Masked Truth: Harrington Hills Academy: Book One

by Mae Reese

  “Oh, the best” he smirks at me.

  “Ugh I hate this story” I brush my fingers through my hair nervously. “When we were freshman, my brother was caught having an affair with Ms. Thomason…” I trail off, nervously looking at Barron for a reaction.

  “Thomason… As is Garrett’s mom?” He asks, his eyebrows coming together in confusion.

  “Yep, That very one. Then once my parents cornered him he admitted that there were a few other country club wives in his little black book. Apparently my brother has a Mrs. Robinson fetish” I fake gag, not only at the fact my brother has a thing for older women but when all of this happened he was only fifteen.

  “So instead of calling the police and having the women arrested for statutory rape, which would have damaged the pristine reputation of the Santora name, they sent him away” I say, shrugging.

  “I don’t even know what to say” he says quietly, looking at the ground in front of us as he walks on the darkened path.

  “Nothing to say. My brother is still the same, it wouldn’t shock me if he ended up marrying some cougar divorcee” I roll my eyes. Barron laughs, the sound echoing back from the dense trees on either side of us.

  “How did you know this was here?” I ask, changing the subject as we walk side by side down the trail, the darkness only broken up by the moonlight from the full moon cutting through the overhead branches.

  “Stephy is my cousin. I actually lived here for a year when my dad…” he trailed off. I squeezed the hand I was still holding, silently telling him that he didn’t have to share if he wasn’t comfortable. He cuts his eyes to me before he finishes “When my dad went away for a while. I stayed here with my Aunt and Uncle and still went to Townes. I just drove back and forth every day.”

  “Ah” is the only response I can muster. I hadn’t said anything earlier in the week when we were talking about the party, or in our text about my broken knight, that Stephy was the girl Weston was hanging all over at that bonfire. Thank god I didn’t stick my foot in my mouth. Barron Tucker does not seem like the kind of guy who takes kindly to people insulting those he cares about.

  We walk another 20 yards or so before the trees break up and a clearing appears next to a small pond. Dropping my hand Barron walks out to the end of an old, not too safe looking dock. “Come on” he says, looking over his shoulder.

  I cautiously step on the old wood, testing its strength before taking another step. It’s stupid really, if it can hold Barron it can hold me.

  Barron sits as I reach him, his legs hanging off the side, and I take the spot beside him. We sit in silence for what seems like forever, the only sounds coming from the crickets and bullfrogs playing in the night.

  Pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket he pulls one out, lighting it before offering me the pack. I shake my head, leaning back on my hands and looking up at the sky.

  “I didn’t know you smoked” I said, not turning to look at him.

  “Yeah, I’ve been trying to quit since football is starting” he replies, looking at the cigarette in his hand.

  “I have a confession to make” Barron says, inhaling deeply before blowing smoke from his lungs.

  “And what might that be, Tucker?” I ask, rolling my head and looking over at him.

  He stares at me, his eyes dark as he contemplates his words. He sighs, almost as if he feels resigned to tell me the next part. “About 40 yards up the trail from here is a little fishing cabin. It was here when my uncle built the house and he just left it standing.”

  “Your confession is that there’s a fishing cabin in the woods? I did not come out here to hook-up with you, B” I say, scrunching my nose.

  I mean the idea may have crossed my mind…

  He groans, dragging his fingers through his hair and tugging on the ends slightly “No, princess, I didn’t bring you out here to hook-up. My confession is that I selfishly brought you out here because I wanted you to walk your sweet ass over to that cabin and see that your precious boyfriend is inside, balls deep inside my cousin…” he trails off, screwing his eyes tight.

  You’ve got to be shitting me…

  “You’re joking” I say, my eyebrows drawing together.

  He shakes his head, taking another pull on his cigarette “Nope. Afraid not.”

  It takes me all of a minute to process the words that just came from his mouth.

