Blue Madness: (Blue Raspberry Series #3)

by D. K Lake

  "No." I simply say.

  "I didn't think so. I just checked on you a little while ago and you were still in the garden."

  I reach up and touch my cheeks, hoping Nessie got all the pen off.

  "I think you got it all off." he smirks.

  "It's not funny."

  "No, well, it kinda was, but I dealt with the little twerp."

  "Thanks." I smile.

  He moves around the bed and I take a few steps back, bumping into the wall.

  "Mitchel...don't." is all I say before he pulls me into his arms and hugs me.

  I hug him back, wrapping my arms around his waist. He lets out a deep breath, one he has clearly been holding in.

  "For a minute there I thought you had slept with some random guy to get back at me."

  "No." I hug him a little tighter.

  "I was just thinking of ways to kill him." he says casually like it's no big deal.

  "Well, there's no need. No one touched me, apart from the idiot that drew the dicks on my face." I pull away and look up at him and he rubs his thumb over my cheek.

  I know I shouldn't be in his arms, we shouldn't even be in the same room. We'll either end up fighting or kissing and neither one of those things are a good idea because I'm leaving.

  I don't want to fight with him anymore before I leave, and I shouldn't kiss him anymore either, but I want to. So bad. He takes my face in his hands and I look away.

  "We shouldn't...I'm leaving, remember?"

  "You haven't left yet." he says before his lips find mine and I can't help but kiss him back.

  He tastes of mint and smoke and I smile as I kiss him, and I can feel him smiling as well.

  "Why are you smiling?" he asks in a husky voice.

  "Because kissing you makes me happy."

  He rubs his nose against mine and says, "Then don't leave me."

  "Don't." I tell him. I don't want to ruin this moment by turning this into an argument so I don't say anything else and press my lips to his so he can't pick a fight with me.

  He kisses me back and his hand slips under my shirt and brushes against my skin.

  I love his touch.

  I love his kisses.

  I love his taste...his smell.

  I love him.

  I'm in love with Mitchel Torres.

  I slowly stop kissing him and open my eyes and find him looking back at me. I love those blue eyes.

  "What is it?" he asks.

  I have to tell him.

  I know, bad timing, telling Mitchel how much I love him right before I leave but I need him to know.

  "I need to tell you something."

  "What is it?" he says, stroking my face.

  "Mitchel, I lo-"

  "What the fuck is this?" JT growls, interrupting our moment.

  51

  JT is standing on the other side of the bed with the bloody sheets in his hand.

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  "What happened? Why is there blood on Vanessa's sheets?" JT asks, glaring at me. "Did she...did someone...?"

  I push Mitchel back a step so I can see JT properly.

  "It's...it's mine."

  "What?" JT and Mitchel say at the same time.

  Mitchel frowns at me and JT looks back and forth between Mitchel and me.

  "You slept together?" he asks, calming down a notch.

  "Yeah." I say casually, hoping Mitchel goes with it. I mentally smack myself and wonder why I didn't say I got a nosebleed, it would have been more believable.

  "What, no we didn't. You just said it was Nessie's." Mitchel stares at me and I meet his gaze and try not to smack him.

  The shit is about to hit the fan.

  "Kelsey, is this true?" JT asks, his tone changing again. I'm almost scared to look at him this time.

  "No. It's mine." I answer.

  "What the fuck, Kelse?" Mitchel says loudly.

  I meet his eyes for a split second and shake my head, and he knows I'm lying.

  "Mitchel?" JT turns to his brother.

  "I don't know." Mitchel replies.

  "It's mine." I say again.

  "No. It's not." Mitchel answers for me and gives me a pointed look.

  "Are you telling me some dirtbag put his paws on Vanessa?" JT growls and I watch Mitchel as his expression changes and he realizes his mistake.

  "JT-" Mitchel starts but JT cuts him off.

  "Kelsey, who did this to her?!"

  I am actually scared of him right now. I glance at the sheets in his hand then back at his eyes that look crazy-angry.

  "I don't know." I reply and sort of hide behind Mitchel.

  JT starts to walk over to me and Mitchel puts his arm out protectively in front of me.

