“I don’t like what I’m hearing,” my mother said. “Maybe it’s time to be done with that place once and for all. Finish up your last few classes right here.”
“Christ, I could just donate a library and it’s all taken care of,” Samson said.
“Where’s the honor in that?” Ash asked.
I smiled ear to ear.
That was Samson’s favorite line. Always asking about honor.
Because everyone at the table were untouchable when it came to life.
Money, power, lawyers, rinse and repeat until you get the answers you wanted.
“Let’s eat,” my mother said.
“That’s it?” I asked. “You looked really pissed off.”
“We are,” my mother said. “But nothing points to you two - or three - taking that car. And if you say you didn’t do it, we believe you.”
“Whoa,” Ash said. “That was way too easy.”
“Was it?” Samson asked. “What do you want me to do? Flip the table? Break something?”
“You could,” Ash said. “Show a little strength, Dad.”
“Ashby, stop that,” my mother said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Ash said.
I shook my head.
My mother had her claws in him hard.
People from the kitchen came back to the table to fill our plates. My mother and Ash’s father stared at each other, sharing smiles and little tender moments. Samson kissed her hand more than his fork touched his mouth. She forever touched his arm or shoulder.
They loved the hell out of each other.
Usually if Samson was pissed and had a good reason to be pissed, it would be messy.
But this thing… he knew we didn’t do anything.
He knew if we were going to take a car, we were going to do something wild with it.
Not just steal it.
What was the fun in that?
“Oh, one thing,” Samson said. He sipped a glass of wine. “I’m going to have to fend off the police on this one. Shouldn’t be too hard. I can push back and scare them away.”
“I’ll consider it my birthday present this year,” Ash said.
“No, that won’t work,” Samson said. “What I was going to say… you figure it out. Both of you. And Ulysses. Figure it out. I’m not going to figure it out. And I’m not going to have any more phone calls come in. If I do, then I’ll flip the table.”
When Samson yelled it was a little scary. His voice was heavy.
But when he spoke quiet and calm, that was when it was really scary.
That calm demeanor sent chills through my body.
I looked at Ash.
We’d have to get back to figuring out who stole Werthwood’s car.
That was the second most exciting thing I wanted to find.
The first?
I had to look over Vera’s clues and figure out where she was so I could kiss her.
* * *
“You didn’t bring me any fucking fancy dinner food?” Uly asked.
“How about I burp and you lick the air?” I asked.
“That’s disgusting,” Mara said.
“I’ll put a little mustard on my lips first, beauty,” I said to her. “Bet you’d like it then.”
“Hil,” Uly said.
I showed my hands and shut my mouth.
“I don’t know how serious my father is,” Ash said, “but I appreciate the point he was making. We can’t have this kind of thing going around about us. Because each time it gets back to Werthwood or the police, they’re going to poke at us.”
“Fuck,” Uly said.
“Hey,” I said. “Let’s find the car and then fuck it up. So we solve the crime and then add our touch to it.”
“That’s brilliant,” Uly said.
“That’s insane,” Ash said.
“Your point?” I asked.
“I just said it,” Ash said. “It’s fucking insane.”
My phone buzzed.
A text from Vera.
Three clues. 1 - over and under. 2 - sink or swim. 3 - I like the BIG one.
“What are you smiling at over there?” Uly asked.
“Nothing,” I said. I tucked my phone into my back pocket and looked to my motorcycle. “I’m going to get going.”
Ash laughed. “Wow. That was quick.”
“What was quick?” I asked.
“We haven’t even talked for a minute. You’re out?”
“Nothing left to talk about,” I said. “We go back to Mookey. Finish what we started. I’m sure he’s already told everyone to calm the rumors down. So we rough him up again and get whatever names he has and go from there. Just keep digging. Right?”
“Look at how well you listen to your stepfather’s advice,” Ash said.
“Better than living the way your real father does, right?” Uly asked.
I looked at him and curled my lip. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“Like I’m one to talk,” Uly said. “My father is dead, right?”
“Shit,” Ash said. “Are we really going down this road right now?”
“No,” I said. “I’m leaving.”
“To find your g string girl,” Uly said.
“Fuck off, Uly.”
“Don’t play that game,” Uly said. “You’re hooked on her.”
“I said to fuck off,” I said.
“It’s okay, bro,” Ash said. “It’s nice to get something outside of BFH.”
“I would know,” Uly said.
“Fuck you both,” I said. I looked at Ash. “Your girl had no idea what she wanted. And I bet she hasn’t even told you what I did to her.” I looked at Uly. “And you’re banging a dork. A poor dork.”
“Oh, you’re fucking dead,” Uly said.
I threw my right leg over my motorcycle and grabbed my cellphone out of my back pocket to look at Vera’s text again.
I knew Ash would step in and keep Uly from throwing a fist.
We still needed to be friends, right?
