Unwritten Rules

by Eliah Greenwood

  We stop on the porch to unlock the door. When a cold breeze blows my hair off my neck, Kendrick stops dead in his tracks. I frown.

  “What the hell is this? What happened to you?”

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  “What is what?”

  “Your neck. Oh my God.”

  He brushes the hair off my neck swiftly before I can step back. He balls his hands into fists, making them look like white-knuckled weapons.

  “The bastard attacked you?” he says through gritted teeth, the look in his eyes making my skin crawl.

  I consider lying for a second. I don’t want to cause any more problems than I already have. When I get a quick glance of my reflection in the kitchen window, I’m forced to face the obvious truth—nothing can get me out of this one. What could I possibly say to justify the bright red marks on my neck? I got into a fight with a curling iron?

  “It wasn’t Haze. He was gone when I woke up. He wanted me to wait for him.” I finally come clean, my eyes dropping to the ground.

  “Then who?” Kendrick shouts, anger flowing out of him profusely.

  “Kendrick, calm down, please.”

  He’s about two seconds away from punching the wall.

  “Who?” he screams again.

  I give in. “Tanner.”

  “I’m going to kill him.” He unlocks the front door and rushes inside the silent kitchen. I follow him, terrified that he might do something stupid. Against all expectations, he gets his phone out of his pocket and starts typing.

  “What are you doing?” I try and see the screen.

  “Texting you,” he grumbles.

  “But Haze has my phone.”

  Kendrick looks up from his phone, and we lock eyes.

  “Exactly.”

  I glance over his shoulder, finally getting a clear shot of the message.

  Winter: Your brother lays a finger on my cousin again, you’re both dead. - K

  Lovely.

  I remember turning off my phone last night, and although I’d like to think Haze won’t see it, I also know I’d be dumb to think he hasn’t tried to snoop. Even if—thank the Lord—my phone has a password, the locked screen will allow him to read Kendrick’s text. My cousin storms out of the room seconds later and I collapse onto a chair, cursing.

  It’s official, life hates me.

  “WHAT ABOUT THESE?” KASS INTERRUPTS THE foreign thoughts spinning around in my head for the billionth time today. I look at the heels she’s holding up in front of my eyes.

  “I tried walking in heels once. I made a new friend—the floor.”

  She doesn’t laugh, instead she looks at me sharply.

  “Think of how great you’d look.”

  “Maybe, but my feet would never forgive me. I tried yesterday at the party. It’s not worth it.”

  I glance around the crowded mall and wonder why on earth I let her convince me to go shopping. I guess I needed something to take my mind off the whole Haze mess. Shortly after Kendrick sent him that very kind text message, Kassidy walked into the house with a cheeky smile on her face. Kendrick left almost immediately after. I followed him outside to beg him not to do anything he might regret. He nodded briefly before taking off.

  Do I feel better? Not even a little bit.

  I grimace at the pain emanating from my neck and adjust the silk scarf I’m wearing. I am not risking Kassidy seeing the handprints on my skin and losing her mind, too.

  I tried to get her to tell me where she was all night, but she sticks to her obviously false story which is that she was at a friend’s. She seems lighter than usual, happier, less controlling, less moody.

  Less Kass.

  It’s a boy. It’s got to be.

  After a good thirty minutes, I end up convincing her that she’s bought enough clothes for the day, although I practically have to drag her out of the mall. Resting my head against the car window, I watch the passing houses in the rearview mirror. We come to an abrupt stop, and Kassidy sighs, stretching her neck in an attempt to see the reason behind the blocked circulation. That’s when she hits me with the one sentence I did not want to hear.

  “So… About the party.”

  “What about it?”

  “Rumor has it you slept at you know who’s?”

  I chortle. “You can say his name. He’s not Voldemort.”

  “Haze,” she says, anxiously glancing around as if she fears he’s going to come out of one of the cars next to us in traffic.

