Expel (18 page)

Chapter 30

The List

Saturday morning, long shards of darting rain fall slantways against the window. It creates a sad drumming in our corner of the world. Something about the rhythm, the unrelenting heartache embedded in its Morse code makes me miss my father.

I head down to the kitchen, still dizzy from waking up too early and bump into a body.

Gah
—it’s Chloe!

Her rumpled hair rises in the back, she’s wearing sweats and a flimsy t-shirt that might as well be wet because, freaking shit, I can see right through it. I know for a fact she’s not wearing a bra.

“Your pencil erasers are showing,” I hiss.

“Is that anyway to speak to our guest?” Tad says, rather dismissively while going over paperwork with Mom. In all honesty, I didn’t see them there hovering over the table.

“Guest?” I balk. I had to sign a contract that I’ll never breathe the same air as a boy, and Chloe is here at this ungodly hour of the morning with her breasts making an eye-popping debut as our
guest
?

Ethan wanders in with a severe case of bed head. He wraps an arm around her waist offering a sloppy kiss before heading to the fridge.

Brielle and Drake amble down looking equally disheveled and outright skank from a wild night’s romp.

“What the hell?” It comes out just above a whisper.

“That reminds me,” Mom hops up and dispenses a fat white placebo courtesy of Dr. Booth. “It’s just a trial, Skyla. I think I’m seeing an improvement already,” she says, winking in secret.

I’m still suffering from my fatigue hangover coupled with the shock and awe campaign launched by the Landon brothers, so I can’t even begin to decode that wink she just gave.

“What’s that on your finger?” Mom’s mouth opens with surprise. “Is that an engagement ring?”

“Actually it’s—” I note the fact Chloe has stopped all movement and is scuttling in my direction.

“It’s a forever ring.” The words swim from my lips like a dream.

“She’s lying, Lizbeth.” Tad takes a sip from his coffee, doesn’t even bother looking up while delivering the barb.

“Why would I lie?” Tad’s idiocracy has finally stymied me.

“Why wouldn’t you,” Chloe says it low while picking up my finger and inspecting the silver band, the blue eye of Gage staring right back at her in the shape of a heart.

“I’ll tell you why.” Tad holds up a yellow legal pad and waves it in the air. “Found this hidden beneath a stack of magazines on the coffee table.”

Still no clue what the moron in question is railing about.

Am I in the right house? The right time zone? Because something is way the hay off this morning in this corner of the universe.

“Listen to this, Lizbeth,” he begins. “It appears your daughter finds it perfectly acceptable to one-up our wedding and plans to jockey herself into the Paragon social limelight with a lavish affair just one
week
before our humble but meaningful event.” His face turns a strange shade of pomegranate. I’m shocked at how genuinely pissed he seems. Either, A, Chloe planted that stack of bullshit or B—

“Those are my notes,” Mom snatches the legal pad from his stubby little fingers. “I moved the wedding up, and I may have changed the location.”

Or that.

“What?” Tad stands as if it were an outcry that my mother didn’t find his backyard barbeque adequate enough to fulfill her romantic desires. “We were going to get a new TV, and the whole family was going to watch a baseball game.” He holds out his hands perplexed.

Doesn’t every girl dream of renewing her vows during the seventh inning stretch?
 
  

“I know,” Mom shakes her head, “I know we said that, but Demetri offered his estate, and I couldn’t say no. It’s amazing. It’s going to be like a fairytale.” She bites down on her lip, and her eyes avert heavenward as if she were watching the event unfold on the ceiling.

“Fairytale is right.” Tad takes back the legal pad and riffles through its sunny pages. “Lobster? A seven tiered marzipan cake? Imported cheeses from around the world?” Tad’s head swivels like it might actually become detached.

“It’s my wish list,” she snipes.

Tad looks to Ethan and Drake for help. I don’t know why he doesn’t buck up and give Mom a decent wedding. She wasn’t asking for the Waldorf Astoria. In the least, he could have offered her a church and taken us to an all you can eat buffet afterwards.