  Grabbing his face between my hands I pull his face to mine, loudly popping a kiss on his cheek. “You’re the fucking best.”

  “I… I’m what?” He asks, confusion marring his gorgeous face.

  I don’t explain, I jump to my feet and briskly walk off the dock and further up the trail.

  “Shit” Barron exclaims, jumping up and following me. “Listen princess… I know this must hurt and I’m sorry I had to be the…”

  I cut him off with a laugh “Hurt? If I walk in there and Wes is fucking Stephy, I swear to god I will owe you a year’s worth of blowjobs just for the simple fact you let me catch them.”

  The confusion on his face is almost comical as I continue walking, slowing when I see the tiny one room wood cabin come into view. I can see a soft light pouring out of a tiny window on the side of the building, shadows flickering behind it.

  Awe, they’re fucking by candlelight. How cute.

  Slowly sneaking up to the side I try to stealthily peek through the tiny window. My ninja skills are not needed though, the closer I get the louder the noises emanating from the cabin become and the more obvious as to what is happening inside.

  “Don’t take this personally but your cousin sounds like a really bad porn star right now” I say, scrunching my nose in disgust. Barron pulls me back a moment before I peek in the window, situating himself in my place. He looks in, his eyes becoming cold at whatever he sees.

  Looking to me he nods once, letting me know that the occupants are who he said.

  Stupid fucking bastard…

  I walk to the front of the shack and I stand on the tiny square porch, my hand on the door while I steel my nerves.

  Deep breath…

  Pushing the door open it bangs against the wall with a thud. Weston and Stephy jump to their feet, eyes wide as they take me in. I stand at the threshold of the door, arms crossed across my chest as I catalog the scene before me. Weston’s face is almost comical as the shock registers that his girlfriend just caught him fucking another girl, then the anger that takes its place when he sees that Barron is standing behind me.

  “Well, well, well…” I say, raising my eyebrow and taking slow steps into the room. Weston’s shock is back, the anger forgotten as his brain works overtime to try and come up with a plausible excuse for being stark naked with another girl.

  Stephy, on the other hand, looks absolutely gleeful that they’ve been caught.

  “Baby… it isn’t what it looks like, I’ve had too much to drink. She was flirting and I couldn’t find you and I just... I don’t even care about her!” he says, grabbing a pillow and covering himself.

  Jesus it’s like an excuse remix…

  Stephy scoffs behind him, apparently offended by his excuses.

  I laugh, and not just a chuckle. I full on belly laugh like the scene before me if the most comedic performance I have ever laid witness to.

  “You… you honestly think I am that stupid to walk in here and see you with this little whore and that I would believe anything that came out of your mouth? That’s fucking cute, Wes.” I’m gasping at this point. This entire situation is too much.

  He opens his mouth but I hold up my hand, silencing him. “Wait, I’m not done. You have spent the last week telling me that this girl was obsessed with you and that she was a clinger. You said, and I quote, ‘You have nothing to worry about. Stephy is a dumb cunt and so below me I would never, ever think of dating or screwing someone like her’ and yet here you are.” Might as well kill their budding romance in the process of destroying ours.

  He opens his mouth again, putting his hand
up in a placating motion motion, the other still holding the pillow in front of his pitiful erection, trying to calm me down. What he doesn’t know is I am calm, there is not an ounce of anger inside me.

  “There is not one thing you can say right now to fix this. I am done, WE are done” cutting him off. His face falls as I turn to leave, confused about how he is supposed to be handling this.

  As I am about to walk out the door he stops me, his words calculated with the attempt to cut me down “Well maybe if you would have let me fuck you sometime in the last three years I wouldn’t be here now. You being such a prude is what pushed me to Stephy, I knew she was an easy lay… something you never were.”

  See? Always turns it back around…

  I don’t even turn around as I respond, giving him my back “And maybe if you had something worth a damn to fuck me with,” I pointedly look over my shoulder and down to where his cock is covered with the pillow “I would have let you” I reply. I turn, walking out of the shack before he can hit me with another bullshit line.

