Leah sat in stony silence as she and Jacob made the long drive back to Pacific Grove.
After Seth told them about a house fire he and Nessie had witnessed, Jacob had pestered her nonstop until she finally agreed to head back to campus a day early. Jacob seemed convinced that if he left Nessie alone for one more evening, she'd find a way to turn the entire university upside down. Or rather, she'd bear witness to the university's unraveling because as far as he was concerned, she was always just the innocent witness who could never possibly do anything wrong. As far as Leah was concerned, Nessie was nothing but a magnet for trouble.
Trouble drove his Rabbit down the winding highway, traveling 20 mph over the speed limit.
Leah kept her mouth shut as he narrowly passed a minivan on the two-lane road without crashing into an oncoming truck. The driver traveling in the opposite direction blared his horn.
A car accident would only delay their arrival, but if he wanted to drive like an idiot, she wasn't going to stop him.
She was looking forward to getting back to the house and taking a nice long shower. She felt gross after chopping wood all morning.
Jacob slowed when they reached town as that was where cops patrolled the streets more vigilantly.
The sun hung low in the sky as Jacob pulled up to the house.
Leah bounded up the stairs two at a time. She heard the sound of water running coming from the bathroom. She hoped Seth hadn't used all of the hot water.
As she got to the top of the steps, she realized the sound was coming from her bathroom, not the boys'. She pounded on the door as she passed.
"Use your own bathroom, Seth," she growled. The water cut off almost immediately.
Leah swung open the door to Seth's bedroom and tossed a bag full of his hoodies. Nessie had sent her a text asking her to pick them up while she was visiting home.
"Hey," Seth protested as the bag hit him on the side of the head.
Leah froze. "If you're here, who's in the bathroom?"
The bathroom door swung open and Leah spun around.
Ian stepped out wearing a pair of cargo shorts.
"Sorry," he said as he swung a soccer T-shirt on over his head. "I didn't realize there was a bathroom assignment." His wet black hair stuck to his forehead.
It took Leah a second to find her voice. "No, that's alright. What are you doing here?"
Seth poked his head out of his room. "He's spent the night here after the fire. I told Jacob. He was supposed to pass along the message."
Leah suppressed a groan, "He must've forgotten to mention it."
"We had a fire at my house directly beneath my bedroom," Ian explained. "We got it contained, but my room isn't safe until the landlord gets around to fixing it. Seth offered me your bedroom. I hope you don't mind; I borrowed your toothbrush, too."
Seth got a panicked look on his face. "That was a joke," he said quickly. "He slept on the futon."
"And I brought my own toothbrush," Ian said with an impish grin.
"How long are you going to be staying here?" Leah asked, rather annoyed that no one had told her about this arrangement.
"They're clearing a space for me at the fraternity house," Ian explained. "But this weekend is kind of a campus drinking holiday. They've been throwing parties all weekend." Ian grimaced at the memory. "I'll be out of your hair by Tuesday, unless…" he leaned against the doorframe. The mischievous grin returned. "You want me to stay."
"Get out of my bathroom," Leah replied. There was a time and a place for flirting. She would have thought that the fact that she was covered in wood chips and reeked of sweat would have been a clear indication that this was not the time, but apparently not.
Ian responded with a curt nod. "Okay," he said as he stepped aside.
She strode into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Fortunately, Ian had not used all of the hot water, though, any hope of a long, relaxing shower was dashed. She couldn't get Ian out of her head. She thought of him, waiting for her downstairs. She scrubbed the grime from her skin as fast as she could. Any time saved in the shower was lost as she blow-dried her long hair. Normally, she let it air dry, but it was the least she could do to look slightly put together.
She went down the stairs and found all three guys entrenched in their own worlds. Ian had his laptop open at the dining table while Seth stared at his phone from the armchair. Jacob was in the kitchen preparing an early dinner–she and Jacob had skipped lunch in his quest to return as quickly as possible. His presence at the house annoyed her. He was in such a hurry to return on the off-chance Nessie might stop by. Clearly, she had better things to do.
