Beautiful Defiance: Cambridge High Mayhem (Kiss Starter: Cambridge High Book 1)

by Ashlyn Mathews

  My heart pitter-patters as hard as the rain pounding the ground around me. For the rest of practice, I divide my time watching Seven and wondering how I’ll invite myself to the party Hannah’s going to tonight.

  I don’t have to wonder long. I get a text from Rue. There’s this happening party tonight. The guy hosting it goes to her school, and the girl he’s dating goes to mine. How perfect is that? “Very,” I text back, smiling. She is a social butterfly and doesn’t let school rivalries get in the way of having fun.

  I read her next text.

  Rue: Bonus? Shay and Winslow will be there. They’re good guys

  Me: I am in. See you later

  I hold my cell to my chest, excited for my first party since moving to Cambridge. Too bad Seven won’t be there. He told me yesterday he won’t be coming over tonight. There is a huge quiz tomorrow in his finance class, and he’ll be up late studying. That guy is on the right track.

  I look up. Practice is over, and he’s sauntering over to the truck. I check him out from head to toe. His dark hair is plastered to his head, and his uniform molds to his body. He is all bulk with the padding he’s wearing under the uniform, but he moves with the grace and stealth of a predator on the hunt.

  The intense way he looks at me tells me I am the prey. Heat uncoils in my core and pools in my girl parts. Seven is downright sexy, but it’s not his good looks that draws me to him, though it’s a bonus.

  What has me falling hard is how kind he is, and he hides this kindness well, using his bad-boy jerk image to his advantage. It’s brilliant, but I won’t be telling him I’m onto him anytime soon.

  There’s a good chance he’ll stop doing good just to prove to me how bad he is. Reverse psychology. I shake my head. That boy.

  He pays more than the asking price for the items that the poorer kids at our school are selling on this buy, sell app. If that kid dares inflate the price for someone other than Seven, Seven will give the kid a bad rating and make his life at and outside school miserable. That’s what I overheard as he paced outside my front door, haggling a higher price with the seller. Who does that? Um, apparently Seven Shanahan.

  Seven also pays another kid good money to detail his truck and wash it spotless. Who does that when it’s been raining off and on, and has the kid seen Seven’s cleats after practice? They are filthy.

  “Warm enough?”

  “Yes, thanks.”

  “Ready to go?”

  I nod.

  “Good, ’cause I’m taking a shower at your place. Afterward, I plan on kissing you for being so agreeable.”

  If his kisses are my reward, I should be more agreeable. Except kissing Seven won’t be enough. I’ll want more.

  With how uncertain my future is, there’s not room for more, so why wish for it? Why set myself up for disappointment?

  23

  LEIGH

  Rue doesn’t pick me up until after nine.

  “It’s better to be late than on time,” she says as soon as I get inside her car.

  “I’m not a partier, so whatever works.” I buckle. “I thought Red would be riding with us.”

  “He’ll meet us there.” She pulls away from the fence and gets back on the road.

  “And these guys you want me to meet?”

  “They won’t show up until closer to ten.”

  “The party runs that late on a school night?”

  “Yep. There’s no rest for the wicked or the rich. By the way, I love your outfit. You’re rocking the badass look.”

  “Thanks.”

  That was my intention, to come off as don’t mess with me or I’ll mess with you, in case one or both of the pervy brothers go after Hannah. Except now that I’m sitting, I am having second thoughts on my choice of clothes, a short spaghetti-strap leopard print dress pulled over a long-sleeved black shirt paired with black combat boots.

  It doesn’t take long to get to the party house. By the looks of it, the party is in full swing. There are cars lined up and down both sides of the road.

  Rue parks at the bottom of the street—one of the few spots left—and we walk up the road to the house at the top of the hill. The music is loud, a rap song. There’s whooping and hollering from a bunch of guys, followed by girls laughing and shouting their encouragement.

  “Drink, drink, drink!”

  “Is there underage drinking going on?” I ask.

  “You betcha.”

  “I take it there are no adults around?”

