“Oh.” I throw up my hands. “I don’t plan on having sex with anyone.” I’ve only ever slept with two guys—Monroe and Scout. It was our secret. And one hell of a mistake that I don’t plan on repeating. Plus, Janice, our housekeeper, took me to the doctor to get on the shot once I told her I had had sex. She was the only other woman I was ever around. Thankfully, she helped me out and played my mom.
He sighs heavily and digs into his pocket. “I don’t mean sex, Hen.” Pulling a knife out, he flips the blade open and holds it up. “I want you to keep this on you at all times.”
I stand and shake my head. “I can’t …”
“Yes, you can.” He stands and closes it, then places it in my hand. The cold steel feels foreign and heavy. “You keep it in your purse. Or in your backpack. And if anyone tries to hurt you, you use it.”
I roll my eyes. I can’t take this to school with me. “No one is going to hurt me.” No, they’ve turned their backs on me. I’m the outcast, so they will act like I don’t even exist. And just that thought makes my chest tighten. They may think I betrayed them, but I lost my best friends. They betrayed me when they didn’t believe me.
“I love you, Hen.” He pulls me in for a tight hug. “Be careful, and if you need anything, you call me. I’ll be here immediately.”
I sit and watch him leave with tears in my eyes. Not because of what’s to come but because of what has happened. How one night destroyed everything.
Five months ago
Death Valley, previously known as Spring Valley, was once an all-boys preparatory academy. They taught boys from kindergarten to twelfth grade. The students and staff lived here on campus twenty-four seven, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. It was known for its five hundred acres of manicured lawn, rolling hills, and Victorian-like structures. It looked like a city of castles in a fairy tale, but its story is anything but pretty. Now it resembles a haunted fortress from an old-time horror flick. You know the old black and white ones with the static across the screen. Just the sound makes your skin crawl and the hairs on the back of your neck stand.
It’s been the go-to party spot since before I was even born. A place where we come to get high, get drunk, and fuck shit up. We’re here every Saturday night, and also Friday nights during ball season after the football games. And they sometimes have exclusive fights throughout the week.
I stumble across the uneven lawn, wanting to get some fresh air. My shoes dig into the earth, making it hard to walk. No one maintains it anymore. It’s been abandoned for years. A fire broke out and caused so much damage that they couldn’t afford to rebuild. Not to mention all the lives that were taken that night. Legend is, no one survived. Not sure how a place so big burned, killing everyone, yet the structures are still standing. I’ve always questioned how the concrete walls and floors managed to catch fire, but I’m not an expert on that sort of thing. So what do I know?
“Hen, wait up.”
I hear a familiar voice call out behind me. When I spin around, I lose my balance. I close my eyes and fall. It feels like I land on clouds, but when I open my heavy eyes, I look up to see Scout standing over me. He has a glass with amber liquid in one hand and his cell in the other. A smirk spreads across his face as his eyes sweep over my body.
“What are you doing out here?” he asks with a chuckle before tipping his cup back.
I watch his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows the drink, fascinated by the simple movement. He looks back down at me, waiting for a response, and I tilt my head back, looking up at the sky. It’s full of a thousand shining stars. They’re so bright that they’re almost painful to look at. “Admiring the sky,” I slur.
He falls onto his side and lies down next to me. “How about some company?” Propping himself up, he cups my cheek. I lean into him. His hands are cool from the drink he was holding that now sits next to him. They feel good on my hot skin. “Hey, don’t do that. Not here.”
“Hmm?” My eyes roam his chiseled jaw and stubble that he didn’t shave off today.
His gaze falls to my chest. The corners of his perfect lips are tilted upward in a grin. “You moaned. You know that makes me hard.”
I did? I didn’t realize it. “What would you do if I did this?” My hand falls to his jeans, and I run my palm over his crotch.
He throws his head back and closes his eyes. “Hen …”
“Or this?” I sit up and straddle him, throwing my hair over my right shoulder. I get a head rush from moving too fast and am thankful I’m not standing. “What about this?” I run my hands through my hair, gathering it up and throwing my head back. I let out a moan, rocking my hips back and forth on him. I can feel him grow inside his jeans, and I moan again; only this time, it wasn’t fake. “Oh, God” I cry out dramatically. “Scout …”
“Henley.” He grips my hips, bringing me to a stop. “Not here.”
I look around at the kids littering the area, but no one is paying us any attention. A group of about twenty are over to the right, standing around a roaring fire made of car tires. Which is totally illegal and leaves you covered in a black residue, but no cops patrol this area. They’re all sipping their alcoholic drinks, and the black lifted Chevy has all the windows down and its speakers blaring. “No one cares what we do.” This is why kids come out here.
“Doesn’t mean people aren’t watching us.” He sits up and pushes me off him.
I pout. “You embarrassed all of a sudden to be seen with me?” I arch a brow. “Afraid of what people will say if they find out you’re fucking me?” No one knows what we do. Kids at school suspect it because he’s one of my best friends, but there’s a difference in rumor and fact. No one has yet to prove it. And the ones who can, won’t.
Ryan grips my hair in his hand, tilts my head back, and slams his lips to mine in a possessive, dominating kiss. Our teeth hit, and our tongues dance. I whimper into his mouth, and my pussy pulses while my thighs tighten.
He pulls away and growls. “I don’t give a fuck what they think.”
“Then why?” My hand falls to his hard dick again, but he pushes it away.
“Just … not here,” he snaps, jumping to his feet.
Grabbing my hand, he yanks me up as well. We face the back of the main building. It stands five stories tall. I can see how back in its day, it must have been gorgeous, but now it’s depressing. Windows no longer have glass, and graffiti covers the concrete walls and cracked bricks. Moss grows up the side in places. Such a shame.
He’s dusting my back and ass off when I look up and see a familiar face in a hole where a window once was on the second floor of the old and damaged building. “I thought you said Dax wasn’t coming tonight?” I ask.
“He’s not,” he answers.
“I just saw him.”
He shakes his head, chuckling. “Lay off the alcohol, Hen. Come on, let’s go inside.”
I don’t get to argue. He grabs my hand and pulls me into the main building on the property. “Sex Metal Barbie” by In This Moment drowns out my thoughts. The only lights in this part are from glowsticks. Most of the kids are rolling. I follow Scout into what was once the atrium that held the cafeteria and snack bar. It was known to hold up to around three hundred boys at once. It’s bigger than Alcatraz, and the security was just as tight.