“Or should we stick within the halls of this building? You want everyone’s dirty secrets?”
“That’s not what I want, Aira. I want to talk to you. About you.”
“We just did. Nothing’s changed. I’m here. I haven’t done anything wrong, have I?”
“No,” Miss Carson said. “You’ve shown up to class on time. Your grades are more than passing. The only thing you lack is extracurricular activities.”
“I have those,” I said.
“Oh?”
“I was just keeping the bleachers warm,” I said. “And I just worked with Ryder to help the football team.”
“Is that so?”
“You can ask him about it,” I said. “Have a good night, Miss Carson.”
“Aira, we still have two minutes left,” she said.
I opened the office door and looked back. “I owe you then.”
I shut the door and walked the empty halls of Hidden Creek High.
As I turned one of the corners to go through the main doors - which were the only ones unlocked right now - I saw Ryland standing at the lockers, one foot up, head down as he looked at his phone.
Great.
“Have a safe night, Aira,” he said without looking up from his phone.
That meant he missed me showing him my middle finger.
So I paused for a second.
“Ryland?” I asked.
He looked up.
“You missed this,” I said.
I held up my middle finger again.
He nodded but he didn’t grin.
His eyes were dark and evil.
In so many ways everything was his fault. He had more enemies than I could count and he didn’t care about a single one.
“I talked to Mika today,” he said. “She’s doing okay. She’s home, resting, regaining herself through all of this.”
“You mean everything you did?” I asked.
“I didn’t do a thing, Aira.”
“Keep telling yourself that, Ryland. Your search for the truth, right? What are you even doing here?”
“Making sure you were okay,” he said. “I know Miss Carson likes to push hot buttons.”
“And yet I’m cool as can be.”
“Sure you are,” he said. “Do you need a hug? Maybe something more? I know it must get lonely at night, huh?”
“Dream all you want, Ryland. It’ll never happen.”
“I don’t need to dream, Aira. You're the one missing out. I feel bad for you. Honestly. I’m sure I’ll see you around though.”
Ryland puckered his lips and blew a kiss at me.
I got out of HCH for good for the day.
I finally had my own wheels. Julia backed me up when I called Mom to tell her I needed a car. I thought the conversation was going to be harder, but thanks to a generous merlot, Mom was giddy, hiccupping over the phone, and told me to get what I needed.
As I approached the black car with tinted windows and black rims, I grinned. It was a vicious looking car and had the power to back it up.
Before I could press a button to unlock the door, I saw the driver’s side door was open. Not unlocked, but actually open. Not wide open, but…
“Open,” I whispered.
I carefully touched the door and tried to figure out what had happened. Did I forget to shut the door? I had hurried from my last class to the car to get my cigarettes so I could meet Kailey, Charlotte, and Emma at the bleachers. I swore I shut and locked the door. Of course I did.
Maybe.
Fine, my head might have been a little scattered lately, but oh well.
I checked the inside of the car and there was nothing missing. Nothing wrong at all. I sat down in the driver’s seat and started the car. She purred to life with ease and had this sweet silence to her. Kind of like me. Quiet, but if you fucked with her, she was going to get you.
I shrugged my shoulders and tried not to think too much into it.
As I started to back out of the parking spot, I saw Ryland sitting on the railing outside the building.
Staring at me.
I rolled down the window and stuck my middle finger out at him.
He put his fingers to his lips and blew me another kiss.
I sped away, leaving all of that behind me.
What I couldn’t leave behind was the way I really did miss Wes.
Chapter 2
Wes
Anytime someone came near my ride, I made it clear they were taking their lives into their own hands. What had happened to my ride was my problem to fix. Each second I spent working on the body was a second I could think about what to do with Nick and Dean when I got my hands on them.
And as far as Ryland went… his day was going to come. And when it did, it was going to be bad for him.
Bad enough Ryland was just a fucking asshole to begin with, but he had managed to perfectly wedge himself between myself and Aira. You’d think my relationship was my business, but not in this town. I tried to warn Aira and she lost herself in it.
The smoke rose up into my face as I wiped down my motorcycle.
She was ready.
All back together after dropping it thanks to Nick and Dean.
Ready for the road. Ready for revenge.
When I stood up, Jett was waiting for me.
Arms crossed, that tough guy stare burning at me. Yet it felt like a father staring at his son.
“How’s it looking?” he asked.
“Perfect,” I said. “I’ll get her on the road in a bit.”
“Sure you don’t want me to check things over?”
“Nope,” I said.
I walked around my ride and went to the bench.
Rhyno was sitting on the bench, eating a sandwich.
Tony rolled a mostly smoked cigarette between his fingers and dropped it to the floor.
“We have to head out to Porters in a few,” Tony said.
“Let me finish my snack,” Rhyno said.
“Snack, huh?” I asked. “That’s a big snack.”
“That’s what your mother said last night, kid,” Rhyno said.
He cackled.
I jumped forward and threw a punch, hitting him in the face.
