Untameable: Haven Falls (Book 3)

by Sheridan Anne

  I roll my eyes, realizing he’s right. “Who made the mommy and daddy fighting comment?”

  Noah scoffs again. “Spencer,” he says with a bit of a huff. “Guess the fucker didn’t learn his lesson the first and second time.”

  “Guess not,” I grumble, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Are we all good?”

  “Yeah, Spitfire. I’m sorry I yelled at you. I think I was surprised to hear you say that about Lily when it’s only ever something that’s been inside my head. No one’s ever said something to me like that before.”

  “Well, you’ve never really let anyone close enough to know you before.”

  “And I just had to pick the one strong enough to put me in my place.”

  “Damn straight, you did,” I laugh before climbing off his lap and searching around for my clothes. “Come on,” I tell him. “I need to eat before our lunch break is over and I think we need to show all the vultures that nothing can tear us apart, not even ourselves.”

  “Nah,” he says, reaching for me. “Let’s just stay here.”

  I smirk down at him. “Tell me, Noah. How did you know there was a lock on this door? Have you been in here before?”

  “Oh, shit,” he says, jumping to his feet and grabbing his clothes. “Lunch is nearly over and you need to eat. Let’s not waste any time.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I laugh as we get ourselves dressed.

  It doesn’t take long before we’re walking back to the cafeteria, hand in hand. “So, correct me if I’m wrong here, but it sort of looked like Tullz was about ready to kill me too.”

  “Yeah,” I laugh.

  “What?” he questions. “Why? What the fuck did I do to her?”

  I shrug my shoulders. “Girl Code.”

  “Are you serious? My own sister turned her back on me.”

  “Hey,” I defend. “You’re not the one who’s listened to her ranting about how much she hates Rivers right now. She owed me.”

  He lets out a sigh. “What’s going on with them, anyway?” he questions. “One minute they’re hot, the next cold. They’ve always had this thing between them, but it’s never been this bad. I swear, it’s almost as though Tully is about to shred him to pieces.”

  I look away as he thinks it over. “Shit,” he sighs.

  “What?”

  “She made a move, didn’t she? And he turned her down. That’s the only thing that could make sense. Fuck. No wonder she’s hating on him so much.” I let out a breath as he looks down at me. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah,” I sigh, hating that I’m not telling him the whole truth right now. “He turned her down and it tore her apart. You know, I think they’re in love with each other.”

  Noah scoffs. “Yeah, right,” he laughs. “They like each other, sure, but they’re not in love.”

  “You sure about that?”

  I smile as he looks back down at me, now not so sure of himself. “Are you sure about it?”

  I nod. “Think so.”

  “Ok, so if that was the case, why the fuck would he turn her down? Not because of me?”

  “I mean, I guess you’re part of the reason. He doesn’t want to be disrespectful to you, but more than that, he doesn’t think he’s good enough for her.”

  “Shit, well, no fucker is good enough for her,” he tells me, “but…fuck. I don’t know. I don’t like the idea of her with anyone.”

  “Of course, you don’t. You’re her brother. That’s how you’re supposed to feel, but one day, she’s going to be with someone whether or not you approve of him.”

  “Stop,” he says. “You’re totally killing my vibe, right now.”

  I shrug my shoulders and laugh. “I’m just saying it like it is. She’ll find some guy, get married and have kids. But when you think of her like that, wouldn’t you prefer the guy to be Rivers, knowing how much he cares about her? He’s so loyal, just like you. He’d never let her get hurt.”

  “It’ll never happen,” he tells me. “Even if they dated for a short while. They’re both too stubborn. They’d drive each other insane.”

  “You don’t think we’re both too stubborn?”

  “Yep,” he grins. “And you do drive me insane.”

  “Yet somehow we’re making it work.”

  His mouth snaps shut and I grin to myself. Point proven. I think that’ll give him a little something to think about.

  We keep making our way back to the cafeteria when we pass the science classrooms. I pull back on Noah’s hand, seeing Mr. Carver eating his lunch at his desk rather than the staff room like most of the teachers do. I come to a stop in his doorway and knock gently to get his attention. “Sorry to disturb you,” I say.

