by Huss, JA
Mona gets a thigh shot in—and yeah, that hurts. But the rest can’t throw far enough to cover the distance. They splat at my feet or in the pool in front of me.
But the boys.
Those boys can throw.
And they hit me. Every. Single. Time.
CHAPTER NINETEEN - COOPER
Lars, Ax, and I stand to the side and just watch them pelt Cadee Hunter with the water balloons. Some of the guys—Dante in particular—are taking this hazing incident very seriously.
“It’s just water,” Ax says.
“Yeah, right,” Lars says.
My eyes slide over to Lars. “We’re only on day two, dude. Better fucking suck it up if you want to make it to the end of summer.”
Ax sighs. “I want to beat the fuck out of Dante.”
“You kinda already did,” I say.
“He’s got more coming.”
“Ooooooh.” Lars winces and looks away. “That one hurt.”
“All she has to do is cry,” I say. “She cries, they’ll stop. I gave them the orders before they started.”
Besides. I like the way I can see Cadee Hunter’s nipples through her soaked white t-shirt. And I’m gonna enjoy that for a moment. It’s the first almost pleasant thing about this day. Even if she is getting pelted with water balloons.
Lars sighs. “OK. I think I see a tear.” He puts two fingers in his mouth and a sharp whistle makes all the pledges stop and look at us.
Ax jumps into action and paces up and down the side of the pool deck in his boots, his wallet chain banging against his leg. “Thank you, pledges! Congrats on a great opening day! Your King has some words for you, so listen the fuck up!”
“Girls,” I say. “Goodbye. You are dismissed.”
“Hold on, hold on!” Isabella steps out from under her thatched-roof cabaña. “Mandatory meeting tonight, ladies. Meet me at the dock immediately.”
“What?” they all complain. “Why?”
Isabella lifts up her chin. “I do not repeat myself. Grab your shit and meet me at the dock immediately.”
They grumble, but get busy picking up their crap and then wander down the path in the woods towards the lake.
Then I turn to the boys. I cross my arms over my chest and stare them up and down as I walk towards their side of the deck. “We had two incidents today that require consequences.” I lock eyes with Dante.
He shakes his head at me. “It’s no big deal.”
“Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. It doesn’t matter. You have a mean side, Dante.”
He shuffles his feet.
“And that’s why I’m promoting you to lead. You’re in charge.”
All the boys look stunned.
Dante is a little dick about his new status. Because he immediately starts yelling, “Yeah! Fuck, yeah!” And I make a note of that.
Lars comes up behind me. He shuts up and doesn’t say anything because I’m not done talking yet. But I can already tell he’s gonna have a lot to say about this decision.
“And tomorrow,” I continue, “you all understand what you need to bring with you to participate in the first challenge?”
They nod.
“Cash,” Ax growls. “I don’t give a fuck how you get it, you bring it in cash. We do not accept credit cards, money orders, cashier’s checks, gold, or gemstones.” He shoots them his trademark evil grin. “I hope you know the combination to your daddy’s safe.”
They grin at each other like idiots. Of course they do.
We’ll see.
“That’s it then. See you tomorrow.” Then I look over toward Cadee. “Where the hell did Cadee go?”
“I dunno,” Lars says. “But what the fuck, Coop? Why would you make Dante the lead?”
“Because what he did so far isn’t enough, Lars. We need to get rid of him. He’s dangerous.” I look Lars in the eyes. “Give that kid a little power and he’ll hang himself. That way we can cut him and his family won’t have shit to say about it. Now where the fuck did Cadee go? I have to take her across the lake to her cottage.”
“Why?” Ax laughs.
“Because my father gave it to her to live in this summer and she doesn’t have a fucking boat. So he made me her new… driver.” Isabella was pissed about that when I told her earlier.
“Oh, that’s funny,” Ax says.
“You guys want to come with me?”
Ax looks at the woods in the direction of his house. “Sure. I’ll go.”
“Lars?”
Lars shrugs. “I guess.”
“Lars,” I say. “It’s not my fault she wants to stick around. How many more ways can we say it? She’s being a total fucking bitch about this. I’m starting to think we should tell her we want her to stay, because then she’d leave just to spite us.”
“That’s kind of a good idea.” Ax points to the Glass House. “There she is.”
We all follow his finger and find Cadee in the glass house. I nod. “OK. You guys go ahead. I’ll meet you at the boat. I’m gonna make sure she knows I’m waiting for her. Meet you there in ten.”
They turn and start walking towards the woods. Lars grabs his t-shirt off a chair as he passes and tugs it over his head. Ax kicks rocks like a kid.
I wait until they’re out of sight, then go inside the Glass House and interrupt a conversation between Victor and Cadee. I glare at him with narrowed eyes. “Good night, Victor.”
He locks eyes with me for a moment, like maybe he’s thinking about talking back. But he’s a pussy. And in the end, he just mumbles, “Goodbye,” to Cadee and walks out the door carrying his pack.
Cadee doesn’t look at me. She’s sitting at the dining table, lacing up her red sneaker. She’s changed her clothes. But she was sitting in those soiled shorts all damn day. She never said a word. Not one complaint.
