Page 61 of Black Hearts
Stella harrumphed. “What fun is life if you’re not a monster?”
I didn’t hear what Vaughn’s response to that was, because Theo was busy asking me, “Do you want breakfast? I’m not as good of a cook as Ed, but I can whip something up. You must be hungry.”
“If you want to, sure,” I said, and he squeezed my hand one more time before letting it go, heading into the kitchen area to cook me something. As much as today was momentous, eating a solid meal was still very important. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day. Wasn’t that what they said?
Who, exactly, said it in the first place, I had no idea.
Someone approached me, the smell of smoke coming closer, alerting me to who it was. “So,” Travis spoke, his blue eyes sparkling as he eyed me up and down, “you’re the reason behind this whole thing, huh? You were at that party. We didn’t have a chance to talk, you and I.” He took a drag from his cigarette. “You’ve got a merry band of psychos around you. I bet you never have a dull moment.”
Just from the way he talked, I could tell he was much like Markus in his intensity. There was something about him, about those crisp, clear blue eyes, that pulled you in. I found myself wanting to know more about this particular Scott.
Someone put an arm over my shoulders and hugged me close, pulling me away from Travis. I turned my head and saw Will. He grinned at Travis, but I could tell that grin was tight, not quite fully genuine.
“Don’t tell me you’re trying to steal my girl again, Trav,” Will spoke. He sounded like he was joking, but I could feel the tension in his body. He didn’t like being here with Travis. Their history was not the best, and I couldn’t believe it took me until that moment to remember just how muddled their past was.
Travis was the one who had brought Will to Markus, because they were both in love with the same girl, and Will had snapped.
A smirk grew on Travis’s face. “I think you’ve got things turned around in that head again.” Ashes from his cigarette fell, but they were nothing but dust by the time they reached the floor. He looked at me again. “She isn’t my type, anyway. I got my own pretty blond.” He chuckled, a dark, taunting sound, and then he walked away.
Will and I watched him go for the door. He wasn’t going to stay, I guess, which was probably for the best. I could feel the relief flooding Will the very second he left us, and I couldn’t blame Will for being so on-guard when Travis was near.
I turned to Will. “Are you okay?” Though we weren’t alone, everyone else was knee-deep in their own conversations, not paying attention to us or the tiny exchange between Travis and Will.
His brown eyebrows had furrowed, and he stared off into space for a while.
I didn’t know if he’d heard me, so I lifted a hand to his cheek and forced his face to angle toward mine. I repeated myself, “Are you okay, Will? That couldn’t have been easy.” At least, I imagined it wasn’t easy. If I ever saw my father again… that would definitely not be an easy conversation to have.
He blinked, and suddenly he was back in his own head. He took the hand from his cheek and moved it to his chest, holding it there. “Yeah, yeah, sorry. I’m fine. It’s just… a bit of a flashback, and not the good kind. Travis doesn’t come back to the house that much. He’s out in the field. But when he does, I tend to avoid him, for obvious reasons.” His voice quieted, “Seeing him makes me remember… everything I did. I’m not proud of what I did, but I wouldn’t take any of it back.” He paused, giving me a gentle grin. “Because it brought me to you.”
Will always had a way with words. I’d give him that. He always found the right things to say. Maybe that’s why I’d fallen for him in spite of everything he’d done, not only to his last girlfriend, but to me. There was something so magnetic about him.
His top half bent, his intent to give me a kiss, but mere seconds before his mouth was set to press against mine, Jaxon’s sarcastic tone interrupted: “So sorry to interrupt, but do you think Theo would cook me something up, too?”
Will pulled away from me with a scowl. “Why don’t you ask him yourself? We’re kind of in the middle of something here.” Ah, the rivalry was back. Yesterday night’s escapades hadn’t fixed the bridge between them.
“I will, but I just wanted to fuck with you a bit.” Jaxon smirked, took me by the hand and pulled me closer to him. Before Will could object, he planted a heated kiss on my lips. It was over before I could blink, and yet it had still stolen the air out of my lungs. The tender expression he gave me turned mockingly innocent when he looked at Will again. “She’s all yours, buddy.”
Will seethed a bit. However, he didn’t have the chance to say anything, because someone else had popped up next to me, muttering, “That fucking guy, huh?” Bennet sounded like he was taking a page out of Jaxon’s book, doing it just to fuck with Will. He slipped an arm around my lower back and brought me to him. The next thing he said was definitely addressed to me, “So I heard you had both Jaxon and Will last night. What the fuck, Juliet? Am I fucking chopped liver or something?”
Will snapped out of it, saying, “Hey! We were having a moment.”
“And you can have your moment again after Juliet tells me why she chose you and Jaxon when she could’ve had me.” Bennet’s voice lowered to a bare whisper, and he bent his head to say this next part directly into my ear, “We’re overdue for another chase. When we get back to the house, I want to hunt you again.” He nipped at my earlobe, making me shiver, and just like that, he released me.
My legs were pretty much goo. Don’t ask me how I still stood on my own two feet after that.
As Will glared at him, Bennet shrugged. “What? Jaxon told me to follow his lead, so I did. Had to see if you’re really playing as nice as you claim.” He chuckled, as if knowing he and Jaxon had irked him.
“I’m good,” Will breathed out, though he also bared his teeth the entire time. “I’m as cool as a fucking cucumber.”
Both Bennet and I stared at Will like he’d just spoken an alien language. Bennet spoke first, “That’s fucking weird, dude. Fucking weird.” And then he trailed after Jaxon to the kitchen, probably for food.
To me, Will said, “What? I’m good. I’m good. I can handle that. I’m not itching to kill anyone—” He had started to ramble, and based on his tone, he was so sarcastic I knew he was lying.
I grabbed his shirt, pulled him down to me and kissed whatever else he was going to say away. I didn’t stop kissing him until I felt the tension in his body lessen, and when I released him, I asked, “Better?”
Will gave me a goofy smile. “Much better. Maybe we should do it again, just to be sure.”
I giggled, but before he could come in for a second kiss, someone spoke with utter disdain, “You all disgust me.” Will and I turned to the owner of said voice: Markus. He must’ve watched the whole thing: from Theo to Travis to Will to Jaxon and Bennet, and back to Will again. “I don’t understand what you see in them that you’re willing to fight for them so much.”
