She blinks rapidly, her chin jutting out. “He’s really cute.”
I get the impression this is not good news. Especially when I see Henry finish his entire drink in one swallow. He’s yet to speak a word.
The song ends and Evie fills the silence as he pours another drink. “He’s nothing like Wild Renny or Asshole Kellar.”
Her reassurance doesn’t ease the thick haze of tension that fogs the room.
“Explain,” I order. I want to know what’s going on. The two of them don’t appear to hold any unrequited love for each other, so I can rule out jealousy.
When Henry leans over and tops up my glass, I know it’s going to be good. “When Evie was sixteen,” he begins. Evie gets up from our little circle and stumbles slightly as she reaches for the jug. She walks away, muttering something about more alcohol. “She lost her mum in a car accident…” he takes a sip from his glass and whispers “…and she went off the rails.”
I’m wrong. It isn’t good. It’s bad. Very bad.
“I’m so sorry,” I say to Evie as she sets the empty jug on the counter.
She waves a hand as though it’s nothing when it’s clearly not nothing.
“Renny was into motorcycles. One night they went out drinking and decided to take the bike out on the open road. It didn’t end well. Evie wound up in the hospital and Renny disappeared. Just … poof!” Henry spreads out his fingers, mimicking a vanishing cloud of smoke. “He walked out of that hospital and left her there.”
“Oh my god. What a dick!”
He nods knowingly. “Right? And Kellar was a drug dealer.” My mouth falls open. “Evie didn’t know.” The blender switches on and Henry’s voice rises to be heard. “He slipped something in her drink at a party. There was a raid and the cops found her climbing up the railing of the third balcony in an attempt to fly.”
If that were me, my brothers would have hunted the asshole down and put a bullet in his kneecaps. That was if I didn’t get to him first.
“Can you see why I fear for her life when she says she’s met someone?”
“I do.” Swallowing the last mouthful in my glass, I set it on the coffee table between us. “She likes the badasses.”
Henry sighs. “She does.”
“The bad badasses.”
“Yep.”
“She needs a different kind of badass. The kind that fights for good, not evil.”
Evie returns with another full jug. She fills our empty glasses and we settle in, talking about our lives as we get to know each other. I learn that she has an older brother, Coby Jamieson, who sounds just like mine. Henry has three sisters. Two are twins and Grace, the sister he was closest with I’m told, is a model. He shows me images of her stored on his phone. One shows Grace walking the catwalk at Milan fashion week. Milan.
“But she’s so young,” I exclaim, admiring the floaty black designer creation she’s wearing, though her hip bones jut from the outfit, pronouncing a thinness that looks unhealthy.
“I know but she seems happy.” Henry shrugs but there’s sadness in his expression, making me think he misses her. Perhaps Evie fills the void.
The room has begun to spin as we keep drinking. My glass is receiving another refill when the front door flies open with considerable fanfare and noise. My back is to the entrance, but I hear drunken, stumbling footfalls make their way inside. Evie whoops loudly. “All hail the Rice Bubbles!”
I hiccup. “The Rice Bubbles?”
“Snap, crackle, and pop,” she tells me. “The rest of the band. They live just across the hall.”
“Say it ain’t so,” whines a male voice. “You’re partying without us?”
I half-turn in my seat. My eyes land on the guy closest. His hair is black and silky, and his eyes are dark pools of ink. Evie points at him with her drink. “Meet Cooper.”
Cooper’s gaze slides my way. “Sandwich. Paterson …” he says as he stares at me. “Why didn’t you tell me the most beautiful girl in the world was alive and well and not just living in Melbourne but partying in your apartment?” He moves closer, presumably for a better look because he’s squinting. Or possibly trying to wink. I’m not sure. It brings me to crotch level and a smirk curves his lips. “While you’re down there …” he trails off suggestively.
“While I’m down there what?” I ask, my voice as pleasant as pie. “I can punch you in the junk?”
Cooper cups the area with a wounded expression.
“Back off, Cooper,” Henry orders. “You’re not touching her. This is our new roommate, M—”
“Mac.”
My gaze shoots to the owner of the shocked male voice.
Oh my god. No. Just … no. How can this be? I suck in a mouthful of air as I drown in whiskey-coloured eyes.
The rest of the band, Evie’s voice echoes in my head. They live just across the hall.
I convinced myself I’d never see Jake again. If I did, it would be at a point in my life when I’m older, mature, and it wouldn’t hurt. Now is too soon. The hurt hasn’t had time to heal. The wound is still there. It’s not even a scar yet. Or scabbed over. Nor is it even fresh. It’s still an assault. I know because it’s stabbing me in the chest right now.
My heart gallops harder than a wild horse as I look at him. Two years has added more muscle to his frame and tattoos to his arms. Yet his hair—the glorious silky brown strands that turn to spun gold in the sun—is no longer the same. It’s buzzed short. He promised me he’d never cut it short.
I moaned throatily, powerless to restrain the sound. Jake’s head was between my legs. My fingers tangled in his hair, tugging it in my fists, as his mouth sends me over the edge. He kissed his way up my body until he hovered above me, a playful smile on his lips. “One day you’re going to rip all the hair from my head if you keep doing that.”
I smirked. “Well maybe you should just cut it all off.”
“Never.” That same hair tickled the side of my face as he bent his head, pressing slow kisses to the side of my neck. “It’s how I know you’ve let go of yourself. That you’re lost in the moment. It’s how I know that you’re mine, Mackenzie Valentine. All mine.”
The words echo in my head. Mine. All mine. But not anymore. It sets off a tightening in my chest like heartburn after eating too much curry. I hate curry.
My gaze narrows on Jake. His eyes roam over me, eating me up like a last meal. He can’t get enough, but neither can I. The urge to escape takes hold. I’m not one to run from confrontation, but fury is taking root. That asshole abandoned me. Right when I needed him most. If I don’t leave right now, I’m going to throat punch him in front of everyone.
“You two know each other?” Henry’s voice comes from far away.
Jake opens his mouth, but I beat him to it. “No.”
The solitary word erases him from my life completely, wiping away years of friendship, love, heartache, and memories.
He jerks visibly. My response has cut him to the bone. Good. I twist the knife in further. “I’m sure I’d remember you.”