clutches of sleep. I wanted to savor every part of the night until my memories were stuffed with these last moments of being with the Six.
I forced myself to walk over to my chair and sit down. When Mark came back out from the cabin, Jared walked over to the box and pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper.
He cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Is everyone ready?”
Ready for what? I wanted to ask, but I kept my question to myself. I was eager to know what the paper in Jared’s hand said.
JARED’S VOICE RANG OUT, MIXING with the sounds of the crackling fire.
“The rules of the Six.
Rule number one: No matter what happens, we will always be friends.
Rule number two: If someone’s being an ass-hat, the other five have the right to punch the ass-hat in the face.
Rule number three: At least once a month, we will hang out at the cabin for the weekend.
Rule number four: There will only be the six of us, except for Riley. She’s a girl and will be treated as the silent seventh.
Rule number five: We will have each other’s backs—no matter what.
Rule number six: No dating clingy girls who get in the way of the Six.
Rule number seven: Riley is off-limits. We will love her from afar until the day we graduate. After graduation, it will be up to Riley to show us how she feels. We will not intimidate her, push her, or even approach her. By now, she’s put up with enough of our shit and is probably sick of us.
These are the rules and if not followed, will result in an ass kicking by the other five.”
I shot up from my seat. My throat burned with the need to freak out on them. How dare they make me a part of their stupid rules! How dare they make me seem like their possession! My chest heaved with the added weight of feeling like a joke to them. Mark tried to steady me, and I shoved him away. “Don’t touch me!” I heard the snarl in my voice and wished that it were enough to inflict the pain I felt on them. I’d loved these boys, they’d been my world for so long, and it felt like the floor had been ripped out from under my feet. I clutched at my neck to ease the ache. It felt like I was trying to breathe out of a straw. I needed to get away, so I started searching for my keys. Ace had given them back to me, right?
“Riley, what are you doing?” Jared asked as the others sat in silence.
“Where are my keys?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“You’re not getting your keys, Riley,” Ace said as he approached me.
I held up my hand. “You just stay right there!”
“Come on, Riley. That was written four years ago. We didn’t mean anything by it,” Aiden said, not moving from his seat.
“Yeah, Riles, it wasn’t meant to hurt you.” Eli’s voice came out more like a plea than a statement.
“Hurt me? Are you kidding me right now? How long have you guys been dictating the way my life would go? Why bother even keeping me around? You make it sound like I was some sort of poison you had to contain! What, were you afraid that if one of you liked me that the whole ship of brotherhood would go down? You know what… don’t even answer that. Just give me my keys, so I can go.”
“You’re not leaving, Riley.” Ace’s voice had the commanding tone he always used to make something sound final.
“The hell I’m not. Give me my keys, Ace.” I stalked towards him, hell-bent on physically hurting him if he didn’t give me what I wanted.
“No. I think you need to sit down before you fall down,” he said, shaking his head.
“I don’t care what you think, Ace.”
Ace waited until I was about a foot away and tossed my keys to Josh. I shoved past him and set my sights on Josh. His eyes rounded, and he looked past me to where Ace stood. I felt my body waver, so I stopped and steadied myself the best I could.
“Give me my keys, Josh.”
“Riley, why don’t I help you inside? You can get some rest, and we can talk about this in the morning.” He talked to me as if
I forced myself to walk over to my chair and sit down. When Mark came back out from the cabin, Jared walked over to the box and pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper.
He cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Is everyone ready?”
Ready for what? I wanted to ask, but I kept my question to myself. I was eager to know what the paper in Jared’s hand said.
JARED’S VOICE RANG OUT, MIXING with the sounds of the crackling fire.
“The rules of the Six.
Rule number one: No matter what happens, we will always be friends.
Rule number two: If someone’s being an ass-hat, the other five have the right to punch the ass-hat in the face.
Rule number three: At least once a month, we will hang out at the cabin for the weekend.
Rule number four: There will only be the six of us, except for Riley. She’s a girl and will be treated as the silent seventh.
Rule number five: We will have each other’s backs—no matter what.
Rule number six: No dating clingy girls who get in the way of the Six.
Rule number seven: Riley is off-limits. We will love her from afar until the day we graduate. After graduation, it will be up to Riley to show us how she feels. We will not intimidate her, push her, or even approach her. By now, she’s put up with enough of our shit and is probably sick of us.
These are the rules and if not followed, will result in an ass kicking by the other five.”
I shot up from my seat. My throat burned with the need to freak out on them. How dare they make me a part of their stupid rules! How dare they make me seem like their possession! My chest heaved with the added weight of feeling like a joke to them. Mark tried to steady me, and I shoved him away. “Don’t touch me!” I heard the snarl in my voice and wished that it were enough to inflict the pain I felt on them. I’d loved these boys, they’d been my world for so long, and it felt like the floor had been ripped out from under my feet. I clutched at my neck to ease the ache. It felt like I was trying to breathe out of a straw. I needed to get away, so I started searching for my keys. Ace had given them back to me, right?
“Riley, what are you doing?” Jared asked as the others sat in silence.
“Where are my keys?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“You’re not getting your keys, Riley,” Ace said as he approached me.
I held up my hand. “You just stay right there!”
“Come on, Riley. That was written four years ago. We didn’t mean anything by it,” Aiden said, not moving from his seat.
“Yeah, Riles, it wasn’t meant to hurt you.” Eli’s voice came out more like a plea than a statement.
“Hurt me? Are you kidding me right now? How long have you guys been dictating the way my life would go? Why bother even keeping me around? You make it sound like I was some sort of poison you had to contain! What, were you afraid that if one of you liked me that the whole ship of brotherhood would go down? You know what… don’t even answer that. Just give me my keys, so I can go.”
“You’re not leaving, Riley.” Ace’s voice had the commanding tone he always used to make something sound final.
“The hell I’m not. Give me my keys, Ace.” I stalked towards him, hell-bent on physically hurting him if he didn’t give me what I wanted.
“No. I think you need to sit down before you fall down,” he said, shaking his head.
“I don’t care what you think, Ace.”
Ace waited until I was about a foot away and tossed my keys to Josh. I shoved past him and set my sights on Josh. His eyes rounded, and he looked past me to where Ace stood. I felt my body waver, so I stopped and steadied myself the best I could.
“Give me my keys, Josh.”
“Riley, why don’t I help you inside? You can get some rest, and we can talk about this in the morning.” He talked to me as if
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