Tyson: Broken Hill Boys (Novella 4)

by Sheridan Anne

  “But…”

  “I’ll text you your flight details,” she says cheerily, cutting me off and ending the call.

  Well, shit. I’m going to do this. I’m going to go home and win him back.

  I fly up off my bed, slipping my feet into a pair of shoes and grabbing only my phone, wallet, and keys. If Courtney is getting me from the airport then I’ll be able to steal some of her clothes and crash at her place, that’s if it all goes to shit, otherwise, I’d hope to be spending the night in Tyson’s arms. I don’t even care if we get naked, all I need are his arms around me and I’ll be good.

  Jittery nerves pulse through me as I race out the door. I’m not a spontaneous person and getting on a flight to win back a guy certainly isn’t something that I’m prepared for. What the hell am I supposed to say to him? ‘Sorry for fucking it all up but I’ve changed my mind now.’

  Shit, he’s going to think I’m a joke.

  I get to the airport in no time and let out a shaky breath as my phone chimes with a message from Courtney. I go over the flight details and gawk at the screen when I realize that the flight is taking off in twenty-five minutes.

  “Fuck, Court,” I grumble to myself. Couldn’t she have found a flight that gives me the slightest chance of actually making it on time? I have to get through the door, the line of passengers, get to the boarding gate, and then hope to God that I’m in the right place. I’m not great at airports. I find them more complicated than keeping up with Tora and Nate’s drama.

  I get out of my car, slam the door, and run.

  I can do this. By the end of the night, I’m going to be his girl…and if I’m not, then I don’t know what I’m going to do.

  Chapter 12

  Tyson

  We pull up at a party in Haven Falls and I look around. We’re definitely not in Broken Hill anymore. This place is fucking rough.

  Jesse looks across at me from the driver’s seat of his Range Rover. “You good?” he questions as Kaylah leans into the front from her spot behind me.

  “Fine,” I grunt, lifting the beer that I brought along for the ride to my lips. I finish what’s left in the glass and leave the empty bottle in one of the million cup holders in this car. I push my way out as Jesse cuts the engine and does the same.

  He meets me and Kaylah on our side and we all walk across the road, more than ready to see what kind of treasure tonight will hold.

  Jesse takes hold of Kaylah’s hand and tugs her into his side. “This party isn’t going to be like the ones at home,” he explains, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Stay by my side. I don’t want anything happening to you.”

  Kaylah’s face scrunches up as she looks to her boyfriend. “Are you forgetting who you’re talking to?” she questions. “I grew up at parties like this. I’m from here, remember? If anyone needs to watch themselves, it’s you two idiots.”

  “What?” Jesse says, appalled. “I’m fine. I don’t need to watch myself. Everyone loves me.”

  “Uh-huh,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “Just watch your pockets. Everyone here knows exactly who you are and what kind of money your family has. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone tries lifting your wallet or keys,” Kaylah looks to me. “Same goes for you, Ty. If you plan on getting wicked drunk again tonight, then maybe you should just give me your wallet now, save us all the trouble of looking for it later.”

  I roll my eyes but nonetheless, I hand it over and she quickly slips it into the tiny little bag that hangs over her shoulder. I don’t know how she does it, any girl for that matter. They walk around with these tiny little bags and somehow fit absolutely everything they’ll ever need into them.

  Jesse hands over his keys and wallet and before I know it, we’re pushing through the front door of one of the wildest parties Haven Falls has ever hosted. There’s a fucking glass bottle flying across the room and smashing into the TV while the music pumps through the house making the walls rattle. It’s the kind of party that should have the cops showing up and shutting it down, but something tells me that they’re going to be staying far away from this shit. This simply wouldn’t fly in Broken Hill. We’d have neighbor complaints and then receive community service until we’ve made up for our wrongdoings. Don’t get me wrong, our parties are fucking awesome, but this is just insane.

  It’s been a week since the boys’ little intervention and I have to give it to them, they really helped me out by forcing me to talk it through. Bry is still on my mind at every fucking chance but the alcohol has done wonders of numbing the pain. I hardly feel it anymore. I know I’m broken and I know that once it wears off, the pain will hit me again, but for now, I’m able to survive.

