All the Little Secrets: A Standalone Enemies-to-Lovers High School Romance (English Prep Book 2)

by S. J. Sylvis

  It perplexed me, someone as nice as Piper having no one in their inner circle but one close friend. Why was that? I knew there was more to her than her sweet face and kind heart. I was certain she had secrets; fuck, I knew she had secrets. That night, so long ago, was far too hot to ever forget, but there was definitely something off about her. Piper was hiding something. That was completely obvious to me, because Piper was a mere mirror of myself.

  Burying secrets was something we had in common.

  My phone buzzed in my hand as I finally looked up to the guy still going on about next weekend’s race. He was a drab looking guy, wearing a shirt with its collar stretched out, and his hair had an unhealthy shine to it, like he hadn’t showered in days. My eyebrow hitched up as he stared at me with wide eyes, waiting for me to respond to whatever the hell he’d just said as I was zoning out, thinking of Piper…again. Brandon nudged him, his girl standing by his side, still giving me those sex-vixen eyes.

  Another text came in, and I glanced down.

  Hayley: Did anything seem off with her last night?

  Then another text.

  Hayley: Christian and I just pulled up at her house to ask if she wants to watch a movie with us because she isn’t answering my texts and it’s weird. No one is answering the door, all the lights are on in the house, and her car is parked in a really weird spot. She’s not with you, is she?

  I typed quickly.

  Me: Why would she be with me?

  She texted back within a second.

  Hayley: Oh…no reason.

  Hayley wasn’t quite convinced that there was nothing going on between me and her best friend. Anytime Hayley and I were alone, she’d grill me, and my answer was the same every time. No.

  I slipped my phone in my pocket and rubbed at my tight chest. The incessant ache was bothering me, but I pushed all thoughts of Piper away. She’s not your problem.

  “Alright.” I stepped closer to Brandon and his friend. “What were you saying? Race next weekend? I’m in.”

  The guy looked from me to Brandon with a puzzling look on his face. “Huh? Oh, yeah. I’ll be here for it.” He quickly looked back at Brandon and asked, “What the hell is he doing here? I haven’t seen him around here for a long fucking time.”

  “Who?” I asked, coming back into the conversation that I completely spaced out of.

  Brandon’s girlfriend spoke up this time. “His name is Tank.”

  I followed her line of sight, passing by large groups of people clustered together, waiting for the next race to happen. Cars were revving up in the background, ready to burn rubber. I locked onto Frankie as he stood back, gripping a wad of cash in his hand. The sun was beginning to set behind him, casting an orange glow along the trees that lined the dust-covered road. “What’s important about this Tank guy?”

  I watched the guy Frankie was raising his eyebrows to. He was short with long, dark hair tied into a man bun on the top of his head. He was wearing a t-shirt that came down to his mid-thigh, which did nothing to help his lack of height. I bet he drove a souped-up truck, too, just to balance out his short, angry-man syndrome.

  “He’s bad news, bro. We should head out. You never know what the fucker is going to do.”

  I continued to stare at him and Frankie, a small crowd gathering behind them, watching to see what would happen. Others were slowly making their way to their vehicles parked off behind the trees—in hiding in case someone decided to call the cops on the illegal racing we did.

  And then, that was when I saw it—a blur of coppery red hair walking through the wooded forest.

  No, it’s not.

  My gaze switched from the petite girl with her face hidden behind a curtain of hair to a guy that looked awfully familiar.

  I squinted, feeling my heart climb angrily inside my chest. The ceaseless ache that was there moments ago was morphing into a gaping hole filled with a hefty amount of apprehension. I ping-ponged my gaze between the couple making their way toward Frankie and this Tank guy. Before I knew what was happening, my feet were dragging me closer and closer to the forming crowd.

  I was dodging those who were not-so-casually going in the opposite direction so I could get a better look at the girl, and when I did, I saw red.

  What the fuck was Piper doing here?

