Chapter 1

Lexi

“You okay?”

I glanced over at Amelia in the driver’s seat, then turned to stare out the windshield, watching the woods on either side of the road. “I’m fine.”

“You’re seriously gonna pout the whole way there, Lex? I already told you; if you don’t want to go, I can drop you off at a friend’s instead.”

She said that like she was doing me a favor, but I only heard selfishness in her offer. And there was one option that hadn’t been placed on the table even once, which was me being allowed to stay home and not be bothered with any of this.

“I said I’m fine. You wanted to get rid of me, so we’ll just stick with that.”

She sighed, and I didn’t bother glancing over this time. Odds were, she had on that ‘I feel so guilty’ face that meant nothing. Her plans were set, and what I wanted didn’t matter. Not even a little bit.

“Come on, Lex. You love Halloween, plus all your friends will be there.”

“You keep using that word. Friends. I don’t have friends. I hate people because they all suck.”

That includes you.

She laughed, and I passed her an angry glare.

“You don’t hate people. You don’t trust people. There’s a difference,” she insisted. But was there really a difference? Either way, I disliked crowds with a passion and preferred to be alone. “The least you could do is pretend you’ll try to have fun.”

“Why? So you don’t have to acknowledge that you’re forcing me—your only sister—to go to a party where I’m guaranteed to be miserable?”

Another laugh came from her side of the car and my nerves wore just a little thinner.

“I mean, you’d think there’d be a little bit more gratitude. After all, I even got you the costume you wanted. Against my better judgment,” she added under her breath.

At those words, I glanced down at the Phantom of the Opera get-up I insisted she buy me, then shot her another glare.

“What’s wrong with my costume?”

She never answered the question. In fact, we didn’t speak at all the entire rest of the time we drove. It was probably for the best since she likely would’ve continued pushing her agenda, trying to convince me this was all for my own good.

And had nothing to do with her hoping to end the night with a mouthful of whoever this new guy was she was dating.

Freshman weren’t, technically, welcome at the Monster Bash, but with the mob expected to show up that Halloween, no one would notice me or anyone else planning to sneak in. Most looked forward to crashing but being at the party wasn’t my first choice. Or even my second, for that matter. If I’d had it my way, my dad would’ve called like he promised, and the night would’ve gone a lot differently.

But he ghosted me.

Again.

Like always.

Somehow, that all seemed to go right over my sister’s head. She still wanted the house to herself while our mom and stepdad were out of town for the weekend, and she could be very persuasive. She knew I responded well to monetary bribes, so she paid me good money to make myself scarce until midnight. All so she and her boyfriend could ‘hangout’.

So, there I was, dressed for the party-of-the-year, keenly aware of who’d be there, despite having tried not thinking about him. Quite a few made mention of their plans to attend, but I only really cared about one.

Sterling Golden—one-third of the triplets best known as The Golden Boys.

They were like royalty in this city, placed on a pedestal, worshiped. It doesn’t hurt that they’re kind of the trifecta of hotness—star athletes, rich beyond anyone’s imagination, easy on the eyes.

Very easy on the eyes.

And the summer before high school, all three turned up the heat to a million, packing on muscle and growing a few inches during break. They showed up that first day back, after having gone through one hell of a metamorphosis, and everyone noticed.

Including me.

The moment I laid eyes on Sterling during Freshman Orientation, something clicked. All of a sudden, he was in my thoughts more than I wanted to admit. This was also around the time I started getting up a few minutes early, trying to do something with my hair just in case he noticed me. Not that I would’ve owned up to any of this if I’d been called out on my crush, but for a time, what he thought of me mattered.

The plan was to keep those rogue feelings secret, to suffocate them, with hopes that they’d die off quickly. Only, that plan got blown to hell when we ended up partnered for a project. The feelings I loathed grew stronger. Every time I’d ask him a question and our eyes locked. Or when he’d laugh at my off-beat jokes that went over most people’s heads.

Our after-school study sessions started to feel more like an excuse to hang out when he was done with football practice. We’d talk about whatever we were into back then—movies, music—but rarely the assigned project. Somewhere around week three, one thing became crystal clear to me—I wasn’t hiding my feelings so well anymore.

And if I wasn’t completely out of my mind, I was starting to believe… maybe he felt something to.

Possibly.

Maybe.

It’s honestly kind of a blur.

On paper, we were the same—products of wealthy families respected within the city. Our parents even sprung for the same outrageous tuition payments every semester, but the similarities ended there. There was an in-crowd I was never a part of, and that world, which seemed lightyears away, revolved around the Golden boys.

There was once a time I loathed being an outsider and wanted nothing more than to fit in, but probably never more than I did as my sister drove along that dark road. I mused about telling Sterling the truth, but didn’t have the guts to own my feelings. One major rejection had been enough, I guess, so I refused to add Sterling to a list that bared a single name.

Arturo Rodriguez—my father.

Amelia hung a left, and after thinking of our dad, my gaze lowered to the phone I’d been clutching all this time. My hope was that maybe I missed his call, but no, I hadn’t. My best guess was that he’d found something better to do this Halloween. Or, worst case scenario, he was drunk off his ass and had no recollection of the promise he made when I tracked him down two nights ago.

The latter felt truer to his character.

There was a pattern with us, and I fell victim to it every time. He’d make me a promise, I’d get my hopes up, then he’d disappear for weeks, months, or even a year without a trace.

In other words, being disappointed by another letdown was completely my fault. I should’ve known, shouldn’t have hoped for more.

At any rate, his indifference toward my sister and me made me less willing to put myself out there with Sterling, but that was probably for the best. Life had already taught me that all men—except my stepdad—break hearts and move on like it never happened.

Amelia and I pulled up to the address that had gone out a couple hours prior by way of a social media account only known as Pandora. These gatherings were always held at secret locations Pandora revealed just shortly before things kicked off. This time around, the venue of choice was an abandoned barn in a town on the outskirts of the city. Tucked away where no one would hear the music, where no one would call the cops and get us shut down.

I didn’t immediately jump out of the car and I’m pretty sure my sister noticed. I guessed as much when she waited with me at the end of the long, gravel driveway, being uncharacteristically patient. I felt her staring even before she reached out, attempting to tame my ‘wild-child hair,’ as she called it. I snatched away before she had the chance, though. With a frustrated sigh, she gave up, shoved cash and a condom into my palm, then offered her version of sisterly advice.

“Don’t leave your drink unattended. Don’t wander off on your own. And… don’t swallow. You’ll get a bad rep.”

“Gee, thanks.” I glared, then rolled my eyes when I couldn’t fight it anymore.

Realizing this was really happening, I climbed out of the car, and Amelia was finally rid of me. I was essentially alone in the middle of nowhere, with a condom in one pocket, and enough cash to buy a Happy Meal in the other.

Oh, yeah. This was going to be way fun.