by Callie Rae
“Yeah, I can’t leave her here.”
“She better not kill the mood. She is still a Callaway.”
“Nah, she’s cool. Give me a minute.”
I walk over to Jade and as soon as I’m within an arm’s distance, her friends all skirt away, sliding their eyes my way like I’m tainted. Fuck, maybe I am.
“Hey. Are you having fun?” she asks.
“Uh, yeah, about that. Not so much. Let’s get out of here.”
She looks over me from head to toe, looking worried. “Are you ready to go home? I’ll go get Cason.” She starts to back up.
“No, no. Let him stay. He’s having a good time, and he deserves a night off babysitting duty. Besides, I got us a ride,” I say, and point back to Narni.
“Fallon, what’s going on? We’re not going home, are we?” she says as she eyes Narni, who gives her a finger wave before tipping her beer up.
“Look …” I throw my arms out to the sides and huff out a breath. She doesn’t get it. “I just want to have a little fun with people who won’t look at me like I’m going to break or be mental. Okay?”
“I don’t know, Fallon. I mean, Narni? She’s not exactly good people,” she mumbles as Narni gives a guy passing nearby a sultry wink.
“Yeah, but she helped me in a way no one else would’ve. I think most of what we see from her is an act,” I say. “Come on. Just one night? That’s all I want.”
She rolls her eyes at me. “Fine. One night. But if the boys find out th—”
“I will handle it,” I say. “I’ll tell them I forced you to come. I dragged you through the mud into the car and kidnapped you.”
She laughs, and we head toward Narni, who is now eye-fucking a new guy. I grab her arm as we pass, yanking her with us as we keep walking toward the parking lot.
“Hey,” Narni says.
“Shh! If they fucking hear you, we’ll never get out of here,” I shush her.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m shocked you got the princess to come.” She nods toward Jade as we all walk at a brisk pace into the gravel.
“Fuck off,” Jade retorts.
I huff out an annoyed breath. “Can you both pretend to not hate each other tonight? Because we’re going to have two very angry boys after us, and I’d like to actually fucking enjoy myself before I have to deal with that.”
They both clamp their mouths shut.
“Great.” I turn to Narni. “I assume you have a car, right?”
She locks eyes with me as she pulls out her keys and dangles them in front of us. Jade rolls her eyes in response and snatches the keys out of Narni’s hands.
“Hey! What do you think you're doing?”
“Driving. You’re drunk, and I’d like to survive this trip.” Jade hits the unlock button.
Nearby headlights flash, and we all start walking toward Narni’s car.
“Fine. But only because I don’t want to be back on y’all’s doorstep again,” she says as she heads to the passenger side of a red Corolla.
It’s a decent car. Nothing fancy, but it definitely reflects her personality.
"Again?" I ask as I look at her over the top of the car.
"Oh, they didn't tell you?"
I have no clue what she’s talking about. "Tell me what?"
She opens her mouth to say something, but she spots something over my shoulder and immediately stops talking. I turn to see what she’s looking at. At first, I can’t make out anything in the dark, but then I spot two bodies standing in the parking lot, away from the crowd. I will always recognize Jesse’s silhouette, but there is also enough light to make out his dark hair and face. He wasn’t supposed to be here tonight. Cason lied to me and said Jesse planned on practicing tonight. I knew it was a lie, but I didn’t bother questioning Cason. I could tell he was stressed about being stuck in the middle between me and Jesse.
Jesse’s not alone. I don’t care that he's out there, but I sure care about who he's out there with.
"Is that Jax?" I ask quietly, to no one in particular.
I watch them talk back and forth for a few moments.
"I think we should go," Narni says.
I’m not sure what I just witnessed, but I know I don’t like it. And I also know I don’t want Jesse spotting me and Jade getting into Narni’s car.
“I think you’re right.”
Jade has already started the car. She rolls down the window a bit and dips her head so she can look at me. “We going or what?”
