Chapter 50
Skye
I plucked another petal off of the iris flower in my hand, trying not to sigh again.
I hadn’t seen River in almost two weeks. He hadn’t been in class. He wasn’t answering his phone. He wasn’t coming to his counseling sessions, either. I knew, because I’d stolen Rafe’s idea and broken into Wyatt’s office to send River a fake counseling email from Wyatt’s laptop. He hadn’t showed.
Willow and Mia hadn’t seen him anywhere. Isaiah hadn’t even seen him somewhere, and Isaiah saw everything somehow.
So I was back in the garden in the woods, ripping up flowers while I waited, hoping he’d show up.
And he hadn’t.
I sighed.
The moon was even out.
“You think he knows I’m here?” Aiden’s voice came from beyond the tree line.
I shook my head in reply. Ever since our Chain imploded, Aiden had been insisting on following me on my nightly outings. He had a bad feeling about River’s silence, and I didn’t have any strength to tell him I thought he was wrong.
“You wanna try the Wyatt idea again? Maybe threaten detention this time?” Aiden suggested.
“I tried that already,” I replied with a huff. “He’s not afraid of detention. He just never shows up.”
Aiden chuckled, and I ignored the tight sensation in my chest at the mention of Wyatt.
God, I couldn’t believe we were back to having chest pain over fucking Wyatt. Although now, it was much worse than before since we were connected.
I didn’t know where Wyatt had been staying, but it wasn’t my room. I didn’t even think he’d been inside the dorm.
Aiden appeared in my peripheral vision just as my phone buzzed. He leaned over the top of me, glancing at my phone screen.
“Lana?” he said.
“Yeah, she keeps calling me,” I muttered. I ran a hand down my face, then answered. “Hello?”
“Skye,” Lana sounded out of breath. “Fuck. Listen, I need your help. Willow won’t talk to me, and I need to talk to her.”
I palmed my forehead. “Lana…this isn’t my business–”
“Skye, it’s about her mom. I need to talk to her.”
The urgency in her tone gave me pause, and though Aiden couldn’t hear her, he still tensed at my stillness.
“Okay,” I said. “Okay. I’ll text Willow.”
“Thank you,” Lana breathed. “You should go in soon, by the way. It looks like rain.”
Lana hung up, and I scrunched my nose before looking up into the sky. Clouds were just moving across the moon, darkening the landscape around us.
“That…was weird,” I said slowly.
Aiden snorted. “Lana’s weird.”
I shook my head as I pulled out my phone.
Me
Willow, Lana needs to talk to you
I don’t know what’s going on, she says its about your mom
When Willow didn’t respond immediately, I stood, chewing my lip.
Me
Is everything ok?
Mia
Willow is talking to Lana
Are YOU ok?
Me
No
When Mia didn’t reply, Aiden pulled me into a hug, murmuring, “Let’s go, baby.”
I went with him, glancing back at the flowers with a frown.
The next evening was the same.
And the one after that.
And the one after that.
My chest ached.
Aiden and I made our way back to the dorm on foot.
“Where do you think Wyatt’s staying?” I asked. “With that woman?”
“No, Skyes,” Aiden said with a grin.
“Mr. Craig has been staying in his old apartment.”
I nearly jumped a mile in the air.
“Isaiah!” I squealed. “Jesus, fuck. Where did you come from?”
“I’ve been following you for nearly two months–” he started, and I cut him off with a groan.
We continued walking in silence while I ignored Aiden’s grin.
I sheepishly cleared my throat after a few minutes. “His apartment?”
“Yes. His lease was for the school year, and I believe he pays each year in advance.”
“Oh,” I muttered.
“Rafe’s been in his room, though.” Aiden said. “I saw him yesterday.”
I nodded as we entered the dormitory building, then looked Isaiah over as we waited on the elevator. He’d just had a haircut, his fade fresh and smooth. The top of his hair was a little more styled than usual, and I narrowed my eyes at a suspicious patch of purpled skin near his collar.
“How are Willow and Mia?” I asked as we stepped into the elevator.
Aiden chuckled as he leaned back against the wall.
Isaiah’s ears turned a rosy pink, and I grinned.
“They’re fine,” Isaiah said, his voice a little high. “Actually, Skye…there was something I needed to talk to you about–”
The elevator doors opened with a ding.
“See, there they are. I told you they were together. Stop being a pain in my ass.” Rafe’s voice came from inside the dorm.
The three of us stepped into the foyer to find Wyatt and Rafe in the middle of an argument.
“This is not how this was supposed to go,” Wyatt snapped. “You said they’d be here!”
“What do you want me to say? My stalking game is off now that I hired her a new stalker!” Rafe cried.
“What the fuck,” Isaiah muttered, and I laughed.
Every one of my Links turned to glare at Isaiah, and I couldn’t help but laugh again.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
I didn’t even care that Wyatt and Rafe had been missing for the last few weeks. The ache in my chest eased, and I felt like I could finally take in a full breath. My feet twitched inside my sneakers, wanting to move toward both of them, but I stayed put.
