CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

COLE

It’s been two weeks since she walked out of the clubhouse for the last time. I see her in the halls and in class, but she doesn’t look my way. And I try not to look at her. It’s harder than I thought it would be. She doesn’t sit with me at lunch anymore, and I know she has completely shut me out. And I hate that things will never be the same with her.

I’ve lost her.

I knew it the moment I saw her talking to that guy from her birthday party. I can’t remember his name, but I recognized him by her locker. He had been playing beer pong with her that night I walked into Bruce’s game room. He had looked at her like he was dreaming of her naked. That look hasn’t changed.

“I don’t know how you do it, man,” Deke says as he sits down at the table in the cafeteria across from me.

“Do what?” I ask, not bothering to look at him. Instead, I scan the door waiting for her to enter.

“Not talk to her.”

I say nothing.

“I mean, I would go crazy if I knew Becky was dating someone else.”

“What?” My head snaps to his.

“Myers,” he says, looking down at his phone. “They’re dating.”

“No, they’re not.”

He looks up at me. “Yes, they are. He took her to a movie last night. And they’re going to some play this weekend.”

“How the fuck do you know that?”

“Becky told me.”

I fist my hands on the table. “I’ll break his neck …”

“You can’t do that. You broke up with her.”

“Because you guys convinced me that was my only option,” I growl.

He nods. “And I still stand by that.”

“Maybe I should call the whole thing off—”

“No!” he interrupts me. “Kellan sees you two are no longer together. We need him for the final dare. And if he thinks you two are together, he won’t do it.”

At this point, I don’t care what happens to Bruce. “We don’t need him.”

“We don’t, but he knows the plan. We can’t have him turning on us.”

I look up to see Austin walking into the cafeteria with that fucking idiot by her side. He laughs, and she smiles. I wanna knock him the fuck out.

“You said Becky was worth the group,” I say to him. He nods once. “You said you would pick her over us.”

“Yes. And I still would, but she is not in danger.”

“I can protect Austin.” I slam my fist down on the table.

He sighs. “You’ve only got two weeks left, Cole. And then she’s all yours.”

I want to believe what he says, but what if he’s wrong? What if she never comes back to me? What if she realizes that I wasn’t enough for her? She was always out of my league. I’m just the guy with anger issues and an obsession for blood. She is more than that. She deserves more than that. What will she do when she realizes that?

AUSTIN

Graduation is four days away, and I hate that it’s so close. For as long as I can remember, all I thought about was freedom. Now, I dread it.

I’ve got no mother. I never did hear from her after she and Phillip left my father’s that night. But I never expected to. Cole is good at one thing. And that’s making things disappear.

I’ve got no Cole. I catch sight of him at school in the halls and classroom, and he looks angrier than ever. Mad at the world. Mad at me. Like I did something wrong.

I still have Becky, so that is a plus. But I don’t see her very much. She spends all her time with Deke, and he is always with Cole, which leaves me alone.

Celeste is always crying. I found her last night in the kitchen sobbing over a bowl of ice cream. I ignored her because I don’t care what is wrong with her. My father hasn’t said anything else to me since he gave me the check almost a month ago. But I think he got the hint that I wasn’t going to take his money when he found it ripped to pieces on the kitchen island.

I don’t want anything from anyone. I just want out of this town. Out of this nightmare and out of everyone’s life.

A fresh start. A new beginning.

I wanna go where no one knows me. Where I can be someone different.

I pull up to my father’s house and put my car in park. It’s late. The clock on my dash reads a little after ten. I went to another movie with Myers tonight. He wanted to come over afterward, but I shut that down. I’m not ready to jump in bed with anyone just yet. I hate to burst his bubble, but I’m not looking for what he is interested in. I’m using him to get to Cole. I hope all that anger I see means it’s working.

The worst part is that once again, I haven’t got to see Lilly. We talk on the phone, but that’s it. And the conversations don’t last long. I think another thing that sucks is that I know Cole is gonna be a part of my life forever. Because I’m not gonna push Lilly out of my life. I’m gonna talk to her. See her. Watch her grow up.

I get out of my car and make my way up the stairs to the front door. The wind blows my hair around, making it stick to my lip-gloss. Opening the door, I come to a stop when I hear Celeste crying down the hall. I sigh. What the hell is wrong with her?

“Please?” she begs. “Don’t do this.”

I head for the stairs but stop when I hear a male’s voice.

“It’s over,” Kellan growls. “It’s been over. But you refuse to believe it.” Just then, Kellan walks into the foyer. He comes to a stop noticing me.

Celeste follows behind him. “You can’t do this …” Her voice trails off when she sees me. “Austin,” she says in surprise, reaching up to wipe her wet cheeks. “I didn’t expect you to be home so soon.”

I look at her. “I’m going to bed.”

“Have you told her?” he demands.

