See No Evil

“In so many words,” I tell him truthfully.

“That’s not good enough,” he states adamantly. “When you love someone, you need to tell them. Don’t let a day go by without making it clear in their heads. Trust me, you’ll regret it if you don’t,” he continues, his dark-blond brows joining together.

“Talking from experience there, Linc?” I ask him outright, to which he gives me a forlorn nod.

“I waited too long. Learn from my mistakes, Fi

“I think so. Even if she doesn’t want to admit it yet, I think she does.”

His smile cracks a little wider, and it hurts to see that someone this compassionate has to have such a shitty past.

“Okay, can we all focus on what’s important here? This doesn’t change anything. I’m happy for numbskull here finding himself a girlfriend. Still, it doesn’t change the fact that we’re all screwed because he decided to grow a heart,” Colt interjects, fuming.

“You know what, Colt? You’re a real prick sometimes, you know that?” Easton reprimands, blowing smoke in Colt’s direction.

“Takes one to know one, asshole. It doesn’t change the fact that I’m right. What are we going to do, now that Fi

Lincoln lets out a huff while I try to keep myself in check to avoid hitting my best friend in the mouth.

“We face the consequences,” Linc finally says, stealing the air out of my lungs.

“You have got to be shitting me!” Colt yells out.

In all fairness, I do get where Colt’s coming from since I’m just as stu

“Listen to me, Colt. We’ve been searching for weeks and haven’t found anything on The Society. Nothing that helped us, anyway. Maybe we’ve come as far as we can. I won’t jeopardize any lives just so we can go unpunished.”

“Unpunished?! Look at you, Lincoln! Look at us! We’ve all been punished one way or another. If we break now, then all of this is for nothing!” Colt belts, bridging the gap between us, going to his haunches to face me head-on. “Fi

“That isn’t fair, Colt,” Easton mumbles behind him, but his tone lets me know that he’s not happy with my decision either.

“None of this is fair! None of it! I fucking wish we’d never gone to the house that night. If we hadn’t, none of this shit would be happening to us.”

“But we did, Colt,” Lincoln interrupts patiently. “However, the police don’t have to know you all were involved. It’s my fault anyway, so I’ll hand myself in and end this for good.”

“Are you insane?! No, you won’t!”

“Yes, Colt, I will. This is enough. We are all losing our minds, waiting for the shoe to drop. Let me do this and end our suffering,” Lincoln explains, hinting that he may have been thinking about this shit for a while now.

None of us have the martyr complex, but Lincoln always had a bit of the savior gene in him. He has always been the one to throw himself into the deep end and get us out if we found ourselves in a shitty mess. However, the repercussion of his parents’ murder isn’t quite the same as breaking the neighbor’s window with a football.

“Fi

I slump my shoulders, my head bowed to the ground so that I don’t have to face Colt’s disapproving glare. Shame, guilt, and an array of feelings start to drown me, making it hard to keep them all straight in my head.

“You know what? Fuck you, Fi

And with those words falling from his lips, he gives us all a scathing look and leaves us to stew in our misery.

“Don’t listen to him,” Easton says, knowing that Linc is the only one willing to place his head on the butcher block.

“It’s okay, East. Colt’s angry. He’s been angry for a while now. I understand, and I don’t blame him for it.”

“Are you serious, though? About handing yourself to the cops, I mean?”

“That depends on you, Fi

I read everything in his ocean blue eyes. I could tell him I can’t do this, and he will go to the cops, no questions asked. That’s just the kind of man he is.

But Colt is right. I am being selfish. Why should Linc go down for all of it? Why should I live my life knowing he’ll be rotting in some jail cell while the rest of us go scot-free? We’re just as guilty as he is. We’ve all got blood on our hands. I won’t be able to live with myself, and worse, Stone will see right through my lies eventually. I’d change into something bitter and cruel if I let my best friend take the fall for something I, too, had a hand in doing. That’s not the man I want her to be in love with. It’s not the man I want to become.

And as I stare into Lincoln’s eyes, I know exactly who my role model has always been.

“I’ll do whatever they want, Linc. You won’t go down for this.”

I hear Easton let out long exhale, relief filling the air around us. It’s obvious he was just as pent-up as Colt, even if hid it better.

“I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to,” Lincoln counters sincerely, making sure I’m good with my decision.

“I won’t. Colt is right. We are family, and family protects one another.”

“What about Stone?”

“I’ll protect her the best way I can. Even if it’s dealing with the aftermath of whatever The Society has in store for her.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive,” I deadpan, firm in my decision.

“Okay, then. Where’s this box The Society sent you?” East questions as he goes to the bathroom to flush his cigarette butt.

“I’ll grab it. It’s in my closet,” I explain, getting up from the bed to go fetch the damn thing.

I need to find a way of giving this to Stone tonight without looking conspicuous or fucking desperate. I already gave her a pair of diamond earrings, so perhaps giving her a new phone won’t seem too far-fetched. I’m just not sure how Stone will react to another surprise gift.

“I’ve been thinking, maybe we’ve been looking for dirt on The Society in the wrong places.” I hear Easton say from behind me.

“What do you mean?” Linc asks.