Chapter Ten
Roux
H is stuff—a small, ratty backpack—sits in one corner of our living room, but Jordy’s intense presence is missing. He hasn’t come to the garage apartment since he blew out of the campground this morning. I don’t know where he’s gone and I don’t know how to get in touch with him.
And I have no one to talk to about this.
My fingers hover over the phone, considering if I should tell Charlotte my woes. We’re not exactly happy with each other right now. Once I found out she was alive and well this morning, I sort of went off on her. Normally, she would argue back, but she was strangely quiet. It makes my chest ache. I don’t understand this girl she’s become lately. Hell, I don’t understand myself.
The apartment is empty. Hollis is visiting with his mom and Roan is at work. If they had big plans of keeping me locked away in my tower, they’re doing a terrible job. I could go anywhere right now and no one would care.
The only place I want to go, though, is right into Jordy’s arms. If only I knew where that was.
My phone buzzes, dragging me from my thoughts.
Charlotte: I’m sorry for being a bitch last night and today. I love you.
I smile and type out a reply.
Me: I love you too.
Charlotte: Come over. Let’s get ready together. Hollis just left to take dinner up to the station. Mom, Aunt Karen, and Penny just left to have dinner with Mike. I need my bestie. Don’t make me show up to Zac’s party alone.
Roan doesn’t want me going to that party, but he’s not exactly here to stop me.
Me: I’m going to break up with Kayden.
She sends me about a hundred wow-face emojis.
Charlotte: Get over here now, sis. We have so much to talk about.
Me: Be there in five.
I’ll probably get my ass handed to me by Roan, but I’m not going to worry about that right now. My best friend needs me and I need her.
And I seriously need to break things off with Kayden.
“Gross,” Charlotte complains. “Tarrin was just blowing Cal last night. She won’t be happy until she’s had the dick of every man in this town in her mouth.”
Sure enough, Tarrin is on her knees, giving head to some guy who appears to be a few years older than us. I make a gagging motion with my finger that has Charlotte laughing. Tonight, she looks like her usual self. Flawless and effortlessly beautiful. Charlotte is charismatic and confident. It’s just who she is.
“Hey, babe,” Ryan says, popping up beside us, a predatory glint in his eyes as he roams his gaze up her body in appreciation. “About time you got here.”
All her confidence wilts right in front of my eyes.
I don’t like the sudden change in her.
Her shoulders hunch, her head bows, and she leans toward him. If I weren’t staring right at her when he showed up, I would’ve missed the entire transformation. It’s weird. I don’t think she even realizes how weird it is.
“Roux, will you be okay if Char and I get alone for a while?” He pins me with a hard glare, daring me to say no.
“Actually, I want to hang with you guys if that’s okay.” I smile sweetly at him, knowing he’s pissed. Screw him.
He grits his teeth. “Twenty minutes is all we need.”
Charlotte speaks up, aiding him. “Didn’t you need to tell Kayden something?”
I deflate at her words. “Yeah, but…”
“We won’t be gone long,” she rushes out. “Promise. We can make fun of Tarrin together in a little bit.”
Reluctantly, I nod. I can’t force her to stay away from her creepy boyfriend. Not if she doesn’t want to. And I do need to speak to Kayden.
“He’s in the basement. It’s crazy down there,” Ryan warns. “Be careful.”
Like he cares.
“Meet you here in half an hour,” I tell Charlotte. Then, I give Ryan a pointed look. “If you’re not here, I’m coming looking for you.”
She laughs as she pulls Ryan away. “We’ll be here.”
As soon as they disappear down a hallway, I go on a hunt for Kayden. This party has a lot of the usual Campfire Chaos subjects, minus the Hornets, and a lot of older guys I don’t recognize. They’re not people my brother and Jordy went to school with either.
They’re harder.
Scarier.
Sketchy.
A couple of guys standing in the kitchen wearing matching red bandanas eye me up like I’m a piece of meat. Yikes. Maybe coming to this party was a bad idea. I rush past them to the open door to the basement. Music thumps loudly from downstairs. It’s dark down there aside from some strobe lights blinking in tandem with the bass. Several people make out on the stairs and I’m pretty sure one couple is having sex. I finally make it to the bottom, my eyes squinting against the blinking lights to try and find Kayden.
