SIXTEEN
I knew that the sick hollow feeling in my stomach had little to do with Adam’s appearance and everything to do with Kieran.
“You're having a party after the shit we went through today?” Adam huffed with disbelief. His voice was accusatory as he came to stand before me with his hands on his hips. The level of disdain tugging at his face wasn’t as extreme as I had expected; he looked more curious, in awe.
I moved to stand next to him and scanned the same scene he was viewing.
At least as the night had gone on, the mood had mellowed slightly, and the music had grown more understated.
Thankfully, the girl who had exposed herself earlier was now covered by a hoodie.
The place was still a mess with red plastic cups and empty bottles everywhere, but the pool was now too cold.
I braced myself for his irritation as I replied. “It isn’t my party. Kieran threw it.”
“Of course he did,” was all Adam grunted as he dragged a hand through his hair. I was just about to ask how it went with the girl he went to see when we were interrupted.
“Hey, Amelie, is Jessa around?” Halo said, appearing beside us. “Oh, sorry, I don’t think we’ve met.”
I introduced Adam and Halo with a dramatic eye roll. I didn’t miss the way my brother blatantly checked her out either. Hadn’t he just come from his girlfriend's, the two-timing sod?
Fucking men! Again, I surprised myself by the language I’d used in my head.
The expression on my brother’s face shifted, his eyes locking onto hers with lethal charm. “I definitely would have remembered meeting you. And is that a French lilt I hear, or is my mind just playing beautiful tricks on me?”
Halo didn't blush; she tilted her chin up, a playful challenge in her eyes. “It’s real. I’m from Yvoire, near Lake Geneva. But nice try.”
Adam chuckled, leaning a shoulder against the wall to bring himself closer to her.
“Yvoire. Exotic. Let me guess—you’re a dangerous college student here to break British hearts?”
“Seventeen, actually,” she corrected, stepping into his space just enough to look up through her lashes. “And what's your excuse?”
“I’m staying in the pool house for a while so I can keep an eye on my sister,” he replied, his smile showing even white teeth.
Halo narrowed her eyes, “Hmm, you look like trouble. How old are you?”
He chuckled. “Almost twenty, and I’m an absolute delight,” he lied smoothly, snagging the cold bottle of beer straight from her hand. He took a slow sip, his eyes never leaving hers. “But you’re looking older than seventeen tonight, mademoiselle.”
She beamed, clearly thrilled by the attention, and reached out to playfully swat his arm to get her beer back.
Just then, Beyoncé's brassy beats poured out from the speakers right behind me, vibrating through the stone.
“Oh, it’s my song!” Halo exclaimed, “literally,” caught up by the energy of the music. She started moving to the beat, her excitement infectious as she looked between us. “You have to come and dance with me.” I knew her offer wasn’t directed at me.
Halo didn't wait for an answer as she started walking backwards, a flirty look on her face and her finger crooked. Adam laughed, pushing the beer bottle into my hand and following her without another word.
I looked down at the half-drunk beverage in my hand. What the hell just happened? It was like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Either that or I was the biggest prude on the planet who clearly didn’t know the meaning of the word go with the flow.
Putting the bottle down on a table with more force than necessary, I then moodily folded my arms, watching as Halo led Adam to an area of grass in front of one of the speakers, where people were swaying to Beyoncé’s Halo.
I felt like such a sore loser. Adam seemed fine with all the people partying outside his new space. Why had I been so worried?
How had my brother changed so much so quickly, and yet I was the same dried-up, almost eighteen-year-old on the planet.
“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Weston grumbled from beside me, nudging his shoulder against mine. “I’ve created a monster.”
We both stared across the pool to where Adam and Halo were dancing at the other side. The pretty girl's arms were looped around his neck, and his tattooed hands rested heavily on her waist.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Halo Dumas.”
“What about her?”
Weston swallowed hard, his jaw tight. “We, uh... we kind of slept together the other night, when she came back from her grandma’s,” I twisted to face him, searching his sharp, handsome features.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he moaned in despair as his eyes darted away.
“She was up for it. Begged me, in fact. She wanted to lose her virginity, and I was the friend who stepped up.”
“Just a friend?” My voice was barely a whisper. I felt old before my time—boring, even—but I wasn’t stupid. I could see the raw ache in Weston’s eyes as he watched Halo in another man’s arms.
“Yep. And can you believe that I was the dick who set those terms?” He let out a harsh, self-deprecating laugh. “What a fucking idiot.”