I hop in and face forward—toward her headrest and away from where Jesse is. “Yeah, let’s go.”
“Okay, I need an address,” Jade says to Narni.
Narni gets settled in her seat. “Just drive. I’ll direct you.”
Jade just looks at her.
Narni gestures wildly toward the road. “There’s only one way out of here, princess. You know that, considering your Daddy built all this. Don’t worry, I’m not so drunk that I can’t get us to the party.”
Jade hisses at Narni’s snark but puts the car in drive, meeting my eyes in the mirror. I know what her expression means: I owe her. And I do.
I also think this might’ve been a terrible idea. But we hit the blacktop, so there’s no going back now. Time to carpe diem or whatever the fuck it is people say.
Narni knows exactly where we to go, and the moment we pull onto the road, I know we’re going to be in big trouble. There are so many cars lining the road, there’s no way we won’t know at least one person in here.
Cherry Creek just isn’t that big.
We park and walk what feels like a mile before we hit a house that is literally wide open. All the doors and windows are flung wide with people spilling out all over the yard.
I suck in a deep breath and cringe. Jade must notice my hesitation, because she’s on me immediately.
“You sure about this? We don’t have to go in there. We can go home. I'll call an Uber.”
I almost tell her to call the Uber. I really do. But then I remember seeing Jesse in the parking lot with Jax and I get angry all over again.
Narni is at the front door calling back to us, but I can’t hear what she’s saying. I just grit my teeth and start walking toward the house with purpose. We enter to find bodies everywhere. It smells like a boozefest with body odor. The music is so loud I can’t think. I’ve never understood the appeal of these things.
“Free booze,” Narni says over the music.
“What?”
“The appeal is free booze,” she says, answering the question I didn’t even realize I’d said out loud. She walks up to a keg that I hadn’t even noticed.
She grabs a red plastic cup from a stack on a nearby table, fills it, and hands it to me. Then she repeats the process. When it’s full, she holds it out to Jade, who throws her hands up and shakes her head, declining it. Narni scowls.
“Someone has to get us home tonight, okay?” Jade says.
Narni just shrugs and starts chugging the piss-warm beer before filling the cup back up again. I lift my own cup to my lips and chug, swallowing the first of however many beers I’ll need to forget the last year of my life.
JESSE
I was going to surprise them when I showed up at the Depot and spend a much-needed night out with my girl. But when I got here, my girl was nowhere in sight. Neither was my sister. All I found was a very panicked Cason.
“Dude, they were just right here. I saw them with my own two eyes. Jade and Fallon were talking right here,” Cason says.
“What are you saying, Cason?” I growl.
He stands straighter, but his shoulders are still hunched. He looks weary. “I lost them. They’re gone.”
My fist flies before I can comprehend that I’m hitting my best friend, my brother. But fuck, it feels good to hit someone.
Cason stumbles back a few steps, but it doesn’t knock him down. He’s a fighter too and can hold his own against me.
“You were supposed to be watching her. What the fuck do you mean you lost
them? Where did they go? Don’t fuck with me right now, Cason. Do you not remember the last time Fallon disappeared?”
Someone has grabbed my shoulders and is holding me back, but right now, I really want them to let go.
“Fuck!” Cason says. “I know! I’m sorry, okay? They were both right here, and then I saw Mira. I wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to say anything about the other night, and when I looked up, they were gone.”
“Yo, yo, yo, are you two fighting about your girl?” Jones interjects, and that’s when I realize he’s the one holding me back.
“Yes,” I growl.
“No shit? I just saw them leave with Narni.” Jones points over his shoulder.
“What?”
I wasn’t expecting that.
“Yeah, I rolled up about the same time they were leaving. Your sister was driving the car, so I figured y'all knew.”
“You telling me my girlfriend skipped out, Jones?”
“Check it. I ain’t telling you shit, but your ol’ lady was in the back of Narni’s car, and your sister was driving. That’s all I got. You feel me?” He pats my chest.
