HIDDEN CREEK LOVE: a hidden creek high novel, page 16
Carolyn grinned. “I’ve been saying that for years.”
“What do I do?” I asked her.
She touched my arm. “You love him?”
“I do love him.”
“Then you wait. Right here. He’ll be back. And trust me, West will be gone soon enough. He comes around and thinks he’s going to get money, but he doesn’t. Come on back inside with me, Aira. Cherry’s been cooking all afternoon.”
I slowly walked with Carolyn but kept my gaze over my shoulder.
It was too late though.
Wes was already gone.
At the door, I put my hand to it. “Curse, huh?”
“It’s a curse, Aira,” Carolyn said. “The way they love and the way they protect. Just watch your heart.”
I nodded.
But there was one problem.
I had long since given my heart to Wes.
Chapter 18
Wes
I went to the shop and it was empty. The garages were empty. The office was empty. I even went up to Pop’s place and that was empty too. Whatever the hell my father had decided to mess with it wasn’t to distract me with Aira and then come here. He was pushing people around from behind the scenes.
I called Ryker and told him to get to the shop as fast as he could.
Then I waited out front and smoked, trying to make sense of everything.
The way I felt for Aira. The fights. Throwing punches over dumb shit from the hallways of HCH. Now I was trying to protect the shop. Jett’s words echoed through my head too. Me and Aira just taking off. Pack up my SUV and just find somewhere new to go. Start our lives the way we want to.
It seemed more tempting by the day.
When I heard the low rumble sound of Ryker’s car engine, I tossed my cigarette away and walked through the lot. He turned and his custom headlights were damn blinding. I held my hand up and he shut off the car and the lights. He and Walker got out, looking around, maybe expecting a fight or something.
“I need something,” I said to Ryker. “Something big.”
“Name it,” Ryker said.
“My father is messing around even worse now,” I said. “Keep an eye on that. I don’t want him hurting anyone else. I want him gone. I’m hoping he already left, but I doubt it.”
“What do you want us to do?” Walker asked. “Call our father?”
They started to laugh.
I smiled. “No. Leave East out of it. He’s too stupid anyway.”
“Look, there’s something else too,” Ryker said. “Lots of chatter of custom parts and rides coming from our end. I think someone is selling behind the scenes. Maybe your old man?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Can’t imagine him coming here just to do that.”
“Unless he wants to set you up,” Walker said. “Between him and Ryland… shit, everyone else you’ve pissed off, Wes… that’s a long list.”
“Walker’s got a point, bro,” Ryker said. “We’ve got your back all the way. But you need to chisel that list down a little. I mean, if someone is coming after the shop, let Jett and Pop deal with it.”
“Anyone who comes near this place is coming near Aira. I’ll protect her with my last breath. No matter what.”
“Okay,” Walker said. “Our eyes are always open.”
“I’m not worried about parts right now,” I said. “Dusty knows we’re in the clear of that shit. Whoever is doing it, let them bury themselves. I’m talking about protecting Aira. I need Ryland away from her for good. My father too.”
“He talked to her?” Ryker asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Just trying to get to her. Scare her. And it worked. She came running to me, which is good. But I never want to see that look on her face again. Not after all she’s been through.”
“Did they ever find out who torched her house?” Walker asked.
“Nope,” I said.
“She’s been through a lot, huh?” Ryker asked.
“Yeah, she has. She’s at Cherry’s right now. Everyone is there. Surprised I didn’t see you two.”
“He’s on the prowl,” Walker said. “Looking for Emma.”
“Fuck off, bro,” Ryker said.
“Am I wrong?” Walker asked.
“Get in the car,” Ryker said.
“She’s going to kill you before kissing you,” I said.
“As long as I get a kiss, I’m good,” Ryker said. “I’m sorry about your old man. We’ll do anything we can do to help you. But seriously, bro, you have to pick your fights right now. I’ll have your back no matter what.”
Ryker got into his car and started it.
The damn headlights blinded me again.
He backed out of the lot and sped away with his engine shifting gears fast and loud.
I looked around the quiet lot.
I thought about having another smoke.
But I decided that Aira would taste better.
* * *
“What are you working on?” I asked Noelle as I leaned against the pillar on the porch.
She had only her right earbud in her ear.
“Nothing,” she said. “Just literally scribbling lines.”
“That has to mean something.”
“Erasing things,” Aira said.
She sat next to Noelle on the top step.
“That’s a good one,” Noelle said. “Or maybe it’s covering up the fake stuff.”
“What’s fake, Noe?” I asked.
“Look at this place,” she said. She looked up at me. So did Aira. “I mean, just look at it. This house is perfect, right? A beautiful, hidden beach house. The long gravel walkway. Look at the stones. White and tan, some with different colors mixed in. Reds and yellows. The porch is even. It’s like this… dream house.”
“But then everything else around it is a mess,” Aira said.
“She gets it,” Noelle said.
I walked down the porch steps and turned to face them both.
