Hidden Creek Secrets (Hidden Creek High Book 1)

by Jaxson Kidman

  “No, he’s solid,” I said as I walked to Leo.

  I put my arm around his neck and squeezed tight.

  “Wes,” Leo growled.

  “I’ll fucking take you to the junkyard and leave you there to rot,” I warned. “You got that?”

  “Yeah, fine,” Leo said.

  “You want to do something for me?”

  “Sure.”

  I released my hold. “Go track down Kailey.”

  Leo lifted an eyebrow. “Kailey. Tiny tits.”

  “Hey,” I said. “Tits are tits. Big, small, in between. Don’t be rude.”

  “I love Kailey’s tits.”

  “Christ, Leo. This isn’t about her tits, okay?”

  “What’s it about?”

  “Just go find her,” I said. “And when you do, tell me if she’s with anyone.”

  “That’s it?”

  “That’s it,” I said.

  “What’s going on?”

  I swung my right hand and hit Leo in the nose, just like he did to Flynn.

  “Oops,” I said. “My hand slipped.”

  Leo backed away, cursing me under his breath, and he left the shop to go do what I said. Between Jett and Pop I understand how power worked.

  When I turned, Dusty had his eyes on me. “Did you just hit him?”

  “No. My fist did. He liked it. He’s into kinky shit.”

  “Christ, Weslee,” Jett said.

  “Okay, what the hell is this?” I asked.

  Now I was getting irritated. The day had gotten away from me. And what I saw in the window and on the beach…

  “There was an accident not far from here,” Dusty said. “Guy on a stolen motorcycle dropped the bike in a chase.”

  “So?” Jett asked.

  “Keyword… stolen.”

  “So ask the guy,” I said.

  “I would,” Dusty said. “But his brains were smeared across the road.”

  “Shit,” Jett said.

  “We don’t deal in stolen stuff,” I said. “You know that. More than anyone else in this town.”

  Dusty nodded. “It’s sort of implied I stop over and ask though.”

  “Or maybe you’re asking us to keep our eyes open for any funny things,” Jett said. “In case something stolen comes our way.”

  “Exactly,” Dusty said. “That happens and you take it in and call me.”

  “I can do that, Dusty.”

  “Good.” He offered his hand and Jett took his. “Oh, by the way, I saw Julia before. Driving with someone.”

  “Why the hell do I care about that?” Jett growled.

  I cringed.

  Talking about Julia to Jett was a very touchy subject.

  “It wasn’t like that,” Dusty said. “She had a young woman with her. Bags in the backseat too. Looked like someone traveling with her. Moving in with her. Kind of looked familiar to me.”

  “I don’t know anything about that,” Jett said.

  “Right,” Dusty said. He looked right at me. “Stay out of trouble.”

  That was a direct message.

  To stay away from Aira.

  That wasn’t going to fucking happen.

  Chapter 4

  Aira

  The second I pointed to the house, I should have realized it was a big mistake. Because now my personal space was all given away to Kailey and Charlotte.

  The plan had been to sit on my bed, tempt myself with what was inside my bag, and then trade those thoughts with those of Weslee for a few minutes. I wanted to know what Kailey and Charlotte meant by not having him look at me. Or talk to me. Or come near me. That he was bad news. That he was trouble. I tried to tell both of them that I knew Weslee, but they insisted I knew nothing.

  There wasn’t much I could argue because they lived in the town of Hidden, went to school at Hidden Creek High and I was the newbie one more time in my life.

  And speaking of Kailey, guess who showed up at the house looking for me to go to a party?

  I had my hand in the front pouch of my bag, tempting to touch…

  When the bedroom door opened, Julia was standing there with a dishtowel tossed over her shoulder.

  “Kailey’s here,” she said so casually.

  “Great,” I said.

  I walked to the door and my nose smelled something burned.

  I looked back at Julia as she stared at something on the stove with a frown.

  Her eyes met mine. “I’m thinking we’re going to be a pizza family.”

