I throw my car in reverse.
“Who was that?” Cole asks, staring down at my phone sitting in my lap.
“Demi.” My stomach instantly knots at the lie. And, fuck, why did I have to say her? Becky would have been a better choice. More believable.
His eyes meet mine, and I know he knows I just lied. I wait for him to call me out on it or maybe punch me in the face. Nothing would surprise me at this point. At least I didn’t think so. But then he nods his head once and looks away from me, not saying one word.
DEMI
I sit in my bath, the only light from the flickering candles lining the bathtub. I have bubbles in my water, and Austin’s journal in my hand. I haven’t been able to put this down. It’s like a dark and mysterious maze. Even though I know they end up together, I’m still trying to figure out how Cole will win her over.
He treats her like shit. Blackmail and physical harm are just a couple of things he puts her through, but she dishes it back. In a way, she’s my hero. I wish she was my sister and not Becky. Yeah, Austin gave in and had sex with Cole, but it was more than that.
She reminds me so much of myself. She feels this pull to Cole’s darkness just as I do to Deke’s. I want to see what he can do. How dark he can go. Push his limits like Austin did with Cole. And push him, she does.
She has just completed her first dare in this part. She pulled the fire alarm at school and stole Cole’s car keys out of his locker. She needed a distraction to get Bennett out of the school so he could steal Jerrold’s laptop. Eli’s brother-in-law. The man who was married to his sister. The murderer who killed her just months after Eli died in the car wreck. Deke threw her a party to celebrate it on the beach. And it reminds me of when I went there with my sister and David. The night that changed everything.
I fall into Eli’s passenger seat and inhale the scent of his car. It smells like his cologne, and I smile to myself, knowing it’s going to be on my clothes long after he drops me off at home.
He gets into the driver’s seat and starts it up. “Darkest Hour” by Memory of a Melody plays through the speakers.
A knock comes on his driver’s side window, and it makes me jump. He rolls it down. “What’s up?” he asks.
Cole leans over, poking his head in. He still holds the bottle of vodka he took from me by the bonfire. His cold eyes sweep over my body and then go to Eli. “Leaving so soon?”
“Just going for a ride,” Eli tells him.
“Sure, you are.” He slaps the hood of the car. “So am I.”
I look over at his Porsche Cayenne parked a few cars down and watch a blonde climb into the passenger seat. She pulls down the visor and fixes her lipstick as if Cole gives a fuck if her lips are fresh.
When I look back at Cole, he gives Eli a smirk. “Make it worth it.” Then he pushes off the door and strolls over to his car.
Eli pulls out onto the winding road, and I look down to see I’m still holding my drink. “Will you stop for a second?” I ask.
“Why?” he asks, sliding his eyes over to me for a quick glance.
“So I can pour this drink out.”
He snorts. “It’s fine.”
“What if we get pulled over? I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
He just laughs. “Don’t worry about me, D. It’ll be fine.”
Warmth runs up my spine at the way he called me D. I bite my lips to hide my grin and turn to look out the passenger window. “Where are we going?” I ask nervously.
“To my favorite place,” he says.
My knees bounce with nervousness. This is the first time I’ve ever been alone with Eli. Or any boy. I’ve thought about it a hundred times, but none of those compare to him finally showing an interest in me. We talk here and there in the halls of the school, and I’ve caught him staring a few times. All he did was smile, but I was the first to look away.
I take a small sip of the drink. And hiss in a breath.
He laughs. “Is this the first time you’ve ever had a drink?”
Among other things. “No,” I lie and take another one. The lie burns more than the alcohol. It makes me think of Becky. She lies to everyone about everything. I’m nothing like her. “Yes,” I admit and take another.
He stays silent, but I watch a smile spread across his face that’s lit up by the lights on his dash. He looks fucking gorgeous with a strong jawline and dark hair that looks like it needs a trim falling in his eyes and curling at the ends. He wears a black hoodie and ripped jeans with a pair of tennis shoes. His parents died when he was younger, but his sister is quite a bit older than him. They had Eli when they were older. Aimee met a good businessman and married him. They took Eli in to live with them when their parents passed.
