Page 2 of Boys Who Taint (Spine Ridge University #5)

Levi

The cliffs beneath me run steep, the rocks down below promising imminent death.

That’s exactly why we’re here.

I didn’t just want to camp out with the guys in the woods far above Lake Verity at the top of the mountain for the fun of it. I wanted everyone to face their fucking fears and jump into the abyss with me.

I turn my head to find the girl who has been the bane of my existence and the sole reason I’m here.

Look at me. Look at me. Look. At. Me!

Her eyes find mine in the thick of night, like a moth summoned to a flame.

It’s never going to be enough.

One breath. In and out. That’s all I need to know that she saw me.

I blink once, tighten my muscles, and make the jump. Down, down, down the cliff to the water below.

My jump is meticulous, my angle calculated, my gaze fixated.

Not on the sea beyond, but her eyes.

God, those ocean eyes will be my undoing one day. And I would rather risk drowning in the water beneath my fingertips than forever submersing myself in the limbo she banished me to.

Behind me, cheers of my friends and family erupt.

“Whooo!” Apollo, my cousin, screams into the void.

Mavis and Cecelia clap, but I ignore the sound.

The sea is as cold as ice as my entire body is submerged, and as the water fills my ears, I close my eyes and focus on my heartbeat.

Here, there are no rules, no time, no eyes to judge me.

Nothing … except me and the thought of absolute ruin.

The ruin … of her .

Fuck.

Aspen Caruso…

I would kill for you.

Aspen

Later that night

Nothing burns as brightly as the set of deep brown eyes staring right back at me through the flames.

Flickers of fire flutter into the air above, casting an eerie shadow over the ground as my gaze follows the burned-out wood chips, the thick smoke making it hard to breathe.

I cough and look away, desperate to maintain the gentle equilibrium in my heart, but the pang is almost immediate.

The boy with the scorpion tattoo is seared into my mind like a scar on my vision.

Levi Torres. His middle-parted fringe falls over his gleaming eyes as he leans over to grab a new marshmallow for his stick.

Even when I’m not looking at him, I can still feel his penetrating gaze on my skin, coaxing out the rapid heartbeats.

A bright blue butterfly flutters between us, instantly drawing my attention away as it settles on my marshmallow, calming my mind.

What are you still doing up so late, little one?

“So Aspen … how’s Spine Ridge treating you?” Cecelia asks, breaking up my thoughts.

The butterfly flutters off into the void of the night.

“Oh, I love it there,” I reply, trying not to overthink things.

“Do you?” Levi’s voice makes my entire body shiver, but I ignore him.

Ever since I came to Spine Ridge University, I haven’t been able to face Levi.

He’s changed so damn much. Not in personality … but in looks.

He’s more muscular than I remember, taller, leaner, with a sharper jaw and cheeks, has more tats, more … everything.

“You like it there? Really?” Cecelia Preston frowns. “’Cuz I heard it wasn’t exactly a ‘safe’ university.” She uses air quotes to emphasize her words. She’s the only one of our group who doesn’t attend our university, but rather Prodigium, wherever that is.

“What do you mean, not safe?” Elliot says, sarcasm lacing his voice. “We’re just a bunch of innocent students.” He lifts his shorts and shows off the scar on his thigh from a bullet.

Looks gnarly, damn.

“That’s not what I meant. You wouldn’t understand.” Cecelia rolls her eyes.

“She means us boys,” Apollo says, rolling his shirt back over his arm to flex his biceps, which are covered with a black-out tattoo. “Guys with puppies like these, terrorizing campus.”

Puppies? Jesus.

Apollo never fails to mention his muscles anywhere he goes, and I don’t even blame him.

He’s shredded in all the right places, with a thin waist and a ripped body many women would kill to lick.

Which probably happens on the daily, judging from the smug grin on his otherwise stone-cold chiseled face.

Something I should definitely not be thinking about.

“Gross.” Cecelia snatches her marshmallow off her stick and chucks it at Apollo. “Keep your puppies where they belong.”

“But I like puppies,” River mutters to himself.

Apollo laughs obnoxiously loud and runs his fingers through his short black hair. “None of you can beat me. Admit it.”

Cecelia pokes the fire with a stick. “No one cares.”

I snort. Even though they’re all arrogant as fuck, I’m kind of enjoying this unexpected camping trip. I guess I should thank Xavier for signing us up for this trip at the last minute, only to bail on me because he got sick.

