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It was foolish of me to think I could be with anyone, yet I tried anyway.
My best friend Posie reaches out, her fingers wrapping around my arm as she gives me a squeeze. She adjusts her glasses, her brown hair matching perfectly with her chocolate eyes. “It might be nothing, Lakyn. They might just be talking or something.”
I shrug out of her hold, shaking my head as a hollow laugh breaks from my chest. Shifting toward the window, I glance out at the evening sky, how the moon reflects off the ocean surface as we whip down the coast. The waves are angry tonight, their caps turning white as they curl harshly over the raging surface, rushing toward the shoreline. I can’t help but feel the madness of the waves is a premonition of what’s to come.
They aren’t talking. The guysneverjust talk, not when it comes to us.
Our little crew is ruthless, but the guys are the worst. Archer, Creed, and Kyler are known as the misfits of our small town in Maine. They have their games, their dangerous lives, and they don’t bow down to anyone. And whenever one of them ends up at the docks, whoever they brought down there is torn to shreds. Broken bones, ruined lives, it’s never a simple fight. It’s always extreme.
I shouldn’t act like we aren’t a part of it. Myself, Eloise, Vienna, and Posie, we’re all best friends with the guys. It’s pretty easy when our parents are all career politicians. You couldn’t have a higher standing here in Hellcrest Heights. It also doesn’t help matters to know that each of our fathers are extremely corrupt. But the public eye doesn’t know any of this. It’s what’s kept in the dark where these secrets hide.
We’ve gotten ourselves into enough trouble over the years, though the trouble always seems to weigh a bit heavier on my shoulders.
It doesn’t matter what type of people we are. Not when I went against my better judgement and decided to get close to a guy, and as anticipated, the guys became possessive, and decided to claim what they believe is theirs.
Me.
Us.
We don’t date, except Vienna and Creed. They’ve been dating for the last few years, and for some reason, it’s been accepted by our crew. But for the rest of us, we don’t date, don’t hook up, because we’re theirs, at least in their eyes.
I tried, secretly. I met Zane, and he was nice, new to HCHU—Hellcrest Heights University. He didn’t know anything about me, or who my family is. A party on the water one night led to a few drinks, which led to us exchanging numbers. We’ve been seeing more of each other, and I was wondering if it was finally going to lead to more.
My fucking guess is either someone told Archer that we’ve been getting close, or he saw something tonight. Because I only told the girls, and the girls wouldn’t ever fucking rat me out.
“I swear I’m going to fucking kill Archer if he does anything to Zane,” I growl, my eyes on the world as it passes us by. Our town is littered with college kids, wealthy families, local fishermen, and creepy, abandoned homes. It’s a mix of everything shoved into a small town, greed lingering in the air, just along the southern coast of Maine.
Most people in town don’t realize the darkness which thrives here, how fucked up we really are.
The guys brawl with anyone they can get their hands on. We didn’t become this way overnight, though. We were born this way, made up of our families who created black holes of broken ethics and paved corrupt steppingstones for their children.
Though, it isn’t just our families. Hellcrest Heights has its own demons and darkness that have been here since the beginning of time. It’s what I love about this town.
Hellcrest Heights isn’t just a place filled with edge and mystery, it’s my home.
It’ll forever be my home.
My thoughts are ripped from my mind as my body crashes against Posie’s. Eloise’s hands twist the steering wheel to the side as she takes a sharp turn, the dark, empty parking lot coming into view. There’s one light in the center of the lot, filling the shadows with a yellow, murky hue.
The long docks create a path along the water to the various fisherman boats that sit idle for the night.
Off to the left is a dock that is rarely used, and the trees thicken as the forest creeps toward the water. Between the trees and the large dock is a perfectly shrouded nook, and I know that’s where the guys are.
Hidden in plain sight.
We’re so close.
“Hurry up!” I bark, my blood on fire. My feet ache, heels throbbing, and skin worn from hours of dancing. And though the air is cool tonight, my skin overheats with anticipation. Worry.
Dread.
Eloise pulls near the edge of the trees, and I see Archer’s car, along with Kyler’s.
They’re here.
I shove my door open and hop out before Eloise even pulls to a stop. My high heels stumble across the pavement, and my arms windmill as I right myself. The moment my feet are stable, I take off, my feet screaming in pain as I race toward the dock.
“Wait, Lakyn! Wait!” Eloise shouts. I can hear car doors slamming behind me, and then they’re all racing after me.
