#MNGirl (Midwest Boys Series Book 1)

by A. M. Brooks

  Now after hearing their conversation, I realize how fucked I am. My head is all over the place. Anytime I think of the demon, all I can see is her skin with water droplets sliding off into the towel she held protectively against her. A thin barrier, really, if I had wanted it off. Her skin glowed and took on a pink hue. She smelled like raspberries that I wanted to take a bite of. I fight myself not to go to her again. I get a sick satisfaction that she quiets the minute I touch her, and she never moves the rest of the night. It’s addicting. Saylor has become an addiction; she’s in my veins, in my blood, and I don’t know how to stop it from spreading. And, part of me, maybe even all of me, doesn’t want it to stop.

  After Matt’s announcement, Silas stalks out on us, and then I hear the engine of his truck fire up and tires peeling out.

  “That’s surprising,” Kai states and turns to look at me.

  “You’re the one who enabled her Wi-Fi,” I respond, keeping my gaze averted.

  “True,” Kai admits, “I didn’t know it meant she’d be working here, though. What is Matt thinking?”

  I shrug in response, still lost in my own traitorous thoughts.

  “How come you’re not more upset?” Kai questions. Once again, I hate his ability to read too much into things.

  “I heard Matt talk to her about it last night,” I answer, keeping my voice neutral.

  “Did something happen between you two?” Kai keeps going.

  My head snaps up. “Jesus fuck, you’re irritating!”

  “It’s a viable question,” he shrugs. “Usually, you would have been hightailing it out of here with Si, ready to drink your problems away. Instead, you’re over here, sorting parts like nothing happened.”

  I turn to face him. “I don’t care what the demon Princess does. I heard them talking about it last night, so I guess I’ve had more time to get used to it. Not like Matt has listened to us this entire time anyway. She’s been here for two months. And it’s almost winter break, so we can use all the help we can get.”

  “Yeah, okay, Ci,” Kai chuckles. “I guess I don’t care about Ariel either. I’m just saying, she may not be that bad. And if you decided that, too, then Si is just going to have to put on his big boy pants on and get over it. Girl can’t help who her parents are.”

  “Are we done gossiping now?” I question. I’m over this conversation. My mind is already in pieces over Saylor, and I don’t need Kai’s acceptance of her on top of it. He waves me off, and I give him my middle finger in return.

  Taking the steps two at a time, I search out Randy to get the list of jobs that are needed by tonight. “This it?” I ask him, scanning it over.

  “Just the one,” he responds, flicking his eyes at me. Any hopes for a good night just went to shit when I see the name on the clipboard.

  JASON MONTGOMERY

  Slapping it against my hand, I shoot a text to Matt, before working on setting up the truck.

  Me: Does Jason know yet?

  I wait while the dots jump on the screen.

  Matt: Yeah.

  Me: Does Si know that Jason knows?

  Matt: I told him already.

  I blow out the breath I had been holding in, feeling slightly better that Matt already broke the news to Si. But Jason being back here with Saylor also here is not going to go over well. In some delusional part of his brain, probably the part that’s been soaking in whiskey for the past thirteen years, I believe Jason wishes he had been Saylor’s father. If he’s back in town, it is not going to be good. Any progress Si has made regarding Saylor over the past couple months is about to go up in flames.

  I shove the last bolt in place on the exchange car when Silas’ truck whips back in the lot. His face is blank on the outside, even when his body is vibrating with pent-up energy.

  “Ready?” He asks, even though it’s obvious.

  “Hey,” I lower my voice, “you don’t have to go. I can do this one on my own or see if Kai has time.”

  Silas’ stare jumps to mine. “I’m good.”

  “You sure?” I question, following his lead and climbing into the cab.

  “We’re extraction,” he answers. “Let’s go extract the motherfucker already.”

