I sighed, still irritated that I just couldn’t help myself. It’d been months since she and Hayley were chased off the road by a bunch of felons who were after Hayley due to her father’s fucked-up shit, yet I still felt a deep hole carve out in the bottom of my stomach at the thought of her or Piper being on their own.
I knew Hayley was fine. Christian was with her 99% of the time—which was precisely why he didn’t catch on to what I was up to on Saturday nights. But Piper… She had no one watching out for her.
There was a strange and twisted part of me that felt like I needed to be her knight in shining armor. I was certain it was a Powell thing, Christian and I always needing to save someone. I was sure a psychologist would say it was because we weren’t able to save the most important woman in our lives a few years back, but I wasn’t for sure.
I quickly texted Hayley back.
Me: Yes, I did.
What I failed to tell Hayley—or anyone, for that matter—was that I sat and watched Piper’s house for way longer than I should have. Once she arrived at her house, she sat in her BMW for a few moments, almost as if she were trying to gain the courage to walk inside her house, which was conflicting, considering there was no one home. From what I’d learned over the last few months of being near Piper and observing her from afar was that she was pretty much on her own the majority of the time. Her parents traveled often—as did most of our parents. That was why we at English Prep were at English Prep. Most of our parents were loaded, and that was because they worked a shit-ton, usually out of town, like my own father. But Piper was alone all the time. Hayley was her best friend, and other than her cousin, Andrew, who went to the other prep school in the area, that was it.
It perplexed me, someone as nice as Piper having no one in their inner circle but one close friend. Why was that? I knew there was more to her than her sweet face and kind heart. I was certain she had secrets; fuck, I knew she had secrets. That night, so long ago, was far too hot to ever forget, but there was definitely something off about her. Piper was hiding something. That was completely obvious to me, because Piper was a mere mirror of myself.
Burying secrets was something we had in common.
My phone buzzed in my hand as I finally looked up to the guy still going on about next weekend’s race. He was a drab looking guy, wearing a shirt with its collar stretched out, and his hair had an unhealthy shine to it, like he hadn’t showered in days. My eyebrow hitched up as he stared at me with wide eyes, waiting for me to respond to whatever the hell he’d just said as I was zoning out, thinking of Piper…again. Brandon nudged him, his girl standing by his side, still giving me those sex-vixen eyes.
Another text came in, and I glanced down.
Hayley: Did anything seem off with her last night?
Then another text.
Hayley: Christian and I just pulled up at her house to ask if she wants to watch a movie with us because she isn’t answering my texts and it’s weird. No one is answering the door, all the lights are on in the house, and her car is parked in a really weird spot. She’s not with you, is she?
I typed quickly.
Me: Why would she be with me?
She texted back within a second.
Hayley: Oh…no reason.
Hayley wasn’t quite convinced that there was nothing going on between me and her best friend. Anytime Hayley and I were alone, she’d grill me, and my answer was the same every time. No.
I slipped my phone in my pocket and rubbed at my tight chest. The incessant ache was bothering me, but I pushed all thoughts of Piper away. She’s not your problem.
“Alright.” I stepped closer to Brandon and his friend. “What were you saying? Race next weekend? I’m in.”
The guy looked from me to Brandon with a puzzling look on his face. “Huh? Oh, yeah. I’ll be here for it.” He quickly looked back at Brandon and asked, “What the hell is he doing here? I haven’t seen him around here for a long fucking time.”
“Who?” I asked, coming back into the conversation that I completely spaced out of.
Brandon’s girlfriend spoke up this time. “His name is Tank.”
I followed her line of sight, passing by large groups of people clustered together, waiting for the next race to happen. Cars were revving up in the background, ready to burn rubber. I locked onto Frankie as he stood back, gripping a wad of cash in his hand. The sun was beginning to set behind him, casting an orange glow along the trees that lined the dust-covered road. “What’s important about this Tank guy?”
I watched the guy Frankie was raising his eyebrows to. He was short with long, dark hair tied into a man bun on the top of his head. He was wearing a t-shirt that came down to his mid-thigh, which did nothing to help his lack of height. I bet he drove a souped-up truck, too, just to balance out his short, angry-man syndrome.
“He’s bad news, bro. We should head out. You never know what the fucker is going to do.”
I continued to stare at him and Frankie, a small crowd gathering behind them, watching to see what would happen. Others were slowly making their way to their vehicles parked off behind the trees—in hiding in case someone decided to call the cops on the illegal racing we did.
And then, that was when I saw it—a blur of coppery red hair walking through the wooded forest.
No, it’s not.
My gaze switched from the petite girl with her face hidden behind a curtain of hair to a guy that looked awfully familiar.