Rough Waters Read Online Free PDF Page A

to talk to them. Maybe I can
catch them after the media show.
    I check the timestamp. Thirty minutes ago. I
just fed him to the sharks.

Chapter
Four
    Colby’s phone sends me to voicemail for the
fifth time. A.J. gives me the epic face of sympathy when I finally
lay my phone aside. I can’t stop the damage that’s being done.
Colby is probably already on the hotel’s first floor, hidden away
behind locked doors with his parents and their lawyer. I bet he’s
saying all the right things, explaining himself and why he did what
he did. I wonder if they’ll play along or if they’ll tell him
they’re suing him for his net worth and then some.
    “Don’t beat yourself up over it,” A.J. says.
“You tried. We’ll know the verdict tomorrow. Colby may live like a
hermit, but when he’s pissed, everyone knows.”
    That’s exactly what I fear. I don’t want to
wake up in the morning and have Hurricane Colby breaking down the
walls of the condo so he can sweep me away in his fury.
    “I shouldn’t have talked him into reconciling
with them,” I say.
    I pick up my cell phone and stare at the
wallpaper for a while, knowing if I dial his number, I’ll just get
to listen to his voicemail for a sixth time.
    A.J. stands up. “It’s not your fault,” he
says. “Vin sent you. Blame him. I’m starving. Let’s go find
something to eat. I think Reed’s already bought groceries this
week.”
    I follow him through the connector between
the guest house and the condo. Alston leans back against the
kitchen island while Reed talks with his hands. I catch Colby’s
name and mention of a lawyer before Alston turns and sees us.
    “Hello East Coast!” he shouts before grabbing
me in a hug. “When the hell did you get here? And why didn’t anyone
tell me?”
    Reed shrugs. “You were busy,” he says. “And
then, you know, we sort of got caught up in the Colby Taylor
mess…again.”
    A.J. pushes past them and digs through the
refrigerator. He turns back with a pack of strawberries and a
bottle of Corona. He sits on a barstool and ignores us while Reed
finishes giving Alston the details of what went down earlier
today.
    “Damn,” Alston says. “Does Vin know about the
lawyer? You know Colby won’t tell him.”
    “Vin doesn’t know anything,” I say. “I really
don’t think we should tell him. It’ll just make things worse. Maybe
once Colby talks to his parents, they’ll change their minds, and
this won’t turn into the disaster we’re expecting.”
    Alston laughs. “Haley, Haley. Always the
optimist. We’ve been at this Colby Taylor game a little bit longer
than you. If you’re expecting a tropical storm, it’s going to be a
hurricane. It only gets worse when Taylor’s involved, which is why
we’ve found new friends.”
    A smile sweeps Reed’s face. My stomach
clenches like a fist at the mention of new friends. Whoever these
new guys are, they obviously hang out with two of my three
roommates, and I dread the moment when I’m forced to meet them.
    “Joke’s over,” A.J. says before he swigs his
beer. “Stop playing with her head.”
    A.J. grabs Alston’s phone from the counter
and scrolls through it for a moment before handing it to me.
    “These are their new friends,” A.J. says. “I
took this one.”
    The picture is of Alston, Reed, Kale, Topher,
and Miles on shores of Horn Island. The collapsed pier sits in the
background.
    “Your new friends are my old friends,” I
say.
    “Way to ruin the fun, A.J.,” Reed says.
    I study how Alston and Kale have their arms
around each other like best friends. It doesn’t shock me. They’re
both flirty beach bums who think they’re the world’s gift to
females. They should’ve started hanging out a long time ago.
    There’s no way they can let this slip to the
Hooligans. If one of them knows, they’ll all know. I can’t afford
for Topher to find out and leak the info to Vin.
    “This has to stay with the four of us for
now,” I say. “No Hooligans.