Star Crossed Hurricane (4 page)

The rest of them hurried with her, which meant she nearly got run over when she saw the tunnel and skidded to a halt. Her eyes threatened to fall out of her head. “It’s a carriage house. I’ve never seen one of these before!” Squealing, she ran through it, pausing underneath to try to study everything around her. She spun in circles, trying to take it all in as fast as she could. Smartly, she stopped before she got dizzy and made herself sick, tearing her eyes away from the building. As always, her gaze landed on Sawyer. He was leaning against the wall, watching her with a small, sad smile, his arms crossed over his broad chest. Her heart tried to crawl into her throat, but she shoved it away and turned her back on him.

I’m not blind, Savvy.

“You think this is cool, wait ‘til you see the house.” Dara’s blond friend seemed to have caught her enthusiasm and abandoned Dara to lead Savannah up the curving drive. Savannah felt like a little kid, giggling and running as fast as she could, the wind pushing at her back, just as excited as she was.

“Holy snowballs!” she gasped as the trees cleared and the hedges died away and she got her first glimpse of the house.

It was massive, at least four stories high, and covered in ivy. At the two front corners, turrets rose into the sky. Part of the roof had collapsed toward the back, and it looked like there had been a fire at one point, but the gray brick still stood tall.

A wide, sweeping staircase led up to the front door, a door that looked like solid mahogany. The handle was nearly as big as Savannah’s whole arm. She sprinted up the steps and tried to push it open, but it didn’t budge.

The rest of the group had finally caught up to them. She heard Beckett swear, heard Dara gasp, everyone made all kinds of impressed noises, but she hardly noticed them. “Have you ever been inside?” she asked the blond guy. Wrinkling her nose, she glanced back at him. “What did you say your name was?”

“Julian. And no. I haven’t been inside. The door’s locked.”

“Yeah. Like that’ll keep her out,” Sawyer snorted. She didn’t look at him, though, just tugged again on the door and then jogged back down the stairs to survey the house.

Laura and Liam were missing. So were Kelly and Caleb. Savannah knew where they were, as did probably everyone in the group. She was sad that they were missing this great discovery, though something told her they were making some discoveries of their own.

“So this was cool. I guess we head back now?” Beckett asked, tipping his head back to stare at the sky. “It’s getting pretty dark.”

“We have an early meet tomorrow.” Dara nodded, edging closer to Beckett, watching Savannah with narrowed eyes, waiting to see her reaction.

Take him. Please for the love of everything holy, take Beckett and make him forget me.

“Wait, I want to take some pictures. Savannah, go over there and do something cool.” Aaron backed up, his phone in front of him.

“Do something cool. No pressure,” Savannah muttered, climbing back up the steps, counting each one. Twenty. Twenty wide steps to get to the front door. “What do I do?” she called down to him.

Beckett leaped up next to her, grabbed her around the waist, and dipped her back, his lips smashing against hers, his tongue sliding against her teeth. She squealed, pushing at his chest as she fought to regain her balance. “Beckett!” she yelled when he finally released her.

“Did you get it?” he asked Aaron, grinning. She wanted to punch him.

Aaron nodded, laughing. Everyone was laughing, like it was some big joke, and she should probably laugh, too, but she didn’t think it was funny.

Sawyer.

Sawyer didn’t think it was funny, either. He was glaring at Beckett, his hands fisted at his sides. Hope surged in her chest, stupid hope that would break her heart, and she should crush it before the hope had a chance.

“Don’t do that again, Beck,” she hissed, shoving past him.

“Sav, it was a joke! It was funny!”

She just shook her head, jumping back down the stairs.

“Are we heading back, then?” Dara asked.

“Text that to me, will you? I wanna make it my profile pic.” Beckett was leaning over Aaron’s phone, looking through the pictures. “Yeah, let’s get going. I think the temperature dropped like thirty degrees.”

“No.” Savannah barely recognized the growl that came out of her throat. “Go ahead. I’m not going.”

He looked up, blue eyes completely bewildered. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing. I didn’t come all this way to turn around and go home. You go ahead, but I’m staying.” With that, she turned back to the mammoth house, looking for broken windows that she could fit through without losing much skin.

