“Oh now there’s something to look forward to,” she said. “I’ll never catch my breath then.”
“Why? I leave you out of breath?” I asked. “Is that your way of saying you love me or something?”
“Just drive, Uly,” she said. “Please… I’m sorry I said anything.”
I laughed.
When I started to drive, Mara tensed up again.
“No worries, doll, I’ll go slow this time. For you.”
We looked at each other again.
Fuck, doll, I’ll do anything for you at this point…
* * *
I wanted to prove what I said to her was true.
We arrived at Raza’s and some douchebag named Jared stood at the door. He hurried to open it for us, knowing better than to say a word.
The beach house was bustling with drinks, music, voices, and laughter.
I kept Mara close to my side, holding her hand tight.
“Let’s get a drink, doll,” I said.
She nodded.
We walked toward the kitchen and the drinks.
I kept her close though.
I looked around.
When my eyes spotted Haley, I nodded.
In her prissy fucking clothes. Her perfect shorts and shirt and everything matched from the hair tie in her hair down to the paint on her toenails. Everything was an event for her. She was a big pain in the ass too.
“Go tell her to make you a drink,” I said to Mara.
“What?”
“I told you… walk up to her. Haley. That’s her name. Tell her to make you a fucking drink now.”
“Uly…”
“Fine,” I said. I stuck my fingers into my mouth and whistled.
“Uly!” Mara yelled.
Haley looked at me.
I nodded.
Haley’s face turned white. She slowly approached Mara and I.
“Mara needs a drink,” I said to Haley. “Make her one.”
“She’s with you?” Haley asked, disappointed.
Poor Haley… forever dreaming of the time when one of Them would want her.
Hil would probably take a run at her, but it would be a one night in love kind of thing.
“She’s with me,” I said. “Tell her, Mara.”
“We’re together,” Mara said.
“I haven’t seen you before,” Haley said.
“Does that fucking matter?” I asked.
“No,” Haley said. “Sorry. What do you want to drink?”
“Nothing fruity,” Mara said.
“Make it two,” I said.
“I’ll be right back,” Haley said.
She went into the kitchen and Mara looked at me.
“That felt icky,” she said.
“I don’t care,” I said. “You have nothing to worry about here. Now get your drink and let’s have some fun for a bit. Then we can get out of here.”
“To go where?” Mara asked.
“I’m not taking you back to the beach house, doll.”
“Uly…”
I slipped my left hand to the back of her neck and put my forehead to hers. “Next time you fall asleep on me, it’s going to be for a good reason… and for all night long…”
Chapter 14
Raza had a drink in each hand and danced in circles as he moved from the house to the deck. When he saw all of us there, he froze.
And frowned.
“Ah, come on, Raza,” Hil said. “With moves like that you might actually get laid tonight.”
“Well, we all know who to call for that,” Belle said.
I kept my arm tight around Mara’s waist, making it damn known she was not only mine, but if Raza tried any bullshit cheap flirty moves, I would throw his ass off the deck and then go find him and throw him into the ocean.
And of course Belle was referring to Danica.
I wasn’t sure about Danica,, but she was better than Lizzy. And honestly, all of that shit was Ash’s problem to deal with.
But Danica and Raza had hooked up before.
Everyone knew that.
I was surprised Mara didn’t know it.
Knowing Raza, anytime he was lucky enough to get attention from a girl, he’d broadcast it across the world.
“What is going to happen tonight, guys?” Raza asked.
“Anything we want,” I said. “That a problem?”
“Just please… no blood in the house,” Raza said. “I’ve had a fuck of a week and just want to chill. Get my drink on and find some pretty girl to make it a night with.”
“Our deepest apologies to the girl in advance,” Ash said.
“Ash, stop,” Belle said. “Raza is a cool guy.”
“Hear that?” Raza asked Mara. “I’m cool…”
“And you’re about to be dead if you talk to her again,” I said.
“Oh, shit,” Raza said. “New blood, new toy…”
I lunged forward and grabbed Raza by the throat.
His hands opened and the drinks fell to the deck and shattered.
His eyes were wide.
Everyone around us started looking.
“He’s drunk, man,” Hil said.
“I warned him,” I said.
“Uly, what are you doing?” Mara asked. She grabbed my arm. “Let him go. It’s his house.”
I opened my hand and Raza stepped back.
He looked at Mara. “Thank you for your help.” He looked at me. “You three do what you need to do and leave.”
Raza walked back to the house and went back inside.
Probably to get fresh drinks.
“What the fuck, Uly?” Ash asked.
“I made a promise to Mara,” I said.
“He didn’t do anything wrong,” Mara said.
I looked down at Mara. “I made a promise and I’m keeping it. No matter what that means.”
“If Raza kicks us out, we’re in trouble,” Hil said.
“He can’t kick us out,” I said. “Fuck that guy.”
“Speaking of whatever we’re talking about…,” Ash motioned to the beach.
I turned my head and studied the beach.
