by S. Massery
Instead, she says, “I fell. It reopened wounds from the other day.”
Coach grunts. “Go clean up. Make sure they don’t get infected.”
Riley doesn’t so much as glance at me on her way by, but I don’t miss the way her muscles tense.
My blood is singing—both from the race and the feel of her under me again.
“Eli,” Coach snaps. “Go check with Marzden and then go home.”
I nod. I snag my water bottle from where I left it against the fence and take a long gulp.
“You were really good,” a girl says behind me.
I glance at her. She seems young—when did underclassmen start looking like babies?—and her cheeks turn pink under my attention.
“I just wanted to see if you had any tips?” She shifts. “You know, for, um, running…”
“Keep running until you puke, then run some more,” I offer.
“Oh, yeah, okay—”
“I gotta go,” I mutter.
I head to the track field where the football players are packing up their shit. Some I know—now-seniors who squint at me like they’re seeing a ghost—and others are complete strangers. They don’t look twice at me.
“Anything else, Coach?” I ask.
One of the guys stuck around to help him pack up.
“Grab that water cooler and bring it in,” he tells me. “Then you go home. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
I dump out the water and heave it up, balancing it on my shoulder. I put it in the storage room and then grab my keys from his office, thoroughly exhausted. And yet, I still have to go home and break the news to my parents: in only a few days, I secured a job.
Riley leans against the front of my truck in the parking lot.
“What do you want?” she demands.
I ignore her, opening my door and tossing my bag onto the passenger seat.
“Eli. Why are you here?”
I sigh and turn around. “This has been fun, but I’m not really up for an impromptu interrogation.” I climb in and slam the door, leaving her staring at me.
We watch each other through my window for a moment, then I smirk. I start the truck, the roar of it causing her to step back.
She lifts her hand, and I choke on my laugh.
Her middle finger is up. She raises her other hand, too. A double flip-off.
Damn. I don’t know why I figured she’d be weak in the knees to see me. But this reaction is so much better.
We’re going to have some fun.
10
Riley
He pulls away, and I release a shaky breath.
I just flipped off Eli Black, and he smiled. When the hell is the last time he smiled at me like that? A year ago, probably.
Still, I survived my first real encounter with him, if we don’t count the run. I actually spoke words to him—at him, maybe—and didn’t crumple. Didn’t falter. Well, not really.
The first moment of surprise was tough to swallow. I knew I would be seeing him again after our encounter this morning, but so soon? Once I can no longer see his truck, I cross to my car and set my bag in the backseat.
Skylar comes out of the school and waves at me. I wait for her to jog across the parking lot, and she skids to a stop in front of me.
“Holy shit,” she says.
“I know.”
“Did he tell you he was coming back?”
I roll my eyes. “If he did, I probably wouldn’t have joined the team.”
She purses her lips. “True. Do you mind giving me a ride home?”
I glance around. This is sort of sudden for rekindling a friendship, right? Were we ever really friends in the first place? No. We were both trying to impress Amelie, and when that backfired on me, Skylar didn’t give me a second glance. Then again, it wasn’t like I reached out after her fall from grace.
“Sure,” I find myself saying.
I unlock the doors and watch her circle the car, slipping in and closing the door gently. Almost like she doesn’t want to make an impact.
My skin crawls, and I glance around.
The parking lot is deserted except for a few cars, but the feeling remains.
I get in and lock the doors. Skylar raises her eyebrow, but I ignore it. How would I even manage to explain it? That I think someone is watching us?
She’d laugh.
“You’re still in SR?”
She shifts. “Yeah.”
Stone Ridge is a bit out of the way, and it was one of the reasons Skylar had to work so hard to gain Amelie’s favor. Without that, she was a fish out of water. And it isn’t just because Stone Ridge doesn’t boast the same rich population, it has a reputation of violence.
Rumor had it—and we all know how believable those are—her parents spend all their money on the school’s tuition. It was either live in SR and send her here, or live somewhere nice and she’d be in public school.
The public school for the county is in Stone Ridge, but I don’t know anyone from Rose Hill who actually goes there. And most kids from Beacon Hill choose Lion’s Head.
I clear my throat. “How, um, has everything been going?”
Unexpected guilt slithers up my throat. If I had even mentioned Skylar’s existence to Margo, I’m sure we could’ve been friends with her. But I didn’t. I ignored her in the halls and she ignored me. She made other friends, and I got Margo.
But now here we are.
“My parents are divorcing,” she says. “I’m lucky this year’s tuition is already paid, otherwise they probably would’ve made me transfer to Stone Ridge High for senior year. Their lawyer fees are eating everything up, they’re constantly miserable…”
She turns to me, eyes wide.
“I didn’t mean to say any of that.”
I nod. I know how that feels. “It’s okay.”
We come up on a girl walking along the road, kicking weeds, and I slow down.
“What are you doing?”
“That’s Parker.” I stop the car and roll down the passenger window. I call out to her, “What are you doing?”
We’re at least a mile from school. She hasn’t made it very far.
She glances at me and frowns. “I’m walking.”
