Page 29 of Blurred Lines

Tearing off the end of the duct tape, I look up at Hadley and give her a reassuring smile. “I’m sure the guys will keep you plenty busy. Plus it won’t be long until college applications open and you’re touring campuses. You’ll hardly have time to miss her.”

She gives me a small smile in return. “What about you? Are you going to miss Emilia?”

I roll my eyes, getting back to my task of unhooking the PlayStation. I knew she would come asking questions eventually. Considering she’s apparently known what went down between Emilia, Wilder and I since the night it happened, I’m surprised she hasn’t cornered me about it already. I’d half expected her to come to me, demanding to know what my intentions are toward Emilia. Hadley’s protective like that, so the fact she hasn’t must mean whatever Emilia told her didn’t give her a reason to. I have to say, I respect Emilia for that, and it only confirms that she viewed that night the same way I do, the same way Wilder did—before he got emotionally invested. It was a one-time thing. Okay, so it was a two-time thing if you count the fuck in the classroom too, but I’ve managed to resist the urge to seek her out ever since—which trust me, was fucking difficult. Especially given how absolutely fuckable she looked at the end of year dance the other night. But thankfully she’s leaving tomorrow, and the temptation will be removed. Once I’m away from the toxic environment of Pacific Prep, I’ll be able to clear my head and I won’t be restricted to only fucking Emilia out of fear that every other girl here wants more than just sex.

I make a point of not meeting Hadley’s intense stare as I set the gaming console in an empty box, giving her an indifferent shrug of my shoulder in response. “She’s not my friend.”

I hear her huff out a frustrated breath. “Really? You’re going to act like nothing happened between you two?”

Spearing her with a serious look, I say, “I’mnottalking to you about my sex life.”

She rolls her eyes like I’m being ridiculous. “Did I ask you to? I just wanted to know where your head was at.”

“It was a one-time thing,” I tell her casually, ignoring the ache in my balls that tells me my dick would quite happily make it a three-time thing—and maybe even a four- or five-time thing. Another reason why I need to keep my distance from Emilia until she leaves tomorrow. My dick is definitely interested in her, but I’m certain it’s because she’s the only pussy he’s been in, in months. Once we’re out of this place, and now that we have more free time, I’ll take him out to a club and he can pick a different girl—any fucking girl—to sink into instead. “She knows that, and I know that. The only one who doesn’t seem to get it is Wilder.”

I hear her sigh, and I look up from where I’m taping shut another box, seeing the worried frown on her face. “Yeah, I saw them arguing at the dance, and he’s been in a pissy mood ever since. I’m worried about him.”

“Don’t be. He’s a big boy, he can take care of himself.”

She looks over at me, and before she even opens her mouth, I know what she’s going to say. “He could do with friends around him…after she leaves.”

“You really wanna keep him around?” I ask her in all seriousness. I, personally, could live without a Wilder in my life, but for some fucking reason, Hadley’s become attached to him—and him to her.

“Yeah, I do.” There’s a forcefulness in her tone, a protective edge that I’ve heard her use in reference to me, the guys, and Emilia…and now Wilder. Which kinda makes the decision for me. Hadley’s decided he’s family, so I guess, whether I want him to be or not, Wilder is fucking family.

“Fine,” I huff out reluctantly. “He’s in.”

She beams at me, and fucking hell, if putting a smile on her face doesn’t just make my day.

“Yeah, you’ll live with him?”

I roll my eyes, but I can’t help the small quirk of my lips—what, her happiness is fucking infectious. “Yes,” I lament, “I’ll live with him. But it’s not my fucking fault if I end up throwing his ass over the side of the fucking cliff.”

Her grin only brightens as she flings herself toward me, wrapping me up in a hug.

“It’s going to be great,” she says excitedly. “I promise. All of us together? We’re going to have an awesome year, I just know it!” I’m not sure my excitement quite matches hers, but for the first time in our lives, we’re all free to do what we want, go where we want, be whoever we want to be. Yeah, so I might have to share a house with Wilder, but hey, at least I’m not being forced into running a corrupt and highly illegal company of child soldiers. Instead, I get to tour college campuses and pick out courses. I get to hang out with my friends and spend time getting to know Hadley better, and I have a real opportunity to get to know my father for who he really is, and not the person he’s felt like he’s had to be these last fifteen years.

So, yeah okay, maybe it will be a pretty awesome year.

Chapter 13

Looking into my mirror, I fix the way my graduation gown sits on my shoulders before I put on my cap. When I’m ready, I stand and stare at myself for a long moment. Today is the day. The culmination of four years of hard work, sacrifice, and dedication. A warm pride fills my chest, but it’s bittersweet, mixed with a sense of sadness that this is the end of my time here. It’s ironic really. I spent most of my time at Pac just wishing I could hurry up and graduate, but everything changed this year. Hadley changed everything. Now, for the first timeever, I feel like I belong somewhere. As excited as I am to be done with Pac and to move on to the next stage in my life plan, I’m going to miss Hadley and the guys. I’ll even miss the thrill of excitement I get when I butt heads with Hawk, and the comfort I’ve come to feel when I’m around Wilder.

My phone rings on my nightstand and I move to answer it, noticing my mom's name on the screen. A pit forms in my stomach as I answer, already having a fair idea what she’s going to say.

“Hey mom,” I say in a cheery voice that’s only partially forced.

“Hey baby, how are you?” I can hear a lot of noise in the background, confirming my initial suspicions. “Are you all prepared for your speech today?”

“Yeah, I must have practiced it like a million times.”

“I’m sure you’re going to do amazing, baby. I, uh, have some bad news, though.”

A wet sheen of tears coats my eyes as my mom continues talking. “A colleague called in sick, and they couldn’t get anyone else to cover.”

“I understand, mom.” And I do. My mom is a nurse in a busy urban hospital. I never knew my dad, nor have I ever asked about him. If he didn’t care enough to be a part of my life, then I refuse to let myself care about him. My mom has worked her ass off to provide for me. It’s thanks to her that I have such a strong work ethic and a determined drive to succeed in life. I owe everything I am to her. It’s because I want to impress her, and show her my thanks for everything she’s done for me, that I worked my ass off to get into Halston; why I have big plans for my future. Which is only even more of a reason why I can’t let someone like Wilder—who has the ability to blow up my entire life plan with the way he makes me feel—mess all of that up for me.

“I’m so sorry, baby. You know I’d be there if I could.”

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