The Fallen Ones (Holloway University #1)

8. Jace

Chapter 8

Jace

I sat in my Range Rover staring out at the hoard of girls that had gather by my parking spot in front of the college campus, rocking their hips and pushing their chests out.

Anything to get my attention.

I couldn’t give a shit about them. All I could hear were the words I’d spat at Lily in anger as they echoed through my mind.

You’re a whole different kind of monster.

I was the fucking monster here, not her.

I’d tried to distance myself. To make her think I no longer gave a shit. To make her believe the rumors I’d started about me hooking up with Jessica. I didn’t mean to cut her so deep, but she’d broken my heart and I guess, my ego. Then I found myself making plans to share her. Not only with Caleb but with Damien now, too.

Fuck it.

There was no going back. We’d made a deal. Each one of us had a hold over the other. If any of us backed out, any of us broke, it was mutually assured destruction. Game over for the three of us. Lily wouldn’t ever speak to any of us ever again, but even worse, it would destroy her and break her heart to lose Caleb. I knew that. I hated knowing that she would always be closer to him. That they shared this fucking bond that I could never seem to build with her. That she’d tell him things about her time in foster care but hold back and never fully open up to me. But not any more, now we were equal players when it came to Lily. Caleb no longer held the upper hand. He knew what he’d agree to. He was risking it all to have a piece of the girl he’d loved his entire life, not that I gave him any choice. It pained me to see the way she still looked at him while knowing she’d probably never look at me like that again. Not after I’d dealt a low blow by comparing her to her mother. I loved Lily just as much as Caleb did. Even if I’d loved her from afar until I finally had the opportunity to insert myself into her life.

I needed Lily, but I wondered if she’d ever forgive me. I knew how much she loved her mom. How desperately she’d tried to save her.

The issue now was after we did this, how did we keep her? I hoped the experience was enough to convince her I was worth it. And if all else failed, us guys were worth it. That’s how much she meant to me. I was willing to attempt to share her.

I shook the thoughts from my head and started the engine. I needed to speak to Dylan.

I didn’t want to risk sending a text for a plan like this so I’d asked him to meet me at Giano’s after classes. I just hoped Caleb and Damien didn’t cross paths and get into it while they waited for me to get back to them with the details. They had their own issues long before any of this.

I pulled up outside Giano's and caught myself gazing in the rearview mirror. I thought about how only a few months ago I’d picked Lily up after her late night art class and watched her change clothes in the backseat as she got ready for our date night. How her dark wavy locks had tangled and caught on her shirt. The way she giggled nervously and told me to look away because she’d worn a white lace bra which exposed her perfectly rounded nipples. I caught myself envisioning removing it, caressing her soft, full breasts and taking my time kissing them, loving them, worshipping her. Lily was my girl. I missed the sound of her laughter, the cute way she’d side-eye me whenever I’d sneak a peek at her changing.

Shit, Jace. Dylan is waiting. Get it together.

Taking a deep breath, I snapped myself back into the moment and hopped out of my Range Rover and headed inside Giano’s. Dylan sat waiting for me in a booth at the back of the restaurant, away from listening ears.

“Hey man, thanks for meeting me here,” I said and fist bumped Dylan. We’d been friends for a long time so I knew he wouldn’t tell a soul about this. He was just happy to hear what I had to offer.

“Sure, how are things going for you after the whole Lily thing?” he asked with a sympathetic look on his face.

“It’s been… interesting. In fact it’s pretty much why I’m here asking you for a favor.”

“Oh, yeah?” He raised an eyebrow at me and settled back in his seat.

“I need five tokens for Halloween night at Satan’s Hollow,” I looked at him and hoped he didn’t ask too many questions.

“I can do that.”

“I also need you to make sure I get the same key as…” I paused for a moment. I trusted Dylan, but I still felt so fiercely protective over Lily. I didn’t want people finding out about her attending something like this. She was my innocent, sweet angel. I’d fucking kill anyone that said a bad word about her.

“As?” Dylan prompted, intrigue in his hazel eyes.

“I’ll let you know her outfit details on the night so you know who to match my key with.”

“Who is she?”

“She’s just some girl I’ve wanted for awhile now. Figured this would be a fun way to have my way with her.” I lied.

“Come on, Jace. We’re bros. No secrets.” He pushed.

I laughed in an awkward attempt to avoid telling him it was Lily.

“I’ve already paid you for the room. I just needed the extra tokens and for you to make sure the girl gets the same key.”

“Yeah, I had you down for the Lover’s room. It’s a great little place for the two of you,” Dylan pulled out his cell and showed me photos of the room he’d saved for me.

