Mess Us Up (Brooks Crest Book 3)

by Jaxson Kidman

  Mama moves from the table and grabs a candlestick.

  She walks it to a box and drops it inside.

  I watch as Jolie watches her.

  Jolie moves toward the kitchen and I follow.

  Mama goes around the counter and stops.

  She turns and looks at the box where she just put the candlestick.

  In a quick motion, she punches the box and knocks it down to the floor.

  Then she grabs her gun off the counter and points it at the box.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I call out.

  Mama stares down at the box. The gun pointed at it.

  Jolie springs into action.

  She hurries to Mama’s side and puts her hand to Mama’s arm.

  Then she hugs her.

  Mama shuts her eyes and lowers her head.

  And the gun.

  The tension in the kitchen eases.

  Jolie takes her hand away from Mama’s arm.

  She inches away a little.

  She kisses Mama’s cheek.

  Mama slowly puts the gun on the counter.

  Jolie looks at me.

  Her eyes are glossy.

  She hurries to the door and leaves the house.

  “Go after her,” Mama says.

  “What was that about?” I ask.

  “Mac, go after her,” Mama says. “Trust me. Go after her. Go get her. Make her yours. Keep her safe. Love her for the rest of your life.”

  “What about you?” I ask. “You can’t be shooting boxes.”

  “I didn’t shoot anything.”

  “You were going to.”

  Mama looks at me. She blinks. She’s quiet.

  It’s almost as though I can see everything washing over her.

  The confusion.

  No, no, no, no…

  “I’ll be fine,” she whispers. She reaches for the counter. “I promise I’ll be fine. Tell Taz to come help me.”

  I run to the door and open it.

  Taz is waiting outside.

  “She took off that way,” he says.

  “Get in there,” I say to him. “Mama is slipping a little.”

  I run to chase after Jolie.

  I feel like I’ve made my choice now too.

  Just like she had done for me.

  I catch up to her just as she’s about to get into her car.

  There’s not a second to spare with her anymore.

  My hands touch her waist.

  I pull her away from the car and then spin her around.

  My hands touch her face.

  Her hands touch my hands.

  I quickly put my mouth to hers.

  I kiss her hard. Fast.

  Her lips against mine.

  Her tongue…

  The way she kisses back. The way she tastes.

  I never want to let her go again.

  She moves her head to break the kiss.

  I put my forehead to hers.

  “I love you, Jolie,” I whisper.

  “I know you do,” she says. “But I have to go.”

  “What?”

  Jolie puts her hands to my chest and pushes me away.

  She closes her eyes.

  She won’t even look at me.

  “I have to go,” she says. “Okay? I just…”

  She shakes her head.

  She slips away from me and gets into her car.

  She shuts the door and starts the car.

  I step back and she looks at me again.

  Tears roll down her cheeks.

  My hands ball up into tight fists.

  Jolie pulls out and drives away.

  Her car disappears into the horizon.

  Her memory still fresh in my heart.

  I walk through the skatepark and feel like I’m almost floating.

  I’m not drunk. Or high.

  I’m not anything.

  That’s the problem.

  Part of me wishes Stimmy was around so I had someone to beat up.

  Then again, anyone here is fair game.

  The crew hangs near the railing, talking with Peg Leg Mikey, finishing up business.

  My eyes move to the ocean.

  My day begins and ends at the same spot.

  I hear someone behind me.

  The wheels of their skateboard hitting the wood of the halfpipe.

  It’s like I can hear every little noise it makes. The squeak of each wheel. The wheel on the wood. The imperfections…

  I feel a wave crash through my body.

  I turn around and there’s some guy standing a foot away from me.

  He smiles at me. “What’s up, Mac?”

  What’s up, Mac?

  I lunge at him.

  In the time it takes me to blink, I hit him in the face.

  He quickly falls to the ground and grabs his skateboard.

  Next thing I know I’m holding my gun in my hand, pointing it at him.

  “Fuck, don’t shoot me,” he yells.

  He’s holding the skateboard over his face and as much of his body as he can.

  My finger is on the trigger.

  Mac… Mac… Mac…

  I can hear Jolie’s voice in my head.

  Then I hear a voice in real life.

  “Mac! Mac!”

  Arms wrap around me.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Les yells into my ear.

  Taz appears in front of me, hands out. “Whoa, whoa, bro. Take a breath. No need to get too crazy here, right?”

  I take that breath and throw my elbows to get Les away from me.

  I look around and everyone is watching me.

  The guy with the skateboard is still on his back, holding the skateboard up.

  “What happened?” Taz asks. “I’ll finish it.”

  “His skateboard is too squeaky,” I say.

  “Seriously?” Les asks.

  I walk away.

  I tuck my gun into the back of my jeans.

  A little distance is a good thing at the moment.

  But it doesn’t last long.

  Les steps up to my left side.

  Taz at my right side.

  They’re silent.

  They get it.

  They understand it.

  “Want me to break his board?” Taz asks.

