HIDDEN CREEK KISS: a hidden creek high novel, page 1
HIDDEN CREEK KISS
a hidden creek high novel
Jaxson Kidman
Contents
Welcome to
HIDDEN CREEK KISS
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
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Welcome to
“You just said it’s dangerous and stupid to surf in the dark,” I said.
“I did,” he said. “But that’s how I like it, babe… dangerous and stupid.”
* * *
Written by Jaxson Kidman
HIDDEN CREEK KISS
Elijah & Nova Book 2
The quiet, surfer girl pissed off at the world? #check
The loud, summer boy refusing to leave? #check
Falling in love all over again? #check
More secrets, more lies, and now heartache? #triplecheck
Elijah is officially the one I can’t forget.
He knows everything about me now.
And he tells me that’s how it wants it.
Fate has us back together.
Excuse me while I throw up.
It’s not fate.
It’s revenge.
With a mix of love.
And I’m falling for it all.
Don’t cry for me just yet though. I know how to take care of myself. I know how to bring Elijah to his knees. I can break his heart as fast as he can break mine.
What you can cry for though… the person who decides to show up and ruin everything. For good.
Prologue
(or maybe something like the end)
Might know where she is
That was good enough for me. That was better than sitting around and waiting for something to happen. Because no matter what something was going to happen. And even if it was nothing, it was still something.
And it was sure as fuck better than chasing down my racing thoughts. I was fast but they were faster. And if I managed to catch a thought and beat it into submission, there were twenty others in its place.
I stood in the doorway to the house - to the fucking mansion - and I felt myself leaning against the heavy door.
I could find my car.
I could see it.
But I was in no shape to drive it.
Then again, if I did drive, I would fulfill my destiny here in Hidden.
Everyone in HCH could throw my ass into a casket and either put me on top of my brother or just send me back to where I came from.
I lifted the bottle to my lips but a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled it away.
“That won’t help.”
I turned my head.
“What the fuck do you want, Leo?” I asked.
“Same thing as you right now,” he said. “And drowning yourself in whiskey isn’t going to help.”
“Yeah? Well… do you have a fucking address? Huh? You got something I can actually fucking use? Because if not, fuck off. This is the only thing that helps right now. It makes it so I can actually sleep for a minute and then fucking think.”
“I got an address,” Leo said. “So get your ass in the front seat of my ride and let’s move.”
I looked back over my shoulder.
My mouth started to move.
So much to say.
So fucking much to say…
Leo pushed my shoulder. “Move, Elijah. Right now.”
I stumbled my way to his ride.
If I didn’t throw up with the way Leo drove, then nothing would ever make me throw up. So there was the silver lining to the bullshit story that had played itself out as my life.
Coming back to prove a point only to end up making things worse.
Losing her.
I tried to tell myself I didn’t lose her.
But I did lose her.
She was gone.
Lost.
Missing.
They were the same fucking word. At least in my case it was.
The same fucking thing.
Before Leo could stop his ride, I opened the door.
“Hey, wait a second,” he yelled.
I rolled out of the open door and kept myself on my feet.
Some little shithole looking beach house. Tucked far away. Hidden outside of Hidden.
How fucking funny, right?
I ran to the door and slammed into it with force.
The door swung open and I fell inside.
The house smelled like dust and mold.
Like wet wood.
Like… piss…
I fought to get to my feet and turned the corner and froze.
I covered my mouth.
Behind me, Leo was yelling my name, trying to catch up.
There were clothes on the floor.
I knew those clothes too.
My favorite thing she would wear…
That meant she had been here.
But not anymore.
She was gone yet again.
I turned my head and threw up.
Chapter 1
Elijah
Miss Carson wore a blouse that was gracefully open in the front. So much so she didn’t even realize the kind of show she was giving off. Match that to her hair pulled back and glasses resting near the tip of her nose, I had to pinch my arm and make sure I wasn’t dreaming. It had been a long time since I had one of those kinds of dreams.
My hands touched the arms of the chair and I stared intently at her.
Her hand held a neon yellow highlighter as she went through my schedule, circling things, writing notes, talking to herself.
The grip on the arms of the chair made me feel like I was about to rip them apart. Then my ass would slam down to the floor. And Miss Carson could jump over the desk and ask if I was okay. Then I could tell her to lock the office door.
