Page 17 of Bleeding Hearts (Pine Valley College #3)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I love you. Stay away from me.

Her words, coupled with the panic in her eyes, haunt me as I lie in bed, sliding my fingers across my lips, wishing she were here now. I didn’t see her after she disappeared from the truck, so I don’t know how she got home.

I don’t even know if she’s okay.

I just know that I can’t stay away from her, even if she asks me to. I love her more than I love myself, and I would give anything to be with her. Maybe it isn’t healthy, but I don’t care. She protected me back then, and it’s my turn to protect her now.

I’m not letting her go, especially now that I’ve tasted her.

She’s mine.

Her cries, her taste . . . they’re etched into my being, and no one else will ever compare. This isn’t just sex, desire, or shared trauma—this is love, and it’s real. It hurts as much as it heals, but I don’t care anymore. I’ll do whatever it takes.

I’m going to make Lally mine.

My phone vibrates, and I roll over and grab it, hoping it’s her, but it isn’t.

Alek: Be home tomorrow at 6 PM. You were right, and we are listening. I am sorry. I love you. Make sure to eat.

My heart melts. Alek is stubborn and stupid when it comes to Evan, but at least he isn’t an ass. He wants the best for us, for all of us. In a way, he became everyone’s father after that night, and he’s struggling to find a way to navigate this. I have to give him some leeway.

Alice: Okay, see you then. Make sure to get some sleep, old man.

My phone goes black, and I frown, about to reach for my charger, when it flashes green and glitching purple.

Risk.

The logo comes up, and I sit upright as I wait for what’s next.

Another game?

A number one flashes up alongside Lally’s face. She’s staring off into the distance with the campus in the background. This isn’t a picture she took.

A two comes up with another face, and then a three with pictures of people.

Are these the rankings?

I’m at number six. I don’t know how, but the picture is from a distance. I’m smiling at something someone said, and a cold feeling washes over me, my skin crawling. Are they watching us this closely?

I clutch the phone as it runs through the rest. Before the numbers change, more pictures of contestants come up, but red blood drips down their faces, making a macabre smiley face before they are crossed out. Does that mean they failed?

It’s horrifying, and I toss my phone away, not wanting to see any more.

This isn’t just a game, this is a fucking trap, and we are all in it.

I’m at Alek’s just before six, curious about what he has planned.

Evan is there, but so are Skylar and Bones. They hop up when I come in, looking around in confusion. “Um, okay . . . What’s going on?”

“Sit down,” Alek orders, and I perch on the sofa, looking between them.

“You aren’t pregnant, are you?” I joke to fill the awkwardness.

“Not for lack of trying.” Skylar sighs wistfully as he leans his head on Bones’s shoulder, who just rolls his eyes and ignores his boyfriend.

“We are worried about you and Lally,” Evan murmurs, “so we invited her as well. I thought talking could help. I didn’t realize how much she was struggling, nor how much you were, and that’s on me. I should have been a better friend, and I intend to be. I think this will be good.”

“She isn’t going to want to talk,” I tell him. Honestly, she probably won’t even come.

There’s a tentative knock at the door, and Evan jumps up and opens it to an unsure Lally.

“Hey!” He embraces her, but it’s awkward and uncertain because she doesn’t hug him back.

When he pulls away, he’s clearly upset, but he shakes it off and tugs her inside, pushing her down on the other end of the sofa I sit on.

The space between us feels like miles, but I can’t take my eyes off her. She looks tired, and I think she’s in the same clothes as last night.

Did she sleep at all?

“What is this?” she asks, repeating my question.

“An intervention!” Skylar answers. “Or so I’m told. I was promised cake, so I’m not sure.”

He grunts when Bones elbows him, and Evan leans forward. “We just wanted to talk to you.” He looks between us. “We’re worried about you. I know you’ve been pulling away, and I want to know why. What can we do to help?”

She scoffs, looking away bitterly, and he watches her with heartbreak on his face. He’s really trying. “Lally, talk to me,” he implores. “What can I do? How can I help? Please, I’ll do anything.”

She doesn’t answer, but I see her jaw clench.

“Okay.” Alek looks at me. “We’ll let Lally think and talk to her after we speak with you.”

“Me?” I widen my eyes. What did I do?

Shit, do they know about the games?

I swing my gaze to Bones, but he shakes his head, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Skylar catches the movement, his eyes narrowing. I know Bones will be in for it later.

“You’ve been skipping classes, not eating, and occasionally not even going home.

I know you’re an adult”—he holds up his hands to stop my rant—“but I’m your brother, and I’m worried because I love you.

If there is something going on, you know you can talk to me, Alice,” he says.

“Whatever it is, we can deal with it together like we always do. We are family.”

Lally laughs, surprising us all. “Family? We are family?” She glances around the group mockingly. “We aren’t family. We are just fucked-up people brought together by the shit we went through.”

Alek watches her with concern, and Evan covers his mouth. I draw their gazes back to me. “I’m fine. I’m still getting good grades, my attendance is okay, and I am eating. Is that all?”

Alek sits back, glaring at me, and I glare in return—something we have done since we were kids. He should know better than to assume I would back down.

Skylar leans closer to Bones and lowers his voice, but we can all hear what he says. “You know what I just noticed? There isn’t one straight motherfucker in this room. We are all a bit fruity.”

All of our heads swing to him, and he grins, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. “Sorry, continue with your intervention.”

“Alice,” Alek snaps.

“Alek,” I warn.

“Talk to me,” he demands. “What’s going on? What are you up to?”

“Nothing. I just . . . went to some parties and got a little drunk,” I lie. I hate it, but I don’t want him to worry, and if I tell him about the games, it will put him in danger as well as Lally. I won’t do it.

“Drunk? Staying out all night? The other day you came back with marks all over you and I heard you crying. That isn’t normal. You will fucking tell me if I have to keep you here all day,” he growls.

“Remember what we talked about—with love,” Evan reminds him, and Alek sits back as Evan looks at us.

“We are asking because we care. Please talk to us,” he tells both of us, but his eyes are for Lally. He’s trying, he just doesn’t know how to help, and she doesn’t know how to ask for it.

There’s a chasm between them, one that was created when Tommy died, and neither knows how to bridge it.

“I’m allowed to get drunk,” I snap, dragging their gazes back to me, knowing she’s struggling right now. I can sense it. She’s breaking apart. Can’t they see it? “I can stay out. I can do whatever the fuck I want. It isn’t your problem.”

“Damn it, why aren’t you looking after her, Lally?” Alek snaps, and my eyes widen with incredulity and shock. It’s a throwaway question, and he doesn’t mean anything by it, but my eyes swing to her where she sits, frozen.