Broken Hill Hurt: The Broken Hill High Series (Book 3)

by Sheridan Anne

  “I don’t give a shit a Friday night,” she says in a hushed tone as she leans into her locker and hides behind the door. “My period is late.”

  My eyes widen in shock. “What?” I curse under my breath, leaning into her locker. “Are you sure?”

  “Of course, I’m fucking sure,” she shrieks.

  “Well… shit. Have you done a test?”

  She shakes her head so vigorously I worry it might dislodge from her neck. “No, I’m too freaked out.”

  “Ok, well that’s stupid,” I tell her. “There could be a million reasons why you’d be late.”

  “Like what?” she grunts. “Because I only know of one, and it’s a big one.”

  “I don’t know. Um… you could be getting sick, or maybe you’ve changed your diet, or stress, weight loss. There are heaps.”

  She looks at me blankly. “Don’t be stupid,” she grunts, bending her head into me. “I’m fucking pregnant. I just know it.”

  “Now who’s being stupid? Have you got a test?”

  “No,” she says. “I wasn’t going to bring that shit here.”

  I groan before pulling back from her. “Well, there’s only one way to know for sure,” I tell her as I step back. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Wait,” she calls, reaching out and pulling me back. “Where are you going?”

  “Drug store,” I say. Her eyes widen and I give her a smug look. “I mean unless you’d like to go?”

  “No,” she rushes out.

  “Fine. I’ll text when I get back.”

  She lets out a huff and slams her locker shut before leaning against it and sulking. “Fine.”

  I hurry back down the hallway and check the time. I still have twenty minutes before the bell is due to ring. If I’m fast, Brooke and I will maybe only be a minute or two late for class. We could do it during our lunch break, but I have a feeling she’s not going to concentrate unless she knows for sure.

  I don’t know what we’ll do if this test comes back positive. But I doubt it. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling she’s just over reacting. I mean, this is Brooke. She can’t handle a teen pregnancy. Her mom would kill her and Maxen would deny they even dated.

  Crap. We’re in trouble here.

  I hurry back down to my car and pass Nate and Jesse on the way. My eyes lock on Nate as Jesse calls out. “Where are you-”

  I cut him off as I hurry past them. “Can’t talk. Be back in a minute.”

  Nate’s eyes follow me with curiosity but I don’t have the time to explain, nor would I. It’s none of his business. I jump into my car and peel out of the lot before racing down the street to the drug store.

  I park out the front and hurry inside. Instant relief comes over me when I find only one other customer in the store. I’m even happier to find she’s at least eighty years of age and I’ve never met her in my life, meaning no rumors are coming from this little trip.

  I scan the rows and grab a test before hurrying back to the counter. A moment later, I’m in my car rushing back to school. Once I park my car, I hide the test in my bag and fly out the door. I beeline for the bathroom while texting Brooke to meet me there.

  I find the biggest stall and lock the door behind me before ripping the test out of my bag and pulling it apart. I carefully go over the instructions and make sure I know what we’re doing before she goes and pees on this thing.

  My nerves begin to spike and only double when I hear Brooke’s voice. “Tora?” she whisper-yells through the bathroom.

  I unlock the door and stick my head out. “Here,” I tell her.

  She hurries down to me and barges her way into the stall before slamming the door behind her and flicking the lock.

  I shove the test into her hand. “Here,” I say. “Pee on this and then wait for two minutes. It’s easy.”

  She starts bouncing with nervous anticipation. “I don’t want to do this.”

  “I don’t give a shit. Hurry up and do it. I don’t want to be late for Miller’s class.”

  She groans and I turn around to give her a little privacy. I hear her peeing and try not to imagine her shoving the test between her legs. But let’s face it, I can’t. The mental image is way too strong.

  A moment later, the toilet flushes and she stands beside me with the test in her hands. “I can’t look,” she says, trying to hand it to me.

  I jump away from it. “I’m not touching that. You pissed all over it.”

  “Shhhhh,” she scolds, pulling her arm back.

