“Anyone going to tell me what the fuck is going on?” I take my phone out of my bag and see thirty missed texts. My eyes scan over them. “Fuck, no. I’m not. How’d I forget that was this weekend?”
“You’ve been a little distracted lately.” Breaker says as Dixon drives us off campus, the gates closing behind us.
“You’re going, and you have no choice,” Dixon says, tucking his lips into his mouth, trying his fucking hardest not to laugh. I turn around in my seat to catch Breaker chuckling it up like he’s just witnessed the funniest shit he’s ever seen.
“You all owe me, big time,” I huff, throwing a tantrum. “Why is this still a thing? This is one tradition that should die with us.”
“We rigged it.”
“How do you even know she’s going to show up?” I beg the question.
This event is run like a tight ship. Mackenzie Gallagher sees to it. I honestly think the only reason she’s volunteered her house is because she’s itching to hook up with Breaker. This is her in with him.
It’s off school property, and because of that, all bets are off. Right now, I’d lay down a thousand dollars that says Palmer doesn’t show up.
“Dixon hacked her phone and read her text messages,” Breaker confesses.
“And she had some choice words about you, my friend.” Dixon checks to his right. “That whole plan to turn Delaney against her didn’t work out so well. We could blame Breaker since he’s the one who ran to his little girlfriend and told her what happened to Palmer.”
“The girl got the shit kicked out of her.” Breaker holds his hands up in defense. “What did you expect me to do?”
I turn, cupping Breaker’s cheek in my hand before slapping him gently. “Always the softy.”
“Well, these fuckers”— he flicks Dixon in the back of the head— “are getting antsy, hence why tonight is going down the way it is. Let’s just hope someone is there to witness it.”
“Whoever attacked her could be the person that murdered Reed.” Dixon glares in the rearview mirror. “And I was right there with him in my grasp.”
“No one faults you for it,” I say.
“Catching his face was the last thing on my mind, and he bolted pretty quick once he realized she wasn’t going to be an easy target with me there,” Dixon explains.
The thing is, no explanation is needed. Any of us, even Byron, would have done the same thing.
We’re cruel. We aren’t heartless.
Thirty minutes later, we reach Mackenzie’s family’s property. It’s vast with rolling hills of forest, trails, and buildings. Her family is independently wealthy, which in our world means one thing. Drugs. No one speaks of it, but we’ve seen her dad at events. If it’s not drugs, then I’ll apologize for the stereotype. The mother fucker is a goon and scary as hell.
Dixon parks in one of the empty spaces along the winding driveway. The boys grab their overnight bags. Breaker tosses mine, and I catch it against my chest.
“Who packed my bag?” I question, unzipping it to find everything I would have packed myself. “Never mind.”
“If I left it up to Byron and this suck fucker, there’d be nothing but ropes,” Breaker deadpans. His joke holds some sort of truth.
We enter the house, the boys flanking my sides. A strong unit, loved and adored, is what we are. Everyone notices us when we walk into a room. Close to thirty of our classmates are here, and the group of seniors is ready to get this night started.
The event is invitation only. Fifteen are sent, and each includes a plus one.
The clock on my phone says it’s almost ten. “You so sure she’ll be here?”
Breaker checks his own phone and finds a blank screen. Perhaps he’s put too much faith in Delaney to deliver Palmer to my lap. I relax around the firepit out back. The night air is cold, but the flames warm the space.
Quinn Herrington settles in next to me. She’s hot as hell, but with a reputation, much like most of the students at Glass Heart Academy. I won’t hold it against her. My own reputation precedes me.
“Hey, gorgeous,” I whisper in her ear. She responds by artfully placing her hand high on my thigh, inching it closer and closer to my dick.
“Marek, how is it possible we’ve never been paired up at this thing?” She cuddles into my side, pretending my arm already-draped behind her is there for her.
I grip her face with one hand, burying my nose in the crook of her neck. “Maybe tonight’s your night, then.”
“Perhaps.” She pulls back to look at me, searching for the same thing everyone looks for but will never find. Sincerity.
A sweet laugh echoes through the background, and I sit back, scanning the space. Delaney and Palmer are at the top of the stairs, above where Breaker and I are. With Palmer in her grasp, Delaney stomps down to the fire, straight to Breaker’s feet.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Breaker?” Delaney shouts, gaining an audience.
He stands, coming chest-to-chest with her. “Don’t pretend like you aren’t happy to see me, Laney.”
Breaker tries to tuck her blonde hair behind her ears. She smacks his hand away, checking Palmer behind her before turning back to him. Her eyes never move to me, but I know my presence is what has her rattled.
You have a good friend in her, Palmer.
“Don’t, okay? You’re such a dick. You told me last week you and your little boys weren’t going to be here.”
“If Palmer didn’t want to be here, then she could have stayed back on campus,” Quinn says.
Palmer notices Quinn cuddled in next to me, her hand on my thigh. She looks away, trying to act like she’s unaffected by my touch on another girl, ignoring her name coming out of Quinn’s mouth.
“I thought the guest list was vetted to make sure trash isn’t allowed in.” Quinn stands and moves in front of me like she’s protecting a possession.
I don’t know who this girl thinks she is, but I don’t need anyone to fight any superficial battle for me.
“Trash?” Palmer laughs manically, stepping from behind the safety of Delaney’s back. “That’s real rich coming from a girl who was caught fucking her step-uncle last Christmas.”
No one talks about it. We’ve heard the gossip, listened in on the whispers. Palmer is the first person to utter the rumors out loud. Quinn may be trash, but she’s powerful trash. Money talks in our circles, and this girl Palmer has started a war with is drowning in coin.
“You want to talk about rumors, Palmer, let’s talk.” Quinn closes the distance between them. “Big sis had a thing for the dark and depraved, which got her killed. You all may be waiting for her reappearance, but my guess is she’s inside a tin drum somewhere, decomposing until she’s nothing but dust.”
Dixon ambles onto the patio, catching Breaker’s eyes then mine. We regard each other in silence, trying to determine how far we are going to let this go. Quinn may be powerful, but we won’t allow anyone to drag Reed’s name through the mud for too long.
Palmer stands, stoic and frozen in place. Her hands clench at her sides. She fights tears that want to fall, but glances away when she loses the battle.