When Art Rises: Living in Cin: (A Twisted Interracial High School Love Triangle)

by Lorrain Allen

  “Cin and I are going to hang with the crew.”

  “Okay, I want you to take Art along.”

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  I don’t like the idea of bringing in the new year with him or his asshole friends either, but since Cin is going so I will. The bonus is I know it’ll piss Josh off if I tag along.

  “I wasn’t asking, Josh.”

  “Thank you for the invite, Josh. It warms my heart that you’re so welcoming. What time do we leave?”

  “If he doesn’t go, no one goes,” Ricky says.

  “Fine,” Josh mutters.

  “Well, that’s settled then. Have a good night, boys.” Ricky leaves the kitchen.

  “We leave at eleven. Be ready, or you get left.”

  I salute him before grabbing a Coke out of the refrigerator before leave the kitchen.

  “Prick,” he mumbles.

  I descend the stairs with Trevor’s arms wrapped around my stomach with his lips at my neck.

  “Keep your hands to yourself.” I smile.

  “But I’d rather keep them all over you,” he whispers in my ear.

  My smile slips when I see Art sitting on the coffee table. Josh is waiting by the front door.

  “What is he doing here?” Trevor asks.

  Art smirks while his eyes stare daggers at Trevor. I’m unnerved about Art and Trevor being in such close proximity after the intimate moment we shared the other day. I’m on alert whenever he’s around. As fucked up as it sounds, my body is aware of him. I barely know this boy, but I want to give him a hug and offer comfort. I must be insane to think that way about him after the way he treated me.

  “He’s coming with us?” I ask, astonished.

  “Yep,” Josh answers. “You can thank my father for that.”

  Trevor moves around me to size Art up.

  I assumed he would rather be hit by a tractor trailer than hang out with Josh.

  “Can he be trusted to keep his mouth shut?” Trevor asks.

  “Absolutely not,” Josh replies.

  “We can’t risk bringing him with us,” Trevor states.

  “I have no choice. Either he goes, or we all stay in.”

  “I can speak for my fucking self,” Art says. “Do I look like a little bitch who’s going to run with my tail between my legs to the authorities? I don’t give a fuck what you hillbillies do.”

  “Who you calling hillbilly, nut job?” Josh sneers.

  As Josh moves in Art’s direction, he stands from the coffee table ready for whatever is about to pop off. Josh stops only when he’s in Art’s personal space. Trevor leaves my side to stand next to Josh.

  Fuck. If they start fighting, I won’t be able to break them up on my own.

  “If you’re feeling froggy, leap, motherfucker,” Art mocks. His hands form fists at his sides. He’s itching for a fight.

  I walk swiftly over to situate myself between the cousins. Tempers are rising quickly.

  I place my palms on their chests to hold them at bay. Even through Art’s shirt, I swear I felt a current travel up my arm the moment my hand touches him. When my gaze catches his, I know he felt it too.

  “This isn’t happening. We need to go. You two can measure dicks later,” I say.

  After a few gut-wrenching minutes, Josh speaks first. “You’re about to enter Chaos,” he says in an ominous tone.

  “What?”

  “The Nine Months of Chaos, to be exact,” Trevor adds.

  “Stop speaking in fucking riddles.”

  “It’s a rite of passage you’re intruding on. The in-crowd of the graduating class causes havoc for the poor citizens of Longhorn County from September until graduation,” Trevor explains.

  “During Chaos, if you’re not out of control, you’re not in control,” Josh cuts in.

  “What’s the plan tonight?” Art asks in an “I don’t give a shit” voice.

  “We’re going to McKinley High in the next county to fuck up their school. They’re our number one rival,” Josh answers.

  “Oh wow, you guys love living dangerously,” Art replies sarcastically.

  Josh shoots Art a death glare as his cell phone rings.

  “Hello? Yeah, it’s time for Chaos.”

  He ends the phone call.

  “They’re heading to the school. Let’s go.” Josh walks towards the door.

  He picks up the bag filled with orange and green spray paint and a drill sitting by the front door. Green and orange are our school colors, so officials will know kids from Central did the damage, but they won’t know who.

