by L. J. Woods
Despite the shock that has my body frozen it’s hard not to be proud when she recognizes the brand on her boyfriend’s sports coat. He has a pair of crisp jeans underneath, his white Balenciaga sneakers, matching his coat. He's gelled his hair to one side making him look clean-cut and it reminds me that Ray got herself a looker. His green eyes dazzle when he looks at her and that sends a knot to my stomach when I remember the way his best friend looked at me.
Call these guys Kings, or players, or show-offs but deep down inside, they’re loyal and warm. It takes guts to commit to someone the way Christian and Ray have.
Guts that we don't have.
“To Johnson’s party.” Christian’s words shake me out of my thoughts. “We have some … stuff to talk about.”
Wait. I push to my feet, the room tilting as the vodka settles in my empty stomach. “Isaac’s having a party?”
“Perfect!” Ray pipes up, standing to her feet. She ushers both of us towards the door, catching me when I stumble. She’s gentler with Christian on his crutches, but her push on my back has bite. “Same with Lexi! You guys should go together!”
Her voice is high-pitched and friendly. Ray doesn’t do ‘friendly’.
“She wants to write,” Christian explains, then he looks over his shoulder. “As in, that better be the only reason you’re rushing your boyfriend to the door.”
“I do have a deadline, and to be completely honest, you guys are ruining my flow.”
As if she didn't just tell me she’s a fucking killer.
“Fine!” I say, chugging more vodka as I try not to stumble into Christian. “But give me twenty minutes. If I’m going there, I need to find the perfect outfit.”
“You know, that’s not much of an outfit.”
“Thank you!” I reply, climbing out of the town car Christian hired. That’s exactly the kind of response I want tonight. Christian hobbles in front of me as the car he hired leaves and … “Are we at a warehouse?”
“Looks like it.”
If it wasn’t for the array of luxury cars sitting outside, and the horde of students standing around a bonfire, I’d be more afraid of this gritty environment that’s the furthest thing from Eden. I still spot designer labels and expensive fabrics from a mile away. So we’re not that far.
Then it hits me. It's the same warehouse Isaac and I got filthy on his car.
“I guess he’s going for a theme.” Christian’s body stiffens as we approach the big sliding door, looking around him. “I’m happy Ray’s not here.”
When I glance at him, he smiles and at least Christian isn’t like his friend. “Is this the place where it happened?”
He looks down at me with low brows, his thick neck tightening. “The place what happened?”
“Ray said—” Fuck. Squeezing my eyes shut, I don’t move until I hear the click off his crutches. I follow behind. “Please, don’t tell her I said anything.”
“You’re drunk, Lexi.” He keeps moving towards the warehouse and I hope that means he won’t.
But he’s not wrong.
My heels stumble over the broken-up concrete as we walk towards the large rundown building. I’d cling to Christian but in his state, I’ll bring both of us down.
Eyes glare as we get closer, music thumping from the inside. A big metal door slides away and … okay, it could be the alcohol, but this place has me floored.
It’s like Alice in Wonderland packed in a warehouse. Whimsical and dark. Grungy and pretty. I’m not sure if Isaac had the same bout of inspiration I had, but this place reminds me of my designs. Our relationship. A beautiful twisted mess.
Pole dancers with bunny heads show off their moves. A DJ in a Mad Hatters hat dances to his music behind them. Bodies grind together on the massive dance floor lit up by purple and green lights. This place is jam-packed with students. It has to be one of the biggest parties I’ve been to since I’ve been here. And if Isaac’s throwing it, I’m afraid of what that means for him.
“Perez! How you holdin’—” Hoffman approaches us but stalls when he recognizes me. “Johnson know you’re here?” He throws a thumb my way. “With her?”
“She has a name,” I say.
He acts like he doesn’t hear me, keeping his eyes on Christian.
Guess Isaac’s warning is still doing its job.
“Where is he?” Christian asks.
“Johnson?” Hoffman chuckles as he brings his beer to his lips, tilting his head over to the right.
And my stomach flips.
