BARR: a bay falls high novel

by Kidman, Jaxson

  “Hit you?” I asked.

  Pres nodded. “Mel. It’s obvious something happened to her.” Pres touched the corner of his mouth. “And it’s obvious she’s stuck around up there even after you left.”

  “Your point?”

  “What the fuck is she thinking?” Pres asked. “She’s okay with that? Someone throwing fists at her? For what? She can’t fight back? She can’t get out of there? I mean, the one who has your heart all twisted up can’t even defend herself? And you’re bringing that shit down here? Pulling her away while she’s still holding on?”

  I took a drag of my cigarette and turned my head.

  Kip was stone like.

  I passed him my cigarette and did what needed to be done.

  I swung and cracked Pres right across the jaw.

  He stumbled back and touched his mouth, groaning.

  I flexed my hand and reached back for my cigarette.

  When I took a step forward, Kip got between Pres and me.

  “That’s enough,” Kip said. “We have to focus. There’s a lot at once here. Maybe we should take it item by item. The three of us would give our lives to make sure Tinsley was safe. And I know for me, I’d give more than my life for Ruby. And I know you two would put a lot at stake for her. You two did when we got her out of that apartment.”

  “What’s your point, Kip?” I asked.

  He looked at Pres. “What’s the difference now?”

  Pres’s eyes moved from Kip to me back to Kip. Back to me.

  “Because I don’t bleed the same,” I said. “That’s why. I’m hidden. I’m secretive. I keep my shit to myself.”

  “Yeah?” Kip asked Pres.

  “That’s a start,” Pres said. “I would take another step, Barr. What happens when BC is looking for their girl?”

  I curled my lip and grabbed Kip to throw him out of the way.

  He tried to set his feet but I was too fast and strong in that moment of anger.

  Kip went right into the pool.

  That was enough to get me to pause.

  I looked at Pres.

  Kip popped up out of the water. “What the fuck?”

  Pres and I started to laugh.

  “Nice,” Pres said.

  He put a fist out.

  I reluctantly smacked my fist against his.

  * * *

  “What the hell happened to you?” Mel asked Kip as he stood outside of the pool, dripping with water.

  “He got wet,” I said.

  “No shit,” Mel said.

  “You jumped into the pool?” Ruby asked.

  “Had to,” Kip said. “These two douchebags were ready to beat the hell out of each other.”

  “For what?” Mel asked.

  “Seriously?” Tinsley asked.

  “You jumped into the pool?” Ruby asked again.

  “Nobody was going to fight,” I said.

  “Pres… your jaw…” Tinsley hurried to him.

  Pres put a hand out and stepped back. “It’s fine. Just talking.”

  “About me?” Mel asked. “Fuck.”

  She turned and started to walk away.

  “Thanks,” I said to Kip.

  “What?” he growled.

  “Nothing,” I said. “Go get a fucking towel.”

  “Maybe I’ll just strip naked and put you to shame, Barr.”

  Before I could say a word, Ruby pushed Kip from the side.

  He went back into the water again.

  All the while Tinsley touched Pres’s jaw where I had hit him.

  And I ran to catch up to Mel.

  “Hey, love,” I said.

  “I gotta get out of here,” she said.

  “Just wait a second,” I said.

  “No. You hit Pres? Because of me?”

  “That’s how we talk sometimes.”

  “Really?”

  “Stay,” I said. “I’ll show you what it’s like here. I’ll take you to the ditch later.”

  “The what?”

  “You’ll see,” I said. “I’m not taking you back there. Not yet.”

  “You know whatever Pres is thinking…”

  “It’s probably right. Fine. I’m ready for it.”

  “You’re ready for BC to come here? For me? That’s ridiculous, Barr.”

  “Stop walking,” I ordered and I touched her waist.

  Mel turned. “What?”

  “It’s not going to happen again,” I said.

  “Barr…”

  I touched the corner of her mouth. “It’s not going to happen again.”

  “Well, it’s not what you think,” she said.

  “Oh, it is,” I said.

  “And what? You’re just going to save me? Just rip me out of there? I have to be there, Barr. I have no choice.”

  “Yes, you do,” I said. “Before there wasn’t a choice. There is now. We’re not the age we were the first time, Mel.”

  She shook her head and her eyes filled with tears. “You really don’t get it.”

  “I haven’t asked a single question, love,” I said. “I did that for you. I’m chewing on my tongue and it’s getting hard to do.”

  “Don’t blame me for this,” she said. “You showed up last night.”

  “Because you stopped responding to me.”

  “I stopped responding… I always do that.” She swallowed hard. “That’s how this works, Barr. We never let the memories actually die.”

  I nodded. “Right. You keep me on a string, right, love?”

  “Better than rope,” she said. “You’d probably hang yourself then.”

  “Yeah. I needed to hear that. You want to go back there? Then let’s go. Fuck it. I’ll drive you right to Mac. I’ll shake his fucking hand while you walk away. Is that what you want?”

  “You do that and he’ll have you jumped on the spot.”

