“Nate,” I hiss at him. I haven’t managed to tell him yet, but I’d really appreciate keeping a low profile.
His smile drops. “What?” he asks innocently, much like a toddler who didn’t know he wasn’t supposed to eat a cookie before dinner.
I nod toward everyone watching us, and he shrugs, locking his arm around mine. “Come sit with us.” He looks toward Tatum. “You too, Masters.” Then he pulls me down beside him.
I drop my tray on the table, moving over for Tatum to take a seat beside me. Her arm brushes against mine stiffly. I can sense her discomfort and unanswered questions, but I can answer them later. Opposite me to the left, Bishop and then Brantley sit opposite Tatum. Beside Brantley are Abel, Hunter, Eli, and Cash.
I pick up one of my sushi rolls and bite down on it, trying really hard not to make a mess, but sushi being sushi, rice ends up on my lap. Nate’s talking about the party this weekend, and when I raise my eyes up to look in front of me, I’m instantly imprisoned by Bishop’s glare. His face is blank, filled with—nothing. His strong, chiseled jaw sits taut, and his green eyes remain glued on mine. I squirm in my seat, and Tatum looks at me sideways. Her hand goes under the table, and a second later, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I reach in to take it out when Nate looks toward me. “What do you think, sis?”
“Hmm?” I ask, annoyed that he’s interfered with whatever Tatum was about to say to me.
“What kind of alcohol do you want this weekend?” he prompts, his eyes drifting between both of mine.
Damn it, he’s hella fine.
I scowl at my inner self. The hell is wrong with me? He’s basically your brother, you fuckwad.
“Oh!” I smile, my cheeks heating. “I don’t really drink.” I clutch my phone in my hand, ignoring the dark green eyes that are still peering at me from across the table.
Nate scoffs, taking one of my sushi rolls and popping the whole thing in his mouth. “That changes this weekend. It’s Brantley’s birthday. We don’t usually throw parties”—the corner of his lip kicks up as a mischievous glint darkens in his eyes—“but we do birthdays.”
I swallow past the lump that has now formed in my throat. My eyes flutter to Bishop again to find him looking down at his phone. Dropping my eyes to my lap, I slide my phone unlocked to see Tatum’s message.
Tatum – No way
Me – What?
I glance at Tatum, who has a shit-eating grin on her face. Her eyes drop down to her lap, and I wait impatiently for her text. Stretching my feet out, they collide with someone else’s under the table, so I quickly pull them back. Shit. My phone vibrates, and I look back down.
Tatum – You have a particular set of eyes on you that every girl at this school would plead for.
That’s what.
Me – What the hell are you talking about, Tatum?
“Hey!” Nate bumps my arm playfully. “Who’re you texting?”
Brantley and Bishop begin talking about something in hushed tones. If my observations are correct, Brantley and Bishop seem like the quieter ones. I think Nate likes me, but the other guys, I’m undecided still. Apart from that little talk in the kitchen last night, I don’t have much to go on, but they all make me extremely uncomfortable.
I look to Nate pleadingly. “Can I talk to you?”
His face sobers. “Yeah, come on.” He takes my hand in his as I smile down to Tatum. “Won’t be long.” My eyes drift to Bishop, who’s watching Nate’s fingers lock around my hand. I don’t know why, but I pull out of Nate’s hold. He falters for a second, but when I look back down to Bishop, he’s scowling at me.
What the fuck?
We begin walking out of the cafeteria and toward the front doors, where there are concrete stairs sprawled out to accommodate more than enough people to sit on. Some are eating lunch out here, not many though. They look like the type of people I should be eating with, not Nate and his damn club.
“What’s up?” he asks, once we get outside.
I sigh. “Nothing, I just… really, it’s a little much,” I answer truthfully. “What’s the deal with you guys?” We continue walking down the steps as Nate shoves his hands into his pockets.
“What have you heard?” His eyes remain ahead.
I look to him every two seconds while watching my step. “Well, only from Tatum about some Elite Kings Club?” I quiz him.
