Bitter Kisses (It's Just High School Book 3)

by Thandiwe Mpofu

  “You lie back, I’ll get you another sheet, so you recover and I’ll ho check again.”

  “Maybe they have some kind of phone here, it might be old but maybe we can call for help.”

  “Maybe,” she mumbles, her voice lacking conviction, but she goes anyway. Kristine grabs another dusty sheet, air whips it and then brings it over to me. “I shouldn’t have done this. When they get back…”

  “We won’t be here when they get back, check for another exit.”

  Kristine nods, steps back and rushes to the back of the warehouse, cradling her baby bump as she goes. I hear her move stuff, and I wish I could tell her not to make noise but maybe noise is good. Maybe someone will hear us and come inspect what’s happening.

  I tug the extra sheet around me, my mind firing with questions. Why would they take me? This can’t all be just about Julian? This was well planned. I mean what were they going to do if Julian’s hearing went south—which it was set to?

  No, something else is going on here.

  Just then, a piercing scream shatters my thoughts, bouncing on the walls of the warehouse and I jerk up, startled as fear sinks into. Dread knots my insides.

  Another scream and then the unmistakable sound of flesh being slapped. Hard.

  “Kristine!” I shout, my voice still groggy. “Kristine, where are you!”

  She doesn’t respond, but I hear whimpering, then the sound of heavy footsteps. Then…

  “Well, well, well,” he says, his voice throaty, full of sick amusement and hate. “I was wondering if you two were going to pinky promise to save each other and guess I was right all along. You stupid cunts.”

  My eyes narrow, hate slithering down my spine as I look up at him dragging Kristine by her hair on the rough hard floor.

  “Sean.”

  “The one and only,” he says, with a laugh. “I’ve been waiting for hours for you to finally wake up because you are my long-awaited appointment to ruin.”

  11

  Julian

  Stunned, I stare at the woman who calls herself my mother, hardly breathing or blinking after the shit that just came out of her mouth.

  “You can’t be serious,” Liam says, breaking the tense silence that has fallen over us in the driveway of Mia’s house. The sun is setting low, the thing in my chest is twisting painfully by the second and I can’t move. “You’re lying.”

  “Am I?” Courtney says, cocking her eyebrow as she looks at Nicky over my shoulder. “Tell them I’m lying, Nicky. Go ahead. I know how you like painting me out to be the bad guy.”

  “You’re still the fucking bad guy here!” Liam snaps, gripping his hair tightly.

  “Watch your mouth. I’m stull you—”

  “You lost that right when you hurt, abused and starved Aiden just because he was born special and had all the love and attention you couldn’t get from your husband even after you bought him,” Liam says, cutting her off. I know if I look at him, I’ll see his face is red with anger, his words are venomous already. Cole is watching me, like ticking time bomb and Dad, he’s deathly still, looking between his ex-wife and whatever Nicky is now to him.

  “Is any of what she just said true?” Dad questions Nicky. “About Nathan using your daughter to…” he trails off. I hear someone crying, sniffling and then sobbing.

  “Holy fuck,” Cole mutters. And all I can think is, she didn’t sell Aiden out because she wanted to hurt me, but she had no choice.

  Just like she had no choice but to believe Nancy was er mother.

  She had no choice but to act and be her father’s puppet, being manipulated, controlled and fucking used to his means.

  Jesus Holy Christ.

  What kind of fuckery is this? What kind of man…

  “Where is he?” I whisper. There’s a roar trapped in my throat, a violence raving to go in my bones and my soul shatters, the hungry need to get Mia and take her as far away from the world as possible settling in my DNA.

  She told me. She told me to trust her and I…

  “Where. Is. He?” I grit out each word, staring at my mother.

  “You can’t go after him, he’ll be expecting you,” Courtney says. “And I won’t allow him to hurt you.”

  “But you’d allow him to hurt his own daughter, another human being,” Liam snaps. “How fucking hypocritical of you.”

