In a Week (Alstone High #1.6) Read online

  In a Week

  An Alstone High Story

  Becca Steele

  In a Week

  Copyright © 2021 by Becca Steele

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Editing by One Love Editing

  Becca Steele

  www.authorbeccasteele.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s crazy imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Contents

  Playlist

  Author’s note

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Epilogue

  Want More?

  The Lies We Tell preview

  Also by Becca Steele

  About the Author

  Playlist

  Arcade - Duncan Laurence, FLETCHER

  Heat Waves - Glass Animals

  More to Me - New Royals

  Heartbreak Anniversary - Giveon

  F U Till I F U - Call Me Karizma, Cass

  Be Alright - Dean Lewis

  Think About Us - Little Mix, Ty Dolla $ign

  Want You Back - 5 Seconds of Summer

  Save Your Tears - The Weeknd, Ariana Grande

  You - Regard, Troye Sivan, Tate McRae

  Stay - Rihanna, Mikky Ekko

  fools (can’t help falling in love) - Foster, Sody

  Find the playlist on Spotify or YouTube

  Author’s note

  The author is British, and British English spellings and phrases are used throughout.

  If you have downloaded this book via the Hot Summer School Nights anthology, skip ahead to chapter 6 to continue where you left off.

  Please note that the story concludes at around the 80% location.

  Enjoy!

  Becca xo

  Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

  Carl Bard

  Prologue

  LAST SUMMER

  “You sure this is what you want?” I glanced between Imogen and the plane tickets that sat on my desk.

  “Is it what you want?” she countered, staring up at me.

  Taking a seat on the side of my bed, I nodded. “Yeah. We agreed this was the right thing to do, didn’t we?”

  Sinking down next to me, she sighed. “We did. Everyone’s right. We’re…we’re too young. Neither of us knows what it’s like to be with anyone else. All our friends are single, and even our parents think we settled down too soon.”

  “You’re right.”

  Her hands twisted, a sure sign she was uneasy. “How do we know we’re not just together because we feel comfortable or whatever?”

  “We don’t. The only way we’re gonna know for sure is to do this.” Only time would tell if we were supposed to be together or not.

  Awkward, uncomfortable silence stretched between us.

  Eventually, she broke the silence, taking a shaky breath. “Okay. This is it, then.”

  “I’ll walk you out.” No point prolonging this moment. We were both in agreement. Our families and friends were, too. Everyone thought we were too young to settle down. We’d been more or less together since we were fifteen, and neither of us knew anything else.

  I hadn’t realised it would be so fucking hard, though. Looking into my girlfriend’s huge dark eyes, all sad and unsure, I just wanted to tell her that we should forget this whole idea of splitting up.

  But I had to look at it objectively. If everyone was telling us the same thing, and if we were both in agreement that we should at least try being apart, then we needed to do this.

  Even if it killed us both.

  Climbing to my feet, I held out my hand to her. She hesitated; then, biting her lip, she placed her small hand in mine and rose to her own feet.

  “Don’t walk me out. It’s too hard.”

  I nodded.

  She paused for a second, staring up at me, then reached up and kissed my jaw. “Bye, Xavier.”

  Then she was gone, and we were over.

  One

  A lot can change in a week.

  The current chain of events that led me to this moment, desperately searching my best friend’s mansion for my ex-boyfriend, began a week earlier, late Sunday afternoon…

  Heading through the doors to the games arcade on the beach pier, I shivered as a blast of cool air from the ceiling air conditioning vents hit me.

  “Imogen!” Anastasia waved at me from her position close to the air hockey table and pinball machine. With a smile, I made my way past the row of shooter games, scooting around the 2p coin pusher machines clustered in the centre of the room and over to her. We hugged hello, and then she handed me a blue slushie. “Spiked,” she whispered with a sly smile.

  “Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?” I raised a brow, taking a sip, relishing the vodka kick as the icy liquid slid down my throat.

  “If I must slum it in the arcade, then I have to make it more interesting.” She gave a delicate shrug, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder.

  “You love it here. Don’t pretend you don’t.” I elbowed her lightly in the ribs, and she smiled but said nothing. I glanced around us, seeing a number of people I recognised from our school, Alstone High. The area was a popular hangout. With a bowling alley, cinema, and a row of touristy shops, bars, and restaurants running along the beach, bisected by the pier, it attracted tourists and locals alike.

  “Have you seen Xavier?” My words were casual, but Anastasia shot me a knowing glance over the top of her drink.

  “Not yet, but—oh. There.” She glanced behind me in the direction I’d entered from.

  Moving around her so I didn’t make it obvious that I was looking, I closed my lips around the straw of my drink, angling my head forwards so my raven hair fell around my face, and unobtrusively glanced at the doors from beneath my lashes.

  There they were, strolling into the arcade like they owned it.

