I’ve been in detention one other time, which reveals just how much us Portersons get away with around here. Even Alex has barely clocked in any afterschool hours. Maybe that’s why I’m restless as a crack addict as I sit at the desk in Mr. G.’s classroom, the teacher in charge of detention. Five other students are with me, three of which are currently staring at me like I’m the devil, and the other two have hearts in their fucking eyes. It’s always the case—either people fear me or like me too much. Why can’t it ever be in the middle? Why can’t someone just look at me like I’m some normal guy who doesn’t scare the shit out of them and that they don’t want to fuck?

My thoughts travel to Hadley. She’s definitely not afraid of me. Well, at least when I’m not trying to kiss her. And she definitely doesn’t want to fuck me—me trying to kiss her proved that. I can take a hint. She’s not interested in me that way. Or, she doesn’t want to be. I should be relieved by that. Like I’ve mentioned before, I don’t have time to do relationships, and I’m not a hooking up sort of guy—I did that one time and it was a disaster.

So, why am I not relieved?

Why can’t I get Hadley out of my head?”

Why can I stop thinking about her full lips and her big eyes and her hair that is so soft … I bet her skin is equally as soft, if not more so.

“Blaise.” The sound of Mr. G’s voice yanks me from my lusting thoughts of Hadley. Probably a good thing since I’m one step away from getting a little too turned on.

I blink toward the front of the classroom and find Jaxon standing beside Mr. G.

Worry waves through me, violent and potent. Not only is he supposed to be in therapy, but he looks upset.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, struggling not to go into instant panic mode.

“Your brother says he needs to talk to you,” Mr. G. tells me, nodding at Jaxon. “Says there’s a family emergency.”

Suddenly, I feel like I’m ten years old again and am peering through the screen door of our house at a cop who is standing on my front porch, telling my dad that my mother passed away.

“Can I go?” I ask Mr. G., already rising to my feet.

He nods. “Of course. Go take care of your family.”

“Thanks.” I grab my bag and hightail it down the aisle, trying to get a read on Jaxon, but he’s a damn closed book.

“I hope everything’s okay,” Mr. G. says as I pass him.

“Me, too,” I mutter then hurry out of the room with Jaxon. The second we’re in the hallway, I spit out, “What’s going on?”

“It’s Hadley,” he tells me, fidgeting with the leather bands on his wrists. “I saw her driving off with Austin Maeiriellie. I’m not sure what they’re doing, but I know you were worried this morning when William was at Hadley’s house, so I figured I should tell you.”

My worry skyrockets. Hadley is going somewhere with Austin? Crazy fucking Austin, the kid who once stabbed me in the leg with a plastic spork because he wanted to see if plastic was sharp enough to cut through flesh, which turns out is with enough force.

“This is so bad.” I yank my fingers through my hair, glancing around the mostly empty hallway and then at Jaxon. “Do you know where they’re going? Or why she was in the car with him?”

He shakes his head. “They took off about ten minutes ago and headed east. That’s all I saw.” He wraps his arms around himself. “I tried to call you right after I saw them, but I think your phone’s battery is dead.”

I retrieve my phone from my pocket and, sure enough, it’s powered down. “Crap.” I put my phone away, my mind racing with ways to fix this.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have told you,” Jaxon mutters quietly.

I blink at him then shake my head. “No, you should have … Why would you say that?”

He shrugs. “Because you’re freaking out, and you already do that too much.”

Shit. He has me there.

“I know.” It’d be pointless to deny it. “And I’m trying to work on it, but first, I need to get Hadley away from Austin. You know that guy is insane.”

He nods in agreement, staring at me with his brows knit. “You like her, don’t you?”

“Like who?” I play dumb.

He rolls his eyes. “You know who I’m talking about, man.”

“Okay, maybe I do,” I sigh. “But I don’t think I’m ready to talk or act on how much I like her. Besides, I don’t think she likes me back.”

“If you say so.”

“I do say so, and I’m three years wiser than you, so that means I’m right.”

He snorts a laugh. “You’re three years older than me, but definitely not wiser.”

“When it comes to girls, I am,” I say. When he laughs even harder, I shake my head. “Whatever. Keep laughing at me. Just do it while we walk to the car.” I stride down the hallway, and he rushes after me.

“Where are we going?” he asks, his boots squeaking against the linoleum.

I momentarily hesitate, but I’m sure he’s going to find out anyway. “To Dad’s.”

He slams to a halt. “Have you lost your damn mind?”

