Wrong Crowd (Kingsley Academy Book 1)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  I grin, jumping up from the cot I got hardly any sleep on. “I just wish I could have seen her face when you said, ‘daughter’.”

  “The two boys were sent home.”

  “Two boys?” I ask, grabbing Kaiden’s jacket.

  “A Mr. Kingsley and a Mr. Tucker. They said they were family and were here to collect you.”

  “Ah, so that’s why my aunt wasn’t called until now?”

  I feel his eyes on me as we walk down the corridor. “Your aunt looks pissed. She has every right to be.”

  “Why?” I ask, stopping at the doors leading out into the waiting area. I can see Nova pacing the floor, and I inwardly groan. “She doesn’t even know me. She hasn’t really taken the time to.”

  “Kid, whatever your issues are, that woman isn’t one of them. She cares for you.”

  “What do you know?” I mutter, before clearing my throat. “And I don’t have issues. You have issues. Cots being number one on the list.”

  He chuckles deeply. “For starters, she started crying, thinking we were delivering bad news, repeating, ‘not again’ over and over,” he explains, taking a deep breath. “Secondly, I do know you aren’t like the rest. You waited until this morning to complain about the cot. Usually, we have complaints through the night.”

  I continue to stare at Nova, grateful she hasn’t seen me yet. “How mad is she?”

  “She’ll be glad that you’re safe and sound, then she’ll scream and shout before going back to being happy you’re okay.”

  I tilt my head up to look him in the eye, arching my eyebrow. “You’ve been doing this job way too long.”

  “Twenty-two years,” he tells me with pride. “You’re a good kid. I don’t want to have to see you again in here. You shouldn’t be hanging around with that crowd.”

  He’s dead serious. “So, you’re saying the rich are the wrong crowd?”

  “In this area? Yes. They fight dirtier than any other gang or drug dealer. The middle-man takes the fall, and I’d hate to see that happen to you. I read your file and made a few calls after I realised you lied about your aunt being your mum. You are easy pickings for these guys. Don’t let it happen.”

  Nova finally turns in our direction, her gaze meeting mine and her shoulders sagging with relief. “Tick me off for being warned, but, Sullivan, I’m not the fall guy. I won’t ever be the fall guy.”

  He chuckles, using his card to open the door. “Keep it that way.”

  “Has she signed out?” Nova asks when she reaches us.

  “She needs to go to the front desk. They have her phone and keys.”

  She nods. “Thank you.”

  I grimace when she walks off. Mum never got mad like this. Ever. I turn to PC Sullivan, widening my eyes.

  He chuckles, waving me on. “Good luck, Miss Monroe.”

  “No, help,” I groan. I ignore his laughter as I stomp off to Nova, who has collected my belongings.

  “Nova,” I start when she faces me.

  She holds her hand up. “I don’t want to hear it,” she snaps, storming off. I follow, wondering if Sullivan will keep me another night. When I turn back around, he’s still laughing.

  “How could you do this? What were you thinking? A fighting gang, really? How long have you been here?”

  I stop just outside the building, becoming angry. When she sees I’m not following her, she turns back around.

  “Don’t! Don’t act like a caring adult right now. Not now. You lied to me, Nova.”

  “Is that what this is about?” she asks incredulously.

  Rolling my eyes, I take a step closer to her. “No. This isn’t about that. This is about me needing to get away from you. I didn’t even know where I was, or who they were. I just wasn’t ready for you to push more lies onto me.”

  “You didn’t even know them?” she asks quietly, her expression hard. “How did you get there? You couldn’t have walked, and you don’t drive.”

  Oh fuck!

  “It doesn’t matter,” I yell, throwing my hands up. “You don’t get to yell at me, Nova. You aren’t my parent. You weren’t there for me when I needed someone. You weren’t there.”

  “Your mother didn’t want me there,” she screams back, shocking me. “She didn’t want any of us there, Ivy. She was my twin sister, and I loved her. I loved her despite what she did to me, but she didn’t want me in her life.”

  “Nova,” I say, my voice gentler this time. I’m not this person. I’m not a bitch.

