CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

COLE

I stand outside her door as I hear her muffled scream. She’s breaking. Every day, I’m dragging her closer to the edge of no return. But in order to get her to fall, I’m gonna have to drag her. I won’t be able to save myself, and we’re both gonna hit fucking bottom.

Minutes later, I walk into my father’s house and go straight up to Lilly’s room. Her pink kitty lamp is on next to her bed, and she is sound asleep. I turn it off, and the only light comes from her nightlight.

Leaning down, I kiss her forehead and then walk out, leaving her door cracked open. I head to my bedroom, strip out of my clothes, and slide on my board shorts, then make my way down to the pool.

I dive in and the cold night air burns my skin when I come up for a breath.

Kellan is becoming a bigger problem every day that goes by. And I don’t know what to do about it or what he has planned. He knows about our final dare. The one we have planned for graduation night. I wonder how much he has told Celeste about what we do. People in this town know we destroy shit. We’ve been daring each other to do stupid shit since we were little kids. But when I was sixteen, Eli dared me to steal my father’s car and run it into the creek. I did it three hours later. I hated that car, and he fucking loved it. It was his baby. His beloved. Nothing mattered other than that car.

He never found out it was me. He was in a pissy mood for months, and I loved it.

The dares just snowballed from there. We got a system down, and it worked for us. Eight boys whose parents had money and could get away with anything. We did it all. Well, not murder. We just progressed to that recently.

I go back underwater and do a lap. Then another. I’m tired and exhausted when I finally get out. The time on my phone reads 1:05 a.m. I dry off, and thoughts of Austin enter my mind.

I need more from her.

I smile when I think of why I’m doing this to her. Because I can. It’s that fucking simple. It’s like she forgets she has no one. Except me.

_________________________________

The following morning, I pull up to her house, and she’s already sitting on the front steps. Her backpack at her feet and phone in her hands. She stands when she sees my car and walks toward it. I find it odd but don’t question it.

She wears a pair of holey jeans with her black Chucks and a simple black t-shirt. Her hair is down and in big curls. A pair of black sunglasses cover her green eyes, and red lipstick highlights her lips. She looks fucking delicious.

She gets in, not saying a word, and sits back in the seat. I take off, trying to ignore the erection in my pants. I can’t think straight whenever she is around me. All I wanna do is bury myself in her.

After dropping Lilly off, we pull up to the school, and she still hasn’t spoken a word. Not unusual for us, but it has me on alert. We walk inside and go to our lockers. She takes her time, and I watch her. She hasn’t removed her sunglasses, nor has she smiled.

She’s still pissed. And I find it sexy as fuck!

The bell rings, and I grab her hand, expecting her to pull away, but she doesn’t. I walk her to class, and as we step inside her room, she turns to face me. And before I can do anything, she lifts on her tiptoes and kisses me. Which is unusual. I always initiate it.

She moans into my mouth, and I wrap my hands in her hair. She kisses me like she’s desperate for me. Her body presses into mine, and I deepen the kiss. As if we are alone in my room and I’m about to rip her fucking clothes off.

Finally, she pulls away first, and I push her glasses up to her head. The smile she gives me is nothing short of wicked. I narrow my eyes on her.

She’s up to something. The only other time she looked at me like that was when she sent me the video of Jeff’s body burning.

She’s like me, after all—has no limits.

“I’ll see you next period,” I say, and she turns, giving me her back. Not saying a word.

AUSTIN

I sit in first period in the back next to Becky. She is on her phone texting—Deke, I’m sure. For two people who are only having sex, they seem to be obsessed with one another. It’s annoying. She was supposed to be my friend, but I only get her when he is at practice with the guys.

I have so many questions I want to ask her, but they are gonna have to wait. I decided last night after Cole left that I wasn’t gonna let him get to me. Not anymore. I was gonna show all of them that I can do this. You don’t see them crying or begging one another to stop doing something they don’t like, so I’m not going to either.

I grab my bag, get up, and walk to the teacher’s desk. “May I use the restroom?”

She raises her hand and waves me off without looking at me. I walk out of class and down the silent hallway. I pass Cole and Deke’s calculus classroom and head straight to Cole’s locker. I’ve watched him do his combination enough to know it by heart now.

Once it pops open, I reach up to the top shelf and grab his car keys and then slam it shut. I finish running down the hall and take a right, heading up the stairs to the second floor. I turn to the red box on the wall with a red handle. I then look up at the camera and pull it down.

Go big or go home!

The alarm sounds, and the lights start to flash. Doors bursts open, and students run out into the hallway. I stand on my tiptoes, looking for Shane. I see him exit the last classroom on the right. I make my way down the hall and to him. “Let’s go,” I yell over the sounding alarms.

“What are you doing, Austin?” he asks confused.

“We don’t have time. Let’s go.” I grab his hand and drag him down the hall.

We make it down the stairs, and I see Cole out of the corner of my eye, but I don’t stop. We barge out the double doors. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see soon enough.” I tell him the same thing Cole has told me so many times. I press the unlock button on Cole’s car, and it lights up.

“Whoa.” Shane comes to a stop. “Why do you have Cole’s car keys?” he demands.

“Because I’m gonna drive us.”

He shakes his head. “Yes. This is your dare,” I state, and he grinds his teeth, knowing he has to do it.

“Cole is gonna be pissed.”

I smile. Fuckin’ right, he will be. All part of my plan. “When is Cole not pissed?”

“We can’t leave, Austin,” he states.

“I didn’t pull that fire alarm for nothing,” I growl.

“You did that?” he asks wide-eyed. “Shit. You’re gonna be in so much trouble.”

I grab his arm and yank on it, finally getting him to move again. We get into the car, and I hold out my right hand. “Phone,” I demand.

He digs it out of his pocket without question. I turn his off along with mine and shove them into the center console.

Then we’re off.

_________________________________

I pull up to the same parking spot Cole brought me to three weeks ago and turn off his car.

“Why are we here, Austin?” Shane asks.

I let out a long breath, nervousness setting in. “Cole told me all about Jeff’s brother,” I say, and he stays quiet. “About how he beat his wife who was Eli’s sister.” I look over at him. “One of his best friends.”

He looks away from me, his lips thinned. I look down at my hands knotted in my lap, letting out a long breath. I’m about to tell this guy too much about myself, but I want him to trust me, right? To have one more person on my side. “I know what it’s like to have a man put his hands on you and not be able to stop it. To have no control.” My chest tightens. “I don’t believe in what you guys do or how you do it, but I do believe he deserves to suffer for hurting someone he was supposed to protect. Love.” I clear my throat. “And I want to help.”

I look over at him to find him staring at me with a blank expression. I bite my lip, nervously waiting for him to say no. That I’m screwing up plans they already have. Instead, he nods. “I’m guessing you have a plan?”

“I do.” I smile at him.