“What are you saying?” I ask, looking back at Ranger.
“We’re saying we like our crew as it is, so let’s stick with it. No other guys, no other girls, just us.” He gives me a look and then sighs, stealing the joint from Micah as he goes to pass it to Spencer. “We’re saying that unless something changes, we want to make this our thing.”
“We’re not going to pressure you, or just wait around for you to pick. We’re here, for the long haul.” Spencer exhales and then reaches up to touch the side of my face with a gloved hand. “That’s the biggest part of your birthday present, Chuck. We’re committing to this.” He taps the ring that Church gave me. “All of us, and you, for as long as you’ll have us.”
“You’re not jealous?” I manage to whisper, slowly losing my capacity for human speech. I’m floored. Beyond floored. Pulverized. Crushed. Splatted. But in the best way possible. This is all I want, for us to … be like this. Now and forever. If things change, we’ll figure it out, but for now, at least, this is real.
Spencer shrugs his shoulder, but then he smiles at me, a real, true genuine sort of smile.
“Maybe a little, but I figure that’s normal, right? If I wasn’t jealous, would I even be human? My point is, I’m saying it’s not relevant. I’m doing this for you.” He pauses and thinks for a moment before correcting himself. “With you.”
“With you,” Church agrees, and then he pours another round of champagne. The boys clink their glasses with mine a second time. “Till death do us part,” Church toasts, and we all murmur it in reply. What that means, exactly, I’m not sure. Hopefully it doesn’t end up being quite such a literal statement before the year is over.
That’s as far as I get before my eyes swell with tears, and I have to shove a chocolate strawberry in my mouth to hold back some ridiculously girly crying. Not that there’s anything wrong with girly crying. I just … don’t want to cry right now, I want to smile.
I want to be happy.
“Before we forget,” Tobias says, rising from his seat and grabbing a pink garment box from behind the table of food. It’s tied with a white ribbon, and decorated with a bouquet of pink, purple, and red flowers. When I open the card on the top, it just says Courtesy of the Student Council.
“What is it?” I ask, and Micah gives me a hard look.
“Chuck, open it.” He grins as I untie the ribbon and pull the lid off.
Inside, there’s a gorgeous pink gown with white lace on the shoulders. Tobias pulls it out for me and stands up, so he can hold its full, glorious length out for me to see.
“We had this custom made,” Church says, looking at me and not the dress. “It was a group effort this time. I know I can be pushy with these sorts of things.”
“It’s fucking gorgeous,” I say, standing up and touching my fingers to the delicate lace, the full skirt, and the ruched bodice. “What’s it for?”
“This isn’t just your birthday present, it’s your …” Ranger pauses and grits his teeth like he’s in pain. “God, the word is too stupid for me to say. I can’t do it. Somebody else take a crack at it.”
“Promposal,” the twins say in unison, and I grin, throwing my arms around Tobias’ neck, and then giving each of the other guys a hug just like it. “So, will you go to prom with us?”
“I accept. Yes on all accounts,” I tell them, brimming with energy and excitement as I help Tobias put the dress back in the box. “Any chance I can also get a group snug under the stars?”
“A … snug?” Micah asks, tilting his head to one side.
“Snuggle, idiot,” Tobias says, shoving his twin onto the mattress. “And of course, you can. That’s what we brought all this stuff up here for.”
He crawls in on Spencer’s other side, Ranger on the far end. I’m in the middle with Micah on my right, and Church on his other side.
We take turns passing the joint back and forth, the Milky Way galaxy sparkling in the sky like a painting.
Did I just get a reverse harem ending?
Yeah, yeah, I think I just did.
I just hope that this really is the happy ending to my story, and not a blip in a horror film set on a course for disaster.
The pot makes us all a bit drowsy, but after a few ours of smoking and napping and talking about stars (and aliens, lots of alien talk up there), we force our asses up for some food. Because if there’s one emotion that can take control over drowsiness when you’re high, it’s that feeling you get when you know you have the munchies.
