Warning: language

Ronan's POV

I was with Mason and some of his friends, lounging in the dining area, when I felt my phone buzz over and over again in my pocket. I chose to ignore it, assuming it was just messages flowing in one of the millions of group chats Mason and Hunter had put me in. They had always been more on the social side, and I don't know why they felt the need to constantly include me, but they did.

Mason was talking to his friends animatedly, the conversation broken only by drunken laughter. I didn't register anything they said. I'd barely drank any alcohol, and I was still sulking after my encounter with Conner. I wasn't sure what to be angrier about, the situation I was in or the bullshit Conner spewed at me.

"Erm, Ron?" Mason called. At the sound of his voice, I broke my gaze away from the space on the carpet I was glaring at and looked at Mason, who was sitting on a sofa next to me. He had his phone in his hand and he was looking at it with his eyebrows furrowed. "What?" I asked. I didn't feel like being pulled into the conversation he was having with his other buddies, who I recognised as being some of the basketball boys.

Rather than respond to me, Mason turned to his friends with a smile on his face that was faker than a Barbie doll. "Hey, you guys can hang out here, I just gotta go do something real quick," he said, making my eyebrow quirk up. One of them nodded at him, but the other three didn't even acknowledge his words, too immersed in whatever conversation they were having.

Mason got up and grabbed the bottom of my sleeve before tugging on it. When I looked up at him from my seat, I saw his jaw was clenched and his muscle had tensed up. I realised he was angry as I made to follow him. "Don't tell me there's been another fight Mace, I'm not in the mood," I said, annoyed.

There's always a guy that gets too aggressive at parties like these, and as much as I didn't care about a fight, I was worried. Only something serious could get Mason this worked up. He was leading me towards the back of the house, and the music was still going, people were still dancing. So there hadn't been a fight.

"What's going on man?" I asked Mason, completely bewildered. If it wasn't a fight he was pissed about, what was it? Mason stopped by the back door, the one that lead to the pool, and looked at me, his green eyes bright with rage. "Hunter texted me," he paused, his eyes darting all over my face, as if to see my reaction, "he said something happened with Isabelle."

It took me a moment to process his words, and when I did, I felt my blood boil. "What the hell happened? Is she alright? Where is-" Mason cut me off. "She's asleep. I don't know what happened mate, but that's what we're about to find out." He tilted his head towards the door and opened it. His grip on the handle was so tight his knuckles went white.

I didn't understand what was going on, and I was furious. If anyone touched even a hair on her head I was ready to tear them apart. Was she alright? Was she hurt? How the fuck did anyone get near her when she was in my room with the door locked? Imagines of Isabelle flashed before my eyes, each one more worrying than the next, and a list of all the possible things that could have happened formulated in my mind.

Mason took a step closer to me. "Ronan, she's alright. Hunter just checked on her, and Derik's sitting outside her room," the information helped me feel slightly better, but my anger didn't subside. I'd thank Derik later if I remembered to.

She's alright. Izzy's alright. I repeated the thought again and again in my mind as I stepped outside onto the wooden deck with Mason in tow. There was a woman sitting on one of the patio chairs and her head snapped to us as we stepped out of the house. "Where's Hunter?" she questioned, her voice slightly croaky.

She cleared her throat and stood as we approached her. She was taller than the average girl and had a petite frame that made her look smaller than she was. Mud was splattered all over one side of her leg, and I realised that her black hair was wet, a few water droplets falling from the ends. Her makeup was smudged under her eyes and black streaks of it lined her face. Even in the dimly lit area, she looked pale.

"He's coming. Veronica passed out; he's just leaving her in his room," Mason explained softly, as if he were trying to tame a wild animal. I couldn't blame him, she sure looked like one at the moment. She opened her mouth to say something, but the back door was thrown open before she could.

Hunter strode straight to us, his face taunt. "Amelia, what happened?" he demanded, his eyes burning with a fury similar to ours. Amelia. The name rang a bell, but I couldn't place it. "Which one of you is Ronan?" she asked, her focus switching between Mason and I.

"We aren't here to play meet up, tell us what the fuck happened," I snapped at her, my patience at its end. Could she not see that we were on edge? Why was she creating unnecessary suspense? Her eyes fixated on me. "Well, Ronan," she spat my name out viciously, "thanks to your irresponsible ass, someone tried to drown Isabelle in your pool while you were inside getting fucked," her voice rose with every word she said.

She went on, not letting me say anything, "And you're damn fucking lucky that I was here when I was, or else God knows what would have happened to her," she screamed at me and threw her arms out in front of her. "She's a kid, she's not supposed to be here. You dumb shit. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Don't bloody scream at-" Hunter stepped between us, effectively cutting off the rest of my sentence. Amelia had taken a step closer and was glaring at me, and I'd leaned down towards her without realising to say my piece. "Alright, both of you, calm the hell down," he ordered, looking between us.

"I'm perfectly fi-" she started, her voice cutting through the tension.

"Amelia," Hunter said her name forcefully and gave her a stern look. "We know you're angry about this. Trust me, we all are. But we need you to explain what happened," Hunter told her evenly.