A bed sat in the center covered in rose petals, candles scattered along the shelving around the edges of the room. It was a sickeningly sweet love nest of red silk and satin material. Romantic.

It was the perfect room where I’d hoped to take my Lily pad’s virginity.

Images of Lily in her lace underwear raced through my mind. Shaking my head, I stopped myself from thinking any further.

“I don’t need that anymore,” my voice shook. I was sure Dylan could hear the pain breaking it’s way through my voice.

“Sorry, man. I thought you’d still use it for your new mystery girl.”

“I heard the Rapture room is a good time,” I replied.

“That’s a room for multiple people.” Dylan’s eyes widened with a sudden realization. “Oh, shit, five tokens. I get it. Hell, sounds like you have one wild night planned.”

“Something like that.”

Dylan scrolled through his phone before looking down his list of rooms and attendees.

“The Rapture room is taken for the night, but if you were to offer more than this guy I can always make an exception.”

“What do you want, Dylan?”

“How about I get to ask Jessica on a date? I heard you two were kind of a thing. I was hoping she’s not your mystery girl.”

“Go for it,” I replied instantly. In fact he’d be doing me a favor. It would be a relief to have Jessica occupied with someone else. The bitch had been blowing up my phone for weeks.

“And free use of your lake house for a week of my choice?”

“Sure man, anything else while you’re at it? Want me on my knees sucking your dick too?” I laughed.

“I wouldn’t go that far, Adams,” he replied with a smirk. “I’m looking to get head, just not from you.”

I’d always wondered about Dylan’s sexuality though he’d never admit to liking anyone but girls. He reached into his black backpack and pulled out five tokens. Each were engraved with the Satan’s Hollow logo of the devil and his pitchfork on one side, and S.H 1904 on the other. Satan’s Hollow wasn’t something new. It had been around for generations. I wasn’t sure how long it had hosted masked parties for, but I sure was glad it did. This was my only chance to finally be with Lily.

Dylan handed me the tokens and shook my hand. The deal was set. We’d have the Rapture room for the night. Dylan would hand me the key inside, and I’d tell him what Lily would be wearing or show him a photo of Lily dressed ready to impress. I knew she’d share her Halloween outfit with Caleb. She always fucking did. Even our date nights involved Caleb’s opinion. I felt heat rise in my chest. I couldn’t deny to myself that I was jealous of their relationship, so jealous in fact that I’d once deleted his number from her cell and let her think it was a glitch. How I’d get through sharing her with Caleb I didn’t know. How I’d survive seeing Damien enjoy my girl was something I didn’t even want to think about right now either. I’d send myself insane.

I headed over to Damien’s. I hated this prick, but he’d insisted on meeting at his place. I just hoped it wasn’t some kind of sick trick to destroy me. What if it got back to Lily that Caleb and I had been spotted at Damien’s? What the fuck would I tell her? Not that it mattered since she probably already hated my guts anyway.

Once parked, I shot a quick text out to Caleb. Fuck all if I was walking in there alone.

Jace: Where are you?

Caleb: On my way

Jace: Hurry the fuck up.

Sighing, I waited for Caleb outside the massive steel gates that surrounded Damien’s place. Ten minutes passed and my mind slipped to reminiscing about how close Damien and I used to be. About how everything turned to shit and my best friend who was practically my brother became my enemy overnight. And not even through any fault of our own. It pained me to admit I missed our friendship sometimes. Damien had turned cold, ruthless, almost evil because of our parents. He’d slowly morphed into his father, Rick. I fucking hated that prick more than I hated anyone. When I started dating Lily and realized she’d found her mother’s body, cold, limp, lifeless, dead…because of Rick’s cheating, I hated him even more. There were times I’d even hated my own mother. She was part of the reason Lily no longer had a mom. I wondered if my mom knew, or if she even cared. I wasn’t close enough to her to ask, not that she’d ever discuss her cheating ways with anyone. She’d even refused to go to marriage counseling with my dad after the first few sessions went south.

“Jace!” Caleb knocked on my Range Rover window and pulled me back to the moment.

I gestured for him to climb in.

“What took you so long?” I asked in frustration but also relieved he’d interrupted my overthinking ass.

“I had to grab a few things for Lily,” he replied.

Why the fuck did I ask? Of course it’d be something to do with Lily.

I lowered my window and leaned over to the security box on the wall and punched in the pin numbers. To my surprise the old code I’d been so used to tapping in whenever I visited my best friend back then worked and the steel gates to Damien’s mansion opened.

I drove up the long driveway and parked underneath the shelter that housed the entrance to the Fletcher’s fleet of fancy sports cars.