“Yeah…” Skylar huffs. “But why?”
Parker faces us. “Who are you?”
“Skylar Buckley.” She extends her hand through the window.
Parker comes forward slowly, then shakes her hand. “One of the popular girls, Riley? I didn’t expect you to be friends with—”
“I’m not,” Skylar snaps.
Friends with me, or popular?
Doesn’t matter.
I sigh.
“Oh,” Parker say. “Um, sorry.”
“Do you want a ride?” I ask. Like this ride could get any more awkward. Yet, I’d feel even worse if I drove by without offering.
Parker’s gaze goes from Skylar to me. “I live in Beacon Hill.”
I nod sharply. “It’s fine. Get in.”
“You can drop me first,” Skylar says quietly as Parker climbs in the backseat. “Work your way back home. It’s not really linear, but…”
“I’d rather not go home right away, anyway.” Noah won’t get off work until six, and Dad… I won’t see him until tomorrow morning. I don’t like being home alone with Mom. It brings back feelings of a haunted house. I know she’s there, but she won’t appear.
Parker leans forward. “Why not?”
“Because it’s too depressing.” I put the car back in drive and hit the gas.
They don’t comment on that, and Skylar cranes around to face Parker.
“You were at Lion’s Head?” Skylar asks.
“Briefly.”
“You knew Liam and Theo?”
I grit my teeth.
Parker coughs. I think Skylar’s managed to surprise her. But it was never a secret that Liam and Theo—Eli’s best friends, superstars on the football and lacrosse fields, and basically gods amongst men in the school—came from our rival school.<
br />
There were rumors about a girl Theo couldn’t stand. And more rumors that said girl was Amelie’s younger sister.
“I did,” Parker says slowly. “They ran with an interesting group of boys.”
Skylar straightens. “Yeah? Who?”
“Um—”
“Why are you so curious about them?” I ask.
Skylar blushes. “Honestly? I was just curious if she knew them. Eli came back—who’s to say the others won’t, too?”
“They’re in school.”
And so was Eli.
I’ll admit, I’m curious why he’s back. It’s the first non-homicidal thought I’ve had toward him in a while. And the look in his eye as he hovered over me in the woods…
I simultaneously wanted to throat-punch him and kiss him.
I shouldn’t have knocked into him. I lost control for a split second, the anger that pulses under my skin breaking free. He’s clearly not here to make amends, and I won’t help him. He’ll have to impress Coach Lennon to keep this stupid assistant job, and I… I just need to keep things smooth sailing enough to get to State.
From there, I can get a college scout’s attention.
Recruitment.
A scholarship.
It’s the boost I need to get out of this hell town.
“Earth to Riley,” Skylar says, poking me.
“Sorry, I got lost up here.” I tap my temple.
“I can tell. The turn is up ahead.”
Stone Ridge has areas of closely packed houses and a lot of farmland. Skylar’s house happens to be…
“You live next to Liam’s family,” I say. Her road is long and twisting, up a hill, but it’s clearly next to the Morrison house. I only came here a few times with Eli, usually to pick up Liam before school when Theo couldn’t.
Parker snorts. “Shut up.”
I squint at Skylar, who’s getting redder by the second.
“He doesn’t really give off boy-next-door vibes, you know?” Parker hops out of the car as soon as I stop, heading up to Skylar’s house.
I stare after her. What the hell is she doing?
Skylar lives in a modest ranch house. The dark-red paint is peeling, and the porch slopes to the left. Only a portion of the long front yard is maintained, cut short and immaculate. Beyond that, the grass is a tall, wild mess.
No cars in the driveway ahead of mine, no garage.
“What is she doing?” Skylar asks.
I shrug.
She watches Parker a moment, but the latter girl just stands to the left of the front door. Waiting.
“I guess she’s inviting herself in,” Skylar grumbles. “Come on, Riley.”
I let out a slow breath and follow her.
The inside of the house is a disaster, but Skylar just offers a slight smile. “They’re in the process of divvying everything up.”
There are clearly two different styles of stacking things as we walk through the house. Books have been removed from the shelf and line the halls, some haphazard and others still as organized as they must’ve been displayed.
Boxes of dishware and silver.
Baubles, plants.
Skylar leads us down the narrow hallway into the kitchen, which looks fairly unscathed… until she opens a cabinet and reveals how empty it is.
My stomach twists.
We shouldn’t be here.
Forcing someone to invite you into their home is like peeking into their underwear drawer. It’s intimate for girls who aren’t friends. A piece of Skylar’s life that she’s worked to protect reveals itself.
“We’re intruding,” I blurt out.
I wonder how I would react if they pulled this shit at my house. If Parker stood by the door until I let her in.
A small part of me acknowledges that I wouldn’t.
Skylar shrugs. “If you don’t mind my parents’ bizarre feud, you’re welcome to stay.”
“You said you didn’t want to go home,” Parker points out.
It takes Skylar time to find three glasses—she has to cross the room to a box in the corner and unearth another one—and she pours us water. I take a seat at the kitchen table, and they follow suit.
“I don’t,” I admit. “But that doesn’t mean I feel good about...”