  “As much as I hate saying this and would rather count the grains of fucking rice in a silo, Courtney is right, son,” Dad mumbles. “You can’t go after Nathan. He’s not yours to handle. He’s mine.”

  So that’s how it is, huh? They’re just going to block this shit because of that asshole who orchestrated all this just to get their fucking attention. And in the long run of things, they’re not the ones who suffer or feel the brunt of the whip. It’s people like Aiden, who couldn’t fight for themselves.

  It’s people like my best friend, Cole, who get abandoned in a dangerous alleyway at only three years old, trying to keep his sister alive in the fucking dead of winter.

  It’s my baby brother, Liam who are frustrated out of their minds with everything going wrong for the people they care for.

  It’s Mia. My Little Minx. The love of my fucking life, the other half of my soul who I hurt repeatedly. Lied to by everyone she loves. Not any fucking more.

  Something’s going to happen tonight. Blood is going to be spilled and guts are going to spill as skulls crack and shatter. And the only thing I know for sure is, Mia is going to have a long life where she’ll never have to fear anyone or anything or make sacrifices or deals to save anyone else.

  “J,” Cole murmurs beside me, as if he knows. “Whatever you’re thinking…”

  I turn on my heal, and before anyone can say a word, I get in Courtney’s car which is still running and have the car in reverse and peel out of there, one thought in mind.

  Knowing I have a minute before Cole or Liam or my father for that matter back up and follow me, I grab my phone, and make a call.

  It rings only once before he answers.

  “I was wondering when I was going to hear from you,” the assholes says, laughing humorlessly as music thrums in the background. “I was starting to think you don’t give a fuck about what you lose.”

  “If you have laid a finger…”

  “Oh, I think you and I both know I’ve more than laid a finger on that fine bod,” Sean laughs.

  The blood in my veins rushes hot, my grip on the steering wheel is so tight, I might grow desensitized, but I don’t give a fuck. In my mind’s eye, all I can see is Mia. Hurt and broken, because of me.

  “Where is she?”

  “I think you know where to find me,” he says, laughing. The blood in my veins runs cold. “I’m at my house, waiting for you.”

  My mind races at that.

  “Good. Tonight, you die.”

  “Excuse me, I—”

  I hang up before he can say anything, pulling up to the front gate of my house and punching in the code to access the underground parking. I bet this fucking car has tracking, but I only needed it for one thing. To get here.

  Quickly pulling up, I get out, leaving the damn door open and run into the house, straight to my room, making sure not to look at Mia’s abandoned room and yet, feeling the ghost of her absence in my bones.

  Not wasting a second, I dial a number.

  “Young Fitz.”

  “I need untraceable shit.”

  “Name it.”

  I list the shit I need and give him the drop off location, quickly dressing in all black, grabbing all the shit I might needing my room. I can’t even glance at my fucking bed, if I do, all I’ll see is the night Mia came to me, broken and in tears, begging me to let her break even more as she cried naked in my arms, respecting my bed, instinctively knowing what I needed from her and letting me in her soul. I didn’t know I was opening myself up to her too, wanting to taste her, to fuck her, to make her know she was mine.

  Days later, I did just that.

  Then
I fucking blew it.

  “Need back-up?”

  “No,” I snap, hanging up, then head out the door, using the secret stairs again, I’m pretty sire but now, Dad’s getting close, probably rehearsing an entire speech on what I should and shouldn’t do, like I’m the type to stand there like a dumb fuck fool, listening to a man who wasn’t man enough to protect Aiden from Courtney because of a stupid piece of paper.

  A piece of paper you’re bound to sign anyway, asshat.

  Yeah, well, not if Mia’s danger. All bets are fucking off.

  Sneaking into the garage, I quickly get in my car and back out as soon as the garage door opens.

  By the time I speed past dad, hearing him honk for me to stop, I’m flying down the private road, knowing that this car doesn’t have some GPS shit for him to locate me.

  My jaw is clenched as tightly as my fists on the steering wheel, what I’m about to do playing like a fucked-up tape in my head.

