My Brother's Best Friend (Crazy in Love Book 1) (15 page)

Shit, they hated Carmen Beach. And most of them hated Colin and Wallace and by association me. We’d beat them bad later on in the season, and I hadn’t had to see any of them since then. Anna gave me directions, and I pulled onto a street that was overflowing with old cars. They were parallel parked up and down the entire thing.

“Just pull in an open space, and we’ll walk the rest of the way,” she tells me as she gesture to an old blue house with paint peeling off that almost looks like a trailer. “Home sweet home,” she says mockingly. As we step out and start to walk, I tell her, “Hey, the house doesn’t make you a good person. My dad has ten houses, and he’s still the biggest asshole I’ve ever known. What you have doesn’t define you. Both Wallace and I believe that, Anna. Don’t ever let that bother you.”

She wraps her small arm around me and pulls me in for a hug. I hug her back tightly, needing the support as much as she does. “Stay close to me in there, kay. I know you can take care of yourself, but this crowd can be mean. Decker will try to watch out for you too. But you need to watch out for him trying to get you alone. He’d never taken advantage, but he’s obsessed enough to make dumb choices.”

Nodding my head, I say sarcastically, “Got it. You’re going to defend my virtue against all of Richland High, tiny one.” Anna slams her shoulder into mine before saying, “I grew up in Richland. I know what they’re all capable of, and if I have to defend you, I will.”

The noise as we get close to the house is almost deafening, and I don’t know what to expect as Anna opens the door. But as I step inside her house, it looks like a typical high school party. Girls dancing in shorts or dresses, and guy drinking beer. Maybe our parties are a little more upscale and around a beach or pool, but it looks like everyone is enjoying hanging out together like our crowd does.

Anna laughs and elbows me,“You look shocked that it looks so normal. What did you expect? Knife fights in the living room?” Shaking my head, I try to cover my surprise cause I don’t want to hurt Anna. “No, it’s funny that it has so much the same feel that Carmen Beach parties do. I guess a high school party is a high school party everywhere.”

Her expression relaxes, and I let out a sigh in relief. “Yeah, I guess your right! As long as there’s alcohol a party is a party. Now, let’s get to my room and see if we can avoid you running into anyone that you don’t want to see.”

But as I look up, I realize we’re already too late for that. Decker’s eyes meet mine, and he makes his way across the room as people jump to move out of his path. A he moves to stand directly in front of me, he says, “Hello, there, beautiful, to what do I owe the pleasure of you coming to my house at this time of night?”

I’ve never denied that Decker is good looking to myself or Colin cause that would be a lie. His short blond hair and strong features make an extremely sexy package, but he’s never pulled me to him the way only a glimpse from Colin does. I know right now that coming here was a mistake. Colin’s going to hate it, and I’ve given Decker hope of something happening that never will.

“Uh, well, there’s some stuff going on at home, and Anna suggested that we crash at her place tonight. I don’t want to interrupt your party though. We were just going to head to her room. We’ve had a busy day.”

He grins at me in a suspicious way before informing me, “That might be a little hard, sweetheart, since Paul was taking advantage of the fact that Anna wasn’t supposed to be home tonight. Her room is occupied with him and his latest lady. Which means the two of you are going to have to socialize with us for at least a little while.”

“You let Paul use my room, come on, Decker!” Anna protest loudly. He looks repentant as he replies, “Sorry, about that, sis, but I was going to make Paul change the sheets for you. You told me you’d be gone all weekend.”

He turns his gaze back to me and asks, “What’s going on that you can’t be at your house? Everything okay?” His voice is serious enough that I know his concern is real. And I can’t help but like him. I know he drives Colin crazy, but I’ve always liked how genuine Decker is. Anna’s told me that he’s been the only one that’s ever looked out for her. That he’s the only real family she has. I’ve never been able to be cruel to him about his feelings cause of all that.

“Yeah, it’s alright. We just couldn’t stay there tonight,” I reply. “Okay, we’ll, attempt to be sociable for a few minutes, and I’ll try to get Paul to vacate the room as soon as possible,” Decker says. Anna replies huffily, “Well, that’d be nice, since it is my room, Deck.” He shrugs her off as brothers do and walks towards the back of the house.