  Art walks towards his motorcycle when we leave the house. Josh looks over at him with a frown on his face.

  “Where the fuck are you going?” Josh asks.

  “I’ll follow behind you.”

  “No, you won’t. You have to ride with us,” Josh tells him.

  “Fuck that.”

  “Asshole, you can’t ride your motorcycle. That thing is loud as fuck. It’ll be like having a target on your back. We need to be discreet.”

  “Fine,” he agrees.

  Trevor and I climb into the back of Josh’s dark gray Chevy Suburban while Art gets in the front.

  Josh drives around to the back of the large building, then parks his truck between Danny’s Ford Mustang and Aiden’s Nissan Armada. When Josh kills the engine, everyone exits the vehicles. The whole crew is here.

  “Motherfucker!” Danny shouts.

  Everyone is instantly on alert, peering around to find out what has Danny riled.

  He rushes Art, tackling him to the ground.

  “Danny, what the fuck?” Josh looks on in confusion.

  Art gains the upper hand by pinning Danny under him. Danny unsuccessfully tries to dislodge him. Blood pours from his mouth as Art relentlessly pummels his face.

  Bri, Lilah, and Anneli move to stand beside Trevor and me.

  “My lips just quivered, and I don’t mean the ones on my face.” Bri licks her lips.

  “Back off, bitch, he’s mine,” Lilah hisses.

  “Here we go again,” Anneli groans.

  Anneli has beautiful kinky hair with milk chocolate-colored skin and eyes. She’s a little taller than me, with an ass most women would need surgery to achieve. She’s on the track and field team too. Zeke’s totally in love with her. I’m always telling her to give him a chance. Too bad for him, her response is always the same: “I don’t date guys with jock syndrome.” Whatever that means.

  “All’s fair in love and war,” Bri replies.

  Lilah and Bri pretty much have the same body type. The only difference is Bri’s dyed platinum blond chin-length curls and expressive amber eyes. This won’t be the first or last time they go after the same guy. At one time, they were fighting over Danny, but he never had any intentions of going steady with either of them. He only wanted sex. They’re both on the cheerleading team, but Bri made captain. She uses every opportunity to shove that fact in Lilah’s face.

  “That’s the bastard who broke a ketchup bottle over my head,” Aiden growls.

  “He do that to your nose, Zeke?” Dex pops his gum.

  “Fuck you, man.”

  “Hey, it’s not my fault you got your ass kicked.” Dex smirks as he pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

  Robbie kicks Art in the face, finally displacing him from Danny’s chest. Art lets out a loud grunt as his body makes contact with the concrete. Robbie moves to kick Art again, but he swiftly rolls over to avoid being struck, throwing out his leg to connect with Robbie’s stomach. Art lumbers to his feet.

  “Son of a bitch,” Robbie hisses.

  “Josh, do something.” I start to panic. They could really hurt Art. It’s hardly fair with four against one.

  Josh stares at me with an unreadable expression on his face. “It’s time for Chaos.”

  Danny, Aiden, Robbie, and Zeke surround him.

  “Bring it on, bitches.” Art rotates his shoulders.

  “This should be
interesting.” Dex grins.

  Dex’s shaggy hair is a bright orange-red and goes perfectly with his freckle-covered alabaster skin. He’s a nerd with one hot body. He has a thing for Bri, but she never gives him the time of day. She’s obsessed with the “rebel without a cause” type.

  Art’s not afraid, even with the odds against him. Trevor pulls me back when I move to walk towards the group to prevent the fight.

  Oh fuck, it’s about to go down.

  “Trevor, we have to stop them.” I struggle against his hold.

  “Let’s see how tough he really is,” he responds.

  When Danny swings, Art ducks then comes up with an uppercut. Danny falls back, cracking his head on the concrete. Zeke catches an elbow to the face when he comes at Art from the right.

  “Fuck! He broke my nose again!”

  “My new man is a hell of a fighter,” Bri gushes.

  Lilah gives Bri her best “fuck off, bitch” face.

  “This is not the reason why we’re here. We don’t have time for this shit,” Anneli yells. At least I have one person on my side.

