Page 39 of Hate So Deep (Hate #4)

NOW

Lauren

The next few days are quiet while I slowly heal.

Thankfully, my dad believed my lie when I told him I was in a car accident although he was upset that I didn’t call anyone when it happened. I suspect Celia was not so gullible and I still have to figure out the car situation but at least I wasn’t forced to make an assault report to the cops.

Dirk never returned with Hayden that night, leaving me to awkwardly request a ride home.

Asshole.

A year ago, my life was so much simpler, but I was worrying about the wrong things. Who cared if my dad had another fucking family?

Do I really blame him for leaving my soulless mother and trying to find happiness somewhere else?

No, but I let my fears guide my actions when I should have been trying to save my brother from his darkness.

Although maybe that’s foolish too because Buck’s always been a jerk. Clearly a guy who’s willing to buy date rape drugs is not a stand-up individual.

Either way, there’s nothing I can do about it now and as it stands, the only person I can save is myself.

Should I tell the police what happened, or will that further their suspicions?

I did get out of a few days of school due to my injuries but unfortunately, Dad forced me to go on Friday.

Dad and Celia’s new house resides in Academy’s district. Even though Cat now has the opportunity to go to Academy, she chose to stay at Northside. I don’t blame her.

Ever since Dirk kicked Danny’s ass the first time, I’ve been an outcast but for a few students who don’t give a fuck and throw me a bone now and then.

Yesterday, I convinced Cat to drop me at my other house to pick up my car.

To my relief, Mom wasn’t home. However, I had to make the accident believable, and it broke my heart, but I sideswiped a wall on the way back, down an abandoned street filled with defunct buildings.

Now I’m back at school and by lunch, I’m ready to skip out but I don’t want to hear from my mom if I do, which is why I buy some fries and a bottle of water before sitting in the cafeteria near the wall.

I’m halfway through my lunch and minding my own damn business when Tori, my former best friend, sits down across from me.

Her glossy hair shines as she tosses her hair over her shoulder, but she doesn’t say anything until I wrinkle my nose and ask, “What?”

“Do you even care that that animal put Danny in the hospital?”

So, Dirk did do some damage. Will he be arrested?

Dropping my fry, I take a drink of my water and set it down while Tori glares at me.

“What animal?” I finally ask.

“Really?” she hisses, her brows slamming over her eyes. “Your brother.”

Colt? That’s not…

Oh, this bitch is so clueless.

“When did this supposedly happen?” I ask.

“New Year's Eve. What is wrong with you, Lala?”

Pushing back from the table, I grab my tray and say, “My brother was in Hawaii on New Years.”

Undeterred by my proclamation, she stands with me and says, eyeing the bruise on my cheek. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re just like them.”

I’m assuming she’s referring to the northies. Fine, I’ll take it as a compliment, I decide before throwing out my trash and walking away.

Later, I’m brooding in my room when I receive a text from an unknown number.

Be there in thirty

I can only assume that it’s Dirk. Who else would bother to inform me he’s coming without asking?

Although I have no idea why he plans to make an appearance, I feel the first surge of something in what feels like forever and tap out a reply.

Who’s this?

Ha ha, get your ass ready, baby girl

Smiling even though I have nothing to smile about, I step into the bathroom.

Thirty minutes later, I turn away from the mirror with a sigh. It’s stupid but I fixed my hair before doing my makeup and selecting my favorite cashmere sweater and jeans.

Paired with cute low-heeled boots, which were a bitch to put on with my aching ribs, I roll my eyes as I step down the hall. I just did my hair and shit for god knows what reason with someone who insists we can never be anything.

There must be something seriously wrong with me.

Dirk is waiting in the truck when I step out the front door, and I eye him suspiciously as I slide into the passenger seat. His eyes darken when I wince as I get situated in the seat but as soon as my belt is on, I ask, “Where are we going?”

“Search your house,” he says, and I eye his fingers tapping the wheel.

“Why?”

“Because whatever happened, it happened in that house, Lauren.”

My stomach sinks at his words and I rub my aching forehead before mumbling, “This is so fucked up.”

“I know,” he says, his jaw ticking. “Think about it though. It’s impossible that you left that house after I brought you home. So, the source of the blood is there. We just need to find it.”

We drop into silence after that while I circle the drain of possibilities. If the source of blood had been obvious, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.

