Page 93 of The Star

“Say it again,” she says, narrowing her eyes.

“No.” I shake my head, a chuckle passing through my lips. “Absolutely not.”

She laughs, rolling her head back on the bed. “You love me!”

I groan, dropping my head again. “Oh my God.”

A loud bang fills the room, making me snap my head back up, finding Hayden rushing through the doorway and then closing the door behind him. “Dude.”

“Hayden! Get the fuck out!” I yell, trying to cover Logan’s bare chest with my hands.

He waves a hand. “I don’t care that you’re fucking. Your parents just pulled into the driveway, bro.”

“What?!” I slip free from Logan, not caring that I’m giving my best friend a free peepshow. Logan stands up, running to her closet naked as I tuck myself into my pants while I address Hayden. “Stall them.”

“Okay, I’ll try.” He opens the door again, slipping through. I close it behind him, flipping the lock before I turn to run to Logan’s closet where she’s putting random articles of clothing on.

“What the fuck?” she asks, not looking up from what she’s doing. “They’re supposed to be in Hawaii.”

I run a hand through my hair. “I don’t know. Just get dressed, and we’ll go talk to them.”

“That’s what I’m doing, Carson!” she snaps, looking up at me. “Go down there. They can’t find you in my room with me.”

I can see the anxiety swimming in her eyes, so I take a step toward her and put my hands on her arms to look at her. “Take a breath.”

She shakes me off to slip a t-shirt off a hanger and put it over her head. “What’re we gonna do? We’re gonna have to explain why we aren’t at school, the house is still a mess from the party, and not to mention that we haven’t decided what to do about my dad cheating on my mom.”

“Logan,” I say, making her stop to look at me with wild eyes. “Relax.”

She takes a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. “Okay. Go downstairs. I’ll be down in a minute.”

forty-three

LOGAN

“Logan June Briar! Get your ass down herenow!” I hear my father shout from downstairs, making me shoot up from where I’m sitting on my bed. Carson went down a minute ago, but I needed a moment to breathe before I followed. I saw through my window that Hayden and Levi sped off a minute ago, successfully avoiding the family drama.

Taking a deep breath, I stand up and walk down the stairs slowly, nervous for what’s to come.

Carson is standing across the room, and when I’ve stepped onto the marble of the first floor, he crosses the space to stand next to me.

My dad points a finger at him. “Get away from my daughter.”

My eyebrows shoot to my hairline. “Dad!”

“Gary…” Sara starts, but he holds a hand up to silence her. Carson just stays at my side, staring at my father.

I move from foot to foot uncomfortably as we all stand in the front room in silence, my dad’s eyes on Carson and Sara’s eyes on my dad. Clearing my throat, I pull my dad’s attention. “I thought you guys were in Hawaii for another week?”

“We were supposed to be, Logan.” My dad’s face turns red and splotchy with anger as he pulls his phone from his front pocket, swiping on the screen a few times before he turns it to face us.

I suck down a sharp breath as I study the image on the screen – the scene of Carson and I hooking up on the floor unfolding before me like it’s in live-motion.

“Our flight was delayed out of Wilmington, and whenthiswas sent to both of our phones this morning, we raced back here,” my dad snaps, and my gaze darts to his.

“Well, that was an overreaction,” Carson says, making my dad’s head whip two inches to the right to shoot daggers at him.

“You think I was going to let you continue to defile my daughter in the comfort of my own home?!”

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