  Chapter Three

  Piper

  My brother wasn’t always like this. His dull and lifeless eyes used to be the same shade of sparkling green as mine. His hair wasn’t tattered at the ends like he took a rusty razor to the strands. In fact, his auburn hair used to have an even healthier shine than our mother’s. The scruff on his now-sunken face used to be shaved each and every day before school, which typically made us late every morning, but alas, he was bright, happy, and healthy. Now, he was a shell of who he used to be, and every time he came around, the memory of my big brother grew even more tainted.

  I often tried to reminisce on the good times I had with him—the happier memories. The ones of us playing outside on our freshly landscaped lawn while our nanny cleaned up the house and made dinner before my parents came home from a long day at the office. That was another thing ripped away from me after Jason drug our family name through the mud. All the stealing, vandalism, suspensions from Wellington Prep, and then of course the drugs, caught up to my parents, and they shut him out, taking me along with them. They uprooted me and all that I knew from one rich community to the next, not caring that I was being affected in the worst of ways. I had to say goodbye to my friends and familiarity at Wellington Prep—even my ten-year nanny, Margie. “She knew too much.” Per my father’s explanation. Then followed by my mom. “You're too old for a nanny anyway, Piper.” Now, some random woman came during the day while I was at school and prepared meals for the week, did laundry, and tidied up the house only to be gone by the time I came home.

  It didn’t really seem fair to me at the time, and it still didn’t. I promised myself that I’d stop caring about Jason, that I’d keep our better memories locked away in a pretty, ribbon-tied jar inside my head and let everything else wash away, including him.

  Yet, here I was.

  Enabling.

  I knew what an enabler was, and it went against that very promise I made a million times over again. I was going against everything my parents drove into my head since leaving Wellington Prep—my old life. They’d washed their hands of Jason, and they expected me to do the same. After all, Jason did tear apart our family—what little of it we had. A ginormous, black hole was left in its place after my parents threw him out onto the streets. My life was forever changed the day they found him cleaning out my father’s safe for money that he owed someone. I cringed at the memory hitting me fast and hard. Sounds of flesh being pounded, lots of yelling, and fallen tears hitting the floor. Slowly, after that night, things started to change. Jason was gone. My parents buried themselves even more into work—I’m sure in an attempt to try and push away the thought of their son being a drug user. They left me alone to deal with everything in an empty house that felt even more alien than walking into English Prep for the first time.

  Try being the new girl from your current school’s biggest rival.

  So yes, I should have been pissed at Jason and shut him out. That was what my parents expected of me, but here I was, making my way to some desolate corn field on the outskirts of Pike Valley with one of the shadiest guys I knew by my side. I almost laughed at the predicament I was in.

  My phone continued to go off in the back pocket of my skinny jeans, and I was certain it was Hayley, wondering why I hadn’t texted her back, but I needed to figure out a good excuse before doing so.

  I hated lying to my best friend, but this was something I wasn’t willing to tell anyone, because if I confided in someone,—even someone like Hayley, with a wicked past of her own—then it made it real, and I wasn’t quite ready to face my decision of enabling my brother. Again.

  My morals were being smashed with every blade of grass I stepped on.

/>   My parents would kill me if they knew I was helping him.

  I kind of wanted to kill me, too, because I wasn’t sure what I was walking into.

  Cole, my cousin Andrew’s friend and the guy who decided to give me my first kiss when I was twelve only to tell everyone at Wellington Prep that he only kissed me because he felt sorry for me, paused and grabbed my wrist. He was bad news, and that was exactly why I asked him to come with me. Cole had no issues looking for trouble. In fact, he loved trouble, and I knew he’d be all in if I hinted at just that. But to be honest, I’d much rather do this alone. Only I couldn’t, because soon after Jason and I came up with a plan to fix things, he snuck out the door, driving off in my car, leaving me a note while I took a shower.

  He’ll kill me if he sees me.

  I have to hide out.

  Here are the directions.

  The only downside to asking Cole for his help was that I was almost certain he’d want something in return. He was a little too eager to give me a ride when I’d messaged him, and it was going to be difficult to get him to keep his mouth shut about this. If he told Andrew, and Andrew told my aunt and uncle, I’d be toast.