“The only people I tried to impress were the cheerleaders,” Skylar says, staring directly at me. “Look how that worked out? I stopped hiding, and it helped.”
I nod halfheartedly. It worked for her.
But what if I’ve been camouflage for so long, I forget how to become visible again?
“Talk to us about Eli,” Skylar says.
I grimace. “There’s not much to tell.”
“Except… all of it,” Parker says. “I know nothing. Who is Eli?”
When I knew Parker, Eli was my own little secret.
“I don’t want to talk about him.”
Skylar reaches out and pulls a leaf from my hair. It’s tiny, easily missed, but she holds it up for me to see. “You were in the lead. You should’ve won.”
I sigh. “He provoked me.”
She knows he’s an asshole—I don’t have to spell it out for her. He didn’t say why he was back. Just that he needed the job.
And he threatened to work for Dad.
I swallow what feels like liquid metal. My throat burns. “And I guess I provoked him, too.”
Skylar frowns. “Coach was pissed. She asked me where you were as soon as I finished. Never mind that I managed to hold off Maria all on my own.”
“You’re faster than her.”
Parker’s gaze bounces between us. “Maybe I should’ve joined the cross-country team. Sounds interesting.”
“There’s drama in every sport,” Skylar says airily. “Ours is no different.”
Parker turns to me. “Back to Eli. He’s the assistant coach?”
I sip my water, then sigh. “Yes. But before that, he was my boyfriend.”
And before that, he was…
I squeeze my eyes shut. “I don’t really want to talk about him.”
“Okay,” they both say.
“I had a crush on Liam when I was growing up,” Skylar blurts out. “He was the older brother, always working on those stupid cars shirtless. He wasn’t mean at first.”
I snort. “He’s a dick.”
“He is now.”
Skylar explains that Liam’s family lives next door, although it’s been a lot quieter since Liam left for college.
“Boston, you said?”
She nods. “Our moms are friends. There was a big party for Liam, celebrating that he got into a good school with a scholarship. Full ride. That doesn’t happen much around here, but then again, he got the scholarship to Emery-Rose, too.”
Parker squints at her. “Do they only give out so many per year?”
“Two if we’re lucky,” Skylar murmurs. “And I’ve never been lucky.”
I glance around the kitchen. It’s true farmhouse style, and it makes me wonder how long ago it was owned by real farmers. How many early mornings this kitchen has seen, how many late nights.
I can wonder the same about my house, too. How many arguments its seen, how many cries.
A lot of tears.
My phone buzzes in my pocket.
I pull it out, staring down at the picture of Mom that pops up when she calls. We took it only a year or so ago, celebrating her remission from cancer. Her cheek is pressed to mine, and she smiles widely.
I don’t think she’s smiled that big in a long time.
“Mom?” I shove my chair back and wander into the next room.
“I thought you were coming home, honey?”
“I… yeah, I’ll be home soon. I had to give some friends a ride home.”
“That’s nice.” Her voice is almost too soft to hear.
I hate it.
“Yeah. Did you need something?” I close my eyes, unsure what I want. For her to say yes, to give me an errand or something to help with levity? To say no, a
ll she wanted was me home? Another body moving around that big, empty house.
Either answer is wrong.
“You have a visitor…”
I straighten. “Who?”
“Kaiden. Noah’s—”
“I know who Kaiden is, Mom,” I murmur. “Um, I’ll be home in a half hour.”
“All right.” The line goes dead.
I pause in the living room and press my palm to my chest. Kaiden West, in the flesh.
But why does he want to see me?
“I’ve got to go,” I tell them. “Come on, Parker. I’ll drop you off on the way.”
Parker nods sharply, rising from the table. She takes our glasses to the sink, pausing for half a second before setting them on the edge.
Skylar follows us to the door. “See you tomorrow.”
The drive to Parker’s house is quick, relatively painless, and completely silent. There are moments when I think she’s going to break it to ask me a question—one of hundreds, I’m sure—but she doesn’t. She stares out the window.
I stop in front of the house she points to, and I bite my lip. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
She meets my gaze. “Of course.”
“Okay.”
She frowns, then climbs out. Swinging her bag over her shoulder, she heads up a set of stairs to the front path of assorted stones. I don’t move until she disappears inside the sprawling one-story house.
And now… home to see why the hell Kaiden is waiting for me.
11
Eli
A bang wakes me up.
I jerk upright, and cold water sloshes over the edge of the tub. Groaning, I climb out and wrap myself in a towel. It’s been a long time since I’ve abused my body enough to need an ice bath—but I don’t think I’ve ever dozed off in one.
I’m cold to the bone.
Everything hurts.
And then I remember why I woke up, and my curiosity piques.
I wrap the towel around my waist and step into the hallway. It’s dark, and I feel my way to the edge of the stairs.
Our door squeaks slightly as it opens. I think my parents left it that way to be able to tell if Caleb and I were sneaking out, but we always used the sliding back door. It was silent and closer to the basement stairs—easier to pretend we had been hanging out down there instead of off galivanting or causing trouble.