I grabbed the beer bottle and leaned forward.
I almost smashed my head against the bartender’s head.
All I could think about was Jett.
That he was here.
And he bought me a beer.
And we could talk.
We could finally talk.
Figure things out.
We could…
I gasped when I saw him sitting at the end of the bar.
“He’s kind of cute,” the bartender said. “But you could do way better.”
I looked at her.
Then I turned my head again.
It wasn’t Jett buying me a drink.
It was the guy I broke up with to be with Jett.
It was my first… whatever… it was Kinney.
Chapter 24
THEN
Jett
I put the invoices on the desk along with the checks and the cash.
Pop looked down at the papers and then up at me.
He nodded to the door.
“Still?”
“Still,” he said.
“You know that was a really long time ago.”
“I don’t give a shit.”
“I paid you back,” I said. “With interest. And fees. And booze.”
“Your point?”
I rubbed my jaw. “Yeah, you’re right. Everything’s there, Pop. I swear on it.”
I walked to the door and Pop whistled.
“You’re the only one I ever trusted, Jett,” he said. “And I still do.”
I swallowed hard. “I know, Pop.”
“I would never give someone a second chance. Ever. I don’t do second chances. You don’t get a second chance in life, Jett. A bullet eats through your heart, you don’t get to ask for a second chance. You drop dead, you’re dead. But I gave you a second chance. So I’m not mad at you, Jett. I understand everything that happened. I’m mad at myself. For being too weak to get rid of you.”
I turned my head. “Does that mean you love me, Pop?”
“Get out,” he said.
I left the office and saw a car coming into the lot.
Before it came to a full stop, the passenger door opened and out jumped Wes.
He stormed away, throwing the middle finger back at the car.
At his mother.
“Oh, fuck no,” I said.
I ran toward Wes and grabbed his wrist.
He looked at me and I wrapped my hand around his middle finger and started to pull it.
“That hurts!” he yelled at me.
“You just gave your mother the middle finger, shithead,” I said.
“Yeah? So?”
“You think you’re so tough, Wes? Huh? You treat women like that?”
“You’re one to talk,” he said.
I twisted his finger and he screamed for help.
I pushed him back and lifted my fists. “Come on then, shithead. You want to fight someone? You want to take shit out on someone?”
Wes backed down in a second.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“What was that?”
“I said sorry,” he said.
“Not to me,” I said. “To her.”
I pointed to Carolyn as she got out of the car.
She looked tired.
She looked ready to fall the hell over.
I walked Wes over to the car and pushed him toward his mother.
“He has something he wants to say to you,” I said.
“Sorry,” he said.
“For what?” I asked, slapping the back of his head.
“I’m sorry I gave you the middle finger. That was wrong. I’m…” Wes shook his head. “It wasn’t fair to you. You didn’t do anything wrong to me.”
“Now hug your mother,” I said.
Wes hugged Carolyn.
She kissed his head and Wes walked away, head down, a pissed off teenager.
“Rough day?” I asked Carolyn.
“Rough week, Jett,” she said.
“Why didn’t you call me?” I asked. “I’m here, Carolyn. For all three of you.”
“Yeah? Well, go get your other outlaw out of his seat.”
I opened the backdoor to the car.
It made a hell of a noise but I knew not to say a word to Carolyn.
She still refused help.
Even with West gone yet again.
“Hey, stinkhead,” I said to Azel.
He turned his head and smiled. “Jett!”
There was nothing like hearing that little guy say my name.
I unbuckled him and took him out of his seat and hugged him tight.
He always gave the best little dude hugs too.
Gently patting my back.
I put him down to his feet and he gripped my pinky finger tight as we walked toward the garage.
I looked back at Carolyn. “Go for a ride. Grab something to eat. Go nap for a few hours. I’ve got this.”
I walked Azel into the garage and sat him on the workbench.
Wes was in a corner, pouting, slamming tools together, looking for attention.
I ruffled my hand over Azel’s already messy hair.
“Stop, Jett,” he said.
I laughed.
These guys were my family.
The only family I had.
Even if the most important person for me was missing.
* * *
I put my head back and blew smoke into the air.
“I don’t know if this is a sick joke or not, man,” I said. “I bet that prick sent it to me. And she doesn’t even know. He’s always had it out for me for what happened. I bet she told him everything. You know? I can see her doing that. To clear the air. She’d never do this without making sure everything was in the open. And you know what, man? I wouldn’t change a thing. The night I met her at the fights…”
I looked to my right and laughed.
“I never told you about that, did I?” I asked. “Shit. What really happened that night. You were worried about my face, man. I was worried about finding Julia. Nobody thought I would fall in love for real. Shit, neither did I, man.”
I shook my head and smoked my cigarette.
My eyes kept going to the envelope on the ground.
The fucking thing had been sitting in my mailbox.
No stamp.
Just written to JETT.
