Unspoken Rules (Rules 2)

“Tell me you brought everything,” I beg.

“Most of it.” Kendrick shrugs.

I don’t bother asking him more questions. In Kendrick’s language, “most of it” means “I brought whatever I could find.” Something tells me he didn’t exactly pick coordinating outfits. It’s a good thing I don’t need to look cute locked inside Tom’s penthouse.

“When are we leaving?” Will asks, throwing himself onto the other bed.

“I talked to my mom on the way in. Tom should be here soon. He needs to speak to Winter, then we’re gone. It’s a four-hour drive.”

I don’t have a phone anymore. How the hell am I going to survive the boredom of a four-hour drive? Not to mention I’ll be stuck with Kendrick in an unknown town for a while. I won’t just sit around Tom’s luxurious penthouse all day long, will I?

“I need to get a new phone when we get there,” I say.

Kendrick turns to me and slides his hand inside his back pocket. “That won’t be necessary.”

In his hand is the phone I thought was gone forever. The screen is completely shattered. I can’t believe it still works.

This is some Nokia-level shit right there.

“I thought I’d lost it at the Downside.”

“You did. Haze returned it to us. That’s how we tracked Tanner, remember?”

I nod, shifting uncomfortably. Am I going to feel this way every time someone brings up his name?

If so, I didn’t sign up for this. I want a refund on my feelings, thank you very much.

At first, I’m surprised that he’d just give me my old phone back when it contains Haze’s number and all of our messages. I unlock it and it doesn’t even take a second for me to understand that I was right: it was too good to be true.

He erased the data.

I’m far from the type to memorize numbers. Would I even call Haze if I could? I can wonder all I want, but it’s useless. It’s not an option. Kendrick made sure of that.

My cousin notices the torn-up look on my face and sits on the edge of the bed.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s a bit radical, but I promise it’s for the best. This guy is toxic, Winter. You have to see that. He’s the one who put you into this mess in the first place. You’re never seeing him again. I mean it. He’s… wrong for you.”

“He’s wrong for you. Seriously? That’s the best you’ve got?” I mutter, fighting the urge to give him a piece of my mind.

That’s the thing: I know he’s wrong for me. Knowing it is exactly what’s driving me insane. I know Haze Adams is the last thing I could possibly need on this earth. I know I should run as far as humanly possible. But just because I know it, doesn’t mean I don’t replay every moment we shared in my head. Just because I know it, doesn’t mean I’m going to stop thinking about the way he pinned me up against the wall and kissed me in that motel room. Just because my mind knows, doesn’t mean my heart agrees. And that’s exactly why I can’t get him out of my system. I can’t shake him. No matter how hard I try.

He’s about to answer when Thomas and Maria walk in, Tom holding a bunch of medical tools I can’t identify and Maria carrying crutches.

“You’ve been given a second chance, Winter. Look at it as a fresh start. It’s a new life. It’s over. You’ll be safe until you graduate. What else could you possibly want?” Kendrick says before stepping aside.

He didn’t say what he truly meant, but I know him well enough to read between the lines. What he means by a new life is… a life without Haze. And he’s wrong. I don’t believe it. It’s not over. In my heart, I know…

It’s just the beginning.

2

She’s Not You

Haze

“Wake the fuck up, man. It’s two o’clock.”

I can barely open my eyes, my eyelids so heavy it takes everything I have not to fall right back asleep. I let out a groan as an answer, hoping that Trevor will take a damn hint for once in his life, but of course, he doesn’t, turning on every light he can find and drawing the curtains.