by Wendi Wilson
“Sorry, sorry,” he said, clearing his throat and trying, unsuccessfully, to suppress his smile. “It was amazing, though,” he added, losing the fight with his mouth and shooting me a puckish grin.
“Jett,” Beckett warned.
“Don’t chastise him, Beck. He’s right. It was amazing,” Wyatt said, stroking his neck like he was trying to recreate the feel of my mouth there.
“Oh my God,” I muttered, shaking my head. I looked at Beckett, who had a somewhat dreamy expression on his face despite having just reprimanded Jett for the same thing. “Not you, too, Beckett,” I said.
His eyes focused and he looked at me apologetically. “Sorry, Savanna,” he said.
I sighed, but felt my own lips twitching at their antics. “You guys are too much.”
The room felt lighter after that. The tension I was drowning in lifted, and my body relaxed. I wasn’t alone. We would figure out what to do, together.
“We could persuade the entire school to forget,” Wyatt offered, seeming to read my thoughts.
“There’s video evidence,” I responded.
“Well, we could persuade them to destroy the evidence, then forget,” he shot back.
“No,” I said, straightening my spine.
“No?” Jett said, like he was shocked I didn’t want the whole thing covered up.
“No,” I repeated, looking at each of their faces. “We’ve kept our relationship a secret long enough. I’m not ashamed of it, or you. I love you all and I’m proud to be your girlfriend. I’m done hiding.”
“Are you sure?” Beckett asked. “It’s not going to be easy for you.”
“Yeah,” Wyatt added. “People suck and the kids here suck more than most.”
“I can handle it,” I said. “Always have.”
“This is going to be worse,” Jett said, his voice serious.
“I know,” I said. “You’re worth it.” I waved my hand to encompass us all. “We’re worth it.”
Jett nodded. “We’re worth it,” he repeated, reaching a hand across the table to me.
I placed my palm against his and Wyatt and Beckett stacked theirs on top of mine. We made a silent pact, promising to stick together, to weather the storm and come out stronger in the end.
Because our relationship was worth the fight.
Chapter Ten
I really didn’t want to be there. My mom tried to get me out of it, but Dr. Patton wouldn’t budge. No matter how terrible I felt, physically, I had to uphold my end of our arrangement and show up to practice persuasion, just like every other Saturday. He was a jerk about it, too.
“Try harder, Savanna,” he demanded.
A low growl rumbled in my chest. “I wish I could persuade him to disappear,” I mumbled to Beckett, who was standing in front of me.
Beckett’s lips twitched, but he didn’t respond other than with a slight nod. I needed to get it right, or his uncle would keep me here all day. I squared my shoulders and closed my eyes. Focusing on the energy coursing through me, which was minimal with the night I had, I attempted to center it and infuse it into my command.
“Beckett, do ten jumping jacks. Wyatt, do ten push-ups. Jett, do ten squats.”
“Do you think I’m stupid?”
I heard Dr. Patton’s voice and opened my eyes. Looking around, I spied all three boys doing exactly what I had told them to do. I didn’t understand. Dr. Patton wanted me to persuade them to do different things without making contact with any of them. That’s what they were doing.
“What do you mean?” I asked Dr. Patton.
He shot a pointed look at Jett, who stopped his movements with a sigh. The other two kept going until they hit the ten reps I’d commanded. Jett had been faking it, trying to get his uncle off my back. I shot him a smile of gratitude while the doctor’s eyes were on him and not me.
“How can you tell?” Jett asked, not looking the slightest bit abashed.
“I’ve been studying Alts for nearly twenty years, boy. I know when someone is being persuaded and when they’re not.” He moved his hard gaze to me. “Try again.”
“No,” I said.
“What did you say to me?” he asked, his voice rising with each word.
“I said, no. I don’t have the energy. Someone drugged me last night and I feel like I got hit by a freight train. We can pick this up next week.”
“Savanna,” he said, his tone a warning.
