Beautiful Storm (San Francisco End Game #1)

CHAPTER FOUR

Amelia - Age Sixteen

Dear Diary,

I don’t know what happened. It was supposed to be a bit of fun…but it all went wrong and now I might be in trouble.

I can’t talk about it and I definitely can’t write it down. I’m so lost.

Amelia

“Truth or Dare.”

“Dare.” I’m not stupid enough to choose “truth.” I’ve seen people’s truths get used against them. One of the girls on the yearbook committee actually snuck someone’s truth into last year's edition. The kids at this school are brutal.

I chance a quick glance around the dark room, mentally running through all the potential dares this old mansion has to offer. And there are loads of them. They could make me spend time alone in what this town believes is a haunted barn or have me permanently mark my name on the wall, evidence that I’ve been here if the cops ever get sick of us throwing parties.

Though, I say “us” loosely because while my peers have been coming here for years, this is my first time. All because I overheard one of my so-called friends telling her boyfriend I was too chicken.

I can handle a lot of things, but being talked about behind my back is my own personal nightmare. It’s the reason I’m so friendly to everyone, always making sure people have no reason to talk about me. Keeping people on my side.

Except for Luke. That ship sailed long ago.

A laugh draws my attention back to the circle just as my challenge is set. “You have to spend an hour locked in the attic with…” She trails off with a smile and ugh . One of those dares. I set my gaze on the group, holding back my reaction. I have no doubt I could talk to anyone here, and if they don’t want to talk, I’m good with silence too.

“An hour with…” Brianna repeats herself, taking her time and driving me crazy, though I don’t let on.

“Come on, the suspense is killing me.” I mock, pretending to be excited.

Brianna stares at me smugly before her gaze lifts to something behind me—or more specifically someone—and then announces a name like she’s announcing it at an awards ceremony. “The man. The God. Luke Bennett.”

An involuntary groan rips from within me and I don’t bother hiding it. She says “The man. The God” but what I hear is… “The self-absorbed. The competitive. The overconfident and annoying. Luke Bennett.” And he wasn’t supposed to be here. At least, that’s what my friend told me.

“Come on, Joy.” Luke speaks from behind me, his cocky tone making me cringe as he calls me by the nickname I hate. “I’m game if you are.”

God, where did he come from? And how long has he been here?

I jump up and dust myself off before turning to face him, my expression neutral while he grins. “Let’s go,” I say with confidence, keeping my voice upbeat as I hold back my disdain. People know we don’t get along, but they don’t need to know just how much he affects me.

Wolf whistles and cheers ring out as we walk away, but I don’t look back. Luke, however, joins in on the fun, acting like he’s about to have the time of his life. And I can say with absolute certainty that’s not the case. I want nothing to do with him.

We walk up the stairs, and it’s not until we’re out of earshot that I finally break my silence, being sure to keep my voice low so it doesn’t reach the guy assigned to follow us. “I thought you’d be too cool for one of these parties,” I say as we hit the first landing, keeping myself one step ahead of Luke.

“Half the team is here, so I’m here.” He shrugs, no big deal, but I sense there's more to it. Not that I ask; instead, I fall quiet again.

“I see you’re still in some kind of one-sided competition with me,” Luke scoffs, not bothering to hide his feelings as he grabs my shoulder, startling me.

I stop suddenly and almost lose my footing when I spin around to face him, waving him off when he leans forward to help me. “That’s crazy,” I say, shaking off his hold. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you do.” He moves ahead, taking the stairs two at a time. “It’s been happening for years.”

“What has?” I proceed with denial.

He waits until he’s reached the next landing before turning around to face me, his expression pinched as if to say, “are you kidding me?”

“You…” He points my way. “You’ve been trying to beat me at everything since we started middle school. Do you think I haven’t noticed the excitement you get when you receive a higher score on a math test, or the snicker that escapes you when I mess up a presentation?”

“You’re delusional,” I snap. “If I snicker it’s because it’s nice to see the high and mighty fall. And I'm excited because I’m happy and proud.”

“The ‘high and mighty’?” He scoffs before shaking his head and taking a step back when I reach him, raising his hands in the air as he lets me pass, making a show of not touching me. Like I’m poison.

“Yes.” I roll my eyes. “People like you who think you’re above everyone else.”

“I think that?”

“Don’t play dumb.”

“Whatever.”

