Curveball (Barlow Sisters Book 1)

by Jordan Ford

  Chloe huffs and stands to her feet. “Well, if Holden’s not going to step up and challenge Luke on his shocking behavior, then we should. If he acts like a total douchebag, we can take the evidence to Dad, but we may as well give him the chance to at least do the right thing.”

  My face wrinkles with a frown. “Aren’t you worried he’ll lose his shit and try to beat the crap out of us?”

  Chloe spins to face me, cocking her eyebrow. “He may have been able to take down one Barlow sister in a surprise attack, but there’s no way in hell he can take down both of us.”

  I snicker and lean around the lockers to try and spot Max. It’d be great to have her with us. That girl knows how to kick some serious ass.

  “I don’t know where she is.” Chloe sighs and starts peeling her uniform off. “Something’s up with her.”

  “Have you spoken to her about it?”

  “I’ve tried, but she just ignores the question or changes the subject.”

  I pull off my uniform and smooth back my hair. “It’s unlike her to be so secretive. You don’t think she’s gotten herself mixed up in something bad, do you?”

  Chloe laughs. “Come on. Max? She may be crazy, but she’s not completely stupid.”

  I walk to the showers with a frown. This is probably how Holden feels about Luke. It’s pretty hard to believe something horrible about someone you trust.

  Flicking on the hot spray, I let it warm up before quickly scrubbing myself clean.

  “Let’s worry about Luke today. We can pin down Max and tickle the truth out of her once this is resolved.”

  I grin at Chloe’s idea and quickly rinse my hair while mentally preparing for a conversation that could get ugly.

  We pull up outside Luke’s place later that afternoon. We decided to get clean and eat something before taking on this hella-scary task. We’re both nervous and jittery. I can tell by the way Chloe keeps pulling her sleeves down over her hands. My fingers tremble as I switch off the ignition. Wiping my palms down my jeans, I stare at Luke’s front door and go over what Chloe and I rehearsed.

  Oh man, I’m glad she’s with me.

  We texted Max at lunch, asking if she could meet up with us for some sister time, but she never got back to me. I even tried calling her but she didn’t answer her phone.

  I have to assume she’s tough enough to look after herself, but man, I hope she’s okay.

  “One thing at a time, sis. We’ll talk to Max later.” Chloe reads my mind and pats my hand, reminding me once again that we’re more like triplets than anything.

  Chloe’s as close to me as any twin can get, which is why her radio silence after the Holden thing was so damn hard.

  It’s why the entire Holden thing is so damn hard.

  Ignoring the ache in my heart, I push open the door and join my sister on the sidewalk.

  “It’s gonna be okay,” I murmur, squeezing her hand before leading her up the porch steps.

  “You remember what to say?” Her voice hitches as I ring the doorbell.

  I give her a tight smile that fades the second Luke opens the door.

  His eyebrows pop high with surprise and then he pastes on a smooth smile.

  “Hey, girls. What are you doing here?” His voice is too bright, too perky. How have I never noticed that before?

  I slide my hands into my jacket pockets and glare at him.

  As my steely expression sinks in, his smile falters. His eyes narrow and his forehead wrinkles with a frown.

  I swallow and grip the evidence inside my pocket.

  “We need to talk to you.” I clear my throat and glance at Chloe. She’s pasted on a sweet smile but it’s too tight to be genuine.

  “I’m kind of in the middle of something right now, so—”

  “It can’t wait.” I cut him off.

  He looks at me like I have mental problems, but softly mutters, “O-kay. This should be interesting.”

  The screen door squeaks as he opens it.

  A tendon in my neck pings tight when it slams shut behind him. Nerves are attacking me from all sides.

  I hate this.

  I’m stronger than this!

  Pulling back my shoulders, I remind myself that this guy beat the shit out of me less than a week ago. It’s enough to spark my anger and give me the courage to say, “I know it was you.”

  “What are you talking about?” He crosses his arms and looks me in the eye, daring me to keep going.