  The kings of Alstone High.

  Heads turned to look at them, as usual. And who wouldn’t? Carter was the unofficial leader and football captain. Tall and broad-shouldered, he was undeniably gorgeous, and he knew it. Then there was Kian, all dark and brooding. With his pierced lip and propensity for getting into trouble, he’d been every girl’s favourite bad boy until he’d come out. That had been a surprise I hadn’t seen coming, but as soon as I’d seen him with his boyfriend, Preston, everything fell into place. Preston, with his blond, all-American good looks, was our US transplant, and he’d quickly become a part of our group when he’d moved to the UK last summer.

  Then there was my ex-boyfriend.

  Xavier.

  The other guys were gorgeous, sure, but Xavier…

  My eyes dragged over him, my heart rate picking up as I was struck again by his pure masculine beauty. All lean, sculpted muscles, he moved with a kind of lethal grace that I’d never seen anyone else I knew manage to perfect. With his Jamaican heritage from his dad’s side of the family, combined with his mum’s Scandinavian beauty, his strikingly gorgeous features belonged on a billboard. In fact, he’d been approached by a model scout last year
when we were still together, but he hadn’t been interested.

  Inhaling a shaky breath, I turned to Anastasia, but her attention was diverted by her younger sister bounding up and asking for change for the coin pusher machines. Twisting to my left, I feigned interest in the pinball machine, studying it intently. A tiny voice inside my head told me that I was being ridiculous, that I shouldn’t be this affected by him.

  But seeing him here…this had been where we’d gone for our first date. Back then, we’d been fifteen, too young to drive, so his cousin had picked me up. We’d spent hours just playing games, talking, and laughing, and every time he caught my eye, I’d feel the flutter of butterflies in my stomach. At the end of the evening, standing on the pier against the wall of the arcade, with the sea breeze playing through my hair, he’d gently grasped my chin, dipped his head, and kissed me for the first time.

  “Are you playing that?”

  I was pulled from my memories by a loud voice to my right. Blinking, I turned to stare at the lanky red-haired boy tapping the surface of the pinball machine with an impatient look on his face.

  Before I could reply, a wave of heat hit my back, and my spine prickled with awareness.

  “She has many skills, but pinball isn’t one of them.” Xavier’s low, amused chuckle sounded close to my ear. He stepped closer, his soft cotton T-shirt brushing against the red fabric of my top. “Isn’t that right, Immy?”

  “No.” My denial came out far too breathless. Straightening up, I cleared my throat, spinning to face him with a glare. “Hold my drink.” I shoved my icy slushie at him, and he grasped it, amusement dancing in his dark eyes.

  Turning back to the machine, I pushed a coin into the slot and watched as the game lit up, making a series of noises. “Maybe you don’t know everything about me anymore.” I hit the button to begin and, focusing all my concentration on the game, waited until just the right moment, then sent the ball flicking straight up to the top, where the lights and beeps started going crazy.

  Xavier’s voice was thoughtful, quiet. “Maybe I don’t.”

  “Pass me my drink,” I said, just to break the sudden silence. “Please.” Gripping the machine tightly, I attempted to remain unaffected by his proximity.

  “Open.” His arm slid around my body, my drink clasped in his hand, angling the straw towards my lips.

  There was no way he didn’t miss my soft gasp of surprise, but he held the cup steady while I lowered my head and sipped it, before removing his arm and stepping back. My concentration was ruined, and I couldn’t even say what was happening in the game as I blindly hit the buttons, unseeing.

  With a deep breath, I abandoned the game entirely and turned to face him. “What are you—what are we doing here, Xave?”

  “What do you mean?” His words were innocent, but the look in his eyes was anything but. Our gazes held, the moment stretching out. Eventually, he shook his head with a sigh. “Nothing. Just catching up with a friend. Right?”

  Right. We’d split for a reason, and the breakup had been a lot harder than I thought it would. I had no desire to hurt either of us again, so whatever this little flirting game we had going on was, we should stop.

  That all went through my head, but what came out was, “I need some air. Coming?”

  It was too late to take back my unplanned words as soon as I said them. A gorgeous smile spread across his face, even as he raised a brow. “Are you trying to get me alone?”

  “Are you coming or what?” Spinning away from him, I made a beeline for the doors at the back of the arcade that led onto the pier. When the automatic doors opened, I stepped out onto the wooden boardwalk, letting the afternoon sun warm me after the coolness of the arcade. I walked over to the wooden railing at the side of the pier, then leaned over the edge, resting my elbows on the top as I stared down at the sea below.

  “Is there any reason I’m carrying your drink around?” Coming to a stop next to me, Xavier shook the slushie lightly.

  “Sorry.” I took the cup, our fingers brushing as he handed it to me, doing my best to ignore the sensation fizzing through me at his touch. I cleared my throat. “How…how have you been?”

