CHAPTER 6
LANDRY
The following week was pretty uneventful for the most part. I practiced my cooking after school, something that was quickly turning into a nightly routine, and I thoroughly enjoyed pushing myself to try new things and watching cooking tutorials whenever I had the chance. This week, I had focused on French cuisine, making things such as coq au vin and homemade quiches that hadn’t lasted more than a few hours between Bexley and I devouring them.
There was something deeply satisfying about putting on my favorite show and getting to work in the kitchen. The joy of successfully creating something delicious, something I could share with others, felt like a unique way of spreading love. It might sound strange, but I cherished that feeling—nurturing through food, even in the simplest of ways.
I think a lot of it might also have to do with the fact that I was never allowed to cook growing up. That sounds horrible, and it isn’t as if I was actually banned from the kitchen or anything, but we had a professional chef catering to all of the cooking for our family and any time I asked if I could make something for my parents, I was quickly dismissed and shooed away. Given that yes, the one or two times as a child that they had allowed it thinking that it was cute, the resulting food had barely toed the line of edible. But I had been a kid, and what I had wanted more than anything was to learn so that I could get better.
Maybe a part of it stemmed from wanting my parents to be proud of something that I did, or at the very least see the effort that I put into it. But why let a little kid cook dinner when you have a five-star chef that you’re already paying to do so? So eventually, I gave up on asking, considering it a lost cause. And now living away from home, I could finally do some of these things for myself.
Not that I can complain about having grown up with a private chef. I knew that I was more fortunate than most, but a part of me always wanted a bit more freedom, and if I failed, I would learn from my mistakes and get better.
“Where are you going this late?” Bexley asked, walking through the door from her last lab of the day to find me putting on my shoes.
“I’m just going down to the shelter, Debbie texted me asking if I could go do feeding and turnover tonight since she had something come up with the kids. I told her it wasn’t a problem, it shouldn’t take me more than an hour tops.”
Bexley scrutinized me as she took in my running gear.
“Please tell me you’re not walking.” She asked.
“I’ll be fine, it’s only a few miles! That way I can get a good run out of it. And don’t worry, I have my pepper spray and my taser so I’m all set to go.” I gave her a wink, knowing that her true crime shows made her paranoid when it came to my running in the dark. “And don’t forget that I took a few self-defense classes in high school.
Bexley looked perplexed, most likely ready to offer me a ride but knowing that I would turn her down just like the last few times she had offered. Eventually, she relented to just giving me the ‘ make sure you have your location shared the whole time and text me as soon as you get there and as soon as you leave ’ spiel.
I ended up running the first half of the way and walking the second, still working on my stamina since this whole running thing was pretty new for me. At least I was improving each time. There was a shortcut directly through the woods to get to Benbrook proper, but I avoided that road at all costs.
The narrow, windy roads through the thick spread of trees was filled with abrupt turns and bad visibility, not to mention the fact that I didn’t have any reflective gear so I would be outright asking to be hit by a car. That road made me nauseous, thinking about all the accidents that had occurred, including the one that I had been involved in. Instead, I stuck to the more populated residential streets with actual sidewalks.
Unlocking the shelter doors with my new set of keys, I made haste in making sure all of the animals were fed, watered, and cages cleaned just as Debbie had shown me. The place seldom had visitors other than the owner and myself, along with a few other volunteers that I had yet to meet. People around here worried more about their golf memberships and fancy luncheons than the local animal shelters.
At least Bexley shared the same love for animals, having grown up with horses. She even went as far as to sneak her little tuxedo kitten, Scamper, into the dorms to live with us. Something that was very much welcome by me, and I loved my little ‘nephew’.
Sneaking a kitten into the dorms was one thing, though, but a dog would have to constantly be let outside, which I doubted I could keep secret while living on campus. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to a dog to live with that quality of life. But as soon as I moved off of campus, I was fully set on adopting.
After locking up for the night, I put my earphones in and took off in a light jog. Rounding the corner, I spotted the boxing gym that the guys had mentioned, the lit-up sign reading ‘Savage Strike’. The center was owned by the Zayn and Kaptan’s family, one of the many business ventures outside of the Hawthorn’s multi-million-dollar high-tech security company.
With the lights still on, I could easily see through the glass front of the building. My breath caught as I watched Cashton and Kaptan on the mats, both shirtless, which was a sight that was hard to tear away from.
Sweat gleaned over their toned forms, Cashton’s muscles coiled as he threw hit after hit. I couldn’t seem to look away from the intensity and concentration in his features, along with that tiger tattoo moving beautifully on his golden skin. It was easily close to midnight now, but I guess they weren’t done sparring yet. Forms like that required some upkeep after all.
