Monsters' Gift (Crude Hill High Book 2) by Sam Crescent (best classic novels .TXT) 📗

“Yes.”

“Friends that fuck?” Gael asked.

She winced.

Caleb snorted. “So, you’ve fucked my three best friends but are leaving me out.”

“I don’t want to argue with you,” she said. “I don’t want to fight.”

“And you think I do?”

“How did you expect this to go, Caleb? You got me at the price of my friend. You had to know I wouldn’t accept that.”

“I did what I had to.”

“At what price?” She sighed. “Do you even know if he kept to his end of the bargain? I can’t leave the house, can I? I don’t know the full extent of your fathers’ powers, but I’m not safe here.”

“You are safe.”

I didn’t like where she was going with this. It was a fear that we all had, but I didn’t like her voicing it.

“I can’t hide in here forever, Caleb. Neither can all of you. You’ve got a town to destroy.” She took a step out of the room and I watched her go, wanting to help her, to offer her comfort, but there was nothing I could say. She was right, like always. We were fucked.

Caleb stared at the door. In the brief second he stared at her retreating back, I knew he was in pain. He hated being a disappointment to Emily, but that was what we all were. With Ashley gone, we had all fucked up, and we had to pay the price.

“I’m going to reach out to some of my boys,” I said. “See if I can find out about any movement or agreement of a kill on a female.”

I couldn’t stand to be in the room anymore and I left, not looking back. There was only so much pain we could all stand, and I had to make it right, once and for all.

****

River

I found Emily in the music room. She sat at the piano, her fingers touching each key, letting the sound linger in the air before moving onto the next one. She stared across the room at me.

“Do I have to go to my room for being naughty? I didn’t see any soldiers.”

“No, I’m not here to tell you where to go. You can sit and enjoy.”

She sighed and both of her hands landed on the keyboard.

As the last notes lingered out, sadness swept over me. She was so miserable. The tears in her eyes caught me off guard. I went to her, sitting beside her and wrapping my arm around her.

“Don’t cry. Please, don’t cry.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry. You can cry. I just, I hate to see you so upset, especially when I know we’re the cause.”

She sniffled. “I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, but I fucked up big time.”

“None of this is on you.”

“No? If I had pushed Ashley away, none of this would have happened.”

“You’re right, she’d have been dead. We wouldn’t have thought to save her.” I gripped her arm tightly.

“Don’t say stuff like that.”

“Why not? It’s the truth. She’d have suffered along with her mother. You know the facts. We all do.” I couldn’t let her believe any other way would have been a happier option for Ashley. It wouldn’t. “What you can’t do is blame yourself for all of this. None of this is your fault. Life happens. Shit happens. Don’t blame yourself.”

She sniffled and wiped at her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry either.” I pushed some of her hair back off her shoulder.

“I’m not like this. Sad and miserable, yeah, that has been me.”

“You’re normally sad and miserable?”

“Yeah, having four men give you up can cause a great deal of heartache.” She sighed. “I always promised myself that if I got to see you again, I’d be different. I wouldn’t let a single moment go by without telling you how I felt.”

I tensed up. “How do you feel?” She looked up at me and I cupped her face, wiping away the tears. “No more tears.”

“You know how I feel, River.”

“I’ve got an idea, but I don’t know completely.”

She chuckled. “You just want me to say it, don’t you?”

I winked at her. “It would be nice to know what my girl thinks of me.”

She sighed. “You’re a pain in the ass.”

“I’m lovable.”

Her gaze ran over my body. “Where’s your knife?”

“I can cope without one being in my hands.” I slid my fingers into my back pocket and held it up for her. Opening the blade, I rested it on top of the piano. “I always keep one close at hand, though.”

“I get that.” She rested her head against my chest.

No words were spoken. I guessed I wasn’t going to hear them tonight. I didn’t mind. We were still on her shit list. I got it. We’d all fucked up. Still, I didn’t like how badly Caleb was taking it. I don’t think he felt guilty for using Ashley for his own personal means. I think what he was upset most about was getting caught. He couldn’t stand the idea of Emily hating him.

“I love you,” she said.

At first, I wasn’t sure I heard her correctly, but there was no mistaking the words that fell from her lips.

“I love you too,” I said.

She lifted her head. “You didn’t have to tell me if you didn’t feel it.”

“I do. Letting you go was the hardest thing I ever had to do.”

Her laughter filled the air as she rolled her eyes. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I’m being serious. No joking around.”

“You were kidnapped. The stories of what happened to you during high school were the stuff of legends.”

I shrugged. “Either way, I knew I was either going to die or make it out alive. With you gone and no easy way of getting you