… or I’d be dead.
* * *
I made a quick stop on the way back to BFH and sat on the hood of my car and had a cigarette.
My eyes were glued to my phone, waiting for Mel to text me back.
Just tell me you’re okay, love
She was either busy, pissed, or a mix of both and knew I fucking needed to know she was okay.
She replied and the world felt right again.
Fine
That was it.
One word.
Just fine? You can trust Tinsley and Ruby. Kip and Pres too.
She replied back with a thumbs up emoji.
“Yeah, I’m screwed,” I whispered to myself.
I put my phone next to me and stared out across the flat land. All the way to the horizon.
There was a lot running through my head at once.
By now Les had everyone gathered up to talk. To let Mac and the others know I had shown up and started a fight. And that I made it clear that Mel was off limits.
Then Mac could make his move.
Come after me personally.
Come after the Rulz.
Come after BFH.
It was his damn move to make.
And it could cost me everything… beyond my life.
I took a deep breath and flicked what was left of my cigarette away.
I drove back to Kip’s house and he and Pres were waiting for me.
“Where’s Mel?” I asked.
“Out with Tinsley and Ruby,” Kip said.
“Did you do what you had to do?” Pres asked.
“I did,” I said. “And it’ll work out.”
“You think?” Pres asked.
“What would you do if that happened to Tinsley?”
“Burn the fucking world down to nothing,” Pres said. “Because her pain is everyone’s pain.”
I nodded.
“Whatever happens, we’ve got this,” Kip said. “The Rulz… we don’t back down. And when it comes to protecting those we love…”
“It’s all or nothing,” Pres said.
“All or nothing,” I said.
“Which makes me wonder,” Kip said. “Barr, are you ever going to tell us the whole story?”
“Nope,” I said.
“Prick,” Kip said.
Pres pointed at me. “Would you marry her? And I mean that. Would you promise everything in your life for her?”
I walked to Pres and went nose to nose with him. “I’d do that just to hear her breathe one fucking breath.”
“Good,” Pres said.
“We better tell him what’s really happening,” Kip said with a laugh.
“What?” I asked.
Pres smirked. “They took Mel to get her some clothes and whatever else she wanted. You’re going to owe a pretty penny for that, I’m sure.”
“I still have to find out where she keeps her important stuff,” I said.
“You can do that tomorrow,” Kip said. “We’re meeting them up at the ditch.”
“What?” I asked.
Pres nodded. “We all need this, Barr.”
“Don’t worry,” Kip said. “I told Tinsley and Ruby to tell Mel what it’s like up there. We’re meeting them there later.”
“Okay,” I said. “The ditch it is. Can’t fucking wait.”
“I hope you’re right about Mel,” Pres said.
“Trust me, Pres, I am. She’s the reason why I didn’t make a real run at Tinsley.”
“Like you had a chance with her,” Pres said.
“Come on, man, when she saw what my fingers could do to a piano… all those times I touched her without you knowing…”
Pres curled his lip.
Kip let out a fake laugh and put one hand to my shoulder and one hand to Pres’s shoulder. “Save it for later. We have some ass to kick. For fun.”
“For fun,” I said and grinned. “I’m going to go have a smoke.”
I walked around Pres.
I heard Kip whisper to him, “You think we’re okay with Brooks Crest?”
Pres let out a sigh. “I think we’re going to find out one way or another.”
I lit a cigarette and walked all the way to the beach.
I stood there and took my phone out of my pocket.
I opened the text messages to Mel.
I still love you, Mel. You need to know that.
My thumb hung over the screen.
I deleted it.
I took another drag of my cigarette.
She already knew I loved her.
Now I needed to show it for real this time.
Chapter 9
The ditch was in full swing.
I had lost all track and control of the time of the day.
There was a countdown in my head until I got to see Mel.
And as I walked through the group of people who parted for me because I was me, my eyes searched for Mel.
I spotted her standing with Tinsley and Ruby, at the top of the ditch.
She looked at me and her eyes went wide.
She took a few steps toward me but stopped.
That felt like someone stabbing me right in the heart.
She was holding herself back from me.
Not wanting to jump into my arms.
Afraid that something bad was going to happen.
Like me not loving her like I always said I would…
“There you are,” Tinsley said. “You have quite the story to tell.”
“For what?” I asked.
“Where you were today,” Tinsley said.
“Not your worry,” I said to Tinsley.
“But it is mine,” Mel said.
Ruby patted my shoulder. “Good luck there, Barr. She’s awesome. She’s like if Tinsley and I were combined and then sprinkled with miserable bitch.”
“That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me,” Mel said.
I put my back to Tinsley and Ruby.
I stared down at Mel.
“Hey, love,” I whispered.
“Hey, love yourself,” Mel said. “Where were you? What did you do? And why is your face…”
“Ready for a fight?” Kip yelled as he jumped into the conversation, throwing fists at the air.
“What fight?” Mel asked.
“I thought they told you what this was?” I asked her.
