Before I could disappear onto the path that would take me to warm sand and pretty waves, I heard a whistle.
I looked back and saw Jo outside.
Looking pissed off.
“What?” I called out to her.
She waited until I reversed my way back toward her.
“Did I mess up the zipper?” I asked. “I’m not used to clothes with zippers on the back. Or fancy clothes at all.”
“Did you forget about your guest?” Jo asked.
“My guest?”
“You know, the charming gentleman who thinks the fucking bell only rings every fourth time you press it… but even then, ringing it two hundred and fifty fucking times…”
“What are you talking about, Jo?” I asked.
“I refused to let him in. So he’s standing at the door, smoking a cigarette.”
“Hil?”
“I don’t know who that is,” Jo said. “But he calls himself Uly.”
* * *
“How did you get in here?” I asked Uly as I grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the front door.
“I’m a genius, remember?” Uly asked. “I can get in anywhere I want to.”
“Meaning what? You like hacked into the gate or something?”
“Or something,” Uly said.
“What are you doing here, Uly?”
“Just wanted to see you again, doll. It’s been too long.”
“It’s been… whatever.”
“Whatever is right. Is that how you feel about Hil and Ash? Whatever… right?”
I laughed. “You came here with a bag of jealousy, huh?”
“Not even close. Just wanted to see what you were doing tonight.”
“Are you asking me out on a date?” I asked.
“That’s cute as fuck, Belle,” Uly said. He touched my cheek. “I don’t date. I don’t ask for dates. I don’t go on dates. That’s pointless.”
“So what are you doing here?”
“Asking what your plans are for tonight.”
“I have plans, Uly. Not with you.”
Uly touched his chest. “That hurts. But I can deal with hurt.”
“Hey, maybe you can write a song about it.”
Uly curled his lip. “I came here to save you, doll.”
“Save me from what?”
“Nothing,” Uly said. “Oh well.”
“Uly, I’m not lying. I’m going to a party with Lizzy and Danica.”
Uly finished his cigarette and dropped it on the ground and stepped on it. “Of course you are. Then I guess I’ll see you around. We can try a different night.”
“Try what?”
“When you see it, you’ll know,” Uly said. “Your eyes are trying to pick a fight with me, doll, but deep down inside you’re really wondering about myself and Hil. You want to know more. About the music. What happened. Why it happened. At the same time, you can’t stop picturing Miss Whitaker living in my house. To be fair, my father gave me that house. So it was… you know…”
“You know what?” I asked. “I don’t know. I don’t live this kind of life, Uly. Your father just gave you a house? Why?”
“He’s a nice guy,” Uly said. “Or maybe he was making up for being a terrible father. You know it’s really easy to buy love around here. Big house. Fast car. Warm pool. Free ocean. Think about it.”
“So is that what I am? I’m able to be bought?”
Uly closed in on me. One of his hands to my back. Holding me tight against his body.
“That’s the tricky part with you, Belle. Of course you can be bought. But the price is so low, it makes me want to give you more. It makes me want to give you something intangible.”
“Too bad then,” I said. “I’m becoming very materialistic these days.”
“Then that means I’m running out of time to finish sweeping you off your feet.”
“The only thing you’re going to sweep… is your broken heart off the ground when I leave here for good.”
Uly groaned. “Look at us. Three seconds away from fucking each other.”
“Oh yeah? Is that what you think this is?”
“It’s what I know, doll,” Uly said.
He brushed his lips across mine and went for my neck.
My mouth fell open at the flicker of his tongue against my skin.
My hands quickly touched his chest. My thumb grazed his necklace. I slowly inched down and felt the ring. Uly’s tongue made shapes that made my body feel that he was making those same shapes somewhere else. When he moved up and playfully nibbled at my ear, my hand clutched around the ring as I gasped.
Uly stopped kissing me and stepped back.
He took his hands away from me.
And I stood there, my right hand holding the ring.
He looked down at my hand and then put his eyes back to mine.
I opened my hand.
“Uly…”
“Just remember one thing, doll,” he said in a low voice. “I came here first.”
“What does that mean?”
Uly didn’t answer me.
He just walked to his car.
As he turned to get into the car, I saw he had his pinky finger sticking through the ring on the necklace.
Anything I had felt seconds ago was replaced with anger.
Uly drove away fast enough to make the tires on his car scream.
I gritted my teeth so I didn’t scream.
My head was so scrambled I couldn’t even find one question to ask myself.
I needed to get to this party and get a drink… now.
five
I sat in the backseat of Danica’s car and stared out the window as the night flashed by. I really had no idea where we were going. Which was exciting in a way. BFH had become almost normal to me. So this was different. Without Them.
“Raza is a total douchebag,” Lizzy said as she turned to face me. “But the parties are okay. And they never get busted up. I heard a rumor his mother is having an affair with-”
“That was all bullshit,” Danica cut in. “She’s sleeping with some cop so her son could party?”
“You never know,” Lizzy said.
“Word of advice, Belle,” Danica said. “Anything you hear from Raza… nod and smile. He’s a douchebag. He’s a liar.”
