Rosewood High #0: Locke

by Tracy Lorraine

  Locke

  A Rosewood High Novella

  Lorraine

  Contents

  1. Alyssa

  2. Emerson

  3. Alyssa

  4. Emerson

  5. Alyssa

  6. Alyssa

  7. Emerson

  8. Alyssa

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Lorraine

  THORN SNEAK PEAK

  Copyright © 2020

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  To the Love in Lockdown authors for believing in my crazy little project and to you, for supporting us and allowing us to to our bit to help in a time of crisis.

  xo

  Blurb

  I’ve got two vices in life.

  * * *

  Basketball

  My best friend’s little sister.

  * * *

  I’ve managed to stay away from one of them, no matter how tempting.

  * * *

  She thinks I hate her. It was the easiest way to ensure she kept her distance.

  * * *

  But suddenly we’re forced into lockdown together in her family home and for the first time in my life, basketball isn’t going to be enough to distract me.

  * * *

  I need her, and her brother being only feet away isn’t going to stop me from claiming what should have been mine years ago.

  * * *

  Dear Reader,

  LOCKE is a spin off novella from my ROSEWOOD HIGH series.

  It’s a little bit of fiction from my fictional world. Don’t worry, senior year at Rosewood isn’t cancelled due to a virus!

  1

  Alyssa

  With a quick hug to Lisa and Cami, I turn toward my car, ready for my last drive home from school for a while, if not ever.

  None of us saw this coming, and it’s far from the end of the senior year we’d all imagined, but there’s not a lot we can do about it now. The world is kinda falling apart and if all it takes is staying at home to do our bit to help, then that is what I’ll do.

  I can catch up with all the work I’m falling behind on, watch a few classes online from the comfort of my bed, and video chat with my friends like everything’s normal.

  It’ll be easy.

  “Hey, sweetie. How was your last day?” Mom asks when I walk into the kitchen and find her cooking dinner.

  “Fine. Weird. Do you think we’ll get to go back?”

  “I have no idea. We’ve got to trust that those who control this country know what they’re doing.”

  “I guess so.” Walking up to the pan she’s stirring, I peer in. “Cooking for five thousand?”

  I know crazy people have been out panic-buying as if the apocalypse is really upon us, but batch cooking seems a little extreme. We’ve got a pantry full of food at the best of times thanks to Mom’s coupon addiction. We’re not going to go hungry for a few years yet, I’m sure.

  “Your brother’s on his way home from college.”

  “Right?” This isn’t a shock. She told me this two days ago when it was announced that all schools and colleges were closing because of this pandemic.

  “Emerson’s coming with him.” At just hearing his name, my heart damn near stops.

  “Why isn’t he going to his house?”

  “His dad is refusing to let him in.”

  “That’s nice of him,” I mutter. Emerson is a prick, so I’m not all that surprised his parents don’t want him on lockdown with them.

  “It’s not through choice, Alyssa. They’re worried about his mom’s condition and with their older age.”

  Regret sits heavy in my stomach. I should have realized. “What does she have again?”

  “Cystic fibrosis.”

  “I know that makes her high risk, but why can’t he go home?”

  “They’ve taken all the advice very seriously and are refusing anything that could be contaminated inside.”

  “And that includes their son who has nowhere else to go?”

  “They think it’s too big of a risk.”

  “So where is he… oh, no, no, no. Mom, please tell me he’s not.”

  “What was I supposed to do, Lys? They’ve been our neighbors since we moved here over twenty years ago and he’s been your brother’s best friend since they were in diapers. I could hardly turn him away at a time like this.”

  “So you’re happy for him to come and infect us?”

  “He’s no bigger risk to our family as you, me, your dad, or brother. We’ve all got to pull together at a time like this.”

  “I understand that, Mom. I was fully prepared for distance learning and only seeing friends through a screen. But does he really have to stay here? Doesn’t he have an aunt or uncle or something? What about his older brothers and sisters?”

  “I don’t know, Lys. I didn’t ask. I just offered to take him in when Fred called and expressed his concerns.”

  “Well, that was very generous of you.” I pull the refrigerator open in a huff and reach for a can of soda.

  “I know things are stressful right now, but it will be fine. He’ll be in the guest room or with your brother. You’ll be able to ignore him. Plus, a little birdie told me just how much work you’ve got to do, so you, madam, are going to be too busy to worry about what he's doing.” She narrows her eyes at me in disappointment.

  “Miss Richards called you?” I ask with a wince.

  “She sure did. She suggested we sit down and work out a schedule so you can make the best of this time because it might work in your favor as far as graduating is concerned.”

  “Jesus, I’m not that far behind,” I mutter.

  “Really?”

  “Really. I know what I’m doing, Mom. I’ve got this.”

