Sidelines ✔️

01 • The Great Escape • 01

Joe ignores her and exhales, directing the cigarette smoke into Taylor's face. Taylor wrinkles her nose in disgust while I try not to laugh.

"Do you want to die?" Taylor asks, flatly.

"Yes." Joe replies, tossing the cigarette on the ground before he stands on it. He runs a hand through his dirty blonde hair and meets her judgemental gaze. "If I'm dead, I won't have to hear you nagging constantly."

"Thanks, Joe." I say sarcastically, looking down at the cigarette with a scowl. "My mother would be very proud of you."

"Let's go inside," Taylor suggests, rolling her eyes before taking both hands and dragging us towards the house.

When we reach the back garden, I see teenagers everywhere. There was a table full of alcoholic beverages pushed to the side of the decking area, someone lit the outdoor fire pit, and a speaker was blaring out some 2000s summer song.

If my Mom were here right now, she would have had a breakdown.

"So this is what a Lakewood brother's party looks like," Taylor said, sounding overwhelmed.

Before being introduced to my new stepbrothers, I'd heard about the parties the Lakewood brothers hosted and went to. Only now was I seeing what that looked like.

"Come on, let's get some drinks." I suggested, leading my friends towards the drinks table.

Taylor and I opt for vodka and lemonade while Joe helps himself to a beer. Once we've claimed our drinks, we sit by the pool's edge, dangling our feet in the water.

"Let's play a game," I suggest, wanting to do something. "This is boring --

"— Much like this party." Joe huffs, glancing at the strangers scattered around my parent's lawn.

"Yeah, well — we can make our own fun," I tell my friends, ignoring Taylor's nervous eyes. "This game is simple: be the first to down your drink."

We begin downing our drinks all at once, knowing getting drunk would make this party more entertaining. Joe was my only competition; Taylor had nothing on us. However, I knew I'd lost when I heard the sound of Joe's beer bottle landing on the side of the pool.

"Wait," Taylor says, still with three-quarters of her drink left. "What does that mean for Charlie and me?"

"Jump in the pool," Joe says, causing Taylor and me to glare at him. "I won, so I get to pick." Joe shrugs.

We don't argue and jump in. Instead, I cough when I swim up to the surface, the fizziness of my drink rising in the back of my throat.

When I climb out of the pool, I feel the effect of the harsh Florida sun begin to fade as the sun starts to set. The cooler evening air nips my skin, and I run to the pool house to get some towels before Joe can push me in again. Soon, I return with two towels in my hand, and another draped around my shoulders.

"Nice look, Lakewood." I hear a boy shout at me.

I turned to see a boy smirking at me as he walked by with his friends. His eyes burned into me like I was a piece of meat up for grabs. It was making my stomach churn.

"I try my best." I retort, lacing my words with sarcasm.

"How did you get out here?" I hear Tommy, the youngest of my stepbrothers, question.

Regret washes over me when I realise my voice had carried through the garden, catching my stepbrother's attention. I turned with dread to see them approaching me. Before I know it, Sebastian, Harry and Tommy are standing before me, each mirroring the other's pissed-off expression.