  Damn, he’s a good liar. How he can stand there looking so unruffled?

  It makes my resolve waver for a second, until the corner of his mouth twitches. He thinks he’s going to get away with it, which is so not happening.

  My nostrils flare, indignation finally kicking in. “You stole Coach Keenan’s computer on Monday. And probably took his truck and all the baseball gear, and all the money before that.”

  “And you set up an innocent guy,” Chloe pipes up, then steps back when his eyes flash with a hot glare.

  I shift in front of her, my protective instincts kicking in before I can stop them. “You beat me up.” My voice trembles. I swallow to try and gain control of it again.

  Luke won’t stop staring at me, his gaze vibrant with warning. He’s starting to figure out that I’m not backing down.

  It’s unnerving him.

  “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” His lips are tight, only just releasing the lie.

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  He snickers and tries to put on a smirk. “Listen, ladies, I don’t get what you’re trying to prove here, but making up bullshit stories isn’t going to do you any favors.”

  “We’re not making this up. I have evidence.”

  “Evidence?” Luke scoffs, but his eyes start twitching and then he looks to the floor.

  I work my jaw to the side, my muscles trembling as I slowly pull out the truth. “If we go look in your closet right now, I’m pretty sure we’re going to find a black jacket with a buckle missing off the right sleeve.”

  Luke pales, his jaw clenching before he manages a choked out laugh. “I don’t own a black jacket.”

  “Yes, you do,” Chloe argues. “You wore it to school on Wednesday.”

  “I don’t own a black jacket!” Luke grits out the words with more force.

  “Because you got rid of it the second you saw the buckle was missing.” The accusation snaps out of me, making Luke flinch. “You asshole. I bet if I check your trash we’ll find it.” Yanking out my phone, I start pulling up Dad’s number. “Covering your tracks won’t save you this time. Make no mistake, you will get busted. This house will be searched by the police and you will—”

  Before I can press Call, Luke wrenches the phone from my hand and smashes it onto the porch, driving the heel of his shoe into it with a vicious roar.

  Chloe yelps and jumps down the stairs, running to the car to no doubt retrieve her phone.

  “Get back here, Chloe!” Luke roars.

  I go to chase her but am stopped by iron fingers. They grab the back of my jacket and haul me back up the steps. I plunk onto my butt and look up with a gasp. Luke’s face is mottled with raging desperation, his eyes bright with fear.

  “You two will keep your mouths shut.” His voice is trembling as he makes a grab for the buckle in my hand, determined to stop me from exposing him.

  38

  Make It Right

  HOLDEN

  I can’t stop thinking about Maddie…and Luke.

  I’ve been going over it in my head for hours—now that my emotions have simmered down long enough for me to think straight.

  I keep coming back to the same thing over and over.

  The look on Maddie’s face when she told me it was Luke. The way her eyes filled with pain, like she was hurting for me. She knew the truth would feel like a thunder punch. Even though she was battered and bruised, with every right to be enraged, she’s kept it to herself, trying to protect me.

  An
d like an asshole I’ve spent the last two days ignoring her. I’ve punished her because I couldn’t deal.

  As I watched her slump off the field after our loss, it hit me full force.

  Luke loped over, bleating about how unfair our loss was. All I could hear out of his mouth was this immature whining. One excuse after another. He blamed Maddie for a shitty catching job, grumbled that Max was off form with her batting. He basically accused every team member of losing the game for us. Every team member but him and me.

  Gripping the wheel, I slowly make my way to Luke’s house, pounded by the painful memories that come with this realization. When I think back over the last two years with Luke, it’s been tough. His dad bailing on them hit him really hard. I’ve tried to be supportive, ignore his surly moods in an attempt to cut him some slack.

  But if Maddie’s right…

  If he did hurt her…

  I can’t let that slide.

  As much as I want the world to keep spinning in this perfect circle, and for life to just cruise along like nothing at Armitage High can touch me, I can’t do it.

