Page 22 of Vying Girls (Girls of Hazelhurst #2)

Nic

Cold wood soaks into my arms where I lean on the windowsill. My eyes are on the tops of the pine trees, the only part of them I see against the black sky. They’re spiky, like serrated blades. My legs are jiggling to fuck; I can’t keep still.

In the window, I see his face. I blow out a breath, fogging the glass. I feel him all around me— in me. His rough calloused hands, his rough stubble, his fucking knife. All of it just rough.

You can run but you can’t hide. The line runs through my head like a chant. Except I never hid either. I came here, to a place he’s inextricably tied to. He’s in the walls, stalking the caves, a reaper in the woods.

And it’s not just me he wants to reap.

I hear Tilda’s laughter downstairs. It’s late; they’ll be waiting for me. It’s Wednesday night.

I wasn’t going to bother, but now…

Blakely assured me he’s off the island, barred from The Order, penned onto Hazelhurst’s infamous blacklist.

But she doesn’t know him like I do. He’s tenacious. Will hold a grudge for ten million lifetimes. Never lets go once he’s got his jaws stuck into something.

I can’t let Tilda near his teeth. Just the thought’s enough to make me want to scream. Not fucking Tilda. Jesus. I’ll kill him, fucking kill him. I’ll kill her if it means he can’t get to her.

But I can’t keep her safe alone. I’m going to have to tell them, Haz and Elly. Haz is going to hit the roof. Elly… God, I don’t want them mixed up in my shit. They’re my shields from it, a buffer against the past. They’re the only good things in my life.

I scrub my eyes with the heels of my hands, feeling them sting.

With a disgusted sniff, I push off the window. From my bedside drawer, I find the baggie Skylar gifted me. Blue powder’s pooled into one corner. It looks like pool chalk. I turn it over in my hands, trying to work out what the fuck it is.

Grabbing my phone, I take a photo and send it to her.

What is this shit?

Skylar: The good stuff babes xxx

I huff. Helpful. Whatever. It’s all I’ve got. It’ll do.

Darkening her message, I tap the powder onto the screen. Takes me a frustrating minute to find something to shoot it with. Then I sit on the edge of my bed as I wait for it to kick in.

I blow out a long breath when it does. Well, it’s not coke, that’s for sure. But it’s not bad either.

Feeling the storm calm inside, I brush blue dust from my phone before thumbing open the house group chat.

Time to get this over with.

Tilda

Comfy on the sofa, I grin at Haz executing power poses in the middle of the lounge floor. Elly’s there supporting her, running her hands over Haz’s taut muscles, playing at squeezing them. Music blares from Nic’s speakers, thumping through my head as I nurse my one and only cider.

After Anarchy, I’ve not been in the mood to get fucked up. Probably my poor liver needing a break.

Haz catches my eyes, making sure I’m watching her. Kind of hard not to. She’s in black cargos and a muscle T, a chunky silver chain around her neck. I swear her arms are bigger than when I first moved in. Girl’s been working hard.

I sip my drink slowly, knowing just how hard all those muscles can get, especially when she’s holding her weight above me in bed. I’m dying to see more of her. Craving it. All this extended foreplay is killing me.

Poor Elly. I watch her take phone pics at Haz’s insistence, always happy to help. Now I know how she’s felt all this time.

Growing bored of showing off, Haz collapses on the sofa beside me. I feel a shiver go through me. I’m only in denim shorts and a tucked in baggy t-shirt. Not allowed to have the heating on now it’s getting on in the year. Nic’s rules.

Reaching across the sofa, I pull a blanket on my lap.

‘Yo, Tilda.’

I turn back to Haz, flinching when she shoves her phone in my face. Taking her wrist, I move it so the words on the screen focus.

Nic: House meeting. Now. Tilda too.

Haz grins smugly. ‘Can’t tell me you’re not fucking now.’

I roll my eyes. ‘Can.’

We’re all sitting on the sofa when Nic shows up. I watch her almost hungrily, no longer dreading being in the same room with her. I feel high whenever I catch a glimpse of her now, it’s so bloody rare. Nearly fell over when I heard she was pregaming with us tonight.

She turns off the music, the resulting silence ringing in my head. Plonking herself down on the coffee table, she looks at us in turn before quickly dropping her eyes.

My heart sinks. There’s no mistaking the bloodshot whites of them, nor her blown pupils. Would have thought she’d just had a crying sesh if I didn’t know better.

She jiggles both legs, clearly working up to say something. Something that’s doing a great job of spiking my blood pressure.

‘Nic.’ Haz leans forward, trying to see her face again. ‘Have you taken something?’

Nic shrugs one shoulder, refusing to meet her eyes.

‘Fuck’s sake!’ Haz stands, kicking the table leg. ‘What the fuck, Nic?!’

Nic sighs wearily. ‘Haz, sit the fuck down and let me do this.’

‘No, I won’t, fucker. Why are you taking that shit again?’