Uly’s lip was curled high in the air as Ash whispered to him.
They were right though.
I was bailing on them to find Vera.
This fucking beautiful, crazy girl that I couldn’t get out of my head because she wouldn’t get out of my head.
I checked the text again and nodded.
I could have shown Uly and Ash the text and asked for their help. I could have cruised away and thought about what the clues meant. I could have flirted back with Vera and asked for more clues. Better clues. Easier clues.
Instead, I texted her back.
I’ll be there in a little bit. Be ready beauty.
I nodded to Uly and Ash.
Uly waved his middle fingers at me.
I started my motorcycle and took off.
I knew right where to go to find Vera in no time.
Chapter 8
Tommy pushed his glasses up on his nose and stared at me with pure fear.
I climbed off my motorcycle and offered him my cigarette.
“No thanks,” he said.
“Come on, man,” I said. “Chicks dig it.”
“Yeah?”
“Definitely. You can’t be afraid of everything in life.”
Tommy reached for the cigarette. He pinched it between his thumb and pointer fingers. He slowly put it to his lips and then shook his head.
“Wait,” he said. “What do you want, Hil? Where’s Ash and Uly? I didn’t do anything. Okay?”
“Of course you didn’t,” I said. “But you’re going to do something for me. Right now.”
“I don’t want to smoke cigarettes,” Tommy said.
“Ah, fuck it, yes you do,” I said. “But don’t worry about that now. Are you still a genius hacker?”
“Maybe,” he said.
“Then you’re my new best friend. I heard you have a little room where you do crazy shit from.”
“Who told you that?”
“Tommy, do I have to kick your ass?” I
asked.
Tommy sighed. “Look, Hil, I can’t get into trouble, okay? You remember last year, right? I hacked into the system and changed some grades. I almost got caught. If I was eighteen then I would have been fucked. So right now… I’m fucked.”
“I don’t give a shit about BFH,” I said. “This has nothing to do with grades. Or Werthwood. But, hey, do you know anything about his car?”
“Nothing,” he said. “What do you need then, Hil? Anything outside BFH is even riskier. I’m this close to finishing this year and then I’m out of here. I can’t risk it.”
“No risk here,” I said. “Are you going to let me talk or what?”
“Don’t hurt me,” Tommy said.
I put my arm around his neck. “Fuck, you’re almost making me feel bad for who I am.”
“Hil…”
“If I were to give you a cell number,” I said. “And I needed to know where that number was right now…”
Tommy hung his head. “Who is it?”
“Nobody you know,” I said. “Nobody you need to know. And the person will never know it was you.”
“Hil…”
“Look at me, Tommy,” I said. I grabbed his jaw and his eyes went big. “I’m not going to hurt anyone. I promise. I’m just looking for someone. It’s important. Really important.”
“Technically I can do it,” he said. “I mean, I can probably teach you to do it. But I guess in theory… I can hack… well… let me see…”
I moved away from Tommy and watched him pace back and forth talking to himself.
Tommy was something else. A cliché kind of geek but he had a dark side to him. He knew how to do all kinds of crazy hacking and shit. Some of it was for fun. Some of it was serious shit. We really never messed with him unless we needed something.
And tonight I needed something.
He was going to find Vera.
And I was going to surprise the hell out of her.
I finished my cigarette and clapped my hands together.
Tommy looked at me.
“What are we doing, man?” I called out.
“Whatever you want, Hil,” he said. “I just don’t want my ass kicked.”
I smiled. “Good answer.”
* * *
The room was nothing I’d ever seen before.
It was just screens after screens.
It looked like the room where people would sit and countdown to launch a rocket into space.
There was a buzzing and humming at all times.
The lights were off and the room glowed with red, blue, and green.
Tommy put on some special glasses that he said helped to keep his eyes from frying up.
He laughed.
I didn’t.
I gave him Vera’s number and in an amazing fashion of breaking a shit ton of laws, Tommy had an answer for me in no time.
A few clicks and scrolls and keys clicking away, Tommy clapped his hands and spun around in his chair.
He pointed to the screen behind him, folded his arms, and grinned.
“Got it?” I asked.
“Got it,” he said.
He rattled off a location and I started to laugh.
I knew exactly where Vera was.
“Hey, Hil,” Tommy called out.
“What?” I asked.
“You sure this isn’t anything bad?”
“Logically, if I told you…”
Tommy stood up. “What?”
“Well, you’d know something and you’d be guilty too.”
“Oh, come on,” Tommy said.
I pointed to the screen. “Did anything change?”
Tommy looked back. “No. Signal has been there for about an hour now. Steady.”
“Good.”
“Is this, like, something…”
Tommy wiggled his neck like a bobblehead.
“Tommy, do me a favor?” I asked.
“What?”
“Shut the fuck up,” I said. “Switch the screen to something a little more entertaining. Take care of yourself. Calm down.”