  “I like that,” I said. “What did you make?”

  “It’s supposed to be chicken.”

  “Isn’t chicken easy to cook?” I asked.

  “Hence the pizza comment.”

  Then again what did I know about cooking? We had all of our meals cooked for us. There was never a time my mother or father did anything in the kitchen other than walk through it as just another room in the house that no longer existed.

  I stepped out to the porch and Kailey looked dressed to kill.

  Killer short shirt and tight jean shorts, showing off her long and toned legs. Her shirt came half way up her body and thanks to the beach breeze, her nipples were perky, showing that she didn’t want or need to wear a bra.

  “We’re going to a party,” she said.

  “We are?” I asked.

  “Yes. You can sort of get a vibe of the town and school before Monday.”

  “Right.”

  “I didn’t give you a choice, Aira.”

  “I know.”

  “Are you ever going to tell me what you're doing here? What brought you back? Why you’re living with…”

  “My aunt,” I said. “My parents are busy right now.”

  “And you couldn’t stay where you were?”

  “Tell you what. If I come to this party, you can’t ask me anything about why I’m here anymore.”

  “Just for tonight.”

  “Fine.”

  Kailey stuck up her pinky for me and smiled.

  I rolled my eyes as I laughed.

  I hooked my pinky to hers. “Last time we did this, it was to make sure we didn’t tell on each other for finding that magazine under your mother’s bed.”

  “I know,” Kailey said. “That was so gross.”

  “Three words,” I whispered and I closed in on her. “So. Much. Hair.”

  “One more word. Everywhere.”

  We both started to giggle.

  The door opened behind me.

  Kailey’s nose twitched. “What is that smell?”

  “Dinner,” Julia said. “It’s French. Chicken a la burnt. Want some?”

  “Say no,” I whispered.

  “No thank you,” Kailey said in a proper voice. “Do you mind if I steal your niece for a few hours tonight?”

  Julia eyed me.

  “I’m going to a party,” I said. “There’s probably boys and booze and bad decisions waiting.”

  “That’s not really selling it to me,” Julia said.

  “I’m just being honest. Unless you want me to sit around in my room and do nothing…”

  “No stupid stuff,” Julia said.

  “She’s lying anyway,” Kailey said. “It’s a friend’s house. Just a few of us. Girl talk. Gossip. Figuring out who the cute boys really are.”

  “Do you need my car?” Julia asked.

  “No,” Kailey said. “I’ve got a car.”

  Kailey took my hand and pulled.

  With that, we hurried away together.

  Okay, fine, I didn’t mind the idea of going to a party.

  “Liam’s parents are like never home,” Kailey said to me as we walked shoulder to shoulder. “They spend a lot of time overseas. I don’t know why they don’t just move there for good. But whatever. It’s a good place to party.”

  I looked over my shoulder. “Why did we park so far away?”

  “Easier to get away if the cops show up,” Kailey said. “Have to think straight.”

  “You’re an expert,”
I said.

  So Liam’s house was one of the big houses right on the beach with the million windows I had seen before.

  And whatever Kailey told Julia it was just one big lie.

  There were people everywhere.

  On the front porch. On the first balcony. And even on the second balcony.

  I stretched my neck as I looked to the top of the house.

  The strange thing was so many people there I knew. Now whether I remembered them or they remembered me was another story. It was like coming home or something.

  “Ready to have your cherry popped?” Kailey asked as we walked up the porch steps.

  “What?” I asked.

  She snorted. “Nothing. Just… you know… first time at a Hidden Creek High party.”

  “Oh.”

  Don’t talk about that other thing. Or anything about me. Ever.

  Kailey opened the front door like she owned the place.

  The house was full of people, music, laughter, yells, and within taking two steps, both Kailey and I were handed a cup with something inside. I smelled the contents and it was sweet but pretty obvious it was laced with booze.

  I put my cup down on a table as we walked down a massive hallway.