  If Luke’s guilty, it’s up to me to confront him.

  I’m his best friend and although I’d rather swallow broken glass than call him on this, I can’t keep turning my back.

  Hiding from the truth doesn’t make it any less real.

  Dad’s proof of that. He pretends like Mom’s not drinking herself to death, but it doesn’t change the fact that she is.

  If Luke’s stealing, then he needs to stop.

  I need to make him stop.

  Smashing my teeth together, I turn on to his street and nearly choke on the scene that greets me when I reach his house.

  Chloe leaps down the stairs, tripping over herself. Her face is white with fear as she scrambles back to her feet.

  I glance at the porch just as Luke grabs Maddie and roughly hauls her back. Punching the brakes, I screech to a stop on his lawn and jump out of the car as he grabs her hand and tries to pry something out of it.

  “Hey!” I shout, racing out of my car and sprinting towards him.

  Fisting his shirt, I throw him off Maddie before she gets hurt.

  She rolls aside and scrambles to her feet. Her skin is white, making the bruises on her face that much darker. I glance down at the ball of paper in her hand and quickly figure out it’s the buckle.

  The evidence.

  Luke was trying to take it.

  Which means…

  Anger spurts through me in a white rage that takes over. Spinning back to my friend, I grab his shirt, lifting him off his feet and smashing his back against the house.

  “It was you!” I fire at him. “It’s been you this whole time!”

  I slam my fist into his face, agony and wrath fighting for top place within me. I just punched my best friend—the guy who looked out for me. I thought he had my back, but he’s just spent senior year lying to my face.

  Blood trickles from his nose and I let him go, puffing like a bull as I step away from him. “You will never touch her again, you hear me?”

  He crumples to the ground, refusing to look up as he wipes the blood with his finger, smearing it across his cheek.

  “What the fuck, man?” My voice is broken. “Why?”

  Luke swallows, struggling to his feet and glaring at the front lawn. His face takes on a hard edge as he points a shaking finger at Chloe.

  I turn and watch her fumble with her phone. She drops it and immediately falls to her knees, struggling to pick it up with her shaking hands.

  “Chloe.” Maddie’s voice is eerily calm. “It’s okay. Just put the phone away for a sec. Holden’s here now. It’s all right.”

  Maddie’s fingers curl into the back of my hoody. I can feel her quivering behind me.

  My nostrils flare as I stare daggers at the guy who I so desperately tried to defend. “You better start talking.”

  Luke’s jaw juts out, his entire body pulsing with rage.

  Or maybe it’s fear.

  His skin is pale, his hands trembling as he grips the railing, still refusing to look at me.

  Blood continues to trickle from his nose. He sniffs and shakes his head, looking ready to cry.

  Shit. He’s scared.

  My expression crumples before I can stop it. “Why, man? Why’d you do it? Are you responsible for all of it? All the robberies?”

  “I can’t, man.” Luke squeezes the back of his neck. “I can’t go down for this. I can’t…” His voice is shaking so hard he can barely speak.

  My heart starts cracking like an earthquake is tearing through it.

  “Help me,” he whispers. “Please, just don’t say anything. I’ll stop, okay? I won’t do it anymore. I promise.”

  He’s like a desperate kid.

  My throat constricts, making it impossible to speak.

  Maddie tenses behind me.

  Luke’s staring me in the eye, his expression wrinkled with desperate pleading. “Come on, man. Please.”

  I grit my teeth and look away from him.

  “You hit her. You hurt her.” I can’t keep the emotion from my voice. It’s thick and husky as I struggle to get the words out. “How could you do it?”

  It kills me to know it was him.

  Luke’s face bunches with agonized regret. “She caught me by surprise. I didn’t mean to. She’s feisty, you know? I thought I was busted for sure. I had to get out of there before she figured out who I was.”

  I scoff and glance over my shoulder.

