UNTamed: a bay falls high novel

by Kidman, Jaxson

  She wore huge sunglasses, which told me she must have had a great night.

  “Slept at Iris’s,” I said. “Wasn’t sure I could handle another escrow and jerking off story.”

  Claire smiled. “You heard that?”

  “More than I needed to.”

  Claire swiped the pills off the table and threw them into her mouth. She chugged the orange juice.

  “Got a little extra in that orange juice?” I asked.

  “Of course,” Claire said. “Easy hangover cure.”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  I had only been joking with her.

  “Did you have a good night?” Claire asked.

  “Yes,” I said. “Why?”

  “Tucker said you and he had a few seconds together.”

  My heart sank. “Yeah. So?”

  “What did you think?”

  “Think? I don’t know. I wasn’t planning on seeing him. He caught me…”

  “Making fun of me,” Claire said.

  “Not you.”

  Claire laughed. “Yes, me. Us rich assholes.”

  “Those were his words.”

  “He’s right. He said you were mocking everyone laughing. He said you looked beautiful. Just like your mother used to.”

  “Used to?” I asked. “So my mother is some nasty ugly whore now?”

  “Wow. You took that one to the extreme, Tinsley.”

  “Just getting ready for my future,” I said. “I’ll go from beautiful to nasty too, huh?”

  “Your mother is still beautiful,” Claire said. “He meant it in that he hasn’t seen your mother in years.”

  “Yeah, because he took off. Remember? He abandoned her when she was pregnant.”

  Claire slowly stood up. “I’m not going to play mediator here, Tinsley. This was part of the reason why I didn’t want you to find out about Tucker.”

  “And why’s that?” I asked, curling my lip.

  Claire lifted her sunglasses. Her eyes were bloodshot. She was a healthy mix of still drunk from the night before and hungover from today. Which wasn’t a healthy mix at all.

  She touched my cheek. “Because you won’t be able to turn it all off for a second and hear the other side of the story. And you have every right to be that way. On the surface, it’s shit. He left. Your mother was pregnant. He never met you. Never raised you. Never did anything for you. Even when you and your mother were at your lowest, he wasn’t around.”

  “That’s not a convincing argument to get me to talk to him,” I said.

  “I’m not trying to convince you of anything,” Claire said. “Just giving you the truth. That’s what you want, right?”

  I swallowed hard and nodded.

  Claire kissed my cheek. She really smelled like booze.

  And I almost felt threatened by her.

  With Claire gone, I went back to my original plan.

  I considered who to text.

  Who to fuck with first.

  My go-to had been Kip.

  Blonde hair, blue eyed surfer.

  The bad boy with the look burning in his eyes that maybe there was a good boy waiting there too.

  No.

  And I wasn’t going to text Barr either.

  No.

  I was going for the throat.

  I was going for Pres.

  Hope u enjoy ur money… next time, pull the trigger. Pussy.

  I laughed as I sent it.

  That would make him go really cra-

  My phone started to ring.

  “That was fast,” I said into the phone, taking Pres’s call.

  “What are you talking about, sugar?” Pres asked.

  “Don’t play stupid with me.”

  “I’m not playing fucking stupid,” he yelled.

  “You know what? I’ll be poolside for a little while. Soaking up the last of the BFH sun before I leave for good. Because there’s nothing else you can do to stop me.”

  “Tinsley, wait!” he yelled as I hung up.

  I laughed even harder.

  I wasn’t sure I ever heard Pres actually use my name.

  Which meant… I had gotten to him.

  * * *

  I lied.

  I didn’t dip my toes into the water.

  At least right away.

  I went back inside and demanded a smoothie.

  And by demanded, I called out what I wanted in it and made sure I sounded like a rich, snobby, asshole bitch. Because why not? I was never going to see this woman again. And this was her chosen path in life. To end up cooking food for someone like Claire.

  Whatever.

  After I got my kickass smoothie, I sat out by the pool.

  In my shorts and my hoodie.

  Barefoot.

  Feet in the water.

  And I waited.

  And the Rulz showed up.

  I turned my head and watched Pres appear from nowhere, Barr and Kip right behind him.

  Barr sucking on a cigarette.

  Kip with his hands balled up into fists.

  Pres came right to me and crouched down.

  I took a deep breath of his cologne.

  “I’m going to miss that smell,” I said.

  “What?”

  “Your cologne. It’s sexy.”

  “What kind of game do you think you’re playing, sugar?” Pres asked.

  “None. You tried, Pres. You failed. Twice. There was no cherry here to pop. And your attempt at scaring me didn’t work either.”