“It’s not fair that everything tastes so much better when you’re stoned,” I groan, pressing my back against Tobias as we cuddle in the blankets and try to gauge just how long it’s going to snow before the weather chases us off the roof and back inside the warmth of the dorm.
“It’s totally fair,” Micah groans, falling back onto the mattress. “I look forward to that part of being high. Otherwise, I’m not sure I’d even bother.”
We polish off most of the food, quickly giving into the thick white blanket of snow that’s soon covering the roof. Most of the stuff we just leave out there to get later, but everyone grabs a pillow and we head back inside.
The attic door is, thankfully, still open and we all manage to get down the ladder and tuck it away before Ranger closes the hatch behind us.
“Snacks for the room?” he suggests with a shrug, and I grin.
“Most definitely. I hate being high without constant access to food. Like, we just ate, but I’ll be ready again in ten.” I take Ranger’s hand and we head downstairs, the other four boys following behind us. We haven’t even turned the corner to the kitchen when we hear the sound of footsteps, followed by the slamming of a door.
There’s a shout and a grunting sound, like there’s some sort of fight happening outside the kitchen. The twins exchange a look and then take off, pausing near the side door and looking out at a very bizarre scene.
It’s Nathan, the night watchman, subduing Eddie, the janitor.
Eddie has a weapon of some kind—a knife, I think—that Nathan deftly wrestles from his grip, spinning Eddie around and then pinning his arm against his back before he drops him to the ground completely. Nathan very clearly has martial arts training, beyond just that little bit of karate that showed up on the background check Ranger ran.
The men are arguing, but I can’t hear what they’re saying.
What I do notice are a pair of silver cuffs that Nathan produces, handcuffing Eddie, and then leading him down the path in the direction of the main building.
“Either this weed is crazy strong, or we just saw something interesting.”
“Oh, it’s not the weed,” Church tells me, staring after the men as they disappear around a bend in the path. “But it looks like Nathan just arrested Eddie. Didn’t Jack say something about a portion of the staff being involved in the Fellowship?”
“Do you think we just found one?” Spencer asks, but even Church isn’t sure enough to answer that question just yet.
I’m flying sky-high when I step into the cute, little suburban house where my mom is staying. And that’s a metaphor, not a literal interpretation of the flight I just took from New York to Los Angeles. Dad had a flight attendant spill a drink on his shirt which I sort of took as karmic justice. We both could’ve been on the Montague’s jet instead …
“Charlotte!” Mom says, appearing in the tiled front hall in a red dress with a white apron over it. She opens her arms and I set my bags down, so I can give her a hug. Dad’s lingering behind me, like he isn’t sure he’s comfortable here. He insisted on staying in a hotel, but Mom promised there’d be plenty of room at her place and he caved.
She’s always had that sort of influence over him. I used to be jealous, but not anymore. It doesn’t matter what the relationship is—platonic or familiar or romantic—but some people just click better than others. Mom and Dad click, but apparently not in a romantic way. Dad and I just don’t click at all, but we still love each other.
Life i
s complicated.
“And remind me which of your many boyfriends this one is?” Eloise asks with a girlish giggle that makes me roll my eyes. If she were serious, I’d be pissed, but she just very clearly doesn’t understand my relationship with the Student Council. That’s cool though. She doesn’t have to understand it, she just has to respect it.
I smile and keep my mood upbeat. After all, she’s kept herself clean and sober since that incident at Christmas last year. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
“This is Tobias,” I say as Micah steps around him, this dizzying duplication of beautiful boys. “And his brother Micah.”
“Oh, yes, twins,” Mom whispers overly loud, so that everyone in the room can hear. She also says it in a very suggestive way that makes me wish Dad weren’t standing all of two feet behind me.
“The others are busy with family stuff, but they’ll be here on Christmas eve.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” she says, and then holds out a hand to indicate the hallway behind her. “Let me show you all where to put your stuff.”
