Aftereffect (The Order of Ravens and Wolves Book 1)

by T. L Hodel

  “It’s not like that,” I grumbled rolling my eyes. “Tico’s just a friend.”

  Besides, I didn’t exactly have the right parts. Micha was more Tico’s type than I was.

  “I don’t give a fuck.”

  Mason nudged me with his elbow, cutting off my argument. “Here comes the welcome wagon,” he said, tipping his chin at the crowd.

  I groaned. Miss Jones, the vice principal, was headed our way, and based on the deeply imbedded frown on her face, it wasn’t to ask me how I was adjusting to Ashworth.

  “Miss Adams,” she called out, drawing the crowd’s attention to me. “Will you come with me please?”

  I looked around at all the ogling eyes and sighed. That didn’t take long.

  Micha’s arm shot out, stopping me before I could move.

  “What do you want with her?” he said, stepping out in front of me.

  Miss Jones glanced back at the painting. “Miss Adams does have a history with this kind of thing.”

  “Let me get this straight . . .” Logan strutted up next to Micha, completely blocking my view of the vice-principal. “Someone tagged the school and you just assume it’s my sister?”

  Gotta say, I was kind of impressed that Logan knew the proper term. He did have some pretty serious street cred from racing, though, which some of Tico’s crew was involved with. So, it was possible our worlds had collided.

  Logan rolled his jade eyes over to Micha. “Isn’t that like discrimination or something?”

  Micha crossed his arms and grunted in agreement.

  Why the hell were they standing up for me? I eyed Micha. Was this some contract clause, like our supposed marriage? He had to stand up for me or something? Huh? Did that mean if he broke a clause the contract, was null and void? I was seriously going to have to read that thing.

  “We have Miss Adams on video.”

  Video? I didn’t see any cameras. A blinking red light drew my attention to the corner of the roof.

  Well shit.

  Both Logan and Micha grumbled out a sigh.

  “Sorry, sis,” Logan said, glancing over his shoulder at me. “Can’t beat video.”

  I shrugged. It was my bright idea to paint the school. Not sure why the hell they cared. Micha was the one who got me arrested for Christ’s sake. No one in this town would know who I was or what I’d done, if it wasn’t for him. Dick.

  “If you would’ve paid attention to your surroundings,” Micha growled, “you would’ve seen the damn camera!”

  What the hell was he so mad about?

  I crossed my arms and returned his scowl. “Just testing out the next location for our porn shoot.”

  “Miss Adams!” the vice-principal scolded. “We don’t stand for that kind of talk here.”

  “Oh relax, it’s not like I’m going to suck him off right here.”

  Not sure where my boldness came from. I usually stayed in the background, out of others attention – something I had a lot of right now. The crowd gasped. A few people looked impressed and other’s snickered, especially Logan and Mason, who were practically bent over. The only person who didn’t react was Micha. Other than a brief flare in his eyes, there was nothing. Not sure if that was a good thing or not, but I, was guessing not.

  “Alright people, show’s over.” Miss. Jones said, clapping and ushering me through the crowd.

  “It’s about time you started clearing the trash out of this place,” a voice called out.

  “Hey!” I heard Mason yell before a couple girls shrieked.

  The crowd quickly dispersed after that, and I could see why. On the ground at Mason’s feet was a guy I’d seen in my English class. My hand flew over my mouth, covering my gasp as I noticed the blood gushing out of nose. I’d witnessed Mason’s violence firsthand, and this guy was getting off easy.

  What they did to Evan, still turned my stomach, which was why I was worried about Tico. He wouldn’t stand a chance against Micha. Talking to him gave me some relief. If Micha had hurt him, he would’ve said something. Like, who the fuck was that crazy guy looking for you last night?

  Miss Jones sighed heavily. “You too Mr. Kessler, come on.”

  “Great.” Mason flashed the vice-principal a big smile. “I’m sure Edith is utterly heartbroken with my absence.”

  Based on Miss. Jones reaction, I was going to say Edith was perfectly fine with Mason’s absence.

