CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

COLE

Why would he give her a check that isn’t good? Why give her a check at all? He’s fucking with her, but why? She’s lived here for four months now, and he’s ignored her ninety percent of the time. What’s changed?

I know the answer to that question—me. Just like Bennett said, the whole city knows how I feel about her. And the whole city knows that Bruce hates me.

I take the check back from her and fold it up before placing it in my pocket of my tux.

“Let’s go.” I take her hand.

“What does that mean?” she asks, worry in her voice. “Why would he give me a check that wouldn’t clear?”

“I don’t know,” I answer.

“Because he’s a fucking bastard,” Deke growls.

We start down the stairs. “Cole …”

I stop and turn to face her. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. I’m gonna find out.”

She nods, but I see the hesitation in her green eyes. She doesn’t believe me, but what Austin Lowes doesn’t know is that I’m not going to give up.

Austin was quiet during dinner. The girls chose a seafood restaurant that recently opened. I thought it would help cheer her up, but it didn’t. I can see her mind working by the way she stares off into space. And I hate not knowing what the hell Bruce is up to.

By the time we get to the school, she’s a little better. Her smiles seem to be real, and she is actually making eye contact with me.

“Wow,” Becky says as we walk into the gymnasium. “They went all out.” She tilts her head back and looks up at the decorations.

“Yeah. Pretty,” Austin agrees.

They usher us into a line, and one by one, each couple goes and stands in front of a backdrop to have their picture taken.

Once done, I look up to see Bennett and Shane walking over toward us. Both solo. “Where are your dates?” I ask.

“In the bathroom,” Shane answers.

Deke and Becky join us just finishing up with their pic. “Can we speak to you guys for a second?” Bennett asks.

My jaw tightens. I know why he wants me alone. He wants to talk about the check Bruce gave to Austin. I’m not in the mood. “No,” I say.

I grab Austin’s hand in mine and take a step away from them, but it’s Deke’s hand that lands on my chest. “It’ll just be for a second.”

My eyes narrow on his. He planned this. He was texting away on his phone while in the limo to the restaurant, and Becky asked him several times who he was talking to, but he never answered her. Now, I know why. “Deke—”

“Go ahead, babe,” Austin interrupts me. “Becky and I will wait right here.” She pulls away from me and turns, talking to Becky.

The guys all walk back toward the door we all just came through, and I follow them with fisted hands.

“What?” I demand as we enter the silent hallway. “This better not be about Austin and me.”

“It is.” Bennett starts. “You need to step back.”

“I’ve already told you no.”

“Cole,” Deke starts, “trust me, out the four of us, I know the most how hard it would be to step away from someone you love, but this is the only thing left to do at this point.”

“It’s not!” I snap.

“It is,” he argues. “Bruce is playing a game with her that we don’t know. Kellan has gone off the deep end. He’s drinking all the time, missing school, and he no longer gives a fuck about swimming. He never comes to practice. If he doesn’t wake the fuck up, he’s gonna end up losing his scholarship.”

“I don’t give a fuck what he loses.”

“He has to be working with Bruce.” Shane finally speaks. “No one else would tell Bruce that you guys plan on going to University of Texas together.”

“How do you fucking know what we’re gonna do?” I demand, turning to him. “We only told Deke and Becky.” I spin back around to face Deke. “You been telling everyone?” I shout.

“Cole!” Bennett raises his voice, and I look at him. “I put two and two together when you called me about the check her father wrote her.”

“Well …”

“Everyone knows where you got your scholarship from. I’m sure everyone just assumes she would be going with you.”

“I didn’t think of that,” I admit with a grunt.

“That’s because you’re too close. Take a step back,” Bennett goes on.

“And what if he hurts her?” I shake my head. “I can’t take that chance.”

“Bruce is about to leave for New York for a few weeks. He can’t do anything to her while he’s gone. But Kellan … we think that’s when he’ll make his move.”

“Cole …” Shane swallows nervously.

“What?” I snap.