  I roll my eyes and close the lid of the toilet before sitting down. “Now all we have to do is wait.”

  “I know,” she sighs. “That’s the worst part.”

  “Not peeing all over your hands?”

  “For the record, I didn’t get any pee on my hands.”

  I give her a cheesy grin. “I’m so very happy for you.”

  She nods her head as her eyes anxiously flick down to the test. “Tell me something to distract me,” she says. “This waiting game is making me crazy.”

  “Ok. Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Something juicy.”

  I let out a sigh. “After annihilating myself on Friday night, I woke up in the grass spooning Jesse while he had a handful of boob.”

  “What?” she laughs, doubling over and wiping the tears that spring to her eyes. “That’s hilarious.”

  “That’s not even the best part,” I tell her. “Nate dropped my car home and saw us.”

  “Oh, shit,” she chuckles, holding her stomach. “What did he say?”

  “I haven’t talked to him yet, but he sucker punched Jess.”

  “I bet he did,” she says as we hear the bell ringing. Her eyes widen, realizing we need to hurry this shit up. “Check it,” she tells me.

  I get up from the closed toilet and walk forward. “Has it been two minutes?”

  “I don’t care. Just check.”

  “Ok,” I say. I look down at the test and take it in before grabbing the instructions and double checking what only one line means. Relief surges through me as I work out the answer. I channel my inner Dr. Phil. “When it comes to the fetus of Brooke and Maxen; Brooke, you are not the mother.”

  “Holy shit,” she sighs in relief. “Are you sure?”

  “Yep,” I tell her. “You’re not pregnant.”

  “Oh, thank god,” she says, throwing her arms around me. “I’m so relieved.”

  “I bet,” I laugh. “Now, hurry up. We need to get to class.”

  Her eyes widen. “Crap.”

  We hurry out of the stall and Brooke grabs a shitload of paper towels and wraps up the test before jamming it deep into the trash. Though, I guess it really doesn’t matter if someone finds it. Hundreds of girls use this bathroom every day. No one will know whose test it is. We quickly wash our hands and fly out of the bathroom into the chaos of students trying to get to class.

  I can’t help but look across at Brooke to see nothing but a huge relieved smile across her face. I’ve never been so happy for her. I mean, babies are great, but we’re only seventeen. We are not responsible enough for that.

  We get to our class just in time and drop down into our seats. Naturally, Nate isn’t here yet but I wasn’t expecting him to be.

  I pull my books out of my bag as I still haven’t managed to make it to my locker and think about what a crazy morning it’s already been. I don’t think I can handle any extra drama for today.

  Mr. Miller walks into the room with a beaming smile as his eyes scan over the room. “Happy Monday everyone,” he smiles. “Guess what? We’re starting the week with a surprise pop quiz. Put your books away and get yourselves ready.”

  A groan echoes through the room as the door opens. My eyes instantly lift to the perfect specimen walking through and my heart begins to race. What was I thinking coming here today? I’m so not going to make it through this class alive. I’ll probably die of anxiety before the class lets out, but at least we have a test to kee
p me distracted.

  Nate walks forward into the room and his eyes don’t leave mine for even one second. As he passes me, his fingers graze over my shoulder and it’s as though he breathed life into me. How could he have such an effect on me? How could he know how desperately I needed that?

  He passes and his fingers fall away, leaving me gasping for breath.

  Damn it.

  He drops down into the seat behind me and his smell completely envelopes me, reminding me of what is so close but so far away.

  I feel Brooke’s impenetrable gaze locked on me and I turn to look at her. ‘You ok?’ she mouths.

  I shrug my shoulders because I honestly don’t know. I want to break down into tears while also wanting to throw myself at him. It’s going to be a confusing day.

  Mr. Miller hands out our tests and I’ve never been so grateful. I spend the hour focusing solely on my test, even when I finish it twenty minutes early. I then go through it with a fine tooth comb, just to help pass the time. Besides, I can’t afford to be getting a shitty grade on this one.

