by S. Massery
“Margo.”
I start.
He looks pointedly at my hands. “You’re bleeding.”
I release my wrist, where a thin line oozes blood. The rest of my wrist is covered in scratch marks. “Oh, um, I’m going to go put a… Band-Aid on it.”
He says nothing, and I rush away. Instead of going to the safety of my temporary room, I go to the basement. Caleb’s space.
He’s not here—he took off running with Eli, but that was an hour ago—and the room is cold without him. I rinse off my wrist, determined to stop touching it.
The feeling of duct tape being wrapped around them comes back full force.
I thought I was knocked out.
It hits me hard enough to put me off balance. I grab the counter, staring at my reflection.
I should’ve kept Caleb’s phone when he offered it, seconds before he left. Part of me thought I’d be happy with the freedom, but it just serves to isolate me.
A hysterical giggle creeps up my throat. Didn’t I think that was exactly what Caleb wanted to do to me before? Isolate me. Single me out.
Turns out, all he had to do was mastermind a car accident, a kidnapping, and steal my phone. Oh, and put my foster father in the hospital.
Caleb could very well be the bad guy in my situation, pulling the strings. It’s what he’s wanted from day one: to break me. Destroy me.
He’s still playing the game.
“He’s not your knight in shining armor,” I tell myself.
He’s the villain. I’ve known this from the beginning. And villains…
They’ll do anything to win.
11
Caleb
Eli and I run, and I try not to think about where our feet are leading us. My body is spiked with heat and nervous energy, like I got a shot of adrenaline just by leaving the house. Our five-mile run has more than doubled, but we seemed to agree without words that something bigger than just a run needed to happen.
We go to Theo’s house first. It’s in a gated community on the edge of Rose Hill, and it takes us a half hour just to get there.
We’re dripping sweat, but exhaustion is a long way off.
Theo opens the door and scowls. “Do I need to hose you two off?”
Eli slaps his back and slips past him. “Mmm, an ice-cold shower would feel good right about now.”
“I could smell you idiots from the kitchen,” Theo’s brother calls, passing us for the stairs. “For the love of God, haven’t you heard of deodorant?”
“This musk is what draws the ladies,” Eli says. “Not that you’d know anything about that…”
Theo snickers. “Not that you’d know anything about that, either.” He crosses to the window. “You know you had a shadow?”
I frown. “The detective?”
He shrugs, turning away from the glass. “Dark sedan, so yeah, probably. Why exactly did you march into the hospital with Margo instead of calling an ambulance?”
“It was faster.”
“Yeah, but it also made you seem guilty.”
I grit my teeth. “You would’ve done something different?”
“You bet—”
“Okay, okay.” Eli gets between us, glaring at him, then me. “Let’s go easy. And get Liam here.”
Theo shakes his head. “For what, exactly?”
“Matt apparently has an alibi,” I tell him. “Even though Margo told the detective—”
“You touch Matt and you’ll get arrested for assault quicker than you can say ‘don’t drop the soap,’” Theo says.
“Which is why we’re here, establishing an alibi of our own…”
Eli meets my gaze and grins. “Right. So Liam comes here, we all have a grand old time, and then Caleb and I will steal Will’s car and find Matt.” His grin turns positively gleeful. “And we’ll get to the bottom of his alibi.”
I knew Eli would get it. He has Riley—although that’s just temporary. Even if he refuses to acknowledge it.
But for now, he has her, and he understands.
“Will isn’t going to let you steal his car,” Theo grumbles.
We follow him up to his room.
He throws a towel at Eli, then one at me. “And please, for the sake of my nose, rinse off.”
Eli chuckles, disappearing into the bathroom.
I cross my arms. “We have to ditch the detective.”
“I know.” He whips out his phone and shoots off a text. It vibrates a second later. “Liam is on his way.”
“His car got fixed?”
He shrugs. “I guess.”
The bathroom door swings open, and Eli walks out, a towel around his waist. “You gonna let us borrow clothes or…?”
Theo groans. “I better get this shit back.”
Armed with a clean shirt and jeans—we’re lucky we’re all around the same build, although his pants will be long on me—I lock myself in the bathroom.
I should be home with Margo, but instead…
I shower quickly, suds sliding down my body. Once I’m passably clean, I dry off and pull on the clothes. I have to roll the bottom of the pants, shaking my head slightly. This is ridiculous. We should’ve driven here.
Eli and Theo are down in the front living room, playing cards.
“I swear I can feel the detective’s eyeballs like laser beams.” Eli glances up when I walk in. “He’s still out there.”
“Great. So we just act normal until Liam gets here—”
The doorbell rings, cutting off my words.
Theo’s eyebrows jump.
Liam has never, in his life, rang a doorbell. Which leaves one person.
Theo hops up, shaking his head, and I take his seat. We’re just going to have to act normal—like we weren’t planning on hunting Matt down like a fucking dog.
He returns with Detective Masters close behind him.
“Ah, Mr. Asher,” Masters says. “I thought you might be here.”
I clench my jaw instead of back talking.
“Theo, did I hear—” Theo’s mother stops short. “Mr. Masters.”
