Coastal Runaway (Coast to Coast #1)

Five

five

Keegan

three years ago

“You guys are seriously so disgusting.”

I looked down my nose at my brother and his best friend while they openly ogled Kiara Brighton, all legs and beauty as she laid out by the country club pool. She was arguably the most popular girl at our high school and boys literally drooled when she walked by.

And the worst part?

She was so. Freaking. Nice. It was sickening how someone could be so self-aware, and well-endowed , at the same time. She was the varsity squad head cheerleader, but also the president of three charitable volunteer organizations. I would kill to flutter through life like she did: stunning yet selfless.

“Mind your business, Keegs. You wanted to hang out with the guys so hold your judgment or find someone else to bother,” Nolan said with a dismissive hand wave in my direction.

“Yeah, be careful, your jealousy is showing again,” Luke added with a smirk.

“Why would I be jealous of someone that is probably going to peak in high school?” I sassed as my brother as Luke burst into a fit of laughter at my expense.

“Because, Keegs, she is gorgeous and has every guy falling at her feet. And well… you don’t,” Nolan shrugged as if he didn’t just land a punch to my gut.

Nolan and I may have been born on the same day, but that was really where our similarities ended. Nolan was tall, standing at 6’2”, and had the most charming smile. My outward appearance screamed cliché nerd: big glasses, frizzy hair, baggy clothes and all. On a good day I was only 5’5” with boobs that were… nonexistent.

The only things that my brother and I really had in common were bright green hazel eyes and our affinity for sports. Nolan was the captain of the varsity football team and I was on the executive board of the school gymnastics club.

Distantly, I heard Luke trying to get my attention. He was suddenly standing right in front of me with a concerned look on his face. I looked around and saw Nolan heading to Baby Blue, without a care in the world.

“You know he means well, and is only joking right?” He said, as concern etched his features,

“Yeah, I know.” I let loose the breath that I had, unknowingly, been holding in. “I’m just excited to go to college and not be trapped under the guise of ‘popular star athlete’s dorky and pathetic twin sister.’ Just call me Laney Boggs because once I remove my glasses it's over for all of you.” I scowled and pointed at the imaginary people that were talking shit behind my back. Luke burst into laughter, which eased the tension in his shoulders.

I conned Luke into watching the She’s All That movie with me at least 200 times. He swore it was ridiculous for anyone to believe that Rachel Leigh Cook could hide her beauty behind those paint-covered overalls. With every viewing, we had an animated argument about the reality of how removing some glasses could shock a town, but that was my favorite part.

What if that was me?

Regardless of his constant teasing on the matter, he never once refused to watch the movie with me, and so it became our usual pastime.

He leaned down into my space until his mouth rested just above my ear and whispered, “you’re anything but pathetic, Tig. Don’t talk about my best friend that way.” He had the audacity to smirk as he stood back to his full height. He looked down at me and said, “besides, I kind of have a thing for dorks." Then he turned to follow my brother to the car and that smirk broke into his killer smile.

I was frozen in place for a brief moment as the butterflies went wild in my stomach. I quickly snapped out of it and schooled my features to indifference at Luke’s shameless flirting as I trailed behind the duo. I always put on a cool and calm demeanor around Luke to appear unbothered instead of utterly obsessed. The boy had a panty-melting smile and he knew how to use it.

I wasn’t naive enough to think that Luke would ever go for a girl like me, above-average men didn’t crush on below-average women, but Luke enjoyed flustering me. It had all been a funny game to him; I just tried not to react. He knew that I was remarkably bad at it so he found it hilarious to make me squirm.

I had to take a deep breath just to stop the rapid beating of my heart every time that his attention was solely focused on me— little stolen moments that only came with Nolan’s absence.

Nolan.

He would freak out if he found out that I was in love with his best friend. My brother, all jokes aside, was very protective of me. Actually, all my brothers were protective of my sisters and I. So I knew, if Luke dared to touch me, then it would be like putting a bounty on his head to all of the Kelly men.

I stepped up onto the wheel well of Baby Blue and then slunk into my assigned back seat. It was the perfect summer day in Connecticut, so we had the roof off and the music turned up as Nolan pulled out onto the road to head home from the country club. As the wind whipped through my hair, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

I let my mind wander, and imagined a world where I was cool enough to get a guy like Luke Cavan. However, I was quickly derailed by thoughts of getting ready for our joint graduation party with Aiden tonight.

While Aiden was technically a year older than us, our mom thought it would be fun to push Nolan and I forward in school so the three of us could stick together. Tonight we would celebrate moving on from high school— a new beginning.

Our dad would be present for a little while, but my brothers and I knew that he would casually disappear so we could have our fun, leaving our safety in the hands of our oldest brother, Owen.

The other thing that was on my mind was deciding where the hell I was going to spend the next four years of my life. I was stuck between Coastal Crest University in Los Angeles, where my brothers were going to school, or Columbia University in New York.

