I shift in the bed and then cringe a bit when I feel a pulling sensation in my lower back.
Oh, that’s right.
I was stabbed.
I was stabbed.
“I got stabbed,” I repeat, and then a small smile lights my lips. “That makes me cool, doesn’t it?”
“Charlotte Carson,” Dad snaps as I glance over at him, realizing in that moment that every asshole thing he does, every barked command and sneer … is because he’s my parent. And parents, parents are dicks. Even good parents. Especially good parents. Because sometimes teenagers are rebellious little ass pigs.
“You’re sure my boys are okay?” I repeat, just before a light knock on the door interrupts our conversation.
“Come in,” Dad says with a resigned sigh.
The door flies open and the twins come rushing in, throwing their arms around me from either side and making me both laugh and grunt with the impact.
“We were sure you were dead!” they howl, rubbing their faces on either side of mine.
My mom chokes on tears and holds a tissue up to her mouth to stifle her sobs. My dad just backs off a few steps, watching over me like a hawk.
“Would you two back off and let her breathe?” Ranger growls, still clearly shaken up by the confrontation with his father. I mean, knowing your dad is part of a crazy cult is one thing, but hearing the bullshit from the horse’s mouth? Not easy. “How are you feeling?” he asks me, putting one of his hands over my blanketed feet and giving my toes a squeeze.
“I’m okay,” I say as the twins sit on either side of me, releasing me from their maniacal hugging. “Plus, I get to tell everyone I meet from now on that I survived an attack from a rich, powerful cult.”
Church’s lips turn up into a smile, one that actually reaches his eyes for once.
“I was afraid I’d never get to see you in that wedding dress,” he says, making my dad bristle.
“Same,” Spencer agrees, glancing briefly Church’s way before turning back to me. “I would’ve died if you had, Chuck.”
“Archie, maybe we should let them have a moment?” Mom suggests, giving my dad a look from across the hospital room. His nostrils flare and his face turns that signature color of his, but he relents, moving over to press a kiss to my forehead before he steps out. I notice he doesn’t quite close the door behind him, but that’s okay. Like I said, parents are dicks.
“Seeing you lying on the ground in your dress, all covered in blood …” Tobias starts, taking my hand in his and entwining our fingers together. “Pretty sure that sight is going to haunt me for the rest of my life.”
“You’re one tough bitch, Chuck Carson,” Micah says, looking down at his lap. I can tell he’s trying to be upbeat, but he’s still got tears in his eyes when he looks up and grins at me. “God, we hated you so much when you showed up at Adamson. Now we’re all, like, clinically obsessed. What have you done to us?”
“I’m like a splinter—once I’m in, you can’t get me out without bleeding!” I say, trying to be funny but totally and utterly fucking it up because I’m a shitty comedian. Also, I got stabbed. That’s a great excuse for everything now, huh? I can just mess stuff up and say I got stabbed. Should work for at least six months or so.
“That’s the worst metaphor I’ve ever heard in my life,” Ranger says, sighing like he’s releasing a ton of pent-up stress. “After you almost bled to death in the woods? What is wrong with you?”
“I … got stabbed?” I suggest, and he sighs, his face softening up. Oh, well. Damn. I’d get stabbed more often if it’d get me out of awkward situations like this. Could also possibly get me extra Jell-O. They do serve Jell-O in hospitals still, right? “I read once that Jell-O is made out of bone marrow—” I blurt but Tobias shuts me up with a kiss, pressing his mouth against mine and managing to convey every emotion he’s feeling with just his lips. “Oh, wow,” I say as he pulls back and looks me in the face with those moss green eyes of his. “That … was impressive.”
“We love you, Charlotte,” he says, and then pauses, like something’s just occurred to him. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Micah says, drawing my attention back to him. “More than I feel comfortable admitting. Because, you know, I don’t want to get committed or anything.”
“You’re committably in love me with me?” I ask, sniffling. I almost died in the woods. I get to cry.
“Committably isn’t a word,” Church lets me know softly, and I smile, looking over him, Spencer and Ranger standing on either side. “But also, we’re very glad that you’re not dead.”