“What do you want?” And she doesn’t look at me when she asks her question.
“I’m taking you across the lake, remember?”
Now she does look up. “Oh. I forgot about that.” Then she brightens.
“Cadee—”
“No.” She puts up a hand. “I’ll take your ride because I want to sleep in my own place tonight and forget about you, and these people you call friends, and this fucked-up summer rush. But you do not get to talk to me.”
I sigh and clench my jaw. That’s fair, I guess.
“Let’s go then.”
I head towards the door and hold it open for her. She walks through, sneering at me, huffing out a little air of contempt for good measure. But my eyes track down to her nipples poking against her t-shirt.
She didn’t put her bra back on.
Did she do that on purpose? To tease me? Because her nipples are clearly still very hard. And her tits are nice and round. Big enough to bounce a little with each step.
Jesus Christ. I need to get laid or something. Stop thinking about her. Cadee Hunter was the worst thing to ever happen to me and right now, I wish we had just left her alone that year. Just kept on pretending she didn’t exist.
But that was never going to happen. We were obsessed with her during senior year of Prep. We stalked her. Relentlessly. We made her do Ax’s homework. We made her into our little bitch. We yelled at her, and humiliated her, and pushed her.
We were always pushing her.
It was touching at first. Then kissing. Then… more. A lot more.
And she never said no.
By the end of first semester we had even settled in. It was a routine by Christmas. And New Year’s Eve was downright fun.
Until it wasn’t.
I sigh. But if Cadee notices, she doesn’t say anything.
It’s just a long silent walk.
But then I spy my father. A few moments later my brothers and their wives come out of the mansion. They laugh and linger in the driveway as Cadee and I come out of the woods.
I pull her aside. “Stay here.” I point my finger at her. “You understand me?”
She swats it away, scowling
.
“Don’t move.”
I walk out of the woods and greet my brothers and father in the driveway. “What’s going on?”
Dane is shoving shit in the back of the limo as the wives get inside. Tennis racket, duffle bag, backpack. “Vacay, man.”
“What? All of you?”
My oldest brother, Jack, comes up to me and claps me on the shoulder. “I heard you drew the short stick.” He shoots me a lopsided grin. Jack and I have always been close. “Sorry, man.”
“Where are you guys going?”
My father walks up. “Bali.”
“Bali. And I have to stay here? What the hell, Dad?”
“You’re in charge of rush, Christopher.”
Shit. I should’ve called him Father. Now he thinks I just did that on purpose.
“Better luck next summer,” Dane says. Then pulls the limo door closed.
He’s such a dick.
But my father is already climbing in the other side. Only Jack pauses. He leans his hands on the roof of the car and sighs. “Sorry, man. But you know there’ll be a next time. Plus side—you have the entire house to yourself for six weeks.”
“Six weeks! Are you fucking—”
“Have fun!” Jack disappears inside and then the limo pulls forward through our circular driveway. And five seconds later, they’re gone.
Didn’t even look back.
Cadee comes out of the woods. I expect her to say something, but she just walks right past me and heads towards the boat. And I’m kinda grateful for her shunning right now.
I follow. What choice do I have? She’s already climbing in when I arrive at the boat slip. Lars is kicking back on the bench seat and Ax has claimed his chair on the port side.
Which means Cadee will have to sit in front with me.
Or… not. She walks straight over to Lars and he smiles at her and pulls his legs up.
She sits down on the opposite end and they tangle their legs together just like the old days. Like three years haven’t passed. Like nothing happened.
Lars always did like Cadee the most. And in his mind, nothing did happen. He doesn’t know about the abortion. He wasn’t the one who made all the arrangements and drove her to the clinic. He wasn’t the one who had to lie about all of it.
So of course, he still likes her. At least a little. Enough for me to know he’s not on board with the whole Fugling thing. Maybe she’s counting on that? Or maybe he’s planning something else? Maybe he’s thinking about a little reunion?
I catch them laughing as we head out. Like they’re sharing a fantastic joke.
“Hey,” I call back to them over my shoulder. “I figured you’d had enough laughing for one day, Cadee. But if you need more, I can arrange for it to happen again tomorrow.”
“Cooper, shut the fuck up,” Lars yells back. “Her day is over. She’s allowed to fucking relax.”
“Fuck you both,” I mutter as I step aboard and take the driver’s seat.
And then I slide my sunglasses down my face and head across the lake.
By the time I ease the boat into my personal slip at the college marina and turn off the engine, the sun is behind the tall trees, casting this part of campus in dark shadows, even though it won’t set for another hour or two.
Cadee is already hopping off the boat, eager to be away from us. Lars hops out too and catches up with her.
Ax walks over to me. “What do you think that’s about?”
I stare at Cadee and Lars. They are talking. I can tell because they glance over at each other every few seconds as they walk. “I dunno. But he needs to rein it in. We’re not getting involved with her. We’re getting rid of her.”
Ax and I follow behind Lars and Cadee. It’s kind of a long walk over to the little cottage she used to live in years ago. And it’s in the woods, a good way off from the school buildings. So they flash in and out of sight as they walk the narrow dirt path that ends at a small pond.
