Chapter 25 #2
“Got it.” He took my hand and kissed it. His lips were moist and kind of sloppy. I resisted, just barely, the urge to pull my hand back. “Alatheia, it’s nice to meet you. Any friend of the Lents is a friend of mine. By the way, your brother is fucked up tonight. See you later.”
Marco took off to shout at someone else.
I watched his shoes as he went—designer, navy blue, and suede.
The kind of shoes that would be destroyed if someone spilled beer on them, and beer seemed to be flowing everywhere.
There was even a beer pong game in the corner, right next to what looked like soft leather couches.
Didn’t his parents care that he was going to destroy their house? His shoes said jackass, and I was going with that description, since it matched what Julian had said about him.
I turned to Julian as I had the thought. “Don’t hit anyone. Okay?” I didn’t want him in more trouble.
“The night is young, Alatheia. Let’s get eyes on Phoenix, make sure he’s not more fucked up than usual, shall we?”
I scanned the crowd. The music was loud, thumping until I could practically feel it reverberate through my chest. I actually recognized the guy from Jersey and his mean sister among the guests.
She spun in a corner, and he laughed fiercely at something some guy next to him said.
I spotted Phoenix watching someone play darts.
He grinned, his gaze vacant as he shook his head.
“Dude, you couldn’t hit the side of a barn,” he snickered.
I recognized another guy near him—Jo, the drug dealer Jeremy wanted to punch.
His presence at least explained why Phoenix came early—since he didn’t want to buy drugs in front of me earlier, he probably did it there.
I shook my head, disappointed despite myself.
“Hey,” Jeremy called and Jo visibly paled before he scampered away, disappearing into the crowd.
“I think he knows you don’t like him,” I shouted at Jeremy.
“Good.” He nodded.
Phoenix finally focused on us. “My family is here!” His smile brightened. “And Alatheia. You’re here.” He stumbled a little getting to me then hugged me tightly. “I had fun yesterday.”
“It was today.” I patted his back. “And I did, too. Are you okay?”
“Yep.” He pulled back. “I’m good.”
If I had to pick between Phoenix taking ADHD meds that he didn’t need and whatever drugs he currently used, I would pick the ADHD meds, though none of it was great. Who is he when he’s actually just himself?
I hated the party, and it hadn’t even really started yet.
I’m not sure when I noticed, but I began to collect death stares from some of the women in the room.
Jeremy chatted with some of the other water polo players summering in the Hamptons, while I stood next to Julian and watched him play beer pong.
He was good at it, which meant he drank a lot of beer.
He offered me a glass, but I shook my head.
I wasn’t sure I would ever feel comfortable enough to want to try substances that might alter my senses.
After I declined, he chugged the red plastic cup himself.
He explained, “I’m only going to play this once. I won’t get fucked up again, not like last night.”
I shook my head. “Not here to judge, but I am going to find Barrett. Why are the girls glaring at me?”
He glanced over his shoulder. “One of them wants to date me. Her friends told me in May, but I’m not interested. Maybe they think you’re why. You’re not. I didn’t want to date her before I met you. Now, even less so.”
Someone shouted and everyone went ooh . Phoenix laughed with a group of people watching the action in the corner that elicited the response. He worried about everything, all of the time. I doubted he was right then, and maybe that was why he did it.
“Done.” Julian took his last sip. “We’ll go find him together.”
Barrett stood alone outside, the wind tossing around his hair, a red cup in his hand while he stared upward. He turned when we approached and nodded toward the sky. “I think the storm that’s been threatening is making landfall any second.”
Was that what it was? “I wondered about the change. I’ve never been in a storm at the beach before. Will it be okay?”
“Sure. It’s just a storm, but we should head back if we don’t want to get wet. Jules, take her home. I’ll grab Jer and see if Phoenix will leave.”
Jeremy hated water polo. Despite that, he did a great job of acting like he didn’t as he bro-ed it up with his teammates. I didn’t see him minding if Barrett told him to leave, but Phoenix? I didn’t have any idea.
We walked quickly onto the beach, my hand in Julian’s. He hummed to himself. I imagined he likely felt at least a little buzzed from the beers he’d had. His vague smile met my own, as the lights from the house we just left faded the further we walked down the beach.
“Did you have fun?”
I shook my head, laughing. “No.”
“I love that you’re being honest with me. Feels like that Italian dinner was a million years ago. You know, the one when you wouldn’t talk to me.”
It really did. “I’m glad you pushed. I’m happy in a way I didn’t expect. I know I’ll always remember feeling this way, and it’s really because of you. All of you.”
Julian admitted, “I’m happy in a way I never expected to be, too. That might be hard to believe but it’s true.”
It wasn’t hard to believe, not with what I’d seen firsthand about his life. “Then I’m doubly glad you pushed.”
We made it inside my room as the first crack of thunder rumbled through the sky. He whistled. “Going to be a big one.”
I nodded toward the bathroom. “Get the sand off your feet. I will, too. I don’t want the maid to hate me because she has to change my sheets every day because of the sand.”
“Sure, I’ll do whatever you want. We don’t want you panicking over the maid again.”
Panicking? I felt … frantic. Was that what it was?
We washed off our feet and after he exited the bathroom, I quickly changed into a nightie—white with spaghetti straps. Julian sat on the edge of my bed and held out his hand. He only wore boxer shorts, which showed off his strong, well-defined abs. “Come cuddle with me.”
