The Secrets You Keep (Blurred Lines), page 1
THE SECRETS YOU KEEP
A MADDISON KINGS UNIVERSITY ROMANCE
TRACY LORRAINE
Copyright © 2022 by Tracy Lorraine
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Editing by Pinpoint Editing
Proofreading by Sisters Get Lit.erary
Photographer - Wander Aguiar
Models - Camden, Sophie and Pat
CONTENTS
1. Violet
2. Tristan
3. Violet
4. Tristan
5. Violet
6. Tristan
7. Violet
8. Tristan
9. Violet
10. Violet
11. Tristan
12. Violet
13. Tristan
14. Violet
15. Knox
16. Violet
17. Tristan
18. Violet
19. Knox
20. Violet
21. Knox
22. Violet
23. Tristan
24. Violet
25. Violet
26. Knox
27. Violet
28. Tristan
29. Violet
30. Knox
31. Violet
32. Knox
33. Tristan
34. Violet
35. Knox
36. Violet
37. Tristan
38. Knox
39. Violet
40. Tristan
41. Violet
42. Violet
43. Knox
44. Violet
45. Knox
46. Violet
47. Tristan
48. Violet
Epilogue
THE REVENGE YOU SEEK
About the Author
Also by Tracy Lorraine
1
VIOLET
“Fold,” Ella groans, throwing her cards down on the table before curling her legs beneath her and reaching for her drink.
“Ella,” West whines. “You can’t keep bitching out.”
“My cards suck,” she complains, taking a sip of her margarita.
“So? Everyone else’s might too. You gotta play the game.”
“I can’t lie for shit, and you all know it. I’m better off just leaving you all to it. Watching your poker faces is so much fun. Vi always looks like she’s taking a shit, she’s so serious.”
Brax and Micah snort a laugh at her comment.
“How do you know what I look like taking a shit?” I bark.
“From before you shower together,” Brax pipes up, his eyebrows wiggling in delight.
“Ugh, are you still obsessed with that?” Ella groans, throwing a cushion at his head.
“Ow, fuck,” Brax barks as the cushion knocks over his beer, soaking his pants, making it look like he just pissed himself.
“Karma is a bitch,” I announce happily as he hops up, rips open the button and shoves the fabric down his legs.
“Dude, you better not be going commando under those,” Ella shouts, faux horrified.
“You fucking wish,” West snorts. “When was the last time you saw one up close, El?”
She sighs in sadness while Micah watches her closely, just like he always does.
That poor guy has got it bad. But he’s also a rule follower, so I know that he’ll never do anything about it.
None of us met until two years ago when we all began on the next chapter of our lives by starting at Maddison Kings University and found ourselves in a dorm together.
Safe to say, we were all nervous as hell. It was our first time away from home, and we were all starting over. But from that very first day, something just clicked into place for us.
It was like fate or some shit. Our ride-or-die friendships started from the very second we all gathered in the living area and lifted our beers to embark on our new lives.
Now, that’s not to say it’s all been easygoing. Especially when not only are the guys fucking awesome, but they’re also smoking hot, too. Micah is rocking the sexy nerd look, while West and Brax are ripped football players who leave drooling girls in their wake.
There have been moments, especially when drunk, and never more so than the time we all decided it would be a good idea to play Twister and Brax and I… yeah, probably best not to even think about that. The miniskirt and the tiny panties were definitely an oversight on my part.
But we all made a pact. Any fucking going on under our roof would not include two, or more, of us. We had to solely look outside our new little family to get our kicks.
And by some fucking miracle—because the guys are actually that freaking hot—it’s worked. And despite the odd fantasy here and there, I couldn’t be happier. They are the family I was craving when I first found myself here, more lost than ever. Not that any of them are aware of that.
They saved me, dragged me from the darkness I’d been drowning in since my life imploded and brought me back to life. I’ll forever be grateful for each and every one of them. And one day, I might even tell them.
“Thank fuck for that,” Ella cries when Brax flashes us his boxer-clad ass.
“You love it. You know you want to sink your teeth right here,” he says, pointing to his solid behind.
“Pfft, I don’t think so. I’d need a hedge trimmer first.”
“You know, it’s a good job I love you,” Brax sulks as he walks out of our new living room to clean himself up.
The second he’s out of sight, West leans over and looks at Brax’s cards.
“Motherfucker,” he grunts, throwing them down on the table and letting us all see that the little shit was lying. His hand is even worse than mine.
“You still in, Vi?” West taunts, while Micah sits quietly in the corner, his face unreadable—other than his desire for Ella, obviously.