Leah walked past Jacob to grab her leftovers from the fridge. "Did I miss anything else while we were gone?" Leah asked as she leaned against the marble countertop.
Seth frowned, "I'm supposed to have a date with Kat, but she's not answering my texts."
Ian raised his eyes to watch Seth. He said nothing, but Leah could see his doubtful expression.
"Maybe she's just a bad texter," Leah suggested.
"Maybe," Seth said. "I guess I could try giving her a call."
Ian grimaced. "I wouldn't bother."
"Why?" Seth asked.
Ian hesitated before responding. "Do you want my advice?"
"Yeah," Seth's eyes lit up.
"Leave her alone."
"What?" Seth said in a crushed voice.
"Kat and I have been friends since her freshman year and I've seen how these things go," Ian tried to explain. "This isn't going to end well for you. You seem like a nice guy; I don't want to see you get hurt. "
"But she asked me out," Seth said.
"She was drunk," Ian sighed. "She's not going to follow through."
"What did I do wrong?"
"It's not you, it's her ex. The guy is a creep and he stalks anyone who tries to date her."
"Sabrina and Holly didn't seem concerned," Seth argued.
Ian rolled his eyes, "Yeah they want to see you kick his ass."
Seth thought about it for a moment. "Would that impress Kat?"
Ian snorted. "Probably not, but it would be funny. I know a good lawyer, so give me a call if you do."
"How do I let her know I'm not afraid of her ex?" Seth asked.
"Dude, you're fighting a losing battle," Ian doubled down. "There are other fish in the sea."
Leah and Jacob exchanged a look. There weren't any other fish in the sea, not for Seth, anyway.
"You have to help me out. I sabotaged SAE's bathroom for you, you owe me."
"You did what?" Leah glared at her little brother.
Ian's mouth briefly twitched into a smirk before his expression settled into a guilty grimace. "Yeah, you did do that. I'll see what I can do."
Ian pulled out his Nokia cellphone and sent a quick text. Seconds later, his phone dinged. Seth frowned at her quick response to the other man.
"She's at the library," Ian said as he closed his laptop. "You guys want to go?"
Seth jumped to his feet. "Yes." He bounded to the door and started putting on his shoes.
"Sure, let me grab my backpack," Leah said pointedly, reminding Seth he should do the same.
"Right, me too," Seth said. He had one shoe on and hopped on his shoeless foot up the stairs to avoid tracking dirt through the house. Ian reached into the duffle bag he'd brought from his own house and pulled out a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
The trio walked together to the library. Seth texted Nessie to invite her to join them. Ian instructed Seth to play it cool and let him take the lead.
Nessie beat them to the library. They found her already sitting with Kat at a table on the 2nd floor. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the Cheetos.
"What's up?" Ian asked as he tossed her the bag.
"Not much," Kat responded. "We're just working on our ethics homework."
"What do we have to look forward to?" Ian asked.
"The trolley problem," Kat explained the premise. A trolley is on the tracks headed for five innocent people. You can either do nothing, in which case all five will die, or you can pull a lever, diverting the trolley onto a side path with only one person. All four of them agreed that they should pull the lever. "We have to come up with our own version and we're going to discuss them in groups on Friday."
"What if you consider legal and social ramifications," Ian suggested. "If you pull the lever, you save five lives, but you'd get charged with murdering one and everyone hates you because they think you're a murderer."
"If that were the case, I don't think I'd pull it," Kat contemplated.
"Me either," said Nessie.
"I think I still would," Leah said. Seth agreed.
They discussed the trolley problem for a while, considering different variations and how it would impact their decisions.
"What if there's one person on one side and you don't know how many people are on the other side?" Nessie suggested.
"Trolley roulette," Ian joked. "Can you consider it murder if you don't know the outcome?"
"What if there was a murderer on the tracks?" Nessie asked.
Leah switched languages to voice a private joke. "What species?" She asked Seth in Quileute.
As the evening progressed, the scenarios got more ridiculous.
