CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

COLE

“You know he’s setting her up, right?” Deke asks me as we both sit on the couch in the clubhouse.

It’s Sunday, and we have all gathered back here for Austin to draw her dare. I’ve been in a pissy mood ever since she walked out of here on Friday night.

“Yes.”

“What are we gonna do about it?”

I look over at him. “Be there when he does.”

He nods and goes back to texting on his phone.

The door opens, and she walks in with a look of indifference. She’s as good as I am at giving a blank expression. I fucking hate it.

I sit back and watch Kellan look over her tight skinny jeans and black high heels. She wears a black top to match that is low cut, showing off her tits. She looks like she’s getting ready to go have drinks with her girlfriends at a bar, not draw a dare.

Shane passes out a piece of paper to each of us. I lean over and whisper into Deke’s ear. “Leave it blank.”

He nods and folds it up.

One at a time, we each get up and drop them into the bowl. When we’re all done, she draws.

Her eyes instantly go to mine. I refrain from smiling.

“What does it say?” Kellan demands.

“Nothing,” she replies and tosses it the ground. She draws again.

“You can’t draw more than once,” I say as I stand.

“What the hell?” she demands when she opens the folded piece of paper and looks at Deke. He says nothing.

“You guys can’t do that,” Kellan snaps at us.

“Actually, they can,” Bennett says with a smile. And I wonder if he had the same idea as we did.

She reaches in and draws again. I go to rip it out of her hand, but she opens it up and reads it out loud. “As dark as night, as red as light. Let’s take a match and make it shine bright. Consequence- you must show the world your darkest secret.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” I snap.

“It’s a riddle,” Kellan says with a smile.

“I fucking know that!” I growl. “What the fuck does it mean?”

“I don’t know. It’s not my dare. Shane?” He looks at him.

My eyes narrow on Shane. “What does it mean?” I demand.

“I don’t have to answer that.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “She will find out soon enough.”

_________________________________

Monday afternoon, we all sit at the lunch table. Becky and Austin talk about a test we had today while Deke speaks to me. I completely tune him out.

“So I spoke to Celeste when I got home last night, and she’s throwing me a birthday party.”

Becky frowns. “Is that what you want?”

She shrugs. “Not really but she is kissing my ass. And she feels a birthday party will help it.”

“When is your birthday?” I ask her, wanting her to tell me. But I already know. Turns out that Facebook page I made came in handy.

She ignores me and takes a bite of her cheeseburger.

“When’s your birthday?” Deke asks her.

Of course, she answers him. “March seventeenth.”

His eyes widen. “St. Paddy’s day?” She nods. “Holy shit! What a day to have a birthday. Plus, that’s this Saturday.” She nods. “And it’s the start of spring break.”

“It’s not a big deal.” She brushes it off.

“You’re gonna be eighteen. Of course, it’s a big deal,” Becky says. “I’ll come over and help you decorate.”

“I’ll post it on social media. It’ll be fun,” he says with a smile.

She sighs but takes another bite of her cheeseburger.

The bell rings, and everyone gets up. “Austin? Can I have a minute?” I ask.

She looks over at me. “No.”

I grab her hand when she goes to pull away. “I need to talk to you …”

“Well, I have nothing to say,” she says before turning and walking away from me.

I fist my hand and slam it on the table. I’m not sure how much longer I can take her ignoring me. It’s eating at me. Driving me crazy. I don’t like it. She can’t avoid me forever. I’ll get to her one way or another.

AUSTIN

“Wake up! Wake up!”

I groan at Becky’s annoying, chipper voice. “What are you doing?”

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” she yells, jumping on my bed. Her blond hair going everywhere. “Now it’s time for you to wake up. I made breakfast.”

“You can cook?” I ask, pulling the covers up over my head.

“Of course, silly.” She laughs. “Come on. It’s downstairs.”

“I think the birthday girl is supposed to get breakfast in bed,” I say, yawning.

She just laughs and yanks the covers off me.

I groan as I sit up. I reach over to my nightstand and check my phone. “It’s not even nine yet,” I call out.

“We have a busy day,” she yells from the stairs.

Becky stayed the night with me last night for us to ring in my birthday. We stayed up watching scary movies and talking about boys. Well, I’m still not talking to Cole, so I just listened to her talk about how much she loves Deke. It was exhausting, to say the least.

I make my way downstairs and into the formal dining room. Becky sits at the table with two plates. Both have pancakes on them, but the one in front of my seat is stacked six high with eighteen individual candles on them.

“You couldn’t find a one and an eight?” I ask with a laugh.

