Chapter 3

Prism

Well,I can cross being cuffed and read my rights off my bucket list.

Get arrested. Achievement unlocked!

No, being a criminal wasn’t actually on there. But I’m gonna add it just so I can cross it off. Might as well get something out of this little nightmare.

Hecalledmeprincess.

Exactly what I should be thinking about as I was getting arrested for drug possession and hauled out of a fucking closet. Not.

Did I mention I loathe closets? Hysteria lurked just beneath my skin, stalking my already precarious mental state and causing tension to coil within me. My body ached, nerves so frayed I worried they might snap.

On second thought, it was probably better I thought of that ridiculous nickname versus all the other shit going on.

Keepcalm.

A stupid mantra, especially when I was already so far past calm I was literally a live wire. If one more person touched me, I might electrocute us both.

“Hey!” a gruff voice yelled in my ear.

My body reacted, swinging around aggressively as my teeth ground together. I hate that sound.

“Whoa there, son. You trying to give me a reason to put you down?”

Stiffening, I jerked away from the officer escorting me out of the old gym to, I assumed, his squad car.

“You put your hands on him, and I swear Taco Bell won’t even hire you to clean toilets.”

My stare jerked to Arsen who was being escorted by another of Westbrook’s finest. The steady, cold look he directed at the cop made my stomach drop. It also made his threat seem a lot more violent than the words implied.

Beside me, the officer’s brows shot up incredulously. “You threatening an officer of the law?”

Without blinking, Arsen’s stare remained steady. “Keep it up, and you won’t be an officer of the law much longer.” He paused. “And I don’t threaten. I inform those of the consequences of their actions.”

Why is that so hot?

The two officers exchanged a look. “Pompous monied prick,” the one behind me muttered.

I gazed over my shoulder from the corner of my eye, and he lifted his chin. “I asked you a question.”

I searched my anxiety-addled brain. I didn’t remember him asking me a question. It was ironic really that my brain heard everything but sometimes nothing at all.

“Do you understand the rights as I read them to you?” he repeated, completely irritated.

Without thinking, I glanced at Arsen. He inclined his chin, and I nodded at the officer.

“You don’t need his permission!” the officer barked.

He was right. I didn’t. But I was unraveling, and Arsen was woven tight. He seemed completely unruffled that we’d been strapped with cuffs after being found with a shitload of what looked like cocaine. I couldn’t quite be sure because I didn’t touch the stuff. My brain was fucked up enough, and I was a swimmer. I’d never compromise that for a temporary high.

But now, being a swimmer was compromised. Hell, my entire future was compromised.

He’s a total liability. A fucking curse!

The harsh words blew through the back of my mind like a gale-force wind, and I wondered for probably the one-millionth time how I could get away from my own head.

If I got charged with possession of narcotics, everything I fought so hard for would be gone. Gram would be devastated. He’d be right.

My thoughts were like loose shoelaces and tripped me up. I stumbled and fell, my chin smacking the cold, damp ground because my hands were secured behind my back.

“You high?” the officer asked as I lifted my face out of the dirt.

White sneakers covered in silver studs filled my line of vision, and I craned my neck to take in a pair of long legs clad in ripped-up black jeans. I didn’t have to go far, though, because he hit his knees right there beside my head.

“You okay?” Arsen asked.

I rolled onto my side and looked up. His stormy expression didn’t match the concern in his voice. “Let me see,” he beckoned, voice low.

“I’m fine.”

His arms flexed like he was trying to pull them from the cuffs, and a little part of me mourned because I wouldn’t feel his fingers on my chin. “Princess, let me see.”

I should really hate that nickname.

I don’t.

“Stop colluding.” The officer handling Arsen pulled him to his feet, trying to separate us.

Arsen’s eyes flashed, a storm in the night sky, and for a split-second, I thought it was him who would lose it instead of me.

“P!” The familiar voice cut through the night and brought my head around. “Prism!”

I pulled myself up and spun toward the sound of Kruger yelling for me.

He stayed. When everyone scattered, he wouldn’t leave without me.

“Ben,” I called back.

I never used his first name. I was one of the only ones who could, but I never did. Until now. Breaking away from the group behind him, he jogged forward, the strings of his navy hoodie bouncing against his chest as he ran.

The closer he got, the less he blended in with the dark, and it was like being yanked back from the edge of a cliff. I exhaled, my chest rising and falling with the first deep breath I’d taken since before the cops raided the place. Ben was my rock and, at times, my shield.

The arresting officer stepped around me, blocking my best friend from view. “No speaking to the men in custody.”

