Toxic Creek (The Allstars Series Book 1)

by KC Kean

  Right?

  “Want to head for lunch early?” Charlie offers as she comes to stand in front of me, and I nod in agreement.

  “Yeah, pull me away from their crazy before I do something stupid.”

  23

  Xavier

  “You ready for the game tonight, X?”

  I glance over my shoulder as I grab my bag to see Billy rubbing his hands together. He’s the captain of our defense, a good player, but a real fucking pain in my ass.

  If I offered to let him suck my dick, he would, just to get closer to us. It’s embarrassing.

  “We’re always ready, Billy. Let’s hope you’ve got the boys tight and ready to go, huh,” Hunter says, knowing I won’t respond when I’m trying to get into the zone, and we head to the door, leaving him rambling to himself near my locker.

  Tobias is already waiting outside of the door, Archie by his side as a flash of blonde catches my attention.

  Eden.

  Tobias grins, biting his lips as he watches her leave, and I can’t deny that she holds my attention just like she did the first time I saw her. The pain in her eyes still swirls, intoxicating me. But I have restraint, most of the time, unlike Tobias and now even Hunter, which is a huge surprise.

  He doesn’t like anyone all that much, but his eyes are watching her ass sway as she gives us her back. Again. I feel like she’s always walking away.

  “What did you say to her?” Hunter asks, looking straight at Tobias, who shrugs playfully.

  “Me? I would never.” He gapes between us, acting innocent, which makes Archie scoff.

  “Someone, aka Tobias, stole my phone and Eden’s number along with it. She left, grumbling something about getting a new sim card.”

  Her number? I like the sound of that. It makes her even more available to me. To us. Which means she cannot be allowed to change it. Hunter stares at me, his eyes flickering to my hands now fisted at my side, and he reads me like a book. I can’t believe we didn’t already have her details.

  “If she changes her number, we’ll just get that one too,” he states, and Archie shakes his head at us.

  “I do not hear any of this. Nope. I’m going to go and find Eden and Charlie for lunch. Are you guys all coming too?”

  “Hell yeah, or I hope to be tonight at least,” Tobias says, wiggling his eyebrows, and Archie cringes at his joke while Hunter and I say nothing. Although, my dick definitely heard his statement.

  It reminds me how close Tobias had been to getting Eden the other day. The way she reacted to him kissing her collarbone had made me as hard as a rock in an instant. Her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks as her neck instantly flushed, and I couldn’t stop myself from interrupting, cockblocking the hell out of him.

  I wanted her to remember how I had made her feel, how she had whimpered and moaned under my touch.

  Heading down the hall towards the cafeteria, I feel much more at ease than I did earlier in the week. The only thing knocking me off balance is Eden. Everyone else is remembering their place and falling in line, and that includes Roxy and KitKat.

  My phone vibrates in my jeans pocket, and when I pull it out, I’m surprised to see my mother’s name flashing across the screen.

  “You guys go on ahead,” I murmur, flashing the guys my screen, and they nod in understanding.

  Slipping into the closest empty classroom, I shut the door behind me as I answer, not breathing a word as I wait for her to speak.

  “Xavier, are you there?” I can hear the annoyance and irritation in her voice, the only emotions she ever really offers. Unless she’s going hardcore with hatred and anger, so this is practically her being mellow.

  “Who else do you think is going to answer my phone?” I answer back, bored with her already as I take a seat on the edge of the teacher’s desk.

  “Need I remind you who you are speaking to?” she bites out, needing to try and pull me in line like she does everyone else, when it really should be the other way around. Just a little longer, then we can make a play to get out of here. Tension vibrates through my body as I force myself to remain calm.

  “What did you call for?” I ask, ignoring her question with one of my own, and her sigh is heavy down the line.

  “We won’t be coming to your game tonight, I’m afraid.”

  I frown down at my phone before bringing it back to my ear. “You never come to my games anyway.”

