The Pact: Rebels of Ridgecrest High (Book 1)

Everyone’s off at Emerson’s house. I’m not. I’m home. We lost. By one fucking point. Fuck the party. And fuck Mila for wearing that fucker’s jersey to the game.

My game.

Mom and Dad went to bed long ago. They’re off early tomorrow on some mini vacation. Again. Not that I blame them. If I worked as hard as they do and finally had some money saved for traveling, I would too.

The controller in my hand vibrates as I get shot. They get me again, and I die. I curse and throw my Xbox controller on my bed. It bounces off and lands with a thump on the floor. I can’t even play Fortnite without thinking about Mila and all the shit that happened tonight. I throw myself back against my mattress and run my hands through my hair.

I’m blaming her for our loss. Grady was pissed when he saw her wearing Asher’s jersey. But when Asher pointed to Mila and tapped his chest, it set Grady off. He was enraged. I’d never seen him like that before. He had it out for Asher, and he sacked him harder than needed. More than once.

It surprised me. He’d been so happy to drive Mila to school all week, boasting to me about it every day. Like they have some little secret club that I’m not a part of. I told him to stop spending time with her, that she’s dating Asher Rossi. He didn’t believe me.

But seeing her wearing Asher’s jersey, that pushed him over the edge. Hell, it pushed me, Hunter, and Roman over the edge too. Mila distracted all of us from the game.

Roman slipped up after he watched her in the stands. It was easy to spot her wearing the navy blue of the Kings.

Hunter ran two seconds late after looking over at her. It almost cost us the play, but he caught the ball only to be sacked at the same time.

They were angry and pissed. I was too.

Until we left the locker room to see James Hart, assistant football coach to the Lakeview Kings, Mila’s dad and my neighbor, kissing Asher’s mom. Asher’s mom was making out with Mila’s dad.

My mouth had dropped open. I’d realized my mistake too late.

Hunter shoved me. “You said she was fucking him. Looks like, from here, that she’s gonna be his new sister. They don’t look like they’re together. What did you see?”

What did I see? She touched him…she pulled him to the house…they were laughing. That’s it. Looking back on it, I’d assumed there was more to it, but it was an innocent exchange. There was nothing to suggest she was with him. I’d fucked up.

“I thought there was something.”

Hunter had believed me when I told him that she was fucking a King. He said didn’t want anything to do with Mila when he found out, which made me ecstatic. I didn’t have to worry about how he felt about her and the pact.

As soon as Mila got into the car with her dad and the Rossi’s, Hunter turned to me, his nostrils flared. He gritted his teeth and let out a strangled sound. “I’m…fuck!” Hunter shoved me again, and I stumbled back a step.

“Fuck, Jace, I’m so mad right now. I believed you when you said she was fucking him. I was happy Mila was back, you knew that. And you put that shit in my head. You fucking lied. Was it because you didn’t want me to have her? Were you that worried I would break the pact again? Just like you and Roman had?”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I didn’t say anything. Was it because, deep down, I knew he would break the pact? That he would choose her over me?

Did I want her to choose me, and with Hunter and Roman out of the picture, did I think I would have a chance?

I didn’t know if I’d wanted to believe she was with Asher to stop the others from forming something with her again, or if I’d really believed it was true.

“I’m going to Emerson’s party. I don’t want to see you right now.”

Hunter didn’t give me a chance to explain. He walked away from me before I could even come up with something. What could I say?

Roman grumbled something and left with him.

Grady drove me home. He didn’t speak to me the whole way. I tried, but he wouldn’t talk to me. As soon as we got back, he changed and left for the party.

In one night, I upset my two best friends and my brother, all because I thought I saw something that turned out not to be true.

I’m relieved Asher and Mila aren’t a thing. But why the fuck did she wear his jersey? To teach me a lesson for calling her out on it at school? When she’d laughed in my face that day, I should’ve realized something didn’t add up. Mila isn’t the type of girl to take my shit, and she didn’t even correct me.

Have I pushed her too far? I hadn’t been able to see past my anger long enough to see what’s been going on in front of my eyes.

My phone goes off, and I sit up. Rolling over the messy sheets, I pick it up from my side table. I expect it to be from Roman or Hunter. They normally call me this late if they need me. But I’m surprised to see her name there.

I clench the phone tighter. She is the reason I’m here and not off at some party. She got into my head and is fucking with it. Every day at school, those legs…her mouth. Fuck, I want to kiss her so bad. Shove her up against her locker and bite that pink lower lip into my mouth. Brand her as mine. Grind my hard cock against her wet pussy and show her how hot and crazy she makes me.

Then, the next moment, I want to push her away and tell her to fuck off. To go back to her mom. Leave. Leave me again for another four years without a word.

“What?” I growl into the phone. What is she thinking, calling me at almost two in the morning after everything that went down tonight? She knows she got into my head. Fucked our play up, and we lost the game.

“Ah, is this Jace?” a strange female’s voice asks on the other end.

I sit up straighter, my anger dissipating, replaced with concern. Why would some chick be calling me from Mila’s phone, unless she’s in trouble?

“Is Mila okay?” My throat feels tight as my heart speeds up.

“No, she asked us to call you. We think some asshole drugged her.”

A chill wraps around my body at those words. Drugged. I growl in anger, at the fucker who did this, at myself for pushing her away.

I jump to my feet. “Fuck.” I rake my trembling fingers through my hair as I search for my car keys. I look down at my loose tee and gray sweats. My feet are bare. Socks…fuck the socks.

