HIDDEN CREEK FOREVER: a hidden creek high novel, page 10
And that was fine with me.
That was a good fucking night for sure.
When the kiss did finally end, I was breathless.
Wes put his arm around me and we walked toward Liam’s house.
Charlotte and Flynn were dry humping in the corner of the porch.
Leo was already working with two cups, making it known how his night was going to go.
“That should calm things down for a bit,” Leo said. “Even though I didn’t get my hands on Bryant. Motherfucker.”
“Don’t sweat it,” Wes said. “They needed two of each to take us down. We showed up and faced them all. Message sent.”
“Speaking of messages,” Charlotte said. “Emma didn’t get back to me.”
“She’s not here?” Wes asked.
“No,” I said. “She was with Eric. Sort of just lost in her own world.”
“Damn,” Wes said.
“There he is!” a voice yelled. Liam came stumbling out of the house with a small group with him. “Fucking Weslee fucking Jackson… the man… the craziest motherfucker in the world…”
Liam was hammered drunk.
And Wes definitely wasn’t in the mood to be praised for anything.
“Hey, I have an idea,” Liam announced. He lifted his cup into the air. “Fuck BFH! Fuck BFH! Fuck BFH!”
The chant started with Liam and slowly worked its way through the group on the porch.
I even spotted Charlotte and Flynn chanting it.
I squinted my eyes and curled my lip at Charlotte.
She shrugged at me, laughed, and kept going.
Wes just stood there.
I had no idea what he was going to do next.
Liam started jumping and turning.
So did everyone else.
The porch was now some kind of dance party dedicated to bashing Bay Falls High.
There was nothing we could really do about it either. All I knew was that they weren’t there. They didn’t see the game and how crazy it was. They didn’t see the wild fight. Everyone just running around, throwing punches. Even on the sideline, everyone slamming into each other either trying to get to the field to fight or get the hell out of there.
I reached for Wes’s hand.
Ryker came barreling through the crowd with his sights set on Wes.
He rushed right up to him and I thought maybe it had to do with Emma.
When I heard the name Noelle, I joined the conversation.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Ryker said.
“I’ll rip your balls off, Ryker,” I said.
“Noelle’s drunk,” Wes said to me.
“So what? A lot of people are. It’s a party.”
“No, it’s not that simple,” Ryker said. “She’s really drunk. And Ryland’s here too.”
“Where is he right now?” Wes asked.
Defending Noelle, huh?
I pushed the jealousy down.
“He’s out back with someone.”
“And she’s really wasted?” Wes asked.
“Yeah. She’s upstairs in the one bedroom. She looks rough.”
Wes looked at me.
So this was Wes’s job, right? To jump in and save Noelle. No matter what.
“Darling, listen to me,” Wes said as he leaned down to put his sweet bad boy lips near my ear.
I gently smacked his face and dug my nails. “No, Wes, you listen to me. I’m going to take care of it.”
“Take care of what?” he asked.
I backed away. I curled my lip again. “I’m going to take care of Noelle.”
* * *
I don’t know why I knocked on the door when I was planning on going into the bedroom anyway. I figured maybe if it was the wrong bedroom I’d give whoever was in there a chance to cover up.
It was the right bedroom.
There was no sign of Noelle either.
At least not until I got to the bathroom door.
I opened it and saw her sitting on the edge of the bathtub.
She held her hair back with her right hand.
“Oh, fuck,” she whispered when she looked at me.
“Oh, fuck is right,” I said. “You okay?”
“No,” she said.
She lowered her head.
I left the bathroom door open and stepped to the sink. I jumped up and sat on the edge. The bathroom was so white and the lights were so bright. No wonder Noelle felt sick.
She swayed left to right on the edge of the bathtub.
“Too much at once, huh?” I asked.
“Oops,” Noelle said.
She fumbled with her earbuds and dropped them to the floor. She reached for them and fell down to the floor.
She let out a muffled cry and I rolled my eyes.
I pushed from the sink and crouched down.
I swiped the earbuds off the floor and grabbed Noelle by her arms.
“Stand up with me,” I said. “You need to go sleep this off.”
“I can’t sleep here,” she said. “I have to go home. I have to get home.”
“You came to a party and got drunk,” I said. “Unless you have a ride home, you’re sleeping it off here.”
I got Noelle to her feet and she swung her arms to get away from me.
“He’s here,” she said.
She walked - stumbled - out of the bathroom.
I followed her and watched her skip the bed and go to the window.
There were two large windows and they were open. The breeze from and the sound of the ocean were comforting. It was still possible to hear the muffled thuds and thumps from the music downstairs.
“Why did you come here?” I asked.
Noelle shrugged her shoulders. “Was worried about Wes.”
“Of course you were.”
“Not in the way you think,” she said. “These fights and things… they bother me.”
“They bother me too, Noelle.”
“I’m sure they do. You love him so much. And he loves you so much. And then you cause all these fights and he just shows up…”
I gritted my teeth.