“This way is more fun.” She winks at me, then grabs the can of whipped cream that sits in the middle. She shakes it up before leaning over the table and spraying the top of the pancakes. Then she lights them. “Make a wish and get to blowing.”

I laugh, lean over, and blow them out. It takes me two tries, and by the time I get them out, the wax has dripped onto the whipped cream.

I wipe it off and place it on the side of my plate. “What are the plans today?” she asks, digging into hers.

My fork pauses over my stack. “I wanna spend some time with Lilly,” I say.

She stops chewing and looks up at me. “Okay,” she says through a mouthful of pancakes. “Then let’s do it.”

“I haven’t spoken to Cole …”

“So.” She swallows her bite. “Who cares? You have every right to spend time with her.”

I nod. “I hate that I haven’t got to see her.”

She gives me a soft smile. “You can spend the day with her alone if you want. I can go home—”

“No,” I interrupt her. “We can have a girls’ day. We can take her to a movie and then go for ice cream.”

She nods. “Sounds good.”

I pick up my phone and go to Shark and send a text.

Me: Is Lilly free for the afternoon? I would like to spend the day with her. Wanna take her to a movie and to get ice cream.

I set my phone down and take a bite of my pancakes. “Mmm,” I mumble my approval.

I look up when Celeste walks in. “Happy Birthday,” she says with a soft smile. We’re still not talking much either.

“Thanks,” I say with a head nod.

She sits down next to me, and I stuff another bite into my mouth. “I spoke to your dad this morning. He won’t be able to make it for tonight.”

Thank God. I don’t wanna see that bastard.

“For your birthday, we decided to give you a trip.”

I swallow my bite. “Trip?”

She nods. “For you and a friend to go anywhere you want for a week.”

I look at Becky, and she smiles.

“Thanks,” I say although I won’t use it. I want nothing from my father or her. One is a rapist. The other a cheating, lying bitch.

My phone rings, and I look down to see Shark written across my screen. I let out a deep breath. I’ve avoided speaking to him, but since I messaged him wanting to see Lilly, I answer. “Hello?”

“Hey.” Cole’s raspy voice comes over the line. He’s just waking up. And my legs tighten, knowing he’s still in bed.

I hate how much my body still wants him. That’s why I’ve avoided him. I can’t afford to let him back in. To make me look like an idiot once again. “Hey,” I reply.

“Happy Birthday, sweetheart.”

My chest tightens at the softness in his voice. He is a lie. It’s all a lie. “What do you want, Cole?”

He sighs heavily, and I imagine him running his hand through his disheveled morning hair. “I just wanted to call you and tell you happy birthday. Instead of texting.” I remain silent. “And of course, you can spend the day with Lilly.”

I smile at that. “Thanks. I’ll be over to get her in about an hour?” I ask.

“I can bring her to you,” he offers.

“No,” I say, shaking my head at myself. I wanna pick her up so I can leave afterward. If he brings her over here, he may try to stay and visit.

“Okay,” he says slowly. “I will get her ready.”

I hate how much I’ve missed of her life, but I can’t deny that Cole has been there for her. That he stepped up and did what neither my father nor Cole’s would do.

“Thank you,” I say.

“No need to thank me, Austin.”

I say goodbye and hang up before he can say anything else. Placing my phone on the table, I go back to eating my pancakes and ignore the looks I can feel Celeste giving me. I still haven’t told her that I know Lilly is my sister. Not like it would matter. Plus, I’m sure Kellan has already told her. At one point, I thought I could trust Celeste, but now I know I can’t. Nor can I believe anything she says. Becky is my only true friend. I can trust her with anything.

_________________________________

Becky and I did exactly what we had planned to do. We picked Lilly up from Cole’s, and he didn’t mention anything due to her being present. He kissed and hugged her goodbye. She jumped into my arms, and we left. I took her to the newest Disney movie, and I couldn’t even tell you the name of it. I spent the entire time looking over at her. I watched her laugh and smile. I cried, and when she asked what was wrong, I told her I thought the movie was sad. My chest hurt at what my little sister has been through. I still don’t know how their mother died. Does Lilly remember her? She never talks about her.

The time with her went by too quickly, and afterward, we took her back and dropped her off. Once again, Cole didn’t try to speak to me.

As soon as we got back home, we started decorating the house. I had finally accepted Deke’s friend request weeks ago, and I saw his invite to my party. More people than I could count said they were coming. Deke loaded Becky’s car with alcohol the day before, so we set up everything in the kitchen and then went upstairs to start getting ready.

Just as I was putting on my heels, my mother called me. I stared at it for a few rings and then sent her to voicemail. She immediately sent me a text.

Mom: Have your father call me.

That was all it said.