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Fallon

I regretted sleeping with him.

Like I knew I would.

Whatever . I needed to find Kelly. Hearing those things about Shane needed to be cleared up–and quickly. She had only been gone for a few minutes, and I hoped she didn’t go far. That Alexander guy was following me as I made a break from the group and headed off in the direction I saw her go in.

This guy was a fucking creep. He was trying to undress me with his eyes the entire time and his eyes had a sinister undertone to them that said he’d do it whether I wanted my clothes to come off or not.

No, thank you.

There were many levels of drunk people around me while I pushed past them all to find the path Kelly may have taken. Maybe upstairs if they wanted to go somewhere to make out or hookup. Or do fucking drugs! I checked my peripheral to see if I’d lost Alexander in the crowd and almost fell over in relief to not see him near me. That was the last thing I needed–to be in a dark room and trapped alone with one of the wealthiest kids in the nation unafraid with the shield of his daddy’s money.

There were a lot of doors to check, but I started in on them anyway. She had to be here somewhere. Door one opened to reveal three people naked in the act, unaware that I even opened the door. Gross, and not Kelly. Door two was locked; I knocked for a response. Nothing. The next door was a few steps ahead, but someone came up quickly behind me.

“Blondie,” the voice whispered.

I didn’t know if I should be relieved it was him or not.

“Oh, why don’t you go fuck your girlfriend ?” My steps hastened so I could stay away from him and continue my search.

Behind the next door was a couple of people who passed out naked. Again, gross. Where the fuck was I?

“Hey,” Brent growled, grabbing my wrist. “I’m here to help you.”

I snatched my wrist back from him and turned around without a response to keep looking on my own. Fuck his help. Fuck him.

“Fuck.” The rooms upstairs showed nothing, and I stomped down the hallway to look for her downstairs. She had to be somewhere.

“Fallon.”

I sidestepped him. “No.”

He moved to block me and evaded my attempt to shove him away easily. I didn’t want to be anywhere near him because I felt icky. Everything felt icky. I wanted to find Kelly and just get out of here, even for a few minutes to breathe before we had to trudge on with the rest of the night. I didn’t want to be at the stupid party or afterparty and I sure as hell didn’t want to be the Fallon Montgomery.

My wrists were trapped in his grip. He bent down to meet my eyes. “Let. Me. Help. You.”

“No.” I thrashed against his grip.

He didn’t budge.

Stupid man strength.

“Are you mad at me?” His tone was teasing, and his expression became dangerous.

“Brent. So help me God, let me go right now .” I used as much force as I could to yank my hands downward to get him to release me. No one would put their hands on me ever again.

He released and showed me his hands. “Fine. Now what?”

Anger grew inside me. He acted like he didn’t know me, sure. That made sense considering we were dealing with a lot more than just a simple hookup. Being seen with him moments after the tabloidal drama with Garrett was not something I wanted anyway. But to kiss her in front of me was such a brutal move. It showed he really didn’t care like he said he did.

“Find Kelly. Get to the next stupid fucking party. That’s it. You want to help? That’s all I want from you and nothing more.” I pushed past him to get downstairs and out to the backyard.

The sea of people awaited me and keeping my head down was going to be an impossible task. I didn’t want them to see me and act like a bunch of starved piranhas, but it was inevitable with my face embedded into their minds in the current climate. Phones were out and a few snapping pictures and calling things out to me. Those pictures would end up on social media, on some random headline, and worst of all, Evans’ desk.

Ignoring them and their chatter, I started texting Kelly.

Me: Kel we need to get to afterparty now

Keeping the screen on, I breached the back door and on the porch. My eyes were peeled for her wild brown hair and usual stand out outfit.

“Circle of life. Or whatever they say.” Brent’s voice invaded my space again. He flicked open his cigarette case and offered me one. Just like that first night.

Part of me wondered if any of these things would have happened if I never got on that stupid motorcycle with him. Never talked to him, even.

“Don’t ignore me when I’m standing right in front of you,” he said.

I stared at the cigarette hanging out of his mouth. How could he be so chill about everything all the time? The constant something happening must be a regular occurrence to these people.

“I’m not here to be chummy with you.”

“Not what you said when–”

“Stop.”

My phone buzzed. Thank God.

Kelly: where u at? ill meet u

Me: back porch come alone plz

Kelly: okayyyyyy weirdo

Brent let out a puff of smoke, looking at me expectantly. “So?”

“She’s coming out. She’s found. You can go now.” It was tempting to shoo him away, but that would be taken as me being playful or something. There was no way I was in the mood for him, and it showed.