“Wyatt and I were going to try romancing you, but he’s an idiot,” Rafe explained with a wince. Aiden laughed while I snorted.
“You dick,” Wyatt hissed. He straightened when he noticed I was watching him. “I um…” Wyatt batted at a shadow that tickled his neck. “We made food.”
I smiled.
Ten minutes later, we were all eating from a massive pot of pasta that had a little too much cheese and not quite enough sauce. I decided not to comment on it, but then–
“Wow. So neither of you can cook,” Aiden said as he sat back.
I snorted, then slapped a hand over my mouth as Rafe and Wyatt looked up with matching expressions of shock.
“Fuck you, I’d like to see you cook something,” Wyatt snapped.
Aiden moved to stand, and I grabbed him, my shoulders shaking as I tried and failed to stifle my laugh.
Rafe watched my laugh, the smile on his face growing. My cheeks heated, and I looked away quickly.
“Isaiah can’t cook either,” Aiden said.
Rafe scrunched up his nose. “Why do you know that?
“I had to remake our food once,” I explained.
Rafe and Wyatt got quiet, sharing a look.
I glanced back and forth between them. “What?”
“Why were you cooking for the guard?” Wyatt growled.
“Oh, my God. That’s it. I’m out of here.”
I stood, making every man cry out in indignation. I froze, stifling another laugh.
“Ignore Wyatt, my love, you know he’s an idiot.”
“You were also making a face,” I pointed out.
“Moi?” Rafe put both hands over his heart. “I do not make faces.”
“You make a lot of faces,” Wyatt muttered.
Rafe punched him in the shoulder. Wyatt hissed through his teeth, then lunged at Rafe, who laughed like a psycho.
I rolled my eyes, heading up the hall while Rafe and Wyatt continued to wrestle. The sound of glass breaking made me cringe, but no one shouted in pain, so I continued into the bedroom.
I quickly washed my face, then happily rubbed my eyes until my vision was nothing but multicolored fuzz.
When I walked back into the bedroom, I stopped at the edge of the bed, raising an eyebrow at Aiden. He was completely laid out, hands tucked under his head with his legs crossed at the ankles.
He looked delicious.
I swallowed thickly. “What’s up?” I squeaked.
Aiden grinned, then sat up, meeting me at the edge of the bed and leaning in for a kiss. “I missed you, baby.”
Aiden kissed me, long and deep. I moaned as he ran his fingers over my breasts through the thick fabric of the sweatshirt.
I pulled back, my heart racing. Aiden tugged at my sweatshirt, helping me pull it over my head so I was left in a crop top.
He pulled me back in for another kiss, gently lowering me onto the bed as I tried to keep my gaze on Wyatt and Rafe, who were now in the bedroom and seemingly arguing telepathically.
Rafe shrugged, pulling his shirt over his head before kicking off his boots. The bed dipped with his weight, and he crawled over to me, not-so-gently shoving Aiden away before leaning in to kiss me. My heart jumped in my chest.
I almost laughed at Aiden’s fake grunt of pain, smiling against Rafe’s lips. I’d missed Rafe. His warmth. His taste. So familiar. So safe. I hated that I’d hurt him.
Rafe’s hands traveled down my arms, then squeezed around my hips. One hand trailed lower, reaching between my legs to press against me through my leggings.
My hips rocked against him involuntarily, searching for more of his touch.
“Oh, she’s so greedy.” Rafe purred. I shivered, nipping at his lower lip while he huffed a laugh. “Greedy girl. Will our three cocks be enough for you?”
My stomach dipped. I sucked in a breath, pushing at his chest to see his face, only slightly relieved to find he was half-joking.
“Don’t be a dick,” Aiden warned from somewhere beside us.
“Never,” Rafe replied, kissing my forehead. “She likes it.”
Aiden looked at me with a furrowed brow, and I grinned sheepishly before giving him a quick kiss in thanks.
Strong hands grabbed my waist from behind, and goosebumps covered my arms. I glanced over my shoulder at Wyatt, ignoring how Aiden was still kissing along my neck. Wyatt shoved him away after a few seconds, then pulled me down as he settled on the bed.
I climbed over Wyatt, straddling his hips. His hand snaked into my hair, and he pulled it taut as I tried to lean forward to kiss him. I frowned.
“No more lying,” Wyatt whispered. “Please, baby girl. Just tell me what you’re up to.”
I melted at the nickname, leaning forward to finally kiss him. I pulled at his shirt, leaning back so he could pull it over his head. I smoothed back his hair, running my fingers over his cheeks and down to his neck.
Wyatt relaxed further, closing his eyes with a sigh as I ran my hands over his broad chest, teasing my fingers through the hair there before reaching lower.
Aiden kissed along my neck, running his tongue along my jaw before I shivered. Rafe was still somewhere off to the side, watching and waiting for his opening.
I pulled Wyatt’s zipper, and he breathed out harshly.