Keep From Falling (Markson Grove Series Book 1) (46 page)

“Has he mentioned me?” he asks.

“Well, yeah. You’re his best friend. I know all about you,” I say with a laugh and his anxious demeanor becomes even greater. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t want Tris to think that Parker tells me everything about him including details about their misfitting days with Adrienne. He might not want me to know about that even though, most of the
Misfit
community seems to know all about it at this point. “You know what I mean. You’re mentioned a lot. You seem to be his only friend,” I decide to add for damage control.

After a moment he laughs and I let out a discreet sigh of relief.

“Nah, I’m not his only friend,” he tells me with a half grin. “He has Ellie too.”

Ellie? Who the fuck is Ellie?

A stab of jealousy hits me in the gut and I have to force myself not to let it show on my face. “Yeah, of course, Ellie too,” I say with a bitter taste in my mouth.

“You hungry? I was on my way to The Loft for some food, I wouldn’t mind some company.”

I think over his invitation for a moment. I can’t be sure, but I feel like he’s up to something. Everything in my mind is telling me to politely decline and walk away, and yet, I’m intrigued by the things he might know about Parker that Parker’s been reluctant to share with me. Like who exactly Ellie is? And how well does Parker know her?

My mind tries to place that name, but it can’t. He’s never once mentioned an Ellie. She must be a friend he’s made this year sometime. Could she be the girl he almost had sex with?

I need to know more.

“Sure,” I agree with a plastered on smile. “I’m starved.”

Evan

“Are you working tonight?” Bree asks me at the end of our school day.

I slam my locker shut. “I was, but it got canceled,” I reply, showing her the text on my phone from our boss.

She smiles. “Great! I’m off too, do you want to do something?”

“Sure,” I say, “but don’t you have to go right home from school? I mean, your mom was pretty pissed last night, I figured you’d be grounded.”

“Nah,” She replies, brushing off the whole incident with a wave of her hand. I don’t know how she can stay so calm about all of this.

“Your mom hates me.”

“My dad doesn’t.”

“Speaking of your dad, he knows about Skylar, doesn’t he?” I ask uneasily. Judging by what was said this morning, I’d say I don’t even need to ask, but Bree won’t talk about it otherwise, and I hate not knowing where her head is when it comes to Skylar.

She nods. “Apparently he’s always known. But don’t worry about it Evan, I’m with you now.”

I wish I could believe that.

I smile, pushing aside my insecurities for the moment as I drape my arm over her shoulder. She’s trying so hard to move on with me. I know she’s not over Skylar, but it means something that she
wants
to be.

“My mom’s working till ten,” I suggest coyly. “We’ll have the house to ourselves.”

Bree giggles, leaning her head into my chest. “I thought you’d never ask.” She eagerly takes my hand and pulls me toward the front doors of the school.

We arrive at my house twenty minutes later, somehow managing to keep our hands off of each other completely until I unlock the front door. But the minute the door closes behind us, we are in each other’s arms so fast that we tumble backward and fall to the floor with a loud thud. Neither one of us is pulled out of the moment because of this, however, and we start grabbing at each other’s clothing, not being able to remove the pieces fast enough.

Even in the midst of this sexually charged moment, I can’t help but feel relieved by Bree’s apparent ‘want’ for me. Ellie’s wrong about her, Bree’s not gay, she’s into this. She’s into me.

I kiss her lips, smiling between kisses, as Bree attempts to tug my t-shirt up over my head. I eventually give in, and allow my lips to leave hers for a moment as she pulls the shirt up.

And then we both freeze in place. We are not alone in the living room.

Ellie is sitting up on the couch with a look of both horror and disgust etched across her face. She’s not wearing a shirt or bra and she has her arms crossing over her bare chest in order to cover up. Colton’s also topless and his pants are unbuttoned. I look down at Ellie’s bare legs, her skirt is pushed up much higher than it should be, and see that Colton still has his hand lingering on her upper thigh.

My eyes open wide in utter surprise but, for the life of me, I have no words. I push myself to my feet and pull my shirt back down over my naked torso.

I’m going to kill him.

All I see is red as I tear into that room, grab the little shit by the waist of his jeans, and haul him off of my sister. He hits the wall behind us with a thud and I immediately turn around, charging him where he’s propped up against the wall. He tries to get to his feet, but I manage to find a way to hold him down before he’s able to.

“Evan!” Bree shrieks, rushing over to me and attempting to yank me off of Colton, but is unsuccessful. I raise my fist to punch him at the same time that his legs kick up in an attempt to push me off.

“I wasn’t hurting her!” he yells out in confusion, positioning his hands to block his face. He’s hoping that it’s enough to get me not to punch him.

Ellie scrambles off of the couch, yanking her shirt back on at the same time that I punch passed Colton’s hands and hit him in the face over and over again. She charges me instantly, grabbing the hair in the back of my head with both of her hands and yanking me toward her so hard that it almost shocks me into stillness. I stop punching him.

I look down at Colton and I’m surprised to see this scared kid looking back at me. One eye wide, the other bruised and starting to swell shut. He’s not trying to hit me back; he just wants me to stop hitting him.

I scramble to my feet and take a step backward, feeling uneasy and shocked about what I just did. What the hell is the matter with me? He’s obviously younger than I am and has absolutely no desire to fight me at all.

