Chapter nine Bexley
Chapter nine
Bexley
Ry: I thought you’d appreciate an update. My little wildcat has grown heaps.
When the picture loads on my screen revealing Rylan’s furry miniature twin, a guttural, unhuman-like laugh rips from my throat.
So much has changed since then, but I still get an absolute kick out of it regardless of how I feel about him now.
Definitely some of my finest work to date.
And let’s not forget the booty shorts situation.
Occasionally, Soph loves to reminisce as well, texting me photos of the loving memory. And speaking of the devil…
“What the hell was that noise?”
I glance over at Soph, her eyes quickly darting back to the road. The three of us—me, Soph, and Abby—very excitedly realized we all had the last class free and decided to escape the pristine walls of hell and head to the mall.
For once, I’ve been blessed with the role of passenger princess. My ass is enjoying her plushy seats a little too much while Abs hangs in the back, her head buried suspiciously in her phone.
“That was my mating call,” I answer. “Do you like it? Did it work?”
Soph smirks, giving me a shady side-eye. “Are you trying to seduce a moose?”
I don’t know how she does it so fast, but right on cue, moose screams bellow from Abby’s phone in the back. The car jerks forward as Soph bursts out laughing, blindly waving her arm toward the backseat to fist bump the only loveable cheerleader. Though, right now, that’s at risk.
“You’re lucky I’m not driving,” I say to them both. “I’d kidnap you for that and take you somewhere horrible. Somewhere crowded with lotssss of people.”
Soph’s nose crinkles up. “No, thanks. But since I’m the one driving and having to listen to horny moose cries, the very least you could do is fill us in on whatever dirty, little secret you have there.”
“It’s no secret,” I answer happily. “Rylan sent me a picture of his wildcat. You know, the one he generously adopted. His little baby has grown so much. He’s a proud papa.”
“I want to see!” Abby gushes, leaning forward as much as the seatbelt will allow. “Aww! It’s adorable. Wow—they kind of have the same eyes.”
I bob my head in agreement. “Thus, my adorable sounds of nature’s lovemaking. See…” Turning the screen to face Soph as we stop at a red light, she grins.
“It’s much cuter than Rylan. Now I understand the animal noises.”
Clicking the button to close the screen, I wiggle back in my seat to sink further into the plush. Did I mention her seats are heated?!
Yes—I know it’s ridiculously warm today. But glutes have no limitations when it comes to heat therapy. Plus, Soph is blasting the AC, so it balances out. Girl math. Or temperature math—whatever backs me up.
Maybe I was a lizard in my past life. Summer I can handle, but winter? Absolutely not. I suppose it could be true. More times than I can count, Willowbrook people have called me a snake. But I’m cute—like a yellow python called Banana.
“Well, he’s not horrible looking,” Abby says politely. “He’s no Sagg, but I’d say Bex has done pretty well for herself.”
I’m not sure whether to take it as a compliment or an insult at this point. Sure, I’ve come to some realization and acceptance of peace that I’m a walking, glorified hot mess, but in the back of my mind, I still question my sanity at times. Just a tiny bit.
Soph laughs softly. “Still one of my favorite plot twists to date. Man, I’ll never forget the look on Liv’s face when you smooched him right there in the hallway.” Lowering her voice a little, she continues, “Sometimes, when I’m feeling cranky at the world, I picture that moment. It’s my therapy.”
“Great,” I mumble, amused. “We’re the fucked-up leading the fucked-up.”
“Hey!” she interjects, playfully. “I’m amazeballs. And frankly, the best person you’ve ever met from Willowbrook. Possibly the world. You’re welcome, by the way.”
I smirk, mockingly patting her leg. “Forever trauma bonded by cardio.”
“And forced proximity,” Soph grins. “My favorite trope.”
“Where do I come into our little trio? I need a cool title or something,” Abby asks, excitedly.
Turning my head to look at her over my shoulder, I nod. “That’s easy. You’re the delicious center spread. Our glue. Don’t worry—we’re forged by trauma as well. The two of you conspired to make me dance.”
