Prologue

PROLOGUE

AVA

T he cup in my hand was emptied faster than the last one. I was past tipsy and on my way to being drunk. I knew I should be taking it slow, but fuck, the end of the year was finally here, and after the last couple of months I'd had, I couldn't wait for summer break to commence.

I held on to the rail as I looked into the depths of Blackwell Lake. It was a tradition that the hockey team threw the last party of the year. What was not tradition, and probably a stupid idea, was getting on a boat.

Grayson Cross was the center and newly elected captain of Blackwell Lake University's hockey team, the Blackwell Lake Barracudas. He was tall with broad shoulders, tousled, dark brown hair, and blue-gray eyes. Don't get me started on his voice. It was smooth like whiskey, and he had a British accent from living abroad with his mother. Grayson Cross was also a total fucking dick. A totally hot-as-fuck dick. He was a part of why I had a crappy year, but that was neither here nor there.

"Fuck, they don't want to turn around," a soft voice cursed near me.

I didn't have to turn around to know it was my friend Micah Pierce speaking. The only reason I stepped foot in this boat was because of him. I could still see the rest of the party raging on the lakeshore from a distance. I should have stayed there, but I was a good friend, and now I was paying the price.

Micah was here to appease his dad. Some part of him felt guilty for not being able to play, so he took it upon himself to herd a group of rowdy hockey players. We were forced to follow as soon as Grayson got on the boat. If Micah could help the team with any negative press, he would do it. Micah was tall, with lean muscle, not the kind you got with years of practice on the ice, but he worked out. His wavy chestnut hair was a bit tousled from running his fingers through it—probably the frustration of the situation.

We all knew the end-of-the-year party tended to get wild. After finals, everyone wanted to blow off steam, and the seniors wanted one last hurrah before joining the real world. And although it was the end of the school year, it would affect the players if things got out of hand. There weren't many secrets in a small town. Not that Blackwell was all that small. It was a lake town, and on top of that, it was a university town. Blackwell was influenced by students and staff from fall to spring, but only the townies stayed come summer.

"It's just one ride?" I tried to appease Micah. "We will be back at the shore before we know it."

Micah didn't answer. He didn't have to tell me he disagreed with me. I was past tipsy and going to have a very bad hangover tomorrow while he was completely sober.

The boat started to go faster, and I held the rails tighter. We were going straight toward the middle of the vast lake. The glow from the bonfire looked like a little speck of light the faster the boat went.

"Fuck," Micah cursed softly.

He left me alone and moved toward where Grayson and his friend Miller were driving the boat. Once the bonfire was too far away from me to see, I followed to where I noticed Micah was now arguing with Grayson and Miller, who was seconds away from passing out from how drunk he was.

"Look, Pierce. I don't know why you're even here," Miller slurred.

It was too dark to see Micah's facial expression, but I knew it probably struck a nerve. It was another reminder that no matter how much he integrated himself into the team, at the end of the day, he wasn't one of them.

"Shut up, Miller." Grayson scowled at his friend. I couldn't see his features, but I could hear the iciness in his voice.

The boat went faster, and I reached for the rail to steady myself. As I did that, Micah wrapped an arm around my waist to stop me from falling. I felt a shiver go down my spine at his touch.

"Stop the damn boat, Cross," Micah barked.

"Relax, Pierce," Grayson shot back.

Micah's hold on me got tighter. There was some shuffling, and then a bright light flashed, but it was gone in an instant. The faint murmur of a motor could be heard in the distance. The boat started to sway, so I craned my neck to try and get a better look, but before I could search the lake, we seemed to crash into something.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Miller fell and wasn't getting up. Micah let go of me so he could help Grayson stop the boat.

We came to a stop in the middle of the lake. There was darkness all around us. The water seemed too still.

"Shit, Miller passed out," Micah told us.

I could barely make out his crouched form.

My hand came to my chest, and I could feel just how hard my heart was beating.

"You okay, Ava?" Grayson's voice sounded close. That's when I realized I had slid down at some point, and my back was now against the rails.

"What the fuck was that?" Micah barked.

"Something must've got jammed in the motor." Grayson's answer sounded more like a question.

I pulled myself up and stepped toward the front of the boat.

"My phone," Micah murmured as he turned on the flashlight.

At that moment, I realized my phone was in my back pocket. I pulled it out and turned the flashlight on. I was feeling a lot more sober now, and I took a few unsteady steps closer to where Grayson and Micah were standing.

The three of us went to the edge of the boat, and Micah and I pointed our lights toward the lake, trying to figure out what was the thing that we had collided with. One of my hands came to my chest as I pointed the other one to the water, my body tense, waiting for what might jump out at us.

"There's nothing," Micah said. "Must have been a rock."

Both Grayson and I gave him a dubious look. A rock sounded like a hard stretch, but then again, everything seemed scarier in the pitch black.

"Yeah, a rock," I whispered.

"Let's go b?—"

I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out.

"Shit," Grayson hissed.

My heart, which had barely calmed down enough to function properly, was now beating a thousand beats per minute.

A hand .

A human hand coming out of the water next to the bottom of the boat.

The only reason I was able to look away was because of the sound of a Jet Ski driving away. They turned off their lights, but not before we saw their face.

"Fuck."

I didn't know who said it. The next thing I knew, the boat was moving, and I was in someone's arms. They told me everything would be okay. Their words fell on deaf ears. They didn't even believe what they were saying.

We were all fucked.