Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 164533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Tristan and I shared a look, and I knew at that moment he regretted it just as much as I did. Perhaps even more so. We were both wracked with guilt because the person the prank was intended for—Aidan—wasn’t the one who came to be on the receiving end of it.
Just thinking about what happened made me feel sick.
“Well, it was a pretty straightforward prank,” Tristan whispered while Charli glanced at me. She noticed me standing awkwardly at the foot of her bed and reached out. Her warm fingers wrapped around mine as she pulled me over to sit. I went willingly, obviously, because I was like a doting puppy being led by its owner when it came to her.
“We filled a bucket with ice water and situated it over the door to the pantry so when Aidan went to get more beers, the ice water would fall on his head and drench him,” Tristan explained.
Charli glanced between the two of us, eyebrows raised, “And you thought he was going to find that funny?”
“Hey, it’s kids’ stuff compared to the pranks he’s pulled over the years. On my birthday last spring, Aidan hid in the front seat of my dad’s Audi, the one he was letting me take driving lessons in. Aidan let the car roll down the hill of our driveway while getting Theo to run into the house and shout at me that I’d forgotten to pull up the handbrake. Aidan only stopped the car about an inch away from crashing into the front gate.”
“That’s fucked up,” Charli said, her voice kept low.
“Right? I nearly had a heart attack thinking the car was going to crash. Dad would’ve blown a gasket. I figured Aidan deserved a little payback.”
“And your payback didn’t go to plan? What happened? Did Derek get drenched instead of Aidan?”
“No, worse. Milly O’Shea, the girl Derek is obsessed with, walked into the pantry and got soaked instead. Milly’s the tiniest, sweetest girl you’ll ever meet, and she immediately burst into tears.”
“Oh, no,” Charli breathed, her eyes widening in horror.
“She fled the party, and Derek was fit to be tied,” I put in. “He’d seen Tristan and me conspiring earlier, so he put it together immediately that we were behind it.”
“Which is why we fled and are now in hiding. So, thank you for providing sanctuary,” Tristan finished.
“Well, I just hope I don’t get punished, too, for harbouring fugitives,” Charli said with a hint of humour. “That poor girl, though. She must’ve been mortified.”
Tristan grimaced. “She’s such a shy person. Derek was even surprised she came to the party because she rarely goes to stuff like that. And as you can imagine, his protective instincts went into overdrive. Right now, he wants to punish us for upsetting his precious Milly, but I think if we can avoid him until the morning, he’ll have calmed down.”
“Hold on,” Charli replied. “You two want to hide here all night?”
“We’ll owe you one, cuz, seriously. Please don’t kick us out. Besides, your bed is gigantic. There’s more than enough room for all three of us.”
Charli blinked at him, her gaze flicking to me as a hint of red coloured her cheeks. She touched the side of her neck. “Um, I’m not sure if—"
“I can sleep on the armchair,” I volunteered, motioning to the chair in the far corner of the room. I didn’t plan on making Charli uncomfortable by trying to sleep in her bed even if it was gigantic.
“No, it’s fine,” she said, shaking her head. “My bed is big enough for us all to have our space, and you’ll hurt your neck sleeping on the chair.”
“Great, so it’s agreed,” Tristan said, immediately kicking off his shoes, then pulling off his jumper and jeans before hopping into the unused side of Charli’s bed. I inhaled sharply, about to insist on sleeping on the chair, even if it did mess up my neck, but then Charli grabbed my hand again, and every logical thought fled my brain.
“Go on, get in. You look exhausted,” she murmured.
Tristan was already asleep, snoring his head off. Charli glanced at him in amusement then whispered to me, “Clearly, his conscience isn’t too weighed down by the prank if he can fall asleep that easily.”
“Right, I’m going to be wracked with guilt for weeks,” I replied, whispering, too. “Milly was in my class in primary school. The girl used to be so shy she wouldn’t even read out loud when the teacher called on her.”
“Oh no,” Charli said, her eyes downturned in sympathy. “What a mess. Maybe you guys could apologise to her in the morning?”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “If Derek even lets us anywhere near her.”
I still hesitated. Charli motioned to my clothes. “Hurry up and get undressed. You can’t sleep in all that.”
Feeling a tightness coiling in my chest at the thought of lying down next to her, I swallowed thickly and nodded, my hands going to my shirt first. Next, I unlaced my boots and set them at the foot of the bed. Charli was still waiting, watching me undress.