Lizzy put her left hand to the side of her mouth. “Danica slept with him.”
“That has nothing to do with it,” Danica said.
“Then why are we going?” I asked.
“Because the beach house is nice,” Danica said.
“And she thinks she can right the wrong,” Lizzy said with a laugh.
“Right what wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Danica said. “Look, I don’t regret anything that happened with Raza. He played his moves. I played mine. We had fun.”
“I think Danica loves him,” Lizzy said.
“I’m going to love making it so you don’t talk anymore,” Danica said.
Lizzy laughed and turned around.
My eyes went right back to the window.
“So you’re very quiet back there,” Danica said. “I bet I can guess what’s on your mind.”
“Don’t,” I said.
“I’m going to keep saying it, Belle. I warned you.”
“We warned you,” Lizzy said.
“Get your own thing, Lizzy,” Danica said. “I warned her about everything.”
“You know when you say that, Danica, it kind of feels like you’re calling me stupid,” I said. “Are you calling me stupid?”
“I’ll do that later,” Danica said. “When your heart is broken.”
“Whoa, you’re a bitch,” Lizzy said.
“She’s probably right,” I said. “If that’s going to happen then I might as well just grab the wheel of the car right now and control my own destiny, huh? What do you think?”
I leaned forward and felt both Lizzy and Danica stiffen. Danica’s hands tightened around the steering wheel.
&nb
sp; They didn’t say another word to me.
I had watched Them threaten enough people… and take action… that maybe I could figure out a way to be the same.
I put my left hand to Danica’s shoulder.
She shivered.
“Hey,” she said. “You okay now?”
“No,” I said. “Why did their band break up?”
“Oh, Belle,” Lizzy said. “I thought you said you had things worked out with Them.”
“Let me guess,” Danica said, “it’s going to take more than kissing to get the answers you want.”
“I know about Ash’s mother. The accident. The scar on his head. I know that Miss Whitaker lives in the same house as Uly. And that Uly owns the house. That his father gave it to him. And Hil…”
“It was a fucking girl, Belle,” Danica said. “Okay? It was a girl that ruined the band. There was a lot going on at that time. I don’t know the entire story. I don’t think anyone really does. Just a lot of rumors. And rumors get your ass in trouble.”
“And the thing with Ash’s mother…” Lizzy’s lips moved for a few seconds. “That was a long time ago. And Ash’s father married Hil’s mother. I think that too caused problems. And you’ve hung around Uly enough to see him. He’s crazy. He just does what he wants. Like this East vs. West stuff again. He just wakes up one day and wants a fight.”
“Yeah, well I feel like I’m that fight,” I said. “The way the Rulz came for me that night…”
“The whole point of this party is to forget about this shit,” Danica said.
“If you were me, would you forget?” I asked.
“No,” Danica said. “I wouldn’t be able to sleep. Choose. Use. Lose.”
“Oh, thank god, there’s the turn,” Lizzy said.
I rolled my eyes and stared forward as the paved road turned into a rocky road. And from that rocky road, it turned into a gravel road with sand. Then there were cars.
And then there was the beach house.
The sight of it made me go Ha! because I had let my guard down again when it came to BFH. In my head when I pictured a beach house, I pictured a small, one-story, square house that had old wooden steps. And the back had a small deck to stand out on and stare at the ocean. The windows open, the curtains blowing in the breeze from the beach.
Not this house.
This was a house. A real house.
It was three floors with the top peaked and a deck off each floor that was all connected by turning, wooden steps.
“Raza,” I said.
“Not bad, huh?” Lizzy asked.
There were people walking around outside, on the front porch that went the entire length of the house and then turned down one side to meet up with the steps to the decks. It looked like every light was on in the house, each of the two million windows lit up.
When I climbed out of the car, I heard the faint thumping of dance music. That was mixed with the crashing of the waves.
I smiled.
Lizzy and Danica were right.
I needed this.
We were sort of hidden from the bullshit of BFH but still able to have some fun.
I looked at Lizzy and Danica. “So… how about a drink?”
* * *
I put my legs out across the wooden bench and leaned to my right over the edge of the railing. The fall was… epic. I was at the very top of the beach house, in what looked like a gazebo, but was built this high up. I could see out to the ocean. The moon gently reflecting off the water. The small figures of people on the beach. Two fires. The sound of the music coming out of the windows.
“Are you afraid of heights, Belle?” Lizzy asked.
“Not much,” I said.
“You’re holding the edge tight.”
“Who wouldn’t?” I asked. “This is cool and scary up here.”
“It’s peaceful,” Danica said.
“She’s walking down memory lane up here,” Lizzy said.
Danica threw her half empty bottle of water at Lizzy. “Shut up.”
I looked at Danica. My eyes went wide. “Here?”
Danica shrugged her shoulders. “It’s romantic. Right?”
“Sure,” I said. “I mean… I would…”
“Okay, Belle, which one?” Lizzy asked.
She looked at me with her drunk eyes.
One thing about Lizzy was that she liked to go heavy and fast. There was no enjoying a drink with her. At least not until she was feeling good.
