What’s the worst thing that could happen with that?
* * *
The boy who danced in the clouds, the one who got around, he hurt me without a sound. My heart hit the ground. I stole his hoodie and keys, drove his car into the trees, sweated him out like a disease. And then he said he loved me.
The song was good.
The lyrics were better.
Everything about Vera was completely vicious to what I believed in when it came to pretty girls. Or any girl for that matter.
I walked back to Uly and Ash.
“She’s really talented,” Mara said.
“No shit,” I said.
“Hey,” Uly said, punching my shoulder. “Don’t be an asshole to her.”
“I’ll be outside,” I said.
“You don’t want to hear the rest of it?” Belle asked.
“I’m good,” I said. “She can keep the guitar too if she wants. Good for her. She can write and sing a song.”
I clapped my hands a few times and then walked to the back door and punched it open.
I didn’t even want a cigarette at that point.
I just wanted to pace out back and wait for the night to come to an end.
In a messed up way I got exactly what I wanted.
Vera showed up and showed me again who she was.
But the kind of crazy she had proven herself to be was the kind that had a way of wrapping itself around me.
‘Hey, Hil, I have a crazy idea. You want to be big and tough and protect me? Well, that guy over there with that girl… like opposite end from where we are… he was supposed to go on a date with me. He called it off and told everyone I was fat. I hate him.’
‘Is this you asking me to punch him?’
‘No. Let’s steal his pizza. Make him look like an idiot in front of his date. That slut he’s with? She should come with a warning label. She’s like a baby. She loves to put anything in her mouth.’
‘Let’s go.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Of course.’
I have no problem doing what Penelope wants me to do.
I stand up and walk across the pizza place.
The fresh pizza is resting on the tall tray between the two of them on a date.
I grab the pizza holder itself and lift it off the table.
The guy looks at me.
‘Say one word and I’ll fucking kill you.’
He doesn’t say a word to me.
I turn and leave the pizza place with the pizza, the tray, and the holder.
Penelope giggles the entire time we walk down to the beach to sit and enjoy the stolen food.
Nobody ever gets to hurt her feelings. And those who did it in the past… they were going to pay.
I put my arm around Penelope’s shoulder and pulled her close.
She needs to know I’d do anything for her.
Even after she confesses she didn’t know that guy at the pizza place. There was no date and he never called her fat. Meaning I threatened some guy and his date for no reason other than the fact that Penelope lied to get attention.
I have an idea that something’s off with her. That she’s been talking to Uly. And that Uly thinks she’s been talking to me.
But that’s not what this is.
I’m not the guy she’s fucking using.
I’m the guy she loves.
She’s just fucking with Uly because that’s what she does.
I’m okay with it.
As long as she loves me.
I grabbed for the door handle to go back inside.
The door opened and almost hit me.
It was Vera.
And behind her, the cafe was still applauding her.
She had no problem walking into me, pushing at me to get me out of her way.
The door shut behind her.
We just stared at each other.
She blinked fast.
Really fast.
She sucked in a breath and her lips trembled.
What in the hell is this about?
“There,” she said in a broken whisper. “Happy now, Hil?”
She turned and started to walk away, hugging herself.
Again, that was my chance to get away from her.
Let her walk away.
But I just couldn’t do it.
I was too interested.
Almost too involved, which seemed impossible and stupid at the same time.
I chased her down.
I wrapped my arms around her.
She stopped walking.
And we both froze in time together.
* * *
We took a slow walk along the side of the building.
“I’m not allowed to have music in my life,” Vera said.
“Not allowed?” I asked.
“It’s a rule. I don’t make the rules. I kind of break them though.”
Yes you do, beauty.
“I don’t get that,” I said. “You’re really good. That was impressive what you just did.”
“Even though you didn’t hear all of it.”
“I didn’t… uh… I just had to walk away.”
“Too personal?”
“What?”
“The song. About a boy that broke my heart. Did you have a boy break your heart, Hil?”
“What are you…”
Vera giggled.
I watched the way she smoked her cigarette.
For once in a really long time I didn’t give a damn about anything else except the moment in front of me. Or in this case, the moment next to me.
“So you’re not allowed to have music in your life,” I said. “Yet you’re slamming at playing the guitar and amazing at singing. That’s some cruel shit right there, beauty.”
“It’s life,” she said. She looked at me. “I’m sure you know the feeling.”
“I guess we all have our demons.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Vera said.
We turned the corner of the building to the main sidewalk.
I heard the sound of a clap and something about it just struck me.
That’s when I realized it was the dude who acted like an asshole when Vera first got on stage.
I looked at Vera and then at the dude.
Why not?
I dropped my cigarette, stepped on it, and walked up to the dude and grabbed his shoulder.