  This was so awkward. Our conversation used to be easy, effortless. Now it was like I didn’t know how to speak to him anymore, even though it had been months since we’d broken up. And he always gave off a flirtatious vibe, which I knew was just the way he was around most girls—part of his easy-going charm—but it flustered me.

  “Are you asking me because you really want to know?” He studied me, his dark eyes tracking over my features.

  “Um. I’m asking as a friend?”

  “As a friend,” he repeated softly. “Okay. Yeah, I’ve been good. Can’t complain.”

  I stared at him, watching as his mouth pulled into a wry smile.

  “Why is this so weird? I thought we were… I want us to be friends, Xave.”

  He turned to face the sea, watching the gulls swooping down towards the people fishing for crabs off the side of the pier. “I want that, too. I don’t want us—I don’t want to lose you as a friend.” His voice came out low and almost reluctant.

  “Okay. Good.” I tore my gaze away from his profile, staring at the glitter of the sun on the water. “So. Uh. The play went well, don’t you think?”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his lips tilt up at the corner, probably amused by my awkward attempt at conversation. Thankfully, he didn’t mention anything, choosing to reply to my question.

  “Yeah.” He paused. “You were good. Really fucking good.”

  “Thanks.” The drama club had broken with tradition and put on an original play this year. Everything from the scripts to the set design to the costumes had been put together by the drama club. It had been a huge undertaking, but it had paid off. The most surprising aspect of all, though, had been Xavier’s involvement. He’d auditioned, even though he’d never shown any interest in acting before, and had not only managed to get the part but had proven to be a decent actor as well.

  Working together on the play had meant spending time together, although we’d normally been surrounded by other cast and crew members. Now it was all over, and I was struck by the realisation that I missed him. We hung out in our combined friends group, but it wasn’t the same.

  “Thanks,” I repeated lamely, and as soon as I’d said it, I cringed. He gave me a half-smile, his gaze flicking over me, so quick, yet it felt like he was cataloguing everything about me.

  “So.”

  I waited as the silence stretched between us. His eyes met mine, briefly holding my gaze before he turned away with a sigh. “Why did you really ask me to come outside with you?”

  My fingers tightened around my drink. “I don’t know.”

  He moved a little closer, his arm brushing against mine. “I—”

  “Xavier! Air hockey!”

  Whatever he’d been about to say to me was lost by Carter calling to him from the arcade doorway.

  “I’d better go, otherwise he’ll just come over here,” he muttered. “I’ll find you again later.”

  But by the time I went back inside, he and his friends were surrounded by a crowd of girls. After another hour of making small talk and avoiding his group, wondering if he was going to come over, I’d had enough. I could’ve gone to him, sure, but my pride wouldn’t let me.

  It took barely any persuasion to get Anastasia to leave the arcade. As we were walking out past his group, I caught his eye. Turning away from the girl he’d been talking to, he started towards me.

  Increasing my pace, I slipped through the doors, leaving without a goodbye.

  Two

  Sitting on the soft grass at the edge of the football field behind Alstone High during our morning free period, I lifted my face to the sky, enjoying the warm sun on my skin.

  “Did you hear?”

  I turned to Anastasia, who was looking in the direction of my ex-boyfriend, who was kicking around a football with his friends. She’d
taken off her school blazer and was lying back on the grass, sunning herself with her long legs stretched out in front of her. Everything about her pose was casual, but there was a tension in her shoulders, and I steeled myself.

  “Did I hear what?”

  She brought a hand to her face, shading her eyes as she turned to me. “It might be a rumour, but I heard that Xavier and Kate Pierce were getting very friendly yesterday after we’d left.”

  Kate Pierce. Pretty, likeable, and sweet. She was in the school year below us, so didn’t interact with us much, but she’d been in the drama club with me and Xavier. Propping myself up on my elbows, I lowered my voice, glancing over at our friends, Lena and Raine, who were busy looking through a playlist on Lena’s phone. “Xavier? Where did you hear this?”

  Anastasia sat up straight, her ponytail swinging as she twisted her head towards Xavier, then back to me. “Kate’s sister is best friends with my sister.”

  “Oh.” My stomach twisted, but I didn’t have any right to feel that way. We had no claim on each other anymore, and he was entitled to ask out whoever he wanted.

  “How do you feel about that?” She scrutinised me closely.

  “It is what it is. It was bound to happen at some point.” I shrugged it off, catching her eyes narrowing at me. “What? Go on, say it. It’s not like you to stay quiet.”

  She was silent for a long moment, and then she grinned in the slightly evil way that only she’d managed to perfect. “Okay. I’ll tell you. This is what I think. I think you both made a mistake when you split up. Last summer, when you saw all those pictures of him with other girls, I know how much it hurt you. And you retaliated, which you were well within your rights to do, but it escalated things between you.”