His head snapped back and I threw another punch, hitting his hand, sending his sandwich scattering into pieces on the bench and on the floor.
“Jesus, kid,” Tony said.
He tried to grab for me but Jett was there to push him away.
I wound up for another punch but Jett got between me and Rhyno.
Rhyno came off the bench and wiped his bloody nose. “You’re dead, kid. I don’t give a shit who you are.”
“Come on,” I said and showed my fists.
“Nobody is fighting,” Jett said.
I felt someone grab my shoulder. “Come with me, bro.”
It was Leo’s voice.
I tried to shake him away but he took a firm hold of my shirt and pulled.
I resisted a little but walked backwards, my eyes on Rhyno.
“Say something again and see what happens,” I called out.
“Yeah, you run that mouth, kid,” Rhyno yelled back.
Jett threw his hand up and cupped Rhyno’s face, pushing his head back.
I turned and pushed Leo away and walked outside on my own.
I shook my right hand and stopped halfway across the lot.
“Have a smoke and relax,” Leo said.
“Fuck that. Fuck Rhyno.”
“You have to calm down, bro. You’re ready to attack everyone.”
“So what?” I asked.
Leo rubbed his chin. “You’re missing her.”
“Shut up, Leo.”
“You never told me what happened.”
“Nothing to tell.”
“There never is with you. You know Flynn is torn up here.”
“Why? Because big tits is holding those babies back from him because he knows me?”
Leo laughed. “Hey, how would you feel?”
>
I looked at Leo and curled my lip.
“Right,” he said. “You do know what it feels like. You’re missing everything about her.”
“She knows about Azel,” I said.
“Shit.”
“Well, she doesn’t know everything. I never told her. She heard about it. Guess who?”
“Fucking asshole,” Leo whispered.
“Yeah. And all this shit with Mika…”
“She never told you that she knew that, huh?”
“No,” I said. “And when we tried to talk, things exploded. Then she came to find me and I was with Noelle. So everything just looked even worse. I was checked out, bro. I didn’t want to be bothered by it.”
“I get that,” Leo said. “But for a second, think about her position. Leaving. Coming back. Losing you. Having you again. Losing you again. And all the shit in between.”
“Why don’t you write that down?” I asked. “So you can repeat it to yourself. Such a sweet fucking story.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Shove your truth up your ass, Leo.”
He turned and I turned. If he thought I wasn’t up for fighting him, he was in for a rude awakening. Hell, I had no problem throwing punches at my own cousins. What would make me hold back on Leo?
“Just tell her the truth about Azel,” Leo said. “Before Ryland does.”
“That’s the thing, right? Everyone going along with him.”
“Not going along with him. Doing the right thing for Aira.”
“If she was smart, she’d get out of this town. Pack up and leave.”
“Is that what you want?”
I walked away from Leo, saving my punches for someone else.
I went back to the garage where Tony had a hand on Rhyno’s back, leading him to the other door out of the garage.
“What the hell was that?” Jett called at me.
I ignored him.
I went to my ride and climbed on her. I put my helmet on and watched from the corner of my eye as Jett approached.
He stuck his fingers into his mouth and whistled at me.
Acting as though he didn’t exist, I lit up a cigarette.
“Next time I won’t help,” Jett said.
“I didn’t ask for your help.”
“Saying something about your mother is off limits though,” Jett said. “I told Rhyno that.”
“Don’t fight my battles, Jett,” I said.
“Hey. Whatever happened between you and Aira-”
That’s when I started my ride.
She roared to life, the thundering engine echoing around the garage.
It took all of three seconds before the office door was ripped open and Pop came out. He was yelling but I couldn’t hear him.
“You’re going to fuck up!” Jett yelled into my ear.
I took a drag of my cigarette and started to ride.
I stormed out of the garage with Pop waving an arm at me. I blew past Leo as he didn’t try to move an inch.
I hated myself for what I had said to Leo.
About Aira leaving Hidden.
But maybe it was really the best thing for her.
* * *
I took her out for a ride and put her to the test.
Not that I expected my ride to fall apart.
It just felt good to ride. The wind on my face. Distance between me, HCH and Hidden. And Aira.
I went out for a good hour-long ride and worked my way back into Hidden.
I stopped at Zen’s to grab a couple slices for myself.
Parker was behind the counter and gave me a head nod as I walked around to get my own food.
I peeled off two slices and opened the oven and tossed them in.
“How’s life, Parker?” I asked.
“Fine,” he said.
“Those fucks leaving you alone still?”
“Yeah.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
“They even look at you the wrong way, I’ll break their jaws. Okay?”
“Okay, Weslee,” he said.
I felt for Parker. He was smart as hell but obviously had something wrong with him. His parents insisted he stay in Hidden and figure out how to survive. Which I respected, but the poor kid didn’t know how to handle himself. He couldn’t defend himself because he didn’t understand half the shit people used to do. And that shit got me fired up. Calling Parker names and messing with him was just wrong.
