Page 21 of Waiting on You

“Oh, you’re here?” Jake sneered. “I thought you were too good for the prom.”

“No, no, not too good, Jake. I’m only here as a designated driver. Speaking of that, Bryce, can we go? I’m tired, and Tanya is, too.”

“Fuck you, O’Rourke,” Jake said. “Mind your own business.”

“He’s mad at me,” Bryce whispered (loudly). “I told him I thought he looked like Cameron Diaz.”

Colleen bit down on a smile. Jake was indeed blond and blue-eyed.

“You’re gonna be sorry you said that, idiot,” Jake said.

“Oh, come on,” Colleen said. “He’s drunk, Jake. And youdolook like Cameron Diaz, right, Crabbe? Right, Goyle?” She smiled at Jase and Chris, who, uncertain of how to respond, glanced at Jake.

“Bryce, let’s get going,” she said, starting toward him. He answered with a crooked smile.

“Hold on,” Jake said, and then put his hand on Bryce’s chest and shoved, almost gently.

“Dude,” Bryce murmured. His legs buckled, and Colleen realized that at some point, Bryce had gone from sloppy to shit-faced. This was confirmed when he lay back on the dock. “I don’t feel so good,” he muttered.

“I don’t feel so good,” Jake echoed in a high-pitched voice. “I bet you don’t, pussy.” His minions laughed, and Jake gave a tentative kick to Bryce’s ribs.

“Knock it off!” Colleen said.

“Hey,” Bryce said faintly, sounding more surprised than hurt.

She took a step toward them, stopping as Jake turned and looked at her, a speculative expression drifting over his face.

The cold lance of fear that slid through her stomach was almost alarming.

Jake was in front of her. Jase and Chris were behind her.

Oh, shit.

That was the thing about life in a small town. Once, they’d all been friends, more or less—all forty-nine kids in the senior class, back in the day of Halloween parties and field trips to the local cemetery. But somewhere in high school, things changed. Cliques formed, circles closed, and before you knew it, you could lose track of a person.

And Colleen had definitely lost track of Jake. She’d rebuffed him a few times, starting in seventh grade, not liking his rich-boy superiority, his casual dismissal of the girls who liked him. Chris and Jase, too, had never been her favorites. Chris wasn’t that bad, just kind of a jerk. But Jase had a mean streak, too.

Suddenly, they seemed...dangerous.

Without looking away from her, Jake gave Bryce another oddly gentle kick, as if trying to see if he enjoyed it. Bryce appeared to have passed out.

“You think he’d drown if we rolled him in the lake?” Jake asked.

The minions snickered

This night was heading south. Fast.

“Okay, that’s enough, boys,” she said briskly. “Help me get him to the car.” Yes. Give them the chance to be on her side, to change the dynamic.

Chris and Jase didn’t move, waiting for instructions from their leader.

“You think you’re better than everyone, don’t you, Colleen?” Jake said softly, looking her up and down.

And all of a sudden, Colleen was—there was no more denying it—genuinely scared. Her knees buzzed, and her heart kicked in her chest.

“Jake, come on,” she said, and she hated the fact that her voice shook. “Let’s call it a night.”

“I don’t think so. This prom sucked, and I want some fun.” Another kick to Bryce, resulting in a soft grunt and nothing else.

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