Fucking bitch.
She had a point though so I let that one slide.
“You came here knowing Ryland was going to be here,” I said. “So what’s your plan with him? To avoid him? To hate him? To hate yourself?”
Noelle looked back at me. “Why can’t we just hang out and get along? We did a few times.”
“Then you told me you wanted to fuck my boyfriend.”
“Shit. I did.”
“You stepped into my old shoes, Noelle. That bothers me. I never wanted to leave Hidden. My parents ripped me away. And I’m sure you know how that worked out.”
“Your father burned down your own house,” Noelle said. “Almost killed you. And your mother. That’s crazy stuff. You know, my father died.”
“I know. I’m sorry about that. That he was sick.”
“Wes was the only person who cared. About him. About me. It didn’t matter how sick my father was or how scared I got, Wes always showed up.”
I nodded. “He’s got that side to him, doesn’t he?”
“He would hug me. He would hold me. He would kiss the top of my head.”
I made fists and step forward. “Look, if you’re going to tell me-”
“But he never did anything else,” Noelle said. Her eyes filled with tears. “I fell in love with him because he took care of me. And he always said I was his sister. I always thought something else.”
“What’s the point of this, Noelle?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “It just never happened. It never worked. It was never meant to be. And then I lost myself one night at a party and Ryland…”
I moved closer to her.
I almost hated myself as I touched her back. All the bitch stuff aside, I couldn’t imagine how she felt about Ryland. No, I could imagine.
Fuck.
“You should get some sleep,” I said. “You’ll feel like crap in the morning but it’ll be over.”
“You should be with him.”
“I am with him, Noelle. And I don’t need your approval.”
“Approve my ass,” she said.
“What?”
She snorted and started to laugh.
She bumped into the window and scared herself.
That made her laugh even harder.
I wasn’t laughing. I had no desire to laugh.
When she collected herself, she looked at me, tears running down her cheeks.
“I think everything is screwed up,” she said. “It got worse when you showed up. But it was like this before too.”
“Good to know,” I said. “Now get into bed.”
Noelle stumbled toward me.
Then she froze.
She looked at me and I knew the look.
I grabbed her arm and had to drag her to the bathroom.
“Wait,” I yelled at her. “Wait…”
I basically threw her at the toilet.
She collapsed down and I watched as her hair fell forward.
Groaning under my breath, I stood over her and pulled her hair back.
She let loose, filling the toilet with whatever she had been drinking all night.
I pulled a hair tie from my wrist to her hair and twisted it around, making a messy bun. At least she wouldn’t throw up on her own hair.
I backed away to the sink and waited, listening to the sound of her getting sick. The echoes from the toilet bowl. The splashing sound.
She groaned each time, trying to say something.
“Just focus on getting it all up,” I said to her. “I’ll be right back.”
I went to the bed and grabbed a pillow and a blanket.
I felt bad for whoever had to clean the bathroom and clean the sheets.
But whatever.
I dropped the pillow next to the toilet and the blanket next to that.
“There,” I said. “Enjoy your night.”
Noelle grabbed for me. “Please don’t go.”
She looked at me.
She was a fucking mess.
“Put your head down,” I ordered.
Noelle put her head to the pillow and stared up.
I stepped over her again.
“Sleep on your side,” I said. “In case you get sick again.”
“You’re not staying?” Noelle asked.
“No.”
“Where’s Wes?”
I dropped down to one knee. It was almost like I was pinning Noelle to the bathroom floor. All I could smell was booze and vomit emitting from her.
If one of the guys were to walk in they’d probably get hard.
Fucking boys.
I grabbed Noelle’s face with my left hand. “You want to make things right? Then sleep this the fuck off and when you wake up, understand that Wes is your friend. Hell, he can be your brother. That’s it. Because if I find out you think anything more or try anything more, then your little friendship is done for good. I’m sorry for what happened to you in life. But I’ve been through my own shit too. It’s called life. You want to get wasted and throw up in a toilet, go for it. But remember what happens when you’re alone and drunk. And how it feels.”
Noelle nodded. “I’m going to be sick again.”
I held her in place.
Her eyes filled with tears again.
She grabbed my arm.
At the last second, I let her go.
She scrambled to get to the toilet.
I walked out of the bathroom as she threw up.
The sound crawled through the room as I stood at the window and stared down to the beach.
It was dark.
But every few seconds I’d catch the sight of the white caps of the waves.
Wes had his own checklist in his mind of what to settle.
So did I.
Chapter 11
Wes
I woke up to my left foot numb.
I was on a couch with Aira on top of me. She was curled up tight and my right arm was tight around her, holding her.
The night had gotten lost pretty damn quick.
Especially when Aira came out on the porch with a drink for me and her. I didn’t know what was up with her but when she started chanting ‘Fuck BFH!’ again to get everyone fired up, it made me laugh.
