“I think… I think I might come back.”
“Really?” he asks, hope filling his features.
“Yeah. Rosewood is my home.” Reaching for his hand, I squeeze. “It’s where my family is.”
“You could move in with us,” he blurts, clearly not thinking straight.
“No, Jake. I appreciate the offer. But that’s yours and Amalie’s house. If Jada is serious, and I think she is, then I’ll be okay there.”
“But—”
“It’s okay, Jake,” I say, cutting him off. “I know you only want to look out for me, and that means the world to me, it really does. But I’ll be okay there. We can hang out whenever, it’s not like you don’t ever go to the Hunter’s.”
He nods, knowing that I’m right.
“Pops, can I ask you something?”
“S-sure,” I say, although I’m not entirely sure I’m happy with where this could be going.
“Preston Hellburn.”
I rip my eyes from his, not wanting to go down this road but also knowing that it’s inevitable if I’m actually going to go back. He’s going to be waiting for me.
“Hunter’s right, isn’t he?”
“Jake,” I breathe. “He’s just playing a stupid game. He’s trying to get to you through me.”
“I don’t give a shit, Poppy. No one messes with my family. I don’t give a shit who his dad is or how much money they’ve got. This shit ends before you start back at Rosewood. You got it?”
All I can do is nod. I can’t lie, seeing Jake so fired up kinda scares me.
“Please don’t do anything stupid. I can’t lose you, Jake.” My voice trembles at the end as my emotions get the better of me.
“I’m not going anywhere, Poppy.” He pulls me into his arms once more. “But I do need you to tell me what he’s been doing. Not tonight, but soon. That motherfucker is going to regret the day he ever laid a finger on you, Popsicle.”
Although my stomach is heavy with dread, hearing Jake say he’s going to fight for me is a huge relief. I’ve carried the burden of Preston around with me for long enough. It’s time it comes to an end.
“Harley invited me to a party Friday night.”
“Ethan’s. You should come. Let your hair down. You deserve it.”
“Will he be there?”
“He’ll find his ass kicked to the curb if he tries to be.”
“Okay. Yeah. I’ll talk to Jada and see if I can come back Friday. Maybe even come back to school Monday?”
“Yes. You belong in Rosewood, Pops.”
“I know.”
“This place is great an’ all, I know the kids will be happy here, but it’s not your home.”
I nod at him. “You should probably get back. Amalie will wonder where you’ve gone to.”
“Are you kidding, they were going shopping and then for pizza, they’ll be hours. I should probably head off though, let you get some rest. You look exhausted.”
“I am,” I say, thinking of just how little sleep I’ve got since being here. Something has settled inside me now I’ve made this decision and I wonder if it’s enough to help me get some sleep.
We push from the couch but before we get to the door, Jake’s voice stops me. “I can’t believe you’re my sister,” he says, his voice laced with disbelief.
“I can. Deep down, I think a part of me has always known. We were never just cousins, Jake. Something always ran deeper than that.”
“Yeah, you’re right. It did.”
I can’t help it, when I finally crawl in bed later that night after talking to Auntie Trish and Uncle Evan, and calling Jada, I fall asleep with a wide smile on my face. Things might be well and truly fucked up, but there might just be light at the end of the tunnel for all of us.
This doesn’t mean the thought of walking into Zayn’s house and looking him in the eye again doesn’t fill me with dread.
29
Zayn
“Harley, get your ass out here or you’re going to have to find your own way there,” I shout through her door where both my sister and Ruby are getting ready for tonight’s party.
I’m not sure what the occasion is but it’s Ethan’s first party of the year and everyone seems to be going a little crazy for it.
“All right, keep your panties on,” Harley snaps, ripping the door open and marching past me in a minuscule dress.
“What the fuck are you wearing? I can see your ass.”
“It’s a dress, Dad, and no, you can’t… quite.”
“You should be fucking glad I’m not Dad because there is no way he’d ever let you out of the house looking like that.”
“Well, then I guess it’s a good thing he’s not here.” She storms off down the stairs, Ruby emerges soon after, dressed similarly only in a pair of shorts that do show off her ass.
I stuff down my protective brotherly instinct and keep my lips sealed about her outfit and trail behind them, shaking my head in frustration.
Mom’s in the kitchen making herself some dinner as I pass.
“Please try to be sensible tonight,” she calls to the three of us, but the girls are already halfway out the door so they don’t even hear her. “Keep an eye on those two, and please, don’t let me find some random girl in the house in the morning.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” I salute her and head out to my car.
I don’t have any intention of hooking up with anyone tonight. I fully intend on being able to drive those two back before they get themselves in any trouble.
The drive to Ethan’s is short and by the time I find somewhere to park, I’m already regretting agreeing to this. The temptation to just drop Harley and Ruby off and then disappear is strong, but not wanting anything to happen to them in their nonexistent outfits, I reluctantly follow. They immediately go in search of drinks and the squad, whereas I go for Ethan’s den, hoping to find the others in there away from the rest of the party.
I’m in luck because when I push through the door, I find Ethan and Rae, Jake and Amalie, Mason and Camila, and Shane and Chelsea littered around the couches.
“The party is out there, man,” Ethan says with a smile, nodding to the door I just walked through.
I lift my can of Coke and fall down onto an empty bean bag. “Meh, I’m not really feeling it. I was just my sister’s chaperone.”
“Zayn Hunter not out partying and trying to get inside a cheer slut’s panties, what the hell is happening?” Ethan barks. The others laugh along with him, apart from Shane and Jake.
Shane just has an amused, knowing smirk on his face while Jake stares daggers into me.
“What?” I mouth at him, feeling like I’m missing something.
His lips part to respond but Amalie notices and slaps his shoulder, causing him to shake his head and lift his drink to his lips.
“Well, okay then.”
Now I want to be here even less than I did before, and that’s really saying something.
Two hours later, I find myself in the kitchen with the team while they line up shots and dish out names for tonight’s tagging.