Filed To Story: Pretty Poisoned Novel by Elle Mitchell
“So, we’ll say the two of you were doing drugs; you passed out, you’re not sure how much time passed, but when you woke up, she was gone. Had she let you restrain her in the past, and do you have any proof?”
“Umm ” Luca starts.
“Teagan shouldn’t have to listen to this,” Rhett says.
“No, I agree,” Declan says. “The girls and Brady need to go.”
“Yeah, okay,” Hazel says. “We’ll just go watch a movie or something. We can go to our room.”
I follow them to their room, and when the door closes behind us, I say, “So I guess I know why Luca was in timeout now.”
“He was fucked up,” River says. “She saw some things, he did some shit that freaked her out, and she threatened him, I guess. He freaked out, too.”
“And you guys are all fine with this?” I ask. “Because I’m having a really hard time.”
“But you didn’t leave. You know him.”
I climb into bed next to Riv and rest my head on her chest.
“You’re good for him, Teagan,” Hazel adds. “Even Declan knows it.”
“What do you think is going to happen to him?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” Hazel says. “Probably nothing. We’ll see.”
“What do you want to watch, Teag?” River asks. “Something scary?”
“Whatever you want to watch is fine, Riv. We can watch one of your shows.”
“Nooooo,” Brady says. “Not another one of Riv’s cheesy romcoms. I watched like seventeen of them on the bus this week.”
“Shut up. Your favorite movie is Mean Girls,” River says.
He scoffs. “Well, that’s not cheesyit’s iconic.”
“No, he’s right. Mean Girls is iconic,” I say. “Plus, it’s Lindsay Lohan at her peak hotness.”
“And it’s more of just a com than a romcom,” he adds.
“Well we’ll watch that then,” River says. “I’m glad you stayed.”
“Yeah, me too. I think.”
“It’ll be fine,” Hazel tells me as the movie starts playing. “You’ll see. In a couple of weeks, we’ll go home for a good, long while, and it’ll be like a reset. Everything will feel normal again.”
I don’t answer, pretending to be wrapped up in the movie already.
But all I can do is worryand not just about Luca, but about myself. And what this all means about me.
“Hey, it’s me,” Rhett says from the other side of the door. “Open up.”
None of us move.
“You’re the closest,” River says to Hazel.
She pulls herself out of bed and opens the door.
“We’re going to play tonight,” Rhett says, “without Luca. The label has someone who can fill in; we’ll have to change the set a bit, so we’ll need to leave here in about an hour. Get ready.”
“And then what?” Hazel asks.
He shrugs. “The lawyers are taking care of it. Hopefully, it’ll all be sorted out tomorrow.”
“I’m going back to my room,” I say. “I’ll see you guys later.”
I pass Rhett in the doorway and then cross over to the other room.
“Hey, are you okay?” Declan asks. He stands and crosses the room, pulling me into his arms. “I’m sorry about your sister, sweetheart.”
“It’s okay,” I lie.
“Go get ready, okay? We need to leave soon.”
“I don’t want to go,” I tell him. “I want to stay here with Luca.”
He looks from me to Luca; he’s sitting on the couch, eyes glazed over like he’s been drinking for hours already. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
He narrows his eyes. “You’ll be okay?”
“Of course, she’ll be okay. What the fuck do you think is going to happen to her?”
“I don’t really care what happens to me,” I say.
“That’s exactly what I’m fucking worried about, Teagan,” Declan says. He taps his finger to my temple. “I’m worried about what’s in here.”
“I’m fine.”
He sighs. “If you need anything, you text me.”
“She’ll be fineJesus,” Luca says.
“You’d think you’d maybe shut the fuck up while I clean up your fucking mess.”
“I will,” I tell Declan, doing my best to force a smile.
He kisses me on the forehead, then steps around me toward his bedroom. I sigh and sit on the couch beside Luca.
“What are they going to do?” I ask.
“Teag ”
“I can handle it. Tell me.”
“Um, the label put out a statement that they’re looking into it and that I won’t be performing with the band tonight. After the set’s over, their lawyers will release a statement saying that it didn’t happenthat she and I were using drugs, and I underwent treatment during that break in the tourand file a lawsuit. They’re pretty sure they can convince Heidi to recant, and then the magazine will have to print a retraction.”
“How?” I ask. “Money? Threats?”
“A little bit of both.”
“Okay.”
“It’s not safe for her to say shit like that, Teagan, if that makes you feel any better. You remember the house we took you to in the mountains? Those people won’t allow it. There will be consequences. It’s better if she says she was on drugs and lost her fucking mindfor everyone. And for what it’s worth, I am sorry. I was really fucked up, and I guess I just snapped. I thought I could make her change her mind.”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.