HIDDEN CREEK KISS: a hidden creek high novel, page 2
Ryder and Kyle were shoulder to shoulder.
Nelson still on his ass.
I jogged back down the field and slammed the ball off Ryder’s gut.
I looked down at Nelson. “That’s how you catch a fucking pass, loser.”
“How long have you been playing?” Ryder asked.
“About a minute,” I said.
“Bullshit,” Ryder said.
“Don’t fucking believe me. I don’t give a shit.”
“Then what are you doing here?” Ryder asked. “You want on the team.”
“Fuck no,” I said. “I want info. You’re going to give it up to me.”
Ryder looked at Kyle.
Kyle nodded. “It was to keep her out of the water.”
“What?” I asked.
“My ankle,” Kyle said. “Just a sprain though. I was carrying her across the rocks. Jean shorts and a bikini top. Goddamn unfair. She was afraid of the water. Gave up my ankle to keep her from hitting the water.”
“A true gentleman,” I said.
“Hardly,” Kyle said. “She paid me back. Again and again. Believe me.”
“Hell yeah,” Ryder said with a grin.
“Were you there?” I asked Ryder. “You fluff his balls in between sessions?”
Nelson snorted and laughed.
Kyle swung his crutch and hit Nelson in the face.
Nelson screamed.
These dudes are nothing but fucking losers. All of them.
“So what do you want to know?” Ryder asked. “I’ll give you credit for that catch.”
“My brother,” I said. “Everyone hated him. Everyone is happy he’s dead. Who would have done it though?”
“Seriously?” Kyle asked. “That list is pretty big.”
“Then give me something,” I said.
“I don’t know, man,” Ryder said. “I mean… he and Wes…”
“Fuck Weslee Jackson,” I said. “Give me something else.”
“Like what?” Kyle asked.
I jumped at Kyle and grabbed the crutch from him. He jumped to keep his balance and reached for Ryder.
“BFH,” Ryder blurted out.
My head snapped to the left and I stared at Ryder. “What?”
“BFH. Bay Falls High.”
“What about?” I asked.
“Bad blood,” Kyle said. “Us against them. Ryland was always in the middle of it too. There’s a crew up there. Well, there’s a lot of crews. They’re split into two buildings.”
“Like HCH and Tech?” I asked.
“No,” Ryder said. “It’s way different, man. Those two buildings hate each other.”
“Internal fights?” I asked.
“Worse than you can imagine,” Kyle said. “But you need to talk to Pres.”
“Pres,” I said.
“Part of the Rulz,” Kyle said. “Three guy crew. Guys that don’t fuck around.”
“Pres. Barr. Kip.” Ryder nodded as he said their names.
“So you think BFH did this?” I asked. “It would go that far?”
“Surprised it hasn’t gone that far yet to be honest,” Ryder said. “We tried having a football game not too long ago and it turned into a huge fight. Of course, Wes was the one who kind of started that.”
“See?” I asked. “That wasn’t so hard.”
I handed Kyle his crutch back and lit up a fresh cigarette.
I started to walk away and Ryder called my name.
“You should play for us,” he yelled. “You’ve got great hands.”
I grinned with the cigarette in my mouth. “I’m not into guys.”
Ryder’s face dropped. “I didn’t mean it like that…”
I kept grinning, just to piss them off.
My calling card… a trail of pissed off people and broken hearts.
Chapter 2
Nova
I had to sleep in the bed where I had slept with Elijah.
The same sheets. The same blankets. The same pillows.
It shouldn’t have been that big of a deal for me but it was. It wasn’t like my heart was broken or anything, but it felt shook up. The second I thought I was getting close to him again, another secret came forward and pushed me away.
The fact that he was next on whatever kind of sick list that had been made.
Ryland was gone.
Elijah was next.
Which meant that I was going to lose him one way or another.
And that sort of explained why he had come back to Hidden and why he was so urgent about finding information on his brother. Not out of love or grieving. But to survive. To get the names or whatever and then to attack and leave.
Which all seemed even more crazy.
The more I thought about it the crazier it all got.
A soft knock at the bedroom door scattered the thoughts.
Mom opened the door and poked her head inside. “Are you decent?”
“No,” I said. “I’ve got two bottles of vodka and three boys in here.”
“Novalee…” She stepped into the room and smiled at me. “Cherry has dinner ready. I was going to text you but she said people who text each other in the same house are what’s wrong with the world.”
“I don’t think you want to get on her bad side,” I said.
“Nobody needs to get on her bad side,” Mom said. “She’s expecting you downstairs.”
“Sure.”
Mom stepped back and paused. She shut the door and walked toward the bed.
“Can I sit?” she asked.
“It’s not my bed,” I said. “I’m sort of homeless right now.”
Mom swallowed hard and sat down.
“Novalee…”
“Look, that was a joke,” I said. “A bad joke at that. I use humor to hide things.”
“I don’t want you to hide things.” Mom touched my hand. “I can’t find the words right now for everything happening. I’m ashamed of myself. I hate myself. Yet I have to be strong for you.”