“Which one?” I asked.
“Of Them,” Lizzy said. “Just playing around for a second. You can have one up here. Which one are you choosing?”
I shook my head. “I’m not answering that. Why would you even ask that?”
“Whoa, calm down,” Lizzy said. “I’ll tell you my choice. Hil. Boom. There.” Lizzy opened her arms and nodded.
My eyes went wide. “You’ve thought about this…?”
“Hil?” Danica asked. “Why Hil?”
“He’s so dirty and sexy at the same time,” Lizzy said. “Mygod…there’s just something about it.”
“Wow,” I said.
“You know it, Belle. The white shirt… the way it hugs his body… the leather jacket… those crazy eyes of his. I mean, come on. Are they really just light blue? Or are they actually gray? You’ve been close enough to them, Belle. Mygod… you’ve tongue fucked him. How was it? It had to be good, right? Did it make you-”
“Holy shit, Lizzy,” I said. “You tell me to stay away…”
“There’s a difference between staying away and having a fun fantasy,” she said. “Remember that.”
“The words of wisdom from a drunk Lizzy,” Danica said.
“So answer the question,” Lizzy said.
“What question are we answering up here, pretty ladies?”
“Hey, Raza,” Danica said.
She leaned back and put her arms out across the top of the railing.
Raza was dressed all in black with hair to match. And his skin was darkly tanned. He was wearing sunglasses, which was probably to give him that cool image. He had rings on his fingers. Random rings. Random fingers. His right hand around the skinny neck of what looked like a whiskey bottle.
“Just enjoying the night,” Lizzy said. “Belle has never been here before.”
Raza turned his head and lifted his sunglasses. “Belle. Thanks for joining the fun. I hope it meets your expectations.”
“A nice view, the ocean, and drinks,” I said. “If I was going to review this illegal party, I’d give it four-and-a-half stars.”
“What can I do to get you that extra half star?” he asked with a sly grin.
I slowly stood up. I finished what was in my cup. “Get me another drink.”
Raza put his hands up. “That I won’t do. That crosses a line. When I start getting you drinks…”
“Are these the moves you made on Danica?” I asked.
“Whoa,” Raza said. He touched his chest. “Here I thought Danica and I had a special evening together.”
“Oh, stop it,” Lizzy said. “You came faster than a wave in a hurricane.”
Danica laughed. “Lizzy… what the hell…”
“It’s the atmosphere up here,” I said. “Right, Raza? So high up here… you just… blow…”
“You’ve got something about you, Belle,” he said. “I don’t bruise so easily. Not for something I’ve already had.” He glanced at Danica and shook his head.
“Hey, Raza,” I whispered. I got closer to him. “I’m with Them. And I think you know that already. And I think you know what will happen if I just sent one text message…”
Raza took two steps back. He lifted his whiskey bottle. “I wish you three a night of enjoyment. Don’t hang up here all night. Enjoy the music. The beach. The fire. Be one with the party. Belle, it was an honor to meet you. I hope I never have to talk to you again.”
“So we both get what we want tonight then,” I said.
Raza disappeared.
L
izzy stood up, stumbled, and smacked her hands together. “That was amazing, Belle.”
I looked at Danica. Her lip was curled and she shook her head.
I slid toward her. “Who cares? Guy’s a douche, remember? All I had to do was mention Them and he took off.”
“Yeah,” Danica said. “Good idea there. What a fucking loser. The only good is that he will never not have someone come to his parties. The more the better. No matter what. As long as he keeps his image, he’s good.”
“I’m good too,” Lizzy said. “Or, no, wait. I’m not good. My drink is empty.”
“Mine too,” I said.
“Let’s go get another!” Lizzy yelled.
“Okay!” I yelled back.
“You two are assholes,” Danica said. “Come on, I’ll guide you down the steps so you don’t fall. That’s all we need… Lizzy falling down three floors.”
“She’d probably scream for Hil. Her dying confession to taste his cigarette stained tongue.”
Lizzy grabbed my arm. “Tell me how good it actually tastes… so dirty and so bad…”
I put my lips way too close to Lizzy’s ear.
She wanted the truth?
“All three of Them are the best kissers I’ve met in my entire fucking life.”
* * *
It felt like we were going down a mountain. Or at least it felt like it in the way of how long it took to get down to the first floor. That was mostly Lizzy’s fault for acting so stupid the entire way down. At the first landing, she leaned over the railing and tried to yell like a pirate to those on the beach. Someone gracefully screamed back ‘show us your tits!’ and when Lizzy grabbed for her shirt, Danica stopped her.
Lizzy laughed and we started to walk again.
Danica looked at me more than once, shaking her head. I guess this was what she had been talking about when it came to being careful with Lizzy. A part of me wanted to feel guilty because I really wasn’t in shape to help with Lizzy. Most of my focus was on making sure my hand grabbed the real railing and not the second one the alcohol told me was there. Kind of like the way the steps seemed to move too. But I didn’t stumble. I didn’t fall. When we got to the last landing, Lizzy leaned over the railing again.
NOT SO Beautiful: a bay falls high novel Page 5
