Chapter One
Thomas
“Happy New Year!”Cheers ring out around the room, and I smile wide as a beautiful blonde grabs my face, pulling me down for a messy kiss.
Someone slaps my back, and I pull away just enough to see the culprit and chuckle.
“I thought we were having a boys’ night,” my college teammate jokes, wobbling as he saunters past with the two high school cheerleaders we met earlier. “But since you’re busy…” he continues, “I’ll see you in a few days.” He winks and I burst out laughing before moving in for another kiss.
It feels strange to think I won’t be seeing him every day like I usually do. We lost our playoff game, my first college football season is officially over, and now I have a couple of months of waiting until practice starts up again. I’d play all year if I could. I actually feel a little empty without it.
“Are you okay?” the blonde asks and I internally grimace. How did I forget we were making out?
“Never better.” I grin.
“Was that Jackson Laws?” she questions, her gaze trailing after him. Jackson may only be a freshman in college, like me, but he’s already worked his charm to make himself popular. “It sure was,” I say before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “But you don’t need him, because if you play your cards right, you’ve got me.”
What can I say, I’m damn popular myself. Especially considering we decided to make an appearance at my high school teammate’s party.
Speaking of…
“Much better than a college party, right?” that old high school teammate, Luke Bennett, says, handing me another drink as he nods to the girl beside me.
I tap my cup to his and huff out a laugh. “Let’s see if you still feel that way when you get to college, young man. You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Luke rolls his eyes as he shoves my shoulder. “Fuck off with that ‘young man’ shit. We’re almost the same age,” he grates. “You just made the cutoff to start a year earlier than I did.”
It’s always a sensitive topic for him, and one that I love exploiting because he’s right. Luke and I have known each other since elementary school. He started the year after me, but over the years, through football and especially in high school, we became friends. Our birthdays are a month apart, but my birthday made the cutoff for starting school earlier, and he’s forever reminding me that we should be in the same grade level.
“I don’t care what you say; this party is epic,” he adds with a confident grin.
He’s got me there.
“Alright. Alright. Alright,” I say in my best Matthew McConaughey accent. “I knew it’d be a hella good party. Why else would I be here?”
“Damn straight!” he cheers. “I knew you weren’t here out of loyalty.”
“Actually, there’s a little of that too.” I shrug, bouncing my eyebrows when the girl beside me giggles.
The music ramps up with the new year officially upon us, and I join the celebration, losing my mind to the beat. Bodies crash into me, people invade my personal space, but the more I drink, the less I care. This is my year. I can feel it.
“Want to get out of here?” the blonde asks, staring up at me through thick lacquered lashes, and I consider it for a second but find myself shaking my head.
“Not yet. I’ve still got some party in me.”
Since starting college, I’ve been the definition of the star student. I’m focused, I’m disciplined, and my grades are good. Despite what I said to Luke earlier, I’ve actually only attended one college party that wasn’t at the football house, or Ball House as we call it. True, it was epic, but I have no idea if they’re all like that.
Tonight’s my night to let loose. To get drunk. To partay! I deserve it and I’m not letting anything stop me.
Luke raises his cup in the air from across the room, asking if I want another, and fuck yeah, I do. I nod, grabbing the blonde’s hand to spin her into my arms, dipping her back as we laugh. I’m high on life, completely ignoring how I’ll feel come morning, and it’s amazing…until a dickhead from my high school brings it all to a crashing halt. He swaggers my way like he’s God’s gift, but there is nothing cool about this guy.
“Fuck off, Jeffers, I’m not interested,” I preemptively attack, knowing what’s coming.
“Where’s your sister tonight, Kelly?” he goads, ignoring my comment. “I was really hoping she’d be here because man, I’d like to tap—”
“Finish that sentence and you’ll have my fist in your face.” She’s only sixteen, for fucks’ sake.
“And my knee in your balls,” Luke calls out from behind me, always having my back.
