“Wake the fuck up!” Cole snaps at him.
“I’m up … I’m up …” I hear the rustling of covers. “Everything okay?” He clears his throat. “What time is it?”
“Late,” I answer.
“Who is it?” a woman’s soft voice asks in the background.
“Tell your fuck to pack her shit and get out,” Cole orders coldly. “We need to talk to you!”
I expect Bennett to argue, but instead, he sighs heavily. “Give me a second.”
Cole paces before me, water dripping from his boxers, his entire body rigid. I feel sorry for him. For what he has gone through with Austin. Finding the woman you love dead changes a man. I don’t care who you are. Especially when you were the one who wanted to hurt her in the first place.
“I’ll call you later,” Bennett says after a long second. “Okay.” He returns to the line. “What is going on?”
“Deke and I just got a text. That’s what’s up!” Cole explains.
“A text?”
“It was actually a PM through Facebook.” I clarify for Bennett.
“A message?”
“Did you fucking send it?” Cole snaps at him.
“What? Why would I send you a message?” he growls, getting defensive.
“Because it was sent to us from Evan Scott.”
Silence falls over us again as Bennett takes that in. Evan Scott is my spam account. I used to use it for several things. None of them were good.
Bennett is the first one to speak clearing his throat. “What? How is that possible?”
“I don’t know,” I answer. “But I can’t log in to that account. Someone has gone in and changed the password. I’m locked out.”
Bennett sighs heavily. “And you think I did it?”
I go to answer no, but Cole beats me to it. “You’re the only one I can think of who has that kind of knowledge. You crack passwords. Change emails. You knew who was behind it, and you know how to get into it.”
“Listen, Cole, I didn’t change anything, and I sure as hell didn’t send you a message. And it doesn’t take a genius to change that shit. A Facebook page isn’t that untouchable …” His voice trails off.
“What?” Cole demands after the silence lingers.
“Hang on,” Bennett tells him.
I take a hit of my cigarette, and Cole begins to pace some more.
“I got one too,” he growls.
I blow out the smoke and sit up straighter. “You got a message? From Evan Scott?”
“Yeah. What the fuck is this cryptic shit?” he barks.
“What does it say?” Cole growls.
“I see you, but you don’t see me. I know who you are, but you’ll never know me.”
“Hmm,” I say to myself. His is different than ours.
“Does it have the address at the end of the message?” Ours had a time and place here in Texas for tomorrow evening.
“Yes,” Bennett answers. “Why the fuck would I go to Texas?”
Cole snatches the phone up off the table and places it in front of his face, keeping it on speakerphone. “Pack a bag and get your ass to the airport.”
“What …? Cole, I can’t …”
“I wasn’t asking you, Bennett.” He growls.
“I have class,” Bennett argues.
“Fuck class! Pack a bag and book the first plane to Texas.”
Bennet sighs. “Cole.”
“Send the info for your flight, and Deke and I will pick you up at the airport. And don’t forget your laptop.” Cole leaves no room to argue.
“Cole …”
He hangs up on him before Bennett can finish speaking.
I sit back and let out a sigh as I tip the bottle back. “What do you think it means?” I ask Cole.
He doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he stands there, his scarred knuckles fisted down at his sides as he stares off into space. No doubt thinking about what all he’s been through in the past year. And all that he’s lost. What he has to lose now.
“I think it means that once again we’re gonna have to do whatever it takes to make sure no one can touch us.” Then he looks down at me, arching his brow in question.
Am I in? Do I agree?
“I’ve got your back,” I say without hesitation, then bring the bottle to my lips again.
Without saying another word, he turns and dives back into the pool.
CHAPTER TEN
DEMI
MONDAY MORNING, I walk into my first period at Westlake High and plop down on my seat. This is my first year here. My third month into the first semester. My mother made me move from Oregon to Texas for my senior year, and I hate her so much for it. I had gone to Collins all my life. I had friends. I had been on the cheerleading squad since fourth grade. Then when my sister told my mother she wanted to move to Texas to be with her friend Austin, my mother told me that I no longer had a choice. That there was no one there to look after me anymore. She completely forgot the fact I have a father! He even went to bat for me. Tried to talk my mother into letting me stay there living with him.