  Maddie gives me a hard look, crossing her arms and shaking her head. “He may be desperate, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a thief and a liar. Now, I can forgive him, but we can’t let Vincent take the fall for his mistakes. It’s not fair.” Her bright gaze flicks to Luke. “I’m sorry, but I won’t stay silent anymore. You can’t just get away with this.”

  She looks between us, desperation leaking into her expression.

  She’s begging me to be real.

  She’s begging for the bullshit to stop.

  But she doesn’t have to. There’s no way I’m letting Luke walk free on this one. Not after what he did to her.

  Turning back to my friend, I pin him with a glare that leaves no room for argument. “You’ve got to fix this.”

  His expression folds, his eyes glassing over as he barely manages to whisper, “I can’t.”

  “What do you mean you can’t?”

  “The stuff’s been sold, moved on. It’s done. Come on, man, we all know Vincent’s a shady guy. He can take the fall, and it’ll be no big deal.”

  “No, man. You can’t do that.”

  “I needed the money!” he suddenly screams at me, smacking his hand on the railing. “You don’t know what it’s like. You, with your perfect parents and rich family. You can be anything you want. You can have any girl. You don’t have to fight for anything!”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Oh yeah? When’s the last time your dad took off with no warning? When’s the last time your father refused to pay child support so now your mom is working two jobs just to keep the fucking house!”

  “Luke, man—”

  “You don’t know shit!” His voice breaks. “I had to buy my own Jeep and pretend that it came from him! Every gift Lexy gets from that asshole? I paid for it. I made it happen!” He taps his chest. Breaths are punching out of him fast and erratic. “You don’t think I tried to get a job? I busted my butt working in that shitty diner for like no pay and I nearly flunked out of school last year. You breeze in and out in your fucking convertible, that sick smirk on your face. You don’t have to study to pass. All you have to worry about is what clothes to put on in the morning!”

  “That is not true.” I point at him. “I’ve got problems too. I know what it’s like to feel desperate.”

  “Oh bullshit!” He rushes at me again, but I push him back before he ends up knocking me into Maddie.

  It hurts to fight with him like this. I shouldn�
�t have to defend myself against my best friend.

  I duck away from his swing, pushing him back and wrestling him into a quick headlock before he can do some damage.

  “Calm down.” I hold him a little tighter. “I want to help you.”

  “Whatever, man.” He keeps struggling against me. “You can’t help me.”

  “I will. I’ll help you make this right. But it’s got to start with the truth.”

  Luke fights a little more so I tighten my grip, reminding him that I’m the stronger one, and I’m not relenting.

  Finally, he sags. “The truth is gonna kill me.”

  “Nah, man.” I let him go and step back while he flops to his knees. “It might suck for a while, but it’s gonna be okay. We’re gonna make it okay.”

  “How?” he whines.

  I crouch down beside him, and gently squeeze his shoulder. “It’ll start with a trip to the police station.”

  He tenses, his molten gaze kind of potent.

  I meet it head on. “You know it’s the best way. You walk in with a confession and they’re gonna go easier on you. Make it right, man. Then you can start over.”

  “What about my family?” he croaks.

  I put on a brave smile. “We’re gonna find a way to help them.”

  Luke closes his eyes, his head drooping forward with what almost looks like relief.

  Glancing over my shoulder, I catch Maddie’s eye. She gives me a sad smile, her face radiating with that empathy I love so much.

  Man, I wish I could hold her right now. I wish after I’m done with Luke at the station that I could find her and draw strength from the comfort she’d no doubt give me.

  I wish for a lot of things.

  But I’m not gonna get them.

  Standing tall, I haul Luke to his feet and guide him to my car, which is still running.

  I walk him around to the passenger’s side and help him in before pausing to look at Maddie again. She slashes a tear off her cheek, her lips wobbling when she tries to smile.

  Chloe’s watching us; I can feel it.

  Sliding into the driver’s seat, I get on with the dreaded police visit. As I reverse onto the street, I glance at Luke’s dejected face.