Tainted Blood (37 page)

“Thanks,” I said, forcing another smile. “But Oliver’s working.” Carter had stepped into my view, waiting for Kiera at the apartment door.

“You can still go,” Kiera told me with that same bright smile. I glanced at Carter and wished I could read his mind or at least project my thoughts to him because I really wanted him to make her stop asking me questions.

“That’s okay,” I said. “Maybe next time?”

“Okay.” she said cheerfully as she straightened, which did not make her much higher than she had been leaning over the couch.

I spent most of the day curled up on the couch, alone in the apartment, texting Oliver over and over and staring at my phone, desperately waiting for a response that never came.

Later that evening, when Kiera returned, she was a hot ball of anger as she burst through the door. “Your boyfriend’s a jerk!” she shouted as she slammed the door behind her.

I bolted upright from where I was on the couch. “What’s going on?” I asked quickly. A million things were running through my mind and I couldn’t settle on one reason why Kiera would be upset with Oliver.

“We just ran into Oliver downstairs in the parking lot,” she said, her hands balled into angry fists.

I jumped up. “He’s here?”

“He was!” she snapped. “He and Carter just left with Avery!”

“What?” I breathed and it felt like it might be the last breath I’d ever take.

“Carter said something about having to go with him,” she grumbled. “Just because he sees that Oliver thinks he can have both…” she stopped and my eyes settled on hers. She knew something was going on between Avery and Oliver, and as badly as I wanted to know how she knew, all that came out was, “Ouch.”

“Sorry.” She looked away from me.

“How do you even know about that?”

Very quietly she said, “Zoey told me.” Her eyes flicked to mine for a moment. “I’m kind of hurt that you didn’t tell me.”

I felt anger boiling inside of me. Somehow Zoey always knew the town gossip and this time I was the topic. Or, at least my boyfriend was. My body tensed as I responded in a tone that resembled an angry growl, “First off, what is going on in my love life is nobody else’s business, and second, this is NOT about you!”

She opened her mouth to respond and I put a finger up to shush her. I’d gotten a text and I couldn’t read it fast enough. It was one run on message from Carter and it took me a moment to decipher it.

With o going to a party tell f

“He’s with Oliver,” I thought out loud. That much I already knew. Going to a party…? “Ashton!” I shouted. “They’re going to Ashton’s party! Let’s go!” I grabbed Kiera’s hand and my keys, and we ran to my car.

“Why are we going to Ashton’s party?” she called after me as I tugged her along the pathway.

I didn’t answer, I just ran with my friend in tow. I didn’t even think about telling Gwen and Vance that I was leaving, and I didn’t call Felix like the last part of Carter’s cryptic message had told me to do. I’d even forgotten to put on shoes. I just left. I knew where Oliver was and I needed to get to him. I needed to get to him as soon as possible.

I sped toward Ashton’s frat house as the stars began to appear in the sky. We could hear the party before we could see it. The sound of the throbbing music blared down the street. We found parking spot two houses down,
and I had to bust out my parallel parking skills to squeeze into a space between a couple of cars.

I was out of the car with my keys in my hand only seconds after killing the engine. I spied Avery’s powder blue, convertible, VW Beetle parked across the street from Ashton’s fraternity house and I suddenly felt raw and vulnerable.

Music poured from the oversized house. It was a large, white, two-story block of a building with several windows across the top and bottom floors. The fraternity symbol loomed over the porch.

I’d been in this house once, briefly, the previous year. It was when Ashton was being the sweetest thing in the world and had been trying to convince me that he had grown up—that he had changed. I knew that was never going to happen. I was pretty sure I knew that then, too. It was all a ruse to get me to go out on a date with him, that and probably more.

Kiera stayed close to me as I walked shoeless across the front lawn toward the house. Beer cans and alcohol bottles littered the yard along with discarded items of clothing. I was cautions not to step on any pieces of broken glass.

