Ten

Pov

Tessa

"Can't you just pick one of them? If it doesn't work out, date the one you didn't choose first." She shrugs as if it's a legitimate option. "They're both such jerks I don't even know why you like them. They're practically the same person anyway." But they're not. They're so different, and sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who can see that. Harlow isn't like the rest of us, afflicted by the anti-charm the Ravens possess. Actually, come to think of it, they really don't bother her like they do the rest of us girls.

I make a weird combination of a deep breath and a shaky laugh before saying, "I'm not sure either. I guess we can't choose who we like." I try to steer the conversation away from her when I say, "Have you ever felt that way? And that guy Uncle Rhett scared half to death for driving you home? It's not like you could choose him over your family. I can't choose between the Slade brothers because there's no choice to make." I think I'm finally making sense to her, but I look up to see her wrinkling her nose like she tasted something bitter.

"I just let him drive me home to piss off Dad," she says with a shrug, and I don't even comment because that seems to be the common theme for Bishop women doing things just to raise the men's blood pressure.

Before I can change the subject, she does when she says, "It's going to be weird here without you." Harlow leans forward without getting off my bed and gives me a side hug before tucking her hands into the hoodie and lying back on my pillows.

"You'll have Emerson and Haley," I say, closing my bag. I don't even know what I should bring to start my new life, but I have a feeling it really doesn't matter. It's going to be hard no matter how much time I have to prepare.

"Haley hates me, and Emerson's only reason for living is to annoy Grey, so…" She stops, grabbing one of the decorative pillows from my bed and squeezing it to her chest. "Maybe I'll grab Dad's credit card and send Emerson long-stemmed roses or something, so I can watch Grey have a meltdown." Her smile is as wicked as her voice is sweet when she adds, "The card will say 'Had a great time screwing you in Grey's truck.'"

"You better not do that. He'll massacre every man in Hollow Hill looking for a guy who doesn't exist," I say, but she laughs at the image of Grey trying to strangle a delivery guy with the rose stems. When I get serious, I tell Harlow, "Haley doesn't hate you, she just…" I pause, looking down the hall to make sure no one's listening to our conversation. "I think she's jealous of how your dad treats you."

I didn't expect what I said to irritate her, but she seems to stiffen for a moment before asking, "What do you mean? He's much nicer to her. He lets her get away with everything. It's me who's always getting caught for trying to do something she doesn't know. I swear, that man has eyes in the back of his head."

I can't help but laugh, despite my somber mood. He really does have eyes everywhere on this mountain.

"She never said that to me, but maybe she feels like he doesn't care about her as much as he cares about you," I tell her before dropping to all fours to grab my shoes from under the bed. "I mean, he has to know she uses the basement to sneak out in the middle of the night, and I'd be surprised if he doesn't know why she's sneaking out and who she's going to meet."

"He'd lose his mind if he knew who she's seeing," Harlow says quickly and then covers her mouth with one of the hoodie-covered hands. "Forget I said that, I don't need Haley giving me a beatdown in the middle of the night." She huffs. "All I can say is, if it were me doing what she's doing, Dad would burn this whole mountain down, starting with that man's house."

I sling my coat over my shoulder and give one last look around my room before turning off the light and closing the door softly behind me. I tiptoe down the hall and head for the staircase that will allow me to slip out through the kitchen door, hopefully without Uncle Rhett hearing me.

I twist the knob all the way and shut the door, so it doesn't make any noise when I put it back in place. I see headlights near the huge garage where Grey and Uncle Rhett keep their bikes and ATVs, and I start walking quickly toward the truck. Hopefully, when we take off, my uncle will think it's Grey or one of the other Ravens messing around and won't come out to investigate. I'm not free until I'm out of Hollow Hill and out of Remington's truck. I know there's a chance he might change his mind about giving me a ride, but praying he doesn't is my only option right now.

I open the passenger door with a fake smile plastered on my face. I need to keep Remington as comfortable as possible. "Thank you so much…" I practically suck the words back into my mouth when I see it's not Remington in the driver's seat, but a very pissed-off Grey.

I shuffle on my feet and my arm twitches as my brain shorts out, but I catch it at the last moment when Grey snaps, "Shut the door, and I'll slam it repeatedly on your pretty little head. Get in the damn truck and don't make me say it again."

I glare at my cousin because if there's one thing I've learned about the Ravens, specifically about Grey's badass, it's that showing any sign of weakness will make them attack. "Why are you here?"

He's sitting staring straight ahead through the windshield, his large hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly I'm sure he's pretending it's my neck he's twisting. "I'm here on this lovely night to escort you out of the mountain. You wanted a ride, and that's exactly what you're getting."

"I've changed my mind, thank you. I don't want to be wrapped in a tarp and dragged to Violent Peak because you're in a bitchy mood," I snap the words and slam the door before he can respond. I drop the makeshift bag and sprint toward the garage, where I hope to lock him out. "Damn, damn, damn," I curse when I realize the door is locked, and he's already out of the truck and coming my way. "Let me go!" I scream before he even grabs me.

"I warned your ass to leave the Ravens alone, and you didn't listen, damn it," Grey's voice is seething as he wraps an arm around me, putting me in a headlock. I'm not short, but his height is forcing me to stand on my tiptoes as he drags me toward the truck. "You three are gonna sort your shit out before it causes real problems."

"You wouldn't recognize a real problem if it bit your dick off. Everyone in Hollow Hill bows to you as their king," I sigh the words, my nails clawing up his arm. He doesn't flinch or seem to feel anything, probably because he's wearing a thick hoodie under the gray and black flannel shirt he's got on.

"As they should," he snaps the words and gives me a shove as he opens Remington's truck's passenger door. "I've got nothing but problems, and they're all caused by you and your damn friends," he retorts, and I laugh at him despite my predicament. He hates being ridiculed, and I know it'll piss him off enough to give me a chance to escape.

If that doesn't work, my next words surely will. "My friends? You mean your sisters?" It has the desired effect because he whirls me around to face him and grabs me by the neck. He knows I'm insinuating that Emerson is as much his sister as Harlow and Haley, and he hates nothing more than when people say that.

"Get in the damn truck and stop fighting me," Grey practically growls.