  “No,” I say.

  “Everything is done here,” Les says. “Business is good. Cash is on point. Things are solid.”

  “Ado is missing,” I say.

  “Fuck,” Taz says. “I heard about that. Fucking sad.”

  “Are we going to get pushed at?” Les asks.

  “Probably,” I say. “But don’t worry, Declan will handle it.”

  I take out a cigarette and light it.

  One drag and I feel a little better.

  Not much.

  I don’t think I’ll ever actually feel better.

  But I can fake it.

  I can do what all these punks at the skatepark do.

  I can chase a high.

  Not the same kind they chase though.

  “Plans,” I say.

  “Let’s hear it,” Taz says.

  “Make some calls,” I say. “I want a full house tonight.”

  “You sure?” Les asks.

  “I’m fucking sure,” I say. “I know exactly what I have to do now.”

  20

  JOLIE

  “I think I’m good,” Violet says as she steps out of the bathroom.

  She’s drying her hair with a towel.

  She’s in fresh clothes.

  A black top with lots of cleavage and jean shorts that are skin tight.

  “You look good,” I say to her. “Although, it’s nice to see you face down in a toilet…”

  “Shut up,” she says. “That was your fault.”

  “How in the hell was that my fault?” I ask.

  “You were all sad and yucky. So I drank to…”

  “You have nothing right now,” I say.

  “I don’t,” Vio
let says.

  She balls up the towel and throws it into the bathroom.

  “Are you going to pick that up?” I ask.

  “Nope,” Violet says.

  I sigh.

  Violet knows how to wear out her welcome really fast.

  But it’s nice to have her around.

  I wander through the living room to the window and stand there.

  I take a few breaths.

  It’s hard to picture Mama Dae not being in that house. Not being in complete control of everything and everyone. I can’t imagine her not cooking giant meals, not pulling a gun on everyone… or just listening to someone else in general.

  It’s almost like she’s going to hide.

  Which she kind of is.

  She’s hiding to protect herself. And to protect Mac and the crew.

  I don’t know if this means Mac has to take care of everything on his own or what…

  “You dreaming over there?”

  I shake my head. “Trying not to cry.”

  “Cry? Oh, Jolie…”

  Violet touches my back and puts her head to my shoulder. I feel her wet hair seep through my shirt.

  “It’s not all that easy, Violet,” I whisper.

  “I know it’s not. I’m sorry for anything I’ve said that wasn’t supportive. It’s not easy to just let go of someone. I know you love him.”

  “There’s a part of me that loves it all… but then it gets so real.”

  “I know.”

  I blink. I don’t want to cry.

  I don’t want Mama Dae to be sick. I don’t want Mama Dae to have had Declan come after me.

  I still haven’t told Violet that part. I probably won’t either. She wouldn’t understand. I kind of feel like Mac right now. I’m the one protecting Violet from that life. Keeping her on the outside the best I can. Letting her see the sexy side of it with these bad boys who have no fear, but not going too far because when you realize what they did…

  “What are you going to do?” Violet asks.

  “I have no idea,” I say.

  “My offer still stands. For us. Together.”

  “You’re a good friend,” I say. “Thanks for being here.”

  “I’m sorry you’re going through so much,” Violet says. “With your family. With Mac. It’s a lot to have happen at once. I always knew you hated law school.”

  “I didn’t hate it.”

  “Yes, you did.” Violet laughs. “You never wanted that. You thought you did. You were going to take the easy path. The one right in front of you.”

  “Is that so bad?” I ask.

  “No,” Violet says. “I would do the same thing myself.”

  I step away from Violet. “Good. Because the way I feel right now… I don’t know what to do. I feel like my entire life has come to a standstill. Yet the world is moving along just fine. I feel left behind.”

  “You’re not left behind, Jolie. You never really told me what happened with Mac. And I know you saw him again today.”

  “I just can’t talk about it,” I say.

  I walk away from Violet.

  This thing with Mac isn’t over yet.

  We have at least one more conversation to have.

  No matter what the ending is.

  “Holy shit,” Violet yells. “Jolie… holy shit…”

  “What?” I ask.

  “You need to come see this right now.”

  I grab the phone from Violet’s hand and stare at it.

  It’s a conversation made up of screenshots.

  About Ado.

  “He’s missing,” Violet says. “Like you went missing…”

  I shake my head. “No. This isn’t the same thing at all.”

  “How do you know?”

  I read the conversation.

  There’s a picture of a flyer with Ado’s picture on it.

  Completely and totally missing.

  But this…

  “Jolie?” Violet asks.

  I hand the phone back to her. “What?”

  “Why are you not freaking out?”

  “Why would I?”

  “You knew about this, didn’t you? This has something to do with Mac, right?”

  Her eyes grow wide.

  I smile. “Violet, stop. Of course I’m freaked out. But who knows what really happened here. Maybe Ado got drunk and hurt himself by accident. Maybe he pissed off the wrong person. I don’t know. Am I supposed to carry this with me?”