Just when I thought I had things in order… here we go again.
“What if I showed up?” I asked. “Imagine that? I just casually stroll in, dressed in a nice suit… I have one of those now, man. Because of you. You stupid fucking asshole.”
I turned my head and looked at the gravestone.
My eyes blurry.
“What the fuck, Scotty?” I asked. “This is when I need you here, man. Right now. You’re supposed to be the other voice. Not the voices in my head. You’re supposed to be driving us around. Telling me some stupid fucking story. We’d find a bar, drink, pick a fight, pick up some company for the night. I can’t do this shit without you, man.”
I touched the stone.
SCOTT.
I hated that.
They put SCOTT. That wasn’t my best friend. My best friend was fucking Scotty. That was his fucking name.
SCOTTY.
I rubbed my jaw and finished my cigarette.
Well, I almost finished it.
I left a few good drags and balanced the cigarette on the gravestone.
I always did that.
For Scotty.
Just in case his ghost or spirit or whatever was lingering around.
When we were kids we joked about dying and becoming ghosts. He told me if he died before me he would come back and when I was banging a chick he was going to tickle my leg and make me lose my boner.
I laughed.
I put my head back against the stone and laughed.
Tears ran down my cheeks.
I put my hands down to the grass and felt the envelope.
I opened my ey
es and the laughter was long gone.
“I feel like going after him, man,” I said. “Going right to his place and knocking every fucking tooth down his throat. He thinks I stole Julia from him? He never fucking had her, man. She didn’t want him. I could tell by the look in her eyes. And the way she was close to me that first night. Shit. It was the realest thing I ever had.”
I looked at the gravestone again.
After a few seconds, I shook my head.
“Don’t give me your bullshit either, man. I can’t blame you for this, but… fuck. That was it for me. For both of us. I had no chance of coming back, man. You were gone and so was a piece of me. Like we were really brothers or something. I never told you how much I loved you, man. How much you meant to me. We never did that shit together. Scotty, what do I do, man? What the fuck do I do?”
I waited.
There was no response.
Why would there be?
Scotty was dead.
I was talking to nobody and nothing.
And that seemed like just how things were going to go.
I opened the envelope and slid out the wedding invitation.
KINNEY & JULIA
And that was that.
I had lost her for good.
Want more #hch?
HIDDEN CREEK HIGH is far from over… with the heart-filled, shocking story of Jett and Julia … the couple that every reading has been begging to get back together… and to find out what really happened to them years ago… DON’T MISS THE SECOND PART OF THE DUET!
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Julia
NOW
Of course I went to the garage.
Where else would I go? Whitney had some good ideas, but, please, none of those compared to seeing Jett. Even though I had woken up this morning in his bed. His arms wrapped around me. And we had properly wished each other a very good morning. And when I thought I was running late, scrambling through his house, he had somehow had coffee already made for me. Meaning he got up in the middle of the night or something to get it all set up. I wasn’t sure. I didn’t ask. I just loved the gesture.
The fact was that I had everything I had ever wanted with him.
But there was a problem…
I got out of my car and the first person I saw was Wes.
I lifted my eyebrow at him as he flicked a cigarette away and walked toward me.
“Is Aira okay?” he asked.
He was not blood related to Jett at all, but when he talked about Aira, it was like watching the past come to life again. The way he talked and acted. And to think I thought I stood a chance at protecting my niece from all of this.
Yeah… right…
“I should ask you that,” I said to Wes. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
Wes shrugged his shoulders. “Let’s call it… a mandatory mental health day.”
“Ah,” I said. “So you got booted from HCH again?”
“Booted is such a strong word,” Wes said. “I was told to leave for a day. You know. Clear my head a little.”
“Do I want to know what you did?”
“Do you?” Wes asked.
“No.” I took a step and paused. “You know, I get the whole I’m still a teenager thing but you realize you’re an adult, right? Nineteen…”
I closed my mouth, my teeth smacking together.
Ohmygod, I’m Aunt Bea.
“I might not be the smartest guy around, Julia, but I do know how time and age works,” Wes said.
“Don’t be a smart ass,” I said to him.
“What did he say?” another voice growled.
Jett walked toward both of us.
I made a shocked face at Wes. “You’re in trouble now, bro.”
“Please,” Wes said. “I’m not afraid of Jett.”
“You’re not, huh?” Jett asked.
He went right after Wes.
Fists up, tightly locked, making Wes step back.
Wes waved his hands. “Don’t mess around today. I’m not in the mood.”
“You’re not in the mood?” Jett asked. “I’m not supposed to be looking at your ugly face until later.”
“Don’t say he’s ugly,” I said. “That makes Aira look bad. She’s pretty.”
“Yeah she is,” Jett said. “And I’ll never understand why she chose this ugly punk.”
Wes laughed. “What about you?”
“What about me?” Jett asked.
