10. Back For You
10
Back For You
I’ve always wondered what it would be like to not have to go to school. Or work a full-time job. Or do anything that requires spending years of your life doing something repetitive for survival reasons. What would we do with our time? If there was no such thing as “money,” would we go back to desperately fighting for our food? How quickly could a well-balanced society turn into a war zone if we all truly were equals and numbers didn’t define our ability to see another day? If you could just go to the store and pick up what you wanted without paying for it, would chaos enfold our world?
My guess is yes.
Our entire lives basically consist of giving away our time so that we can have more of it. And in the end, that time we earned will also be given away in exchange for more time. It’s a never-ending cycle. Money is not the main thing a job gives you. A job gives you a tomorrow. A future. Survival .
I have no idea why I’m thinking about this right now. My packed high school cafeteria isn’t exactly my first choice for a moment when I’m questioning everything and anything. But then again, my random and philosophic thoughts might have something to do with my desperate need to not let my mind be consumed by other things.
And by other things, I mean Haze Adams.
I haven’t checked my phone since yesterday. If he doesn’t want to stop and I don’t want to stop, all that’s left to do is remove the choice from the equation.
I know if I read his messages, I’ll be tempted to answer, and I don’t trust myself not to.
Still no sign of him at school. If his three days of ghosting tell me anything, it’s that he probably won’t show today either.
Kass has been talking for an unbearably long ten minutes about how incredibly excited she is to attend Natasha’s party. Zoey squeals in agreement. As for Morgan, to my great surprise, she actually seems invested in the conversation, too. Looks like the straight A student grew a sudden interest for the dark side.
I wish I could reciprocate Kass’s excitement, but all I can think about is the risk I’m taking by going to another party after what happened. The boys said it should be fine. That it’s actually better to be in a large crowd than to stay home like a sitting duck. But still, Will, Blake, and Alex decided to come along to keep me safe just in case.
Because it definitely has nothing to do with the free booze and the multiple girls running around in their bikinis.
The clock reads that only fifteen short minutes separate us from the beginning of next period. I tell the girls I’ll see them later and exit the cafeteria. I know that getting to my locker is going to be much harder than I anticipated when I see the crowd of students gathered in the hall. I make my way through the sea of teenagers and freeze.
What is he doing here?
With his back against my locker and his hands deep in his pockets, he’s glancing around, obviously waiting for someone.
Me.
He’s wearing a black T-shirt, the tightness of the sleeves complementing the ripped and perfectly defined muscles of his arms. This is ridiculous. He looks like he stepped off the cover of a freaking magazine
Stop drooling .
The absence of anxiety in his features throws me off. He’s relaxed, casual, while I am the very definition of a nervous wreck.
His gaze travels up to my face, his eyes so sharp they could cut through the toughest diamonds. I consider walking in the opposite direction for a second but decide against it. It’s too late. He’s already staring at me.
And he’s already smiling.
That goddamn smile .
“Look who decided to rise from the dead.” I stop in front of him.
He smirks. “Well, hello to you, too, Kingston.”
“What do you want?” I try and push him off my locker but fail miserably. He barely moves, crossing his buff arms against his chest. I sigh as my eyes stick to his tattooed arm where the numbers 04/16 are on display. I still have no idea what it means. I doubt he’d tell me if I asked.
“I came to ask you what you’re doing tonight.”
“Seriously?” I scoff. “You’re not going to acknowledge the fact that you disappeared for three days at all?”
Does he really think a couple of text messages magically make up for his disappearance?
He tilts his head to the side and shrugs. “I had business to take care of. I told you.”
Still no real answer.
“I see.” I sigh. “Can you please move?”
He doesn’t budge. “I know a place if you want.”
“A place for what?”
“For your phone. It’s obviously broken since you’re not texting back.”
I can’t stop a grin from growing across my face. Dang it. I’m supposed to be mad at him.
“We’re in a no-texting period, remember?”
He pouts. “What? But I thought you were kidding.”
“I wasn’t. Plus, you can’t just show up to my locker like this. Kendrick may be gone for now, but the boys still go to school,” I warn, well aware that he doesn’t care.
“What are they going to do? Attack me in the hall?” He snorts and glances around. “Let them try.”
Students pass us, making sure to stare for as long as humanly possible. I can literally hear them thinking, “What the hell does Haze Adams want with the new girl?”
“What are you doing tonight?” he asks.
