19. Claire
Chapter nineteen
Claire
When Rhea said she rented us a house, I should have known better than to think it would be anything normal. She rented us a mansion—secluded, serene, and the sort of place you can get lost in.
But it’s not the sort of place I can get lost from.
I’d entertained the idea of a beach packed with bodies and so many people to occupy their attention that I’d be able to slip away. This isn’t that.
“We really needed this massive mansion for our week stay?” I ask her ruefully as we stand on the other side of the door, waiting for someone to come open it. Of course, even on vacation we are staying somewhere with a full staff. How incredibly awkward.
“I wouldn’t say we needed it.” Rhea shrugs. “Actually, I didn’t tell you the whole truth about what we’re doing here.”
Next to me, Moose glowers at her. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“So, I didn’t actually rent this house. We’re sort of… staying with a friend.”
“A friend?” Eli asks suspiciously, at the same time I groan.
“Rhea…”
Moose decides he’s had enough waiting and rings the doorbell three times in quick succession. He’s raising his fist to start beating on the door when it opens to a half-naked man with his shorts hanging low on his hips and a red plastic cup in his hand.
“Ray!” He slurs, pulling the door open further and practically falling into her as he wraps his arms around her neck .
I study the man’s face, looking for any indication of whether I know him. When he disengages himself from my best friend, his sloppy smile widens for me. “Claire!”
I don’t get a chance to wonder how he knows me, because the man treats me to the same welcome as Rhea, throwing his weight onto me until my knees buckles and I struggle to stay standing. His drink sloshes onto my toes as he sways with me, but it doesn’t last long, because Moose pulls him off me in an instant, shoving him backwards.
As he straightens with a sheepish grin, I recognize him.
Austin.
“I’m glad you guys could make it!” He says, beaming as his eyes flicker from me to my best friend. “Even if you did have to bring the muscle.”
The muscle in question glares at him as I try to comprehend what the hell is going on. Austin was great up until he handcuffed me to his bed for my jackass bodyguard. Would he have done that for anyone willing to pay him for it? And is he really expecting me to pretend that didn’t happen?
“Well, come on in!” Austin chuckles, gesturing us forward. He swings the door open wider, letting us into the house.
It’s beautiful in a cold way… marble floors and pristine white walls that stretch up high over our heads. The music coursing from speakers somewhere is some kind of rap, and it doesn’t help the sudden headache I have.
“How was your flight?” Austin asks, though I don’t know who he is asking. He’s grinning at all of us collectively, as if we aren’t all confused to see him in the beach house we were supposed to have rented.
“It was great!” Rhea chirps, slinging her bag on the ground. “But long, so we need to freshen up. And a drink would help.”
“Say no more!” Austin turns to get her something. “You know where your rooms are, right? ”
Rhea assures him that she does, and Austin disappears around a corner. “What the hell?” I snap.
“It’s a group trip.” She explains with a shrug. “Half of our freshman dorm is here. One last week of being young, dumb college kids before we graduate and have to be proper adults.”
A group trip.
The idea sounds like torture. I don’t like anyone well enough to spend a week living with them, much less a week of constant partying. I groan at the same time Moose curses her under his breath.
“Come on, Claire.” Rhea chuckles. “These people are our friends. They’ve been with us for the last three and a half years. Is it really so weird to you that they want to have one last hurrah?”
I’m starting to tell her I don’t have friends when a girl comes down the stairs adjacent to where we stand. Like us, she stops talking when she spots us. “Rhea! Claire! You guys made it!”
Lucy jogs down the rest of the steps, her strawberry blonde hair swaying in a ponytail as she takes them fast in an effort to throw herself at us. And she does just that, spreading her arms and pulling us both into a hug at the same time. “Oh my god, I’ve missed you guys!”
“I’ve missed you too, Luce!” Rhea says genuinely, pulling away to get a good look at our former roommate. I haven’t seen her since before we left Darrington last summer to go back to Cove Harbor. She moved in with her boyfriend while we were gone, and we haven’t had any classes together this year. And I’ve been a terrible friend. That is clear when I see the diamond glittering on her ring finger.
“Claire!” Lucy beams. “You look amazing!”
I look jet-lagged and confused, probably, but Lucy is sweet. She literally sees the best in everyone. “You’re glowing.” I tell her, taking in her suntanned glow and brilliant smile. “Between that rock on your hand and your smile, you may actually blind me. ”
There’s a hint of jealousy in my tone that I don’t even understand. I hate it, considering I have zero interest in Lucy’s boyfriend—fiancée. “It’s beautiful.” I smile, hoping she doesn’t notice the falter in my previous statement. It’s not like I’m seeing anyone, so the jealousy is unfounded.
Lucy giggles sheepishly, raising her hand to let the ring glitter in the light. Rhea snatches her hand from the air after a second, bringing it down so she can let the piece glitter under different angles. “It’s gorgeous!” Rhea croons.
“He picked it himself.” Lucy grins. “He did a good job, huh?”
“He sure did.” I smile, and it takes me a moment to realize I didn’t have to force it. Lucy’s energy is hard to deny. She’s a happy person by nature, but something about seeing her so excited for the future makes her look radiant. And I realize, I’m happy for her.
Next to me, Moose makes a sound like he’s suffering a slow death, and Lucy’s eyes flit to him before they round a little. “Oh, I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m Lucy.” She puts her hand out for him to shake, which he does with only the briefest hesitation.
“Moose.” He says, before she takes Eli’s hand and does the same.
“Are you guys…?” Lucy’s eyes flit between me and Moose.
“No.” I rush out. “Moose is my stepbrother. He has no social skills, and our dad was worried about him, so I was nice enough to bring him on vacation with us.”
The lie comes so easily that I don’t even stop to think about why I’m saying it. Lucy is sweet, but we had a surface level friendship. We’re the type who gather in groups, watch movies together and comment on the bad acting, and make plans we never intend to keep. We care about each other, sure, but she doesn’t know the first thing about me. Therefore, she has no idea that I don’t have parents, much less a stepbrother.
Rhea chuckles at the look on Moose’s face, but I don’t bother to turn to take it in because Austin walks back into the foyer at that moment with a cup in each hand.
You’d think after being poisoned, I may exercise caution in taking a drink from someone I don’t know super well. Especially someone who let my bodyguard drug me and locked me up for him. But if we’re going to be here, we may as well try to enjoy it.
Rhea and I take the drinks he offered and tap them together before we toss them back.
I ignore Moose’s judgement, used to it by this point.
He’s had a stick up his ass from the moment we met. I think it may have been there from the moment he was born. Poor guy.
If anyone needs laid, it’s him.
And I’m going to make that happen for him.