Author: Cheryl McIntyre

I step into his personal space, cutting him off. He’s talked way too long. “You have no idea how lucky you are that I promised Hope I wouldn’t fight tonight,” I sneer.

“Fuck that,” Chase scoffs, pushing past me. “I didn’t promise shit.” He pops his arm back and lets his fist fly into Christian’s jaw. The room goes quiet as Christian’s head snaps back. The only sound is Chase hissing as he shakes his fist.

“Fight!” people cheer in unison.

In the moment it takes me to register what happened, Christian’s friends are blocking our path. Drunken arms start swinging. I glance at Park who shrugs, a sly smile turning up his mouth like he’s been waiting all his life to scrap with these people. I raise a brow and smirk back. This is my element. I am always down for a fight and now it’s in my girl’s honor. I nod at Park, declaring a temporary alliance between the two of us before jumping into the mayhem. I catch sight of Hope being shuffled backwards as I land my first blow.

I get knocked in the head twice by a guy I’ve never even seen before tonight. I don’t know when Guy got into the mix, but I see him punch that kid, Zack, that Hope complimented on his stupid-ass shirt. Chase takes a hit to the eye that doesn’t look like it had enough force to do much damage, and then I lose sight of everyone else because Christian is right in front of me. I’m pretty sure someone kicks me in the shin. I don’t fully feel it. All I can concentrate on is the sound of my knuckles pounding against Christian’s flesh. God, I love this feeling. I have so much rage and it feels so damn good to release it on an asshole like him. All I see is red. Blood trickles from his lip, pours quickly from his nose. There is something satisfying about someone else’s blood on your knuckles. That’s twisted, right? Yeah. Yeah it is. I don’t even give a shit right now.

Someone hits me in the stomach, knocking the air out of me. I grunt and swing, catching the guy in the side of his face. He stumbles back, falling into Christian and they both go down. I’m pretty sure they’re getting trampled. Hope takes the opportunity to grab a hold of my arm and yanks me away. And now I notice the sirens. The fight wasn’t going long enough for cops to be here already. The neighbors must have called in a noise complaint. Though I don’t think that qualifies sirens.

“Come on,” she huffs. “We have to get out of here.”

“Cops,” Chase pants. His cheeks are bright red, the collar of his shirt is ripped, and his eye is swollen. A few guys give up and make a run for the door, wanting out before they get busted.

“Where’s everyone else?” Hope asks. Her eyes dart around the room as she pulls us to the back door, which is genius since everyone else is heading for the front. I don’t see Guy or Park anywhere.

“Man, my bass,” Chase sighs.

“Leave it,” I say. I’m not getting arrested over a guitar.

“I have to find the others.” Hope stops at the door. “Park’s wasted and Guy can’t drive.”

“They went out the front,” Chase says.

“What about Annie?”

Chase shrugs. “I didn’t see her.” I can’t remember the last time I saw her. I was too occupied with Hope, as usual.

Hope closes her eyes for a second. She shoves her keys into my hand. “Go, find them, and get them home. I’ll find Annie and get a ride.”

I pull my hands back, refusing her keys. “I’m not leaving without you.” What the fuck? I am not going anywhere if she isn’t beside me.

“You have to. You’re the only sober one.”

“No,” I insist. I would do just about anything for her, but I’m not leaving her.

Hope rolls her eyes. The sirens sound like they’re close. Maybe a few houses away if we’re lucky. She turns quickly and heads back through the house. The living room is empty, except for some guy that had his ass handed to him. He’s lying in a heap on the floor. I follow Hope and she shakes her head. “At least go outside, Mason. Don’t let Park drive.”

The sirens stop. Red and blue lights flash through the windows. I ignore her, staying close. If she’s getting busted, then I’m going down with her.

Chapter 36

Hope

I find Annie perched on the stairs. Black mascara runs down her cheeks, mixed with fresh tears. She jumps up when she sees me. I grip her wrist tighter than is necessary, but I’m still pissed at her for telling Bailey about my mom. Plus I’m irritated I had to come back and look for her.

“Come the hell on. Cops are here.”

“Hope, I’m sorry. I said that stuff before I knew you.” She won’t stop crying and she’s being too loud as we make our way out the back door. I hear shouting from inside as the screen door closes behind us. Chase and Mason are pressing into us as we sneak around the back of the house. Neko’s parked in the driveway right beside two police cruisers. Seriously?

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Chase hisses. “We are so screwed.”

“No,” Mason murmurs. “They’re empty. They must be inside.”

I shove my keys at him. “I don’t see Park’s car,” I say.

Mason takes my hand. “You guys ready? Run like hell.” We do, sliding into the car and gently closing the doors as quietly as we can. Mason turns the key and shoves it into gear. We roll out of the driveway and he takes off down the street. He sails through the stop sign and rounds the corner. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

“Wooh!” Chase shouts.

I laugh, relieved and glance at Mason. He grins at me as I let my head fall back against the seat.

“You know they’re probably going to smash our instruments,” I say to Chase. He moans and rubs his face.

“Yeah, probably.” He groans again. “And Warren’s probably going to want his money back since we only played one song.”