“Is there really any need for that many cars?” Caleb wrinkled his eyebrows and pushed his mouth to one side in disgust.

“Rich pricks like us like our cars,” I replied with a chuckle and shut off the engine.

Leaving my car sitting in it’s old spot sent a wave of nostalgia through my body. I didn’t want to think about the times I’d spent here with Damien.

Caleb and I made our way to the front door. I pressed the button on the door camera and swallowed hard. I used to have a key to this place so waiting around for Damien to answer felt odd and uncomfortable. I remember the day I threw my key into the big lake at the back of the house and smugly walked away knowing it’d take them forever to fish it out, if they even bothered. This place was so full of memories.

“Come in,” Damien’s voice called through the speaker.

I pushed the heavy white metal frame and went inside, Caleb only a step behind.

As we reached the living room, we were greeted by Damien, “Welcome home, brother.” He addressed me. “Caleb.” He turned and grinned, looking Caleb up and down.

“I’m not your brother, Damien. We’re here for one reason only,” I growled and tried to restrain myself. The frustration of an all too familiar environment and the toxicity that had become our relationship was never too far from my mind.

“Want a hit?” Damien pushed a joint in front of my face.

“No,” I replied shoving his hand away.

“That’s not like you, Adams. You were never one to turn down getting high. Gone soft?” He taunted. Damien knew how to get under my skin. He gestured for us to sit on the massive leather wraparound couch.

I ignored his jab.

“I’ve spoken to Dylan and he’s assured me we’ll have the Rapture room for the night. Here are your tokens. You’ll need to hand them to the security at the doors. Don’t fucking lose them because I sure as shit won’t be getting you two another. I’ve stuck to my side of the deal,” I said and handed them a token each before taking my seat. Caleb sank onto the cushion next to mine while Damien took a spot on the L of the couch.

“Are these our passes?” Caleb asked innocently, his Adam’s Apple bobbing.

“Yes, dumbass,” Damien responded and took another hit from his joint before blowing out the smoke so it circled his head like a storm cloud.

“And the key? How does that work?” Caleb pressed.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll let Dylan know when we arrive and he’ll hand me our key,” I said.

“Why you? I want the key. I need to make sure you two don’t try to fuck me over,” Damien bit out, his eyes narrowed.

“No one is going to do that. We’ve agreed. I know what you’re capable of, Damien. You forget we were best friends for years. You’ll just have to trust me,” I replied and bit my tongue before I told him to go fuck himself.

“We can all meet up and go in together,” Caleb suggested.

“Fine. We need to have matching costumes.” I continued to eye Damien.

“Why the fuck would we need to match?” Damien questioned. Always my opposition even in a plan that involved him getting something he’d clearly dreamed of for years.

“Dylan needs to know what we’ll be wearing, so he knows who to hand the Rapture room key to. Plus, if we all dress the same it’ll be more fun.”

“I can get us a bunch of plain black masks. They’ll cover three quarters of our faces” Caleb chipped in instantly.

“Leaving our mouths exposed so we can kiss, lick, and eat Lily. Just thinking about it makes my cock hard.” Damien grabbed his junk over his pants and threw his head back in amusement.

“It’s not a fucking game,” I spat, then turned to Caleb, “they sound great man, as long as Lily won’t recognize them. Speaking of which, we need you to confirm her outfit for us. Find out what she’s dressing as, and try to get a photo so I can show Dylan once we’re inside. Oh, and here’s two more tokens. One for Lily, and one for Olivia.”

“Lily said Olivia was sorting her pass to Satan’s Hollow,” Caleb replied.

“I’d heard Olivia talking in the campus parking lot about how she was struggling to acquire them, so I made her job easier.” I grinned at the idea of the plan finally coming together.

“Where do I say I got them from?” Caleb frowned down at the tokens I’d dropped into his hand.

“Sure you can think of something. Besides, Lily trusts you. I doubt she’ll even question it. Just say you have a gift for her and hand them to her. Don’t give her a chance to ask questions, or you could always hand them off to Olivia for the two of them.” My dark side sure as hell knew how to play this. Perhaps, having Caleb involved made the plan a hell of a lot easier to execute.

“While you’re at it, make sure she chooses to dress as a little red devil. She looks so fucking hot in red.” Damien licked his lips and closed his eyes for a second, clearly imaging my girl in some sexy Damien-fueled fantasy.

“That works.” I agreed and hid my jealousy well. “The masks might get a little hot and awkward so we can paint our faces as skeletons, too. Those rooms are dark enough that she won’t recognize us with face paint on.”