Anna leads me over to a group of girls that were eyeing us jealously as were chatting with Decker. “Might as well try to make friendly with the bitch squad for a few minutes, if we don’t go on the offensive, they’ll attack, and I don’t really feel like us getting in a fight tonight.” Checking her expression to see if she’s serious, I can tell she is.

Dragging my feet as I walk over, I’m dreading the coming confrontation. The last thing that I want is to get in an altercation with some jealous girls right now. The shock of seeing my dad has me craving peace and quiet with Colin’s arms wrapped around me reminding me that I’m safe. I tell myself to wait until tomorrow and all that can happen. But until then, deal with the reality of my situation. At least I’ve got Anna here with me.

Anna starts the conversation, “Hey, ladies, I just wanted to introduce you to my best friend, Reagan. Reagan, this is Jenna, Alicia, and Adrien.” I look them over and can tell immediately that Jenna is the leader. She’s got heels on with shorts that are unbuttoned at the top and a shirt that looks more like a bra. She’s pretty in a very obvious way with her blond hair done straight and way too much makeup.

Not sure how they’ll respond, Jenna starts with, “Oh, we all know who Reagan is. Since you’ve been dating one of the football stars of Carmen Beach, Anna, we know everyone in your new crowd. Just surprised that the two of you are here, slumming when you could be at a much bigger party right now.”

Anna doesn’t even blink at the hostility. She just smiles back and explains, “Well, our men are out of town, and I wanted to see my brother. So here we are. So happy that you guys were able to make the party at my house.”

Anna always gives us such a softhearted sweet vibe that I don’t think of her sparring or fighting. But she grew up in this world, and from what she’s demonstrating. She knows how to handle these type of girls. It must have been that she was intimidated by my ex friends that made her so much meeker. Here she doesn’t even blink as she stares down Jenna until Jenna drops her gaze.

“Well, why don’t we get you girls a drink. So you can enjoy the party,” Jenna says as she silently gives in to Anna’s stare. Anna says, “Thanks a beer would be great.” As I say, “A water for me, please.” Anna looks at me in disbelief, and I realize that Colin was right. I’ve been drinking way too much if Anna is this surprised at me choosing not to.

Quietly, I tell her, “Colin would freak if he thought I was drinking here without him. I promised not to drink all weekend.” She nods in understanding and says, “Gotcha, you always have a drink at a party, and if you were worried, you know Decker and I would look out for you here.” “I know that, and I trust you. But I’d rather not tonight with all that’s happening with my dad, or I won’t want to stop.”

Adrien comes from the kitchen with a bottle of water and a beer which she hands us with a smile. “Here you go.” “Thanks,” Anna and I both say before Anna jokingly taps her beer to my water. “Now, let party, Reagan.” I laugh at her sarcasm and drink down my water in record time. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was since the shock of seeing my dad and coming here.

The girls got friendlier, and Anna and I talked to them for quite a while until someone yells, “Trenton’s group is outside now! They want to see Decker, Paul, and Ethan.” “What the hell is Tenton’s group doing here?” Anna spits out in panic.

I look over at her and her eyes are filled with immediate fear. I look at her in silent question, and she rushes to explain. “Decker and Trenton have never gotten along. Trenton deals drugs and sells them at school. He’s beat up a lot of kids and hurt some girls too. But a lot of people are scared of him. He fights dirty, and I don’t know why he’s here tonight.”

Jenna blurts out, “He also has a thing for Anna.” I look back at Anna with surprise, and she shrugs. “It’s true, I’ve never encouraged it or done anything about it. But he might listen to me and leave. I’ve got to go out there.”

Decker and two other guys that must be Paul and Ethan walk beside him while a lot of other guys follow them outside. “Trenton might have brought a gun or knife. I’ve got to settle this down before someone gets hurt.” Anna cries in alarm. “If you’re going out there, I’m going with you. My brother would kill me if anything happened to you,” I say firmly.

