"Come on," Briella said, nudging her shoulder against mine and nodding in Henry's direction. "Let's go see how much money we made."
I slowly climbed to my feet so the diving board wouldn't wobble. The last thing I needed was to lose my balance and fall in the pool with an entire party present to witness my humiliation.
Once I was standing on solid ground again, I tugged my Keds on and waited for Briella. As she laced up her combat boots, I watched Zuke hoist himself out of the water. Turtle met him at the ladder with a towel, and the pair were quickly swarmed by a group of girls. It was easy to see why everyone seemed to like him. Zuke was ridiculously good looking, charming, and besides Sophia, the kindest, friendliest person I'd met in Coldwater. The only mark against him was his asshole of a best friend.
"Shall we?" Briella said, finally straightening up.
I nodded, and as we made our way through the crowd, I caught quick snippets of conversation. Most of it was about Zuke, but to my utmost horror, some of it was about me.
"...always wins truth or dare."
"That's because he's a crazy son of a bitch."
"...and the new girl played with them!"
"Yeah, she's smokin. Probably insane though if she's hanging out with Fletcher's crew."
"... I'd sled off the roof for a chance to make out with Zuke. He's hot as hell."
"Apparently the new girl thinks so too. I saw her sitting in his lap and she was all over him."
I jerked around to give whoever was speaking a piece of my mind—I most certainly had not been "all over" Zuke—and promptly collided with a wall.
Wait. Not a wall, but a chest.
A very solid chest.
"Watch where you're going, Princess Prude. Although, judging by all the gossip I've heard, I'll have to think of a more fitting nickname."
At the sound of Fletcher's voice, I closed my eyes and let out a long sigh. Of fucking course. Of all the people for me to literally crash into at this party, it just had to be him. When he'd disappeared after turning down Zuke's dare, I'd foolishly thought he left, but apparently I wasn't so lucky.
Taking a swift step back, I glanced up and was surprised to find a flicker of amusement in Fletcher's honey brown eyes rather than the disdain I was so used to seeing. Even his mouth was curled up slightly, revealing the smallest hint of a smile. But then I remembered why I'd turned around and realized he must've overheard the same conversation I had.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "What are you doing?" I asked, ignoring his snide comment. "Following me?"
"You're hanging out with my friends, remember?" He pointed to where Henry was sitting. "I'm going to collect."
Right, the bet money.
"Whatever, just leave me alone and we won't have any prob—"
"Coming through!" someone said, knocking into me as they passed by.
My stomach plunged as I lost my footing, but before I could topple into the pool, Fletcher's hand shot out and grabbed my elbow. His fingers were surprisingly gentle, but he let go the second I was steady, as if my skin had burned him.
Holy shit.
Had Fletcher just... helped me?
The whole thing happened so fast I wasn't sure.
Cocking my head, I studied his expression and tried to work out if this was some kind of trick.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" he asked.
"Well, gee, maybe because you of all people just stopped me from falling into the pool?" Considering the depths of his hatred—totally undeserved, I might add—I was shocked he hadn't shoved me in himself.
Maybe there was hope for him after all?
His responding scowl was instant. "Don't overthink things. It was only a reflex. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should probably go wash all these preppy germs off my hands before I start wearing polo shirts and boat shoes."
Never mind, I thought, rolling my eyes. Clearly it was wishful thinking to hope that Fletcher had an iota of kindness inside him.
"Whatever the reason," I said through gritted teeth, "thanks." I might not like Fletcher, but my mom had taught me to be thankful to anyone and everyone who helped me, regardless of my feelings for them.
Without giving him a chance to response, I spun on my heels and went to find Briella. Dealing with Fletcher had put me in a sour mood and, as a result, all I wanted to do was get out of these jeans and curl up in bed with a book. When I finally reached the lounge chairs, Briella had already taken a spot beside Henry.
"How'd we do?" she asked him.
"Give me a sec." As he studied a list of numbers in a pocket-sized notebook, he absentmindedly fiddled with his eyebrow piercing. A minute passed, and then he scribbled something down and looked up at us with a grin. "Minus what we owe Owen for the kegs? Three sixty."
"Not bad," she replied, holding out her hand. "We've certainly had worse nights."
In response, Henry withdrew a stack of bills from his pocket, counted out six tens, and handed them over to Briella. She folded the cash and tucked it into her bra.
"Evelyn," Henry said, his gaze flicking up to meet mine. "Do you want your cut in fives or tens?"
"Excuse me?"
"What denomination do you want?" he asked. "I can scrounge up three twenties if you prefer, but I won't be able to get them to you until tomorrow."
"I don't understand," I told him.
"We always split the bet revenue between whoever plays truth or dare," Briella explained. "Tonight, that includes you."
"Oh, no. That's okay," I said, shaking my head. No way was I going to profit off Zuke's stupidity. "You guys don't need to include me. I only played like three rounds anyway."
"Doesn't matter," she replied. "You play, you get paid. That's how it works."
"Let it go, B," a cool voice cut in. "It's highly doubtful the princess needs any money. Sixty bucks is probably chump change to her." Fletcher appeared from behind me, snatched the cash I'd been offered, and sank onto the chair next to the one Briella and Henry were sharing. A moment later, he wrestled a joint and lighter out of his pocket.