He laughs, throwing his head back. “Madi, that club is merely a legend. It’s all fueled by teenage drama queen bullshit.” His laugh is forced and his smile doesn’t reach his eyes.
“Okay,” I say. “Tell me more about this legend.”
He smirks, pausing his step. “Maybe one day, just… not today.”
“What?” I grin playfully. “Why not today?”
His eyes flick over my shoulder, his face turning serious. He looks back to me. “Not yet, I’ll tell you when I think you can handle it.”
He winks at me before walking past and back toward the doors again. When I turn around to see where his eyes drifted to, I catch the back of Bishop walking back inside. Sighing, I shake my head, wondering when the exact moment was my life had become so damn eventful.
I’M PILING MY HAIR INTO a high ponytail when Nate walks into my room. I rode with him on the way home today, and it wasn’t that bad. After we both battled over the music selection, eventually Nate told me if I touched it again, I would have to walk home. The way he smirked when he told me that had me thinking otherwise though.
“Hey!” I pull my leather jacket over my white tank, opting for skinny jeans and my Chucks to go with it.
He leans against the doorframe, a bag of chips in one hand, again with no shirt on, low-riding jeans, and his cap flipped on backward. He points down to me. “Where’re you going?”
“Hmmm?” I ask, picking up my phone from my bed. “To the mall with Tatum.”
“Tatum, huh?” he teases, sucking the excess flavor off his fingers. “She single?” His sucking halts before he slowly pulls his finger out of his mouth. “Not that the relationship status bothers me.”
I stop him, my hand going up to his chest. “I don’t know. I think so. Are you going to move?” I ask, pointing down the hallway to let me through.
He looks down at me smugly before Chamillionaire’s “Rockstar” starts playing in his pocket. His smile falls as he quickly walks back to his bedroom, closing the door behind himself.
“Everyone is weird at this school,” I mumble under my breath, pulling my door closed. Taking a step forward, I crash into a solid body. Just as solid as Nate’s but… a little bigger.
“Shit,” I mutter, my hand coming up to my forehead. When I drag my eyes up the body, they fall on Brantley. “Nate’s in his room. Sorry,” I apologize again for bumping into him.
His eyes darken, a snarl bringing up the corner of his mouth, which he opens, ready to say something—
“Brantley!” a low growl snaps from behind him. The air suddenly thickens, and when I look behind him, I see Bishop standing there, his eyes glued on the back of Brantley’s head. “Go to Nate’s room.” Brantley narrows his eyes on me again before he continues down the hallway and into the bedroom.
Once the door closes, I huff and look to Bishop. “Who stole his toys?”
Bishop’s eyes stay on Nate’s door, refusing to acknowledge me.
I curse under my breath. “Sorry, hi, I’m Madison.”
His eyes finally drop down to mine. He has really amazing eyes, not only the deep jade army color, but how they’re shaped. And when they look at you? They look through you, as if they’re summoning your soul and calling the reaper.
“Wish I could say I was sorry about that,” he mutters his reply, his eyes going back to Nate’s door.
I turn to follow his line of sight before looking back at him. “Don’t worry about it,” I whisper softly. “I’m used to it.” I step to the side to walk around him, when he matches my step, blocking my way.
He searches my eyes intently before dropping them t
o my lips then back to my eyes.
I tilt my head. “Can I leave?”
He doesn’t say anything, just stares blankly at me for a few seconds before finally walking down to Nate’s room.
Shaking my head, I pull open the door when Tatum drives up in her baby blue Ferrari, complete with black rims and black tint. It’s the nicest Ferrari I’ve ever seen, and fits Tatum to a T. Her parents are always away for work, and Tatum jokes that her “family time” is watching the latest box office movies. I wish I could sympathize with her, but I don’t think she worries that much. I clutch the door handle and turn to slide inside the passenger seat of the car before I turn around and look up to Nate’s bedroom window, finding all three of them staring down at me, watching carefully. My smile falters before I slide into the compact car.
“Hey, sugar!” Tatum claps in excitement. “Let’s splash some cash!”