Ahh, there he is.
Looking like the king of his domain, perched on the back of a sofa with girls hanging all over him. Disgust roils through me. He’s not exactly doing anything with them, aside from not pushing them away, but it irritates me anyway.
As though I have room to talk.
I let Jordy freaking Martin give me hickeys last night.
At the memory of his mouth on me and how that made me feel, I flush. Heat burns across my flesh, making me crave him all the more. It just drives home the fact I need to break things off with Kayden. When I reach him, I can tell he’s high as hell. His lids are hooded and he has a lazy smile on his face. He’s shirtless and the two girls kneeling on the cushions on either side of him pet his ripped chest in appreciation.
I stand right in front of the sofa between it and the coffee table, glaring at him until he realizes who I am. His dark eyes latch onto mine. At first, he grins wider, seemingly pleased to see me. Then, he remembers his predicament.
He snarls out something to the girls, swatting their hands away. Both of them pout when he reaches for me. I shake my head, walking off. I’m not talking to him about anything with those two lingering. I’ve nearly reached the stairs when two strong arms hug me from behind.
“Hey, Roux-Roux.” Kayden nips at my ear through my hair. “Missed you, baby.”
I struggle against his hold to no avail. “Let me go.”
“Don’t be mad,” he begs. “You know it’s not like that with them. They’re just flirting, but I never act on it. You’re my girl.”
Not for long.
I tug against him, trying to extricate myself from his arms. All I manage to do is pull us away from the stairs to the dark corner. I spin around in his arms, hoping to put some distance between us. He grips my biceps, pinning me with his hips. There’s no mistaking how hard he is in his jeans. With the strobe light behind him, I can’t see his face. Just the outline of his head. He leans forward like he might kiss me, but then freezes.
“I want to break up,” I yell out over the music.
One of his hands lets go of my arm to travel to my neck. When his thumb brushes over my hickey, I stiffen.
“Who the fuck did this?” he demands, his breath hot and in my face.
“Did you hear me, Kayden?” I bite back. “I want to break up. We’re over.”
His thumb presses hard against the hickey, which coincidentally happens to be over the big vein in my neck. It makes me dizzy and I suck in a ragged gasp of air.
“That hurts!”
He squeezes my arm while simultaneously pressing against the hickey. I was angry, but now fear is trickling down my spine. Kayden wouldn’t hurt me, would he? The bruises I feel forming where he’s touching me state otherwise. Panic crawls up my throat and tears spring in my eyes.
“Kayden,” I croak out. “Stop.”
He relaxes his hold before crashing his lips to mine. I’m shocked by the kiss and am helpless to push away from him. I manage to get my palms to his bare chest so I can push him away. He doesn’t budge because he’s stronger than me. Turning my head to the side, I tear my lips from his, my heart frantically racing in my chest.
Kayden’s mouth finds my ear. “Who did you let suck on your neck, Roux?”
I’m sure as hell not telling him the truth.
“Was it Jordy?” he accuses.
I shake my head in vehemence. “S-Some boy on the basketball team,” I lie. “I was drunk. It didn’t mean anything.”
“Did you fuck him?”
“What? No!”
He grabs a handful of my hair, smashing his lips back to mine. His hips grind against me and he moans in my mouth. I freeze in his arms, hoping like hell this’ll be over soon. He tastes like hard liquor and is practically thrumming with whatever’s running through his system.
This was a bad idea.
I do not want to lose my virginity in a basement with a fucked-up boyfriend who’s pissed because I let someone give me hickeys.
Fear has me searching for the boy I was helplessly head over heels for months ago.
“Kayden,” I whimper against his lips. “I’m scared.”
He stops kissing me to release his firm hold on me. I’m hauled into his arms as he hugs me tight. Tears threaten, but I blink them back. I hug him, hoping he’ll snap out of it.