"The train is headed towards one person, nobody is on the other track, but he's rich and you're his sole beneficiary," Kat said.
"You're not pulling the lever," Ian asserted.
"I have loans, Ian," Kat replied.
Nessie left after they finished up the homework assignment.
Kat asked Ian for an update on his house after the fire.
Ian rolled his eyes and proceeded to go on a rant about the incompetence of the local law enforcement. "We got two citations. One for having stolen street signs, which is bogus. We didn't steal it, it was abandoned. And the other for our house being a fire hazard. Plus, Liam got busted for underage drinking. They didn't bother to investigate who actually started the fire."
"That's crazy," Kat said.
"There is a silver lining though," Ian said with a smirk. "The university cares more than the cops. SAE is barred from recruiting for a semester."
"No," Kat gasped.
Ian responded with an exaggerated nod.
"I take it that's a big deal?" Leah inferred.
"They've been relying on Alum with deep pockets to stay afloat, but they'll still lose their house if they don't get new members," Ian explained.
"There's no way they're going to survive this," Kat said.
"You don't sound particularly upset," Seth questioned Kat.
Kat just shrugged. "It's a long story. Campus will be better without them."
"I can see that," Seth grimaced. Leah wondered what he had heard about them. "Speaking of Saturday, I believe you mentioned something about going to a place called Half Moon?" He tried to play it casual, but his eyes lit up at his eagerness.
"Oh yeah," Kat said, thinking how best to respond. Leah could see the incoming rejection in her expression.
"We could get a group together," Leah suggested, trying to salvage some semblance of the plan before Kat could deliver the death blow.
"I'd be down if you are," Ian said to Leah. "We could make it a double date."
"I didn't mean…" Leah stopped when she saw Seth's pleading eyes.
"It'd be weird if only two of us were on a date," Kat said, attempting to be Ian's wingman. "I'd be open to a double date if you are."
Leah took one last look at Seth's expression. "I guess it's a date."
"Awesome," Kat said. "Do you have bar clothes?"
"Not really, but I can pull something together…" Leah responded. "Half Moon is a bar?"
Ian and Kat nodded.
"Do they card?" Leah asked.
"Yeah, at the door," Ian responded.
Leah glared daggers at her idiot brother.
"How old are you?" Kat asked Seth, sensing the tension.
"Technically I'm 20, but it's fine, I have a fake ID," Seth assured them. This did not reassure Leah.
Rather than make a scene, she bided her time and confronted Seth when they were back at the house. Ian had gone back to the frat house for the time being. "Where did you get a fake ID?"
"I was planning on borrowing Jacob's," Seth told her.
Leah turned to glare at Jacob, "Where did you get a fake ID?"
"Bella gave it to me a few years ago when she thought I'd need it to make a run for it with Nessie after the Volturi showed up. It's in my room, I can grab it."
Leah was rather annoyed at how easily Jacob handed it over to Seth. She wondered just how often the boys passed around the fake. On the rez, everyone knew them, so they'd never be able to get away with it, but anywhere else, the boys looked similar enough, she could see how it worked.
Leah shook her head in disappointment and went upstairs to get dressed. She went with a pair of tight lowcut jeans and a button-down that she had tied up, exposing her midriff. She went to her bathroom and put on her makeup.
She glanced at the clock, it wouldn't be long before Ian and Kat would return.
She went back to the kitchen to grab her bottle of Everclear. She found an unopened bottle when she was expecting her mostly empty bottle. Seth saw her looking at the bottle questioningly and responded with a guilty expression. Leah didn't ask. Whatever he'd done, at least he had the sense to replace it... Possibly with the fake.
"Do you want to pregame?" Leah asked her brother.
The answer was an obvious yes. Maybe it was the increased body heat, maybe it was the healing, but for some reason, werewolves had an inhumanly high tolerance for alcohol. Neither she nor Seth were looking to get wasted tonight, but it was hard for them to have fun at a bar without breaking the bank.
Leah handed Seth a shot glass and began preparing the deadly concoction that the pack had lovingly dubbed The Silver Bullet due to its ability to take down a werewolf.
