Broken Hill Halo (Broken Hill High #2)

by Sheridan Anne

  “Tora,” Nate demands. “We’re not going anywhere. I’m not about to leave you alone right now. So, if you like it or not, you’re stuck with us for the day.”

  “Alright,” I say as I pick a movie.

  I watch for a short while before I drift off into another sleep when the sound of my phone going off has me startling awake. I groan as I rub my sore eyes and reach over to retrieve it.

  I find a text from Brooke and open it up before noticing that Jesse is passed out on the couch and Nate is also in a deep sleep, though, my rustling around has him stirring beneath me.

  Brooke – Holy crap!!!! Where the hell are you?? So much is happening today!

  I push myself up in bed a little and relax into the feel of Nate’s fingertips brushing over my shoulder as I realize it’s after lunch.

  Tora – Home. It’s been a bad night. Nanna passed.

  Brooke – Shit, Tora. Why didn’t you say something? I’m on my way.

  Tora – No, don’t be silly. I don’t want you getting in trouble.

  Brooke – Tough shit, hoochy. I’m already in the car.

  I smile at her text as I shuffle over to the edge of the bed and put my feet down on the ground. “Where are you going?” Nate murmurs with his hand on my lower back.

  “I’m going to shower,” I tell him. “Brooke’s coming over and I can’t spend the whole day holed up in bed.”

  He looks at me straight on and seems to dig right down into my soul. “No one’s judging you if you do,” he tells me. “You just lost your Nanna. It’s fine.”

  “No,” I say with a small shake of my head. “I feel pathetic refusing to face the world. Nanna wouldn’t want it. She’d want me to be happy and live life to the fullest.”

  I go to stand but he pulls me back by my arm. “Tora,” he says again. “I think she’d understand. It only just happened.”

  “Nate, please,” I say, pulling back on my arm until he lets go. “I’m alright. Staying in here all day is only going to make me think about it more. My eyes hurt and my chest hurts and all I want is to feel human again with a hot shower.”

  I see the exact instant he gives in and gently nods his head just once, letting me know he’ll leave me alone for a bit. I give him a grateful smile and walk over to the bathroom as he throws the empty tub of Ben & Jerry’s at Jesse’s sleeping form, trying to wake the dead.

  Jesse groans as the tub hits him right in the junk. “What the fuck, dude?”

  “Tora’s up. Why don’t you go sort something for lunch?” Nate says.

  Jesse sits up on the couch and leans forward on his knees. “Yeah, alright,” he says as I close the bathroom door. “What do you feel like?” he says a little louder so he can be heard through the wooden door.

  The thought of eating has my stomach clenching and tying into knots but I don’t think I’ll get away with not eating again, not with these boys watching my every move. “I don’t know,” I tell him. “Just get whatever, but get double. Brooke’s coming and she’s always hungry.”

  I don’t hear his response, but a second later, the sound of the door closing is heard through the quiet room. With that sorted, I pull my shirt up over my head and drop my pants before leaning into the shower. I wait a moment for the water to warm before sliding into the heavenly stream.

  I let the water wash over my head and close my eyes, enjoying the feel of the relaxing water. Trying my best to feel like a regular human being again, I scrub myself, shave my legs, and even go as far as washing my hair.

  When I turn the taps off, I feel somewhat like my usual self and grab a towel. I dry myself off before wrapping the towel around my body and pulling it tight.

  I walk back into my room to find Brooke walking in. The second she sees me, her eyes widen and a gasp comes sailing out her pretty pink lips. She drops her bag and tosses her phone to the bed, unintentionally hitting Nate in the ribs. “Ohmigosh,” she rushes out as she hurries towards me. She throws her arms around me, loosening the towel with the movement. “Are you ok? Is there anything I can do?”

  “I’m fine,” I tell her as she holds onto me. “Just… I don’t know. Sad.”

