Chapter 5
5
RUE
“A re you doing okay?”
I glance away from the passing scenery and answer Shay. We’re in Red’s Escalade, heading back to his place.
“You’re not,” Red says from the driver’s seat. “I can hear your teeth chattering.”
Called out. “Then turn on your stinking music.”
“Hey, I’m not appreciating the moodiness. I did dive in and pull you out.”
“I swam out,” I reminded him. “And it wasn’t just you who jumped in.”
“Yeah, man,” Winslow says. He’s riding shotgun. “We’re a team. There will be no abandoning our girl in her time of need.”
“Pfft. Like I needed any of you. I’m the best swimmer.”
“Thank fuck Riley taught you. With all the lakes around here, she made sure you wouldn’t drown.”
They have crushes on my sister, and I don’t blame them. She is a goddess in the kitchen, baking these yummy cakes and cookies. When she bakes for my friends, they ogle the sweet treats and kiss up to her. Riley is beautiful on the inside and is the sweetest, kindest person. She’s also beautiful on the outside with her amber eyes, angelic face, and full red lips.
“For your information, my superb swimming skills were self-taught.”
“Speaking of skills, Mason is hiring.”
“He won’t hire me,” I tell Shay. In the corner of my eye, he’s on his phone, texting my friend, Bailey. They started dating soon after homecoming.
“Just because you cockblocked him at that party doesn’t mean he’s unwilling to give you a job.”
“It’s not that. Anyway, I spend enough time with you and Leigh.” They work at the auto parts store in the town center. “We don’t need to be work BFFs too.”
“I’m not looking for us to be joined at the hips either, but I’m tired of hearing you complain about being jobless.”
“Like I said, he won’t hire me.”
“Why is that?”
“None of your business.”
“As your friends, we have every right to snoop,” Winslow says.
These boys are persistent. “This business has nothing to do with our crew. Let it go already.”
Shay sets his phone between us and jerks his thumb toward the back of the Escalade, where my suitcases are. “Rue, you can’t go from my place to Winslow’s to Red’s week to week. Eventually, someone will find out you have no place to go.”
“So what? That’s my problem and no one else’s.”
“It becomes a problem if our parents find out. You don’t have the best rep.”
“Thanks for having my back. You’re a swell friend, Winslow.”
“There’s no need for sarcasm. My parents will cut me off from competing if they knew you’ve been staying at the house.”
“I didn’t take a thing.” I slide down in my seat and cross my arms. I stopped thieving the moment I was fired from my last job.
“It doesn’t matter. You stole when you were younger. Got mixed up with the wrong crowd. You can’t shake your bad rep.”
Shay’s right. No matter how hard I try to walk the straight path, something happens to get me off track. I stare out the window. Soon, we’ll drive by Malice’s parents’ place on our way back to Delridge.
“Holy fuck. What the hell?”
The SUV speeds up. Hearing the panic in Red’s voice, I undo my seatbelt and scoot over, shoving Shay out of my way as we vie for the middle seat.
“Strap the fuck in, Rue!” Red barks.
I buckle in. Ahead of us, an inferno lights up the night sky.
“Red, Malice’s parents’ place is on fire.”
“No shit. Crap, he’s dead meat. This is the last straw.”
“What was the first straw?” I ask. Anything to distract me from my fast heartbeat.
Oh, God, please let Malice be okay .
“The first straw was him getting a girl pregnant.”
“Wait, what?!” I clamp my hands on the sides of the seats and lean forward. “When?”
The fire grows, filling the night sky in this angry red. Shay is on the line with 9-1-1. I drown out his voice and wait for Red's answer.
“When he was sixteen.”
“You know this how?” My gut clenches. No one knows this secret of mine except for Malice. How could he break his promise?
“Eavesdropping on our parents’ conversation at a family get-together. His parents said it was the start of Malice’s spiral out of control.”
Great. I’m a loser with a bad reputation, and I’m a bad influence on the bad boy.
We pull into the driveway. The fire trucks are already there. I haul ass out of the SUV and search for Malice in the crowd of kids.
No wonder no one was waiting for us, and the bonfire was out by the time we made it back to the clearing. Malice had moved the party to his parents’ house. It was smart of him. The inside of their house would be toasty warm. Except it is exceptionally hot right now. Flames are shooting from the upstairs windows.