“Hey, man, what the…”
He closed his mouth when he realized it was me.
I grabbed him by his shirt and walked him into a parked car.
“What the fuck did I do?”
“Just wanted to see how far your sarcastic ass could go, man,” I said. “So come on. Tell me a story. Or a joke. Come on, man. We’re all here for a laugh, right?”
His eyes moved and he realized I was defending Vera.
Why was I defending her? I had no fucking clue.
It was just an urge.
So there I was.
“I don’t have any jokes,” he said. “I was clapping for real. I was just being a dick when I yelled that to her. But she played a song, right? She was really good. That was a good song.”
I stepped back and pulled the dude with me.
I threw him to the ground.
“It was a really good song,” I said to Vera.
“Just good?” she asked.
Then she smiled.
Fuck me, she likes me doing this…
I grabbed the dude by the back of his shirt and picked him up.
I threw him against the car again and brought my fist back to wreck his face a little.
“Wait,” Vera said. “Don’t do that.”
“What?” I asked her.
“Move away, Hil. It’s okay.”
I stepped back.
Why the fuck am I listening to her?
Vera took my place.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” the dude said to her. “I mean it. I didn’t mean to upset you. Or Hil. I was just messing around.”
/> “That’s okay,” Vera said. “I like to mess around too.”
Hearing her say that kind of made me jealous.
I didn’t like that feeling going through me.
Just like when she kissed that dude who had a girlfriend.
I reached for Vera, because I wasn’t done with the dude yet.
She came out of nowhere with a left hook that hit the dude so hard, he rolled to his left and fell over the hood of the car.
Everyone who saw it let out an ooohhh! sound.
Vera spun around and opened her arms.
She wiggled her fingers, getting everyone around us to clap for her.
Then she jumped at me so I had to catch her.
I held her in my arms and she smiled at me.
Her lips were way too close to mine.
“I can fight my own battles, Hil,” she whispered. “I don’t need you to do that, okay?”
“Noted,” I said.
“Carry me across the street so I can get out of here.”
“So soon?” I asked.
“So soon,” she said. “Are you going to miss me?”
“Nah.”
She laughed.
And I carried her across the street to the same waiting car that she left in the first time.
I put her on her feet and she reached for the backdoor of the car.
“Wait a second, beauty,” I said.
“No time,” she said. “See you later, Hil.”
“No fucking way,” I said.
Vera opened the car door and smiled at me. “I might have left you another present in your guitar case.”
“Your g string?” I asked.
Vera kissed the air and got into the car.
I ran like a damn fool back to the cafe to get to my guitar case.
Ash, Belle, Uly, and Mara were still there.
Vera had put my guitar back in the case and put the case back on the table.
I quickly opened the case and saw nothing different.
I lifted the guitar and that’s when I saw a piece of paper.
With a phone number on it.
“Hil, you good over there?” Uly called out.
I studied the number on the paper.
“I don’t know what the fuck I am right now.”
Chapter 7
I know you want my number. Here it is. Thank me later.
I sent the text and climbed off of my motorcycle.
There was no way in hell I was going to be the first one to go into the mansion.
Funny how a lot of people thought being rich was living easy, free, or whatever else they secretly wanted but couldn’t have.
Yet there I stood at the bottom of a massive set of concrete steps, staring up at a massive door to a house that was considered home but never really was home. It never once felt like home and it never would feel like home.
Home had always been something else for me.
Even after all the bullshit my father did to my mother.
I hadn’t seen him around since he scared the hell out of Belle.
I still remembered when my mother told me she was with Ash’s father. That she had found her happiness in life and wanted to make it real and forever. I had to give it up to both of them. They could have just tossed Ash and I together as stepbrothers and told us to figure it out. Or they could have threatened to send us to Brooks Crest where souls went to rot and die for good.
Instead, my mother and Ash’s father worked hard to make it known how they felt about each other and what they wanted out of what would be a new and unique family.
Samson Rivers was a powerful man but so was my mother. She could take him down with one look.
My phone buzzed in my hand.
Who is this?
I laughed out loud and looked up to the sky.
Vera just loved fucking around with me.
And I was like a dog where someone was breaking up small pieces of a big treat. Eating each piece, begging for more.
Shit. Wrong number then. Sorry.
Vera wasted no time in replying back.
Hey. Play the game a little. Jeez. Don’t be boring.
I shook my head.
I don’t think anything about you or I is boring, Vera.
I turned my head and saw Ash’s truck approaching.
It was still a little weird to have to drive from what was considered my bedroom to the mansion. Even though my bedroom was a pretty damn nice house on the property.
Vera texted me back.
