WITSEC

Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

The next morning, I was still emotionally drained from the day before. I was kind of physically worn out, too, but that was because I’d gotten a good run in this morning. I’d needed it. Instead of running to escape the things I didn’t want to face, I’d tried to think through some stuff. Mainly about the guys. They all swore nothing had changed now that they knew. I was a little reluctant to truly believe them.

I was still mad at Knox. I had forgiven Colt and Creed. Keelan really hadn’t done anything wrong, but he’d still pulled me aside last night and apologized. Knox had yet to express any remorse. I couldn’t look at him without replaying how I’d thrown myself at him and begged him to kiss me in my head.

Remembering it again, I cringed as I looked through my dresses in my closet. Because of the heat, I decided to wear another summer dress, this one white with short sleeves. I kept my makeup light and I straightened my hair. I was putting on white strappy sandals when I heard my front door open. Glancing down the hall from where I sat on my bed, I saw Colt.

“Hey,” I greeted him as I picked up my phone from my nightstand. According to the time, I still had fifteen minutes before I had to leave. I was driving myself to school today because I had to go to the gym right after school and the twins had practice. Today was my first day helping Keelan teach women’s jiu-jitsu for beginners.

Leaning against my door frame with his hands in his pockets, he let his gaze roam all over me. “You look beautiful.”

I smiled, but it quickly dropped when I saw apprehension etched around his eyes. I stood and went over to him. I placed my hand on his upper arm. “What’s wrong?”

“I wanted to talk about what happened with you and Creed.”

My brows rose and I blushed. “Oh.”

“Do you want to be with him?”

I looked down. “I have feelings for him.” I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “But I have feelings for you, too.”

He pulled his hands from his pockets and reached for me. One arm hooked around the small of my back, pulling me close, and his other hand cupped the back of my neck, forcing me to look up at him. The moment our eyes met, he kissed me.

I wanted nothing more than to kiss him back. “Don’t make me choose,” I begged, pulling away a little.

Understanding what I was telling him—what I refused to do—his eyes bored into mine. “We won’t.”

Relieved, I kissed him. I poured everything I felt for him into that kiss. My trust. My desire. I may have even handed over a little bit of my heart.

He walked us further into my room. When we made it to my bed, he spun us and fell backward with me on top of him. The drop made me squeal. He laughed as we bounced on the mattress.

I sat up and straddled his hips. “We need to leave for school soon,” I said, smiling down at him.

His hands went to my outer thighs and slid up under the skirt of my dress. My skin broke out in goosebumps under his soft touch. “Or we can be late,” he suggested as each of his hands smoothed over my butt cheeks.

Surprising us, a voice said, “Knox and Keelan will kick your ass.”

It was Creed.

Colt tilted his head to look past me and shrugged. “It’d be worth it.”

I felt Creed behind me before my hair was pulled away from my neck. His lips pressed to that sensitive spot beneath my ear and my eyes became heavy-lidded. “I have to agree,” Creed whispered in my ear as he put his hand flat on my stomach. “You’re definitely worth it.” His hand moved down between my legs and cupped me over my dress. “I can still taste you on my tongue.”

His words made my core flood. It took a lot of willpower to form the words I needed to, but I did it. “No.”

They froze.

“School,” I forced out as I climbed off of Colt. “Responsibilities,” I forced out next as I crawled away to the foot of the bed and got to my feet. I smoothed down my dress. “Must be good.”

They both chuckled.

Creed gave me a sinful smirk. “I think we broke her.”

I pointed to the door. “You gotta go.”

“We’ll leave together,” Colt said.

I shook my head. “I need you to leave before me.”

Creed frowned. “Why?”

I went over to my underwear drawer. “Because I need to change my panties now, thank you very much.” I pulled out my only other pair of white undies.

Creed groaned. “It’s not nice to tease, Shi.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “You started it.”

Colt sighed and pushed Creed toward the door.

“I wasn’t teasing. I had every intention of following through,” Creed grumbled as they left my room.

At lunch, Isabelle and I sat next to each other. She was telling me that my hair was giving her courage to dye her long, dirty blonde hair a bold color. She was considering pink. Hearing that, I had to stop myself from cringing. I wouldn’t let my hang-ups with the color affect Isabelle’s choice. With her pale complexion and blue eyes, she’d rock the color pink, and I told her so. I gushed over her nails again. They were black with neon snakes on the ring fingers.

