Page 30 of Depraved Desires

“I don’t know. He sounded frantic and wasn’t making a lot of sense. He asked if we’d go visit him.”

This wasn’t the first time Collin had called one of us, trying to get us to break him out of the hospital. Hopefully, him being there would give him all the time he needed to think shit through, that way he’d have it over and done with and I wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore.

That seemed like an unlikely outcome, but a guy could still be hopeful. I was tired of always being the logical one in the group. Myles has been disappearing more frequently, Hunter was locking himself in his room every night, and Collin was getting his ass beat on purpose just so he could feel something other than grief and regret.

“You guys can go,” Myles said, cutting through my thoughts. “I have some shit to do.”

I couldn’t fight the eye roll this time. He always hadshit to do. It was as frequent as three times a week now.

As if reading my mind, Hunter turned his way with a raised eyebrow. “What’s got you so busy lately?” he asked, accusation leaking from his voice.

Myles shrugged nonchalantly as he plucked a strawberry off his tray. “Nothing you need to worry about. I just have some shit to take care of. If you need me, all you have to do is call.” He shot a cocky smirk in Hunter’s direction before sinking his teeth into the fresh piece of fruit and standing. Before either of us could object, he grabbed his tray and left us alone, staring after him.

Hunter shook his head in irritation. “What the fuck is his deal lately?”

“I don’t know. We’ll figure it out soon,” I assured. “For now, let’s go see our boy.”

When we made it to Collin’s room, a nurse was present. She unhooked the IV tube from his arm, patched him up with a Band-Aid, and then left. Hunter took the seat closest to the bed, so I just decided to stand for now. If he was really urgent about us coming to see him, then either something was bothering him, or he just wanted us to get him out of here.

“How are you feeling?” Hunter asked, placing his elbows on his knees, and leaning forward.

“Like shit actually.”

“Well, no shit,” I retorted. “Serves you right, too. I mean…what the hell were you thinking?” Annoyance bubbled within my veins as I was reminded of his recent stupidity. He was lucky a few fractured ribs and a broken nose was all he got. Guys have left that ring in much worse condition, and they actually fought back. Plus, Rocky was one of the top fighters at the academy. It could have been a lot worse.

Collin rolled his eyes. “I didn’t ask you guys to come here to belittle me. What I did doesn’t even concern you.”

“Then why did you ask us to come?” Hunter inquired, concern gripping his features.

The boy in question released a heavy sigh, before looking off into the distance. I observed him closely, noting the worry lines surrounding his forehead and eyes. His hand tightened around an empty wrapper of some sort, causing it to make a crunching sound. Whatever it was, something was actually bothering him, and this wasn’t another escape attempt.

“I don’t even know how to begin,” he murmured. “Or how it’s even possible.”

“Spit it out,” I ordered.

The color started to drain from his face and his lips drew tight. He obviously wanted to tell us, or he wouldn’t have called. What was bothering him so damn much that he couldn’t form the words to make it happen?

Hunter and I exchanged looks—a silent conversation between us. We were both concerned with our friend’s sudden change in behavior.

“I don’t know how else to say it, so I’m just going to be direct,” he started. “Aspen is alive.”

Silence.

No one bothered to say anything as we processed the information that had just been presented to us. As it slowly started to sink in, my eyebrows drew together. I knew she wasn’t alive. Strong men who knew how to swim didn’t make it out of there. There’s no way in hell that she could have. It had to be some sick joke, or maybe he conjured up an imaginary version of the girl we murdered in order to help himself grieve.

“That’s not funny,” Hunter remarked, narrowing his eyes at him.

I nodded in agreement. That was some twisted shit. If Aspen was alive, how would he even know? He’s been in the damn hospital for the last several days.

“I’m serious. She just randomly showed up last night, and she looks surprisingly well considering what we did to her.”

Frustration gnawed at my insides. Either he was toying with us, or something was seriously wrong with his head. Pushing my tongue ring between my lips, I sucked on the metal ball. All this talk about the little rat was making me think about her way more than I had been.

When was the last time you saw a rat as sexy as her?My subconscious mocked. It wasn’t a secret that Aspen was gorgeous. She was petite, but still had more than enough meat on her chest and ass. Initially, her physical appearance threw me off, but over time, it grew on me.

Hunter scoffed. “Why the hell would she come here of all places, how would she get here, and how would she even know you were here?”

“I don’t know. But IswearI’m not making it up.”

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