Prologue
Harlow
Ihit redial for thetwentieth time, but this time it doesn't go to voicemail. Someone picks up on the other end but doesn’t speak. After a moment, I decide to talk first. “Hello?” I ask, wondering why Dean would pick up, but say nothing. “Dean, are you there? I tried calling Cassius first, but he's not picking up,” I try to look through the bars of the gate that surrounds the mansion in front of me. “I'm waiting out front. Why the hell didn't you guys pick up when I called the first time?”
“Just leave, Harlow, you don't belong here.” Dean's emotionless voice makes its way through the phone. I'm taken aback by his cold tone. The man on the other end of the line does not sound like the Dean I know.
“What the fuck do you mean leave?! You guys told me I could come here after graduation. You said I could spend the summer with you while I work on getting my own place. Could you please put my damn boyfriend on the line? I want to talk to him.”
“You don’t belong in our world, Harlow. You don't have what it takes to survive this life. Leave now, before you end up dead, and we are forced to deal with the disposal of your body.”
My stomach drops and I start to shake. Why is he talking like this?! Just the other day, we were talking about the college we were all gonna be attending,together.
I knowexactlywhat kind of life the boys come from and what their fathers do. They didn't hide much from me, and they are all aware of my past, so they know I'd keep their secrets safe. This information is nothing new to me, so what brought on this drastic change?
“What's going on, Dean? Why the fuck should I leave?” I ask, trying to hold back my tears. “I have nowhere else to go since I’m out of the system. Just come out here and talk to me! All of you!” I don't cry, that's not my thing, but after everything I've been through with these boys becoming my entire world, falling in love with Cass, only for them to turn around and pretend it means nothing to them... It’s a lot to take in all at once.
“So what, this is it? Cass is breaking up with me? The fucker should be out here saying it to my face like a grown man!” I yell into the phone.
“Cass doesn't want to talk to you. He’s done with you, just like the rest of us are.”
“I want to hear that from him!” I say, feeling a panic attack coming. I don't get them often, but if there was a perfect time to have one, this would be it.
“I don’t give a fuck about what you want, Harlow. Just get the fuck out of my town!” Dean snaps before the line goes dead.
I won't do it. I won't break down. I won't give them that power over me. I knew I should have just kept to myself when I moved to this fucking place. Butnoo,I had to go fall in love with the tall and handsome, dirty blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy, giving him my heart, even though I knew better, while secretly crushing on his twin brother and cousins too. Trixie and Mouse were the only ones worth giving a part of myself to, but I went and made the dumb choice to trust someone else.
Bet you regret that now, huh?
Do I fucking ever. Now I'm left with no one and nothing.
There’s no point in begging or pleading. Once those boys make up their minds, there's no changing it. Why would I want to beg someone to be in my life? Fuck that.
I pick up my backpack, sliding my arms through the straps, and walk down the long pavement drive, heading back to the main road.
This backpack holds everything I own, which is very little. Some clothes, a book, and a photo of me and the girls. It was taken at school when I was in 4th grade and Trixie was in first grade. It was Mouse's first day of Kindergarten. Her teacher took the photo and gave each of us a copy.
When I was 13, the group home we grew up in became overcrowded, so they started placing the older kids into foster homes. Unfortunately, I was one of those kids, but I was relieved to leave that nightmare of a place I grew up in. Safe Haven, what a joke. That place was the complete opposite of its name. If anything, it should have been called “Hell,” because the Devil himself lived there.
So many monsters lived within the walls at Safe Haven. I know I was one of the lucky ones to get out and get placed in a home, but that meant leaving the two most important people in my life.
Every day that I’ve been gone, all I can think about is running back there to break them out and take them with me. But they’re in Las Vegas, and I am in Long Beach, California. I have no means or money to get to them.
It kills me, knowing I am not there to protect them. I’ve failed them. But someday, I will make it up to them. Iwillfind them.
After walking for a few hours, I reach the main bus station and use half of the cash I have to buy a ticket on the first bus out of here. I need to get away from this place, from those boys. Stupid assholes. They made me their best friend, their whole world, made me fall in love with them, and then they toss me out at the drop of a hat like I'm nothing but trash.Well, fuck them. I don't need them. I’ve survived way worse than this before, and I will do the same this time.
The bus is bound for Los Angeles. I grab my ticket from the lady and head out to the bus. I hand it over to the driver and take my seat.
City of Angels, here I come....
LOS ANGELES IS OVERCROWDED. The streets are bustling with thousands of men, women, and children. I've never been to a place with this many people. Fuck, I’m gonna get lost so easily, and my phone was just shut off because I couldn’t pay the bill, so I can’t even use my GPS.
We arrive at the bus station in what looks like a crappy part of the city. With my bag slung over my shoulder, I exit the bus and instantly the powerful stench of urine overwhelms my senses.
Putting my hand over my nose, my eyes sting while I try not to puke. I head into the bus station and ask the lady at the front counter where the nearest shelter is. There is no way I’m gonna sleep on the street. That’s just asking to be kidnapped or raped.
She gives me directions to the nearest one. I make it there just before the doors close for the night and the place is packed. I’m lucky enough to get a bed for the night, though. Finding my bed, I get settled in for the night.