“I’m glad you’re not dead, too,” I say, smiling and then pausing, the expression slipping off my face. “Wait, what happened at the prom after I passed out?” Church watches me from those beautiful amber eyes of his. “And why weren’t you affected by the drugs?”
“He spent the whole night drinking that stupid sparkling water, the kind with the corks that the waiters were bringing around, and not eating anything,” Spencer says, glancing over at his friend, like they might’ve had this discussion while I was passed out. “We’re guessing Aster drugged our desserts. Makes sense now why she was so determined to join the Culinary Club.”
“And there I was, hoping the punch would be spiked,” I say with a shake of my head. “Just … not with whatever it was that they gave us.”
“Everybody’s okay,” Micah adds, “but if you thought being the only girl would get you a lot of attention at Adamson, that’s got nothing on your status now, as the survivor of a crazy cult attack.”
“That still doesn’t explain why Church was underground in a mask and robes,” I say, grimacing slightly and holding my palms out in an apology. “I’m not accusing you of anything—I’ve learned my lesson—but … I have to know.”
Church sighs and looks down at the floor for a moment, like he’s got something he wants to say but isn’t sure how it’ll be received. When he looks up, there’s a devastating amount of guilt in his gaze.
“Ian Dave and Nathan, they asked me to help. The sting operation had been in planning for a while; they knew they were coming for the Fellowship that night, regardless of what happened.”
“You … knew all of that was going to happen?” I choke out, thinking of the way he looked down at me as he was escorting me to prom, the way he looked into my eyes. How could he have known what was going on and let us fall right into the trap?
“Not the thing with the drugged desserts or the secret church,” he admits, cringing slightly and gritting his teeth.
“You’re not a mind reader, a magician, or an FBI agent, bro, relax,” Ranger chastises softly.
“When Mark and Selena stormed out after their fight, I followed them.” Church sighs, like he’s tired, too. We’re all tired, I think. “After I called Ian, I followed them, then I disabled the cultist who was watching the door they went in through.”
“Ian let you follow those psychos?” I ask, blinking through surprise, but Church just shakes his head.
“Not at all. He cursed me out actually, but I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you two.”
“We’re beyond grateful,” Spencer says, his expression darkening slightly. How we never figured out he was a mark, too, I don’t know.
“The rest of us were lying in our leftover salads,” Ranger says with a bit of a growl, and a warm flush in his cheeks. Church gives him a look and smiles slightly.
“Mark entered the tunnels the same way that we went. I was only able to follow at a distance, and without much light. Otherwise I would’ve recognized earlier that we’d traveled through another door into the sewer system. If I’d only figured that out sooner …”
“It doesn’t matter,” I say, thinking of that moment when I was lying on the altar, those creepy psychos chanting around me, the candles flickering. I was certain I was going to die in there. Certain of it. “I’m glad you guys are here. What’s going to happen to your dad, Ranger?” I ask, but he just shakes hi
s head.
“I don’t care, just so long as I never have to see him again. He and Rick took Jenica from me, and there’s no coming back from that. They can both rot in prison for all I care.”
I wonder if someday, Ranger’s going to think about what really happened, and break down. But if he does, that’ll be okay, because we’ll be here.
We’ll all be here.
“Does this mean we get to enjoy the rest of the year without Aster trying to crash our Culinary Club meetings?” I ask, and the twins grin.
“Told you she was guilty,” they say, crossing their arms over their chests.
“You certainly did,” I say, grinning back and wishing I could rip this IV out and go home. Only, I’m a big baby and it’d totally hurt, and I’m not dumb enough to mess with medical shit that I don’t understand. “So, who’s going to be the first guy to bring me a strawberry milkshake from the Jaw Flapper? First one to do it gets to cuddle in bed with me.”
“You think we’re actually to bother fighting over something like that?” Ranger says, and then pauses. “I better go get you something to eat though.”
“Oh, no way, man, that shake is mine,” Spencer says, and they smirk at each other while the twins struggle to push each other back.