Isaac stands on top of a speaker, two girls on either side of him and they’re not just dancing. His hands move up one of their thighs while the other nibbles his ear and that makes me bring this bottle of vodka to a half.
“Fuck …” Christian mutters.
His green velvet blazer hangs off one side of his muscled body, a girl’s tongue moving up his abs. His crumpled slacks and his messy coils confirm he's fucking sloppy.
“And he calls me a whore?” Glugging my vodka, my eyes narrow in on him before one of the guys around him gets his attention. He points towards us.
That’s when he smirks. Leaning into one of the girls, he whispers something as my skin heats. Stumbling over his loafers, he climbs off the speaker, bumping into other students. As he staggers over, his pupils are like saucers, jaw moving fast and I know what that means. I’ve seen this Isaac many times before.
So I brace for impact.
“You’re a smart girl, Smexy,” Isaac slurs, leaning against Hoffman as his eyes roam my outfit. “Knew you’d come to your senses. Came to claim your King, baby?”
Ignoring the twist in my gut, I glare into those glossy eyes. After seeing his show, I’m gonna need more than vodka to quell the fire burning in my chest. So I lie — kind of. “I’m not here for you, Johnson. Or your Johnson.”
He mimics me before he scoffs. “You’re fucking loaded. And if you're here looking like that, it fucking better me for me.” His tongue lands between his lips and I know he’s drinking this all in.
Along with Ray’s thigh-high boots, this slinky black dress is a showstopper, a deep ‘V’ going to my navel. If I bend over enough, he can get a full view of my thong. In a room full of his fellow students and teammates, I know he’ll hate it. Especially when I tell him, “Oh, honey, this isn’t for you.” It comes out a slur but he gets the picture. I can tell when his nostrils flare.
Mimicking his smug smile, I pull the bottle to my lips for a victorious drink when he slaps the bottle out of my hand. It crashes to the concrete.
“Dude.” Christian raises his hand, stepping in front of me before Isaac pushes it away. “Chill the fuck out.”
When Isaac takes a step back he stumbles. “Did you guys come here together?” His blown eyes move between us and I know the quieter I am, the angrier he’ll be. After a moment, he scoffs. “That’s cute. Or slutty. Whatever you want to call it. You suck him off for a ride?” His tongue pushes against his cheek like I needed a visual of what he’s implying.
Then my hand swings to his face. “Fuck you.” And I don’t feel the least bit guilty for it.
He hasn’t changed. He’s not sorry. He’s not remorseful. He won’t even admit it.
He’s a stone-cold killer. At least I think he is. Which reminds me.
“Is Damien King around?” I ask the boys around me. “I hear he’s the real deal. Not like Johnson over here.” I hear he’s a borderline psychopath but if Isaac wants to hurt me, I’ll do the same and I’ll do it better.
“You can go straight to hell with him,” Isaac says, his eyes looking above me.
But why does it feel like my chest caves in when he walks away?
His words pierce my gut and the vodka inside me fuels my legs when I follow.
That is until something hard and tall stops me in my path.
A chuckle comes from the rigid body in front of me, and when I look up, gray and blue eyes stare back.
I blink.
“Well, fuck, it’s like
looking like a carbon copy … with tits.” He smirks, taking a drink of the brown liquid in his glass. Then he looks above my head to Christian behind me. “Johnson got you good. Nice accessories, Perez.” I assume he’s talking about his crutches when he chuckles again. He’s not touching me but his laugh rolls through my chest.
“You know?” Christian asks.
“Your coach does too. Seems like Johnson has a heart … and a hell of a liver.”
Christian mutters, “Fuck.” Then he hobbles after him. “Johnson!”
“Nice to see you again, Lexi.” King turns his eyes down to me, reminding me we’ve met before as his eyes sink as low as my ‘V’. “Lookin’ for me? Better be the reason why you were yelling my name like it’s a fucking meat market.”