  “Who’s Edith?” I whispered.

  “My one and only true love.”

  Miss Jones muttered under her breath and nodded at the office doors. “I believe you know the way, Mr. Kessler.”

  “Don’t worry,” Mason said, opening the door, and making a grand gesture of sweeping his hand through the air. “I’ll give her the grand tour.”

  Mrs. Grier’s cold, steely eyes rolled up when we walked in. “Mr. Kessler,” she said with a sigh, “what did you do now?”

  “I’m insulted.” Mason threw his hand over his chest. “And here I brought you a new recruit.”

  I shrank back when Mrs. Grier’s soul sucking glare penetrated Mason. He didn’t seem bothered by it, though. If anything, he brightened up.

  “Oh, Edith, don’t be jealous,” he said, batting his thick lashes. “You know I only have eyes for you.”

  I was beginning to think Mason spent more time here than in actual school, because the hard-nosed receptionist didn’t bat an eye at his comment. She looked over her square-framed glasses at me.

  “Miss Adams. Why am I not surprised?”

  “Well, I’d hate to disappoint,” I replied.

  She turned her attention back to the computer screen on her desk and said, “Have a seat. Mr. Sampson will be with you shortly.”

  I slumped down in one of the hard chairs while Mason took the other. There’d be no getting out of this one. Why the hell did a school have cameras anyway? It wasn’t friggin Fort Knox. There was no gold in here. Just teenage assholes, and nobody wanted those, including their parents.

  “Hey,” Mason whispered. “How much you wanna bet she’s looking at porn over there?”

  I couldn’t help but snort out a chuckle. Mrs. Grier’s stoic stare was glued to the computer screen. If it was porn, it was the world’s most boring porn ever.

  “I bet she likes the weird stuff,” he continued. “You know, like golden showers and shit.”

  My nose scrunched up in confusion. “What’s a golden shower?”

  “That’s when you take out your dick and piss on someone. Well, I guess chicks could do it, too. Though they’d have to squat or something. Not sure how well that would work.”

  “Eww.” Did he have to be so descriptive? “Why would anyone like that?”

  He shrugged. “Different strokes for different folks. Why do people like dressing up like animals, or pretending their little kids? My personal favorite are the dakimakura people. Those crazy sons of bitches treat their pillow better than they do their wife.”

  I stared at him with my lip curled. Did people really like that stuff? Did Micha? I mean, it seemed like normal sex last night, but it wasn’t like I had a lot experience to go from.

  Mason chuckled and threw his arm over my shoulder. “I know that look. Don’t worry my brother’s not going to make you piss on him. That’s not his thing.”

  “What is his thing?”

  “And here I thought you were still mad at me for last night.”

  My eyes narrowed. ‘Quick, he’ll never find you in here.’ Asshole!

  “I am still mad at you. You locked me in his bedroom.”

  He gave me a sly look. “But you liked it.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Yes, you did, or you wouldn’t be asking me what my brother’s thing was.”

  “If you don’t mind,” I huffed and crossed my arms. I wasn’t prepared to broch that topic yet. “I’m going to mentally prepare for my dad’s ‘what were you thinking’ speech.”

  “Yeah,” Mason muttered, “I’ve heard that one.”

&nbs
p; I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please. I’m sure you’re the golden boy of your family.”

  He barked out a laugh. “That’s a good one.” The amusement dropped off his face as his brows furrowed. “That’s Micha. I’m just his little brother, a wingless bird who can’t fly. But hey, at least you got the good brother, right?”

  I frowned at the deep-set crease on his forehead. I knew that look. The one that came with the pain of knowing you’ll never be good enough. I’d never seen this side of Mason. Then again, I guess I never really looked. But why would I? He was Kessler and everything was perfect in their world. Who’d of thought they’d turn out to be people, just like the rest of us?

  I don’t know how long we sat there before Mason’s face lit back up, and he nodded at the door. “Please tell me he’s here for you.”

  I groaned when Chase strutted in the office. Why would they call him? Chase was the last person the distinguished staff of Ashworth wanted in their school.

