“Damn it,” he growls, knowing I’m right. “I don’t like it.”
“I know,” I tell him. “Neither do I, but she insists that he’s not as bad as we think, and we need to give her space to explore that.”
“But he’s going to hurt her.”
“Tully’s tough. If anything, she’ll be the one doing the hurting.”
Noah lets out a frustrated groan before pulling his eyes away from his twin sister. “She’ll be alright,” I tell him. “And besides, it’s not like Rivers is going to take his eyes off her for even a second. She’s safe.”
“She’s like a sitting duck over there,” he murmurs.
“You can’t think of her as a fragile little girl. That’s not who she is anymore. She’s a lot stronger than you give her credit for,” I tell him, weaving my fingers through his and giving them a squeeze. “Now, leave her the hell alone before she comes back over here and punches you in the ovaries.”
He looks down at me, wondering if I just called him a girl or if I’m seriously confused about the male and female sexes. “Why the hell would she do that? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Believe me, she could find something to blame on you.”
“You fucking girls,” he says, shaking his head. “You know, sometimes I just don’t get you.”
“Good,” I chuckle, looking up at him. “Then it’s working.”
“What’s working?”
“You’ll never know.”
His eyes sparkle but the next race starts and completely steals his attention, giving me a moment to melt into his side and just enjoy being in his arms. We very rarely get a chance to just be us. Living in Haven Falls, there’s always someone around. It’s either Rivers or Tully and if it’s not them, then it’s the parents or Aria. When we finally escape them, we get hit with the phone calls and text messages of all the people from school wanting attention, and once that’s finally sorted, Anton will drag his ass away.
Not now, though. This is our time and I’m not going to waste a single second of it. Rivers and Tully both seem busy, all the kids from school have already pined over his attention, and apparently, Anton is away on ‘business’ for the night, meaning I have Noah all to myself.
“Why don’t we get out of here?” I ask as my eyes follow the cars drifting around the track.
“We will,” he promises. “I just want to see something first.”
“Like what?”
“You’ll see,” he says, grinning down at me. “Have you seen Kaylah yet? Do you want to say ‘hey’ real quick?”
My eyes shoot across to where the Broken Hill kids hang out. “Oh, is she here?” I ask. “I haven’t seen her.”
“Yeah, I saw Jesse’s Range Rover earlier. I’m assuming she’s with him.”
“Probably,” I laugh. I mean, wherever Jesse goes, Kaylah’s not far behind. Those two are like stuck like glue. They’re madly in love to the point it’s nearly sickening. I wonder if that’s what me and Noah look like to the rest of the world.
Noah starts leading me around the track and it’s not long before we have all the kids from Broken Hill scowling at us, wondering why the fuck we dared to wander over to their side of the track. The scowls instantly stop as Kaylah turns around and gives us a welcoming smile.
“Hey,” she smiles widely before pulling me into a tight hug. “I wondered if you were here. I saw Noah’s race.”
At the mention of his name I glance up to find him saying ‘hey’ to all the guys of this group, though apart from Jesse, Nate, and Jackson, I can’t actually remember any of them.
“Yeah,” I tell her as I watch Noah give an awkward nod to Jackson that makes me want to howl with laughter. That certainly wasn’t the same welcoming backslap that he gave the other guys, but I can’t blame him, he’s not exactly a massive fan of Jackson’s. “If I knew you were here, I would have found you earlier.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she says. “I sent you a text when Noah was racing but I assumed you were a little preoccupied.”
My hands instinctively feel my ass for my phone. “Shit, I think my phone’s in Noah’s car.”
“Eh,” she shrugs. “You’re here now.” With that, she pulls me into her group and practically throws me at Tora. After she helped me take down Monica a few weeks ago, Kaylah has been desperately trying to get me and Tora to become besties, but as much as I like the girl, I’m not one for having a million friends. I have Tully and Kaylah and they’re more than enough for me to keep up with.
