* * *
“What happened, Ody?” I asked her.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Don’t do that. I’m not ever going to smile over that stupid joke.”
“You did once.”
“Once and done, Barrington,” she threw at me.
“So I’m taking it you got mouthy and got your lip split,” I said. “That suits you.”
“Fuck you,” she said.
“What happened, Mel?”
“Oh, so now I’m Mel to you?”
“Mel,” I said. “And I’m Barr. Deal?”
I put my hand out.
She shook it. “Fine. Deal.”
She tried to pull her hand away but I wouldn’t let her go.
I pulled her close to me. “Now tell me what happened.”
“It’s not your problem.”
“This entire place is my problem,” I said. “Including everyone in it. And every situation. Tell me what happened, Mel. Or I’ll start kicking down fucking doors. Did a guy do this to you?”
“What? No!”
I curled my lip. “That was a lie.”
“No. Not… not this time.”
I sucked in a breath. “So guys have hit you?”
“What do you want with me right now, Barr?” Mel asked. “I came here to be alone. I’m sorry I scared you. I don’t want your help with anything. Leave me alone.”
I released my hold on her hand.
She didn’t move an inch from me.
“That’s what I thought, love,” I said. “Who hit you?”
“Some bitch.”
“There’s a lot of them here. Give me a name.”
“It’s stupid,” Mel said. “I’m still new, right?”
I put my head back and let out a sigh.
I slowly touched her arms. “I get to decide who gets hit. When. How. Everything. So I’m making a decision right now. You don’t get hit.”
“What if I deserved it?”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“I don’t need some guy to judge me,” she said, wiggling her shoulders.
She turned and started to walk away.
“You know,” I called out, “you’ve spit on me and hit me, love, yet you’re taking a punch to the face? What’s up with that? How much of a wimp are you?”
I knew what I was trying to get her to do.
And it worked.
It was like the world suddenly stopped turning as she spun around and charged toward me.
I wasn’t afraid of her hitting me again.
She got within a couple inches of me and I stuck out my chin.
Ready to take the punch.
It was worth the punch just to have her keep talking to me.
Mel didn’t punch me though.
She just stood there, staring at me.
Blinking fast.
I slowly shook my head.
“What?” she growled at me.
I lowered my mouth down near hers.
Mel gasped. “Barr… my lip…”
“I don’t give a fuck, love,” I said.
I gently kissed her.
And I’d never confess this to her…
… but she was making me weak.
* * *
We sat on the picnic table next to each other and Mel tucked her hands into the sleeves of her hoodie and hugged herself.
Her lip stopped bleeding.
I couldn’t get the taste of her kiss off my lips.
I should have been worried about Mac and Chucky. Or the million other things going on at BC.
But I wasn’t.
All I could do was casually look at Mel’s lip.
I wanted to know.
I fucking needed to know…
“You smoke, love?” I asked her.
“Used to.”
“Used to? You’re too young to be a quitter.”
She snorted. “Really?”
“So you’re angel enough to quit smoking but badass enough to end up at Brooks Crest. How does that work?”
“I don’t know, Barr,” Mel said. “It just does. So, no, I don’t want to smoke. I’m never going to smoke again. It was fun when I was younger. But now-”
“When you were younger,” I said, laughing. “What, when you were fourteen?”
Mel curled her lip. “I started smoking when I was twelve. I quit when I was fifteen. I got really sick one time and ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. I think I scared myself into never touching cigarettes again.”
“Okay,” I said. “I respect that.”
“So that’s the angel part of me. What’s yours?”
“I don’t have one.”
“Yes you do. Everyone does.”
“Not me, love.”
“See, there it is… you want me to sit here and pour my heart out to you? Why? So you could… what? Say the right things? Slip in another kiss? Get handsy with me? You want to touch my boobs, Barr? Have at it.” She rolled her eyes. “Then you can tell me how pretty I am and how special I am and then show me your really big bed…”
“Wow,” I said. I stood up and started to clap. The sound echoed all around us. “Just… wow… what a performance.”
Mel pushed herself off the picnic table and threw me the middle finger. “Again, fuck you. I’m leaving.”
“I play piano,” I called out.
Mel looked over her shoulder. “What?”
“I play piano, love,” I said. “That’s the angel part. As you call it.”
“Are you serious?”
“No reason to lie.”
“Prove it.”
“Got a piano in your back pocket?”
“Are you saying my ass is big?” Mel asked.
“I personally think your ass is perfectly fine compared to the rest of your body.”
“Stop trying to get into my pants,” she said.
I jumped off the picnic table and walked up to her.
“If I wanted to get into your pants, love, I would,” I said.
“So you’re saying I’m easy?”
“I’m saying you’re easy with me,” I said. “That’s dangerous too.”
I brought my lips down to hers again and stole a quick kiss.