He’s not going to let it go.
“My cousin’s dragging me to a party.”
“You mean the pool party? You’re actually going to that?”
I can discern a hint of shock in his features. He’s probably surprised that I’d risk going to another party after the first one.
I nod as an answer.
“Do you really think it’s safe after… you know.” He doesn’t finish his sentence, but he doesn’t need to.
He steps out of the way, letting me access my locker. I open it, while he leans against the one next to mine.
“I can’t hide under a rock for the rest of my life, can I?” I try to deny the raw edge of anxiety burning in my chest. “Plus, I could use a night off. My neighbor’s dog’s new thing is to bark until 3:00 a.m.”
We lock eyes.
“You know if you need a place to stay, you can always sleep at my house.”
“And sleep in the same house as your psycho brother? Sure. Sounds great. I haven’t been strangled in a while.”
He laughs and steps closer until his disturbingly addictive cologne reaches my nostrils. He doesn’t speak, lowering his eyes to the tiled floor for a brief instant. He hovers over me, so tall I have to stretch my neck to get a good look at him.
“You know damn well I’d never let him lay a finger on you again.”
My heart jolts in my chest.
I open my mouth to speak when—
“There you are.”
Haze and I both jump and step away from each other. We turn our heads simultaneously. Next to us is Bianca. I take in her delicate features. She looks a hundred times better than she did the last time I saw her. But I mean, she’d just finished having sex with Haze so…
Ugh. Vomit.
Her eyes remain fixated on him as she completely ignores my presence.
“What happened to you last night? You left in such a hurry. You disappear for three days and then show up only to leave after ten minutes?”
I can’t ignore the relief that pours over me. He wasn’t with her these past three days. But then where was he?
Uncomfortable is the word to describe Haze’s facial expression.
“I was busy.” He shrugs.
Only then does Bianca deign to look at me. She looks me up and down, obviously tearing me to pieces in her mind. I’m not sure if she recognizes me from her party.
“The party’s tonight. You’re coming, right?” She steps closer, biting on her lower lip in an attempt to seduce him. “I thought we could finish what we started last Sunday.”
Realization punches me in the face.
That’s why he had to leave on Sunday after he helped me remove the helmet. It was to go see her. I look down, a painful pit forming in my throat.
Haze’s lips part as he stares at me, helpless. I pray that he won’t try to explain himself. After all, he doesn’t owe me anything. He is free to do what he wants.
Or, in this case, who he wants.
“Winter—”
I cut him off, grabbing my books and shutting my locker. “I have to get to class. I’ll let you two talk.”
The bell rings seconds later. I try and soothe the twinge of discomfort taking over me. Now that I think about it, a party might be just what I need.
“She did not say that?” Kassidy slurs, her fingers white-knuckled around the glass bottle she’s holding.
Morgan chortles. “Yes. She did. I swear.”
I can’t even count how many times Kass has spilled beer on herself so far tonight. Bright side is she’s wearing a bathing suit.
I look down to my outfit. I wasn’t sure how to dress, since pool parties aren’t exactly a common thing in Canada, so I opted for a simple tank top and shorts. I’m wearing my bathing suit under it but highly doubt that I’ll go for a swim tonight. I think someone threw up in the pool already. Or is it the hot tub? I’m not sure.
Everywhere I look there are girls wearing very small pieces of fabric they call bathing suits, with red cups in their hands, and teenagers making out or grinding on each other.
Morgan decided to tag along and is currently drinking alcohol for the first time. Her tolerance is pretty much nonexistent, which makes it all the more hilarious.
Alex, Will, and Blake fell off the face of the earth almost as soon as we walked into Natasha’s modern house. They said they’d keep their phones close if I needed anything, but something tells me that if they have to choose between my call and the open bar’s call, the choice won’t be hard.
“Kass, Luke’s staring at you.” Morgan giggles, taking another sip she’ll probably regret tomorrow.
I turn around, scrutinizing my surroundings for Luke Jenson, a football player from school. I spot him, drinking out of a red cup and staring at Kass like she’s the only girl in the room. Luke’s actually a decent guy. He hangs out with the varsity team, which automatically means that he’s friends with some douchebags, but overall, he’s a nice kid. He’s pretty cute, too.
“He’s totally checking you out,” I confirm, but Kass doesn’t seem too excited about it.
She exhales. “He asked me out two days ago.”
“What’d you say?”
“No.”