“I don’t care,” I said, my voice sounding defeated, even to my own ears. “Do what you want. Report me,” I waggled my hands as if to say, Ooh, I’m scared. “I. Can’t. Do. This. Today.”
With that, I turned and headed for the side of the house. Dr. Patton called my name, and I turned with a groan, throwing my hands into the air.
“Feel better. I’ll see you at my office on Thursday,” he said, then turned and strode through the back door into the house.
My body deflated then filled back up with relief. I took a chance, being disrespectful and literally daring him to turn me in to the government. Thank God, he let it slide. The boys jogged over to me, each of them touching me in some way, infusing me with their strength. We walked around the house and headed straight for their truck.
“Where do you want to go?” Wyatt asked as he climbed into the backseat with me.
Jett jumped in behind the wheel and Beckett took shotgun. They waited in silence for me to answer. I slumped against Wyatt, leaning my head against his chest.
“Can we postpone our date?” I asked. “I’d love it if we all hung out together at my house, just watching T.V. or something.”
“Of course,” Wyatt whispered into my hair.
Jett and Beckett each voiced their agreement as Jett cranked the truck and headed out. We rode in silence for several moments before Jett spoke.
“Should we stop and grab some food, or something?” he asked.
“No, we can order pizza later,” I mumbled. A thought hit me and I sat up straight. “Can I have a drink from your flask?”
Without a word, Jett pulled the flask from the inner pocket of his jacket and passed it back to me. I unscrewed the cap and took a long swig, barely tasting the coppery flavor as I gulped it down. Twisting the cap back on, I placed the flask in Beckett’s outstretched hand before leaning back against Wyatt.
Within seconds, the gnawing I’d started to feel in my belly receded. But that wasn’t the only thing that happened. The fog in my head cleared, as well as the pain that had been beating a staccato there all morning. I was still dog-tired, but I felt exponentially better.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Feel better?” Jett asked, catching my eye in the rear-view mirror.
“Much,” I sighed, closing my eyes as Wyatt’s arm tightened around me.
When we arrived at my house, I unlocked the door and called out to my parents. Silence greeted me, and I looked around confused. They both had the day off, so I fully expected them to be home. I raised my eyebrows at the boys and shrugged.
“Should we go since they’re not here?” Beckett asked.
“No, it’s fine,” I said, hoping I was right. “We’re just going to be watching T.V. They can’t be mad at that.”
“Yeah, Beck. It’s fine,” Wyatt said, plopping down on the couch and grabbing the remote.
“I’ll grab some drinks while you guys pick something to watch,” I said over my shoulder as I headed for the kitchen.
“I’ll help you,” Jett said, following me from the room.
When we got to the kitchen, I saw a note on the counter. I read it aloud to Jett.
Savanna,
We have some errands to run and will be out most of the day. See you later, Mom
I let the paper drift back to the countertop and turned to the fridge. Opening it, I bent over and stuck my head inside. Grabbing four water bottles, I straightened and turned, catching Jett’s eyes on me.
“What?” I asked, handing two of the bottles.
“Nothing,” he said, a cocky gri
n spreading across his face. “I was just enjoying the view.”
“Oh my God,” I said, my lips itching to grin back at him as I tried for a stern expression. “I’m too tired to verbally spar with you today, jerk.”
Then I did smile, just to make sure he knew I was kidding about the jerk part. He laughed, taking the rest of the water bottles from me.
“I’ll take these,” he said. “You scrounge up some snacks while I go make sure Wyatt isn’t picking something lame to watch.”
“Aye aye,” I said, giving him a lazy salute.
I nuked a bag of popcorn, pouring it into a bowl while sprinkling in some chocolate candies. I heard shouting from the living room and rolled my eyes. Jett and Wyatt were going at it.
I hurried my pace, hoping to stop their argument before it escalated. When I walked into the room, I couldn’t stop the bubble of laughter that erupted from my chest.
Beckett was on the couch, shaking his head at his brothers. Jett and Wyatt were playing tug-of-war with the remote while the opening scenes of Twilight played on the television. At the sound of my laughter, they turned to look at me.
