I needed to get somewhere alone.
I needed to make sure Ruby was okay.
Chapter 3
Tinsley sat at the edge of the pool with her feet splashing in the water.
Pres and Barr stood behind her, talking.
I walked around the pool, surfboard in hand, knowing I was going down to the water to catch a little surf.
Fuck, I needed it.
Ruby suddenly decided to set boundaries between us.
And those boundaries were simple.
We could fucking flirt to death through texts, but the second I asked anything personal, she shutdown. Fast. And she would either stop replying all together or just change the subject. I knew that routine. I lived through that routine before in my life.
With someone else.
With someone…
‘Hey, what’s wrong, girl?’
‘Why do you call me that? We live in the same house together. We’re practically… I don’t know… family?’
‘It’s just my thing. I say it to everyone.’
‘So, I’m not special?’
‘Fuck. You know you’re special to me. You know exactly…’ I laugh. ‘You’re good at changing the subject. You know that?’
She bats her eyes at me and the world will forever spin the right way. Or something romantic like that. Because she makes me feel romance. Like intense romance.
But I know she’s got a dark secret.
A really dark secret.
‘I asked you what’s wrong,’ I say.
‘I answered it.’
‘You ignored it.’
‘So take the hint, Kip.’
I stand in the doorway of what used to be the guest bedroom. A room that was never fucking used in my lifetime but now belonged to her. She knew she was nothing but a ‘project’ to my parents. A way to make themselves look good. And it pissed me off. But with her here…
‘I’m not going to leave you alone, girl,’ I say. ‘If you’re in trouble, I’m going to be there for you. Maybe you’re not used to that. But I’m telling you right now… get used to it.’
I turn and walk out of the room.
‘Kip,’ she calls out.
She dives from her bed and runs to the doorway.
She puts her right hand out. She spreads her fingers.
I reach back with my left hand and interlock my fingers to hers.
She will never know and never understand what that does to me. What that makes me feel.
Her bottom lip quivers.
‘I’ll be fine,’ she says.
She’s as good at lying as she is beautiful.
“I think he fell asleep.” I turned my head to find Tinsley a foot away from me, waving her hands. “What are you doing, girl?”
“Don’t get snappy with me,” Tinsley said.
“I’m not. You’re waving your hands in my face.”
“You’ve been standing there like an idiot,” Barr said.
“I’m thinking,” I said.
“Yeah, we can see the smoke coming off your head,” Pres said.
Like an idiot, I reached for my hair as though it were true.
They all laughed.
I growled under my breath.
“I’m going to the water,” I said. “I’ll see you all later.”
“We’ll be back later then,” Pres said.
“Back?” I asked.
“Road trip,” Barr said. “Checking up on the junkie.”
“I swear on my life I will light a cigarette and jam it into your eye, Barr,” Tinsley said. She ran after him. “Don’t call her that.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Barr said, dancing backwards on his toes. “It was a joke, love.”
“That’s not a joke,” Tinsley said. “Ruby is not a junkie. And she’s doing good for herself. Okay?”
I looked at Pres.
He was letting Tinsley do her thing. He knew there was no way you could step in on that. Tinsley was vicious and pretty.
Good luck with that for the rest of your life, Pres.
“I’m sorry,” Barr said. “I would never say that to her face.”
“Or ever again,” Tinsley growled. She turned and walked to Pres, hitting her shoulder to his arm. She snapped her fingers. “Drive me now, Pres.”
“Crack that whip,” Barr said.
I walked up to Barr and wanted to knock him out.
Calling Ruby a junkie? Are you fucking kidding me?
“What’s up with you?” Barr asked.
“Calling her friend a junkie?” I asked. “You’re lucky I don’t hit you.”
“Really?” Barr asked.
“Yeah.”
“Just go surf and blow off steam, bro,” Barr said. “Okay? You’ve been all worked up. Hell, go find some girls. Have some fun.”
“I’m not going surfing,” I said.
“What? You just said…”
“That was before the plans changed,” I said.
I walked to the guesthouse that Tinsley called home after leaving Claire’s shitstorm of a house and life. I leaned my surfboard against the house and that was that.
“You’re giving up a chance to surf to go see some girl?” Barr asked. “You in love or something?”
I laughed. “Yeah. I’m in love with some girl who’s a recovering addict and lives how far away? Does that sound like the kind of relationship I want?”
Barr laughed even harder. “I’m only joking. Your favorite relationship is the one based on minutes. Give her a nickname. Make her so annoyed with you she just throws herself at you. And then drive her home and fall in love with someone else the next night.”
“Exactly,” I said. I winked at Barr. “Now let’s go make sure this junkie is okay…”
* * *
Asshole.
I reminded myself of who I really was the entire drive to Ruby’s grandmother’s house. I was an asshole for getting worked up over what Barr said and then saying it myself just to keep my cover going.
Which was stupid.
There was no need for a cover.
It wasn’t like Ruby and I were getting married. We hadn’t even seen each other since the day we saved her fine ass.
It had always just been a fun, flirty text thing.
Whatever.