  "Hey, she said she doesn't know."

  "Like hell, she doesn't." JT shouts.

  "Don't!" Mitchel warns him.

  JT stops in front of Mitchel, his chest rising and falling, his nostrils flaring, his face angry.

  This is what I didn't want to happen.

  "Kelsey, you tell me right now or-"

  "Or you'll what?" Mitchel steps up to his brother.

  "Just tell me!" JT yells.

  "I don't know." I say loudly so he gets the picture.

  "Then I'll just go and ask her myself."

  "What? No! You can't!" I panic, watching as he stalks back to the bed and picks up the bedsheets and heads for the door.

  "Ohmigosh....no, he can't-"

  Mitchel spins around and grabs my shoulders.

  "Do you know who did this? Did Nessie just lose her virginity to someone downstairs?"

  "Maybe...but I didn't want JT to know who."

  "Shit." Mitchel lets go of me and chases after his brother and I follow him down the stairs. Mitchel stops at the bottom of the stairs and scans the room but we both hear JT down the hallway.

  "VANESSA!!"

  I run after him and Mitchel follows me and I run into the laundry room. The room is ridiculously big for a laundry room, it's nearly as big as the bedroom. Nessie is on the other side sitting on top of the dryer, waiting for me.

  Her eyes widen when she sees JT with the crumpled up bedsheets. Her eyes flicker to me and I shake my head and mouth, "I'm sorry."

  JT stops in front of her.

  "What the hell is this, Vanessa?"

  "How should I know?" she replies, acting all innocent as she hops down off the dryer and puts her hand on her hip.

  "Where did you even get that?"

  "From your room. And the last time I checked you changed the sheets and they were clean!"

  "You mean after you humped that trailer trash on my bed?"

  Mitchel stands behind me, watching from a safe distance with me.

  "Vanessa....tell me who it was." JT growls.

  "Tell you who, what?" She brushes her hair over her shoulder and starts filling the washing machine with power.

  "Tell me who did this to you so I can kill them!"

  "Oookay, crazy." Nessie chuckles, still putting on a good front but I can tell she's bricking herself. JT is about to flip his lid and it's up to her now to stop it from happening. I tried but failed.

  "Vanessa! TELL. ME."

  "FIRE!" Someone else yells from down the hallway and we all glance at the doorway.

  Fire? Oh, the boat. I had nearly forgotten about that.

  "Calm down...it's just a little blood." Nessie says, trying to take the sheets from him. "I don't know whose it is or how it got on my bedsheets but I think I'll just stick them in the wash."

  "Who was it, Vanessa?" JT asks again in a low tone.

  "No idea what you're talking about."

  "I am going to kill him, you know that, right?"

  She doesn't say anything and tries to pry the sheets out of his hands.

  "I won't ask again, Vanessa. Tell me who it was...or, I'm going to break every guy's face here until you tell me."

  Nessie laughs. "Really?"

  "Vanessa,"

  "Stop calling me Vanessa. You k
now I hate it, just like I hate you!"

  "Tell me!" JT roars and I take a step forward, worried about Nessie but Mitchel stops me.

  "NO!" Nessie screams. "Who took my virginity is none of your business!" She yanks the sheets from him and stuffs them in the wash before anyone else can see them.

  JT's eyes bulge and he growls and kicks the dryer.

  Oh no.

  I notice a few more people have crowded into the laundry room having heard the commotion. Nessie crosses her arms and watches as JT murders the dryer.

  "Are you finished destroying my dryer?" Nessie asks in a clipped tone, reaching in front of him to place a box of washing powder back on the shelf. He growls and runs his hand along the shelf and knocks it all on the floor and Nessie jumps back. He leans in close to Nessie and I barely hear him whisper..."I warned you" before he turns around and grabs the first guy he sees that is standing with two girls watching the whole thing. He head-butts the guy in the face. I see a spray of red blood and both the girls start screaming. I gasp and Mitchel moves me out of the way. Nessie starts screaming at JT to stop but he doesn't listen.

  "Mitchel, do something!" Nessie screams and Mitchel just shrugs. I whack him on the arm.