“Fine. We’re staying. What are we going to do, stand here and stare at it?” Beckett asked, crossing his arms over his chest. She barely looked at him, because if she looked at him, she’d want to hit him, and then she’d have a hurt hand.

“Nooo,” she drew out the word, because clearly he wasn’t as bright as usual. “I’m going to find a way in.”

“What?” Dara choked. “But—but it’s falling down. And burned! And the storm!”

Savannah sighed, realizing she was being stubborn and not very nice, but she was hurt and embarrassed and angry. “Then go back, Dara. It’s not like I’m making you go in with me.”

“It looks like there’s a window on the second floor that’s broken out,” Sawyer said quietly, pointing. “That tree branch goes right into it.”

She smiled at him, so grateful for his help that she could have kissed him.

Well, she would have given her kidney for a chance to kiss him. But that was beside the point.

“Can you climb in those boots?” he asked, raising an eyebrow, a small grin playing at the corners of his mouth.

She smiled, a small smile carrying the promise of a truce, and nodded.”Yeah. I think I can manage.”

“I’m going back,” Dara said. “Is anyone coming with me?”

“I’ll go,” Aaron seemed to have just realized Laura and Liam were gone, and he looked heartbroken. “I need to get some sleep.”

Julian gave one last, hopeful look at the house before nodding. “Yeah, I’ll go back, too.” He grinned at Savannah. “Never met a girl who wanted to check this place out before.”

Savannah ducked her head, her cheeks warming. “Yeah… I’m kind of a freak. See you guys in a bit?” They agreed, or at least, she was pretty sure they did, but she was already turning away, scrutinizing the tree like it was a puzzle. Except she’d never been very good at puzzles.

Trees, though, she could do.

Silently, they walked across the lawns. Beckett was on his phone, Sawyer was watching the sky, and Savannah was watching him, but out of the corner of her eye because she’d already made a fool of herself once that day.

Once a day was plenty.

They stopped at the tree, and Sawyer hoisted himself up onto the lowest branches. “How does it look?” she called.

“Like it was made for climbing. You comin’ up?”

She’d just reached for the lowest branch when Laura emerged from the darkness, eyes sparkling and a small smile playing around her lips. “You owe me five bucks,” she murmured as she passed Savannah. She’d bet boxers. Apparently, Liam wore briefs. Savannah’s eyes widened and she spun. “Seriously? Laura! Where’s Kelly? She’s gonna love this.”

Laura’s grin broadened. “Kelly’s… busy. Probably winning five bucks of her own.

As if summoned, Kelly appeared at their side, fanning her pink cheeks. “Shew. Is it hot out here to anyone else? By the way, you owe me five bucks.”

Savannah squealed. Laura squealed, and Kelly squealed, because this little bet of theirs had been a
long
time coming, before Savannah realized that she was out ten bucks. And she didn’t even have anyone to bet
about
to win her money back.

Damn.

CHAPTER FOUR

“
W
HAT WAS THAT ABOUT?”
Beckett asked Sawyer, watching Savannah with lovesick eyes. As always.

Yeah. You probably have the same look.

Sawyer massaged his temples. “Girls and their bets. Who knows.” He glanced at the sky, at the clouds gathering like a warlord bringing in its assassins. “Savvy,” he called and tried not to love the way her name sounded against his lips. As always. “The weather’s gonna get bad, Buttercup. We’ve gotta head back.”

She looked up at him and then up at the sky, and her beautiful face creased. “But–but we just got here… I haven’t got to see inside yet.” She was devastated, he could tell, and it killed him to disappoint her. But he’d rather she be disappointed and alive than caught in a hurricane and dead. Even the thought made his blood run cold.

“It’s just a storm. We can—we can stay inside and wait it out,” she begged.

“This place could be a death trap in a storm. Maybe we can come back after the meet tomorrow.” He dropped out of the tree and turned to help her, but she landed next to him. He hid a proud grin.
That’s my girl.

“Come on, Savannah, use your head. You’re gonna get us all killed,” Beckett said absently, raising his phone in the air. “I don’t have a signal here at all.”

Savannah crumpled in on herself. “Yeah. Okay.”

Sawyer wanted to kill his best friend.

Instead, he had to settle with distracting Savannah, trying to smooth the pain. “This isn’t like Texas. If we were at home, we’d probably be clinging for dear life to the trees by now. Or, you know, washed away by a tsunami. But Julian said they don’t get hurricanes here.”