Pres and Barr were in the front seat.
I had the backseat to myself… with Tinsley.
I put my arm around the seat where she was sitting and stared at her.
“What?” she asked me.
“Did you paint the hallway, girl?” I asked.
“What? No.”
“Yeah you did. This place ruined your life. We ruined your life. Right?”
“Ruined… that’s one way to put it.”
I laughed. “Knew it. I love that you used the hashtag too. That was cool.”
“Hey, I’m a modern day artist, Kip,” Tinsley said.
“Let me check your hands.”
“Why? So you can trick me into hurting myself?”
“You’re not as dumb as Brando.”
“But I’m dumb?” she asked.
I leaned close to Tinsley. “Of course you’re dumb. You chose Pres over me. You missed out, girl.”
Tinsley leaned even closer to me. “Oh yeah? Whose bed was I in first? You had your chance, Kip. And you blew it.”
Tinsley kissed the air which was just an inch from my lips.
I leaned back against my seat and smiled.
She was beautifully crazy.
Barr turned and looked at me. “What are your thoughts on that shit written in the hallway?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “We’ll figure it out. You know how this goes. Someone will talk. Whoever did it wanted attention. They got it. Even if it is HCH, they’ll talk. Word will get back to us.”
“What if it’s the East vs. West fight again?” Barr asked.
“Then bring it on,” I said. “Been a while since we’ve had some business with our other half.”
“Fu
ck them,” Pres said. “They’re not part of us.”
“I still don’t understand what that means,” Tinsley said.
“Good,” Barr said.
I looked at Tinsley. I shrugged my shoulders. “Rich against the richer, girl. Everyone is born to hate each other. Growing up with a desire to fight. Not to mention what Uly did to stoke the fire.”
“Kip, shut the fuck up,” Pres said.
“Who’s Uly?” Tinsley asked.
“Don’t worry about that, love,” Barr said. “That’s old shit. Long time ago.”
“So Uly is gone?” she asked.
“Not even close,” I said with a laugh.
“Leave it alone,” Pres said. “We’re here anyway.”
I winked at Tinsley.
She hated not knowing everything.
But getting into the history of East vs. West wasn’t something that could be done on a road trip to visit Ruby.
Plus, the second I saw Ruby on her grandmother’s front porch, I lost all train of thought.
* * *
I leaned against the large SUV and did my best to keep my eyes off Ruby.
But that was fucking impossible.
She had dirty blonde hair and eyes that looked to be a hundred colors at once. I wasn’t sure of the actual term for those kind of eyes but I knew what they were doing to me.
Ruby and Tinsley sat together on Ruby’s grandmother’s front porch. Best friends. Old friends. They fell apart after Tinsley left her own old. Jealousy grew. Ruby got herself into a rough situation. The Rulz showed up and kicked some ass.
And now Ruby looked fucking amazing.
Much better than the passed out girl on the steps in some junked up apartment building.
Barr took the last drag of his cigarette and dropped it to the ground.
“Should have brought your board,” he said to me.
He nodded beyond the house to the water.
“Too many rocks and cliffs there,” I said. “Great waves, but nothing you can get to. This kind of coast is for looking and thinking.”
“Yeah,” Barr said. “Speaking of which… should we actually consider East vs. West in this thing?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Pres said. “We’re all the same.”
“That’s an easy setup though,” I said. “Uly comes over and fucks with us. Makes sense.”
“So does HCH,” Pres said. “Fuck. What about BC?”
Barr shook his head. “Nah, that’s not their style.”
“You mean, your style,” I said.
“Fuck off with that,” Barr said. “I’m not BC anymore. I never truly was.”
“Yes you were,” Pres said. “You had to survive there. Even still… Barr is right. BC wouldn’t paint something on a wall. They’d blow the damn building up before doing that.”
“So we’ve taken BC off the table then,” I said. “Someone else is fucking with us. Or just looking for some attention. Maybe trying to push against the Rulz.”
“Internal,” Barr said. He let out a whistle. “That could get messy.”
“As long as we keep pushing at everyone, we’re fine,” Pres said. “Everyone will keep talking and it’ll spill back to us.”
I looked at the porch again and nodded. “So what is this? We drive her here for a meeting? Who the fuck are we?”
“We’re the ones who take care of Tinsley,” Barr said.
“Ruby doesn’t have anyone else,” Pres said. “She’s trying to take care of herself. Relax. Nobody told you to come anyway.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
Barr lit another cigarette.
Ruby and Tinsley stood up and walked down the steps and came toward us.
I fought the urge to smile.
Ruby had her hair on top of her head in this messy, sexy as fuck bun thing. Like she just rolled out of bed. With sleep in her wild eyes and a little smile creeping along the right side of her face, I felt like a dead man as she approached. I never took notice until then but she had three dimples on her left cheek and two on her right.
She wore a hoodie with ripped sleeves, a ripped and cut neck, the text half faded and half ripped off. Tight enough to remind me of what I first noticed on Ruby when I met her. Even passed out and torn up out of her mind, she still caught my attention.