I’m not sure searching the house is going to change anything but the worst part is knowing that Aimee was at our home before she disappeared.

When it came to his girlfriend’s, Buck wasn’t above hurting them when he didn’t get his way.

However, he died in an abandoned warehouse across town. So where is Aimee?

Although it’s completely cruel to consider, if Aimee left with him, it would absolve me of any wrongdoing, and I can’t quite let go of the hope that it turns out to be true even as my heart burns with guilt at the thought.

With a shiver, I turn my focus when we pull into the drive of my once idyllic childhood home. Any more it feels like a shrine to times past, but I’m not interested in reliving the memories.

Thankfully my mom’s car is gone and after disarming the alarm, I pause in the threshold taking in the prohibitive silence until Dirk says, “Let’s start with Buck’s room.”

“Okay,” I say and lead him down the hall and up the stairs.

As soon as we approach my brother's room, I slow, allowing Dirk to take up the lead before he asks, “This it?”

When I nod, he touches my arm. “Lauren?”

“Hm?”

“I need you to concentrate on the room. Look for anything that’s out of place, moved or broken or…whatever.”

“Okay,” I whisper and follow him inside before forcing myself to focus on the contents.

The ginormous bed rests against the wall, beside which two nightstands sit at opposite ends.

Buck’s dresser, which used to be covered in miscellaneous shit stands to my right.

The closet door is open, and I glance inside, noting his clothes arranged neatly on the shelves.

Whatever Dirk hoped to find is probably gone, since my mom came through and cleaned everything up.

The woman probably couldn’t concentrate on anything else until everything was put back to her exacting standards.

Either way, this is useless, and I mutter, “My mom cleaned everything up.”

When Dirk stops behind me, I take comfort from his warmth, as I say, “She…Mom spent a lot of time in here…after.”

“Anything else?” he asks, eyeing the bed.

For Buck’s sixteenth birthday, Mom bought him the brand-new bed, complete with heavy wood posts and a canopy that practically brushed the ceiling, all for her little prince.

Yes, it’s really fucking stupid, and although better suited for a foreign dignitary, she chose it anyway.

When I shake my head, he says, “Where’s your room?”

With a weird tingle in my belly, I lead him down the hall and into my room.

I’ve never had a boy here before. Mom would freak if she knew I brought one home now, especially a northie and this is why I assess my room with new eyes.

I may not have a four-poster bed, but my pale wood furniture was hand built and flown in from France. I have my own adjoining bathroom with black granite counters and a walk-in shower.

From here, I can see the wall-to-wall closet of clothes that most women would dream of having, including designer brands I’ve never thought twice about owning.

When I glance at Dirk sideways, I’m relieved to see him focusing on clues or whatever, but I also wonder what he’s thinking as he turns in a circle, taking in the contents of my room.

I’m not exactly a clean freak but I do have shit lying around and ignoring his pensive frown, and my aching ribs, I pick up a few shirts and pairs of shoes before pausing.

I haven’t worn this sweater since my mom bought it for me two years ago and glancing around, I confirm, much of these clothes were at the back of my closet.

“Uh,” I mumble, picking up a handful of my clothes but when I look around, I drop them back to the floor because they’re everywhere.

“What?” he asks.

“It’s…like someone came through and pulled everything out.”

Dirk steps past me and studies the scene before shaking his head. “So, your mom cleaned his room and what…destroyed yours?”

It doesn’t make any sense, but I know it wasn’t me and that leaves Mom but why?

Is she kicking me out?

“I guess,” I say, and he doesn’t comment but turns in a circle once again while I go back to picking up my shit.

While he assesses whatever, I start a pile but pause on a shirt and grab it from the floor.

The powder blue ensemble is pretty in an understated way, but it reminds me of that night because when Dirk and I had our interlude in the bathroom, I ripped the seam, and it was one of my favorite shirts.

“Dirk?” I whisper and he turns to me with raised brows.

When I hold out the shirt, he asks, “What?”

“I think I was wearing this, that night.”

“Okay.” He grabs the shirt from my hands and inspects it.

After a moment he says, “What about the shirt I burned. Did you change when you came home?”

“Maybe,” I say. Clearly, I was out of it, but would I exchange this shirt for another?

“Anything else out of the ordinary?” he asks.

“It’s hard to say. It’s all over the floor.”

His dark eyes meet mine before he nods and says, “Let’s go downstairs.”