  “No, no,” he says, quickly wiping his mouth and welcoming us into his classroom. "What’s going on? How can I help you?”

  "I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I’ve decided to go for the scholarship.”

  His eyes widen in surprise as though he had expected me to reject it. "Really? That’s great news. Can I ask what changed your mind?”

  “Well, apart from all my excuses, which all still stand by the way, a few people made me realize that I’d be a fool if I didn’t even try. I mean it’s better to have tried than to give up.”

  “Indeed, it is,” Carver says as his eyes cut across to Noah, making it clear he knows who I mean by a ‘few people’. “Well, it’s good to see that a ‘few people’ around you seem to have their heads screwed on correctly and can lead you in the right direction.”

  “Gee, thanks,” I grumble, loving that out of all the teachers at Haven Falls Private, it’s nice to see that at least one of them actually gives a shit.

  “No, problem,” he tells me. “I’ll arrange a meeting with your other teachers and we’ll put together a plan to see if we can get your grades up in your other classes. You realize it’s not going to be easy, right? You’re going to have to work your butt off to prove to the administration board at Broken Hill University that you belong there.”

  “Yep, I know.”

  “You really mean it? Don’t waste my time if you don’t plan on putting in the effort. I’d really like to see you succeed, Henley.”

  “I mean it,” I tell him with a definite nod.

  “Excellent,” he says. “Then get that application form filled out and I’ll write you a recommendation.”

  I give him a grateful smile before a cringe takes over. “About the application form,” I say, resisting scowling back at Noah. "Could I get another one?”

  “Why?” he asks, narrowing his eyes on me. “You didn’t burn the old one the second you walked out of my class, did you?”

  “I’m not going to lie,” I tell him. “The thought did cross my mind, but someone got a little too confident and started filling it out for me. Completely did it all wrong.”

  “Ok,” he laughs, walking back over to his desk and rifling through his bottom drawer. “That I can deal with.” A moment later, he pulls out a brand new application form and hands it over. “Maybe fill it out yourself, this time.”

  “I will,” I smile. “I’ll let you get back to your lunch.”

  “Thanks,” he says as we turn and start heading for the door. “Oh, and Henley,” he calls behind us, “come prepared to class this afternoon. We’ve got a pretty exciting experiment.”

  Yes. I resist fist pumping the sky. My day just got that much better.

  We walk out and I close the door behind me, feeling all kinds of happy until the doormat next to me insists on opening his mouth. “Is that guy deranged?” he grunts. “What kind of idiot calls an experiment exciting?”

  Ugh. Stupid boys. They just don’t get it.

  Chapter 13

  “So, what the hell do we do now if we can’t go to the races on a Friday night?” I ask Noah as we sit out front of his home, watching the cars go by.

  Noah shrugs his shoulders and scrunches up his face. “I don’t fucking know,” he grumbles bef
ore glancing away, trying to hide the fact that the races being shut down really bothers him. The races were something he looked forward to, a place to go where he could let loose and kick people’s asses with nothing but practiced ease.

  And now it’s all gone and there’s nowhere for him to release that need within to feel the tires spinning beneath him, to feel the engine rumble and being pushed to its max, to feel the adrenaline of the race and the crowd chanting his name. All freaking gone.

  “We could always go and find some sorry loser to drag race,” I suggest, though I hope he knows I’m joking to try to cheer him up. There’s no way I’d let him drag race. But then, I guess if it’s something he actually wanted to do, we’d already be out there searching for an opponent despite everyone’s better judgment.

  Noah’s not exactly the type to not do something because someone else told him not to. He does what he wants to do and I love that attitude about him, I just worry it’s going to get him into trouble one day.

  “Nah," he says shrugging off the suggestion as though it had a bit of merit. “It’d be good, but drag racing is too much effort. We have to shut down the streets and that brings too much attention. Besides, the Camaro is too loud and too easily recognized for that shit.”

