“Because Becky just called me, and the girls are there.”
I sit up in a rush. “Why are they at Shelby’s?”
“Don’t know. She called me and said Austin is there needing medical attention. I’m on my way …”
“I’ll meet you there.”
I’m dressed and walking into Shelby’s house in less than fifteen minutes. I’ve called Austin’s phone over twenty times and all have gone straight to her voicemail.
“What’s going on?” I demand, entering her kitchen.
Shelby jumps up from the chair, her hands out in front of her. Austin sits at the head of the table, her elbows on the dark surface and face in her hands, her hair is down and blocking my view of her.
“Get the hell out of here, Cole!” Shelby growls.
“What happened to her?” I demand, ignoring her order. She looks fine. Maybe she is just really hungover.
“Don’t act stupid,” Shelby snaps. “We all know you did this to her.”
“He didn’t do it,” Austin replies in a tired voice.
“Me? I didn’t do shit …”
“You expect us to believe that?” Shelby snaps. “Last time she was here, she needed fifteen stitches because you took a knife to her arm.”
“You what?” Becky demands from the other side of the table.
My teeth clench. “I’ve hurt her, yes, but I didn’t do this. Hell, I don’t even know what this is. Why the fuck is she here?”
“I’m calling the cops,” Shelby says, turning to the kitchen counter where her cell phone lays.
Deke grabs her shoulder, pulling her back. “No, you’re not.”
“Why, Deke?” she snaps. “Did you help him? Will you go to jail too?”
“What is going on? What are you guys talking about?” Becky asks, her blue eyes going back and forth between us. “Deke, what have you done?”
“He didn’t do it,” Deke says, ignoring Becky’s questions.
Shelby narrows her eyes on him. “You’d take his side …”
“He didn’t do it!” Austin snaps. She drops her hands from her face, and they slap down onto the table. She looks up at us. Becky closes her eyes and turns away.
“Fuck.” Deke hisses.
My heart stops when I see her. She has three cuts on her face that Shelby has stitched up along her right eye. Her skin bruised and swollen. Her right eye purple.
“You don’t know that,” Shelby argues. “You said the guy was wearing a black hood. It was dark. And Becky was asleep. It could have been Cole—”
“No,” she interrupts her. Then she looks me in the eyes. “Cole is a lot of things, but he’s not a coward. If he wanted to hurt me, he would have done it with the lights on, and his eyes on mine. He wouldn’t hide.”
I hold her stare, but my stomach knots at her words.
“Who did this?” Becky asks as tears well in her eyes.
Austin looks at Deke, then back at me. “I don’t know.”
“Bullshit! You know. Who the fuck hurt you?” I demand. The shock wearing off. The anger seeping into my veins.
“Cole …”
“Who did this to you?” I snap.
She just stares at me. Her eyes are bloodshot, and they look glazed over, and I wonder if Shelby was able to give her anything for pain since she probably still has alcohol in her system.
I walk over to the table, kneel, and cup her cheek. “Who, sweetheart?”
She sighs. “It was Kellan.”
My jaw tightens.
“Why would Kellan want to hurt you?” Shelby asks skeptically.
I stand and start to pace. He’s gonna fucking die.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, Austin,” Deke begins. “But can you prove it?”
She nods. “My phone.”
“What about it?” I snap, that need for blood growing stronger and stronger. The feel of it on my fingers. The smell of it in the air. It’s been too long since I’ve beat a man with my bare hands.
“He took it.”
“Why would he want your phone?” Shelby asks.
“Last night, I told the guys I had insurance in case they tried to fuck me over. Then this morning when I woke up, I took my phone with me to the bathroom. He grabbed my hair and slammed my head into the mirror. I passed out from the hit. When I woke up, my phone was missing.”
“He’s fucking dead …” I growl.
“Positive?” Deke demands, interrupting me.
She nods.
“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t Cole …” Shelby points at me.
“Deke and Cole are the only two who know that I have a retina scanner on my phone. They know that they can’t get into it. Kellan does not.”