I nodded to my right and started to move.
Mel caught up and stayed by my side.
“I’ve got a place I want to show you,” I said. “Don’t get scared.”
“I’m not scared of anything, Barr.”
“Sure.”
We walked in silence as I counted to thirty.
When I got to thirty in my mind, I grabbed Mel’s arm and screamed.
She screamed and jumped back.
I laughed.
She swung and slapped me across the face.
“I hate you, Barrington,” she said.
“Thought you didn’t get scared, Melody?” I asked.
I started to walk again and she caught up to me.
I felt her hand touch the side of my hand.
I casually looked down and saw the way her pinky finger was sticking out toward me.
My lip curled and I grabbed her hand.
We didn’t hold hands like a couple. Our fingers weren’t interlocked or any of that bullshit.
But if she felt more comfortable and safe with me holding her hand, then fine.
And it really didn’t matter that I kind of never wanted to let her hand go.
* * *
I had plenty of places to crash around BC.
My favorite was the third floor of an old building that nobody would have guessed I was staying at. Some of the best friends I could have made during that time were the ones nobody ever saw. The people who took care of the buildings morning, noon, and night. The ones who made sure the floors were perfectly clean. The ones who took care of all the trash. The ones who had stories of their own and just kept to themselves to earn something like a living.
The back of the building had an old set of metal steps. They looked like they were going to s
hake and peel right off the building, but they didn’t. They were sturdy. Scary as hell, sure, but completely sturdy.
Now I only ever went there on nights when I needed to be alone.
But now I had Mel with me.
I made her go first and told her it wasn’t just so I could look at her ass.
I didn’t want her to get nervous that she was going to fall.
We climbed through a window that I always left unlocked.
Ironically enough the door to the room was always locked because I never used it.
There were old Christmas lights strung up, dangling in U shapes across the ceiling. Some were burned out and I didn’t care. They gave off enough light to see around the room and that’s all I could ask for.
When Mel looked around the room, she let out a long wow sound.
“It’s crammed, cozy, but it has a purpose here,” I said to her.
“This does not fit your personality.”
“So you’ve been thinking about me?”
Mel shook her head. “That kind of stuff doesn’t work on me.”
“Then I’ll have to find something that does.”
She pointed to the keyboard that stood up in a corner. “That’ll help.”
“Ah, right,” I said. “You want to hear me play piano.”
Another reason for the secrecy of the room was the keyboard.
I could toss on some headphones and just forget about the world for a while.
And nobody had to know a thing about it.
Mel slowly sat down on the edge of my bed. Her hands were tucked back into the sleeves of her hoodie.
I sat down on the floor and stuck my legs out straight and balanced the keyboard.
I turned it on and hit a few chords.
“See?” I said. “I’m a pro.”
“Really?”
“What?”
“That’s it?”
I played a few more chords without looking down. “How’s that?”
Mel shook her head. “I hate this place more than ever, Barr.”
“Then why are you here?”
“You tell me why you’re here first,” she said.
“Nope.”
“Then you don’t need to hear my story.”
“Did you kill someone?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Not a chance,” I said. “You didn’t even fight back from a busted lip.”
Mel stuck her middle finger up out of her sleeve. “You’re such a jerk, Barr.”
“Well…”
I started to play the keyboard.
It was all a second language in my head. And it just never stopped going. The notes, progressions, songs, whatever. When I started, I didn’t want to stop. I could play some cheesy jazz stuff and ease right into the sad classical music. And play everything in between.
The keyboard rocked left to right as I played.
I wasn’t used to playing on the floor but there was no way in hell I was going to ask Mel to get off my bed.
After a minute or so, I stopped.
“How’s that?”
“Holy crap,” she said. “That was you playing?”
“No,” I said. “Ghost fingers.”
“I mean… wait.”
“Nothing to wait for, love,” I said.
I slid the keyboard away and leaned forward and moved to one knee next to my bed.
I was eye level with Mel.
She swallowed hard. “How do you do that?”
“I’m just good with my fingers,” I said. “I know where to put them to make the right noises.”
Mel shot her right hand out of her sleeve and touched my chest. “I told you that kind of stuff doesn’t work on me.”
“I’m not trying to work anything on you, love,” I said.
I reached for her mouth and slid my thumb across her bottom lip.
Where it was still cracked, held together with dried blood.
“And what are you going to do if I tell you what happened?” Mel asked me.
That was a hell of a question. I really hadn’t considered that yet. Which wasn’t like me. I was usually two steps ahead of everyone else.
Except Mel just made me stop dead in my tracks whenever I saw her.
“Hello?” Mel asked.
I nodded. I locked my eyes to hers. “I’m going to make sure whoever did this to you gets hurt a lot fucking worse… and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
Chapter 5
(we gotta go back for a sec)
I was wrong.