“Yes! Yes, I was.” I take another swig as he stares at me. Like he’s studying me. Or reading me, I don’t know. But it makes me shift on my heel. Makes me take another drink. And that's the liquid courage I need to ask my next question. “What do you know about Marion’s—”
“Kiddin’ me, Lyon? Not here.” His jaw tightens like Isaac’s whenever I mention that name. Then he tilts his head towards the back. “Come on.”
The crowd parts as Damien leads the way, my head swivelling around for that green velvet blazer.
Let him go.
People whisper as King leads me towards a space behind a black curtain. It’s like some sort of VIP, a velvet sofa and a bar in another whimsical space. My eyes narrow. Are those string lights from my room? Isaac hates string lights. Says they’re tacky.
He’s tacky.
“You sure you wanna know?” King’s voice brings me out of my thoughts as he racks up a line. He gazes over his shoulder, a lock of hair falling in front of his eye. The gray one.
“If he did it?” I spot a bottle of expensive scotch on the counter next to his elbow and I listen to its beckoning, moving over. “I mean … it’s pretty fucking clear. He had no problem killing Doctor Donovan and—”
“That’s cute, Lexi.” Damien’s chuckle cuts me off before he does a line.
He holds out the bill but I’m fucked up enough. “What’s cute?”
So he does another before he finally speaks again, rubbing at his nose. “It’s cute you blame Johnson when we all know you did it.” He stares at me, waiting for me to rebuttal but he hardly gives me a chance before he fires off his next question. “Or were those pool cameras lying when I saw you watch that man choke to death? Did you like that you were the last thing he saw?”
The room tilts and I grip onto the counter. “N-No, I—”
“Didn’t it make your heart race when you noticed the last thing he saw was what was always coming to him? Your revenge?"
Taking another swig isn't enough so when he holds out the bill again … fuck it I take it.
The powder hits me and my eyes widen, my body stiffening as some of the blurriness fades.
King continues, leaning against the bar. “We can talk about who murdered who all night, but let’s be real Lexi, you have a murder under your belt too. Now, let’s talk about the real reason you’re here.”
“Why else would I be here?” With a hand on my back, he leads me towards the curtain, pulling it away. Isaac's hidden behind a thick column, I can tell by the tail of his blazer, a girl whispering into his ear.
“The thing about Johnson,” Damien continues. “Is that he’s not one for subtly. We all aren’t. So if you want to get some real answers, you gotta hit him where it hurts.”
Like he knows I’m watching him, Isaac looks up. A pang goes through my stomach when his eyes hit mine. He pulls the girl closer, his hand going to her ass.
And my lips tighten.
Christian walks by us, then stops when he sees our heads poking out of the curtains. “Is Johnson in there?” He looks down at his crutches. “It’s not like I can do much. I’m the one who should still be pissed at him, but it’s like he’s avoiding me.”
“Not for long,” Damien says, pushing me towards Christian, and when the girl leans in to nibble Isaac's ear …
My lid pops.
Christian stumbles when I pull him closer by his shirt and before I know it, my lips come to his and …
Fuck. I’m kissing my best-friend’s boyfriend.
It doesn’t even feel good. No spark. No fire. But as Yulia Duzy’s “EX” plays in the background, I can’t let him go.
I want Isaac to feel what he’s doing to me. I want him to hurt.
Just like I am.
You’re fucking up.
“Lexi!” Christian pushes me off him as Damien chuckles behind me.
Christian’s brows furrow, my black lipstick on his face. Blinking at him, I can't believe what I just did. “Fuck, Christian, I …”
But it’s too late.
CRASH!
Isaac charges towards us, his fists clenched, his eyes narrow and those nostrils flaring harder than I’ve ever seen.
If I wanted to make him angry, I did.
My heart thuds with his every step and I can’t hear Christian asking me questions as the music muffles around me.
“Cops!”
The music stops and students head for the door before my blurry eyes lock on two police officers in the middle of the space.
“Isaac Johnson! We’re looking for Isaac Johnson!” One of the officers holds a ring high above the crowd.
Drake's ring.
My eyes widen as Christian and Damien hustle over but the cops already spot Isaac across from them.
