Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“Give me another five minutes, please,” I say, my voice coming out clipped.
“Chill, Wes.”
I crane my neck upward to see my brother.
“Hunter. Hey.”
Hunter is one of a very small number of people who wouldn’t piss me off right now. My brother and I are on good terms these days, and I’m relieved to see him.
He steps over the last remnants of pink on the ground and pulls out some red plastic cups to mix drinks.
“I’d offer to help you clean,” he says after a minute, “but I already know you’ll tell me you’re fine.”
“Correct.”
“Frat Dad,” he teases.
“Still don’t know why that’s an insult.”
“It’s not. We say it lovingly.”
I finish cleaning up and give the floor one last look with my cell phone flashlight to ensure there aren’t any glass shards. More people are starting to stream through the dining area beyond the kitchen, moving back and forth between the backyard and the house.
Hunter gives them each a nod. He’s only been in Onyx House for a handful of months, but already I feel like he’s making it his home even better than I have.
My brother was always better at parties.
He could thrive in chaos, even back when we were in high school.
I didn’t thrive in it.
Chaos tended to swallow me whole, actually.
Pressure was something that followed me everywhere, whether I was at home, at school, or at a party where I felt like I might explode.
“Margarita?” Hunter asks me, circling around the counter and holding one of the plastic cups toward me.
“No thanks.”
He stares at me. “You sure? I used the zero-sugar lime mix for your health-freak ass.”
I let out a long breath, stretching my neck and back after mopping. “Fine. Give me that thing.”
“You okay?”
“Do you consider wishing I could be on an island alone for the next six months okay?”
I’d been trying to make a joke, but Hunter frowns. “If there’s something on your mind, say it, Wes. I mean that. don’t want things between us to ever get as bad as they used to be.”
I shake my head. “They’ll never be that bad again.”
“Damn,” Hunter says, watching as I tip back the cup and chug half of the tart, sweet margarita in one go. “Classes rough today, or something?”
I drink a little more and then wipe my mouth with my hand. “Maybe you just make mixed drinks too weak.”
“I pour heavy. That tequila is about to go straight to your head.”
“Good.”
He laughs and I manage to give him a quick smile before it falls away from my mouth.
Even if I’m on okay terms with Hunter now, everything that went down last semester was clear confirmation of something ugly that I’d always suspected:
Hunter is the lucky one, between the two of us.
The luckier brother.
Hunter gives my sleeve a tug. “Some of the guys are doing plunges in the pool out back. Let’s go.”
“The pool is still frigid at this time of year. No way.”
“That’s why we’re just doing plunges. We’re seeing who can stay in the cold the longest.”
I groan. “Not safe at all, Hunter.”
“People do cold plunges in icy lakes in Alaska, Weston. No one is going to get hurt,” he protests. “Come hang out with Niko and Rayne. Please.”
Hunter’s being nicer than usual.
And I’m a sucker for that, even after a week like this.
“Fine. But I’m not jumping in cold water.”
I head out into the backyard, every nerve ending in my body already on high alert looking for Sevan.
I know where Sev is outside before I even see his face.
Like that very bad thing is about to happen.
After what I’ve been through, I can spot trouble like it’s a fucking neon, flashing sign. And Sev’s always lit up like a fucking Christmas tree.
His tall, broad frame is right at the edge of the fire pit out back, and within a moment after stepping outside, I see him raise his fist at someone for a punch.
I flash back instantly to the other times he’s tried to start fights at my parties. He isn’t fucking getting away with it now.
My heartbeat skips into a high rhythm instantly.
“Don’t you dare—”
It’s already happening before I can intervene.
Sev throws a cleaner punch than anyone I’ve ever seen, and the guy he’s hitting falls back onto his ass on the lawn, groaning in pain.
My chest clenches.
No. Not here.
Not here in Onyx House. That’s a line I don’t let anyone cross.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I call out as I cut across the lawn, catching Sev off guard.
My hands are at the top of his shirt, gripping it tight before he can react. The fire pit is on the lawn right by the deep end of the pool, and the shimmering water sparkles behind him, casting him in a silhouette.
“I was here to see you, Sheriff,” he tells me. “Then something else needed my attention.”