“You’re my girlfriend, Roux,” he says against my ear. “I can’t lose you. I won’t lose you.”
I don’t have an answer for him. Nothing I say will matter. Not when he’s acting like this.
“We’re not breaking up because you made a mistake,” he tells me, his voice deep and fierce. “We’re made of tougher stuff than that. Just like those girls flirting with me was a mistake. I should have told them not to touch me.”
I remain silent, wondering how pissed Charlotte will be when I beg her to take me home.
“Let’s get out of here, baby,” Kayden says. “I think we just need to take that final step. So you will realize how much I mean to you. I already know you mean the world to me, which is why I want to make love to you.”
A tremble shudders through me. The thought of getting into bed with him, especially after tonight, has bile creeping up my throat. I need to leave. If I can’t find Charlotte, then I need to call Roan and have him come get me.
People start shouting from behind Kayden, interrupting our intense moment. A fight has broken out. Kayden yells, rushing into the fray because it seems like maybe it’s one of his friends involved. I take this opportunity to get the hell out of here, taking the stairs two at a time. When I burst out of the door and into the kitchen, I ignore the assholes and make a beeline toward the hall I saw Charlotte and Ryan disappear into.
I push into a few doors, grossed out to find people having sex in each room. One room has a full-on orgy going on and I turn away, closing the door behind me.
Wait.
I pause.
Not Charlotte. She’s with Ryan. I think she loves him for some unknown reason. Unease claws at me. Slowly, I twist the knob and turn it, peeking my head back in. Charlotte is completely naked as Ryan fucks her. His friend Isaiah is stretched beside them, groping my best friend’s tit. Some other guy I recognize from school is naked, stroking his cock on the other side of the bed.
I’m stunned.
I knew she was having sex with Ryan, but I didn’t know she was having orgies with his friends. It’s then I realize she’s not contributing much. None at all, in fact. I burst through the door, fury burning through me.
“Charlotte!”
She doesn’t move. Isaiah smirks at me, as he pinches her nipple. Ryan groans, flexes his ass, and then pulls out.
“What’s happening?” I shriek, rushing over to Charlotte. “What have you done to her?”
Ryan scowls at me, as he throws on boxers over his dripping dick where the condom is thankfully in place. “She’s blissed out of her mind. Mind your own fucking business, Roux.”
“You can’t have sex with someone who’s passed out!” I yell, shoving his stupid friend Isaiah away from her.
Ryan grabs my arm hard, yanking me until we’re face to face. “She was pretty fucking into it moments before you showed up. Not my problem if she passed out right when I was nutting. Leave us alone, bitch.”
I smack him hard with my free hand. “Let me go.”
He shrugs, releasing me and finding his jeans. “Go,” he tells his two friends. “I’ll deal with her.”
Isaiah flips me off as he passes. The other guy flashes me a flirtatious grin. I shove him when he nears. They both laugh and walk out of the room. Ryan has tossed a blanket over Charlotte’s naked body.
“I’m turning you in,” I hiss. “This is wrong.”
His lip curls up. “When she wakes up, she’ll tell you she consented to all of this. I said mind your own goddamn business.”
“I’m calling the cops,” I threaten.
He laughs at me. “When she comes to, and she will, she’ll admit we were having fun. Your friendship, which is already on the fucking rocks, will be destroyed.” He takes a threatening step toward me. “My dad’s a cop. I know everyone at the station. What do you think’s really going to happen?”
I stare at him in horror. He’s so confident nothing will happen. That this is absolutely okay.
“You might be above the law,” I seethe, “but you are not above my brother. And he will not be okay with what you’re doing with his sister-in-law.”
Fear glints in his eyes.
Roan will beat his ass.
“Leave,” I hiss.
He finishes yanking on his clothes, his jaw furiously working. “You’re gonna regret this, Roux.”
“Get the hell out of here!”
As soon as he storms off, I yank my phone from my pocket and call Roan. He’s going to be pissed, but he’ll be even more pissed if I don’t call him. God put big brothers on this earth for a reason. They’re here to get their little sisters out of heaps of shit.
I’m standing in the biggest heap yet.