He rushes ahead again, making it to the top landing in a few steps, but pauses before walking through the door. I assume he’s going to wait and slam it in my face, but he surprises me by opening it when I arrive and holding it there until I walk by.

I almost thank him until he leans in close, whispering as I move past. “And now you have to spend an hour with the likes of me. However will you cope?”

His breath sends a shiver down my spine but I hold still, refusing to show him he affects me. “Easily,” I say confidently. “Because as you alluded to, I’m competitive and I always win.”

“Alright then… Ladies first.” He pins me with a stare, pointing toward the ladder dropping down from the attic, and I internally grimace. I don’t want to be the first up there, but I also don’t want him to know that I’m scared of what we’ll find, and I’m about to give in until I remember.

“No way. I’m wearing a dress. You’re not getting a peep show. You go first. And you.” I spin around to find our supervisor, David, standing behind us, his arms folded and a bored expression in place. “ You stay by the door.”

“I have no interest in your panties, Amelia,” David says as he gestures toward the ladder. “Can you both hurry up?”

Luke groans before stepping onto the bottom rung and huffing out a breath. “I’ll see you up there.”

He climbs slowly, each step putting me a little more on edge until I’m not sure what’s worse—spending an hour with Luke, or spending an hour stuck in a dusty old attic.

And it takes all of two seconds for me to find out.

A shiver runs through me as the cold night air seeps into my bones. I was wrong. There is nothing easy about this dare. I’m confused as to why everyone talks about the barn being haunted, when this attic looks like something straight out of a horror movie. Dusty ancient furniture, a strange-looking box that’s begging to be opened, and a random door that leads to God knows where but is too small for any regular-sized human to fit through.

Yet, none of that’s what has me rattled. It’s the tiny space and the darkness.

I’ve never been claustrophobic, but there’s something about being locked in here with stifling air that’s making me extremely uncomfortable.

Not to mention, I’m here with Luke.

As if the mere thought of him compelled him to speak, he steps forward. “How long has it been since we were last alone together? Four, maybe five years.” He stretches his arms before sitting on an old chair and laughing when a puff of dust shoots into the air. “It’s not exactly my idea of a good date, but it’ll do.”

I’d usually snap back with a smart-ass response, but the longer I’m here, the more uncomfortable it is, and I can’t bring myself to answer. Something doesn’t feel right, but I can’t put my finger on what.

Luke falls silent, and I hate that it draws my gaze. I may not be able to see much in the darkness, but it's impossible to miss the whites of his eyes as he stares at me.

“What’s wrong?” he asks after a beat.

“Nothing.” I suck in a sharp breath. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine.” He stands and walks over to where I’m leaning against the wall, stopping a few feet in front of me. “Amelia, what’s wrong?”

The more he asks, the more an irrational panic runs through me until I’m struggling for air. “I don’t know what’s going on. But I can’t…” Breathe.

“Do you want out? I’ll tell them you can’t handle it.”

What? “I can handle it. I’m just…” I try to suck in another breath when a strange noise booms in the silence, making Luke’s brows furrow.

“Amelia, you need to quit.”

“I can’t.”

“Why are you being so stubborn?”

“Because no one quits. And I don’t want them to start talking about me again.”

Luke’s eyes widen before he curses quietly. “People always quit. They just get new dares.”

“I can’t.” I shake involuntarily and blow out a shallow breath, hoping he didn’t notice. But he did.

“Amelia.”

“No.” My breathing increases to an alarming rate, and I’m no longer sure if it’s the attic that has me rattled or the thought of going back down to the group before the time is up. But either way, I’m struggling.

“Shit.” Luke hisses and my eyes flash his way to find him stalking toward me. “Look at me, Amelia.” He grabs my face in his hands, his eyes boring into me as mine fight to focus. “I need you to take slow, deep breaths. Can you do that?”

“What?”

“Breathe in.” I breathe in.

“Breathe out.” I breathe out.

“Now repeat that again.”

I do as asked a few more times and the panic subsides, but when I’m finally able to concentrate again, Luke’s still staring at me, his own gaze full of concern.

“I’m okay,” I whisper as my heart races. “Thank you.”

“Good.” Luke blinks, snapping out of his stupor. “Do you want to go down?”

“No.”

He smiles but doesn’t release my face, and my breath picks up speed again, this time for a different reason.

“Luke, what are you doing?” My eyes bounce between his as he drops a hand to my waist and huffs out a breath.