“This is way nicer than that shithole your Mom was staying in when we last saw her,” Micah whispers as we head down the hall with Dad trailing behind us. “How can she afford this?”
“That’s why I’m wondering,” I start, glancing into the rooms as we pass. One of them looks like a study, but the pullout bed is out and clearly made up for guests. The next is a bathroom, and the one on the end is a huge guest suite with a king-sized bed.
“This is where Ian’s parents usually stay when they come into town, but I figured with Charlotte having so many boyfriends—”
“I’m sorry,” Dad says, interrupting her and pushing his glasses up his nose to further enhance his signature glare. “Did you say Ian’s parents? Is this his house? Because seeing him briefly over the holiday and staying in his home are two completely different things.”
“Archie,” Mom begins as Mr. Dave appears in the doorway behind Dad.
“Everything okay in here?” he asks, dark eyes scanning us briefly before he smiles. It looks like his face is melting off, the smile’s so damn forced. Grumpy Mr. Dave is clearly just clinging to his sanity for Mom’s sake.
“Well, actually, Ian,” Dad begins, glancing in our teacher’s direction. “I’d just as soon take Charlotte and stay at a hotel. I was told you’d be around for the holidays, not that Eloise had actually moved into your house.”
“Wait, you’re a school librarian working in Connecticut and you own a house in Los Angeles?” I ask, exchanging a look with the twins. “Because that just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.”
“This is my parents’ place; I’m renting it from them while they’re traveling. Yes, I asked Eloise to move in here. Didn’t you see where she was living before? It wasn’t safe.”
“And you’d know all about keeping people safe,” Dad quips, his face slowly changing color. I look between him and Mr. Dave, wondering what all this tension is about. Mom, surely, but there’s something else, too.
Biting my lip, I think back on the confrontation we witnessed between Nathan, the night watchman, and Eddie, the janitor. Not only is Nathan a secret badass, but Eddie’s gotta be working for the Fellowship. A lot of things make so much sense now: the patched hole in Mark’s ceiling, the power going off on Halloween, and the door to the tunnels left open in a staff office that should’ve been locked.
What a piece of shit.
“I’ll show you to your room,” Mom says quickly, moving over to take Dad’s arm.
“Is Charlotte supposed to sleep in here with these … boys?” Dad asks, turning the word boys into an insult.
“She’s eighteen, and she’s engaged to … well, to one of them,” Mom argues, her face scrunching up as she tries to get a grip on the situation. One ring, five dudes. It’s fine, just don’t think too hard about it. “Clearly, they’re going to have sex, so why have a fit about it?”
“Clearly?!” Dad chokes, but he already knows it happens. “Not when I’m sleeping right next door, they won’t be.”
“Don’t freak: there’s a bathroom in between our rooms,” I joke, and the twins snicker, but Dad isn’t having any of it. He pulls his elbow from Mom’s hands and disappears into the hallway, leaving us alone with Mr. Dave.
“You going to explain why Nathan can disable a man like a trained MMA fighter?” Tobias asks, taking my usual role of blurting out almost absurdly direct questions. I stand beside him in solidarity as Micah sets our bags on the bench at the end of the bed. “Or why you and the headmaster trust him with the key to all the dorm rooms?”
“Nathan and I are coworkers,” Mr. Dave says simply, glowering at us now that Mom’s left the room.
“Yeah, no shit. You both work at Adamson,” Micah says, giving our teacher a weird look.
“We’re coworkers in a different sort of way,” Mr. Dave corrects, and then shakes his head. “I shouldn’t even be telling you this.”
“Telling us what?” I plead, hating that we’re so close to solving this mystery, and yet so far away at the same time. “Are you a cop or something?”
“Or something.” That’s all he seems willing to offer up as he turns and disappears down the hall, leaving me to slump down on the edge of the bed in frustration.
“Don’t fret, Chuck,” Tobias says, putting his hand on the top of my head. “We all just confessed our undying love and devotion to you. You don’t get to be sad.”