  I take off back up the trail towards the house, the moon still halfway lighting the way. I can hear Barron behind me running to catch up to me, his footfalls hard against the worn and beaten dirt below.

  He doesn’t say anything as he reaches me, falling in step next to me as we both make our way through the woods. Emerging from the darkness and into the lights around the house, we walk in silence.

  “Sky, I really am sorry you had to see that” he whispers, another cigarette lit between his fingers.

  I shake my head, “Trust me when I tell you, Barron. You just did me a huge favor.”

  Finally free…

  Pulling out my phone I unlock it and open the Uber app. I need to get the hell out of here before Wes comes out and tries to fix this. The last thing I want is to sit here and listen to his bullshit, especially when he has finally given me a reason to dump his ass.

  Kiss my ass Linda Santora, looks like you and Daddy dearest will have to find another way to keep yourselves important in the Elite world.

  I’m cut off from the little happy dance I am doing in my head when Barron grabs my phone out of my hand and slides it into his pocket, he flicks his cigarette out on the grass before grabbing my hand and pulling me off to the side of the house. He continues leading me towards the front where everyone has parked, dodging people who are milling around chatting and drinking.

  “What are you doing?” I ask as he pulls his keys from his pocket.

  “Saving the princess” he replies, a smirk playing on his lips as he stops beside a sleek gunmetal grey Aston Martin db11. He pulls the passenger door open for me, standing and waiting for me to get inside.

  “Where’s your truck?” I ask.

  “The house, I wanted to drive my other baby tonight” he smirks, running his hand along the cool metal of the sports car.

  “And how many ‘babies’ do you have?” I ask.

  He is standing next to me, holding the door open. “A few. What can I say? I like pretty things” he winks at me before nodding his head and indicating I get in.

  Barron shuts the door behind me, circling around the front of the car and climbing in himself.

  Once inside he revs the engine, taking off down the dark driveway and causing me to be pushed back into the seat with the force.

  Instead of turning left out of the driveway and heading towards my house, Barron takes a right “Where are we going?” I ask, glancing over at him.

  Chapter 13

  Barron

  I was expecting tears, a lot of them. What I wasn’t expecting was for Skylar to thank me for showing her that her douchebag boyfriend was cheating on her. But then again, Skylar is proving to be anything but predictable.

  “Where are we going?” she asks, those big blue eyes looking over at me from the passenger seat.

  “Another party, one with a lot less pretentiousness” I reply.

  I can see her chewing her bottom lip, something I have learned this week either means she’s nervous or she has something to say and she’s trying to decide whether to say it.

  “Spill it” I say, pushing her to talk.

  “Why did you show me?” she asks.

  I toss the answer in my head before replying, something my Dad taught me from an early age.

  Careful with your words, son. Once they’re out they can only be forgiven, never forgotten.

  “Weston is an asshole. Not only was he playing you, but he was telling Stephy that he was going to break up with you for her. Which, let’s be honest here, we both know he wasn’t. I told you that first night when I dropped you off, you can do better” I reply, my answer lacking a few other details.

  “I hated seeing the fire dull in those eyes every time you were around him”

  “I can’t stop picturing those lips wrapped around my cock”

  See, careful words.

  “Well, I appreciate it more than you know” she sighs, screwing her eyes shut and leaning her head against the headrest. Without opening them she pulls her phone out of her pocket and I can see Weston’s name flashing across the screen. She hits the side button, sending him to voicemail without even opening her eyes.

  I want to ask her why. I want her to tell me the reasons behind her staying with someone she clearly has no interest in, but I won’t. Not until I have earned more of her trust. It’s something I am biding my time on, playing my cards right because girls like Skylar Santora? They don’t bullshit. She may seem quiet, she may seem like she lets the world go on around her while she sits by silently but I know better.