“They don’t get hurricanes here
very often,”
Laura said. “We got them in Alaska, sometimes, so I know it’s possible here.”

Savannah looked again at the sky, her eyes darkening. “Really? We don’t get storms like that in Utah much. Maybe we should run. Beck?” she snapped, keeping her eyes firmly on the road ahead.

“Coming. You guys worry too much. Savvy’s been rubbing off on you. I remember when we were together, if I didn’t call right on time, she’d freak. My little worrywart.” He rubbed her head and Sawyer saw her grit her teeth.

“You
just
said I was going to get us all killed.” She moved out of arms’ reach, hugging herself as they hurried down the drive, sneaking disappointed glances over her shoulder at the house. “Anyway, I had good reason to worry, Beckett. You were never where you said you’d be. Or with who you said you’d be with.”

This was news to Sawyer. Savannah never spoke of when she and Beck had been together, although it was half of her junior year and all of her senior year. He’d assumed she had broken up with Beckett because she was going off to college and didn’t want to be tied down — that’s what Beckett had always said and she hadn’t argued. It seemed there were things Beckett had failed to tell him.

If she had ever been his, he wouldn’t have made her worry. They would have to pry his phone from his hands to keep him from calling her at least once an hour. Or once a minute. Just to hear her voice. And that was if, for some unfathomable reason, he wasn’t already with her.

Kelly wrinkled her nose. “Calling a girl anything with wart in it is not attractive at all, Beckett.”

“Either way, it’s getting dang cold. Maybe we should hurry,” Savannah said as a shiver passed over her thin shoulders. Lace. She was wearing lace. No wonder she was freezing.

He pulled his long-sleeved shirt over his head. “Put this on. You’re gonna freeze to death.”

“But—” she blushed as her words stumbled over each other and her eyes fell on his arms. “—But you’re only wearing a t-shirt. You’ll—you’ll be cold.”

“I don’t get cold, sweetheart. Hurry up.” When she still didn’t move, he tugged his shirt over her head and she automatically stuck her arms through the sleeves.

“Thank you.”

“Beckett, you have a jacket on. Why didn’t you share so Sawyer wouldn’t have to wander around in a storm with no sleeves?” Kelly asked and Laura raised an eyebrow, waiting on his answer. They were tag-teaming him, and the two of them together were formidable. Sawyer tried to hide a grin, grateful that Savannah had them to protect her.

“I thought we were going to run. I didn’t think there was time.”

Savannah nodded. “We should run. We’re getting a workout today, aren’t we? Coach is gonna be so mad.”

Subject effectively changed.

Lightning cracked above them and all three girls squealed, ducking their heads.

“Let’s go!” Liam grabbed Laura’s hand and they took off, Kelly and Caleb close behind. With one last, sad look over her shoulder, Savannah followed them, and they ran in silence for the next several minutes, except for the occasional shriek when lightning would shoot across the sky in front of them. The wind picked up, howling and moaning like it had a broken heart.

It was a sound Sawyer knew well.

They’d just broken out of the trees, in sight of the main road, when a car, sitting silent and dark, suddenly flashed its lights and pulled forward. Sawyer automatically moved protectively in front of Savannah before he realized it was a friend — and not some kidnapper hopped up on drugs trying to kidnap the girl he loved.

“Hop in,” Julian yelled, cranking the window down. “I’ll take you back to the hotel!”

“Thank the Lord,” Kelly gasped as they piled into his little four-door rusted car. Sawyer, the tallest by at least three inches, would only fit in the front, and Savannah had to sit on his lap, because there was no way they were fitting anyone else in the back. If it hadn’t been for their little fight earlier, she would have curled into him now, trying to steal his warmth. But despite their truce, she sat away from him, her body stiff, trying to keep her weight off his legs. For the eight-thousandth time that night, he hated himself for what he’d said. His body missed hers.

“This looks like it’s gonna be one heck of a storm,” Julian said. “Maybe the meet will get canceled tomorrow, too.”

“Since I’ve run, like, a hundred miles today, I’d be okay with that,” Laura said from the back seat, her voice muffled, buried as she was under four other people.

It was the longest ride ever, and far too short, because when they pulled into the hotel parking lot and she scrambled out of the car, his body ached for her.