“Angelica.” He sighs. “She will be fine. Her junior year is almost over. She can finish off her senior year here.” He paces the living room while on his phone.
I sit on the couch, biting my nails off one by one.
“So what if Becky isn’t here? I am.” He comes to a stop and squares his shoulders. “I’m her father!” he snaps. “Listen …” he trails off, and I can hear my mother raise her voice, and I know she’s won. She’s been trying to get me to come to Texas ever since their divorce five years ago. My only leverage was that Becky was here. I hate her, but my mother felt she was responsible enough to help my father raise me. Even though the truth is I’ve pretty much raised myself.
Our father isn’t a bad guy. He’s not an alcoholic, and he doesn’t bring strange women in and out all hours of the night. In fact, he hardly ever dates at all. He’s married to his work. That has always been his mistress. And that’s what drove my mother to have an affair with her now husband. She left him, and he just buried himself deeper. But he’s always been there for me when I needed him. Even if it was through a phone call.
He hangs up, and I look up at him, already feeling the tears threaten my eyes. He turns to face me and lets out a long breath.
“Please don’t make me go,” I beg. “I want to finish school here. With you. My friends.”
He kneels in front of me and takes my hand. “Pumpkin …”
“Don’t,” I shout, yanking it away. “You always take her side. What about what I want?”
He stands, pocketing his cell phone. Any sympathy he showed me moments ago is now gone. She’s made up her mind, and he’s decided as well. He’s not gonna fight to keep me. And she just wants me there because of Becky. “I’m sorry, Demi, but your mom wants …”
“Fine!” I run out of the living room and up the stairs to my room. As I pass Becky’s room, her door swings open, and she steps out, blocking my way.
“Why are you crying?” she asks, looking me up and down.
“I hate you,” I say, wanting to punch her in the face. She is a waste of air. All she does is take and take from me. And she does it just because. I’ve never done anything to her.
“And I hate you too.” She shrugs. “Mom called me. Asked if you’ve been good.” She looks down at her nails and smiles. “I told her that I’ve seen you with a boy.” Her eyes meet mine. “An older one …”
“You fucking bitch!” I scream and shove her into her room. She trips over a jacket lying on her messy floor, and I go down with her.
“He never wanted you!” she shouts, yanking on my hair.
“You took him from me!” I fist my shaking hands and hit her in the face. She killed him!
“I’ll take them all from you.” She growls.
I go to hit her in the jaw, but I’m yanked back by my shirt. “What the hell are you two doing?” our father shouts.
“She attacked me.” Beck
y begins to sob, placing her hands over her face.
Fucking fake bitch!
I try to kick her, but my father shoves me out of her room. “She …” He slams the door in my face, closing himself in there with her to hear her side of the story and calm her down.
My world just got ripped out from underneath me. I have to move right before my senior year. I’ve got less than a month left of my junior year, and in just a few months, I’ll be packed up and moved to Texas to live with my mother. The only thing I can hope for at this point is that Becky moves in with Deke ’cause that’s the only reason she plans on going there. For him and for her best friend, Austin. I overheard her saying that Austin is following Cole and his little sister, Lilly, to Texas. And I plan on making my sister’s life a living hell just as she has done to mine.
“How was your weekend?” my friend Lauren asks as she enters the classroom and sits down next to me. We’re not close like I was with my friends back in Collins. But I don’t have to have friends. I’m just fine being alone.
I groan. “Shitty. Yours?” I ask.
She gives me a big smile. “Perfect. I got to see Billy.”
“And how did that go?”
“Amazing.” She sighs heavily. I wanna puke. “He’s having a bonfire party this weekend out on his parents’ property. Wanna go with me?”