“No, you don’t,” I said. “I’m strong enough.”
Mom looked at me. “I know you have Elijah. And I know he makes you feel stronger. And that’s great…”
“Mom, please,” I said. “I don’t want to do this right now. You need to focus on yourself.”
Mom wiped the corners of her eyes. “How can my daughter be strong enough to say that? You should be curled up in my lap, crying. Reliving those nightmares and fearing what’s next.”
“Are you trying to give me ideas?”
“No. I’m not a very good parent, am I?”
“I’m alive,” I said. “I’m an adult. You did your job. Now you need to find out what makes you happy and go for it.”
Mom looked at me and slowly stood up.
There was a lot more to be said between us but I wasn’t in the mood for it. Not now and maybe not ever. She needed to get ahead of the stuff with my father. If she didn’t he was going to keep hurting her. And not just physically either. He would find a way to leave her with nothing. Paint her as some crazy bitch who was after his money. And if that happened… and I stood up and said I hated my father… he’d just twist the story deeper, saying my mother trained me to hate him.
“Mom,” I said as I stood up. “You need to figure this out.”
She opened the bedroom door and walked out. “You better get to the table and eat.”
I took my time getting to the table only to see we weren’t alone.
It was Cherry, Mom, and Noelle like normal.
But then there was Wes and Aira.
And Walker and Ryker.
And Jett and Pop.
The last two didn’t bother me so much.
Especially Pop.
He just drank whiskey and complained about everything in life.
Typical older man but he was pretty cool.
I slowly took a seat and felt really awkward being near Wes and Aira.
I looked at Noelle and nodded.
She took her earbuds out and smiled at me.
“Everyone start eating,” Cherry ordered. “Get full. Be happy.”
“What’s for dessert?” Walker asked.
Cherry looked at him and whatever look it was it made Walker go white in the face.
“Always finish dinner first,” Jett said. “Moron.”
“Sorry,” Walker said.
“Thanks for having us, Cherry,” Wes said. “Hope you don’t mind us crashing dinner.”
Wes looked at me when he said that.
“Not at all,” Cherry said. “The more the better. Creates a sense of family. We all need it right now.”
Cherry patted Mom’s arm.
Mom’s cheeks flushed.
“So when are we going to break that bastard’s neck?” Pop asked.
Everyone dropped their fork.
I thought for a second he was talking about Elijah only because Elijah always called himself a bastard.
But Pop meant my father.
“Pop,” Jett said. “Not now.”
“We get him now,” Pop said. “I don’t tolerate that crap.”
“It’s okay,” Mom said.
“No it’s not, Leslie,” Jett said. “It won’t ever be okay.”
“She meant it’s okay for now,” I said. “Until we figure something out.”
“I’ve got a plan,” Pop said. “Put him in the trunk of a car and send him into the junkyard. Keep him fed to keep him alive…”
“I think we should just enjoy our meal,” Cherry said.
She and Pop had a stare down that got intense.
Noelle casually slipped her earbuds back into her ears.
I glanced over at Mom and she looked ready to cry.
“Okay then,” Jett said. He stood up and walked to the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of whiskey and carried it to the table. “If we’re going deep, then let’s go.”
“I’m in,” Ryker said.
“I’ll break your hands,” Cherry said, taking her attention off Pop.
Pop growled and hit the table with a fist. He looked at me. “Nobody blames you or your mother, Novalee. Just know that. And you have people around you who care.”
I nodded to the old man.
I didn’t say a word to him.
I had never talked to him before in my life.
“I think I’m full,” Mom said.
“Oh, dammit, no,” Cherry said. “We all sit and eat.”
“Have a drink,” Jett said to Mom.
The entire situation was new. And very raw. And slowly working its way through town. Which was why Mom was just hidden in Cherry’s house. She deserved it though. Time away from life. But only for a little while.
Once they all had a little bit of whiskey they all calmed down.
After eating a slice of Cherry’s world famous meatloaf I got the hell away from the table before the conversation got anymore crazy than it already was.
I sat outside on the top step of the porch with Noelle. She was writing and sketching in her notebook and I just sat there with my back against the pillar and hugged my knees.
There was just so much on my mind.
And I knew how to relieve it.
Just one text message and…
I lowered my head and took a breath.
“So are we going to avoid the obvious all night or what?”
I lifted my head and saw Wes standing with Aira.
I looked right at Noelle.
She mouthed sorry to me and stuck her earbuds in and walked into the house without saying a word to Wes or Aira.
“Still a weird bitch,” Aira muttered.
“Be nice,” Wes said.
“I don’t mind Noelle,” I said. “I actually like her. A lot. If you take off the judgmental bitch goggles and actually talk to her…”
I was defensive. I was in the mood for a fight.
Aira scoffed and slowly sat down where Noelle had been sitting. “So that’s how it is? You’re best friends with Noelle now? And the rest of us…”
“What?” I asked. “What’s burning inside you so bad right now?”
