The room was large, which was why Willa had let Colt have it. It had space for my drum kit, which lived here permanently so Colt and I could practice together. My brother had claimed the attic in our house, running his business from it. Our bedrooms on the second level, like Aria’s, were small and cramped. Definitely not big enough for two guys and the mess of thrift shop instruments they’d taught themselves how to play over the years.
Colt didn’t even look up from his guitar. He had his eyes closed, his fingers all over the fret, pulling sounds from the guitar that I’d never been capable of. Eventually, when he showed no signs of stopping, I went over to my drums and took up a beat.
The stress left me as I played. Every hit of my sticks against the top head released a little more of the pent-up frustration I constantly carried.
“That’s hot,” Rafe yelled from his perch by the window. “I hope you can remember whatever you two are playing. That could be something.”
Colt slammed his open palm over the strings, an off-key screech filling the room. I winced and stopped playing, too. Colt glared at Rafe.
“What?” Rafe asked.
“You killed my flow.”
Rafe rolled his eyes. “You obviously weren’t really in it if you even heard what I said. So shut up.”
Colt glared at him.
Rafe didn’t back down.
I sighed. “Seriously, knock it off, both of you. Colt, you want to tell us what’s up your ass today?”
He shoved his guitar, none too gently, into its stand. Then sank down on his bed. “Nothing. I’m fine. Move on.”
I eyed him warily. “Man, you need to call Gillian to come suck your dick or something.”
“She’s exactly what I don’t need right now.”
I shot a glance at Rafe. He shrugged.
I turned back to Colt. “Don’t tell me Mommy and Daddy are on the rocks?”
Colt shrugged. “No, we’re fine. I’m just not in the mood for her shit this afternoon, and she’s been blowing up my phone. I can’t deal, and I don’t want to fucking talk about it. Change the subject.”
“Fine. Let’s talk about the new girl. I call dibs.” I gave them both a shit-eating grin. “You know that girl I was telling you about from my gig in Providence last night? It’s her.”
“What?” Rafe and Colt said in unison.
I nodded. “Yeah, small fucking world, huh? She lives in that big-ass mansion, and then she turns up at Saint View. Crazy.”
Rafe was shaking his head. “Great story, but you ain’t calling dibs. She’s fine. And my dad actually seems to like her.”
I scoffed. “You want to date her because your dad approves?”
Rafe reached over and shoved me in the arm, sending my stool sliding on its wheels. “No, I want to date her because I can’t stop thinking about how hot her legs looked in that skirt.”
I grinned to show him I didn’t mean anything by the teasing. We all knew Rafe’s dad was a dick and made his life impossible at every opportunity. But that didn’t mean I was letting Rafe have a crack at Lacey. Not when I’d spent all night thinking about her, trying to work out how I could get her phone number. She’d rushed off with the police, leaving me standing by her front door, wondering what the hell had happened. One minute we’d been going upstairs, her soft hand wrapped around mine and her citrus scent making me wild. Then next minute I was staring at her front door and she was gone. If my lips hadn’t still tingled from the tiniest of kisses we’d shared, I would have thought I’d imagined her.
“Can you both fucking shut up about her? Neither of you are doing anything with her.”
I raised an eyebrow in Colt’s direction, ready to make a crack about Gillian not being enough for him, and that if he wanted Lacey, too, he’d have to get in line. But the laughter fell from my lips when my gaze met his.
“You’re serious?”
“As a fucking heart attack. Leave her alone.”
Rafe frowned. “I know your dark and mysterious thing works on girls, but I’ve known you since kindergarten. So you’re gonna have to give me more than that.”
Colt shook his head. “She isn’t going to be around for long. You saw her today. She doesn’t belong here. And I’m going to make sure she goes back where she came from.”
“What exactly did she do that’s got your panties in a bunch?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“So you’ve just decided to hate her and run her out of school for sport?” Rafe seemed confused. “You’re a prick, but not normally to this degree.”
None of this made any fucking sense.
“I’m going to do whatever I have to do. And you two are as well.”
I held up my hands. “Nah, Colt. I’m not. Whatever you’ve got against her, you’re going to have to get over. I like her.”
Colt scoffed. “You like her tits.”
“True,” I admitted. “But she didn’t talk to me like I was beneath her at the funeral. There’s something between us. And I know she was feeling it, too. I’m not playing when I say I want to get to know her.”
Colt paused for a moment, but then a flash of pain twisted his features. He got it under control quick, but I’d seen it. And judging by the expression on Rafe’s face, he’d seen it, too. He crossed the room and sat next to Colt on his bed. “We aren’t just going to run a girl out of school for no reason. You gotta give us something.”
When Colt lifted his head, his eyes were glassy. I recoiled. I’d known Colt since just before our tenth birthdays. And the only time I’d ever seen him cry was when he’d told us his dad was dying from cancer.
“Fuck,” I swore under my breath. I abandoned the drums and sat on the floor in front of the other two. “What the fuck happened? Who is this girl to get you like this?”
Colt shook his head. “It’s not my place to say. I swear, if I could tell you, I would.”
“Since when do we have secrets from each other?” I asked, a little hurt. “We’re brothers.”
Colt swallowed hard and met both our gazes before he said anything. “I’ve never asked you guys for anything, have I? I’ve been there for you, keeping your secrets about your brother—” he looked at me, and a flush crawled up the back of my neck. He turned to Rafe. “And about your dad?”
We both nodded.
His gaze hardened. “Lacey needs to go back where she came from. For all of our sakes.”
8
Lacey
Jagger chatted happily all the way to school the next morning, but I was too in my head to hear any of it. I was still replaying yesterday afternoon in my mind. Making an enemy of Colt was stupid. I’d tossed and turned last night, unable to sleep over it.
I couldn’t change it. And I wasn’t going to apologize. But we’d obviously gotten off on the wrong foot, and maybe I could do something to steer us back in the right direction. I didn’t know what but hoped an opportunity might present itself.
Jagger and I parted ways in the main hall when the first bell rang, and the morning was nothing out of the ordinary. I had all the same subjects as yesterday, and I disguised myself in each classroom, sinking into seats in back rows and corners wherever possible, and paying next to no attention to the teacher.