“We can’t afford this,” he spits it out forced like a geyser. “Have you forgotten the all expenses paid vacation we’re giving these two next weekend?” He points hard at Drake and Brielle. I’m sure he means a visit to the obstetrics clinic Brielle strong-armed them into taking her to. I shudder at the memory of my own trip there.
    

“Oh, Hon,” Mom’s voice reduces thick as molasses, “We don’t have to pay for any of this. Demetri insisted. It’s his gift to the family.” She goes over and wraps her arms around his waist, pecks a kiss on his cheek. “This is going to be the thrill of a lifetime.”
 

“As long as I get to be the groom,” Tad sneers over her shoulder.

He won’t if Demetri gets his way.

***

Chloe traps me in the hall before ushering me backwards into Ethan’s room. I’d shout for Brielle to rescue me, but she’s entertaining everyone with the tiny feet prodding from her bulbous stomach.

The bed is unmade. The air is stale, smells of old socks and questionable his and hers body odor.

“Listen,” she says, sealing the door shut behind her. “I know we’ve gotten off to a rocky start.”

“Criminal offenses were committed,” I’m quick to remind her. “You’re the sole reason my mother is in there planning to reenact the second worse day of my life.” The first being my father’s death, but I’m so melancholy this morning I might cry at the mention of him.

“No, I’m not responsible,” she shakes her head defiantly. “I’ve been thinking about what you said, about the Sectors and the Fems pitting us against each other, and it all became crystal clear. They wanted you here. They used me. I was nothing but a pawn in a game of high stakes manipulation. I swear it. I’m not shitting you. They need us both for different reasons. I know the rules to the game,” she fingers the protective hedge around her neck absentmindedly before dropping her hand back to her side. “They need us to fight the war because they’re not allowed.”

“What?” It does make sense. I drop my gaze to the underwear strewn around the floor. “I’ll see what I can find out.” From Marshall, from my mother, but I don’t tell Chloe that. “I think you might be right. Why else couldn’t the Sectors and the Fems duke it out themselves? Why would they need an army of half-breeds unless they weren’t allowed to play the game?” I hate calling the faction war a game. Logan has hinged our future upon it, so have I in a way.
   

“You notice anything strange about Logan?” She tilts her head into me like we’re suddenly besties.

She knows.

“He’s not himself,” I whisper to see if she’ll bite.

“That’s because he’s Holden Kragger.”

She went there.

“Now what?” I can’t believe I’m talking to Chloe of all people about the precious soul I’ve managed to displace.

Chloe lunges into me with her deathly black smile, her eyes reduced to slits.

There’s something dangerous happening here and I can’t put my finger on it.

“I’ve assigned Michelle to him,” she confides.

“What?”

“Relax, she’s too into Dudley to do something stupid. That way Logan keeps his flesh clean and free from all the hoes lined up to take advantage of the situation. Holden had a very specific thing for Michelle. He about died when he told me they were going out. It’s all going as planned.”

“How are we going to get Logan back?”
We
? Mother F—I’ve just drifted past sanities horizon.

“I’ll let you handle that. I’ve got enough blood on my hands.” She drops a remorseful gaze to the floor before darting back into me with those hard steely lasers. “Skyla, I don’t want you to say anything in return, but I do want you to know I’m really sorry about everything. I’m going to hate myself until the day I die over the role I played in your father’s death. And, I feel pretty terrible about keeping you and Gage apart, too.” A single tear rolls over her cheek. “I think deep down inside I wished Gage would have felt the same way about me. I thought given enough time—enough of everything, that he would have loved me.” She swallows hard, shaking her head. “But, I have that with Ethan now. He worships me.” She presses her lips together.

The fact that all Chloe Bishop ever wanted was to be worshiped doesn’t surprise me, but I doubt Ethan is the congregation she’s looking for. A greedy deity like her wants love from a pure and holy being, one that would qualify as a god himself and that just so happens to be my boyfriend.
  

I nod into her.