“Hell, yeah. You motherfuckers are going down.”
But as I say that, the lights flicker and the music stops before we’re plunged into darkness.
Panic grips me in its tight hold and I wrap my arms around myself in the hope they’ll keep me together. The only bonus right now is that none of them can see what I can only assume is the unfiltered fear that is no doubt written all over my face.
As a kid, I wasn’t scared of anything. I was shy as hell, but I wasn’t scared.
I used to hide in the dark for longer than I wanted to admit when my older brother and I used to play hide and seek and he’d get fed up looking and abandon me in whatever place I’d chosen to hide.
All it took was one night to change everything.
“What the hell?” West barks before the flashlight on his cell brightens the space, allowing me to at least see where they are.
Some of my panic fades, but still, I refuse to look at anyone for fear they’ll see my reaction.
They know I sleep with the light on. We’ve all been living together for two years now, so I was hardly able to keep that a secret. But they think it’s just my preference, not that I’m fucking terrified.
“See what happens when you get your ass out?” Ella shrieks in the direction Brax disappeared in. I focus on her voice, begging for the fear to leave me.
“Fuck you, El,” he bellows back. “Someone go and find the fucking circuit breaker.”
“Sure thing, boss,” West quips before getting to his feet. “Come on, Micah. Maybe we can put your geeky knowledge to some use.”
Micah scoffs but climbs to his feet to help. “IT geek,” Micah grunts. “I know fuck all about electrics.”
“I’m sure you can figure it out. You’re smart as shit.”
More light floods the room as both Micah and Ella put their flashlights on.
West continues ripping into Micah as they disappear from the room before Ella’s light turns on me.
“Vi, are you okay?” she asks, concern obvious in her tone as she slides closer.
“Y-yeah,” I say, hating that I stutter like a cowardly little kid. “I-I’m just not a fan of the dark.”
“It’s okay. They guys will have it back on in a flash,” she assures me, finding my hand and squeezing.
Her warmth seeps up my arm and I latch onto her support.
She’s right. Of course she’s right. But that doesn’t stop my brain from going back to that night.
Faster than I thought possible, the lights flicker back on, helping to banish my memories and allowing me to shove them all back into the box they are usually securely locked in.
Nothing good comes from thinking about that night and everything that came afterward. Or much of what happened before it, to be fair.
“See,” Ella soothes.
“I-I know, I’m sorry. I’m just going to—” I hop up from the couch and turn toward the door as West and Micah’s footsteps climb the stairs from the basement where the circuit breaker is.
“Whoa, Vi. Where’s the fire?” Brax asks when I barrel into him before I hit the first floor.
“Sorry,” I cry before bolting toward the second set of stairs.
“Vi, wait,” he calls, but I don’t hang around long enough for him to say anything else, and the second I’m on the top floor, I fly through my bedroom door, slamming it behind me.
So much for not letting t
Stripping out of my clothes, I make a beeline for the Jack and Jill bathroom that Ella and I share and march straight into the shower, turning the dial and blasting myself with ice-cold water for a few seconds.
My entire body trembles with both the cold and the lingering fear that those few minutes in the dark dragged up. Thankfully, as the water begins to warm, things start to settle down, and by the time the inevitable knock comes from Ella’s side of the bathroom, I’m just about ready to face her.
“Yeah,” I call. It’s pointless, she’d let herself in even if I told her to go away. That’s just how it is with us.
Family.
The word forces a sob to spill from my throat right as she steps into the room.
Concern pinches her brows as she finds me hiding behind the shower screen. The middle of it might be frosted, hiding my body from her, but honestly, we’ve both seen everything enough times over the past two years and right now, it’s not my curves I’m desperate to hide.
It’s my past. The broken girl who lives behind the mask of the confident, say-yes-to-everything woman that I am now.
“Violet,” she breathes, coming closer and hopping up on the counter between our double sinks. “Do you want to talk about it?”
My eyes find her kind, honey ones. Eyes that have been there for me without question since the moment I stepped inside our dorm on that first day as a freshman.
I was nervous as fuck, but one look in her eyes and I knew she was too. It was the first thing that bonded us. Then the guys arrived, looking equally as overwhelmed and, well, the rest is history, I guess.
I shake my head. “It’s nothing. Just some stupid childish fear.”
My chest heaves as the water pounds down on my shoulders, giving me little choice but to let go of some more of the fear.
“It doesn’t matter how childish you think it is, it’s still scary,” she says, empathy clear in every word.
I can’t help but smile at her.