“Out of the way, rent-a-cop. I’m busy,” Kruger said, pushing around the officer to look at me. His different-colored eyes about popped out of his face. “Are you in handcuffs?” He spun on the man he’d just insulted. “You put my best friend in cuffs?”

“Would you like to join him?” the officer intoned, hooking his thumbs in his belt.

“I’d give you a nasty look, but I see you already have one,” Kruger deadpanned, then turned back to me.

“You okay, P? What happened?” He glanced to the side, seeing the other officer and Arsen standing nearby. “You! Take these cuffs off. There’s been a mistake.”

“What’s going on?” a much more reasonable voice questioned. Ryan approached, the rest of Elite right at his back.

They all stayed.

I know I said I had just three ride-or-die people, and it’s true. But if I were capable of letting in more, Elite would be it.

“Bro! You better fix this. They put P in cuffs,” Kruger told Ryan, who was our unofficial official team captain and whom everyone referred to as “the fixer.”

“Fucking cops,” Rush muttered from close by, his dark, menacing stare nearly attacking the uniformed men.

“I should have known Elite was involved in this,” spat the officer beside Arsen.

“Hey, it’s good cop and bad cop,” Win said, stepping forward to angle himself in front of his boyfriend, Lars.

I knew these guys looked familiar. From more than one occasion. Elite had a history of drama. I worked hard to be the unproblematic one of the bunch. Whoever said hard work pays off was a con artist.

The man sighed dramatically. “We don’t have time for your elitist swim team BS tonight. We have to get these suspects to the station?—”

“Suspects!” Rory gasped, her short frame pushing past all the swimmers and their significant others to rush forward. Her gray eyes were wide when they landed on me. “Prism, what happened?”

My hands started to tremble again, and for a moment, I was grateful they were behind my back so no one would see.

“This is not social hour. And you are not privy to any details of an ongoing case.”

I looked at Kruger. “They arrested me.”

He was already watching me, a frown pulling at his features. For a fraction of a second, I let him see how close I was to snapping.

“We got this,” he promised.

I stepped toward him, but the officer laid a hand on my shoulder and shoved. I stumbled back, nearly falling on my ass.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Arsen intoned, his voice somehow making it past the stress muddling my brain.

“That right there is assault!” Jamie howled, shouldering through to stand by Ryan. There was no hint of sarcasm or his normally good nature in sight. In fact, his six-three frame seemed to puff up as his blue eyes deepened with malice.

“Go wait in the car, Maddie,” he told his girlfriend without even looking back. The only time he ever told her that was when he wasn’t confident he could keep himself in check.

“Look, it was just a party,” Ryan explained, ever trying to be the voice of reason. Except when it came to his girlfriend that he’d nicknamed Carrot. He was never reasonable when it came to her. “A celebration that the swim season just finished. We’re on campus property. I’m sure if you call the dean and Coach Resch, this could all be sorted out. No one was hurt. You didn’t arrest anyone else. Just issue them a citation like the others you caught.”

“You asking me for a drinking citation?” One of the cops goaded him.

He straightened. “I’m twenty-one years old. I’m not over the legal limit. I’ll take a breathalyzer right now and prove it. Last time I checked, going to a party was not a crime. But if you want to write one up, go ahead and try.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Jamie told the officers. “His in-laws are super power attorneys. Ever heard of Coin and Coin?”

“Loitering is a punishable offense,” the officer said, ignoring the warning. I wasn’t sure if that made him brave or stupid. His eyes glinted as they swept over my large group of friends. “Seems to me all of you are doing just that.”

“Seems so.” The officer beside Arsen agreed.

As if I wasn’t already practically drowning in panic, more pushed me deeper. It made me mad. Furious, actually. Elite showed up for me, and now they could be punished. “You sure one’s good and one’s bad?” I heard myself ask. “They both seem like assholes to me.”

“Hey, that was a good one, P. But now’s probably not a good time,” Kruger said as if he didn’t have three times the audacity I did.

“What are they gonna do? Arrest me?” I spat.

“Of all the times you want to run your mouth,” Kruger muttered.

“Let’s go.” The bad cop grabbed my arm and steered me to a squad car. My throat tightened as I stared into the back seat. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was enclosed with bars.

One, two, three.I tapped my thumb against the thick metal of the handcuff. One, two, three. I did it again, counting every tap. One, two, three.

I sucked in a breath, repeating it again and again, staring as the car drew closer.

“You’re seriously arresting them?” The worried voice stalled my thumb and brought my head up. “You can’t!”

Jess rushed forward, her long dark hair floating out around her head. I turned toward my chosen sister just in time for her to wrap her arms around my waist and press close. “Matty.”

