Unraveling Blake Earnshaw Book 1: The Rich Prick Read online

  Sarah shivers and hugs herself. “Whoa. What did you say to him, Harvey? I didn’t think you could make someone that angry. You’re always so nice—even when you’re mad.”

  Harvey stares off into the distance. “I held up a mirror, and Blake didn’t like what he saw.”

  Rex points his nose in my direction and cocks his head. I can’t stick around any longer. I sidle against the house and climb back into my assigned room. My mind is reeling when I’m cozy in bed, cocooned and exhausted and drunk but grasping at clarity. Rex nudges open the partially closed door and settles down at the foot of the bed. My mind replays Blake Earnshaw and Harvey’s conversation on repeat until it all runs together, words and actions melding into gibberish and wacky cartoon nonsense.

  CHAPTER 18

  Light is pain. I open my eyes and squeeze them shut again, groaning as I roll onto my stomach to bury my face into a pillow. Rex crawls up the bed. He crushes me to get at my face with his slobbering tongue.

  “C’mon, Rex,” Harvey says. “Leave her alone and let’s go outside.”

  I rub my temples as if that’ll clear up the grogginess. Somehow, I make it to the bathroom and return before Harvey does. He doesn’t have Rex with him and sits on the edge of the bed, where I’m tangled in a blanket.

  “Hey, Teagan. I need you to drink this, all right?” I’m parched but the glass of water in his hand does not look appetizing.

  Harvey waits patiently while I do my best to chug the water. If I don’t do it quickly, it won’t happen. Hopefully this won’t result in me vomiting again.

  “Headache?” Harvey asks.

  “Yes.”

  He holds out a couple of ibuprofen capsules. “I’ll get you more water.”

  When another round of water, and this time pills, is down my throat, I flop onto my side. Sunlight is coming in through the window, but I don’t want to move. “Can I sleep longer?”

  “Yep, for as long as you like.” Harvey pats my back. “After I check your cut.” He holds my right foot in his lap and gently peels back the tape. “Looking good.”

  “No bleeding?”

  “Nope, but the bandage is soiled, so I’m going to change it.”

  Every moment awake is agony, but the pills start to kick in by the time Harvey’s done with me. He tucks the blanket under my chin and says, “I’ll be home all day, so come see me when you decide to get up.”

  “Okay.”

  I blink when the door clicks and see the notification light on my phone flashing. I must have taken my things out of my wristlet and placed them on the nightstand last night, Mom’s locket too. My memory is foggy, but it’s all there. Corey’s slingshot and Dad’s jacket must be in my Prius since they aren’t on the desk.

  The notification light keeps flashing. I’m tempted to turn my phone facedown and ignore it, but I wonder what happened after my tipsy speech. It might help if I ease into it. Harvey’s being patient, but he wants to talk, and I’ve put him on high alert. I’m sure therapy, at the very least, is in my near future. I won’t know the full extent of the consequences concerning my school life until Monday arrives—and then I’ll get sent to the principal’s office for giving Blake Earnshaw another bruise.

  Yeah, I’m totally fine. Fucked, more like.

  I grab my phone and see missed calls from Johan and Sarah. I’m not ready for Johan, so I listen to Sarah’s message.

  “Teagan,” she says, “tonight was insane. Last night? It’s three in the morning. Mom picked me up from Harvey’s house in the van. All of my siblings were there to make an example of me. I am very grounded. You probably are too, so maybe you won’t get this message before I see you on Monday. Mom’s allowing me this call and one other before she confiscates my phone for the weekend.

  “I don’t know what happened with you and Johan. You seemed fine. You said he was fine. Tell me about it on Monday, okay? Promise. I love you, best friend. I’ve got your back.” She pauses. “I know you lied to me, by the way. Harvey must not have told you Johan and I called him when we couldn’t get a hold of you. He said to give you time. It’s been a long time, Teagan, and I need my bestie.”