  Kailey wasted no time in throwing her cup back, chugging.

  Great.

  She made a left turn and grabbed my hand to take me with her.

  Next thing I knew I was in this living room with fancy leather couches and themed so nautical that I expected the air to taste like salt.

  I recognized Charlotte.

  When she saw us, she jumped up from one of the couches.

  “Bitches!” she cried out.

  She stepped forward and hooked her foot to the coffee table and came flying right at us.

  Something told me this girl couldn’t stay on her feet.

  Maybe in more than one way too.

  I caught Charlotte and had a handful of her boob. I hated her even more. It was a great boob. A really great boob.

  She threw her back and laughed.

  “At least get me a drink before you touch me,” she said in a slurred voice.

  “Ah,” I said. “You’ve been here for a bit, huh?”

  Charlotte reached up and touched my nose. “You’re so pretty and cool, Aira. Like a bad ass. You’re a rebel, aren’t you? I bet you fuck boys and make them cry. Never talk to them again.”

  “Wow,” Kailey said. “You’re really feeling it tonight, Char.”

  I slid my hand away from Charlotte’s boob and helped her back to the couch.

  “Where’s Flynn?” Kailey asked.

  “He went for a smoke,” Charlotte said.

  “I want to break his neck, by the way.”

  “Did he try touching you?” Charlotte asked, eyes wide.

  “No,” Kailey said. “But Leo was following me.”

  “Who’s Leo?” I asked.

  Kailey looked at me. “Trouble.”

  “Trouble?” I asked.

  “They all are. That entire group. I want to know why Leo was watching me.”

  I looked over my shoulder, everyone around us was just doing their thing.

  “Maybe he likes you,” Charlotte said. “We can double then. Oh, and if Aira is dumb enough to-”

  “Just stop,” Kailey said. “Leo is a filthy dude. No way I’m going near him. Plus, he’s the one who started calling me that name.”

  “What name?” I asked, putting my attention back to Kailey and Charlotte.

  “Nothing,” Kailey said.

  “Tiny tits,” Charlotte said in what was supposed to be a whisper but was loud enough for everyone around us to hear.

  “Hey!” Kailey said. “Not cool.”

  I looked over at two girls staring.

  “Problem?” I asked.

  They both shrugged.

  “You hear something you like? You want to come over and see? Want to feel? Huh?”

  The two girls looked at each other and walked away.

  “Wow,” Charlotte said.

  “Jeez, you okay, Aira?” Kailey asked.

  “Hate when people do that. Don’t look at me unless I know you or else you’re getting a smack to the mouth.”

  “You are bitter,” Kailey said. “I like it.”

  “Why don’t you sit with her?” I asked Kailey as I pointed to Charlotte. “I’ll go track down some water.”

  “You sure?” Kailey asked.

  “This isn’t my first party, Kailey. I really don’t care who is here. Most of these people I already know.”

  “Right. Of course. Sorry.” Kailey touched my hand. “Hey. I always thought about you. Not in a weird way. But we were friends. I know we kind of just got stuck next to each other because of our last names. But you were a friend.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I’m glad to be back.”

  I snuck away into the kitchen of the massive beach house. I looked up and around, amazed at the windows. I had no idea why the windows were the things that always stuck out to me.

  There was a large marble countertop that went in all shapes and directions. It was almost like navigating a maze.

  Guys and girls were everywhere, talking and flirting. Couples getting closer, their lips whispering promises to be fulfilled later in the night.

  I managed to find a bottle of water for Charlotte.

  When I turned, someone was standing right there. Like close enough that my chest bumped into his chest.

  Clean cut face with black sunglasses and a perfect hair style. His chin looked chiseled from stone. He slowly reached for his sunglasses and took them off. His eyes were light brown, almost yellowish. He raised an eyebrow and made no attempt to hide as his eyes moved down and back up.

  “Feel better about yourself?” I asked.

  The guy then reached for my face.

