Finally, she pulls away first, and I push her glasses up to her head. The smile she gives me is nothing short of wicked. I narrow my eyes on her.
She’s up to something. The only other time she looked at me like that was when she sent me the video of Jeff’s body burning.
She’s like me, after all—has no limits.
“I’ll see you next period,” I say, and she turns, giving me her back. Not saying a word.
AUSTIN
I sit in first period in the back next to Becky. She is on her phone texting—Deke, I’m sure. For two people who are only having sex, they seem to be obsessed with one another. It’s annoying. She was supposed to be my friend, but I only get her when he is at practice with the guys.
I have so many questions I want to ask her, but they are going to have to wait. I decided last night after Cole left that I wasn’t going to let him get to me. Not anymore. I was going to show all of them that I can do this. You don’t see them crying or begging one another to stop doing something they don’t like, so I’m not going to either.
I grab my bag, get up, and walk to the teacher’s desk. “May I use the restroom?”
She raises her hand and waves me off without looking at me. I walk out of class and down the silent hallway. I pass Cole and Deke’s calculus classroom and head straight to Cole’s locker. I’ve watched him do his combination enough to know it by heart now.
Once it pops open, I reach up to the top shelf and grab his car keys and then slam it shut. I finish running down the hall and take a right, heading up the stairs to the second floor. I turn to the red box on the wall with a red handle. I then look up at the camera and pull it down.
Go big or go home!
The alarm sounds, and the lights start to flash. Doors burst open, and students run out into the hallway. I stand on my tiptoes, looking for Shane. I see him exit the last classroom on the right. I make my way down the hall to him. “Let’s go,” I yell over the sounding alarms.
“What are you doing, Austin?” he asks confused.
“We don’t have time. Let’s go.” I grab his hand and drag him down the hall.
We make it down the stairs, and I see Cole out of the corner of my eye, but I don’t stop. We barge out the double doors. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see soon enough.” I tell him the same thing Cole has told me so many times. I press the unlock button on Cole’s car, and it lights up.
“Whoa.” Shane comes to a stop. “Why do you have Cole’s car keys?” he demands.
“Because I’m gonna drive us.”
He shakes his head.
“Yes. This is your dare,” I state, and he grinds his teeth, knowing he has to do it.
“Cole is gonna be pissed.”
I smile. Fuckin’ right, he will be. All part of my plan. “When is Cole not pissed?”
“We can’t leave, Austin,” he states.
“I didn’t pull that fire alarm for nothing,” I growl.
“You did that?” he asks wide-eyed. “Shit. You’re gonna be in so much trouble.”
I grab his arm and yank on it, finally getting him to move again. We get into the car, and I hold out my right hand. “Phone,” I demand.
He digs it out of his pocket without question. I turn his off along with mine and shove them into the center console.
Then we’re off.
_______________
I pull up to the same parking spot Cole brought me to three weeks ago and turn off his car.
“Why are we here, Austin?” Shane asks.
I let out a long breath, nervousness setting in. “Cole told me all about Jeff’s brother,” I say, and he stays quiet. “About how he beat his wife who was Eli’s sister.” I look over at him. “One of his best friends.”
He looks away from me, his lips thinned. I look down at my hands knotted in my lap, letting out a long breath. I’m about to tell this guy too much about myself, but I want him to trust me, right? To have one more person on my side. “I know what it’s like to have a man put his hands on you and not be able to stop it. To have no control.” My chest tightens. “I don’t believe in what you guys do or how you do it, but I do believe he deserves to suffer for hurting someone he was supposed to protect. Love.” I clear my throat. “And I want to help.”
I look over at him to find him staring at me with a blank expression. I bite my lip, nervously waiting for him to say no. That I’m screwing up plans they already have. Instead, he nods. “I’m guessing you have a plan?”
“I do.” I smile at him.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
COLE
I SIT IN fourth period with only twenty minutes left when the door opens. Austin walks right in with a smile on her face and her head held high. I want to yank her back out the door and choke her.
“Where have you been?” I demand when she plops down next to me.
She doesn’t answer.
I’ve been calling her for three hours. And then between classes, we realized that Shane was gone too. A call to his phone told me it was also off. And they were together. That’s when I realized my car keys were gone. Talk about pissed!
“Mrs. Duncan, can you send Austin Lowes to the office please?” The office comes over the intercom.
“You heard her, Miss Lowes,” the teacher tells her, and she stands.
I get up as well and follow her out. “What the hell did you do?” I demand, bringing her to a stop in the hall. “Austin?”
She just looks up at me. Her green eyes full of mischief.
“Where did you go?”
“To do Shane’s dare.”
I grind my teeth. “How did you get out of class?” She isn’t eighteen yet. She can’t sign herself out.
“I pulled the fire alarm,” she explains.
“What?” I shout. That was her?
She doesn’t even flinch at my tone. “I did it for the dare.”
“What the hell were you thinking? They’re gonna suspend you.” Fuck! I told her dad I would keep her out of trouble. How the hell am I going to get her out of this? The guys and I may do some really stupid, illegal shit, but it never involves the school. That jeopardizes our chance on the swim team. We’re not that stupid.
“Get off my back, Cole,” she snaps, her finger pressed into my chest. “You brought me into this,” she shouts. “Don’t blame me for something I didn’t have any control over.” She steps into me. “You should have taken what I did to Jeff as a warning. Instead, you took it as a challenge. But you know what, Cole? You underestimate me, and that’s your fault. Not mine.” Then she walks off down the quiet hall, heading to the office with a little too much hop in her step for someone who is about to get suspended.
And I can’t help but smile. Austin Lowes is more of a shark than I thought.
AUSTIN
“I got suspended,” I tell Celeste as I plop down on the couch in my father’s house.
She stands in front of me, eyes narrowed and hands on her hips. Cole stands in the corner, glaring. He’s still pissed off at me from earlier. After I walked out of the principal’s office, he was waiting for me, looking every bit of the dick he is. We haven’t spoken since, but he had to drive me home. I was hoping he would just drop me off and go, but no, he is obviously just as nosy as he is an asshole.