Fallen Crest Forever (Fallen Crest High #7)

His head was under the pillow, and his voice came out muffled. “I know what you’re thinking. I can feel your thoughts, and I’m calling for a ceasefire. I’m tired, woman. Some of us are human.”


Human? I mouthed that word, still grinning to myself. He was calling me the non-human? Him? Who could outrun and outmuscle so many football players? Who was good enough to go to the NFL? Who the coaches would go to such great lengths to keep on their team? Him?

He was the machine, but I’d take the compliment. It just added to my morning. I was already on top of the world.

I reached for the door, but paused, my eyes tracing up his back. He rolled over, his eyes meeting mine with a twinkle.

The grin tugging at the corner of his lip had my lips twitching to mirror his, and the ache between my legs blossomed into an overwhelming love for him. I could feel everything inside of me soften.

“I love you,” I said softly.

“I love you back.”

“We’re going to be okay?”

He nodded. “We’ll be fine.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I felt the flutter in my stomach as I smiled back.

His words were a blanket that I wrapped around myself. I felt them as I left and started down the street.

It felt good to run, but after a five-minute sprint, I stopped.

No one else was up. No cars. I didn’t see any lights in the houses. It was just me, just the street, and I breathed it in.

I closed my eyes, spread my arms wide, and tipped my head back.

I was ready to fly.





“Okay,” Faith grumbled as she found me on the park bench. “I’m here.”

I’d called her after a couple miles. I was going to demolish this girl, but I wanted to meet with her first.

She sat down on the bench beside me, yawning, and rubbed under her eyes. “Why did you demand I meet you here? It’s Saturday. You know we have a race today, don’t you?”

“You and I don’t.”

“Yes, we do.” Her yawn stopped abruptly. Her mouth flattened, and her forehead wrinkled. “We can’t miss any qualifying race.”

“We’re going to miss one.” I stood and jumped up and down. I was antsy. “You and I are going to have our own race. Right here. Right now. And this is the last one.”

“What are you talking about?” She stood too, more cautious.

“You want me to help you? You want to make me motivate you?”

“Yeah, but you’ve been gone for two weeks. Coach said something happened.”

She wanted to know what, but she wasn’t asking. Good. I wouldn’t have told her anyway. My hand rested on my hip. “I saw Raelynn last night.”

She didn’t move, but I felt her attention snap into focus. “Yeah?”

I waited, studying her, and then I saw the guilt. My lip curled. “You’re such a liar. You never went to see her, did you?”

Shame filled her eyes. I saw it for a brief second before she looked away. She swallowed, and when she turned back it was gone. She’d gotten herself under control, and she raised her top lip to match mine.

“What about it? Why do you give a shit? You haven’t gone to see her either. Did you talk to her last night?”

“No, but that’s not my job. It’s yours. You were her best friend.”

“It’s weird!” she yelled, throwing her arms out.

“Get over it. She’s someone who loved you. She had your back against me. You don’t throw people like that away. You keep them close, and you have their back too. Trust me.” I felt a lump in my throat. “I’ve had my share of people who said they loved me, but when things got bad, they couldn’t leave me fast enough. When someone’s hurt, you shield them, you don’t hurt them further.”

Her head hung. “That’s not what I did.”

“It is, but you keep telling yourself whatever excuse you’ve thought up. That’ll be there long after you chase any other good person away.”

“Goddamn it!” She threw her head back, eyes blazing. “What the fuck is your problem? Why are you on my ass about this?”

“Because I’m changing to!”

I stopped, wide-eyed. I could feel the intensity in them. My blood was pumping. Everything stopped, and I felt it click.

“What?” Faith’s eyebrows pinched together.

Mason had to change. He needed to find the line with me, and hold it. But I had to change too. And Faith wasn’t another Kate. I had been looking at her, anticipating it, but she wasn’t. She wasn’t a great human being, but she wasn’t going to plot against me. She was all bluff.

I was calling her on it.

“You’re never going to actually hurt me, are you?”

“What?” Her head craned backward. “No. Who do you think I am?”

“People from my past.”

“What?” Her eyes grew wary.

“I have been plotted against. I have been hurt. Everything you’ve threatened has already happened to me. I took your threats seriously.” But I didn’t have to anymore.

I was changing.

I was growing up.

What happened to me before wasn’t going to happen again, and I could see it now. It was clearer.

“You aren’t Kate, Jessica, or Lydia. You’re not even my mother. You’re just . . .” I looked at her again, feeling my loathing gone. Faith just looked sad now. She was a girl, her brown hair pulled up in a braid. She had a pronounced jaw, maybe a little too square for a girl, and she was thin. I would’ve thought she had a problem if I didn’t know how strong her legs were. They were shaped and firm, like a professional runner’s. But . . . she was just a girl.

All the fight I had stored for her fled. “I’ve been picking fights with you, haven’t I?”

She closed her mouth, then lifted a shoulder, but she kept a cautious eye on me. “I’ve given you reason. I’m a spoiled brat, and I might tell people not to talk to you, but I’m not vindictive where I want you to actually get hurt. I just say things. My sister keeps saying my big mouth is going to get me in trouble. And you’re right.”

I glanced at her.

She rolled her eyes, her lips strained in annoyance. “You have made me question a couple things, and who I have in my circle is one of them. You’re right. Raelynn always had my back, and I knew she loved me, but she never did anything about it. She just supported me.”

“She just loved you.”

“Yeah. She did.” She let out a sigh. “I’ll make it right with her.” Her eyebrows pulled together. “You saw her last night? Where?”

“A nightclub.”

“Which one?”

I shrugged. “I wasn’t paying attention to much last night, but she was more drunk than I was. She walked right past me without blinking an eye.”

“She doesn’t pay attention. When she goes out, she purposely gets in her own head. I don’t know why she does that, but she does. Always drove me crazy.”

I heard the fondness and added, “She was holding hands with a girl.”

Her head lifted up. “Yeah?”

I nodded.

“Good for her, if that person is more, you know. She better be a damned good person. Rae deserves it.” She waved that off, or tried. Her hand stopped mid-wave. “She deserves more than me as a friend too.”