He snatched my phone from my hands and held it out of my reach. He was typing something with the one hand he held far above me while I started grabbing for it. Still typing, he used his free hand to push my head away until he was finished.

All while balancing that stupid cigarette in his mouth. “Ah, much better,” he said, handing my phone back.

I glared at him. My screen was back on the homepage and all apps were closed so I didn’t know what he was doing. “What did you do?”

“Since another man wants what’s mine , I figured the least you could do was let me have your phone number and you can call me when you need me to crash another date.” He loosely pulled the cigarette from his mouth, flicking the ash from the end.

“You deserve nothing from me,” I huffed.

He smiled. “You’re so fucking cute when you’re mad.”

I crossed my arms to put a barrier between us. “You’re clearly with Sloane, and–”

“No,” he said firmly. He came close to me, and I could hear his breathing again. “I have no desire to be with her. She’s clung to me for a long time because she likes my last name.” His eyes flickered and darkened, looming over me. “Blondie, are you jealous?”

He almost entranced me, but I took a large step back from him. From that magnetic pull. “I’m not answering your questions.”

“I have my answer.”

The back door opened, and Kelly stepped out. “What’s with the creepy ‘come alone’ message and what has you sending it?”

Brent leaned onto the paneling on the back of the house, flicking his cigarette ash again. “Want to let us in on the secret about your boy toy?”

She looked between us, caught red handed. So, she knew about Shane and his extracurricular activities. And she was okay with that? I thought I knew everything about her, but it turns out that I didn’t. Was her meet cute with him even real, or was she seeking him out for what he could provide?

The constant conspiracy revelation was getting to me.

“What do you mean?”

He chuckled. “The fact that he’s allegedly a drug peddler for the kids on campus. Know anything about that or why he’s doing it?”

Brent seemed to have an interrogation tactic because I would have come swinging out of the gate with all the information I had. He tried to draw it out of her, so she had to come clean instead of letting us sit in false knowledge. It was about finding out what they knew first, and I saved that information in my mental notebook for later.

Look, Evans, I’m learning, you prick.

She looked guilty. “What’s wrong with being a little...entrepreneurial?”

“This isn’t funny, Kel. Everything is a mess with the news of all the little stories popping up.”

“Okay, yes. He does deal, but it’s not for some weird reason like you’d think.”

Brent’s eyes met mine. The look told me that things were becoming serious. “I think we three should get to the afterparty and find somewhere more private to chat. We need to get our stories straight on what we’ve heard and what we know.”

Kelly let out a resigned sigh. “Did something happen?”

Thud!

Just as Kelly spoke, a body hit–well, splat–on the concrete just before the pool.

I thought I was going to be sick, on the porch. Oh, God, he’s just...dead! Brent quickly grabbed the both of us by our arms and led us around the side of the house with a swiftness that felt like he may have dealt with a few too many death emergencies before. There was no way I was going to recover from this.

“Keep moving. Walk faster.” He kept his voice whisper quiet as he shoved us forward.

My life was turning into something horrifying. The image of the guy lying there, broken and dead. Should I have assumed he was dead? There was no real way to know. Cops would be all over it and investigating, letting people know if he was dead or alive.

Just another PR nightmare to add to the list.

His arms were draped over both of us like he was flirting, walking us away from the crowd for some alone time with us. It was a smart move. It made me suspicious of what Brent knew or experienced in the life of the insane nepo baby club. We slowed down to a stroll, appearing unaware that there was a– potentially –dead guy in the backyard.

“I shouldn’t have opened my mouth.”

I kept silent, flicking Brent’s arm off me. What was I supposed to say? She made a terribly morbid joke after looking at that guy firsthand. He was so...contorted.

Just breathe. All you can do is breathe right now.

Noticing my hand was pulled into someone’s hand, I tried to focus on the feeling. Everything started to feel far away, blurry. Like I was slipping away from reality. There was no way that happened, right?

“Do you two know what really goes on with the wealthiest families?”

It was Brent’s hand I was holding. I didn’t want to be holding his hand.

“Some of it. Not like I’m in the biggest of the circles.” Kelly’s voice was far away.

His skin was warm and soft, though.

“You’ve been using drugs, then?”

There was a callus on the palm of his hand.

“Fallon?” His voice also sounded far away.

He was looking down at me from pretty high up.

Was I on the ground?

“Hey.” He bent down and pulled my hand back into his, but I yanked it away.

I shook my head and things came back into focus. Focus . “Kelly’s doing drugs?”