  “Yeah, I know,” she says as she pulls back, making my towel drop. I catch it between my fingers, but not before I give everyone a peep show, though, Brooke’s seen it all before and Nate, well, he knows my body better than I know it myself. I’m just lucky Jesse isn’t here. I couldn’t imagine the comments he would have come out with.

  I head off into my closet and let the towel fall completely off before searching through my clothes to find something comfortable. I get myself dressed in no time and walk back out a moment later to find Nate now on his feet. “Come on,” I say to Brooke. “I need to get out of this room.”

  “K,” she says a moment later as both her and Nate follow me out of the room.

  We walk down the stairs and I find a bag sitting at the bottom. “What’s all this?” I ask.

  “I stopped at the gas station and picked up a few things for you. Magazines and chocolates. You know, stuff to help.”

  I give her a grateful smile. “Thanks,” I say as I reach down and scoop the bag up.

  She reaches out and takes my hand and together we walk out the back while Nate stops in the kitchen. Brooke and I take a seat in the outdoor couches and relax into the cushion as the sun soaks into our skin. “This is better,” I say with my eyes closed.

  “How’re you doing?” she questions after being quiet for a moment too long.

  I let out a heavy sigh and run my hands through my wet hair. “If I hear that question again, I think I’m going to scream.”

  “Alright,” she says with a tight smile. “Then tell me what you need and your wish is my command.”

  “I need to get my mind off it,” I tell her blankly as Nate comes out the door carrying a few glasses of orange juice while Jesse follows behind with take out.

  “Ok,” she says with a cringe. “There’s a new transfer at school.”

  I look up at her in confusion. “And?” I prompt, not liking her cringe one bit.

  “And he’s apparently taking over as the new quarterback.”

  My stomach drops. “Oh no,” I groan. “Don’t tell me…”

  “Yeah,” she sighs. “Jackson transferred and is now the star of the football team. It’s all anyone could talk about today.”

  “You’re shitting me, right?” Nate grunts as he practically slams the orange juice down on the table.

  “I wish I was,” she says.

  Great. Not only do I have to deal with all the bullshit that comes along with being Nate’s girlfriend, but I also have Jackson Millington to look out for. How did I get so lucky?

  I look across at Nate to find a heavy scowl on his face and nothing but confusion. “What’s up?” I ask as I nudge him with my foot.

  He looks up at me and that confusion doesn’t dare move from his face. “He’s up to something,” he muses. “Jackson was in line for a scholarship. No way would he just up and leave his school on short notice like that. It doesn’t look good.”

  “I guess,” I say, not really knowing anything about school sports.

  Jesse starts rifling through the bag of take out and hands out burgers to everyone. “Our team is undefeated though, so really, he’d have a better chance at getting into a college team with us.”

  “Yeah, but… I don’t know. Something doesn’t seem right about this,” Nate says. “He’s never been shy letting us know what he thinks of our school.”

  “Here you fuckers are,” a voice calls from the doorway. I look up to find Maxen walking through the back door before he drops down beside Brooke and steals a bite of her burger. “What are you all doing?”

  “What do you know about Jackson’s transfer?” Nate asks.

  The boys instantly fall into a deep discussion and I tune them out, pleased that their conversation manages to make me forget about my grieving heart for just a moment. That is until Brooke gives me ‘the look’, you k
now, the one that says it’s time to stop fucking around and get serious. “So, what happens now?” she questions as the boys talk around us. “Does this mean your parents are coming back and you’ll be moving home?”

  My eyebrows pull down as I look at her. “I don’t know,” I tell her honestly. “I haven’t really thought about it, but I’d assume so. They were only gone until… you know.”

  She presses her lips together. “I guess it will be strange you not living here.”

  I couldn’t agree more.

  I slouch back into the couch as I look over at Nate. I find his dark eyes already on mine and realize that even though I love my parents deeply, I don’t want to leave here. The thought of not being with Nate every day is heartbreaking.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ he mouths, realizing that something is going through my head.

  I shake my head ever so slightly, letting him know that now’s not the time. He simply nods his head once and gets back to the conversation with the boys as my world continues to unravel around me.

