“Kind of busy here,” I said.
“You ever find out who killed your brother?” Simon asked.
I shook my head. “Things have been distracting.”
“Let’s see,” Nero said. “You’ve got drinking. Partying. Ladies. A baby. Broken families.”
“Damn, he does make everyone else look good,” Paxton said.
“Says the guy who fucks socks on a regular basis,” I said.
“He what?” Darius asked.
“I’m not even wearing socks,” Paxton said as he lifted his foot to show off a leather sandal.
“That’s because your other ones are full of little Paxton’s,” I said.
“Dude, that’s fucking gross,” Paxton said.
“Wait up,” Darius said. “Do you really jerk it into a sock, bro?”
Paxton shrugged his shoulder. “Socks don’t say no.”
“Oh fuck,” Simon said.
“You gotta go,” Nero said. “You gotta leave, Paxton. You’re done. Just go somewhere.”
“What?” Paxton yelled.
“I can’t look at you,” Nero said.
“Do you want him to splunk into your socks, bro?” Darius asked Nero.
Without hesitation, Lars walked forward, hands balling into fists.
Nero grabbed Lars’s shirt. “No. I can do this.”
“Easy now,” I said, jumping from the hood of the car, putting my hands out. “Darius, show some fucking respect here.”
Darius showed his hands. “My bad, bro. Just fucking around. I apologize to you and your socks.”
Nero looked at me.
I nodded to Nero.
“Tell you what,” Nero said. “Me and the guys will take off. Let you do your thing here. I’m only doing it for Elijah.”
“Next time I’ll bring a sock for you to chew on,” Paxton said to Darius.
“What?” Darius asked.
Turner punched Paxton in the arm. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“We’re good,” Simon said. “Sorry for busting into your house here. Just wanted to kick some shit with Elijah for a second.”
I put my hand out for Nero. He grabbed it and we shook hands and hugged.
“Keep this cool,” Nero whispered.
I turned and saw Lars standing at Darius’s ride.
“Fuck,” I whispered.
Lars kicked the ride over. “Oops.”
“Motherfucker,” Darius growled.
As he turned, I grabbed his arm and stopped him. “Not your place, bro. Take a breath and let it cool.”
Nero, Lars, Paxton, and Turner took off as Darius picked his ride up off the ground.
“What the fuck was that?” Darius asked.
“You running your fucking mouth again,” Simon said.
“You don’t fuck with Nero, bro,” I said. “That was on you.”
“You were okay with shitting on that sock guy though.”
“Yeah. You don’t know how this is set up,” I said.
“Like us,” Simon said. “Someone fucks with Elijah, we jump them. Someone fucks with me, you punch them.”
“Someone fucks with you, Darius,” I said with a grin, “we shake their hand.”
“Fuck you both,” Darius said.
I put my fist out and Simon hit it with his.
I lit up a fresh cigarette. “So what’s happening? Why are you really here?”
“Shit’s been crazy,” Simon said. “For you.”
“And for me,” Darius said.
“That’s life, bro,” I said. “I’m trying to balance a lot.”
“What happened with the deal about your brother?” Simon asked.
“I had to let that go for a second. Because of Rory.”
“Shit, bro, that’s what I wanted to tell you,” Darius said. “You weren’t hearing me. I need to-”
“It’s okay,” I said to Darius. “It’s my shit. I know she was snooping around for me. I’m sorry for anything she did to you both. She’s here now. With my daughter. I’m trying to figure it out.” I ran a hand through my hair. “I fell hard for someone else.”
“Your summer thing?” Simon asked.
“Yeah, man.”
“That’s dangerous,” Darius said. “And stupid.”
“Did you come here to tell me how to run my life?” I asked.
They both showed their hands.
“Just checking on you, man,” Simon said.
“And I wanted to actually talk to you,” Darius added.
“Look, I’m good right here for now,” I said. “No way I can leave or do anything else. So whatever is going on up there, just deal with it. If that makes me a dick, then I’m a dick. If I lose you guys as friends and lose your respect, that’s fine too. Right now, I’m here. There’s no getting me out of here.”
“Even if Rory leaves?” Darius asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” I said.
“Damn, man, you really love that other girl?” Simon asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “I have to make things right. It’s all tore up. And as far as Ryland goes, I don’t really care anymore.”
“Hey, man, I get it,” Simon said. “We were actually passing through on our way to go meet up with some people. Some party or some shit. Ever hear of Brooks Crest?”
“Maybe,” I said.
“Bad dudes,” Darius said. “But they have big parties.”
“Looking to get laid,” I said. “I respect that.”
“That and other things,” Simon said. “Don’t worry about that though.”
“I won’t,” I said.
“Sure you don’t want to join us?” Simon offered with a grin. “Get the hell out of this prison for a night? You’re not committed to anything. And even if you are, fuck it. Right?”
“I’m good here,” I said. “Thanks for offering though.”
Simon put his hand out. “Keep in touch, Elijah. I think it’s all fucked, but keep in touch.”