  "What?" he asks, glancing at me then back at his brother.

  "Make him stop!" I tell him.

  "I can't." Mitchel stuffs one hand in his pocket and leans his cast arm on my shoulder.

  A few more people come running into the room to see what is happening. JT leaves the poor guy on the floor, and he rolls away, holding his nose that is gushing blood everywhere. The two girls rush over to him and JT stands up and glares at Nessie.

  "Tell me!" he shouts.

  Nessie's eyes connect with someone behind me and I look over my shoulder and see Zeke standing in the doorway, looking slightly panicked. JT notices Nessie's eyes wander and he looks my way and sees Zeke. Zeke panics and turns around to run and slips on the floor in his hurry to get away, and quickly sprints off down the hallway.

  Mitchel quickly jerks me out of JT's path as he runs toward us.

  "TELLERMAN!" JT roars and barrels through the doorway, knocking over anyone that gets in his way like they are bowling pins.

  Nessie runs past us and I chase after her. She runs around the house, searching for them, and into the garden where I can see a large group of people gathered at the bottom of the garden, trying to hose the boat down with the garden hose which is doing nothing.

  "Jacob! Stop!" Nessie screams and I tear my eyes away from the boat and see JT chasing Zeke around the pool. Zeke throws whatever he can find into JT's path to stop him, and JT trips over a sunlounger and goes head-first into the pool, creating a tidal wave that knocks the cat boy off of the floating unicorn and into the water. Zeke doesn't slow down and runs past us, and around the side of the cabin, heading for the driveway.

  "What's going on?" Boston asks, yawning, appearing out of nowhere.

  Where did he come from? He rubs his eyes and looks as though he has just woken up. The green-haired girl is with him, I think her name is Leesha.

  "Why is JT in the pool?" Boston asks Mitchel as I walk away and head toward Nessie.

  "COPS!" Someone yells and people start to scatter, running everywhere. The group from down the dock all descend onto us and I get bumped from side to side as people make a quick exit. Most of us are underage and I'm sure there are a lot of people here with drugs on them.

  "JT!" Boston yells and I look over and see JT pulling himself out of the pool, dripping wet, and Nessie is standing at the side yelling at him.

  "You're crazy!" Nessie screams.

  I take a step in her direction but have to jump back as a girl runs past me and barely misses running into me. I try again and this time someone grabs my arm and pulls me the other way.

  "What the-" I stop when I realize it's Mitchel.

  He pulls me across the grass, heading for the trees. Boston is already on the other side, waiting for us in the trees with his cousin.

  "Put me down!" I hear Nessie and turn around and see JT heading our way with Nessie over his shoulder.

  I don't say anything and just follow Mitchel into the trees with Boston. I can't get stopped by the cops. Mom would just love it if I got picked up by the cops, and I know either, Boston, Mitchel, or JT probably have drugs on them. We need to leave and apparently, Nessie is coming with us. Boston leads us through the trees where I can see two fire engines and three police cars, and an ambulance.

  "Someone must have reported the fire." Boston says as we all stand in the trees quietly watching the chaos.

  Kids are darting all over the place trying to avoid the cops but a few get stopped and I can see one policeman running after a boy that is trying to get in his car to leave. Another policeman has two girls cornered and is talking to them.

  "Put. Me. Down." Nessie squeals.

  "Shhh..." JT growls and smacks her ass and she lets out a yelp.

  "This is insane." I mutter.

  "We can't get stopped. I'm loaded with shit." Boston says.

  "I'm sure they aren't looking for drugs. I hear there's a rise in prostitution in this area." Nessie says, directing the comment at Leesha.

  "You bitch! I dare you to come down here and say that to my face." Leesha stomps over to Nessie who is still on JT's shoulder but he turns around and grabs Leesha by the shoulder and pushes her back toward Boston.

  "Leave it." Boston tells her and pulls her away.

  We all turn back to the scene on the driveway, watching from the shadows.

  "This is why I purposely parked the car down the track, just in case something like this happened. Come on, this way." JT orders, and starts walking.