  “She’s right. Stop this,” I say.

  Robbie takes ahold of Art’s right arm while Aiden grabs his left, dragging him over to the Mustang to hold him against the hood. Danny climbs to his feet and walks over to a struggling Art.

  “Now you pay,” Danny says.

  “No, me first. This fucker broke my nose twice.”

  Zeke begins to rain punch after punch on Art’s upper body.

  I turn my head to look Trevor in the eyes. “Please, stop this. Please, I’m begging you.”

  After a few seconds he finally says, “Josh, it’s time to end this before somebody gets seriously hurt.”

  I sigh in relief.

  Josh walks over to Zeke and wraps his forearm around his neck to pull him away from Art. “Easy, man,” Josh says.

  Art jerks his arms away from Robbie and Aiden.

  “Stay the fuck out of this, Josh.” Danny jabs a finger in Josh’s direction.

  “I don’t like this asshole any more than you do, but he’s my cousin,” he replies, letting go of Zeke.

  “You’re related to this dipshit?” Danny exclaims.

  “Yep, and I don’t want to have to explain to my father how he ended up in the hospital during his first week here.”

  “Watch your back,” Danny threatens.

  “Ditto, motherfucker,” Art replies.

  Zeke spits a mouth full of blood at Art’s feet. Art smirks in response.

  I walk over to Art. “Are you okay?”

  Blood drips down the corner of his mouth, but other than a few scrapes and bruises, he seems fine. “Why do you care?”

  “I don’t.”

  “Then run along back to your boyfriend. He’s watching,” Art mocks.

  “Fucking asshole,” I say, walking back over to a disgruntled Trevor.

  “What did you say to him?” Trevor asks.

  “I just wanted to see if he’s okay.”

  “He’s trouble. I know it’s impossible for you to avoid him entirely since you live in the same house, but don’t seek him out.”

  He kisses my forehead when I nod in understanding.

  “I say Josh’s cousin won the fight.” Dex scratches his head.

  “Shut the fuck up, Dex, before I break your glasses,” Zeke grumbles as he attempts to stop the flow of blood with the hem of his shirt.

  “Dex, stop provoking them,” Trevor says.

  “How the fuck did the four of you get beat up by one person?” Dex asks, causing Danny to punch him in the stomach.

  “Ouch.” Dex rubs the abused area.

  “Can we finally do what we came here for, please?” Anneli asks in annoyance. She’s the no-nonsense one of the group and has had it with their bullshit.

  Dex takes his laptop out of his carrying case and places it on the hood of the Mustang.

  “Watch me work my magic,” he says.

  He cracks his knuckles before getting to work. Dex is a phenomenal hacker. His job for tonight is to disable McKinley’s alarm system and video feed so there’s no evidence of who vandalized the school. Once it’s clear, Josh will use a drill to get through the lock.

  “Zeke, do you have the mice?” Josh asks.

  “Yeah, I’ve been catching these little motherfuckers in the barn for the last few weeks. I have a big tub filled with them in the truck.”

  “And I have the liquid skunk essence,” Danny adds. He unscrews the top and takes a whiff. “This shit smells like donkey ass,” he says.

  Bri walks over to Art and attempts to engage in conversation with him, but his attention is on me. It’s unnerving. She struts in front of him, flirting outrageously while flipping her hair. Lilah looks like she wants to bite her head off.

  “Hurry the hell up, Dex. We don’t have all night,” Robbie complains.

  “You can’t rush awesomeness.” Dex smiles.

  “Speed it up, Dex,” Josh demands.

  “Done. It’s time for Chaos,” Dex announces.

  “Okay, let’s go,” Robbie says.

  The group moves towards the entrance. I look back at Art before I realize what I’m doing. Lilah and Bri are on either side of him, vying for his attention.

  Josh pushes the door open once he successfully drills through the lock.

  “All right, let’s get this show on the road,” Robbie says.

  I give Bri, Lilah, and Anneli a can of spray paint. “It’s a bit dull in here ladies, don’t you agree? How about we add a little color?”