  “Well, you better had because Maddison won’t want you if you fail. That offer they gave you is dependent on you graduating.”

  “I know, I know.”

  Her eyebrow lifts in warning, but she doesn’t say any more. That doesn’t mean I’m unaware that this isn’t the last I’m going to hear of it.

  “How long until dinner?”

  “Levi said they’d be about an hour.”

  “Great,” I mutter, my voice flat. “I’ll go and get some work done then while I wait.”

  “Start as you mean to go on, Lys.”

  I utter words of agreement as I walk away, but really, all I feel is dread. Weeks locked in this house with them tormenting me at every turn is the last thing I need.

  2

  Emerson

  “I get it. I do. But still, don’t you think it’s kinda fucked up? They could just strip you naked and spray you down with Lysol.”

  “Oh yeah, because that’s less fucked up,” I mutter, staring out of Levi’s passenger window at the familiar surroundings as we head for home.

  I didn’t give it two thoughts when we got word that the university was closing and sending us all home. I thought I’d just return to my childhood bedroom and wait out the next few weeks while trying not to get into a fight with my dad, and shooting hoops in the driveway like the good old days. What I wasn’t expecting was the teary phone call from my mom telling me that I couldn’t come back.

  I knew she was at risk, I’m not stupid. I’ve lived with her illness my entire life. And my parents are older, having my siblings long before I was born. We’re doing this to protect the vulnerable and she is most definitely one of them. I just didn’t think the imposed s
elf-isolation they put themselves into when the first cases were announced early last week would extend to not allowing me inside the house with them.

  She told me that my brothers and sister had offered to have me, but like fuck do I want to go and put myself in the middle of their growing families. Being the youngest by quite a few years meant I’ve never had a great relationship with any of them. We’ve always been at totally different stages of our lives and right now is no different. They all seem to be scoring as many babies as I am hoops these days, and I have no desire to go and be a live-in nanny for any of them.

  When Levi’s mom got wind of what was going on, thankfully, she wasted no time in demanding that Levi invite me to stay with them.

  I was grateful; of course, I was. I’d much rather be stuck with Levi than my siblings. But moving into the Perkins’ house came with one issue I really didn’t need while we’re all locked up inside like a bunch of dysfunctional inmates.

  His sister.

  Alyssa Perkins has been under my skin since the moment my hormones started racing as a pre-teen, and no matter what, no matter who I fuck, she’s always fucking there. Her big, innocent blue eyes, her sinful curves, and her sharp mouth. She calls to me in the exact way she shouldn’t.

  I’ve managed to stay away from her over the years. I’ve snapped at her, belittled her, told her she was young and stupid—which is laughable at best seeing as really there are only a few months between us. I’ve done everything I can to make her hate me in the hope she becomes less tempting. But as I sit here approaching the house, I can’t help my cock swelling with excitement that she’s going to be in touching distance for weeks, if not months, if this plays out like the experts are saying.

  It’s wrong. So fucking wrong. Levi would kill me if he knew I’d been pining after her for all these years. But fuck. I want her.

  My eyes lock onto my own home the moment Levi turns the car up our street. I wonder how the two people inside are really coping right now. Dad’s always wrapped Mom up in a protective bubble. I can only imagine what he’s like right now. A part of me is glad that I’m not about to find out, but then guilt washes that away. That is until Levi brings the car to a stop around the side of his house and movement in the window above catches my eye.

  It’s her usual spot on her window seat. The one that looks out directly into my bedroom and has a great view of Levi’s homemade court.

  I blow out a long breath. I don’t need to be able to see her to know she’s looking at me right now. I feel it.

  “I know it sucks, man. We’ve just got to make the best of it. You can shout at them through the window from a distance, maybe.”

  “It’s fine. We’ll just chat on the phone. They’re doing the right thing.” I don’t want him to think it’s something else that's bothering me, so I pretend to be pissed at my parents. In reality, I understand, and had it occurred to me first, I probably would have offered to go elsewhere to protect Mom myself. I just didn’t get the chance.

  “Come on then. Mom’s cooking her specialty.” The thought of Leah’s homemade chili makes my stomach rumble.

  The smell assaults me the second I follow Levi in through the back door and directly into the kitchen. It’s going to be the first homemade food I’ve had in months. Living in dorms with a load of other guys who only want to play ball, drink, or fuck doesn’t really lend itself to much culinary experimentation.

  “You’re here,” Leah says, bouncing over and wrapping her arms around Levi. “Emerson, it’s so good to see you,” she says over his shoulder when she finds me standing somewhat awkwardly in the doorway.

  This house has been like a second home to me. I’ve always felt relaxed here, but then again, I’ve never been locked inside for an unknown amount of time before.

  “Thank you so much for having me.”

