Page 28 of The Hallows Queen

Hayden

“Are you eating?”

Logan’s voice makes my eyes crack open and my head turn to the right to look at her. She’s perched on her elbows, dark hair hanging behind her onto the sand while she studies me.

“What?”

The sun is shining so bright above the sand that it’s bouncing off and blinding me, and sweat has been dripping down the center of my chest since we stepped foot on the beach. I’m sure when I stand up, the towel I’m lying on will be drenched. The summer sun in the south-east is no joke; that’s why I lather myself in multiple layers of sunblock every time I leave the house. Sure, most of my tattoos were free because my cousin owns his own shop, and the others were paid for by my father’s accounts, but that doesn’t mean I need them getting damaged by the sun.

“Are. You. Eating?”Logan repeats herself slowly, like I’m stupid. “You look skinny.”

“Oh, Jesus Christ,” Carson groans on her other side, a laugh in his voice. “Leave the man alone.”

I snort, cupping my hands over my eyes so I can see her better. “Dude, you need to chill. I’ve been taking care of myself my whole life, I’m good at it.”

Carson laughs louder. “Yeah,okay.”

“I’m just worried about you, Hayden. You’re not exactly the healthiest friend to have. I’m sorry that Icare.” Logan rolls her eyes and looks out at the water, her hair falling over her face like she’s shielding herself from the vulnerability she’s showing.

Carson grabs her thigh. “Don’t be sensitive.”

“Lo.” I sit up, grabbing her hand. “I’mfine.Pinky fucking promise.”

She smacks my hand away. “You’re always disappearing, Hayden. You’re drinking a lot, you aren’t eating, I’m sure you have an STD or seven – you aren’tfine.”

I scrunch up my face. “I get tested after every new partner, dude. Plus, I haven’t hooked up with anyone in weeks.”

The lie slips from my tongue easier than it should – since if I can trust anyone, it’s these two people in front of me, but I’m not ready to talk about her. I’m not ready to talk about my fuzzy memories of my night in the storage closet with anyone. I want to keep her for myself.

And if I mention Penelope, I’ll have to mention Amethyst, and I’m not ready to share my oasis with my friends. When I’m there, I’m a Hayden they don’t know – one who does drugs off a dirty table and shares his cock with someone new every time.

I wasn’t lying about the STD tests, though, I’m not an idiot. I get enough unprotected head in the back of the club to know I need to be a regular at the doctor. Shit, I had a panel done yesterday. When I told Logan I’m good at taking care of myself, I meant it. I’ve been doing it since I was a child.

Logan clicks her tongue, her signature move when she isn’t winning an argument and wants the conversation to be over. I take the hint, not wanting this to escalate either. Standing up, I pat her shoulder. “I’m perfectly fine. Just because I do my own thing sometimes doesn’t mean I’m not taking care of myself. Plus, I didn’t think you guys would mind the time alone.”

She doesn’t answer me, so I start walking toward the ocean to join Levi. He’s been lying flat on his board for about an hour now, waiting for some magical waves to appear that he can ride. But the air is completely still. There’s not one cloud in the sky, and the ocean is resting as well.

The water is warm when I start wading in, and when it’s up to my waist, I dive forward and go under, heading farther out.

I stay under the salty surface of the Atlantic until my lungs are constricting in my chest, begging for oxygen. When I come up, Levi’s about four feet in front of me, so I keep pumping my arms to send me shooting through the water.

When I reach him, he turns to look at me over his shoulder. “Hey.”

“Nothin’?” I ask, nodding my head out to the still water.

“Not shit, man. Worst day for Lo to drag us to the beach,” he groans.

His skin is darker in the summer months since he’s spent so much time surfing. It suits him and makes his dark brown eyes seem lighter somehow. His hair is shaved down at the sides like always, except he has some stupid lightning bolt buzzed into the back right now.

“Do you miss me when I’m not around?” I ask, and Levi barks out a laugh.

“Oh yeah, I lose sleep over it.”

I laugh, pushing him hard enough that he almost falls from his board. “Bitch, I don’t mean in a weird way. Logan was saying that she’s worried about me because I’m always disappearing or some shit.”

Levi sits up and straddles his board, shrugging his shoulders. “That’s just Lo, dude. She worries.”

“Well, I wish she would stop,” I say, pressing my lips together.

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