“Chill. Most people try something at some point.” He looked back at Kelly standing behind him. “For right now, you know nothing. My best bet is this gets tied up with a nice bow as an accidental death and no one will be the wiser. I’ve seen it happen more than once.”

I’ve seen it happen...

So it was a normal occurrence. Lovely. I just had my first wave of shock and disassociation and I wasn’t sure I was quite back yet. The next party awaited us and I was on the ground trying not to die. Throwing up was a better option than feeling disconnected from reality. My head was spinning and I tried to reconnect with my body, with anything. I felt the concrete under my hands; it was cool to the touch. The night air was getting an edge to it. Grounding. I was coming back down.

Freak outs could come later. It was time to stand up and finish the night.

Beta Kappa Phi–BKP as everyone referred to it–had a line up at the door. The exclusive party was ready early, per Brent’s request. Someone was at the front with a tablet, checking names. The party was for the people on the list only.

We lined up at the end of the line like it was a nightclub. A hand brushed the small of my back–Brent and his antics.

Only it wasn’t him.

“Hey beautiful.” Alexander. He towered over me, stooping down to kiss the top of my head like we were more cozy than it seemed. Even though we just met each other.

“Oh, hi.” I leaned out of his grasp and liked arms with Kelly.

He tried to place his hands on me again, reaching for other parts of me while I leaned farther away from him. No dice. He pulled me closer to him, holding me like we were a couple or something. “Don’t be so shy, baby girl. We’ll get to know each other just fine tonight.”

Ew. There was vomit coming for me at some point of the night. I felt it.

As we moved through the line rather quickly, he held onto me with a firm grip. The struggle in front of everyone wasn’t worth it. From what everyone was telling me, it was a game of staying in line and playing chess instead of checkers.

I suck at chess.

Kelly eyed us with confusion but said nothing. She also knew not to stir the pot. Brent, on the other hand, was attempting to avoid looking at us. There would be daggers in his eyes despite tonguing Sloane in front of me.

If I wasn’t so uncomfortable, I’d say it was worth it.

The guy with the tablet put a purple wristband on me. Alexander told me it was to mark my prestige among the peasants of the party. The importance of prestige and money was becoming more clear to me as the days kept coming. Money and power ruled it all, but you weren’t allowed to say it out loud.

The rules weren’t meant to be spoken.

I spotted a few girls spinning from the ceiling on aerial silks. They looked like hired professionals from the well practiced and elegant moves–like ballet in the sky. Other girls walked around with hors d'oeuvres in bunny costumes, their bodies almost bare and faces covered. Guys in top of the line tuxedos carried trays filled with drinks and other items. I didn’t have to wager to guess what those were.

On top of security guards posted everywhere.

Mine was hidden for the night. A large man following me around instead of hiding out in the shadows might make me stick out more than I wanted to. He promised I’d be safe, but our definitions might have differed.

“I’m game to start this party right.” Alexander’s hands gripped tighter on my arms.

Too tight. I couldn’t force him to let go.

Dinging rang out across the party and in unison everyone pulled out their phones.

Unknown: Party foul?

Attached to the text was a picture of the body I saw. He was dead on the ground and the flash from the picture made him look even worse. My ears started ringing like a bomb went off. The disassociation threatened to take me again.

“Good riddance! Let’s party!” The crowd in the room cheered and the music thumped even louder. Laughs and smiles were all around.

It was like I witnessed a scene from a horror movie, and I might be a main character. What would a character in my position do?

She wouldn’t be flailing and disassociating. She’d be doing her damnedest to keep her shit together. To fit in.

Kelly looked uncomfortable for the first time tonight like the bad news finally hit her. She rubbed her arm and forced herself to not fidget with the news. She took most things in stride, but I didn’t take her for having a flippant attitude like the rest of these rich assholes. Brent slinked off in some direction.

“Don’t worry,” Alexander patted my head and stroked my hair. “We have no connection to any of that. All I have to do is hand over my card and we’ll be left alone. Why don’t we blow off some steam and do some dancing to loosen you up?” He showed no emotion about a dead person at a party he was just at. No conscience, either .

I needed to get rid of this guy. He struck me as the type to not ask for consent. “I’ll be with Kelly for a bit.” I tried to keep my tone sweet, smiling at him.

As expected, he brushed off my objection like a seasoned used car salesman. “Baby, give me just a few minutes of your time. I promise I’ll make them worth it–I want to get to know the future Mrs. Fitzgerald better.” He raised my hand to his nasty lips to place a kiss on it.