  She puts her hand up, stopping me. “Don’t. I don’t want to hear it. But you’re right. I’m not your parent. And I shouldn’t have kept what I knew from you. I didn’t want to, but you had just lost your mum and moved across the country. I didn’t want to add anything else to your troubles.”

  “I need time to adjust, to process. That is all I need, and I need you to give it to me,” I tell her. A look passes across her face, one I know all too well. It’s the one Mum got every time she spent our money. “What?”

  “Ivy, there’s something else…”

  My eyes bug out of their sockets. “Something else? What else could there possibly be?”

  “Last night, when you didn’t come home, I had to call Sam. Your dad.”

  “What?”

  “I’m out of my depth here. You were gone. And he needed to know.”

  No, he didn’t. He doesn’t have the right to know anything. I can’t believe she’d go behind my back like this.

  “I want to go home.”

  I don’t stick around to listen to another word. I walk towards the carpark, spotting her car right away.

  The car ride home is silent. I can feel her stewing, ready to blow up like PC Sullivan warned.

  I like Nova. I don’t know her all that well, but I do like her. I want it to work here. I’m grateful I don’t have to go back to the life I lived, but I can’t deal with the lies, the secrets.

  And until I feel she’s been truthfully honest, she won’t get my trust or respect.

  She doesn’t get to tell me what to do, how to live my life, until she earns a place too. And right now, she went too far. I’m nearly eighteen. I get to make the choice of whether my dad gets to know.

  Pulling up to the house, I see Kaiden and Grant are standing outside with the twins, talking to each other. When they hear the car, they all look in our direction.

  As soon as the car stops, I undo my belt.

  “We really need to talk, Ivy. You can’t put this off forever,” Nova warns me.

  “I need sleep,” I tell her, opening the car door and getting out.

  “Jail bird, coming around for breakfast?” Ethan yells.

  “Not today, Ethan,” Nova answers.

  “Don’t answer for me,” I warn her.

  Her expression gives me pause. “Not right now, Ivy. You’ve spent the night at the police station. Your mum has just died and you’ve moved miles away from home. We are going to talk and you are going to listen to me. You promised to try.”

  Taking a deep breath, I nod. “All right. There’s no need to get prissy.”

  She growls. “You are an infuriating girl at times, Ivy.”

  I wink, turning to the guys. “I’ll catch up with you later,” I tell them, avoiding Kaiden and Grant.

  “Ivy,” Nova calls from the front door.

  I close my eyes, groaning. “Please let this day end already.”

  I stomp up the stairs behind her, slamming the door shut. Annette is there in seconds, taking my jacket from me.

  “I’ll get this in the wash, Ivy.”

  “No!” I yell, inwardly groaning. “Um, just stick it on my bed. If that’s okay?”

  Smiling, she nods. “As you wish.”

  I take a step into the foyer, when the doorbell rings. If that’s Kaiden, I hope he knows what mood Nova is in.

  I pull open the door, only to have the air sucked out of my lungs. I grab the doorframe for balance, staring at the man in front of me.

  He has similar faci
al features to me. We have the same shaped ears, eyes and nose. He has raven black hair and dark brown eyes, just like me.

  This is Sam.

  This is my dad.

  He’s tall, lean and dressed impeccably in a navy-blue suit, his black hair swept back, nothing how I imagined when I was little.

  I open my mouth—to say what, I don’t know. It’s there, on the tip of my tongue, but nothing comes out.

  “Ivy,” he drawls, his voice deep, controlled.

  He stands on the top step, towering over me, and I flinch.

  “Ivy, who’s at the door?” Nova calls.

  I can’t move. I feel paralysed under his gaze, and I can’t breathe or move a muscle. I can feel the blood rushing from my face, and he doesn’t look too good either. He’s pale, watching me like I’m a figment of his imagination.

  Why can’t I speak?

  Why can’t I move?

  Do I call him Dad? Sam? At this point, I’ll settle for ‘Oi’, but I’m frozen.

