Star Crossed Hurricane (3 page)

The room ceased to exist. Everything stopped but her, and her body, and the way she moved, the way she felt. The lilacs and silk and lace, and he was so damn grateful there were too many people in that room, keeping Beckett away from them, so that Sawyer could have just this one moment with Savannah—

Someone banged on the door next to his head and he swore, pulling away from her. Her lips were swollen and her eyes wide as he jerked open the door. “The noise is too loud. Shut it down, guys.” The hotel manager yelled, shoving his way into the room.

Sawyer shoved his way out.

He’d made it halfway down the hall, almost to the safety of his room, before he realized the door was still locked. He swore, stopping, frozen in indecision. He’d gone too far. He’d lost control, and he’d let himself go too far.

“Hey!”

He turned, slowly, trying to rearrange his face into something not resembling absolute torture. “Hey. What’s up?”

“What the heck was that, Sawyer?” She marched right up to him — his little firecracker — eyes flaming, her hands on her hips.

He forced himself to only see the anger, because if he acknowledged the pain behind it, he would lose it completely. “What was what?”

Her eyebrows jerked up as she shook her head back and forth, little movements that sent her hair swirling around her shoulders. “What was—what? Are you serious?” She swung her arm back toward the room, glaring. “What. Was. That?”

She was going to hate him. He had to make her hate him.
Say something. Something indifferent. Come on, idiot!
He shrugged. “I like you, Savvy.”
Shit. Not that.
“I got caught up in the music. Half the people in there were making out.”

“You like me?” She’d paled. “Music? What?” she whispered.

“You’re beautiful. You’ve got the body of a goddess. I’m not blind, Savvy.”

She closed her eyes, nodding. His entire being exploded with self-loathing as he saw the tears threatening to escape the corner of one eye. “I see.”

“Look, Savvy.” He grabbed her hands, realizing how stupid it was to try to comfort her when he’d just intentionally hurt her. “It doesn’t matter what I feel or what you feel. We both know that. So just—just forget this happened.”

She jerked her hands away and spun, sprinting back down the hall. She didn’t go to her room, though, instead turning and disappearing out of sight.
Don’t go after her. Don’t go after her.

With herculean effort, he turned his back on her and went to his room, slumping down against the door and praying for death.

“
See that girl?”
Sawyer pointed across the cafeteria.
“The one with the long dark hair?”

Beckett looked up from his tray.
“Hell yeah I see that girl. I see her every damn time I close my eyes.”

Sawyer’s heart stopped.
“That’s…
that’s Savannah?”

Beckett nodded.
“Sweetest girl you’ll ever meet. Can’t even hate her for dumping me.”

“Hey. You were serious about going to bed?” Beckett was crouched across from him, shaking his shoulder.

Sawyer’s eyes snapped open. “Yeah. Can’t get in, though.”

Beckett stood, digging his key out of his pocket. “Party got shut down. Pizza’s out. Savvy’s all upset about something, so we thought we’d get her out of here for a while.”

Sawyer straightened, hoping the panic didn’t show in his eyes. “Did she say why?”

Beckett shrugged. “Never does, does she? Laura and Kelly are on it, though. She’ll be fine.”

Yeah. She’d be fine. Because the only people who ever knew she was hurting were Laura and Kelly, and those three protected each other like the guards of the Crown Jewels. But he’d still hurt her — whether she hid it or not, the pain was still there.

And he hated himself.

Beckett was still talking, and Sawyer struggled to catch up. “—she tried to run for it again. Luckily Laura caught her first. Someone’s gotta teach that girl she can’t always take off when she’s upset. That’s probably why she’s so fast, though.”

It was true — not the part about it being why she was so fast, although it might be why she had freakish endurance. No, it was true that someone had to teach her not to run. She didn’t deal with emotional issues, she escaped them. His little Savvy was a flight risk, that’s for sure.

“She’s obsessed with old buildings, you know? Mysteries and decay and urban exploring. One of Dara’s new friends says there’s an old mansion a couple miles from here, in the woods. We’re all going to check it out.”

