Bully King - J.A. Huss Page 0,54

Year’s Eve was downright fun.

Until it wasn’t.

I sigh. But if Cadee notices, she doesn’t say anything.

It’s just a long silent walk.

But then I spy my father. A few moments later my brothers and their wives come out of the mansion. They laugh and linger in the driveway as Cadee and I come out of the woods.

I pull her aside. “Stay here.” I point my finger at her. “You understand me?”

She swats it away, scowling.

“Don’t move.”

I walk out of the woods and greet my brothers and father in the driveway. “What’s going on?”

Dane is shoving shit in the back of the limo as the wives get inside. Tennis racket, duffle bag, backpack. “Vacay, man.”

“What? All of you?”

My oldest brother, Jack, comes up to me and claps me on the shoulder. “I heard you drew the short stick.” He shoots me a lopsided grin. Jack and I have always been close. “Sorry, man.”

“Where are you guys going?”

My father walks up. “Bali.”

“Bali. And I have to stay here? What the hell, Dad?”

“You’re in charge of rush, Christopher.”

Shit. I should’ve called him Father. Now he thinks I just did that on purpose.

“Better luck next summer,” Dane says. Then pulls the limo door closed.

He’s such a dick.

But my father is already climbing in the other side. Only Jack pauses. He leans his hands on the roof of the car and sighs. “Sorry, man. But you know there’ll be a next time. Plus side—you have the entire house to yourself for six weeks.”

“Six weeks! Are you fucking—”

“Have fun!” Jack disappears inside and then the limo pulls forward through our circular driveway. And five seconds later, they’re gone.

Didn’t even look back.

Cadee comes out of the woods. I expect her to say something, but she just walks right past me and heads towards the boat. And I’m kinda grateful for her shunning right now.

I follow. What choice do I have? She’s already climbing in when I arrive at the boat slip. Lars is kicking back on the bench seat and Ax has claimed his chair on the port side.

Which means Cadee will have to sit in front with me.

Or… not. She walks straight over to Lars and he smiles at her and pulls his legs up.

She sits down on the opposite end and they tangle their legs together just like the old days. Like three years haven’t passed. Like nothing happened.

Lars always did like Cadee the most. And in his mind, nothing did happen. He doesn’t know about the abortion. He wasn’t the one who made all the arrangements and drove her to the clinic. He wasn’t the one who had to lie about all of it.

So of course, he still likes her. At least a little. Enough for me to know he’s not on board with the whole Fugling thing. Maybe she’s counting on that? Or maybe he’s planning something else? Maybe he’s thinking about a little reunion?

I catch them laughing as we head out. Like they’re sharing a fantastic joke.

“Hey,” I call back to them over my shoulder. “I figured you’d had enough laughing for one day, Cadee. But if you need more, I can arrange for it to happen again tomorrow.”

“Cooper, shut the fuck up,” Lars yells back. “Her day is over. She’s allowed to fucking relax.”

“Fuck you both,” I mutter as I step aboard and take the driver’s seat.

And then I slide my sunglasses down my face and head across the lake.

By the time I ease the boat into my personal slip at the college marina and turn off the engine, the sun is behind the tall trees, casting this part of campus in dark shadows, even though it won’t set for another hour or two.

Cadee is already hopping off the boat, eager to be away from us. Lars hops out too and catches up with her.

Ax walks over to me. “What do you think that’s about?”

I stare at Cadee and Lars. They are talking. I can tell because they glance over at each other every few seconds as they walk. “I dunno. But he needs to rein it in. We’re not getting involved with her. We’re getting rid of her.”

Ax and I follow behind Lars and Cadee. It’s kind of a long walk over to the little cottage she used to live in years ago. And it’s in the woods, a good way off from the school buildings. So they flash in and out of sight as they walk the narrow dirt path that ends at a small pond.

We can hear the music