© 2019 Sheridan Anne.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
All Rights Reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
Cover Design by: Sheridan Anne
Photograph: Viktor Solomin
Editing by: Sheridan Anne & Jessie Lynn
Formatting by: Sheridan Anne
Introduction
College? How did this happen?
One minute I'm starting my senior year of high school and the next, I'm in college. Let me repeat myself. How did this happen?
I can't even begin to understand the crazy amounts of drama I've suffered through over the past twelve months, but I've never been so happy to say it's over. I’m more than ready for this next step in my life.
I came out of my senior year with Nate by my side and a future to start building. To say I have it all is a disgusting understatement. My life right now is perfect. Perfect friends, perfect family, perfect boyfriend. Nothing can screw this up. Not even those little weasels, Jesse and Jackson.
But… I should know better by now. Never say never, right?
Hold on because you’re about to see a whole new type of girl you’ve never dealt with before.
The claws are coming out.
WARNING: The Broken Hill High Series is a Young Adult / New Adult Romance filled with LOL moments, teenage angst, and of course, all the swoon-worthy moments I know you’re all dying for. This series is recommended for mature readers due to cursing and sexual content. If this offends you, then steer clear of this bad boy romance!
For everyone else, dive in and have fun!
**DISCLAIMER – Broken Hill High has seen a few minor changes to some of our beloved character names. These changes have been updated throughout the complete series.
My sincerest apologies for any confusion.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via my Facebook page - www.facebook.com/SheridanAnneAuthor/
Changes are as follows:
Cade – Caden
Bec – Brylee
Parker – Puck
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Need More Tora and Nate?
Where to next?
Author Biography
Other Books by Sheridan Anne
Chapter 1
I barge into Brooke’s dorm room before collapsing down onto her bed, completely and utterly exhausted. It’s only my second week at college and to say I dove right in is a bit of an understatement… or as Nate and Brooke would say, it’s a major understatement.
I’m taking so many classes, but how can I not? I mean, I didn’t come here to fuck around and make friends. I came because I want to be the best damn criminal lawyer this screwed up world has ever seen, and that’s not going to happen if I spend my college years screwing around.
I’m here for a purpose and I’m going to make every single second count.
Even though Nate thinks I’ve bitten off more than I can chew, I see deep within his eyes just how damn proud he is. He loves watching me work towards my future, even if that means I’ve been falling asleep on the couch with my head stuck in textbooks and having shitty, quick meals just to get me by. Though naturally, he’s had a few words to say about that too.
Brooke continues typing away on her laptop, not even bothering to turn around to see who’s just barged into her room. “What’s going on?” she murmurs into the screen.
I throw my arm over my face and close my eyes as I revel in the darkness beneath my lids. “Nothing,” I groan. “Thought I’d crash here before my next class. I don’t want to drive all the way back home just to come back again later.”
“You’re not going to the study hall or the library?” she questions, feigning interest when she’s still focusing the majority of her attention on her laptop.
“I should,” I groan, grabbing her pillow and squishing my head into it. “I was up late last night and had an early class this morning.”
“How late is late?” she asks, finally sitting back on her desk chair and swiveling it around to face me.
“Um, I don’t know,” I yawn, bouncing my shoulders in a shrug. “Maybe two or three in the morning. I was reading up on something from my Political Science class and preparing for English this morning.”
“Tora,” she scolds. “You’re going to kill yourself. You can’t keep this up. And not to mention, if you’re up late every night, you’re going to be too tired to produce good work. You need to reign it in a bit and drop a class. You can pick it up again next semester. Ease into it.”
“I’ll be fine,” I tell her, waving off her concerns for what feels like the millionth time this week. “I just have to find a better way to manage my time.” Brooke grunts with a heavy disapproval dripping from her tone. “Is that roommate of yours due back anytime soon?”
“God, I hope not,” she groans. “That girl is a serious, A-class bitch. This morning, I got out of the shower to find her going through my phone and when I questioned her she shrugged it off as though it wasn’t a disgusting invasion of my privacy and acted as though I was the crazy one. I mean, is she for real?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“I wish I was,” she tells me. “I put in an application to get a new room. I can’t handle her anymore. The bitch stole my black heels and wore them out. They’re completely fucked now. I had to throw them out.”
“Your Jimmy Choo’s?” I gasp.
She slowly nods her head and I gasp. Brooke is big on her heels and even though something like that wouldn’t bother me quite so much, to Brooke it’s like committing the ultimate roommate crime.
“I don’t get it,” I tell her. “Why are you even doing this whole dorm room bullshit? We live twenty minutes down the road. You’d be so much happier at home and wouldn’t have to worry about locking your shit up.”
“I told you,” she groans. “I can’t handle living with my mom anymore. She’s such a controlling cow. I mean, the second the opportunity presented itself, I had no choice but to jump. And besides, you can’t tell me having a room right on campus hasn’t been beneficial. You’re here nearly every day.”