  Sarah masks a quiet sniffle with a cough. “Blake Earnshaw is mysterious, huh? He’s like Batman. He’s all playboy, dark, and broody but an actual badass. When you fell into Bloom Lake, he was right there, diving after you. No one else could think let alone act. Except for Eve and her drama-magnet phone. I just stood there, frozen, thinking you drowned. I’m so pissed at myself, but I’m grateful Blake was there. He pulled you out of the water and brought you back to life, even though you … bruised his face. There was nothing else on his mind. But get this, when—

  “Sorry. Mom’s yelling. Gotta go. I’ll tell you on Monday.”

  Great. Now there’s a video of Blake Earnshaw giving me mouth-to-mouth rampant on the internet. Most likely. I’m not going to check.

  After a deep breath, I listen to Johan’s message.

  “Hey, Sarah called to tell me you’re safe at Harvey’s place. My parents are cutting their trip short and coming home. They said I’m grounded until I turn eighteen. I hope they’re exaggerating, but I’ve only ever seen Dad this mad with Rosy.” He sighs. “The guys helped me clean everything up outside, so I think that’s as bad as it’ll get. Party’s over. You did a number on the wine cellar, though. I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone. Tea, what you said … you didn’t mean it, did you?

  “Who am I kidding? It’s like I said in the parking lot: you’re hot for each other. I don’t get it, especially when you seem to hate each other at the same time. You said he’s an asshole. You fucking bruised his face! That’s amazing. I couldn’t touch him.”

  There’s a distinct shuffling, as if Johan’s rolling around on his bed or covering himself with a sheet. “Tea, whatever I did wrong, I’m sorry. Tell me how to fix this. I won’t act weird next time I see your gnarly scar, okay? Shit, I shouldn’t call it gnarly, right? It’s better than ugly. Fuck. Shut up. Not you. Me. I’m signing off before I make a bigger idiot out of myself.”

  The message ends, but I don’t move my phone away from my ear. I expect another message to play, for his voice to continue just because. Nothing happens.

  I can’t disappear yet, but I have no idea what to say to Sarah or Johan, so I go back to bed and try to forget all of it. It’s hard at first, but it’s a survival requirement. When the numbness and darkness creep in, active repression becomes passive, as simple as breathing.

  CHAPTER 19

  Harvey lets me waste Saturday, but he takes my phone and bans computer and internet usage. We don’t even talk about Friday night. He’s too busy pumping water down my throat and watching me eat a decent amount of food. It’s more food than I’ve eaten in a day for months. It’s torture, but I’m on my best behavior despite a killer hangover. I never want to do this again.

  By Sunday morning, I’m feeling as normal as I ever feel these days. I emerge from the bedroom like some grumpy bear whose nap was interrupted—because Harvey woke me up—but he’s made breakfast and it smells good. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, hash browns, the works.

  “What’s the occasion?” I ask as I grab a ceramic plate.

  “I figure if we’re going hiking today, we need a good breakfast as fuel.”

  I check the time. It’s five in the morning. “We’re going hiking?”

  Harvey cracks his stiff neck. All of him looks stiff. “I need my exercise, and I’m tired of gym exclusivity.”

  This is not up for debate, but I might have some sway. I ask, “Can we take one of Corey’s favorite trails?”

  “Which one?”

  “That deer trail that leads to Raindrop Rock.”

  “Sounds good to me. What do you think, Rex? Can you lead us to it?”

  Rex rests his head on the table. He’s not supposed to, but since he’s staring at the food and not snitching, neither Harvey nor I say anything about it. Harvey takes pity and tosses a bit of bacon onto the vinyl floor. Rex snatches that m
orsel up and begs for more. I toss him a piece of the bacon I’m chomping on.

  Harvey doesn’t say it, but I know hiking is when we’ll talk. I’m not eager for that.

  “You’ve got an appetite this morning,” Harvey says. “Force-feeding you yesterday paid off.”

  I shrug and shovel another bite of pancakes into my mouth.

  Harvey cracks more eggs and sprinkles sliced chili peppers. These chili peppers aren’t too hot, so my eyes are spared the lethal fumes as they cook. “Teagan, do you know where my chili peppers went?”

  “You’re using them.”

  “I swear I had more.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t eat them.”