  “Does it look like I’m afraid?” I asked.

  I closed in on Mel, which was hard to do since we were already so close.

  My body touched hers.

  She didn’t say anything.

  Neither did I.

  At least not until I started to walk back to the guesthouse.

  “Barr,” Mel called my name.

  I looked back.

  She hurried to swipe a finger under her eye to catch a tear.

  She shook her head. “I can’t…”

  “You can’t what, love?” I asked.

  “I can’t go back there…”

  I nodded. “Then you won’t.”

  I didn’t go back to Mel though.

  I kept walking.

  She wasn’t going back to BC.

  But I knew I was.

  Chapter 8

  “I need a cigarette,” I said as I walked by Kip and Pres.

  I heard Kip say something to Pres.

  Then he started running to stay alongside me.

  “Are you just going to stand there in wet clothes all day?” I asked him.

  “Does it bother you? Jealous of my bulge?”

  “Fuck you, man,” I said.

  Once we were out of sight of everyone, Kip clamped a hand to my shoulder to stop me.

  I looked at him and I nodded.

  “Fuck,” he whispered.

  “Mel is staying,” I said. “Not sure how long. I need everyone to keep their distance. This isn’t some fucking joke or a game for us. I know Tinsley is all excited but this isn’t what she thinks. It’s not a second chance romance bullshit thing. It’s fucking serious.”

  “I knew it was serious the second I saw the blood on her face,” Kip said.

  “Make sure she has everything she needs,” I said to Kip. “I don’t care what it is. You get it for her.”

  “I’m on it,” Kip said. “I owe you this one. You knew how to handle that entire mess Ruby was in. Not sure we’d be here without you.”

  “I’m not in the business of trading favors, Kip.”

  “Fine. It’s not trading favors. I’m thanking you for something. A
nd you know I’ve always got your back.”

  “Keep Pres calm too,” I said. “As best you can. I know he’s worked up about a lot. BFH is a fucking mess right now. I’m not sure where to start there.”

  “I know where to start,” Kip said. He cracked his knuckles. “We track down Uly and make sure he remembers who we are.”

  “I mentioned to Mel about the ditch. Maybe we’re all due for a little fun up there.”

  “I’m always ready.”

  “Just do what I said, Kip,” I said. “Don’t let Mel out of your sight. And don’t say anything stupid to her. I’m pretty sure between her and Ruby they’d cut you up and spread you across the ocean and nobody would ever find you.”

  “Yeah… but two hot girls like that all over me…”

  “What an asshole,” I whispered.

  “You going to have that cigarette now?” Kip asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “And you’re sure about that? Alone? Could be dangerous. You could burn yourself.”

  “I’ve been smoking for a long time. I’m fine.”

  I walked away and looked back a couple times.

  With Kip, I never knew what was serious and what wasn’t.

  The look on his face told me everything I needed to know.

  He knew the truth.

  Yeah, I was going to have a cigarette.

  On my drive up to BC.

  * * *

  Showing up to Brooks Crest during the day was even more stupid than showing up at night.

  And there was no missing my car either.

  The point was to send a message though.

  This was not about sneaking around anymore.

  This was about fulfilling my promise to Mel and taking it another step forward. I couldn’t stomach the idea of her going back to BC and being trapped there.

  Mac and I would never see eye to eye. We’d never end up as best friends either.

  But something would have to be worked out.

  Which was probably too hopeful.

  BC had their hands in everything. With what happened to Kait. With things that happened with HCH. Not that I gave a fuck about that place.

  I drove slowly along the main road that cut through the entire Brooks Crest campus.

  I parked next to another garden and got out of the car.

  There was a feel to the place. A smell to it too.

  Like old books and fresh violence.

  Everyone that walked the campus had a story to tell.

  And trust me, there weren’t many stories that were good.

  Including my own.

  I lit a cigarette and went for a walk.

  I passed by the corner house where the nest night had been taking place.

  The place was quiet.

  It had the appeal of a house from a scary movie. The kind where someone would buy it cheap to move their family in only to find out later it was haunted by ghosts.

  The difference with BC was that the ghosts were real and they were pissed.

  I walked along the sidewalk and checked out the back of the house.

  There were a couple girls sitting on the top step of the back porch, each smoking a cigarette, each with a mug of coffee. They looked hungover.

  They both looked at me.

  Tweet, fucking tweet, love. You think you can handle living here? You think you can handle being here? Tweet, fucking, tweet…

  We used to give them gummy worms.

  For fun.

  To have a party and show power and make sure anyone there knew who we were.

  Mac wanted to add in the booze.

  He had a plan to soak the gummy worms in the booze.

  I told him why bother with that step and just drink it.

  Half joking, but Mac loved the idea and ran with it.

  It was our job to keep everyone in line.

  It was our job to make sure the bad didn’t get worse.

  And it was our job to make sure those who weren’t exactly bad knew their place and stayed there.

  I turned the corner which had a house almost the same as the one where the nest night had been.

  All the houses were basically the same.