Nolan committed to CCU for football during our sophomore year of high school and has been excited to move out west ever since. Also, my late mother went there and I could carry on her legacy like my siblings. But, Columbia was familiar. Safe. Closer to home and my sister, Maeve, who would be completing the rest of high school alone, being the youngest of six.

I always loved spending time in NYC. I practically grew up at my dad’s offices there— regularly attending Broadway shows, and spending weekends on my dad’s boat on the Hudson. While CCU was what my family was pushing for, there was a part of me that wanted to stay and go to Columbia in the fall, because there would be another perk: Luke .

While I wasn’t going to make such an important decision based on a schoolgirl crush, I also couldn’t help but wonder, what if he finally realized that he’s the Chuck Bass to my Blair Waldorf?

Sigh.

In all actuality, I was deciding who I wanted to spend college with. Both Nolan and Luke cast their own shadows, but who would let me shine through? I opened my eyes and dismissed the foolish feelings that I would ever be anything more than best friend or dorky sidekick within our trio as we pulled up to the front gates of our sprawling estate.

present day

I was lost in memory as I sped down the highway towards campus.

“Okay seriously,” Maeve was screaming above the music snapping me back to reality, “slow the fuck down before you kill us both.”

“What?” I asked, glancing over at her confused, and eased my foot off of the gas pedal.

She reached across to turn the music volume down, “I’ve been trying to get your attention for ten minutes.” Maeve crossed her arms and leaned back against the passenger seat.

I knew she was frustrated with me. I've been throwing tantrums since Nolan revealed what his big surprise was at the pool party.

I sighed, “I’m sorry. I’m just on edge.”

“I know this is a lot for you. But you can’t let a boy have this much control over you. So what? Luke is an asshole who lives in our house now? Big deal. You haven’t needed him since the day you left, and you don’t need him now.” Maeve had fire in her eyes as she gave me a speech about feminism and not needing a man.

And I agreed with her. I didn't need a man.

But I feared that I might need him.

Shaking my head, I pushed those thoughts out of my head. I refused to fall into the trap again. I was three years older and three years wiser. I had exponentially increased my dating and sexual experience, and morphed into the epitome of the perfect college girl.

I was happy on my own, right?

I hated this feeling. I hated the power he has always held over my mind and body. For so long, every decision that I made was based on what others wanted me to do, right up until the moment that I took off and started living for myself. I refused to go back to living that way, and I despised that I got this insistent feeling to cave to him. I thought I grew out of that.

Luke Cavan no longer had control over me.

When I saw him standing on the balcony last week looking down at me, my skin felt itchy like it was a costume—not who I am. I was transported back to all of those feelings that drowned me on my seventy-two hour road trip as I fled from his grasp.

It was as if, because he was in my presence, everyone would point an accusatory finger at me, calling me a poser; a girl in a mask on top of the skeleton of who I used to be.

Like they’d know this wasn’t who I was deep down and they’d want to take away everything I had worked so hard for.

After I started to run through the crowd, I noticed Luke’s gaze stayed on me. In a moment of panic and defiance I let Sinclair grope me right in front of him.

Was it stupid?… Probably.

Was it worth it? Hell. Yes.

He looked like his head was going to explode right off of his body from jealousy before he stormed off. Satisfied with myself, I went to the bathroom and locked the door. I had needed a minute alone to gather myself. The thoughts raced in my brain as I tried to make sense of seeing him here.

Why was he here?

Was this the universe punishing me for something?

Was it for the time that I put salt instead of sugar into Nolan’s cookies last year? Because I apologized for that.

After I calmed down, I pushed my shoulders back and opened the door only to crash into a brick wall.

Not a wall.

Luke looked irritated, his arms shot out to steady me, until our eyes met and that classic, soul shattering smile crept onto his face.

My stomach jumped at the use of the nickname Luke gave me when we were kids. He first called me Tigger after I joined gymnastics when I was seven. I used to flip and bounce around the house, constantly getting in the way of any game they were trying to play.

I enjoyed annoying them as much as I liked playing the games alongside them. One day while playing a new game on Xbox, they were huddled around the TV with Aiden. I was feeling restless so I started doing cartwheels back and forth across the room blocking the television from view.

Annoyed with me, Luke told me to stop acting like Tigger and sit with them. The nickname stuck for a few years but most of my siblings reverted to calling me Keegan, or Keegs for short. Luke had been the sole reason that this nickname lived on. He’d used the shortened pet name for me more often than my real name.

Hearing the name that he had reserved only for me angered me more than I thought it would. It cracked something deep inside of me. He took something special and set it ablaze for a fleeting need. I realized that I probably looked like a deer in headlights, so I reared back ready to spar with the only boy I had ever loved.