  “No,” Violet says.

  She’s not buying what I’m saying.

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “I sound cold right now. I’m just… I’m in my own feelings.”

  “I get it,” she says. “This is just… wow. He’s missing. It wasn’t like this when you went missing. You could tell that was controlled, you know?”

  “Let’s just forget about it all,” I say. “Let’s have a drink or something.”

  “I’ll never argue with that. Can we go down to the beach?”

  “If you want to,” I say.

  “We can get a little tipsy and flirt with hot surfers.”

  “Sounds like a crazy night,” I say. “Are there surfers on the beach in the dark though?”

  “There’s guys,” she says. “A nice smile and a dick… I’m in.”

  I laugh. “Oh, Violet, I love you.”

  “Let’s pack a bag and find some nice smiles and dicks.”

  “A nice smile and a dick,” I say. “I’m going to get a shirt made with that on it for you.”

  We both laugh.

  And we both stop laughing at the sound of a knock at my door.

  Violet looks at the door, probably wondering who it is. Like a normal person would. For me, I’m looking at the door, wondering who’s going to attack me next.

  I’m not sure that feeling will ever go away.

  “Maybe they’re coming to us,” Violet whispers. “They heard us.”

  “Who heard us?” I ask.

  “The guys with the nice smiles and dicks,” Violet says.

  I wave a hand at her and go to the door.

  “Who is it?” I call out.

  “It’s Les.”

  I look back at Violet.

  “Told you so,” she says with a big smile.

  I roll my eyes and open the door.

  “Are you here to say goodbye to me?” I ask.

  “No,” Les says. “Why the fuck would I do that?”

  “Hey, Les,” Violet says.

  “Hey,” Les says. “What are you doing here?”

  “Taking care of Jolie’s broken heart,” Violet says. “Mac really did a number on her.”

  “Violet!” I yell.

  “Yeah, that’s why I’m here,” Les says.

  “For what?” I ask.

  “For me?” Violet asks.

  “I’m…” Les holds up a finger at me. He looks at Violet. “I’m here for you too, Violet. We can talk in a minute.” Les looks at me. “Got a second for me?”

  “Sure,” I say.

  I follow Les out of my apartment.

  “You know, Violet was asking about Ado,” I say.

  “What did you tell her?” Les asks.

  “The truth. I don’t know what’s going on with him. Missing? For real?”

  “That’s true,” Les says. “He is missing. We haven’t seen him in a little while.”

  “How do you think that makes me feel?” I ask. “That I had something to do with it…”

  “You didn’t,” Les says. “Shit happens, Jolie. Move on.”

  “Move on? You came all the way here for that?”

  “No,” Les says. “I came here to put my life on the line for you.”

  “Meaning what?”

  “Do you love Mac?”

  I sigh. “Really?”

  “Just answer the question, Jolie,” Les says.

  “Yes,” I say. “You know that already. Look at everything that happened. Everything I went through for him. For you guys. Everything you all did f
or me. And it’s going to come crashing down because I-”

  “Hold up,” Les says, cutting me off. “I didn’t ask for a story.”

  “Okay…”

  “I can tell you where Mac is,” Les says.

  “Why do I care?”

  “You should. If you love him, you should care. And you should do something about it.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah. Mac is stubborn, Jolie. Really stubborn. You have to hit him hard to get him to listen to you. And Mac likes to destroy things. Around him.”

  “That’s my problem?” I ask.

  “No. But if you love him, you’ll save him from himself. Right now he’s about to destroy everything with you. For good. I’m not so sure that’s a good thing for either of you.”

  “And what am I supposed to do, Les? Just show up and be his hero?”

  “Fuck, no,” Les says. “Show up and kick his ass a little.”

  I stare at Les.

  He’s being dead serious.

  I tell my heart to forget about it.

  Forget about Mac.

  Fuck that.

  I open my apartment door and slide back inside.

  “See you around, Les,” I say.

  “Okay,” he says. “Hey, Violet… good to see you.”

  “You’re leaving?” Violet asks. “No…”

  I shut the door.

  “Jolie, what was that about?” Violet asks. “Can I go talk to him for a second?”

  I look at the floor.

  “Jolie? Hello?”

  I ignore Violet.

  I shut my eyes.

  I picture Mac with a gun in his hand. I see him attacking Declan. I know what he wanted to do. I saved him from that decision.

  Then I picture Mac with me.

  Alone in bed.

  Just me and him.

  The way he looks at me.

  The way he touches me.

  “Jolie, what the hell are you doing?” Violet asks.

  I open my eyes and look at her. “Stay here.”

  “What?”

  “I have to go,” I say.

  “Go? Where? What’s happening?”

  “I don’t know what’s happening,” I say. “I just have to go…”

  I turn and open the apartment door.

  Les is still standing there.

  “Ready now?” Les asks.

  “I hope I don’t regret this.”

  I follow Les to their house.