Page 137 of Under the Influence

I always knew Carson wasn't innocent! Funny how he made you seem like the bad boy.

Then it's like a bomb goes off. My phone is receiving message after message. Call after call. I hit ignore so many times that I eventually turn it off.

We're just friends.

Carson and Corinne's words ring inside my head like sirens. He lied to me. I feel my stomach drop and my mouth go dry before I need to run outside and spill the Red Bull I just drank over the edge of the dock.

I sit down, wiping the cold sweat from my forehead. I'd love to know what his version of friends is because it doesn't involve kissing in mine. He knew I wanted her. He knew, and he didn't care.

I start to see red.

Complete rage brews in my gut as I pick myself up off the dock and head to the party. I can explain to my boss why I left later on. Because, at this point, I don't even care if he fires me.

If I get pulled over going as fast as I'm going, though, I'm definitely getting arrested, no questions asked. I make it worse by grabbing the bottle of Adderall from my console and popping a few of those. There will be no sleeping tonight anyway. I pull up outside Carson's house but end up having to park way down the street due to the number of people here.

The second I shift the Jeep into park, I get out and slam the door. My fists clench over and over again at my sides. If I see Carson right now, I'm going to break his jaw. I'm going to beat the shit out of my best friend, and he's going to deserve it.

The closer I get to the house, the memory of what I saw taunts me, causing pressure against my chest. So strong, it nearly brings tears to my eyes.

A force slams into me, and I nearly lose my footing. It's Crew, shirtless with a girl on each arm, obviously wasted.

"What the fuck, man! Watch where you're going." I bite out.

He laughs, pulling the girls in closer. "Nash! My man," he slurs. "You ditch work?"

I suck in a sharp breath, not wanting to make small talk, "Where's Carson?"

"He snuck away with Avery, and the two of them looked upset," Bimbo number one informs.

More vomit threatens my throat, along with a fresh wave of jealousy. He has Avery. Why the hell couldn't he leave the girl I want alone? I walk around the side of the house, pulling the ladder from the bushes and perching it against the window.

When I get to the top, the room is dim, but I still search his room for any sign of a hidden camera. I come up empty but as the video replays over and over again in my mind it almost looked as if it was taken from Corinne's house, which could only mean one thing.

Jovie.

I march around the room, pacing like someone gone mad. I notice Carson's discarded costume on his bed and pick it up.

We're about to find out just how friendly they are.

CHAPTER

FORTY

CORI

2 HOURS EARLIER

“Remind me again why I agreed to this?” Lainey asks, using a makeup brush to apply bronzer.

“Because Madden needs us there for moral support,” I remind her, pulling my costume over my head. A pink dress and a baseball cap from A League of Their Own.

She groans, “Madden is a damn wizard behind any instrument he picks up. He doesn’t need us.”

I walk over to where she’s sitting at her white vanity, “Why are you so worried? Nash won’t be there.”

“I know, I just hate the drama! And mark my words, there will be drama. There always is.”

I put a barrier of lipgloss on my lips, “Speaking of drama…”