  The party is huge and makes the small home seem more cramped than what it really is. There’s one small living room with bodies packed in, grinding against one another. A narrow hallway leads to what I’m assuming is a few bedrooms and it takes only a few steps through the living room and I’m at the kitchen. Despite the house being crammed with bodies, there seems to be even more people outside, sitting around an out of control bonfire.

  I make myself welcome and become friends with the keg that sits upon the dining table while Kaylah shuffles off to see some of her old friends from her time at Haven Falls Private. Jesse groans and follows after her, though if anyone can handle themselves around here, it’s Kaylah.

  I pour myself and Jesse a drink, knowing that Kaylah will ditch him in the blink of an eye, and sure enough, by the time I’m finished pouring our drinks, Jesse is back at my side. “What did she say this time?” I ask, handing Jess his beer.

  “That she doesn’t need a bad smell hovering over her all night,” he says with a roll of his eyes, though we both know she does it because her friends either flirt with him or seem intimidated. There’s no middle ground.

  “So, nothing about not being a child who needs protection?”

  “Nope, but don’t be fooled, the party is only just starting. There’s still time.”

  “Shit, man. You’ve got your hands full with that one.”

  “Don’t I know it, but I’d rather have her pissed off with me than see something happen to her. I’ll never forgive myself if she got hurt on my watch.”

  I nod, knowing exactly how he feels. “Not to mention, Jackson would fucking kill you.”

  Jesse lets out a heavy breath before checking over his shoulder and making sure Kaylah is still exactly where he left her. She catches his eye and he raises his cup to her, silently reminding her that he’s keeping an eye on her. Kaylah instantly flips him the bird but can’t keep the grin off her face before poking her tongue out and laughing at their immature ways.

  Jesse laughs to himself before taking a sip of his beer and instantly scrunching his face up in disgust. “Shit, what the fuck is this? It tastes like piss.”

  I hook my thumb toward the keg as I lift my cup to my lips and drink it. Jesse is right, it tastes fucking awful but no matter what it tastes like, it’s still my vice to help me forget, so I drink until every last drop is gone before throwing the empty red cup down at the growing pile of cups scattered around the trash.

  Despite Kaylah’s warning to behave, when Jess and I have had too much to drink and one of us is feeling a little reckless and needs something occupying his mind, we can’t control what the fuck we get up to. So when I find myself standing in front of some dickheads from Haven Falls with Jesse at my back, there’s no fucking surprise.

  A circle instantly forms around us and I curl my hand into a fist. I haven’t gotten into a fight in ages and I’m welcoming it more than I should. The fucker in front of me puffs out his chest as though he’s trying to intimidate me, but he should know that once you lose the one important thing in your life, not much can intimidate you.

  I don’t even know how this shit started. Whether he came at me or me at him, I don’t know. Maybe I accidentally shoulder charged him as I made my way past, or maybe he’s just one of those insecure assholes who have an issue with us being
from Broken Hill. Though when that happens, it’s usually not personal and has a little more to do with the fact that we come from money. No matter what his issue is, knocking him out is going to go a long way in making me feel better.

  It’s been two weeks since I’ve seen Brylee and I feel like I’m in a downward spiral. The guys are doing their best to keep me from being too self-destructive, but to be honest, it’s not working. I’m making bad decision after bad decision and I can’t find it within me to care.

  My fucking girl is gone.

  She’s been sending me bullshit texts that say things like ‘Sorry’ or ‘Please forgive me’ and it grates on my nerves like never before. It’s hard enough knowing she doesn’t want a future with me but then she has to go and rub salt into the wound by continuously texting me. She needs to leave me the fuck alone so I can put this shit behind me and figure out how the hell I’m going to move on.

  Fuck, it hurts so bad.

  A girl bumps into the guy and stumbles into the center of the circle, completely oblivious as to what’s going on around her. “Jesus, Rocko,” she slurs, looking up at the guy with hatred. “Watch where the fuck you’re going.”

