In reality, I’d cruise through BC and find nothing. If I got ballsy enough I’d make a few stops. Walk around with my hoodie hood up to try and cover up the best I could.
Anything to snoop and make sure Mel was okay.
But the thing was… she wasn’t okay.
She was never going to be okay being up there.
And it wasn’t just BC.
It was… everything.
I walked through the mansion that was labeled home.
I honestly had no idea where my parents were. They had no idea where I was either. And that’s how it worked for all of us. I wasn’t their problem anymore. That magical birthday of eighteen came and went over a year ago. There was a collective sigh that I was no longer a burden and it all worked out for everyone.
Because obviously when I was younger… being thrown into Brooks Crest…
I waved behind me as I walked through the front door.
I got into my car and made it to the end of the driveway only to find a black SUV blocking my way.
As I climbed out of the car, the driver’s door of the SUV opened too.
Pres stepped out.
Kip then got out his side and walked around the front of the SUV.
“Are you fucking serious?” I asked.
“No choice,” Pres said.
“You know that already,” Kip said.
“This is a mistake,” I said. “You have no idea where this can end up.”
“I’m not worried about that part,” Pres said.
“If shit goes bad and…”
“I’m still not settled in my own mind with BC,” Kip said.
He was referring to his foster sister, Kait. And what happened to her. Which was tied directly to BC. In fact, anything really bad and tragic had a way of being tied back to BC. And believe me, I knew how it all worked. How everything was connected. I was responsible for some of those connections. And others…
“What did you tell Tinsley and Ruby?” I asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” Pres said.
“So you lied to them to help me?”
“We didn’t lie,” Kip said. “Plus, the way Ruby feels about me right now, I could use some distance.”
“And Tinsley is pissed because Ruby is pissed,” Pres said.
“See what happens when you fall in love?” I asked. “Shit always gets complicated.”
“You’re preaching to us?” Kip asked.
“I know what I need to do right now,” I said. “You two need to stay back and be safe.”
“But we’re not going to do that,” Pres said.
“Then follow me at your own risk,” I said.
“Two vehicles?” Kip asked. “That’s stupid.”
I shook my head and didn’t say another word to them.
I got into the car and revved the engine.
They needed to get the hell out of my way.
I couldn’t tell them not to follow me.
But I could make them drive alone.
I did not want to be responsible for what happened when things got really fucking bad.
* * *
I parked my car next to a courtyard garden.
It amazed me the way rich people loved their gardens. Too proud to get their own damn hands dirty planting flowers and shit, yet they loved flowers. And gardens. And statues. And all that shit.
There was a sense of irony when I got out of the car and thought about the Rulz and Tinsley in the garden at BFH.
Damn that felt like a lifetime ago.
I lit a cigarette and turned my head to see Pres pulling up behind my car.
He killed the engine and the big headlights went dark.
He and Kip got out.
“Tried bailing on us, huh?” Kip asked.
“No idea what you’re talking about,” I said.
“Barr, we’re here,” Pres said. “Let us help.”
“Nothing to help with,” I said. “I just need to see her.”
“That’s it?” Kip asked. “Just see her?”
I pointed to Kip. “There was a promise made. Nothing else matters to me but that promise.”
“Bullshit,” Pres said.
I looked at Pres. “Yeah? You’re dipping your dick in one pool for a little while now and you’re an expert on this shit? Correct me if I’m wrong, but that pool was once open swim for all of us.”
Pres took one step toward me and Kip touched his arm.
Hell yeah I wanted Pres to get pissed at me. I’d even take a punch to the face if it meant Pres left. He needed to get his ass back into his SUV and get out of here. BC wasn’t the same as HCH. That fight was just that. A fight. People got hurt but nobody got killed. When it came to BC…
“We know the story,” Kip said. “This is the baddest of the bad. Okay? We know. It’s where the rich kids get sent to as a last ditch effort because Mom and Dad need to protect their names and their assets. I know what’s at stake here. Kait walked these streets at one point, Barr.”
I slowly nodded. “Then let’s go for a walk and find my… find Mel.”
Mel.
Melody.
I asked her once why they call her Mel and not Ody… it was the first time I got her to smile at me…
I led the way and tossed my cigarette into the street.
The town was made up of buildings that looked exactly the same as the massive campus. The idea was to contain everything bad yet give it a chance to feel as though it were spreading. Which was a horrible idea. BC went where it wanted and did what it wanted.
And in a scary way, nothing could ever stop it.
I didn’t just live in that storm either.
I was that fucking storm.
My right hand twitched, craving another cigarette so soon.
I skipped the cigarette and pointed to a corner house.
A house that was three stories tall, had the appeal of a castle with its rounded corners and peaked tops, a look of horror with its mix of blood red bricks and dark black pillars and railings.
