When I’m done getting dressed, I see a text from my brother telling me to come to the house. Being the dean of Kingmakers Prep, Bennett has a house on the school grounds. It’s nice and has a few bedrooms. I’ll crash there every now and then but don’t for the most part.
I love my brother and all, but fuck, he’s really trying to take a swing at the parenting thing. This is my last year here; we’re past that, and I wish he’d let it go. I have. We’re not going to be the family he’s built up in his mind. That shit died long before our father ever did.
“Be at the rally,” Coach calls after me. “Locke!”
I pause. “All right,” I tell him before I head out. Not sure I’ll go, but I don’t need Coach calling my brother to snitch on me.
When I enter my brother’s place, I see food containers laid out on the kitchen island with plates next to them. I start unpacking and plating it.
“You couldn’t wait for me?” Bennett asks when he enters the kitchen fresh out of the shower, his hair still damp.
“I plated it for you.” I shove another bite of the steak into my mouth. I need all the protein I can get.
“Thanks.” He grabs his plate and one of the high-top chairs next to me and pulls it all the way around so we’re facing each other. This must be serious.
“Who’s dead now?”
“You’re about to be.”
“What did I fucking do?” I’ve been pretty good, for the most part. I’m even about to end my weekly check-ins with the local sheriff, Brinks.
“Nothing yet. That’s why I’m giving you this warning. There is a new girl, Madeline Pearson.”
“Pearson?” Now, I know that last name, and so does my brother. I see the way he’s always eye-fucking the new professor. She’s only been here a few years.
“It’s her sister; remember we talked about this?”
“Right.” I shove another bite into my mouth.
“Luke—” I know he’s about to lay into me. If I recall correctly, he said something about not letting the hockey players harass her. How does he think I’m going to do that? He’s the one that wants to fuck the professor, not me.
“What? I don’t care about the new girl.” What the hell does he want me to do? There are always new people. Same shit, different day.
Except this time, it is far from the same.
Chapter Three
MADELINE
“Maddie!” Georgia calls out when she spots me from across the street. I was trying to surprise her. My girl is impossible to miss with her wild curls, which she loathes while I adore them. I think they are even cuter when she pushes her glasses up into them. Her freckles that dance across her full cheeks and nose are truly endearing. There are precious moments and angel vibes happening all around her.
“Hey!” I call back as I jog across the street. I half jump into her arms, almost knocking her over, but my hug keeps her on her feet. Georgia is shorter than me, though she’s got great hips and ass. Georgia has all the killer curves, honestly.
“You’re really here,” she says when we pull back from the hug. I see unshed tears in her eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“Just excited is all.”
“I am, too, even if my father had to die to make it happen.” I say this with a straight face, causing Georgia’s eyes to widen before she bursts into laughter. Our dark sense of humor is a quality we both share.
“You’re terrible.” I link my arm into hers.
“And you love it.” We enter the coffee shop together. The coffee isn’t great, but the pastries are. This café is always one of my first stops when I can make it out here. Damn, I suppose I can come all the time now that I live here. That is going to take time to get used to.
We both order and snag a table. It’s still pretty empty, but that will change when classes start. “So fill me in on things.”
“We talked last night and texted all day. Not much to fill in.” This is true. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t have some sort of communication.
