Page 14 of Vendetta

Besides, the last thing I needed was for Olivia to avenge my honor by confronting him, which I know she would, thus bringing more drama to this whole situation. I didn’t want him thinking that I couldn’t fight my own battles or that I had run crying to my friends because he said some mean things. I would man up and handle it on my own.

I changed the subject, asking Olivia if she had bought an outfit yet for the country club luncheon she would be attending at one of her dad’s courses.

Zayn took a turn wakeboarding, leaving Cashton to come take over driving the boat. I avoided eye contact as hewalked up to take the wheel right by us, my enthusiasm with our current conversation waning.

I knew that he could hear us now, able to retort anything I said with his typical snarky comments. So instead, I stayed quiet, sticking with the occasional head nod and acting more fascinated by things such as the drink in my hand or the wakeboarding.

Olivia took a few turns wakeboarding, Bexley and I moving closer to the back to get a better view. She wasn’t as skilled as the boys, but you could definitely tell she knew what she was doing out there. All of her weekends out on the boat with them this summer had definitely given her some skills.

“Landry, Bex, one of y’all want to go?” She asked, climbing back onboard.

“Oh no, I’m good, thank you though.” Bexley immediately answered.

“C’mon, it’s super fun! It might take you a few tries to get up if it’s your first time but you’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly.” Olivia pushed.

“You got this, we’ll keep an eye on you in case you fall.” Zayn encouraged, giving her a cheeky smile.

She hesitated a bit longer but was eventually convinced, Nate and Zayn handing her a life jacket before helping her strap the board on and lowering her down into the water, handing her the rope. They gave her a few tips on how to stand up, telling her to sit back and let the rope pull her up naturally instead of trying to pull herself up using arms.

It took her a few tries, all of us yelling encouragement at her each time she got close. After her third time coming back around to get her after another failed attempt, she seemed readyto call it quits, but Zayn leaned down to offer her some pointers, his patience admirable as he re-adjusted her straps and worked to lift her morale.

I’m not exactly sure what he said to her, but whatever it was, it worked. She actually managed to stand up on her fourth attempt, a little wobbly but successfully wakeboarding. We all shot our hands in the air and bellowed, cheering her on over the music as she coasted along the waves. My heart beat wildly for her, pumped to see the smile that reached both of her ears.

Coming back on board, she immediately looked at me and urged me to give it a try.

“Landry youhaveto try, that was so amazing!”

I hesitated a bit but eventually gave in, letting Nate and Zayn help Bexley out of the board before strapping me into it while TJ offered to hold my hat and drink.

The guys recited the same things they had told Bexley before lowering me into the water, letting me adjust my position as I had seen them do and grabbing the handle they tossed in front of me.

I watched the boat drift off, Cashton slowly letting on the gas to put some tension on the rope. The first attempt was a bit rough, and I hadn’t quite expected how hard I would be yanked. By the second attempt I was prepared for the tug, and actually managed to stand, turning my board like they had instructed me.

Cheers erupted from the boat and my heart fluttered, already loving the feeling of the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I was slowly getting more and more confident, not ready to try anything crazy by any means, but getting the hang of how the board felt underneath me and how to correct my balance.

I closed my eyes, reveling in the feel of the wind and lake spray hitting my face. The feeling was indescribable.

All of a sudden, I felt the speed picking up to an uncomfortable level and I was forced to grip the handle even harder, panic setting in as I yelled “Slow down!” at the top of my lungs, hoping that someone would hear me from this distance over the engine and the blaring music.

I heard the yells from the boat, telling Cashton to slow down. I considered letting go, feeling the speed continue to accelerate and knowing that the higher it got, the worse the fall would hurt. But before my reflexes had the time to kick in, the boat veered a sharp left and I couldn’t do anything but watch in horror as I was thrown into a large wave, getting launched into the air as everything spun around me. I didn’t have time to brace for the impact, my body slamming into what felt like a brick wall as stars erupted behind my eyes.

My head was spinning, my face and head throbbing as I struggled to get my bearings, choking on water as I tried to catch my breath. The heavy board dragged me down further, the life jacket eventually bringing me back to the surface, though I still had to fight the waves that kept slamming me into my face and down my throat.

Everything ached, the adrenaline doing little to calm the violent pounding drumming through my skull. I caught sight of the boat approaching, hearing their voices over the music exclaiming things like ‘what the fuck man!’, ‘somebody grab her’ and ‘Oh fuck, she’s bleeding’.

I felt myself being pulled out of the water by my life jacket, feeling the hard platform underneath my back as I lookedup at Zayn, Nate, and the girls, the former helping pull the board off.

“Oh my gosh Landry, are you okay?” Olivia asked, her and Bexley both crowding me with panicked looks on their slightly blurred faces. Everything spun around me, the disorientation slowly fading as I raised a hand to shield the beating sun from my eyes.

“Your nose is bleeding…” Bexley pointed out, and I reached up to find warm blood indeed running down my face, explaining the coppery tang in my mouth.

“I’m fine” I ground out as they helped me sit up, still a bit dizzy but now more annoyed than anything. Cashton had obviously flung me intentionally. The guys must have realized the same thing, because I looked over to find TJ in Cashton’s face screaming “What the fuck was that!” as he shoved him in the chest.

“She looked like she had the hang of it.” Cashton replied, his voice dripping with mockery. The smirk on his face grated against my nerves, and I could only hope that someone else would catch on to the insincerity.

“You know damn well that she wasn’t ready for that!” TJ continued, shoving an unbothered Cashton once more.

Nate handed me a cold beer from the ice chest, helping me place it over my forehead as he and Bexley led me back to one of the seats, wrapping a towel around my shoulders. Zayn stood quietly observing, pulling a lighter out of the driver’s compartment and lighting a cigarette.

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