Page 61 of Don't Let Go

Rory gathered her hair over one shoulder, twisting it into a loose braid. “Forget him. Just forget all this.” She looked up at the moon. Past the pool house was a range of monstrous mountains illuminated by the full moon. The view must’ve been amazing when the sun came up. “Isn’t the moon beautiful?” she whispered.

I looked at the moon, then dropped my gaze to her. The moonlight highlighted her flushed cheeks and the gold in her hair. “Yes, but it’s nothing compared to you.”

Damn, that was so cheesy.

Rory pressed her lips together and stared at me for a long moment. “Thank you for saving me.” She grabbed the collar of my shirt, pulling me in close. She kissed me on the lips. Rory tasted sweet, like strawberries and magic. I reached out to touch her hair, but she pulled away. She put a hand to her mouth, hiding her smile before running toward the hotel where the party was still going strong.

What the hell just happened?

I followed her inside but lost track of her. She was nowhere, like she evaporated. James spotted me and handed me a beer. “Cheers to Tyler! We’re going to win finals with him on our team! I can’t wait until our next game.”

We all clinked bottles. The party absorbed me, turning me into nothing more than mist.

26

Aurora

“Sleeping beauty’s awake!” Chloe sang, shoving a cup of beer into my face. “Time to catch up.”

I took a sip and stuck my tongue out. It was warm and tasted ten times more bitter than it did when the party started. “That’s nasty.” I put the drink on the messy table and caught sight of my left arm. It had a giant handprint bruise around my wrist where Paolo grabbed me. He was tired of me not sleeping with him, so he was going to force himself onto me. I blinked back tears as I remembered how scared I was trapped in that pool house.

Chloe took my arm and gingerly touched my bruises. “Paolo?” she hissed his name like he was a monster. I guess he was.

“Yeah. A little going-away present, I suppose.”

She arched a perfect brow. “Oh?”

I shrugged, putting on the red leather jacket on my lap. It was Chloe’s, but she didn’t care if I borrowed it. “I’m sick of his shit. He attacked me, and Tyler came. I knocked Paolo upside the head with a wine bottle and then broke up with him.”

Chloe laughed, shaking her head. “Damn, I wish I would’ve seen his face.”

I patted the couch and myself for my phone. “Yeah. He swore he’d kill me and my family. So there’s that.”

Chloe handed me my phone. “Relax. He’s more bark with no bite. Your mom is a rock star with the mafia. I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.”

Paolo also threatened Tyler and brought up his dead parents. That couldn’t be a coincidence, but maybe I was overanalyzing things.

“I hope so.” I rubbed my eyes and saw the time on my phone. It was past three in the morning. “Shit. I need to get home.”

Chloe hiccupped. “I’ll drive.”

I put a hand on her shoulder. “No. Stay here. I’ll call a rideshare. Where is everyone?” I glanced around, but I couldn’t spot Gabs or Maria anywhere.

She gestured at the party. It’d thinned some. There were people scattered on the floor passed out and more probably upstairs humping like bunnies. “Somewhere…”

“Great. Helpful. Stay here and sober up, then drive home.” I stood and glanced at my phone as I beelined toward the front entrance. At least I didn’t have any missed messages.

My only company outside was empty cars and crickets singing. I tried not to think of the scorpions and snakes that lurked in the brush. Now wasn’t the time to visit the ER, considering it was thirty miles away.

A Palo Verde tree stood tall by the street. I leaned against it and ordered my ride. It was a good distance away. No onearound here seemed to want the job of driving across the city in the middle of the night.

The tree was covered in yellow flowers; a light breeze showered them all over me. I picked them out of my hair and cursed under my breath. My baby sister had horrible allergies to plants, and I should’ve been paying better attention to my surroundings.

“That makes you look like a princess.”

I spun a one-eighty and found Tyler. He looked handsome with his tousled hair, and the dim light brought out a shine in his dark eyes. His gaze was locked on my lips.

“Hey. What’s up?” I flashed him a friendly smile.

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