And then…
“You could at least pretend to pay attention, Elijah,” she said, breaking me out of a series of thoughts that would end happily if I was given a few minutes to myself.
I cleared my throat and leaned forward.
I felt the piece of gum in my mouth and started to chew.
Spearmint crystals exploded across my tongue as I grinned at Miss Carson.
“You take your job too seriously here,” I said.
She put the highlighter down.
She stared at me.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Then she took off the glasses.
Just like that - poof - the enjoyment and fantasy was gone.
Now she was back to the same old Miss Carson. Trying to solve the problems of the HCH world through careful talking and motivational posters. Which told me she probably went home to a nice house that was clean, happy, with a cat strutting around. She’d probably drink a glass of wine only on Thursday because Thirsty Thursday OMG and then have a hangover the next day.
Miss Carson snapped her fingers and stared at me.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re not here. So I’ll just wait for you to get here.”
She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms.
The way she did that…
I turned my head and stood up.
I needed a fucking drink.
I needed something to chase away the wild thoughts in my head. And not just because of Miss Carson either. It was a fast building combination of bullshit that left me feeling ready to explode.
My eyes moved to the office door.
She’s out there.
Somewhere in this building.
Sitting at a table.
Sitting at a desk.
I rubbed my chin and turned to face Miss Carson again. “This is all pointless. You and I both know it too. My schedule doesn’t mean shit.”
“It doesn’t if you don’t have the required credits to move on.”
“What if I don’t care?” I asked. “I’ll do whatever I’m doing and if I need more classes I’ll get there eventually.”
Miss Carson sighed. “Eventually? The odds of you…” She shook her head. She closed her folder. “Fine. Do whatever you want, Elijah. After all, this isn’t your town, right? This isn’t your home. This isn’t your life.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Sleep on the wrong side of the bed?”
“I slept just fine last night.”
I grinned.
Miss Carson didn’t appreciate that.
“I’ll conference in Principal Henders and Harrison. Maybe it’s time for you to move on, Elijah.”
I laughed. “I haven’t caused any trouble.”
“You sure about that?”
“I’ve saved people since coming here,” I said.
Miss Carson opened her mouth but didn’t respond.
She knew what I was talking about.
And I knew damn well Nova had been forced to talk to her about what was happening with her home life.
And if it wasn’t for me, then Nova and her mother would still be living under the same roof as that abusive asshole.
“I sort of wanted to have an agreement with you, Elijah,” Miss Carson said. “Something between us.”
“Something between us?” I asked, lifting my eyebrow even higher.
“I wanted you to come here and find closure. I can see it in your eyes… from the moment you showed up…” Miss Carson laughed. “You’re his brother, Elijah. The same fiery passion.”
“Meaning?”
“You wanted to find out who did it and hurt them. And that’s not the right way to handle this.”
“Fair enough then,” I said.
“I want you to finish what you feel needs to be done here. With your classes. I want you to walk away and be free. I’m sorry for your loss, Elijah. But adding to that… you’ll only regret it. And I’m not saying that as a person in my position. I’m saying it as a person who cares. Your situation is…”
“I’m the bastard,” I said. “You can say it.”
“Elijah…”
“It’s okay. I mean, we’re here to get shit in the open, right? I’m the bastard. My father doesn’t love me. He doesn’t even like me. Me being around drives his wife crazy. I’m the reminder of his slip up.”
“Elijah, let me ask you something. Everything you just said. That creates and indicates a very troubling environment to live in. For everyone.”
“I know,” I said.
“Forgive me for being bold here, but… why? Why live in that?”
I grabbed the door and smiled.
And I told Miss Carson the truth.
“Because I secretly fucking love it.”
* * *
I walked the hallways of HCH slowly. It was definitely a nicer building than Tech. No shock there though. This was where the money went. That rich and comfortable feel for everyone. Tech was for people like me. And Nero. And, hell, even Wes’s dumb cousins. Still rich, but definitely with the capability to ruin the pretty image of HCH.
All of it was hypocritical and made me laugh.
What didn’t make me laugh was my inability to find Nova.
Another no shock moment…
She hated me again.
That was just our brand of love though.
She would hate me. Then love me. And we’d dance back and forth until…
Well, I wasn’t sure what.
It always used to be the end of summer.
There was always an expiration date on what we were doing, thinking, and feeling. That gave us a chance to breathe for a long damn time. That gave us a chance to replace one another and it never worked out that way.
