All the Little Lies (English Prep 1)

She bounced back on the heels of her feet. “I jumped then, and I can jump now!”

She is so fucking infuriating and hot and sexy and…

I moved her quickly, spinning her around my back. Pushing her away, I leaned one leg out the window, the wood resting under my weight, then the other. My chest broke out in goosebumps from the crisp autumn air. “Once I land, jump, and I’ll catch you. Then, we run like hell.”

“What about Piper?”

“Ollie will take care of her. Now let’s go.”

I jumped and held my breath as I braced for landing. Jumping for Hayley. How did I end up here? Once I felt the ground below me, I tucked and rolled, jumping back to my feet quickly. The jump wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought. I glanced up and saw the light around Hayley’s head appear when she slipped back from the window. Then, I saw her legs, and within a second, she was jumping from the window.

She landed in my arms with a whoosh, and I couldn’t help but notice how her hands automatically wrapped around my neck. Perfect. Our bodies fit together like that was how we were meant to be for life.

“Let’s go.” I put her back on her feet and grabbed her hand. We ran like hell through the darkness. Thankfully, I parked at the end of the gravel road since we were the last to get here, which would make it easy to leave.

Hayley ran alongside me, her shorter legs somehow keeping up with mine. “What about Piper?” she asked again.

“Ollie has her.” She tugged on my arm.

“But how do you know? I can’t leave her!”

In the chaos of it all, a smile tugged at my lips. Hayley—even as much as she wanted to be selfish and save her own ass—was still worried about her friend.

“I’ll call Ollie once we’re in the car. Go, hurry. They’ll be coming to check cars soon.”

I knew how this worked. It wasn’t the first time I’d been busted at a party. This was definitely a first for Eric’s cabin, though. Someone had to have tipped the cops off. The cabin was tucked away on the outskirts of town, deep in the forest. I was certain it was Gabe.

Once Hayley and I were beside my car, I dragged my gaze around the cabin, watching people scramble out the two doors that likely had cops posted beside them. I unlocked the car, the lights probably drawing attention as we shuffled inside. My back pressed along the cold leather of my seat as I tossed Hayley my phone.

“Call Ollie,” I demanded, hearing the rumble of my engine.

I tore down the gravel road fast, pebbles flying past my wheels.

“There’s a text from him.” Hayley held onto the handle above the door as I sped around the curves and dips of the road. “It says, ‘I have Piper and Eric. Did you guys get out?’”

“Tell him we will meet him at Piper’s in a few hours.”

“A few hours? Where are we going?”

I slowly inched my neck in her direction. “To finish what we started.” Then, I pressed my foot on the pedal and sped like my life depended on it.

When we pulled up to my house, the car was jam-packed full of sexual tension. Neither one of us dared to even speak a syllable on the way over in fear it would ruin this thing we had going.

I hesitated with my hand on the door handle as Parkway Drive tumbled through the speakers. I could feel the thump of the bass within my chest. I ground my teeth, trying to figure out what to do. Fuck.

“My dad is home.”

Hayley shifted in her seat. “Okay, so…”

“I need to tell you something before we go inside.”

She rested her back along the passenger seat and gave me her full attention. Her dark hair was messy as it rested along her shoulders. The dash lights casted shadows across her high cheekbones. She kept her face solemn, blank. She was so hard to read sometimes.

“I didn’t go to Gabe’s with the intention of losing it on him.”

“Then why did you go?” Her anger was back. She crossed her arms over her chest—the chest my mouth was on not too long ago.

“I went because the night you got attacked at the game, the cameras near the bathroom caught a car speeding off shortly afterwards. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t his.”