“Do you chase those girls outside though?”
“Not usually,” I said. “Where there’s one pretty girl, there’s fifty more. It’s simple math. Or economics. However you want to look at it.”
“But there’s a flaw in your thinking, Hil,” Vera said.
“And what’s that?”
Vera pushed from the building and flicked her cigarette into the street. “There’s only one of me.”
She puckered her red lips tight and kissed the air again.
As she began to walk away, I reached for her arm and stopped her. “Bullshit aside, beauty, how the fuck do you know my name?”
“I’m a fan of your music,” she said.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Why not?”
“You’ve never been at a show before,” I said.
“So what? I never wanted to come. Or maybe I couldn’t come. For a variety of reasons.”
“Try me then,” I said.
“Time in Paris,” she said. “Then London. A trip through Belfast. Oh, and then that week in Africa was pretty cool.”
“Yeah? You a world traveler?”
“Not by choice,” Vera said. “Happy to be home now. And staying put too. I’m done with that part of my life.”
“Bullshit,” I said.
“What’s wrong, Hil? You think you’re the only one with deep pockets?”
“So you’re some rich girl showing up to a show to flirt with me?”
Vera smiled again. “You think this is me flirting? Oh, fuck, dude, you’re in trouble.”
Speechless and frozen.
That’s what she did to me so fast.
Vera went back inside the cafe.
And I again went after her.
The crowd was thinning out.
Someone was on stage reading poetry.
The entire vibe of the cafe was different now. The excitement and danger of Uly and I up there playing gave way to a more chilled vibe.
I hooked my hand to the back of Vera’s white sweater and pulled.
She threw her head back and laughed like she did when she kissed the other dude.
The dude that had a girlfriend.
Vera purposely and playfully stumbled back until she leaned against me.
My right hand slid around her body, over her sweater.
It was instantly comfortable.
She looked up at me.
“Should we talk about the first thing that pops up?” she asked.
“Oh, I have a lot of questions for you, beauty,” I said. “A lot.”
“Buy me something to drink and I’ll answer every single one of them,” she said.
“Promise?”
“With all of my heart.”
Vera pushed away from me and started spinning and laughed as she did so.
And just like that, she went out the door again.
I turned and saw Aya staring at me.
I held up two fingers.
“Two of what?” Aya asked. “I’m not your servant like at home.”
“I don’t have a servant,” I said.
“What do you want, Hil?” she asked.
“I don’t care,” I said. “Just two of something.”
Aya crouched down and popped up with two bottles of some kind of iced tea that was probably flavored with some trendy berry bullshit that was going to make me think clearer and sleep better. I dug in my pocket for cash and tossed it on the counter.
I hurried back outside, gathering up my list of questions for Vera.
Because on the surface, what she told me may have been true but it wasn’t all the truth.
I walked down the sidewalk and couldn’t find her.
I stopped where we had been smoking together five minutes ago.
“What the fuck?” I whispered to myself.
How the hell did I go from the guy on stage playing guitar, a part of Them, to standing outside with douchey iced tea bottles, getting stood up by some girl?
I heard the beep of a horn and looked toward the sound.
There was a black car with tinted windows.
The backseat window rolled down and Vera’s pretty face appeared.
She put something to her lips and kissed it.
Then she dropped it into the street, laughed, and the car drove away as she put the window up.
I slid the iced tea bottles down my fingers to their skinny necks and I slammed both to the sidewalk. Of course they didn’t break. They were made of some hippy plastic that was good for the environment.
I walked out into the street and saw the piece of paper on the ground.
With Vera’s lip print on it.
I opened the paper, shaking my head.
She had wrote me a note.
C U L8R
I looked down the street and she was gone.
I curled my fist around the note.
If I didn’t, I would have probably kissed the fucking thing.
And I wasn’t going to be some lame douchebag kissing paper, pretending it was some girl.
I nodded.
Vera had gotten the best of me.
For one night.
And that’s what it was.
One night.
I’d probably never see her again.
And if I did, I wouldn’t give her a second of my time.
* * *
I stood outside of Miss Whitaker’s classroom waiting for Uly and Ash.
They had a common interest with Belle and Miss Whitaker.
I looked around and reached into my back pocket.
I hated myself that I kept the fucking letter from Vera.
It was like walking through time again… or back in time… because of what happened before…
It was just something very different to have a girl like Vera act so bold around me.
Usually everyone was afraid of me or heard stories about me and couldn’t figure out what was true or not. And that mysterious notion of fact or fiction made it so I was the one in control.
I folded the letter shut and stared at her lips.
Of course she kissed the fucking piece of paper. Just like she kissed that guy that had a girlfriend. That was her thing. Being loud, obnoxious, wearing red lipstick, getting in your face… meaning she loved attention. She craved it. She wanted a guy like me to feed into it.
The door opened and I tucked the letter away.
Uly came out of the classroom wearing his sunglasses.