“Fuck, Fallon…” I fist my hair, groaning in frustration. “What the fuck is she doing?”
“If you ask me—not that you did, but fuck it, I’mma tell y’all anyway. She probably got tired of y’all’s bullshit and bounced. I know if I had you two watching every move I made, that’s what I would do.” Jones holds up his hands and points to Cason. “Y’all cool now? I can go back and enjoy a cold beer with my girl?”
Cason stares at me but nods in response. Jones doesn’t move, and I know he’s waiting for me to answer.
I nod too. “Yeah, we’re good.”
“Cool, cool.” Jones grabs my hand and slaps me on the back. “Good seein’ you out here, my dude!”
He gives a nod to Cason before going back to his girl to watch the races.
“Sorry, man. I didn’t mean it. I just—a lot of shit has happened.” I hold my hand out to Cason.
“Yeah, a lot of shit has happened. But fuck, man. I’d protect her with my life and you know it. It tears me up that I lost them.”
He never grabs my hand. It’s his way of letting me know he doesn’t accept my apology. Not now.
I sigh as I pull my hand back. “Let’s just find them.”
He nods and pulls his phone out.
“What are you doing?”
“You remember when Jade tracked us to that house?” Cason says as he scrolls through his phone.
“Yeah?” I ask.
“I made her show me how she did it, and then I installed it on Fallon’s phone when she wasn’t looking. Jade’s was easy to connect to because she already had it installed. Same for you,” he mumbles.
“So you’ve been tracking us all?” I ask incredulously.
He looks at me and scoffs. “It’s not like you’ve been completely honest with all of us either.”
I swallow hard—because he’s not wrong, but I don’t want to get into that right now—and then his phone beeps. He turns the phone to show me the screen. Two pins drop in a neighborhood not too far from her. One for Jade, and one for Fallon.
“Let’s go,” I say as I head to my car.
“Follow me,” Cason says, jumping into his Jeep and peeling out.
Shit, okay. I nod, then hop into my own ride, leaving a plume of dust in my wake.
Chapter 27
Fallon
Narni is actually a lot of fun. A total bitch, but fun. And apparently, a pool shark. Right now, she’s running this damn table.
Turns out whoever owns this house has an entire game room. There’s an old-school arcade game, a basketball game, and right in the middle, a pool table. Narni’s eyes lit up like we’d just won the jackpot.
Now we're playing in teams against two football jocks that thought they saw an easy target.
Wrong move, dude.
Narni is a beast with a stick and balls. And the drunker she gets, the better she is at playing with them.
I’ve been charged with feeding the beast.
“Beer break!”
“Again?” Jade asks. “That’ll be your fourth beer. Do you think that’s a good idea?”
Narni wraps her arm around Jade's shoulders. “Oh, Jade, princess, lighten up. Your girl is just trying to have some fun. Besides, we're soooo close to kicking these dudes’ asses.”
Jade quickly pushes Narni’s arm away. “Stop calling me that.”
Narni chuckles, and I reach for Jade’s arm.
“I’m fine. Okay? Can you please have some fun with me tonight? Please?” I give her my best puppy dog eyes.
She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “When did I become the responsible one? I need a beer before I turn into my mother.”
I laugh. “That’s not a bad thing. Catherine is great.”
I wrap my arm around her as we head to the keg.
“Hey, you got me?” Narni yells out. “I'll hold the table down.”
I lift my cup in the air, waving it around.
Narni points at me. “That’s my bitch.”
I chuckle to Jade.
“She is something else,” Jade mumbles.
“Yeah, she’s great.” I pump the keg a few times before filing my cup.
“I wonder where she puts all the beer she drank tonight.” Jade pulls her phone out as she waits for me to fill up another cup for Narni, then groans. “Shit.”
I look up. “What’s up?” She turns her phone screen so I can see.
