Jo did.
With her fancy, see-through blue credit card.
Then I went home to find myself alone.
Not exactly alone, but alone from Jo.
There were people in the house, none of which I had ever met before. They all looked at me, nodded and smiled and said hello.
I just gave an awkward wave and hurried to my room.
Jo had people at the house cooking, cleaning, fixing things, and I swore I heard two people talking about interior decoration and renovation.
Was that all Jo did with her life and money?
The desire to constantly change things and chase something down?
I never thought being exposed to insane wealth would be so… weird.
In my mind I just pictured stacks and stacks of money and freedom and all the coolest stuff in the world and being able to travel without worry. Oh, and never having to work. Yet it seemed that’s all Jo did. She worked. So did she actually enjoy her money? And she was rich before she became a doctor…
The thoughts were maddening.
I needed a distraction.
And fast.
I ended up breaking down and texting Lizzy first.
I just sent her a bunch of question marks.
She replied with a thumbs up emoji.
Soon?
I hit send.
I walked to the daybed and looked out the window.
Lizzy replied back.
Very soon.
I texted her a book about how to sneak along the beach to the back of the house. It was a panic text. Me worried that Jo would get pissed that I had friends over. I sent the message before reading it and realizing what I had sent.
It didn’t help when Lizzy replied with LOL and a wink emoji.
I tossed my phone to the daybed and I went to get my notebook.
I skipped trying to find the page Ash stole and instead went to a blank page.
I sat down and laughed out loud.
What are you going to write about now, Belle?
You don’t leave footprints in the sand
but a few in my mind
with your fucking dancing hair
like the way my heart wants to dance
but I tell it no
take your smoke and find a mirror
stare long enough to see who you really are
take this
or just take one or two
i’ll race you to the water to wash away
all the fake
that you know we probably are
each turn of the hallway there’s another one
like a surprise I don’t want but I can’t look away
so I’ll breathe your smoke
and I’ll break your mirror
and I’ll chase the years that follow
I stopped writing and shook my head.
It was so bad.
So stupid and cliché and just terrible.
I squeezed the pen in my hand even tighter.
Then I slammed it to the page again.
you wear two fucking necklaces. one has a guitar pick that looks a little worn. not that I know what a used guitar pick looks like. but I mean come on do you fucking play guitar? as if that could be fair at all. and then there’s a ring. i can’t figure out what kind of ring it is. stop being so mysterious. it’s my first day. you fucking asshole.
That felt better.
It was still crap though.
I shut the notebook and got changed into something more appropriate for being poolside. Funny enough, I didn’t have a bathing suit. Which was a little reminder that I had a credit card with no limit. And Jo wanted me to be happy here… right?
I changed into shorts and a tank top, grabbed my bag, headed downstairs to sit poolside with a cigarette, a bottle of super fancy water, and my phone so I could shop online for clothes.
How’s that for acting snobby?
As I passed through the kitchen, there were two people cooking.
“I’m going for a swim,” I announced as though they cared.
It was a man and a woman.
The woman stopped.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Sorry. Habit. Not sure if I’m supposed to talk to you or not.”
She smiled. “You’re Belle, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m Brie,” she said. “I’ve been cooking for Jo for a long time now. You can talk to me. I’m a real human. And this is my career. I love what I do.”
“Shit,” I said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not used to any of this. I don’t even have a bathing suit.” I forced a laugh. “I’m actually going to sit outside and shop online. I’ve never done that before either.”
“Can I give you some advice?”
“Sure.”
“Mind if I pull up a site on your phone?”
“Have at it,” I said.
I slid the phone across the counter and realized just how old my phone was too. It wasn’t the newest fancy model that could climb into bed with you and punch you in my mouth if you were going to be late for work or whatever.
“Here,” Brie said. “This is where you should shop.”
I looked at the site. “What is it?”
“Local place,” she said. “They’ll bring everything today. You can try it all on and decide what you want to keep. Anything you don’t want, they’ll come and take it back.”
“Whoa. That’s neat.”
“If you can cater to someone’s needs, you’ll be set for life,” Brie said. “A lot of people around here don’t have to actually shop. The place is called Callie’s. My best friend is Callie. She came up with the concept and ran with it. You could totally shop wherever you want. I’m not trying to get my friend business. I’m just saying this is what a lot of people use around here. And in your case… if you need some clothes right now, just order it and they’ll be here by tonight.”
“That fast?” I asked.
Brie laughed. “Trust me, when they see the address, they’ll make sure of it.”
“That’s really cool.”
“If you’re going to shop there, I’ll give Callie a heads up too.” Brie winked and turned to go back to her work.
I wandered outside and sat down at the edge of the pool near the waterfall. I dipped my toes into the water and of course it was the perfect temp.
I sat there and shopped Callie’s site.
There was really a little bit of everything.
I trained my eyes to ignore the price tag. Because everything was fucking expensive. But I needed some clothes. And I wasn’t going to go overboard and act spoiled.