Gross. “I didn’t think I’d get a marriage proposal right off the bat.”

Kelly pretended like she didn’t hear a single thing and interjected that she was taking me to the bar to get me loose first and that I’d be better in a bit.

“That dude is a fucking freak,” she murmured in my ear as she pulled me away from him.

“Observation or experience?”

“Both. come on.”

Conversations and eerie laughter swirled around us as we moved through the crowd. No one cared about the tragic ending to someone’s life. It’s like they were celebrating it.

“Think we should send flowers? Or would a gift card be better?”

“...and you know how it works. Money talks and dead men don’t...”

“...hope no one else opens their mouth. Don’t they know better than...”

Giggles and crunches from food swirled in my ears and my body threatened me again. It would either be vomiting or passing out. Kelly gripped my hand tighter because she heard it all too. Everyone here knew something in one way or another. I was horribly out of the loop and wondered what my mother knew–or thought–of this life that she failed to at least warn me about. She must have had a lot of trust in me before she died. Hope you still have it up there, mom, because I have no idea what I’m doing.

Money talks and dead men don’t played in a loop in my head.

Adrenaline had been pumping through my veins since I stepped foot into the frat party and it showed no signs of slowing down–I needed food. The table in front of me boasted a lot of carbs, and I had a feeling I burned through whatever energy I had left. I nabbed a bunch of snacks.

I kept my voice low. “You heard the same things, right?”

She nodded, eyes peeled on the crowd. Her arms were comfortably crossed over her stomach as she surveyed. “Mhm. Keep your toes out of the water–piranhas everywhere.”

Understanding started coming to me. If I wanted to even stay above water I would have to take her advice in unconventional ways. Last semester, she encouraged me to branch out and I knew this wasn’t what she meant by that, but I needed to take the advice regardless. “I need to start swimming with them.”

She raised an eyebrow. “What are you thinking?”

“The things I heard–I need to know what’s going on. I’m tired of feeling like a child.”

The crowd was still laughing and cheering over a dead potential whistleblower's kid. Whatever food I managed to eat threatened me with resurfacing. We pretended to mingle while keeping our eyes and ears open to where certain people with specific colors of wristbands started to migrate. They looked to be heading to a door in the back guarded by two large, imposing men. Guards. Someone approached them and showed them their wristband to be let in.

I had the most prestigious one. Purple.

I bet I could get in.

“More exclusive area?” she whispered.

“Where we find secrets,” I replied.

We beelined it for the door and were let in with no hassle. Purple wristband.

The atmosphere inside was alien to what the party was. The noise was almost nonexistent–like the walls were designed for it. No flashy lights or loud music. Just clusters of people engaged in hushed conversation and a woman on a harp in the corner.

She looked like a prisoner over there.

I looked around and I saw secrets, business, and lies in the mouths of everyone.

More snippets of conversations wafted by as we waded through the tables and over to the bar.

“...he’s worried about shipments...”

“...no more loose ends tonight...”

“...the scandal needs to be tempered down. Fitzgerald...”

My heart pounded with the conversations. It felt like I wasn’t supposed to be here and everyone would stand up and point me out. Like a nightmare. They’d point me out as an outsider and throw me off the building next.

I wasn’t supposed to be here. I could feel it.

Kelly elbowed me cautiously, nodding over to the corner. Brent was speaking with someone across the room.

“Drinks,” I whispered and turned my attention to the men manning the...stations of sorts.

I wondered what Brent would be discussing in a place like this. He was number one, after all, and his grandfather was the top businessman in the country. You didn’t get there without being in places like this and working with the other top dogs. You also didn’t get there by being a stand up person, ready to make a difference in the ways a commoner would expect. You got there by dealing in money, power– blood .

“Champagne?” The man behind the bar offered out a glass to each of us, his hands covered in white gloves. “We also have something stronger.”

The man at the second station gestured to his bar of sorts. Trays of drugs. Casually displayed for all to use at their convenience. No way this was happening.

Holding my flute, I smiled and declined politely.

“What the fuck do I do?” I kept my voice as low as humanly possible, hoping to avoid any eyes that came my way.

She smoothed out my skirt, looking unbothered. “Drink and observe. The best thing is to watch quietly.”

This was a whole new side to the girl I knew for a large chunk of my life. She was prudent despite the playful side, but she must have her fair share of secrets by how I’ve seen her behave on occasion. Her silence spoke volumes to me now. Our bond seemed to be able to withstand anything, but I sent up a silent prayer that it would survive anything .

