Chapter 15
Every corner of Greenwood seems to dim beneath the bright neon lights. Even the casino goers stumble back to their beds with empty dreams and pockets to keep them company.
The world seems to cease. It's quiet. Desolate. Dead for at least a few hours. But Greenwood is never truly dead. The underbelly is always alive, crawling through the shadows, and ready to emerge at a moment's notice.
There's something about the silence that soothes the itch in my flesh that seems too tight. It takes the anxiety from my mind and tosses it out—the stress, the emotions, the past. Everything ceases the moment I step into the moonlight and surrender myself to the night. It’s familiar even—something I can fall into with open arms, diving headfirst with my eyes closed.
Especially when today's world is too loud and chaotic, overwhelming my senses and begging me to retreat to a quieter environment, like my bedroom. My sanctuary away from all the bullshit I call my life.
Like now.
Campus is alive. Packed with people lining the sidewalks, cafes, and even the library. Nowhere is safe from their incessant chatter and scuffing shoes. Even the breeze carries their conversations to every corner of the property, haunting me with the very thing that makes my teeth sit on edge.
Noise.
It's in every molecule in the air. Making my teeth grind and an uneasiness crawl through me.
It's been a long, quiet summer without my peers.
I retract that. Quiet was not included in our summer adventures.
The homefront was loud and chaotic. The empty campus was our sanctuary.
Quiet and empty, devoid of noisy humans.
Leaving only Hux, Mack, and I here, running jobs for Franco throughout Greenwood like one of the dutiful foster sons we are.
Sitting in on meetings at the casino, running contraband from city to city, participating in car races, and leading raids.
The quiet was soothing, but I knew it would end when everyone returned to their college life at one of California's most prestigious institutions.
Louder than fucking ever.
Fuck. I pinch the bridge of my nose, wishing I could hide behind my screen and never emerge into the real world.
But I can’t. We have business to attend to.
Shit to do. And with classes starting on Wednesday, there’s no time to slack off and hide in the silence.
I need to face the noise head-on, even if I’d rather not.
Silence is my comfort. A soundless environment I found peace in when I was eight and the world suddenly stopped turning and making noise.
I sigh with relief when my hearing aids naturally adjust the volume, blocking out the voices and muffling their existence. The pressure on my skin eases, and I no longer feel tight and scratchy with the urge to run back to our home.
I promised Hux I'd help him today. Well, until Amanda texted and whined she needed him, throwing a wrench into our plans. Per her fucking usual.
So, that leaves me, watching my peers from the shadows as I rest against the weathered brick of the administrative building, waiting for Hux to deal with Amanda's—well, I'm not quite sure. There's always something with her. She never leaves him be. Always up his ass to do this and that for her. And now, after being forced to put a ring on her finger, per Franco’s request, it’ll only get worse. For all of us.
Unless I find a loophole in their grand scheme to marry Hux and Amanda for alliance purposes. And if anyone can do it, it’s me.
Adjusting my posture, I lean against the weathered brick with the muffled noises of everything happening around me softly in my ears.
Relief hits me out of nowhere, and I close my eyes, unfurling my muscles.
When I peek an eye open, a few girls I recognize walk by, but they don't notice me here watching them from the shadows.
I may be unable to hear their conversation as they pass by, none the wiser of my presence. But I can read their lips. Every word spoken. Every sigh passing between them. In my world, it comes in handy to be able to read people. Their expressions. Their lips. Their body language.
My specialty.
I cringe, turning sharply on my heels with wide eyes when the double doors of the admin building burst open, smacking into the brick with a loud thud and revealing my scowling best friend.
His shoulders reach his ears, bunching with every step he takes down the small set of stairs leading to the sidewalk.
Other people notice his sudden outburst with slack jaws and whispers.
Yes. That’s the infamous Huxley Crewes. The King of Greenwood U that everyone drools over when he makes an appearance.
“Hux?” I question loudly, not garnering his attention.
He continues to march away from me, pounding his feet into the grass and kicking up dirt in his wake.
Every person he passes gives him a wide berth now, no longer staring with admiration.
Instead, it’s fear wafting from their pores.