You know?
Hell yes, he knew. He knew her favorite food, her favorite color. He knew what was in her purse and her gym bag and her head. Since urban exploration was her greatest passion,
yes
, Sawyer knew.

“You realize we’re in the middle of a hurricane?” He struggled to his feet because she was coming down the hall and if she knew how bad he hurt, she would realize his pushing her away was all an act.

She was a smart girl. She’d know he’d done it intentionally.

So he refused to look at her, although he could feel the force of her glare burning into the side of his face.
I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Buttercup.

“I looked outside. The storm is gone,” Aaron said.

Sawyer frowned. A hurricane like that didn’t come and go so quickly.

“He doesn’t want to go. Leave him alone.” Her voice was like ice, freezing his blood in his veins. He fought like hell, with everything he had, but he wasn’t strong enough to stay away from her.

“Yeah, I’ll come. Sounds fun.”

CHAPTER THREE

“
Y
OU’RE BEAUTIFUL.
Y
OU’VE GOT THE BODY OF A GODDESS.
I’m not blind,
Savvy.”

It was physical. He wanted her, not because he felt anything even close to what she did, but because she had a nice body. He wasn’t in love with her.
You are so, so stupid.
The words were on repeat in her head, over and over and over until she wanted to scream and rip her hair out. Instead, she ran. In jeans so tight she could barely breathe, packed specifically to get Sawyer’s attention. And a lace shirt and boots. At least they were flat boots. Running in heels would have been a bad, bad idea. Especially once they made it out of the city and into the woods.

In Utah, they had mountains. There were trees and bushes and she’d thought that was forest. But here, the forest was right outside the little town, less than three hundred yards from their hotel. The trees were huge and blocked out the sky. The undergrowth was thick enough that half the time, she had to hold on to Laura, who was taller than she was, so that she didn’t get lost in the weeds or fall into a bush or a rabbit hole. There was a semblance of a deer trail that Dara’s friend led them through, but it was muddy and overgrown.

Sawyer was behind her, with several people between them. She was trying hard to pretend he wasn’t there at all. Laura was surrounded by the two boys trying to win her heart, one in front and one on the side, making sure she didn’t trip or fall. Kelly had Caleb to catch her if she fell. Savannah had Beckett, his hands on her waist when she’d trip or slide. She’d rather keep herself upright or fall alone, but she wasn’t given the option.

She had hoped Beckett and Sawyer would stay at the hotel. But no, because that would have been too easy. Once, when Beckett slid one way and she had stumbled the other, Sawyer caught her. His hands on her rib cage had nearly sent her sprinting through the trees again as her heart had tried to pound out of her chest. Then Beckett regained his footing and Sawyer backed off.

“Could this place be more creepy?” Beckett muttered.

Liam nodded. “It’s too quiet. I can hear… things.”

Savannah snorted. “Heaven forbid we hear things.”

“I got this, Liam.” Beckett started singing — the exact same song from the bus.

A love song.

“
I’d sell my soul to save you, shred my heart to have you. Look at me…”

Blinking stupidly, Savannah brushed the tears from her eyes before anyone saw her. She was grateful that everyone else started singing too, loud and off-tune, so that it was more hilarious than heartbreaking.

Except Sawyer. Sawyer walked silently.

That song… how many times had she wanted to say those exact words to him? And he’d thrown that in her face. He
knew
she liked him. And he didn’t care.

“I don’t know,” Kelly said, appearing out of the darkness, hair disheveled and cheeks pink. “I think he should fight for her. I mean, how stupid is it to lose the one thing he wants? Every girl wants a guy who will fight for her.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Beckett’s hand clutched tighter on her arm as he helped her over a rock. Like she needed help. Like she hadn’t spent her entire childhood climbing trees and hiking up mountains this state could only dream of.

With him. I did all those things with him.

“The demon hunter show… I forget the name. Caleb watched the season finale with me.” Kelly smiled, looking up at Caleb adoringly over her shoulder.

“I agree.” Beckett shrugged. “I think a guy should fight for what he wants. Otherwise, how would she know?”

Oh believe me. There are ways, Beck.