“That dare that she drew … It wasn’t mine.” I open my mouth to ask what the fuck he’s talking about, but he continues. “Kellan had me write that dare down. That’s how he knew it belonged to me when you asked him what it meant.”

I step into him, but Deke yanks me back. “You fucking …”

“I wasn’t gonna let him hurt her,” he says quickly.

I shrug Deke off me and run a hand through my hair. The dare doesn’t matter. She isn’t doing it. She’s out of the group. “So what do you expect him to do?” I ask at a loss.

Deke shrugs. “It’s hard to tell. At this point, I think he still wants to hurt you, and he will go through Austin to accomplish that. We all know he’s not gonna harm Celeste. But …”

“But what?” I demand.

He looks at me. “But if you step back, he might not touch Austin at all.”

“That’s a big gamble,” I snap.

“I agree, but what other choice do we have?” Deke places his hand on my shoulder. “You need to decide right now, Cole. What’s more important? Spending the next month with her or the rest of your life. Because we all have the same feeling that you won’t get both.”

AUSTIN

“Well, that didn’t last long,” Becky says as she stares over at Bryan and his prom date. It’s not Kaitlin.

“I told him he only had to date her for a couple of weeks. I figured by then the dare would have blown over.”

She shakes her head with a laugh. “Those two weeks were a fake relationship, and she still managed to cheat on the guy. No wonder he dumped her before.”

Yep. I blackmailed him to go back out with her, and she still managed to fuck him over. I think they’re made for one another.

“Hey, babe,” Becky says as the guys come back to join us.

I give Cole a smile, but he doesn’t return it.

“You okay?” I ask, rubbing his upper arm.

He doesn’t respond.

“Who wants to have a little fun?” Deke asks, pulling a silver flask out of his pocket.

Becky laughs. “What is in there?”

“Fireball.” He winks at me. “I know how much you two like this shit.” He nods over at the table. “Go get a glass of punch.”

I pull away from Cole and walk over to the table with the white tablecloth over it. “What’s going on with Cole?” Becky asks, filling a cup three-quarters full of punch.

“Who knows?” I sigh. I didn’t think he was all that upset about what my father did, but maybe I was wrong.

I fill myself a cup, and we make our way back over to them. Deke takes a quick look around to see if any teachers are around before he unscrews the lid and pours some into my cup. Prom started over an hour ago, but we were in no hurry to be the first ones here. We don’t plan on staying long anyway. We all decided last night just to make an appearance and then bail. The best thing about prom are the after parties anyway. If we wanted to dance, we could all use our fake IDs and hit the clubs in surrounding towns.

I twirl my cup around to mix up the drink and take a sip. I hiss in a breath at the taste. Fruit punch and cinnamon isn’t the best combination, but it’s all we got at the moment. “Want a drink?” I offer Cole. Not like he is driving tonight. The guys got us a limo.

He doesn’t even look at me, just shakes his head.

I turn to fully face him. “Are you mad at me?”

He looks down at me. “No.” His reply comes out flat.

“I haven’t said anything,” I say just in case he thinks I have.

He sighs heavily. “I didn’t say that you did.”

“Then why are you giving me the cold shoulder?” I take another drink.

His eyes narrow on me. “I’m not.”

“You are,” I argue, taking another drink.

He reaches out and takes the cup from my hand. I protest as he hands it off to Bennett. He looks at it for a long second before he takes a drink of it. The look he makes afterward lets me know he won’t be drinking any more of it.

“Here with You” by Sick Puppies starts to play, and Cole grabs my now free hand and starts dragging me toward the dance floor.

“Cole?” I whisper harshly, trying to dig my heels into the gym floor. They just slide. “Cole.” He comes to a stop and spins me around to face him. “No one else is dancing, babe.” I look around nervously as everyone starts to stare at us. The gym is packed full of students, but most of them huddle against the walls or are in line for their picture to be taken.

“I don’t give a fuck what they are doing,” he says flatly. Then he cups my cheek. “I wanna dance with you.”