“Where is she? What’s the address? I’m on my way.”

The girl rattles off an address in Lakeview. My fingers shake as I log it into Google Maps. It says it will take me twenty minutes to get there.

“I’ll be there in ten.”

I’ve never experienced this feeling before. It’s as if I can’t breathe. My throat is constricted as I grip the steering wheel, willing my car to go faster and for no cops to pull me over.

Someone drugged Mila.

I rub my hand down my face. I need to snap out of it and be in control for this. I pull onto the street. There are cars everywhere; there’s nowhere to park. I dial Mila’s number, grateful I never deleted it and that it’s the same number as four years ago. Like mine.

The same girl answers. “Hey, you here?”

“Yeah, gonna double park out front. Can you come get me?” My hands are shaking. Why are they shaking?

“On my way.”

I hang up and get out of my car. She’ll be fine; she’s the strongest girl I know. She’s Mila fucking Hart. But then, do I really know her? The new her, the girl she is today? I don’t, and fear sets in. I glance around the property. This place is a mansion.

A girl with long, dark curls waves at me from the double front doors.

“Jace?” she asks, and I start jogging, my heart lodged in my throat when I see her worried expression. “Come with me. We saw her acting all drunk, and a guy was leading her into a bedroom. We took her from him and he ran. She vomited then passed out, but not before she told us to call you. We don’t know who she is. She’s not from Lakeview.”

I shake with rage. Some asshole drugged Mila and was going to rape her. But I need to focus on one thing right now—Mila.

The girl leads me down a hallway. The house is mostly empty, since most the party is out back, and I recognize that it’s a football party. Of course. They’re celebrating their win over us. But where the fuck is Asher? She wouldn’t have come to a Kings party without him. That’s why she’s here and not at a Rebels party.

She’s also here because you made sure no one would want her at a Rebels party.

I walk through a doorway and into a bathroom. It’s huge, like the house. The small, crumpled form of Mila on the floor has me frozen. This isn’t the Mila I saw hours ago. It breaks my heart to see her so weak and vulnerable. I take a small step forward then stop. I don’t know what to do here. How could someone do this to such a beautiful soul?

I’m so out of my element. The once strong and sassy Mila is lying unconscious on a bathroom floor of a house in Lakeview, at a Kings party. If you’d asked me four years ago what I would have seen in my future, this wouldn’t have made the list, ever.

I crouch down until I’m on my knees, and the cold tiles tell me this is really happening. This isn’t some bad dream. My hands hover over her face, her body.

“Mila? God, Mila.” I’m so sorry. God, I’m so sorry.

She doesn’t respond. I gently bush my hand over her cheek.

“Wake up. I’m here to take you home.” She is warm to the touch. That’s a good sign, right? But her breathing seems shallow.

“It’s me, Jace.” When she doesn’t move at all, I reach for her throat and feel for a pulse. It’s steady. Thank fuck. I stand up and rake my hands through my hair as I pace.

“Fuck,” I scream out.

The word echoes around the tiled room. This is all me. I did this. If I had just asked her why Asher was at her place. If I hadn’t kept pushing her away.

Wanting to know if I was her first kiss had messed with my head so much that it consumed me. I glance back down to her still form and slam my fist into the tiled wall.

“Are you Jace Montero?”

I turn to see another chick in the bathroom with us. I hadn’t seen her when I first came in. I don’t answer her. I don’t want the Kings to know I’m here and start shit. Mila needs me. That’s all that matters right now.

I reach down and scoop Mila into my arms. I cradle her close to my chest. Her head flops onto my shoulder. One of her hands falls, and the girl with the curls picks it up and places it in Mila’s lap. She then hands me Mila’s phone, and I hold onto it best I can as I take Mila out to the car.

“Thanks, I got it from here.”

The girls both hesitate at the front door, but I don’t want them to follow me. Mila is safe with me; I have her. I’m glad I didn’t lock my car before coming inside. I was so preoccupied when I got here, it hadn’t crossed my mind to lock it. I reach for the door handle with her in my arms. Mila’s head lolls back, and I gently shuffle her in my arms. She’s so small and barely weighs a thing.

I look down into her face. Her mouth is parted, and she’s breathing fine now. I wrench the door open harder than I need to, but she doesn’t wake.

Leaning into the car, I place her in the passenger seat. Her hair is over her face, and I brush it away. She lets out a small moan.

“Hey, hey, sweetheart?” Her head rolls forward, and I push it back, brushing the hair from her face again. Her eyes flutter open and her brows furrow as she looks at me. I haven’t been this close to Mila in years, and she is truly beautiful. Always has been.

“Jace?” she croaks.

My shoulders sag in relief. “Yeah, I got you, Mila.”

She smiles at me, and my heart bursts in my chest at the sight. But then she lurches forward and vomits…on me, in my car, and some on herself. I catch her hair before it gets on that. Fuck, shit. I should’ve brought something in case that happened. It was only a small amount, at least. She probably threw most of it up before I got here.

“Mila?”

She closes her eyes and groans before passing out again. When I hear voices coming closer, I tilt the chair back and quickly fasten her seatbelt. I close the door and round to my side. I glance over and see a few King players talking in the front yard, they haven’t seen me yet. I need to get out of here before they see me and Mila.

I slide in and study her. She’s making little sleeping sounds… I don’t think she needs a hospital, but she needs someone to take care of her. In case she gets sick again. It’s probably for the best she vomits up whatever she was given.

I’ll take care of you, Mila.