I forced my feet to move, glad that they couldn’t spot me lurking in the darkness of the parking lot. I was halfway back to campus when my music paused, a call coming through from Olivia. I slid the phone and brought it up to my ear.
“Whatsup?” I asked by way of greeting.
“What are you and Bex doing on Saturday? ”
“Not sure, I don’t think we’ve talked about doing anything in particular. Debbie has all of the shelter shifts covered, so I figured that I would stay in and catch up on some studying, or maybe binge watch some TV. Why?”
“Okay, so you know how Zayn and Kaptan have that wakeboarding boat that I was always on this summer? Well, they want to take it out one last time since it’s the last weekend that the weather will be nice enough! And I’m totally dragging you and Bex with me.”
I thought about it for a moment, ready to jump at the idea but hesitant about the close quarters that it would mean for Cashton and I.
“Who’s all coming?” I asked.
“Just our little group—We talked about keeping it pretty chill. So it would be you, me, Bex, TJ, Nate, Zayn, and Cashton most likely. Kaptan will be out of town on business for his dad, so he won’t be able to make it.”
Of course.
“I don’t know Liv, Cashton is close with Zayn, and I don’t want to intrude since he clearly doesn’t seem to want me around. Coming over to your house is one thing, but on Zayn’s boat, I don’t want to crowd him.”
“It’ll be fine, I promise! I don’t know what Cashton’s deal is, I still think you need to talk to him, and this could give you the perfect opportunity to do so. And either way, you’re my friend, and Cashton can get over it. Besides, Zayn is the one who just called and asked me to invite the both of you, and it’s his boat, so it’s his call!”
She wasn’t wrong, technically. If I wanted to keep spending time with the group, I’d have to get used to being around Cashton since he was clearly an integral part of their tight-knit circle. Still, I couldn’t shake the discomfort. Being disliked—especially for no apparent reason—was one of the worst feelings in the world to me. It gnawed at me, no matter how much I tried to push it aside. For now, I’d suck it up and pretend he wasn’t there. Hopefully one day he would come around.
“Okay, count us in.”
—
Saturday arrived faster than I expected. I’d aced my European Literature exam, which boosted my confidence, and I was finally starting to feel more comfortable in Chemistry thanks to Bexley’s help.
In Communications, Cashton and I had received details about our midterm project. Professor Lee had decided to assign class presentations instead of a written exam. The topic was entirely up to us, as long as it was something worthy of debate and could be supported by facts from reliable sources. Essentially, we were tasked with choosing a subject we were passionate about and building a compelling case for it.
I had debated my options for a bit, eventually deciding on BSL, standing for Breed Specific Legislation. There wasn’t much that I felt passionate about these days, but I had come across a few stories on social media that had sparked the idea.
Basically, certain states in the US banned certain breeds that they deemed too dangerous to own as pets. And though I wasn’t a dog expert, I stood firm in my beliefs that dogs such as Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and so on, were a product of how they were raised and trained, and didn’t deserve to be banned or put down just based on their breeds.
After starting some preliminary research, I even discovered that Pit Bulls aren’t even technically an official breed, they were made up of three or more different breeds, explaining why they all have slightly different appearances. This also meant that some of the states with these laws decided to essentially discriminate against these dogs because they ‘look like a Pit Bull’. The whole thing had lit a fire into me the more I had looked into it, and I was ecstatic about the opportunity to stand up in front of my classmates and bring some awareness to a situation that they might not know about.
I had been deep into a discussion on the matter with Bexley, telling her all that I had discovered in my research when the text from Olivia had come through to let us know that they were here to pick us up.
Knowing I would hopefully be trying my shot at wakeboarding today, I had opted for more of a sporty bikini, still cute but minus the little bow ties on either side of the bottoms and the top to lessen the chances of coming undone if I had a bad spill. The pastel pink set was made up of a simple top and bottom, showing just enough under-boob and cheeks to still look a little bit sexy.
Bexley had borrowed another swimsuit of mine, this time going for a royal blue one-piece that looked stunning on her model-esque form and pale skin, contrasting beautifully with her strawberry red hair and making her locks look even brighter.
The sun beat down on us, and I felt a burn bloom across my shoulders. The ball cap I had adorned kept my face shielded, and the spray of the lake water every time we hit a wave acted as a cool reprieve, along with the chilled seltzer currently in my hand.
Bexley sat to my right in the back of the boat, Olivia across from us recording TJ as he flipped and showed off his tricks, Zayn driving the boat and Nate and Cashton sitting on the back platform ready to grab the rope if needed.
Everything was going great so far, and I had managed to keep my distance from Cashton as he was mostly preoccupied with his friends and wakeboarding himself. It had taken everything in me to not drool at the sight of him jumping the waves, throwing out some insane tricks that I couldn’t even imagine attempting, his tan skin dripping with droplets of water once he had climbed back onto the boat. Instead, I focused on the girls, Bexley talking over the blaring music about the latest book that Olivia had recommended where apparently some guy stalked a woman, killed her abuser, and proceeded to fuck her in the pool of blood. I mean, I wasn’t one to judge. I can’t say that I had read anything quite on that level but I was willing to give anything a try.