“I’m going back to the nail salon Friday after school if you want to go together,” she asked.

I beamed. “I’d love to.”

“Speaking of Friday,” Ethan said, capturing everyone’s attention, “I’m having a party at my house after the game. As my best friends, you’re expected to be there.”

“Keelan’s party is Saturday, which you’re expected to be at,” Colt said.

Ethan smiled. “You guys rarely get the weekend off. I figured we might as well make the most of it.”

Colt and Creed looked to me to see what I thought.

“I’ve never been to a party,” I said.

“Do you want to go?” Creed asked.

Ethan gave me sad puppy eyes, which made Isabelle laugh and throw a chip at him. The two of them had been dating for almost a month now and they were adorable together.

“Sure, sounds like fun,” I answered.

“It’s decided, then.” Ethan said, rubbing his hands together. “I hope your beer pong skills are still up to par.”

“We can’t get trashed. Knox will kill us if we’re hung over the next day,” Creed said to Colt.

Colt patted Creed’s shoulder. “You don’t have to worry about being hung over because it’s your turn to be the DD.”

“Fantastic,” Creed grumbled.

“Want to go shopping for something to wear to the party after we get our nails done?” Isabelle asked me.

To have a girls’ day…I hadn’t had one in so long. The last time I’d had one had been with my mom and Shayla. It had been during our trip in Texas. We had seen a cute nail salon by the beach, and we’d gotten mani pedis. It had been heaven to spend that time together and pamper ourselves a little. “Sure.”

Isabelle smiled and leaned close. “I’m really relieved you’re going because this will be my first party, too,” she whispered.

In gym class, the coaches sent us out to run the track. Ethan, Colt, Creed, and I were stretching.

“What are the stakes this time?” Creed asked.

I groaned. “Not this again.”

“If I win, Shiloh has to play five drinking games at my party,” Ethan said.

“No,” Colt and Creed objected at the same time.

“We want her to have a good time,” Colt said.

“Not be trashed within the first hour,” Creed added.

Ethan shrugged. “Fine. Three games.”

Before the twins could protest, I took over. “One game. If I win, you have to drink water all night.”

Ethan grinned. “Deal.” He looked at the twins. “If I beat you two, you host the Halloween party this year. Preferably at the cabin.”

I looked at the twins. “Cabin?”

Colt grimaced. “We have a cabin up in the mountains. Every year for winter break the four of us go up there to unplug and have family time. We ski, go fishing, and celebrate the holidays together. We haven’t told you because it hasn’t come up.”

“It’s okay,” I assured. “That sounds like a really wonderful way to spend time as a family.”

“So do we have a deal?” Ethan pushed.

Colt and Creed exchanged a look.

“Will Knox and Keelan be okay with having a party at your cabin?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Creed said. “As long as we clean up afterward and we keep people from having sex in their beds, they’ll be cool with it.”

Colt sighed and looked to Ethan. “It’s a deal, but you’ll have to beat both of us.”

“I’ll beat you,” Ethan said confidently.

I faced the twins with an evil grin. “If I win, I get to pick what you go as to the Halloween party.”

They thought about it for a moment, then agreed.

Colt looked to Creed. “If Shiloh is alright with it, whoever wins gets to take her on a date first.”

My brows shot up. A date?

“Deal,” Creed said and they both looked at me.

I nodded. “I expect ice cream on this date.”

“Noted,” they said at the same time.

“If I beat you, babe,” Colt started. “I pick what you’ll go as to the Halloween party.”

“Same,” Creed said.

I thought about it. “Deal.”

We all lined up, counted down, and took off. Like I’d done before, I paced myself. By the twentieth lap, I was having déjà vu. Ethan zoomed right past everyone, followed by Colt, leaving Creed and me neck and neck. I knew I wasn’t going to beat Creed or even tie with him this time. My energy was depleting fast. I didn’t know if it had to do with the heat or the fact that I’d already run that day. Either way, I was beat. Creed took the lead and I slowed to a walk for the remaining ten feet. I had to bend over and put my hands on my knees to catch my breath.