  “Well, that’s because it’s a fucking ridiculous sport that takes you away from your responsibilities. I told you, once you finish school at Asheville High, you’ll have no time for such useless shit. Your money stops unless you join the family business.”

  I roll my eyes at her usual lecture. It’s bullshit. She’s bullshit. She also has no clue that I have every intention to get the fuck out of here the second we throw our graduation caps in the air, if I even stick around that long.

  I don’t need her or her money.

  I’ve already had an early acceptance scholarship for football at Ohio State, and even without that, she has no clue we set up our own company. She would have to jump through a lot of hoops to find it. With all our offshore accounts, it bounces around all the time, never linking to any of our names. Just how we like it.

  Hunter is a fucking tech genius. Coding should be his middle name.

  “I’m very aware, Mother,” I finally respond, not reacting to her usual outbursts.

  “I was going to come to your game this evening, your father and I have some important news to share with you and the town.”

  Ah, so there’s the hidden agenda.

  “And what might that news be?” Swiping a hand down my face, I glance at the clock on the wall, willing her to get a move on so I can eat.

  “I’m running for mayor.” She says the words so sweetly and almost joyfully that I replay the words to make sure she really is my mother. “Aren’t you going to congratulate me?” She tsks, confirming she is the one and only Ilana Knight.

  “I thought Montgomery was the mayor?” Roxy’s father has been the mayor of the town for as long as I can remember, running to the beat of my mother’s drum the whole time.

  “We have come to a disagreement, which is none of your concern, and I always say, if you want a job done properly, do it yourself.”

  I’m intrigued to know why this is suddenly happening, but I know she’ll never say a word. Roxy might, though. Maybe. She’s closer with her family than I am anyway.

  “I’ll congratulate you when you win.”

  “Like that wouldn’t happen,” she says with a scoff. “So, have you been having fun?”

  “With what?” I play dumb, knowing full well the conversation has turned to Eden.

  “Don’t play coy, Xavier. It doesn’t suit you.”

  Pacing in front of the desk, I rub the back of my neck, needing to play this exactly as she expects me to.

  “Oh, you mean the Grady? Yeah, what’s that about?”

  “Honestly, Xavier, you should have seen the fear in Jennifer Grady's eyes when I forced her to pack Eden up in her fancy SUV and send her to Knight’s Creek.” The laughter in her voice would usually resonate inside of me, but I only feel a chill down my spine as my protective instincts try to kick in. “She cried, pleaded, and screamed for nothing.”

  “Why is she even here? She’s a pariah.” I have to force myself to remain neutral, dismissive, but the words burn my throat. She’s not, but if I can get some kind of explanation, maybe it’ll help us. Help Eden.

  “That’s not information you’re required to know just yet. But let’s just say it’s an old feud I decided to cash in on. Make her pay, my prince.”

  With that, the call goes dead, and I’m left no wiser than I was earlier. Fuck. Her crazy is off the scales at the minute. She’s always been unpredictable, but knowing she’s targeted Eden puts me at a disadvantage.

  Anger slowly starts to simmer at my core. I hate the dirty games my mother plays when I don’t get the insight. If I knew what was hap
pening, I would feel differently, but she always leaves me feeling under her control instead of in control.

  I want to drive my fist into the wooden desk at my side in anger, but that’ll only pull me off the field tonight and I can’t let that happen. Not when I know she’ll benefit from the situation overall. I know this is an intentional attempt at trying to see if I’ll react to her talking about Eden, and I won’t rise to the bait.

  Grabbing my bag, I storm from the classroom, striding confidently into the cafeteria to find the guys sitting at our usual table, and Eden to the far right with Charlie like she always is.

  I can never decide if I’m checking her out or deciding what would be the best way to kill her. Either way, I can’t keep my eyes off her. Whatever she brings out in me, I don’t like it. It makes me feel even less in control than my mother does, and I won’t allow it.

  24

  Eden

  I can hear the chants and cheers from the gates of Knight’s Creek’s very own fully equipped football stadium. I had to use my GPS to get here, heading away from the ocean, taking about twenty minutes.