Morgan is scandalized. “What? Why?”
I stop listening, my eyes roaming the room. I haven’t seen him anywhere, and we’ve been here for a while now. Might have something to do with what happened in the hall.
I finish my drink in one gulp. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
Natasha’s house is slightly smaller than Bianca’s, making it even harder to circulate around the house freely. When I spot a ridiculously long line of people, I assume that’s where the bathroom is. But what I also know is, there is no way that this big-ass house only has one.
Too bad the geniuses in line haven’t figured that out yet.
I go up to the third floor and sigh in relief. The party’s still going strong downstairs, but as I predicted, the only people interested in coming here are the wasted couples looking for a hookup spot. Four doors surround me. I have no choice but to open them all until I find what I’m looking for. I mentally prepare myself to see drunk couples making out and eating each other’s faces off.
At door number three, I begin to lose hope. I take a hesitant step toward the last door and reach for the handle with an unsteady hand.
What I see behind it leaves me speechless.
It doesn’t matter how prepared I thought I was, I certainly wasn’t ready for this. Their eyes land on me immediately. I make eye contact with Haze but quickly look away. I can’t imagine what they must be thinking right now. I probably look like an idiot, standing in the doorway with my mouth agape.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Bianca seems pissed. Her eyes are bloodshot. But this time, it has nothing to do with illegal substances.
She’s holding back tears.
Haze’s standing tall in front of her.
“Winter,” he says, a bit surprised.
I speak rapidly and turn away. “I’m so sorry. I was looking for the bathroom.”
“It’s fine. We were done anyway,” Bianca says and gets up.
She stops in front me, her eyes plunging into mine. I can tell she’s going to say something.
And I can tell I’m not going to like it.
“I see the look in your eyes. I’ve been there, too. But take my advice—run. You’re a phase. We all are.” She turns her head and glares at him.
“Bianca…” Haze blows out a discouraged breath.
“I’m not done,” she hisses. “You think you’re so special, don’t you? That you’ll somehow be that one girl who makes him fall in love? News flash: you’re not. And in the end, he’ll get sick of you. Because guess what? You’re not different. Or special. No one is .”
She walks around me, radiating rage. Her words sting, no matter how hard I try to deny them access to my heart. I have no idea what he said to her, but it certainly wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Haze’s gaze tries to connect with mine, but I ignore him and walk out of the room, striding down the long hallway.
“Winter, wait.”
Here we go.
“Let me explain.” He easily catches up to me, walking by my side.
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me. You’re free to—”
He cuts me off. “I didn’t sleep with her.”
I stop in my tracks.
I hate to admit it, but I want to hear what he has to say.
If he carries on, we’ll be crossing the line—the “let’s pretend we’re both unaware that there’s something going on here” line.
“She showed up at my house on Sunday. I sent her away. Nothing happened. She just couldn’t take a hint.”
“Oh.”
We don’t speak for a couple of seconds. That still doesn’t explain why he was with her when he asked me to call him.
“What’d you say to the poor girl to get her this mad?”
“I told her the truth. That I’m not interested in her. We can’t keep doing this when she has feelings for me.”
I half-smile. “How considerate of you.”
“I know.” He steps closer. “See? I’m a good guy sometimes.”
“You just ended things with a girl that you literally only used for sex—don’t push it.”
“Oh come on, I don’t even get a couple points in your redemption board for the noble gesture?”
“Nah. You actually have to earn the redemption points. You’re going to have to do a lot better than that, Adams.”
He smiles, following me down the stairs. When we reach the first floor, the loud music and the scent of a mixture of sweat and vomit overwhelm us. The bass crushes my chest unpleasantly. I wince.
Haze and I exchange a look. It says, Are you thinking what I’m thinking ?
He looks down at me. “Want to get out of here?”
I’d like to say that I hesitated. That the multiple sirens going off in my head were enough to restrain me. But they didn’t. I wanted to go. For the first time in forever, I didn’t care if it was wrong. Because nothing had ever felt more right.
“I don’t believe it for a second.” Haze shakes his head, the squeaking of the swing ringing in my ears.
Blatantly staring down at my feet, I try to remember the last time I swung in a park. I must’ve been around six years old. The streets are empty, enfolded in silence. I’d never be outside at this hour if Haze wasn’t with me.
“I swear.” I put my hands up. “I was alone for hours washing her car for Mother’s Day. I was so tiny I could barely reach the windows.”
