Kings of Anarchy (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #3) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,82

storm.

"Shit, man," Danny said, half laughing, half looking terrified as I waited for the next crash of thunder and the lightning which could decide my fate.

The boom that tore through the clouds overhead was enough to make my bones rattle and I tipped my head back just in time to see a bolt of lightning carve the darkness apart right above my head.

My heart leapt and raced and I came about as close to shitting myself as I ever had in my life before the light faded from the sky and I descended into fits of laughter instead.

A door banged open somewhere behind me and Mila's voice carried over the pouring rain.

"Danny Harper, you get your crazy ass inside this building right now or I'm putting you on a pussy ban for a month!" Mila yelled and I barked a laugh as Danny's face paled.

"That sounds pretty serious, dude," I admitted and he nodded.

"Thanks for the high, man, I'd better run." He turned away and headed for the door and I considered whether or not I was going to keep standing in the storm. That was the only thing about these fucking games we played. Whenever they ended, the rush ended too and I was left with the slow descent back into depression again. But it was usually enough to last me a few days at least.

What I really wanted was to head back and find my girl, kiss her until she was breathless and hold her in my arms all fucking night long. But as she'd been staying in with Saint every damn night so that she could look after him while he healed, I knew there was no chance of that. I mean, it was fair enough, the guy took a bullet and broke bones for her and he was incapable of looking after himself properly, but from a purely selfish point of view it still sucked.

"Blake," Mila called when I stayed where I was, my gaze raking over campus again like I was searching for something. "I think you should come inside now too, you've finished your game and...Tatum would be heartbroken if something happened to you."

I turned to look at her, seeing the hesitance in her eyes as she fought against the desire to speak out on behalf of her friend and the desire not to piss me off. I couldn't help but respect her for it. Most people wouldn't dare to even attempt to tell me what to do. And if I was honest, the girl made some valid points. Now that the initial thrill was over, I was just a douchebag standing in the rain freezing my balls off and getting way too fucking wet anyway.

"Well, as you asked so nicely, Mila, I'll be happy to oblige."

Mila smiled widely and moved aside as I crossed the tiles and headed in after her and Danny.

"You wanna come hang out at the common house?" Danny offered as we dripped our way down the stairs and I shrugged.

"I guess so." There was plenty of booze down there for me to consume and I could use it to ride out the end of this buzz I had going. It sure beat a night alone in my room anyway. "Call the others and let's make it a party. If I'm gonna get drunk I might as well do it in style."

Option number two in my quest to avoid my grief: drink myself into oblivion. Well, who was I to refuse an offer as tempting as that?

T oday things were back to normal. For Saint anyway. Except for me, it was supposed to be a day I spent in an Applebees with Dad and Jess while we ate until our stomachs nearly burst before the staff brought out a cake and started singing. It had been one of the few constants in our lives as kids. Our birthdays. No matter where Dad was working, every state had an Applebees. Even if we had to drive four hours to get to it. And today, I was eighteen. With no family left to share in the tradition and no chance of spending it the way I once had.

Last year, Dad had taken the day off work and driven me to Six Flags for the day, buying fast passes so we could skip all the queues and go on every single ride in the park. We'd had dinner at Applebees and hadn't left until it closed, losing ourself to the memories of the