Page 26 of Wicked Waters

“No can do, my friend.” He came right up to me, completely disregarding the hostile “fuck off” vibes I was projecting, and slung his arm across my shoulders. “You need me to steer you away from the dark side. See the light.” He gestured dramatically with his free hand. “Here’s what you’re going to do.”

“You don’t tell me what to do.”

“I thought I heard you say you weren’t talking to me. Must’ve been mistaken.” With a grin, he gestured with his hand again, ignoring my warning growl. “You’re going to stay here until Knox shows up. Then you’re going to listen to him. After that, you’re gonna take your new car for a drive instead of fucking with school property and getting yourself suspended or expelled. When you get back, we’re having a party in the crypts.”

I shrugged his arm off me, crossing the room to the wall and leaning back against it with my arms folded across my chest. I stared silently at him, and he opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the door flying open. Knox stepped inside, his gaze sliding to Tristan’s. When Tristan gave him a short nod, he came to stand in front of me. Shifting on his feet, he cleared his throat. “Uh. Ro. I’m sorry. I was out of line. I shouldn’t have questioned you. I believe you, okay? I’m just struggling to get my head around the fact that someone would actually dare to spike your drink.”

“You and me both,” I muttered.

Tristan came to stand beside Knox, shaking his head. “I don’t fucking like this. We need to remind people they can’t fuck with us. A show of power, that’s what we need.” He threw his arm out yet again. “Hence the party.”

“Yeah, okay,” I agreed. It wasn’t as if I had any better ideas. My anger was slowly draining away, the itch to destroy something still there, but I found I could ignore it now.

When Tristan pulled out his phone and began tapping at it, mumbling something about the party, Knox moved closer, lowering his voice. “We okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah, we’re okay.”A relieved expression crossed his face, and I realised he’d actually been worried about it. “You were a dick, but I’m over it. Probably would’ve said the same to you, to be honest.”

“Yeah, you would’ve.” We grinned at each other, and I unfolded my arms, shoving my hands into my pockets. Knox took a seat on Tristan’s bed, pulling out his phone. “This party. Want me to ask Elena to invite Quinn?”

Just like that, the restless feeling was back. “Invite her, don’t invite her. I don’t care. We spoke after I left you.”Tristan looked up from his phone, and Knox sat forwards, both of them giving me their full attention. “We agreed to stay out of each other’s way from now on.”

Tristan’s brows flew up. “So that’s it? You’re going to just forget about her?”

“Yes. That’s it. So, like I said, I don’t care if you invite her or not.She’s no longer my concern, and the party will be crowded enough that we can stay out of each other’s way.”

“Five hundred quid says you can’t even stay away from her for the duration of the party.” Tristan smirked at me. I knew he was trying to lighten the mood, but everything was too fucking raw, and once again, I needed to escape.

Knox spoke up quietly. “Mate, now isn’t the time.”

“Yeah. Sorry.” Tristan was instantly contrite. “Go. Take your new baby out for a drive. When you get back, come down to the crypts, and we’ll make you forget all about Quinn Farrow. Girls, weed, alcohol…it’s all there for the taking. We’re the fucking gods, and I’m gonna make sure you remember that fact tonight.”

15

ROMAN

The drive had taken away some of my restless feelings. As I gripped the leather steering wheel, my Jaguar roaring down the quiet country roads, smoothly navigating the twists and turns, I finally managed to do what I did best. Lock my emotions away. It was easier that way, and I was good at it. Having absent parents had given me enough practice over the years, after all.

My mask was fucking perfect, and tonight, I’d remind everyone of just who Roman Cavendish was.

When I descended the stairs to the crypts, the first person I saw was Harriet, who attempted to thrust a drink into my hand. Ignoring her, I headed for the fridge and helped myself to a beer, popping the cap myself. Whether or not she was trying to be helpful, I wasn’t going to accept drinks from anyone unless they happened to be one of my two best mates. There was no one else I trusted at this point, not even my lacrosse teammates.

“Roman.” Freya stepped in front of me, eyeing me from beneath abnormally long false lashes. Her blonde hair was curled, cascading over her shoulders, the ends teasing the swell of her tits, which were barely covered by a low-cut green top. Ever since Knox had become unavailable, her attention had been on me. And fuck it, this was what I needed. A distraction. Something meaningless. A bit of normality. We both knew it would be nothing more than me blowing off steam if I took her down to the lower levels.

“Freya.” I wrapped my arm around her waist. She was fucking hot, even though her personality grated on me at times. “Want a drink?”

Her hand slid up my chest, and something inside me wanted to recoil. Fuck. I needed more alcohol for this. No. That wasn’t a good idea, not when I needed to stay alert.

“I’d love a drink,” she murmured in my ear, but too bad for her, I’d just changed my mind.

“Forget the drink. Want to shotgun with me?” Ditching my beer, I led her over to the sofas, jerking my head to indicate that the people sitting there needed to move. Now. They scrambled to do my bidding, and I took a seat in the centre of the sofa across from Tristan, who was already getting everything set up. Fuck, yeah. I loved it when we were on the same wavelength.

A thought was pushing at the back of my mind, but I forced myself to focus on what was happening right now. My mask was going to stay in place. I was going to have a good fucking night, and I wasn’t going to allow myself to think about the girl who had the power to hurt me more than anyone else.

“Roman, can I have a quick word?”

I glanced up at the new voice, my eyes widening as I took in the sight of head girl Penelope leaning over the back of the sofa. She was biting down on her lip, her straight blonde hair a curtain hiding her expression, but I could hear the concern in her voice.

“Be back in a minute,” I said to Freya, dislodging her from my thigh and climbing to my feet.Why the fuck was the head girl singling me out here of all places?

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