Nate turned from his position sitting on the rear platform, lifting a hand in the air in a gesture to ask for another beer, his long brown hair blown back by the wind. I got up and grabbed a cold one from the cooler, tossing it to him as he caught it mid-air. Cashton turned, and figuring that he might need one too, I extended a tiny olive branch by yelling over the music “Cashton, need one too?”
It was such a simple thing to ask but my heart raced none the less, anticipating how this would play out. But to no surprise, he didn’t as much as acknowledge me, giving me his back as he returned to his conversation with Nate. I stood there looking like an idiot, and my heart sank to my stomach.
The interaction didn’t go unnoticed, I realized, as I turned to find Bexley and Olivia watching me with a look of pity in their eyes. Wonderful.
“I’m sorry babes, I really don’t know what his problem is. He’s never usually like this. I can try talking to him if that helps? I don’t typically see him much throughout the week so I haven’t gotten the chance yet, but I did ask TJ and he has no idea either. You know how guys are, though, I doubt they talk about that kind of stuff.” Olivia said, placing her hand on my knee in consolation.
“It’s fine” I lied, “I probably need to just grow a pair and talk to him myself.” I still hadn’t told them that I had already tried to do so and how miserably it had failed. A part of me was too embarrassed to say anything, and the last thing I needed was to relive the altercation. I felt as though if I didn’t say anything, I could pretend it never happened.
Besides, the last thing I needed was for Olivia to avenge my honor by confronting him, which I know she would, thus bringing more drama to this whole situation. I didn’t want him thinking that I couldn’t fight my own battles or that I had run crying to my friends because he said some mean things. I would man up and handle it on my own.
I changed the subject, asking Olivia if she had bought an outfit yet for the country club luncheon she would be attending at one of her dad’s courses.
Zayn took a turn wakeboarding, leaving Cashton to come take over driving the boat. I avoided eye contact as he walked up to take the wheel right by us, my enthusiasm with our current conversation waning.
I knew that he could hear us now, able to retort anything I said with his typical snarky comments. So instead, I stayed quiet, sticking with the occasional head nod and acting more fascinated by things such as the drink in my hand or the wakeboarding.
Olivia took a few turns wakeboarding, Bexley and I moving closer to the back to get a better view. She wasn’t as skilled as the boys, but you could definitely tell she knew what she was doing out there. All of her weekends out on the boat with them this summer had definitely given her some skills.
“Landry, Bex, one of y’all want to go?” She asked, climbing back onboard.
“Oh no, I’m good, thank you though.” Bexley immediately answered.
“C’mon, it’s super fun! It might take you a few tries to get up if it’s your first time but you’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly.” Olivia pushed.
“You got this, we’ll keep an eye on you in case you fall.” Zayn encouraged, giving her a cheeky smile.
She hesitated a bit longer but was eventually convinced, Nate and Zayn handing her a life jacket before helping her strap the board on and lowering her down into the water, handing her the rope. They gave her a few tips on how to stand up, telling her to sit back and let the rope pull her up naturally instead of trying to pull herself up using arms.
It took her a few tries, all of us yelling encouragement at her each time she got close. After her third time coming back around to get her after another failed attempt, she seemed ready to call it quits, but Zayn leaned down to offer her some pointers, his patience admirable as he re-adjusted her straps and worked to lift her morale.
I’m not exactly sure what he said to her, but whatever it was, it worked. She actually managed to stand up on her fourth attempt, a little wobbly but successfully wakeboarding. We all shot our hands in the air and bellowed, cheering her on over the music as she coasted along the waves. My heart beat wildly for her, pumped to see the smile that reached both of her ears.
Coming back on board, she immediately looked at me and urged me to give it a try.
“Landry you have to try, that was so amazing!”
I hesitated a bit but eventually gave in, letting Nate and Zayn help Bexley out of the board before strapping me into it while TJ offered to hold my hat and drink.
The guys recited the same things they had told Bexley before lowering me into the water, letting me adjust my position as I had seen them do and grabbing the handle they tossed in front of me.
I watched the boat drift off, Cashton slowly letting on the gas to put some tension on the rope. The first attempt was a bit rough, and I hadn’t quite expected how hard I would be yanked. By the second attempt I was prepared for the tug, and actually managed to stand, turning my board like they had instructed me.
Cheers erupted from the boat and my heart fluttered, already loving the feeling of the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I was slowly getting more and more confident, not ready to try anything crazy by any means, but getting the hang of how the board felt underneath me and how to correct my balance .