  I’m excited for the game. The buzz of the crowd, and the chance to finally see the Allstars in action.

  Charlie had messaged me to make sure I was still coming, and there was no way I could say no. Not when Archie had left my entry ticket on my bed with an Asheville Knight’s Allstars jersey beside it. Freemont was printed on the back, so it was either his or he had it made, but either way, it was awesome.

  He’s my rock in this toxic, fucked-up town, never questioning or judging me and always offering support and friendship. The first platonic relationship I’ve ever had with a guy, and as much as I won’t admit it to him, I can’t picture him not in my life.

  Handing over my ticket, the lady directs me to take the stairs straight ahead, which will lead me to the family seating. I can hear the music thumping through the stadium as the crowd cheers, and the upbeat tune makes me believe the cheer squad is already dancing.

  It’s still so warm, especially since there’s no sea breeze this far inland, so I’m glad I paired my newly acquired jersey with a pair of denim shorts and my black Converse. My hair is piled on top of my head in a messy bun, and my makeup is at a minimum with my sunglasses perfectly in place.

  I promised Charlie I would go to the after-party and even make an effort, so I’ll do all that after the game. I’m horny and sexually frustrated beyond belief, so the effort will be worth it if it attracts the attention I want. I just need to decide who to set my sights on.

  Taking the steps two at a time, I brush past all the bodies standing around the food stand, the smell of hot dogs and popcorn polluting the space. Making my way to the steps on the other side, I stop to take in the view.

  Holy shit, do they take this sport seriously. Glancing around at the field and capacity, it’s easily college-sized. I remember going to the Notre Dame Stadium when we lived in Indiana, and this is probably the same size. The capacity easily holds over seventy-thousand people, a lot of the seats built up high, and Charlie’s comments about the tower seats suddenly make sense.

  It’s like a sea of green and white surrounding me as everyone soaks in the team colors, and it only adds to the energy and excitement in here.

  What surprises me even more is how many people are actually here. It looks as though the seats are three-quarters full, and that’s not taking into consideration all the people that are still lingering around the stadium.

  Quickly checking my ticket, I search the rows and slowly start making my way down. I’m right where the team huddles are, only two rows back, with the most amazing view of the field and the tunnel right in front of me. The family seating is just like general seating, just with a better view, and close to all the action.

  Excitement bubbles inside of me. It’s been far too long since I’ve been to a game instead of catching the latest NFL mash-up on the big screen.

  The bottom four rows are cornered off for the family zone, and I slip past the few members already seated, dropping down into a padded seat. My butt appreciates the little family luxuries in comparison to the usual hard plastic.

  I feel a few side glances from other members of the crowd, likely gossiping about the new girl in the hot seats, but no one speaks to me directly.

  The cheerleaders and mascot are dancing a little farther to my left, and it looks like their seats are near to where they are, and I’m glad they aren’t too close to the family seating.

  Charlie spots me and smiles wide before being spun up in the air, and my stomach takes a dip. Nope. Not for me.

  I relax back into my seat, silently excited to see the Allstars in all of their hot football glory, when a small hand is placed on my leg, pulling my gaze from the field. The cutest little boy I ever did see stares back at me, with messy blond curls and big grey eyes.

  He can’t be more than two, three at the most, smiling from ear to ear as he pats my knee.

  “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, he has no social boundaries yet,” a woman murmurs, coming to stand behind him before flopping down into a seat, leaving one free between us and pulling the little boy onto her lap.

  He fusses in her arms, reaching his hands out to try and grab me as she continues to apologize.

  Her blonde wavy hair is pulled back with a hair tie, her blue eyes filled with a mixture of exhaustion and love.

  “It’s no stress at all, honestly.” I offer her a genuine smile, and her face relaxes with relief as I glance back at the man of the hour. “Hello, little man, what’s your name?” I ask, letting him grab my finger, and he calms instantly.

  “Cody, Cody, Cody,” he chants, waving my hand around as he does, making me smile.