“Only because it’s convenient,” I say, grabbing the pillow from behind my head and throwing it clear across the room at her. “You’re the one who has to live here and I know you’re lying when you say how much you love it. You hate this place. It’s too cramped and you can deny it all you want but listening to your roommate having phone sex with her boyfriend is driving you insane.”
Her eyes flick away. “I love living here.”
“Liar.”
“I’m not lying,” she defends.
“Brooke,” I sigh, sitting up on her bed to give her the ‘look’. “How long have you been my best friend?”
She rolls her
eyes. “Clearly too long.”
“Exactly. Which is how I know you’re lying,” I say, giving her an infectious smile. “You can’t lie to me, Brookey Chookey.”
“Ugh,” she groans, throwing the pillow back at me and hitting me square in the face. “Stop calling me that.”
“Then admit you’re a shitty liar.”
She sits up a little straighter. “No, I’m an amazing liar. I just can’t lie to you.”
“Damn straight, you can’t.”
She laughs to herself and shakes her head before turning her attention back to her laptop screen and saving her work. “Come on,” she says. “I’m starving. I overslept this morning and skipped breakfast.”
“What?” I groan as a yawn rips through my body. “Don’t you have food here?”
“I did,” she grunts. “Until you came and ate it all.”
“Yeah,” I laugh, remembering how good those chocolate bars tasted swirling around my mouth and sitting in the bottom of my stomach. I mean, I can’t help it that Brooke likes the same food as me. It was just sitting there waiting to be eaten. What was I supposed to do?
“Come on,” she says again. “Get up. I’m thinking burgers.”
I pout out my bottom lip and pull up my phone in front of my face to check the time. If we leave now and eat quickly, I can come back and still get at least an hour sleep before I have to go to my afternoon lecture. “Fine,” I groan. “But I want fries with mine.”
“Of course, you do,” she laughs, taking my hand and hauling me off her bed.
Brooke grabs her bag off her desk and we haul ass out of there. Brooke pulls the door closed behind her, making sure to lock it before looping her arm through mine and heading down the long hallway.
“So…” she starts, seeming a little shy as we break out into the fresh air and start heading towards the only café on campus that sells yummy, two-handed, filled-to-the-brim burgers. “I… was thinking that I’d like to start dating again.”
I look across at her. “Really?” I say as a slow grin begins to spread across my face. “Is the tiger ready to get back on the prowl?”
Brooke scoffs at my comment and rolls her eyes. “Yes,” she groans. “But… I don’t know. Max really screwed me over. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
“What?” I laugh. “Weren’t you with that nerdy guy with the glasses a few nights ago?”
“Yeah,” she says. “That’s just sex. I have no problem when it comes to finding someone to throw me up against a wall. But, I’m ready for more. I see you and Nate, and that’s what I want, except I think I can find myself a guy who isn’t so possessive and protective.”
“Hey,” I argue with a grin. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Uh huh,” she says, not believing me. “There’s a thin line between being possessive and downright abusive.”
“Trust me, watching your man throw down because some loser thought he could grind up against you on the dance floor is the sexiest thing you’ll ever see. But what’s better than that is the beastly way he dominates your body afterward.”
“Mmmm,” she moans. “Yeah, that’s what I need.”
“Yeah, a toned down version of Nate would be perfect for you,” I agree, perking up as an idea flutters through my mind. My eyebrows shoot up in excitement. “Let me be your matchmaker.”
“What?” she scoffs, barking out a laugh. “No way. You’ll probably pick the worst guy on campus. You know, the one with three nipples, webbed toes, and a panty smelling fetish.”
“Whatever,” I say, trying to hold in my laughter as I nudge her with my elbow, desperately wanting the gig. “I managed to win over Broken Hill’s ultimate bad boy and lock him down. I’ve got great taste in men.”
“First off,” she says. “Nate doesn’t count. He was in love with you since you were twelve. You didn’t win him over, he forced your hand and was relentless until you gave in. You got lucky, so you’re probably the worst person to try and set me up,” she laughs. “Do I need to remind you of your track record before Nate decided to ambush you?”
I think back over my terrible dating history and cringe. “For the record,” I remind her. “My dating life would have been a lot better if Nate hadn’t scared off every guy who ever looked at me.”
“I think ‘scared off’ is the wrong term to use,” she muses, pretending to be in deep thought. “I’d say ‘manipulated the situation to better suit his needs’.”
I roll my eyes and nudge her again. “Shut up.”
We walk into the café and put in our order before finding an empty table. I’m kind of surprised there is one as this place is one of the more popular places on campus and there’s usually a line out the door to get one of their delicious burgers. I guess we got lucky today. Either that, or there’s something else going on today that’s keeping everyone away and me and Brooke are obliviously too self-absorbed to realize.
