One-Eighty (Westover Prep 1)

Frankie has been the one driving the bus with this entire Vaughn situation. I’ve been leery from the start, but she keeps telling me that we’re going to be seniors, and everyone in our class is growing up. She assures me that no one will mess with me this coming year. She only believes this because I’ve stopped telling her about the instances of bullying she hasn’t witnessed.

I should know better. I shouldn’t have even let things get this far, but I can’t seem to convince my lonely teenage heart that, at some point, the scales have to tip in my favor. Today may just be that day—the day where I stop being Bloody Mary and become just Piper. I’ve wanted nothing more for as long as I can remember.

“Okay,” I agree quietly.

“Okay? Really?” Frankie shoves open her car door before I can change my mind. Frozen, I sit in the front seat and watch as she rounds the front of the car to open my door. “Come on.”

Hesitantly, I get out of the car and immediately reach for my phone, firing off a text to Vaughn to let him know I’m here. When he doesn’t respond right away, I tuck the thing in my back pocket and look up at my friend.

“You’re sure about this?”

“Not one bit,” she says with a false smile, tucking her arm under mine and walking toward the front door of the house.

Most of the people that were standing around have now made their way inside, so it’s only the two of us in the cool night.

“This is going to be epic,” Frankie assures me with a soft pat to my hand. She opens the front door without even knocking and drags me along to walk in like we own the place. That’s always been Frankie’s style, and if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have experienced half of the things I have in life. She has a way of encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone. Tonight, however, I’m not comfortable at all.

The world doesn’t end when we breach the threshold of Kyle Turner’s house. The music blasting through the hidden surround sound doesn’t screech to a halt when Frankie closes the door behind us, effectively trapping us inside with the monsters.

A quick glance around the room doesn’t reveal Vaughn, and I avoid the corner where Dalton and his closest cult followers lurk. Instinctively, I reach for my phone once again. The sooner I make contact with Vaughn, the sooner I can get out of this place.Chapter 3DaltonI flinch when Bronwyn shifts her weight on my lap. Her bony ass digs into the top of my thighs, but my grunt must make her think she’s turning me on because she does it twice more before I can clamp my free hand on her hip.

“Be still,” I hiss.

She giggles like a little girl, and the noise grates on my nerves.

“Am I turning you on?” she coos, her beer breath a little too close to my nose.

“Just be still,” I repeat.

Tonight is the first party of the summer, but you wouldn’t be able to tell just by walking in. It’s the exact same as last week’s party and every weekly party before that. I’m certain I’d have more fun sitting at home playing video games, but the expectation is that I’m here and having a good time. The only good thing I have going on right now is one hell of a good buzz.

Kyle always has the best alcohol selection since his parents own and operate several liquor stores in the state. It’s also one of the reasons his house is always hosting the parties. His parents work late on the weekends when sales are optimal.

The front door opens, and although I’m not one to usually watch who arrives, my eyes have been laser-focused on the thing tonight. Just as I had hoped wouldn’t happen, Mary and her only friend, Frankie, just showed up.

Bronwyn yelps when my fingers dig into her hip at the sight of the two girls who have no damn right to be here. I’ve kept Mary from every single party to date. Who the hell does she think she is showing up tonight?

Surely, she wouldn’t believe for a minute that Vaughn was seriously interested in her. She’s well aware that every guy in Westover has been warned away from her. I know from her ridiculously high GPA and number one ranking in our class that the girl is smart enough to figure out when someone is going to prank her. She’s managed to thwart several pranks of my own due to diligence and her guard always being up.

“What is it, baby?” Bronwyn asks, and it takes everything in me not to cringe at her bad breath as I jerk my head back. “Wanna go upstairs and have a little fun?”