  Rocko reaches out and grabs the girl by her hair before launching her out of the way. The girl screams in pain before she’s thrown to the dirty floor, where it’s possible to be trampled under the massive crowd of people wanting to see a fight.

  I see fucking red. I don’t know this chick, who she is or what she stands for, but I know she doesn’t fucking deserve that. I don’t care if she’s Haven Falls designated slut, no chick deserves to be thrown around.

  I’m done holding back, the second the girl scrambles away and is safe, I throw myself forward. My fist rears back and I clock the fucker in the jaw. Rocko instantly reacts and comes for me with his boys behind him and I fucking welcome it.

  Jesse pushes in beside me, more than ready to knock a few fuckers out and in the blink of an eye, it turns into a fucking brawl with girls screaming and guys desperate to get in on the action.

  Ten minutes later, Jesse and I go flying out the door with Kaylah rushing out behind us. “Are you fucking happy?” she yells at our backs as we slink away toward Jesse’s Range Rover, which I’m positive he’s drunk way too much to drive. “Hey. Answer me. I’m talking to you. I don’t appreciate my boyfriend and his twat-waffle friends always getting me thrown out of parties. Do you realize that I hardly get to see my friends anymore?”

  Jesse groans and turns to face his girl, knowing he’s about to get the lecture of a lifetime. “Babe, come on. You saw what he did to that girl.”

  “I’m not saying he didn’t deserve it,” she snaps, “because he did. I’m saying that you should have kept out of it. Look at yourselves. Your shirts are torn, there are cuts and bruises covering your whole bodies, you look like shit and I don’t doubt you probably smell like shit too. You’re eighteen years old. You’ll be going to college soon and I get it, Tyson’s hurting and wanting to let loose, but this shit is getting ridiculous.”

  My jaw clenches as I keep walking, wanting to get away from their bickering. She has a fucking point, but right now, I don’t want to hear it, especially as fury is still pulsing heavily through my veins.

  As their voices get louder, the images begin flying through my head. Brylee telling me no, Rocko pushing that girl down, people fighting, Brylee’s body, screaming, tears, holding onto something so fucking tight that it hurts.

  “Tyson?”

  The fuck? Was that…? No, that’s fucking impossible. She wouldn’t be here. I’m going crazy. I must have been hit one too many times because there’s no way I just heard Brylee’s angelic voice.

  “Tyson. Stop.”

  Now, I know I didn’t just make this shit up. I spin around and standing right in the middle of the road is my girl. The one who drove me to all this mess in the first place. Brylee stands with Courtney and Puck rushing up behind her and she stares back at me with wide, horrified eyes, but all I see is the reason for all my pain. This is all on her, all this shit started when she left. She fucked me up real good.

  I storm towards her. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I demand as Kaylah and Jesse hurry to catch up with me.

  “I came to see you,” Brylee says as she begins looking me over. I can only imagine what she’s seeing and it’s probably similar to what Kaylah’s seeing in Jesse right now; fucking pathetic. “What happened to you?”

  I scoff. Who does she think she is? She left; she doesn’t want a damn thing to do with me. My face scrunches up as I glare at her. “That’s none of your business. Why are you here?”

  “I told you. I came to see you. I miss you, Ty. I need to make this right.” She steps closer and I instantly step away.

  I throw my hands up in disbelief. “This is a fucking joke, right?” I demand.

  Brylee shakes her head, looking uncertain before flicking her eyes between me, Jess, and Kaylah, trying to get some sort of answers. “It’s…no. I came to talk. I’m ready, I want to make this work, Tyson. You and me. Can we just go somewhere and talk?”

  “Talk?” I laugh. “The time for talking was two fucking weeks ago when I was begging you to be mine. You’ve fucked me up, Bry. You need to go and leave me the fuck alone.”

  “Dude,” Puck says, stepping forward, but with Brylee standing in front of me, everyone else is practically invisible.

  “Ty?” she questions, trying to step forward again as she looks at me with concern. “What’s going on with you?”