  He was dressed in dark jeans and a black shirt he probably grabbed off the floor. Didn’t stop girls form openly eye-fucking him, though. One of the teacher’s popped her head in just to say hi, while a group of cheerleaders giggled and waved from the hall. Even Mrs. Grier gave him a quick scan. Shouldn’t the proper girls of Ashworth be looking for someone a little more upstanding?

  Chase probably rode his bike here, and if it wasn’t for the black beanie on his head, his brown hair would be wild, which he wouldn’t have taken the time to brush before walking in. Add in his numerous tattoos and giant size, and Chase was closer to the criminal side of the social scale. I knew him and still wouldn’t be surprised if he was caught in a dark alley doing some shady deal. He just had that look.

  “Why did they call you?”

  “Your dad was busy at work, and they wouldn’t have had to call me at all if you didn’t tag the princess academy!” he bellowed loud enough for half the school to hear.

  Mrs. Grier gasped like that was the most offensive thing she’d heard.

  “But you’re always telling me to embrace my artistic side,” I said with a smile.

  As if things couldn’t get worse, my dad chose that moment to enter. I rolled my eyes at his uniform. Typical!

  “And that’s the kind of shit I’m talking about!” he growled, pointing at Chase. “You need to stop encouraging her.”

  “Fuck off, Derek! You don’t know shit about your daughter.”

  My dad puffed up and got right in Chase’s face. “That’s right, she my fucking daughter!”

  “Well, I was the one taking care of your fucking daughter when you left her with your drunk ex-wife!”

  I cringed. Mom was gone and I was still the drunk’s daughter.

  “Listen here you biker piece of shit . . .”

  Their voices drowned out as I looked around. People were staring. The windows to the hallway had become viewing portals with faces pressed up against them. The principal was peeking out of his office like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to get between the sheriff and this big burly man, and I was pretty sure Mason would love a bowl of popcorn right now.

  “Guys,” I called out, grabbing their attention. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re kind of in a school?”

  Chase and my dad both stopped and looked around.

  My dad cleared his throat.

  Chase straightened up.

  “Aw man, why’d you stop them?” Mason whined. “It was just getting interesting.”

  I cocked my head and gave him a dirty look. My dad held his own against criminals, but Chase was a big guy, and I didn’t particularly feel like watching my dad get beat down – no matter how mad I was at him.

  “You promised me you’d try, baby girl,” Chase said, giving me that disappointed look that ate my insides up. “You’ve got a good thing going here. Don’t fuck it up.”

  “Those are good words of advice son,” Mr. Kessler said, walking in the office to join us. He nodded at my dad and Chase. “Chase. Derek.”

  Mason rolled his eyes and slumped back. “I’ll be sure to remember that.”

  A minute later the principal finally came out. The danger was over now, and as much as Mr. Sampson tried to fit in with the students, he was really more of a joke. I kind of felt bad for him. It was nice to have a principal who cared for a change. Watching the four of them huddled up talking was like being in a live action bad joke.

  A biker, a cop and a businessman walk into a bar . . .

  I snorted out a chuckle.

  “What’s so funny?” Mason whispered.

  “Look at them,” I said, waving at the group discussing our punishment. “They’re like the worst A-team ever.”

  “I love that show,” Mason said. “Didn’t think anybody still watched it.”

  “I’ve got the whole series on DVD.”

  “We’re definitely going to have to do a marathon.”

  Though I wasn’t Mason’s biggest fan, I was kind of excited to have someone to watch my cheesy shows with. Shelby wouldn’t do it anymore. “Deal.”

  “Are you two paying attention?”

  I looked up at Mr. Sampson and nodded. “Uh yeah.”

  “Heard every word,” Mason added with a big smile.

  Mr. Sampson sighed and shook his head. “As I was saying, I think three days suspension is fitting.”

  “I don’t know if we should go that far.” Mr. Kessler said. “I’m sure the girl can clean the wall, and my son and I are working on his anger issues.”

  “If you say so,” Mason grumbled.