“How old were you again?”
“Five.”
“You were one determined kid, that’s for sure. Was she happy?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. She never really said anything.”
Gratefulness would require for her to have a heart instead of a block of ice in its place.
“Sounds like your mom sucks.”
His bluntness amuses me.
“I wish I could hate her. I really do. But even after all of this, she’s still my mom, you know?”
He stares into the emptiness. “Yeah, I know the feeling.”
“What about you? Any good childhood stories?”
The chances of him actually confessing something to me are slim, but I try anyway. He opens his mouth to speak and closes it.
“Let me guess, you don’t want to talk about it?” I mentally chastise myself for hoping I could get something out of him. What was I thinking?
“It’s not that.” He looks conflicted. “It’s just…”
I wait for him to speak, holding my breath.
“I can’t think of a good memory.”
Ouch.
Then, like he got too close to a forbidden place, he shakes his head, trying to remove the unwanted thoughts from his brain. There are so many questions I want to ask, so much more I want to know.
“Want to go for a walk?” He gets up from the swing.
I nod, following him on the empty sidewalk that borders the park.
I watch the cars pass us. “You’re not who I thought you were.”
“And who is that, may I ask?”
“A big-headed Mr. Know-it-all, player, daddy’s spoiled little boy.”
“And who am I now?”
“A decent big-headed Mr. Know-it-all, player, daddy’s spoiled little boy.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “How kind of you.”
“I know.” I laugh along with him.
“If we’re being honest, you’re not who I thought you were either.”
“How come?”
“I thought you were wild when I met you. You know, since you basically broke every single rule. But you’re not. You’re the definition of a good girl. A prude,” he teases.
I jolt around to face him. I hit him in the arm, trying to hurt him, but end up hurting myself instead. What’s his arm made of? Bricks?
I make a face. “I am not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I’m not,” I retort. “How am I a saint? I’m secretly hanging out with a street fighter, not to mention my cousin’s nemesis, aren’t I?” Guilt burdens me when the words leave my mouth. It sounds so much worse when I say it out loud.
He scoffs. “Oh come on, when’s the last time you did something crazy? And I mean really crazy? Like the ‘I’ll tell my children this story’ kind of crazy?”
“That’s easy. Last week, I followed this guy onto the roof of an abandoned high school.”
“That doesn’t count. I practically had to carry you there.”
“Whatever,” I huff. “I’m not a prude.”
He steps closer until his strong physique hovers over me.
“Then prove it.”
The small proximity between us makes it hard to think.
Reboot the computer. I repeat, reboot the computer .
“And how am I supposed to do that?”
Haze glances around, analyzing the area. Then, after a good ten seconds, he speaks.
“Jump.” He points at something.
I turn my head to see a public pool. At first, I crack up. One, because I expected something a bit more challenging, and two, because I’m wearing my bathing suit right now. It’s perfect.
“All dressed,” he adds.
Shit .
He walks toward the fenced pool where a large sign says “$10 for adults. $5 for kids.” I follow him, my heart thumping loudly against my rib cage. The fence is high and surrounds the entire property. I’d have to do way more than get into a pool all dressed. I’d have to jump the fence and break in. That’s a crime.
“Absolutely not.”
“Then you admit that I’m right?”
If there’s one thing I hate about Haze, it’s his ability to make me want to do the craziest things just so I can prove him wrong. I’m not sure what it is. In every way, he’s the bad influence I never knew I craved. The devil on my shoulders who tells me to let go.
To be wild.
“One minute, tops,” I mutter.
A satisfied smile remolds his lips as he nods. I can’t believe I’m doing this. Haze and I look around carefully, making sure we’re alone. I struggle to climb over the fence while he watches me, already on the other side, and snickers. When I finally make it, his pale eyes lock with mine.
“On three,” he says.
A violent wave of second thoughts hits me. The severity of the situation overcomes my fleeting moment of madness, and I realize what I’m about to do.
“Haze, I’m not sure this is a good idea. Maybe we should go.”
He doesn’t reply, frowning. His gaze rapidly shifts from the pool to me.
“Yeah, you’re probably right. But before we go, can I use your phone for a second? I need to make a call, and I left mine in the car.”
“Sure.”
I get my phone out of my pocket and hand it to him. He captures Kass’s prehistoric phone in his large hand and briskly drops it on the grass surrounding the pool.
