Forever Golden: Dark High School Bully Romance (Kings of Cypress Prep Book 3) by Rachel Jonas (books like beach read txt) 📗

I can see. There are colorful bags and huge bouquets of balloons blocking everything else. To the point that I can’t tell which two of the triplets are waiting to be let in, and who the two silhouettes still in West’s car belong to.

I pull the door open, then hold the security door to let in who I now know to be West and Sterling, which means the two in the car are Dane and Joss.

“Uh… hi.”

I pause to scan all that these two are hauling inside my house.

“I thought you asked if you could grab Scar a gift. Singular,” I say, smiling to myself. I should’ve known West would go above and beyond that.

Hence the reason Scar’s early Christmas gift from him was a game system that probably costs more than a car payment.

“You know me. Go big or go home,” West answers, leaning in to kiss me before he sets Scar’s things on the couch.

There are at least ten bags here, and not all are presents. I see drinks, snacks, and paper goods. Between him and Sterling, I spot a dozen and a half balloons, maybe two. And speaking of Sterling, he’s holding a huge box I can now see is a birthday cake. One with a sticker on the side, stating that it was mixed and baked in a peanut-free zone.

My eyes are blurry, but I’m not going to cry. I do, however, want to squeeze West to death with a hug. So, I do that the second he passes the balloons off to Jules.

“Whoa,” he says with a laugh, catching me when I basically attack him.

“Thank you so much,” I manage to say.

Thank you for caring so much. Thank you for doing for my sister what I wasn’t able to do. Thank you for… just loving me.

He presses a kiss to my cheek and is in no rush to let me go. Jules and Sterling seem to notice that.

“Guess we’re on setup duty,” she teases. “We’ll get started in the kitchen.”

With that, Sterling follows her, and now I’m not so guarded since it’s just West and me. Despite how hard I fought against it, I do shed a few tears, but they’re happy tears for once.

“You didn’t have to do this,” I whisper.

“Mmm… actually, you’re wrong,” he replies. “I did have to, because I love Scar, and I definitely love her crazy-ass sister.”

A laugh slips out and I squeeze tighter. There are no words for how much I appreciate his thoughtfulness. When I finally do let go, it’s only because I know Scar’s on her way and, unlike before, we’ve got decorations to set up.

Jules and Sterling take care of putting out some of the snacks, while West and I hide the gifts in my room and scatter the balloons all over. Their colorful strings hang down, adding to the ambiance, and I light a few candles so we can kill some of the lights. By the time I hear Scar’s key in the door, everything’s perfect.

This isn’t exactly a surprise party, because she knew we were all hanging out, but she definitely wasn’t expecting all this. Hell, neither was I. But West and crew came through in the eleventh hour to save the evening.

Scar’s eyes light up and that’s enough to make it all worthwhile for me.

“What the heck did you do?” she asks after a sharp gasp.

“Well, actually—”

“Your sister loves you and she went all out to make today special,” West cuts in, stopping me short of giving him and his brothers credit.

When Scar rushes me with a hug, I mouth a tearful, “Thank you,” in West’s direction, to which he responds with a quick nod.

“This looks great!” Scar beams, grabbing a balloon down from the ceiling to bop Shane on the cheek with it. He smiles at her when she does it, but I see the distance Scar spoke of. See it in the way that smile he wears doesn’t quite reach his eyes. If I had to guess, my assumption was right.

The bloom is off the rose and his interest is split between my sister and God knows how many other girls.

I’m pulled away from the quick observation when my phone buzzes in my pocket. It’s that damn ‘Unavailable’ caller again. Typically, I’d at least try to pick up, knowing no one will actually say anything back, but not today. Today, I’m focusing on Scar.

West shoots me a questioning look when I shove the phone back in my hoodie, but the quick flash of a smile kills his suspicion.

“Where’s Dane?” Scar asks, glancing around the small room, thinking she somehow missed him.

“He’s in the car with Joss,” West answers, aiming a thumb over his shoulder in that general direction.

“Is… everything okay?” I ask.

He shoots me a hesitant look and his expression says a lot. “You didn’t see X’s post late last night?”

Curious, I shake my head. “I stopped paying attention after the Headmaster Harrison update. What’d I miss?”

West seems troubled when his gaze leaves me. “Some shit came out about Joss’s dad and she’s not taking it too well. She needed to vent to Dane for a bit, but they’ll be in in a sec.”

While it’s sweet that she pushed herself to come tonight, I would’ve understood if she hadn’t. Take it from me, family drama is the worst, but it’s even worse when you have to fake a smile.

Guess there’s nothing to do about it now. She’s already here.

“Mind helping me pour drinks? Pizza should be here any minute.”

Jules perks up when I ask. “Of course.”

We disappear in the kitchen, just the two of us, and I feel her staring while I arrange the cutesy unicorn cups West chose. He’s worse than me, seeing Scar as a little girl and not the almost-woman that she is.

“Look at you,” Jules whispers.

“What?”

She rolls her eyes like I should already know what she means. “Blue, he’s got you glowing so bright you’re practically radioactive,” she whispers, grinning just as big as I am now.

I