15. Chapter 15
Chapter fifteen
Atticus
I feel like Maddox is even more stubborn than I am. And why is that Wilde dude tagging along? I just don't get it. What's his deal, anyway? I swear if he stares at me one more time, I’ll tear his fucking lip ring out. I’m not sure he’s a decent friend for Maddox; what person would help anyone escape rehab? Maddox needs to get clean. His mindset isn’t made for this school, and now that Jinx isn’t here to calm him, the whole thing is a mess.
I’m beyond pissed as we walk back to mine and Ash’s dorm. Who is he to boss me around? Yes, it’s his car, but his mental health is more important than being at that house and having a breakdown. But what the fuck do I know.
I leave all three behind to grab the car keys; for our sake, there better be something at the house. I grab the keys off the counter and my pack of smokes; I have a feeling I’ll be smoking all of these today. The amount of stress is going to do me in. I toss the keys to Maddox, and he simply walks off without saying anything.
Wilde talks to Maddox like they’ve known each other for years and not days. I’m not sure how I feel about him yet. He has to have an angle; why did he want to leave the rehab before his time? Something isn’t adding up. I step outside, grab a smoke, and light it up. As I take a deep drag, I feel the nicotine flowing into my lungs. Blowing the smoke out my nose, I feel calmer. Even if it won’t last long, it’s nice.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Ash leans in close and whispers to me as we stroll through the courtyard.
“Bad in what way?”
“This entire situation. Something feels off.”
“You mean with Wilde or heading to the house?”
“With Wilde. Maddox doesn’t usually make friends this fast; something is up, and I don’t like it. Wilde hasn't let us in on his thoughts, but I'm curious why he's so focused on lending a hand and not bothered by the fact that we're all dating Jinx. That throws most people off, but not him.”
I watch how Wilde walks—with his hand casually in his pocket and strutting like he owns the place; I can't help but want to knock that swagger right out of him. I need to figure out his angle and where the fuck he came from. No offense to Maddox, but no one wants to befriend him.
Once he starts talking about his parents, people usually begin leaving. It’s nothing he does, and most people can’t handle others' traumas. We had it easy with him; we saw firsthand what his parents were both like and knew we couldn’t let him be alone.
Then, when Jinx came into the picture, she never thought twice about befriending Maddox either; it came naturally to her. Honestly, she tried to be friends with all of us, but I wouldn’t have it. I still need to be her enemy in a way; I crave it—the fight she gives me fuels something within me. I need her back more than ever, and I’ll never admit that out loud.
The ride into Grovedale is quiet. I don’t want to talk with Wilde here. There are some things I want to discuss and having a stranger here for that isn’t ideal. We need to ditch him and fast. For all I care, he can stay in Grovedale.
“What’s so special about this house?” Wilde speaks, and I try my hardest not to punch the back of his head.
I shoot Ash a sideways glance, arching my eyebrow. He shakes his head, signaling it's not worth arguing about. But I beg to differ.
“Well, Wilde. “ I plaster a fake smile on when he turns around. “If you knew anything about this family, you would know about the house. But it’s only been five days. I wouldn’t expect you to know anything.”
“Atticus, seriously,” Maddox scolds me. “Can’t you be nice for once?”
“No. It might kill me, and I’m not risking that for a stranger.”
Wilde holds his hand up. “It’s fine, Maddy. People like him don’t scare me.”
As I see red, my fist tightens. “People like me. What does that mean?” Ash places his hand on my shoulder, keeping me firmly seated.
“It’s not worth it. Let's just focus on finding Jinx and worry less about him.”
“Fine.” I grit my teeth. But I swear if he says something else, I’ll lose it. He has no place to say anything about anything. I can’t be holding things back forever. I’m about to burst with the amount of stress I'm under.
I try my hardest to keep my mouth shut when Wilde starts talking again. He doesn’t seem to care that we are trying to find Jinx, and I don’t know why that bothers me so much. He’s like a stain that won’t go away.
"We should come up with a backup plan just in case today doesn't go as we planned. We can't just sit around and hope Jinx shows up," Ash butts in.
Maddox gives me a look in the rearview mirror. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but I know he’s still pissed at me for not telling him. I hope one day he realizes why I held it from him. As we pull onto the street we've seen a hundred times, I casually look out the window, trying not to think about the possibility that Jinx might be in that house. My heart speeds up a little at the thought.
I haven’t been back here since Prescott’s funeral; even if Jinx isn’t here, this is going to hit hard. Maddox pulls into the driveway, and I can feel Ashton tense beside me.
“What’s the plan? We all can’t go storming in there.”
“Ash is right. Wilde can stay in the car, Maddox take the back, Ash guard the front.”
Maddox turns around. “And what about you?”
I pull the house key out and grin. “I’m gonna walk in through the front door, of course.” I open the door, and the cool air hits me like a freight train. Something has to be in this house. I need a sign that Jinx is still alive.
As I carefully move towards the front door, Maddox heads towards the back. Ash follows me and positions himself at the front of the stairs. It dawns on me that maybe Ash should've gone with Maddox instead.
I’ve never been this nervous before; sticking the key in the lock, I take a deep breath and turn the key. The house is quiet when I step inside, can't tell if that's a good thing or not. I glance back and notice Ash keeping an eye on the front of the house. I make my way deeper into the house, and as much as I want to call out for her, I hold it back.
I move upstairs and check Ashton’s old room, but nothing is out of sorts. I’m surprised Mom didn’t pack everything and ship it to him or my shit, to be honest. I quickly make my way down the hall to the room that used to belong to Jinx. Unlatching her door, I get a sense of nostalgia.