She shakes her head quickly.

“Tell me what?” I ask. He narrows his eyes on me, and I roll mine. “I’m tired, and it’s too late to play games with you, Kellan. What has she not told me?” Is she divorcing my father? Is that why he has been gone so much? Maybe he’s got some ass on the side as well? I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s ten years younger than Celeste.

“All her secrets,” he says simply.

“Kellan, don’t—”

“I don’t have time for this,” I say, running a hand through my hair, interrupting her. I’m exhausted.

I take the first step on the stairs when he speaks. “Why do you think you’re here?”

I pause. My eyes meet his. “Excuse me?”

He smiles, proud of himself. All of a sudden, I’m interested. “It’s ’cause I wanted you here.”

“What?” I ask confused.

“I was with Celeste when your mother called her and said that you were too much for her. That it would make Celeste look like a saint in this city to take in Bruce’s troubled teen. But she didn’t want you. She wanted Lilly.”

I look at her, and her eyes are narrowed on him. “What?” I ask because that’s all I can say.

“So you still haven’t figured it out yet.” He smirks. “What she did. What she is capable of?”

“Don’t,” she growls at him.

His smirk just grows. “She can keep a secret, babe,” he tells her.

My brows rise. What could she have possibly done? It can’t be worse than what the guys have done.

“Celeste here”—he looks at her over his shoulder—“killed Betty, Cole and Lilly’s mother.”

My heart starts to pound at his words.

“It was an accident,” she says defensively.

“Don’t lie,” he growls.

“You what?” I ask wide-eyed. “Why would you …”

“At first, everyone suspected Liam or Bruce, but no one could figure out why they would kill her at nine months along. If they were going to do it, they would have done it the moment they found out she was pregnant. But when Celeste found out she was pregnant, she was pissed. She wanted a baby. She wanted to have Bruce’s child.” He looks me up and down with disgust. “But Bruce didn’t want kids. So Celeste went over to her house and confronted her. Said that she wanted joint custody of Lilly, and when Betty said no, she pushed her down the stairs.”

All this time, Cole thought it was an accident.

“I told you all of this in confidence,” she barks at him.

He ignores her, staring right at me. “Then she called 911 and said she heard her fall down the stairs. As if she cared about her pathetic life.” He shakes his head.

“No!” I say slowly. “Cole said she fell and died in surgery due to complications.”

He laughs. “Cole only knows what Celeste told him.”

She had gone to his school and pulled him out of class. Told Cole that his father had called her and said his mother passed …

She grabs his sleeve and starts to yank on it. He doesn’t budge, and his brown eyes don’t leave mine. “She waited thirty minutes before she called for help. Lilly was delivered in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Betty was dead by the time they arrived at the hospital.”

I look at her with wide eyes, hoping for her to give me some sign that he is lying. That he’s being the Kellan I know and trying to mind fuck me. But she starts pounding her fists into his arm. “You son of a bitch!” she shouts at him.

He reaches out and grabs her arm. “And now you’re gonna see history repeat itself.” He pulls her across the grand foyer, and I stay planted where I’m at, trying to wrap my head around all of this. He starts dragging her up the stairs, and when she cries out, it pulls me out of my trance.

I run up after them and grab her free arm. Kellan spins around at the top of the stairs and pulls a gun out of the back of his jeans and points it at me. My stomach drops as I stare into the barrel. I throw my hands up in the air, my breathing picking up.

“Back up!” he orders.

I take one step at a time, slowly descending the stairs backward and swallow. What the hell is he doing? I feel my phone in my back pocket and go to grab it, planning to call 911.

“Keep them up!” he snaps, and I flinch at his tone.

“Okay, okay, okay,” I say, and my voice shakes.

“See …” He goes on. “Celeste is pregnant.” She starts to sob. “With my child.” He rolls his eyes. “After getting Betty pregnant, Bruce had that situation fixed so it would never happen again. That rules him out. And I’m the only other guy you’ve fucked, right, baby?” he asks, pressing the gun to her temple.

She sobs but nods her head.

He goes on, satisfied with her answer. “And just like Bruce and Liam, I don’t want a child. But unlike them, I plan on doing something about it.”

“Please, Kellan,” she begs. “I love you.” She sobs.

He smiles. “You were nothing to me.” Then he shoves her forward. And she falls down the long staircase like a ragdoll. I run over to her as she hits the marble floor and slide on my knees to her side. Her head is tilted to the side and blood pours from her nose and mouth. I feel for a pulse, but there’s nothing.

“You killed her.” I begin chest compressions. I’ve never done it before, but I’ve seen enough medical shows to have an idea.

He comes down the stairs slowly, looking at me strangely.

“You killed her,” I cry out, stopping to pull my cell out to call the police.

“You are trying to save her? She killed the love of your life’s mother. Who just happened to be your half-sister’s mother as well.”