  Eventually, Jesse disappears after he gets a phone call from some girl and Maxen takes Brooke home, leaving just me and Nate sitting out in the afternoon sun. He gets up and walks over to me before holding a hand out. I take it and he pulls me up to my feet and we head inside.

  “What’s going on inside that head of yours?” he asks, clearly knowing that something other than my Nanna has been on my mind this afternoon.

  I let out a sigh as he puts an arm around me and leads me into the den. “I just kind of realized that this means I’ll be moving back home soon,” I tell him.

  “Yeah,” he says with a heavy heart. “I thought about that last night.”

  “I don’t want to go,” I tell him quietly.

  “I know,” he says. “But it will be fine. Nothing is going to change between us.”

  “Everything’s going to change,” I argue. “I’ll be sleeping by myself and I won’t have you always there.”

  “What?” he scoffs. “You think a locked door is going to stop me? Trust me, babe. You’ll never sleep alone.”

  “Is that a promise?”

  “Yeah, Tora. It’s a promise.”

  I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and finally let myself relax down into the couch. “Alright,” I tell him. “I can live with that.”

  Chapter 9

  “I’m so sorry, my sweet girl,” my mother tells me through the screen of my phone as she sits in Nanna’s living room, looking incredible in her black designer dress, though, I don’t doubt she has a huge pair of black sunglasses that compliments her outfit to hide the red rims around her eyes. “I wish I hadn’t dropped it on you like that. I really wanted to be strong for you, but you are what makes me strong,” she explains. “And when I heard your voice… I crumbled.”

  “It’s alright, mom. I’m sure it couldn’t have been easy,” I tell her. “At least you’ve got dad there with you.”

  She lets out a sigh. “Yeah,” she says. “I couldn’t imagine having done this all by myself. Your father has been a godsend.”

  “That’s good,” I say as I cross my legs under me in my bed. “How’re you holding up?” I ask, knowing that today isn’t going to be easy for her. It’s the middle of the night here, but for her, it’s the middle of the day and she’s about to bury her mother, the woman who gave birth to her and raised her into the incredible woman she is today. That couldn’t be easy. I’ve been lucky in life that I’ve made it seventeen years with never having to deal with death, apart from my Labrador, Trixie, a few years ago. And even though Trixie was very much a part of our family, this one just seems to cut right down in my soul.

  “I don’t know,” mom says as a yawn rips through me. “I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”

  I give her a tight smile, wishing there was something I could do for her. Anything to help take the pain away, but with her a million miles away, there’s not a damn thing I can do. All I want is to throw my arms around her and let her know it will be ok, but it will have to wait.

  “What happens now?” I question in a small voice.

  “Well,” she starts. “After the funeral, we’ll give ourselves the day to celebrate Nanna’s life and starting tomorrow we will have to sort through her things. I have a meeting with her lawyers tomorrow morning to go through her will, and hopefully, that’ll offer me some guidance on what to do with her home.”

  My eyebrows pull down, a little unsure. “What do you mean?” I ask as a cramp makes itself known in my nether region. It’s that time of the month and I’ve been getting the worst cramps all night, so bad, in fact, that I couldn’t even bare for Nate to touch me. I’ve sent him to go and sleep in his room, despite all his objections. It’s strange though, I never get cramps. This is my first time dealing with it and it’s awful. I feel like I finally understand all those women who complain about it.

  I groan inwardly, not wanting mom to see the pain on my face as I focus all my attention on hers. “Nanna has no other family out here. We’re it. We can’t hold onto her home for it to sit there empty. I don’t want to sell it but I don’t want to lease it and see someone else living in it.”

  “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” I sigh with a heavy heart as I picture another family living in her home, enjoying her space. “What does Daddy think?”

  “We haven’t discussed it in great detail,” she tells me. “But you know your father. He’ll want to sell it and close the book on it.”

