“Holy shit,” Gi whispered.
Kip swung and hit Nix in the jaw.
The gathering all let out an ooohhh! sound.
Nix charged at Kip, driving his shoulder into Kip’s stomach.
Kip planted his feet and lifted Nix up into the air. It looked like a wrestling match for a few seconds until Nix broke free and threw a punch, hitting Kip right in the face.
I had no idea what to really expect. To me, these guys were untouchable. The Rulz. That’s how it was said to me. And how they had proven themselves. But now as I watched blood run down Kip’s face, my heart raced and ached.
I didn’t want him to get hurt. Which was stupid. Because I had no idea what they wanted from or of me.
Kip touched his own blood and laughed at it.
He teased Nix to punch again.
Which he did.
Kip took the hit to the mouth, turning, grabbing his jaw.
I grabbed Iris’s arm and squeezed.
She leaned in on me. “Roar…”
I let her arm go and stepped forward to get a better view.
Kip went on the attack again.
The two started trading punches but Kip got the upper hand on the fight. He knew how to move fast. His punches were accurate and with each one, Nix’s face bled more, looking puffier, and left him more unsteady.
Kip walked Nix to the edge of the ditch and then stopped.
Kip threw his arms open and backed up.
The crowd cheered for him.
That pissed Nix off.
He ran at Kip for some more.
“How long does this go?” I asked Iris.
“Well, when you bet, you choose,” she said. “You can choose the winner and how it’s decided. Someone can quit. Someone can stop the fight if it gets too much. Or someone gets knocked out.”
Shit.
If I was betting, I knew how I would bet on Kip.
He and Nix were tangled up again, throwing each other, also throwing any and all punches they could offer. Now it looked like a brawl instead of an actual fight. There was some bad blood between these two.
From the corner of my eye I saw a few of the guys dressed in black leather jackets standing at the edge of the ditch.
Something felt very off.
No more than a minute later Barr and Pres appeared at the edge of the ditch too.
Staring at them.
Kip landed a hard thud of a punch to Nix’s gut.
He bent over but jumped up, slamming his head against Kip’s jaw.
Kip’s head flew back for a second but Kip was still standing and still fighting.
Nix walked back to his guys, drawing Kip in.
When he got close enough, two of the leather jacket dudes grabbed for Kip’s arms.
They held him long enough for Nix to get one free punch to Kip’s face.
Then they let him go.
Pres and Barr charged through the ditch.
“Fuck,” Iris said.
“We better get going,” Gi said. “If this gets crazy we need to be out of here.”
“What is this?” I asked.
“This is… bad…,” Iris said.
I waited and watched as the dudes in the leather jackets grabbed Nix and got him out of the fight. They pushed into the crowd to get away.
Kip and Barr were ready to go after them but Pres stopped them. He had a handful of Barr’s shirt and a tight grip on Kip’s shoulder.
He said something to both of them and that was it.
“Wait,” I said to Iris and Gi.
Pres turned and looked at everyone. He let go of Barr and grabbed for Kip’s arm. He lifted it into the air.
“There’s your winner,” Iris said. “Since Nix left. It’s a forfeit.”
“Better than what could have happened,” Gi said. “I hate when those guys come around.”
People were clapping and cheering for Kip.
My eyes bounced from Kip to Barr to Pres and back again.
“What now?” I called out to Iris and Gi.
“We go home,” Iris said.
“You can come back to my house,” Gi said. “We can chill there. Have a drink and sleep there.”
“Let’s go to Ti’s,” Iris said. “I want to find out if Pres’s father is really nailing Claire. That’s good drama.”
They started to argue.
I stared at Kip’s glistening body.
I watched him take the bloody tape off his hands and wipe his hands and face with a towel that someone gave him. He put on his white, sleeveless shirt and it instantly clung to his body from the sweat.
He finally turned and looked right at me.
His blue eyes were clear as ever.
So sexy… and pretty…
… but still very deadly.
“You ready to go?” Gi called to me.
No… I’m not going anywhere without them…
* * *
I told Iris and Gi that I was having cramps and wanted to go home. Iris made some joke about the Rulz doing that to a girl’s uterus which was just weird, gross, but still kind of funny.
They got into Iris’s ride and left on their own.
I got into my SUV and checked to make sure I had gas. Which was a new habit thanks to what Pres, Barr, and Kip did to me.
I had plenty of gas.
And I knew my way home. Well, not home. But back to Claire’s.
It was all of two minutes before I had the sense of someone following me.
I mean, of course there were other vehicles on the road.
But here came the blinding high beam lights flying up on my back end.
Getting close enough to worry me but then they eased back.
It was them.
They were following me.
“Great,” I whispered.
I should have just followed Iris and Gi.
They followed me all the way to Claire’s house.
Instead of going up the driveway though, I stopped at the end of the driveway and put my window down.
The large SUV pulled up next to me.
The windows were completely blacked out.
So I had to wait for the passenger window to go down to make sure it was the Rulz.