‘Haz...’ I take her hand, rubbing her soothingly with my thumb.

She stares down at me, jaw working. After a moment, she sighs and sits back down. She keeps my hand in hers, agitating my fingers.

Nic’s staring at me when I look back. Her eyes flit down to our hands, then dart away.

‘Damien’s here,’ she says without preamble.

There’s a pause before Haz spits, ‘What?’

‘He was at my last meet. Society one. Says there’s shit on at home and he needs my help.’

‘Fuck that! I’ll kill the fucker!’

‘Wait.’ Elly holds up her hands. ‘I’m lost.’

‘Damien’s my cousin. He—he— fuck.’ Nic stands with a harsh sigh, turning her back.

I put a hand on Elly’s leg. ‘He’s the one who hurt her,’ I explain quietly.

Elly opens her mouth to speak, then peeks at Nic and thinks better of it. I kiss her hand for her thoughtfulness.

Haz spreads her palms impatiently. ‘What does the bastard need help with?’

Nic returns to the table, scrubbing her face with her hands. ‘Don’t know. We didn’t get that far.’

‘You’re not doing shit for him. He can go the fuck to hell.’

‘Yeah, so that’s the other problem.’ Nic raises her head and very deliberately catches my eyes. My heart beats faster at that look, a sense of apprehension filling me. ‘He said if I don’t comply, he’ll come after Tilda.’

‘Mother fucker!’ Haz punches her fist into her palm, the harsh sound making me jump.

‘What does that mean?’ I ask, unsure if I really want to know.

Nic shakes her head. ‘Nothing good.’

‘Maybe he’s bluffing?’ Elly says.

‘Damien doesn’t do idle threats.’

‘Yeah, well, neither do I.’ Stretching out her arms, Haz cracks her knuckles. ‘Bring it on, you bastard.’

‘This isn’t a fucking game,’ Nic snaps. She lifts her eyes to mine, something wild in them that’s not the drugs.

She’s frightened. And that in turn frightens me.

‘It’s either I see him, or Tilda gets hurt.’

‘You mean, either you get hurt or Tilda gets hurt?’ Haz scoffs. ‘I pick option three. The one where he gets hurt.’

‘Same,’ Elly says.

‘Nic.’ I duck my head, trying to catch her eyes again. ‘What would he do to me?’

She just shakes her head, something helpless in it. Weird seeing her like this. Powerless and afraid. For once not hating me but someone else instead.

‘He ain’t doing shit to you.’ Haz pinches my jaw, pulling my face around. ‘You listening? He’s not touching you. Either of you.’

‘We’ll watch out for you, babe,’ Elly says. ‘You’re with us pretty much all the time anyway. And Nic’s with you at hockey.’

‘Great,’ I huff. ‘And how long’s that gonna go on for? Where even is he? Still on the island?’

‘Wouldn’t put it past him,’ Nic replies.

Standing up, she disappears into the kitchen where I hear the clanging of glass and glugging liquid.

Yeah, great. Get fucked up, that’ll help the situation. And should she even be mixing drugs and alcohol?

She doesn’t come back into the lounge with her drink, remaining in the archway as Haz and Elly go on.

She looks away every time I meet her eyes.

This cowed version of Nic disturbs me more than the hostile one. A child-grooming rapist is never going to be the nicest of guys, and she’s obviously heavily triggered by his unexpected presence, but just what does he have planned for me if Nic doesn’t comply?

I hope to God I never find out.

But equally, I resent Nic having to obey him too.

‘She doesn’t go anywhere without one of us,’ Nic says quietly when the others settle down. ‘Not ever. That starts now.’

Haz nods. ‘Done.’

‘Right.’ She goes back into the kitchen, dropping her empty tumbler into the sink. ‘Let’s head out then.’

‘Really?’ I stay stuck to the sofa. ‘You say all that and we’re just going to go out? I don’t even know what he looks like.’

‘You’ll be fine for tonight. He’ll still be licking his wounds after his round with Blakely.’

‘We should hire her,’ Haz says. ‘She’d make a mint bodyguard.’

‘Absolutely fucking not,’ I reply. ‘I don’t need a bodyguard. Like you said, I’m never alone much.’

‘Make that never.’ Nic picks up her jacket from the armchair and shrugs it on. ‘Now let’s fucking go.’

There’s something comforting about being at the centre of a mass of dancing bodies. Safety in numbers, the heat of them all strangely sedative. So many witnesses if something was to happen. Even Haz and Elly have relaxed. They’ve let me pee alone all night.

I made myself stop at three drinks. I’m just past tipsy but still completely with it. Nic seems to be pacing herself the same. I’ve not seen her with a drink that isn’t water for a while. Then again, she’s probably been snorting shit all night.

Vipers is more packed than usual. Everything’s deceptively quiet outside but the storm’s due to land soon. Lockdown starts at five, just after Friday afternoon lectures. This feels like one final foray before it all goes down.