  “None.” She clucks her tongue. “Get used to it. The parents out here are either helicopter parents or they parent from a distance from wherever they’re making their money from.”

  “Which category do you fall into?”

  Silence. Then it hits me.

  “I’m sorry, Rue. It was insensitive of me to ask. I mean, I don’t know anything about your life.” Are her parents together? Divorced? Is one of them dead and the other alive? Remarried?

  “Don’t be sorry. If I don’t want you to know, I’ll tell, okay?”

  “Thanks, Rue.”

  She’s a good person. My first real friend who’s a girl.

  “I have no clue where my mom is.”

  She crosses her arms over her chest, and we walk up the street side by side, her in her wedge heels and me in my combat boots.

  “I never knew my father. He left before I was born. Good news? Me and Riley have the same father.”

  Unlike Riley’s friend Arie, whose siblings have different fathers.

  Thankful she shared, I reciprocate. “I didn’t find out the man who raised me, who I thought was my father, wasn’t until the day he died. He told me I wasn’t his biological daughter. My mom never said a word.”

  “Aw, I’m so sorry, Leigh.” She stops and pulls me in for a hug. “Family can be messed up, right?”

  “Isn’t that the truth?”

  She lets me go and nods at the huge house nestled in the woods. “Ready to party?”

  I glance at the house with the wall of windows and the wraparound deck. Kids are dancing, drinking, laughing. Things I want to do. First, I have to find Hannah. I let Rue tug me to the house. The majority of the kids are from Delridge. I recognize a handful from Cambridge. They stare but don’t acknowledge me.

  Rue sticks close by my side, but I can tell she is antsy and wants to hang out with her friends. The group of girls is by the table of food, talking. On a chair on the other side of the table, next to a tall, willowy blonde in a pretty fuchsia red dress, is a small laundry hamper that is more tall than wide. Rue looks where I’m looking.

  “That’s where they’re keeping the prize money for whoever wins the scavenger hunt. You have to put in fifty dollars, and they’ll give you a ticket.”

  Henry didn’t mention that part to me.

  “Crap. I didn’t bring cash.”

  “I did. I’ll buy your ticket.”

  “Thanks, Rue. If I win, I’ll split the winnings fifty-fifty.”

  “No need. Just give me back the fifty.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I’m glad you came with.”

  So am I. Being here is a change from the loneliness I feel when I am in my place. The silence is deafening without Seven’s presence filling up the space.

  “Hey, I’m going to get a drink.”

  “Want me to go with?”

  “I’ll be fine. Go talk to your friends.” I tip my chin at the girls by the table.

  “I should introduce you—”

  “Go. Be gone.” I give her a gentle push toward her friends. “I’ll text you if I need a babysitter.”

  “I’m your bodyguard.”

  “Or a cockblocker in disguise.”

  “Anything but that. Text me if you need help out of a bind.” Phone in hand, she waves.

  I blow out a quiet breath. Finally. I can go look for Hannah, but I feel bad that I didn’t go with Rue and meet her friends.

  Vowing that I’ll ask her for an introduction later, I hurry inside
the house. My across-the-shoulder small bag whaps my hip. No matter where I go, I keep my EpiPen and my cell with me.

  I go in through the sliding glass door and find myself in the kitchen. There’s a guy next to the fridge. He’s older, probably in his early to mid-twenties, with reddish hair and bright-blue eyes. In his hand is a red plastic cup. In the other is an e-cigarette. He takes a long drag, then blows out smoke.

  “Party’s out there. There’s no need to come inside unless there’s something other than food and beer you’re after.” His gaze roves over my body.

  “The bathroom,” I say, staring back at him.

  A hint of a smile pulls at the corners of his mouth. “What’s your name? Never seen you at one of these shindigs.”

  There’s no harm in giving him my name.

  “Nice to meet you, Leigh. Name’s Austin.”

  I assume he’s one of the brothers. Where is the other one?

  “You go to Delridge?”