The double doors were wide open. Passing several people who lingered on the porch, we stepped inside were assaulted by a variety of smells—mostly smoke and beer. The smoke was instantly nauseating, and I was pretty positive that it wasn’t just cigarette and cigar smoke.

Kiera looped her arm through mine, and I dragged her along as we pushed our way through the crowd of people. I glanced up the stairway leading to the second floor as we passed by.
It was cluttered with people, and I was hoping I wouldn’t have to go up there, and even more,
I was hoping Oliver wouldn’t be up there if I did.

A group of Ashton’s jock friends ogled at us as we passed by them. A few of them hooted and one of them called out, “Heard you’re back on the market, Laney!”

I bit my lip to prevent myself from screaming at him and making an ass of myself. I persevered as the bile rose in the back of my throat. My list of people I’d like to beat the crap out of was getting longer as we made our way to the back of the house.

We reached the backroom, and it was just as crowded as the rest of the place. I got lost in my thoughts: thinking of ways I could take Ashton’s life, how Avery would be next, and then probably Zoey for having the nerve, as my friend, to allow me to end up on her rumor mill.

The backroom had a pool table in the center with fat, leather lounge chairs along the walls. Just about every seat contained a drunken couple groping each other. We stopped near the entrance to the kitchen, and as I looked around the room, trying to find Oliver and Carter, I realized that this party seemed…trashy. The one I’d been to the previous year was much smaller and there was very little drinking. And I didn’t recall couples writhing all over one another, either. It made me wonder if the previous party had been all part of his ploy. Part of the “I’ve changed,” “I’ve grown up,” ruse. Because the current party made more sense in the world of Ashton. I’d been had.

I caught sight of Ashton then. He was seated in one of those big, leather chairs near a girl that was dancing with a floor lamp like it was a stripper pole. Ashton had a drink in one hand and a girl in his lap, but his eyes were on me. I was pretty sure the dancing girl was trying to get his attention, as was the one draping herself around him, kissing on him from his lap, but his focus stayed on me. He raised his plastic, blue party cup—like the one I’d peed in—to me with a cocky smile.

My anger boiled. I needed away from him before my rage escalated and I tried to take him out in front of all of those people. Fortunately for Ashton, lamp-dancing-girl’s “pole” wasn’t bolted to anything and she and the lamp toppled to the floor. Some people pointed and laughed but no one helped her up. Ashton was distracted by her and was laughing with the other meatheads, so Kiera and I took that moment to flee from the room.

The kitchen was large and white with cabinets and counters lining every wall. There was a massive island in the center and every inch of counter space was covered by someone’s butt or empty alcohol cans containers. An arm waving high in the air caught my eye. It was Carter. He was across the kitchen, motioning us over. I saw his lips moving but I couldn’t make out what he was saying because it was too loud to hear him. Either that or I’d gone deaf from the rage pulsating through me.

I spotted Oliver and Avery and I shoved my way through the kitchen to get to them. In a very dimly lit area of the kitchen, Avery was leaning with her back against a row of cabinets and Oliver was
way
too close to her. His arm was rested over her head and he was leaning into her. She was smiling up at him seductively and running her sleazy fingers up the front of his shirt.

I’m not sure if I yelled before I reached them or if it all came out when I got there, but either way it got their attention and both of their expressions changed. Avery’s looked victorious and Oliver’s was more or less total confusion.

“Laney,” he said, seeming caught off guard. “What are you doing here?” He stood upright, dropping his arm from above Avery’s head and she seemed disappointed by his distance from her.

“What am I doing here?” I shouted, hands on my hips and everything. “What the hell are
you
doing here?” He blinked at me a few times and I glowered at him.

“Ignore her,” Avery told him, and as she reached for his hand to pull him closer his focus returned to her.

“Hey!” I screamed. “Get your sleazy-ass hands off my boyfriend!” I smacked her hand away and Oliver frowned at me. I saw Ashton round the corner just then and he stayed in the distance, watching what was unfolding. It only fueled my anger. Oh, and by the way, Avery had just moved to the number one slot on
my who-to-kill-first list
. Oliver was in second place.