The first fire going had five people sitting around it.
I spotted Aaron. And with Aaron there was…
No Jasmine.
My eyes moved to the left and I spotted Jasmine.
With a guy.
Said guy had a hell of a grip on her arm. Damn near shaking her.
My body filled with rage.
I imagined someone doing that to Mara. And what I would have done…
“Hey, Mara, come with me,” Belle said. “I want to show you the best part of this house.”
“What’s that?” Mara asked.
“A place where nobody can find you or bother you,” Belle said.
“Sold,” Mara said.
I looked at Mara and stopped her from walking away.
At least not until I got a kiss from her.
Our lips touched and I felt Belle staring at us.
My heart was still twisted, not torn, but very tired.
I touched Mara’s cheek. “You need anything, text me, doll.”
“Okay. I’m going to get another drink.”
“Good,” I said.
Belle and Mara left and I hated seeing Mara go.
“She’ll be fine,” Ash said.
“You know we’ll cover her ass,” Hil said.
I looked at Hil.
“In a good way,” he said with a wink.
I saw someone walking behind Ash.
I made a move and turned some guy around.
“What’s in the glass?” I asked.
“My drink,” he said.
I swiped the glass and threw it back.
It was some pussy mixed drink but at least it had booze in it.
I put the glass to the guy’s chest and then swung my left hand and hit him in the eye.
“Don’t ever talk back again, asshole,” Hil said.
“Let’s go,” As
h said. “We don’t have time to fuck around.”
“I want to watch how this plays out a little,” I said. “Get a feel for how he moves.”
“At least let’s get down there,” Hil said. “Just blend in.”
“When the fuck do we ever blend in?” Ash asked.
I looked for Jasmine again.
Charger still had a tight grip on her arm. Shaking her. Yelling at her.
My eyes moved to find Aaron.
He kept looking back.
Scared.
The fucking guy was scared to defend his own girl.
And now this shit was right in our lap to fix.
And I had no choice really.
I was Them.
Them took care of everything in BFH.
I looked over my shoulder and knew Belle was taking Mara to the top of the overlook thing built at the corner of the deck. It went way up in the air and was a perfect spot to sit and chill.
“Uly, you ready?” Hil asked.
Ash was already on the beach.
Hil was halfway down the steps, lighting up a cigarette.
I nodded and lit a cigarette for myself.
Time to fix the BFH problem so I could then address the problem with my heart falling for Mara.
* * *
The beach scene was as cliché as ever.
The same groups drinking the same drinks listening to the same songs. And the guys with guitars were strumming the same songs too. It was how everyone kicked back and forgot about their lives. Which I could probably appreciate if I really wanted to.
Hil kept an eye on Charger as he stayed off in the darkness.
The guy had a subtle way of casually walking around, nodding his head with earbuds in, as though he was just part of the BFH world.
I stepped over a log and plopped my ass down next to Jasmine.
She sat facing the fire, the glow against her eyes showing that she was feeling something already.
Next to her Aaron had his leg jumping up and down, nervous, angry or both.
Owen looked at me and nodded.
I shook my head.
Don’t fucking nod to me.
I gently elbowed Jasmine. “Hey, doll, we need to talk. Right now.”
Jasmine looked at me. “I’m scared, Uly.”
Shit.
“I know you are,” I said. “How much of that shit have you taken today?”
“Just a few pills,” she said. “That’s all I take. I don’t get messed up all day and stuff, you know? But it takes the edge off. It feels so good.”
“Then why are you scared?”
“Because…”
“Charger,” I whispered.
Jasmine’s eyes went even wider. “How…”
“We’re going to handle this,” I said. “But you need to make sure you’re okay. You need help with this shit.” I reached behind Jasmine and punched Aaron. He looked at us. “And you need to take care of her. Touch her right now. Show that you fucking love her.”
“He said he was going to kill me,” Aaron said.
“So what? Is she worth dying for?”
Aaron didn’t answer right away.
I shook my head.
Jasmine lowered her head.
I got way too close to her. “Listen to me, doll. Don’t let these fucks bring you down. Don’t let them use you either. Fight back a little. And then get rid of this punk bitch next to you.”
“Uly,” Aaron said. “What the fuck?”
I stood up and looked down at Aaron. “I’m going to rearrange your jaw when I’m done with this shit.”
“Uly, careful,” Ash said to me. “Don’t bring attention to this. Make it look like what we said.”
I curled my lip.
I put my hand out for Jasmine.
She put her hand into mine.
As I curled my fingers, pretending to take something from her, I nodded.
She smiled at me.
I put my hand to my mouth and put my head back, swallowing down air.
Then I stepped over the log and went for a walk with Ash.
We met up with Hil and the three of us watched as Charger started to walk behind all the groups.
What a piece of shit.
Just showing up to get a few people to try his pills. Knowing that it would lead to more and more demand…
“Let’s go,” Ash said.
“I’m ready,” Hil said, cracking his knuckles.