She mixed together the dangerous combination of Everclear and Extra Strength 5-hour ENERGY. She topped the shot glasses off with just enough Gatorade to make the taste bearable.
"Cheers," Leah said as she clinked her glass against Seth's. Leah took a deep breath and downed the monstrosity in a single swallow. She grimaced as the vodka burned her throat. Seth held his glass out for another round and Leah obliged. She filled a flask with the liquid and shoved it in her purse.
"Hey Jacob," she called across the room.
"Yeah?" he responded.
"Would you mind being our designated driver?" Leah asked.
"Sure, no problem," Jacob responded. "It might be a little cramped in the Rabbit."
The ride to the bar was indeed cramped. Leah sat in the backseat sandwiched between Ian and Seth. Kat sat in the passenger seat and gave Jacob directions. Fortunately, it was a short drive.
The Half Moon was situated in an unremarkable building located only a couple blocks south of Pizza Schmizza. It was just far enough away that the girls were uninterested in making the trek in heels. Though Leah played it safe and stuck with short black heels, Kat's bold red boots added a couple extra inches of height, though Leah had to admit, they did look stunning, especially when paired with her matching lipstick. Kat was already tall and her boots brought her up to Leah's height.
They lined up outside of the bar. As they waited, Leah thought she caught a glimpse of a scrawny man watching them from the alley, but when she turned to look, he was gone. The bouncer let Ian, Kat, and Leah through after a quick glance at their IDs. He was about to give Seth his fake back, but he hesitated, scrutinizing Seth's face.
Seth should have been able to get in without issue. The fake ID was flawless, it was a perfect replica of a real ID and scanned without issue. Seth didn't look his age either and his short beard aged him further. The idea that this beast of a man was only twenty was downright laughable. When it came to alcohol, Seth was as knowledgeable as any other patron, not from firsthand experience, but rather from the experience of the older pack mates whose minds he frequently shared.
None of those things were what caused the bouncer to do a double take.
No, it was the damn glint in his eye that gave it away. He was almost giddy as he handed over the ID, practically holding his breath as he waited for the verdict.
If the ID had said that today was his twenty-first birthday, he might've been able to get away with it, but he simply had far too much enthusiasm for someone claiming to be thirty-three. The silver bullets were starting to take effect too, which didn't help his case.
"What's your address?" the bouncer asked.
Seth recited the address listed on the fake without issue. Leah sighed in relief. At least he'd been smart enough to memorize the information listed on the card. The bouncer looked back and forth between Seth and the fake ID. Logically, the bouncer had no justification to turn him away, but she knew the bouncer sensed the truth. Leah waited nervously as the bouncer debated whether to trust his eyes or his gut.
The bouncer glanced at the line forming behind Seth and handed the ID back. Seth continued inside, looking slightly too relieved.
To call the place a bar was a bit inaccurate. Night club would be a more apt description. The bulk of the main room was empty to make room for the large dance floor. "On the Floor" by Jennifer Lopez was playing over the speakers as they entered. Ian made his way to the bar. He opened a tab and ordered the first round. Leah got a Long Island Iced Tea. Kat claimed a space on the tightly packed dance floor. She was wearing a leather corset with booty shorts and fishnet leggings. Ian brought over the drinks. Kat was already dancing to the music. Leah admired the way she knew how to move her body. Seth was beside her, dancing to her movement rather than the music. Ian was also quick to hit the dance floor. He seemed to moving to the beat of a different drummer… not a drummer in time with the music currently playing, but at least he was having fun. Leah appreciated his enthusiasm. She grooved beside him, rocking back and forth to the music rather than actually dancing. This wasn't the kind of music she usually danced to.
Seth ordered the next round of drinks; he handed the bartender the golden credit card he'd been gifted by his sugar vampires.
