Kye Carter was the other third to our trio, and Chloe was his sister. He sure had his hands full with her. The two of them fought like cat and dog. But she was his family. His blood. And sometimes, when you grew up in a place like The Row, it was all you had.
Not that I knew a damn thing about that. My family was Zane and Kye. My brothers not by blood but choice. We’d had each other’s back since we were in diapers. They were my guys, my ride or die. They were the only two people in the world I could depend on.
“You’ve got that look again,” he said, kicking my boot.
I flipped him off, running my eyes over the party. Saturday night down at the reservoir was always the same: full of kids from The Row looking to cut loose and forget their shitty existences. Drugs, alcohol, sex… it was a fucking free-for-all down here, in a place long forgotten by the rest of Darling Hill.
“Yo, assholes.”
The sound of Kye’s voice loosened something inside of me.
“Everything good with Clo?” I asked.
“As good as it can be. She drives me in-fucking-sane. I wouldn’t be surprised if she turns up later, drunk off her ass. What’d I miss?”
“Cherri tried to lock Nix down for the night.”
“She’s not someone you want to mess with, Wilder.” Kye lifted a brow. “That girl is a different breed.”
“Relax. I can handle the likes of Cherri.”
“If you say so, man.” He chuckled, grabbing a beer. “So, school Monday. You ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Seniors.” Kye whistled between his teeth as he uncapped his beer. “Part of me didn’t think we’d ever make it here.”
“Yeah.” I stared off into the distance.
The final year of high school. When you attended a school like Darling Hill High, that was an achievement in itself. By senior year, half the class was usually knocked up, hooked on meth, or too hungover to show up for class.
“Did you call Coach back?”
“Nah. Do I look like the type of guy who goes to college on a full ride?”
“Come on, Nix. You’re good enough, you got to know that. You could go all the way, and—”
“Leave it, Carter. I came here to drown my sorrows, not fucking analyze the shit out of them.”
“And I came here to get laid.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “So I’ll be seeing you two later.”
“Horndog,” Zane grumbled, watching as Kye slipped into the crowd with ease.
He was different to me and Zane. Lighter. More approachable. Like a chameleon, he could adapt to his surroundings and make himself blend in. Sometimes I envied him; his ability to walk into a room and have people gravitate to him. But not because they wanted something from him… because they wanted to be around him.
I’d long forgotten what it felt like to have people genuinely interested in me. They were interested in my game stats, or my dick, or the fact I could hook them up with a keg or smoke.
Wilder was a name that meant something in The Row, and ninety-nine percent of the people I knew wanted to exploit that.
“Senior year, Nix.” Zane let out a heavy sigh, scrubbing his jaw. “That’s some fucked up shit right there. We’re at the top of the food chain now.” A feral grin tugged at his mouth.
But I didn’t share his enthusiasm. Because the problem with being at the top—it was a fucking long way down.
And the fall was inevitable.
“After last year’s success with the Hawks, you know Coach is gonna be riding you hard this season.”
“I’m ready.”
“And if the call does come for college?”
I snorted. “Seriously, drop that fucking shit.” Guys like me didn’t get out of a place like The Row.
“It could happen, Nix. Coach said Albany U were interested.”
I accepted the blunt off Zane, and took a deep hit, letting the smoke roll through my lungs. His premium weed was about the only thing that calmed me down these days. Until school was back and I could take out my aggression on the field.
Summer practice had barely taken the edge off. I needed to be in the gym daily, running drills, and burning off some of the pent-up energy inside me. I needed the distraction. The tether to something real.
“Yeah, well, I’m not,” I grumbled, taking another hit before handing it back to Zane. I didn’t want to talk about senior year, about what came after we graduated. Not tonight. Not ever.
I had enough to deal with.
“How’re things at home?” he asked, and I shot him a hard look. “Yeah, yeah. You don’t want to talk about it. But last time he—”
“Drop it.”
“We’re worried, bro.”
“I can handle it.”
“That’s what we’re worried about.”
“Yeah, well quit it,” I grumbled.
“Come on, Nix, it’s—”
“FIGHT!” someone yelled, and the air shifted as kids rushed toward the commotion.
But we stayed put. It wasn’t anything we hadn’t seen a hundred times already.
“You know DA will be gunning for blood this season,” Kye said, referring to the private school on the other side of town. We had a long-standing rivalry with their football team, the Devils.
Last season, we’d kicked their asses on and off the field. Rumor was Marc Denby was their captain this year and there was no love lost between the two of us.
“He can bring it.” I shrugged, staring toward the tree line. Beyond it lay Old Darling Hill.
One town separated by the reservoir and a mass of trees. Although they might as well have been two separate continents for the differences between them.
Old Darling Hill was rich. Filthy fucking rich. A neighborhood of gated houses and perfectly tended lawns. Huge fucking estates with acres of land and housekeepers. Their kids attended Darling Academy and only ever wandered over to our side of town when they were looking for a fight or to live on the wild side.
They hated us and we fucking loathed them. After the fights and revenge pranks, it was a surprise that the school board hadn’t already forced our teams into different divisions. We knew Coach Farringdon had repeatedly petitioned for it over the years.
“Shit,” Kye appeared, a murderous expression on his face. “Why can’t she ever fucking listen?” He stormed off toward Chloe who was weaving through the crowd.
“I’m so fucking relieved I don’t have to deal with that,” Zane said.
The two of them started arguing, Chloe’s hands waving wildly in front of her while Kye glowered.
“Yep. Rather him than me.” But as I said the words, an unwanted feeling rose inside me.
I didn’t know what it was like to have a brother or sister to protect and watch over. But there had been a girl once.
My best friend.
Ex-best friend now.
Harleigh Wren Maguire.
Jesus. I didn’t let myself think about her often. Didn’t let myself think about her at all.
She was gone. Had been for a while.
And she wasn’t ever coming back.
But it didn’t stop me from dreaming, imagining what it would be like to see her again. To stare down into her bewitching green eyes.
Nine months had passed since I saw her last.