Abby’s face falls. “That didn’t turn out well,” she murmurs sadly. “Oh, my gosh. It’s partly my fault for making you go to the stupid dance!”
Before I can say anything, desperate to comfort our little sympathetic Oreo cream, Soph pipes up.
“She acts tough, but no one in this world can force the great stubborn legend that is Bexley Spencer to do anything she doesn’t want. She wanted to go to that dance—plain and simple,” she finishes, making kissy-faces in my direction.
I raise an eyebrow. “I’ll deal with you later, Sophie. But she’s right, Abs. You guys aren’t to blame in the slightest. Honestly, I needed to break out of my comfort zone after everything that happened with Mom. Besides, up until that point, I was having fun.”
“I’ll say,” Soph murmurs cheekily. “You and Tai were looking pretty damn cozy on the dance floor. I even sacrificed my makeup time to dye his hair for you. The pathetic sap was practically begging me. I had to give in and do it out of pity. It was cruel to let him suffer.”
We pull into a parking spot, my hand unclipping the seatbelt as I prepare to say goodbye to the seat for a little while. “Someone else was looking mighty cute on the dance floor with Parker.”
Abby slides forward eagerly, unbuckled as well. “Yes! You still haven’t told us how that’s going. We need all the details. Are you talking now? Did you kiss?!”
Soph’s cheeks turn bright red, spluttering over her words. “I… No… Shut up, Thanos!”
I gawk at her. “Why are you staring at me?! Abby is the one who said it. Also, Thanos?!” Mimicking her earlier kissing noises, I yelp as she flails her arms and playfully swats at me repeatedly.
“Bexley Spencer, I will end you. With love, obviously. But also… You’re Thanos because you’re collecting Infinity Stones.”
“What?”
I should have seen it coming by the smirk that slowly creeps on her face, clearly deflecting and placing me in the hot seat.
“The real question for one million dollars is what’s going on with you and my brother?”
Abby’s head swishes back and forth like she’s watching a heated tennis match. “Oh! That’s a great question. Yes, share with the class, Bex.”
Curbing any guilty or telling expression on my face, I purse my lips as if I’m eating sour candy. “What?” I mumble, feigning stupidity.
There’s no getting out of this one, though. In fact, I’m impressed she’s resisted and waited this long to bring it up.
She absolutely busted Tai and I kissing. Even if I’ve tried to convince myself that maybe her optic nerves had temporarily malfunctioned the moment she opened the door. Wishful thinking.
Resembling a detective on the verge of getting a confession out of a suspect, Soph leans forward, maintaining heated eye contact with me. “Tai Beckett,” she says slowly. “What is your relationship with him?”
“He’s my mortal enemy.”
Flicking her gaze to Abs for a split second, she turns back to me, eyes dancing with sick satisfaction at my torture. “And do you go around kissing your mortal enemies often?”
There’s a dramatic gasp from the backseat. “What?! You kissed Tai?”
“No!” I quickly answer, ashamed to admit that I’m confident my cheeks are now as red as Soph’s were five minutes ago. “I tripped and fell onto his mouth. Accidents happen, you know.”
Leaning back victoriously, Soph grabs her keys. “I’ll allow it. You’re the only suitable candidate worthy of the sister-in-law title, anyway.”
I sink into the seat, and this time, it has absolutely nothing to do with the sweet, plushy love of my life.
If only they knew that the two-second kiss Soph saw was nothing compared to the hot, steamy sex I have with her brother. Not to mention the occasional trips with Tai and Rylan when they take me to Paris.
“Slow down there,” I grumble awkwardly. “It’s not that serious. We tolerate each other. That’s all.”
Soph looks at Abs, the pair of them having some kind of silent conversation.
“Right, whatever you say,” Soph laughs, clearly not buying my story. “But if only you could see the way he pouts when you aren’t there. He makes Klein look like a grouch.”
