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I shove my dress away, kicking it to the corner and watching as Cooper slowly closes the distance between us. The sweet smell of burning marijuana fills my nostrils and I smile, turning my head to where a group of people are seated. I like weed. More than I like alcohol, but I’m tired of all the vaping. I like it old school. I like the sound of blunt papers crackling when I inhale, and the smell of freshly burned grass.
“Whose house is this?” I hook my arm in his, ready to make my way to the water when he turns over his shoulder, his smile falling. Whosever house this is, it is directly beside Whisper Manor—or—I pale when I squint my eyes.
It is fucking Whisper Manor!
“Who bought it?” I gape at Cooper.
“Honestly, you probably don’t want to know.”
I turn over my shoulder to follow his line of sight when my stomach falls to my feet and heat rushes through my veins. Someone is calling out to me, but I hear nothing. See nothing but him. My lip curls up, my fists clenching.
“Now, now…” Cooper rushes forward, his arm hooking around my waist to hold me there. “Look at me.” When I don’t spin around to face him, he forces me back around, his finger beneath my chin to bring my eyes up to his. “He isn’t worth it.”
“Oh, but he is…” I step to the side of Cooper; a direct path leading me to my nemesis.
Dion Quinn. Girls surround him and other guys are behind him like a loyal pack of wolves. Loyal only because they don’t know that their leader is a complete fucking asshole. That’s not true…most of them do know. They just don’t care.
Cooper’s hand is on my shoulder, stopping me before I can take another step. My eyes fly up to his, narrowing when he doesn’t move. “Baby girl, you and I both know I have your back, but this will not help.”
“What? I just want to say something.”
Cooper’s arm hooks into mine as he directs me back toward the water. Waves crash against the white sand, and I dip my toes in when we’re close enough, my shoulders sagging as relief washes through me at the first touch of the ocean.
“He—”
“—will definitely not remember, Shi. You won’t have to worry about that at all.”
Even though I know Cooper’s words are supposed to be reassurance for me, they do nothing to calm my erratic heart beating in my chest. Or the way my blood pressure rose to unnatural levels at the first sight of Dion fucking Quinn. I should have known. Of course it’s the rock star who owns Whisper Manor and is throwing this party. No one else our age could, and as much as he’s the most famous musician of our generation, the fact that he’s back in Hades Hollow should be the question I’m asking. Not why he bought that haunted shell of a house.
“I’m surprised there are no paparazzi,” I snicker, closing my eyes and inhaling deeply as I shift my way through the soft curling currents.
Dion Quinn is a Hades Hollow native. He was born and raised in this town, just like I was. As small as Hades Hollow is, having a big-timer come up from the sand dunes of our beach town has only made it smaller. Our parents all know each other and then some. Cooper is probably right. There’s no way he would remember or even care why I’m still pissed with him. He was plucked out of high school soon after the incident. Practically raised by flashing lights and screaming girls. Bet his ego is even bigger than I remember.
I curl my hands forward and dive straight over an incoming wave. The water rushes through my ears, and for a brief moment, I forget that I’m at a house party or that the only person whom I’ve ever hated is sitting a few feet away.
Wiping the water from my face, I swallow a gulp of salt water when someone lifts me from the water and tosses me in the air. Pushing up from the seabed, I snicker when I surface. I kind of thought it was Cooper but knew the arms that lifted me were far too hard.
“Shi, you made it?” Ruin smirks from below the water, his dark-blond hair flopping over his forehead. Ruin is, for lack of a better word, my plaything.
“I did.” I swim closer to him, latching my legs around his waist when I’m close enough. He lifts me from the water and carries me back to shore, lowering me down onto the sand while swiping my hair away from my face. “Kind of hurt it took Cooper to drag you here and not me, but…” His blue eyes light up mischievously.
I lean up and swipe his fallen locks away from his head, wrapping my fingers behind his neck and pulling him farther down. “Are you going to tell me what this game is everyone is talking about?”
“Game?” His smile never falls.
He doesn’t know anything. If he did, he would be just like Cooper and throw up his barriers, but it’s the one thing I’m drawn to about Ruin. He’s painfully normal.
Eminem plays loudly in the background, and I shuffle backward when Ruin settles between my thighs, his hand traveling up my outer leg. He lowers his lips to mine, dragging his tongue over the edge.
“Should we leave?”
I push him back slightly, putting distance between us. Ruin is fun, but everyone knows he’s public property. That doesn’t bother me. Clearly.
Picking up my maxi dress, I pull my long braids out from the back before shoving him back down onto the sand. “Nah, uh…I don’t think so—” Spinning around, I jog forward when two deep-blue eyes cement my feet to the sand.
My stomach coils into knots the longer we stare at each other. Heat rushes through my ears when his eyes fall down my body, before resting back on my face as he brings the bottle of whatever he’s drinking to his lips. The fire burns between us as a girl falls onto his lap dramatically. Does he remember? Not likely. Last month he was the youngest to ever be added to the Hall of Fame. His music ranges from heavy rock to angry metal to a soft flow of rap.
Fingers entwine with mine, pulling me out of my hate gaze to the first person I’ve ever hated. “We can leave, baby girl.” Cooper pulls me into his chest, resting his chin on my head. “Don’t let my cousin mess with your night, though.”