“Detective,” he grits out.
She’s a formidable woman. After all, she raised Will and Theo. She works normal hours, is home at a normal time… but she’s a psychologist. I’m sure she deals with crazy shit Monday through Friday, nine to five.
She crosses her arms over her chest, gaze sweeping across the room. She barely hesitates on me, then is back to the detective. He seems to have shrunk in her presence.
“You’re aware that Caleb has an attorney, Jim, but on top of that—he’s a minor.”
I glance at Theo, but he just shrugs.
Everyone knows everyone in Rose Hill. For a community so close to a huge city, people sure do take pride in getting up in their neighbor’s shit.
So it’s not surprising, really, that Beth Alistair has heard of Detective Masters. But it is rather jarring to find they seem… familiar.
She raises her hand when Masters starts to speak. “Honestly, I don’t really want to hear it. Please leave.”
He winces.
“Like you had no idea this was my house,” she adds. “If you’d like to speak with Caleb, you can arrange to do so through his lawyer.”
Detective Masters takes a step forward, but Beth just lifts her chin.
“What happened to you, Elizabeth?” he asks her. “Defending criminals?”
Her eyes narrow. “The only one exhibiting criminal behavior here is you. Get out.”
I’ve never felt like cheering so much in my life.
The detective looks at me as if to say, We’re not done. He spins on his heel and shows himself out, the door slamming behind him. The four of us stand in silence as his car turns over, the engine roaring to life. His headlights flash through the window, then swing away from us. We watch him get to the end of the road and turn toward the main gate.
“You do not let that man into our home,” she tells Theo. “Understand?”
“Yes, ma’am,�
� Theo answers.
His tone isn’t sassy. Beth Alistair demands respect. Commands a room, even though she’s barely five-four and slight.
“It’s late,” she says to me. “Let me drive you home.”
“Mom—”
She silences Theo with a wave. “No. Caleb, stay home until things have settled down.”
A warning to avoid her son?
I spare a fleeting thought for what Emery-Rose will do. What Coach will do. The Asher name is powerful, but there’s only so far they can go.
I’m innocent. First time I’ve ever said those words—but no doubt the last.
“Let him stay,” Theo mutters. “Liam is on his way over. We’re just going to play cards, and then I’ll take them home.”
“Please, Mrs. Alistair?” Eli gives her his best smile.
She sighs. “Fine, but I want this house empty except for my family by nine thirty.”
Needless to say, this is why we don’t hang out at Theo’s often.
Eli grabs us drinks, and Liam arrives just as we’re sitting down.
He frowns at me. “You look like hell.”
“He’s a convict now.” Eli cracks his knuckles. “He already had a rugged style, but now…”
I roll my eyes.
Liam throws his keys on the side table and falls onto the chair next to mine. “So, what’s the plan? I’m ready to beat—”
“Me at poker?” Eli raises his eyebrows. “Like hell.”
Liam catches on fast. Maybe he does know Theo’s house better than anyone, because he glances around like the walls have ears.
“Careful,” Theo jabs. “Liam likes to count cards.”
“Gotta be good at something in life,” Liam answers. He shuffles the deck, then deals our hands. “Besides, how else am I going to afford college?”
Eli snorts. “You plan to, what, go to Atlantic City and gamble your way into a college tuition?”
“As I just stated: how else am I going to fucking pay for it?” He glares at Eli. “I’m not going to be left behind while you assholes run off—”
“What about the whole football thing?” I cut in.
Although, I know his answer before his face even changes it.
“You and I both know that ship sailed,” he says. “Scouts came, but no one reached out. I’ve got a semester left to prove my lacrosse skills, but I’ve still got to get into the schools.”
He grimaces at the cards in his hand.
“So, yeah. Grades will get me into a good school, and poker will pay for it.”
Eli and I exchange a glance.
“Okay,” Eli says. “But you know—”
Liam jerks. “I don’t really want to talk about this anymore.”
“I was trying to convince Margo to apply,” I say, sliding the cards toward me.
He dealt me a pair of queens.
“She pushed back, huh?” Theo chuckles.
“She doesn’t think she’s going to college,” I mutter.
Liam snorts. “See? She gets it.”
“What are we betting with?” Eli waves the bag of chips he had brought in with the drinks. “These?”
Liam is too busy watching me to answer. “You can’t pressure her into it.”
“Like hell I can’t.” I fold my arms over my chest.
She’s going, whether she thinks she can do it or not. She’s smart. She has A’s and B’s in all of her classes, and college admissions teams love the harsh upbringing schtick.
And yet…
“I turn eighteen in April. I get my trust fund, and then…”
“Then what? You’ll finance Margo’s college experience?” Liam snorts. “I wish I had that kind of benefactor.”
I narrow my eyes. “It’s not a bad idea.”
“Just making sure she owes you, right, Caleb?” Liam throws down his cards and stands.
“Where are you going?” Theo calls.
“To get something stronger than soda.” He disappears down the hall.
Eli exhales. “You know how to ruin a mood.”