Seth didn't seem to mind that Kat was in her own world, he was just happy to be included. After a few songs, she started to take more notice of him. The pair began dancing as one with their bodies pressed against each other. She was serenading him with every song. Unfortunately, it seemed Drunk Kat wasn't too picky about who she was dancing with. Seth had to step in between her and other guys on more than one occasion. He didn't seem to mind. Ian drifted closer to Leah as the night progressed, only moving away when he needed another drink. He kept one hand on her while the other held his drink.
Leah and Kat drank at a much slower pace than the boys. Leah wasn't paying much attention to the boys' alcohol consumption until Kat brought it to her attention.
"Oh no," Kat watched Ian with concern as he took another shot with Seth. Leah saw what Kat was seeing. Ian was a big guy who could definitely hold his drinks. He was probably used to being able to keep up with whomever he was drinking with... But his typical drinking buddies weren't gigantic werewolves. Ian was matching Seth shot for shot, clearly not bothering to keep count.
Leah pulled Seth aside and told him he needed to slow down. Seth agreed, then raced back to the dancefloor to track down Kat who had taken advantage of the short conversation to wander off. He found her on the opposite side of the club riding the mechanical bull.
Leah's warning came too late. The damage was done. Ian was swaying uneasily on his feet. The group decided to call it a night. He started apologizing profusely as he staggard to the door with Leah's assistance.
"It's fine," Leah assured him. They found a space along the side of the building and Leah lowered Ian to the ground.
Leah turned to see Seth comforting a crying Kat.
"Nobody ever thinks about the trolley driver," Kat sobbed. "Maybe she's tired of running people over. Have you considered that? People keep pulling levers, she can't even control where she's going."
Leah stepped aside to call Jacob. She had a strange feeling she was being watched, but when she turned, she didn't see anyone there. The phone went to voicemail. She tried again. Same result. She tried the landline, no luck. She frowned and went back to the group. Seth and Kat were making out fiercely while Ian was completely oblivious to the world around him.
Leah cleared her voice loudly but the pair ignored her. "Earth to Seth," Leah called.
Seth turned to look at her as if he'd completely forgotten her existence. "Is Jacob here?"
Leah shook her head. "He won't answer his phone. Looks like we're walking."
"Ha," Kat laughed. "You're funny."
"I can carry you," Seth volunteered enthusiastically.
"Oh no," Kat responded dismissively, not taking Seth's offer seriously. "I'm a big girl."
"No really," Seth smiled, "It's no problem." He scooped Kat off her feet into his arms.
Kat let out a surprised "Woah."
Her expression was amusing to Leah. Kat clearly was not used to being literally swept off her feet and she was not disappointed by the development.
Ian rose to his feet.
"You," an angry voice called.
Leah turned to see a scrawny man storming down the alley towards them. He was wearing a dark hoodie despite the warm weather.
Kat cursed and squirmed in Seth's arms. He put her down in response.
The man barreled towards Seth. Kat, anticipating what was coming, put her hands up and stood between them to prevent him from reaching Seth.
"Who do you think you are?" the man snarled, pointing an accusing finger around Kat. Seth had his hands protectively on her shoulders. Leah saw that the man had some kind of black dye streaked down his face. "My fraternity is going to be shut down because of you."
"Kevin," Kat pleaded while the man ranted. "Please don't do this." Nobody paid any attention to her.
"I'm sorry man, that's not what I was trying to do," Seth tried to ration with him. Ian had stepped forward and was now standing protectively behind Seth.
"Don't touch my girl," Kevin growled. He grabbed Kat's wrists and pulled her away from Seth. She stumbled forward. Seth stepped forward to prevent the movement from allowing any additional distance between him and Kat.
He stepped to the side so he was now in between Kevin and Kat. "Wait, you're her ex?" Seth's voice lowered into a growl. Leah grabbed Kat's wrists and pulled her back away from the men. She remembered what Ian had said about horrific rumors Kevin encouraged. Seth clenched his hands into fists at his side. Leah worried Seth wouldn't be able to control his anger. She glanced around the alley. There were no other witnesses, but a security camera was pointed towards the back of the alley. She wasn't sure whether or not Seth was in the frame.