I closed my eyes, reveling in the feel of the wind and lake spray hitting my face. The feeling was indescribable.
All of a sudden, I felt the speed picking up to an uncomfortable level and I was forced to grip the handle even harder, panic setting in as I yelled “Slow down!” at the top of my lungs, hoping that someone would hear me from this distance over the engine and the blaring music.
I heard the yells from the boat, telling Cashton to slow down. I considered letting go, feeling the speed continue to accelerate and knowing that the higher it got, the worse the fall would hurt. But before my reflexes had the time to kick in, the boat veered a sharp left and I couldn’t do anything but watch in horror as I was thrown into a large wave, getting launched into the air as everything spun around me. I didn’t have time to brace for the impact, my body slamming into what felt like a brick wall as stars erupted behind my eyes.
My head was spinning, my face and head throbbing as I struggled to get my bearings, choking on water as I tried to catch my breath. The heavy board dragged me down further, the life jacket eventually bringing me back to the surface, though I still had to fight the waves that kept slamming me into my face and down my throat.
Everything ached, the adrenaline doing little to calm the violent pounding drumming through my skull. I caught sight of the boat approaching, hearing their voices over the music exclaiming things like ‘ what the fuck man! ’, ‘ somebody grab her ’ and ‘ Oh fuck, she’s bleeding ’.
I felt myself being pulled out of the water by my life jacket, feeling the hard platform underneath my back as I looked up at Zayn, Nate, and the girls, the former helping pull the board off.
“Oh my gosh Landry, are you okay?” Olivia asked, her and Bexley both crowding me with panicked looks on their slightly blurred faces. Everything spun around me, the disorientation slowly fading as I raised a hand to shield the beating sun from my eyes.
“Your nose is bleeding…” Bexley pointed out, and I reached up to find warm blood indeed running down my face, explaining the coppery tang in my mouth.
“I’m fine” I ground out as they helped me sit up, still a bit dizzy but now more annoyed than anything. Cashton had obviously flung me intentionally. The guys must have realized the same thing, because I looked over to find TJ in Cashton’s face screaming “What the fuck was that!” as he shoved him in the chest.
“She looked like she had the hang of it.” Cashton replied, his voice dripping with mockery. The smirk on his face grated against my nerves, and I could only hope that someone else would catch on to the insincerity.
“You know damn well that she wasn’t ready for that!” TJ continued, shoving an unbothered Cashton once more.
Nate handed me a cold beer from the ice chest, helping me place it over my forehead as he and Bexley led me back to one of the seats, wrapping a towel around my shoulders. Zayn stood quietly observing, pulling a lighter out of the driver’s compartment and lighting a cigarette.
My blood boiled. I wanted nothing more than to walk over to Cashton and slap him across his stupid smug face. But that wouldn’t make the situation any better, and would only ruin this day for everyone if we were to start fighting right here.
Fuck it. If he wanted to act this way, two could play this game. I would make it crystal clear to the rest of the group who the victim was in this situation. He was more than welcome to show his true colors for everyone to see, and I would gladly sit back and let him dig himself into that hole.
“I’m fine, really.” I said, wiping the blood away from my nose with the towel. “I’m sure it was just an accident.” The last part came out through gritted teeth, but it seemed to work. TJ stopped his advance on Cashton, the look of confusion evident on both of their faces at my defending him.
I smiled as sweetly as I could through the pounding headache, letting everyone know I was okay. “Really, it’s no big deal. I’ve gotten plenty of concussions when I did cheerleading. I’m no stranger to bad falls and head injuries. I knew there was a possibility of getting hurt when I agreed to try.” I continued.
The girls exchanged a knowing look, clearly not buying that I had gotten over it so quickly, but eventually settling on either side of me rather than saying anything. TJ shot an unsure look over at Cashton before turning back to me, telling me to take it easy for the rest of the day.
I didn’t want them to have to end the day early to take me home, and what I had said about cheerleading was true. I had gotten more head injuries than I could count, and I knew what a concussion felt like enough to know that I should be in the clear. I would probably have a major headache for the rest of the night, though, so I was grateful when Bexley pulled a bottle of Ibuprofen out of her bag and handed me two .
TJ took over driving the boat, Cashton making his way back to the platform to sit with Zayn as Nate got set up in the water. The music kept going, but the vibes on the boat had shifted slightly, everyone seeming to have picked up on the fact that something was going on between Cashton and I.
He wanted to play dirty, but I wasn’t going to stoop to his level. All hopes of us getting along had pretty much been thrown out the window at this point, but I wasn’t planning on giving him the satisfaction of thinking he was able to get to me. So, I put my brave face on, mentally cursed him out, and then turned back to Olivia and Bexley as if nothing had happened.
Cashton Astor could go to hell.