We drank in silent observations until Brent inevitably left his conversation and made his way over to us. He accepted a champagne and tucked away a packet of something from the table in his pocket.

“Enjoying the party?” He took a sip of his drink.

Despite the wild events, I felt a form of relief to have two familiar people next to me. “Mhm.”

I couldn’t exactly say I was enjoying the party, right?

“I realized something earlier. You were kept out of things for a reason, but you’re in it now.” He kept his voice hushed enough that I could barely make out what he said.

What the hell did that mean?

He shook his head and smiled. “Not here. You two staying out of trouble?”

“Why would we get into trouble?” Jokester Kelly was back.

“Double trouble, then. Fallon, I’d like to discuss some business with you when you have a chance. My people tell me that you’re being groomed into your leadership position. Our families have a longstanding...relationship. I’d like to keep it,” he looked me up and down like we were back in the bedroom again. “Strong.”

Taking a swig of my drink to clear my throat, I grumbled at him. “I have a meeting with one of my people coming up about current events. I’ll inquire about your request with him.”

“I look forward to it. Shall I have our schedules lined up?” The look on his face said he was enjoying this forced polite interaction. I wanted to punch it.

“Sounds great, Mr. Vaughn. I should probably find my way home now since I have an early morning.” I raised my glass at him and turned back to Kelly.

“Did you just–never mind. I have something I need to do before we can be on our way home. Meet me right outside the front door in twenty.”

Something she needed to do? With whom?

“I’ll be leaving this wonderful room and rejoining the party until then,” I said, inching my way to the door to get the hell out of the uber VIP area.

The outside party jolted me awake when I stepped out. Geez, that room was soundproof. I was relieved to be back out in the main area. Never thought I’d say that. We parted ways and I marched my hungry ass back to where the food was. My small purse was calling for me to squirrel some extras away to have for later.

Say what you wanted about rich people, they had good snacks sometimes.

“You’re a slippery one, aren’t you, baby girl?” He snatched my wrist with even more force this time. His eyes looked glazed over a bit from whatever drug he took and I genuinely feared for my safety.

Alexander. His swagger didn’t compare to Brent’s; he wasn’t as practiced with it. He was a ‘daddy will sue’ type if he didn’t get what he wanted and those guys never carried much charm.

I used my free hand to pop some fruit into my mouth and looked down at my trapped arm. “Right now? Not really.”

His smile grew pitch black. “I could change that, you know.” He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “You and me could be a power couple. Take the world by storm. My soon-to-be power and your company would give us something Chamberlain Industries could never have.”

Got it. Money and power is all these people liked to play with. I smiled at him as sickly sweet as I could manage. “Then you’d have to woo me properly. I’ve heard you’re quite the gentleman, but I’m not seeing it.”

He released my hand and relaxed his shoulders an inch. A small lowering of his guard. “Why didn’t you just say so, baby girl?”

“I just did.” Feigning boredom, I popped another snack into my mouth. If I wanted to make it out of this, I needed to come up with a winning strategy. Because I had to face the fact that his type was willing to kill for what they wanted.

“I love a challenge. Go ahead and play hard to get.” His words sounded more sinister than any movie I’d ever seen. They sounded cruel.

“Well, it was wonderful to meet you tonight. I have an important event I cannot miss.” I nodded politely and excused myself, being careful not to full on sprint in the opposite direction of him.

The guy was a lunatic and the asylum was looking for him.

Kelly was headed to the front door at the same time as me. A good sign that it was time to get the hell out of here and back home where I could pretend I was safe.

Outside, I almost collapsed on the ground from the weight coming off of me. Kelly pulled out snacks and handed me cheese and crackers wrapped in a napkin. Food, my favorite.

My phone pinged.

Unknown: hey blondie

Awesome, I forgot all about that. Brent stole my phone and gave himself my number. Before I could reply, another message came through.

Unknown: see you soon baby girl

Great. I sighed and swiped out of my messages because I was not dealing with either of them.

Kelly looked pensive on the drive back and the driver hopefully enjoyed us being calm passengers. Who knew what the poor rideshare drivers had to deal with on and near campus with the wealthiest kids in the country.

I was just looking forward to being in bed and blissfully knocked out, trying to rid my mind of the garbage swirling in my head. That was the hope, anyway. Sleep might not want me.

“Sit down,” Kelly motioned to the couch after I kicked my shoes off.

“Okay...”

“I need to ask for your discretion.”

My eyes narrowed. “Like an NDA type thing?”

She nodded. “Pinky promise me this does not leave this room.”

We linked pinkies and sealed the deal.

“I know why that guy died.”