  “Okay,” I respond, before starting the engine. Silas shoots Randy a text with our set arrival time, while I hit play on the Bluetooth. Future’s “Codeine Crazy” bumps through the speakers, as I navigate us toward the main highway. We’re picking up Jason a few miles south of Minneapolis. I can already tell the ride will be shorter than I want it to be. Tension is thick inside the cab. Every few miles, Silas checks our surroundings and reports our location in thirty-minute time frames. He’s precise and professional, even with his hand balled into a fist resting on his leg.

  The miles fly by, and just before seven, we pull into a parking lot off the interstate. Jason is already waiting for us. A slow smile forms on his mouth when he sees us. Silas jumps out of the truck before I can stop him.

  “Are you drunk?” he demands, stalking closer to his dad.

  “I had some time to kill.” Jason shrugs, smiling larger. His eyes are bloodshot, and I can smell the alcohol on his breath.

  “How are you going to drive the extraction vehicle then?” Silas asks, getting up in his dad’s face.

  Jason places a hand on Silas’ cheek and tilts his head back. “I’ll ride with you clowns. I told Randy I didn’t need it. He probably forgot to pass the message on.”

  “That’s not how it works,” Silas reminds him.

  Jason swallows, his eyes fighting to pull his son into focus. “Don’t you tell me how things work,” he slurs.

  “We should go. We can all just ride up front,” I cut in, placing a hand on Silas’ shoulder, preventing him from doing something he’ll regret, like punching his dad in the face.

  I climb in the driver seat, and Jason climbs in next to me. Not even a minute passes before he asks, “Have you seen her? Does she look like Kelly?”

  “Jesus Christ,” Silas mutters. “Shut up.”

  “What’s wrong with you?” Jason questions. “Ciaran, does Matt think he’s going to bring Kell in when this is over?”

  “No!” Silas growls. “She’s not coming here. Get over it. She didn’t want you nineteen years ago, what makes you think she’d want you now?” He swings the door back open and hops out, before Jason can yell, leaving him fuming in the spot that Silas vacated.

  Silas starts unhooking the car from the back and lowers the lift. I get out to help him. We work in silence, until it’s unloaded, and my trailer is ready for travel. When I get back in the cab, Jason is passed out with his head against the window.

  “Fuck,” I mutter to myself, while shifting the gear into drive. Saylor’s face flashes across my mind, and I see red. My conversation with Kai from earlier vanishes and so do any feelings I was starting to have toward her. Seeing Jason tonight is just another reminder of the damage done to my best friend. No girl is worth ruining a friendship over. I’ve seen Si go through hell and back because of her family. I was crazy to think I could ever feel anything toward her besides animosity.

  That one night was all it took to solidify the side I stood on. It would always be us against her. The quicker she realized that the better. I stopped helping her at night, taking a sliver of satisfaction when she woke up with her same old nightmare. For years, I watched Silas escape his house at night, fearful of his dad, and snuck him into my room. Saylor deserves that now. I ran isolation on her the last few weeks of school before break, making it difficult for her to have any interaction with anyone. The best part was watching Winter explain it to her. She felt me watching, and when those almond eyes swung to mine, they were filled with tears. I winked at her and went on with the rest of my day.

  The holiday season and New Year came and went along with our break. My mom made it home for a few days. She fawned over Saylor, and it took all I had not to snap at her. I didn’t understand why everyone was so willing to forget her dad was responsible for ruining
lives. He was the offender. He was not a victim this time.

  Saylor started working at the garage and kept out of our way. Her interactions were limited to the bits of conversation she would have with Kai when she stepped into the office they shared. He was still a little friendlier to her than I was comfortable with. He wasn’t there that night, though. He didn’t witness the devastation and years of pent up hurt that flashed in Silas’ eyes that night when Jason mentioned Kelly.

  I told Matt about what happened. He shook his head and told me he would talk to Jason. He warned me not to take it out on Saylor, but it was too late. Nothing he could say would stop me from destroying her little bubble of happiness. The light dimmed in her eyes a little more every day I antagonized her. Purple bags were forming under her eyes from tossing and turning in the night. I waited for her run to Matt and tell him what was happening, but just like before, she didn’t. It was almost like she knew she deserved it.