Boring is so… boring. My hand hurts from hitting that guy. Ouch
Ash stopped his truck and climbed out.
I typed back to Vera.
Want me to come kiss it?
“Hey, bro,” Ash said. “Ready for this?”
“Almost,” I said.
“Your mother hates the smell of cigarette smoke,” Ash said.
“Ah, that’s cute. You have a thing for your stepmommy?”
“Careful… I could be your father then,” Ash said.
He laughed.
I flipped him off.
My phone buzzed again.
If you can find me you can kiss me… anywhere.
I exhaled a breath.
“Bro, we have to go inside,” Ash said.
I looked up at him at the top step.
I sent Vera one last text.
Be ready, beauty.
I sent the text and hurried up the steps.
My mother and Ash’s father requested a family dinner.
Which was never a good thing.
If my mother said she was cooking a family dinner, that was one thing. We’d show up, eat, laugh, act like a normal family, and move on in life.
But when Samson Rivers sent an email (yeah, a fucking email) with his official signature at the end of it, requesting your presence for a dinner, you knew shit was going down.
“Let’s get this over with,” I said.
When we got to the door, my phone buzzed again.
Vera wasn’t done yet.
I’ll send you three clues. Then come find me.
“Shit,” I whispered. “This girl is crazy.”
“That one from the cafe?” Ash asked.
“Yeah. She’s…”
The heavy front door opened.
My mother and Ash’s father stood together.
And they looked mad as hell.
* * *
We were escorted to the not-so-formal dining room. The formal dining room was big enough to seat fifty people easily and had room in the corner for a full band. Which they would always pay for so there was soft, classical dinner music.
This dining room sat a mere twelve and only had a giant chandelier instead of a fucking giant chandelier.
Our plates were set and the kitchen staff brought way too much food to the table.
Whatever the hell the food was, it was probably something pronounced in another language.
I was cool with pizza or a burger.
Ash and I looked at each other, feeling the same thing.
My mother and his father hadn’t said a word yet.
The longer they were silent, the worse this was going to be.
Ash reached across the table for a dinner roll.
Samson cleared his throat and Ash dropped the roll.
I reached across the table to grab the same dinner roll.
My mother looked at me with wide eyes.
I slowly sat back, with the roll, and had no problem taking a bite.
“Show some respect, Philip,” Samson said.
“I’m hungry,” I said.
“I’ll start this,” my mother said.
“Please, Vanessa, allow me,” Samson said.
His face twisted a little as he leaned forward.
I looked at Ash and nodded.
He made a move again for a dinner roll and this time nobody said anything to him.
“I received an interesting call today,” Samson said. “Inquiring about a missing car.”
r /> “That’s what this is about?” I asked as I laughed. “Oh, damn, we can eat now.”
“Philip,” my mother said.
“We didn’t do anything,” I said.
“Honestly,” Ash said. “Werthwood’s car was stolen and everyone just assumed it was us. We even talked to Werthwood.”
“I don’t like that kind of phone call,” Samson said. He slowly started to stand. “I am not going to babysit you two. Or I should say the three of you because Ulysses is always involved in these things.”
“You’re right,” I said. “Uly is the worst. I don’t even like him. Ash does. That’s why he hangs around with us.”
“Fuck off, Hil,” Ash said.
“Language!” my mother cried out.
We both shut up.
“The call was pretty serious,” Samson said. “I wanted to have this dinner to talk about our options. How we make this go away.”
“Or you both fess up and take your punishment,” my mother said.
“Mom, I swear to you,” I said. “You know me. If I get busted on something, I own up to it. I have no reason to hide anything. This? I didn’t do this.”
“None of us did,” Ash said. “Why would we steal a car?”
“Why wouldn’t you?” Samson asked his son.
“You’re wasting your time,” Ash said.
The table fell silent.
My mother reached for Samson’s hand to get him to sit back down.
“There’s a lot going on right now,” my mother said. “We don’t need this. It was an unexpected call. A little threatening too.”
“That I can handle,” Samson said. “I just want to know what you two did.”
“This time… nothing,” I said. “But we’ve been figuring it out.”
“Like you taught us, Dad,” Ash said. “Never take no for an answer. And the first answer is always bullshit. Right?”
Samson slowly grinned. “What else?”
“Pick someone and don’t give up,” I said. “Within a day I had two names to go after. Two. And you know who got in the way to make me stop?”
“Who?” Samson asked.
“Werthwood,” Ash said. “He got in the way. And we talked to him. Went right into his office. On our own.”
“Never do that,” Samson said. “Not without someone there.”
“But we have nothing to hide,” I said. “This is a waste. He either lost it himself or someone is messing with him… and us.”
HIL: a bay falls high novel Page 6