"You're going to stay away from her," Kevin shoved Seth's chest. Seth didn't budge, but the action caused Kevin to stumble backward closer to Ian, sobered by adrenaline.
Kevin didn't seem to realize the danger he was in. It was like watching a chihuahua challenge a pair of hardened tom cats.
"You think you're tough huh?" Kevin squared up again. He threw a solid punch, the uppercut landing squarely on Seth's jaw, but Seth didn't even break eye contact. He moved his head with the punch to absorb part of the blow. Kevin cried out in pain. Before he had a chance to make another move, Ian jumped in. He punched Kevin in the side of the head. Kevin stumbled down. Ian swung again, this time aiming for the gut.
Seth caught Ian's arm mid-swing. "That's enough," he said. Leah could tell Seth was desperate to escape the situation before he accidentally hurt someone.
Kevin used the distraction to lunge at Seth. Seth shoved him aside like a bothersome bug. Kevin fell backward onto the ground.
"What the hell are you?" Kevin stared up at Seth in awe, he looked back and forth between Seth and Kat, fear forming in his eye for the first time that night.
"We're leaving," Seth grabbed Ian's arm and towed him out of the alley. He grabbed Kat's hand as he passed.
When they were far enough away, Ian started laughing. "Did you see that dye on his head? He must've used the shower. That was a good one, Seth."
Seth didn't laugh.
"Are you okay?" Leah asked Seth.
"Not yet," Seth answered.
Kat wrapped Seth in a hug, pulling him to a stop. "I'm sorry about that."
Seth closed his eyes. "It's not your fault."
They walked back at a slow pace. The distance seemed longer than Leah remembered. Kat took her heels off on the side of the road and carried them in her hand while Seth gave her a piggyback ride. Ian had his arm on Leah's shoulder. He didn't put much weight on her, but he insisted he needed the reference in order to remember which direction was up.
"I'm not sure what you heard about Kevin," Leah said, "but most of it's exaggerated. Right, Ian?"
"What? Oh yeah," Ian responded. "It's all nonsense."
"What did you hear?" Kat asked.
"I was at a recruitment event at Theta and they said—"
"Ugh," Kat rolled her eyes.
"What?" Seth asked.
"Theta dirty rushes. They talk shit about everyone," Ian complained.
"So they were lying?" Seth asked. "None of it's true?"
"Of course not," Kat assured him.
Seth was momentarily assured until he took in Ian's expression, exposing Kat's lie.
"What actually happened then?" Seth asked.
Kat considered for a moment. She made eye contact with Ian and seemed to understand that if she didn't talk, he would. She took a deep breath before she started her explanation.
"Last year, I went to a mixer at Pike. Towards the end of the night, Kevin showed up to try and get me back. He got us jungle juice from the party—I know I should've watched him fill it, but I'd been drinking it all night so I never even questioned it. We talked for a bit. I started to feel off… I knew something was wrong. One of the Pikes started giving Kevin trouble… I don't really remember what happened. We left and started walking to the sorority house." Kat's voice trailed off.
"Then what?" Seth asked in an even voice.
"I blacked out," Kat said simply. "I woke up at the KEN's house."
"You don't remember what happened after you left with him?" Seth asked.
"I know what you're thinking and no, it wasn't like that, I just passed out on the sidewalk," Kat insisted.
"How can you be sure?"
Kat rolled her eyes. "In case you didn't notice, you are a lot stronger than him. Do you really think he would've been able to carry me off? Not happening. He stood there, floundering like an idiot until Ian showed up and beat his ass."
Drunk Ian grinned proudly. "To a pulp!"
Kat sighed disapprovingly. "I went to the hospital just to be sure. Nothing happened. I promise."
"He roofied you," Seth said. His voice rose on the last word as if he were asking a question.
"Honestly? I don't think it was him," Kat said. "What was his plan? Roll me down the street? He's smarter than that."
Seth thought in silence as Kat continued. Leah caught how Kat said Kevin was "smarter" than that, not "better" than that.
"The police searched SAE's house and didn't find anything that would've incapacitated me like that," Kat added.
Ian snorted, "They found other stuff though."