I ask the girls who are huddled together and the guys filming the scene with their phones where Malice is. They ignore me, but they don’t ignore a Sterling.
“Where the fuck is Malice?” Red glowers.
One of the kids points toward the back of the house. “He went that way with Cassie.”
Is he with the pretty brunette as his parents’ house burns?
That jerk!
I turn from Red’s smirk and march to Malice’s place. How did he not hear the fire trucks’ sirens? Why did the kids not tell him his parents’ house is on fire? Or they did, and Malice didn’t care.
I stomp to the front door and pound on it. Malice takes a good minute to open the door. I tap my foot, knowing full well who keeps him from answering.
The door opens, and I am not mentally prepared to see him shirtless with his jeans hung low on his hips. They are so low his V-cut is showing. I blink past the mouth-watering view and point a shaky finger at him. “Outside. Now.”
He stretches his arm along the door frame and glances down at me with eyes hooded. “No go, sweet thing. I already had my action for the night.” He looks me up and down. “Anyway, you’re not my type. You’re too skinny and don’t have enough here or here.” He points to his chest, then turns and points to his ass.
Is he for real? I grab him by the hair and haul his butt up the dirt path and to the house. “I couldn’t care less what you think of me, Malice. Your parents’ house is on fire.” I let go of his hair and cross my arms over my small breasts. So what that I’m not his type? It’s not like I care what he thinks of me. Only my friends’ opinions matter. Malice is not my friend.
I move away from him and stand by Red, Shay, and Winslow.
“What do you think happened, Winslow?” I look for Winslow’s dad but can’t tell which one he is. They look alike in their firefighter gear.
“Electrical. Or it’s intentional .”
He stares at the house, searching for clues to back up his suspicion. I look around. Why would any of these kids want to get Malice in trouble? Some of them can be the biggest snobs and jerks, but they would never intentionally set a house on fire.
“Why would someone set a place on fire?”
“Maybe it’s their idea of fun,” Winslow says. “Small towns can be boring.”
“Someone could’ve gotten hurt!”
“Money can make a person not care,” Winslow adds.
Is he insinuating that someone made money off another’s pain? “No amount of money would make me not care .”
“Even for a shit ton of money?” Shay asks.
“Not even for a million dollars,” I confirm. “There are memories in that house for Malice and his parents.”
“Yet, you stole,” Shay says close to my ear.
I give him the stink eye, refusing to be intimidated by his height and muscular build. Or the fact he was Delridge’s star QB and therefore granted instant royalty status. And he cannot charm me into sin with his mesmerizing green eyes.
“I didn’t steal for gain.”
“Ah, so you do it for fun.” He strokes his chin with a thoughtful expression. I roll my eyes.
“She does it for destruction, bruh.” Red grabs Shay by the shoulders and moves him away from me. “I suspect whoever did this has the same M.O. as Rue.”
“Has or had?” Shay asks.
“Past tense, okay? Geez.”
“Hey, I’m asking for a friend.”
“Which one?”
Shay points at Red.
Red shrugs. “You’re staying with me tonight. Should I inventory every space in the house and take pictures? Make certain nothing’s gone missing?”
What does it say about my character when my best friend mistrusts me? I stare at the ground and kick at the dirt. “Go ahead if it makes you feel better.”
“You know we’re teasing, right?”
“Yeah, sure,” I mumble, my eyes glued to my worn-down sneakers.
“Come on, Rue. I trust you.” He stretches his arm across my shoulders. “Did you like how I made it rhyme?”
A smile tugs at my lips. “Yes.”
“That’s better.” Red pulls me against him and drops a kiss on my head.
His action doesn’t catch me off guard or make me think anyone could misinterpret it as something more. We’re BFFs and have been since we were thirteen.
Out of the corner of my eye, Red stares at the house intently. He might not like Malice, but when someone threatens a member of his family, the Sterling guys take the threat personally. I wish I could say the same about my family. Their idea of loyalty is bailing without saying a word. A simple goodbye would’ve been enough for me to have peace. Instead, I am left with this ache in my chest.
Malice is lucky; his family is tight-knit.
I look off to the side and see him standing with Cassie. What is going through his head? Cassie leans into him. He doesn’t wrap his arm around her or say anything after she says something to him. Instead, he turns his back on her and his parents’ house and walks down the dirt path that leads to his place.
What a jerk.
Then why does my heart ache for him?