  “Sam, what are you doing here? I said I’d call you,” Nova says, sounding unsure and a little nervous.

  “Nova,” he greets. “You just told me my daughter was here, that Cora had died. Where else would I be?”

  Nova clears her throat, and I can feel her gaze burning into me. “Ivy, have you said hello?”

  I can’t look away from Dad—Sam. Here’s here. The man in front of me is my dad.

  He’s taller than I expected him to be.

  “I couldn’t find you. Your mum kept you from me,” he explains, his eyes boring into mine.

  I snap out of it when I hear him mention my mum. “I’ve not been here long, but from what I’ve learned so far, the rich get what they want. If you wanted to find me, you would have. It wasn’t exactly like she was hiding me. She didn’t use a fake name. I didn’t get a fake name. You could have found me.”

  It isn’t until the words leave my mouth that I realise what’s been upsetting me. They could have found me. All of them. They could have given me a better life, or supported Mum enough to let her give me a life.

  They didn’t. They just went about their lives like I didn’t exist.

  “I couldn’t find you. She was never in one place long enough for us to find her. In the end, I gave up trying.”

  “Parents giving up is the story of my life,” I mutter dryly.

  “Nova said you are going to attend Kingsley Academy in a few weeks. That’s quite the achievement.”

  My lip curls. “She paid for my acceptance. I didn’t get in because of my grades.”

  “That’s not true. Your grades were fine,” Nova says, her voice soft.

  “And I’ve just been collected from the police station,” I inform him.

  “What? What for? What did you do?” His eyes harden when they turn to Nova. “You said you were looking out for her, yet she’s been arrested already?”

  “Sam, I’ll explain.”

  “Very well. But first, I’d like to get to know Ivy,” he tells her, turning to me. “Would you care for some brunch?”

  What the fuck is brunch?

  “She’d love to. She hasn’t eaten yet,” Nova answers for me, and I narrow my eyes at her.

  “Ivy doesn’t want to go anywhere with a stranger,” I snap.

  “I’m your dad,” he informs me.

  I turn to him, arching my eyebrow. “No, you aren’t. To me, you are just a man standing on a doorstep. I don’t know you. I didn’t know anything about you until two days ago.”

  “That’s why we should go out.”

  “Go grab a jacket, Ivy. A walk around the estate won’t hurt.”

  I roll my eyes but listen to what she says. I head up the stairs and smile thankfully when Annette brings back down Kaiden’s jacket, handing it to me. “I thought you might like this, dear.”

  “Thank you, Annette.”

  “You’re most welcome.”

  I head back downstairs, slower this time, and come to a halt when I hear them whispering.

  “I’d still like another DNA test, one with me present this time. I’m not handing over any money until I receive it,” he says, and my stomach bottoms out.

  What?

  “Oh, come on, Sam, she is you all over.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything. She slept with everyone around that time. Ivy could be anyone’s.”

  I clear my throat, drawing their attention, and force a smile. “Sorry, but I forgot I have plans. As for the DNA test, sure.”

  “Really?” he asks, his eyes widening in surprise.

  I shrug, forcing down the hurt. “Sure. You’ve already had one set done, right?”

  Nova’s pitying look makes me grit my teeth together. “We did. It was a match.”

  “Then another won’t hurt, right?”

  “Great.” He smiles, clapping his hands together. “I’ll get it sorted.”

  “No rush. Because no matter the results, I never want to see you again. And I most certainly don’t want your money. You’ve seen the first results. You’ve seen me. Even I can see the resemblance you’re clearly too blind to see. Parents are meant to know. Yet you still want more proof, which just proves you don’t really want me in your life,” I tell him, letting out a deep breath before turning to Nova. “Can I please be excused from our chat? It looks like we don’t need it.”

  She reaches out to comfort me, but I pull away, staring blankly at her. She sighs, nodding. “Of course. Please don’t be gone long.”

  “You’re going to let her out even though she’s just been arrested?” Sam asks Nova as I push past him.

  “Sam, shut up and come inside for a cup of tea. Then you can go to give her space.”