I stiffen. That last time I went to a bonfire was my sophomore year while I was still living in Collins. Back when things were somewhat normal.
I sit on my bed, flipping through the channels and looking for something to watch on TV. As usual, there’s nothing. A knock on my door has me shutting it off. “What?” I ask.
My sister pops her head in. “Wanna go out tonight?”
I eye her skeptically. She wears a crimson long-sleeve shirt with black lips on it and matching black skinny jeans with a pair of black boots, and her blond hair hangs straight down her back. “No.” She never asks me to hang out with her, so for her to do it now is sketchy as fuck.
“Come on.” She pushes my door all the way open and steps into my room. “I just spoke to Deke, and the GWS are gonna be there.”
My heart skips a beat at the mention of the sharks. I don’t know why. He doesn’t know I exist. And if he did, he would never like me the way I like him. “Pass.” I turn my TV back on. Might as well save myself the embarrassment.
“This is your chance, Demi. Dad is out of town. And Mom keeps threatening to make you move to Texas.”
I bite my bottom lip as I think that over. My mother doesn’t mind that Becky lives here with our dad, but she’s been telling me for four years now that she’s gonna make me move to Texas to live with her. The only reason she hasn’t forced that on me yet is because she’s gone more than my dad and she doesn’t want me left home alone. I’ll hate her if she makes me move. I’ve only got a couple of years left in high school, and then I’m off to college. And I’m gonna choose the first place that accepts me that is far from my family. “Fine,” I growl.
She gives me a big smile, and it throws up all kinds of red flags, but I ignore them because I do want to see him. No matter how much I tell myself I shouldn’t. “Get dressed. David will be here in fifteen to pick us up.” Then she leaves, shutting my door.
I jump out of bed. Fifteen minutes? I run to my closet and yank a T-shirt off my hanger and then snap another one from pulling on my jeans too hard.
“Shit. Shit. Shit.” I gotta hurry! I don’t have time to shower.
I pull my jeans up, kicking them in the process to help slide the tight-fitting denim up my legs. I fasten the button and pull up the zipper. I don’t even remove my sports bra. I just throw my black T-shirt on over it. Sliding my feet into a pair of black Converse, I pick up the lip gloss and quickly apply it, looking at myself in my vanity mirror. Then I grab the jacket hanging over the chair and run down the stairs.
“Demi, he’s here early …” Her voice trails off when she sees me. She gives me a smile that tells me the fucker was already here when she asked if I wanted to go.
God, I hate her.
“Let’s go.”
I follow her out of the house, and sure enough, David’s leaning up against the hood of his car, and his best friend Maxwell stands next to him.
Fuck. I hate this guy. He likes me. At least I think he does. At this point, I’m not sure if he’s just fucking with me or if he truly is interested in me, but I don’t care because he’s not the one I wanna see tonight.
“Hey, Demi, glad you can join us.” David smiles at me.
I’m not sure how she got him to date her. He’s a nice guy, but she fucking cheats on him. And with Deke Biggs, no less. One of the biggest players in our school. I overheard her talking to him on the phone the other day when she thought I wasn’t home. She plays it off as if they are just friends, but he doesn’t have any girls who are friends. She was telling him about how much fun she had in the back seat of his Range Rover after one of his swim meets.
“Hey.” Maxwell wraps his arms around me and pulls me in for a hug. I leave my hands down by my sides and try not to choke on his cologne. The guy is swimming in it tonight.
“Come on.” David nods his head to the driver’s side of his black Aston Martin.
“Thank you,” I mumble, and he nods his head once at me.
I climb into what should be a back seat, but it’s not really. It’s cramped, and David is so tall that he has to have his seat shoved all the way back. But I’m not about to sit behind Maxwell. He’s just as tall.
“Shit.” I hiss.
“What?” Becky asks, getting in beside me.
“Nothing,” I answer, looking away from her.
“What the fuck is it?” She snaps at me, showing her true colors.
“It’s nothing,” I growl.
She huffs.