The front door was wide open though.
Light pouring from the inside, along with the echoing beat of music.
I stopped at the iron gate and grabbed the thin, strong bars.
“We’ll check there first,” I said. “Party house.”
“Party house,” Pres said.
“We always designated spots,” I said. “It was easier to control everything and everyone.”
“You think Mac is in there?” Kip asked.
“One way to find out,” I said.
I put my hood up and walked along the sidewalk toward the house.
When I got to the top of the porch, a big dude stepped into my path. Black pants and a black shirt. Looking like he spent twelve hours a day lifting weights and the other twelve eating protein.
I lifted my gaze and lifted my left hand and curled my pointer and middle fingers at him.
“You’re going to want to hear this,” I said.
“Try me,” the guy said.
“I know what to say,” I said to him. “Want me to announce it?”
The guy leaned forward.
I could have started a fight right then. Which would have been fun. But if I did that, the Rulz would have had a really long night.
Instead, I shut my eyes and swallowed hard.
“Snakes n’ cigs, fangs bang, fuck your trigger finger.”
The guy stepped back and looked at Pres and Kip.
“Them too,” I said.
The guy moved out of the way and as I passed by, he put an arm out.
“Mac isn’t here tonight,” he said. “Other business.”
I put a fist up and the big guy hit the side of his fist to mine.
Pres and Kip were smart enough to do the same thing.
We stepped into the house and Pres got close to me. “What did you say to that guy?”
“Nothing that should worry you,” I said. “I warned you not to come.”
“But you said something to get
in.”
“That’s how it goes,” I said.
I nodded to the left and went through a set of old, wood pocket doors.
The room it led to looked like some kind of study. Floor to ceiling bookshelves that were empty. An old brick fireplace in the corner.
There were only a few people in the room.
Lingering around.
And that included the Rulz.
I tried to play it out in my head.
If Mac wasn’t at the party.
Other business.
Then who would…
“Shit,” I said.
“What?” Kip asked.
I pointed to Raf as he leaned against a large dining room table.
If Raf caught sight of me then all it would take was one quick call to Mac - wherever he was - and the war would be on.
A second later Aric walked into the room carrying two drinks.
He pretended to give Raf a drink and then skipped him for a girl.
The girl bit her bottom lip, trying to figure out what she had stepped into.
I shook my head.
I felt bad for her.
When she tried to take a drink, Aric grabbed her wrist and shook his head.
He took a drink from his own cup and moved closer to the girl.
“Little birdy, tweet, fucking tweet, baby,” Raf said with a laugh.
The girl slowly put her head back and opened her mouth.
Aric hung over her mouth and slowly spit his drink into her mouth.
I turned and walked out of the room toward the front door again.
“Where are you going?” Pres asked.
“She’s not here,” I said as I walked out the front door.
The big guy looked at me with an eyebrow raised.
“Didn’t know it was a nest night,” I said.
The big guy nodded.
I almost started running until Kip cut in front of me and put his hand out.
“Don’t ask,” I said.
“I’m not,” Kip said. “Start talking.”
“This is like a whole other side of you, Barr,” Pres said.
“No shit,” I said. “That’s the kind of party where BC finds out who is in and who is out. What Raf and Aric just did was nothing. Trust me. Nothing. And Mel wouldn’t be there anyway. She’s not a birdy.”
“What the fuck is that?” Kip asked.
I knocked Kip’s hand out of the way.
I rubbed my jaw as I walked down the sidewalk.
The fucking BC campus was too big to search for one night. And beyond the buildings themselves there were places to hide out. Places that I called home. Places that I made into hideouts.
Every sin and secret still pulsing like my own goddamn heart.
And all I wanted was to just know…
“What now?” Pres asked.
I stopped and looked around.
I pointed to nothing and started to walk.
With purpose.
“There’s one more place I could check quick,” I said.
It wasn’t too far away.
A couple blocks.
But those blocks felt like miles.
And I felt too exposed.
And I really fucking hated that Pres and Kip were with me.
I stopped walking and my eyes looked for the tree.
Someone sat at the base of the thick tree.
“What now?” Kip asked. “Where are we going?”
I didn’t answer him.
I just stared.
Whoever was at the tree had their head down.
Wearing dirty white shoes. Ripped jeans. An oversized hoodie.
Covering themselves up.
“Barr?” Pres asked. “Give us something here.”
I let out a quick whistle.
The person sitting at the tree lifted their head.
It was Mel.
And when her eyes met mine, it was like it had suddenly become day.
But the feeling was short lived.
She had blood running down from her lip.
Chapter 4
(we gotta go back for a sec)
I took one more drag from my cigarette and I nodded to Les.
He stepped forward and grabbed Mac’s left shoulder.
“Hey. We’re good.”