  I wait for the remorse, for the guilt to churn in my gut or the fear of taking a life but nothing hits me. I stood there since this afternoon after getting that text and now and did fucking nothing. Now, it’s nighttime and the demons are out to fucking war! I’m going to get my girl.

  12

  Julian

  I see the unmarked black SUV as soon as I pull up at the Devil’s Track. This is the place I first put my hands on her after years of watching from a distance, hating her, wanting her, not knowing what to do with her.

  This is where my brother was almost blown to bits and I almost lost him.

  This is where my trust in Mia dwindled all over again, my mind clouded by the overwhelming evidence stacked against her when she was innocent the whole time.

  And even then, she tried to speak up and tell me to get my fucking head out of my ass.

  Knowing than the guy who left the van here is probably gone and left everything I asked for exactly where it should be, I walk up to the van, not watching where I’m going until I pull the driver’s door open and almost have a fucking heart attack.

  “So, this is what you were thinking, huh?” Cole mutters silently, leaning back into the passenger’s seat, his gaze set on something unseen directly ahead of him.

  “What the actual fuck?” I growl.

  “I should be saying that to you,” he fires back coolly.

  I stare at him, still standing right outside the door, feeling my jaw tick.

  “We’re wasting time with you stewing over there like a fucking bull,” Cole mutters smoothly. It’s then that I noticed that he too has changed from his suit, to all black fatigues like me. He even has a fucking black beanie, for fuck’s sake.

  “I do this alone,” I state seriously, staring him down.

  “Like hell.”

  “Cole—”

  “Don’t try and insult my intelligent or the years of fucking friendship and brotherhood we have between us by spewing bullshit right now when. we should be on our fucking way.”

  Stunned I stare at him, only now gauging just how angry—no, livid—my best friend is. Cole is almost always easy going. He never lets anything get to him. I’ve seen him shake off shit that would bother lesser men. He’s more in control of his emotions than anyone I know, but I know beneath all that shit is a fucking beast. People catch glimpses of that beast on the football field when he’s playing, as if he’s trying to prove a fucking point that he matters, his life matters and no one gets to abandon him—like his asshole sperm and ovary donors did—but right now, now I see the ire in me, reflected in his eyes.

  “Cole,” I start, his name a said between gritted teeth. “What I’m about to do—”

  “Is well fucking deserved in my ledger,” he growls back. “I’m with you.”

  “You don’t know what you—”

  “I’m not a fucking child and don’t try to know for me. Let’s fucking go.”

  I stare at him, my mind racing. He stares right back, eyebrow cocked. “Should I drive?”

  “If I don’t, I’ll lose my mind.”

  “Haven’t you already?”

  “In a way.”

  “You can’t,” he says softly, quietly. Too quietly.

  “Why?” I demand.

  “Because she’s going to need you, bro.”

  Those fucking words kill me in ways no one will ever know. Not because he’s wrong. Cole’s absolutely right. In some way. But he’s also mistaken, but I don’t say a thing, climbing into the driver’s seat.

  We’re both silent as we start up the van. Silent when we pull into the road, passing the sight Mia found Liam, I have no idea how I still remember that but it’s not a stretch of the fucking imagination. I remember everything about her and lately, the lifeless look in her eyes from the picture that pig I’m going to slaughter tonight sent me.

  As soon as we’re gaining speed though, the little window in the fucking middle of between seats opens smoothly, quietly, until we hear, “You two are fucking stupid.”

  I almost careen off the damn road when I hear his voice, my fucking heart racing.

  “Liam!” Cole and I snap at the same fucking time.

  “What the fucking hell are you doing back there?”

  “You think you’re going without me? Hell fucking no,” Liam says tightly, barely controlled anger in his voice.

  “Ah hell,” Cole whispers. “This is just great.”

  I right the car and keep driving, doing my best to ignore the two unwanted imposters with me.

  “So, are you just going to dismiss me then? Ignoring me? Giving me the fucking proverbial cold shoulder?” Liam snaps. “Cause I see what’s back here, you jerk. What the hell do you think you’re going to do.”