Avery laughed and twisted a chunk of her bleached hair. “Your boyfriend, Laney? We both know you can’t keep a boyfriend.” She smirked wickedly at me and continued, “Oliver was just telling me how available he is.” Part of me was stunned. Avery was sneaky, not ballsy, and I figured whatever was affecting Oliver was probably affecting her, too, but I didn’t care. She wrapped her hand behind his neck and began to pull him close to her again. Her lips aiming for his.

Jealousy is a funny thing; it sneaks up on you without warning and takes you by surprise.

I lunged for Avery and I got a swing in, actually made contact too, before Oliver stopped me and pushed me back. I was aware of Carter and Kiera right behind me. I felt angry and…powerful. I wanted to beat the shit out of her right then and there, and I didn’t care about the consequences as long as my rage was fulfilled.

I saw Ashton step forward with a beer bottle in hand, sporting a really stupid muscle shirt, and I pointed at him. “Don’t even!” He put his hands up in surrender and took a step back. I knew he and Avery had something to do with what was going on with Oliver. I just knew it!

Avery was holding her mouth with both hands. She pulled her hands away and her lip was bleeding. I saw Oliver’s eyes go completely black and I acted quickly. I drew back my hand, and with a strength I didn’t even know I was capable of, I slapped Oliver across the face with such force that his head snapped sideways.

Even over the noise, I heard Carter say, “Whoa,” in total amazement.

Oliver’s dark stare focused on me and all that strength and power I felt was quickly washed away.

Oh, shit!

“Get to the car!” I yelled to my friends and I began backing away from the sinister glare I was receiving from Oliver. I bumped past a stunned Carter and a scared Kiera. “Get to the car!” I screamed again, and this time Carter took Kiera’s hand and pushed past the crowd with me right behind them.

I didn’t make it as far as my friends, though. Oliver rushed forward, grabbed me, threw me over his shoulder, and carried me out of the house. I pounded on his back and screamed for him to put me down. He dropped me to my bare feet once we were out the front door and glared down at me. I challenged him with my own scowl.

Carter’s fingers wrapped around my arm, and with Kiera hanging onto the cast on his other arm, he said, “Laney, let’s get out of here.”

Oliver’s dark, disconcerting eyes flicked to Carter for a very quick moment. “Yeah, why don’t you leave with the loyal dog?” he said in a low, menacing voice. His fangs were out. I was in danger a little voice in the back of my head reminded me. I really didn’t care.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Avery, in her two-sizes-too-small jeans and super-low-cut sweater, step out onto the porch. “Oliver,” she called to him. Her voice was sickly-sweet over the music. It made my ears want to throw up and I felt my rage pulsing harder, faster.

Oliver turned to her and it felt like I died inside.

I let Carter pull me away from the house. Away from Oliver.

My hands were clamped tightly on the steering wheel. I was visibly shaking. Carter flipped the passenger seat forward and Kiera slid into the backseat. Carter put the seat back into place and climbed in beside me.

“You want me to drive?” he asked.

I shook my head fiercely. I shoved the key into the ignition and started the car, making the engine scream as I did so. I took a deep breath and tried to steady my hands.

“Did you call Felix?” Carter asked softly. I think he might have been afraid he’d set me off.

I shook my head in response.

“Laney!” he shouted. I guess he wasn’t too worried about setting me off any longer.

“What’s going on?” Kiera asked.

I didn’t respond to either of them. My focus was elsewhere. I threw my car into reverse and punched the gas, causing us to slam into the car behind us.

“Laney!” Kiera shrieked from the back seat.

I didn’t care. It had the effect I’d wanted. It had gotten Oliver’s attention. But only for a moment. He’d been walking to Avery’s car with her. They were too close, again. Avery was touching him, hanging on him, and he was paying her too much attention. He was just about drooling over her!