“Her eyes will be rolling back so far in pleasure from my cock buried in her tight holes that she won’t have time to try to look at our faces.” Damien smacked his lips. “Perfection.”

I breathed in hard and grabbed the joint from his hand and took a long, slow hit. I needed something to blur my mind from the image Damien just conjured. I fought my fists as they wanted to ball up and punch his smug, pretty face.

How the fuck was I going to get through this night?

“All black outfits, no identifying logos or slogans. We need to be unidentifiable.” I let out my final thought. “Shirts and gloves on because fuck wit here has tats.” I jerked my thumb in Damien’s direction.

He inclined his head at me without argument.

The plan was set.

“There’s one more thing,” Caleb piped up. “Lily told me she wants to be…forced.”

“Forced?” I questioned.

“Yeah, she told me she needs to be forced into it so she can’t back out.”

“There’s no backing out once you’re in the room. It’s an agreement,” Damien replied. He’d been to more parties at Satan’s Hollow than I had. I tried to appear clean cut and perfect because of my football career depended on me not fucking anything up.

“She won’t back out, but she did insist that she wants to be forced. She wants to rid herself of all her fears surrounding sex.” Caleb’s cheeks flushed as he spoke of his conversation with Lily.

“What are you hiding, Watts?” I asked him.

“Nothing. I’ve told you what Lily wants.”

“To be forced? When I tried to force her she pushed me away and ran off in tears.” I overshared and regretted it immediately when I saw the grin on Damien’s face. I rose to my feet and made to pace as a way to work out my frustration, but Caleb was quick to his feet to stop me.

“You’ve tried to force her before?” Caleb pushed his chest into mine.

“Back the fuck off.” I pushed him away from me. “I’m talking about the day we split up. You already know what happened.”

“She never said you tried to force her. She used the word ‘pushy’.”

“You two sure are entertaining,” Damien said from his perch on the leather sofa, “everyone stick to the plan, and if Lily wants forcing, that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

I glowered at him. “If she gets hurt, I’ll break your fucking neck.”

Damien only snickered and lit another joint. I scowled and looked back to Caleb who had the sense to take a step back from me.

“You want to force her, Caleb? Huh? Hold her down and fuck her even if she’s begging you to stop?”

He cast his gaze to his feet, his cheeks darkening. I didn’t think he was going to answer until he let out a breath.

“I want to do this. If this is what she wants, then yes. It’s what I want too.”

“Perfect. So it’s settled. You two will hold her, and I’ll fuck her first,” Damien said.

“Abso-fucking-lutely not,” I snarled at him. “I get her first.”

“Why do you get her first? I’ve been her best friend since we could sit up on our own,” Caleb snapped back. “I want her first.”

I glared from Caleb to Damien.

“How about this,” Damien said easily. “Let her decide. Whoever she chooses gets to do it.”

Caleb hesitated, and I mulled it over.

“That does make it fair,” Caleb muttered after a brief moment of silence. “She won’t know who is who.”

“But I’m her boyfriend?—“

“ Ex ,” Damien corrected smoothly. “You ain’t shit now, pretty boy.”

“Fuck you, Damien. I still mean more to her than you do. You should be kissing my ass for letting you in. She fucking hates your ass. You didn’t do jack shit for her when your old man cheated and caused her mother to kill herself?—”

Damien was on his feet within a span of a second and in my face, having shoved Caleb aside.

“For someone who likes to throw stones, I’d be fucking careful where you cast them, Jace,” Damien’s voice came out in a dangerously low growl. “I didn’t see you comforting her when it was your slut of a mother riding my old man’s dick.”

I shoved him hard in the chest. He stumbled back before coming right back at me, his hands landing hard in my chest and knocking me back.

Caleb dove between us before I could plant my fist in the center of Damien’s face.

“Knock it off,” Caleb shouted. “I don’t know what the hell you need to do to sort your shit and not fuck this up for all of us, but figure it out. If I get outed and screwed over by you two pricks and lose Lily, I swear I’ll murder you both myself.”

I pushed Caleb’s hand off my chest and continued to glare at Damien. “I’m done.”

“Pussy,” Damien muttered.

I ground my teeth together and forced myself to take some deep breaths so I didn’t lose my shit.

“Are we good?” Caleb asked. “If we’re not, we can all walk away right now and never speak of it again.” It was the pain in his voice that brought me back down. It was all too familiar with the pain I felt at already having lost her.

“We’re good.” I glared at Damien. “Right, Fletcher?”

Damien let out a scoff and looked away before going back to his seat on the couch.

“We’re good,” he said calmly before taking a hit from his joint again.

It definitely didn’t feel good though.