“But she likes older men, right?” Jeffers taunts and I see red.
Clenching my fist, I’m ready to deliver the first blow when Luke steps in, grabbing Jeffers by the shirt. “Get the fuck out of my house, before I make you,” he seethes, his expression more menacing than I’ve ever seen it.
Unsurprisingly, the douchebag heads for the front door without argument, but it’s too late for me. Him leaving does nothing to stop my mood from plummeting.
Luke’s demeanor effortlessly slips back into his easygoing self, but I struggle.
I need air.
Or a distraction.
Anything to get the images of my sister, Summer, out of my head. It’s bad enough that I had to listen to all the guys talking about her at high school, but I’m in college now and it’s still going on. I don’t even know what to believe.
Vaguely thanking Luke, I head outside for a break only to be hit with more chaos. I could go home, but that’s not really going to distract me. It’s likely to make it worse.
As I walk toward the front of the house, I pass by the staircase leading to the second floor and pause. My eyes lock on Luke’s handwritten “out of bounds” sign but I ignore it. Surely he doesn’t mean me.
When I reach the landing, I cringe as the noise level barely changes. If any of Luke’s family are home this must be torture. It’s one thing being down among the madness if you want to be, but God, it’s loud up here, and they have no choice but to put up with it.
I make my way down the hallway, searching for any signs of Luke’s room. His family moved to a new house after I went to college, and I’m sad to say, I don’t visit as much as I used to. But as soon as I see another sign, I know I’ve found my target.
“You’ve already come too far; turn around and fuck off.”
Laughing as I once again ignore it, I step closer and find a smaller note taped to the handle. When I read this one, I’ve got to admit, it lifts my mood.
“Don’t even think about it, or there’ll be hell to pay.”
Sure thing, Luke. Sure thing. I chuckle to myself.
While I don’t care about entering, I still hesitate before grabbing the handle, a little part of me expecting some Home Alone-level shit from Luke. Like I’m going to get electrocuted the second I touch the metal. But when it’s all clear, I rush inside, closing the door behind me.
Shutting the world out.
Finally alone, I take a deep breath, letting the air fill my lungs. God, I hate this. My life is peachy until I start thinking about my sister and the fights she has with our parents. Summer and I are close—always have been—but since starting college and spending a lot of my time out of the house, I’ve seen less of her. She never tells me what’s going on. All I know is what my parents say, or what I hear through the grapevine, and I don’t know what to believe.
I drop my head to the door with a thud and huff out a curse. Maybe I need to move out of the house and into a dorm…escape my family life for a while until things calm down. True, I can’t think of anything worse than sharing a dorm room—even if it is with one of my teammates—but being at home has its negatives too.
Summer’s issues are none of my business, and until Summer talks to me about it, I’m guessing she doesn’t want me involved. She’s always been strong. Incredibly strong. I have no doubt she can handle herself, but it’s days like this that it gets to me.
I’m still as my thoughts race, trying to block it all from my mind. And because of this, it’s a good minute before I turn around, realizing my mistake.
Even in the darkness, I know I’m in the wrong room. There’s a pole attached horizontally along the wall to my right in front of a large mirror, and a four-poster bed with lace material draped all around it.
Fuck. Fuck.
That’s not the worst part. It turns out there is at least one family member home today, and I’ve just invaded her space.
Luke’s sister.
Luke’s fifteen-year-old sister stares back at me with wide eyes and her sheet pulled up to cover her body. A million panicked thoughts hit me but two stand out…
One—I’m in her room.
Two—Luke is going to kill me.
Fuck!The signs make much more sense now, because what the hell would Luke be protecting in his own room—dirty clothes and a football?
Through the shock, it takes me too long to realize I’m still staring in her direction and I cringe, my gaze bouncing around the room, looking anywhere but the bed.
My head spins as I contemplate what to do next until Lainey speaks, making the decision for me.