I pull into the parking lot at the pier once we reach Santa Monica and turn to face Indi once I’m parked. “So, are you going to tell me more about the twins and… Dylan, was it?”
She lets out a deep breath, blowing her hair out of her face. “What do you want to know?”
“How did you guys all meet?” She looks a little shocked, like she thought I was going to go for the jugular, but that’s not my style. Plus, I adore her, I’m not going to judge her for a goddamn thing.
She smiles softly as she looks out at the water. “It was the first summer I moved here. I had no idea who the hell anyone was, so I just kind of did my own thing. I met some people at the beach that invited me to a party. The party was at the Donovans’. I actually met Scout first. She accepted me instantly, the twins were such giant assholes—mostly Ryker, but Ellis stands by his brother in pretty much everything—but Scout and I got along really well. I hung out with her a lot at the start of the summer, but then… I still don’t know exactly what happened, but it was like Scout couldn’t go anywhere without one of her brothers or Dylan present. So I got to know them all slowly too.”
“That’s kind of adorable,” I tell her, and she sticks her tongue out at me, making me laugh.
She climbs from the car and I follow suit, double checking I have everything, before locking it up and dropping my keys in my purse.
“It was. Ellis was attentive, Ryker was a little dangerous, and Dylan… well, he was their perfect balance. They were so freaking loyal, but that was part of the problem. The Kings came first. And I get it. Kind of. But being second priority, or even fourth, because of their dedication to each other… it just got to be too much. I tried to ride it out, and it was harder with me coming to Prep and them going to High, but we were doing okay. Then, at the end of the summer this year—after an entire year, I might add—they dropped me like a hot freaking penny, telling me it was for my own safety. Boys.” She rolls her eyes and loops her arm through mine.
Her words trigger a memory… Ryker out in front of the school, talking to the guys, mentioning the Knights. My eyes go wide as my heart pounds in my chest. Maybe they really were trying to keep her safe. I keep it to myself and shove the emotion down. That’s another question for Lincoln and the others, when I can finally pry open the treasure trove of information I know they have. Today is about having a day with my bestie and shaking off this week. I can deal with the other bullshit later.
Assuming it doesn’t catch up with me first.