“Me?” I retort. “You were nitpicking his way of making money—”
“It’s illegal,” Eli snaps. “A concept you don’t really seem to take into consideration.”
“I haven’t broken any laws,” I correct. “Just because—”
“You were fucking talking to the dickbag who took Margo!” Eli yells.
I rear back, shocked. He doesn’t get riled up about much, but this has his panties in a twist. The way he’s staring at me…
“If you wanna take a fucking swing at me, do it,” I say in a low voice.
He shakes his head. “Why are you here? Go home. Be with Margo.” Quietly, he adds, “Imagine what she went through? Her foster dad is in the hospital and her boyfriend is here, hanging out with his friends—”
“We weren’t supposed to be hanging out,” I grit out.
“No, you just want to beat someone bloody.” Liam reenters the room. “Shocker.”
I jump to my feet. “Matt took her, and no one is doing anything!”
“That detective is breathing down your neck, and you think it’s a good idea to go pay Bonner a visit,” Liam goads. “So smart. Good thing your pockets are deep—oh wait, they aren’t quite yet… do you think you’re going to make it to eighteen at this rate?”
I stay silent. I ball my hands into fists.
The anger I had directed at Matt is slowly changing course.
“No,” he continues. “You’ll be locked up before Christmas. Wonder which one of us will take care of Margo while—”
I lunge at him, barely getting my hand on his shirt before Theo blocks me.
“You don’t touch her!” I yell, still trying to get to him.
Theo shoves me back, one hand extended toward Liam. “As much as I love a brawl, I can’t let you destroy the living room.”
Liam huffs. “We were just getting to the good part. Watch Caleb throw his life away.”
“Why? By taking action? It’s how things get done around here.”
I stop. I can’t believe those words just came out of my mouth.
Eli’s expression turns uneasy. “I think it’s time to go home.”
Liam coughs. “Yeah. Take my car.”
He tosses Eli his keys, but I’m still stuck in place.
“Old shitter better not break down on us,” Eli grumbles.
Taking action is how things get done around here.
Eli jostles me. “Snap out of it, dude. Let’s go.”
My body is ancient as I nod. My limbs are rusted. My heart is beating out of sync.
I don’t remember saying goodbye to Theo and Liam—not that they’d want to hear it, anyway. We’re in the car, halfway down the road, before I realize it.
“I’m not going to ask if you’re okay, because you’re clearly not.” Eli glances over at me. “But if you want to talk about it…”
“Uncle used to say that.” My voice is hoarse. “He was all about… taking action.”
“He’s one sick motherfucker, that’s for sure.”
Eli knows the reason I went to live with his family in the first place. I don’t think I ever had to spell it out to him—his parents took care of that—but the scars… There’s no hiding those.
Hell, the entire lacrosse team has seen them, but no one has ever said anything.
I tip my head back and close my eyes. I’m going home to Margo, I remind myself. That should be enough. Revenge, taking action—those are words my uncle put into my head. Drilled into me.
Beat into me.
12
Caleb
Past
Mom was gone. She didn’t say where she was going before she left. One minute she was there, kissing the top of my head, and the next…
It had been two days. Two days of moping, staring out the window, and avoiding my uncle’s gaze.
“You look like your father,” he said to me now, filling the doorway. “I’m sure that’s why she hasn’t come
back.”
I flinched.
He liked it when I reacted to his words. He came out with these awful thoughts. He spoke them into existence and then watched the damage they inflicted.
“Ben and I looked alike, too.” He came closer and sat down in the chair to my right. “Lydia… she’s a troubled girl.”
“Mom?” I asked. “Troubled?”
“Always up to her ears in mischief.” He grimaced. “It was what attracted Ben to her in the first place. Like a moth to a flame…”
“Mom was the flame?”
“Indeed,” Uncle said. “Still is.”
I didn’t know what to make of that.
“Caleb, sit before me.” A demand, not a request.
My feet moved on their own, carrying me to the space in front of him.
Uncle did look like Dad. He had the same mean glint in his eyes, too. But that meanness only came out in Dad after a few drinks. It was ever-present on Uncle’s face. He was like a supermodel in the magazines Margo used to flip through. Beautiful and ice-cold.
There was no chair in front of him, but I already knew what he meant. We’d done this a few times—lessons, he called them.
I sank to my knees, keeping my eyes on Uncle’s shoes. They were polished.
“Tell me again how it happened,” Uncle said.
“We were playing hide and seek.” I glanced up. “And Margo was hiding. She saw…”
“Your father fucking her mom.”
I blinked. Mom hadn’t let me swear. Practically vibrated with anger when hell slipped out my mouth. But that was then. Now, she wasn’t here.
“She saw Dad…”
“Say it,” he prodded. “It’s just a word, Caleb. It’s what they were doing.”
I couldn’t. Mom would be angry.
He exhaled.
The next thing I knew, I was flat on my back. He knelt beside me, his hand wrapped around my throat. The pressure was just enough that I could barely suck in air.
“Continue,” he said.
“She came up to… tell me.” It wasn’t quite right, but the details were blending together. Did she come up to tell me or did she come to hide? “Her mom came in, yelled at her. Begged her not to tell.”