“You okay, babe?” Colt said, running over to me.

I stood up straight. “Yeah. I’m a little worn out.”

“Class is almost over. Do you want me to carry you back to the locker room?”

I smiled up at him and shook my head. “Don’t spoil me. I might get used to it.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me close. He dipped his head until our lips were almost touching and said, “What if I like spoiling you?” He gave me a featherlike kiss before pulling away. Needing more, I threw my arms around his neck and made him give me a real kiss. His hands went to the backs of my thighs and he picked me up. I gasped and quickly locked my legs around his waist.

We received some catcalls as other students passed by. We broke apart, laughing, and Colt walked us over to where Creed and Ethan were drinking water off to the side of the track. Colt set me down as soon as we made it over to them and Creed handed me my water bottle. As I was taking a drink, a shoulder slammed into mine. I stumbled. Both Colt and Creed caught me.

“What the hell, Amber?!” Colt yelled. I turned and sure enough, Amber and Cassy were walking away.

Amber spun around, walking backward toward the locker rooms. She gave us this mean smirk. “I hope she doesn’t give you syphilis.”

Cassy laughed with a sinister look in her eyes and the two of them continued on toward the locker room.

“You need to kick their asses, Shiloh,” Ethan grumbled.

I sighed. “I promised Mr. Morgan I wouldn’t. I’m supposed to let them dig their own grave. His words, not mine.”

“You know Cassy is encouraging Amber and the rest of her shitty friends to come after you for her,” Creed said.

I nodded. “I’ve noticed. She likes to stand back and watch.”

“She does it so that she doesn’t get into trouble if they’re ever caught. Her dad’s a cop and everything is about appearances to him,” Creed explained.

Colt shook his head at Creed. “I’ll never understand why you went there.”

Creed glared at his brother. “You have no room to talk. You went there with just as many girls after Emma.”

Hearing Emma’s name made my brows shoot to my hairline. It was the first time they had ever brought her up.

He glared back at Creed. “At least none of them are going after Shiloh.”

“No, just the one you refused to fuck,” Creed quipped.

“Enough.” I grabbed both of their hands. “It’s no one’s fault but Cassy’s, so knock it off. I don’t like it when you fight.”

Looking contrite, they both mumbled an apology.

Ethan whistled. “You’re both whipped.”

I fixed him with a disapproving look. “I have Isabelle's phone number.”

He lifted his hands up in surrender. “I take it back.”

Colt and Creed chuckled and the four of us headed in.

The air in the locker room was nice and cold when I walked in. I was debating whether I had enough time to take a fast shower at home before I had to head to the gym. The class started an hour and a half after school ended. That’s plenty of time , I mused as I unlocked my locker and went to take off my shirt. Just as I pulled my head from my shirt, I was shoved forward and fell into the lockers. Hands grabbed my arms, holding me against them. I immediately tried to get free.

“Hold her still,” I heard Amber order from behind me. Cold metal slid up my spine, scaring the crap out of me. For a moment, I thought it was a knife. When I heard the soft sound of a snip and the band of my bra was cut, I knew it was scissors.

“Pull her pants down,” Amber said next. Another pair of hands yanked my gym shorts down, then the side of my underwear was cut next. “Should I cut the troll’s hair, too?” Amber asked her friends.

My fear wore off and my need to fight took over. I stepped out of my shorts and slammed my foot down on the person to my right’s instep. She cried out and let me go. I pushed away from the lockers and easily yanked my left arm free from my other captor. I whirled around and came face to face with Amber, who was holding metal scissors. I threw my leg out and kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying into the lockers behind her.

“What’s going on in here?” Coach Matthews, the girls’ tennis coach, yelled from the other side of the locker room. Everyone surrounding us dispersed.

“This isn’t over,” Amber threatened as she stalked away, holding her stomach.

I glanced down. My panties had fallen down to my ankle and my boobs were about to slip out of the cups of my bra. I quickly grabbed my dress out of my locker, yanked off my bra, and put my dress on. I felt completely exposed not having any underthings on, especially in a white dress. I changed into my sandals, grabbed the rest of my stuff, and booked it out of there. I only slowed to toss my ruined bra and underwear in the trash on my way out of the locker room.