“Let me give it a shot, then.” Talon runs his fingers through his curly black hair with a smug grin on his face.

Oh boy.

I’m surprised he’d accept Apollo’s invitation to an open brawl.

“Oh God, not again.” Océane, his girlfriend, rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Please.”

“What? He thinks he’s the strongest. Let him prove it,” Talon states, rolling up his shirt to reveal the impeccable muscles hiding underneath.

“Now we’re talking.” Apollo throws aside his marshmallow, grabs an empty wooden stool next to him, puts it down in front of him, and places his elbow on top. “Arm wrestling time.”

“Oh my God, y’all are so damn boring,” Mavis whines as she gets up. “Not the arm wrestling.”

“What are you gonna do about it?” Apollo taunts her.

Mavis ignores him and grabs a flashlight, ominously pointing the light underneath her chin. “Who wants to go explore the woods? See if we can find some ghosts.”

Elliot raises his hand lightning fast. “I’m in.”

“Me,” River says, crawling up from the ground.

“Fine, I’m coming too, then,” Talon says and grabs Océane’s hand. “And you’re coming with me.”

“What the—You scared I’m gonna win?!” Apollo scoffs.

Talon narrows his eyes. “Hell no. Later tonight, we wrestle.”

Apollo grins. “Then I’m coming too, so I can make sure you keep your damn promise.”

“I think I’m gonna go to bed,” I mutter.

“What?!” Mavis shines her flashlight right into my eyes, making me squint. “It’s too early for that.”

“I’m tired.” I yawn.

Levi gets up from his wooden stool and steals the flashlight away from Mavis. “Are we going or what?”

“Didn’t think you were the fright-night type, but I’m cool with it as long as you behave.” Mavis smirks as she throws her blue-streaked brown hair over her shoulder.

“Where’s the fun in behaving?” Apollo cracks his knuckles. “I’m good at scaring people.”

“With what? Muscles?” Cecelia snorts.

“You’ll be the first I’ll pin between these biceps,” Apollo retorts, pointing at his arm like it’s a weapon, which is not too far off.

I sigh as I get up and pat myself down. “Have fun, guys.”

Cecelia, Apollo, Elliot, and Mavis all waltz off toward the edge of the forest, where the night owls and crickets are having a party, but Levi stops right before he exits the camping area. “You sure you’re not coming?”

I swallow away the lump in my throat, intimidated just from the glare in his eyes alone. “Yeah, it’s fine.”

His nostrils flare, and I can’t help but home in on his flexing muscles as he turns and walks off. His hands are in his pockets like he’s trying his hardest not to lose control.

I breathe out a sigh and open my tent, then get in, taking one last look at the bright light shining through the woods before I zip up the flimsy cocoon keeping me safe from the darkness… safe from him .

A violent shriek wakes me up.

I sit up straight in my sleeping bag and wipe the hairs off my forehead.

Did that scream really happen, or was it all in my head, like a dream?

Another squeal pierces the sky.

I immediately crawl up from my bed and zip down my tent, racing out into the cold, dark of night with nothing but my pj’s and the flashlight on my phone.

“Who was that?” I yell.

“Aspen!”

Cecelia’s screams from the cliff’s edge kick my adrenaline into gear, and I bolt through the small forest area that separates our clearing from the drop-off. The gusty wind swishes my dyed red hair in my face as I zigzag between the trees until I reach the same cliff we were at just this afternoon.

Cecelia and Levi peer down at something below the ledge.

In a split second, Cecelia rushes toward me. “Aspen! Over here!”

Talon rips open his tent and steps out together with a very sleepy Océane, who’s still rubbing her eyes. “What’s going on? Who’s yelling?”

I run to meet Cecelia, and she grabs my hand to drag me back to whatever it is that made her scream.

“What happened?” I ask as we approach Levi.

“I need help over here!”

That sounded like … Apollo?

“Is Apollo down there?” I ask.

Levi’s entire body turns rigid as his eyes find mine in the dark, his oval face bearing the horrors of trauma. “I’m sorry.”

My heart slows its pace, a faint flutter replacing the drumming behind my rib cage, as though my body is preparing for the shock it’s about to endure. Because when I step closer under Levi’s watch and peer into the deep end, the same horror that cracked his face rattles my bones.

Down there … on the hard rocks between the edge and the ocean lies the splattered, bloodied body of Mavis Rivera.

My half sister.

Dead.