Douche.
Ash held hands with Belle as she clutched a notebook to her chest.
“You don’t look happy,” Belle said to me.
“He knows he fucked up that show,” Uly said.
“You still can’t get over that?” I asked.
“Nope,” Uly said.
“Are we here to talk music or something else?” Ash asked.
“I’m here for something else,” I said. “We need to find Owen.”
“Owen?” Uly asked.
“We’re going to find out where the rumor came from,” I said. “Follow me.”
I started to walk but nobody followed me.
I paused and looked back.
“Well, fuck you then,” I said.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Ash asked.
“I always know what I’m doing,” I said.
I moved again and this time I didn’t look back. I had no reason to look back.
If Them didn’t want to follow me, oh well.
The Werthwood car situation wasn’t going to calm down anytime soon.
His car was still missing.
And the rumors were still pointing all fingers at Them.
I didn’t mind the heat, but sometimes you had to cool off.
Which was what I was going to do right now.
I found Owen at his locker.
He was the star pitcher for BFH.
I watched as he stuck his left hand into his locker.
A smile climbed across my face.
My heart and
mind were tangled up in a little bit of a fight and I knew Owen was going to pay a higher price than was really needed.
That was just the way life went sometimes.
I didn’t slam the locker on his hand. I didn’t punch the locker so it would hurt him… much.
I hit the locker.
Enough that it hit his hand.
But Owen was able to jump back and grab his hand.
“Fuck!” he yelled. He looked at me. “What was that for?”
I stepped closer to him and slammed my right fist into his stomach.
He dropped to his knees and started to cough.
“Care to explain?” Ash asked me as he, Uly, and Belle joined the fun.
“This asshole knows something about someone,” I said.
“What are you talking about?” Owen asked.
He looked up at me.
I made a fist and he shuffled back on his knees.
He put his hands out and got to his feet.
And then he started to nod.
“Shit,” Uly said.
“See?” I said. “He knows something.”
“Hil… wait a second…,” Owen pleaded.
“I don’t have seconds,” I said. “Time is precious in life. You never know when it’s going to end.”
I jumped at Owen, putting my left forearm to his chest, slamming him against another set of lockers. He winced in pain and knew he was fucked.
“Just say it,” I said. “I mean, I’m going to punch a few more times no matter what. But if I have some good news, I might be calmer.”
“Please, man,” Owen said. “What the fuck did I do to you?”
“Doesn’t matter what you’ve done,” I said. “It’s what you know. And I know you know something.”
“Hil…”
I pushed off from Owen and he shut his eyes.
I hit him in the stomach again.
He let out a gagging dry heave sound and stumbled toward me.
I pushed him by me and let him fall against his locker.
I punched him from behind, once on each side, knowing those precious kidney shots were brutal to breathe through.
He started to fall again, so I turned him around.
“Next one is your face,” I said.
“Go talk to Mookey,” Owen said in a breathless voice. “Fuck. I hate this shit.”
“Mookey?” Uly asked. “You sure?”
“He told us,” Owen said. “I told him it was bullshit.” Owen groaned. “No way Them would do that. Why steal the car when you can trash it. Right?”
I smiled. “Smart guy here.” I slapped his face. “Thanks for your time, Owen.”
I turned and started to walk down the hallway again.
Ash caught up to me first. “What’s with you, bro?”
“What?”
“You’ve been fucked up since the show.”
“I’m fine,” I said.
“You’re not fine, Hil. You have that look…”
“What look is that, Ash?”
“The same one you had when shit went down with…”
“With what?” I asked.
“Penelope,” he said.
I stopped for a second and looked at Ash. “Is this you pretending to care as my stepbrother or is it Belle riding your ass to be there for me?”
“Does it really matter?” Ash asked. “You’re going to end up doing something stupid and getting yourself hurt.”
“That’s my problem,” I said.
Uly appeared on my other side. Which meant Belle was right behind me.
“How did you know about Owen?” Uly asked.
“I didn’t,” I said.
“What?” Uly asked.
“It’s fucking simple,” I said. “Everyone is talking, right? So just pick someone and start throwing fists.”
“So you didn’t get anything on Owen?” Ash asked.
“Nope.”
“You just picked him?” Uly asked.
“Yup.”
I felt someone push me from behind.
I stepped forward one step and turned.
Belle was right there, on her toes, trying to get into my face. “You’re acting different, Hil. You’re acting mean. Pissed off. Like someone hurt you. What you just did to Owen…”
“He deserved it,” I said. “He had a name, right, beauty?”
“Fuck, he’s got a point, doll,” Uly said to Belle.
“I think it’s a bad idea,” Belle said.
“Then I’ll handle it myself,” Hil said. “It’s happened before, right? We’ve all handled shit on our own. No need to walk into the fire with me. But I’m going to get some answers.”
I winked at Belle.