  Mitchel takes my hand and we pick our way through the woods. It's dark but none of us dare turn on our phone light in case we get spotted. Boston keeps Leesha with him, a good distance behind us so Nessie and Leesha can't bicker. We walk for ten minutes through the darkness. JT carries Nessie the whole way and her demands to be put down have since stopped.

  "Won't you get into trouble for the party?" Boston asks Nessie.

  She leans up and tries to look at Boston and flips the hair out of her face.

  "I have no idea what party you're talking about. I was with Kelsey all weekend, and Stephen had the car. This party is all on him."

  JT suddenly drops Nessie but catches her before she hits the ground.

  "You can walk from here, you weigh a ton."

  I expect her to snap at him with some witty comeback but she just looks at us and quietly follows him.

  He just saved her from getting caught by the cops. Her parents won't be pleased that the party got out of hand and a boat was set on fire. It's not the damage or the money that's the problem, though. Nessie's parents can afford to pay for the damage and replace the boat, it's the gossip that will be the problem. Nessie's parents are highly respected people in Radley Springs and if the police are involved then everyone will hear about it and Stephen will be in trouble. They don't mind Stephen throwing the odd party now and then but I think this will be his last for a while.

  We eventually come across JT's blue Mustang hidden in the trees just off the dirt track. JT chucks the keys to Boston and we all pile into the car. Boston climbs into the driver's seat, Leesha climbs into the back, and Mitchel and I climb in next to her.

  I wonder how we will all fit in. Maybe if we all squish up. Nessie goes to get into the back and I'm about to climb onto Mitchel's lap to make room for her when JT grabs her and pushes the passenger seat back and falls into the seat in front of me.

  "What are you doing?" Nessie panics and I worry JT is going to leave her outside to walk back.

  "You can sit here." JT points to his lap.

  "Yeah right." Nessie snorts, crossing her arms.

  "Start the car." JT tells Boston and he starts the car and revs the engine and grins, clearly excited about getting to drive the car tonight.

  "You're just going to leave me out here on my own?" Nessi
e asks.

  "Yeah. I am." JT reaches for the door but Nessie stops him and quickly climbs onto his lap and JT pulls the door shut with a smirk on his face.

  We pull off and JT pulls the seatbelt out and tries to place it over Nessie.

  "Err, no. You're not strapping me in with you."

  "Yes. I am. Not unless you want to fly through the window?" JT says and they fight over the seatbelt for five minutes but eventually, Nessie lets JT put the seatbelt over them both, and she has to lean back on his lap with him.

  "I hate you." I hear Nessie say and JT reaches over and turns the radio on to drown her out.

  The drive home seems shorter than it did on the way over. Why is that always the case?

  Boston takes the back streets into Radley and stops on the rough side of town, outside a block of flats with graffiti all over the walls.

  JT undoes his seatbelt and opens the door and pushes Nessie outside, and then lifts the seat forward for Leesha to get out, and she climbs all over Mitchel and me on her way out. If she had asked I would have gotten out of the car. Mitchel scoots along the back seat to give me some more room.

  "Thanks for the ride. Call me when you're done with her." Leesha says, tilting her head at Nessie.

  JT doesn't really pay much attention to her as he leans on the car, waiting for her to leave. Nessie scowls at her and waits until Leesha's back is turned before she sticks her finger up at her.

  JT makes a move to tip the seat back but Nessie shoves him aside and jumps into the back next to me, and I move up to make room for her, and she pulls the seat back so he can't reach her. JT doesn't say anything and climbs back into the front and pulls the door shut. Boston starts the car and pulls out into the street and looks in the rearview mirror at me.

  "Kelsey, are we dropping you off at yours, or Nessie's?"

  "No, not mine. I can't go home yet." I say.

  "We can't go back to mine either. I don't want to get blamed for this party." Nessie says.

  "Just drive to mine." JT tells Boston and he takes the next turn.

  Nessie pinches me in the arm and I lean closer to her so she can whisper to me.

  "Where are we going?" she asks.

  "JT's, I guess."

  "I can't go to his house."

  "Why not? Where else are we going to go?"

  "They could drop us off at the hotel. Dad won't mind."