“We did,” Tinsley said.
“I don’t think she gets it,” Ruby said.
“Not many do,” Pres added as he wrapped his arms around Tinsley from behind.
His eyes screamed mine and his heart beat fucking mine.
And I knew that feeling.
I reached for Mel’s hand and she ripped it away. “What is this?”
“Come watch for a second, love,” I whispered. “See for yourself. Then I’ll explain everything to you. I’m sure it’ll make you feel better. I’m going to protect you, love. I’m going to make sure-”
“Oh! Shit!” Kip yelled as he grabbed my shoulders.
I threw an elbow back at him but he didn’t care.
He pointed to the ditch and to all of our surprises, Brando was in there, throwing fists with some other guy.
“He’s going to fuck up his hand,” Pres said with a grin. “So much for our precious football season.”
“It’ll be healed by then,” Kip said. “Not like it matters to us. We won’t be around.”
I looked at Mel and her eyes were glued to the ditch.
“I should have thrown some cash at it,” Kip said. “For fun. I should have known he was fighting.”
“Cash?” Mel asked without moving her eyes.
I leaned toward her. “We set this up, love. A long time ago. A way to blow off steam. Make money for fun. We control it all.”
Mel slowly turned her head. “You never changed, Barr.”
“Define change,” I said.
Our eyes locked tight.
Her bottom lip moved.
“I told you I was going to take care of it,” I sai
d to her. People cheered around us. I reached for the corner of her mouth. My thumb brushed against the cut. “You need to know that-”
“Oh, that’s it!” Kip yelled. “It’s over.”
I put my head back and let out a growl.
I felt like knocking Kip out.
Mel let out a gasp and grabbed my wrist.
I looked to the ditch and Brando stood over the guy he just fought.
It was a pretty nasty looking scene.
“This is fun for you?” Mel asked.
“It serves its purpose,” I said. “I thought they explained it all.”
“I wasn’t sure what to think…”
“We’re out of here,” I said. I grabbed her hand. “We need to talk for real here.”
I turned and pulled at Mel.
“Leaving?” Kip asked.
“Have to,” I said.
“The ditch without the Rulz isn’t the same,” Pres said.
“I don’t care right now, Pres,” I said.
“You’re going to want to stay, Barr,” Ruby said.
I looked at her. “Oh yeah? And why is that, Ruby?”
Ruby lifted her left eyebrow. “Because I’m fighting next.”
* * *
“What did you just say?” Kip asked.
He tried grabbing for Ruby but she spun around and walked backward into the ditch, her middle fingers in the air.
“What the hell is this about?” I asked Kip.
“I have no idea,” he said.
And just like that, the lovable Kip was now pissed off.
“Did you know about this?” Pres asked Tinsley.
“I’m not saying a word,” Tinsley said.
“Well you goddamn better,” Kip snapped.
“Excuse me?” Tinsley asked. “Do you like your teeth? I’ll make you eat them.”
“Try me, Tinsley,” Kip said.
“Hey,” Pres said.
I pulled at Kip’s sleeveless shirt. “Don’t start another fight.”
“Ruby can handle herself,” Mel said.
Kip looked at Mel. “You knew about this too?”
“She said she needed to prove a point to you,” Mel said. “Were you dipping your dick somewhere else, Kip?”
“I would never do that to her,” Kip said. “Ever. Got that?”
“Step the fuck back, Kip,” I said. “Don’t push at her. Don’t talk to her like that.”
“Is that your other girlfriend, Kip?” Mel asked.
We all looked.
“Oh, fuck,” Kip said.
“Who is that?” I asked.
“That’s the girl he was looking at on the beach,” Tinsley said.
Ruby stood in the middle of the ditch.
And here came some girl, wearing a white hoodie and really short jean shorts.
“She’s fucking crazy,” Kip said.
“It takes crazy to fall for you, Kip,” I said.
“Fuck off, Barr,” Kip said.
“She’s going to kick that girl’s ass,” Mel said. “I know that look in her eyes.”
“Do you?” I asked Mel.
Mel looked ready to kill me. “Are you kidding me? Do you know what I had to see because of you?”
“Save the past for later,” Kip said.
“Get her, Ruby!” Tinsley yelled. “Pull that fake, cat hair right out of her head!”
A few people laughed.
The girl then made a bold move.
She turned and looked at Kip.
She blew him a kiss.
“Damn,” I said.
Ruby went on the attack.
Skipping the bitch slap, Ruby threw a punch.
She hit the girl so hard, the girl dropped to the ground.
“You say you bet on these fights?” Mel asked. “Can I still bet on Ruby?”
“Too late, love,” I said.
“I think this one is going to be over quick,” Kip said.
He stepped forward.
Ruby kicked dirt at the girl.
“Trashy whore!” Ruby yelled. “On your ass, covered in dirt. Just the way you like it, bitch.”
The girl screamed for help.
Ruby bent down to grab the girl.
The girl made her move next, getting a handful of Ruby’s hair.