  I tune out his reply, heading over to Kingsley Manor. I ring the doorbell, waiting for them to answer.

  Kaiden surprises me by opening the door. I thought for sure a butler or maid would do it.

  The tension in my body eases somewhat. “My dad is over at Nova’s and needs more proof that I’m his daughter before handing me his money. I don’t even want his money.”

  Kaiden opens the door wider for me to step inside. Lucca is coming down the stairs when I walk in.

  “You should tell your dad to buy you a pony or a horse to make up for all the birthdays he missed,” Lucca announces, the eavesdropper.

  “Wait, you had ponies for your birthdays?”

  “I had a horse,” Lucca admits.

  I turn to Kaiden, who shrugs. “I had three horses growing up. I love riding.”

  “I didn’t even get a card,” I admit, still in awe.

  “I’d play him for all he’s worth if that was me,” Lucca offers.

  “Shut up, Luc,” Kaiden groans.

  I force a smile. “He doesn’t have anything I want, Lucca. He might be rich, but that only means shit to rich people. I don’t care.”

  “I’m getting that.”

  “You staying?” Kaiden asks when Lucca carries on down the hallway.

  “That okay?”

  “Fine by me. What you did last night—” he starts, but I hold my hand up, stopping him.

  “It was stupid, I know, but I have nothing to lose.” I force out a laugh, dropping my hands to my side. “Literally, nothing. From the sounds of it, you have a lot.”

  “All the same, thank you. I owe you.”

  I sag with relief, and a funny look passes across his face. “Does this mean I can crash somewhere? Those cots were terrible.”

  He chuckles, shaking his head. “They aren’t bad. The police station in Littleton is worse.”

  I roll my eyes. “I’ll take your word for it.” My lips twitch when a thought occurs to me. “Maybe I should ask Sam to make a donation of new cots.”

  He laughs, his eyes crinkling in the corners. My stomach flutters at the sound, and his expression. He looks so hot right now, I could kiss him.

  Getting control of myself, I duck my head, following him into the kitchen before I do something drastic and permanently attach my mouth to hi
s.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  My eyes sting from looking at papers all day. Today was my last day of school, the last time I would see any exams, and I’m grateful. I want to get out of here, to make something of my life. I don’t want to keep living like this. I just have to get Mum onboard. She needs to get her act together, otherwise I’m leaving her and not coming back.

  She owes too much money to her drug dealer; not just some pimple-faced kid, but some hot shot drug dealer: Snake.

  I’m shocked to find her dressed, looking ready to go out. She puts the phone down when she sees me, forcing that fake smile.

  I know that smile.

  I’m not going to like what she has to say, and she knows it. “Mum, are you coming with me to the soup kitchen today?”

  She gets up, grabbing her long green coat I managed to snag at the clothes bank. It’s roasting outside, but because of how thin and delicate she is, she’s always cold.

  “No. Got something big happening. Huge. We can finally get out of this shit hole.”

  I glance away so she doesn’t see me roll my eyes. It will only make her mad.

  “You need to eat, Mum,” I tell her.

  “Not hungry.” She sniffs, looking jumpy, and I groan. She needs a fix. That’s where she’s going.

  “Mum, if you have money, we need food. We need to pay Snake before he comes back.”

  She snorts. “What are they going to do? Take me to court? I don’t have anything to give them. And I can give Snake what he really wants.”

  “Mum,” I argue, gripping her bony bicep.

  She shoves me off, still jittery. “No. I got the call, Ivy. It’s happening.”

  I watch her walk out the door, and when it slams shut, I startle. There’s no helping her anymore.

  Snake won’t wait much longer, and I’m scared he’ll turn to me for payment once he can’t get what he wants out of Mum.

  I startle awake, breathing hard. That was the last time I saw my mum alive. She had got drugs from someone new, someone who didn’t know she’d use their product instead of selling it.

  Either that or Snake finally followed through on his promise to kill her.

  I have a week until I turn eighteen, and she isn’t here. Even if she were, I don’t think she’d care.

  That is the only reason I can think as to why I’m dreaming of her now. It has to be.