  I can see her fire. I can see those eyes blaze when her temper flares. I can see the mask of composure she puts in place.

  I see her.

  And damn if I don’t like what I see.

  ∞∞∞

  Turning into my driveway I pass through the open gate, driving the long way up to the house nearly double the size of the one we just left.

  I raise two fingers at Cruz who is sitting in the little guard shack that is usually empty when the gates are closed. Dads only stipulation to me having parties at the house is that Cruz mans the gate and 4 other body guards are stationed inside the party.

  Dad is serious about protecting those he loves.

  Skylar groans “Fuck.” Looking down at her phone which is lit up again with an incoming call she starts chewing her lower lip.

  “Why don’t you just turn it off?” I ask, putting the car in park and turning towards her.

  She shakes her head “If I don’t answer or it starts going straight to voicemail he will show up at my parents’ house, and no one wants that. I would rather be there when they find out I dumped Wes.”

  The call ends, only for 3 text messages to pop up in back to back succession.

  “How come you threw Stephy under the bus tonight? She’s your family and you betrayed her” she asks, setting the phone down on her thigh.

  I decide to go with the most honest answer I have “She made her bed. She knew Weston had a girlfriend and she chose to do what she did. I have no loyalty to people who betray others.”

  “Well, she is welcome to have Weston. She will soon learn he is no prize, and I don’t do refunds or exchanges. That sale is final.”

  I laugh when her phone lights up again on her thigh with an incoming call. I see her spine straighten, almost as if she is readying herself for battle. She swipes her finger across the screen and puts it on speaker, raising an eyebrow at me.

  “What?” she snaps into the phone. Weston is obviously still at the party, the music and voices carrying around him.

  “Sky baby where did you go?” he asks, his voice sounding nervous.

  You should be nervous, pretty sure you’re about to have your ass handed to you.

  “I left” she clips out, her eyes hard and the aggravation evident in her face.

  The noise in the background dies down, he sounds like he is walking away from the house. His breath coming out in huffs with every step he
takes “Where are you? I’m coming to get you.”

  Skylar laughs humorlessly “Where I am is no longer your concern.”

  “Dammit Skylar, Where the fuck are you?” his temper flares causing me to grit my teeth. This asshole actually believes he’s worthy of knowing her whereabouts after what he did.

  Un-fucking-believable.

  “I swear to fuck Sky, if you don’t tell me where you are I’ll…”

  She cuts him off, her eyes widening slightly “You’ll what Weston? Call my parents? Tell everyone that I dumped you for FINALLY having the proof of what I have known for the last three years? Go ahead. Call them, tell the whole damn school. How do you think your parents are going to react when they find out you cheated on me? I said it earlier but in case your hearing was damaged from all of Stephy’s fake moans, and trust me they were fake, let me repeat myself one more time; I. AM. DONE” she says, hanging the phone up and powering it down.

  I almost want to stand and slow clap for her. Putting Weston in his place has been a long time coming from what I had gathered over the last few days.

  She tosses it in her purse before looking at me “We going in or what?”

  “Come on princess” I smirk before getting out. I make it to her side before she has a chance to open her door and open it for her, waiting until she gets out before closing it behind her.

  She follows behind me as we take the entrance on the side of the house that leads down into the basement. I open the door and hold it for her, the sound of some hip hop song blaring up the steps.

  Jeremy is leaning against the wall, his eyes assessing for any sort of danger. At 6’7 he has three inches on me, and probably two-hundred pounds. The man is a freaking beast.

  “Whose house is this?” she asks as she walks down the stairway, the smell of weed permeating the air. She glances up at Jeremy and smiles at him as we pass, causing his cheeks to turn a little pink.

  What the fuck?

  “Mine.” I reply when we make it to the bottom, she looks at me curiously her bottom lip between her teeth before she finally gives up the internal struggle and focuses on the room around her.