Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Wyn
What. The. Fuck?
I take a step back and shake my head. “Gabriel admitted he’d been breaking in, leaving the flowers, and–”
“What flowers?”
I blink at him. Is he fucking with me? “The gardenias. He was leaving them on my bed. He even left one in my class. That day you found me in the middle of a panic attack, I’d just found one on my desk…”
Lucas takes a step toward me. “Wyn, I didn’t leave any flowers, but I was definitely the one fucking you. I know, because I haven’t been able to think about anything else for the past several weeks.”
I swallow, still shaking my head. I don’t want to believe it. It was easy for me to assume it was Gabriel—because he’s just twisted enough to sneak into a woman’s apartment, drug her, then fuck her. Planning all that takes a fucked-up mind to conjure up, and it takes a special kind of darkness that Gabriel always had in spades.
But Lucas? I always knew he was an asshole, but this is next-level evil…
I suck in a shaky breath, my eyes flicking to the scar on his wrist, hidden beneath his bracelets. “How do you and Gabriel have the same scar? How is that possible?”
“His scar is from the surfing accident when we were sixteen.” He glances down at his bracelets. “My scar is from Gabriel demanding a show of loyalty. He wanted to see me bleed. Like my blood was some kind of twisted offering to him.” He shrugs and looks back up at me. “For me, it was an attempt at atonement.”
The more details I hear about Gabriel and Lucas’ relationship, the more I realize how fucking toxic it was. Who demands a show of loyalty like that? It’s insane.
“Why stalk me?” I ask, getting back on topic. “Why would you do that?”
He takes another step toward me. “At first, it was just to keep an eye on you after Gabriel’s…” He pauses, then corrects himself, “...after he went missing. Then, seeing you every night became an obsession, touching you became a necessity, fucking you became an overwhelming need...”
I shake my head, my hand moving to my throat as I try to figure out what the fuck is going on. “So, wait, you were both stalking me?”
Goddamn.
This is so fucked up. I can’t do this.
Turning on my heel in the sand, I storm off toward the staircase leading back up to the park. Lucas is behind me in seconds, pulling me to a stop. Again. His grip is so tight it’s painful and he uses it to turn me around so I’m facing him.
“I didn’t say you could walk away from me,” he says through gritted teeth.
I glare at him because it’s all I can do. His grip is too tight for me to pull away. “And why should I listen to you, hm? According to you, I belong to Gabriel, remember?”
“You’re still my consort.” He says that like it’s all the explanation he needs for bossing me around.
I don’t know why, but that simple statement pisses me off more than anything. It’s so fucking hypocritical. Can’t he see that? On one hand, he’s telling me I belong to Gabriel, and on the other, he’s still trying to control me.
Fuck. Him.
I shove at his chest with my free hand, throwing my full weight behind it, which is nothing compared to his strength, but whatever. “You fucking asshole!” I shove at him again, over and over, until the heels of my hands sting. “You think you can just take whatever the fuck you want without any consequences! I fucking hate you.” I scream that last bit with my whole heart, the words torn violently from my throat.
He lets go of me and I stumble back, falling on my ass in the sand. As I right myself and stand back up, I grab a handful of sand and throw it at him.
The fucking cunt.
Hot rich boys are the absolute fucking worst.
They’re a plague.
And I’m 100% certain they’re responsible for every scourge on earth, including global warming.
“Wyn.” Lucas takes another step forward. “Listen to me.”
I lift my finger at him. “No! Fuck you, Lucas. Fuck you.” Tears are streaming down my face now, being blown by the breeze. “You claim to be so into me that you can’t fucking help yourself, then your cousin pops up, and you hand me back over to him without a second thought?”
Am I actually angry that Lucas was stalking me, and now he’s walking away? Over the last few weeks, I’ve been wondering if I’ve been slowly losing my mind. Now I know I have. Who gets mad about no longer being wanted by their stalker?
“Wyn,” he says again, reaching out for me.
But this time, when I turn around, I run…
An hour later, I’m at Lux’s place, on the balcony overlooking the ocean. Roman left earlier when word got out that Gabriel was alive, so we have the place to ourselves.
“Okay, wait, hold on,” Lux says, her eyes wide. “Let me get this straight, Lucas was stalking you?”
“Yeah, I guess. I don’t know,” I say, setting my mug of hot tea down on the table in front of us. “I’m so confused.”
Her gaze rakes over my face. “Why didn’t you tell me, Wyn? I would have helped you.”
I shake my head, new tears flowing freely down my cheeks. “I know,” I say, glancing at her. “I know you would have. But…you’re so happy. I didn’t want to fuck that up.”
“Oh, my God, Wyn.” She reaches over and pulls me into a hug, which is awkward because we’re both sitting. She pulls back and smiles at me sympathetically. “I can be happy, and support you at the same time.”
True, but she also tends to freak out and react strongly to situations, especially to something like stalking. And it’s understandable, considering her own history with it. But yeah, that’s why I wasn’t involving her. I don’t say any of that, though.
“I know,” I say, flashing her an answering smile. “You’re a good friend.”
“So, Gabriel’s alive? ” She shakes her head and sits back in her chair. “What are you going to do?”
I push out a breath and wipe the tears off my face. “I have no idea. But…” I pause, because I’m not sure I want to say it out loud. It would make me seem cold. Heartless even.