Ash was quick to slip his arm around her as though I was going to grab her and kiss her or some crazy shit.
I looked at Uly and started to back up.
“I’ll find Mookey,” I said. “You can join me. Them can get the answers needed. Or it can just be me. Think it over. Let me know. I’ll be wandering around here for a little while.” I snapped my fingers and pointed to Uly. “And you know what, Uly? You’re right. I fucked up that show. I really fucked up that show.”
“Okay,” Uly said.
“I’ll make it up to you.”
“How?” Uly asked.
It was an easy idea. And it would take care of a few problems I had at the moment.
I was going to call Aya and let her know Uly and I were going to have another show.
Tonight.
Which meant…
Once we put the word out in the BFH halls about the show, it would float everywhere else.
And then I could see if Vera was going to be true to her word.
So that way I could get a hold of her heart before she got mine.
So I could crush her heart.
And leave her crying her pretty, dark eyes out to her rich parents.
Chapter 5
Mookey was a big dude.
A little bit taller than me and built like a wall.
Shoulder to shoulder he could take up a good part of a hallway.
But Mookey also knew his position in BFH. He was a state champion wrestler, with a full ride at some beach town college a few hours north. His father ran some tech company and had a spot at the boardroom table for Mookey when he finished college.
It was all planned out.
Which was honestly how it went for a lot of us at BFH.
That whole notion of being privileged and shit.
But…
There were rules.
We were Them.
We had control.
And that meant when I found Mookey outside, leaning against his tricked out truck, two girls playing with their hair as they flirted with him, he took one look at me, reached for the girls and told them both to leave.
I walked between the two girls, cigarette between my lips.
I paused and chose the girl on my right. “Hold this, beauty.”
She looked nervous as she took my cigarette from me.
I turned my head to the other girl. “Don’t run. Won’t be long here.”
“Hey, Hil,” Mookey said. “What the fuck is this?”
“You know what this is,” I said.
From the corners of my eyes I saw both Uly and Ash show up.
We had Mookey cornered - or pinned against his truck.
He looked at us, knowing he was fucked.
Uly took off his sunglasses and hung them on the front of his shirt.
Ash was like stone, as always.
“Who fucked with Werthwood’s car?” I asked.
“What?” Mookey asked. He made a pfff sound and shook his head. “I didn’t touch the fucking thing.”
“We didn’t ask if you did,” Uly said.
“I asked who told you about it,” I said.
“I don’t remember,” Mookey said.
I opened my mouth and Ash went for the first strike.
He hit Mookey so hard in the jaw, Moo
key collapsed to the ground.
It was like someone kicked out the back of his legs.
He sat on his ass and looked up at us.
“Oh, damn,” Mookey said. He touched his jaw. “That hurt.”
“Does this?” I asked.
I drove my knee forward and smashed it against his nose.
He grabbed his face.
The two girls behind us let out a yell.
They were afraid but they knew better than to leave.
I crouched down and curled my lip. “Name.”
“Ah, fuck, Hil,” Uly said. “We’ve got eyes.”
I looked over my shoulder and saw Werthwood himself coming toward us.
“Play it cool,” Ash said. “Everyone here play it cool.”
“Got that, Mookey?” I asked.
Mookey nodded.
“What’s going on here?” Werthwood asked.
“Helping out a friend,” Uly said.
“I don’t bel… is that a cigarette?”
The girl I gave my cigarette to burst into tears.
I stood and grabbed the cigarette from her. “It’s a cigarette. It’s mine. Mookey over here tripped over his own giant feet and smashed his face against the side of his truck. I mean, I don’t blame him with these two girls here. Fuck, they’re banging hot, aren’t they?”
Werthwood looked uncomfortable. “There is no smoking here.”
I put the cigarette to my lips and took a drag. Then I dropped it to the ground and stepped on it.
“Mookey, tell him what happened,” Uly said.
“What Hil said,” Mookey said. “I tripped. I’m a big doofus sometimes.”
He let out a deep laugh.
Forced, but it worked.
Werthwood looked at the two girls. “Well?”
They both nodded.
“He fell,” one said.
“He hit his nose,” the other said.
“I thought he was dead,” I said. “Scared me. Don’t need any more drama around here, right?”
Werthwood stared with hatred in his eyes.
“Come here, big guy,” Ash said, offering his hand to Mookey. “Get up on your feet again.”
Ash helped Mookey up.
Mookey used his shirt to clean up the blood from his face.
“Are you okay?” Werthwood asked.
“I’m good,” Mookey said.
Werthwood then folded his arms.
Taking a stand.
Making it known he wasn’t going to just walk away.
Of course he knew Mookey didn’t fucking fall into his own truck. Mookey was a dope but he wasn’t that stupid. And there was no way he could have fallen so hard to bust his nose like that. Not to mention if he did he would have dented the door of his truck with his caveman skull.
HIL: a bay falls high novel Page 4
