CHAPTER SIX

The suitcases were neatly packed in the hatch of my sister’s SUV, along with groceries, board games, and plenty of liquor. I checked that I had grabbed the tin of dog food for Moose. My big boy had already claimed his spot in the backseat, his stubby tail wagging with excitement.

“Liza and Naija are following us, right?” I asked, adjusting the string of my hoodie.

“Yeah,” Daniella replied, lounging against the side of the car. Her pale green eyes were hidden behind a pair of cat-eye sunglasses, and her jet-black hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail, framing her sharp, striking features. She had a way of standing out, her effortless confidence making her the center of attention wherever she went. It was also why she had stuck with bartending for so long. Her tips were abundant even on slow nights.

Cherish emerged from the house, carrying a box of snacks in one hand and the last of our small coolers in the other.

Her long, wavy black hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, her eyes hidden behind a pair of shades too. “Alright, this is the last of everything.” She placed the snacks and cooler in the back of her SUV. “How long till the other two get here?”

As if on cue, the familiar rumble of Liza’s ruby-red Jeep cut through the air, and I turned to see it pulling into the driveway behind us. The windows were rolled down, and Liza was behind the wheel with Naija in the passenger seat. What I didn’t expect was the sight of three guys in the back seat. I knew all of them in one way or another.

I frowned, my stomach sinking as I caught sight of Jason Montgomery, his light brown hair styled in that casual, cocky way he’d perfected in high school.

Beside him was Gabe—broad, quiet, with dark curls that caught the sunlight.

And lastly, there was Ryan Alvarez, the former rival college football player with a sharp jawline and a wide, friendly smile on his face.

My sister looked from us to them then called out loudly, “I thought this was a girls -only trip.”

Liza grinned as she leaned over to reply through the passenger window, clearly unfazed. “It’ll still be just as fun!”

Jason edged forward, resting his arms on the back of Naija’s seat. “I promise we’ll show you all a good time.”

Cherish rolled her eyes. “Hard pass.”

I stifled a laugh, though it wasn’t hard to imagine what my sister was thinking. Cherish was unapologetically a maneater, and Jason’s smirking confidence was probably lighting her internal do not engage alarms.

My amusement didn’t last long.

As I watched them banter, my thoughts drifted to Wilder. I couldn’t help it. The thought of how he’d react to me going away for the weekend with three guys in tow twisted something in my chest. He’d lose his goddamn mind.

It wasn’t jealousy. Wilder didn’t get jealous. No, it was something deeper and darker than that. He was possessive to a fault and territorial. As much as it frustrated me at times, it also turned me on more than I cared to admit. There had been more than one occasion when that raw, unfiltered intensity had bled into the way he fucked me, leaving me craving more.

Now that same possessiveness felt like a chain around my neck, heavy and suffocating. It shouldn’t have mattered anymore. We were over. I’d reminded myself of that a thousand times since I blocked him. Cumming all over his hand the other day aside.

Unfortunately, that didn’t stop my heart from aching anyway. Seeing him yesterday had done me more harm than good. I lay awake half the night thinking of his mouth on mine and simply being in his arms.

Liza honked the horn lightly, pulling me out of my thoughts. “You good, Autumn?” she called out, flashing a grin.

I forced a smile and gave her a thumbs-up before turning away and going to climb into my sister’s Enclave. Moose barked softly in the back, his tail wagging as Cherish slid into the driver’s seat with an exaggerated sigh.

“This better not turn into a disaster,” she muttered as she started the engine.

Naija leaned out of the Jeep’s window with a wave. “You’re welcome in advance for all the fun we’re about to bring!”

Daniella snorted, grinning as she climbed into the backseat. “Oh, I can’t wait to see how this plays out.”

As the car rolled out of the driveway, I tried to focus on the excitement of the trip, the promise of a weekend away from everything.

The open road stretched ahead, and with it came the faint hope that maybe, just maybe, I could finally breathe again.

“How far is the town we’re heading to?” I asked as I glanced back at Daniella, who was scrolling on her phone.

“Snowcreek,” Cherish answered, her tone tinged with amusement. “Try to remember where we’re going, Autumn.”

“It’s about five hours away, give or take now that we’re on the road,” Daniella replied.

“That’s plenty of time for you to tell us what’s been on your mind.”

The small smile I tried to fake fell flat. I knew she wouldn’t let it go, and Cherish’s sideways glance told me she wouldn’t either. They were a united front when it came to prying things out of me lately.

“Have you told Mom and Dad about Wilder yet?” Cherish took the lead instead, her tone soft.

I shook my head, focusing on the trees blurring past the window. “Not yet.”

“Thanksgiving is in a few weeks,” she said softly, her fingers tapping the steering wheel in a steady rhythm. “They’re going to notice when he doesn’t show. You know how they are. They love him like a damn son.”

The mention of the holidays hit like a gut punch. I hadn’t allowed myself to think that far ahead. I was taking things day by day and that was hard enough.

You never realized how much someone was part of your life until you were forced to face each day without them. Wilder had been such a constant, his presence so natural I’d taken it for granted. The thought of facing those moments without him felt unbearable but Cherish was right. Our parents loved him like a son. That’s who they were, open-hearted and protective.