I say ‘hi’ to the other girls whose names I’ve completely forgotten as the last time we met; I was probably under the influence of who the hell knows what. Jackson comes forward and gives me a big hug and I watch as Noah stiffens.
Jackson hurt me in a way that I’ll never be able to forget, and Noah absolutely hates that despite the fact that I’ve managed to forgive him. He took my virginity when he should have sent me home. It wasn’t special and it wasn’t how I wanted my first time to be, but it is what it is. One day I’ll be able to look at Jackson and see the friend I grew up with, but until then, he’ll continue being the guy who took advantage of a love-sick teenage girl.
There’s so much history there I doubt I’ll hold onto the pain much longer. Especially now that I have Noah. He makes me forget all the bad things. I hardly think about mom anymore, I don’t dwell on the fact that Jackson and Kaylah took off and left me with nothing, and I don’t hate on the bitches who made my life hell at school.
Maybe I’ve done some growing up over the past few months, or maybe being with Noah has just opened my eyes to what’s really important.
All I know is that I don’t want it to change. I’m in a happy place right now and I’ve never felt so strong. To lose this would be a tragedy.
Noah practically takes my hand and rips me away from Jackson despite the fact that my feelings for him died a long time ago, but what can I say, I knew he was a possessive asshole when we first met, and to be honest, it’s kind of hot. We say goodbye to the Broken Hill crew and I promise Kaylah that I’ll ditch Noah and hang out with her tomorrow.
With all the eyes of the Broken Hill students still on us, we duck back over to our side of the track where we can continue being the rock stars that we are rather than the scum that the other side sees us as.
By the time we get back to where we were before, a new race is starting to take place and I look down at the track to see a very familiar black Charger. Pulling up next to a black Camaro. “Is that Nate and Jackson racing?” I ask with a gasp, having Déjà vu. After all, the last time I saw these two cars racing, one of them ended upside down and off the side of the track. I continue trying to make out the people in the cars and realize each car has a passenger too. “Wait. Are Tora and Elle racing with them?”
“Yep,” Noah says with a grin.
Shit. Those girls have balls to race with those idiots. I guess that’s even more of my respect those two have just earned themselves, and I have to admit, Tora’s doing pretty damn well for herself in my book. “Should they be doing this?” I ask Noah. “The last race didn’t end so well and I only just started liking them.”
Noah laughs. “I think Nate and Jackson are on good terms now,” he says. “It should be a clean race, but every fucker and his dog are going to be talking about this for years to come.”
I look up at the strange tone in his voice. “Why’s that?”
“You’ll see.”
Noah turns back to the two black cars down on the track as my attention falls towards Rivers. He’s still watching Tully but it’s almost as though he wants to watch the race too. Kind of amusing actually.
A hush falls over the crowd on either side of the track and it doesn’t take a genius to realize that the race of the century is about to start. My eyes snap down to the track to find a girl in a black string bikini walk between the Camaro and Charger and all I can think is that she must be cold. I mean, it’s deathly freezing out here tonight. If Noah was worried about
me getting sick, then it would only make sense for him to be petrified for her.
The engines roar and the guys haven’t even taken off yet. Noah’s hand tightens around mine and not a second later, the bikini wearing girl drops her handkerchief, staring the most anticipated race this track has ever seen.
Dust flies up behind them as they each take off like bats out of hell. I can just imagine the girls in the passengers’ seats. Elle is probably shitting herself while Tora would be egging Nate on to go faster. Me? I’d probably be trying to straddle Noah while he tried to push me off.
I wonder if it could work? Hmm, maybe we should test that theory.
Mind meet gutter.
The crowd is dead silent, the only noise I hear is their audible gasps when the cars hit the first corner. Nate instantly takes the lead.
Their cars are deafening as they race around the track and it seems like every second is drawn out as though I’m watching it in slow motion, but at the same time, if I was to blink, I’d miss it. “This is nuts,” I tell Noah, so damn pleased he doesn’t have some ridiculous rivalry with the Broken Hill guys.
