HIDDEN CREEK KISS: a hidden creek high novel, page 9
“Even then, he wouldn’t believe it,” Aira said. She stopped walking. “Want to know the craziest thing here?”
“What?”
“They’re like the same person,” Aira said. “Wes and Elijah. I mean… think about it…”
I slowly nodded. “Maybe.”
“Maybe? They have issues with their fathers. They have secrets. They fucking love us madly. They smoke. When it comes to fighting… or believing in something…”
“True,” I said. “They don’t know when to stop. Or just walk away. Or just shut the hell up.”
“Right,” Aira said.
“This is fucking crazy.”
“Absolutely fucking crazy,” Aira said. “Can we make a promise to each other?”
“No,” I said with a laugh.
“Why not?”
“Because you’re going to do the cliché high school promise, right? Where we hold hands and jump up and down and swear that no guy will ever come between us again. But that’s a lie. You’ll die defending Wes. And I’ll… I’ll do the same for Elijah. The only thing we can promise each other is to make them understand they don’t need to fight each other. Wes has never done anything to Elijah. And Elijah has never done anything to Wes. Maybe they’ll never actually like each other or become best friends, but the idea of actually hurting one another…”
“Maybe it’ll stop,” Aira said. “I just don’t want to lose you. Lose our friendship.”
“All we can do is try our best,” I said.
That was probably the saddest thing I had said in a long time.
I felt sadness in my chest.
I saw the sadness spread across Aira’s face.
“Let’s get out of here,” Aira said. “Go to the shop. See what’s happening.”
“You sure?” I asked.
“Why not? What’s the worst that could happen?”
I had a long list of ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’
* * *
The large doors to the garage were open.
Jett stood outside the doors smoking a cigarette.
He looked tired.
I tried to find Elijah but had no such luck.
Inside the garage there were sounds of tools clanking and machines whirring. And when it did quiet down, there was the sound of the radio playing.
A door opened and Wes appeared, wiping his hands.
When he saw Aira, he tossed the rag away and ran to her.
They hugged like they always did. As though they hadn’t seen each other in weeks.
Jett looked right at me and nodded.
I gave a wave.
I slowly stepped toward the garage, not sure what I’d find.
Two guys walked out of the garage to talk to Jett.
There was still no sign of Elijah.
Maybe he quit.
Which would have been a good thing.
Actually, that would have been the perfect thing to have happen.
Elijah got halfway through the day and realized Wes and his family had nothing to do with Ryland’s death and then he split. No harm. No questions asked. No bad blood. (Other than the bad blood that already existed.)
I stepped closer to Jett.
He side eyed me.
“Rhyno, take Tony to the office and we’ll go through the invoices in a few,” he said.
The two guys walked away.
Jett turned to face me.
“Sorry,” I said. “Just need to know if-”
Hands grabbed my sides and lifted me up.
I screamed - like a girl - and kicked my feet.
Jett smiled.
I was spun around and came face to face with Elijah.
“Hey, babe,” he said.
I grabbed his face. “Elijah. You’re okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” he asked.
I looked around.
Jett was walking through the garage.
“I don’t know…”
“Hey,” he said to me. “Nothing is going to happen here.”
I glanced over at Wes and Aira.
They were staring right at us.
“I survived,” he whispered to me. “No punches thrown either.”
“That’s nothing short of a miracle,” I said.
Wes nodded his head.
Elijah nodded back.
Aira half smirked and waved to me.
I waved back.
I didn’t like the feeling that went through me as we all split apart.
But it was what it was.
There was nothing I could do about it for the moment.
Elijah was working there. He survived the day.
“Were you really that worried about me?” he asked.
“Don’t get cocky. Kailey, Emma, and Charlotte were betting on you and Wes fighting.”
“No way.”
“Yeah. Emma won. She probably thinks you’re soft after everything that happened.”
“Oh, fuck that,” Elijah said. “I’m going to go kick Wes’s ass right now then.”
Elijah broke away from me and started to run toward Wes and Aira.
I covered my mouth for a second in shock.
Then I ran after him.
I thought about calling Wes’s name. But if I did that and Wes turned and swung first, it would be like me backstabbing Elijah.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
I ran faster and managed to catch up to Elijah.
There was no stopping him so I just jumped at him.
I landed perfectly on his back and he reached back and grabbed my legs.
“Please don’t do anything fucking stupid,” I whispered.
Elijah caught up to Wes and Aira and breezed right by them.
All they knew or saw was Elijah giving me a piggyback ride through the parking lot to his car.
My heart pounded inside my chest and didn’t even try to calm down even after I was back on my feet and in his car.
Wes took Aira to his motorcycle and when the engine started, Wes throttled it to make it growl deep and loud.
“Show off,” Elijah said. “Guys who have to do that… they’re a little small elsewhere…”
“Not according to Aira,” I said.
Elijah’s face dropped. “I’m sure she exaggerates.”
“Or are you just that jealous?”
“You like picking arguments with me, don’t you?”
