He doesn’t say anything to her. Instead, he tells her how much fun he had by placing his lips on hers. He wraps both arms around her and pulls her away from the door. He spins her in a half circle, placing her back to me. Letting go of her waist, he places both of his hands on her face. She moans, and I stand watching like a deer in headlights.
What the hell is he doing? Does she truly believe he wants her? He hates her. I saw it in his eyes when he spoke of her in his room. When he compared me to her. This must be some kind of joke.
He pulls his lips from hers, tilts her head to the side, and lowers his lips to her exposed neck. He opens his eyes, and they land right on me, across the balcony. He knew I was here. “Fuck, Becky!”
My heart pounds at the way he moans her name while he stares at me, but it makes total sense. Why he’s here. Me. He wants to fuck with me. He’s making it very clear that no matter what kind of lying whore she is, she’s better than I am, and I’ll never live up to her. He doesn’t have to say the words. I can read it in his cold crystal blue eyes. And the fact he’s not the least bit surprised to see me.
“Deke,” she pants, falling for his shit.
His eyes remain on mine as he licks his way up her neck to the shell of her ear.
I want to run over and rip her off him. I want kiss him, to show her that he was touching me the same way just two nights ago, but I can’t. I’ve become immobile at the sight of him taunting me. Playing with me as if I’m some fucking amateur.
He pulls away, and the smirk on his face tells me all I need to know.
Fuck you, Demi!
He finally looks away from me and leans down, giving her a peck on the cheek. “I’ll call you later.” Without another word, he walks down the staircase and exits the house.
I look at my sister, and I watch a smile grace her face. It’s that Becky Holt smile she hides from everyone but herself. The I-fucked-you-over smile.
They’re both playing their own games on one another. But why?
As if she just realizes that he’s gone and no longer has to pretend, the smile drops off her face. Taking a step back into her room, she slams her door shut.
I stand there still trying to wrap my head around what I just saw and why I’m so pissed off about it when her door opens, and she tosses a wad of clothes into the hall by her door, then shuts it again. I notice a dark blue dress that looks familiar and find myself walking over to it. Our housekeeper hates when Becky does this, but she doesn’t care.
I pick up the blue dress and clench it in my hand. She wore my dress. Not that I would, but I hate the idea of her being in my room and snooping through my shit. This is exactly why I make sure to have Austin’s journal on me at all times. I turn the dress over and frown when I see a white spot that looks like a dried substance. I run my thumb over it, and it hits me. It’s come. She wore my dress last night while he fucked her. And didn’t even bother to remove it.
Motherfucker!
I enter my room. Plopping down on the end of my bed, I pull out my phone and send a text to Seth. My fingers moving so quickly, my mind can’t keep up with them.
Me: Party at my house Halloween. Spread the word.
Seth: You sure you wanna do that?
Me: Yes.
Seth: What about your sister?
Me: She won’t be here. She’s going back to Collins for the weekend to spend it with my dad.
I smile as I lean back onto my bed and stare up at my ceiling. I have a plan already. One that will knock them off their game. They won’t know what hit them.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
DEKE
I’M IN ENGLISH Lit. Cole sits to my right, holding his pencil like a fucking weapon. He’s still on edge. Austin’s been able to calm him down in the evenings, but he’s still on high alert most of the time. It’s been five days since we went to the cabin, and three since I fucked Becky.
Nothing has happened.
No new messages or threats.
I can’t decide if that’s a good or bad thing. Bennett and Shane went back to Collins last night. They had missed enough classes and decided that since nothing was happening, it was time for them to return. I couldn’t agree more. Bennett was always texting away on his phone, and Shane was constantly looking at Austin as though he was plotting her murder, and Cole noticed. It was hard for us all not to see it.
I haven’t heard from Becky. She put the ball in my court on purpose after our night together. I told her I’d call, and I haven’t. At this point, I have nothing to say to her. She played her part. And I played mine.