Tommy swallowed hard.
We stared at each other.
I moved my eyes to the screen and smiled.
“I have a lot to say right now,” Tommy said. “But I won’t.”
“Don’t make me kick your ass,” I said. “Or make me call Uly and Ash. You did damn good here. Okay? Next time Raza is having a thing, stop over. If I’m there I’ll make sure things work out in your favor. Understand?”
“Yeah,” Tommy said.
“And don’t be afraid to have a smoke,” I said. “One won’t kill you. But your last one might. Right?”
Tommy just stared.
I got the hell out of there.
I took out my cell and texted Vera.
On my way.
She replied back a few seconds later.
Really? I don’t believe u.
I laughed.
Her clues made sense only because I knew where she was.
I shrugged my shoulders and typed back to her.
I guess we’ll see if I’m right.
I put my phone into my right front pocket and got on my motorcycle to go for a ride.
The crazy shit I do for a crazy girl I wanted to see.
* * *
I turned off the road, when it became too bumpy and rocky I had to stop the motorcycle and walk.
Which was good.
There was a small hill to walk down that would lead to the beach and the ocean.
That’s not where Vera was though.
She was under a pier that connected to the road.
Nobody ever went there because it really wasn’t all that accessible and there was nothing else near it. It was just something you’d drive by, look at it and forget. Or maybe ask yourself what it was once used for and that was it.
It was a good spot to hide.
Over and under… that referred to the pier.
You could be over it or under it.
Sink or swim was the ocean.
Where the pier ended out in the water, there were some heavy rocks and the waves smacked those rocks with force. If you were to sink, you’d be gone for good. Hell, even if you could swim, you’d still be in trouble down there.
Now the last clue… about the BIG one…
That I didn’t get so much.
Maybe it was the pier because it was so big.
Maybe it was the rocks, but they weren’t the biggest compared to other spots.
I stayed up from the beach and watched the pier start to appear from the night’s sky.
Then I saw the glow of a phone screen and I stopped.
I found her.
Vera stood against one of the old pillars.
I stopped walking and watched her.
Too bad it wasn’t light out so I could see everything. In my head I pictured her that first time I saw her. A mess of wildness and temptation.
I took my phone out of my pocket to text her.
I’m going to text you three clues now beauty.
I saw her smile from the glow of her phone. Then her thumbs went to work to reply to my text.
The text came through.
This is my game. Not urs. Don’t b a loser.
I grinned.
You’re cute Vera but everything is my game. Do you want your clues or not?
I watched as Vera lifted her eyes from her phone and shook her head.
Oh, is someone annoyed with me? She doesn’t like to be pushed back at?
All the shit going on with BFH and Werthwood’s car, the rumors it was Them and my mother and Ash’s father kind of pissed at us and there I was worried about Vera.
She replied back to me.
Send ur clues.
I looked around and debated what to send her.
Then it hit me.
I sent three texts.
Look.
To your.
Left.
One after another.
And then Vera looked
left, right at me, and I saw the surprise spread across her face.
She went back to her phone.
To send me another text.
Deal is a deal…
I was done with the cell game bullshit.
My phone was back in my back pocket and I walked toward Vera.
She leaned against the pillar of the pier trying to be so fucking cool and calm.
But as she said… a deal was a deal.
Which meant when I got close enough to her, my hands touched her face.
My fingertips sliding along her cheeks.
Her eyes going wide for a second but calming.
The color of her lips…
Then I pressed my lips to hers.
A deal was a deal and a kiss was a kiss and that was that.
I pulled away but only a few inches.
We found a way to shut each other up for more than a second.
So I kissed her again.
She flirted with my lips with her tongue.
I growled in the back of my throat and started to kiss her some more.
That’s when she pushed me away.
“I said a kiss, Hil,” she said. “Not a fucking cliché make out session under the pier.”
I showed my hands. “Right. What was I thinking?”
“How did you do it?” she asked.
“Lucky guess,” I said. “Except that third clue… I haven’t figured that one out.”
“The BIG one,” Vera said.
She bit her bottom lip and looked down at me.
I knew right where her eyes were looking.
Whoa.
She giggled. “Sorry.”
“What…”
“I’m kidding,” she said. “I mean, maybe I’m not. But I have no proof.”
“Ah,” I said. “Well we can go back to that cliché make out session and then find some more cliché things to do.”
“That’s just so… cliché,” Vera said.
“Wow,” I said.
“Come here, I’ll show you something,” she said.
She walked by me, grabbing my arm.
I followed her but we only took a handful of steps before she stopped.
“There,” she said.
“What?”
“Look up, Hil,” she said.
I threw my head back. “Now what?”
“You’re dumb,” she said.
I looked down at her. “I’m not known for my brains, beauty.”
“Oh, I can tell,” she said. “Look up and let me explain.”
HIL: a bay falls high novel Page 7