I come to a stop and look down at her.
“Whatever he wanted he’s not gonna get.” She sits back in her chair. “Plus, I’m not dumb enough to keep that shit on my phone.”
She stands from the table, and I walk over to help her out, but she pushes me away. “I’m going home to go back to bed.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Deke urges.
She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “I’m tired … hungover … and a bit bitchy.” They open and narrow on his. “I wanna go …”
“Come with me,” I offer.
She looks up at me. “No.”
She’s still mad at me.
I cup her face, and her eyes search mine, but I still see the hesitation in them. I’m not sure what I can do or say to get her back. If words are even good enough. But I have to try. Especially now. I don’t want to hurt her. I have to protect her. I’m all she has.
“Please?” I ask.
She looks away from me, running her hand through her hair.
“Just a place to sleep. I will take you home afterward.” Lie.
She finally nods. “Okay.”
AUSTIN
“Austin?”
I hear my name through the pounding in my head.
“Austin? Oh God, Austin. Wake up.”
Hands grab my shoulders, and I feel like I’m in an earthquake.
“Austin? Please …”
“I’m up,” I say roughly, wanting the noise to stop. It’s too loud.
“You need to go to the hospital.”
I open my heavy eyes to see Becky kneeling by me on the bathroom floor. “What …?” The memories come back to me as I stood before the sink and my face being slammed into the mirror.
I lift my hand to my head and hiss in a breath.
“Be careful,” she says, grabbing my hand to help me sit up. “There’s glass on your face.” Sitting up, I bow my head. “What the hell happened?” she demands.
“I’m fine,” I say as my head pounds.
“No, you’re not. God, Austin, we need to get you to the hospital.”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Yes,” she snaps. “I just found you passed out on the bathroom floor. And you need stitches. You probably have a concussion.”
“Shelby,” I say. She’s the only one I want to see right now. I go to the hospital, and they’ll know I’ve been drinking and am underage. They get the police involved, and I refuse to tell them anything. That’s what the fucker wants. He thinks he can play me. I refuse to let him win.
“Hand me my phone.”
“Where is it?” she asks, standing.
“On the countertop.” I lift my hand to my head again, and it comes back bloody. I rub it between my fingers.
She looks around then shakes her head. “No, it’s not.”
I release a long breath, closing my eyes and trying not to vomit. My head pounds like a drum, and I feel dizzy. “It’s too early to just show up at her house. I’ll give it a couple of hours.”
I wake up to voices coming from downstairs in the clubhouse. When I sit up, my head still pounds, and my eye is swelling shut.
I should have kept my mouth shut. I thought telling them that I had proof on them would make them back off, but I should have k
nown it wouldn’t work with Kellan. The bastard.
I get out of Cole’s bed and stand. A wave of dizziness hits me, but I manage to wait it out.
“Why are we here, man?” I hear Bennett ask.
“I’ll let you know why when everyone has arrived,” Cole tells him.
I pick up his black zip-up hoodie from the end of the bed and put it on because I’m cold. Then I make my way down the stairs, needing a drink.
I notice Cole sitting in one of the lounge chairs talking to Deke who sits in the one next to him.
Shane sits on the couch, and Bennett stands by the table. Cole looks up as I hit the last stair, and he stands when his eyes meet mine. “Hey, sweetheart,” he says softly.
I swallow nervously as he walks over to me.
“How do you feel?” he asks, pushing hair behind my ear.
“Fine,” I lie, taking a step back from him. I’m still mad at him. I’m still so confused about what I do now. There are so many questions I want to ask him, but I know I’ll never get the answers.
He sighs. “You’re lying.”
“I’m thirsty,” I admit.
He nods and pulls away from me to go over to the little bar area.
“What the fuck, Austin?” Bennett snaps. “What the hell happened to you?”
“I’m fine,” I say, waving him off. Maybe I should have stayed upstairs.
“Here.” Cole hands me a bottle of water.