  The end of class finally comes and I fly out of the room like my ass is on fire. I haven’t been able to breathe properly for an hour and all I need is to get away. Getting over Nate Ryder is going to be a lot harder than I ever thought imaginable.

  By lunch, I’m dying for freedom. I go into the cafeteria and all I hear are whispers.

  “I heard she cheated.”

  “She’s brave showing her face around here.”

  “If Nate Ryder doesn’t want her then who the hell would?”

  “She’s trash.”

  “I heard he found out she set the fire.”

  “He dumped her like a sack of shit.”

  I need to get the hell out of here. I can worry about eating once I get home. I turn on my heel and beeline right out of there. It’s a bit cold outside so there’s hardly anyone out here, meaning, I can actually breathe.

  I go out and sit on the hill that overlooks the football field and pull my phone from my back pocket.

  Tora – Sitting outside today.

  Brooke – Be there in a sec.

  I put my phone down and lean back against my hands. It only takes a few minutes for the girls to show and sit down beside me. “How’s it going?” Brooke says as she digs her fork into her salad.

  “How do you think it’s going?” I grunt. “I’m the talk of the town… again.”

  “Shouldn’t you be used to that shit by now?” Courtney mumbles with her mouth around her sandwich.

  I shrug my shoulders. “You’d think.”

  The girls get carried away in conversation and I do my best to be a happy participant, but to be honest, I’m a dull loser today. I wouldn’t want to talk to me either.

  As lunch goes on, people start wandering out of the cafeteria. The cheerleaders go down to the field following the football players who throw around a ball. Stoners wander off to the very back of the property where they can hide behind a thick row of bushes, bookworms go and sit against random trees and flick through the pages of beloved books, while me and my girls do what we do best; people watch.

  I notice Jackson down with the rest of the football team and although sensing my eyes on him, he turns and gives me a beaming smile. He throws the ball in his hands to one of his teammates before breaking into a slight jog towards me.

  “Hey,” he says when he finally reaches me and drops down beside me, leaning back on his hands. “What’s going on? How’d the rest of your Friday night go?”

  “I’ve had better Friday nights,” I tell him as the girls openly gawk at me, wondering what the hell I’m doing talking to Jackson Millington. I guess I never got around to telling them the whole story of Friday night.

  “I bet. I hope your special little guy didn’t come down too hard on you.”

  “Which one?” I scoff.

  “Both,” he laughs.

  “Don’t worry about me,” I tell him. “I can handle them.”

  “Alright,” he grins as he looks across at me. “But just saying… if you need some ideas, I have two years worth of plans that I still want to see through.”

  I let out a breath and turn to face him front on. “What are you doing over here, Jackson?”

  He narrows his eyes on me in consideration for a second before a softness seeps into his gaze. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought we could be friends. You know after I saved your ass and all.”

  “I’d hardly call it saving my ass,” I tell him. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you drove me to a party that you were already going to. You should be thanking me for the in car entertainment.”

  “Shit,” he laughs. “Every time I think I’ve got you, you go and put me back in my place.” He watches me for a moment longer. “Alright, I’m going to be real with you,” he tells me. “I like you and now that you and the douche patrol are done, I want you.”

  Oh shit. Never going to happen, buddy.

  “Did you consider that I don’t want you?”

  “I did,” he grins. “That’s why I’m going to win you over.”

  “Jackson,” I say, giving him a firm look. “I’m in love with Nate. That’s not just going to change overnight.”

  “I know,” he murmurs. “But it will fade and eventually you’ll be ready to move on, and when you are,” he adds with a growing, smug grin. “I’ll be ready. You know, at the races, I saw you storm off and I ran faster than I ever have so I could be the one to save you.”

  What the hell? Is this guy for real? “That was kind of creepy,” I tell him. “Do I need to file a restraining order?”

  His brows pull down as he thinks it over. “Yeah, it was kind of creepy, huh?” he agrees. “But I promise, I’ll keep it cool.”