  My eyes flick over to the car in question as Tully scoffs from inside. “You could take your girl out on a date like a regular fucking dude,” she yells through the open door.

  I choke back a laugh as Noah’s eyes shoot to mine. “What the hell are you laughing at?”

  “It’s just…I don’t think we’ve ever actually been on a date.”

  “What?” he grunts. “Of course we have.”

  “Name one time.”

  Tully calls out once again. “Bet you fifty bucks he can’t.”

  “I’m not taking that bet,” I shoot back. “I already know he can’t.”

  “Shut up,” Noah scolds. “I’m trying to think.”

  “Geez, I’m so glad all our dates are so memorable to you,” I smirk as a black Firebird pulls up, making Noah sit up a little straighter as he watches the newcomer.

  “Who the fuck is this?” he murmurs beside me.

  We watch the car for a moment before the door opens and Rivers’ head shoots out the driver’s side. “You fucking like it?” he calls across the yard as the passenger’s side door opens too. “I got a new fucking car.”

  Noah gets up beside me and walks towards Rivers’ new car as Alyssa appears from the passenger side. Shit. Why did he have to bring her here of all places? This is our sacred place. No one in, no one out. I learned that the hard way and here he is walking in with this strange girl. It’s bad enough that I’m going to have to pretend to be nice to her considering it looks as though Rivers wants to date her.

  I walk forward, pleased that Tully is still inside for now, but it won’t be long before she comes out to see what all the fuss is about.

  “What the fuck is this piece of shit?” Noah laughs, punching Rivers in the arm.

  “Fuck off,” Rivers says. “It ain’t no piece of shit. It’s a fucking gem. She just needs a little work,” he nods his head towards the Camaro. “Now, that’s a piece of shit.”

  “Hey, now,” I cut in as Alyssa walks around to join us, giving us a nervous smile. “That Camaro is no piece of shit.”

  Noah walks around the car, doing the usual guy inspection thing as Rivers stands back proudly. “I spoke to Nate over in Broken Hill. He’s going to work on her. Get her up to scratch.”

  “Dude,” Noah grumbles. “I doubt you could afford Nate. He’s working on multi-million dollar cars. He’s not going to do this kind of shit.”

  “Yeah, but he’s got a soft spot for bringing race cars back from the dead.”

  “True,” Noah says, getting back to his inspection, ducking his head in through the driver’s door and popping the hood.

  Rivers continues watching proudly as he nudges me with his elbow. “What’s going on?” he asks, keeping a close eye on Noah’s reactions to his car.

  Tully shouts through the door once again, clearly not realizing that there’s a guest, otherwise, she’d probably be storming out the door in a furious rage. “Noahsaurus is trying to remember if he’s ever taken Henley on a date.”

  “Awwww, shit,” Rivers groans, looking to me. “This isn’t going to end well.” I shake my head, completely agreeing with him as Noah smirks to himself.

  Noah’s head suddenly shoots up, wide-eyed as he looks to me. “I got it,” he shouts proudly. “There was that time we went to that Italian restaurant across from the gas station. You ordered some pasta bullshit.”

  I shake my head again. “Bum, bum,” I say, giving him a thumbs down and impersonating a buzzer as Alyssa chuckles to herself. “I don’t know who the fuck you went to an Italian restaurant with, but it sure as hell wasn’t me.”

  “Oh, shit,” Rivers murmurs to himself.

  “Bullshit,” Noah says. “I remember it.”

  “Nah, man,” Rivers laughs. “That was Monica. You took her there because she wasn’t putting out and you were hoping to…you know.”

  “Fuck,” Noah cringes, looking to me with a guilty as shit expression before a wide smile pulls over his lips. He strides towards me and crashes down into me, sending us both down to the ground and making me squeal out like a little bitch before he nuzzles his face into my neck. “Sorry, babe,” he says with a chuckle, drawing the words out. “How do you feel about Italian tonight?”

  I laugh as I try to push him off me but the fucker isn’t budging. “You’re so fucking lucky I’m in a good mood, Noahsaurus.”