We can hear the music from a pretty good distance away, but it’s still a shock to see the cottage lit up and dozens of summer students standing near a line of kegs.
“Hell, yeah,” Ax says, jogging ahead. He passes by Lars and Cadee, both of whom have stopped on the edge of the clearing to gape at the scene before us.
“What the fuck?” I whisper.
There has to be more than a hundred people here. The little swimming hole is packed. There’s a volleyball net set up and a game going on in the fading sunlight. A loud clinking sound makes me turn my head to find a game of drunken horseshoes in progress. And—
“Is that a croquet setup?” Lars laughs.
“What the hell is going on here?” Cadee whirls on me. “You did this, didn’t you? Just so I wouldn’t have a place to call home! You are such an asshole, Cooper Valcourt. I hate your ugly guts!”
She stomps off and neither Lars nor I make a move to go after her.
He stands next to me. “Did you do this, Cooper?”
“No, I didn’t do this. When would I have time to plan a party today?”
Lars sighs. “It looks like it’s been going on all day.”
He’s right. Someone didn’t just throw this together. There’s a catering table, for fuck’s sake.
Then I see Isabella. Lars sees her at the same time and points. “She did this.”
I can’t say I don’t agree. Her and her pledges are all sitting in a circle of Adirondack chairs in front of a small campfire, chatting and laughing, their faces bright from the fire and glowing from the sun today. They’re still wearing their derogatory white t-shirts that Ax made. Like a badge or something. Clearly not fazed by his attempts to shame and humiliate them.
And why should they be? It’s a joke to them. They don’t take it seriously. It’s just part of the game.
“Fuck it,” Lars says. “I’m staying with Ax. You coming, Cooper?”
I look over my shoulder to see if Cadee’s around. She’s not. So I’m just about to say yes when I sigh. “Nah. I’m going home. You guys can find a way across the lake when you’re done, right?”
“If we don’t show up for rush tomorrow, you know where to find us.” Then he walks off, calling for Ax to grab him a beer.
I turn back to the woods and head towards the boat. Surely, Cadee will be there. Where else could she go?
But when I get there, she’s not.
Fuck it. I jump in, take a seat, and I’m just about to turn the key and take off without her when I stop and just lean back in my chair to pause for a moment. And think.
I don’t know how long I sit like that, but it’s very dark and the stars are out when I hear a voice behind me say, “Why didn’t you stay at the party?”
Cadee. I don’t turn to look at her. Just keep my eyes trained on the sky. “I’m tired, Cadee.”
She rocks the boat a little when she steps in. And then she slips into the passenger seat to my left. “Me too, Cooper.”
“I get it,” I say, still not looking at her. “I do. I understand that you’ve been dealt a shit hand and you’re pretty far in the hole right now. But my life isn’t fun. It isn’t…”
I stop. It’s stupid to even try to explain. No one gets it. I am Christopher Valcourt. What could possibly be wrong with my life?
Cadee doesn’t say anything. But from the corner of my eye I watch her bring one leg up and prop her head on her knee. She’s got her body angled towards the center of the boat. Like she wants to have a conversation or something. Or maybe she’s just… listening.
I turn my head without picking it up from the back of my seat and stare at her. “You know I didn’t mean any of that shit today.”
“Do I know that?”
I stare at her for a little bit, even smile. Because I like Cadee Hunter. I have always liked Cadee Hunter. I have known this girl my whole life. And that’s not just a throwaway expression. It’s the God’s honest truth. We never ran in the same circles—hell, she never had a circle other than her parents. But all growing up sh
e was always there. On the edge of things. Like a sweet mystery. Or a promise of something better beyond the tall walls of High Court and past the dark forest of trees surrounding us.
But she’s bad luck or something. Terrible things happen when we’re together. We fight. We get angry. We upset the normal fabric of society here at High Court and change the world when we’re together. And change here is never a good idea. People hate it. Because if things change, then we’d all have to admit that we’re not safe.
And doesn’t everyone want to feel safe?
“I didn’t plan that party, Cadee.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you blame me?”
“Because whenever something bad happens to me, you’re always there. You’re always the reason.”
“I could say the same for you. I could put it all on you too. And I don’t.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I don’t say it to your face.”
“Yeah, that’s your problem. You just say it behind my back.”
I sigh and look back up at the stars. “Well, where are you going to sleep tonight?”
She doesn’t say anything for a few moments. Like she’s considering her options. Which is stupid. She doesn’t have any options. “I think I’ll stay at Ax’s boathouse.”
“What?” I actually laugh.
“Yeah. He stays there, I think.”
“What?” This time I don’t laugh. I sit up in my seat and turn to her. “What do you mean?”
“I caught him in there the other night. There was a sleeping bag. And a little lantern and some junk food. That’s where I slept that first night when you were fucking Isabella in the hallway outside my room—”
“I didn’t fuck her. We were just—”
“I have zero feelings about what you do with Isabella.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“I don’t think anything.”
“Well, obviously you do. Because you ran out of your room and didn’t come back.”
“Why do you care?”
“Because regardless of what you think, I don’t hate you.”