My phone starts buzzing in my pocket and I scoot down in my chair to be able to slide it out of my skinny jeans. “Let me guess,” Brooke grins. “It’s your over-the-top, possessive man boss?”
I get the phone out and look down at the screen to see said man boss’s name. “Sure is,” I smile, knowing Brooke is just teasing about Nate’s possessiveness. He’s an incredible boyfriend and she knows it. I’d dare say she’s a little jealous.
I hit accept on the phone and bring it to my ear.
“Holy shit,” Nate gasps, feigning surprise. “You’re alive.”
“Ha, ha,” I grunt, rolling my eyes. “You’re so funny.” I mean, I know I’ve been crazy busy with all my college work and Nate has been busy building up his new business, but it hasn’t been that bad… has it? I kind of miss him though. We spent every day of the summer together and before that, we were together all the time too. This is the first time since our break up that we haven’t been spending every minute of every day together, and to be honest, it sucks, but knowing that I’ll see him at the end of the day always makes me feel better.
Nate isn’t the only one I’ve been missing though. I’ve hardly had a chance to see my parents over the last two weeks. I’m constantly driving back and forth from campus. I’m slipping out of the house early in the morning, hoping I can get a little reading done before my first class and then coming home to mom rushing around to get dinner on the table while dad works away in his study. After a quick dinner, I’m straight back in my room with my head in a textbook until Nate comes climbing in through my window and demands I put the book down.
“What are you doing?” he questions with a smile in his tone that makes me melt.
“Brooke and I are just having lunch,” I tell him.
“Oh, so you’re still on campus?” he asks as a suggestive tone seeps into his deep voice. “I thought you were heading home. I was going to come by and help you relax.”
A grin cuts across my face and I’m pretty damn sure I blush like a little school girl talking to her crush for the first time. “Damn,” I sigh, heavy with disappointment. “Are you coming by tonight? I’ll be home around five.”
“Just leave your window open.”
“You know my parents know you sneak in every night, right?”
“What?” he gasps. “Are you shitting me? I’ve been scaling the side of your big fucking house when I could be walking straight through the door?”
“Yeah,” I laugh. “They think it’s funny the lengths you go to be with me.”
“Jesus Christ,” he grumbles under his breath. I can just imagine him shaking his head as a hand comes up and grips the back of his neck. “If they know I’m sneaking in, I may as well come early and have dinner.”
I suck in a breath and sit up a little straighter. “Really?” I question, hoping he’s not joking around. I mean, Nate and my dad don’t particularly get along so Nate sitting down to have dinner with my family is sort of a big deal.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s about time I bury the hatchet with your dad, and besides, it means I get to
see you a little while longer.”
“I don’t know how I went so long without you.”
“Ugh,” Brooke grumbles beside me. “You two make me sick.”
I roll my eyes but I can’t remove the smile off my face. “Alright, babe,” Nate says. “I’ll see you tonight. Is dinner still at seven?”
“Yeah. Love you.”
“Love you, too,” he says moments before ending the call.
I place my phone back down on the table and find myself lost inside my head, daydreaming about my man as little butterflies take flight in my stomach. Nate Ryder will never get old to me. No matter what happens in our lives, he’s is always going to give me ‘the feels’.
“Earth to Tora,” Brooke says, clicking in my face, breaking me out of my inner thoughts. “Your burger is getting cold.”
I look down and have to blink a few times. When the hell did that get there? My stomach growls at just how delicious it looks and I don’t waste another second before digging in and making sure there’s a bottle of ketchup on the table for when I’m ready to down my fries.
Geez, I should really be eating a salad or having something healthy. I mean, I’m not going to hold onto this body forever but today, I’m too exhausted to care. Maybe I’ll go for a run on the weekend. Oh, hell. Who am I kidding? I’ll be spending my weekend concentrating on that damn history project.
I let out a sigh as the thought of yet another project seems to drown me. Nope. Not going there. I want to enjoy this burger. I can concentrate on school work later.
I look up at the sound of Brooke slurping the last of her strawberry milkshake up her straw. “Crap, that was good,” she says, sitting back and placing her hands over her bulging, filled stomach while looking as though she desperately wants to let out a huge, earth shaking burp.
“I know,” I agree, popping another fry in my mouth.
“I think this shake was even better than the ones we had over summer.”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s not possible.” Summer was incredible. We spent days upon days at Broken Hill lake where Jesse finally got to put his new boat to proper use. He was like a kid in a candy store. Everyone was water skiing, the boys were running around shirtless making all the girls drool and the jet skis were brought along. So, no matter how good Brooke’s strawberry milkshake was, it could never compare to the ones we had over summer because those shakes came with the memories of the best summer of my life.
Broken Hill Havoc: The Broken Hill High Series (Book 5) Page 1