  I stepped back and slapped his hand away.

  He laughed.

  A cocky, rich boy laugh.

  I hated that sound.

  “New girl,” he said.

  “Hardly,” I threw back. “I moved away for a few years.”

  “See, I knew you looked familiar,” he said. “Thought maybe you were from another party. Another town. You know, sometimes the goods in Hidden get old. Boring. But you…”

  “Oh, please,” I said. “I grew up here. So why even look at me.”

  “You smell so fresh and pure, sweetie,” he purred in a sloppy way.

  I shook my head. “Not going to work.”

  I took a step and his hand latched to my arm. He pulled me close. I could smell his expensive cologne as if that was supposed to make my panties fall to my ankles.

  “You’ll know my name when you scream it in bed,” he whispered. “Ryland. It’ll never leave your memory. That’s my curse. Anyone who gets close enough ends up haunted.”

  “Haunted or in need of medicine to chase away the rash and burn?” I asked.

  “You can’t win this fight,” he said. “I get everything I want in life.”

  I looked up at Ryland. I couldn’t exactly pinpoint whether I remembered him or not. But he was confident in the worst way because his looks backed it up. Everything about him screamed sleazy, but after a few drinks, I could definitely see how the smoothness of his words could work.

  Guess it was a good thing I wasn’t drinking then.

  “Get your hand off me or I will break it,” I said.

  “Do it,” he said. “I’m not letting go.”

  I looked around and realized we had a small crowd watching us.

  Great.

  I pulled my arm and Ryland didn’t let up his grip.

  So it was going to be like that. He wanted to act tough to the new girl.

  “The way this works, sweetie, is you need to go through me to get through this town,” he said. “It’s just how it works. I’m not happy about it. I mean, it’s not like you’re anything to get excited about. Can you cover yourself up anymore? Do you even have a body to show off? Are you even a girl?�
�

  I heard the snickering around me.

  Then I spotted Kailey.

  She had Charlotte with her, helping her stay steady.

  Kailey’s eyes were wide and she slowly shook her head at me.

  I wasn’t sure what it meant but I wasn’t going to stand there and take shit from this guy. Another entitled good looking rich guy who didn’t know a thing about life.

  A burning rage bubbled in my stomach as I pulled away for a second time.

  Ryland then turned sideways and tried to hug me.

  “I will ruin your fucking life in this town, sweetie,” he whispered.

  I reached for a cup and I threw my right elbow into his gut.

  There was a collective gasp at my sudden movement.

  I broke away from him and threw the cup at him.

  “Have a drink, dude,” I said. “So you can cool off a little.”

  Ryland turned viciously angry.

  He made a move toward me and I froze in place.

  I had no idea what he was thinking or planning to do to me.

  Oh crap…

  At the last second, a figure appeared from my right side.

  He put himself between me and Ryland.

  He was a little bit taller than Ryland. He was much wider though. Wearing a black t-shirt, I stared at his back, seeing muscle pushing against the shirt. His arms spilled out of the shirt, a tattoo down the back of his right arm. It was just symbols.

  He didn’t smell like Ryland.

  Maybe that was weird, but the house stunk of cologne and perfume.

  Not this guy.

  His messy black hair did whatever it wanted.

  It was Weslee.

  He was here.

  To… save me?

  The entire party came to a screeching halt, too.

  Not a single person said a thing.

  Kailey was finally close enough to touch me but she put herself between Ryland and Weslee.

  “Hey, come talk with me,” Kailey said in a sultry voice. “Forget this shit. You don’t need it.”

  Ryland moved his eyes down to Kailey.

  I had no idea what the hell was happening.

  Ryland backed off, his hands touched Kailey’s hips.

  That’s when Weslee turned around and looked down at me.

  Our eyes connected in a much different way than before.

  Those wild and dark eyes. His messy hair. The size of him.

  “Hey…,” I managed to say, finding one word that I wouldn’t screw up trying to talk to him.