Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
brAUM
T he Universe is whispering to me.
I can practically feel Its lips press against the shell of my ear and the vibration of Its voice as It excitedly tells me one of Its infinite secrets.
A smile spreads across my lips as I listen to incoherent words.
I might not be able to understand exactly what’s being said, but I can tell whatever is about to happen is going to be big. Life changing, even.
Whatever’s coming, it’s practically here. There’s no doubt about it. Especially since the whispering is becoming louder and more frantic. Something’s about to happen. Change is near, coming in the guise of a surprise.
I love surprises.
Not everyone feels the same way. Judging by the faces of the new patients above me undergoing their initiation into our court, they’re not enjoying their surprise.
I grin up at them from where I’m lying on top of a picnic table with a thick wool blanket separating me from the wet, wooden surface.
The table is set up under an old oak tree with large, gnarly branches that have grown outward rather than up.
So thick and old, the tree easily holds up the naked patients we’ve bound and gagged and wrapped around five different branches.
They’ve been up there since five this morning.
They’re soaked from the morning’s rain, red faced from the pull of gravity, and shivering like crazy.
The lush, green leaves hide them from anyone walking by, and the fountain in the middle of the park is bubbling loud enough to cover any noises of disgruntlement.
Only those of us hanging out beneath the tree know they’re up there.
Is The Universe’s secret about one of those undergoing their initiation?
No. Immediately, I know that’s not right.
Just as I have the ability to hear The Universe speaking, I also know when It's giving me choices or guiding me down a certain path. Right now, as It works in Its mysterious ways, I know the patients above me have nothing to do with what It’s trying to tell me.
“—and of course Dad is hounding me about classes. As if I actually need them,” Rowan says.
I cock my head to the side, realizing I’ve missed something going on around me.
My foot stops bouncing, and I uncross my leg over my propped up knee then sit up on my forearms to give the people around me my attention.
Or rather, just one in particular. Sitting on the attached bench, with his back facing me, elbows braced on the tabletop and head tilted upward to stare at the patients above us, my best friend’s still talking.
“It’s not like I’m actually going to take over for him. When he retires, the business can get bought out by the highest bidder for all I care,” he continues. “He can kiss my ass. In any case, who gives a fuck about macroeconomics?”
“Not me, Rowy.” Lying on the same bench, with her head in his lap, is Rowan’s flavor of the week who speaks up at his question.
Purdy McFeldon is one of the hotter patients at Serenity Falls.
Her large tits and eager-to-please attitude are certainly appealing.
I can see why Rowan decides to go back to her time and time again.
But each time he invites her back into his bed, she reminds the both of us why he kicks her out.
She’s clingy as shit, stupidly possessive, and just plain dumb.
“Shut up, Purdy,” Rowan snaps. He jerks his leg out from beneath her head, causing her to bash the back of her skull on the bench.
“Hey!” She pouts as she sits up. “That wasn’t very nice, Rowy.”
She moves to playfully whack his shoulder, but Rowan turns, catching her wrist. His face twists up in fury.
The red that gathers under the tan he keeps year round is a warning sign that he’s at his wit’s end.
Purdy must’ve forgotten who she’s dealing with.
Ironic, since she’s turned on by the power me and Rowan wield around here.
Rules don’t apply to the kings of Serenity Falls.
“Get lost,” he orders darkly.
Purdy opens and closes her stupidly pink-painted lips.
She glances at me, as if I would ever consider helping her.
Yeah right. She’s so far beneath me, wasting my breath to stick up for her is just plain absurd.
Her being here in my presence should feel like a damn blessing.
We don’t hang out with just anyone. Those that want to bask in my and Rowan’s attention have to pass an initiation.
If they do, they get to be members of our court—people deemed worthy of us.
Still, it doesn’t guarantee our friendship or loyalty.
Purdy knows this. She’s not special within our court.
That understanding now flares in her eyes as she realizes she’s on her own with this.
Straightening her shoulders and pushing out her chest so the deep V-neck exposes more of her cleavage, she pouts, “Come on, Rowy. Really? I was just agreeing with?—”
“Don’t make me repeat myself,” Rowan growls through clenched teeth. “Or you’ll end up hanging out with them.”
Purdy shoots the patients above us a worried glance before she stares pleadingly back at Rowan.
“Don’t send me away. We’ve been having so much fun,” she whines.
“Jonathan?” Rowan calls without taking his eyes away from Purdy.
“Yeah, boss?” Jonathan answers quickly from a few feet away. He sits up on his picnic blanket and looks over his shoulder at Rowan. “Need something?”
Rowan nods. “Go get the ro?—”
“Ok, fine! I’m leaving.” With a hard jerk, Purdy pulls her wrist free from Rowan’s grasp and stands with a dramatic pout, adding a stomp of her foot for good measure. “You’re such an asshole! This back-and-forth is so ridiculous. You know you want me. I don’t know why you insist on?—”
“I want a place to stick my dick, and you make it so goddamn easy,” Rowan interrupts coldly. “But I’m tired of lackluster, C-grade pussy. When I want to feel like I’m fucking someone’s grandmother again, I’ll summon you back. Until then, get lost.”
Her shriek of rage has me rolling my eyes. Tantrums are so childish.
As Purdy turns on her heels and storms off, one of the other guys hanging with us asks, “If you’re done with her, Row, you cool if I take a stab?”
“Do whatever you want with her, Bastian,” Rowan replies with a dismissive flick of his hand before he leans back against the table. “I’ve used her up.”