“You don’t talk much, do you?” I asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“Why don’t you go get a drink and have a smoke?”
“Cigarettes turn your lungs black.”
“Girls like it.”
“I don’t like girls.”
“Have you ever seen one naked?” I asked.
Parker slowly smiled. He nodded.
“Nice, man,” I said. I put my fist out. “You ever touch one?”
He nodded again.
He put his fist to mine. “Knew you were a wild one. Bet you get all the ladies when you’re spilling all that fancy brain shit of yours, huh?”
“Yeah,” Parker said. “I like boobs.”
“Amen, man. Amen. Go get a drink.”
Parker walked away, still grinning.
I laughed as I opened the oven and took out my two slices.
“Can we get some…”
As I turned, I saw Kaci and Nelle standing on the other side of the counter.
Their faces turned red.
“You want some pizza?” I asked.
“Where’s the other guy? The weird one.”
“Taking a break. Problem?”
“No,” Kaci said. “We’ll go somewhere else.”
“Why? I have the pizza right here.”
I put the pizza on paper plates. “Two slices good?”
“Yeah,” Kaci said.
“Good. I was going to say you look a little heavy. Working on that freshmen fifteen early, huh?”
“Fuck off,” she snapped.
I leaned over the counter. “Oh yeah?”
I cleared my throat and slowly spit on the pizza, one slice at a time.
Kaci stepped back and Nelle let out a groan.
“You want something to drink with that?” I asked.
“Gross,” Nelle whispered.
I pointed at them. “You both even let Aira go through your mind and you’ll pay. Got that?”
Kaci nodded.
“You think what happened to Mika was bad? I’ll find out all your dirty secrets, Kaci. We already know how much you like that backdoor shit, right? And don’t think I don’t know what happened the last time you did that. Who was it? Luke? Got a little rough back there and it got… messy? Maybe don’t do that kind of thing on Taco Tuesday, huh?”
Kaci’s faced burned hotter.
My eyes moved to Nelle. “And don’t you fucking laugh either. A little vodka and next thing you know you’re treating yourself like a veggie tray. What was it? A cucumber, right? Then a carrot? What else. You stuff some broccoli up there?”
“That’s not true,” Nelle said.
“Shut up, Nelle,” Kaci said. “Let’s just get out of here.”
“See you around,” I called out.
They left and Parker came from the back.
“That yours?” he asked to me, pointing to the pizza.
“Yeah. But I spit on it.”
“Can I have it?”
“You’re going to eat it?”
“No,” Parker said. “Serve it.”
“To who?”
Parker grabbed the plates and walked along the counter. I followed him and saw who was sitting out back. Murphy and Chris. Two of the assholes I had to threaten to ease up on Parker.
I nodded with respect as I watched Parker serve the spit laced pizza.
I put two more slices in the oven and made sure they were for me.
As I sat on the counter and ate the second slice, my phone vibrated.
&nb
sp; It was Walker.
party tonite - liam’s - big shock
I read the text and frowned.
I balanced the slice of pizza in my mouth and text back.
y the fuck do i care
“Hey, Parker, party tonight,” I said. “Liam’s.”
“No thanks,” he said.
“Boobs, man. Drunk boobs.”
Parker giggled.
“So many boobs,” I said. “And so little time…”
My phone vibrated again.
Now I understood why Walker was texting me about a party at Liam’s.
Aira was going to be there.
* * *
At the front door to Liam’s giant beach house, there was an anchor that hung above the door. With some bullshit saying about love, luck, and being home. It made me laugh because I knew at least three of the seven bedrooms had my ghost running around the walls. Wild nights with wild girls looking to forget about their lives for a little while.
Tonight could have been the exact same.
Except it wasn’t.
It was the opposite of that.
Leo and Flynn were with me as we walked to the kitchen. I needed a drink and I needed one fast. Just one though. To take the edge off. My goal was one thing and one thing only.
To make sure Aira was okay.
I told her I would keep my promise.
And that promise was to keep her safe in this town. And around all these people.
Behind the counter I saw Ryder standing there with his hat on backwards, pouring drinks over lined up red cups.
He looked at me and stopped pouring.
He put the bottle down.
Everyone fell silent.
Without a word, I reached for a cup.
I turned and the party came back to life.
I spotted a few faces that normally weren’t at Liam’s parties. Fucking losers from up in Bay Fall High. Where the rich were ultra-rich and the kids were ultra assholes. I went in the opposite direction, going outside to the back deck.
It was lit up with strands of lights that had huge bulbs that were supposed to look like old fashioned lights. Strings went from the roof to the tall pillars. Someone had a portable speaker on a table playing some kind of jumpy music. The kind of music that made the girls dance with their arms up, heads down, drink in hand, waiting for someone to slide up on them for a little fun.
“Now this is weird,” Flynn said to me.
HIDDEN CREEK DARKNESS: a hidden creek high novel Page 2