The drive to the mall is short, because Tatum has a seriously heavy foot. We scan the stores, while, more Tatum than I, looks for the perfect outfit. By the fourth store, I give up and hand her my dad’s platinum card to just buy whatever she wants me to wear, because if there’s one thing I hate, it’s shopping. She exits one of the boutique stores with a shit-eating grin on her beautiful face, and I wince. I can almost feel my tits shrivel up from how tight whatever it is she chose for me. Pulling me up by my hand, she drags me toward a little quirky ornament shop, tucking the dress away.
“Your new room. I thought maybe we could get something. I mean, I know I haven’t seen your room yet, but I figure, because you just moved here, it’d be a little empty.”
Understanding the kindness in her suggestion, and still trying to not find someone being nice to me as something awkward, I nod.
“I could always do with something else. I love décor.”
“Good!” She claps her hands. “I didn’t really feel like dragging you in on my own.” We walk into the dark purple shop that’s surrounded by hot lava lamps and smells of incense. I’m instantly drawn to a little light that is turned on and showcasing its colors against the blank white wall at the back of the store. Walking toward it, I smile. “I want that!”
Tatum’s eyebrow quirks. “You sure? I mean, it’s cool, but where would you put it?”
I step toward it and drop down to my knees, tilting the bulb upward. “You can move it so it’s on the ceiling.” I shift the bulb to tilt it higher, and instantly, all the stars light up.
“Wow!” Tatum whispers. “That looks much better.”
I nod. “It reminds me of when my parents used to take me out on hunting trips and we’d camp out in the forest.”
Her eyes narrow. “Hunt what exactly?”
I stand back to my feet. “Just deer. Or we would go duck shooting.”
Her features relax. “That sounds… nice, I guess.”
I laugh. “It is! We’ll have to go sometime.”
“Yeah,” she says, looking to the side. “Maybe.”
“Hey,” I swat her, “I came shopping, so you come hunting.”
She gulps. I laugh, just as I see one of the workers walk toward us.
“Ohhh,” the member of staff says, looking up to the ceiling. “That’s how I was supposed to set it up.”
I laugh again, looking up to the stars once more. “Yeah, I think. I’m not sure.”
The worker looks back to me. She has to be around our age. She has long, pastel pink hair that’s braided in a fishtail over her shoulder, and bright green eyes. Her little pixie nose sits on her olive face, crinkling as she laughs. “I better change that.” Stepping forward, she leaves it how I had it. “Thanks. You probably saved my ass from my boss.”
“Oh,” I reply. “No problem.”
She picks up one of the boxes and hands it to me, then we follow her back to the counter. She beeps it through and smiles. “This is pretty cool, right?”
“Yeah.” I return her smile. “I’m new here, so Tatum thought I needed something to spice up my room.”
“Oh, you’re new?” Her gaze falls on us. “I probably don’t need to ask what school you go to.” She says it politely enough.
“Riverside.”
She nods with a small smile.
“What school do you got to?” I ask, leaning on the counter.
“Hampton Beach High.”
“Oh!” Public? That’s a school I’d feel more comfortable in.
She gestures toward the lamps. “We have these lamps that have like, ambient sounds that play and make it feel like you’re in the forest.”
I spin around to look at where she’s pointing, getting far too excited.
“Seriously?” Tatum mutters under her breath.
“Ignore her.” I walk toward the lamps and snatch one greedily. “Thank you! My stepbrother is having a party this weekend, so when I decide to ditch and go to bed, I can use this. Might save his life.” I grin at her. She bursts out laughing, and I tilt my head. “Hey, do you like parties?”
After switching numbers with the worker girl, whose name is Tillie, we sit down at a café and eat our weight in fried food and chocolate brownies.
“I can’t believe you invited her off the bat.” Tatum pops a chicken tender in her mouth. “Mmm, but she seems nice, right?”
“Right,” I agree. “So be nice.”
“Hey!” she scolds me. “I’m always nice.”