I turn to Bree and the petrified look on her face makes me realize that I’ve crossed a huge line, one I might not be able to cross back. I turn to Colton once again, wanting to apologize, but just as I open my mouth to do so, I’m socked in the jaw so hard that I fall backward and hit the couch behind me.

Ellie’s standing tall in front of me, fists still clenched, a look of disgust on her face.

She punched me!

“What the fuck is your problem, Evan!” She demands as I sit on the couch rubbing my bruised jawline.

I shake my head. I don’t even know what to tell her.

She continues to stand before me, waiting for my reply, and so I say the first thing that comes to my mind. “You’re fifteen.”

“So? You think that gives you the right to hit my boyfriend? Who’s also fifteen, by the way. You didn’t see me charging into your room the other night when you were screwing Bree, and do you want to know why? Because I could care less who you decide to fuck, Evan!”

Bree’s eyes dart toward me, and her cheeks instantly blush red.

“That’s different,” I say quietly to my sister.

“Why?”

“Because I’m eighteen, Ellie.”

She shakes her head. “You’re an idiot.”

She’s not entirely wrong. I am feeling pretty stupid right now.

Bree

Evan looks up at his sister with regret in his eyes, and I know that whatever it was that came over him a few moments ago has passed. He feels horrible; I can see it. But even though I know it, I’m still incredibly shaken about what just went down. Evan’s emotions are unstable and his actions completely unjustified. There’s nothing ok about what he just did.

I can tell that Ellie’s still determined to hurt him, whether it be with her fists or her words and, to be honest, I don’t exactly blame her. But I can’t allow it, this whole thing is a mess and it needs to end now.

“That’s enough,” I say, placing myself in the middle of the two siblings. Ellie’s boyfriend has gotten up off of the floor and is sitting on the chair opposite the couch now, his hand covering a newly formed black eye. I shake my head. “Look at him!” I yell, pointing at Colton as I glare at Evan. “This is the guy your sister says she loves, ok? This is a good guy, who when attacked by you, didn’t even lift a finger to hurt you back. That says something about his character, Evan. Think about that. So keep your testosterone in check from now on and
talk
to him about what’s bothering you!”

“And you,” I say, turning to Ellie. “Your brother loves you so much that he worries about you on a regular basis! A teenaged boy is spending his time worried about the safety of his sister. That’s a big deal, and not something to take lightly! I don’t even have siblings, but I do know that a relationship like that is a rare one, and something you should feel blessed to have. So stop bitching at him and cut him some slack, he’s only doing it because he cares!”

The whole room has grown quiet during my little speech and now that I’m finished, the silence continues to ring in our ears. Evan looks to Colton apologetically as Ellie unclenches her fists and takes a defeated seat next to her brother.

Colton speaks first, looking up at Ellie through his one good eye. “You love me?” he asks. His face is serious, but I can see his mouth forming a tiny smile.

He didn’t know… of course, he didn’t.

I shake my head in utter embarrassment and turn to Ellie. I shoot her an apologetic look.

Ellie sighs, making her annoyance with me very clear. “Of course I love you,” she says, getting up from the couch and walking over to him. She climbs into his lap and runs her hands through his hair as he lays his head on her shoulder.

There’s something about watching the connection between Ellie and Colton that saddens me, but I don’t know what it is exactly. Is it because I miss Skylar and the bond we once shared? Or is it the fact that I don’t share a bond like that with Evan? I can’t be sure, but whatever it is, watching this intimate display hurts, and I hate it.

“Evan, go get Colton an icepack,” I say in a way that’s much more impatient and demanding than it should be.

He gets up from the couch and, without putting up an argument, walks over to the kitchen. A minute later he returns with a small Ziploc bag of ice cubes. “I’m sorry,” he says as he hands the bag over to Colton. He seems sincere in his apology at least.

Colton takes the bag of ice from Evan and pushes it to his eye. “You’re kind of nuts, man,” he says, and my lip curls up into a tiny smile. I don’t know if there is anything unlikable about this guy.

Evan nods knowingly. He’s feeling guilty, as he damn well should.

“I love your sister. If that matters at all to you,” Colton continues, and I see the words make Evan wince slightly.

“I know you love her.” He sits down on the couch across from them. “I’m worried about you protecting her from people who don’t give a shit about her. People who you might be connected to because of what you do.”

Colton’s one good eye opens slightly as realization dawns on him. Now he knows what Evan’s problem with him actually is. “You’re right,” he says after taking a moment to collect himself, “but I’m getting out. Parker’s working on something to get me out for good.”

Evan crosses his arms over his chest and leans his back into the couch. “You actually think he’s going to be able to do that?” he asks with doubt plastered all over his face.

“He’s trying.”

And there it is again. Parker Michelson is saving the day. I want so badly to hate him, but every time I turn around there is something new I learn about him that makes me have a hard time doing so.

My phone beeps in my purse and I reach into my bag to see who it is.

Spencer:
I’m a hypocrite. You were right when you said that you needed me and all I did was make you feel horrible about what you were going through. I should have been there for you. I’m sorry that I wasn’t.

“Stop worrying so much,” Ellie says loudly. “Nothing is going to happen to me, all right?”

“Parker can’t always be there to protect the two of you! Why can’t you see that?” Evan returns, his voice raised and anxious.