“How about the fact of what we found out?” Wes cut in. “Or that you never told anyone? Or that it was happening all the while we were all hanging out? Or that you blew everyone off for Elijah? And where is he now? Huh? Did he fuck everything up again?”
I looked at Wes and felt my lip curling into a high snarl.
“You can slap him,” Aira said. “He deserves it.”
“I don’t give a shit,” Wes said. “What the fucking prick is trying to do…”
I hurried to my feet.
Aira did the same.
She jumped in front of Wes to save him from me.
Wes smirked.
“Fuck you,” I said. “Both of you. You have no idea what’s going on.”
“But we care,” Aira said. “What Wes said was wrong. He’s a prick.”
“I’m okay with that,” Wes said.
“Shut up,” Aira said. She elbowed him. “Why don’t you go inside and make sure Noelle isn’t crying because I was too close to her for a second.”
“That’s cold, darling,” Wes said.
“Very cold,” I said.
“I’m not going to hide how I feel or who I am,” Aira said.
Wes backed off and went inside.
I stood there with her.
She slowly touched my arms. She blinked fast. “I am so sorry.”
“Yeah. So am I.”
“You know we all have your back,” she said. “All of us. I told everyone else to just stay away tonight. Let you make the decision when you’re ready to talk. I don’t want you to feel forced into talking. Ever.”
“Okay,” I said.
“I don’t know what else is going on, Nova. Kailey said you bailed on her a couple times for Elijah…”
“And that’s a problem for you,” I said. “I get it. I’m sorry that Elijah and Wes don’t see eye to eye. But the way you feel about Wes… that’s the way I feel about Elijah…”
“You really love him?”
“Yes. No. I think…”
I sounded foolish.
I shook my head.
“I don’t doubt my feelings for Wes,” Aira said. “And I don’t doubt your feelings either. I guess I’m just trying to tell you - as a friend - to take care of yourself. I can’t imagine what you must have gone through with your parents. And none of us knew. And I hope the same doesn’t happen with Elijah.”
I laughed. “You want me to tell you everything about Elijah? About us talking? Kissing? That we fucked upstairs in the spare bedroom?”
Aira’s eyes widened. “That didn’t take long…”
“Not your problem,” I said. “And I can never make it your problem because you already have your decision made on him. I don’t think anything will change that. And the last thing I want now is to have something happen with you and Wes. Because I’ve seen how you treat those who are close to Wes…”
“Nova,” Aira said.
“And,” I said, cutting right back in, “I would never want you to feel the pain that I feel. I hope you never lose Wes.”
“I have before,” Aira said. “Do you not remember anything?”
“I remember everything, Aira.”
I shook her hold on me away and stepped back.
“When was the last time you surfed?” she asked.
“What?”
“That’s my point,” Aira said. “You get a little lost and you forget everything. I’m sorry if Elijah being here hurts you. Or makes you love him. Or whatever it is you’re actually feeling. But to not surf? That’s you giving up.”
I opened my mouth to tell Aira that my surfboard was still at my old house. With my abusive father.
But that was an excuse.
Cherry showed me she had surfboards at her house.
I even had one strapped to the roof of my ride.
Aira didn’t say another word.
She went back inside and I walked off the porch.
I balled up my fists really tight.
And my eyes filled with tears.
All I wanted to do was surf.
* * *
It was probably too late to try and catch waves. The tide was coming in and it was dangerous without enough sunlight.
But there I was.
Out in the water, paddling as hard and as fast as I could. Swimming away like I always did. Being in the water was keeping me away from home. Strange enough… my father hated the water. He was actually afraid of it, of the ocean. Of everything to do with the ocean. He said his cousins used to make him watch scary shark movies when they were kids and it stuck with him. Plus, he’d rather be in a suit and tie… and swinging his fists…
I squeezed my eyes shut and paddled harder.
When I turned and looked to the shore, it was dark.
Almost completely dark.
This is really stupid, Nova. Really fucking stupid.
I didn’t care.
I looked back and waited for a wave to build.
It was hard to see so I had to sort of guess on when to get up on the board.
My first two attempts failed horribly.
But I felt like I had it memorized.
The way the water was moving. The way the waves were doing their thing.
Listening closely. Feeling the water.
My senses heightened because my eyesight wasn’t all that great.
I caught the next wave.
I got up on the board just in time and had it.
My heart started to jump around inside my chest, a mix of excitement and fear.
I jumped forward and off the surfboard and into the ocean with a scream.
I wasn’t sure what kind of scream it was supposed to be but whatever.
As I popped up out of the water, I felt something touch my shoulder.
No.
Something grabbed my shoulder.
Then my arm.
I turned and started to scream when I saw Elijah in the water next to me.
His hands all over me.
“Nova,” he yelled. “Are you okay?”
I stood and swung my arms to break away from him. “What the hell are you doing here? I’m fine. I was…”
Another wave died next to us, the water pushing against us.
He was in street clothes, standing knee deep in the ocean water.
“Saw you go down,” he said. “Thought something happened. Surfing at night is dangerous. And stupid.”