That wasn’t fair of me to say. She has been nothing but nice to me. I smile, shoveling another piece of brownie into my mouth, where it melts on my tongue, mixing with a spoonful of ice cream. It turns out Tatum has as much of a sweet tooth as I do, and we make plans to have a girls’ movie night tomorrow night with buckets of candy. Tatum said she wants to watch a chick flick, but I cut her off by declaring my dislike for corny romcoms. So we agreed that I’ll pick the movies and she’ll bring the candy. Win-win.
“So what’s it like being Nate Riverside’s little sister?” Tatum asks, driving us back to my place.
“I’m not really his little sister,” I deadpan. “I don’t know why, but he’s taken it upon himself to torment me at his every turn.”
She giggles, dropping gears, and my head slams against the headrest from the force. “Honey, if Nate took it upon himself to torment me, I’d welcome it. He’s the biggest manwhore of Riverside Prep though. He’s even slept with Sasha Van Halen.”
“I’m not even surprised,” I mutter under my breath as we pull into our private driveway.
Sasha Van Halen is the daughter of the biggest tycoon in the United States. She’s splashed all over the tabloids—hot mess and all that.
“One last thing,” she says, pulling up the emergency brake. “I want to talk to you about them.” She gestures toward Nate’s window and my eyes follow. “You gained Bishop’s attention today at lunch.”
“Hardly,” I scoff, shaking my head.
“I need to educate you on Bishop Vincent Hayes,” she begins, and I tilt my head toward her. “He’s only ever been seen with one other girl more than once, that I know of. One, and she meant a lot to him. They were together for years. Everyone would say it was fate, Bishop and Khales; they were this match made in heaven. She moved, he moved. They knew each other since they were little, because Khales’s mom was a junkie and would leave Khales in the house on her own for hours on end. Khales went to Hampton Beach High School, which is on the rough side of town. Anyway, Bishop tried to save her. He tried so hard, but eventually, Khales followed her mother’s footsteps and picked up the needle.” She took a breath.
“She died?” I ask, my heart sinking. I know what it’s like losing someone you love.
“No, we don’t know where she is. About two years ago, she sort of just disappeared. No one whispers her name. The week she went missing, all the boys weren’t at school, and then suddenly they’re all walking back into the cafeteria like they own the place, as if she didn’t exist. Someone tried to ask Bishop about her, but he almost snapped the guy’s neck, so everyone took that as a sensitive subject a
nd never asked questions again.”
She pauses again, her bright blue eyes twinkling on mine. “I’m only telling you because so many girls have tried to fill the spot that Khales left. As far as I know, Bishop hasn’t had another girlfriend since. That’s two years. Anyway, that brings me to the next subject.” My mind is still swimming with the mass of information she just unloaded on me. Two years ago? People don’t just disappear into thin air. There’s always a reason why people go missing. She clears her throat. “The Elite Kings Club—”
“I asked Nate about it, and he said it’s all based on legend and false assumptions.”
She shakes her head, her blonde waves falling over her slender shoulders. “They won’t tell you. It may sound like gossip, but it’s very true. I’ve seen the mark.”
“Mark?” My brain is about to explode from the information that is being shoved inside it.
“Yeah, they’re branded when they’re babies. It’s a ritual all the parents perform.”
“That’s crazy.” My shoulders go slack. “I’ve heard enough. Anything else?”
“Yes! Be careful. I only know so much about them because I’ve studied them for as long as I’ve known them. I’ve never shared my thoughts with anyone else, because no one else has become close to them, but I can see that’s going to be changing with you. You need to be careful, Madi.”
I clutch the door handle and push it open, taking my bags out of the backseat. “Okay, I’ll be careful, but I think you’re being paranoid.”
She offers a small smile before I close the passenger door, and then she skids out of my driveway.
This kind of stuff just doesn’t happen, not in this world.
SLAMMING THE FRONT DOOR CLOSED, I walk into the kitchen with all the information Tatum just fed me brewing in my brain. Pulling a Coke from the fridge, I close the door when my heart leaps at the sight of Hunter leaning against the entryway.
“Shit!” My hand flies up to my chest.
“Sorry.” He smirks. “Nate has training, so he has me on babysitting duties.”