  “What the fuck is going on here?” a chirpy Jesse says from behind me as a sandwich drops into my lap.

  “Thanks,” I smile, looking up at him. “I was just reminding Jackson that he’s not all that.”

  “Good, well if you’re done,” Jesse says turning his gaze on Jackson. “Then you should be fucking off now.”

  Jackson winks at me before pushing himself up to his feet. “See you ‘round, Tora,” he tells me before walking back over to his friends.

  “Um… what the fuck was that?” Jesse asks, dropping down beside me into Jackson’s vacated spot. “Nate’s over there about to beat the shit out of him.”

  “What?” I gasp, looking over my shoulder and searching him out to find those dark, furious eyes on me, clearly having witnessed the whole Jackson declaring his interest and making me feel like complete shit. “He’s smoking again,” I grunt, noticing the lit cigarette between his fingers. “He got so far.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s the only thing keeping him calm at the moment,” Jesse says before looking down at the sandwich between my fingers. “Eat.”

  I was more than happy to eat before I knew Nate’s eyes were on me. Now, I feel sick. “Would you tell him nothing happened with Jackson?” I ask. “He just wanted to talk.”

  “Uh huh,” Jesse grunts, getting back up. “That’s twice I’ve had to get rid of him.”

  “I swear, Jess,” I tell him. “Nothing’s going on with Jackson. I’m desperately in love with your douchebag big brother and I don’t see that changing any time soon.”

  “Good,” he says. “Now I have to go and convince him not to get his ass thrown out of school for beating the shit out of Jackson.”

  “Ok, I’ll see you later,” I tell him before he turns and walks away. I let out a sigh and start picking at my sandwich when I realize it’s way too quiet. I look over at the girls to see them all still gawking at me, completely confused and probably concerned for my wellbeing after Jackson’s stupid declaration. “What?” I grunt.

  Brooke’s eyes narrow before she crosses her arms over her chest. “Start talking, Tora,” she says. “You’re not going anywhere until we know the whole story.”

  “Shit,” I sigh. “Ok.”

  Chapter 19
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br />   I stand under the hot spray of my shower on Friday night, hating how this week has gone. Jackson has tried talking to me every day and Nate has seen it every time, but what’s worse is that I’m realizing Jackson isn’t so bad. I mean, I’m not wanting to date him anytime soon, but as a friend, he might just weasel his way in. Besides, it will never get that far with Jackson because I’ll be getting Nate back as soon as I can.

  Not to mention, dad left. Again. And what’s worse, he just walked out the door. Not once did he come to see me and talk things through even after I went to his office on Wednesday afternoon. He sent me away claiming he was too busy with a promise he’ll come up in a bit. I’ve never been so disappointed with him.

  I tilt my head back into the water as my mind blurs with constant thoughts. It’s been non-stop for the past two weeks and every single thought has been about Nate. I’m seriously not coping being apart. I hate it. He’s the guy I want to be with. I want to share my life with him. Every single day, I want to run to him and hold him in my arms while he tells me it’s all going to be ok.

  Clearly… that’s not going to happen.

  The more time we have apart, the more I’m convinced it’s truly over. Over the past two weeks, I’ve spoken to him once and that was when he was busy yelling at me about the whole race thing. It completely sucked. I need so much more than that.

  Crap. I sound like a whiney cow, but I deserve it, my hearts been hurting and if I can’t complain now, when the hell can I?

  I rinse the shampoo from my hair and close my eyes. It’s a Friday night and I’ll be doing what I should have done last Friday night; staying home and going straight to bed.

  The door of the bathroom slams open and I gasp as my eyes ping open with the intruding sound. My head whips around and a moment later, I find a furious Nate standing before me.

  My heart leaps out of my chest as I flick around and turn off the taps. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I shriek.

  I step out of the shower and watch as he grabs the towel off the back of the door and tosses it at me. It whacks me in the face and I hurry to spread it out and wrap it around my body. “What’s going on with Jackson?”