After my mom died and my OG dad fell apart, they went above and beyond to adopt me, stepping in as if it had always been meant to be. I never once thought of them as anything less than my mother and father. Cherish had always been a sister to me, long before then. She’d stood by me through every heartbreak, every joy, every stupid decision. I knew without a doubt that our parents would want his head if they knew the extent of what he’d done.

Maybe it made me stupid, but I didn’t want them to hate Wilder.

He wasn’t a bad person. He wasn’t even a bad boyfriend. Wilder treated me like gold. He simply wasn’t loyal. I still had trouble wrapping my head around that because everyone always described him as the opposite, me included.

I rubbed my forehead, imagining the looks I would get from the rest of our family. Most of them were just as loving and protective as our parents but there were at least four that had never learned how to read a room. Wilder was gorgeous, wealthy, and successful. I had an aunt and uncle who would think that made his actions excusable, and two petty ass cousins that wanted him for themselves.

Their questions and commentary would either have me brawling at the dinner table or hiding in the kitchen and drinking my sorrows with a bottle of Honey Jack.

“I don’t have it in me to deal with any of that. Not yet.”

Cherish reached over, her hand covering mine. “You don’t have to figure it all out right now. But you’re not doing this alone, you hear me?”

I nodded, squeezing back, grateful for her beyond words. Daniella leaned forward from the backseat, her voice cutting through the moment. “So… on the topic of Wilder, have you heard anything else from him since yesterday?”

I shook my head quickly. “No. He’s still blocked.”

Oddly enough, he hadn’t said anything to me about changing that. I’d told them he had come over to talk. What I didn’t mention was that he held me on his lap like I still belonged to him, made me cum all over his hand, and kissed me in a way that shattered whatever was left of my already broken heart. Then he walked out, leaving me more confused and pissed than ever.

They were just as lost trying to decipher what the hell his intentions had been. Well, besides screwing with my head—we all agreed on that one.

Daniella was quiet for a second. “If need be, I’ll handle him.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “The last thing we need is you going to war with Wilder.”

She smirked, leaning back. “Just saying. You know I’ve got your back.”

“And I appreciate that,” I replied, meaning it.

Cherish snorted. “Let’s be real, okay? You’d have to take on his gang of rich assholes too.”

Daniella’s brows shot up and she leaned forward with a sly grin. “Take them on how? I have multiple holes, babe.”

I laughed as my sister’s face screwed up. “You’re disgusting.”

“Well, I’ll say this much, Wilder’s friends might be complete assholes, but damn, they’re fine as hell.”

Cherish shook her head. “Of course, you’d think that.”

“Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You’re not,” I admitted with a grin.

I may have wanted to blow them all to hell, Wilder included, preferably inside their fancy-ass penthouse, but that didn’t take away from the infuriating reality: their entire friend group was unfairly attractive.

Thorne could have been the depiction of an angel, with his white, blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, tall and athletically built. Lucian, on the other hand, was every bit the tall, dark, and broody type. Romeo had the elegance of an actual refined aristocrat—if you ignored the ink snaking across his skin and the blunt, razor-edged insanity that lurked just beneath his polished exterior.

Hunter looked like he’d stepped straight out of a Greek myth, all pretty-faced charm with green eyes that gleamed with mischief and curly brown hair that gave him a deceptively boyish look. Atlas, meanwhile, had the kind of classic, old-world style that could land him a leading role in Peaky Blinders .

It was almost as if they’d been handpicked by some cosmic joke to be the most aesthetically pleasing group of assholes imaginable. I couldn’t help but wonder if that correlated to them all being disgusting pigs. Beauty and bullshit seemed to go hand in hand with them.

“And don’t even get me started on Romeo. That man is crazy in all the best ways. Like, someone you don’t make eye contact with unless you want to end up in a trunk. You just know he’s packing,” Daniella continued.

I wrinkled my nose. “Can you stop?”

“What?” she said, throwing her hands up innocently.

“He’s insane, sure, but that only makes it hotter. I mean, come on, you’ve seen him.”

“Yeah, we’ve met him too,” Cherish muttered, making a face. “And I think we prefer to stay alive.”

“Ella, you’d have to survive being in the same room with him for more than five minutes first.”

“Oh, I’d survive,” she said confidently. “I’d probably walk funny for a week, but I’d survive.”

We both shot her a look, but she just grinned wider, clearly pleased with herself. Thankfully, the conversation shifted after that, and it had nothing to do with Wilder or his friends. Their voices blended into a comforting hum as I leaned my head against the window, staring at the endless stretch of road ahead.

Why the hell was heartbreak this hard? I shouldn’t have had to force myself to be in this moment with them. It felt wrong, like I was trying to play a part I wasn’t ready for.

I loved these two all the more for the simple fact they weren’t pressuring me to be okay; they were just doing what they could to keep me distracted. I had a few hours yet to pull myself together and convince myself that I could survive this weekend and fucking enjoy it like I longed to do.

I was going to get drunk with my girls, eat all the food that was bad for me, sleep late, and pretend I wasn’t missing a vital piece of myself, like the absence of him hadn’t carved out something essential inside me.