  “What have you been drinking, love?” Barr asked.

  “Nothing,” I said. “I have to drive. Remember?”

  “You’re not leaving this town, girl,” Kip said.

  “Why? You going to put on your black hoodie and your black mask and black sunglasses again?”

  Kip looked at Barr.

  Barr flicked his cigarette away and cracked his knuckles.

  “That’s what they looked like, sugar?” Pres asked.

  “They?” I asked. “You mean the Rulz?”

  “This isn’t a fucking joke, love,” Barr said.

  “I’m not saying it is,” I said. “You got what you wanted. You tricked me. You scared me. You got your stupid bet money back. And I came back here. But that’s it. It’s over. It’s done. Leave me the hell alone.”

  “You think we came after you,” Pres said.

  For the first time ever I saw something in Pres’s eyes.

  Sincerity.

  It was so much that I slowly put my drink down.

  I swallowed hard.

  “Pres…”

  “Fuck, sugar,” he whispered. He touched my chin. “We didn’t do anything to you.”

  “That’s not our style, love,” Barr said.

  I turned my head, breaking away from Pres’s grip.

  I looked up at Barr.

  Then I moved my eyes to Kip.

  He was livid.

  He looked ready for a fight.

  “Kip?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Not a chance, girl. We decided together to give you that money. You won it. You took us for a ride. Congrats. That’s done and over with.”

  “But our warning was real,” Pres said.

  My eyes moved back to him.

  “Your warning?”

  “We told you to stay here,” Pres said. “This is why…”

  They weren’t the ones who came after me.

  I wasn’t sure whether I should believe them or not.

  Pres stood up and made fists. “Fuck. This is my fault.”

  “Don’t say that, bro,” Kip said. “Not the time or place.”

  I kicked my feet out of the water and got to my feet. “They changed their voice. To sound different. That’s why I figured it was you three messing with me.”

  “You’re in danger, love,” Barr said.

  I turned and faced off with him. “Danger. Why?”

  “Because you know us,” he said. “Nothing we can’t take care of though. But you have to stay her
e. You have to fucking stay in BFH so we can protect you.”

  “Wait,” I said. My mind was still spinning. “Wait. Wait. Wait. This is real?”

  “This is real, girl,” Kip said. “Really fucking real.”

  “You drove off,” I said. “And then…”

  “That was our mistake,” Pres said. “It won’t happen again.”

  “Last night…”

  “That was us, love,” Barr said.

  “Making sure you listened to us,” Pres said.

  “But you listened to the wrong people, girl,” Kip said.

  “At least I stayed,” I said. “Right?”

  My voice crackled.

  Everything that had happened was real.

  Someone put something to my back. A gun? And then threatened me. Took the money. Then ran off.

  That was all real.

  I sucked in a breath and stepped back.

  I kicked over my drink and lost my balance.

  My legs finally decided to give out.

  For good reason.

  It was no longer my heart (or fake virginity) at stake here…

  … it was my life.

  * * *

  Kip carried me through the kitchen.

  “She’s okay,” Kip said. “We’re playing castle. I’m the knight saving her.”

  I shut my eyes tight and smiled.

  There’s the Kip I know and… like…

  My heart picked up speed again.

  Kip carried me to the piano room. A place where we could be alone.

  And there was plenty of cool air for me to catch my breath.

  Kip sat me down in a cushiony chair.

  He stayed crouched and stared into my eyes. He stroked my cheek.

  That look…

  I heard the sound of the piano and quickly turned my head.

  Barr was standing there, doing his thing.

  A soft and soothing song that calmed my heart down.

  And then there was Pres.

  In the doorway, filling the doorway, dressed in dark clothes to match his dark eyes, looking as though he were planning about fifteen things at once.

  “Who?” I whispered. “I need to know who.”

  Pres nodded. “You’ll know soon enough, sugar. I don’t want you here right now. I want you with us.”

  “I’m safe here.”

  “You’re safer with us, girl,” Kip said.

  “There’s no more bet,” I said. “You don’t have to play this game anymore.”

  “It was never a game, love,” Barr said. “Now pack a bag and come with us.”

  “Where?” I asked.

  “Barr’s place,” Pres said.

  I shook my head. “Not alone. I’m not some captured person. If this is real, then we need to call someone. The cops or whatever.”

  “Not yet,” Pres said.

  “Not yet?” I asked.

  “Bring your friends,” Barr said. “I don’t mind.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “You heard me, love. Call up Gi and Iris. Tell them we’re having a little party. A sleepover. Something fun.”

