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Pretty boy stays quiet in the driver’s seat as he navigates us through town. To be honest, it’s probably better he stays that way. Anything that comes out of his mouth may cause me to snap, and I take no responsibility for what I’ll do if that happens.
I put Zayn’s address into his GPS, silently telling him to take me there instead of home. The whole drive, the only thing running through my mind are the guys I’ve seen get carried out of The Underground for being in those fights. That ring is known around the circuit as The Death Trap due to the number of people who have died in there. It’s no fucking joke, and now, I have no choice but to be a part of it.
Grayson pulls up to the house, and I can hear the music pulsing before I open the door.
“Thank fuck,” I murmur, relieved.
Not even saying goodbye, I get out of the car and slam the door behind me. I’m bound to find something at this party to take the edge off. Just as I’m halfway to the porch, however, Grayson calls out for me.
“Knox, don’t do anything stupid.”
My body tenses. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
He raises his hands in a sign of peace. “I’m just saying, don’t do anything that will make it hard for you to train tomorrow night. You heard Cal. We need to be in good shape.”
“Don’t try to tell me what to fucking do.” I storm back over to him and shove my finger into his chest. “You are the reason for this! I’m in this mess, have to risk my goddamn life, because of you! You don’t get to have an opinion on what I do!”
I know if I don’t go inside, I’m going to leave him in no condition to train tomorrow. Using all the restraint I can manage, I force myself to turn around and walk away.
“Knox,” he calls out.
“Fuck off, Pretty Boy.”
4
DELANEY
I look at the shirt my sister has in her hand, scrunching my face up in distaste. She sighs exasperatedly and throws it down onto the floor with the rest of them.
“Laney, that’s the fifth one you’ve turned down,” she complains.
Giving her an innocent grin, I shrug. “It’s not my fault all your clothes look like they’re missing half the material.”
“It’s called fashion.”
“It’s called public indecency.”
Savannah chuckles from her place on my bed. Tess turns to glare at her. “Watch it, bitch. I’m still not sure how I feel about you yet.”
As my sister goes to fetch another shirt, Sav glances up from her phone and rolls her eyes. She acts like Tessa disliking her doesn’t matter, but I know it gets under her skin. I’ve talked to my sister about it as much as I can with always the same outcome—she needs time. After Savannah disappeared when we were eleven, it was hard for me. I had lost both my best friends in such a short time, and it made me even more hesitant to make new ones. That only got worse when Sav showed up at our high school and acted like she didn’t even know who Tessa and I were.
Knowing her story now, I can understand why she made the choices she did, but I also see where Tess is coming from. If I watched someone hurt her that way, I probably wouldn’t forgive them so quickly either. I love Savannah to death, but she can stand to work for it a little.
“Okay, what about this one?”
Tess comes back in, holding a black shirt I’d never buy, but it’s the best out of the options so far. At least this one has sleeves and covers my belly button. The cleavage is a little much, but if I tell her no again, she might rip my head off.
“It’s cute,” I say honestly.
She cheers at her small victory then stops. “Now for bottoms. I’m thinking miniskirt.”
The smile drops right off my face. “It’s January.”
“Oh, please.” She waves me off dismissively. “Once we get a little booze in you, you’ll warm right up.”
My eyes widen as they meet Savannah’s, and I can tell she’s trying to mask her amusement. This is going to be a long night.