“Tell me to fuck you,” I whisper.
“Fuck me.” She chokes on the word, and I refrain from smiling. She knows what I want, and although she doesn’t wanna give it up, she’s gonna take one for the team.
She’s so fucking transparent.
I reach down and push her underwear down her long legs, and she steps out of them. Then I grab her hips and pick her up. She gasps, wrapping her legs around my waist. I toss her onto her bed and run my finger over her pussy. She’s not soaked, but she’s also not dry. It’ll work. I’m not in the mood for foreplay, and she never was one who liked it. She may be a slut, but she’s not up for playing around. She normally spreads her legs and lies there like a fucking doll, but that won’t be the case tonight.
I lift up and flip her over. Spreading her legs with mine, I grip her hair in one hand while I push inside her in one quick motion. She cries out, but I don’t slow down. I fuck her hard and rough. My hand maintains a hold of her hair while my other hand shoves her chest into the comforter, making her back arch at an uncomfortable angle. And once I’m done, I pull out and come all over her dress that I didn’t remove on purpose. I left it bunched up around her waist. And I’m leaving Demi a little surprise that I hope she’ll find. It’s her dress, after all, and I know if Becky gets the chance, she’ll throw it in Demi’s face. Literally.
“Hey, man?”
I look over at Seth as he’s putting away his books.
“What are you guys doing for Halloween this weekend?” he asks.
“We’re taking Lilly trick-or-treating,” I answer.
“We’re having a party on Saturday.” The day after Halloween. “You guys should come.”
“Who is?” Cole asks, Seth getting his attention.
“Demi is. At her parents’.”
I smile. “Really?”
He nods. “Her parents are gonna be away for business, and Becky will be in Collins. She’s gonna have the house to herself.” He smiles, leaning back in his seat. “Thought I’d let you guys know. You’re more than welcome to come, and you don’t have to dress up if you don’t want to.”
I turn to look at Cole, and he nods to Seth. “We’ll be there.”
“Awesome.” He grabs his books. “I’m guessing you don’t need the address?”
“Nope,” I answer, and he laughs, getting up and walking out of the classroom.
Cole looks at me. “Think that’s what she’s waiting for? A party at her house?”
“No.” I shake my head. That’s not how Demi would do it, if it’s her. “She wouldn’t do anything in front of a crowd. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have sent us to some old cabin to read a fucking letter.”
He snorts in agreement.
We make our way out of the classroom, and I see Seth leaning up against the wall talking to a brunette. She looks up at him with big brown eyes, totally transfixed by his words. I knock my arm into Cole’s to get his attention.
We come to a stop and watch them openly. She nods a few times, and he smiles down at her with what could only be described as love. I recognize it because I’ve looked at Becky that way before.
“Interesting,” Cole mumbles next to me, seeing the look on Seth’s face.
They’re unfaithful. Just as Becky was to David. No wonder Demi allowed me to touch her so easily and begged me to prove she was better than her sister.
They’re exactly the fucking same.
It
pisses me off. Not sure why. I’ve known that Demi is with Seth. Every time I touched her, every dream I’ve had of her, I’ve known she’s taken. But when has that ever stopped me before? Why would it now?
She leans up on her tiptoes and gives him a soft kiss on the cheek, then turns and walks off. He pulls his ringing cell out of his pocket and puts it to his ear. “Hey, babe.” He greets who I can only guess is Demi. Or hell, maybe he’s got more on the side. “Yeah, I’ll come over after you’re done with class.” He smiles to himself. “Wear the black one,” he says and then turns and walks off.
We stay standing, my mind wondering what black one he’s referring to. And wishing I could see it as well.
DEMI
Sophomore year
I take Eli’s hand, and he helps me sit down beside him on the cliff. My legs dangle off the ledge, and I take another drink. My body shakes, and my breathing is labored. Why do girls do things they don’t like to impress a boy? I’m not sure anyone will ever be able to answer that question.