  I let her go out once with Winter. They spent a few hours getting ready, doing their chick thing. By the time they got to the party and made it through the doors, they found out plans changed and Saylor, or Ariel, was actually not invited. I watched her break from my position in the main room. Her eyes frantically searched for me. Right as Sophia was taking my tongue down her throat, our gazes locked. The hurt expression on her face was all the high I needed the rest of the night.

  “I think you need to tone it down a bit,” Kai finally breaks his silence at lunch on our first day back after break.

  Slowly, I turn to face him. Gone is his usual easygoing demeanor. He looks pissed, and if Kai is pissed, you should listen up. I was going to have a hard time letting him have this, though.

  “He’s right for once,” Silas chimes in next.

  “Da fuck?” I swing my gaze to look at him. “You of all people?”

  He shrugs. “It’s almost sad really. And the teachers are starting to notice. If they say something to Matt, we could lose privileges.”

  “Privileges?” Kai scoffs. “We could be spending spring break in the barracks. No, thank you.”

  Man has a point. My fingers steeple in front of my chest and my eyes flicker over to Rhodes. Even with the freeze out in place that jock strap still can’t keep his eyes off her. I hope he puts a condom over his eyeballs for how hard he’s eye fucking her.

  “Rhodes!” I yell across the lunch room. His head swivels to me, and I see him visibly swallow. I look to Saylor then back at him and motion that the freeze is over. Busted for staring, Rhodes turns back to his table, keeping his head down.

  “Couldn’t have been more subtle, could you?” Kai smirks and shakes his head.

  “Everyone is already here, why make multiple speeches?” I explain my logic. Si snorts into his drink next to me.

  “Anyways, remember that cousin of Aiden’s who was visiting last year? She had the huge party at his house while he was on vacation with his parents?” Kai asks.

  “Oh yeah!” Silas answers. “The one where she had the slide from the roof into the outdoor pool. She heated it up, so it was a giant hot tub!”

  “Now I remember,” I nod.

  “Well, Aiden let it slip in English that he’s going out of town with the family again this weekend for another ski trip and guess who is house sitting?” Kai high fives Silas. They both grin and laugh, figuring out how they can approach her ahead of time to set it up. I’m half listening while the other half of my attention is focused on the back of the purple head in front of me. She and Winter are close together. Whatever Winter is telling her, I see hair move with every shake of her head. My eyes narrow. Her body tenses when she feels my glare; yet, she fights the urge to turn and look. I run my fingers across my lips, thoughtfully. With her new found freedom, I wonder if the little demon Princess will find her way to the party this weekend.

  Kai does not disappoint, and, before the end of the week, we have a party set up, thanks to Aiden’s cousin, Brileigh.

  “Apparently, she does homeschool and never has the opportunity to make new friends.” He shrugs.

  “And you volunteered to be her new friend,” Silas states rather than asks.

  The smug smile that plants itself on Kai’s lips is answer enough. I could care less about his conquest or his new friend. As long as we have a place to party is all that matters. The need to see how this plays out is driving me insane. Will she go, or won’t she? By now, Saylor has heard all about it. The epic stories from last year don’t even do justice to having actually been there. Brileigh may be homeschooled, but she sure has a wild side and spared nothing of value in that house or on the property.

  “Everyone received an invitation, yeah?” I inquire again, making sure the job was done. Spinning my pen between my fingers, I make eye contact with Kai who nods, while Silas avoids me. My conscience bounces back and forth between good friend and bad friend. I want to punish Saylor for the way she’s weaving herself into my veins. At the same time I crave to be around her, to see her face and hear her speak. She’s all I think about, and I can’t let the guilt from that go.

