Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

D onny falls to his knees and clutches Peaches to his chest as he begins to hyperventilate. Alex and Len try to calm him down, but I need to get out of here. The walls are closing in on me and I need some air.

Storming out of the room, I rush down the halls and back to the stairs. I know Colt is calling my name and chasing after me, but I feel as if I can't breathe. After all that we have been through, she just left?

We were supposed to go to Florida together for the holidays. That's where my family is. None of this makes any Goddamn sense.

Reaching the door that leads to the outside, I slam it open and take in some much needed air. My hands are shaking and my emotions are a mess. I want to hit someone.

No, I want to kill someone.

I lean my head against the cool brick wall of the dorm building.

Colton sighs from behind me, but I'm not ready to hear whatever he has to say. He has always been on Rylee's side, believing everything she says. I knew I shouldn't have let my guard down.

"Something isn't right here, Teo. Rylee wouldn't just pack up and leave. Especially without her kitten. She loves Peaches more than anything," he says, sounding out of breath as he puts his hands on his knees, taking a moment to breathe. "I've been thinking, while chasing your huge ass down."

I grunt and turn to face him. His glasses are askew and his face is a little red. "You need to get your head out of the books and your ass back in the gym," I grumble and he scoffs, giving me a look.

I shake my head, then scrape my back against the side of the building as I attempt to sit on the ground. I'm still feeling the aftereffects from the party. I shouldn't have drank so much.

"She left, Colt," I mutter, then groan. "She was supposed to be my ticket out of here."

Closing my eyes, I try not to think about how I fell in love with a girl who had betrayed me in the past.

Well, technically it was all a big misunderstanding, but still. I should have been more guarded.

"Lennox is going to start drinking again, and I'm just tired, Colt. I'm exhausted having to hold everyone up. My mom, my brother, you guys. For once, I thought maybe I'd be able to have a happy ending. That I wouldn't die young at the hands of my uncle, or some asshole in the ring." I laugh without humor, ignoring how my eyes are becoming watery.

"I don't think she left us willingly, Teo. Think about it. We go to a party, get drunk, and she just decides to take off? You're smarter than this…"

The door slams open next to us, and I turn to see Donny racing through. Len and Alex are behind him, trying to get him to stop, but he's a mess. He can hardly run in a straight line. He's completely wasted.

Getting to my feet, I need to hold on to the wall for a minute as my head is spinning. I think about what Colt said. I didn't drink much. We had plans with Rylee later and I wanted to be sober.

"I only had two beers," I mumble and Colt moves closer.

"What? That's not possible. Teo, you are falling asleep standing up. Donny is five sheets to the fucking wind, and Len isn't far behind," he says and I groan, rubbing my eyes.

"When we got to the party, Missi and the girls were already there and had drinks in their hands. I refused it, because knowing Missi, she probably drugged them. We grabbed our own beers, then went to talk with some of the other guys," I say, trying to remember if we took shots or anything.

"Donny was playing beer pong, but Len and I had two drinks."

"DONNY, NO!" Alex roars as Donny climbs behind the wheel of Alex's car and is trying to get it started.

He has Peaches in his arms and he's crying. I stumble my way over there and smack my hand on the driver's window. "Open the door," I growl, and he looks up at me with his red eyes, full of heartache.

"She's gone, Teo. She left me," he whispers and I shake my head.

"I don't think she did. Something isn't adding up," I mumble.

"Unlock the door and open it. We all need to talk," Alex says, crossing his arms. He's pissed and I know he's about to kick all our asses. "Serenity is on her way, so let's go back into the room," he says and I nod, agreeing with him.

It takes Donny a few more minutes to get the door unlocked and Len groans. "He's absolutely wasted," he says with a sigh and I laugh.

There is nothing funny about what is going on, but watching Donny stumble to press a button, with Peaches meowing loudly in his face, has me chuckling.

Lennox moves closer to me and takes my hand. Donny finally unlocks the door and Alex opens it, taking the kitten before she can run off.

"She never would have left Peaches behind," Len mumbles, and I nod because it's true. "She didn't leave us. I have a feeling Missi, and maybe even my father, are behind this," he grumbles, and I turn to look at him.

"Your dad?"

"He's been too quiet," he murmurs as he helps Donny to his feet while we slowly walk back to the door.

"I'm going to be sick," Donny grumbles before twisting his body and falling onto his knees, emptying his stomach.

"Ew, Donny," Serenity squeals, and I glance over to her. She is standing way too close to the spray zone. "I just bought these shoes," she whines.

When did she get here?

Alex comes over and hands Peaches to me before scooping Serenity up into his arms when she removes the soiled heels.

"I'll replace them, baby, but we have bigger issues to deal with at the moment," he says, then begins to tell her what's going on.

"I'm going to murder the bitch!" she shouts before starting to fight Alex's arms. "Put me down!" she growls and he laughs, still carrying her to the door. I hand Peaches to Colt. She may not be the worst cat in the world, but I'm still not a kitten person.

"We need to come up with a plan before you go all Girls Gone Wild on us, baby."

Colton holds the door as Len and I carry a half-conscious Donny inside. "What is going on, Teo?" Len asks and I shake my head. I'm nauseous and dizzy, and all I want to do is find a place where I can curl up and take a nap.

"Here," Colt says, handing me Peaches again, and I try not to flinch as he helps with Donny. The little fluffy fuck hisses and I roll my eyes.

"Yeah, the feeling is mutual," I grumble as I try to cuddle her closer to my chest as we head back to the dorm room.

I move over to Rylee's stripped bed and sit, leaning my back against the wall. My eyes are heavy and I close them for a minute.

"Is he asleep?" Alex asks me, and I gently run my fingers through Teo's hair. He has Peaches cuddled close to him and he's breathing softly, but he is in fact sleeping. If things weren't so fucked up right now, I would snap a photo.

"How hard did you guys party?" Serenity asks and I shake my head.

"Teo and I only had two beers, and I feel fine. Donny was playing beer pong, but still, he only did one round. Just let him sleep. I'll fill him in later."

Colt moves and sits on the desk chair in the corner, placing his hands on his knees. "So, Rylee is gone. None of this makes any sense. Should we call her mom? Maybe she called her and told her why she was leaving without us," he asks and Alex shakes his head.

I shake my head too. "It's the middle of the night. We don't need to worry her mom right now."

"I'm telling you that Missi is behind this. You can't hit a girl, but I can," Serenity grumbles and Alex holds her closer. "There's no way Rylee left of her own free will. We talk about everything, and she hasn't mentioned any issues with you guys. At least none that would warrant her leaving without telling anyone."

"We should go back to the party and make that bitch confess," I growl, and she sighs.

"After you guys left, most of the girls pouted and then left too. They went to bed and Missi stormed out. So she wouldn't be there for you to chew her out. Not that it would help anyways, she lives for the drama. She wouldn't tell us shit."

"Lennox, let's circle back to your dad. Why do you think he's behind this?" Colt asks and I groan, rubbing my face with my hand. I am so tired and all I can think about is my girl.

Is she okay? Did she really leave us, or did someone do something that made her go?

"He was threatening me every day, then he went silent. I know he's not done. He has some deal with Missi's father, and I'm sure he's not going to give up."

"The Dean has to be involved too, he's got to be.. It makes sense. Missi wants us gone, and he would do anything for his evil witch of a daughter. And there's the fact that he doesn't like Rylee because she didn't fall for his sleazy moves," Colt shouts, startling Donny who is lying on the floor, grumbling.

"All of her things are gone. The note. I think I know what happened."