I tried to swallow, but the spit was too thick, my throat too swollen. The cuffs clinked when I tried to put my arms around her and was denied.

I started tapping on the metal anew, my thumb going faster and faster each time. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two three.

“Ma’am, step away. No contact.”

Her arms tightened around me. “He’s my brother.”

“Step away, ma’am, or I’ll charge you with impeding an investigation.”

I stiffened, and Kruger made a sound, but before anyone could do anything, Jess pulled away, her spine ramrod straight as she faced the officer while swiping at her wet cheeks.

“Weren’t you the officer who responded to the call when I needed help?”

He cleared his throat.

“You remember? You helped put that horrible pervert behind bars,” she said, reminding me of the shit she’d been through. And now this.

A liability to everyone around me.

“Ma’am.”

“I was so grateful to you.” She went on as though he wasn’t even trying to answer and then stared at his partner before turning back. “I thought you were heroes. Why would you do this? My brother is the last person on this entire campus that deserves to be in handcuffs.”

“Your brother was in possession of narcotics, ma’am. A whole lot of them.”

“Bullshit.”

I glanced at Max who stood tall beside Wes, his arms crossed over his wide chest and a scowl on his face.

Kruger exploded. “What the fuck, Arsen? What the hell did you get my brother into? This is your fault, isn’t it? I never should have suggested he hook up with you?—”

I sucked in a breath, and everything around me faded. I didn’t know if anyone kept talking because all I heard was fist-clenching, high-pitched ringing that made me feel like my ears would bleed.

I started tapping the cuffs again, the ringing growing louder with every second. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the sound, knowing it wasn’t going anywhere but trying to soothe myself anyway.

My ears continued to buzz, and I blinked, my eyes burning as I tried to focus on what was going on around me, but I was blind and deaf to everything but the impenetrable ringing.

Roaring filled my ears, muffling some of the terrible ringing, and I jolted with the brush of something warm and soft against my cheek.

Refocusing, my vision filled with coal-colored eyes framed with jet-black lashes and a straight, strong nose between them.

Blinking rapidly, I leaned away a little, overwhelmed and confused. He followed, though, pushing so close that my eyes nearly crossed, and his lips brushed against my cheek once more.

Dumbstruck, I stared as he pulled back just enough to look into what I was sure were ludicrously wide eyes.

His eyebrows were thick, sort of wild over his eyes, and just as inky black as the untidy hair on his head. I want to brush it for him.

“Princess.”

The word snapped against me like a rubber band, the force of it getting past the ever-present din in my ears.

“D-did you just kiss me?” I asked, completely dazed.

The side of his mouth curved up, the lip rings going with. Amusement shone in his eyes as mine devoured every inch of him I could take in. Shoulders rising toward his ear, he said, “My hands are out of commission.”

Tongue-tied, I could only continue to stare, my cheeks growing hot. I hoped the dark interior of the car covered the blush. Surprised, I tore my eyes from Arsen to glance around the back seat we were both sitting in.

There was some sort of cage between the back and front seats. At my back, I flexed my hands, my fingers rubbing against the shitty pleather material of the seat. I recoiled from it instantly, bending forward so my arms didn’t touch it.

“They’re not going to be able to hold us,” Arsen said, watching me. “We’ll be out in an hour. Two tops.”

“Were those your drugs?” I blurted. The sound of my own voice seemed muffled by the ringing.

He didn’t seem offended I’d asked. Smirking, he leaned forward so our faces were close. “I prefer to get my high in other ways.”

I squirmed in the seat, my mind supplying an image of what exactly Arsen might do to get “high.”

I glanced out the back window, seeing my group of friends still there, Kruger jabbing his finger in the direction of the cruiser. I didn’t even remember getting into this car. The two officers who arrested us were joined by a couple other cops, probably the ones who seized the drugs.

Arsen reclined against the seat, his thighs spreading, legs so long his knees hit the back of the front seat. He sighed, and I was instantly sidetracked by the long column of his throat and thick Adam’s apple in the center when he dropped his head back.

Up close, I saw the snags and tears in his T-shirt, exposing small glimpses of skin beneath it.

He was so much my type that my stomach tightened with it. My eyes and body felt starved as I continued to stare, completely enraptured by his proximity. The sharp ringing in my ears took second even to him.

Never had I ever been as unbothered as Arsen appeared. Hell, I was so overloaded my brain erupted in wails and then dropped offline for a few. The only reason I’d even come back so soon was because he kissed me.

He. Kissed. Me.

Yeah, yeah, a chaste peck on my cheeks.

It counted. It was the most contact, the most affection I’d had in so very long.