A soft smile spreads across my face. “I’m surprised you know how to dance,” I say truthfully.

His wraps his right arm around my side, pulling me closer to him with his hand on my back. His left hand takes my right. “My mother taught me,” he says, making the smile fall off my face.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“Don’t be.” He lowers his head to nuzzle my neck. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever danced with besides her.”

I smile as I pull my hand away from his and wrap them both around his neck. Other couples join us on the dance floor, and I catch sight of Deke and Becky coming to dance next to us. She laughs at something he says before he pulls her into him.

Cole pulls his face away from my neck and looks down at me. I give him a soft smile. He brings us to a stop and cups my cheek. My smile slowly drops off my face and turns into a frown. “Tell me what’s wrong.” I look over at Deke quickly, but he has his tongue down Becky’s throat. “What did the guys want to talk about?”

“Nothing important.”

“Cole …”

“Don’t, Austin.” He slides his hand into my hair. I wore it down for this reason—so he can run his fingers through it. He tips my head back. “Let’s just enjoy this night. Okay?”

My eyes search his, and I don’t like what I see, but I say, “Okay.”

He lowers his face to mine and kisses me.

_________________________________

I wake up with a pounding headache and sore body. I moan, rolling over and digging my head into the pillow.

“You okay?” I hear Cole ask, and then I feel his hand on my bare back.

“I drank too much last night,” I mumble.

He laughs, then I feel him get out of bed.

After prom, we ended up hitting two different parties before we came to the clubhouse. Cole didn’t have a sip, but Deke got as drunk as Becky and I did.

“Here.”

I roll over and look up to see him standing by the bed, dressed in a pair of his black boxers. And that’s it. A cup of water in one hand and two Advil in the other. Sitting up, I take them both from his hands.

I watch him turn his back to me, running his hand through his hair. He’s been on edge ever since his talk with the guys last night when we arrived at the prom. Even the parties didn’t cheer him up like I thought they would. He stayed by my side the entire time and quiet. He even ignored Deke’s drunk ass when he got loud.

Swallowing the pills, I lower the glass to my lap. “What’s wrong, Cole?”

“Nothing,” he answers. His back still toward me, he walks to the bathroom.

“You’re just as bad of a liar as I am.” I know him now. “Please?” I beg. “Just tell me. Whatever it is. I want to know.”

He comes to a stop and sighs heavily. “The guys want me to pull back.”

“Pull back from what?” I ask confused.

He turns back to face me. “You.”

I narrow my eyes. “They want you to dump me?” I clarify.

He runs a hand through his hair. “They think that’s the only way that you will be safe.”

“From who?” I demand.

“Kellan. Your dad.”

“I’m not afraid of them.” I snort.

He comes over to the bed and sits down beside me. He runs his hand through my hair. Well, the best he can. It’s tangled from his hands being in it last night. “I’m not afraid of them either, but I want to keep you safe.”

“And you think breaking up with me is the only way?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I think they have a point.”

“What about my point?” I snap.

“Austin … don’t.”

“No. You don’t, Cole.” He opens his mouth, but I continue. “When am I gonna get a say? When am I gonna get to decide what happens in my life?”

“When it makes sense,” he growls, his eyes narrowing on me.

I snort. “You cutting my arm didn’t make sense. You stealing a car didn’t make sense.”

He stands. “I stole that car for insurance. It made perfect fucking sense.”

“Insurance on what?” I demand, picking up the water and standing. The room sways, but I manage not to fall over like a hungover idiot.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” He brushes it off.

“It does!” I shout, getting pissy. “Everything fucking matters now. There are so many lies and secrets that I can’t seem to keep up with them. Deke was the only one on our side, and all of a sudden, he wants you to walk away from me?” I shake my head. “He has to have a reason. And you’re gonna tell me why. I’ve put up with enough shit to know what I’m up against.”

His eyes narrow on mine, and I arch a brow, not backing down. He looks away from me, and I know I’ve won when his jaw sharpens. “That car belongs to Bruce.”

