Chapter 29
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
Berlyn
Summer has been insufferable since showing up at my house and kicking out the guys.
Okay, actually that part was pretty funny. Not a single one of them stood a chance against her when she decided we needed best friend time. And hell yeah we did. If they thought I was going to have their back for one second, they were sorely mistaken.
Though, they were pretty good natured about it. Even if they were grumbling the whole time. Jude even got in a parting joke I know he was so proud of. Telling Summer to keep an extra out for me because I had a deranged stalker on the loose.
Summer had been confused for exactly point five seconds before she squealed as the door shut behind them. She instantly knew it was them and has not shut up about being right since.
“So how did they pull it all off?” she asks and I sigh, rubbing my temples as the day catches up to me. The whole week really. I probably accepted everything with the guys too easily. But how could I not after everything?
More than anything in the world, I know with my whole heart they would never hurt me. Fucked or not, selfish or not, that’s enough for me.
Sorry, Professor. Shouldn’t have been such a dick.
“In more ways than I can even possibly explain,” I answer, laughing. Deranged is right, because even if I secretly love being the center of their obsession, they’re absolutely insane. “We can just leave it at I have had no semblance of privacy for the last four years.”
My phone vibrates in my hand and I look down to see a text from Jude. “Correction,” I say, smirking. “Jude has informed me it did take them a while to build up to that level of surveillance.”
My phone vibrates again and I shake my head. “Apparently, it’s only been the last two years I’ve had no privacy.” It should bother me. After everything with my father, I thought being under constant watch would send me into a panic attack, but with them?
It’s the opposite. I feel safe, knowing they’re always watching. I don’t feel so lonely, because well, I’m never truly alone. I haven’t been all this time and I just never knew it. Something about it is comforting.
She shakes her head but is grinning as she looks around. “Clever,” she teases. “Now fuck off, you nosey bastards. It’s my time with her.”
My phone vibrates and I turn the screen around for her to see Jude’s three eye roll emojis before reluctantly agreeing to give us privacy. For now.
“You’re taking this well,” she notes and I shrug.
“Better than we both expected.”
She scoffs, clearly disagreeing. “I knew once you stopped overthinking it, you would be all in. It truly is all your fantasies come to life.”
My eyes flare and my cheeks heat at her word choice. Fantasies is right. Emphasis on the plural.
“You dirty whore,” she cackles. “Spill.” And so I do, telling her far more than I ever would admit to anyone else.
Holding it together for the cops was hands down the most nerve-wracking thing I’d ever experienced in my life. Including the moment last night where I realized the men chasing me in the woods really could be strangers who wanted to kill me.
Why?
Because this put my men on the line.
I am my father’s daughter after all. I know enough about how cops work, what they’re looking for. Despite what they said about knowing I was a victim, they were reading my every intake of breath and making assumptions about it.
Not only my reactions either. More than anything they were looking at the guys.
That scared me more than anything. I finally got them, I can’t lose them. It scared me enough to put on the show of my life.
The rewards were worth it though.
Summer slow claps when I reach the end of the story and she’s caught up on everything. “Lucky lucky girl,” she coos. “Hot, masked, tattooed, stalker boyfriends who are boyfriends, and they clean?” She shakes her head. “I’m going to need your manifestation word for word please.”
I cackle at the serious expression on her face. She’s not kidding and we both know it, but how the fuck does one replicate this insane twist of fate? It all goes back to one awkward moment caused by walking around with my nose in a dark romance book.
“Read more dark romance?” Is my only suggestion, making her pelt me with a pillow.
Outside the sun is already setting and we both fall back onto my blanket. She sighs, relaxing at my side before she squeals, jumping clear across the room. My heart drops as I look for what made her freak out.
“What?” I demand as she’s wiping herself off.
Pointing at the bed, she frowns dramatically. “I don’t want to know what is on those sheets.”
I snort, flipping her off. Dramatic was right. “We changed the sheets, freak.”
“Oh, did you?” she asks, sitting back down at my side, relaxing once more.
I waggle my brows the way she always does. “Had to.”
She beams at me, petting the top of my head like I’m her beloved pet. “I’ve taught you so well.”
I sigh, yawning and falling back into my pillows and she gives me a knowing look. “Yeah, I bet you’re tired.” She climbs back to her feet. “You good if I take off?”
Nodding, I follow her, getting ready to walk her out. Usually I would convince her to stay and have dinner with me, but I may pass out with food. No matter how much sleep I got between our escapades, my guys drained that energy right back out of me.
My body is deliciously sore, but exhausted. Curling up in my softest blanket and sleeping sounds amazing.
“This doesn’t change our standing coffee date,” she warns, pointing around the room. “She’s mine again. You guys can schedule your own time.”
I shake my head at her antics but have this creeping feeling this will now be a regular occurrence. “They agreed to give us privacy,” I remind her, but within thirty seconds my phone is vibrating.
West: I didn’t
West: Jude did
“West!” I scold, looking around the room and crossing my arms over my chest.
West: Not the whole time
Why is even this kind of lovable?
“That’s not a defense,” I argue and Summer nods her agreement.
“Day one and already breaking the rules,” she sighs. “I’m disappointed.”
Ezra: Technically it’s day two
“Not you too,” I laugh. They’re actually incorrigible.
“You’re going to have your hands full,” she faux-whispers to me and she’s more right than she’ll ever know. I don’t think there will ever be another boring day in my life. How could there be with this crew?
“I told them the punishment for breaking the rules is you get to hit them in the head with a dictionary.”
Summer’s smile spells trouble. I guess it’s not a surprise I’m attracted to crazy when I would describe my best friend’s animal form as a feral raccoon. “Until they understand the definition of consent,” she says, remembering one of our many many conversations about the stalkers.
I’m going to kind of miss our debriefs and theories about the whole thing. Maybe we should play those mystery games where you have to solve crimes.
Summer taps her lips. “We should also add losing time as a punishment,” she ponders, breaking me from my reverie and I look at her like she’s crazy. “Less time with them, more time with me.”
My phone immediately starts vibrating and I don’t even have to check it to know they don’t like it. She grabs it from my hand and briefly looks at the messages. “Not you too, Jude. After you promised,” she says, disappointed before clapping. “An extra two hours added to our coffee date.”
This is going to get out of hand quickly if I allow it to. Tossing my phone on my bed, I start pushing Summer towards the front door. “Kicking me out already?” she taunts.
“You were supposed to be leaving,” I remind her. I kiss her on the cheek when we reach the door. “Coffee in the morning,” I promise. “Just the two of us.”
She scrunches her nose. “I guess those idiots can come. I did get you to myself today.” She wraps her arms around me, holding me close. “Happy looks good on you,” she whispers, meant only for me to hear. The words damn near bring me to tears, emotion clogging both our throats when we pull away.
“You sure you’re good?” she checks one last time, and I wave her off.
“Pretty sure I have the stalker thing under control,” I joke and she rolls her eyes, promising to see me the next day. I watch her get into her car and pull away, driving down my street. Closing the door I set the alarm out of habit more than anything. It’s not like it will stop the guys anyways.
Exhaustion hits me like a bus and I yawn, heading back to bed. “I’m going back to sleep,” I say aloud to the room, already adjusting to communicating with the guys this way. As ridiculous as it feels to speak to an empty room.
Almost as soon as I get comfortable in bed, my doorbell starts ringing incessantly.
I groan, ready to cry, heading back to the front door. Who the fuck could it be now?
It’s a mistake not to check before disarming the alarm. A mistake to not have my phone. A mistake to let Summer leave. A mistake to open the door.
It was a mistake to ever think I could run from my past.
“Dad?”