  Ciaran

  Kai was right as always. Aiden’s cousin did not disappoint. Once again, a plastic slide has been fitted to the upstairs balcony, and it flows right into the underground pool that is rocking a temperature of one hundred and two degrees, or so I’ve been told. The game room is decked out with drinking games, a bar with every liquor imaginable and bags of chips. I shake my head when I pass by the supposed snack stand, knowing right away whose idea that was. I head toward the basement where the majority of people are. The minute my feet hit the bottom step, a hazy cloud of smoke, from the copious amount of weed being smoked down here, hangs in the air, engulfing me. One of the tech kids, who I believe is a sophomore, has a table set up where he’s playing music. He’s playing decent tracks, so I won’t correct him, for now. Travis Scott’s “Highest in the Room” bounces off the walls. Girls grind their hips to the rhythm, leaving their guys to join in or watch. Aiden’s house is perfect. The walls are thick and barely any noise, besides the chatter from the pool outside, can be heard. I almost feel bad for him being gone on vacation with his parents when his whole house is being used like an episode of a MTV reality show.

  Almost.

  It takes a few hours for Saylor to arrive. Just like the first night she showed up at my house, I sense her presence before my eyes discover her. Tight black jeans mold to her hips like a second skin. The knees are ripped, feeding my imagination with ideas to make those rips big enough to expose the skin and rub it red. A white shirt, if you can call it that, fits tight against her chest then flares, before stopping right above her navel. There is a whole lot of smooth skin showing between where that shirt ends and the top of her jeans begin. My fingers twitch. Her purple locks hang straight down. It’s longer than when she arrived, almost brushing against her stomach. She follows Winter over to a group of girls on the dance floor, my eyes tracking her movement. With her back to me, I finally see why they took so long to arrive. Her worn and faded jean jacket now sports a large painted white square on the back. WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU WEIRD AT PARTIES is written in black, glittery letters. I smirk. How very morbid of you, little demon.

  She moves at ease around the room, which means she’s either oblivious to the fact that I’m here or she’s trying really hard to pretend she doesn’t feel the pull that always backfires against us. Either way, the easy smile her lips form is pissing me off. I take another drink of the bottle in my hand, trying to force my attention to the Tippy Cup game in front of me. Kai is playing, his arm thrown around Brileigh, although he still looks completely sober. Another quick scan, and I locate Silas, sitting on a couch, straddled by a blonde, who’s on a mission to swallow his mouth whole. He’s distracted and hasn’t noticed Saylor yet.

  Her little group moves to the center of the room and becomes the focus of everyone close by. Her hips sway side to side with the beat of the song, while her hands roam up her thighs to her hips. She clinks
glasses with Winter and that’s the first time I realize she’s drinking. As far as I know, she’s never drank at any parties, not even when she lived in New York. I search her face for a tell, a clue, anything to know what is ticking in that pretty purple head of hers. Her eyes are closed while she shimmies and sways, absorbing every rift and beat in the song, oblivious to the eyes that watch her. My jaw clenches, and I narrow my eyes, meeting a few gazes of the brave souls still ogling her. Once they’re aware of me, they back off and turn their attention elsewhere.

  My neck flushes red and hot. So far this is not going how I planned. I’m not even really sure what I wanted. I want her to suffer. I want her to pay. I listened to Kai and lifted the ban. I purposefully made sure she was invited tonight and made it known the doors were open to her. Seeing her, though, only angers the darkness inside of me. He’s out for blood and wanting a taste of the demon princess.

  I turn back to the game and force myself to concentrate on anything but her; instead, I designate her to my peripheral vision, stalking her movements that way. She dances, has a drink, dances some more, and has another drink, before her group moves over to the dartboard. The bottle in my hand crushes under the pressure when I notice who is also there. Bentley Rhodes. My head snaps in their direction so fast, there is no way Kai didn’t see. His head swivels between me and her then over to Silas. The wheels in his brain are flipping over the different scenarios of how this is going to play out tonight. I know because I’ve been doing the same thing. No matter how the chips crumble, a clash is inevitable.