Page 19 of Rebel

“Wouldn’t you do the same if someone messed with your sister?” Chase’s voice followed me.

My sister was still a kid. Barely a teenager. Arwen was spoiled. A pampered princess who wouldn’t know the first thing about taking care of herself.

“If someone messed with my sister,” I said without looking back. “I’d fucking kill them.”

Chase didn’t respond. I left him there to decide for himself how far he wanted to take this. I didn’t want to hurt the guy. Truth be told, I wanted nothing at all to do with him. He could either stay out of my way or find out what happens to those who fucked with me. His choice.

Outside in the yard, our parents were engrossed in conversation. Talking about work and who knows what else? Boring shit. Arwen nagged my mom to let her go home. She wanted to game with her friends online. After annoying my parents enough, my father told her to just go then. Like I said, spoiled.

I wandered over to where Storm stood near the hot tub gnawing her lip. “Trying to think up a way to bail out? I’m sure we can find a way to pass the time before the party.”

“I’m not going to your stupid party. I have better things to do.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re probably too busy trying to get that stick out of your ass,” I quipped. “How long have you been working on that?”

I wasn’t ready for it when she shoved me. It caught me off guard, knocking me off balance. I fell backwards into the hot tub, the hot water engulfing me. When I surfaced, all four of our parents were staring in our direction.

“Oh my gosh.” Diane flew out of her chair, a hand pressed to her chest. “Are you okay, Rebel? What happened?”

“He tripped,” Storm answered quickly. “I tried to grab him, but it happened so fast.”

Devious little brat. I would certainly have my revenge.

“Right. I tripped. Clumsy me.” As I climbed out of the hot tub, I shot Storm a look that promised payback.

“Get him a towel, Storm. Don’t just stand there.” Diane flapped a hand for Storm to take action.

“No, it’s cool. Don’t worry about it. I’ll just hop the fence to my place and dry off there. I need to change my clothes. Thank you so much for dinner. It was really good.” I flashed my best smile and headed for the fence separating our yards.

Grabbing the top of the fence, I pulled myself up and over. Once I landed in my own yard, my smile faded, my shoulders stiffening. Storm was going to regret that.

Luckily, my phone was water resistant. I pulled it from my pocket on my way into my house. Stripping down, I strode down to my bedroom in my underwear. Well, that was one way to get out of staying and making nice.

It was well after dark when I got ready to head to the graveyard. Remembering what Storm said about not coming, I sent her a DM on Instagram. I didn’t have her number yet. I would have to soon rectify that.

My message included the graveyard address only. Her reply came sooner than expected.

“A perfect place for you to drop dead.”

Wow. That was harsh. Didn’t she know that every nasty word she spoke only encouraged me? Surely she knew the game she played. Storm could deny it all she wanted but I knew she enjoyed this as much as I did.

“Come to the party or I’ll be climbing into your bedroom tonight.”My reply was seen but no response came. Fine with me. She would soon see that I didn’t make empty threats.

By the time I arrived at the graveyard, the party was well underway. People filled the property, including the church. Lanterns hung from the trees to cast the graveyard in a warm, dim glow. Coke was snorted off old and broken headstones while people fucked anywhere and everywhere. Two guys threw punches at the back near the tree line while others cheered them on. Some people only came for the fights. Our parties were well known for them.

I did my best to keep my mind off Storm. I did shots with my friends and even partook in a fight to let off some steam. Nothing like throwing some punches to get the blood pumping and release pent up energy. Too bad the Venom guys hadn’t dared to crash. They usually made an appearance. A fight with one of them always ended bloody.

As the hours crawled by, it became increasingly clear that Storm wasn’t going to show. Someone wanted me to come to her bedroom tonight. Why else would she call my bluff?

Perched on top of a headstone, I pulled out my phone and checked her Instagram story. Then I checked out Athena’s as well. I was able to determine that the two of them had gone to a local music hall to check out a band. That was fine. I could wait. She had to go home sometime.

“Shit, Rebel, what’s your obsession with that girl?” Auryn leaned in to look over my shoulder at my phone. “You need to fuck her already and move on. Or fuck someone else so you can stop thinking about her.”

He nodded to the many women getting drunk and high all around us. Hailey, the girl Storm had seen me with on campus, caught my eye and smiled. Shit. All it took was a second of eye contact to make her head my way.

“I don’t want to fuck anyone else,” I said, shoving Auryn. “Help me get rid of Hailey.”

“You’re on your own with that one, man.” He snickered, knowing how annoying Hailey could be. “Good luck.”

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