“She’s pregnant,” I say frantically. My hands shake uncontrollably. “The baby didn’t do anything to you.”

“Oh, but it will. That’s why it’s got to go.” He grabs my hair and yanks me back from her. My cell falls to the floor. I twist and turn in his grip as he drags me across the marble floor in the grand foyer.

He yanks me to my feet, and I’m gasping for a breath when he slams my back into the wall. He wraps his hands around my throat and leans in. “You’ve been playing a game all along, Austin, but it’s been my game. My rules. And now it’s over.” He shoves me away, and I slide on my knees, hitting the floor once again. When I turn around, he has a knife in his hand. He twirls it around. “Cole has always been fascinated with blood. And I gotta say, I didn’t understand it until I watched him smear it with his hands all over your skin.”

What? Smear it over my skin? The night in the cemetery. “How did you …?” I trail off at his laugh.

“Celeste called me when you arrived. I had Shane and Bennett take me back to my car. By the time I got back up there, Cole and Deke were already playing with you. I stood back and watched you all night. I knew you were perfect for me the moment I saw you light Jeff on fire.”

Someone had been watching me after all.

He takes a step toward me, and I crawl back until I hit the side of the staircase. Celeste’s body lying only feet from me. Her eyes still open as more blood covers the floor. “Then when you stole the car with Cole, I tipped the cops off. I have them all in my pocket, after all. My uncle is the chief. I wanted you to get caught.”

“Why?” I demand.

“Because if you were locked up, he couldn’t have you.”

“But you hated me … you tried to kick me out of the group …”

“All part of my plan. Every time I pushed you away, Cole pulled you closer.” He smiles. “And Celeste played along so well. See, I told her the final dare. Killing Bruce. She wanted the guys and me to kill him, and then she wanted me to kill you and Cole and run off into the sunset with her and Lilly.” He snorts. “All the lies she told Cole.” He chuckles. “You. It was so fucking perfect.”

“You sick bastard,” I spit out.

He chuckles. “He and I are the same, Austin. We both used you however we wanted.”

I shake my head. “Cole would never hurt me. Not now.” Lie. He’s hurting me right now. He left me. All because he thought my father was a threat. But he wasn’t. Kellan was the one all along.

“You’re right,” he agrees with a sigh. “He wouldn’t harm a hair on your head. But I’m gonna paint these walls with your blood.” He gives me a sinister smile. “After all, his favorite color is red.” He lunges for me, and I crawl away before jumping to my feet. But he’s faster. “Little bitch!” he snaps, reaching out and grabbing my ankle, causing me to trip. I cry out when my face hits the marble floor. Pain explodes behind my eyes. I’m flipped over onto my back, and he straddles me. He drops his knife, and it hits the floor with a clank and then his hands go around my neck. He cuts off my air.

“I wanted Bruce to take care of you,” he growls. “Just like I wanted him to kill Cole when I drove his car to fuck his wife.” He laughs at that. “But I’ll just have to do it myself. In case you just recorded me killing Celeste.”

I try to push him off, tear his hands free, but he’s too strong. I try arching my neck to get in a breath, but it gives him better access to tighten his grip.

“My only regret is that I won’t get to fuck you.” He sighs as I try to buck him off. “Because I listened to the recording of Cole fucking you inside that bathroom, Austin.” I try to claw at his face, but his reach is longer. Making my hands only touch air. “I got off on it so many times, imagining it was you and me.”

Dots form in my vision as my body grows heavy. My arms fall to my side, and something cold touches my fingers.

It’s the knife.

I wrap my hand around the rough handle and shove it into his side. He immediately releases my throat as he screams out.

I suck in a ragged breath, my throat burning. He falls back onto his ass as he looks at the knife sticking out of his side in horror. I begin to cough.

“FUCK!” he screams, throwing his head back.

I get up to my feet and run to the kitchen where there is a landline. I pick it up with bloody, shaking hands and dial Cole’s number.

He answers on the first ring. “Hello?”

“Cole!” I choke out his name. My voice now rough and entire body is shaking uncontrollably.

“Austin! What’s wrong?” he demands. I hear Deke’s voice in the background.

I burst into tears and begin to tell him Kellan is here. Any other girl would call the cops. But since I know Kellan has them in his pocket, they’re out.

“Slow down, sweetheart. I can’t understand a thing you’re saying.”

“He’s here!” I scream out. “Kellan’s at my father’s house. He killed Celeste!”

“I’m on my way …” The line goes dead.

I turn to see Kellan leaning up against the countertop, the cord from the wall in his hand. The knife still in his side.

I should have yanked it out.

Made him bleed out faster. Even now, his face is pale, and he’s hunched over. Blood covers his clothes and there’s a puddle where he stands.

He gives me a bloody smile. “He’s not gonna make it.” Lifting the gun, he fires.