He cups my face as he leans down to kiss my forehead gently, and my chest tightens. I’ve held in so much anger for the past two weeks that it’s emotionally and physically exhausted me. My eyes start to fill with tears, making his figure blurry, and I hear him sigh.
I refuse to let them fall. To show him that I feel anything for what he has done to me. What he has kept from me.
“What’s up, fuckers?” I hear Kellan’s voice as the door opens, and my body stiffens, remembering what he did to me this morning. What he could have done to Becky. The commotion woke her up, but Kellan was able to escape before she noticed him. I’m thankful for that. I’d hate myself if he hurt her too.
Cole spins around. “I’m calling it off,” he says.
“Calling what off?” Shane asks slowly.
“All of it,” he says.
Kellan snorts. “So your ex-plaything informs us that she has insurance on us, and you call it off? I say she’s bluffing.”
That’s because the bastard thinks he has the proof. He doesn’t. I made sure to delete that shit off my phone for good reasons. He’ll never find where I backed it up.
Cole steps to the right, and Kellan comes into view. His eyes meet mine, and a slow smile spreads across his face when he sees my face.
“You know … there’s a battered woman’s shelter at the edge of town who will take you in.” He smirks. “Unless you’re into that kind of thing. Then by all means, let him beat you.”
The room falls silent, and I swallow nervously as I see Cole’s body tense. He glares at Kellan who sits down on the couch. Kellan lifts his chin to me. “I still call bullshit. But if you wanna turn us in, then go ahead.” Kellan shrugs. “I dare you to.”
I go to open my mouth to tell him that I know what he did, but Cole speaks.
“Fuck it.” Then he storms out of the clubhouse.
Deke is the first one to jump up and follow him. I don’t want to be left alone with Kellan, even if Bennett and Shane are in here, so I follow them too.
I shove open the door and walk outside. The sun is starting to set. I must have slept the day away. I needed it.
The door opens behind me, and the guys walk out as well. Cole pops open his trunk and reaches in. I take a step back when he pulls out a black and white baseball bat.
“What are you doing, Cole?” Bennett asks him.
I look over at Deke as he comes to stand next to me. Normally, I would take a step back, but I feel like he’s getting close to protect me from Kellan. Not harm me.
Cole doesn’t answer. Instead, he walks over to Kellan’s blue Corvette and lifts the bat over his shoulder, his grip tightening. Then he swings. It hits the driver’s side window, and it shatters into a million pieces.
“What the fuck?” Kellan roars, running over to him.
Deke goes after him and pulls him back.
“What the fuck are you doing, Cole?” Bennett demands.
Cole reaches in through the now busted window and opens the car door. He leans inside it and starts opening and closing compartments. Seconds later, he stands and faces us with my cell in his right hand.
“This your cell phone, sweetheart?” he asks me, but he’s staring at Kellan. The bat hangs down by his side.
Kellan breathes heavily as he glares at Cole.
“Yes,” I answer.
“Why is her cell in your car?” Shane asks in confusion. “And why is it busted?”
Cole places my crushed cell in the pocket of his jeans and walks over to Kellan and Deke. “You went into her home after the party this morning. Put your hands on her and stole her phone.” He arches a brow. “You wanted to delete what she had on you. But you couldn’t get the phone unlocked, could you? So you busted it.”
“Is this true?” Bennett demands.
Kellan takes a step toward Cole. He raises his hand, stretching out his arm. Kellan comes to a stop when the end of the bat presses against his throat. Kellan fists his hands down by his side as his eyes shoot daggers at Cole. “Go ahead. Beat me with the bat.”
Cole smiles, and it’s not friendly. “I don’t need a bat to hurt you, Kellan.” He lowers it and takes a step toward him. “I’m gonna kill you with my bare hands.”
Kellan swallows. “She is gonna turn on you.”
“I deserve that,” he says without hesitation. “And you, you will get what you deserve for touching what is mine.”
“You did that to her, Kellan?” Shane asks, pointing at me as if there’s another girl here with a black eye.
He smiles. “I did what you all were too afraid to do.”