It made me forget everything for a little while.
Which I think we all needed.
I picked my head up and felt pretty good.
Other than my leg being numb from falling asleep.
The house was trashed though.
There were people on couches, chairs, right on the floor.
I carefully moved my right leg from the couch to the floor. I rolled Aira off me and moved with a masterful stealth. It wasn’t the first time I had to sneak away from a sleeping girl to make a getaway. At least with Aira, I was coming back.
She rolled to her side and buried her face into the couch.
I pulled a blanket from the top of the couch and smiled at her as she slept.
I navigated through the floor of trash and people.
In the kitchen, I saw Leo and Noelle.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
Leo lifted a coffee mug. “Rich people and their coffee. I don’t get it. It tastes the same.”
Noelle looked at me and then looked away.
I put my arms to the counter and slid forward as I yawned. “Haven’t had a kick back like that in a while.”
“Especially here,” Leo said. “Aira was all sorts of worked up.”
“Yeah, she was,” I said. I looked at Noelle. “How about you, Noe?”
“I’m fine,” she said.
“Hungover?”
“Just fine,” she said.
“Cold shoulder then. Great.”
Noelle poured two coffees and brought me one. She stayed on the opposite side of the counter.
“Aira said she got you settled with BFH,” I said.
“Something like that.”
“Noe, what’s the deal?”
“There is no deal, Wes. I’m your sister. Right? You’re my big bro. But you’re also in love with Aira. And she’s the most important thing in the world to you.”
“Doesn’t mean I don’t care about you,” I said. “I’ve been trying to say that all along.”
“I know. I’m sorry I let stuff get in the way.”
“Nothing is different, Noe.”
“Yes it is.”
“It’s not. Why’d you come here last night?”
“I was worried about you,” she said. “The fighting with BFH.”
“It’s the same shit as always.”
“I just wanted to know you were okay. You used to go fight them and then come hang out with me. We’d eat and watch shows all night.”
“Or I’d come to a party. You used to come too.”
“Used to,” she said. “You know why I stopped when I did.”
I looked away and gritted my teeth. “I guess I own that one for life.”
“You don’t, Wes,” Noelle said.
“Wow, this place is trashed,” Aira’s voice said.
She walked toward the kitchen as she ran a hand through her messy bed hair.
She looked fucking radiant.
I stuck my right hand out, needing to touch her.
I pulled her to my lap and she quickly stole my coffee.
“Ew, gross,” she said. “Don’t you do anything to your coffee?”
“I drink it,” I said.
“Morning, Noelle,” Aira said. “Leo.”
“Morning,” Leo said.
“Aira,” Noelle said.
“What were we talking about?” Aira asked so boldly.
“I was just trying to tell Wes that the Ryland thing was my fault,” Noelle said.
“Hey, Noe,” I said. “Don’t…”
“It’s the truth,” she said. “I put myself in a bad position. And I don’t remember everything completely. I know how it all made me feel and that was the worst feeling ever.”
“I should have buried him the next day,” I said. “I am sorry for that.”
“Never too late,” Leo called out.
“I like his thinking,” Aira said.
“Me too,” Noelle said.
“Forget him,” I said. “He’s on a fighting high.”
“I’ll fight you next, Wes,” Leo said.
I slapped the counter. “Try me, bro.”
“Let me finish my coffee first,” Leo said.
We all laughed.
Where was Flynn with one of his mother jokes when you needed him?
* * *
Cherry swung the dish towel like she had a deadly bee chasing her down.
“You. Were. All. Drinking.”
Each word louder than the last.
Everyone got smacked, including Aira.
“Wes made me!” Aira cried out.
“Like hell, darling,” I said.
“That’s stupid and dangerous,” Cherry said. “I don’t like it.”
“Noelle threw up,” I said.
“Wes!” Noelle yelled.
“What?” Cherry asked, her full attention on her.
“I ate something bad,” Noelle lied.
“Yeah… a bottle of rum,” I said.
“You’re all grounded,” Cherry said.
“Grounded?” Aira asked.
“I thought I knew you better, Aira,” Cherry said.
“I’m still innocent,” she said.
“Not near Wes,” Cherry said.
“I agree,” Noelle said. “He’s the worst. Ever.”
“Great. Everyone dump on me,” I said.
“Do I want to know why your face looks the way it does?” Cherry asked.
“It looked like that before,” I said.
Cherry growled. “Are you hungry? Can I make you something to eat?”
“You’re the best, Cherry,” I said. I hugged her. “The fucking best.”
She pushed me away and hit me with the dish towel again.
“I’ll get the orange juice,” Noelle said.
“I could use more coffee,” Aira said.
“I’m going to have a smoke,” I said. “I’ll be back.”
I left Aira and Noelle alone. With Cherry though. Maybe they’d keep figuring their things out.
Which would be nice.
I needed both of them in my life. For different reasons.
Outside, I stood on the porch and enjoyed my cigarette.