I grabbed Simon’s hand and pulled him in for a hug.
I turned to face Darius. “You good?”
His mouth moved for a few seconds and then he sighed. “You’re okay here? With all of this?”
“Have no choice at the moment, bro.”
“Let’s catch up again,” Darius said. “Soon. Really soon. Hash some shit out. I… uh…”
“Darius, bro, we have to ride,” Simon called out.
Darius nodded. “I’ll see you soon, bro.”
I watched them get on their rides and speed away.
I was back to being alone.
Just me and a cigarette.
Which was good enough for that moment.
Chapter 12
Nova
I avoided seeing Cherry the way Ashley and Lacy avoided seeing me at HCH.
There was a sense of power about me all of a sudden. I was no longer invisible. But at least my visibility came with a little sense of fear. It also helped that I had Aira by my side. Along with Wes. His name alone commanded respect.
The one person I didn’t expect to practically walk into was Carly.
But as I turned the hallway, Aira on my right, everyone else behind me, Carly was walking with Conor.
Conor made Carly stop before I walked into her.
I planned on walking through her actually.
Knock the bitch down.
She froze and looked at me, eyes wide.
“Oh, look,” Aira said. “It’s the happy couple.”
I looked up at Conor.
He frowned.
He didn’t have an ounce of guts in his body.
Neither did Carly.
I stepped up to her and Conor kept his hand between us.
Wes stepped into the frame. “If you don’t move your hand, I’m going to break it. And not just break it, but I’m going to rip it off your body.”
Conor quickly moved away.
I stepped up to Carly, going almost nose to nose.
The tension around us grew. I could
hear people whispering, wondering what I was going to do to her. It wasn’t about me and her fighting. It was about me hurting her.
And Carly knew it too.
I knew better than to stir up trouble in the hallways. Henders was like a damn ninja and could smell a fight. Not to mention the last thing I needed at the moment was to end up across from Miss Carson. Watching her chew on lettuce like a rabbit, poking at my feelings like a needle to a balloon… fuck that.
I side stepped and walked past Carly.
Before getting too far away, I said, “Bitches talk, windows getting shattered.”
Aira started to laugh. “That was a good one.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Whatever.”
The chip on my shoulder made me feel lighter.
But secretly deep down in my heart I kept thinking about Elijah and Rory sharing a bed.
The pain was there, but the anger was easier to blanket it with.
I walked Aira to her next class where she and Wes tongue fucked each other.
I slowly started to break away from the rest of the group.
When Kailey noticed, I told her I had to use the bathroom.
I skipped the first set of bathrooms and went around the same hallway again.
This time alone.
A bell rang, officially making me late.
There were still two classes left, but oh well.
I licked my bottom lip and pulled my phone out of my pocket.
Meet now?
I debated on sending the message way too much.
And I sent it anyway.
It took no more than ten seconds to get an answer.
Yup
I slipped my phone into my pocket and put up two peace signs as I walked to the closest door.
Goodbye to HCH… hello to surfing… and Dex.
* * *
It wasn’t wrong.
Yet I made sure to sneak around and not tell anyone.
Of course my devious plan lasted all of twenty minutes before Charlotte texted me wanting to know if I fell into the toilet. Which was gross to think about. I told her I found a magical pipe that took me to a happy place to live forever. She sent back a bunch of question marks and I never responded.
That was just the beginning.
A few minutes later I had everyone texting me.
Charlotte. Aira. Kailey. Emma. Even Britt.
The first four I said I left because I wasn’t feeling good.
With Britt, I sent an emoji of a wave and the shhh emoji.
She wrote back with a shocked face emoji, knowing exactly what it meant.
When I got to the beach, I tossed my phone to the blanket I put down and that was it for that thing. I had my surfboard and I had a beautiful afternoon to waste time in the water.
“Look at this…”
I turned my head.
I also had Dex.
Wearing baby blue board shorts and a white sleeveless shirt that did nothing to hide his body, he lifted his blue shaded sunglasses up into his perfectly placed hair.
“What?” I asked.
“Skipping class to surf,” he said, clicking his tongue. “You’re almost done there anyway. For good. Then you can surf for the rest of your life.”
“Is that what you think I’m going to do?”
“That’s what I would do if I was still living here,” Dex said.
“Good thing I’m not you.”
“If you were me and you looked like you do, you’d be in bed all day touching yourself.”
I groaned. “That’s nasty.”
“Taking care of yourself isn’t nasty. Wait.” Dex grinned. “Tell me you don’t… practice self-care?”
“I came here to surf,” I said. “Not talk about… that stuff.”
“You don’t do that, Nova?” Dex asked. “Come on. No wonder you’re so wound up and stressed out.”
“Excuse me?”
“Do you think I don’t know what’s been going on here?” Dex asked with a chuckle. “I know everything, Nova. I know all about your little summer guy thing coming back early. And that he’s got a whole bag of shit that’s somehow on your back. And now you’re suddenly some badass with a baseball bat, smashing up cars and shit. I mean… amazing… just amazing…”
“So my hurt amazes you?” I asked.