Which it was.
Kip sat there holding the same towel, touching his face with it.
“Are you okay?” I asked him.
“I’m perfect, girl,” he said. “Damn shame the fight ended so soon.”
“So soon?” I asked. “You were ready to kill each other.”
“That’s the point,” Kip said.
“You worried about him, love?” Barr asked, leaning from the driver’s side. “That’s sweet.”
“Shut up,” I said. My cheeks burned red hot. “Just… shut up…”
I started to compare them.
Barr and his aggressiveness. So strong and commanding. And then Kip… he was a little bit gentler but he took his time. He showed patience in the way he kissed.
Ohgod…
I shut my eyes for a second to catch my breath.
“What do you want?” I asked.
The back passenger window went down.
There was Pres.
He winked at me. “Just wanted to make sure you got home safe, sugar.”
Before I could reply, their SUV started to move.
And I had all three of them staring at me.
Barr.
Kip.
Pres.
Two of which I had kissed. No. Not kissed. Kissed-kissed. Made out with. Feeling things that I never…
Kip tossed me his sweaty and bloody towel and Barr took off.
I looked forward and watched as Pres stuck his head out of the window to keep staring at me as the SUV sped off into the night.
My lips trembled as I thought about kissing Pres.
That made everything burn hotter.
I slowly lowered my gaze to the towel.
Sweat. Blood. Kip.
My hands were shaking… and I reali
zed it wasn’t out of fear.
It was out of excitement.
I wanted more… of all of them.
sixteen
I didn’t see Claire again.
It was like I had the entire house to myself.
Yet everything was done for me.
There was always something freshly cooked.
The fridge was always stocked.
The pool cleaned and set to the perfect temperature.
As I ate another giant breakfast with a rainbow colored fruit bowl, I realized I could easily get used to this. I could be spoiled and like it. A lot.
Plus, whatever the Rulz wanted with me, it couldn’t have been that bad. Not with them looking at me the way they did. Or the fact that they followed me home to make sure I was safe. And if anyone messed with me I could probably just say something to one of them and they’d handle it. Kind of like what happened with Denny.
And, yes, I still felt horrible for that situation. Because it had been harmless. I owed Denny an apology even though I didn’t do anything…
I told myself to forget about Denny.
To just enjoy whatever this was.
I mean… the house was a mansion. There was a pool. Then the ocean. There were hot boys looking at me. Flirting. Kissing. Seeing Kip fight was crazy and sexy. BFH on its own sucked but it was doable. I had an SUV to drive that was worth more than any place I had ever lived in my life. I had a couple of friends I mostly trusted. And Mom was in rehab where she belonged.
All in all it wasn’t that bad.
Even when I got to BFH and opened my locker, I just grinned and shook my head.
There was a white towel waiting for me.
A fresh, clean smelling white towel, perfectly folded.
It wasn’t even worth my time or effort to ask them how they managed to do this to my locker again and again. Because I didn’t mind it. I sort of liked it.
I shut the door and Beth was standing there.
“Whoa,” I said. “Hey.”
“Can I talk to you?” she asked.
“Of course. Are you okay? Were you at the ditch?”
She shook her head. “Never made it. Heard it was crazy.”
“I don’t understand who showed up but it was… crazy.”
“Hey, why don’t you ditch and come hang with me.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Fuck this place, right? I’m good with that. Let me text Pres so he knows I’m leaving.”
“Why?” Beth asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Just so they aren’t looking for me. They followed me home last night. To make sure I was okay.”
“Ti… I know you just got here and all…”
“Here, this is for you, trashcan whore,” a voice said next to me.
I was pushed into my locker and turned to see Blair in my face.
Holding a piece of paper to my chest.
I pushed her out of the way and Vicky was right there, a little screwdriver in her hand.
“Brought you something too,” Vicky said, the pointed end facing me.
“What do you two want?” I asked.
“That’s the damage on my fucking car,” Blair said.
I looked at the piece of paper and laughed.
“Write a check, bitch,” Vicky said.
“It wasn’t your car,” I said to Vicky. “Or are you secretly dirt poor like me? So you suck on Blair’s tits, hoping for a little milk…”
Vicky thrust the screwdriver at me.
I side stepped and heard the sound of it scratching the locker.
My eyes went wide.
“Jesus Christ,” Beth said. “You crazy fucking bitch.”
Vicky turned with the screwdriver in her hand, pointing it at Beth now.
“Go,” I said to Beth. “Get out of here.”
“Come with me,” Beth said.
“I’m fine,” I said. “I can handle this myself.”
“You know what?” Beth asked. “Whatever.”
She stormed away and I got Vicky’s attention back to me.
This wasn’t Beth’s fight. I didn’t want her to get hurt because of me. Bad enough I knew she had feelings for Denny and that situation exploded because of me.
“I’m not paying a thing,” I said. “I didn’t do a thing.”