“Savanna, tell Jett to leave it. It’s one of your favorites,” Wyatt said, finally jerking the remote from his brother’s grasp.
Jett scrubbed a hand down his face. “Please tell me we don’t have to watch this.”
“Have you ever even seen it?” I asked, walking forward and setting the bowl of salty-sweet goodness on the coffee table.
“No,” he admitted.
“You should watch it,” I said. “It kind of reminds me of us.”
“Seriously?” he asked, his face incredulous.
“I see it,” Beckett said. “She’s different. Edward can’t read her mind…kind of like us not being able to persuade you.”
“You’ve seen this, Beck?” Jett asked, his eyes bulging.
Beckett nodded. “Yeah.”
Jett looked at Wyatt. “Have you?”
“No,” Wyatt admitted, “but, unlike you, I’m open-minded enough to give it a shot for Savanna.”
I smiled. It was on the tip of my tongue to let Jett off the hook and suggest something else, but he was being so obstinate about it, I decided he needed to see it. Then he could make an informed opinion.
“Actually, I really do want to watch it,” I said, sitting on the couch and pulling the popcorn bowl into my lap.
Jett narrowed his eyes me while I forced my face to remain one hundred percent innocent. He huffed and slid onto the couch next to me. Beckett stood, letting Wyatt sit on my other side since it was technically Wyatt’s day. He plopped down in the armchair and Wyatt took his vacated spot, shoving his hand into the popcorn and pulling out a giant handful.
We watched the movie in silence, which was broken occasionally by a grunt of irritation by Jett. Wyatt had his arm wrapped around me and I leaned into his chest, curling my bare feet up beside me. Jett’s hand found its way to my leg, latching onto my calf in a comforting way.
When the ending credits rolled, I sat up and stretched. “Well?” I asked, arching a brow at Jett.
“That was terrible,” he said. “Low budget drivel.”
“I don’t know,” Wyatt said. “It was pretty romantic at parts.”
“Since when do you like romantic movies?” Jett sneered.
“Since I got to watch one with this one in my arms,” Wyatt shot back, grinning from ear to ear.
I looked at Beckett, who rolled his eyes. I couldn’t help but laugh at the over-exaggerated expression. He and I had already discussed it on our very first date, so I knew he thought the movies and books were alright. I glanced back at Jett.
“Did you like anything about it?” I asked him.
“The fight scene at the end was all right,” he admitted.
“Oh, then you’re gonna love the last three movies,” I said, rubbing my palms together.
“There’s three more?” he asked, his skin paling.
“Actually, there’s four more, but the second one sucks. Hardly any Edward in that one,” I said, biting the inside of my cheek.
Jett ran his palm down his face and slumped back into the couch. Laughter burst out of me and I leaned over and nudged my shoulder against his.
“I’m not going to make you watch them,” I said. “I was just messing with you.”
“Thank God,” he said, looking up at the ceiling while lifting his hands into the air.
“Okay, Jett gets to pick the next movie,” I declared, standing up. “I’ll be right back. I need to use the restroom.” I looked at each of them in turn. “No fighting. He sat through Twilight, so he gets to pick.”
When I returned to the living room, an action flick was playing on the television and Jett and Beckett had switched places. Obviously, they were taking turns sitting next me while Wyatt stayed where he was. I slid into my spot in the middle.
Wyatt wrapped his arm around me and pulled me against his chest once more. I snuggled into him and tried to watch the movie but I didn’t last very long. I was too warm, too comfortable. My eyes drifted shut and I lost the fight to remain conscious as I floated into sleep.
Chapter Eleven
“Are you sure you want to do this? We could always skip and go to the beach again.”
Jett’s words bounced through my mind, tempting me like some kind of forbidden delight I had no business partaking of. He was right. We could skip school, but it would only be putting off the inevitable. We were less than four months from graduation. If I could handle years of ridicule and separation from these people, I could handle a few weeks of…whatever was about to happen.