“I’ll get the shake,” Church says, slipping out the door, but not before stopping to smile at me. “And anything else you want. Anything.” He steps out and closes the door as I laugh, putting my face in my hands as Dad steps into the room and starts to yell headmaster-y things at the boys.
Ah, life is good, isn’t it?
The wind swishes my skirts around my thighs as I stand outside the imposing stone walls of Adamson Academy (formerly known as Adamson All-Boys Academy).
“It looks less like a school, and more like a castle,” I say, grinning as I repeat the first thought I ever had about this place aloud.
“More like a church that used to hide a creepy underground chamber for cultists,” Spencer says, raising both brows at me. I laugh and bump his shoulder with mine, moving into the hallway to the cheers of the other students. To be fair, I didn’t do anything but get stabbed. But senior year of high school? That totally makes you cool.
“For my future bride,” Church says, appearing on my left and handing over an iced coffee while Ranger shoves a freshly baked and carefully wrapped muffin into the front pocket of my bag.
“Why, thank you, sirs,” I say as I hook my arm with Spencer’s.
“And because I knew they’d be trying to butter you up this morning …” he says, reaching into his own bag and grabbing a book. He slips it into mine as I cock a brow at him. Pulling the book out and opening it, I see that it’s a manga—a Japanese anime comic—and that it has … it has … My eye twitches. “There’s so much sex in this book,” I choke out as I try to hand it back to him and he dances out of my way, laughing and folding his arms together behind his head.
“God, Chuck, stop it, I don’t want your dirty gay porn mag!”
“Spencer Hargrove!” I chastise as the twins appear, one hand tucked into each of their pockets.
“We warned him not to embarrass you on your first day back,” Micah says, and then he glances over at Tobias, and they both smirk.
“We thought you might miss this,” they say together, and I realize their other hands were hidden behind them, holding something suspicious behind their book bags. Together, they present the infamous packer penis, right there in the middle of the hallway. And then they toss it to me. It hits me right in the boobs, bounces off, and flies through the air to smack my dad in the face.
“Charlotte Carson,” he says as the flaccid penis falls to the floor with a slap. “That’s a write-up.”
“Wait, no!” I yell, but he’s already walking away while Spencer howls with laughter. Ranger and Church are both chuckling as the twins grin and lean in to press matching kisses on either of my cheeks.
“I love you, Charlotte,” they both say at the same time, but in their own ways. I don’t think either of them even knew it was meant to be a twin thing.
“I love you guys, too,” I say, exhaling and lifting my chin. “All of you. Now, if I may, I’d love to have the illustrious Student Council escort me to class.”
And, much to my pleasure, they do.
The last few months of school are almost too easy. Without the Fellowship to worry about, life is calm. No, no, not just calm, but good.
I’m going to Bornstead University next year, and this summer, the boys and I have a trip planned that’ll take us around the world and back. It’s hard to find anything to complain about. Hell, even Archie and I are getting along alright.
“Do you need anything from me?” he asks, appearing in his 1940s suit, hair slicked back from his face. I shake my head, but he steps into the room anyway, looking me over in my cap and gown with a far-away sort of smile on his face.
“What?” I ask, setting the cap just so over my blond curls. I’ve been letting them grow for a while, but I might cut them short before we leave for Paris next week. And yeah, I totally said Paris. Paris, Paris, Paris. Micropenis Chuck is going to see the world! “You’re staring at me, and it’s weird as hell.”
“Oh Charlotte, stop that,” he says, coming over and fiddling with my cap so that the tassel falls right into my face. I blow it away with a huff, studying myself in the navy-blue robe, the pink diamond winking back from my finger.
It’s nice knowing that I don’t have to pick between the boys, that there’s no ultimatum, no expiration date for our relationship. We’re just going to take things slow, and see what happens. If it works forever, then we’ll date forever. If it doesn’t, then that doesn’t matter either because we’re a forever crew. I feel confident that we’ll be in each other’s lives, no matter what, even if it’s just as friends.
But, you know, I don’t want to be just friends and luckily, it doesn’t seem like any of the guys do either.