“You sure, Demi?” David asks, his dark green eyes meeting mine in his rearview mirror.
I nod. I forgot my phone upstairs, but I don’t need it. I know David won’t leave me behind. It’s my sister I’m worried about. And I doubt Maxwell will let me out of his sight.
The car purrs to life, and he puts it in gear before we tear out of my parents’ driveway. Sitting in the back, I tune out their conversation and focus on the radio. “Invincible” by Adelitas Way plays.
David drives us to the outskirt of Collins where all the bonfire parties are thrown—on the beach. Kids bring in kegs and tables. They litter them with bottles and cups. They get fucked up. Most end up passing out on the sand or in the forest right off the beach. I’ve only been to a couple of them, and both times were because David told my sister to let me come. We’ll get there, and my sister will ditch me, but David will make sure to keep an eye on me. I trust him.
We pull up and get out. I stretch my cramped legs as my sister walks around the front of the car. “Don’t get fucking lost.” She throws over her shoulder to me, heading over to the beach. “Keep an eye on her, Maxwell.”
“I forgot my phone,” I tell David, ignoring her. “Do you know how long we will be here?”
He digs into his pocket and holds out his. “Take mine.”
“What?” I look up at him wide-eyed.
“Here. Take it.” He offers it to me. A lazy smile on his face. “The code is 1234.”
Well, no one ever said he was smart. Most of the rich kids of Collins aren’t.
“In case we get separated. You can call your sister’s,” he offers.
“Thanks,” I say softly, “but I doubt she’ll answer.”
He waves it off. “I’ve got hers in my other pocket.”
I smile up at him before he too turns and walks off after her. To my surprise, Maxwell follows him, leaving me completely alone.
I put my jacket on and place his phone in the pocket, then I make my way down to the beach. Kids stand by the tables, filling their drinks. Another group has their jeans rolled up with their feet in the water as they get high. And others sit on big logs that surround the fire. I make my way over
there ’cause the breeze from the ocean has me shivering.
Sitting down, I look over to see all the Great White Sharks together. Becky was right; the man I wanted to see is present.
Deke, Bennett, Kellan, Eli, Maddox, and Landen each drink out of their own bottles. The only one who’s missing is Cole. I don’t see him anywhere. Deke has his arm around a redhead. She’s got her legs across his lap. He looks over at me as I sit down. He looks me up and down in a way that tells me what I already know—I’m not wanted here. But then he surprises me when he asks, “Want a sip?” and holds the bottle out to me.
Everyone laughs. “Deke, she’s too young,” his date says. Her brown eyes look at me, but I don’t think she really sees me. She’s far too gone at this point.
My jaw tightens. These kids forget I’m not much younger than they are. I may be a sophomore, but they’re only juniors. They’ve been running Collins High since they walked in the doors their freshman year, though.
Eli’s eyes meet mine, and I feel a blush creep up my cheeks. He’s by far my favorite out of the group, and the only one who ever seems to notice me. Like I’m not invisible. All the others treat me like Becky does—a nuisance.
“I bet you pass out before Demi does,” Eli says to the girl on Deke’s lap, giving me a wink. And my breath hitches as my body begins to heat up. Whew. The fire is hot all of a sudden.
“She looks to almost be there,” I say, and everyone laughs. My shoulders relax a bit.
Deke still holds out the bottle to me, and I yank it from his grasp and down a gulp. I pull it away from my lips, gasping for air. My lungs burn, and I cough at the invasion of the liquid fire.
Again, they all laugh at me. I tilt my head back and bring it to my lips, drinking some more. I’m prepared to show these fuckers I can hang with them, even if I have to fake it, when the bottle is yanked away. The vodka runs down my chin and onto my T-shirt.
“Fuck’s sake, slow down,” Cole growls. He stands beside me, glaring down at me with the bottle in his hand. “None of us are gonna hold your hair later when you’re puking everywhere.”
“I’ll hold your hair, Demi.” Eli smirks at me again. “I’m a gentleman.”
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