Part 6

Merit

She either sat next to, or in front of, Axl in every single class. It was infuriating, just like he was, but she also couldn’t help being intrigued by him. Everybody gave him a wide berth, everyone except North and Aspen. Merit knew when to be invisible and just listen, and from doing just that, she discovered North was, literally, the very top of their social elite food chain. Status here moved like an invisible currency, traded in glances, seating arrangements, and who was allowed to walk beside whom without being questioned.

Aspen was somewhere in the middle wealth class, lower on the rung than her new stepfamily, but she was still right at the top because of her association with North. Axl wasn’t anywhere on the rung; he didn’t feature at all. It was odd, to say the least, because their kind usually stuck together.

He existed just outside the carefully drawn lines, close enough to disrupt them without ever belonging to them. Axl had quite the reputation as the local bad boy, getting into fights—she didn’t know who with—but it explained his bruises. People feared him, because he didn’t care; he wasn’t rich, and he had nothing to prove to any of them. That alone made him dangerous in a world built entirely on appearances.

Jackson cornered her in the kitchen two days later, crowding her space as he trapped her between his arms against the counter.

“There’s a saying, little sister, show me your friends, and I’ll tell you exactly who you are,” Jackson said.

“I’m not your sister,” she snapped at him.

“Easy, Merit. I was just trying to show you some acceptance. A word of advice though, if you want to stay friends with Aspen,” he said.

“What’s that?” She had no idea what his deal was, but his voice sounded sincere enough.

“Don’t develop a thing for North St. John.”

Merit huffed out a laugh. “I wasn’t planning on it, but thanks for the advice. I’m not the kind of girl to go after someone’s boyfriend.”

“As your new stepbrother, I have to also warn you away from Axl Reynolds.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” she said softly, but secretly, she wondered why he would warn her away.

“Axl’s trouble. He’s from the wrong side of the tracks, Merit. Don’t get caught up in his bad boy act. He spends his time on the streets, beating up whoever he comes across. The only good thing I can say is, at least he’s raising his child after the chick bailed on him. She had the sense to run, but she’s a bitch who left her baby with him.”

“What?”

Merit couldn’t believe it. Axl had a child? It seemed almost incomprehensible. North and Aspen didn’t strike her as the type of people who would be friends with a bully, not the way Jackson was trying to make him out to be.The image refused to fit the boy she had watched in class, hunched over his desk, distant and untouchable.

“True story. The only good thing he’s got going for him is the fact that he’s somehow friends with North. Don’t become another statistic, Merit.”

“I’m not a statistic,” she said.

“No, you’re not. I’m just looking out for you,” he said, with a smile. “Let me know if he gives you any trouble, you are my sister now.”

“Thanks, Jackson,” she said, simply because she didn’t know what else to say. The word sister felt like something sharp and unwanted pressed into her hand.

Axl was a dark horse, that was for sure, but he didn’t strike her as being as bad as Jackson said. For all she knew, he was just as bad; his knuckles had also been bruised on that first day of school. Anything was possible.

She wondered if Axl and Jackson were enemies. Neither one had said anything good about the other. Axl hadn’t been rude or mean to her, but he also wasn’t friendly. Aspen felt like a friend, someone she could possibly confide in, and North was nice to her, but Axl really didn’t seem to care if she liked him or not. He did his own thing, and people noticed. She noticed too, and it only made her more curious.

Indifference cut deeper than cruelty ever could. She realized then that she didn’t actually know anything about him, just rumors from school. He was quiet, always brooding, always looking just a little too serious and aloof. He was mysterious. And somehow, that made him impossible to ignore.

She knew she shouldn’t find him attractive, or even like him as much as she did, because ultimately, there would be no room for someone like him in her life. He was trouble; she already knew that, and when you played with fire, you got burned. Still, some flames were easier to watch than walk away from.

On Friday morning, she found Aspen on the front steps near the school’s door and smiled when she saw her.

“Do you have any plans this weekend?”

Merit shook her head. “I’ve only got one friend here.”

Aspen laughed. “You’ve got three friends. As broody as Axl is, he’s your friend, too.”

“Yeah, right,” she said, her heart beating just a little faster at the mention of his name. “What do you guys do here for fun?”

“There’s always a party somewhere. Sometimes we go on a Saturday night, depending on how Axl feels, but we usually keep ourselves entertained at North’s house.”

“Just the three of you?” Merit asked.

“When it’s just us, we don’t have to worry about who’s listening or trying to stab us in the back,” Aspen said.

“That makes sense.”

“So I asked North if I could invite you, he’s a bit skeptical because we’ve had some issues in the past—”

“I’m not interested in your boyfriend, Aspen. I would like to keep being your friend, rather than have a fling with a guy for however long it lasts. That’s the last thing you have to worry about,” Merit said sincerely.

“I had a feeling about you.”

Aspen smiled, and they hooked their arms together. “Ooh, is it Axl you like?”

“Axl reminds me of trouble,” she said, and Aspen laughed. “Invite me to what?”

“On Fridays, I usually watch them rehearse, then we meet up again on Saturday nights to support Axl, and usually, on Sundays, we just laze about by the pool, or have movie marathons,” Aspen said. “We’re not the party animals people think we are.”

“Okay, that sounds like fun. Tell me when and where, and I’m there,” Merit said, with a smile.

For the first time since arriving in Esperton, something about the weekend felt like possibility instead of obligation.

It had become their morning routine to wait on the steps for the guys, and Merit smiled when Axl’s nineteen sixty-nine Camaro ZL one raced into the parking lot, immediately followed by North’s Jaguar.