  “Don’t be silly. You’re almost as much a part of this house as this one.” She roughs up Levi’s hair, much to his annoyance, before walking back to the kitchen. “I’ve made up the guest room for you. Why don’t you go and drop your stuff there? Dinner will be in ten minutes. Your dad’s just washing up from work.”

  “Sounds good, Mom.”

  Levi bends over to collect his bags before heading for the hallway. I go to do the same, but Leah stops me.

  “They’re both okay over there, you know. I’ve been doing their shopping and leaving it on the porch. They’re just doing what they think is best.”

  “I know. It’s the sensible thing to do. I can take over from here on out with shopping for them. You don’t need any more on your plate.”

  “It’s really no problem.”

  I smile at her. I know she’s stretching the truth. Both her and Gary are going to be working from home as of now, so the last thing she needs to do is run around town trying to find toilet paper for two households.

  “I want to pull my weight while I’m here. Just tell me what you need and put me to work. Levi too.”

  “That would be really great. Thank you. Now get out of here while I dish up.”

  I nod and collect my things before climbing the stairs toward where I know she is.

  Pushing the door to the guest room open, I’m hit with memories of my childhood. This used to be Levi’s room until he used his ‘I’m the oldest so I get the best room card’ and moved across the hall to the bedroom with the private bathroom. I can’t blame him, but right now I could really do without being in the room with the connecting bathroom to her bedroom. As if temptation isn’t going to be enough, she’s only a door away.

  Images of walking into our adjoining bathroom and finding her standing under the shower, her curves on display for me to feast on, fill my mind, and my cock swells once more. What would she do? Would she scream and ensure Levi put an end to the situation with his fists, or would she allow me to join her?

  I’m lost in my dirty imagination when a knock sounds on the door and Levi pokes his head inside, efficiently killing my semi with one look.

  “Locke, you coming?”

  I jump from the bed and follow him from the room. I’m more than ready to see her in person for the first time in months.

  3

  Alyssa

  The deep rumble of their voices echoes through the house the second they walk in and my stomach drops with the realization that Mom wasn’t lying. Not that I thought she was, but a girl can hope.

  As I walked to my room, I saw that the guest bedroom, the one next to mine, was all set up for our visitor. The first thing I did when I got to my own space was to twist the lock that allowed him access to the adjoining bathroom. Like fuck was I sharing my private space with him.

  “Did you manage to get some work done?” Mom asks hopefully as I enter the living room. I keep my eyes on her as she places the serving spoons into the huge pan sitting in the center of the table. I refuse to give him any of my attention despite the fact his eyes are practically burning into my skin.

  “Sure did,” I lie. In reality, I sat on my window seat and reminisced on all the dickhead things he and my brother have done to me over the years. Locking me out of my bedroom; damn, even the house one time. Reading my diary when I was at dance class and telling the entire school who I had a crush on. Stealing my toys, giving my dolls an unwanted haircut. The list of bullshit pranks was endless. I was never going to beat them, no matter how hard I tried. They were two legends of the basketball team; no one could touch them. And me? I was just the little sister. The little sister who was no good at sports and mostly had zero coordination. My skills lie in the art department, and while they were both ruling the school along with the football team, I was more than happy to hide behind a canvas.

  I take the empty seat at the other end of the table and reach out for a spoonful of rice.

  “It’s nice to see you, sis,” Levi says with what I assume would be a roll of his eyes if I were to look up.

  “You too.”

  I love my brother, I do. But usually when he’s alone. He’s never qui
te himself when he has company, whether that’s Emerson or anyone else.

  “Thank you so much for having me, Gary. I really appreciate it.” His deep rumbling voice vibrates through me and my hand stills on its way toward the chili spoon. My eyes defy me, and I find myself looking up and straight at him.

  He might have just spoken to my dad who’s sitting beside me, but his eyes are firmly fixed on me.

  My mouth goes dry and I fight to swallow.

  “It’s no problem, son,” Dad mumbles around a mouthful of food.

  “How are you, Lys? School good?” he asks, but I can’t imagine he really gives a shit.

  “Fantastic.” I give him a fake smile and force my eyes away from his intense light-blue ones.

  Butterflies erupt in my belly as his stare remains on me. It might be the case that I hate him for all the dickhead moves he’s made over the years, but the fact remains that he’s drop-dead fucking gorgeous and is the only guy who’s ever really interested me.

  I used to spend hours sitting on my window seat watching the two of them shoot hoops down the driveway, or keep my light off and peer around the drapes directly into his bedroom at him when he’d forgotten to close his own.

  There are two very good reasons that the girls at Rosewood High used to chase him around like a lost puppy: the six-pack and the V lines I’ve had the pleasure of running my eyes over on many occasions.