“You want to play that game?” Blair asked. “That’s a deadly game, Tinsley.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked. “I’m poor, right?”
“There’s ways,” Vicky said.
She looked to the screwdriver.
I made a quick move.
I grabbed her wrist and twisted.
She screamed for help.
I swiped the screwdriver out of her hand.
When I moved toward Blair, she hurried back and screamed even louder for help.
I put the stupid pink invoice for her stupid fucking car against the wall and I jammed the screwdriver into it.
It was to send a clear message.
And I turned with a grin on my face.
I wanted to see Blair and Vicky’s faces.
Make sure they understood…
Fuck.
Jacobson was standing there.
Blair was crying, Vicky holding her, slowly walking away, reassuring her things would get better.
“My office,” Jacobson said.
I lowered my head.
Super-big-ultra-fuck.
* * *
What could be worse than going to the principal’s office?
Watching Claire bust into the principal’s office.
Her eyes wide and confused.
On a phone call, desperate to end it, only to end up just hanging up.
I put my hands to my face and groaned.
“Claire,” Jacobson said.
“Jacobson,” Claire said.
Last name? Whoa.
“I think we have a problem,” Jacobson said. “A weapon problem.”
Claire looked at me. “Weapon?”
“Weapon?” I asked. “No.”
“A screwdriver is a weapon,” Jacobson said.
“Vicky…” I cleared my throat. “Never mind.”
“What happened?” Claire asked.
“It appears there was a confrontation between Tinsley and another student who had her car vandalized.”
Claire looked at me.
I shook my head. “I didn’t do a thing.”
“I’m sure you could understand the student’s frustration…”
“Bite me,” Claire said.
My eyes went wide.
Jacobson’s cheeks turned red. “Excuse me?”
“Vandalizing a car? Who’s?”
“Blair,” I said.
“The Wethritton’s?” Claire asked. “She’s worried about her car? Her father owns half the goddamn car dealerships along the coast.”
“Claire… this isn’t about the car… we know Tinsley didn’t do anything to the car.”
“That’s the point,” I said. “She demanded I pay for the damage. She knows…” I swallowed hard. “She knows I’m poor.”
“That’s harassment,” Claire said. “I’ll call my lawyer right now.”
“Let’s not do that,” Jacobson said.
“Afraid?” Claire asked.
Jacobson stared at her with pissed off eyes.
“Where did the screwdriver come from?” Claire asked.
“It wasn’t mine,” I said.
“You see this, right?” Claire asked. “They know why Tinsley is here. I thought I could count on you, Jacobson. I wanted Tinsley to come here and be able to have some sense of normalcy. But instead you have these rotten brats making it clear about her personal life.”
Jacobson slowly nodded.
He turned and walked to a window.
I looked at Claire.
She winked and smiled.
“Tensions run high,” Jacobson said. “I can appreciate that. I can respect that.” He turned and sighed. “You damaged the wall in the hallwa
y, Tinsley.”
Claire reached into her bag. “I’ll write a check for that.”
“No need,” Jacobson said. “It always comes down to that. Right? Everyone throwing around their money.”
“You’re getting a cut of that money, Jacobson,” Claire said. “So, don’t climb too high on that horse over there.”
“I will not tolerate violence,” Jacobson said. “Verbal. Physical.”
“Or against the walls,” I said.
“Right,” Jacobson said. “Why don’t you take the rest of the today off, Tinsley? Let this situation calm itself.”
“Done,” Claire said. “Tinsley, let’s go.”
I stood up and we got the hell out of there.
The second we touched the hallway, I grabbed Claire’s arm. “How do you know him?”
“Sold him his house,” Claire said. “Annoying bald prick. Thought he could get into my pants too.”
“What?” I asked.
“Yeah. So I met up with him on the first night he was at his new house. There was nothing in the house. He set up a takeout dinner with flowers and all that cheap romantic stuff. He thought he was going to buy a house from me and then I was going to screw him.”
“What did you do?” I asked.
“Took the food and the wine… left him a bottle of lotion and tissues.”
My jaw dropped.
Claire… badass…
She winked at me. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Can I use the bathroom really quick?” I asked.
“Sure,” she said.
I broke away from Claire thinking about everything she had just said to me. The world of BFH was so far so different than anything I knew. It wasn’t even like anyone tried to hide anything. They just did what they wanted and didn’t give a shit because they all thought money could solve every single problem.
And it seemed that they were right.
I had no idea what Jacobson would have done if Claire hadn’t shown up and been the one taking care of me.
He was right, after all. I did go after Blair with a weapon. I had my reasons though. Which was the same kind of crap I’d see where I used to live. Except it went something like this… the cops would show up, draw their guns, toss dudes around, pull the women aside, all the while one cop would stand with the young kids and babies while shit got sorted out.
There was nothing like that here at BFH.
In a way… dare I admit it… I felt a little like royalty.
I opened the bathroom door and twirled as I entered.
UNtouched: a bay falls high novel Page 15
