Total pages in book: 186
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
Cade snorted, barely looking up from whatever had distracted him on his phone. Since Xander was at our house, knowing my brother, it was a girl begging for late-night dick. Also, knowing my brother, he would be going to deliver. “No shit. Think we would let you screw it up?”
“I’m close to the most competent person in this room,” Nick argued.
That set off a whole round of affectionate insults and ribbing. I laughed along for a minute, then stood and stretched. “Alright, I’m going to heat up some food. You pull up everything you’ve got so far.”
He hopped up, grabbed his MacBook, and handed it over to Rook, who’d been mostly silent as usual up until then aside from a few well-aimed jabs. He was never one for many words, but he’d come a long way from how he was in the past, and that was more than we could ever ask. By the time I fixed myself a plate and made it back, he had synced Nick’s monitor to the big screen in the living room. It showed everything in different tabs. The layout, lighting ideas, and playlist options. Rook flicked through the screens, nodding in approval.
“Nice setup so far,” Xander commented.
We went over the details while Nick threw in more of his ideas, and we shared some of our own, making sure this party would be everything it was meant to be. I checked my phone, catching the time—12:30. I instinctively shot a quick text to Sassy before setting it aside to focus. The conversation kept flowing around me, a mess of jokes and arguments about whether to add scare actors or animatronics. I let their noise smooth out the static in my head. Being around them, my brothers always had a way of settling the part of me that never seemed to stop pacing. Tonight, I needed that more than I wanted to admit.
I wasn’t sure how much longer it would be enough.
CHAPTER THREE
SANJANA
I had eaten way too much. I was minutes away from a food coma. We had grabbed dinner and then headed straight to Ashton’s single dorm, which felt more like a small apartment complete with a kitchenette and private bathroom, thank God. I’d seen one of the communal toilets people shared and nearly passed out. He even had a cute little balcony. As he should really, considering this place cost him a pretty penny.
H-H, in general, wasn’t the most affordable town to live in, but the price of living on campus or near the university was diabolical. The house I rented with the girls had my jaw dropping when we got the total for the year, and it was a steal. None of us were up for dorm splitting or living apart, so we had no choice.
I caught Ashton side-eyeing me and fought back a laugh. We were onto our second movie, and he didn’t seem to be a fan of this film either. Sadly, for him, Art the Clown had stolen my gory, horror-loving heart since he popped up in The 9th Circle. I was stretched out, comfortably settled into the soft cushions of his couch. My legs lay across his lap, and he was absentmindedly rubbing from my knee to my calf. I had changed into my dad’s old Crowsfell tee and a pair of terry shorts. He was down to sweats and nothing else.
My mind drifted for a second, thinking about how much Ryder loved this movie.
Horror nights had always been our thing. Sometimes we would go all in with a home concession stand to rival the one we had back at my parents. Then we would hunt down the most ridiculous, low-budget movies just to laugh. His latest gem had been a recommendation for an off-the-wall Winnie the Pooh horror adaptation. I ended up watching that one with the girls. It was fun, but it hadn’t been the same without Ryder there to trade jokes with.
Ashton’s hand kept up a lazy rhythm, pulling me back to the moment just in time to see him grimace, his brows pinching as Art did something else over-the-top grotesque with a grin. “I can’t believe you talked me into watching this.”
I chuckled. “Would you rather watch something more, I don’t know, wholesome? A rom com, maybe?”
He gave me a playfully horrified look, then laughed. “Not a chance, but honestly, this… this movie is intense.” His eyes drifted to the screen, where yet another disturbing scene played out, and I couldn’t help the laughter bubbling up again.
“You’re telling me that you can handle 300-pound linemen, but not this?”
“That is completely different than a psycho clown that never speaks butchering people for fun.”
I stifled another laugh and leaned back, letting my head fall against the cushion. “Trust me, it only gets better.”
“You know what I think would be better?”