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Yet, all I feel is dread for what’s to come.
CHAPTER THREE
LAKYN
“Where are we going?” I ask as I slip into Eloise’s familiar black Jeep. The top is off, and the ocean breeze whips through my hair as we take off down the street. I found one of my old Smashing Pumpkins tops that’s been shredded, making it a makeshift crop top, and I paired it with a pair of black jeans. I knew where to find everything, because it’s exactly where it was back home. It’s almost as if George memorized it, or took notes on how it needs to be placed in my new closet.
“The boat!” Eloise shouts over the wind.
I roll my eyes. The fucking boat. Off toward the woods and against the shoreline is a ship that crashed years ago. It was too large to dismantle, too much of a difficult area to gain access to, so it’s never been moved. The back end still floats in the edges of the water, while the front end has settled into the ground, the roots of the forest curling around the broken wood.
The guys discovered it a few years ago, and it’s grown to be a party spot for the college kids. For the guys, mostly.
“Have they said anything about me since I’ve been gone?” I ask as Eloise hits the main road and drives toward the woods.
Vienna glances over her shoulder, one brow lifted. Her hand goes up, and she pulls her blonde hair down. “When did they not? You’ve always been number one to them, Lakyn.”
I shake my head. “I haven’t.”
She laughs. “Okay, whatever.” My teeth sink into my lower lip. She’s not angry; she’s just speaking the truth. And honestly, I know they’ve treated me different than everyone else. I don’t know why, but they have.
I tried dating Archer over a year ago, and it didn’t work out. He is too possessive, too short-tempered. Matched with my short fuse, we did nothing besides fight and have sex. It wasn’t healthy, and it lasted no longer than a few months. Dating and breaking up with him didn’t change anything. He was possessive of me before then, and he’s been possessive every day after.
I’m theirs, is what they believe. We are all theirs.
Kyler is the least irritating, yet he still has never let any guys come near me. He’d follow me when we first got to college to make it seem like we were dating, just so I wouldn’t be approached by anyone else.
Then there’s Creed, who, even though he’s been dating Vienna for two years, it doesn’t make him any less controlling. He’s got the big brother energy that I never wanted, yet he consistently pursues me as if I belong on his leash.
They are this way with all the girls. The seven of us have been tight knit for as long as I can remember, though when it comes to me, there’s always been this extra energy, as if they don’t want me to stray, not even for a moment.
It was foolish of me to try anything with Zane. It was stupid of me to think someone could be as perfect as he seemed, but he was. He was kind, but not weak. A gentleman, without being a pushover. He treated me right, and we had a sexual chemistry that translated into the bedroom.
I should’ve fucking known better. What would’ve happened if I didn’t have the guys behind me, watching me, protecting me? What would’ve happened to me, to my family? The shit he could’ve uncovered if he dug deep enough could’ve fucked us all over.
The guys piss me off, but they also saved me. And they always will.
Even if it ended up with a body in the ground and fingers pointed at my chest.
“Are you excited to be back?” Posie asks as Eloise takes a right, pulling off onto the small road through the woods. The road turns to dirt, which turns to gravel, and eventually I reach out, holding on to theoh shitbar as the Jeep rocks back and forth. It doesn’t take long for us to hit the clearing, and the abandoned shipwreck comes into view.
As do a ton of fucking cars.
“What the fuck? Who are all these people?” I snap. I thought tonight we’d just be hanging out with the crew and no one else. I didn’t anticipate a party. I didn’t want a fucking party.
Posie lets out a sigh. “Ask Archer. It was all his idea.”
I’m going to kill him.
Eloise turns off her car before turning around, glancing at me from around her seat. “I know this isn’t what you wanted, but let’s at least try to have some fun, okay? We haven’t seen you in eleven months, and we all missed the hell out of you.” She opens her door before slipping out. Her black leggings mold to her ass, and her halter crop top shows off her tanned shoulders. It’s cool outside, but not horrible for the beginning of October. A little bite in the air, but that’s Maine.
I shake my head, wanting nothing but to run the opposite way, but my body has a mind of its own, and I slip out of the car, following after Eloise. Posie races after me, looking cute as hell wearing a purple spaghetti strap tank top with a smiley face with devil horns on it.
The gravel crunches under our feet as we head up the path on the hill, between the rows of thick evergreen trees. It smells damp, heavy with cold dew and ocean water.
Vienna races up to me, linking her arms with mine as we head toward the ship. Her dress brushes her thighs, and I lean my head on her shoulder as I smell her cocoa buttered skin.
“I know it’s been hell, but I just wanted you to know I’m really fucking glad to have you back. Shit just wasn’t the same without you, you know?” she says.