  “Are you a good boy for your mama, Cody?” I ask, and he nods eagerly.

  “He’s a liar,” the woman mutters, and I snicker along with her. “I’m Bethany, Hunter Asheville’s older sister. You know him?” she asks, and I just raise my eyebrow at her, which is all the answer she needs. “Right. Of course. He’s a d-i-c-k head. I apologize for him too. No manners at all.”

  “Do I really have to spend the rest of my life apologizing for the men around me? I do not have time for that.” I scoff, letting Cody continue to swing my finger playfully. “I’m Eden. A friend of Archie Freemont.”

  She nods in understanding, and I can see the sparkle in her eyes as she’s about to question what I mean by a friend, but the intro music starts up and the whole stadium begins to cheer.

  The banging of drums from the school band begins to play, and green balloons suddenly start drifting into the air on the other end of the fifty-yard line, and the reaction from the crowd is wild.

  I instinctively glance at little Cody, worried about all the noise, but Bethany has placed some noise defenders over his ears. Standing, they do the same, but Cody won’t release my finger. If anything, he pulls me closer.

  Offering my hands out, Bethany gives me a look to make sure I know what I’m getting myself into, but I just can’t bring myself to say no to him, especially with his little puppy dog eyes pleading with me.

  The second she hands him off to me, he wraps his arms around my neck and legs around my waist, squeezing me tight. Holding him close, my eyes fall shut on their own accord. My heart swells with love. Damn, do I need this.

  I don’t think anyone has held me so tightly since my dad was taken from me, and it’s in the arms of a two-year-old. I feel calmer than I ever have since I arrived here. The feel of a hand squeezing my arm in comfort forces me to open my eyes, and a sympathetic Bethany smiles at me.

  Not liking the attention, I look out to the field just as the team lines up, helmets at their feet as they hold their position for the national anthem to play.

  Archie spots me immediately, waving before placing his hand on his chest. I don’t see Richard anywhere, and it makes me even more glad that I came to support him. He deserves it.

  Moving my eyes down the line, I don’t have to go far to find three se
ts of eyes staring back at me. Tobias is grinning wide as he trails his eyes over my bare legs, while Xavier stares at me with surprise. It’s not until I look closer at a frowning Hunter do I understand why.

  Cody.

  Bethany leans in, pointing out Hunter to Cody, and he releases an arm from around my neck to wave manically at Hunter, who stuns me when he waves back, wiping the frown from his face as he does.

  Forcing myself to look away from them, I fuss over Cody, who loves the attention as they get ready to start the game. The second the referee blows the whistle, we retake our seats, and Bethany magically pulls snacks out of thin air to keep Cody happy.

  I watch as the Allstars start the game off, the atmosphere is electric as Xavier steps back onto his right foot, crouching ever so slightly, before launching the ball forward, and the whole field lights up. Tobias catches the ball with ease, his pace powerful as he easily makes it twenty yards before he’s wiped off his feet.

  My heart lurches in my chest, but he’s quick to bounce back up again. The team huddles around, and they go again, but this time Hunter has the ball and covers a huge distance in the middle of the field. I can’t pull my eyes from him, watching every move he makes as he practically rolls into the end zone, and just like that, the points roll in.

  This whole team is a power drive. The defense is solid, the opposition lucky to cover anything more than ten yards, while the offense is an absolute force to be reckoned with. Xavier is probably the best QB I have ever seen live, with the potential to make history. I can feel it in my soul.

  I watch as Xavier, Tobias, Hunter, and Archie work in sync, encouraging the rest of the team to feel their energy, and it really is electric.

  Completely lost to the pure magic taking place before me, with a happy Cody clapping along with the rest of the crowd, the game goes all too quickly. The referee signals for the fourth quarter as the score sits at 31-6 to the Allstars.

  “I’m going to take Cody for a diaper change while everyone has retaken their seats. Do you want me to grab you anything on the way back?” Bethany asks, and I hand the little man over.