I bent my knees. “Nothing is fake here. I don’t care what happens in HCH or in Tech. But this isn’t fake. “
“Look what happens, Wes,” Aira said. “I can’t even get a job to just get away from it all. It just keeps following.”
“It will stop. I’m going to stop it.”
“Now you will,” Noelle said.
“I’ve fought these battles before. You know that. This is what happens here.”
“Battles?” Noelle asked. “That’s what you want to call it, fine. But it’s more than that. It’s so much more than that.”
Noelle stood up and walked away.
I thought about going after her but stopped myself.
I looked at Aira.
“You can go talk to her,” she said.
“It’s fine,” I said. “She’ll figure it out. I let her down, darling.”
“Because of Ryland?”
“Yeah,” I said. “When all that happened… I don’t know. It was just a bad time for everyone.”
“Has there ever been a good time?” Aira asked.
I took her hand and made her stand up. “Right now. This moment right now. Best time of my life.”
“Shut up, Wes.”
“I’m serious. You with me. Near me. Touching me. Me touching you. Those are the moments, Aira. The rest of this is-”
“Don’t say it’s just noise. It’s more than noise.”
“Fine. It’s more than noise. But I’m going to take care of it all.”
“Where did you go?” she asked. “You left me alone with your mother.”
“Ah, come on, you love my mom.”
“Of course I do,” she said. “Little different from her giving me a snack when I was a kid to talking about life and love with you.”
I groaned. “Sorry about that. What did she say?”
“You’re all cursed.”
“Cursed?”
“That’s what she called it. A curse. The way you act. You can’t help it. It’s just who you are.”
“It’s called defending what I love,” I said. “If that’s a problem, then so be it.”
“I don’t have a problem with it. I just… want normal.”
“Normal?”
“Something normal for us, Wes. You and me. Without all of this right now. Like we had at Jett’s. Those nights…”
I gritted my teeth. I wanted the same thing too.
“You want to get naked and go jump in the pool?” I asked.
“No.”
“Okay. Then what do you want right now, darling?”
“You’ll really do anything for me?”
“Anything,” I said. “Try me.”
“I want a giant soft vanilla ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles,” Aira said.
She gently patted my face with her hand and walked back up the porch steps.
I slowly grinned.
She was messing with me again. Pushing at me. Thinking she was going to get to me.
I stepped up one step and wrapped my arms around her body and held her tight against me. I put my lips to the corner of her neck.
She squirmed and giggled.
I jumped back off the steps and took her with me.
I spun us around and let her go.
“Come on,” I said. “We’re going for a ride.”
“Where?” she asked. “What about-”
I took her hand. “We’re going to get you some ice cream, darling.”
* * *
There was a little ice cream place with pink and mint green neon lights. It was open every single day of the year. It was right at the end of Hidden. Right off the bay which had really great water for being on a boat. Some went out there to go fishing, but that wasn’t my thing. We’d go out there to drink and cause trouble. Until the cops would show up and chase us to shore and Dusty would be there ready to write out tickets and throw someone in cuffs just for good measure.
But tonight, it was about me and Aira together.
Standing on the pier that hung over the bay.
I had a cigarette while Aira had her ice cream.
Holding her hand, walking up to the neon lights, talking, flirting, listening to her order the ice cream… why the fuck did that matter to me so much? In some way there was a sense of innocence to Aira. She knew how to handle herself. She knew when to fight back. She wasn’t like the rest of the girls in Hidden. Especially after what happened with Mika. The throwback would have been to spread a rumor about her. Or fuck with her locker or other stuff. Instead, Aira walked right up to Mika and busted her nose.
“What are you all smiles about?” Aira asked.
I watched the tip of her tongue curl along the ice cream and sprinkles.
I ran a hand through my hair. “Just thinking about you.”
“Thinking about me? While we’re standing together? Are you going to say something sexual now?”
“Oh, trust me, everything I think is sexual,” I said. “But I love watching you. The way you take care of yourself. You deserve better than HCH and this town.”
“You’re too sweet,” she said.
She licked the ice cream and a couple sprinkles stuck to the corner of her mouth with some melted ice cream.
“You got some here,” I said and pointed to my mouth.
“Where?” she asked.
I dropped my cigarette and stepped on it. I eased closer to Aira and instead of reaching out and wiping the ice cream off the corner of her mouth, I leaned down and licked it away.
And then I stole a kiss from her.
A long and deep kiss, the rustle of the breeze off the bay as our only sound.
When I pulled away, Aira blinked fast. “Wow.”
“Yeah,” I said. “And I normally like chocolate better.”
“Vanilla is perfect. Goes with anything.”
“Nah,” I said. “Vanilla is weak.”
“Is this weak?” Aira asked.
She jagged her ice cream at my face. Smashing it against my lips and nose.
She burst into laughter.
I moved down at her again and sloppily pressed my mouth and nose to hers. I pushed at her and moved my head left to right as she cried out with a little laughter from being grossed out. All I could smell was dairy from the sudden melted ice cream jammed up my damn nose.