  I excuse myself and proceed to get ready. Rex joins me. He must sense what’s going on. When I have his leash in hand, he knows for sure. His tail becomes a merciless whip, so I send him into the backyard to toss his toys around for a minute before we get going.

  “Ready?” Harvey asks. “Got your backpack? Water? Is that cut feeling all right?”

  I finish tying my hiking boots. “Yep.”

  When we’re piled into the Honda and on the road, Harvey blasts music by The Dead South and sings along terribly. According to him, they’re classic. Because of him, I know every word, but I can’t bring myself to sing. I pretend to play those rapid banjo parts, though, because I can’t make Harvey go it alone. It’s not a bad way to pass the forty-five-minute drive to Raindrop, and I’m not driving—which makes it easier to forget I’m sitting inside a murder machine.

  Rex whines in the back seat when we reach a public forest entrance that marks the start of a few paved trails. Most of them veer off into dirt or end at some point. We’ll start on a trail because we aren’t at my chalet. Then we’ll trudge through a lot more forest to reach that deer trail I rediscovered when Blake Earnshaw was chasing me—as long as Rex takes us there. I never did memorize how to get there on my own.

  “Do you remember Raindrop Rock, Rex?” I say as I hook his rope leash onto his collar. The Great Dane lets out a low bark. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  Harvey grins. “This will be an adventure.”

  We let Rex lead once we’re out of the car. He begins our hike on a northern paved trail. Since there are some other people around, I keep him on his leash for now. The air is crisper up here and the first sunrays of dawn are brighter as they pierce through the quaking aspens’ leaves; their familiar rattling and the cool breeze are soothing. I’m tempted to stop, lift my chin, and hold out my arms as if to let the world embrace me, but Rex is ditching the trail already.

  “Let him off,” Harvey says.

  The second I unhook Rex’s leash, he bolts. He won’t abandon us, but he’s excited. It’s almost as if he’s chasing something. Or someone. I bite my lip to push back the sting of persistent tears.

  “Rex.” I call him back and rough up his head, giving him a good scratch behind the ears. I want to tell him I’m sorry, that Corey isn’t here and he isn’t coming, but I can’t or I’ll start crying. The sting in my eyes threatens a deluge.

  “Teagan,” Harvey says, “can we talk about Friday night?”

  “Yeah, sure.” I don’t have another option.

  I let Rex go. He noses my hand before bounding through the trees, pursuing the memory of a boy we all loved.

  “Sarah told me about what happened,” Harvey says. “And the speech you gave. I saw it yesterday.”

  “You saw it?” I ask.

  “A few different versions of it are on the internet and circulating because Blake Earnshaw is there at the end, dragging you out of Bloom Lake and then resuscitating you. Those videos link to another that shows Blake kissing you in the school parking lot.”

  Well, shit. I almost trip on a rock, but I catch myself. “You saw those fast.”

  Harvey’s lips press into a grim line. “I informed Principal Yancey.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Blake’s location has been broadcast everywhere and these videos have his … fans in an uproar. Apparently they’ve been following his and Chloe Sullivan’s romance for years and consider this the ultimate betrayal. But they can’t handle the thought of Blake being the one at fault, so they’re blaming you. Because of that, Principal Yancey and the police department are going to take some extra precautions concerning school security.”

  “Like initiating a lockdown?”

  “Sort of.”

  “Things can’t be bad enough to warrant that. People say whatever they want on the internet.”

  Harvey pauses our conversation to tell Rex to stay closer, and then he changes the subject by asking, “You broke up with Johan?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why?”

  For once, since becoming a liar, I go with the truth. “Because it’s too hard. I believe him when he says he loves me, but I don’t want him to anymore. I don’t want to love him back.”

  Harvey puffs out a breath and heaves himself up and over a rocky ledge. “If you need a break, that’s fine, but you should tell him that sober. If you want to end it once and for all, think about that too. Only you know your feelings here, but I remember when you were head over heels for this boy.” He holds his hand out to me and I let him assist me over that same rocky ledge. My cut twinges, but it doesn’t last.