I exited the building and lit up a cigarette.
The right thing to do would have been to go back to Tech. See what needed to be done there to finish up the day. Then again, by the time I got up there, had a cigarette in the bathroom, talked to Nero and the guys, and then wandered my way to some class, it would have been time to go.
The smart thing… just hang around.
I spotted the football field and had to see it again.
There were more than a few times that Nova and I spent time at the football field. One night after she decided to sneak a small bottle of her asshole father’s favorite drink, she came up with the crazy idea of making out at the fifty-yard line. Because that’s what the fuckhead jocks did with girls. So making out there was kind of a taboo thing to do. I thought it was completely stupid, but any chance to kiss Nova was a chance I’d never pass up. So we stood there in the middle of the football field and kissed like crazy. And then Nova started laughing for some reason and ended up falling. So I sat with her and we looked at the stars. Then she decided to confess that she had never fooled around under the bleachers with anyone. Ever.
I told her that was nothing short of a crime.
She laughed again and told me she wasn’t feeling good so I snuck her back home.
We eventually had our time under the bleachers.
So I knew the HCH field quite well.
I smoked and watched a few guys out on the field.
One guy looked really pissed off.
The guy he was talking to looked just as pissed.
Then there was some guy walking with one crutch.
After a heated conversation, the first guy grabbed the football from the second guy and called out some kind of play. The second guy ran down the field. The first guy threw the ball. The second guy tried to catch the ball but dropped it.
The guy with the crutch lifted his crutch and threw it. Then he had to hobble along on one foot to get his crutch.
I walked onto the field as I smoked.
For good reason too.
And it wasn’t because I had a secret love for football.
The second guy ran the football back to the first guy.
They all looked familiar but their names never mattered to me until just then.
“Let me guess,” I said, gaining their attention. “You’re the star QB.” I pointed to the first guy. My finger moved to the guy on crutches. “And you’re the star wide receiver. But you fucked up your ankle slipping on a wet rock because you were trying to impress some cheerleader who showed up with tits that were worth risking your life for.” I looked at the second guy. “And you… you think you can do this but you can’t. You’re looking for an easy way into some already wet panties.”
“Who the fuck is this guy?” the second guy asked.
“Elijah,” the first guy said. “Ryland’s brother.”
“I don’t remember your names,” I said. “I would apologize but I don’t give a shit.”
“He’s Ryder,” the second guy said. “And that’s Kyle…”
“Kyle with a crutch,” I said. “I like it.”
Ryder stepped toward me. “So I’m going to keep this very simple here. I’m sorry about your brother.”
“No you’re not,” I said. “Nobody is.”
“You’re right. I’m not sorry he’s dead. I didn’t kill him. I know a lot of people who didn’t like him. And I know you’re sniffing around for answers. There are none. So you walking out onto the field like this… I’ll let it slide. For today. One time only. You do it again and-”
“I can catch that ball,” I said. “The one this moron couldn’t catch.”
“Fuck you,” the second guy said.
“Still didn’t get your name,” I said.
“Nelson.”
I laughed. “Wow, I feel bad for you.”
“What the fuck is this?” Kyle asked. “Get the fuck off the field.”
“Put the ball in the air,” I said to Ryder, ignoring Kyle. “Watch what happens.”
“Hey, fuck this guy,” Nelson said.
“Down two receivers now,” I said.
“What?” Kyle asked.
I threw my right elbow as hard as I could and hit Nelson in the jaw. His head snapped back so hard I thought his head was going to roll off his shoulders. He stumbled back and fell to the ground, holding his face.
I took a drag of my cigarette and flicked it across the field.
“Come on,” I said to Ryder. “Put it up.”
“Are you fucking crazy?” Ryder asked.
“Really fucking crazy,” I said. “Beyond fucking crazy.” I looked down at Nelson as he sat up. “I’m in the mood to kill…”
Nelson shook his head in defeat.
“If you say so,” Ryder said. “I’ll toss you a post. I don’t fuck around though.”
“Let’s go,” I said.
I took off down the field.
I didn’t even look back. If Ryder was as good as he thought he was, I didn’t need to look back.
As though there was someone defending me, I made the cut needed to finish the play. That’s when I looked back and the ball was right there. A perfectly thrown spiraling pass and I was in position to make the catch. The ball fell into my hands and I pulled it to my chest. I trotted into the end zone and turned.
