15.

☆☆SUMMER'S POV☆☆

The forest smelled like damp earth and leftover dreams. I hopped off my bike near the clearing and stared up at the old treehouse nestled between two oak branches. Jake’s bike was parked under the tree.

He sat on the edge of the tree house, one leg swinging, phone in hand. His hoodie hood was up, but I could still see the flash of concern when he spotted me. His brows furrowed like I’d just limped in covered in blood.

I might as well have.

This was our secret spot that wasn’t so much of a secret. Jake’s dad built this place for us when we were kids. It was too big then and now, it felt just right.

The other kids used to disturb us back then until seventh grade, when they all stopped to.  I think it was because of Hayden. He beat up the toughest bully in school and barely sustained a single scratch.

When asked how he felt, he said, “Bored! That wasn’t a fight. It was just a warmup.”

Everyone was afraid. They knew Jake was Hayden’s big brother, and ever since then, no one dared to taunt him—let alone go near the treehouse their dad built.

“Hey,” I called softly.

“You’re late,” Jake replied, voice low but not annoyed. “I thought you bailed.”

“Never. Got sideswiped by Satan’s cheerleaders.”

That got his attention. I started climbing the wooden slats nailed into the tree trunk. Halfway up, he crouched to help me, grabbing my wrist just as I slipped a little.

“You okay?” he asked. “You’re shaking.”

“Just a love tap from the ground.” I pulled myself up the last plank and flopped into the treehouse, breathing hard.

Jake looked me over. His eyes widened when they landed on my elbow. I had forgotten to roll down my sleeve.

“Summer—what the hell happened to you?”

I rolled my sleeves down. “It’s fine. At least, I didn’t die. Bonus, right?”

“Who did this?” he asked, voice tight.

“Maxine. Henry. Merissa. That whole demonic convertible crew,” I said, waving it off. “They ran me off the road.”

Jake stood up, fists clenched at his sides. “I won’t let this slide. We have to take our revenge. Who do they think they are? Merissa, that snobbish little cunt rattered about—”

He stopped himself as if he had said too much and almost ventured into what he shouldn’t say. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

“Jake.” I touched his wrist. “What did Merissa say?”

I already knew. Agnes told me. Jake sat down again, eyes still burning.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Nothing really important,” he said.

“I want the tea. All of it. Spill. Now.”

Jake hesitated. Looked down at his hands like he needed to rehearse it all over again. Then finally, he sighed and started.

“It was a dinner. Formal, but not too formal. My dad didn’t tell us we were going to have dinner at the Halcyon hotel with the De Morven’s. He said it was a casual thing with some family friends.”

“Okay,” I muttered, listening attentively.

“Turns out it was… something else. They were setting up Hayden. It was a betrothal dinner. Hayden didn’t know. I didn’t know. My parents hid it from us. But apparently Diana knew. Her parents filled her in.”

I blinked, acting surprised. “Betrothal? Like, marriage betrothal? In this economy?”

Jake huffed a laugh but didn’t smile. “My dad made a toast. Talked about ‘uniting two powerful families.’ They clapped like it was the royal wedding. Then Hayden snapped and refused the engagement. Diana was furious. She chewed him up. Dropped the bomb without mercy.”

Jake paused, looked at me, his eyes boring into mine. “My notorious bad boy brother got expelled three months ago, hacked into our father’s email and deleted the email from the school. Five years in Europe? Wasted.”

I felt my stomach churn. So it was true. Hayden got expelled. My throat felt tight.

Jake leaned his elbows on his knees and stared at the floorboards. “Diana refused the engagement too. Said she couldn’t get married to someone like Hayden. But I think it was because he rejected her first.”

I sucked in a breath. “She exposed him at the table?”

“In front of our parents.” Jake nodded. “I saw her smile when our father struck Hayden. Like she was enjoying it.”

My mouth went dry. “I never liked her,” the words slipped out of my mouth.

Jake gave me the look. “Sure. But we don’t like Hayden either. It’s just because our dad’s mad about it, that’s why I’m bothered.”

I noticed Jake looking away, his jaw clenching as he said that. He had just told a lie. He actually cared a little for his brother even though he wouldn’t admit it.

I laid on the wooden floor covered with fine carpet, suddenly exhausted from the thinking, the riding, the secret joy I harboured deep inside that the engagement hadn’t worked. I felt terrible for Hayden. I wondered what he was going through, where he was, and how he was doing.

“Do you guys know why he was expelled?”

Jake lied next to me, gazing at the ceiling.

“Yeah. My dad called the university President. Found out Hayden stopped attending his core classes months ago, and was involved in underground street fights. The dean confronted him about it and Hayden beat him up.”

I almost screamed. I didn’t know Hayden was still as violent as he was back when we were kids. He used to have fights with a lot of other kids back then too. I had totally forgotten about that side of him until now. 

“There’s no way my dad can cover that up. What’s done is done.” Jake sighed. “I’m guessing my dad will send him off somewhere far away, never to be seen again.”

I stared out the tiny window of the treehouse, the woods quiet around us, but my head screamed as if it wanted to run off on its own. What was that feeling in my chest? This wasn’t happening to me. I wasn’t the one who got expelled or scolded or rejected. But God! It hurt like hell.

Jake turned to face me. “It’s a good thing we both hate him, right?” 

I snapped back to reality and turned my head to the side to look at him. He smiled, his eyes fixed on me, waiting for an answer.

How do I tell him I wasn’t sure I hated Hayden anymore? If anything… I think I’m in love with him.

“Yes,” I replied. “It’s a good thing we both hate him.”

My heart ached. I swallowed the lump in my throat. For how much longer will you continue to lie, Summer?

“We’ll be off to New York soon, and all of this will be forgotten,” Jake said.

I looked around the tree house. Photos from the last decade were plastered across the walls, staring back at me like ghosts of everything we’d lived through. I’d never left Saunterville since we moved here, and now… it hurt to leave all of this behind.

But what hurt the most was leaving Hayden behind. This was the cruelest summer ever.

“I can’t wait to leave,” I lied.

“Very soon, Summer,” Jake said. “Very soon.”

Buzz! A text came in.

I pulled out my cell phone. My heart twisted, and my eyes widened as I saw who it was from: Soul Snatcher.

Hayden!

“Who’s that? Soul Snatcher?” Jake asked grimly.

I froze. Fuck. He saw it.