10 Missed Calls
I swallow. That can’t be good. I put the cup down and grab my phone.
14 Missed Calls
Mine are from Cason and Jesse.
Oh, this is so not going to be fun to deal with. I grab my cup and start to chug my beer.
“Oh, no. Oh, no…” Jade she closes her eyes and drops her chin to her chest. “I completely forgot.”
“You forgot what?”
“We have to go. Now.” She grabs my hand and pulls me toward Narni.
“Jade, what the hell is going on?” I ask.
“When you were missing, Jesse and Cason went out looking for you. But they kept me in the dark about where they were going.” She continues to pull me.
“Okay? I mean, it’s frustrating, but that’s pretty normal for them.” I snort.
“I know. So I did what I usually do,” she says back to me. “I tracked their phones and followed them.”
“You did what?” I stop dead in my tracks and look at my friend in a whole new light. I didn’t see that one coming.
Jade shrugs. “I tracked their phones.”
“I’m impressed and weirdly turned on by the genius behind that,” I say. “But I don’t see why that’s a problem right now.”
“Well, that’s not the problem. The problem is when you got home, I may have shown Cason how to do the same thing.” She winces, and I brace myself for whatever she is going to say next. “To your phone.”
“YOU DID WHAT?!” I scream.
“Fallon, I’m sorry, but we were terrified. We had just gotten you back and there was all that stuff going on with Dad and I just thought it was safer. I didn’t know if he ever actually did it.”
“Wait a minute. What do you mean ‘all the stuff going on’ with your dad?”
Her eyes go wide, and she begins backing away. Now I know they’ve all been lying to me. All of them.
“I swear, I will tell you everything. But based on the text message I got from Jesse and their current location, we have about ten minutes to get our asses out of here, or we’re getting dragged out.”
This gets me moving again, but I make no attempt to hide my anger. “You will tell me absolutely everything. Every single detail, big or small, and you need to understand you don’t have a choice. Because the alternative is me leaving.”
She looks back at me with sad, repentant eyes. My comment struck a nerve, but I don’t care.
They fucking lied to me.
We round the corner to the game room and find Narni being held up against the wall by one of those tall football fucks. She looks at us and I can see the fear in her eyes. Instantly, I know she isn’t okay.
I react immediately. “Hey! Get off her.”
“Chill. We’re just having some fun,” he growls.
“Say what?” Jade says.
Narni doesn’t say anything. She just stares at him like she’s frozen in place. She’s terrified. I see it in her eyes. It’s that same terrified feeling I had every time Marcus was near me. The same thing I felt when that guy laid his hands on me at the club before Jesse rescued me.
Suddenly, I understand Narni a little bit more.
“It doesn’t look like she’s having too much fun,” I growl.
I step forward and close my eyes, reminding myself Marcus is dead. He can’t touch me ever again.
“Get your hands off of her.”
Jade calls out to me. “Fallon…”
I raise my hand to stop her from trying to intervene. Narni didn’t walk away and leave me when I was in trouble. There is no fucking way I’m leaving here without her.
“I said get your fucking hands off of her,” I repeat.
“What are you gonna do? Call your boyfriend? I don’t see him anywhere,” he jeers.
I pause.
“Yeah, I know who you are. Callaway’s girl, right? Weren’t you, like, missing or something?”
This asshole has no clue.
“He might not be here right now, but I can promise you, you don’t want to do that.” I point to Narni.
“Oh yeah? Why is that?”
“‘Cause that’s Cason Cruise’s girl. And you don’t want to fuck with him either,” I tell him.
Jade clears her throat.
“You might want to listen to her.” Jesse's voice floats in from behind me.
I mentally curse. This is about to go from bad to worse.
The guy looks back at Narni and then behind me. I turn my head to glance over my shoulder and both Cason and Jesse are standing there seething. Oh, boy. They are pissed.
The dude lets go of Narni and backs up, lifting his hands palms up. “All right, fine.”