  “Yeah. I did.”

  But it’s actually a funny story, you see? My life was in danger, and that’s why Mr. I’m-too-handsome-to-be-human slash don’t-look-me-in-the-eyes had to come to my rescue. Not to mention that his psycho brother ended up attacking me.

  Ah, memories.

  “What’s the deal between you two, Winter? He’s dangerous.”

  “No shit, Sherlock,” I mutter under my breath.

  “I’m serious. You need to be careful. I can’t believe you let him take you to his house. You need to stay away from him.”

  “I’m trying to.”

  “Oh, really? Is that why you keep hanging out with Kendrick and his trouble-magnet friends? They’re involved in… some stuff.”

  I pretend to be surprised when in fact, I already know exactly what she’s talking about.

  “Stuff?”

  “Stuff.” She makes it clear she is not willing to discuss this any further. “Do you know what happened yesterday? I was already gone, but I heard it caused a panic.”

  I look down. “Cops.”

  I hate lying to her.

  “I know that’s what everyone said, but it seemed like a lot more than that. Some people said they heard a gunshot.”

  “Cops these days.” I pray that she won’t ask any more questions.

  “Yeah.” She shrugs. “I’m just saying to be careful. Haze Adams is not one to do romance and—”

  I cut her off. “Wait a minute. You were gone? With who?”

  “With… with a friend.”

  “Oh, come on. Who’s the boy?”

  “There’s no boy. Don’t try to change the subject. What were we talking about?”

  “You were lecturing me about Haze.”

  “Right. All Haze wants is fun. Like what he does with Bianca. He keeps sleeping with her even though the poor girl’s head over heels in love with him. Just don’t let him fool you, too.”

  “Believe it or not, I’m actually not a fan of heartless douchebags. I’m one of the girls who don’t enjoy when a man doesn’t give a crap about them. Yes, we do exist.”

  “Says the girl who literally just let him take her home.”

  I can’t hold it in anymore.

  “Okay. You know what? I did not sleep at his place willingly. Something happened to me, and I was in trouble. Haze helped and offered me a place to stay.”

  She seems a bit taken aback by my sudden change of tone and doesn’t reply for a while, mentally debating on something.

  “Some street gang trouble?”

  My face drops.

  “You know?”

  She nods faintly. “I’ve known for a while now. I’m not blind. Neither is my mom. She knows Kendrick is involved in something she can’t control. I hear your fights at night. Kendrick needs to stop taking the world for idiots. Not to mention Blake’s behavior was so weird back when we were dating. Eventually, I put the pieces together.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Because it’s better to pretend not to know certain things, Winter. I don’t want to get involved in his mess, and I’ve managed to do that successfully until…”

  I finish her sentence. “Until me.”

  “Well, don’t get me wrong, but you literally threw yourself into the fire. What were you thinking following my brother when he goes out?”

  “Seriously? You heard that, too?”

  “You guys are pretty loud when you argue
at night.” She puts her hands up in surrender.

  We don’t speak for a couple of minutes. We haven’t moved one bit, still stuck in traffic. I look out the window and spot a woman dancing like no one’s watching in her car. Singing along to the radio, she doesn’t have a care in the world. I can’t suppress a smile.

  “Look at her.” I rest my chin in the palm of my hand.

  “Can’t. I’m driving.” She keeps her eyes fixed to the road.

  “You’re sitting in an unmoving car, actually.”

  She exhales. “What?”

  “I hope I can be this carefree when I’m older.”

  Kass stiffens. “If and only if you live beyond the age of eighteen.”

  I raise my eyebrows. How could I not see that one coming?

  “Harsh.”

  “I know. I know. I’m being an asshole, I’m sorry. It’s just… Haze Adams is only as nice as he needs to be to get your trust. Promise me that you’ll stay away.”

  I find myself locked in her persistent gaze.

  “I promise.”