“What?” Lux prompts. “Say it, Wyn. Don’t worry, I’m not going to judge you.”
I lift a brow at her. “How do you know that’s why I’m not telling you?”
She flashes me a look. “Because I know you. Fear of judgment is your number one thing. But I love you regardless, so… spill it. ”
I purse my lips, then blow out a defeated breath. “I think Gabriel is lying.”
Lux twists her head, like she wasn’t expecting that, and is thrown off by it. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, it’s just…a gut feeling,” I say quickly. “Is that weird? Am I being stupid?”
“No, come on, Wyn. You’re not being stupid.” She reaches out and takes my hand, threading her fingers through mine. “You’ve been through a lot in the last few weeks. Of course, you’re skeptical. Anyone in your place would be. But there’s no real evidence of that, is there?”
Yeah, it’s a fair point. Maybe I’m looking for evidence that Gabriel is lying. But if he is—and that’s a big if —then the police will tease that out, right? I mean, they interviewed him this morning, and they wouldn’t do that if they weren’t looking into his claims.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I say, relieved by her level-headedness. At least one of us is thinking straight. “It’s probably just me waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“ Pfft, I know what you mean.” She shrugs and the motion causes the strap of her dress to fall off one shoulder. “But sometimes there is no other shoe, Wyn. Sometimes it’s just… good , you know? No catch.”
My gaze flicks over her face. Lux is an inspiration—and not because her boyfriend is hot, and rich as fuck (which helps, though, obviously), but because she had to travel through the nine rings of hell to get where she is today. That joy on her face was earned in every sense of the word.
Is that my journey, too, though? Am I worthy of the kind of happiness Lux has? No, definitely not.
My phone pings and the screen lights up. It’s a text from Gabriel.
I’m at my mom’s. Where are you?
I take one last sip of my mint tea and set it back down, standing up. “I guess I should get going.”
Lux stands up, too. “I think they’re planning a thing at Rush House for Gabriel tomorrow night. They’re making it a non-official Burning Crown thing, so Roman and I can go. Will you be there?”
“It’s the first I’ve heard of it, but yeah. Why not?” I’m just kind of going through the motions, at this point.
Lux walks me to the front door and pulls me into another hug. When she pulls back, she has a stern look in her eyes. “If you need me, call me.”
“Okay, I will.”
“Promise,” she demands.
I laugh. “I promise.”
“Okay, if I don't see you before, I’ll see you at Rush House tomorrow.”
As I head back down to my car, I text Gabriel back and tell him I’ll meet him at his mom’s place. I feel better after meeting with Lux. She always gives me the clarity I need. Plus, if I’m being honest, just talking shit out really helps.
Pulling up to Gabriel’s mom’s house, I park in the driveway. There are several other cars here—and I notice Lucas’ among them.
I’m about to knock on the front door when I notice it’s already cracked open. I push it open wider and immediately hear voices echoing through the empty house. Laughter drifts up from somewhere in the back and I follow the sound.
Everyone is standing around in the kitchen. Gabriel is leaning against the sink, relaying a story, and everyone is just enraptured. My gaze drifts over the unfamiliar faces—family maybe—until I find the one face I’m always looking for.
Lucas.
His eyes don’t meet mine, though, and that hurts. As much as I’ve fought against his attention, I’ve also gotten used to it. If I’m being honest, I’ve become addicted to it. And not having it now—it feels like I’ve been rejected.
“Gwendolyn!” Ms. Martelle calls out, cutting through the crowd to pull me into a hug. “You’re here, thank God. Gabriel was just talking about you.” She ushers me over to her son’s side as everyone stares. I laugh awkwardly to cover my discomfort.
I’ve always hated being the center of attention.
“There she is,” Gabriel says with a smile, pulling me against him. “My guardian angel.” He looks back up at the crowd of people. “The memory of her is what brought me back. It’s why I’m here.”
And if this situation couldn’t get more uncomfortable, everyone starts clapping . Like I’ve just won an Emmy or something.
With another laugh, I mumble something, my gaze searching for Lucas again. He’s watching the scene blankly—no emotion at all on that beautiful face, and I have no idea what to make of that. He almost seems angry. But angry at what? Me? All I did was tell him the truth.
Gabriel has his arm around me, and he squeezes. “Isn’t that right, babe?”
I blink and shake my head. “I’m uh, sorry. I wasn’t really listening. What was the question?”
Everyone laughs, then someone says, “She’s dazed. It’s a lot to take in.”
Yeah, no joke.
“Someone asked ‘what’s next’ and I said the first order of business is for you and me to get re-acquainted,” he says.
My stomach drops when he says that.
“Oh, right. Yeah.” But as the words leave my lips, my chest starts tightening, and I feel like I can’t breathe. I glance up at the faces surrounding me, but they’re blurred. I blink several times, but that only seems to make it worse.
With panic rising in my chest, I step away from Gabriel, thinking the distance will make it easier to breathe. It doesn’t, and now my heart is beating so fast, I start panicking even more.
“Wyn, you okay?” Gabriel asks, reaching for me.
I hold my hand up and frantically glance around for a quick exit or a bathroom or something, but it’s too late. I take one step, and I know what’s coming because it’s happened before. I falter, and the last thing I remember is the white tile floor rushing toward my face.
Then everything goes black…