She pulled Ruby to her knees.
But then Ruby swung again.
Another punch.
The girl let out a cry and turned to her side and curled up.
Ruby kicked her in the back twice before Kip was there to scoop Ruby up and carry her away.
Half the crowd cheered. Half booed.
Kip turned Ruby around and they faced each other.
“I hope she kicks his ass,” Mel said.
“Me too, love,” I said.
Instead of fighting, they kissed.
“How fucking cute,” I said.
“Can we bet on tongues fighting?” Tinsley asked with a devilish grin on her face.
“Only with me, sugar,” Pres said.
That was enough for me.
I grabbed Mel’s hand and pulled her away from the ditch.
When we got to the top, she pulled her hand away.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Don’t just try dragging me around, Barr. Or telling me what to do. I’m not some toy. Or puppet. I don’t know what Tinsley and Ruby are to Pres and Kip, but I’m not that to you.”
“You’re not?” I asked. “You sure?”
“Positive,” she said. “You have no idea what’s really going on.”
“Because you won’t talk to me.”
“I don’t need to.”
“That’s right,” I said. “I already have the answers and I took care of it.”
“Took care of what? What happened to your face, Barr?”
“Les got one in on me,” I said.
“What?” Mel asked, her eyes going wide. “No…”
I touched her arms. “It’s okay, love. I had to send a message. This can never happen to you again. Ever.” I love you. “I want you to know-”
“It wasn’t BC,” Mel said.
“What?”
She blinked fast and her eyes filled with tears. She touched the corner of her mouth and shook her head.
“Barr, it wasn’t BC that did this to me…”
* * *
I ran after Mel as I heard people cheering down at the ditch.
I could no longer give a damn about anything related to BFH.
The entire purpose of coming back and figuring out the Rulz was to keep myself distracted and distanced. That was taken away.
And there I was chasing Mel down again.
It was like the never-ending story of us.
She ran to the edge of the trees and looked around at all the vehicles that were parked.
Her head moving left to right, choosing a direction, and just going.
She opened the door to some random white car and got behind the wheel.
I caught up as she tried to start the car.
“What are you doing?” I asked her.
“I have to get out of here, Barr,” she said.
I reached into the car and grabbed her hands and interlocked my fingers to hers.
I crouched down so I was eye level with her.
Her hands were shaking.
I didn’t know what else to do for her so I kissed her.
And not just some little peck on the cheek or lips either.
I kissed her like someone who loved someone would do.
I moved over her like the world was coming to an end.
My grip tightening around her hands, making it known she was with me and staying that way.
I broke the kiss and took a growling breath.
She gasped for air and moved toward me for more.
I kissed her again.
She turned sideways in the driver’s seat to face me better.
The position was completely awkward but whatever.
I finally loosene
d my grip on her hands and touched her face.
Mel grabbed my shirt and pulled at me.
I hurried to sweep my right hand behind her back and pulled her out of the random car.
She stood up and the kiss broke again.
“Tell me, love,” I whispered. “Tell me so I can keep you safe.”
Mel’s lips quivered.
“Hey! That’s my car!”
I turned my head and saw two girls walking toward Mel and I.
Now, I was the Rulz. Any car I wanted was mine.
But I wasn’t in the mood to talk or fight.
I grabbed Mel’s hand and we started to run together.
Making our great escape to my car to get out of there.
Which we did.
I put distance between us and the ditch.
I drove with the red glow from the inside of my car hitting my face.
Mel was curled up in the passenger seat, sitting without a seatbelt and sitting in a dangerous position.
“It wasn’t BC,” I said to her. “I just started a fucking war, love. One that Pres warned me not to do. One that Kip is all for but he doesn’t get it. They were part of the reason his foster sister died. Just so you know.”
Mel looked at me. “What?”
“Yeah. I’ll tell you that story someday. BFH and the Rulz have plenty to handle when it comes to BC. But what I just did…”
“I went there to hide,” Mel said. “I went looking… for Mac.”
I gritted my teeth. I swallowed hard. “Why him, love? Why not me?”
“Barr…”
I pulled the car over. “I was going to take you to the beach again, Mel. Try to get you to talk. But I can’t. You and me are alike. We keep shit hidden. We let it collect inside ourselves. We don’t want anyone to carry the guilt of our problems. But when we were together, love, it didn’t mean all that much. You know it all about me. Why I got thrown into Brooks Crest. And I know all about you. About your mother. Your grandmother. Why you were at Brooks Crest.”
“This is different,” Mel said.
“How?”
“I kind of got away from it all,” she said. “I had a way out. Things were going…”
Mel laughed and put her head back.
“Stop holding it in,” I said.
“Why?” she asked. “Why does it matter, Barr?”
I was doing the same as her. Holding it all in.
“Because I love you, Mel,” I said. “There hasn’t been a second that I’ve been gone that I stopped loving you.”
Mel looked at me.
BARR: a bay falls high novel Page 8