Her long, tan legs stuck out of her shorts, giving way to the whitest shoes I’d ever seen in my life.
She was the opposite of what I would normally go for. Because I actually knew her name. And I actually wanted to know more about her. She was the one I wasn’t supposed to want. Or have.
Not that I had her.
I was far from that.
“Hey guys,” Ruby said to us.
“You remember them, right?” Tinsley asked.
“Yeah. Pres. Barr. And Keith.”
I lifted my eyebrow. “What did you call me, girl?”
“Kip,” Tinsley said.
Barr grabbed my arm. “Relax. She only met us once.”
“Once is enough,” I said to Ruby.
“I guess not,” Ruby said. “You must be forgettable.”
“Oh, I like her,” Pres said.
I grinned and nodded.
“I need to get out of here,” Ruby said.
“Then let’s run away together,” Barr said.
He put his hand out.
Ruby reached for it.
I sidestepped and blocked Barr’s way. “Why do you want that?”
“Because it’s quiet and boring here,” Ruby said to me. “I need something fun. Something crazy.”
I gritted my teeth.
“You need to keep to yourself still,” Tinsley said. “Can we all remind her of that? And remind her about the day we found her?”
I stepped away from Ruby.
“You were in rough shape, love,” Barr said.
“Yeah, but I have to…”
I saw Tinsley below Ruby.
“Have to what, girl?” I asked.
I was standing behind Ruby.
“Nothing,” she said. “It’s just… too quiet here.”
“I told her maybe we can hang here sometime,” Tinsley said.
“Or I could come hang with you all,” Ruby said.
“We can do it at my place,” I said without missing a second. Everyone looked at me. “The house. The pool. The beach. The guesthouse. Nothing too crazy. No bullshit lurking around the corner.”
“Maybe,” Tinsley said.
“What else did you want?” Pres asked.
“What do you mean?” Ruby asked.
“Pres, we’ll talk later,” Tinsley said.
“Later?” I asked. “Why later?”
“It’s stupid,” Ruby said.
“It’s not stupid,” Tinsley said.
“Are you in trouble?” Barr asked.
I touched Ruby’s hand. “Hey. You have to tell us.”
Ruby pulled her hand away. “I don’t have to tell anyone a thing. I talked to Tinsley. That’s all I wanted. To talk to her. I forgot she came with bodyguards.”
“Bodyguards, love?” Barr asked with a laugh.
“Bodyguards who saved you,” I said.
“Yeah. I know. Thanks for that.” Ruby rolled her wild eyes.
My heart forgot to beat for a second.
“She’s missing something,” Tinsley said. “Something she thought she had. That’s all. I was going to help her find it.”
“Find what?” I asked.
“Something important to me,” Ruby said. “A ring. Okay? I lost it. Might have left it behind.”
“Shit,” Barr said.
“That’s why you need us,” Pres said.
“Maybe,” Tinsley said. “I’m going to help her look for it here.”
“It’s not here, Ti,” Ruby said. “I told you that already.”
“What kind of ring?” I asked.
“One that’s a circle,” Ruby said.
“Oh, that’s right,” I said. “I forgot what a ring looke
d like.”
Ruby curled her lip at me.
Something eating you alive, girl?
“Why don’t you get ready to leave?” Tinsley asked us. “I’ll walk Ruby back to the house. Before her grandmother gets pissed at us for being here.”
“What’s so bad about us?” Barr asked.
“I don’t have enough time to warn Ruby,” Tinsley said.
Ruby backed away. “See you guys later. Sorry to bother you.”
“Never a bother, girl,” I called out.
She turned as Tinsley turned. They hooked arms and hurried back to the house.
“A ring?” Barr asked. “Must be a really nice ring.”
“Or one that matters to her,” I said.
“Something feels off here,” Pres said. “Way off.”
I nodded.
Pres was right.
Something was way off.
And I wasn’t leaving without some fucking answers.
Chapter 4
“I have to take a piss,” I said.
“Pick a tree then,” Barr said.
“Nah,” I said. “There’s a house right here.”
I jogged away from the SUV knowing Pres and Barr were looking at each other with a what the fuck? glare.
I skipped the front door and hurried around to the back of the house.
I remembered Ruby texting me that the best part of her grandmother’s house was that she got the back bedroom that faced the ocean. Her grandmother slept on the first floor, leaving Ruby with the second floor to herself. It was a tiny house. Really fucking tiny. But that worked to my advantage.
There was one window on the second floor that faced the ocean.
My eyes studied the house and came up with an easy way to scale it.
Climb a trellis, grab the gutter, get on the roof…
Simple.
I saw Ruby’s face appear in the window and realized there was an even easier way to make this happen.
She looked down at me and her jaw dropped.
I nodded.
She shook her head.
I grabbed my phone to text her.
Let me in for a second or else I’ll ring the doorbell.
Ruby read the text message and pressed her middle finger against the glass.
I blew her a kiss.
She disappeared and I waited.
The back of the house had a very narrow, small, wooden deck with a set of wooden steps that looked ready to be washed away in the next storm.
KIP: a bay falls high novel Page 3