“What the hell are you scared of, El? You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”
“We all have our things, Vi. And they’re nothing to be ashamed of.” I stare at her, more than willing to dive into her issues rather than mine right now. “Public speaking,” she confesses. “I literally have nightmares about it.”
“I think that’s fairly normal. Talking in front of people is terrifying.”
“Just like the dark.” She shrugs. “But it’s the reasons behind them that are the bigger issues, right?”
Fuck.
I know about Ella’s past. Her school years were less than desirable. She was bullied badly because of her weight, because she looked different from the cheerleaders that everyone wanted to be.
It’s bullshit. All of it. Ella is the most beautiful person I’ve ever met, inside and out. She might have lost her baby fat now, but it’s the confidence that has come with it that is the most stunning thing about her. That, and her smile. She can melt hearts and harden cocks from a mile off with that smile.
“M-my brother,” I force out, falling back on the story I’ve perfected, ready for the day this was inevitably going to come up. Though I have to admit, I thought it would have happened before now. “He used to leave me in the dark for hours while we were playing as kids. A couple of times, he knew where I was and locked me in there.”
“Sounds like a dick,” Ella mutters, making my heart ache for that playful little boy.
“Yeah,” I say with a laugh. “He was. I loved him, though.”
Ella smiles sadly at me. They might not know the details of what I went through with my family, but they all know that I’ve lost them. My mom and brother through tragedy and my father through choice many years before that. Honestly, I’m not sure which is more heartbreaking when I think about it—to have people ripped away from you, or to have someone choose not to want you in their lives.
“You should come back down, get drunk.”
The suggestion is tempting—more than tempting. But tomorrow is the first day of classes, and I refuse to turn up with a hangover, or worse, not turn up at all.
I shake my head. “I think I’m just going to head to bed.”
She smiles sadly. “I think we should all probably do that. I’m not sure I’m ready.” She pouts, thinking about classes starting tomorrow.
“Same.”
We’ve had a pretty insane summer. All of us stayed in Maddison County, but it’s been epic. We all volunteered with different kids clubs that the uni runs. The guys have trained with the rest of the team. And we’ve all just hung out and loved life without the stress of classes and assignments. That’s all about to change, though. We’re becoming juniors. That’s some scary shit right there. Adult life and big decisions are looming, and I’m definitely not ready for those.
“This year is going to be insane, though. The guys are going to fucking kill it. They’ve been on fire all summer.”
“They deserve to go all the way this year.”
“They do, and we’re going to watch every minute of it. Plus, they’ve got the added benefit of their new GA.” Ella wiggles her brows at me, and I can’t help but laugh at her goofiness.
“Why did I tell you about him?” I moan.
“Because you know how much I love a football hottie.”
“Tristan’s…”
“The hottest of them all.”
“I was going to say off-limits.”
“Jeez, girl. You ruin all my fun,” she sulks. “It’s like you want him for yourself.”
My lips part to argue, but she beats me to it.
“Don’t even lie to me, Violet Brady.”
“It’s not like that with us and you know it.”
“You’ve tried convincing me that that’s the case for the past two years, all the while watching every game he played, every interview he did and talking to him almost on the daily. Yeah, I totally know it.”
Reaching behind me for the sponge, I launch it at her, spraying water everywhere. It smacks her right on the side of her head, soaking her hair and covering her in water and bubbles.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” a deep voice booms from the doorway.
I can’t see them, but knowing they’re hiding in Ella’s room and have come to check on me fills me with the warm fuzzies.
“What are you waiting for? Retaliate. We want some naked wrestling,” Brax shouts excitedly.
“You’re a dog,” Ella mutters, hopping from the counter and walking over to swing the door closed on them.
“W-wait. Vi, you okay?” West calls.
Poking my head around the shower screen, careful not to give them an eyeful, I find the three of them standing there, looking like lost puppies. “I’m good. Thank you.”
“Is everything okay with—” Ella starts but is quickly interrupted
“Everything’s good. Just one of those things. We’ve got you, girl.”
“Thank you,” I breathe, more grateful for them than I could ever put into words.
Happy that I’m okay, the three of them disappear, and after checking that I’m not going to freak out again, Ella heads through to her room as well.
I wash my hair and scrub every inch of my body while my thoughts linger on the Panthers’ new graduate assistant football coach.
Tristan Carver has been…
Hell, he’s been my rock over the past five years.
He used to be my brother’s best friend. The boy who would spend every single waking hour possible at our house hanging out with Roman and, in turn, driving me insane.
They were three years older than me and thought they were so freaking cool.
I mean, I guess it was easy to tell themselves that when they were easily the two most talented players on our high school football team. They had girls hanging on their every word almost from as early as I can remember.