I was already more pissed off at Dex than I figured I would have been by then.
There was no doubt we’d argue and he’d make me want to hit him, but not this soon.
Dex moved toward me.
He stood an inch from me and stared down at me.
“You’re breaking free of all the bullshit,” Dex whispered. “That’s a good look on you. A really good look on you. Almost as good as me on you.”
I curled up a fist but Dex grabbed the bottom of his shirt and lifted it over his head. He rolled his shirt up around his hand and dropped it to the towel.
He then faced the ocean and nodded, taking it all in.
Dex was decent at surfing.
He definitely wasn’t someone else, but this wasn’t a competition.
“This is going to be wicked fun,” Dex said.
“Yeah,” I said.
I put my board down and touched the bottom of my shirt. There was a slight hesitation as I lifted my shirt. I was wearing a bikini under my clothes, yet I still had the strange feeling that I was stripping in front of Dex.
So dumb.
I hurried to take my shirt off and of course I got it somehow stuck on my shoulders and neck.
Dex came to my rescue, saying, “Let me help, Nova.”
Before I could tell him no or kick him in the balls, his hands grabbed my shirt and pulled. It brought back some old memories that I didn’t want back in my mind.
He was too close for comfort yet I didn’t move away.
My mind raced faster, reminding me of what happened the last time I wanted to make Elijah jealous. Except Dex wasn’t Conor. Dex didn’t live in Hidden. Dex was here for a little bit and would be gone.
Dex dropped my shirt to the ground.
Then he smiled. “Need help with the shorts too?”
I put my hand out and shoved at him. “Stay the fuck away.”
“I love angry, sex talk,” Dex said.
“Go play in the water,” I said.
Dex grinned even bigger. “I’d like to play in your-”
“Go!” I yelled.
Dex jumped back.
I turned and unbuttoned my shorts.
I wiggled my hips to get them off and felt Dex staring at me.
He whistled as I turned, giving me the thumbs up.
“You’re such a loser,” I said to Dex.
“I know,” he said. “But you wanted to meet me here. So what does that make you?”
“Stupid,” I said as I grabbed my board. “Complete and utterly fucking stupid.”
Dex moved at me and put his arm around me. He pulled me so close I could smell his skin. It was warm, inviting, musky…
“Then we can be a loser and stupid together,” Dex said.
“Nothing more, Dex.”
“No. Never. You? Me? Never. I actually think you’re kind of ugly. I don’t fuck ugly girls.”
That didn’t offend me.
But it did bother me.
It was the same cheap line Dex used on me the first night I slept with him.
* * *
I wore his city living ass out.
I paddled my way back out and straddled my board as Dex struggled to keep up. Sure, he looked fit. He was laced with toned muscle and paid for tanned skin, but that meant nothing if you couldn’t keep up.
“Out of breath there, huh?” I asked him.
“I’m just taking my time,” he said.
“Yeah, right,” I said. “You’re out of shape, Dex.”
“I never was in shape. I just look good naturally.”
“How pompous.”
“What? There’s no difference between the way I look and some girl who wakes
up and looks gorgeous. Like you, for example.”
I laughed. “First I’m ugly. Now I’m gorgeous.”
“You know I would never say you’re ugly and mean it, right?”
“Are we going to surf this wave or let it go?” I asked.
“I’m good right here, Nova.”
“I’m going to take the wave then. See you on the shore.”
“What if I stayed in Hidden?” Dex asked.
That got my attention enough that I let the wave pass me by.
“What did you just say?” I asked him.
Oh, fuck me, that would blow up everything even worse. Maybe for good.
“I’m just messing around,” Dex said. “I’d never come back and live here.”
“You’re an asshole, Dex.”
“It got you to stop for a second. So we can talk.”
“About what?”
“Life,” he said. “Come on, Nova. I see the way you are right now.”
“Meaning?”
“There was only one other time I ever saw you like this.”
“Oh?” I asked.
“And that was when it was almost time for us to call it quits,” Dex said. “So you could have a little time to yourself before your summer guy showed up. You would get flustered. Bitchy. You’d start moving… like you were racing something or someone. You could never sit still or stop.”
“Okay,” I said. “Thanks for remembering that.”
“You’re doing the same thing now. So talk to me about it.”
“Why? What’s there to talk about?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m just being nice. Figure if you get soft enough, you’ll want to play with someone hard… on me… meaning my-”
“I get it,” I said.
I hated the way Dex would make an innuendo and then purposely and slowly explain what he meant.
But he was here with me. And it was comfortable. Not the worst thing in the world.
“How’s it going for you?” I asked him. “Why don’t you talk for once.”
“Fine,” he said. “Parents are good. We’re filthy rich. I’m already out of school.”
“Really?”
Dex nodded. “Finished up early. Taking some time to myself. I’m actually going to Europe in a month. I told my father I might never come back. But I have to come back. I’m on the pride and paid for path to becoming a lawyer.”
HIDDEN CREEK CRY: a hidden creek high noval Page 14