“I begged Ethan’s forgiveness,” she continues. “He’s going to help us with the faction war. He’s as pissed as I am.”

“Whose side are you on?” I know damn well, where her allegiance lies.

She reaches over, picks up my hand and closes her eyes a moment.

I’m with the Sectors
. There’s a hard glint in her eyes.
We’re going to get those bastards who are screwing with our lives for sport. I always defeat my enemies, Skyla. Nobody has the last laugh at my expense. God pity the poor souls who try and mess with me. They will never see me coming.
She wraps her arms around me tight.
Truce?

I gaze down at her an undetermined length of time unable to appraise the situation for what it really might be. I’m not sure what I have to lose. I still have Gage.

Truce,
I say.

I’m hugging Chloe Bishop, and I’ve just agreed to a truce.

Clearly, I’ve meandered into an alternate universe.

Chapter 31

Full Disclosure

Gage and I drive over to Chloe’s house after pulling a shift at the bowling alley together. I love working with Gage—stealing a kiss in the office, the crazy noise infused kisses in the dark arcade, the cool lingering of his lips in the walk-in freezer.
  
 

“Are you sure this is how you want to spend Saturday night?” He kills the engine, observing Chloe’s house through slotted lids as if it were a looming threat.

Rain beats upon the windshield like a thousand tiny hands imploring me to reconsider.

“I’m sure,” I whisper. “Besides, Ethan begged me to come so did Brielle. Ethan’s got something up his sleeve. He’s not as quick to forgive as Chloe believes.”

“And why are you?” Gage smoothes his thumb over my hand, lowers his head until his brows sit low on his forehead like two ebony birds.

“I’m not,” I sigh. “I just,” I shrug. “I think deep down inside I want to believe her. Everyone’s redeemable right? We all make mistakes, huge, horrible mistakes and in the end when we wake up to what we’ve done—most of us are sorry.”

“Chloe doesn’t have a heart, Skyla,” he presses into me with a kiss. “And the fact yours is too big is the reason I love you most.”

Gage and I consume ourselves in a sea of endless kisses. Time stretches out, loses its grip on us, ushers us into something eternal that we were designed for right from the beginning.

“I love you so much,” I whisper soft in his ear. “I don’t think I could breathe without you.”

***

 
 
Inside, the Bishop home holds the scent of fresh baked cookies. The dim lighting and consistent spasm of cackles give the night that Ellis-esque feel.

It feels quasi-safe with Brielle and Drake here. Emily, Lexy, Michelle and faux Logan add a certain air of comfort to the environment. The roll call of bitchiness is complete with Nat as the honorary member, and Pierce, who has become as his namesake suggests, the constant thorn in my side.

Michelle is joined at the hip with Logan which weirds me out because despite being Holden, in nature, he’s still staunchly locked in Logan’s congenial framework. I know deep inside that in no way what Holden does with Michelle reflects on Logan, but I can’t help but feel a stab of jealousy at the same time. It looks like Chloe was right. Holden is a lust slave to Michelle. He follows her around like a Golden Retriever, happy to fetch her every need.

Pierce glares at me from across the room.

I’ve been carrying that stupid cease and desist letter around in my purse to circumvent it from accidently landing in Mom and Tad’s hands. Of course Pierce doesn’t want to go to juvy over the stupid shit I accidentally did while hopped up on Michelle’s rose of terror, but then, really, neither do I.

Holden pats him on the back as he makes his way into the kitchen. I’m sure Pierce has been apprised of the fact his brother incarnate is in the vicinity.

I think the entire Kragger clan owes me big time, and I don’t mean by way of threatening legal action at every turn. Pierce should cease and desist his presence from my life as a thank you even if Holden’s state of being is temporal.
 
 

I pull Gage deeper into the family room, wrap my arms around his waist and swoon into him dreamily. We’re here together at Chloe Bishop’s house of all places. It all worked out on its own. I didn’t have to sleep with Marshall to get Chloe off our backs.