Bastian gets to his feet before reaching up and raking his fingers through his deep-red hair. He shoots me and Rowan a smirk and says, “I love a weepy chick. Can’t get enough of ’em.”
I chuckle. “You’re in luck, that one cries if you look at her funny. Have fun with that.”
“Oh, I will,” he promises before shooting me with two finger guns and trotting after Rowan’s sloppy seconds.
“Ten bucks says he’ll be tired of her by tomorrow,” I mutter as I turn my attention back to the patients above us.
They must have all sorts of bugs crawling over them by now.
Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl.
Judging by their panicked looks, I have a feeling most of these guys are going to tap out before making it to the end. Weaklings.
“Oh, look who’s decided to join us. Thanks for giving us at least some of your attention, Braum,” Rowan drawls. “You were in your own world over there for- fucking -ever.”
“The Universe is speaking,” I tell him with a shrug. “I have to listen.”
Rowan sighs loudly. “It can fucking wait sometimes, you know?”
“Don’t be jealous,” I sneer with a smirk. “You get enough of my attention as it is.”
“Is The Universe saying anything interesting right now? If so, I want to know because I’m bored as fuck.”
I chuckle. “You’re always bored.”
Not that I blame him. To make surviving at Serenity Falls doable, Rowan and I have had to get creative. I glance up again.
“So?” he presses. “What’s The Universe saying?”
Mentally, I smile. Rowan is the only one who doesn’t question my connection to a higher power.
While all the other patients might see me as crazy, to Rowan I’m not.
And he’s right, my sanity is quite intact.
I’m only at Serenity Falls because The Universe told me I had to be here for some reason.
His easy acceptance of it had us instantly clicking when I arrived two years ago.
I open my mouth to reply. To let him know to brace himself for… well, something , when there’s a shift in the energy around me.
The hair on my arms rises as my heartbeat goes from resting to racing in less time than it takes for me to sit straight up.
Around me, the air vibrates. It’s so intense I can’t quite catch my breath.
Small yet vivid specks of color—like multicolored hues and tones—explode into view, momentarily blinding and stunning me.
Your surprise has arrived.
I don’t hear the words, but I know that’s exactly what The Universe is saying.
I attempt to blink away the colors. As they fade, I search the grounds for my surprise.
Nothing immediately catches my eye, but I’m not deterred.
Whatever it is The Universe wants me to see will make itself known.
Maybe I just need a better view of my surroundings.
“Watch it,” Rowan snarls as I jump down off the table.
“Woah!”
“AH!”
The members of our court that are sitting around us on their picnic blankets roll and practically throw themselves out of my way as I hurry from under the thick branches of the tree. The Universe is screaming intangible words at me but I know what It's trying to say.
Here. Here. Here!
“Braum, what’s up?” Rowan calls.
“It’s here,” I reply absentmindedly.
Anxiety is starting to blossom in my chest. If it’s here, then where exactly? And what is it?
“What’s here?” Rowan asks. “What are you talking?—”
“Woah, who’s that?” someone says, interrupting Rowan’s question.
My head swings around. That’s when I see what The Universe has been preparing me for. My vision narrows on an individual stepping out the back entrance of the administrative building.
I stare openly as the girl in the pretty sundress tucks her purse beneath her arm and peers around the grounds.
Her long, dark, curly hair falls to just above her waist; several shorter strands by her face blow in the slight breeze, and there’s a small bun twisted in a knot on top of her head.
She has a long torso and ample breasts, and her long shapely legs would give most dancers a run for their money.
She’s stunning.
I watch as she bounces from foot to foot, looks over her shoulder toward the door she’d exited, then down at the paper in her hands.
It’s obvious she has no idea what she’s doing.
From here I can see the name tag pinned to the pretty white-and-yellow sundress letting me know she’s a visitor, not a patient.
Something warm, like the sun’s rays, caresses my soul and heats the blood in my veins. At the same time, I swear I can feel The Universe’s energy at my back, urging me forward. A grin splits across my face as I realize this is what The Universe has brought to me. It’s giving me her .
“Fuck, she’s hot.”
I don’t flinch at Rowan’s sudden proximity as he steps up beside me and inspects the girl, but I do bristle.
“The Universe was telling me about her,” I mutter, not dragging my gaze away.
Rowan nods. “I can see why. I plan on telling everyone about her too once I get my hands on her, so I get it.”
He makes to leave, taking a step in her direction. Before he can finish the full movement, there’s a resounding no that bellows through my head, and it doesn’t even belong to The Universe. This is all me. My hand shoots out to the side and slams against his chest.
“It wanted me to know about her. Not you,” I warn.
“Don’t be a stingy bastard, Braum. We’ve shared before.”
Rowan is the only person who’s allowed to speak to me this way. If it were anyone else, they would never see the sunlight again.
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t share,” I tell him calmly. “I’m just letting you know who she belongs to.”
Rowan might come from a powerful family and might’ve managed to make a name for himself that attracted even my attention when he arrived, but between the two of us, I will always reign supreme.
There’s a whispering in my head, sounding both urgent and appeasing. Energy hums around me before gently settling down.
“This isn’t the only opportunity with her,” I shoot Rowan a dark look. “You can play with her next time.”
The fact that Rowan simply sighs rather than question the integrity of my conviction is why we’re friends. He believes me. I’ve never led him astray before, just as The Universe hasn’t failed me yet.
“Fine, go have your fun,” Rowan grumbles.
I grin. “See you in a bit.”