Page 63 of The Forgotten

Getting jumped at parties is never my fault. The guys are always with me, and that’s why I’d get into fights. I refuse to be taunted and hit because the girls in this town seem to think that I’m in their way.

I know the guys aren’t virgins, but I don’t need to know the details. They keep that to themselves.

It’s something that I appreciate, because continuing to be their friend would be really difficult if they flaunted their conquests in my face. As it is, the girls in this town still tell me things that only someone who has seen them intimately would know. I’ve skinny dipped with them at the lake often, and I know where all of their piercings and scars are.

Harris has his frenulum pierced, Trick has his nipples done, and I went with Noa to hold his hand when he had his Jacob’s ladder done. I know their bodies as well as my own. I hate hearing the barbed insults out of those girls’ mouths, telling me I’m too ugly to be noticed.

It doesn’t matter. I won’t be around to hear it anymore. The second that those taillights are gone, I’m leaving Marinette, Wisconsin. I won’t be able to deal with my parents overbearing demeanor without the guys around.

I was only allowed to go out and do anything because I was with my best friends. It doesn’t matter that I'm an adult, my parents will expect that I go to a special college with the intent of getting packed up.

That’s the last thing I want to do.

“I’ll do my best to be a good girl,” I say dully.

Noa winces as he hears the sarcasm in my words, his gray eyes filling with pain. Sighing heavily, I take a step backward as if to ward off the feelings that dredges up. I walked the three blocks to the fully furnished rental they shared together. Everything is packed now into Harris’s SUV, all that’s left is for me to walk away.

Forever.

I don’t fit into their lives anymore, and I know it.

“Drive safely,” I murmur. “You should get on the road so you can go be awesome.”

“You are going to answer when we call,” Harris growls under his breath, making me shiver with the tease of his alpha bark.

His brows draw down at my reaction, because it’s never affected me before.

“Orla?” he asks. “What was that?”

Swallowing hard, I realize that I have the power to fuck up their lives. A big ole grenade into their perfectly built chance to make it big.

I can’t. I won’t.

The shrill ring of Trick’s phone pulls his attention away, and I take a slightly deeper breath as anxiety slides through me. This is it.

“Hey, Maurice,” he says, taking a step back as he answers. “No, we’re on the road.”

The words drop from his lips as if they’re true, and I hide a smile.

Their agent found them playing in a dive bar and was blown away by their sound. That night was both a blessing and a curse, and I remember clearly how excited I was for them. I wish I’d known then how much it would hurt to say goodbye.

“We may be running a little late,” Harris murmurs, shrugging. “We were waiting for you to get your butt over here.”

“Me?” I ask quietly, ignoring Trick as he lies his ass off.

“We couldn’t not say goodbye, O,” Noa snorts, reaching out to tug on my braid. The sun is beginning its descent in the sky, which means they’ll be driving in the dark.

“Seriously, pick up the phone, okay?” Harris insists, his green eyes gazing at me as if he can glare into my soul.

I’m hiding so much right now, and on some level, they have to know there’s something wrong.

“Okay,” I whisper. I’m not the only one who’s good at lying. I’ve been doing it since I realized my feelings for them. “You should get going before your manager figures out Trick is lying.”

Hanging up, Trick smirks.

“I think he knows,” he says. “We’ll talk to you soon. Love you.”

My heart seizes as I nod. They’ve been saying that they love me for forever it seems. It feels bigger than it should today.