“No,” I said, watching the students stare and point as they walked by the truck. “I’m not a coward.”
“Nobody thinks you are,” Beckett said, his voice cajoling. “We just thought you might want another day or two’s peace before heading into the thick of things.”
I grabbed my backpack from the floorboard and sucked in a deep breath. “No time like the present,” I said, grasping the lever and swinging the truck door open.
I was out of the vehicle for two and half seconds before the three of them surrounded me, shielding me from prying eyes. As much bravado as I’d mustered up inside the truck, I was grateful to have them around me. I reveled in their protection for just a few moments before clearing my throat to get their attention.
Wyatt took my backpack from me and swung it onto his shoulder. I smiled my thanks before holding my hands out at my sides. Jett took one and Beckett took the other. I nodded to Wyatt, silently urging him to lead the way. He grinned at me, all lopsided and proud, before turning and heading toward the school’s entrance.
“Here we go,” I muttered, hanging onto Jett and Beckett with all my might.
We made it to the front doors without incident, and Wyatt pushed his way through, holding the door open for us then retaking his position in front of me. All conversation stopped as we passed by, the hallway eerily quiet as every student’s eyes followed our progression.
“Skank.” The word echoed through the silence, setting off a few giggles.
Before I could react, the offender jumped forward and said, “I’m sorry, Savanna. I didn’t mean it. You’re really amazing,” in an overly loud voice.
“Jett,” I hissed under my breath, squeezing his hand with all my strength.
He flinched and looked me, all doe-eyed innocence. I shook my head but couldn’t fully suppress my smile. There was no doubt in my mind that he’d persuaded that girl to apologize, and loudly at that, to embarrass her.
These people really were stupid. Messing with me meant messing with the Patton brothers. Didn’t they know that? Even before me outing our true relationship, it was obvious that our foursome was tight and we had each other’s backs.
We made it to my locker without further incident. I grabbed my chemistry books and, taking my backpack from Wyatt, shoved it inside. Beckett took my books from me and this time, Wyatt slipped his hand into mine. Jett and
Beckett led the way down the hall, stopping briefly at their own lockers before moving on to Mr. Gillespie’s class.
As we entered the room, I released my grip on Wyatt, kept my head down and headed for my desk. As I turned into the aisle, a foot slid out from underneath one, tangling up with my own foot. Too late to stop it, my momentum took me down, face first, onto the floor.
I heard curses and growls behind me, my three boyfriends ready to defend me and take vengeance on my behalf. But I knew whose foot that was and I had my own score to settle with her. One that had been racking up since kindergarten.
“Stop,” I whispered as I got to my feet, knowing that whether they heard me or not, they’d obey.
Three sets of gray eyes landed on me and I mouthed the words, “I release you,” as I walked back to the front. I slapped my hand down onto Fiona’s desk and leaned forward, bringing my face close to hers.
I tried to think of something to say, something equal parts clever and scathing, but I was so angry and humiliated, my thoughts scattered to the wind. One side of Fiona’s mouth lifted, a sort of half-smile, half-snarl, and it sent me over the edge.
A screech tore from her lips as I grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the floor. She quickly rolled onto her back and I fell onto her, straddling her with my knees on either side of her waist. She spit some obscenities out, calling me names I couldn’t repeat without blushing. I felt a hand on my shoulder but I shrugged it off as I pushed one hand into her chest to hold her down and swung the other one with all my might.
The sound of my palm cracking against her cheek cut through the red haze of anger clouding my sight, my mind, and my judgment. Realizing what I had done, I didn’t fight as strong hands pulled me off of Fiona.
One of the boys, I wasn’t sure which, led me to my desk. I looked up at Mr. Gillespie, who was sitting behind his own desk. Jett had his full attention and was whispering something that, I was sure, was infused with persuasion. I saw Wyatt helping Fiona up off the floor and speaking to her in the same deliberate way. Beckett was squatting on the floor beside me, rubbing his hands up and down my arms.