  “Cambridge. Where’s the bathroom?” I need to find Hannah. She’s here. I caught a glimpse of her coming up the road before she disappeared inside the house.

  “Third door to your right. Don’t wander up the stairs, yeah?”

  “Not my house, so sure.” Um, of course I’m heading upstairs. “Thank you!” I give him a small wave and hurry off to the bathroom.

  On my way to the “bathroom,” I glance over my shoulder. The guy is nowhere in sight.

  My heart beating fast, I dart up the stairs and hear voices coming from a room at the end of the hall.

  One voice I recognize. Who is the guy with Hannah? I inch closer to the door. They’re not quiet.

  “Don’t do that, please.”

  “I can do whatever the fuck I want.”

  The guy is angry. Hannah is . . . Her words are desperate. Similar to the girl who was almost raped by one of my foster brothers.

  I absently reach for the aluminum bat poking from the dumpster and grab air. Crap! I only have my bag and my fists. I left the mace and switchblade on top of my dresser. Balling my hands, I press my ear to the door. Silence. Mattress squeaking.

  No. No!

  I shove open the door. He is on top of her, holding her arms above her head with his thick fingers tight on her wrists. I see red. A growl rumbles from me. I charge him and jump on his back. My fists slam into the sides of his head.

  “Ow. Fuck. What the fuck are you doing?”

  He rears backward. I clamp my arms and legs around him. He tries bucking me off. I hold on for dear life.

  “Hurt her again and I’ll kick you in the balls,” I hiss.

  He grabs at my fingers and tries prying them from around his neck. I interlock them. He gags. I’m choking him and should let go. I can’t. He hurt Hannah.

  Small arms wrap around my waist from behind, and a soft voice says next to my ear, “Leigh, that’s my boyfriend you’re trying to murder.”

  Boyfriend? I let go. He rocks forward, grabbing at his throat. Starts having a coughing fit. I pound on his back. He swats at my hand. I tip back, knocking Hannah over. I roll off her and the bed and get on my feet.

  “I’m so sorry,” I tell the boyfriend before saying to Hannah, “I thought you were interested in someone else.”

  She looks confused, and then her eyes widen. “You mean Seven?”

  I nod.

  “I did it to save you from him. He has a one-track mind and can be an ass when something doesn’t go his way or someone stops him from having what he wants. Cam knows I’ve been flirting with the jerk in order to steer him away from you.”

  “Cool, isn’t she? Full disclosure. Doesn’t hold back. Too bad she wants to keep our relationship a secret.”

  It’s not a well-kept one if Henry called me specifically asking I keep an eye on Hannah.

  “So the mean girl attitude—”

  “Was an act. I thought you would drop from his radar that first day he picked on you, but you didn’t. I’m sorry, Leigh.”

  “It’s okay. Thank you for helping me. Seven is a pain in the ass.”

  “I second that.”

  She smiles. I smile back.

  “You and an older guy, huh?”

  “Love at first sight.” She slides her arm across Cam’s shoulders. They’re sitting on the bed, resting against the headboard. “Will you tell Henry?”

  “Not my secret. So all those parties you’ve been going to while your parents are gone is to come here?”

  “Yes.” She plants a kiss on Cam’s hair.

  “Henry said Brody’s older brothers are perverts who like the girls young. If they’re not pedophiles or weirdos, why not tell Henry? He was worried.”

  “I’m sorry he misled you. He has good intentions. Thinks Cam will hurt me the way Ashley hurt him.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  She bites down on her bottom lip. “Leigh, Henry’s ex is Cam’s younger sister.”

  Everything falls into place. “Awkward.”

  “It is. Can you see why he wouldn’t like me and Cam to be together? That’s the reason you’re here, isn’t it, to report back to him what you find?”

  “I’m not a snitch.”

  “I can trust you?”

  “Hannah, I’m not a pawn to be played by you and Henry.”

  Keeping her secret reminds me of what I did for my mother. What I’m doing for Sorrow. Nothing ends well where secrets are involved.