  I snatched my wrist out of Cole’s grasp. “What?”

  “Do we know what we’re walking into? I need some more detail, Piper, especially if I’m going to be fighting someone. You’ve given me nothing.” Cole, with his dark eyes and naturally tanned skin looked out into a flock of people. “What the fuck is this?”

  I bit my lip. “Um...” Hell if I knew.

  He shot me a look, his brown eyes deepening. “You don’t know? What the hell are we doing here, Piper? What? Is some guy fuckin’ around on you, and you’re trying to bust him?” A wicked grin formed on his face, and I took a step back. “Show me who. I’ll make sure to land a kiss right on your lips in front of him, and then once that happens...” He brought his thumb up to his mouth and swiped it over his lip as if he were now ten times hotter because of the simple gesture. “You’d be hooked on this dick.”

  I scoffed and rolled my eyes, annoyed. Crossing my arms over my chest, I shot back, “I’d rather shave my head and walk around school naked than let you kiss me again.” Yes, I was twelve when he first kissed me, but the after-effect was mortifying enough that it was still fresh in my head.

  “Again?”

  A gasp flew out of my mouth just as a gust of wind blew over my shoulders. I quickly spun around, the tall grass brushing over my ankles. My mouth dropped. “What the hell are you doing here?” My words were rushed and sounded like I’d sucked a balloon full of helium. I was already on the verge of losing my footing and letting the nerves fill me with fear, walking side by side with Cole, ready to throw not even a fraction of the money owed at who I assumed to be my brother’s drug dealer. And if you add that to Ollie looking at me with his usual light and casual expression gone and replaced with furrowed brows and hooded eyes… I was nearly swaying on my feet.

  Ollie walked closer to me and Cole, and my heart felt like it had wings of a hummingbird. His eyes were set on Cole with a loathing inside of them that I’d never seen from him before. He looked a lot like his older brother at that moment. “The better question is…” He got even closer to me, so close I could smell his cologne, his blue eyes growing a shade darker. “What the hell are you doing here…with him?”

  I was too baffled to answer him, too caught up in being so close to him—so close that I felt his body heat—to come up with a reasonable answer. I couldn’t tell him the truth, and now, to make matters worse, I had to figure out a way to find this Tank guy without Ollie butting into my business. Lovely.

  “I recognize you.” Cole stepped closer to me, and now I felt like I was the red flag between two bulls. Ollie didn’t take his eyes off mine; his tall stance loomed over me like a nightmare in a pitch-black room. I swallowed as Cole’s arm brushed along mine. “Is this him, Piper?”

  “Wh-what?” I asked, continuing to stare up into Ollie’s eyes. His breath was coming out warm and heavy, brushing over my face. I felt Cole’s hand slide around my bicep, and before I could do anything, he snatched me over to his body, leaned me back, and placed a wet kiss on my mouth. His tongue plunged into mine, and I froze. Bile was rising up in my throat, and I couldn’t figure out if it was because I was getting kissed by Cole in front of Ollie, just getting kissed by Cole in general, or if it was because I was about to meet with a drug dealer who’d beaten my brother senseless and threatened to kill him the night before.

  Cole’s tongue swiped over mine once more before I finally unfroze and pushed him off. He went willingly with a smirk plastered to his face when he’d stood up straight. “What the hell, Cole?” I yelled, taking a step back from not only Cole, but also Ollie. I need air.

  “You’ve got about two fucking seconds to get the fuck out of here before I rip that grin off your face.” Ollie’s voice was rough, as if he had reached down, grabbed a handful of gravel, and swallowed the pebbles before speaking.

  Cole’s smile grew even wider, his white teeth shining behind a glimmer of mischief. “Oh now, there there, little Powell brother...I’m just giving you some payback for that one night you and your psycho brother decided to crash Andrew’s.” Cole swung his gaze lazily from Ollie to me and then back to Ollie. “Do you remember that night? The night your brother nearly put me in the hospital for a rumor his ex-girlfriend made up?” Cole’s face was becoming darker, a red tint forming on his neck and cheeks. “I should beat your fucking ass right now, pussy.”