“What are you d—”
Before I have time to comprehend the events unraveling before my eyes, he runs toward me, picks me up like I’m weightless, and throws me into the freezing water.
Bastard.
He jumps, too, making sure to create a splash as big and obnoxious as humanly possible. How could I not see that coming? I gave him my phone like a freaking idiot. At least he thought about protecting it.
The water is freezing. I hold back a scream, goose bumps erupting over my skin. I come back up to the surface, gasping for air and trying my best not think about all the kid pee I probably just swallowed. I didn’t even have time to close my mouth.
“You piece of sh—” I cut myself off, coughing.
No words can explain how grateful I am that I wasn’t wearing makeup.
“I can’t believe you just did that.”
He laughs. “I can’t believe that you thought I wouldn’t.”
“I hate you.” I splash him again.
He splashes me right back, and thanks to his considerably stronger and wider arms, I’m practically hit by a tsunami. We keep on splashing each other, struggling to hold back our laughter as our clothes go from wet to soaked.
“Hey! You!” a man’s voice screeches in the distance. A glimmering light catches my eye. It’s a flashlight. It has to be.
“Shit,” Haze growls. “Shit, shit, shit.”
Security.
We hurry out of the pool as fast as lightning. I scoop my phone off the ground.
“Come on, we have to go. Now!”
Jumping the fence suddenly seems like the easiest thing I’ve ever had to do. As soon as our feet hit the ground, he traps my hand in his and starts running.
I always hated exercise. In gym class, the teacher would find great pleasure in threatening to fail me because I refused to do anything that required running. News flash: almost every sport does. But now that it’s the only way to not end up in jail tonight, I’ll run for two hours straight if I have to.
The man screams to stop, but we don’t look back, dodging everything that dares stand in our way. Haze is a fast runner. We’re very different in that department. Anyone who sees me running should start running, too.
After a never-ending five minutes of cardio, Haze pulls me behind a trash bin next to a store and motions to stay silent, his finger pressed to his lips.
We see the flashlight wandering around the darkness of the smelly alley for a couple of minutes.
“Damn it,” we hear the man curse.
The footsteps decrease, gradually becoming more and more distant until they disappear altogether. We catch our breath, our eyes colliding.
Then, we can’t stop ourselves.
We break into laughter, holding on to our stomachs while our shoulders shake uncontrollably. I can’t believe I’m laughing at this. It could’ve gone extremely wrong. We could’ve gotten arrested. We could’ve gotten hurt. We could’ve died.
So tell me why I’ve never felt more alive.
“Don’t worry about it. My aunt’s working at the hospital tonight, and Kassidy’s still at the party.” I unlock the front door to Maria’s house and walk into the completely silent kitchen that’s usually crawling with Kass and Maria’s yappers. Haze follows me hesitantly.
When we finally managed to stop laughing, we started shivering. The water was so cold, it’s a wonder we didn’t catch hypothermia. I suggested that we go to my house, which was closer to where we were, to dry ourselves up. Haze’s place is around thirty-five minutes away, and I don’t want him to stay in his stone-cold clothes and get sick.
“Come on.” I guide him to the bathroom upstairs and hand him a clean towel. When realization seems to hit him and his eyes grow two sizes, I frown.
“What is it?”
No reply. He dives his hand into the back pocket of his pants and gets something out of it.
A phone. It’s dripping on the floor, completely soaked.
“Crap. I thought you said you left your phone in the car.”
He looks up at me. “I did.”
“Then whose phone is this?”
“Kendrick’s.”
“What?”
“I completely forgot to give it back to you when I took you to the rooftop, so I brought it tonight but… then, I also forgot that it was in my pocket when we jumped in the pool.”
“Okay, hold on. Why do you have Kendrick’s phone?”
“He lost it when he attacked my brother. They wanted to use it against him, but I stole it to give it back to you. I thought you had enough going on,” he glances at me. “What’s up with hanging up on people, by the way?”
Everything falls into place.
Haze is the one who picked up when I called Kendrick.
“But…” I stutter. “They made me throw my phone into the toilet in case someone wanted to locate the call!”
It takes a couple of seconds for the information to register into Haze’s brain. Then, after silently staring at me with his mouth wide open, he bursts out laughing, for the billionth time tonight.
“You did what?”
“Shut up.” I cover my face with shaky hands. “I can’t believe it was you. God damn it.”
Haze doesn’t stop laughing, nor does he seem to have any intention to.