“You’re easy to get pissed off.”
Elijah laughed. “You just realized that?”
“No,” I said. “But it’s a little more fun to do right now.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Hey, want to know what else is fun?”
“Of course,” I said.
Elijah reached for my hand and kissed it. He leaned toward me and curled his lip.
“What?” I asked.
“How about I take you somewhere private and answer all the damn questions you’ve been asking me?”
* * *
We sat outside Zen’s near the railing, listening to the sound of the ocean as it sang the same old song that would honestly never get too old for me. I loved sitting across from Elijah as he ate pizza, watching the way the breeze came off the ocean and tossed his hair around. It was a crazy harsh reminder that I had never done anything like that with any other guy before in my life. I never cared about their hair the way I cared about Elijah’s hair. And the same could be said for the rest of his body. Even in a weird hypocritical way… smoking only looked good on Elijah.
When Wes and Aira smoked, it was annoying.
When anyone else smoked, it was annoying.
There was even one time… a hot guy who surfed… he wouldn’t tell me much about himself but he wore a sleeveless leather jacket with the letters BC on it. He told me his name was Rich. I didn’t really believe him but it wasn’t like I was going to marry the guy or anything. He literally showed up out of nowhere. His eyes were this yellow, brown color which sounded gross but they were addicting to look at. He was cool, laid back, and had no problems going right into the water to surf. He was good. Almost as good as me. We talked and flirted in the water for what felt like hours. I had never seen him before and that kind of intrigued me.
The idea that maybe I could have someone to kill time with until summer came around again and Elijah came back…
But then this guy - Rich - lit up a cigarette.
He smoked it cool. His long fingers were attractive in a weird way like his eyes.
But it was gross to me.
So I walked away and I never saw him again.
Point being, Elijah… damn.
He broke all the silent rules I set for myself. He shattered all the wants and needs my heart worked so hard on building up to protect itself. He left me exposed and vulnerable in a way that I was never comfortable with. And I probably would never be comfortable with.
“Now that we have that done,” Elijah said, pushing my thoughts away.
“Time to talk, bitch,” I said.
“Bitch? I’m a bitch?”
“Right now you’re my bitch, Elijah,” I said.
He laughed. “Damn, babe, I don’t get it.”
“What?”
“How I let you talk that way to me. Anyone else that talked that way…”
“What?” I asked.
“I’d walk away. You’d be talking to the beach breeze.”
“That wouldn’t bother me,” I said. “I’d get more out of it than you talking.”
“Real nice to say, babe,” Elijah said. He reached down under the metal table and lifted a bottle. “I need this.”
“Whoa,” I said.
“Yeah. Let’s go somewhere else.”
Elijah stood up and walked without any other warning.
He sat on the third to bottom step to the beach.
If there was something I could really love about Hidden it was the area where the businesses were right up against the beach.
Elijah took a drink. He offered me the bottle and I declined.
He took another drink.
He smacked his lips together.
“So everyone wants to know what the fuck I’m doing here,” he said with a laugh. “Including my own father. Truth is, Ryland and I… come on. What was it supposed to be? Our relationship” - Elijah used air quotes - “was based on the fact that we had a mutual hate for Alexander. And we were curious about each other. I was furious that Alexander chose to raise Ryland and not me. I wanted to know more about this rich little prick. And Ryland was always curious to know more about the bastard his father created after an affair.”
“I’m sorry about all of that,” I said. “It sounds really dark and messy.”
Elijah shrugged his shoulders. “Look, it is what it is. My mother hit the jackpot in a way. She slept with a married, rich man. A man who had a lot to lose. I think she thought she was going to really get to him, but whatever the deal is with Alexander and Rosemary, a little side fuck and a baby wasn’t going to ruin it for good. Alexander has taken good care of my mother to make sure her mouth stays shut. The whole summer thing…”
Elijah shook his head and took a drink from the bottle.
“Keep talking,” I whispered.
“No, babe. I’m off topic already. Sorry.”
I wrapped my arm around his arm. “I want to hear everything, Elijah.”
Elijah reached for my face and stroked my cheek. “You will, babe. You wanted to know about Ryland and all that shit. So let me jump ahead to that.”
“Okay.”
Elijah took another drink.
I kept a tally in my head. Last thing I wanted was for him to drink too much of that stuff and then try to drive. He’d end up dying on the same road as his brother.
My heart twisted and ached.
“This is in no way your fault, Nova. Just know that. But you play a part in it. Not by your doing though. It’s all my doing.”
“Meaning?”
Elijah stared deeply into my eyes. “I gave Ryland money for something.”
“Something?” I asked.
“Yeah. Exactly. Something.”
“I’m not following,” I said.
“I gave you that letter, babe. And I left. I’m not going to talk like some hero and say I did it for the better of us. I did it because I was stupid. And nervous. I had no idea what to think would happen knowing we were going to have one more summer after that.”
“So you broke my heart before I could break yours,” I said.
“I’m an asshole. I’m a prick. I’m a bastard. All of which I accept.”