“You know I’m only looking at you like this because I’m proud of you,” Archie says, and I feel my little icy Grinch heart get all warm-y and shit. Yes, I said warm-y. I’m a shitty poet, so sue me. “You’ll always be my everything, Charlotte Farren, whether you like it or not.”
I wrinkle my face up, but when Dad turns toward the door, I stop him by throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him tight from behind. He hasn’t always listened to me, and I haven’t always tried to make things easy between us, but that’s okay. Love isn’t easy. It isn’t perfect. It’s not a quiet pond without ripples, but a raging river that cuts through the earth. It might have rapids, but it can carve stone and create the Grand Canyon. That’s how powerful it is.
“Your mother’s downstairs,” he whispers, and I let go, knowing that everything’s going to be okay between us. When I marry Church in his mother’s wedding dress, Dad will be there by my side. When I choose to commit to the other boys in the same way, I know he’ll roll his eyes, but he’ll get over it. There’ll always be growing pains as our relationship shifts and adjusts, but real love, true love, is strong enough to ride out the storm.
I follow Dad down the steps to find Mom waiting for me in the foyer, a smile on her face as she turns to look at me. Ian Dave is standing nearby, looking a bit nervous and out of place. Dad and Ian regard each other with wary expressions, but when they both turn their attention toward me and Mom, I can see that they each love her in their own way. Hey, if she plays her cards right, maybe she could start her own harem?
“I’m glad you were able to make it,” I say, knowing the boys sent her a first-class ticket, just so she could be here today. We hug tight, and I close my eyes, savoring the moment. Mom isn’t perfect either, but nobody is. Did she make a mistake when she left me? I think so, but I’m not going to hold her mistakes against her because she’s human. She’s imperfect, just like me. And I know she loves me the best she can, in her own way.
“So am I,” she says, pulling away and smiling softly. She looks better even than when I last saw her, an
d I have to wonder if Ian Dave has anything to do with it. He might’ve met her while he was investigating the Fellowship, but I think that what they have is real. Maybe now that he’s done at Adamson, they can spend more time together? “Are you ready?”
“I am,” I say, taking her hand and leading her down the front steps of the headmaster’s house and along the winding path toward the main building.
The boys are standing around the bench at the first curve, that same spot where Spencer waited for me before winter break, kissing me and making me question everything I thought I knew, that I thought I wanted.
“Hey, Chuck-let,” he says, as my mom releases my hand, and I go to him, lost in his turquoise eyes and his smile. We kiss, a brief brush of lips that could go on forever. I’d die happy that way, but I would miss the others.
“You look …” the twins start, and for the first time, they mess up their perfect unity by accident.
“Gorgeous,” Tobias says.
“Stunning,” Micah breathes, and then they exchange a look, and I laugh. Nearby, one of those ridiculous short-eared owls hoots, and I roll my eyes. Sorry, buddy, but the murder-mystery is over, and you don’t scare me anymore.
I throw one arm around each of their necks, squeezing tight as the wind blows pink flower petals around us.
“Ready to graduate?” Tobias asks, hooking his arm around my waist.
“I’m ready,” I say, planting a kiss on either of their cheeks and trying to step back.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Micah says, tucking his fingers under my chin and kissing my lips. Tobias isn’t about to let his twin get one up on me, so he sneaks a kiss in, too. Meanwhile, my dad clears his throat and shuffles his feet behind us.
“You look cute,” Ranger says, and even though he’s trying to keep his cool, I can see that bit of pink in his cheeks as he folds me in his arms, giving me one of those signature hugs of his, the ones that feel like they can squeeze all the bad things out and make the world right again. “Too cute for your own good.” Before I step back to greet Church, Ranger pulls the neckline of his robe down just enough that I can see one of his grandma’s aprons underneath it. “This was Jenica’s favorite,” he says, and my smile softens up just a bit, thinking of the girl who never got to graduate, but whose brother is more than happy to carry her memory to the ends of the earth. Her spirit lives vicariously in him; I can see it in every smile.
The Forever Crew Page 29