Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 152045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 760(@200wpm)___ 608(@250wpm)___ 507(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 760(@200wpm)___ 608(@250wpm)___ 507(@300wpm)
He climbs down the basement stairs, his words drifting up as he goes and reminding me that this is all my fault, and once set in motion, Deacon will never stop.
“On the wind does bring a chill, the ghost of the girl…you did kill.”
I close my eyes, and I see her face. Always.
Hunter
She fucking kicked me out. After I gave her two orgasms.
She’s spent more time with my friends this week than me. If she’s not training with Mace or Farrow, she’s staying after school to help Codi and Coral make pep rally posters in the Art room. I’ve barely spoken to her since we went at it in her room on Monday.
I stand in front of the mirror, gripping the bar in both hands and curling at my elbows. I lift the barbell to my chest again and again.
I can’t go another night without her.
Farrow settles on the bench next to me, starting crunches with a medicine ball. “You’re coming tonight.”
“I know,” I reply.
There aren’t many people whom I’d let tell me what I’m doing or where I’m going, but I won’t hide from Kade’s party.
“Are you bringing her?” he asks.
“That’s up to her.”
“That’s a Caruthers answer.” He sits up, twists side to side, and leans back down. “Give me a Pierce one.”
“Fuck you.”
He grins. “That’s more like it.”
It’s also not an answer. I don’t have one. Dylan knows about the pool party tonight. Players and their dates. I’ve tried to corner her, but she doesn’t deserve to be subjected to another fight between Kade and me, and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want that either.
“You know, I’ve learned a lot from your grandpa,” Farrow tells me, barely out of breath as he keeps going. “And one of the most important things is that anything that matters should never be left up to anyone else.”
“What do I do?” I roll my shoulders, starting another set. “Bring her against her will?”
“Yeah.”
“Her pride won’t allow surrender,” I tell him. “That’s not how I earn her.”
“And that’s what you need to understand about someone who’s in love with you, Hunter.” He drops the ball and sits up. “She wants you. She wants you badly, but she’s mad and you probably deserve it, so to make her feel like she’s not giving up any power, you’re gonna have to fight her.” He grabs his towel, wiping the sweat off his forehead. “And I promise, she wants you to. Don’t be afraid of the fight, man. Let her be mad. She can be mad at the party. I don’t give a shit.”
He grabs a barbell, fixes on some weights, and lays back down on the bench, doing skull-crushers.
Someone who’s in love with you…
Is he right? Monday afternoon in her room wasn’t sweet. It was almost hate-fucking. We were both mad and fed up and frustrated and frenzied, and she was even a little violent. The biting, Jesus.
But she couldn’t get enough, either.
I throw Farrow a glance. “I never really know if you’re actually wise or just say things with so much confidence that it makes me believe you.”
He grunts, raising the bar over and over. “If you go to bed alone tonight, I guess we’ll know.”
A chuckle escapes. “So who are you bringing?”
“Are you kidding?” he raises his voice so the whole cage can hear. “The Pirates will all have dates. The question is ‘which one am I taking?’”
The guys howl and laugh, Calvin pounding his fist against the chain-link.
I want to call my parents to make sure they know what they’re in for, but I half-suspect Kade is throwing the party on a Wednesday night because they’ll just happen to be out of town. He posted the invite on his secret account, after all, so they wouldn’t see.
It would be a dick move to sabotage it, and I don’t want him to think I’m afraid to show up.
I shower in the locker room, the extra afternoon workout our last before the game. Coach wants us to rest up until Friday. I pass by the Art room, seeing that it’s empty, and when I go out to the parking lot, Dylan’s bike is gone, as well as Coral’s car. They must’ve finished the posters.
I drive home, Farrow’s advice spinning inside my head.
I love her. She’s social. I’m not. She loves crowds and noise. I don’t. She hates school, and I could keep going forever. She’d risk her life just to feel a rush, while I consider my choices too much. She’s so much like Kade, but she fits my heart like she was cut from it. It’s always been hers.
I pull up to the curb in front of the house. Her bike is parked next door, and I climb out, debating.
I have four more nights with her. I’m not fighting again.
Fletcher wipes down the windows of the garage door that acts as the wall in his shop, and I stroll over. Stepping inside, I run my hand through my hair, giving him a nod.