The entire interaction with Luke was tense. I felt like now I needed to leave my walls up 24/7 so as to not chance a weak moment in front of him. I already felt myself affected as he implied he had no idea why I even left in the first place, if he pushed me further I might just crack.

The fucking audacity of men. Ugh.

We pulled up to the field house and I cut the engine, “I don’t want this to affect me, you know? I don't want his energy to hold me captive anymore.”

Maeve reached out and touched my arm, “I know, babe, but he doesn’t hold the power here. You do.”

I tipped my head back and closed my eyes, centering my thoughts and letting Maeve’s words sink in. Luke Cavan no longer affected me.

And I would continue to believe that lie for as long as I needed too.

We hopped out of the Jeep and headed inside to drop our bags before the rally.

The energy in the air was unmatched as I waved my pom-poms in front of the stage on the quad. The Dean of the university was closing out his speech, speaking on camaraderie and loyalty. I’d heard this speech four times now, but every year the crowd of students and their families still went absolutely wild.

When the Dean finished, I motioned for the girls to move forward and prepare for stunts. Left and right, they were tossed into the air performing twists and flips before landing back in the arms of their teammates. The crowd cheered us on. This was my happy place; performing with my best friends by my side and just enjoying life.

After the crowd dispersed, the team walked as a group back to the field house to grab our bags. As I walked outside, I saw Maeve through the clear glass doors of the field house.

She was standing off to the side, leaning back against the building, knee bent and foot propped against the wall while twirling her hair around her finger. A football player who was at least a foot taller than her had one hand placed on the wall above her head.

That poor little man had no idea what he was getting himself into.

Knowing Maeve would be a while, I pulled myself up onto the hood of Baby Blue and started scrolling mindlessly through my phone.

Maeve always had this flair about her that could ease even the most tense room. I swear she could walk into a room of politicians and leave with everyone on the same side— hers. She was the sounding board of the family: when the boys fought, she broke it up, and when I needed a shoulder to cry on, she’s always there.

Always.

You would think that I would have been jealous of her ability to naturally fit in, but I kind of liked that we’re opposites; she’s the yin to my yang, the sweet to my sour, the happy to my sad. Sometimes I still worried about her though.

Maeve had it the toughest of all of us. She was so young when mom died. She had less pictures and stories to fill the lost memories compared to the rest of us. Then, when Nolan, Aiden, and I left for college, the Kelly estate in Connecticut was suddenly like a prison. It was quiet and cold after it used to be filled with the constant chaos of life.

She had more freedom than a teenager should have. You would think that our dad would’ve stepped up to be around more since she was alone, but instead he hired a live-in nanny for the sole reason that he couldn’t leave his sixteen year old daughter completely alone for months at a time.

I think that a big reason she liked so much attention was because for two years she really got none at all. She used to call me crying, begging me to fly her out to California so she could finish high school virtually. It was a dark time, and we don’t talk about it.

I was looking down at my phone, scrolling through my Instagram feed, when Maggie walked up and rested her elbow against the hood of my car.

“That girl,” She gestured towards where Maeve was shamelessly flirting with her victim, “must have a magic pussy or something.”

I laughed, “she’s always been like that. Even when we were younger.”

“Okay, so I was thinking, maybe tonight we can have an old-fashioned girls night.” She wiggled her brows at me .

“Do you mean a pizza and wine kind of night? Or, do so many tequila shots that I end up puking off of your balcony onto your neighbors head, kind of night?

“First of all, it was one time and they got over it after I slept with them–”

“Wait, what?” I cut her off.

She raised her hand silencing me, “second, the way you reacted yesterday calls for all of the above,” She pinned me with a glare, “you still have yet to tell me why you freaked out that way when that brutally hot guy walked into the party.”

I shook my head, “okay I’m in. I definitely need alcohol for that story.” I gestured towards my sister, “but, who’s going to wrangle Maeve this time?”

We looked over at Maeve and then back at each other, bursting into laughter. Maggie raised a fist and put it in her palm. I mimicked her gesture for our usual deciding game of rock, paper, scissors.

“On three,” I smiled, “one, two, three.”

Maggie moved her hand. Scissors. A losing move to my rock.

I smirked and patted her leg, “let him down easy.”

Maggie humphed then pushed off the car, heading towards Maeve and her flavor of the day. I watched as Maggie put her arm around Maeve and whispered in her ear causing Maeve to look up at her man with a sorry smile. With a pat to the guy's chest, they turned toward the Jeep with a skip in their step.

We piled into Baby Blue and headed towards Maggie’s apartment in University Park.

“Sorry we interrupted your flirting.” I giggled as Maeve connected to the aux and chose a song.

“Eh, I wasn’t feeling it anyway. I’d much rather get drunk with my girls.” She smiled broadly at me and settled on playing Is It Over Now? By Taylor Swift. We scream-sang the lyrics and laughed the entire short ride to Maggie’s. I couldn’t help but feel like this was just what I needed.

Tonight was going to be fun.