"What do you mean?" Seth asked.
"SAE used to grow weed in their basement," Kat explained. "The police promised to let them off easily if they told them who they'd been selling to and they sang like a canary. That's why so many of the other frats hate him."
"Is that why you guys prank each other?" Seth asked Ian.
"No, we got our weed elsewhere," Ian said. "We've been pranking them since before it was cool, but several of the other frats joined our crusade."
Seth set Kat back on her feet when they reached the front steps of the house. Seth unlocked the door and pointed Kat in the direction of the bathroom. Ian flopped down on the futon. Kat hesitated at the foot of the stairs.
"Seth," Kat said in a soft voice. He turned to look at her. "Thank you. I know Kevin can be an ass, but he means a lot to me. I really appreciate that you walked away."
Seth thought for a moment before responding, "Why? Why does he matter so much to you?"
"We're both broken. We understand each other, I guess," Kat shrugged.
"I don't think you're broken," Seth said.
"You don't know me," Kat looked away.
"I have one more question," Seth's hands were shaking.
"Shoot," Kat said.
"They told me about something else," Seth said. "Something that happened freshman year?"
Kat shut her eyes. "You don't know anything. Nobody knows what happened." She hurried up the stairs.
"Theta had no business bringing that up during rush," Ian grumbled.
"What happened? What did you hear?" Leah asked.
Seth shook his head. Leah understood. Whatever it was, it upset him too much to explain. Leah could understand why he had waited until Kat was off his back to bring it up. Leah turned to Ian.
Ian shrugged. "She insists it was a suicide attempt. Fortunately, all three bullets missed her heart."
Seth shuddered. "I think I'm going to be sick. I'm going to go for a walk." He stared pointedly at Leah.
She nodded once in understanding. He turned and hurried out the back door. He was shaking before he'd closed the door. Sooner than she expected, Leah felt the shimmer through the air, the tell-tale sign that someone nearby had phased. She hoped he was able to reach the tree line.
Ian put his head in his hands. "You know, I think this might have been the worst first date ever."
Leah nodded. "Yeah, I'd have to agree."
"Seth told me I could have your futon until tomorrow, but if you want me gone, I can leave now," Ian volunteered.
Leah shook her head. "You can stay here. I'm going to bed," Ian's mischievous grin returned. "No, you can't join me."
He laughed at her quick response. "Worth a shot."
Leah shook her head and walked upstairs. As she walked down the hall, she saw Kat standing in the bathroom with the door wide open. She stared out the open bathroom window in a daze.
"Kat?" Leah approached her, but she didn't respond until Leah put a hand on her arm. "Are you alright?"
Kat stared intently into Leah's eyes. Leah marveled at her soft brown eyes. They were a warm color. Her eye makeup drew attention to the beautiful orangish flecks hidden in their depths.
"I'm alright," Kat responded finally. "I think I had more to drink than I realized. I called my friend Holly to come pick me up, but she won't be able to get here for about an hour. Do you mind if I lie down for a minute?"
"That's no problem. You can borrow Seth's bed if you want." Leah offered.
"Is there anywhere else?" Kat asked. "I'd rather not take Seth's bed."
"If you want to borrow my bed, you can. Otherwise, there's an armchair downstairs." Leah said. She didn't offer Jacob's bed.
"That will work," Kat said without specifying.
Leah went to her bathroom to remove her own makeup. When she got back to her bedroom, she saw Kat was passed out on her bed.
Leah changed into her pajamas—an oversized t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants—and went downstairs to curl up on the armchair until Kat left. Ian was out cold on the futon.
Chapter Playlist:
Everytime We Touch - Cascada - Leah
Shots - Lil Jon - Ian
Hips don't Lie - Shakira - Seth
Shut up and Dance - Walk The Moon - Kat
Cha Cha Cha - Käärijä - Ian
Come Get Her - Rae Sremmurd - Kat
She Broke my Heart so I Broke his Jaw - Just Surrender - Kevin
Treat You Better - Shawn Mendes - Seth
