“The gravy train is ending. As of this party, all the gifts are coming to an end, at least the excessive stuff. Of course, I’ll still celebrate how much I love you guys from time to time, but you’ve all forgiven me, and I no longer feel like I need to buy you guys in a guilt-ridden attempt to earn back the friendship I never lost. If you ever need anything, I’m here, but I’m going to be the president of my dad’s company soon, and the past six months have been one bad financial decision right after the other. I’ve got to be smarter soon, so there you go.”
“Uh, if you’re not paying for shit anymore, I’m out,” Alistair said with a stone serious face, but almost immediately, he cracked a smile. “No, I’m kidding, but seriously, Nathan, thanks for the place. We’ll take it. The cost of living near Yale is expensive. Also, I’m glad you finally figured out that we aren’t going anywhere. We wouldn’t still be here if we thought who you were this past year was who you really are. We knew the stress you were under and decided to see you through it.”
“Don’t get us wrong. You’ve always been an ass,” Colette tacked on, “but not that much of an ass.”
“I’ve felt like so much more of the person I’m supposed to be in these past six months, and that’s thanks to you guys. I promise to be a better friend.”
“Congrats,” Kyle said, slapping a hand on my back. “We’re with you.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
Not long after that, the doorbell rang. We all looked over in the direction of the door, confused at first, but then I exchanged glances with Nikita and then Brayden.
“Um, I’m pretty sure that’s them,” Brayden said. “I’ll go let them in since I invited them.”
“Okay,” I said. “Thanks.”
“Them?” Kyle asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Brayden pulled a last-minute clutch move.”
Everyone fell quiet while we waited, and eventually, Sicily and Cherri came walking through the back door. Sicily was his typical self, but Cherri looked a little closer to normal, wearing light blue jeans, roman sandals, and a striped tank top. It was comforting to see, even though she did still have a punkish scowl on her face.
“Hey,” I greeted, standing up to walk over to them. “Thanks for coming.”
Avery jumped up out of the pool and ran over to stand next to me. “Hi, Cherri! Are you back?”
Cherri looked Avery up and down, and I could see the longing in her face to greet her best friend, but she didn’t. Instead, she looked at me, crossing her arms. “I’m not here to buddy up.” Her tone was closer to the dark Cherri we’d been battling with for the past few months. “I’m here to hear what you have to say about Deon.”
“Deon?” Avery asked.
I could hear the water sloshing behind me as everyone climbed out to walk over. “What about Deon?” I asked.
I’d been battling with whether or not to come clean to Cherri about Deon, but no one knew that I was considering it, not even Nikita.
Cherri shrugged. “I was promised information.”
“By who?” I asked as Nikita reached my side.
Cherri recoiled a little bit. “Brayden.”
“Brayden promised you that? I didn’t tell him anything like that.” I walked around Cherri and into the house. “Brayden?” I poked my head in and out of all the rooms, and Kyle was just behind me, rushing up the stairs. When I was convinced that he wasn’t in the house, I turned around and peered up the stairs. “Kyle?”
Kyle came back to the top of the stairs, looking frustrated. “He’s not up here.”
“We should leave,” Nikita said. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
I heard the footsteps behind us before a man said, “No, you shouldn’t.”
I slowly turned around and saw that one of the two men who had been following us was standing behind Nikita with a gun directly to her head. My whole world screeched to a halt at the look of fear on her face.
The other man took a few steps past them with his gun pointed toward the rest of us. He smiled at me with malice. “Your father sends his regards.”
30
Nikita
Fear was bouncing through me like a loose ball. It was less for myself and more for the rest of my friends. We foolishly believed that we were safe at Nathan’s house. I should have expected that whatever Brayden was up to was nefarious and been more vigilant. I had