“Yep,” I agree. I’m not giving my share back if my drums get tore up.

I fish my phone out to call Guy just as Annie makes a strangled sound in the back seat. “Pull over,” she demands. Her voice is muffled by her hand.

“Oh, shit,” Chase says, panicked. “She’s going to blow. Pull the hell over, now.” He squirms away from her. “Don’t puke on me, Annie. I swear to God.”

Mason swings the car to the side of the road and I jump out, pulling the seat forward and Annie stumbles out. She makes it two steps before she falls to her knees, emptying her stomach. I push her hair out of her face. I’d hold it back for her, but I’m not ready to be that nice yet. She sold me out to her friends and that’s not something I’m going to easily forgive.

“I’m sorry,” she cries.

I’m getting sick of her saying that.

Annie wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

I shiver from the amount of anger consuming me. “They called me a whore, Annie! You told them about my mom. You told them I shared my mom’s boyfriends. If you understood how fucked up that is, you wouldn’t be asking for forgiveness.” I turn away. The stench of alcohol and vomit only making me more disgusted with her.

“I said that stuff before I knew you,” she cries.

I just shake my head. As if that makes it better. I don’t want to hear her anymore. My phone is still in my hand and it startles me when it rings, playing the imperial march. Jenny’s ringtone. I take a deep breath, hoping I sound completely sober even though the whole fight and police thing was a pretty good buzz kill. “Hello?”

“Hope. Thank God you answered. I can’t get a hold of Annie.”

“She’s with me. Her phone must’ve died,” I say, the lie rolling off my tongue automatically. I glance at her on the ground and roll my eyes.

“I need you girls to get home right away,” Jenny says before I’ve fully finished my sentence. Her voice is shaky, thick.

“What’s wrong?” My head spins and my gut twists. Something bad happened. I can feel it. I know this feeling well.

“Honey, Guy was in an accident. Alec and I are on the way to the hospital. Listen to me. I need you to get home. Misty’s with the kids, but she’s scared. She needs you girls.”

The tears are instant. I can’t help it. They stream down my face, dripping onto the front of my shirt. I cry for Guy like I should have cried for my mom. I feel like I might be sick. Mason’s warm hands grip my waist, but I can’t look at him yet. “Is he okay?”

Jenny sobs into the phone and my knees go weak. If Mason wasn’t holding onto me, I think I’d be on the ground.

“Jenny?” I plead the one word. Please, please don’t let this be happening again.

“We don’t know, Hope. We’ll call as soon as we know something.” She sniffles and I hear her swallow.

“Was Park with him?” I whisper into the phone and my voice hitches.

“I don’t know. They didn’t give us details. Just get home. All right? I’ll let you know what I find out.”

I nod before I realize she can’t see. “Okay.” The line goes dead and I pull my phone back and stare at it. “We have to go home,” I say numbly.

“What’s going on?” Mason asks. I hear the concern in his voice clearly and I pull away from him.

“Annie!” I scream. “We have to go NOW!”

“Hope? What the hell’s happening?” Mason grabs my arm, pulling me into him. I push him back gently even though what I really want to do is hit him. I want to yell at him. Why? Why didn’t he stop them like I asked?

“We have to go. Guy was in an accident.” I stomp over to Annie, still on her knees in the grass. I jerk her up, squeezing her until she whimpers. “Get your worthless ass in the car,” I demand.

I fall onto the seat and call Park. It rings. And rings. And rings.

“Is he all right?” Chase asks.

I shake my head. “Don’t know yet.”

“What about Park?” he asks.

New tears spill. “I don’t know. He isn’t answering.”

Chase yanks his phone out of his back pocket and places a call. “Shit.” He closes his eyes. “Park, man. Call me when you get this. We’re freaking out.” He rubs his eyes, trying to hide the moisture there as he disconnects. “They were together. They would’ve stayed together. Shit.” He presses the heels of his hands into his eyes hard.

Mason pulls into the driveway and I’m out of the car before he shuts it off. Misty opens the door, meeting me on the porch. She flings herself into me. I hug her, brushing my fingers through her hair. “Have you heard anything?” I ask.

She shakes her head.

“It’ll be all right. It’ll be all right.” I don’t know if I’m trying to comfort her or convince myself.

Mason puts his hand on my shoulder as Misty releases me. I flinch, but I don’t pull away. He guides me inside.

“The kids in bed?” I ask Misty. She nods, wiping her face.

“Can you go get Kellin?” she asks Mason. “I was on the computer with him when Dad got the call. He said to have you pick him up.”

Mason glances at me and I nod. She needs someone that can make her feel better. “Yeah, sure.” He kisses my forehead. “They’ll be okay,” he assures me. “I’ll be right back.”

My hand shoots out, grabbing his fingers. “Be careful.”

He smiles sadly. “I will.”

I leave Chase in the living room with Misty and Annie and go up to check on the kids. The twins are sleeping soundly, so I peek in on Addie. Her blanket’s slipped off and she’s curled into a small ball in the middle of her bed. I cover her up and brush the hair off her face before I tip toe out of the room.