I rushed to the parking lot, anxious to leave and get home. I started to dig my keys out of my bag when I spotted the roof of my 4Runner. Once it was fully in sight, I unlocked it, but my quick walk slowed after I noticed that the back tires were completely flat. The closer I got, the more obvious it became that they were slashed, and it wasn’t just the back tires, either. The front tires were slashed as well.

“Stay calm,” I told myself. “Don’t let them see you upset.” I was positive Cassy and Amber were behind this and were probably watching. Speaking of Cassy, I hadn’t seen her when Amber and her friends had attacked me in the locker room.

I pulled out my phone and was going to call the twins, but remembered that they were probably starting practice and wouldn’t have their phones on them. I called Keelan instead.

He answered on the second ring. “Hey, are you on your way?”

“Keelan,” I said with a shaky voice. “Amber and two of her friends attacked me in the locker room and someone slashed all my tires,” I blurted quickly because if I’d said it any slower, I would have cried. I refused to cry. I wouldn’t give Cassy and Amber the satisfaction.

“First off, are you alright?” he asked.

“Yeah. I'm a little shaken up.”

“I know, baby girl,” he said. “I’m going to come and get you, but until then, I want you to wait in the school’s office or go watch Colt and Creed practice. I don’t want you to be alone.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll be there soon.”

We hung up and I headed back in the direction I’d come. Just past the gym was the building that housed the school’s pool. When I got inside, I noticed there were more students than normal watching the swim team practice. To my dismay, Cassy, Amber, and a bunch of their friends, including Gabe, Cassy’s cousin and the guy who’d pushed me during a game of volleyball, were all sitting in the bleachers.

They snickered amongst themselves when they saw me walk in. I spotted Colt and Creed sitting on the bottom bench of the bleachers with some other swimmers, while the rest of the team was taking their turn practicing in the pool. I beelined for them, with the intent to sit close by.

They spotted me as I got closer and jumped to their feet. I tried to appear calm. Just by looking at them and the concerned look in their eyes, I was failing.

Before I could reach them, someone grabbed me from behind, squeezing my breast as they did, and then I was thrown toward the pool. I let out a scream as I hurtled toward the water. Plunging into the cold water, my dress rose up, reminding me that I had nothing underneath. I quickly pushed it down and tried to swim to the surface. My backpack weighed me down and it was hard to kick my feet in my sandals.

Colt speared into the water next to me. He grabbed the straps of my bag and yanked them down my arms. The bag sank to the bottom of the pool as he wrapped an arm around me and helped me swim up. Once I made it to the surface, I could hear yelling. By the side of the pool, where I’d been thrown, one of the swim coaches was pulling Creed off of Gabe.

Cassy ran to Gabe’s side and helped him sit up. Blood leaked from Gabe’s nose and busted lip. There was a cut along his cheekbone and one of his eyes was already swelling.

Creed was being pushed further and further away by the coach, but when Creed glanced in our direction and saw that we were swimming to the pool's edge, he jerked out of the coach’s hold and ran toward us.

Creed grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the water. “Are you alright?” he asked, cupping my cheeks.

I nodded.

Gabe chuckled, drawing everyone’s attention. “Nice tits, Shiloh.”

I glanced down and saw that my dress was completely transparent now that it was wet. I had everything on display. I quickly covered myself with my arms, but dropped them to grab Creed, stopping him from going after Gabe again. “Don’t. You’ll just get into more trouble.”

He listened and pulled me into his arms, shielding my body as much as he could. “Someone get me a towel, now!” he yelled.

“I got one,” Colt said, appearing next to us with a towel in his hands. His face was hardened with rage as he covered me from the back. I wrapped the towel around me so that my front was covered as well.

“Creed and Gabe! Principal’s office, now!” Coach Reed, the head swim coach, yelled.

“Here’s her bag, Colt,” one of the twins’ teammates said from where he’d popped up in the water. He held my bag out to Colt.

“Thanks, man.” Colt took it from him and the bag leaked water all over the pool deck.

“Call Knox and Keelan,” Creed said as he walked away with Coach Reed.

“Keelan’s already on his way,” I told Colt and then went on to tell him what had happened, starting with the girls’ locker room.