“You got the flowers?”
“That I did.”
“No thank you, Noah?”
“Thanks,” I said. “They were nice. Confusing, but nice.”
“Confusing?” Noah asked.
“What a fucking mess of a night,” a voice said from behind me.
I turned and Easton approached with speed.
He put his right foot up on the hood of Noah’s car and showed his hands.
They had a slight pinkish tint to them.
“What happened to you?” Noah asked.
“Something is going on around here,” Easton said. “First my car is torched. So I figured I’d stay at the beach house for a little bit. Someone took an old can of pink paint and tossed it all over the back deck.”
“Pink?” I asked.
“Wasn’t my choice of color,” Easton said. “Did you see anything?”
“Me?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Easton said. He moved his foot to the ground and inched toward me. “You live right nearby. Did you see anything? Hear anything?”
I stared into Easton’s eyes.
The more I knew about them…
“No,” I said. “I was asleep mostly. Trying to rest and get caught up on things.”
“You should be careful, Winter,” Noah said. He touched my arm so I would look at him. “You hear me?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Sure. I mean… why?”
“Something feels wrong around here,” Easton said. “It’s like it’s creeping up the back of my neck. You know? I can feel it.”
Easton looked around.
He licked his lips and looked ready for a fight.
I had to contain myself from smiling.
This is working. They’re getting nervous…
“I have to get going,” I said. “I have stuff to hand in. Trying to keep up with it all.”
“Winter,” Easton said. “How do you remember what to do?”
“What?” I asked.
“All the work and shit,” he said. “How do you remember that? How do you remember your name? How to breathe? How to write? How to drive? How does it work?”
Noah stepped up next to Easton.
There were plenty of people around us but that did not make me feel better at all.
They were both staring at me.
I slowly inched my way away, not sure how to respond to Easton’s questions.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I never really thought about it. I just kind of-”
I let out an oomph sound as I hit someone.
I spun around and Xavier grabbed my arms.
Shit.
“What are we talking about here?” Xavier asked. “Winter looks jumpy.”
“You scared me,” I said. “You always sneak up on me.”
“That’s kind of my thing. I like to do that.”
“Well, fuck off,” I snapped at Xavier.
I threw an elbow at him and moved away.
“Oh, she’s in a mood,” Easton said.
“Yeah, I am. Why would you ask me what you did?”
“What did you ask her?” Xavier asked.
“Easton wants to know about her memory,” Noah said. “How she can remember certain things.”
“Right?” Easton asked. “She can write and talk and do whatever else…”
“Hmm,” Xavier said.
“No,” I said. “I’m not talking about this with you guys. I don’t know what this is. What am I to you? Some kind of freak? A science project?”
“Nobody said that, Winter,” Noah said.
“I was just asking a question,” Easton said.
I side stepped but Xavier made a move.
He put his hand around my waist and pulled me next to him.
“Want me to beat them up for you?” he asked me with a grin. “I will. For you.”
I looked up at him. “Why? Why am I so interesting to you?”
“You just are,” Xavier said.
“Hey, if we’re being fair here, I’ve been through a lot of shit too,” Easton said. “I think she and I connect more than anyone else.”
“Because we fucked in the backseat of your car?” I asked Easton.
He just grinned.
Noah’s face twisted with anger. “You know that’s not true, right, Winter?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know what’s true anymore. To answer your question… the brain is made up of several parts. Okay? There’s a part that controls speech, memory, uh, walking, talking, whatever else. And there’s different kinds of ways to lose your memory. If you don’t believe me, look it up. Put yourself in my shoes. You wake up in a hospital bed and can’t remember anyone. You know what? I would give up knowing how to drive and write and all that to remember everyone. Okay?”
“It was just a question,” Easton asked.
“Maybe I had a fucked up night too,” I said.
Easton showed his hands.
“What the hell happened to your hands?” Xavier asked Easton.
“Don’t ask,” Easton said.
“He was playing in some pink paint,” Noah said.
Xavier let out a laugh.
I broke away from the guys and hurried toward the building.
I felt them all staring at me.
It wasn’t the same feeling as when I was standing on the beach though.
Even still, it made me shiver with fear.
I was the cliché girl in the bathroom, crying.
Trying to stay silent so nobody else heard me.
There were parts of this revenge plan I hadn’t thought all the way through. All I wanted was those guys to feel fear. To not sleep at night. To look over their shoulder.
And then I could step in and confess it all.
It seemed so easy in my mind…
I shut my eyes.
I came from my mother, meaning I had an inheritance of being a bitch. But I also had a heart. There was a piece of me that wanted to know what led them to decide to do what they did. And the more I learned…
That’s why I asked Gia if she thought they were happy.
There was no way they were happy.
They were hurt. Miserable.
Rich and powerful?
Yes.
But what did that mean?
I groaned and shoved all the emotions down to the pit of my stomach and exited the bathroom stall.
Evie and Darcy each stood at a mirror.
They both looked at me through the reflection.
“Were you crying in there?” Evie asked.
“No. I had some bad tacos last night.”
“That’s gross,” Darcy said. “I liked you better before the accident.”
Evie snorted and laughed.
“This is who you two are?” I asked.
Evie looked back at me. “Don’t get all worked up, Winter. You were the same.”
“Maybe she should hit her head again,” Darcy said.
They both started to laugh.
I walked to the bathroom door and got out of there.
If I didn’t, I was going to start throwing punches.
I took care of everything I needed at BFH, then got out of there.
It was nice having the freedom to come and go as I pleased.
As I hurried outside, all I could think about was getting to Tank Two and getting back to the beach house. I didn’t want to spend my life hiding away from the world, but I needed another breather for a second.