“Nevermind!” a cop yells. “We found him!” They say something to Isaac but when his eyes drop to the ring, he puts his hands in the air as he sways.
“What’s this about, officers?” Damien asks when we get to where he stands.
“We’re here with some questions about Drake Donovan. Or Doctor Donovan as he’s known to some. He’s been missing for some time so we're questioning students.”
“Why me?” Isaac slurs, and when his eyes land on me, a smirk grows. “Lexi Lyon has more history with Doctor Donovan than anybody at ERU. Go ahead, ask her. She knows the most private pieces of his life. She fucked him. Like everyone else.”
Motherfucker!
My body shakes, my jaw tight.
Is he selling me out right now? Because I kissed Christian?
I wince at what I did but there’s no time to explain. “Officers, listen …”
“Why don’t you admit it, Lexi?" Isaac pushes. "Why don’t you admit the relationship you and Doctor Donovan shared? You know that ring don't you?"
Now the officers look at me. “We need to take you in for questioning, ma’am.” One starts to put my hands behind my back as fear heats my skin.
There’s no way I’m going down for this. Not when I have my future on the line. My independence. So I say the thing I know will ruin him. The thing that'll ruin us. Just like he’s trying to do to me.
“Why don’t you admit that you murdered him?" I ask. "Just like you murdered your ex-girlfriend?” Now Isaac’s eyes widen before he gives me a stare I’ve never seen before. But I know better. “He’s a monster! A dangerous, murderous, manipulative monster!”
He shakes his head, stumbling over his shoes. “Officer that’s—”
“Hands behind your back!” The other officer pulls out his gun and points it at Isaac. His hands go in the air again.
Christian tries to explain. “Officers, she’s mistaken, she’s had a lot to drink.”
“On the floor!” The officer barks.
“Listen, I’m Isaac Johnson.” Isaac sways as he tries to temper the police. “I’m the son of—”
The officer tackles him to the floor, and everything starts to ring as they push his head into the concrete.
Damien's already on the phone with a lawyer, and when Isaac looks up at me, hope gone from his eyes, my stomach churns …
And I puke out everything on the warehouse floor.
Twenty-Five
Lexi
From: Pleasur
eChat Support
Subject: Account Retrieval
Dear Miss Lyon,
We will need the approval of [email protected] to unlock your account.
“Fuck,” I mutter, staring at the email on my phone.
Someone’s shoulder bumps into mine, my phone clattering to the polished floor.
“Slut!”
“Sell out!”
“Whore!”
Taking a breath, I crouch to pick up the phone in the middle of the ERU hallway and I wish I was back in that holding cell.
Someone bailed me out after the party but when I got out, no one was there.
After questioning me for a few hours with no water or food, those cops tagged me for underage drinking. That's before they tossed me in the drunk tank.
I’m not sure how long I was there. What's worse is I don’t know if Isaac still is.
He hasn’t answered my calls. Neither has Christian or Ray. After being totally on another planet this weekend, I don’t blame them.
I don’t know if any of them will speak to me again. I don’t know if Isaac will ever forgive me. Kissing his best friend is one thing, but getting him arrested while he’s on trial? Unforgivable.
“Oomph!” Turning the corner, my books fall to the ground, a pair of long combat boots next to them.
Ray.
When I open my mouth to speak, her voice is first. “The only thing I have to say to you right now is that if you tell anyone what I told you …” She takes a step closer and I wince. Ray might not be as dangerous as her older brother but she has a savage side to her. And I don’t want to be on the end of it. “You’ll be next.” Pulling her headphones over her head, she walks away.
“Ray, wait up!” Ruining our friendship over Isaac isn’t worth it but when she flips me the bird, I know I’ve ruined more than my dignity.
“There’s the selfish slut!”
Someone from the hockey team calls towards me before something slaps me in the head. “Ow!”
A copy of "Spotlight" falls to the floor before my eyes land on the words on the front page of the tabloid magazine.
“Lionel Johnson’s Son Arrested for Murder — Again.”