  What’s supposed to be done, is what I’m going to do but I grit my teeth and say nothing. There’s some gasoline, shovels and all sorts of shit back there.

  “Okay, fine, where are we going?”

  “To their fucking house.”

  “How do you know they’ll be there?” Liam demands as a light from a phone flickers on, illuminating in the front seats.

  “We talked.”

  I feel both their shocked gazes on me, but I just press my foot on the gas, daring the SUV to go faster, the thing in my chest pounding wildly, with urgency, with pain, with the singular need to get to Mia.

  “When did you talk to him?” Liam demands.

  “Ten minutes ago.”

  “What did he say, Liam continues.

  “That my presence is required.

  “You do know there’s a fucking rager at his house right now? If he’s there—with the get-up you have back here—how the fuck are we going to get Mia without causing alarm?” Liam seethes. “Have you thought of that?”

  I ignore him, focusing on the road as I turn into the road that leads to the Matthews house, ignoring Cole’s suspicious gaze on me. True to Liam’s words and the sound of a party I heard in the background, there’s a fucking party going on. The streets are lined up with cars, the sidewalk littered with inebriated fools dancing to the music coming from the Matthews mansion.

  “Do you have a plan for this mess?” Liam finally asks, taming his voice down.

  “I have a plan.”

  “Okay,” he breathes deeply. Like he’s about to go to war. “I trust you. You’re my brother. I’d die for you.”

  Yeah, that’s not going to happen.

  “So, what do we do?” Cole questions, his voice low, cautious and serious.

  “Simple,” I mutter, parking at the very back, behind the trees. “All we need is in the back.”

  I get out before either one of them can ask me more insufferable and useless questions. Opening the back doors of the van, I don’t look at Liam or Cole when he rounds the SUV and stands beside me, his silence fucking loud. Instead, I survey that everything I asked for is her and it is. Good.

  “I’m not happy that both of you came, but…”

  “You needed fucking back-up whether you admit it or not,” Liam says, watching me with a
narrowed gaze. My brother is not a fool, that’s for damn sure.

  I stay silent, grabbing the leather gloves, passing them to Liam and to Cole. Then I pass them my phone where the blueprints of the Matthews mansion are. Immediately, Cole tenses beside me but doesn’t say a word. Liam gives it a once over and I grab my phone.

  “Liam, you’re going in there and causing a fucking riot.”

  “How big?”

  “Arma-fucking-geddon.”

  “Done,” he says, jumping down. “Do I have to be seen.”

  “Make sure they all see your face.”

  “How long?”

  “As long as fucking possible before they all scatter, which should be—”

  “Ten minutes,” Cole says.

  Nodding, Liam stares at me for a beat. I hold his gaze, knowing that my brother needs this. He frowns, narrowing his gaze on me, about to say something that I honestly don’t want to hear right now. He can leave me a fucking voicemail or something.

  “Liam,” I grit out and he snaps into action.

  “Yes, fine,” he says through gritted teeth, jumping down from the van. He reaches forward, grabs the back of my neck, until our foreheads are pressed together, something we last did at Aiden’s funeral.

  Fuck.

  My throat works to swallow whatever the hell is lodged there, and I’m pretty sure the thing in my chest is beating harder than ever. I close my eyes, ruffling my brother’s hair.

  “We’re going to get her back,” Liam murmurs lowly.

  “Yeah.” I don’t address the hoarseness of my voice, but I know after this, she’s going to need Liam. She’s going to need both of them.

  Cole ruffles both our heads, a low and dangerous chuckle sounding from him. “So, we war,” he says.

  “We fucking war,” Liam echoes.

  “We war because she’s fucking mine!” I seethe, every fiber of my being agreeing, echoing the declaration that’s now out in the universe. Come what may tonight, she will live.

  “Right, let’s do this,” Liam says. “We meet back here in ten.”

  “Yes,” I murmur. “Don’t fucking touch anything in there.”