There was something Mel could do to stop me.
She jumped up from the bed and walked to the window.
I hurried after her.
My hands touched her waist as we stood in the glow of the ancient Christmas lights.
“I know you’re not weak,” I said. “And you’re not usually scared.”
Mel spun around and didn’t push me away. “It was Chrissy.”
“Chrissy,” I said. I curled my lip. “Pissy Chrissy?”
“What?”
“We call her that because one time she pissed herself at a party,” I said. “She punched you?”
“She’s been messing with me since I got here,” Mel said.
“Messing how?”
“Just… whatever.”
Mel looked down.
I touched her chin and made her look at me. “No, love. I want details.”
“Why? You have a thing for her? Or did you? You two sleep with each other? Right here in this room?”
“I’ve never brought anyone here before,” I said.
“So I’m the lucky one? Why me?”
“I have no idea, Mel,” I said. “What has she been doing to you?”
Mel swallowed hard. She moved her eyes left to right. “She found out about who I am. Or who my mother is. What she does for a living.”
“So?”
“She’s a waitress at a high end place… where clothing is optional…”
“Ah,” I said.
“So I’m just the daughter of a whore. That’s what they all say about me now. They’ve left lacy bras hanging from my locker. They put my cell number in the guy’s locker rooms. She put a pack of antibiotics in my bag and told everyone I got STDs from hugging my mother.”
“And you just let her do it?”
“I can’t fuck up here, Barr,” she said. There was fear in her eyes. Terror. Real terror. “I can’t have anything go wrong. I need to be invisible.”
“Well, you’re not invisible, love,” I said.
“I need to be.”
I swallowed hard. “And, what? Just take this shit? Have Chrissy do this to you?”
“I got mouthy,” Mel said. “She asked if I knew who my father was. Or was I just a mix of ten different guys from a hard night’s work from my mother.”
I put my head back and let out a growl.
Pissy Chrissy…
“I told her her father was one of the guys,” Mel said. “And that we were sisters. And then I told her what I wanted for my birthday.”
I grinned. “Nice.”
“Real nice,” Mel said. She licked her bottom lip.
“She got you good.”
“And I just took it. Like you said. But if I hit her back… and things got really bad…”
I reached for Mel’s face. “It doesn’t have to be that way, love.”
“It does. You can’t hit her.”
“Of course I can’t hit her,” I said. That was the small loophole that Mel had over me. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t get her back. Send a clear message to her who you are. And that nobody is going to fuck with you and get away with it.”
“Yeah, right, Barr,” Mel said. “For what? One second? She’ll just-”
I put my lips to Mel’s to shut her the hell up.
I broke the kiss and put the tip of my nose to hers. “As long as you stick with me, love, I’ll keep your ass protected.”
* * *
I couldn�
��t get her out of my goddamn head.
When I shut my eyes, I saw Mel.
When I opened my eyes, I looked for her.
Walking the hallways it was too noisy and I was pissed off at everyone. I threw my shoulders around like I was giving away free hugs. Knocking books to the floor. Throwing random people into their lockers just to hear the thud. Any girls that looked at me were given a look that made them blush and look away.
Everyone knew something was up with me.
Except Mac.
He loved it.
He grabbed my shoulder as I turned another hallway.
My eyes looked for Mel.
“This is the shit I like,” he said. “Keep this place in line. And even if it doesn’t need it. Fuck, man, we can make them all scared.”
“Hey,” I said. “What’s up with Pissy Chrissy?”
“What do you mean?” Mac asked.
“I know you and her…”
Mac let out a pffft sound. “That was a while ago.”
“Got any dirt on her?”
“Why? What are you thinking?”
“Just have to prove a point,” I said.
“Why?”
I grabbed Mac’s shoulder. “Because I fucking said so.”
“Okay,” Mac said. “I’m lost here… but… her boobs are fake.”
“No.”
“Yeah, man. They are. Her parents paid for the surgery. Swear on my life. I’ve seen them… her mother is like pancake flat. And her mother didn’t want that for her daughter…”
“That’s fucked up,” I said.
“Oh yeah. It’s all fucked up. And the story about her setting her own house on fire? That was bullshit. She never set her house on fire. Her bedroom caught on fire because of a candle.”
“Then why is she here?” I asked. “Everyone plays it up that she’s this badass arsonist.”
Mac grinned. “Her parents wanted her to look tough. And some guy that her old man works with? His son cheated on Chrissy when they were dating. So they worked up this big bullshit story about the fire in her bedroom and other shit. They sent her here to give that appearance…”
“So she’s fake.”
“As fake as her chest, man.”
I sucked in a breath and nodded. “I need a cigarette.”
“What is this about, Barr?” Mac asked.
“You love her?”
“Fuck no.”
“You like her?”
BARR: a bay falls high novel Page 4