The Original Crowd (A Whole New Crowd 0.50)

Seriously?

“What?” Tray yelled angrily.

“Collins and Helms are going at it,” Grant said timidly. He knew full well what he was interrupting.

“For the—,” he cursed. “Go and break it up.”

“We got another situation.”

“What?”

“Um…Mandy’s locked herself in your parent’s bedroom. She won’t let anyone in.”

I let out a deep breath of air then started getting dressed. I called out, “I’ll be there in a little bit.”

Tray yawned widely, grabbing for his clothes.

“Hey,” I murmured a little uncertainly, “um…thanks for before. You know, with Gentley’s crew.”

He shrugged. “It’s not like the first time Pedlam’s come here and stirred up shit. Gentley’s usually harmless, at least with me, but he’s got it in him to be nasty, and he had that look tonight.”

“Oh.”

“Plus, I didn’t like how he was looking at you,” Tray murmured, leaving the room.

That surprised me. Neither of us had made any comment about…well…about us. The most we had even acknowledged is that we were screwing around—that was it. There were no emotional ties that went w

ith a relationship, but his statement hinted at one—slightly. Then again, Tray was particularly cautious about anyone who didn’t live in Rawley. He considered Rawley his and from I’ve seen—it was.

Which still made me wonder how he’d accomplished that.

Gentley didn’t own Pedlam. He might run the school now, but he didn’t run the town. Jace ran everything else. And, I guess, Brian was trying to get some of that action. But Gentley never wanted to go against Jace. For one, Crispin was just a high school student. Jace had graduated a couple years back, but Jace got a world-class criminal education.

And Jace was just intelligent as hell. Gentley was not. Neither was Brian. They couldn’t match him.

But Tray.

Tray was different. He ran a different game, and I hadn’t figured it out yet. Not that I was actively trying to figure out his secrets. I really was trying to get out and live my life.

Which reminded me…Mandy.

It was much later in the night, but the party was still going strong. A lot of people were sitting outside at the patio tables, enjoying the night’s warmness. There was a slight breeze in the wind.

I grinned at Trent, seeing him at a table with Sasha on his lap. He flashed a smile at me before commenting to someone at the table they were sitting sat at. Amber was there too, with Bryce. Justin Travers was glaring at Trent, which—of course—didn’t even faze Trent.

Devon and Jasmine were there, wrapped around each other. Huh, guess the couple decided to go public.

Slipping through the hallway, I circled to the stairs and climbed upwards.

The place was just huge, which said a lot because it was currently crawling with people. I could just imagine it without people in every inch.

I spotted a large double door at the end of the hallway. They looked extravagant, so I figured I might’ve gotten the right room.

Plus, Honey was outside the door, speaking into it, “Can I get you anything, Mandy?”

No answer.

I moved to her side.