  They looked like giant houses but were split up into plenty of rooms or apartments.

  “I bet you heard their wings flapping, brother,” a voice said.

  I stopped walking and stepped from the sidewalk to a large bush that had overgrown from a chain link fence.

  I hurried to put my hood up and my head down.

  I knew the voice.

  “I don’t know… some of them… it’s not wings flapping.”

  “Fucking filthy.”

  “What else are you going to find here? Angels wrongfully accused?”

  They both laughed.

  Taz. Les.

  “Snakes n’ cigs, brother,” Taz said.

  “Amen,” Les said. “In fact, I might just go pray now.”

  “I don’t know if you should be getting on your knees,” Taz said. “Might send the wrong message.”

  “Oh, I’ll be looking down and praying,” Les said.

  The conversation stopped.

  I lifted my head for a second to see Les walking toward me.

  I waited and then flicked my cigarette in his direction.

  “Whoa,” he said. “What the fuck, asshole?”

  I picked my head up. “Looking for a bridge to burn, Les. Got one?”

  Les’s eyes went wide like he’d seen a ghost.

  Boo, motherfucker… the monster is here…

  “Barr?” he asked.

  I lunged forward and grabbed him by his shirt.

  I threw him toward the fence and he had no choice but to jump over it and go right into the bushes.

  Probably not the smartest move because I had to jump into the bushes too to get to him.

  But it was better than doing this out in the middle of the street.

  There I’d have BC right on top of me.

  Les was right back on his feet, swinging at me.

  One of his knuckles caught my lip and I instantly tasted blood.

  When he swung again I ducked down and jumped forward, slamming my shoulder into his stomach.

  I drove him back and down to the ground.

  He tried to punch me but I managed to get my knees on his arms.

  He opened his mouth and it was either to scream or spit at me.

  I put my right hand over his mouth.

  “Don’t fucking make a sound or I will gut you,” I said.

  Did I have a knife?

  No.

  Did Les know that?

  No.

  Les was tough. He was smart too.

  I didn’t have much time to make my point.

  I jumped off of him and showed my hands.

  “We need to talk,” I said.

  “At least I got a shot at you,” Les said. “I’ve been saving that one for years.”

  “Save it some more,” I said. “You and your buddies can do what you need to do later. Right now, I want to know where Mac is.”

  Les laughed. “What’s wrong, Barr? You homesick?”

  “No. Not at all.”

  Les’s face dropped. “Well then… you just fucked over everyone in that little shit town of yours. And everyone that walks the halls of Bay Falls High.”

  I reached back like I was going for my knife.

  Les made the same motion and I saw he had a knife in his hand.

  I kept my hand behind me.

  “You really want to do this right now?” I asked. “With me?”

  “I stick my fingers into my mouth and whistle and you’re dead.”

  “I saved all of you,” I said to Les. “So all I’m asking for now is an ounce of respect.”

  “Respect?” Les spit on the ground. “There’s your respect. Lick it up.”

  “Like your mother on her knees?” I asked.

  Les jumped at me, slashing through the air.

  I moved to the side and inste
ad of bringing a knife forward (which I didn’t have) I threw a punch as hard as I could to his stomach.

  That dropped him to his hands and knees.

  He gasped for air but had none.

  I spotted his knife on the ground and grabbed it.

  I put the dull edge of it to the back of his neck.

  He didn’t know which edge it was though.

  But I also knew he wasn’t going to stay on his hands and knees, looking like a dog, for long.

  “You fucking tell Mac I got what I came for,” I said to him. “And if he ever touches Mel again, I’ll cut his fucking hands off and make him eat them.”

  “What are you talking about, Barr? We haven’t-”

  I pushed the dull end of the knife to the back of his neck. “This isn’t your turn to talk, Les. Just listen to me. I’m going to walk out of here. I’m going to toss your knife somewhere. You’re going to find it before you run to Mac.”

  “This is where you’re taking your stand, Barr?”

  “It is. I don’t give a shit how things ended or what was decided then. Mel is no longer part of BC. You don’t think about her. You don’t speak her name. And you don’t fucking worry about her.”

  Les started to laugh. “You really have no idea what you’re doing, Barr. That surf life down there must have rotted your brain away.”

  “You’re the bitch on his hands and knees,” I said.

  Les tried to kick me but I knew it was coming.

  I flung the knife away and kicked him in the ribs to knock the wind out of him again.

  Then I ran through the back yard that adjoined the yard that belonged to the house where the nest night had been happening.

  The same girls were still sitting on the top step of the porch.

  “Get ready, love,” I said to them. “Les is coming. And he’s fucking pissed. Tell him I went that way…”

  I pointed to my right and ran to my right.

  There was a slight chance they’d actually do that.

  I ran like I hadn’t run in a long time.

  Back to my car. I started it and peeled away with fury.

  It was probably stupid because I ran the risk of giving myself away.

  But I really didn’t care anymore.

  When this was all said and done, there were only two options.

  I’d either have Mel to myself…