  “I know that,” I say. “I’m not trying to be a bitch.”

  “Nothing bad happened with him while you were drunk, did it?”

  “No.”

  “Why did you get drunk?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “That’s not like you.”

  I huff.

  “I want you to see a new therapist and a psychiatrist.”

  “Seriously, Harv? Medication?”

  “I’ll forget the psychiatrist if you agree to transfer to a high school in Boulder.”

  “That’s a step backward, don’t you think?” I echo words he spoke previously: “Why the change of heart?”

  “Your privacy is being invaded because of those damn videos. We aren’t looking at the comments, but we are deactivating your social media accounts when we get home. I want to keep you close and away from Blake until it’s under control.”

  Harvey’s worried. More worried than I’ve ever seen him. He knows how to keep his composure, but he’s moving fast, combating anxiety and stress with a rigorous hike. He was definitely stiff this morning.

  He continues, “A young woman named Selene Miller claimed to be a journalist and wanted to interview you yesterday. I had to physically escort her back to her car before she could shove her way inside of the house.”

  Selene. Why does that name sound familiar? I shake my head. “What about Blake? Is his dad pissed at him?”

  “I called him.” Harvey rubs his tired eyes. “Blake’s location being discovered and broadcast was inevitable, at some point, and Jeffery prepared for every contingency. He had a story that would satiate the curious masses while maintaining the Earnshaws’ privacy concerning this matter. Blake’s bodyguards would take care of the rest as usual. However, Blake’s actions were not factored into Jeffery’s preparations, and his contingency plans are now useless. Jeffery is not pleased. He thought his son knew better and has since reprimanded Blake for what he said and did to you in the parking lot. His current focus is damage control, and Blake is required to participate. The scope of this is … I’ve never been this close to anything so outrageous. Journalists, the paparazzi, internet trolls, the Earnshaws and Sullivans have their hands full mollifying outraged fanatics who think Blake and Chloe owe them something.

  “After apologizing profusely, Jeffery also recommended that I transfer you to a high school in Boulder.”

  I clench my teeth. “Jeffery isn’t your boss.”

  “He isn’t. I made up my mind about that before I talked to him. I want you out of Raindrop.”

  “Then why are you giving me a choice?”

  “I have to. Raindrop is your home. You have people there who love you, and I be
lieve Principal Yancey will keep you safe.”

  “You’re blowing this out of proportion,” I say. I figured the videos would go viral, but this is ludicrous.

  “I’m not,” Harvey replies. “Blake hasn’t been physically bombarded yet, and neither have you, but people can do terrible things when their judgment is clouded by obsession and jealousy.”

  Rage boils in my stomach. It comes out of nowhere and bubbles up my throat and out of my mouth. “So kick Blake out of my chalet and out of Raindrop until his stupid mansion is finished so that they can keep their shit in El Sol. Even better, burn his mansion to the fucking ground so that he knows he isn’t welcome here. Raindrop doesn’t belong to the Earnshaws anyway. This is Corey’s forest!”

  “Teagan!” Harvey jerks to a stop. I ram into his back because my reflexes are nowhere to be found. He holds my arms, then my face.

  “Why do you care about Blake so much? He doesn’t deserve you.” I grab and squeeze Harvey’s wrists. “The Earnshaws are using you as a stepping-stone to take over Raindrop sooner rather than later.”

  “Teagan, I can’t evict Blake. He stays until his mansion is finished, or until three months have passed. See? I’m not letting him stay there forever.”

  “But there’s more to the contract, right? If anything—”

  “The contract hasn’t been breached.”

  “He lied to you. Underage drinking doesn’t count as a breach of contract? Sure, he didn’t get drunk, but still.”

  “You lied to me too. None of you should have been drinking at that party. Jeffery didn’t allow or approve it any more than I did.”

  “You saw the video where Blake kisses me without permission.”

  “I did. That is part of why I want you out of Raindrop, but it’s still not grounds to evict him. I don’t condone many of Blake’s actions—at all—but you did attack him, and he could have pressed charges. Then he saved your life.”

  “What good does transferring schools do if your door is always open for him?”