“Maybe he has his reasons. Maybe he’s trying to do the right thing,” Sawyer said. Any other day, Savannah would have tried hopeful hidden messages in those words, but not now. Now, she knew that he was only talking about the damn show, and nothing else.

Nothing, nothing, nothing.

“Almost there, guys. You up for another run?” Dara’s friend called from the front of the line.

“We are a track team,” Laura muttered. Savannah, despite herself, snickered.

They started jogging. The path was clearer here, the trees thinner. Savannah squinted at the ground through the mist and darkness. It was smoother — lots of little pebbles, like this had been a road once.

Her curiosity piqued and her blood raced a little more. It was nice of Beckett to ask the kid about this place. It did help, the excitement of discovery, the unknown.

“Did he say this place was haunted?” Laura asked Savannah under her breath.

“Yeah. Isn’t it cool?” Kelly exclaimed.

Savannah squeezed Laura’s hand. “There are no ghosts. And if there are, I’ll protect you.”

“Yeah… unless the ghosts have pet spiders. Then you’re S.O.L,” Kelly giggled, dancing out of the way when Savannah swiped at her half-heartedly.

They slowed to a walk, although the mysterious mansion was still nowhere in sight. “Do you think we’re lost?” Savannah asked.

“He’s following the road. Don’t think we’re lost,” Sawyer said from right behind her. She jumped, closing her eyes and praying for strength.

His voice was different than usual — no laughing, no jokes. It was quiet, serious. Yeah, she’d seen him that way plenty of times, but she hadn’t been expecting it now.

Unless he knew he’d hurt her. And he was sorry.

Of course he’s sorry, you idiot. Sawyer is a nice guy. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone, and you were crying in front of him.

Besides, he’s never hurt you before.

He’d always been a sweetheart. Her lucky charm.

What did that mean?

She sighed, shoving her damp hair out of her face.

“Getting tired, Savvy?” Beckett asked. “Want me to carry you?”

She shook her head. “No, Beck. I’m good.”
I’m a big girl, you know.

“Well yeah. But that’s not what I asked.”

She forced a laugh, rolling her eyes. It was too much emotional energy to try to pretend everything was fine. As much as she wanted to explore this “legendary” mansion, she’d far rather do it by herself.

“I don’t like haunted things,” Laura said, staring off into the growing shadows nervously.

“I’ll protect you, Laura,” Liam said quickly.

“She doesn’t need your protection.” Aaron glared at him over the top of Laura’s head.

Savannah hid a smile. “That’s right. Because I already said I’d protect her.”

Laura grinned as both boys struggled to come up with a response. Savannah winked at her and went back to the angst in her head.

“I don’t think the storm is past. I can’t see the skies through all the trees, though.” She could hear Sawyer muttering, but no one was listening. She, of course, hung on his every word, no matter how hard she tried not to.

Besides that, he would know a hurricane better than the rest of them. He was the only one who had grown up on the coast. But Dara’s new friends had said they didn’t get hurricanes on this side of the country. And they would know, wouldn’t they?

“Holy crap,” Laura breathed. Savannah had been listening to Sawyer and staring at her feet, and hadn’t even realized the overgrown road they were jogging down had widened into a massive yard. Or, what had been a yard, once. Hedges grew out of control, rose bushes tangled themselves around fences. Grass fought weeds for control of the lawns — lawns that were easily as big as football fields.

“How does no one own this place?” she asked. Dara’s friend, the blond one, not the redhead, glanced back at her.

“I told you. It’s haunted.”

“Oh. Of course.” She nodded, pretending like she really did believe in ghosts.

She didn’t. Not even close. But he was their guide. Probably best not to openly mock him. “So… there’s a house somewhere around here?”

“Yeah.” He seemed pleased that she believed his ghost story. “Still a ways up, though. Let’s go.”

The wind had started to pick up again, although the trees still blocked the skies. Every smart fiber in Savannah’s body screamed that they should go back to the hotel. But urban exploring was like a drug to her. She couldn’t walk away, not until she’d seen the house. Dug through its secrets. She bounced on her toes, finally shoving past everyone else and bounding up the driveway.

“I told you she’s got a thing for old buildings,” she heard Beckett say.