Page 51 of Rocked: The Price of Dreams

I half grinned. “Hunt, I don’t think you’re gonna have a problem with that.”

“You guys are crazy.” Kyle’s eyes glinted as he rested his elbows on the table.

“For music and girls? Yep.” Hunter pushed his empty plate aside. “Kyle, come on, dude. You missed out tonight. If Laura doesn’t do it for you, get fucking rid of her. I’ll contact what’s-her-name and we’ll go to the next party down at Princeton.”

My laugh rumbled in my chest. “Hunt, her name was Nora. Maybe you should stick to one-night stands if you can’t remember names.”

“Fine by me.” A mischievous smile curled across his lips. But then he drew in a deep breath, pinched his brows together, and looked at Kyle. He splayed his hand across his chest. “Bud, it’s honorable that you’re faithful, but seriously, if you aren’t head over heels in love with Laura, dump her. There are too many chicks out there waiting for good-looking guys like us to show them a good time.”

“Maybe.” Kyle’s leg jiggled beside mine. Envy flared in his dark eyes. “There were a lot of hot girls there tonight.”

“And we can take advantage of that.” Hunter shot forward and jabbed his finger against the table. “We’re rock stars. We’re gonna play more gigs. We’re gonna move to the city. Do you seriously want to be in a relationship? No. Fuck that shit. We may never make it to the big time, but we’re gonna have fun trying.”

“Not just fun. An insane amount of fun.” I nudged Kyle’s arm. “We’re too young to settle down. We need to live it up.”

The energy in the air was charged with sparks. Kyle sucked in a deep breath and nodded. A big grin lit his face. “You’re right. We should. I’m in.”

Oh yeah. Laura was gone.

Chapter 17

Three days later, Kyle’s dad came home. His five months in rehab had passed too quickly. Thin ice had been re-laid in Kyle’s house. Every time I set foot through the front door, a chill ran down my spine. My ears were always on alert, listening for his cruiser pulling into the driveway. Mr. McIntyre assured us he was better. He’d lost weight. His skin held a healthy glow. But something in the depths of his eyes unnerved me and kept me on edge. It took less than two weeks for my intuition to be proven right.

I was waiting at the end of the street for Kyle and Hunter to ride to school. They were ten minutes late. Kyle was never late; Hunter always was. I was about to grab my cell phone and call one of them when Kyle sped down the road on his mountain bike like a maniac. Nausea flooded my stomach. When he reached me, he jumped off his bicycle and slammed it onto the ground. “The fucker.”

“What? What’s happened?” My heart pounded against my ribs.

He turned his head to the side and pointed to his face. The red mark across his cheek blazed bright.

My breath snagged in my lungs. Oh shit. I couldn’t breathe. “He hit you?”

“Fuck, Gem.” He paced; tears welled in his eyes. “He wasn’t even drinking.” He pointed to his cheek again. “This happened yesterday afternoon. I was with Laura, actually trying to do math, working up the guts to break up with her. Then she started feeling me up, so I thought, what the hell, one last time won’t hurt. I’ll end things in another day or two. But Dad came home early. He walked in on us going at it. He lost his shit, called me a dirty little fuck and backhanded me. Laura freaked the fuck out and drove off.”

I caught his hand and drew him to a halt. “Are you okay? Is she?” I remembered what it was like witnessing Kyle being hit. I still had nightmares about that night.

“Me? No.” He shook his head. The rims of his eyes reddened. “I meant to call you, but I had to make sure Laura was all right first. I went to her house to talk. She was scared shitless, terrified of Dad. I can’t fucking blame her. We broke up, surprise, surprise. I’m not upset about that. But when I got home, Mom and Dad were all apologetic, and he was full of his bullshit promises again. That pissed me off.”

“Oh, no.” I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him close, resting my cheek against his collarbone. I wish I could stop his pain. As I rubbed and circled my hands over his back, he slowly calmed down. “So, what happened this morning?”

He sniffled. “Just arguing. I told him to leave. Go back to rehab. Get the fuck out of our lives. That didn’t go down well.”

“I bet it didn’t.” I pulled out of his embrace but held onto his hand. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” He tugged free of my hold and rubbed his brow. “On one hand, I want to give him a chance to prove that he’s changed, that yesterday was a one-off incident. I miss my dad. But on the other hand, if he touches me again, I’m fucking out of there. I’ll come stay with you.”

Kyle always held onto hope. He believed there was good in everyone, even his dad. That scared me. “I just don’t want you or Claire to get hurt again.”

“Me either.” He smirked and shot out a breath. “You and Hunt were right about love and relationships and marriage. It’s all bullshit. Staying single is the only way not to get blindsided.”

“See?” I tickled him in the ribs. He flinched and jumped back. “I knew you’d come ’round.”

“About time, hey?” He held up his finger and tried not to smile. “And don’t do that. You know I’m ticklish as fuck.”

“That’s what makes it so much fun.” And it put a smile back on his face.

“You’re lucky we’re friends. You’re the only one who gets away with it.”

“Aren’t I special.”

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