  “You fucked me up, Freckles,” I yell, feeling like I’ve repeated myself over and over again. What doesn’t she get about this? I shake my head, looking down at her in disappointment. “Just go home.”

  She stands there, refusing to move. “But I love you,” she whispers, sounding broken.

  Loud booming laughter is ripped from within me. “That’d be fucking right. Of course you come now telling me that. Well, guess what? You’re too fucking late.”

  Jesse slaps the back of his hand over my chest as a signal to calm the fuck down. “What the fuck is wrong with you, man? Chill out.”

  I keep my eyes trained on Brylee, but she doesn’t seem to be giving up. “I came here to fight for you. I got on a fucking plane, put my anxiety aside and got my ass here to tell you that I love you and you’re acting like a fucking pathetic loser. Look at you, Ty. Have you been in a fight?” I narrow my eyes, not wanting to give her an answer. She shakes her head and the disappointment is nearly enough to kill me. “This was a mistake coming here.”

  She turns on her heel and begins storming back to wherever the fuck she came from. Courtney instantly hurries after her with Kaylah sticking it to Jesse by slamming his keys into Puck’s chest. “Drive their drunk asses home, will you? I’m too angry with them.”

  Kaylah hurries after Courtney and Brylee and I’m left facing Puck who’s busily shaking his head. “Dude, you fucking blew it.”

  My hands ball into fists but before I can knock this dickhead out, Jesse’s hands are slamming into my chest. He grabs the front of my shirt and throws me across the road like a fucking ragdoll until my back is slammed up against the side of his Range Rover. “What the fuck is your problem?” he demands, getting in my face. “It’s one thing to talk to us boys like shit while you’re hurting but you don’t treat Brylee like that. You fucking blew it, Ty. Did you even hear her when she spoke? She told you that she fucking loves you and you laughed at her. You could have had it all. You could have had your girl, but now you’ll be fucking lucky if she ever talks to you again. Fuck, man.”

  Jesse slams his hand against his car, right next to my head before releasing my shirt and I slump back against his car as realization hits. My eyes go wide as I search Jesse’s. “What the fuck did I just do?” Brylee just showed up to make this work and I was too fucking drunk and angry to see that.

  Fuck. Please don’t tell me that I told her it was too late? She’s never going to talk to me again. I have to fix this. I
have to go after her.

  I push off Jesse’s car and tear the keys out of Puck’s hands. “Woah, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he demands, coming after me and tackling the keys right out of my hands.

  “I have to fix this,” I tell him in a panic. “I just sent her the fuck away. I have to go after her.”

  “Not like this, you’re not. You’re fucking wasted and covered in some poor fucker’s blood. Your clothes are torn and you look like trash.”

  “Puck.

  “No. Go and sober up, have a fucking cold shower and calm down. If you can drop the fucking chip on your shoulder and act like a decent human being to your girl, then yeah, maybe then I’ll drive you over there and you can start groveling at her feet.”

  “Come on,” Jesse says, opening his passenger side door and getting in, the disappointment clear on his face. “We’ll take him back to my place. His mom will fucking kill him if he walks in like that.”

  Puck nods and grabs me by my elbow before dragging me along until he’s shoving me in the back of Jesse’s car. Before I know it, he’s throwing me in a shower with the freezing cold water coming down over my head, yet I can’t seem to care as all that I can think about is her.

  Chapter 13

  Brylee

  “Come on,” Courtney says, tugging on my arm as my world crumbles around me. “Let us take you back to my place. You can sleep there and we can open a bottle of vodka and drink the night away. You won’t even have to remember it.”

  I shake my head as I struggle to keep the tears at bay. “No, please just take me home. I want to just lay in bed and forget tonight ever happened.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah,” I tell her as I reach Courtney’s car and desperately tug on the handle only to find the fucker locked.

  “Hey, wait up.” I look back up the road and find Kaylah hurrying after us. She reaches us a second later and throws her arms around me. “Holy shit, those stupid boys. Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I was trying to keep an eye on them from afar but I didn’t realize how much he’d been drinking and then freaking Rocko started a fight with them. God, I love them but sometimes, they’re so stupid.”