“So, you care about her. Romantically, I mean?”
He violently jerked his head away from the couple, as if looking at them physically pained him. “Qui, je l'aurai toujours toujours fait,” he replied in perfect French before translating part of that reply to, “Always have. Always will.”
Silence stretched between us, heavy and thick, punctuated only by the distant thud of the party's bass. Then, West tilted his head, his eyes narrowing as they found mine.
“What about you and Kieran? I saw you guys earlier. Don’t try to tell me nothing is going on there.”
My throat tightened. “Well, considering he’s upstairs with Nancy, ‘whatever her name is’ right now, I’d say that’s a massive no.”
Confusion fractured his expression, and he glanced back toward the main house.
“Kieran isn’t upstairs.”
The air left my lungs. “What?” His words landed much harder than I had expected.
“I just left him to get a top-up when I saw the Human Colouring Book stealing Halo.” I didn’t have the chance to say ‘The Human Colouring Book’ was my brother as he added. “Kier’s in the house. Playing Xbox with Tanner.”
Relief hit me like a physical blow, a sudden surge of heat in my chest. “Really? Then... where did Nancy go?”
“She was just collecting her shit from his wardrobe. Some jeans, a sweater, toiletries and stuff. You know, from the past when they used to...” He trailed off, shifting uncomfortably on his feet.
“You can say it, West.”
“Hook up.” Well, at least he didn’t say screw. “Besides, tonight was always going to be a tricky one for Kier. It being that night and all.”
Why was he suddenly speaking in code?
“I’m not with you.” My entire demeanour shifted.
“October twenty-eighth. It’s the night his mom died. The Rook men have an annual routine. His dad always fucks off out of town, and Kieran and Lincoln get shitfaced. That’s their way of dealing with it, I suppose.” I wondered where Lincoln had gone to drown his sorrows, as he wasn’t at the party.
That’s why Vanessa and Cameron were away? “I don’t get why they don’t talk to each other about it.”
“There’s more to the story than you know,” Weston replied. I was dying to say that there was more to it than even Kieran knew, but of course, I was sworn to secrecy. So, it appeared his friend also believed Cameron was the cheater. I made a mental note to add that to my diary.
My stomach flipped violently, knocking the breath straight out of my lungs as I thought about how I’d acted with Kieran when Adam first dropped me off.
So, his mother died on October twenty-eighth, five years ago.
I hadn’t realised. That news twisted inside me, sharp and sickening.
I had reduced his pain to a petty game, convincing myself he threw a party to spite Adam.
A spoiled boy’s attempt to get attention because he didn’t get what he wanted.
He wasn’t being petty; Kieran was struggling, and I had been horrible to him.
My own cruel words from earlier echoed in my ears, making my stomach churn with a toxic wave of shame.
I had never thought myself capable of being so ugly, so utterly blind.
I closed my eyes, haunted by the memory of how his face had lit up when I walked out onto the patio—the genuine warmth in his voice when he told me I looked nice.
I had met his vulnerability with a kick in the teeth, and the guilt was suffocating.
Another heavy silence settled over us. Then, my stomach clenched again.
Across the pool, Adam took Halo’s chin between his fingers and kissed her roughly.
I wasn’t ready for the sight of my brother sticking his tongue down a girl's throat.
So gross. Especially considering he was supposed to be dating someone else.
“Now that’s not nice to see,” Weston hissed. “Motherfucker.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmured, gently pressing my palm against Weston's tense forearm.
He then pulled his hands from his pockets, staring at the couple with a hollow, defeated sigh. “So am I,” he muttered, mostly to himself.
What an absolute disaster of a night. Although with a silver lining. A wasted Kieran hadn’t behaved like a spoiled dickhead and wasn’t having sex with another girl under my nose.
“Anyway. Fuck that shit.” West said, clearing his throat to shatter the misery. He then rambled on, and I zoned out for a second until he said, “So, you up for it?”
My mind was still spinning as I tried to process those strong feelings I had about Kieran. “Up for what?”
“Doubles. Xbox. You and me against Tanner and Kieran. Let’s fuck them up.”
For the first time in what felt like forever, a sudden spark of excitement flared in my belly.
“Yes. I’m in,” I said with a grin.
KIERAN
“For fuck’s sake, bro. You do that again, and I’m officially unfriending you!”
Tanner’s voice exploded through my headset as I dropped the player; he’d been lining up in his sniper scope. I suppressed a grin.