Another crack of thunder sounded, and I jumped as my screen door opened, letting the other three Lent brothers inside.
They were wet, so the rain must have started. “Thanks for waiting,” Jeremy shot at Julian who raised his eyebrows.
“I didn’t want Alatheia to get wet. Go wash off, you three. She doesn’t want the maid upset about sand.”
Phoenix shook his head. “What?”
“Just do it,” Barrett said as he passed him on his way to the bathroom. The night sky out of the window lit up from the lightning and the ocean seemed angrier. It was louder, the usual gentle roar more of a growl.
I walked to the doors and stared for a second as rain spattered the patio.
Lights illuminated their property, giving small golden globes of light, but it still seemed darker than before—which was both ridiculous and yet somehow also true.
I locked the doors, watching as another flash spidered its way across the clouds. “Will we be okay in here?”
“Yes. It’ll blow over.” Julian locked the door to the hallway before returning. “It might be loud, but it’ll be fine. Want me to see if I can find a fan or download a noise canceling app?”
“Maybe she should do that anyway, Peanut, to cover up your snoring.” Jeremy grinned, grabbing two blankets and pillows from the closet, before taking his place on a futon.
Shirtless, like Julian, his muscles glistened in the flash of the lightning.
He threw a pillow and blanket onto the other futon.
“I don’t snore. You do.” Jules lay down on the bed then drew me to him, tugging my hand until I obeyed. His body blocked me from the rest of the room.
“I’ve got news for you.” I grinned. “You both snore.”
“They do.” Phoenix said as he stared at the situation, seemed to frown, then dropped onto the futon.
“You do, too,” I pointed out and he lifted his head.
“No. I do it? Shit.” He lay back down, tucking a pillow over his head.
“Only because you’re exhausted.” Barrett was the last out, shutting the bathroom door behind him before flipping off the light. “We need to bring phone chargers in here. It’ll be easier than figuring it out all day.”
The room fell quiet other than the pounding rain and the sounds of the storm outside. Barrett climbed in on my other side, the bed dipping under his weight. Julian pulled me close against his side while Barrett rolled toward me, wrapping an arm around me from his place by the doors.
No one was sleeping, I realized. Since I knew what they all sounded like when they were out, I could tell they were awake. Was it just the storm?
“I hate this weather.” From his futon, Phoenix kicked his blanket off. “I fucking hate it.” He flopped over onto his stomach. “Before they can tell you, Red, it rained really hard the whole time I was kidnapped. I’ve never been able to tolerate it since.”
Jeremy reached over and placed a hand on his brother’s arm. “We’re here. We’re all inside. You’re safe.”
So, it wasn’t that he remembered nothing from that time. His body remembered, and he’d been scared of the storm. I loved the smell of the storms approaching in Manhattan. The petrichor was pleasant. A coastal storm felt different; it threatened violence.
Phoenix jumped up and walked to the closet. He leaned on the wall, and I sat back on my elbows to see if he was okay. “You okay?”
“No. I think I’ve got to go. I’ve just got to.”
His brothers released me from their snuggling, and I got out of bed. “Go where?”
“I don’t know. I just need to move.” He shook his head.
I drew him to me in a hug, his bare chest hot against the fabric of my thin nightie.
His body felt sticky with sweat, despite the coolness of the room.
“Then tell me where I’m going. Remember what you said to me?
If I went somewhere you would follow? Same goes here.
Tell me where you’re going, so I can follow you. ”
He kissed my shoulder. “I’m sorry. I know I’m being crazy.”
“I don’t like that word. It’s okay. This is going to pass.
” He made no motion to release me, so I didn’t either, stroking my hand up and down his back.
“In Chicago, when the storms come in, the city seems to take on a green tint. The sky gets green, and it’s scary.
But in San Francisco, they always seem to have more of a drizzle.
Like, it’s nothing really, just mist. They almost never have lightning or thunder.
” I took a deep breath, remembering farther back, to the time before.
My life is always made of a before and after.
“In North Dakota, there was no cover. We could see the storms rolling in for miles, so we had lots of time to make sure everything outside had been secured. Then boom, the storms would hit in this dramatic, real, scary, visceral way. Then they howled, but we could get tornadoes. I remember neighbors watching the warnings, looking for hooks, worrying they were headed for us. Our little trailers wouldn’t have held up well under the assault of even a small tornado.
Fortunately, we were lucky. No tornadoes, just warnings, but it was so scary.
I don’t remember Colorado that well, but my mom once told me it seemed like it always rained there in the afternoon.
” I pulled back to look at him. “Storms do funny things to us all. Don’t worry. ”
Barrett jumped out of the bed. “Sleep next to Alatheia tonight, Phoenix. I’ll go tomorrow.”
“I don’t want special treatment,” he said, his chin jerking up proudly.
“Phoenix?” Julian shook his head. “You’re sleeping for the first time in years when you’re with her. Go to bed. When you’re on some kind of regular schedule, we’ll make it even. For now, just go with it.”
He met my gaze, stroking a fingertip across my forehead. “Do you mind?”
“Come to bed. It’s fine.”
I wanted everyone safe and secure. I didn’t know if Phoenix really would be able to sleep next to me in the storm, but if they thought it might help, I was thrilled.
Jeremy met my gaze. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
I crawled in next to Julian who pulled me back into position.
Phoenix curled up against my other side.
“I hate being needy,” he whispered.
“We’re all needy sometimes.”
The thunder boomed, and the lightning lit up the room.