The Original Crowd (A Whole New Crowd 0.50)

Bryce, Carter, and Tray all remained behind.

A moment of silence filled the air between us before I heard a deep laugh coming from Carter, who had thrown his head back. “Oh, I like you. I really like you.” Passing by, he thumped Tray on his chest and chuckled. “She’s a cold hearted bitch.”

I took it at as a compliment. I heard him walk up the stairs and knock on Mandy’s door.

Bryce stood up, stretching. “Evans, let’s go get a burger.”

Tray, who’d been staring at me steadily, nodded before turning and following him out.

*

Mandy knocked on my door that night, around eleven-thirty, so I was pretty surprised when she told me I had a guest downstairs. Swinging my legs off the bed, I asked, “Who is it?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, but he’s hot. Like really, really hot.”

Before she turned, I saw the shadows underneath her eyes. “You okay?”

“Carter’s staying over,” she said, walking into her room and shutting the door.

I frowned at her bedroom door a moment, seeing the light turn off from underneath the door.

Walking down the stairs, I halted abruptly seeing Jace casually leaning in the doorway, looking like he owned the place.

“Hey,” I said softly, crossing over to him, stopping a few feet away, uncertain.

“Hey.” He attempted a grin, but it came out more a frown.

“So…”

“You told him, huh,” he stated.

“Uh…” It wasn’t often when I was short for words, but Jace had effectively made me speechless. He’d had the effect on me for a long time, ever since Brian and I first became friends in the fourth grade. He’d already been famous in the eighth grade, he was the Lanser that everyone knew was either in detention or skipping school. He was the number one hated student by all faculty in middle school and high school. I’d always had a crush on him, but Jace was just too much, at least for me. He was too much for anyone, even the cops.

“He’s on a rampage, Taryn.” He sighed, looking exhausted. He sighed, looking exhausted.

“I should’ve called. I’m sorry.”

“Ben called, but a little warning would’ve helped,” he said dryly.

“It was the only…”

“I know.” He sighed. “And the shit of it is that I don’t even know if this will do it. He’ll be back in a few months, doing all the same shit again. He’ll compartmentalize it somehow, make a way where you and me together doesn’t affect him, had nothing to do with him…I don’t know. He’ll be back.”

“I’m sorry, Jace,” I said softly, meaning it.

“He and I—that’s been broken for a long time. And we’re done, there’s no going back with us, but hell…there hasn’t been for a long while.”

“You don’t know that…” I said half-heartedly, because we both knew it was true.

“Come on, Tar, Bri’s hated me all my life. He grew up hating me. Our dad made sure of that.”

“What happened tonight?”

“Threw a few punches, that’s it really. Cam got in the middle, had to take her to the hospital.”

“Oh God. Is she okay?”

“She’ll be fine.” He shrugged. “More worked up about you and me. Heads up, by the way, she’s gunning for you.”