But just as I say that, a wave of dizziness hits me, and I grasp onto the wall. Trying to get oriented again, Anna grasps onto me, “You okay, Reagan?” she asks in concern. I nod at her and encourage, “Just go, go. I’ll be fine. You need to help them out there.” I hear Jenna say reassuringly, “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of her till you get back, don’t worry.”

At this point, my main goal is to remain standing as the room spins, and I can’t see straight at all. What the hell is going on? I hear Jenna instruct, “Grab her,” as my legs start to give out.

Anna

I hate the constant fighting and challenging each other. I’m so done with this rough world that was all I knew before Wallace and Reagan. But I couldn’t abandon Decker. He still needed me, and Trenton had hurt him pretty bad in the past. I couldn’t let it happen tonight if there was something that I could do about it.

As I walk up, I hear my foster brother yelling, “You don’t know shit about anything, Trenton. I’m not trying to challenge you. I just want out of this town, man. And I don’t want you hurting anybody else. That’s all. I could care less if you want to say that you’re the man, and I’m not. Be the fucking man, then, go for it.”

Trenton looks up at Decker, a feral hateful look in his eye, “You talk shit about me constantly. You won’t let your sister have anything to do with me. And you keep interrupting my business dealings. I’m here to put an end to it tonight.”

Decker looks back at all his guys and reluctantly nods his head. If Trenton wants to fight, Decker won’t deny him. But I can tell that Decker’s heart isn’t in it. He only wants to escape this damn town and life, just like I do. He doesn’t want anyone to get hurt either.

So I step out from behind Ethan before Decker can pull me back in. Trenton’s eye immediately fix on me. “I didn’t know you were here tonight, darlin. You’re normally with your fancy rich boy. What are you doing here on the weekend?”

With pleading eyes, I explain, “I wanted some time with my brother. Trenton, could you please not do this tonight. I don’t want to see anybody get hurt. And I know that will happen if you fight.”

The turmoil in his expression makes me nervous, but finally, I see his eyes steadily meet mine, and he gives in. “Alright, darlin, only for you will I leave your brother alone tonight. We’ll leave in peace, but I’m making this clear that it was only for you. Your brother will have to deal with me later if he keeps interrupting my business practices.”

Decker mutters, “You mean your drug dealing.” But as I hold my breath in worry, I watch Trenton’s face, and he doesn’t hear it. With a final wave to me, he and his guys walk off down the street, and I wrap my arms around Decker in relief.

“What the hell was that about?” I ask my foster brother. Shame-faced, he looks back at me and admits, “He was trying to pressure a ninth grader to deal for him. He was in his face and about to really hurt him. I couldn’t let that happen, Anna. I got in his face and let the kid escape. He said some things about you, and I retaliated by hitting him in the stomach. I guess I’ve pushed him to this.”

I look at Decker and see so much more than most people do. He might be rough around the edges, but he’d defend the helpless and weak with everything he had in him. That’s always been who he is. That’s why we’ve forged a close bond. He’s always protected me.

Remembering Reagan, I tell Decker, “I’d better get inside. I left Reagan in there with all those bitches. At least she was only drinking water; I bet she’s about to lose her mind talking to those girls and listening to all their drama.”

Decker’s eyes soften as I mention Reagan, and he asks hesitantly, “Did she mention me at all after I talked to ya?” Letting out a sigh, I try to explain to him for the twentieth time, “She thinks you’re kind, but I know that for her all she can see is Colin. Give up Decker, please. I know she loves him.”

He shrugs me off before stating, “A guy can always dream, sis. That might be all I have, but I’ve got that.” I turn him around and tell him, “As long as you know that’s all it’ll ever be.” He gives me his cocky grin that makes all the girls crazy at school before walking back into our house.

At his bellow, “What the fuck is happening?” I know the drama for the night hasn’t ended and run in right behind him. As I look at the couch with a beautiful topless girl with only skimpy panties on, I’m confused then quickly horrified as I realize that it’s Reagan. As I get closer, I notice that her eyes are barely open and not focused at all.

There are people all crowded around the room and some are taking pictures. Decker yells at everyone, “Put the damn cell phones up and delete any pictures you’ve taken. This stays here in this room.” He blocks Reagan as he says, “Now, when I find out who fucking did this to her, they’re a dead man. This is wrong.”