"Well, that's my cue to leave," I said as he lit up. "Thanks for letting me crash your game tonight, but I should find Sophia. She's probably wondering where I disappeared to."
"Wait," Briella said, her brows scrunching into a frown. "You're not coming with us to the after party?" To my surprise, she actually sounded disappointed. Maybe she was sick of being the only girl hanging out with a bunch of guys?
"Where at?" I asked, more to be polite than out of actual interest. I'd already been dragged to one party this evening. I sure as hell wouldn't be dragged to another.
"My house," Fletcher said, blowing a cloud of smoke into my face. "Sorry, but no high maintenance bitches allowed."
"Don't be a dick," Briella said, reaching over and plucking the joint out of his hands.
I crossed my arms and glared at Fletcher. If he was going to insist on being an asshole to me, then I would match him insult for insult. "So you can't attend your own after party?" I asked, feigning confusion. "Strange rule, but you do you, buddy."
Briella laughed mid hit and coughed out another cloud of smoke. She waved it away and flashed me a wide smile. "I have a feeling the two of us are going to get along great. I can't begin to tell you how nice it is to meet another woman who can put this fucker in his place."
Fletcher scowled at Briella and snatched his joint back. "I'm done here," he said, pushing himself to his feet. "I'll see you two later."
"Sorry about him," Briella said as the three of us watched him stalk away. "Fletcher's...an acquired taste."
"No offense, but I don't think there's going to be any acquiring on my part," I told her.
She shrugged off my response. "Fair enough. So I guess I'll see you back at the house then?"
I released a small breath of relief, grateful that Briella had provided me with an out. "Yeah, thanks for the invite though."
"Of course. There's always next time."
"Yeah, for sure." Or never. "See you later."
"Wait," Henry said, flicking his bangs out of his eyes and glancing up at me. "You're catching a ride with Owen, right?"
"Yep."
He held out a much thicker wad of cash than the ones he'd handed over to Briella and Fletcher. "Can you give this to him for me? It's what we owe him for the kegs."
"No problem," I said, taking the money and tucking it into my back pocket. "Say bye to Zuke and Turtle for me?"
They nodded, and then I was weaving through the crowd in the direction of the pool gate. I hadn't spotted Sophia or Owen during Zuke's stunt, so I figured the best place to start my search was the couch where I'd last seen them.
As I made my way down the slopping lawn toward the barn, fireflies blinked in and out around me like tiny floating lights. An almost full moon hung low in the sky, and I had to admit that the Miller's farm was beautiful in a rustic sort of way. Under different circumstances, I might actually enjoy spending time in a place this peaceful.
"Evelyn, over here!"
I turned to see Owen sitting on the picnic table next to the kegs. He was alone, and I noticed there were a lot less people outside than before, either because they were at the pool or the party was winding down. Changing directions, I headed for the picnic table.
"Hey, what's up?" I asked, stopping in front of him.
"Sophia ran to the bathroom," he said, jamming a thumb over his shoulder, "but once she's done we're heading out. Ready to leave?"
"Definitely. Also, I have this for you." I retrieved the cash from my jeans and passed it to Owen. "It's from Henry for the beer."
"Thanks." He didn't count it to make sure all his money was there, just tucked it into his wallet and trusted that it was. I thought it was stupid move—what if Henry stiffed him or I skimmed some off the top?—but maybe the fact that I wasn't as trusting said more about me than him.
We spent the next few minutes chatting about the party while we waited for Sophia. Once she returned, the three of us said goodbye to Patrick who was playing pool in the barn, and then we trekked down the Miller's endless driveway to the road where Owen had relocated his truck so we wouldn't get parked in. From there, it was a thirty minute ride back into town, and by the time Owen pulled up in front of the Brooks' house, I was half asleep.
"Thanks for the ride," I said through a yawn as I climbed out of the back seat.
"See you tomorrow," Owen called.
"And thanks for coming with us!" Sophia added.
I acknowledged them with a wave over my shoulder, then trudged up the sagging porch steps, my slow march illuminated by the headlights of Owen's truck. Using the spare house key Ruby had given me, I let myself inside and quietly retreated to my room, not wanting to wake her up.
It had been a long night, and I got ready for bed on autopilot. I'd planned on finishing my book tonight, but I was too drained from being forced to socialize to read a single sentence. Just as I was about to drift off, a startling thought jerked me awake. What if Fletcher got drunk, forgot this was my room now, and tried to crash here?
That was so not happening. Not if I had anything to say about it.
Throwing off my covers, I padded over to the window and flipped the latch so it was locked. Fletcher could sleep in the bushes for all I cared. It would be a cold day in hell before he ever slept in my bed again.
***
Hi friends!
For those of you who have been reading this story since I first posted it, thank you for sticking around even though I haven't been able to update very often. Now that I only have one book left in "The Heartbreak Chronicles", I finally have some more time to work on this story. Starting today, I will be uploading a new chapter of The Midnight Boys every other Wednesday.
Until next time.