  “You three are on mice duty.” Josh points to Danny, Zeke, and Aiden. “You two are on stink duty with me,” he tells Trevor and Robbie. “I want this place smelling like rotten ass. Dex, you’re our lookout.”

  “Come on. I want some Chaos too,” Dex complains.

  “Next time, man.”

  “I don’t give a fuck what you do,” Josh says to Art, walking by him.

  Danny runs down the hall. “Yeah, baby! Let’s cause some Chaos!”

  We disperse to complete our assigned tasks.

  After making Chaos for an hour, we leave the school. It must be nice to be a normal teenager, doing normal teenager shit. I can’t relate to them. In another lifetime, they could’ve been my friends. I would’ve participated in the merriment of Chaos, taking shots to bring in the new year with them.

  Fuck, I don’t belong here.

  I’m a fool to chase Cin, but I’m drawn to her. I can’t explain why. I don’t care that she has a boyfriend. I still want a taste. As I watch her with that asshole Trevor, I experience a whole new emotion—one I’ve never felt before.

  Envy.

  Mix in guilt, hate, and grief—all of these emotions create an unstable bomb within me that can go off at any moment.

  “You two do realize you’re not alone, right?” Josh smirks.

  I watch them through the mirror on the drive back to the house. Trevor’s kissing her neck, her face, her lips. I wish it were my lips running along her soft skin. I want to reach back and pull them apart. I immediately leave the truck when Josh comes to a stop in front of the house before I do something I’ll regret.

  “What the fuck is his problem?” I hear Trevor ask.

  “Who cares?” Josh replies.

  My uncle gave me a key, so I’m able to go inside the house without having to wait on my asshole cousin. I enter my bedroom, slamming the door shut, and pace like a caged lion, feeling agitated and volatile. Maybe I should go pick a fight with Josh. After a few minutes, I hear a light knock.

  I’m surprised to find Cin standing there when I open the door.

  “What the fuck do you want? I told you what would happen the next time you came in here.”

  Her mouth opens to reply, but no words come out. I move until my lips are at her ear, my body brushing against hers. Her hair smells so fucking good, like sweet strawberries. I wonder if that’s how her pussy will taste.

  “Is that what you came here for? A
re you ready for me to fuck you?” I ask in a low voice.

  I don’t want to be her boyfriend—I wouldn’t know how. But I do want to fuck her, and fuck her I will. When I’m done, I’ll give what’s left of her back to her bitch ass boyfriend. I place a kiss just below her earlobe. She moans before stepping back. My first instinct is to grab her, to pull her forward, but before I can, she holds up a little square box. It’s a first aid kit. I hadn’t realized she was holding it at her side.

  “I came to clean your cuts,” she replies softly.

  “Where’s your boyfriend?”

  “He went home.”

  I step to the side, allowing her entry before closing the door. Her progress stops when she reaches the middle of the room. Even in her loose-fitting jeans and plain red T-shirt, she’s sexy as fuck. I walk by her to sit on the edge of the bed. She doesn’t move or talk—she simply stands there.

  “Well? What are you waiting for?” I ask.

  Cin slowly moves towards me, like an animal catcher approaching a rabid dog. She puts the first aid kit on the bed beside me before opening it to take out alcohol pads.

  She gasps as I pull her between my spread legs.

  “I’m waiting, nurse.”

  I keep my hands on her waist. She tears open the little packet to retrieve the alcohol pad then carefully goes over the cuts on my face.

  “You’re a cutter,” she states.

  “What’s your point?”

  “Why do you do it?”

  “It helps me to cope.”

  “With what happened to your brother?”

  I nod. I’ve never opened up to anyone, not even my therapist. I don’t know what makes her special. I barely know her. After she finishes cleaning the cuts on my face, she covers them with ointment.

  “Does it help?”

  “A little.”

  “Have you thought about getting help?”

  “The only thing that can help me is a time machine. Why didn’t you tell anyone?” I ask her.

  She lifts my right hand from her hip to clean my bruised knuckles then applies ointment before answering.

  “It’s not my secret to tell.”

  “Why are you here?” I ask, my eyes boring into hers.

  “I don’t know,” she whispers.