I went to grab Aira by the waist and she dropped the ice cream cone.
“Oh, damn,” I called out as I stopped moving at her.
She put her hands to my chest and kept me away. She laughed and gasped for a breath.
“You’re crazy, Wes,” she said.
“Yeah. For you, darling.”
I walked to the side of the ice cream stand, grabbed some napkins and wiped my face. I could still smell ice cream.
I turned to take Aira a pile of napkins for her face and hand.
Nick and Dean were standing there. One on each side of Aira.
“Come here,” I ordered Aira.
She ran forward and they luckily didn’t grab for her.
“Still wiping your mess off her face?” Dean asked.
“Jealous?” I asked. I snapped my fingers. “Oh, that’s right, you prefer Nick. Or better yet… your puppet master. Speaking of which, where is he at?”
“We were just riding by,” Nick said. “Heard a pretty girl screaming.”
“Did he tell you to follow us?” Aira asked.
“It’s okay, darling,” I said. I put my hand out to keep her back. “They’re just trying to get everyone excited.”
“Heard about your fight with Luke and his guys,” Dean said. “You have your guys with you right now?”
“Just me,” I said. “You have something you want to talk about?”
“Wes, don’t,” Aira whispered to me.
I stepped forward and Dean came for me.
Before I could swing and end the fight before it began, Nick jumped at me. He wrapped his arms around my body, pinning my arms long enough so Dean could swing.
I felt his fist against my cheek.
Aira let out a scream.
Dean swung a second time, hitting me in the jaw.
The explosion of pain went from my jaw to the back of my neck.
“Never go at it alone,” Nick said.
He let me go and pushed me.
I set my feet, not letting him knock me down.
I had two fists and two guys ready to take me down for good.
My eyes darted left to right, trying to see who was going to blink first.
I moved my right hand and Dean stepped back.
Nick tried to come at me again but I threw a quick punch to hold him back.
Dean made another move, charging forward, head down.
I wrapped my arms around his body and lifted him up.
That’s when I saw Aira soaring through the air.
I tossed Dean to the side and turned, just as Aira wrapped her hands around Nick’s face from behind. Her nails dug into his cheeks and eyes.
“You bitch,” Nick growled as he started to swing at her.
I grabbed Aira’s hands and peeled them away. She fell off Nick’s back and hit the pier with a hard thud.
My hand clamped around Nick’s throat and I turned him as Dean was already trying to come after me again.
“What’s going on out there?” a voice from inside the ice cream place yelled. “I’m going to call the police if you’re out there fighting.”
I threw Nick away and he touched his throat as he started to cough.
His face was scratched and bloody.
“That cunt clawed me,” he said.
“Let’s go,” Dean said. “We’ll finish this another time.”
I wanted to chase them down and throw them into the bay.
That dream fell to the side as I rushed to Aira’s side.
I helped her to her feet as she shook with anger.
“I’m sorry, darling,” I said as I hugged her.
She hurried to put her hands between us and pushed me back. “No. I’m done with it, Wes. I’m done with all of it.”
“Aira…”
She started to walk away.
It was a good plan to get the hell out of there, just in case the cops did decide to show up.
We were on my motorcycle and got the hell out of there.
Back through the middle of Hidden, I took her to Julia’s house. Even though I wanted to take her to my place.
When I turned the motorcycle off, she jumped off in a hurry and stopped to look at me. She touched my lip and swiped her finger along it and showed me the blood.
“Again,” she whispered. “Because of me.”
“Goes beyond that, darling. You’re the excuse.”
“I’m an excuse?”
“Not for me. You’re the reason for me.”
“I can’t take much more of this.”
“Then don’t,” I said.
“What does that mean?”
“Just trust me, Aira.” I kissed her hand. “Sorry about your ice cream.”
“It was delicious. What I had. Before you knocked it out of my hand.”
She smiled.
I loved that smile.
“Come with me tonight,” I said. “Go pack and come hang out.”
“Yeah, right. You’re sitting outside the house, Wes. Julia won’t believe a lie I say.”
“Who cares? Just leave. With me.”
Our eyes locked and she moved toward me. I put my hand to the small of her back and kept her standing as I sat on my motorcycle and we kissed.
I could feel the world around us shaking.
Or maybe that was just my heart as I fell in love with her even more.
Chapter 19
Aira
I stared at the piece of paper and read the words about ten times before looking away. I looked out my window and shook my head. It was like holding a loaded gun. That was for damn sure. One whisper of a rumor and I could end so much of this…
The bedroom door opened. “Knock, knock.”
“Hey, Julia,” I said.
I folded up the paper and tucked it into my pocket.
“Love letter?” Julia asked.
“Totally,” I said.
“Yeah, right. Your generation uses their phones for everything. You know, when I was your age, we used to write letters to each other. Ask if we liked each other. Ask if we wanted to go out. Here’s a story for you…” Julia sat on the edge of the bed. “I actually worked out how and when I was going to lose my virginity in a note.”