“Hey.” I jump when Eli places his arm around me and pulls to his side. “I got you.”
I look over at his brown eyes and soft smile playing on his pretty face. “Why are we here?” I ask.
The smile drops off his face, and he looks out over the dark ocean. The moonlight shines down on it, making it look beautiful but deadly. “I come here a lot with Cole and Deke.” He swallows. “After Betty died, there were times he wouldn’t answer our phone calls or texts. He’d miss school and swim practice. We always worried about him.” He sighs. “But one day, Deke convinced me to skip school and go look for him. We found him here, sitting at his mother’s grave.”
My chest tightens for Cole and the loss of his mother, and tears sting my eyes. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose a parent. Even if I don’t like mine most of the time, I’d hate to have to live without them.
“We sat here with him in silence until the sun went down. And then without saying a word, he turned and walked down to the Lowes estate.”
“Why?” I ask curiously.
“That’s where Lilly was. Celeste always watches her for him.”
I don’t like her. There’s just something about Celeste and Bruce Lowes that I don’t trust.
“Deke turned and left as well, but I walked over here and sat down.” He smiles, looking out over the calm water. “And that’s when I heard them.”
“Heard what?” I whisper.
He turns to look at me, his left hand coming up to cup my face. “Just listen.”
I stop breathing. My heart pounds wildly at his warm hand on my cheek. I feel a blush creep up my face, and I’m thankful it’s not daytime. “Kiss me,” I say without thought.
His eyes drop to my lips, and he licks his. “Demi, I can’t …”
“Please,” I beg him.
He sighs heavily. “Listen to me, Demi.” His other hand comes up to hold my face as well.
The world starts to spin.
“You’re too good to be someone’s secret. And we both know that’s exactly what you would have to be if we got together.”
I know he’s right. He’s the oldest of the GWS. He’ll be turning eighteen this coming summer, and I’ll still be sixteen. “I don’t care,” I whisper. My mouth going dry suddenly.
He frowns. “You deserve to be someone’s fucking world, Demi Holt. Don’t ever think anything less of yourself.”
“I wanna be your world,” I say, feeling dizzy. I blink a few times, but it doesn’t stop. I fall backward, and he catches me.
“Whoa.” He gets to his feet and helps me move away from the edge of the cliff. He tries to get me to stand, but I stumble over my feet. “How much did you drink?” he asks.
“I …” I blink. “Not much.”
He grabs the drink from my hand and looks down at it.
“I think … I’m gonna get sick …”
He brings the cup to his lips and takes a sip. Then he’s spitting it out. “What the fuck? Who gave you this drink?”
I try to think back. Who was it? My mind is foggy and … “Becky.” I slur.
“You sure?”
I nod and almost lose my balance again. “Yeeeaaahhh.”
He pours the drink out and shoves the now empty cup it into the pocket of his hoodie.
“I ... I don’t feel well,” I slur, leaning over and placing my hands on my knees.
“I know.” He places an arm under my legs and the other across my back to pick me up.
Looking up at him, I blink as he carries me through the cemetery and down the hill. I watch his sharp jaw and a muscle tic in his neck. He’s angry with me.
“I’m sorry. I don’t …” My eyes close. “Drink.”
Then everything goes dark. When I open my eyes next, he’s placing me in the passenger seat of his car. He reaches across me and buckles my seat belt. My arms feel heavy, my mind sluggish. Then his hand cups my face. I lean into him.
“This isn’t your fault, Demi.” His narrowed eyes search mine before he growls. “Your sister drugged you.”
Present
“Ready To Die,” by TheUnder pumps through the speakers of my mother’s house. I stand in the kitchen sipping away on a rum and Coke. It’s my third one. I’ve come a long way since I had my first drink out of Deke’s bottle that night on the beach. I learned several important lessons that night that I’ll never forget.
“What are you thinking?” Lauren asks, coming to stand beside me.
