Series: Webs We Weave Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 167
Estimated words: 162520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 813(@200wpm)___ 650(@250wpm)___ 542(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162520 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 813(@200wpm)___ 650(@250wpm)___ 542(@300wpm)
I rub my lips to keep from smiling. She notices it and smiles over at me. Trent spins to open his stance up, eyeing me and her like he’s missed something. That’s not good. He must never be the butt of a joke. Me and her—we’re getting a little sloppy.
It becomes more apparent during the Cardboard Boat Regatta—a fundraiser for the science college at Caufield. From the harbor at the Mariner’s Club, Trent and I watch makeshift cardboard floats head into the sea with students voraciously paddling, and he tells me, “I don’t think Phoebe’s good for you.”
I’m casual, interested but not concerned enough to be suspicious. “You’d rather she date Jake?”
He slips me a Be serious look. “You should just be single with me this summer, Grey.”
“You’re trying not to be single,” I remind him. “How’s that working out for you?”
He casts a real glare to shut the fuck up.
“I’m joking.” (I’m not.) “Relax, man. Maybe the easiest way to get Hailey on board with this thing is to actually tell her the plan. Bring her in on it. She could want the money, too.”
“I don’t trust that she won’t tell Phoebe or Jake’s staff at the fucking club. My baby brother finds out, and he might be able to use it as leverage against me in some of this legal shit. It’s too much of a risk.”
Gradually, Hailey begins integrating herself in Trent’s friend group at my insistence as his best friend. I’ve done him a solid. He’s happy.
Hooray.
Oliver stops snorting so much coke. He’s not high when he’s around Hailey during the several midnight yacht parties she attends with us. He pretends to do several lines with Collin. No one notices he’s faking but me and her.
“You want some, Hailey?” Oliver offers her the coke while we’re seated around a coffee table in the main saloon.
To which she declines. “I’ll pass.”
He blows her a playful kiss, and this is where shit goes a little sideways. Trent sees Hailey gazing at Oliver for an extended beat. He sees the crimson ascend her neck to her cheeks into a noticeable flush.
“Do you like him?” Trent laughs like it’s a schoolgirl crush.
Oliver grins at her. “You have a thing for me?”
“Not really, no.” She picks at the label on her beer and chews her pierced lip. Her nervous eyes shift to me.
Hailey.
My muscles burn as I actively ignore her. I bail her out another way. “We should do a round.” I grab the tequila off the table.
Hailey clutches the neck of a beer. One she hasn’t taken a real sip of. I’m aware of how she’s been refusing all alcohol this summer. Like it’s better for the job if she stays sober.
Maybe that’s true. Or maybe it’s something else.
Collin smacks Oliver’s chest. “Dude, she’s so into you. Look at her.”
Oliver plays it off with a trained laugh and smirks at Hailey like she’s just another girl at another party we all attend. No one special.
Hailey bursts into sudden tears.
Fuck.
Oliver’s smile vanishes in an instant. Because those are real tears. Real guttural emotion.
“I-I can’t be here,” Hailey stammers, and I rise with her at the same time as Trent. He’s shooting me looks to back off. This is his time to intervene while my sister is vulnerable. I am not to intercept him.
“Hailey!” Oliver calls after her. “Wait!”
She swings back around, dabbing at her contorting face as heavy tears keep streaming. Smudged mascara streaks her cheeks like rubbed charcoal. “I…s-sorry,” she hiccups.
“Come here, my little freak.” Trent opens his arms to her in preparation for a bear hug, and he’ll swing her around in a circle like they’re best fucking friends.
My stride is lengthy to my sister, especially as she recoils at Trent. Mesh sleeves in her hands, she raises them to her face. And thank God she says, “Grey.”
I bypass Trent and tell him, “I’m going to bring her back to Stonehaven. Don’t wait up for us.”
“I can come—”
“N-no,” she sobs.
I mouth to him, Let me talk to her.
Trent crosses his arms but nods. “Hey, Hailey. You need anything, you have my number, yeah?”
“Double fudge,” I tell him. “Her favorite ice cream.”
Trent says he’ll pick a pint up for her, and as I swoop an arm over Hailey and help her off the docked yacht, we trek along the harbor. Sailboats, catamarans, dinghies sway lazily in the bay. Moonlight sparkles on the water and brightens our path to the private dock. The one we use to go to and from Stonehaven.
I keep my arm around my sister, and the only time she somewhat calms down is when she says, “D-double fudge. That’s your favorite.”
She’s still crying.
“Making him my errand bitch is my third-favorite thing about this summer.”
Hailey sniffs harder, her reddened eyes lifting to me. “First one is Phoebe.”
“Yeah,” I murmur. It’s always Phoebe. Being with her in any capacity. On the job or off the job, real or fake—I love it all.