  “We should tell him, babe.” Cam takes her hand and kisses her knuckles. “My sis can be a real bitch, and I don’t want her representing the family. We’re better people than that, tossing someone away when they’re not useful any longer.”

  What does he mean by that? It doesn’t look like Henry’s ex used him for money. This place must’ve cost a fortune.

  “I said I don’t want you to tell. Not yet, Cam. Give Henry time to get over Ashley, and then we’ll get him used to us.”

  Was that what they were talking about? What I misconstrued as him forcing himself on her, doing whatever the eff he wants? I walk backward until I’m at the door.

  “I should go and give you two privacy. Again, I’m sorry for attacking you.”

  “Nah, no worries. Hannah told me about you. You’re cool having her back like that, coming to her rescue with those mean-as-fuck fists of yours. Nice to meet you, Leigh.”

  “You too, Cam.”

  I leave them be, relieved there wasn’t a baseball bat nearby. Or mace and a switchblade in my hands. Needing space and a quiet place to collect myself, I walk past groups of kids dancing to rap music and drinking from red cups.

  The perfect spot presents itself. A bench on the back side of a wooden shed. I sit, and closing my eyes, I rest back against the shed.

  Poor Henry. To go off to college with someone you believed loved you, only to be cheated on and dumped for the next best thing.

  Is that what Seven will do when I stop defying him? He’ll lose interest and move on to the next target? Or he’ll realize I’m not good enough, will never belong in his world of money, and ditch me for someone who does?

  Then I hear it. Seven’s voice in my head. “Leigh, in this, can you just be and enjoy what you have in the here and now?”

  I smile. How did that boy get so wise?

  24

  LEIGH

  I pull my knee up to my chest and listen to the crickets and the frogs. Voices cut into my solitude and the delicious memory of Seven singing as he showered at my place after practice today.

  Tomorrow, the team will be at an away game. Seven said he’ll be too tired to pay me a midnight visit. Good. I’d like to go hang out with Sorrow. Her dad should be passed out drunk. She said he usually is after dinner.

  “Shay, why are you taking me away from the party?”

  “To show you a magic trick.”

  I roll my eyes. The guy with the “magic trick” is Rue’s friend Shay?

  “That’s the dumbest pickup line.”

  “It’s not a line.”

  Poo
r guy, she completely plows past his growl of frustration.

  “Why do you think you have a chance with me, anyway? Why would I go out with a guy who has a girl’s name?”

  “It’s a unisex name, means hawk, and because my parents are fucking Irish.”

  I can picture him jamming his fingers through his hair. Not wanting to get called out for eavesdropping—hello, I was here first—I rise and walk from behind the shed.

  She’s gone, and he has his hands crammed in his pants pockets.

  “Good riddance. She didn’t deserve you.”

  “That so?” He pulls his shoulders to his core and looks me up and down, his gaze stuck on my boots. “What’s with the hardcore footwear?”

  “In case I need to kick some girl’s ass for turning down a boy’s magic show.”

  He laughs. “Gotcha.”

  “I’d love for you to show me your magic trick.”

  “Really? You don’t think it’s a dumb line?”

  “Why? Was it a trick to get her to come over here with you?”

  “I can get a girl to do whatever the hell I want without resorting to tricks.”

  “Um, excuse me, but I just watched your ego crash and burn.”

  “Not my fault she’s the new girl and doesn’t know when to bow to the king on campus.”

  Wow, he is full of himself. Reminds me of another full-of-himself king on campus.

  “Show me your trick.” Worst case, he doesn’t have one. Best case? I make a new friend. Shay can’t be that bad of a guy if he is friends with Rue.

  “Cool. You won’t regret it.”

  “You won’t either unless you try to stick your hands or your tongue anywhere on my body.”

  He smiles big. “Noted. Okay, do you have two quarters?”

  “Why would I bring change to a party?”

  “Good point. That’s why I brought my own.”

  I bite down on my smile. Rue’s friend is awesome.

  He takes his hands out of his pockets and opens one of his palms. He’s holding two quarters.

  “What do you see?”

  “Two quarters.”