  “Do you really have to call me that?” he grunts, pulling his head up.

  “Considering you just thought your date with Monica was with me, you’re lucky that’s all I’m calling you.”

  “She’s got a point, man,” Rivers laughs. “Quit while you’re behind.”

  “Fine,” he groans. “You can call me anything you want.”

  “Damn fucking straight, I can.”

  Noah rolls his eyes as Tully comes striding out of the house with a slice of last night’s pizza before stopping mid step, taking in Alyssa standing beside Rivers. “What the fuck is this?” she demands, pizza completely forgotten.

  As if forgetting Alyssa standing right beside him, Rivers’ eyes trail down her body, taking in the tight black dress and heels. “Where the hell do you think you’re going dressed like that?” Rivers sputters making Alyssa stand a little taller, though I don’t know if that’s because she’s trying to make herself seen or if she finally sees the threat from Tully.

  Tully narrows her eyes on him while somehow managing to appear as though their very presence doesn’t affect her. “It’s Friday night,” she reminds him. “I have my date with Rocko tonight.”

  “Rocko Stevenson?” Alyssa says, sucking in a breath as though she’s impressed with Tully’s efforts. She instantly gets ignored.

  Noah scrambles off me as Rivers steps forward. “No fucking way.”

  Noah cuts him off. “I thought we sorted this shit already.”

  "Wait," Alyssa cuts in, making all eyes turn her way. "If you're going on a date with Rocko, why are you eating now?"

  Rivers' eyes slice to Tully with the smallest seed of hope that she isn't going on a date after all, but Tully has been talking about this date for days. She's not about to back out of it, especially now that she's seen Rivers with Alyssa. Besides, isn’t it a well known fact that girls eat before their date so they don’t look like the slob that they actually are in front of a new guy?

  “No, we didn’t sort this” Tully says slowly, turning back to her brother and completely disregarding anything that comes from Alyssa’s mouth. “You guys spoke at me while I failed to listen. You see, what you guys fail to do is realize that I no longer give a shit. I’m a grown ass woman and I can make my own decisions about who I date, so,” she adds, pointedly looking at Rivers, “unless you have a better idea of who should be taking me out tonigh
t, then I subtly suggest you both mind your own fucking business. Besides,” she adds, “it looks as though you already have someone else you should be focusing on tonight.”

  Rivers grinds his teeth as Noah scowls. “I don’t like it.”

  “I never asked you too.”

  “Tullz,” Rivers sighs. “Come on. Don’t go out with him. Date someone else if you have to, just not him.”

  “You’re too late, Rivers. I’m going whether you like it or not,” she tells him before turning on her heel and heading back inside.

  Both the boys look to me. “What?” I grunt, holding up both hands. “There’s nothing I can do about it. I’ve already tried. Besides, she’s right. She’s eighteen and more than capable of making her own decisions. If she wants to go on a date with the guy, then so be it. She’ll probably come home tonight and realize what a turd he is and never go on one again.”

  “I can still hear you,” Tully yells from inside.

  “I don’t care,” I say, getting back to my rant. “Point is that she needs to come to the decision on her own, not have two overbaring assholes in her face demanding she not go. Besides,” I say, turning solely on Rivers before waving my hand over Alyssa, not giving a shit if I’m about to offend her. “You’re making it fucking worse. There might have been a chance that Tully changed her mind on her own, but not now.”

  With that, I turn and make my way inside as Alyssa gapes behind me.

  “Shit,” Rivers murmurs as I make my way back towards the house.

  “Fuck, man,” Noah grumbles. “Why’d you have to bring her here?”

  “What’s the fucking problem?” Rivers snaps. “I used to bring chicks here all the time. She never had a problem with it before.”

  “Yeah, but…things are different now.”

  I don’t hear Rivers’ response as I disappear inside.

  The second I step over the threshold and the door is firmly sealed shut behind me, Tully instantly starts fuming while repeatedly trying to insert her earrings, only her anger makes it impossible. "Can you fucking believe him?" she seethes. "How dare he bring that tramp here?"