I slow to a stop and press the heel of my hand to my forehead. “Maybe. But it’s either ask Dad for help or go to Axel’s house on our own. And while our dad is a prick, at least he won’t try to have his men beat our asses bloody just for stepping foot on his property. You know the rules. We’re safe from Axel just as long as we’re not on any of the land he owns.”

He looks me dead in the eye, his skin paling. “You say that like Dad hasn’t beat your ass before.”

“It wasn’t because I stepped on his property.” No, it was because I was trying to stop him from dragging my brothers away to teach them how to become real men.

I’ve personally suffered through his learning on how to be a real man, and the last thing I ever want is for my brothers to endure that kind of torment, pain, and mental mind fuck from that learning experience. In the end, all I really ended up learning was 1). My dad’s a psychopath. 2). I’ll never be what my dad considers a real man. And 3). The smell of burnt flesh makes me puke.

“Please, don’t go to Dad for help,” Jaxon pleads. “If you do, you’ll owe him.”

“I know, and I don’t want to, but what other choice do I have? I can’t just let Hadley handle this alone. She may think she’s tough, but dealing with Axel and this world takes a whole other level of toughness. You know that.”

“I know.” He opens and flexes his hands at his sides, contemplating something. “There might be one more person you can go to for help. You’re not going to like it, but if you really think about it, you’ll realize it’s a better option than going to Dad.”

“Okay …” I’m so confused. “Who is it?”

He gives a pressing glance at something over my shoulder.

I twist around and immediately frown. “No. Just …” I shake my head. “No.”

Amelia pushes away from the lockers she’s leaning against. “My, my, you really are ungrateful, aren’t you?” She saunters toward me, raveling the pearls she’s wearing around her fingertip. “I mean, here I am, staying after school well beyond school hours just so I can help you get your little friend back, and all you can say is no?”

“You stayed after school just to help me get Hadley back from your brother?” I question with cynicism. “Yeah, I’m not buying it, so what’s the real reason you’re here?”

She stops in front of me, untangling her fingers from her necklace. “That is the real reason.” She sets her hand on my shoulder and stands on her tiptoes, inching her mouth closer to mine. “However, I want something in return for my assistance.”

“I’m not doing you any favors, Amelia,” I snap. “The last time I did, you stabbed me in the back.”

“This time I swear I won’t,” she insists. “And Daddy will never have to find out.”

“I’m not sleeping with you again,” I hiss, loathing that Jaxon is within earshot. But it needs to be said, despite how stupid I feel that it ever happened.

Yeah, depressingly, that hook up I mentioned earlier was Amelia. It happened one rare night when I went to a party and got drunk. Amelia was there, said she’d have her driver take me home because I was so wasted. And because I was so wasted, I stupidly believed her. Instead, she straddled my waist while I was in the back seat, undid my belt, and we ended up screwing. I barely remember much about it, but I could recall enough foggy bits and pieces in the morning to get the gist of what happened the first and only time I’ve had sex.

To make matters worse, when I refused to date Amelia afterward, she told her dad that I slept with her then dumped her. He had a few men show up at my house and threaten to cut off my fingers if I ever went near Amelia again. I gladly agreed then reminded them of the deal Axel and my dad had about none of their men harming each other’s children unless I was on Axel’s property, which I wasn’t, so my fingers were saved. I still get pissed off whenever I think about that night

“Well, that’s no fun.” Her bottom lip pops out as she walks her fingers across my chest. “It was so good the first time.”

“No, it wasn’t,” I assure her, my voice like ice. “It was awful and sloppy, and I can barely remember any of what happened.”

“Maybe all the good parts are the parts you can’t remember?”

“Doubtful.”

“You’re so mean.” But she grins, patting my chest. “Fine, I won’t ask you for a sexual favor, but I do need a favor. And if you do it for me, I’ll get Hadley out of this mess.”

“And how are you supposed to do that?” I question. “Your dad won’t listen to you. He doesn’t even want you around, for fuck’s sake.”

Her nostrils flare. “Neither does yours.”

“Yeah, so? At least mine didn’t send me halfway across the country just to get rid of me.”

She slaps me across the face so hard my ears ring.

I laugh hollowly, working my jaw from side to side. “Thanks, I needed a reminder.”

“Of what?” she fumes, her fists clenched at her sides.

“Of how fucking crazy you are.” I reel around and nod at Jaxon. “Come on, kid. Let’s go. We need saner help than what Amelia can offer.”

“Blaise, wait.” She scratches my flesh with her fingernails as she seizes ahold of my arm.

I yank my arm away. “Amelia, just go home.”

“No, I want to help.” Her heels click against the floor as she rushes in front of me. “Just let me help, okay?”

Something weird is going on. I slam on the brakes and cross my arms. “Why? What’s in it for you?”