“You threw your phone in the—” He cuts himself off, laughing louder. “I can’t believe you. It’s impossible to be bored with you, Winter, you know that?”
I shake my head, unable to take any more humiliation. I threw my phone in the toilet. How was I supposed to know?
“You’re dripping everywhere. Don’t move. I’ll be back with some dry clothes.”
He nods, still laughing.
I walk into Kendrick’s room, which is messier than I thought possible, and grab whatever clean clothes I can find—God knows that’s rare in my cousin’s room. Boys will be boys . These two are around the same size. It should fit.
When I walk back into the bathroom, I see Haze managed to get his laughter under control and is drying his hair off with the towel. One of his toned arms holds the towel up as the other one ruffles his messy brown hair. I swear, this boy could make the simplest actions look attractive.
“There you go,” I say, a shy smile forming on my lips. “Take off your clothes so we can throw them in the dryer.”
Haze grins and proceeds to do the one thing I did not expect. He tugs at his shirt and removes it with absolutely no shame.
Don’t look at his abs.
Don’t look at his abs.
Don’t look at his a… Dang it.
My cheeks heat up when I take in every inch of his Adonis body. My wandering gaze can’t seem to stay in one place, drifting from his pecs, to his biceps, to his obliques, to his six-pack.
Don’t even get me started on his six-pack .
He’s… infuriatingly hot.
Street fighting and training close to every single day will do that to you. It’s hard to believe he’s only eighteen. According to what Kendrick said, he’s been training with his brother ever since he was fourteen years old. Well, it shows.
I giggle nervously, looking away. “I didn’t mean right now.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Is my sexiness making you uncomfortable?” He smirks, stepping closer.
My pulse quickens with every step. As the distance between us decreases, my ability to breath does, too.
“Is there a better way to react to someone stripping in front of me?”
He laughs, staring right through my soul.
“There are many ways to react to someone stripping in front of you.”
Barely four steps separate us now.
The cockiness drains from his face and is replaced by something darker, eager. I know that look. I know that lust.
Three steps .
His gaze drops to my lips
Two steps .
For the first time, he doesn’t rip his eyes away. He stares. Hard.
One step .
He stops, refusing to take the last step. We both know that would be taking us to the next step, as well. We don’t move a muscle, looking at each other in silence. My head is a freaking whirlwind. His eyes say that it’s up to me. That he won’t make a move unless I want him to. Do I want him to?
Yes, you do .
Shut up, voice of reason.
I have no idea why I do it. Why I take the last step. Maybe it’s the four drinks running in my veins, or maybe it’s my heart and its annoying tendency to disagree with my brain.
His breath lightly fans my lips. He smells like mint. I’m confident that my heart is going to burst out of my chest any second when he lifts his hand and cups my face gently. I shiver at the touch, welcoming the warmth of his skin.
He leans forward, his lips dangerously close to mine…
“Who left a trail of water around the house?”
I jerk away from him in a sudden move. It’s like coming out of a trance. Or waking up from a dream.
A really, really good dream.
I panic. “My aunt’s here early. You have to go.” Then, yelling loud enough for her to hear, “It’s me. I’m sorry. I’ll clean it up in a minute.” I turn back to him. “Come on, you can sneak out my bedroom window. It used to be Kendrick’s room. He did it all the time.”
Haze is as overwhelmed as I am, but he doesn’t budge. He throws his wet shirt back on and follows me. I unlock the window with a shaky hand and open it.
Our eyes meet. We’re thinking the same thing. Should we say something? Probably. But we don’t have time.
“Go.” I whisper.
Then, without a word, he exits through my window, hustles down the vines growing on the side of the house, and disappears into the pitch-black night.
Seconds later, Maria comes up the stairs, complaining about the trail of water Haze and I left all the way from the kitchen to the second floor. I apologize and tell her that someone pushed me in the pool, which technically isn’t false.
I refrain from telling her that it wasn’t at the party but in a public pool that the town’s bad boy and I broke into. I don’t think she’d like that part very much.
She says to clean it up and hugs me good night, exhausted from her day at work. I sit on my bed, my skin burning where Haze’s fingers used to be.
I almost kissed him. I almost kissed my cousin’s worst enemy. He’s the one who made the deal. He is the reason Kendrick is hurt. I should be crippled with guilt. I should feel awful. I stare at the window that Haze just escaped out of, and I hate myself.
Because I don’t hate myself at all.