So I put together a small order with a big total.
I put in the credit card info and hit the SUBMIT button and that was that.
I put the credit card back into my bag and left my bag under a huge umbrella on a glass table.
My hand dug back into my bag to find a cigarette.
Then I walked to the beach and stood there and smoked.
It was all easy.
At least at Jo’s.
BFH wasn’t easy. Not yet. But it would be.
I’d figure it out.
Guys like Uly, Ash, and even Hil… they were looking for attention. Because I was new to them.
Them.
That’s what they were called, right?
Them.
I laughed to myself.
“Look at this badass bitch over here, smoking a cigarette, looking ready to fight someone.”
I turned my head and nodded to Danica. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself. Look at you. You have me nervous. And a little turned on.”
“Good to know,” I said.
I took another drag of the cigarette and groaned.
“Where’s Lizzy?” I asked.
“She’ll be here in a few,” Danica said. “She got tied up. Not literally.”
I laughed. “Again… good to know.”
Danica looked at the house. “That’s one he
ll of a house back there.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Biggest house I’ve ever seen.”
Danica whistled. Then she set her sights on me. “Heard you ran into Them.”
“Yeah,” I said. “They were so nice to me too.”
“What?”
“No, seriously. I mean, Hil just stood there and watched as Ash ripped a page out of my notebook and stole it. Oh, and then Ash wanted me to beg him to help clean up the mess he made. Oh, and it gets better. Outside, at my car… well, Jo’s car… these three twat heads were waiting for me. And one threw a cherry smoothie on the hood of the car. Now, before I could beat the hell out of the three bitches, Uly showed up.”
“That’s a long day,” Danica said. “Not that you want my advice on anything, so feel free to just ignore me, but Sophie and her robots… don’t worry too much about them. They are loud and annoying. You can either ignore them or just do what you said. Slap those bitches into next Thursday.”
“Yeah, well, they were pissed about me talking to the baseball players. Fucking losers.”
“All of them are,” Danica said. “I’d be more worried about Them.”
“Why? What’s so bad? They’re just moody boys. I’ve dealt with that before.”
“Not like this, Belle,” Danica said.
“I’m here!” a voice cried out.
It was Lizzy. Stomping over the sand, her arms out as she tried to keep her balance.
She had a bag over her right shoulder and wasted no time in opening the bag when she was close enough to Danica and me.
“Ready to have some fun?” Lizzy asked.
I looked into the bag and saw two bottles.
My eyes moved up to Lizzy’s.
“What?” she asked. “A little drink never hurt anyone.”
“That’s more than a little,” I said.
“You’ve earned it,” Danica said with a laugh.
“I have to see this fucking pool,” Lizzy said.
She closed her bag and walked by me.
Danica followed.
I shook my head.
One drink wasn’t going to hurt anyone, right?
* * *
Okay, the cove thing was really fucking awesome.
You had to hurry and walk under the waterfall to get into it. But when you did… wow. It was really cozy. The echoing sound of the water rushing above and the sound of the waterfall was soothing. There were neon lights in the cove. And there was a built out seat that covered the entire wall.
A black control panel was high enough up to keep it from getting wet. That panel controlled everything in the cove. That included the lights. The speed of the water on the waterfall. And it even hooked up to your phone to listen to music. Next to that was a shelf to put your phone.
“Yeah, this works,” Danica said.
“I could get used to this,” Lizzy said as she sat down on the rock looking bench.
The entire cove looked like a rock cave.
I stood up while Danica and Lizzy were sitting, the water up to their chests.
I was still in regular shorts. White shorts.
And a dark blue shirt.
The water made my shirt cling to my body.
“No bathing suit yet?” Lizzy asked.
“Not yet,” I said. “I just ordered a bunch of stuff. It’ll be here soon.”
“You know, if any one of Them were here right now, they’d be all over you, Belle,” Danica said with a grin. “Wet clothes. Tight against your body.”
“Shut up,” I said.
I sat down in the water.
Lizzy wasted no time in helping herself to a drink from the bottle she brought. She then slid it my way to hand me the bottle.
I sipped the vodka.
“So tell us what actually happened that brought you here,” Danica said. “I mean, if you trust us.”
“I don’t need to hide anything,” I said. “My mother is a disaster. She and Jo were once really good friends. I came home to her boyfriend… hurting her… and then Jo showed up. She was tougher than the cops.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Lizzy said.
“You know she broke a wine glass over my mother’s friend’s head?” Danica asked.
“What? Really?” I asked.
“Bullshit,” Lizzy said.
“That’s what I was told,” Danica said. “They were at some swanky bar. Where everyone tries to outdo each other. Something was said and Jo was like fuck this bitch and she slammed a wineglass to her head. Crazy shit.”
“I don’t believe that,” Lizzy said.
I thought about Jo. “I kind of do. She doesn’t have time to deal with bullshit.”
“I can’t imagine operating on someone’s heart,” Lizzy said. “That’s so scary.”
