the dorms was a major adjustment. I’ve been doing nothing but navigating different waters since I matriculated into Saint Clary’s, but now there’s Wyatt, Stone, and Lucas, too.
“We got subs,” Stone offers, sliding his sunglasses off and setting them on the table. He eyes the contract in my hand, but he doesn’t say anything. It feels like we’re miles away from where we were yesterday when he had his hands on me. “We didn’t know what you liked, so we bought a bit of everything.”
It definitely looks like they bought a tray big enough for a huge party. I’ve had lunch meat before, but I’ve never had them on sub rolls. Just plain old white bread for me and Dad, and lots of times, we didn’t even have mayonnaise or anything like that to put on it. I suppose by Wyatt’s standards, that means I was neglected.
I’m itching to ask where he is, but I can’t quite bring myself to do it. I shouldn’t want to know. In fact, I’m a little terrified at seeing him next because I don’t want to get in a fight again, I certainly don’t want him to keep pushing me.
“What do you suggest?” I ask Stone.
He almost reels back. Almost. He catches himself so he only looks slightly flummoxed. Still, I take pride in knowing I’ve surprised him again. He picks up one of the sandwiches and hands it to me. “This is what I like. Do you want to try it?”
I nod, peeling the wrapper down. I don’t even check what’s in the sandwich before biting down. I figure I’d rather not know in case the looks of it deters me from eating. I chew, and at first, it’s really good. I smile and give Stone a thumbs up but in the next moment, I chomp down on something hot. As fuck. My eyes widen, and I start to choke. I can’t help but spit out the taste that’s in my mouth and even then, my tongue is on fucking fire.
Stone chuckles in front of me. I want to hurl his dumb sandwich at him, but I keep coughing. Lucas hurries over to the outdoor sink, pouring me a drink of water and then bringing it over so I can down it. When I finally regain my composure, I ask, “What in the hell was that?”
Stone takes the sub from me, chuckling. “They’re called peppers.”
“Dear God. They’re fucking awful.”
He hands me another sub, telling me it’s tamer, and then laughs as he takes a huge bite out of the sub I gave back to him.
I grumble at him, this time opening up the sub he gave me to see what’s in it, so I don’t have a repeat of what just happened. Instead, I’m happy to see that there’s ham, cheese, lettuce, and mayonnaise on this one. Plain Jane. I guess that’s the way I like it.
“You could’ve started her out with a little less heat,” Lucas says, rolling his eyes as he sits next to me.
I hungrily eat the sub in my hands. One, because it tastes good, but two, because it helps tame the fire that’s still raging inside my mouth.
“I’ll keep that in mind for next time,” Stone says. “I forget that she hasn’t...” He trails off, peeking at me like he doesn’t want to say the wrong thing which is a brand new look for him. Usually, he doesn’t give a fuck. “...you know, tried stuff before,” he says, all politically correct as if he hasn’t been the biggest douche to me before.
Stone’s phone rings, and he brings it out. He frowns down at it then stands, shoving the chair back. “Fuck,” he roars.
Lucas’s hands flex on the glass table. “What?”
“It’s Wyatt. Goddammit. I knew I shouldn’t have let him go off by himself.” Stone eyes me then Lucas. “We have to go get him.”
“Shit,” Lucas says. “Is he—?”
“Yep.”
Lucas runs his hands through his hair. He takes a sub, then helps me wrap mine up. “Come on, Wild Girl. We have to go save Wyatt.”
30
We’ve been speeding down desert roads for forty-five minutes, my heart in my throat. I’m sitting in the back of the Audi with a fierce grip on the two seats in front of me. Lucas and Stone don’t talk. Stone’s intense concentration on the road is both terrifying yet oddly satisfying since he’s driving like a crazy person, and Lucas has a death grip on the handle above the car door, leaning forward like he