“Take a picture. It’ll last longer,” Arsen said, his voice drowsy like he was thinking about taking a nap.

A nap in the back of a cop car.

“Aren’t you going to ask me?” I prompted.

His chin dropped as he lifted his head. “Ask what?”

“If the drugs are mine,” I supplied.

“No.”

I was a quiet guy. I preferred emojis over long texts. Music over talking. Silence over all else. But that one-word final answer was pissing me off.

“Why the hell not?” Did he think I was guilty? Asshole.

That fucking smirk was back on his lips. So smirky it even reached his eyes. Overconfident. Smug. Sexy as hell.

This was exactly why I told myself this was a bad idea. He was a bad idea. He’d eat me alive for breakfast. Hell, I’d probably thank him as he did it.

I was not going to be so weak. I wasn’t weak. I was just already using my strength for other things.

“You really want me to ask?” he said, the cajoling, soft tone catching me off guard. He wasn’t indulgent. He was arrogant.

“No.” I denied and turned my face in the opposite direction.

His muffled laugh had my fingernails digging into my palms. Tap, tap, tap. One, two, three.

“What’s your first name?”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not calling you by your last.”

“Everyone else does.”

“I’m not everyone else.”

I remained turned away, my arms starting to cramp from the stupid cuffs.

“Those your drugs, princess?”

“That’s not my name either,” I said, stomach fluttering because he asked.

“It’s the one I gave you.”

My stomach fluttered again. “No,” I replied after a moment. “I don’t do drugs.”

“I know.”

I whipped around to look at him. His eyes were already on me. “How do you know?” I demanded.

He shrugged. “I just do.”

I scoffed so hard my body tipped backward, arms and hands brushing against the sticky pleather. Skin crawling, I scooted forward, bending again at the waist.

The ringing in my ears intensified, and then two officers were sliding into the front seats, banging their doors closed.

I breathed through my nose, closed my eyes, and kept my head bowed.

The interior of the car was cool, the sweat I’d been covered with now making me shiver. The jingle of keys bounced in my eardrum, and then the ignition made a horrible grinding sound when the officer turned the key.

“Fucking budget cuts,” one of them bitched as he tried the key again.

A loud clicking noise filled the cab, and then it grinded and stalled once more. Chills broke out along my arms, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. The urge to eject myself from the car was so intense I sat up and leaned to the side, grappling behind my back for the door handle.

My heart pounded erratically, adrenaline pummeling me once more. Exhaustion clung to my limbs, my body weary, but the rest of me refused to relax.

The engine turned over again while I pumped the handle and tried to escape.

Bang! Bang!The officer on the other side of the cage slammed his hand against it, making everything rattle. “It’s locked! Keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times.”

Was that supposed to be a joke? Not funny.

Panic scratched its way up my throat. With it, the urge to yell and scream made me tremble.

A large body pressed up against mine, Arsen squishing so close I was pinned between him and the door I’d been trying to claw my way through. Surprise made my body still even as my heart continued to pound.

One of these days, it’s going to burst.

“Chill,” Arsen said quietly, widening his legs to press his thigh along mine.

I stared at his dark-denim-covered leg, eyes skipping to the rips and tears in the fabric. I latched on to the glimpses of skin, sitting so close I could see the dark hair covering the front of his quad.

I bet it’s rough to the touch.

His upper body leaned into mine, diminishing the space I had to occupy. I should have been panicking. I should have been kicking and screaming, fighting like hell for my freedom.

The engine turned over, revving to life with a smooth purr.

“There she is,” the driver said, voice barely audible over everything else. Everything I felt.

Completely drained, I slumped, body sinking into the heat that Arsen provided. Plastered so tightly against him, I felt when his arm jerked, and I panicked as the squad car pulled out onto the main road, taking us to jail.

I jolted up, body tense, wanting to apologize but unable to find a single word.

He grunted. “No.”

“S-sorry,” I managed, still tongue-tied.

“Come back over here.” His voice was a quiet rumble. I glanced up. “These fucking cuffs,” he said, repeating the action that had me sitting back. “If I had my arms, I’d hold you.”

Oh shit. I was used to intense, overwhelming, near-crippling reactions. But hearing Arsen say he wanted to hold me?

Napalm.

It lasted a few seconds, the ringing in my ears almost music as the rest of me quieted. The reprieve was such a relief that I found myself slumped back into his side when everything else came back.

“There you go,” he murmured, lips so close his breath stirred my hair. “Stay just like that.”

My body’s default setting was fight or flight. I could literally not remember a time when it wasn’t.

So imagine my surprise when it listened to Arsen and simply stayed.