“You did a number on Declan’s heart,” Danica said with a laugh.
“Oh, leave me alone about that,” Lizzy said. “At least I remember losing my virginity.”
“You don’t remember?” I asked Danica.
“It was one of those things,” she said. “A fun party. A fun guy. Whatever. I tried it out again the next day. So I do remember. Ha.”
“She doesn’t remember,” Lizzy said to me.
“Why does that even matter?” Danica asked.
“It doesn’t,” Lizzy said putting her hands up. “Take it easy over there. Have a drink. Relax a little. Jeeeez.”
“What’s your story, Belle?” Danica asked. “Care to share about your V Card?”
“Not really,” I said.
“What about your friends back home?” Lizzy asked.
“What about? I’m not living here. Or moving here for good.”
“You should invite them here,” Danica said. “Oh, better yet…” Danica leaned forward. “What if we set up some nasty stuff.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“Use your friends to fuck with Ryan,” Danica said. “Or with Sophie. Think about it.”
“No,” Lizzy said. “That’s stupid. Who cares about them?”
I did miss Sarah.
It would have been kind of cool to have her, Grace, and Taylor come up here. But it felt weird. And I wasn’t sure why.
Lizzy and Danica kept bickering over stupid stuff.
I took sips of the vodka when Lizzy handed me the bottle.
And I started to feel okay.
Relaxing in the perfect temp water, enjoying the soft glow of the neon pink lights, listening to the waterfall.
“Our new friend here met Them,” Danica said. “All of Them.”
“So I’ve heard,” Lizzy said.
“Them,” I said. “Uly, Ash, and Hil. What are they? Friends or something?”
“No,” Lizzy said.
“Ash and Hil are stepbrothers,” Danica said. “But Uly… he’s on his own.”
“But he’s part of Them?” I asked with a laugh. “That makes no sense. And it’s really stupid.”
Lizzy leaned forward. “It’s not…”
She was drunk so her voice said issnot.
“Explain then,” I said.
“They used to be friends,” Danica said. “Like really good friends. And everyone thought with what happened, things would calm. Meaning the way they acted at BFH. But, nope. It made it worse.”
“Well, what happened? I don’t get why you call them… Them…”
“That’s to make fun of those over at West,” Lizzy said with a giggle. “The stupid fucking Rulz.”
“The rules?” I asked.
“With a z,” Danica said. “How ugh is that? Pres, Kip, and Barr. They’re called the Rulz. They control Bay Falls High West. The whole East vs. West thing…?”
“Ah, got it,” I said. “This is a lot to learn. Here I thought I was just coming to a rich town with a bunch of rich people.”
“Oh you don’t know the half of it, Belle,” Lizzy said.
She reached for me and splashed water in my face.
“Shit!” she yelled.
She stood up and inst
antly fell over into me.
I put my hands out but had to quickly move them to grab her shoulders and not her chest. Somehow she ended up curled up in my lap.
She stunk like vodka bad.
I was feeling good but Lizzy was…
“Eek,” I said to Danica.
“She’ll be fine,” Danica said.
“She sort of pounds drinks…”
“Don’t ask,” Danica said.
“Just stay away from Them,” Lizzy said with her drunk eyes looking up at me. “Okay? They will hurt you. It’s what they do. They… choose, lose, and use. It’s like a game…”
“Lizzy, that’s enough,” Danica said. “They don’t do that anymore. Not since… whatever.”
“Oh, come on,” I said, pushing Lizzy away. She splashed her way to a seat. “You have to tell me something here. Uly saved me from Ryan and the others. Now Ash… he was a total dick. And Hil didn’t say anything to me. I don’t get it.”
“You don’t have to get anything, Belle,” Danica said. “It’s a joke. Them is a joke.”
“A joke?” I asked.
“To make fun of the Rulz,” Danica said. “Uly said he, Hil, and Ash didn’t need a name to handle things. Then he wondered if Pres had stickers and t-shirts made for everyone to wear. So Uly said to call he, Hil, and Ash… Them.”
Well, that made some sense.
I nodded. “Wow. And they all hate each other? I mean, Them and the Rulz?”
“They really hate each other,” Lizzy chimed in. “It’s like a generation thing. They all hate each other because their parents hate each other. You know?”
I shook my head.
I didn’t know.
I didn’t know anything about being rich, having rich parents, or anything like that.
“And as far as Uly and the others go,” Danica said, shaking her head. “What’s the one thing that could rip friends apart?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“Pussy,” Lizzy said.
She snorted and laughed, throwing her head back, hitting it against the wall.
Her head smacking made an echoing boom sound and she screamed in pain.
“Oh, you stupid fool,” Danica said.
I jumped forward and grabbed for Lizzy’s head.
I dug through her hair to make sure she wasn’t bleeding.
“I’d ask her how many fingers I’m holding up but she’s too drunk for that,” I said.
“I see two boobies though,” Lizzy said and she laughed again.
NOT SO Innocent: a bay falls high novel Page 8
