looked around.

  “Wait, what? So we’ve been lost the whole time?” I asked as I gripped on his arm.

  “Well, yeah. It’s bad lighting, and it’s not every day you’re walking in the sewers on a Saturday night,” Benny said as he raised his voice.

  “You could’ve said something, or we should’ve done the smart thing and went back,” I snapped. “Now we’re lost!”

  “Okay, yeah, I’m sorry. Let me just whip out my phone…” he exclaimed, then took his phone out. I watched him throw his arms up in exasperation. “Oh wait! There’s no fucking signal!” he exclaimed, then shoved the phone in his pocket.

  “Don’t have to be a sarcastic prick,” I hissed, then turned the corner. As I walked, I felt someone grip my arm and whip me around. I came face to face with Benny as he searched my face. A frown filled his features as we locked eyes.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be a sarcastic prick and snap like that. I’m just exhausted,” he admitted, then cupped my cheeks. I frowned as I avoided eye contact.

  “Yeah, and I’m sorry for acting like that. It’s just really smelly and cold down here,” I whispered as he looked at me with concern.

  “You’re getting sick,” he stated as he began to take off his jacket.

  “No, no, no…it’s okay. Then you’ll get sick,” I said as I stopped him.

  “Are you sure?” he asked as he brought me in for a hug.

  “Yes, Benny Nielson, now do your job and get us out of here,” I said, and he laughed. We walked on, and Liam caught up to me. He glanced around the sewers, then stuffed his hands in his pockets.

  “Do you think the teenage mutant ninja turtles are here?” he asked.

  “They live in New York’s sewers. We’re in Illinois.” I chuckled.

  “Oh yeah…I forgot,” Liam stated.

  “Guys, look!” Benny exclaimed as he ran forward. Nick and I exchanged looks, then followed Benny while Liam took random pictures. We ran for about two minutes, which wasn’t a good idea, because I sneezed. Benny stopped by a wall, and he looked up. We followed his gaze to see another utility hole, which meant a way out.

  “Out of my way! I’m hungry as hell!” Liam exclaimed as he came out of nowhere and pushed Nick aside as he climbed the ladder. “What’s the time?”

  “Wow, it’s nine p.m.,” Benny said as he checked his watch.

  “Holy shit,” Liam remarked as he pushed the lid open and got out. Nick and Benny told me to go next, and I gladly did. Once we were out, familiar noises bombarded my ears. When I looked around at the familiar surroundings, my jaw dropped as I realized where we were.

  “What the fuck…” Nick muttered as we glanced around the alley.

  “We’re in the industrial area.” I breathed out and noticed that the utility whole was a few feet away from the wall.

  “Come on, we gotta get out of here. It’s Saturday night. Who knows what happens this side at night?” Benny said as he took my hand in his and dragged us out of the alley. We walked down the sidewalk, and the sounds of car honks, shouts, and traffic surrounded us. As we turned the corner, a big crowd blocked our view. My eyes widened as I realized that there was a street race.

  “Lana? Benny? What are you guys doing here?”

  “I should be asking you the same thing.” I eyed Carter up and down suspiciously.

  “And why do you guys smell like shit?” He waved his hand in front of his face.

  “I should be asking you the same thing,” Liam retorted as he placed his hands on his hips.

  “Well, you can’t be here,” Carter stated as he gave me a once-over. Before I could ask why, Aidan and Tiffany appeared next to Carter. Aidan gave us strange looks as he took in our appearances. We weren’t pleasant with our frizzy hair, dirty clothes, and awful smell.

  “Hey, you want a hug?” Liam asked as he opened his arms to Aidan.

  “What? No.”
Aidan continuously shook his hands. Liam was obviously taller than Aidan as he pulled him in for a hug and rubbed his smell on him. I grinned at Tiffany as I opened my arms.

  “Lana, no,” she warned and backed away. I laughed as she spun around and ran away. I followed her past the crowd and onto the sidewalk.

  “Lana, watch out!” someone yelled, and I instantly froze. I didn’t even realize that we’d run across the street. Tiffany was on the other side, but I froze right in the middle. I turned to my right and watched four cars idle. My eyes widened as I realized a race was about to start. When I looked at the drivers, I noticed Ethan and Keene, yet the other two’s lights were so bright I couldn’t see them.

  “Get out of the way, bitch,” the flag girl hissed as she stared at me.

  “What’s the magic word?” I sang, then approached her.

  “Get out of the way, bitch…now,” she demanded as she placed her hands on her hips. I smirked, then hugged her. She let out a high-pitched scream as she tried to pull away. “Get her off me! She smells like shit!” she yelled as Nick wrapped his arms around my torso and picked me up.

  “At least I smell better than your va—”

  “Whoa! I think we have to go,” Benny said as he stepped between us before we’d attacked each other.

  “Yeah, get this smelly bitch-ass whore out of my face,” the girl demanded, and Benny looked at her.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who you calling bitch-ass whore, you du—” Benny cut off when Aidan pulled him away. As Nick and Aidan dragged Benny and me away before I slapped the girl, I held up my middle fingers, and people cheered. Nick set me down next to Liam and Benny, and I glared at the girl as she raised the flag.

  “Don’t worry, she’s always a bitch on the streets,” Carter assured us as the crowd cheered when the cars sped off.

  “Yeah, but not in bed!” Jaden added as he high-fived Carter, who nodded in agreement.

  “We’re gonna go,” Nick stated as he walked away.

  “You sure? I can give you a ride in my truck,” Carter suggested.

  “No, it’s okay. My apartment is a few blocks away,” Liam assured him.