“I have no idea, but I can’t seem to step back.”

My breath hitches, while deep in the back of my mind there's a voice screaming at me to remember who this is. That we’re not friends anymore. But I just saw a side of him I haven’t seen in years, and it’s blocking my common sense to the point that I want him to kiss me.

Luke brushes a hair away from my face and my heart slams in my chest, trying not to focus on his eyes locked on mine as though he’s staring into my soul in a way only he ever has.

“Ace,” he whispers, my old nickname rushing from his lips like it’s escaping after years of being held back, and then, before I can process it, his mouth is on mine and he’s kissing me.

Luke Bennett is kissing me.

His lips gently caress mine, before his tongue sneaks out, seeking entry, and I panic. I’ve never been kissed before. What if I do it wrong? What if—

He nibbles on my bottom lip and I gasp, my lips parting to let him in. And then my instincts take over, matching his intensity. Our tongues swirl, his hands roam over my body, and he’s eliciting sounds from me that I’ve never heard before.

As if feeling for the first time, every one of my senses heightens. My skin tingles where he’s touching me, his smell makes me euphoric, and the taste…

I’m a mess of chaotic thoughts and butterflies but enjoying every second as he possesses my mouth, taking everything I have to give.

“Luke,” I moan against his mouth, and he groans in return.

“Fuck, Amelia.”

“Fire!” A voice breaks into my mind, and I spring away, confused until the words register.

Fire?

The voice calls again and I panic. “We have to go.”

Luke stares at me for a second before he snaps out of his daze. Glancing down at his phone, he shakes his head. “Ten minutes to go. Are you really going to fold? The next dare is guaranteed to be worse.”

“What?” I stare at him dumbfounded, my mind racing and my lips still tingling from his kiss. “Luke, there’s a fire .”

He crosses his arms over his chest. “A challenge is a challenge.” He turns away but not before his face drops. What the hell is going on?

“You’re being ridiculous. This is crazy.” I rush to the door, my panic increasing until I’m hyperventilating again.

“Help!” I call out. “Please. David?”

Luke's low laugh filters into the air. “It’s a joke, Amelia. Can you smell any smoke?”

“Why would anyone joke about a fire?”

“I don’t know.” He throws his hands in the air. “To piss off the couples hooking up.”

That makes no sense, but I wouldn’t put it past some of these kids, and as I concentrate, he’s right—I can’t smell anything.

“Are we calling it quits or are you going to take the risk?” Luke bounces his eyebrows and a negative energy settles in my stomach.

“Did you plan this?”

“Are you staying or going?” He ignores my question, making me nauseous.

“Staying.” I drop down to the wooden flooring, securing my arms around my chest, unsure whether I should be angry or embarrassed. “Were you part of this?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“No, I mean…is this your dare as well?” I want to ask if someone dared him to kiss me, but I can’t bring myself to say it.

Luke opens his mouth to answer just as someone screams in the distance.

“Answer me. Is that part of your—”

“Shh.” Luke cuts me off as he steps closer, seemingly on alert, and it’s then the smell of smoke permeates the air.

“Luke?”

“That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“What?” I wait for him to laugh. Pray for him to laugh but he doesn’t. “Luke, please tell me this is a joke.”

“It’s not.”

Oh God.

“We have to go. Jesus! Why didn’t we leave?” I race back to the door of the attic as Luke peers out the window, frustratingly taking his time. “What are you doing? Come on.” I pull on the handle but it doesn’t budge. “Oh God. Did they lock us in? Luke, are we locked in?”

My panic rises as I violently shake on the handle. “Help! Someone help !”

No one answers, so I turn to yell at Luke, but the sound of sirens echoes through the air, cutting me off.

Luke curses under his breath while my heart stops. It’s real.

“Oh God, oh God. Are we going to die? This is all your fault.”

Luke’s eyes flash to mine, his expression full of anger. “No one forced you to be here, Amelia. And your freak-out isn’t helping. I need to think.”

To think? Shit. We’re stuck.

The door rattles from the other side and we both freeze. “We have to go,” David calls out. “The police are here.” He opens the door and we both rush to climb down, but the second we’re at the bottom of the ladder, Luke takes off in the opposite direction.

“Luke, wait,” I call out, but he doesn’t slow.

"Stay with David," he yells back at me. "He’ll get you out.” And then he’s gone.

He set me up, made me feel alive, and then left me.

How could I be so stupid? Nothing has changed.