“Did I say naked?” I tilted my head. “I meant this… without the mask. I like you better when you’re just you.”
She lifted her chin. “I haven’t been me in a very long time, and all you have to do is look in the mirror to know the reason.”
“Don’t,” I hissed. “Don’t make this about me when it was always about us.”
“You had a choice. You made it. You don’t get to live with regrets, Junior. You get to live with pain.” Tears flooded her eyes, and she shoved me away. And then she was gone.
And the line was drawn once again in the sand.
Enemies forced to work together.
Die for each other.
That was if we don’t kill one another first.
Cheers.
I made my way back to the table. Breaker was already peeling off his shirt.
“Losing already?” I joked.
Serena was staring a hole into the table.
“Nah man, we call this winning, right, Annie.” He winked at her, causing her cheeks to go bright red before she averted her gaze to Claire as if she was safer.
“So…” Claire leaned forward. “You guys enjoying this semester?”
Annie’s face lit up, and suddenly we were all punished with the knowledge of too many scientific facts about the extinct wolf than I ever cared to repeat. Ever. Even in my worst nightmares.
You know it’s bad when Ash starts to fade out, and he could act his way toward an Oscar if you asked him to.
Even Mitchell had left our little table in search for more fun, leaving us with just Tank, Annie, and a dead body.
“Yeah.” Serena stood twenty minutes later, saving us from what I was sure was an interesting theory on breeding in the wild. “So, I just got a text from Dad. They need us at the house.”
“That’s too bad.” Tank apparently could use full sentences, good for him. “This was fun.”
“Yeah!” Annie grinned. “Let’s exchange numbers.”
I felt my entire body recoil while the rest of us mentally drew straws. Please, God, don’t let me have the short one.
“Why not?” Claire was the first to speak, though I could have sworn Ash muttered a prayer under his breath as his girlfriend got down their info and said we’d hang out later or let them know when the next party was.
“Thanks.” Annie grinned. “This was by far the most rebellious thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.”
I frowned. “Then why take the risk?”
“Oh.” Her eyes flickered down and then back up, which was when I noticed that they weren’t brown, they were blue, a trick of the dark lights and my attention being on the dead body still at our table. “Actually, both my parents died when I was young, I was adopted a few years ago by a really nice family, and they were just really protective of me. I was sick a lot as a kid, and I don’t know for whatever reason this just feels like a second chance.”
“Wow.” I nodded. “And what about you, Tank? Similar story or were you just born bench pressing five hundred?”
He actually laughed. “I have a mom. She’s overbearing. And Annie and I met on the first day of orientation, end of story.”
He seemed like he was telling the truth.
Hmm, maybe we were wrong.
And just being extremely paranoid.
“So!” Annie clapped her hands together. “Do you guys like go home now and torture people or—”
“Yeah, we’re just gonna go.” Tank was already steering her away as she tried to fight back and ask more questions.
“I would die,” Ash said once they were finally gone. “Actually, die in my seat if I had to sit through class with a girl like that. Even her questions had questions.”
Claire laughed. “She was cute.”
“A puppy’s cute.” Ash snorted. “She was more… I don’t even know…”
“What’s the most annoying animal on the planet?” Breaker asked out loud. “A parrot? Yeah, she’s a parrot. Don’t worry, I got you, bro.”
He and Asher bumped fists while Serena grabbed her cell and dialed her dad, I knew her like the back of my hand. Of course, she’d call him for cleanup.
He would do it without blinking.
Anyone else would ask questions, wouldn’t they?
Even my dad.
They’d want to know why.
And Nixon, wouldn’t care about the why; he’d just care that we were safe.
“Hey.” Her eyes locked on mine while she spoke. “Yeah, we do need cleanup for one. I saw the threat and—” She was quiet. “Yes, it was me—but Daddy—” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I understand. Okay. Yes.”
“So?” I asked once she was off the phone.
“We’re headed back to my place, Dante’s on his way to do cleanup, so get everyone out of here.”
“Who wants to do the honors?” Breaker asked the group.
I sighed and then jumped on one of the purple chairs. “Party’s over, go home!”
People groaned but slowly shuffled out the door.
The power we held over them was almost ridiculous.