  “I think it’s great you’re working with your, son sir, but you have to understand where I’m coming from. This isn’t Mason’s first offence, and we’re only into the first week of the school year.” Mr. Sampson’s glanced over at Mason with a disappointed frown. “And Riley is lucky the school isn’t pressing charges.”

  “Thank you for that.” my dad said, shooting a glare my way.

  “Great,” Mason said, stretching his arms over his head. “I could use a break.”

  Time away from Micha and Ashworth? That didn’t sound so bad. There had to be a way out of this contract, and Micha couldn’t stop me from digging around if he wasn’t there.

  Chase frowned at the look on my face. “Don’t get any ideas, baby girl. You’ll spend that time doing the shit work at the parlor.”

  “What?” I liked working at the tattoo parlor, but I knew what Chase’s idea of shit work was, and shit was a nice way of putting it.

  My dad nodded in agreement. “I think that’s a great idea.”

  Since when did they agree? This sucked I wanted them to go back to fighting.

  Mason burst out in laughter. “Enjoy your time off, spit fire. I’ll be thinking of you while I’m poolside.”

  Mr. Kessler’s dark eyes zeroed in on his son. “How would you feel about another set of hands?”

  I smiled at the shocked look on Mason’s face.

  Welcome to hell, asshole!

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Micha

  My hands gripped the steering wheel, as I glared through the windshield. I hated fucking hospitals. The only people here were sick or dying, and it smelled like chemicals. All those stark white walls reminded me of waking up in that stiff fucking bed, body aching, and exhausted with no idea if my little brother was alive. The doctors wouldn’t tell me shit of course. Who listens to a kid? I didn’t find out Mase was okay until my father arrived.

  “Gonna have to go in, you know?” Logan said. “Can’t stare at it all day.”

  I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, whitening my knuckles. Fucking Julia! This was the third time in as many months that I had to come help Junior out. I’d think the druggie bitch would stop overdosing. She stuck enough needles in her arm to know what her damn limit was by now!

  Logan slapped a hand on my back. “Come on. You can do this.”

  Of course, I could fucking do this. I just didn’t want to.

  “Fuck!” I yelled, throwing open the
door and charging across the parking lot. That sterile chemical smell was already filling my nostrils.

  This day was fucked. Riley and Mase got suspended. Mase I understood, but Riley? What the fuck was she thinking? To top it all off, after practice, I got a call from the hospital.

  “Julia better be fucking dead this time.”

  I might kill her myself. Junior would get over it.

  “You know how this shit goes.” Logan sighed. “She’ll refuse treatment, and Junior will be home with her by the end of the night.”

  Unfortunately, that was true. I don’t know how many times I’d threatened Julia. She didn’t give a fuck.

  “Not this time,” I said, cringing at the ding of the sliding hospital doors.

  “That’s what you said last time.”

  I walked through the waiting room, and shook my head at the amount of people sitting in chairs. More than half them looked perfectly fine. People came to the hospital for the stupidest shit. ‘My arm feels funny.’ ‘There’s a tickle in my throat.’ Go to the fucking doctor. Hospitals were where people came to die.

  “Dad, where’s Mase?”

  Taking a deep breath, I headed toward the administration desk.

  “Yeah, but this time,” I explained, tipping my head at my father who was waiting for us, “I called in backup.”

  There were a few advantages to having Louis Kessler for a father. Since he was the head chair of the hospital board, Junior and his mother didn’t have to pay for treatment. Though I didn’t really give a fuck if Julia got treated for shit. A common flu could kill her for all I cared. Would save me the trouble. But it was my father’s masters in psychiatry that made me call him today. Whether she fucking wanted to or not, Junior’s mother was going to rehab.

  “Did you get it?”

  “Of course.” My father nodded and held up what I assumed to be Julia’s comitial papers.

  “Good. I can get Junior, and we can get the fuck out of here.” I let out a sigh of relief and turned down the hall for Julia’s room.

  “Junior’s not down there, son. He wasn’t the one who called 9-1-1, his neighbor did. Your young charge is in pediatrics.”