I’ve been in this house for a week and still can’t stand it. Odette has been getting on my nerves every second. Either she learns her place fast, or I’ll teach her. She irritates me with the way she struts around this house like she's the queen of the castle. I can’t wait to watch her fall. But Odette is too perfect for that, and I have yet to see her do anything wrong.
“Atticus, stop it. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this, but staring at her isn’t going to do anything.”
I advert my gaze to Ashton and narrow my eyes. “You know what, brother. One day, she will be so far over her head in trouble that she will need my help, and I’m not sure if I will save her.”
He scoffs and rolls his eyes. “And when that day comes, and you rescue her, I’ll stand back and remind you of this conversation. You’ll do anything for her, admit it.”
“Almost anything for her, I have to draw the line somewhere. I can’t always be there for her.”
I don’t see where he thinks of this shit; just because he has a hard-on for her already doesn’t mean I will. She will submit to me in other ways, and that’s all I want from her.
That was the first night I snuck into her room and watched her sleep. When it was her room, now it’s nothing like it. I close the door and make my way to Prescott’s and Mom’s old room. I’ve never been in this room before and am unsure what to expect. The house is so quiet; it's giving me the chills. I don't think I've ever felt this on edge before.
I take a deep breath and place my hand on the doorknob.
“Atticus, just open the fucking door.”
Swinging my arm back, I land a hit on Maddox's jaw, my heart pounding loudly in my chest. I don't even hear him cry out in pain. Trying to catch my breath, I force my racing heart back down my throat as Ashton rushes up the stairs in a state of panic.
“What the hell is going on up here?” Ash looks between the both of us.
I point to Maddox, and Maddox points to me.
“Fuckin’ children. Did you find anything?” Ashton pushes Maddox aside and stands next to the door.
“I was about to find that out; what the hell are you guys doing inside? You left everything exposed. And where the hell is Wilde?”
“He’s downstairs.”
I rub my face and try not to lose my shit. “We are trying to find clues, and you let a stranger in the house. Did you not think this over?”
I swat Ashton’s hand aside and open the bedroom door. I no longer have time for this; we need to move faster with Wilde in the house. “Did you search downstairs before coming up here?”
They look at each other, and that’s all the answer I need. Fuckin’ dumbasses. “Get down there now and look around. Jesus Christ, you two are stupid.”
I leave them behind, stepping into Prescott’s bedroom, and shivers race down my back from the cold. The walls of the room are a deep navy color, and there's a beautiful four-poster bed made of dark mahogany wood right in the center; the white duvet doesn’t look to have been touched in weeks. On each side of the bed, there are two identical nightstands. Prescott's is tidy and organized, while Mom's is packed with magazines, lotions, and jewelry. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary.
The bathroom looks no different; all of Mom’s things are scattered along her side of the sink. Except Prescott’s side is cleared away. It almost makes me wonder if she moved Roan in here already. I wouldn’t put it past her; she never waits for anything.
I’m starting to lose hope that we’ll never find Jinx. I leave the bedroom defeated, a feeling I don’t like. The fact that I can’t find her doesn’t sit well; at least when she left me three years ago, I knew where she was, but now. I feel useless, and that’s something I can’t get on board with. I find the guys in the kitchen talking amongst themselves.
Ashton looks up when he sees me enter, and he must tell by the look on my face that I didn’t find anything. "We looked everywhere, even in the basement, but couldn't find anything. There's just nothing here."
“And you for sure checked everywhere in the school?” Maddox asks once more.
“Yes.” Ash and I say together.
Wilde raises a brow, and I try to ignore him, but my hand twitches. “Fuckin’ say what you want because clearly, you have something on your mind.”
With a nonchalant shrug, he pushes me over the edge. I charge at Wilde, locking him in a headlock and delivering a punch to his gut. He gasps with a silent cry when I land another blow. Wilde whirled around, his fist struck with unexpected speed, crashing into the side of my face and making dots dance before my eyes.
"Hey, calm down." Ash quickly pulls me towards him and says, "Maddox, help me out here." I fight against Ash, trying to get to Wilde.
Wilde is still trying to catch his breath when Maddox pushes him backward. “Maybe it was a mistake for me to come back.”
“Are you serious? You're choosing a stranger over your best friends?” I spit out. “You know what, never mind. Don’t bother coming back unless you take out the trash. I’m fuckin’ done.”
I walk out onto the back deck, leaving them all behind. I can only help someone so much, and if he rather choose that asshole, then so be it. I can’t be here when his world crashes again. He went to rehab for a reason, not to run away from it.
I touch my fingers to where Wilde punched me and flitch; that’s gonna leave a bruise. I should’ve punched him in the nose and broke it. As I rest my weight on the railing, I breathe in deeply, feeling the chill of the air with no relief in sight. I feel like there might be something we overlooked. Even though I wish I could take a day to recharge and reflect, I can't. I'm starting to feel stuck and discouraged because I'm running low on ideas and hope.
“You doin' alright?”
I don’t bother to turn around; looking at Ashton right now will make me snap. “I think we should go, think Prescott’s car is still in the garage?”
“Ah, yeah. Jinx didn’t want it, so she left it.”
“Good, let's go. I’m done here.”
He stays quiet as I head back inside, and I don't spot Maddox or Wilde as I head towards the garage. Even if I did see them, I wouldn't acknowledge them. There's nothing more to be said. When I find Jinx, I hope Maddox has his shit figured out.