Hunter was always the calm one amongst us, and as irritated as I was, I really appreciated that fact about him right now. Amelia, who was still giving me a nasty look, let out a long sign. She took a step back and finally looked away to shake her head.

"I came out to get some fresh air," she started, her voice steady and clear, "Izzy was standing by the pool with some guy. He pushed her in and ran that way," she pointed a shaking finger towards the side of the house. I gritted my teeth; there was a small gate there, but we usually kept it locked.

"I got her out and then I went to go check if the guy was still there, but he wasn't. Isabelle told me where Ronan's room was and I took her up and put her to bed." She finished and looked at us expectantly, waiting for us to respond.

"Is she alright? Did he hurt her?" I hated the question, and I was scared of the answer, but it needed to be asked. "Her tooth fell out, and she has a small cut on her gum. I found some first aid stuff in your room and cleaned it all up."

"She was bleeding? You're telling me this now?" I asked her incredulously. I took my phone out to look up the nearest emergency room. I saw Amelia narrow her eyes at me. "She should be fine for tonight; I cleaned it up. You should take her to get some painkillers and antibiotics in the morning."

"Don't act like you know shit, you're not a freaking doctor, Amelia. What if it gets infected?" I said, not caring about how harsh my words were. I felt my temper rising again. Isabelle is hurt, she needs to see a doctor. What part of that didn't make sense?

"I know what I'm doing, you dick. I've worked in hospitals and clinics as an assistant. I checked to make sure it wasn't too bad." I didn't respond to her and focused on the ER I found. It was only a 10 minute drive. I don't know what Amelia saw on my face as I looked at her, because she flushed red. "Oh, what? You don't believe? What, you want to see my resume for some damn proof?" she spat at me.

"Chill the fuck out, both of you," Mason yelled at us, then he turned to me. "Ron, Izzy's asleep. Watch over her tonight. If she wakes up and there's a problem, we'll take her to the ER straight away. If she's fine til the morning then we'll take her when she wakes up, alright?" he suggested, slightly irritated.

My nostrils flared as I blew out a breath. "Yeah, let Izzy sleep," Hunter added, "She needs it. Amelia's done first aid, which should be good enough for now," he tried to assure me. I chewed the inside of my cheek. I didn't trust Amelia, but I trusted my best friends, and they were saying it should be fine.

I nodded after a moment. "If I hear her so much as whimper in her sleep, I'll take her," I informed them, and I meant every word. Hunter clapped me twice on my back in appreciation, and I dipped my head in acknowledgement.

We turned our attention back to Amelia. "Did you see the guy that pushed Isabelle?" Mason asked her, his gaze on her intent. She shook her head. "No, I didn't see his face. But, he was wearing a red and black hoodie," she said, her voice finally at an audio level that didn't damage our ear drums.

She grabbed her bag from the chair it was hanging on and went through it. "When I went to check on him, I found this. I think it might be his," she pulled something out of her bag and threw it to Hunter. He caught the object easily and Mason and I huddled around him to take a look.

It was a bunch of keys on a key chain, and there was a decorative plate on it that read 'NSU'. "Not these fuckers again," Mason muttered, loud enough for us to hear. "What was an NSU guy doing here?" I pinched the bridge of my nose. A guy from NSU almost drowned my baby sister. This was absolutely ridiculous.

"Sorry, NSU?" Amelia asked. I scoffed at her, and Hunter slapped my arm as Mason explained, "Northern State University, NSU. It's the only other university for miles besides BU."

"Ah, so let me guess," Amelia started, a knowing look in her eyes, "BU and NSU are rivals, enemies, whatever. You guys pulled some shit and this is them getting back at you." She wasn't wrong about the first part, but we hadn't pulled 'any shit', as she'd put it.

Hunter shook his head. "Nah, this is weird. We haven't done anything. And in the past, even when we did, it wasn't anything this messed up," he pointed at the pool for emphasis. Amelia nodded in understanding.

"Keep an eye out; someone might come looking for their keys," Amelia instructed as she got her things. "You're Mason?" she asked suddenly, jutting her chin towards him. Mason's expression was quizzical, "Yesss?" it sounded like he wasn't too sure of his answer. I would have made fun of him were I not concerned about the whole situation.

"Lily said she was with you," Amelia stated, and suddenly it clicked. Amelia. She was Veronica's new roommate, Hunter had mentioned her the other day. That's why her name itched at my memory. "Yeah," Mason confirmed, "She was for a bit, but then she went to go dance with some of her other friends," he told her, and because I'd known him for so long, I could sense the underlying  disappointment behind his words.

Amelia looked at the time on her phone. "It's getting late. I'll go find her and see if she's down to head out. Veronica's fine to stay the night?" the last part was directed towards Hunter. "Of course. Come on, I'll help you find Lils," he offered, ever the gentleman.

Hunter led the way, and Amelia made to follow before stopping abruptly next to me. I could tell from the look on her face that another verbal sparring match was about to ensue. But, to my surprise, she set her jaw and only said, "Take care of Izzy."

She turned, not waiting for my response, and followed Hunter into the house.