“What?” I gasp. “Why would you steal my father’s car?” I demand.

His eyes come back to mine. “He keeps it at a warehouse that my father owns. I stole it to guarantee he wouldn’t send you back.”

“You’re not making any sense, Cole,” I growl.

He takes a step toward me. “That night at dinner while you and Celeste were washing dishes, he had told me that he was shipping you back to your mother’s with twenty thousand dollars. I asked him to give you to me. That if he gave you to me, I would keep you out of trouble.”

“I’m not some fucking toy,” I snap.

“You were at the time,” he growls back.

I fist my hands.

“He told me no. That’s when I informed him I had something he wanted. I pulled out the key to his car and told him he could have it back after graduation if he let you stay here.” He smiles at me. “And he accepted it.”

“That’s why he wouldn’t send me back after I got suspended,” I whisper. He nods. “You dick.”

“You don’t understand …”

“No. I guess I don’t!” I snap, walking over to the railing that looks over and down to the first floor. I grab my black bag and unzip it.

“It’s not like you didn’t know my intentions,” he says from behind me. “I never once pretended to care about you.”

I flinch at his words and yank my shirt out of my bag. “That was obvious when you cut my arm.”

“Austin …”

“Or when you had your best friend video tape me crawling all over you.” I pull the shirt up over my head not even bothering with a bra. “Let’s not forget the recording of you fucking me in the bathroom.”

“Things have changed.”

I spin around to face him. “What the hell has changed, Cole?” I demand. “Because it sounds to me like it’s still the same.” His eyes are narrowed on me. “We’re still playing a game. Just a different level. And you’re gonna do whatever your friends suggest.”

“I don’t take orders from them,” he growls.

I laugh as I grab my shorts out of my bag. Pulling them up my legs, I say, “They tell you to walk away from me, and you actually want to do it. Sounds like they’re giving you orders.”

“It makes sense,” he argues. “They made a point. Your dad is onto us.”

“I don’t care!” I shout, throwing my hands out to my side. “What is he gonna do? Give me a fake check? So what? It didn’t matter if it was real, I still wasn’t gonna take it. I don’t need it.” Between the three accounts that Jerrold and Jeff had, we’ve each made enough to live comfortably. Well, I have. I don’t take much to survive. “You’ve been feeding me these lines of bullshit of how you want me to go to Texas with you, and all of a sudden, you want to get rid of me.”

“I still want you to go to Texas with me.” He runs his hand through his hair nervously. “We’ve got one final dare to do. I don’t want you anywhere near me when we do it. It’s too risky.”

I push my right hip out and cross my arms over my chest. “You drew without me present? Because the last memory I have was of you all breaking up the group.”

He shakes his head softly. “We didn’t draw for this one. It was decided long before you ever came along.”

I don’t like the sound of that. “And what is it?’

“I can’t tell you …”

“Cole!” I snap.

He stares at me. His eyes clouded and jaw tight.

“What is it?” I demand, taking a step toward him.

He lets out along breath. “To kill your dad.”

I just stare up at him.

“He deserves to die for what he did to my mother. For taking advantage of her. For trying to kill me and successfully killing three of my best friends. But he also deserves to die because of what he did to you.” I swallow. “For making you stay with your mother.” He shakes his head. “You deserved better than that, Austin. Better than me. And I can’t have you anywhere near me when I complete it. I don’t want you getting involved. Or getting hurt. That would defeat the purpose.” His eyes search mine. Still I say nothing. “This is just temporary. Give them a different kind of show.”

I take a deep breath, turn around, grab my bag, and walk down the stairs. This time, he doesn’t follow me, and I have a feeling he doesn’t plan on it either.

It’s officially over.

The game ending.

I hate that tears sting my eyes. That Cole Reynolds made me feel something for him that I never thought I’d feel. He took from me, but I also willingly gave him things I can never get back. One of those is my heart. He just shattered it.

And it has nothing to do with the dare he plans on doing to my father. He was right—that bastard deserves to die for what he’s done.