  “Yeah,” I say, pressing my lips in a tight line. “What would Nanna have wanted?”

  Mom lets out a heartbroken sigh. “She’d want me to sell it to a young family who would love it the same way she did,” she tells me. “But I just couldn’t part with it. I grew up in this house too.”

  “Maybe Nanna’s right. Maybe it does need to go to a young family. You’ll be back home and we won’t be able to look after it the way Nanna did. The gardens will overgrow, the rooms will get that stuffy unused smell, and leaves will forever be in the pool.”

  “Believe me, I know,” she says. “It’s all I’ve thought about over the last few days. The house is filled with my childhood memories.”

  “No, mom,” I say, curling an arm around myself. “The memories are already within you. That’s not going to change whether you own the house or not. At the end of the day, Nanna’s home is just a house and I think it needs to be enjoyed. Wait and see what her will says, who knows, maybe Nanna already has some plans for it.”

  Mom lets out a heavy breath and gives me a smile. “You’re right. I should stop stressing about it.”

  “Agreed,” I grin.

  She rolls her eyes and silently watches me for a moment. “Alright, sweetie,” she finally says as I rub at my sore eyes, keeping them trained on her. “I should get going. I have to get over to the church to greet everyone, but I promise, I’ll be home in a few days.”

  “Ok,” I sigh, hating that she and dad are still so far away, but it won’t be long. “Miss you.”

  “Miss you too, baby girl,” she says giving me another tight smile. “You’ll be alright?”

  I give her an encouraging smile. “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I lie, not wanting her to worry about me any more than I know she already is. “You just focus on giving Nanna the best send off you can. I’ve got Nate and Jesse here refusing to leave me alone for even a second.”

  “Oh good,” she laughs. “I told you those boys weren’t so bad.”

  I roll my eyes. “Yeah, yeah,” I groan, hating to admit that she was right, though she doesn’t know the extent of just how right she is.

  “Ok, I’ll see you in a few days. Try and get some sleep,” she tells me.

  “Alright, mom,” I say as another yawn takes over me. “Love you.”

  “I love you too,” she says before ending the call.

  With a sigh, I bring my hands down and drop my phone into my lap before spreading my hand out over the empty space beside me. It’s the first time in over two m
onths that I’ve slept alone, and to be honest, I’ve really gotten used to sleeping in Nate’s arms.

  I hate that I sent him away tonight, especially when the hurt flashed behind his eyes. I know it kills him to not be here when I’m in so much pain, but the thought of being touched right now kills me.

  I’ve never experienced something like this before, but all I know is that it’s awful. I want to go back to my regular period. The one that I barely notice is there, not this on that feel like some kind of monster has climbed up through my lady taco and is tearing me apart from the inside out.

  As another cramp tears through me, I push my phone off my lap and scoot myself down my bed while trying to stifle my groans and grunts. I mean, if either Nate of Jesse heard me, they’d come flying in here in the blink of an eye. I can just picture it now. Nate would come with filled hands of pain killers, water, and a cold press while Jesse would barge in with the trashy magazines, ice cream, and probably a selection of tampons just in case I’d run out.

  God, I love them. I don’t know how I spent five years hating them… well, actually, I know exactly how I spent five years hating them, and I hate that I missed those years with them, but it is what it is and now all I can do is try to make up for what we lost.

  I get myself down on my pillow and have to roll onto my side and pull my legs up into the fetal position to help dull the pain, though it doesn’t help much and just makes me feel uncomfortable.

  I grab my pillow and squish my head into it, groaning with every little movement. I lay awake in the dark room for hours suffering in silence, only the pain never goes away. If anything, it gets worse.

  I feel around on my bed and find my phone. I hit the home button, lighting up the screen and squint at the brightness. It’s after four in the morning and I hate that I’ve spent the last few hours suffering in pain rather than thinking of my Nanna whose funeral is currently being held on the other side of the world. Though, with this pain, I can’t think of a damn thing other than the feel of my lower tummy trying to tear itself in half.