  Oh, for fuck’s sake. I do not have time for this.

  Ollie seemed calmer, but I could still sense anger boiling under his skin. “From what I just witnessed, it doesn’t look like my brother beat you up for a rumor. I hear things about you, Cole. Oh, and…” Ollie chuckled, looking down at the grass below our feet for a moment. “I wouldn’t be too keen on spreading that around. It makes you look like the pussy. I don’t even think you got one hit in that night.” Ollie’s laughter filled the air, and for a moment, it made me pause as warmth washed over me, but then I looked past his body and saw a large crowd of people and remembered what I was doing.

  Cole took a step closer to Ollie as I took another step away. “I’m not a fucking pussy. I was blind-sided. Pretty unfair, if you ask me. Your brother all but attacked me from behind.”

  My foot stepped to the left just as Ollie was about to say something back to Cole, but instead, his head flicked over to me at the last second. I jumped like I was caught doing something I shouldn’t. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  A twinge of anger was meddling in with my anxiety as I squared my shoulders. “Away from this pissing contest.”

  “What the hell are you doing here, Piper?” Ollie’s square jaw was tight as he waited for my answer. He stood half in front of Cole, like he wasn’t sure if he should protect me from him or not. And to be honest, I wasn’t sure either.

  “I’d kind of like to know the same thing.” Cole turned his body around and was now standing beside Ollie. Both of them were staring at me intently, like they were about to gang up on me.

  This was such a terrible idea. I should have just paid for an Uber instead of asking Cole for a ride. The wad of cash I had in my pocket was burning a hole in my conscience, and if I didn’t do something about it soon, I wasn’t really sure what would happen. What if I didn’t help my brother? Was he being serious? They wouldn’t kill him. Would they? Cole and Ollie began arguing about me again as I stood and contemplated what to do next. My brother’s sad face flashed behind my eyes, and unknowingly, I began walking past Ollie and Cole.

  I had to do something to help my brother.

  My conscience might be slightly ruined by enabling my brother, but it would be downright destroyed if I didn’t help him.

  Chapter Four

  Ollie

  I wasn’t an angry person by nature. Anger wasn’t one of those emotions I was so in tune with that it didn’t even phase me when I felt it. No, I knew when I
was angry because every single nerve ending in my body sparked with a raging flame. And I was on fucking fire when I saw Piper walking along the high grass, mainly because I was pissed she was in my secret hide-out. But then I saw who she was with, and I was pretty sure I turned into the raging devil himself.

  I walked up to the pair of them, telling myself to stay calm because what I wanted to do was grab her by the arm and snatch her away. But I was a level-headed guy. I thought about my actions, and I wasn’t sure what was worse: knowing you were doing the wrong thing and still going through with it, or blaming it on being blinded by irrational behavior and losing your self-control. Either way, when Cole kissed Piper, I thought I’d never be able to breathe again. The rational part of my brain that I was so keen on keeping alive disappeared. I wanted to kill him.

  Maybe it was because I wasn’t used to seeing Piper with anyone else because—let’s be frank—I’d sent out a massive ban over her months ago. Any guy that sent even the slightest compliment her way had a loathing look coming from me. It wasn’t fair, I knew that much. Piper wasn’t mine to play around with, yet something inside of me grew twisted, and my thoughts became fuzzy and distorted where she was involved. I didn’t act like myself. I was on edge, and I desperately tried to cover it up with this side of myself that I didn’t like to visit often, but here I was, ready to rip Cole’s head off for even breathing in her direction.

  Speaking of… I moved my body over to the left to give Piper another what-the-fuck-are-you-doing-with-him look, and I was met with the line of trees and a fading sunset. I moved over to the right, around Cole still running his mouth, and she wasn’t there either. I quickly spun around, and my arms dropped to my side.