Page 49 of The Star

There was never any question from me why he did it. There was never any question fromanyone.

My dad was really special, but he was dark and clouded.

But he gave me the beach. He gave me my peace, and that’s a part of him I’ll forever cherish.

Even as rage burns through my veins while I let the sand fall through my fingers, I still cherish the calmness that’s flowing over me under the full moon and shining stars. Even as my mind is filled with the things Logan is probably doing right now.

I clench my fist, sand spraying out from the edges as wrath and vengeance fill me again. I want to get in my truck and drive into Franklin, throw her over my shoulder and show her exactly who’s in fucking charge. Show her that she can’t just run away from me and spread her legs for someone else.

She’s fucking mine.

More now than ever, but part of me recognizes that she’s been mine since the second I laid eyes on her in the entryway of our house. Even when she was letting my best friend fuck her on a sink, even when she was beating Cassidy to a bloody pulp.

“Thought I might find you out here.” Hayden’s voice pulls me from my mind. I turn my head to look over my shoulder, finding him and Levi walking barefoot on the sand toward me.

I release my fist, shaking the sand out and clearing my throat. “What are you guys doing here?”

Hayden drops down on the sand next to me, Levi on his other side.

“We were worried,” Hayden answers, bending his legs.

“Haven’t seen you anywhere but school all week,” Levi adds, turning his head to look at me. “What’s going on?”

I chuckle, leaning back on my palms. “Nothing. Just busy.”

“Bullshit,” Hayden spits. “Don’t forget that we know you, bitch.”

I sigh, annoyed at my best friends for imposing on my peace – only a little bit touched that they cared enough to hunt me down. “Shouldn’t you two be off partying somewhere, finding girls to play games with?”

Levi laughs. “Is that what we do on weekends?”

Hayden snorts. “Yeah, except usually Carson is doing it with us.”

I roll my eyes at the sky, breathing through my nose as I focus on the sound of the ocean hitting the shore. Silence falls for a minute, but Hayden speaks once more.

“What’s happening inside your head? Is this about Logan?”

I look at him from the corner of my eye. “Logan?”

He presses his lips together in a shit-eating smile, and Levi laughs again as he shifts on the sand to give us his attention. “You’re crushin’ on her.”

“Am I a twelve-year-old girl?” I deadpan.

They both laugh, and it’s Hayden that then turns to look at me. “Carson, I’ve known you since we were in kindergarten, and Levi has that weird sixth sense where he can read people. You like Logan, and you can’t deny it.”

I groan as I fall onto my back and close my eyes. “I may have hooked up with her.”

They both fall silent, waiting for me to continue.

“Twice.”

Hayden huffs a laugh. “So why are you out here contemplating life like a baby boy, instead of at home pounding into your sister?”

“Jesus,Monroe,” I sigh.

Levi laughs loud, a full belly laugh. “Talk, C.”

I sit up, looking at my two best friends. They are the complete opposite of each other – where Hayden is dark under the surface, Levi is complete sunshine. Hayden has everything handed to him; his dad is one of the wealthiest men in the country, and he still walks around like a bloodless corpse, so haunted by whatever’s inside of his head that it shows in the bags under his eyes. Levi, however, has never had two pennies to rub together, and he’s a ball of fun – always laughing and cracking jokes. He’s light where Hayden is dark, positive when Hayden is negative. They balance each other out, acting like the angel and devil on my shoulders.

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