We walked the beach and made sure to go by Charger first.
“Goddamn, man,” I announced. “Whatever the fuck Jas is handing out… fucking killer stuff. I feel like I can fly. Fuck. I don’t know where she got it from. But I need more. I want to know where to get it. A lot of it. I don’t do this retail buying bullshit. I’ve got too much cash to burn…”
I looked over my shoulder at Charger and saw him staring.
A smile on his face.
We looked right at each other and I froze in place.
“Hey, wait here,” I said to Ash and Hil.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Hil asked.
“He’s all fucked up,” Ash said.
“I need to find more of that shit,” I said. “I’m going to ask around…”
I broke away from Ash and Hil.
As I walked toward Charger, I waited for him to make a move.
There was no way he wasn’t going to make me an offer. And I was going to let him know how helpful Jasmine had been. And Aaron. Just to cover their ass before we took Charger to a more private part of the beach and fucking destroyed him.
“Uly! Uly! Hey, Uly!”
I turned my head and saw Raza waving his hands.
I wanted to kill Raza now.
He came running from the deck, down the steps, and through the sand.
Charger had already started to back off. Again, so casual with the way he walked to just slip into the night without being memorable.
“Uly!” Raza yelled again.
I opened my arms.
“I’m so sorry!” Raza yelled as he got closer.
“What the hell is your problem?” Ash asked. “You want us out of here? We have one thing to take care of…”
“It’s about Mara,” Raza said.
My brain completely flipped itself over.
From Them to Her.
“What’s wrong with Mara?” I asked.
“Something happened,” he said.
“What are you talking about?”
“Uly, she’s leaving.”
* * *
I ran up to the deck and I almost crashed into Belle.
We grabbed each other’s arms.
“Where is she?” I asked.
“She ran through the house to leave. I tried to chase after her but then I…”
I looked at Belle’s right hand. It looked swollen. Her knuckles were bleeding too.
“What the fuck happened?” I asked.
“I didn’t hit her,” Belle said. “I defended her.”
“From what?”
“OMG, what happened to you?!” a voice squealed.
I couldn’t believe what I saw.
Lizzy walking with her arm around Ella. And two more in their little group. Ella had a towel to her face as others started to close in to see what was happening.
“Whoa, what’s going on here?” Hil asked as he and Ash joined the party.
“I punched Ella in the face a few times,” Belle said.
“What?” Ash yelled.
“You better stay here and see where this shakes out,” I said. “I need to get to Mara.”
“Uly, wait a second,” Belle said. “I’m so sorry that happened to her. I had no idea Lizzy and her new bitches were showing up. They just started running their mouths off. It wasn’t a big deal at first. Then I just… I saw Mara crying and I lost it.”
“Crying?” I asked. I curled my lip. “I swear on my life…”
“Go find Mara,” Ash said. “We’ll handle this here.”
I r
an toward the house and looked back at Ella one last time. Belle certainly knew how to throw a good punch.
But why didn’t Mara?
I pushed my way through the crowd in the house.
The front door was freedom, but I had no idea where that freedom let Mara end up.
I ran across the porch, side to side, looking for her.
I finally jumped off the porch and walked my way through the cars.
If she tried walking…
She wasn’t at my car.
Which wasn’t good at all.
I turned my head, ready to start screaming her name like a desperate fool.
That’s when I saw her.
Standing near the road.
“Mara,” I said.
She looked back at me. She shook her head. “No, Uly. No. No way. Just go back inside.”
I jogged up to her. “What happened?”
When Mara turned, she slapped me.
Right across the face.
She could slap… hard…
“I told you I didn’t want to come here,” she said. “And you forced me. Forced me.”
“I didn’t force anything,” I said. “What are you talking about?”
“What do you think they said to me? Huh?”
“I don’t know.”
“You were too busy beating someone up on the beach,” Mara said. “And I was getting harassed. Like I said would happen.”
“Shit,” I said. “They said something to you?”
“Of course they did,” Mara said. “I don’t belong here. I don’t fit in. They knew… the second they saw me…”
“Lizzy and Belle had history, doll,” I said. “That wasn’t about you.”
“Yes, it was,” Mara said. She jumped at me and pushed me. “Don’t make fucking excuses, Uly. This was about me. I told you that too. I’m not fucking rich. I don’t belong at a BFH party.”
She air quoted BFH.
I swallowed hard.
“Okay, then let’s get out of here,” I said. “We’re done with this party.”
“Did you do what you came to do?” Mara asked.
“No. I’ll figure something else out.”
“But you can’t, Uly. You’re Them. Remember?”
“What the hell does that mean?” I asked. “Don’t fucking throw attitude at me, doll. I’m sorry for what they said. Belle stood up for you.”
“Oh, yeah, more fighting,” Mara said. “She attacked the one girl and then it was just… I had to go. I started to run. They all laughed at me…”
ULY (Bay Falls High - Them Book 1) Page 13