“And how does that connect to Ryland?”
“I got close to Ryland after I left,” he said. “And only to check up on you. I pictured you brokenhearted, giving yourself to anyone with a pulse.”
“Wow. Thanks. Straight up just assuming I’m a slut? Like I was going to jump on a bed and open my legs and say have at it…”
Elijah shook his head. “No, babe.” He touched my cheek again. “But I know you. How fucking special you are. How your eyes are instantly life changing. How you have no idea what you do to others who see you. You were so damn good to me, babe. You kept to your word the same as I kept to mine. Except you never knew if I was actually going to come back. I can’t imagine the trail of hearts you left in my wake. And I knew someone was going to be there. No way you were going to be alone.”
“If I ended up with someone, Elijah, then what?”
“No clue, Nova. Maybe I would have walked away for good. Left you to be happy. Or maybe I would have shown up and kicked his ass.”
“I know which one you’d end up doing,” I said with a frown.
“Yeah. I love to kick some ass.”
“How does this all tie together?”
“Ryland is a fucking loser. Well, was… He would give me updates on you. And I needed a bigger distraction. Where I lived, babe, it was rough. My closest friends, Darius and Simon, they knew something was up with me. But they didn’t get it. All I did was find ways to stir up trouble. And then Ryland came to me about an investment. That’s how he worded it. An investment. I’ll give the guy credit, he knew how to paint a picture with words. Basically making the case that both of us needed to get away from Alexander. He knew my mother would never leave Alexander alone. And he wanted to get away too. He hated his parents. So he wanted to put together some money and do something with it.”
“And you have no idea what it was?” I asked.
“Not really. Other than not being on the up and up.”
I shut my eyes. “Elijah…”
“Yeah,” he said. “The plan was to give him the cash and he was going to get it back to me and then some. I was going to get enough on my own to make my final decision. Run like hell. Or come get you and then run like hell. But it didn’t work out that way. Every time I asked Ryland about the money - the investment - he would have an excuse. Then he got distant. Really distant. I think that was right around the time Aira came to town. He talked to me about that. He hated that she took to Wes. I think he really loved her.”
“That whole thing was pretty crazy to watch,” I said. “I heard rumors and kept to myself. But then I got to know Aira. And I know it doesn’t matter much to you, but she’s pretty amazing. With all that she went through… that’s why Wes is the way he is with her.”
“I’m not saying my brother should still be alive,” I said. “That means nothing to me, babe. He got what he got. And when he was gone… it was almost a relief to me. Even if I did lose money. I kind of just let it all go. Focused on myself. Forgot about everything.”
“You forgot about me?”
“I could never forget about you. But I just hoped you were happy.”
“I wasn’t.”
“I know, Nova. Believe me, I know.” Elijah took a very healthy drink from the bottle. “Then I got the note. And it was very clear what was going to happen. You saw the note. Whoever killed Ryland wants me next. And I have no idea why. I have no idea what Ryland did with the money… or what he did to make this happen. Somewhere in my head I think if I can figure this out I can stop it. I can talk to whoever it is and let them know all I did was give money.”
“Do you really think that’s going to matter?” I asked, feeling my nerves shaking.
“No clue, babe. I mean, I could have taken off. But I had an excuse to come back here. To see you. To have you again.”
I shook my head. “Someone wants to shoot you and you’d rather flirt with me on a beach.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Yeah, it is,” I said. “But, fuck, it’s romantic and hot. And I can’t believe this is my life.”
“Believe it, babe,” Elijah said. “I just don’t want you to get hurt. Or anyone to get hurt. That’s why I need you to make sure you’re okay with your friends. I’ll offer common ground with Wes and everyone for you, Nova. But I have to do this. I have to figure this out.”
“Maybe it was just a warning,” I said. “A stupid threat to scare you.”
Elijah drank from the bottle again. Then he put his head to mine. “There was a SUV following me. High beams. Riding my ass. I pulled over and they went around me. But… I knew… whoever this is, they know I’m here. They know I’m looking. I stepped into it, babe. And I’m going to finish what I started.”
“How?”
“Not sure,” he admitted. “But I’m not leaving. I wasn’t sure what I’d find coming here. But after I saw you…”
I quickly stood up and hurried down to the sand.
“Nova!” Elijah yelled after me.
When he stood up, he grabbed for the railing. He stood there and started to gently sway.
Drunk.
“This can’t be put on me,” I said to him.
“It’s not, babe. I’m telling you the damn truth. The second I saw you I regretted giving you that letter. And you tried to make me jealous. And it fucking worked. I’m here for good. I’m ending this shit and keeping your heart for good.”
“Now you’re just talking drunk, Elijah.”
He stepped down and missed a step. Watching him stumble and then trip and fall to the sand made the night worth it.
I laughed at him.
He looked up at me. “Thanks for that.”
“You did it,” I said.
I looked at the bottle he left on the steps and realized just how much he’d had to drink. In such a short period of time too.