“You look like you just crawled from getting run over by a truck. And Julia is beautiful.”
“Watch yourself,” Jett said.
“Thanks, Wes,” I said. “I needed that.”
“Hey, it’s true,” Wes said. “If Aira never came back…”
Jett looked back at me. “Don’t talk to him.” Then he looked at Wes again. “Say one more word and I’ll knock you out.”
“See how easy he is to get?” Wes asked me.
“Julia, tell Wes he’s not allowed to see Aira ever again,” Jett said.
I laughed. “Wes, you are never allowed to see Aira again.”
Wes touched his chest. “Oh, no… what will I ever do now?”
Jett shook his head. He moved toward me and touched my face. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Just taking a ride. Missed you.”
“How cute,” Wes said.
Jett moved an inch and I stopped him. “Let me,” I whispered.
I pointed at Wes and walked toward him.
He put his hands up. “Whoa… it was a joke.”
“Quit fucking around, Wes,” I said. “Or I will have Aira find someone else.”
“Why don’t you tell Julia why you’re here,” Jett said. “What prompted your one day vacation.”
Wes rolled his eyes. “It was a joke.”
“What was?” I asked.
“Apparently Wes decided that the guidance counselor was a lonely young woman,” Jett said. “And he wanted to fix that.”
“Meaning what?” I asked.
“It was a joke,” Wes repeated.
“I’m not sure of all the details,” Jett said, “but let’s just say it involved the idea of getting her something… that she could enjoy herself with…”
I gasped and curled my lip. “Weslee Jackson.”
“Again,” he said. “It. Was. A. Fucking. Joke.”
“Which wasn’t funny at all,” Jett said. “He needs to grow the hell up.”
“I was just looking out for someone,” Wes said. “I’m a guy who cares about others. The same way I care about Aira.”
“Please don’t,” I said, shutting my eyes.
“Or you two,” Wes said. “It’s good to see you two rolling around in the sheets again. Although I thought it would make Jett less of an asshole. But that’s impossible.”
Jett whistled and pointed to the garage. “Go. Finish what you were working on and then enjoy the rest of the afternoon cleaning Pop’s office. And his bathroom.”
“Fuck that,” Wes said. “Save that for Ryker and Walker.”
“Now,” Jett ordered.
Wes grinned.
And that grin… flashback to Jett at nineteen with anyone over the age of twenty-one telling him to do something…
When Wes walked away, I looked at Jett and sighed. “I should have taken my chances with the oven fire.”
“Fire?” Jett asked. “What?”
“Nothing,” I said, laughing. “Cookies burned. There was no fire. I was being dramatic. Hey, Jett, how are you?”
“I’m just living the dream, sweetheart,” he said. “Although the day has suddenly gotten better with you here.”
“Which is so stupid and cheesy to say,” I said.
We inched closer and had our arms around each other.
“I don’t think you’d want it any other way,” he said.
“Nope,” I said.
“So Whitney burned some cookies, huh?” Jett asked. He laughed. “Can�
�t believe I just asked that. I was the guy who used to go to fights for money and fun. Now I’m worried about your cookies.”
“You love my cookies,” I said, avoiding his question.
“I love plenty about you, sweetheart,” Jett said. “I’m surprised you left Whitney alone.”
“She’s fine,” I said. “She sort of kicked me out. Which I needed. I kind of feel like I’m turning into Aunt Bea.”
“You know, I always had a thing for her,” Jett said.
I smacked my hands off his shoulders. “Now I see where Wes gets it from. Sicko.”
“What?” Jett asked, smiling.
“You’re gross.”
“But you still love me, right?” Jett asked.
“Of course I do.”
“And I get to see you when I’m done here.”
“We’ll see.”
“You’re coming over again, right?”
“What’s wrong with my house?” I asked.
“Nothing. Why?”
“You think because you have a big house that impresses me?”
“No,” Jett said. “But I do have something big that does impress you.”
“Ohgod,” I said. “I can’t listen to this.”
Right on cue my cell started to ring.
It was Whitney.
I waved the phone at Jett.
“What else did she burn?” Jett asked. “Hopefully not the entire building down.”
“Wow, thanks for saying that.”
Jett laughed. “I’m kidding. I’m sure everything’s fine. Go take your call. Go back to the bakery. I’ll see you later.”
“Hey, don’t imply you’ll see me later,” I said. “I might have plans.”
“Oh yeah? You have someone else on the side?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “You never know, Jett. I mean, are we official now? Are we going steady? Am I going to wear your jacket or something?”
“You still believe in signs, sweetheart?” Jett asked.
“Yeah, I do. Got a problem with it?”
“No,” Jett said. “I’m pretty sure you got your sign this morning.”
I laughed. “You would say that. I’m not the first woman to be rolling around in your sheets, Jett.”
HIDDEN CREEK THEN: a hidden creek high novel Page 21