“I’m not sad.” I look up and make sure that he can see in my face that I’m telling the truth. “How could I be, when I have you guys looking after me? Fuck the cult. I just can’t wait until this is all over.”
“It won’t be much longer,” Tobias says with a nod and an exhale. He looks up and across the length of the bed to where Micah’s standing. “Give Church some time to look into things, and he always figures it out. We’re just the brute strength on the force, not the brains.”
“Don’t sell yourselves so short. You remembered my birthday when I ran into you at the boardwalk last year. You saved my shitty day and turned it into one of my best. Church is good at mysteries, but that doesn’t make him better than you. You’re all stripes in my rainbow.”
“Stripes in your rainbow?” Micah echoes, and then he grabs me under the armpits and drags me onto the bed, pinning me to the mattress with an arm on either side of my face. “Now that’s a cute phrase. I could get used to that.”
“Say it again, Chuck,” Tobias agrees as he lays down beside me, trailing his fingers across my collarbone. “If you do, we might give you something you’ll really like, and that your dad will really hate.”
“Are you trying to bribe me with sex?” I whisper, pretending to be scandalized.
“Yeah, pretty much,” they agree in unison, and I squeal as Tobias grabs me and pulls me close, leaving Micah to jog over to the door and kick it closed.
The lock flicks into place, and we’re in business.
“With the list of missing yearbooks from the library,” Church begins, glancing down at the iPad in his hand. “Spencer and I were able to find out the names of either Adamson or Everly Academy students that went missing, committed suicide, or were murdered. There’s no obvious pattern, no correlation between each incident other than that they only happen every few years.”
“Okay, so nothing we didn’t already know?” I ask, lying on my stomach on the bed and watching him through the screen on my phone, wishing he were here to sing ironic Christmas carols about snow while the sun beats down on LA like a curse. Mom goes to spin class, and juices now, it’s weird as hell. The twins sit on either side of me, their backs to me, but each one with a knee pulled up onto the bed, arms wrapped around it.
“Except,” Church continues, and he smiles, this sharp, clever little smile that says he knows how damn smart he is, “for the ages of the children in the families with lineage that goes back to the original abbey. If there’s a student at either school that matches one of those family
lines, then at some point during their enrollment, there’s always an incident.”
“What about Libby?” I ask, thinking of Selena’s older sister. Jack told us it was Rick who killed Jenica, but if our theory holds true, then Libby should’ve left a victim behind as well.
Micah snaps his fingers before Church can respond.
“The kid in the park, the one that used to work at the antiques shop.”
The smiles that curves Church’s lips says that he’s nailed it.
“I think we’ve solved our mystery,” he says, turning the iPad around and showing off the copious notes that he’s taken. “Selena, Gareth, Aster, and Mark are the hoodie-wearing dicks. Eugene and Jared were killed as part of their initiation rites into the Fellowship, and Charlotte is next on the list. The only things we don’t know are who the fourth victim is, or why Eric Warren’s daughter was chosen by the cult.” Church pauses briefly. “Or why Ranger wasn’t invited to join.”
“What about Mr. Dave and Nathan?” I ask, lowering the volume on the phone, just in case Ian’s listening in.
“They’ve got no records, nothing of interest in their background checks. But the information Ranger got from that private investigator is too clean. Nobody leaves such little evidence on paper. My guess would be that they’re cops, FBI, something like that.”
“What are they waiting for then?” I snap, getting irritated and digging my fingers into my hair. “Eugene and Jason are dead. Are they just waiting for me to be next?”
“I imagine they have to be careful about how they collect evidence or how they approach the Fellowship. Otherwise, their lives could be in danger. That, or the members might scatter or cover up their trail.”
I nod, but I’m starting to get frustrated anyway.
“We’ll see you in a few days then?” Tobias asks, and Church nods. My heart flutters a bit at the idea of seeing him again. Ranger and Spencer, too. Being apart from them sucks.
“You will,” Church says, and then he pauses, like he’s thinking about telling me something. “Sleep well and keep each other safe.”
The Forever Crew Page 24