  The traffic picks up the pace, and Kass’s face softens. She focuses on driving, pleased by my response. As I tap my foot, eager to get home, I can’t draw my thoughts to a close. Something tells me that if I make it my mission to avoid Haze, he’ll somehow be in my life even more. It doesn’t matter if I promise to stay away from him.

  I’m not sure he will stay away from me.

  S I X

  The Date

  “Finally! Alex, they’re back,” Will shrieks the very second I enter the house and drop the bags I’m holding on the floor.

  “Aw, did someone miss us?” I tease, going back to the door to let my shopping addict of a cousin inside. Kass lets her bags hit the floor, as well, not even bothering to acknowledge Will’s presence. She wasn’t kidding when she said she’d made it her life mission not to get involved in Kendrick’s mess.

  Then, as if our return is the most awaited event of the year, Alex rushes inside the room with nerve-wrecking anxiety flowing out of him.

  “What’s up with you?” I ask.

  “You’ve been gone for like two years, that’s what’s up,” Alex replies, eyeing the now-covered-with-shopping-bags floor.

  Kass deigns to look up from her phone. “We’ve been gone for like four hours.”

  “What the hell were you doing at the mall for four hours anyway?” Will mocks.

  “Hunting elephants.” Kass retorts, “Isn’t it obvious? We were shopping. What do you think we were doing?”

  Will arches an eyebrow. “Shopping for what? And don’t tell me shoes. You already have 2,433 pairs.”

  “That’s not true,” I say.

  “Thanks, Winter.” Kass smiles at me.

  “She has 2,435.”

  Alex and Will both suppress a laugh as my cousin rolls her eyes and picks up as many bags as humanly possible. She departs the room and disappears up the stairs into her room.

  I shrug, kicking off my shoes. “Why were you guys waiting for us? And where are Blake and Kendrick?”

  Their faces become even paler than they already are—if that’s even possible—as their eyes seem to develop a sudden passion for the floor.

  “That’s kind of what we wanted to talk to you about.” Alex nervously rubs the back of his neck.

  “What did you do?” is all I can say.

  “Well… You remember Tanner, right?”

  “Oh yeah, the guy who violently attacked me. Nice guy. What about him?”

  “Promise you won’t freak out,” Alex replies.

  “That’s exactly what not to say to me if you don’t want me to freak out,” I blurt.

  “Kendrick told us about what happened. He called us right after he dropped you off and… he was really angry. We had no way of knowing what he was going to do. He—” Alex cuts himself off.

  “He what?” I insist.

  “He went to find Tanner. Problem is, he wasn’t alone, and let’s just say it ended badly. Kendrick looks awful right now. He’ll have to crash at Blake’s until he doesn’t look like his face was used as a punching bag. We need you to cover for him.”

  I can’t find the words to say how I feel, unable to get the images of me begging Kendrick not to do anything stupid before he left out of my head. Guilt washes over me. He went there to fight Tanner for what he did to me, and I know it technically isn’t my fault, but he wouldn’t have gotten hurt if it weren’t for me following Haze. He told me he was going to kill him. And I went shopping. I went shopping for God’s sake! I didn’t think he was serious.

  I’m about to speak, but Will cuts me off, raising his finger in my direction. “And before you say no, just remember that Kendrick and Haze have a deal. If Maria sees her baby boy looking like he got ran over by a truck, Kendrick will have to break it, and you know what happens in the community when you break a deal? You’re considered a coward, and the prize is automatically given to the other person. In other words…”

  “Haze,” I finish.

  His words hit me pretty hard, and although I was going to help without this bit of information, it certainly doesn’t hurt in the motivation department.

  I nod. “What do you need to me to do?”

  “Just tell Maria he’s staying with me to uh… help me deal with depression or something,” Alex babbles.

  “Why would you be depressed?”

  “I don’t know. Because my cat died?”

  I can’t hold back a small laugh. “Oh come on, there’s no way she’s buying that.”