Somehow, I managed to survive the rest of the afternoon with my torturers. Which is ironic regarding my survival when I find myself standing back outside Cedar Heights Academy after night falls.
“You feeling okay, Bex?” Arch asks quietly, digging his hands into the pockets of his black hoodie. “We don’t have to do this.”
I shoot him a tight smile. “I’m okay,” I tell him honestly. “And it’s important.”
To be fair, it’s a valid question. I definitely expected some uncomfortable feelings doing this, but the longer we stand here waiting for the others, the more overwhelming the pressure in my chest becomes.
After the mall, I drove to Arch’s house so we could travel together.
It also gave us the chance to discuss the building condition with his dad.
We weighed up both options, and ultimately, I found myself quickly deciding that we should give him the heads up—not only for protection and needing someone off-site to stand by, but so we could get all the available information on the current structural integrity of our beloved academy.
Mr. Roberts was kind enough to show us the latest arson and building inspection report. While we were one hundred percent confident about the cause of the second fire, there were definitely areas we have to avoid inside.
The auditorium is the main one, of course. The fire destroyed pretty much everything, including all the back rooms where we narrowly escaped. Thankfully, fire crews were able to contain it and stop the blaze from spreading to the rest of the school.
I’m not sure I’d want to go in that particular area anyway, but that’s not my key focus tonight.
Headlights blind us as a car pulls up, and we watch Parker emerge from inside.
“Evening,” he greets coolly, walking over. “The idiots still aren’t here?”
I smile. “They shouldn’t be long. Try not to cause any bodily harm, yeah?”
Parker snorts. “No promises.”
I don’t have a death wish. Given everything that happened a few short weeks ago, it made sense to thoroughly plan tonight, even at short notice. Six bodies are better than four, and after recruiting Archie, my mind landed on Parker to be our last field trip buddy.
Too many people could draw attention. Not enough might lead to an ambush.
Parker jumped on board straight away, which was a pleasant change to the other four who had literal breakdowns when I told them the plan.
Yes, even Lannister.
For someone living up to his hormonal hemorrhoid name, I did not anticipate the explosive reaction from him. Somehow, he managed to shout over everyone else, an impressive feat considering how loud Rylan was ranting. It didn’t just startle me, but his best friends as well.
Arch then relented begrudgingly, and after some convincing and explaining as to why this was important, I managed to win over Tai. Rylan caved shortly after with the stipulation he comes as well.
Part of me assumes Lannister won’t show his face tonight, even after the meltdown. As much as he’s been an insufferable asshole recently, I wouldn’t blame him. We both went through the same thing that night, but at the end of it all, he doesn’t have anything to lose by staying put.
To him, Cedar Heights means nothing—just an old building full of everything and everyone he detests. But for me, even though I have no hope of returning before I graduate, my peers need their home back.
The longer we take to figure this out, the more opportunity the culprits have to create greater damage or hide evidence. That’s why I need to push these suffocating feelings aside and do this.
When the loud rev of an engine violates the silence, I know the Willowbrook Kings have arrived. Even their cars sound expensive and obnoxious, no mistaking their presence for anything else except maybe a tornado.
The doors open, and my eyebrows shoot up in surprise as Lannister climbs out of the driver’s side.
He sends a sharp glance my way, and the contrast to his recent cold, detached stare makes that sickening feeling return.
But there’s also a slight flash of relief knowing he’s here as well.
I might want to kill him, but it’s nice knowing he showed up.
“I still don’t think this is a good idea,” Rylan says as he walks over to me.
“It’s our only idea. That’s the problem,” I answer firmly, smiling as Tai bounces over, beaming happily at me.
He pulls me into a squeezy hug, lifting me off the ground. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you, Bex.”
“You’re so sweet sometimes,” I murmur with a small chuckle. Pulling back, my eyes instinctively move to seek out Lannister. His forest green gaze is already glued to me, and I wait for him to spit some snarky remark, but he stays uncharacteristically silent.
“Alright. Let’s get this over and done with,” Arch leads. “So, what’s the plan again, Bex?”