 
Of course, we could have done without the Mustang turning his insides to pulp and killing Logan. I’m still convinced Chloe was behind the scene of that crime. Speaking of which, I haven’t heard Gage cough all night. I bet he’s plenty recuperated for me to fill him in on the bizarre turn of events regarding his dearly departed uncle slash cousin. I hate keeping secrets from Gage.

“Guess what?” I whisper into his ear.

He moans into me while massaging my back. It feels so good I can melt into a puddle right here at his feet.

“I want to talk to you later about something super important,” I breathe it hot in his ear.

“Does this super important topic require a hotel and protection?” A devilish smile plays on his lips.

“No, but we could talk about that, too.” I tweak my brows.

I press a heated kiss into Gage right here in Chloe Bishop’s living room and miracle of all miracles I don’t end up with a knife in my back.

“All right,” Ethan begins corralling everyone into the family room. “Let’s get this movie going before it gets too late.”

God—he even sounds like Tad.

“Brace yourselves girls,” Chloe warns as she makes her way over to the entertainment unit. “It’s three glorious hours of battleships and tanks—Ethan’s pick. He won the wrestling match.” An image of the two of them going at it bounces through my mind. “Next time, I assure you,” she continues, “the cover will be pink, and there will be hot shirtless man-candy to drool over for two hours straight.”

“I’ll give you some man-candy to drool over,” Ethan bumps her with his hip.

Ethan and Chloe really do look and act like a couple. They shared a soda at dinner, and she ate his pizza crust. Now they’re nauseating us with an awkward display of questionable kissing.

“I think he’s chewing on her,” Gage whispers.

“He is. But in his defense, one doesn’t get a whole lot of practice kissing when they’re dead.”

“Let’s do this,” Pierce barks, wrapping an arm around Nat.

I feel Kate’s absence most when Nat’s around. It infuriates me that Marshall used me to do his dirty work. Chloe is right. We’re nothing more than pawns on some giant celestial chessboard.

Gage and I sit on the loveseat, squeezing in next to Brielle and Drake while Chloe dims the lights.

The television in Chloe’s family room eats up an entire wall.

I have to say I’m impressed with this rather odd gathering. It’s sort of a nice break from Ellis’ rambunctious affair with nary a red Solo cup in sight, which most likely implies there won’t be any puking later with the exception of maybe Brielle.

The TV blinks, and my smiling face pops up on the screen. A sappy country song aggregates through the speakers and offensively begins twanging in our ears.

“What the—” Before I can get the words out, Marshall ignites the screen with his lips secured over mine.

Chloe glares in my direction. “This one’s for you, Gage.”
 

An entire montage of me kissing Marshall—kissing Logan enfolds. Even Ellis is thrown into the mix with his pants down, me kneeling before him. Never mind the fact he was putting out the fire on my hand, it looks entirely lewd from the angle the video was taken.

I’m frozen.

A stale breath is caught in my lungs that I may never let go. Gage sinks limp into the seat beside me. I’m too afraid to look at him, to look at anyone.

It goes on for an eternity.

Marshall and me, rolling around on the bed at the Pine Pole Lodge—me in my corset, his hands caressing my bare waist. Logan loving me at the bowling alley, the house, the school—everywhere a lip-lock. The lust written over the two of us could combust the room into flames.

The music comes to a roaring crescendo, the Mustang gyrates overlooking Devil’s Peak.

Time feels as though it’s picking up speed. My stomach does a hot revolution because I know what’s coming.

The camera pans in a tight clear shot of Logan writhing over me, the haunted dress Marshall gave me for the winter formal, bunched in a mess around my hips. The passion on my face is undeniable. My lust for Logan burns a hole through the air, electrifies the atmosphere until the universe sizzles from our searing affection.

A stone sinks in my chest, obliterates my heart to nothing.

It’s over between Gage and me. What I’ve done is unforgivable.

I glance over at Chloe in disbelief. My sins recanted for everyone to see. This was her plan, her pleasure.

She hid the blade in her tongue—in her deceit to lure me over.

I was the enemy, the feast, the sport—the entertainment.

And I never saw it coming.