“I just want you to go with me to my party on Saturday,” she insists. “That’s all.”

“Yeah, no thanks. I learned my lesson never to associate with you or parties.” I move to swing around her, but she skitters to the side, blocking my path.

“I swear you won’t even have to drink.” Her eyes look almost wild with panic. “I just need you to show up and pretend we’re dating for, like, a couple hours.” I start to shake my head, but she holds up her hand. “There doesn’t need to be any kissing or anything. You can just stand by me, and if anyone asks, you just say you’re my boyfriend.”

“That’s it?” I arch my brow in doubt.

She draws an X across her heart with her fingertip. “I swear on my heart.”

I press my fingers to the brim of my nose. I must be crazy for considering her offer, but it might be the best solution, except … “And how are you going to get Hadley out of this mess? I mean, do you even know what’s going on?”

“Actually, I do. Probably even more than you do.” She steps closer to me and lightly brushes her finger along my forearm. “Give me an hour, and I promise I’ll fix everything.”

I trade a look with Jaxon, who nods and mouths, “Do it. It’s better than asking Dad.”

Dammit.

I focus back on Amelia. “And what if you don’t fix it?”

She shrugs. “Then you can go ask your dad for help.”

God, I can’t believe I’m about to do this.

“Fine, it’s a deal.”

“Fantastic.” She blows me a kiss. “Meet you at your place in an hour, gorgeous.” She skips down the hallway and pushes out the door.

“Why do I have the most unsettling feeling I just made a big mistake,” I mumble.

“Give her an hour before you start freaking out,” he says. “If she doesn’t follow through, we’ll figure out another way.”

I stare out the window, watching her as she jogs eagerly across the grass to her car. “What I really want to know is why she’s even helping us at all. And why does she need me to pretend to be her boyfriend at this little party she’s throwing this weekend.”

A crease forms between his brows. “I’m not sure, but I’m sure it’ll be okay. I mean, it’s just a party, right?”

He gives me an insinuating look, and I hold my breath, waiting for him to bring up the whole sleeping with Amelia thing.

Instead, he says, “I won’t say anything to anyone.”

I breathe in relief. “Thanks, little bro.”

He nods but worry floods his eyes. “You’re okay, though, right?”

“Of course.” I nod, pretending like I am.

I’m not, though. No, there’s a lot of things that have me on edge, like allowing Amelia to help Hadley. But I didn’t see another choice.

When it all comes down to it, if Amelia can follow through with her end of the deal and actually get Hadley out of this mess, it’s the best scenario in this mess her dad’s gotten her into.

The worst being she’ll end up having to pay for her father’s debt. Same goes for my father—another problem I’ve got to come up with a solution to.

I need to call my dad again and force him to talk to me, but not while I’m with Jaxon.

“How about I drop you off at your appointment?” I tell him as we push out the doors. “Wait. Where’s Rhyland? I thought he said he was taking you after school.”

“He had to run down to the shop.” Jaxon shields the sunlight from his eyes with his hand. “I guess some tourist was passing through and their car broke down, and Jay needed help fixing it. He said to text Alex to take me, but he didn’t answer his phone or reply to the messages I sent.”

Great, another problem to deal with.

They’re really starting to pile up.

This is why I didn’t want to get involved with Hadley’s mess. But, for reasons I’m not sure if I fully understand yet, I can’t just leave her to fend for herself.

“We really need to get you to pass that driving test,” I tease as we hike across the parking lot toward my SUV.

“I’ve tried to, like, five times already.” He stares at the road. “I don’t think driving is in the cards for me.”

“Nah, you just need more practice.” The truth is I don’t think Jaxon wants to drive and keeps failing his test on purpose.

I think that might have something to do with how our mom died.

It was in a car accident. Jaxon was with her but survived with only a few minor bumps and scrapes. They had been out of town when the accident occurred, while Mom was overseeing some stupid project my dad’s men were on. Why he sent her remains a mystery, since he never involved her in his work. And why she agreed to go when she never helped him with his work before is something that still bothers me.

But the reality is that she went, and she never returned. Somehow, she took a wrong turn and ended up driving straight into an illegal drag race going on in some Podunk town and crashed into one of the racer’s cars. That’s about all I know of the incident, and I only have those details because I overheard what the police told my father that night of her death. To this day, my father refuses to talk about it.

Still, I often wonder what happened to the person she crashed into. Did they survive? Do they feel bad for causing the accident? I’ll probably never find out, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stop wondering.

My mom may not have been perfect, but when it came to parents, she was the best one any of us Porterson brothers have ever had.