She’s the only friend I have here. But I’m not like Becky; I choose to have a very small circle. Most people don’t like my sister, but it’s the opposite with me. I don’t like most of them. They lie. You can’t trust anyone.
She pours herself a drink. She’s pretty much the only one here from our high school. Most of the people have been invited by Seth from the University of Texas. And hardly anyone dressed up in costume. They’re all too old for that shit. There are a few girls who remind me of my sister and are half-dressed begging for attention from the men, but for the most part, the partygoers are just here to get drunk and have a good time. I didn’t even put up any decorations. And my mother doesn’t bother herself with such pointless shit. Her words.
“Nothing.”
“Liar.” She giggles. “Where’s Seth?” She looks around the packed kitchen. The guy to female ratio is laughable. There are probably five guys to every one girl. Seth plays football for UT, so he’s popular with all the athletes at the college. He spread the word well.
“Somewhere.”
“What is up with you?” She shoves my shoulder.
When I don’t respond, her eyes follow my line of sight across the open kitchen to see Deke and Cole standing in the formal dining room, leaning up against the forest green wall. They came. Just as I knew they would. Deke can’t pass up a party. They’re talking to a couple of guys who Seth knows from UT. I watched them walk in an hour ago. Neither one of them has said a word to me. Cole hasn’t even looked my way, but I’ve caught Deke staring several times.
“Damn. Who the fuck are they?” she asks.
“Taken,” I say.
She snorts. “As in married?”
“The one on the right is engaged.” Cole might as well be married.
I finally finished Austin’s journal. And to say I was surprised to read about their love story is an understatement. They went through so much. He tortured her in such a way that it made me rethink what I’m going to do tonight. He is pure evil in the prettiest form, and I bet Deke could match him on any given day.
I’m going to find out either way.
“Then he’s available.” She winks over at me.
I turn to face her fully. She’s just like my sister. When she sees a pretty face, she wants to spread her legs, even if that means cheating on Billy. “He will eat you up and spit you out. And if he doesn’t kill you, his fiancée will.” Her green eyes widen at my words. I lean in and whisper, “Then she’ll burn your body and take a hammer to what’s
left. Stay the hell away from him,” I warn.
She swallows nervously but chuckles.
I aspire to be a mini Austin—badass and untouchable. That’s why I decided to continue with my plan for tonight. It has to be done. It’s time. I’ve been holding onto something for too long that means so very little. Not to me. My sister tried to take it before, and now I’m going to throw it away.
For revenge. And it’s gonna be so fucking sweet.
I pour two shots of vodka and hand her one. “Drink up,” I order. She clinks her glass to mine, and I look over the rim, throwing it back to see Deke’s blue eyes on me. I smile to myself.
The song changes to “Left Alone” by Zero just as Seth enters the room. I give him a smile when his eyes lock on mine. “Hey, babe,” He grips my upper arm and yanks me from the counter, causing my drink to fall over. “Ow …”
“You did not do what I think you did!” he snaps so loudly that it causes people to look our way.
My eyes widen. “I don’t know what—”
“Don’t fucking lie to me, Demi,” he shouts.
I look around nervously, and I don’t miss seeing Cole and Deke looking right at us now. I quickly look away and back at Seth. “Can we talk about this somewhere else?”
“Fine!”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
DEKE
I PUSH OFF the wall the same time that Cole does, and we make our way out of the formal dining room, through the kitchen, and to the grand foyer. I watch Seth drag Demi up the stairs like a rag doll. My fists clench when I see how hard his fingers are digging into her upper arm.
“You’re hurting me.” Her small voice travels down the stairs.
“And you’re being a slut! Just like your sister,” he snaps.
“Seth?” I call out, already taking the stairs two at a time.
He looks down at me, then at Cole who I notice is following close. “Walk away, guys, this doesn’t concern you.”
“Actually, it does.” Cole crosses his arms over his chest as we hit the landing. “Let her go.”
DARE SERIES COLLECTION Page 71