  “Just make up something. You girls are good at that kind of stuff.” Will shrugs.

  “That kind of stuff? Like lying?”

  “No. Talking shit.”

  Will’s outstanding skills with the female population will never cease to impress me.

  Alex hits the back of Will’s head quickly. “You really know how to convince a woman, don’t you?”

  “Ouch.” Will winces, grinning.

  “When can I see him?” I ask.

  “He says he wants to wait until he’s better. He’ll give you a call when he’s ready,” Alex says.

  “Here’s the plan. We set up a date tonight with Haze through your phone. All we need you to do is use your…” Alex pauses as if he’s looking for the words he could say not to sound like an asshole. “Charms to convince him not to tell everyone. The last thing we need is for our enemies to know our leader got beat up. We’re weak at the moment. You have no idea how many people would like to get rid of Kendrick.”

  “You want me to convince him to cover up for his enemies? Are you kidding? Why the hell would he do me this favor?”

  “Because he’s obsessed with you, duh,” Will exclaims like it’s the most obvious statement in the world.

  “What Will is trying to say is that Haze’s the one who stopped Tanner and his fighters. He basically saved Kendrick and let him escape.”

  I can’t stop my jaw from dropping. “He did what?”

  “Believe me, we know.” Will makes a face, an obvious sign that he’s as confused as I am. “We got there just in time to get him out of there. When we realized what he had in mind, it was too late.”

  I can’t stop a feeling of uncertainty from growing.

  “This might be our best and only shot, Winter,” Alex says. “You might be the only one who can convince him. He definitely sees something in you.”

  Will scoffs. “Yeah. His dick. That’s what he sees in you.”

  Alex elbows him in the stomach.

  I like Will. Always so sweet and polite.

  Something tells me this banter’s an everyday thing for them.

  It’s become quite obvious that Will is the immature, prankster, funny guy with inappropriate jokes, and Alex is the nice “dad” who constantly apologizes for his son’s behavior.

  “How do you know he’s even going to show up at all?”

  Will shrugs. “Because he think
s you’re the one who set it up. He’ll be there. Trust me.”

  “I don’t have to go alone, do I?”

  “Of course not. Kendrick would kill us.” Alex says.

  “Well, technically, it would require for him to be able to walk,” Will adds.

  My worries increase tremendously.

  “It’s that bad?”

  “It is. I have no idea what Kendrick expected. That he could take down four guys at once? Not to mention he thought Tanner wouldn’t have backup. Tanner was expecting him. Kendrick’s good. But no one’s that good.” Will glances at me. “We’re leaving in a couple hours. Wear something a bit more…” He pauses, analyzing me from head to toe. “Revealing.”

  “In other words, wear almost nothing.”

  I look down at my oversized sweatshirt and leggings.

  “Yeah, pretty much.”

  This results in another blow to the stomach from Alex.

  “Don’t listen to him. What he means is that we want all the help we can get. If you seducing Haze can save Kendrick, we have to try.”

  So basically… I’m meeting Haze Adams late at night, wearing almost nothing, with gangs potentially trying to kill me.

  Sounds fun.

  SITTING IN A CAR THAT’S TAKING me to a meeting with Haze isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I thought about my Saturday night. Will is driving while Alex is tapping his foot to the music playing on the radio. Am I the only one completely freaked-out here? It sure looks like it.

  I look down at the red dress I’m wearing. It’s tight and something I bought a while ago for my nonexistent boyfriend. I thought I might need a dress like this one day. I just never expected that day would be now. My cleavage is a lot more exposed than I’m used to, and I can’t help but constantly try to fix it.

  When Will parks the vehicle a couple of blocks away from the creepiest park I’ve ever seen, my response is immediate.

  “Seriously? You just had to pick the creepiest park in the history of parks, didn’t you?”

  “That’s the farthest we go.” Alex says.

  “What? But you said you were coming to watch over me.”