Page 7 of Raise 'Em Up

“Your dad?”

“He’s been too quiet,” he murmurs as he helps Donny to his feet while we slowly walk back to the door.

“I’m going to be sick,” Donny grumbles before twisting his body and falling onto his knees, emptying his stomach.

“Ew, Donny,” Serenity squeals, and I glance over to her. She is standing way too close to the spray zone. “I just bought these shoes,” she whines.

When did she get here?

Alex comes over and hands Peaches to me before scooping Serenity up into his arms when she removes the soiled heels.

“I’ll replace them, baby, but we have bigger issues to deal with at the moment,” he says, then begins to tell her what’s going on.

“I’m going to murder the bitch!” she shouts before starting to fight Alex’s arms. “Put me down!” she growls and he laughs, still carrying her to the door. I hand Peaches to Colt. She may not be the worst cat in the world, but I’m still not a kitten person.

“We need to come up with a plan before you go all Girls Gone Wild on us, baby.”

Colton holds the door as Len and I carry a half-conscious Donny inside. “What is going on, Teo?” Len asks and I shake my head. I’m nauseous and dizzy, and all I want to do is find a place where I can curl up and take a nap.

“Here,” Colt says, handing me Peaches again, and I try not to flinch as he helps with Donny. The little fluffy fuck hisses and I roll my eyes.

“Yeah, the feeling is mutual,” I grumble as I try to cuddle her closer to my chest as we head back to the dorm room.

I move over to Rylee’s stripped bed and sit, leaning my back against the wall. My eyes are heavy and I close them for a minute.

“Is he asleep?” Alex asks me, and I gently run my fingers through Teo’s hair. He has Peaches cuddled close to him and he’s breathing softly, but he is in fact sleeping. If things weren’t so fucked up right now, I would snap a photo.

“How hard did you guys party?” Serenity asks and I shake my head.

“Teo and I only had two beers, and I feel fine. Donny was playing beer pong, but still, he only did one round. Just let him sleep. I’ll fill him in later.”

Colt moves and sits on the desk chair in the corner, placing his hands on his knees. “So, Rylee is gone. None of this makes any sense. Should we call her mom? Maybe she called her and told her why she was leaving without us,” he asks and Alex shakes his head.

I shake my head too. “It’s the middle of the night. We don’t need to worry her mom right now.”

“I’m telling you that Missi is behind this. You can’t hit a girl, but I can,” Serenity grumbles and Alex holds her closer. “There’s no way Rylee left of her own free will. We talk about everything, and she hasn’t mentioned any issues with you guys. At least none that would warrant her leaving without telling anyone.”

“We should go back to the party and make that bitch confess,” I growl, and she sighs.

“After you guys left, most of the girls pouted and then left too. They went to bed and Missi stormed out. So she wouldn’t be there for you to chew her out. Not that it would help anyways, she lives for the drama. She wouldn’t tell us shit.”

“Lennox, let’s circle back to your dad. Why do you think he’s behind this?” Colt asks and I groan, rubbing my face with my hand. I am so tired and all I can think about is my girl.

Is she okay? Did she really leave us, or did someone do something that made her go?

“He was threatening me every day, then he went silent. I know he’s not done. He has some deal with Missi’s father, and I'm sure he’s not going to give up.”

“The Dean has to be involved too, he's got to be.. It makes sense. Missi wants us gone, and he would do anything for his evil witch of a daughter. And there's the fact that he doesn't like Rylee because she didn’t fall for his sleazy moves,” Colt shouts, startling Donny who is lying on the floor, grumbling.

“All of her things are gone. The note. I think I know what happened.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“For the last time, Donny, we are not stopping for snacks. We are already thirty minutes late, and if we miss our flight, I am strapping you to the wing of the damn plane,” Teo growls from the driver's seat and I pout.

I have a crazy hangover and I’m starving. And it doesn’t help that all I can do is worry about my girl. So sue me for being a little hangry.

Lennox leans over and hands me a granola bar, and I accept it with a grateful smile. He’s like the dad in our group, always carries snacks and healthy drinks in his gym bag.

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