Mac turned and looked like something out of one of those scary movies with someone possessed. His eyes were his. The snarl on his face…
He punched Les right in the balls.
Les let out a girlie sound and stumbled back.
Mac then went back to work on Chucky.
I had enough of it by now.
I stepped forward and put my foot to Mac’s shoulder and kicked him away from Chucky.
Mac fell to his ass and jumped to his feet, ready to swing at me.
I reached back and took out my knife and angled my wrist so the soft edge of the blade was against my forearm. One swipe and Mac would be counting the stars down from ten and never get to one before it was all over.
He backed off, showing his hands, sweat dripping down his face.
“You did good,” I said to him. “But we need him walking around tomorrow. To get the message across.”
“Fine,” Mac said. “But I’ll gut him next time.”
I looked down at Chucky.
He looked confused, blood smeared all over his face.
“You hear that?” I asked. “Good ‘ole Charlie here. You going to keep your mouth shut now?”
“Yes,” Chucky said.
His names was Charles. Friends called him Charlie. We called him Chucky because of his red hair.
Now his face matched his hair.
Mom and Dad were big time investors, working their way to that precious billionaire status. Good ol’ Charlie though got himself tied into prescription pills and was about to get popped when his parents threw his ass into BC. And being the typical snot nosed, rich punk that lived at the end of a cul-de-sac, he thought his shit didn’t stink.
Now he learned a lesson.
His shit did stink.
A lot.
I crouched down and held my cigarette out.
“Snakes n’ cigs,” I said with a laugh. “Love ‘em and hate ‘em, Chucky.” I grabbed his jaw. His eyes went wide. “You did this. And don’t make us ever have to talk to you again. Unless, of course, we need some of those magic pills you used to deal with.”
“I don’t… can’t…”
“Is he being a Debbie Downer right now?” I asked.
“Sounds like it,” Taz said.
“Ah, man, now I’m in a bad mood,” Raf said.
I held my hand out and Raf took my cigarette.
I stood up and grinned at Raf. “Let’s find a way to really burn the message home.”
Raf’s eyes went wide.
I walked toward Mac and made him come with me.
Chucky started to scream then someone covered his mouth.
A scar here or there was a great reminder of what happened when you brushed up against Brooks Crest.
“You have to take it easy, Mac,” I said to him. “I know what you wanted to do there. But you know what comes after this.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” Mac said. “That’s what nobody seems to get.”
“I respect that. But for me, I’m not going that way, Mac. This isn’t forever. I’m doing what needs to be done. Understand?”
Mac looked at me and curled his lip. “Then you’re running back to your little beach town and life? That’s what you really want?”
“There’s more to it than that,” I said. “This place here… it’ll kill you.”
“I’m not afraid of it, Barr. Not like you.”
“I’m not afraid of it either, Mac. I’m just smarter. Remember that.”
Mac wanted to fight me.
He didn’t like the control I had.
I personally enjoyed the idea of a power struggle.
It gave me something to do.
It killed time.
“Where are you going?”
“Just for a walk.”
“You and your fucking walks, Barr,” Mac said.
“Keeps me healthy,” I said.
Then I lit a fresh cigarette and grinned ear to ear… just to piss Mac off even more.
* * *
I stepped up on the picnic table bench like it was a set of steps. I turned and sat my ass down and quickly fell deep into thought as I enjoyed my cigarette.
It was just something I had to do.
Just to run through what we had done, why, and what would happen next.
The cycle was never ending. It had sucked me in because I jumped in head first. I knew what Brooks Crest meant. And I wasn’t going to just sit around and wait.
So I owned the place in a sense.
And that came with a lot…
I heard a cry.
I looked around and didn’t see anyone.
“Hello?” I called out.
There was no response.
My eyes scanned left to right through the trees.
All these littles patches of trees and made up gardens that were positioned so perfectly around Brooks Crest to give it that prestige appearance. Just to ease Mom and Dad when they sent their broken angels and bad devils away.
I heard the same cry again and quickly jumped from the picnic table.
“Who is that?” I called out. “Don’t fuck around with me.”
I saw movement behind a tree.
I walked to the tree and reached for my knife.
With my cigarette burning between my lips, I slowly moved around the tree in stealth mode. In this place - in this life - you slashed first and worried about it later.
I had the knife cutting through the air, into my palm, with ease when I saw Melody turn her head and look at me.
When she saw the blade, she opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out.
I hurried to tuck the knife away and ripped the cigarette from my mouth.
“What the hell, love?” I yelled. “Are you insane being out here like this? Who do you think you-”
Melody threw a fist and punched me right in the cheek.
“Goddamn,” I growled as I touched my cheek.
Her eyes filled with tears.
That’s when I realized her bottom lip was split open, and was bleeding.
BARR: a bay falls high novel Page 3