“Uh huh,” he agrees.
Nate gets a whole car length in front of Jackson and I feel a slight pang rip through me. I’m so used to rooting for Jackson that the thought of him being behind right now sits kind of funny within me.
They hit a bend and Nate sails around it effortlessly just moments before Jackson hurries around behind him which is when he speeds the hell up or Nate ridiculously finds his brake as somehow, they’re now side by side. “Oh, shit,” Noah chuckles beside me, sounding way too happy about this.
“What?”
“Nate’s playing with him.”
“Huh? What the hell are you talking about?”
Noah watches eagerly. “He’s letting Jackson think he has a shot,” he laughs. “You watch, as soon as they hit the final straight, he’ll smoke him.”
“How the hell do you know that?”
A grin lifts the corner of his lips. “Because I would have done the exact same thing.”
I roll my eyes and despite the fact that Noah thinks we already have a clear winner, I still can’t look away.
A screeching noise sounds behind us before red and blue flashing lights light up the darkened track. “Fuck,” Noah yells, holding onto my hand a little tighter. It takes me a moment to catch up with what the fuck is going on, but after gaping at the cop cars behind me, I quickly realize the place is being raided. “We have to go. NOW.”
Shit hits the fan.
Kids start running for cars, people crash into one another, and cops try to round people up like a heard of sheep. But they should know better. It’s every man for themselves. It’s nothing but fucking chaos.
Noah holds onto me a little tighter, terrified of losing me in this crowd. If I go down, that’s where I’ll stay as I can guarantee that nobody is sparing a second to save me from getting trampled.
Panic seeps into me and I quickly start looking around. “Where’s Tully?” I yell over the chaos, distantly noticing that Nate and Jackson haven’t let up on their race. They should be leaving. What the fuck are they doing?
Noah pauses a second and a tightness appears in his back as he searches for his sister. “There,” he yells back over his shoulder. I follow his gaze and let out a sigh as I see her. She’s all but stumbling behind Rivers, desperately trying to keep up with his long strides as he clutches her hand in his.
Knowing she’s safe, Noah makes a break for it.
We bolt for his Camaro, pleased to see that the cops seem to be heading for Nate and Jackson seeing as though in this situation, they’re the only ones being caught red-handed. Thank God Noah’s race was already over and done with. Though, I guess it sucks to be Nate and Jackson. They’re on their own now.
I struggle to keep up with Noah as he hauls me through the mess of bodies. People crash into me and I don’t doubt that I’ll be covered in bruises afterward.
A girl’s high-pitched scream rips past my ear and my head whips around, searching out the noise. I see her almost instantly. A small brunette girl fumbles to the ground, her body being jostled around in every direction.
“Shit,” I screech, pulling back on Noah’s hand, desperate to help the girl as if I don’t, she’s not going to come out of this very well.
“Come on,” Noah says, tugging back on my hand.
I squeeze my fingers free of his tight grasp and double back for her. People smack into me on their way past as I head in the opposite direction of the crowd. Handbags and elbows connect against me, but determination gets the better of me.
By the time I reach the girl, she’s curled up on the ground with her arms protectively hovering over her head. I reach for her, but she’s too terrified, she can’t even feel me pulling on her arm. Something crashes into my back and I stumble forward, only able to keep on my feet as Noah grabs me with his strong hands and steadies me before I make this situation so much worse.
“Help me,” I beg him, still clawing at the girl’s arm, trying to pull her up.
Noah glances back towards his car with a cringe before looking down at the girl. In one easy swoop, he bends down and grabs her. Not a second later, she’s over his shoulder, his hand firmly clutching mine, and we’re running as fast as we can towards his Camaro.
We reach his car in less than thirty seconds. Tully and Rivers are already here, waiting desperately for Noah to hurry up and unlock the car.
Noah practically hurls the girl at Rivers before diving in the driver’s seat. The rest of us pile in and within the blink of an eye, Noah is racing down the dirt road that leads out of here, overtaking the rest of the idiots with practiced ease until he’s breaking out onto the highway.
