I hold Aro to me, seeing the red and blue flashing lights through the trees. The conductor probably called the police when he saw us jumping.
Sirens ring in the air, and Aro kisses my mouth. “Baby, stop,” she tells me. “Stop.”
I take us to the ground, the police cars streak past us, and I come down on top of her. I hold her face.
“I really love you,” she whispers, gazing up at me.
My eyes sting, and I’m not sad or upset, but I know why all the same. Reeves is gone. Hugo and Green Street are off our backs—at least for now.
She loves me.
I smile. “I know,” I reply, just like she did at Kade’s house earlier.
“Why did you do that?” She shakes her head at me. “Don’t you see? I’m going to kill you eventually. I’m a mess.”
I laugh. And then I come down on her mouth, sliding my fingers into her wet hair as I kiss her. I move slow so I can feel her, taste her, breathe her in...
“You’re the only time I’ve ever felt it,” I say.
“What?”
I rise up a little, looking down at her. “Live or die. You or nothing.” I brush her cheek with my thumb. “I have to have you.”
I kiss her again, taking control and sliding my tongue past her lips.
She moans, and I slide my body in between her legs.
“You’re crazy now,” she whimpers. “What have I done to you?”
“This.” I rub my hardening cock between her thighs and her hand to my chest, my heart thundering inside. “You’re doing this to me. I’m finally fucking alive.”
After about an hour, we make it back to Kade’s, and I call Tommy, but she doesn’t answer. I don’t want to go look for the kid—I’m exhausted—but luckily, she texts me back before I have a chance to head back out.
Home safe.
I send her a thumbs up, feeling like I should say something else, but I’m not sure what. I could tell her to stay away from Green Street until I’m blue in the face, but I won’t be around this fall to babysit her.
And Kade won’t go near her. We’ve all got a ton of shit happening.
But by the next morning, we all just wish we were dead.
At least for a minute.
“You little shits!” I hear Madoc shout.
I startle, waking up on the couch in his library, Aro in my arms.
I open my eyes to see him launch his overnight bag up the stairs and then try to find his way through the sea of kids all sleeping in his entryway and kitchen.
I spot Kade passed out on his stomach in the middle of all the air mattresses.
Oh, shit.
It takes a second for the fog to clear and to connect the dots.
When we’d gotten back last night, we saw that the Rebels brought in the foam machines when they tied people up. But we ran out of here before we had a chance to notice. By the time we got back, the party was still going, drunk people not giving a shit that the Caruthers’ living room was under three feet of suds.
And to be honest, no one had the energy to clean it up. We tossed out the machines and the tanks, moved the air mattresses and what bedding we could salvage into the entryway, and put some people for the sleepover up on the landing at the top of the stairs. Kade stayed up to get drunk with friends, Dylan disappeared to a spare bedroom by herself, and I curled up on a couch with Aro.
I thought we’d have enough time to erase some of the damage before Kade’s parents got home. We were all just too tired last night.
“You know…” Madoc grits out, trying to get to his kid without stepping on someone else’s. “Just when I start to think you can’t come up with anything worse, you surprise me every time!”
Kade hugs his pillow to his body, mumbling, “I’m an overachiever.”
Madoc yanks off his son’s comforter. “Get up!”
“Why?” Kade pops his head up. “Is breakfast ready?”
Madoc’s eyes flare, and he launches himself at his son.
But Kade’s mom pulls his dad back. Madoc struggles, his black suit jacket coming off his shoulders as he tries to pull away from her.
Kade’s grandfather, Jason—who’s kind of a pseudo grandpa to me too—chuckles as he walks past with our grandmother, Katherine. “I said you were going to have one just like you,” he tells Madoc.
Fallon tries to soothe her man, not nearly as upset that expensive furniture and carpets are still spotted with remnants of the water and foam. “It’ll be a story someday,” she tells him, still trying to pull him back. “Just remember that. We’ll laugh about this.”
“I’ll be dead before this is ever funny!” Madoc yells.
He pries himself loose and swoops down to grab his kid, but Kade laughs and scurries away, hopping over another mattress. Some of our friends start to wake up, others are already awake, either laughing at the spectacle or shielding their eyes and ears to nurse their hangovers.