Smart. He's likely to start swinging if someone gives him lip or the wrong sideways glance.
Always with the violence.
“Huxley.” My voice dips low, attempting to catch his attention as I jog after him. “What did she do this time?” I gasp for breath, putting a hand on my racing heart.
Running is not my forte; if I had it my way, I'd stay behind my computer screen to accomplish what I needed. Hell, I'd even go to virtual classes just to avoid the noisy world and everything it has to offer.
Too bad that's not in the cards for me.
"I run Greenwood U now, boys," Franco says with a grin, pacing in front of us as we sit in the suite overlooking his casino floor.
Something in my stomach drops when he stops, looking between the three of us with something odd sparkling in his eyes.
"So, you'll be good to show the student body who their kings are. "
"Kings?" Hux asks, tilting his head.
Franco's grin widens. "You're the Kings of Greenwood U now."
"And you run it now?" Mack asks, smacking the gum in his mouth loudly. Well, until Franco sends him a glare, he stops with a huff.
Franco shrugs, not exactly confirming a change in command. "This is where you boys come in. The future is in your hands. Our organization. This town." He licks his lips. "Greenwood has potential, and we're going to exploit it for all its worth.”
Whatever that meant. That day, we were given instructions on how we should run our clubhouse. Hold initiations. Find more members. Introduce them to our life and expand our business around the United States.
“Not here,” Hux grunts, slowing his steps to a normal pace. “Let’s go home.” He nods toward the back of campus where our house sits on the hill overlooking the entire damn world.
Well, that wasn't our original destination.
"You don't want to..." I trail off when the fury in his eyes connects with mine, and my lips snap shut.
Okay, then. We're not doing that right now. Not that I don't blame him. That's an entirely different type of shit show he’s involved us in. Albeit necessary for the good of campus, but very fucking messy.
"No." He doesn't have to elaborate anymore.
I blink several times, looking around the bustling campus. There are many things we can’t discuss in the open with ears, cameras, and everything else around. Contrary to what people like to believe about us, we’re just pawns in a ruthless game with no clear winners.
Well, except for Franco. He sits at the top of the food chain here in Greenwood. The puppetmaster behind so many things people can’t comprehend.
I simply nod, following down the winding sidewalks toward the back of campus.
My least favorite spot.
A heaviness presses hard on my chest. Oxygen becomes thick and difficult to drag in between my lips. I almost stumble over my feet.
My heart aches when we skirt around the cemetery, following the iron fence that lays out the perimeter of the dead. They're in there rotting beneath the world, and we're out here. Alive and barely breathing. Some passed naturally. Others passed suddenly without rhyme or reason.
And some passed too soon at the hands of someone else.
My gaze scans the multitude of headstones bursting from the freshly mowed grass. Instantly, I spot the one that always has my attention.
She's in there. Our girl. Resting in a wooden casket, filled with silk lining and what remains of her. Olivia. Like she has been for the last five years. Killed way too young and taken from her destiny.
From us.
So cruelly ended without a proper goodbye.
We all had dreams of leaving this place. Together. For always. The four of us as a unit.
Our dreams never included staying here. Not in the family business. Not fulfilling our duties that were so graciously bestowed upon us. We were going to run. Leave to the other part of the country with new identities.
But we never made it.
Hux, Mack, and I are all cogs in Franco's well-oiled machine. Come this time next year, we'll officially step up to our destined roles given to us by him. For now, we're watching over the college and recruiting people under the guise of our fraternity house.
I stand with my garbage bag at my side, filled with the only things that belong to me.
The world remains quiet, engulfing me in the nothingness I’ve become accustomed to.
And has been since the moment our tires squealed and our car crashed.
That one incident ruined my entire life, taking out my parents and my sister.
That was years ago.
I’ve been to two foster homes on the opposite sides of California.
Two separate and different families, unable to handle me and my lack of hearing.
He’s too much trouble, one foster mom said with a sneer, breaking my little heart into pieces.
She didn’t think I could understand her as she talked on the phone with my caseworker.
But I could read every word on her lips. I may be deaf, but I’m not inadequate.