“Fuck,” he breathes as cops spill out behind us.
I turn in my seat, eyes quickly flashing through the back window. There are at least four cops behind us, but there’s a shitload of kids from the races for them to go after.
If Noah plays this smart, we’ll get out of here in no time.
Noah kicks it up a notch and speeds through the traffic without blinking an eye. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there’s no doubt in my mind that Noah could be a professional racer. He’s just that good. The cops don’t even bother heading our way. There are easier targets on this road right now.
A scream comes from the backseat and I whip my head around to watch the random girl sitting between Rivers and Tully getting thrown from side to side, clearly terrified of the speed at which Noah is handling his car. Rivers latches onto her, trying to steady her, but it’s no use. There’s not really much for her to hold onto in the middle.
Rivers grabs her seatbelt and overcrowds her personal space as he buckles her in, though it’s not long before Noah completely loses the cops and is able to slow down.
“Holy shit,” she gasps. “That was insane.”
Rivers grins down at her, clearly pleased that she thinks so, but Noah has a different idea. “Who are you?” Noah demands, glancing up at her in his rearview mirror and not sparing a moment to appease her. After all, he doesn’t like people coming in on his pack and right now, she's sitting right in the middle of it, getting front row tickets to our lives.
Her eyes widen a fraction, having to readjust her thoughts on the guy who just saved her ass. “I’m Alyssa. I’m new. I just transferred to Haven Falls,” she explains, “My first day is on Monday.”
Noah grunts as Tully scoffs. “You’ve fallen in with the wrong people if you’re already at the races.”
“Yeah, I think I’m working that out,” she murmurs, letting out a deep breath before sucking in another, trying to calm herself.
“It’s alright, babe,” Rivers says softly. “You can chill with us.”
“Babe?” Tully shrieks at Rivers, across the new girl who sits as still as possible, terrified of even making a peep. “You met the girl ten seconds ago and you’re calling her ‘babe’?
Oh no. This isn�
��t going to be good.
“What’s it to you?” Rivers shoots right back at her. “I wonder what you were calling Rocko tonight? Oh, and it was nice of him to get you the fuck out of there instead of leaving you to fend for yourself by the way. Such a fucking gentleman.”
Tully launches herself across the backseat with a battle cry as Alyssa desperately tries to unbuckle herself. “Feel free to drop me off at any time,” she calls into the front while Rivers tries to save his face from being clawed.
“You’re a fucking bastard, Rivers,” Tully yells as Noah and I watch on from the front seat, not at all fazed by the little catfight going on in the back.
“Where am I taking you, Alyssa?” Noah questions, not one to like the random girl intruding.
She scoffs under her breath, still trying to get away from the flailing arms and legs. “Anywhere is good.”
“Alright,” Noah shrugs before pulling off to the side of the road.
“Don’t be a fucking bastard,” Rivers scolds. “Take the girl home. Don’t leave her on the side of the road. Anything could happen to her out here and you don’t want that on your conscience.”
Noah groans and ten minutes later, we’re pulling up at the girl’s house with Tully practically held down on Rivers lap, his arms wrapped around her like steel vices, refusing to let her release the Kraken again.
I guess tonight’s fun is far from over.
Chapter 7
I step through the threshold of the cafeteria on Monday afternoon and let out a deep sigh. I can’t believe it’s only lunchtime. Today seems to be dragging on like you wouldn’t believe.
It was a shitty weekend to follow up the shitty Friday night at the races. Well, maybe that isn’t completely fair. Friday was a pretty awesome night before the shit hit the fan.
Tully and Rivers have been at each other's throats all weekend and it’s getting a little too much to bear. Maybe we all need a trip away or something to help us find the love again because the way things are with them right now, it’s really starting to grate on my nerves. I doubt it will be long before Noah puts two and two together. Right now, he just thinks they’re being their usual idiotic selves. If only he knew.
Untameable: Haven Falls (Book 3) Page 6