“Jesus!” Bennett hisses, grabbing his hair. “What the fuck were you thinking? You could have killed her.”
Kellan laughs darkly. “All of a sudden we care who lives and who dies?” He shakes his head. “We knew going in that we all weren’t going to make it out. We started with eight, and already, we’re down to five.”
“That wasn’t Cole’s fault.” Deke snaps.
He smirks and looks over at me. “Right. It was Bruce’s. The man who raped his mother.”
Cole’s body stiffens. His grip on the bat tightening. And I know he wants nothing more than to knock Kellan’s head off right now.
“Kellan …”
“The guy who gave you the two most important women in your life.” He pushes his chest into Cole’s, cutting off Bennett. “But what you don’t see is he has the power to take them both from you.” Kellan smiles at him. “I’m not the enemy here, Cole. Bruce Lowes is. And he is going to fuck up your world more than you can ever imagine.” He looks over at me and winks. “Enjoy it while you can.” Then he walks around Cole and gets into his car before taking off.
Once again, we all stand in silence. Cole stares straight ahead, staring at nothing. Deke runs a hand through his hair. Shane’s head falls back, and he closes his eyes as if he’s praying to God for something. Bennett stares at me. I look away from him.
“I’m out.” Cole finally speaks.
“What? Cole, you can’t …” Bennett starts.
“It’s over,” he says, walking over toward me.
“Kellan’s gone,” Shane adds. “We’ll vote him out.”
Cole comes to a stop and turns to face them. “Are you guys not listening? I said I’m out. And that’s final.” He turns back around and comes up to me. I flinch when he lifts his hand, and his eyes cloud over. “Austin—”
“You can’t just quit,” Shane interrupts him.
“I can do whatever the fuck I want,” he snaps. “Now drop it!” He grabs my right hand
and pulls me back into the clubhouse.
I stand awkwardly by the table as he paces back and forth.
The door opens, and Deke walks in. He doesn’t acknowledge me. “You know I’ll back you a hundred percent.”
Cole nods.
“But are you sure this is what you want to do?”
He comes to a stop and looks up at Deke, then at me. “It’s over.”
I swallow the lump in my throat at his words. As if he’s talking about us. But that’s crazy because we were never anything. It was all a lie.
I take a step toward them. “Don’t do this for me.” My voice is rough, and I clear my throat.
“This has nothing to do with you,” he snaps.
Deke lets out a growl. “Stop lying.” He looks at me. “This has everything to do with you.”
“Deke!” Cole warns.
He slaps Cole on the back. “It’s about time, man.” Then he turns and walks out, leaving us alone.
CHAPTER FORTY
COLE
FUCK!
She was right! Not like I doubted her. But finding her phone in Kellan’s car made me want to knock his head off his shoulders with that fucking bat.
“Cole?”
I pulled out! That was the right thing to do. It’s over. No more dares. No more group. And it means she is safe. Well, for now. Kellan was right that Bruce can take her from me. He can destroy me in a completely different way now. And I know that he wouldn’t think twice.
Fuck, I’m so tired of people being right.
“Cole?”
“What?” I snap.
She takes a step back. “Will you take me home?”
I shake my head. “You can stay the night here.”
“I can’t …”
“We’re on spring break.” I walk over to her. “And you’re safe here. Plus, we need to talk.” It’s time.
“About what?” She asks nervously.
“Everything,” I say simply. “You’ve earned the truth.” Her eyes search mine for any indication I’m lying, but she won’t find it this time.
AUSTIN
At my silence, he pulls me over to the couch, and I sit down next to him. “I wanna know about Lilly.” There’s so much more I want to know, but she is the most important right now.
He nods and takes a deep breath. “I found out Bruce raped my mom when I heard her talking to my father in his office. He blamed my mom. Said that it was her fault. She should have been stronger.” He fists his hands in his lap. “I didn’t understand what they were talking about exactly because I was only eleven at the time. She tried to leave him, but he wouldn’t let her go. He never loved her. He was just sick and twisted and loved the idea of making her stay.
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