  “Something fun,” Kip said.

  “This isn’t fun anymore,” I said. “It never was fun to begin with.”

  Barr stopped playing the piano.

  The room fell silent.

  All eyes on me.

  “No matter what, girl, we’re getting our money back,” Kip said. “Nobody steals from us.”

  “And nobody threatens what’s ours,” Pres said.

  “What’s yours?”

  “You, love,” Barr said. “You.”

  My face started to burn like it always did when I was around them.

  They were saying the same things that they did when the bet was alive and well.

  Now they were saying the same without something to hide behind. Without anything fake to offer up to me as though I was dumb enough to fall for it.

  That was the scariest part of it all.

  I could survive BFH being fake.

  But how was I going to survive it being so fucking real?

  five

  five

  “I can't believe you talked me into this,” Iris said as she turned to go down the driveway that would lead to Barr’s house.

  “There wasn’t much of a choice,” Gi said.

  “They offered to protect you,” I said from the backseat.

  I sat with my arms crossed.

  I really wasn’t jumping for all that much joy to have Gi and Iris there. But since Barr offered, and since the situation seemed so dire and dangerous, I figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

  They would be a good barrier and distraction from the Rulz, even if they were terrified of all three.

  “Holy hell,” Iris said.

  That was probably all of our reactions at the sight of Barr’s house.

  It was giant (shocker… not). But it was very different from the other houses in this town. It was dark. It almost looked like a castle. There were lots of curves to the house. Lots of tall windows. And lots of random pieces to the house that didn’t fit each other. For a second, it looked uneven, or maybe even a little sloppy, but when you scanned your eyes across the entire house, it made sense. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. I half expected guards in armor on horses to come racing toward us, crossing a bridge over a moat with hungry alligators.

  There had to be a story behind the house though.

  Especially with the way Barr’s parents were.

  They seemed to love to talk and brag about themselves. And their son. The great and sweet Barrington. You know, the good guy who played piano and was smart. Definitely not the edgy, bad boy who smoked, played that crazy music in underground clubs, got into fights, and even got sent away to a bad boys school.

  Kip parked his SUV right behind us.

  The Rulz got out and waited for us.

  I got out first.

  “Nice house,” I said to Barr.

  “Bullshit,” he said. “It’s all visual, love.”

  “I’m sure after a few tequilas, Crazy Cathy will be spilling the story,” Kip said with a laugh.

  “Oh yeah?” I asked. “What story is that?”

  Pres walked up to me, leaving only inches between us.

  Damn, did he look mad as hell.

  “Some famous people lived here,” Pres said. “Some old movie writer. And some composer. Okay? They were rich, famous, did a ton of drugs, and they both ended up dead in this house.”

  “So it’s haunted?” I asked.

  “If you believe in ghosts, sure,” Pres said.

  “Do you believe in the ghosts?”

  “I believe in what’s happening right now, sugar,” he said.

  Pres walked by me.

  I looked over my shoulder.

  It wasn’t that he was scared or even a little nervous… but something was off about Pres.

  “No worries, girl,” Kip said, drawing my attention away from Pres.

  “About what?” I asked, looking up at him.

  “I’ll save you from the ghosts,” he said with a wink.

  “I’m more worried about the bullets,” I said.

  “Damn. You made that serious.”

  “No, Kip, you did. You three did. Now someone get my fucking bag.”

  I turned and walked away from Kip.

  Iris and Gi were shoulder to shoulder, almost like they were ready to take cover and huddle together. Like there was a real ghost coming after them.

  It wasn’t a ghost.

  Just the Rulz.

  I opened my arms and gave both Gi and Iris a hug at the same time.

  “It’s fine,” I whispered to them. “Just stay with me and we’ll get through this.”

  “Are you sure you believe them?” Iris asked.

  “Crazy as it is, I do,” I said. “And I’m giving them one night here for this bullshit. After that, I’ll go to the police.”

  “Then you’re leaving, right?” Gi asked.<
br />
  There was hurt in her eyes.

  I swallowed hard. “I don’t know anymore. I don’t know where I belong anymore.”

  “Let’s get inside, love,” Barr said as he walked by us.

  We strangely enough didn’t go through the beautiful, custom wood front door.

  Instead, Barr walked us to the side of the house. That door opened to a dark foyer that almost rivaled Claire’s main foyer.

  This house was nothing short of a house of hallways, rooms, almost like a maze or some kind of place you’d go with friends and get locked into for fun and try to escape.

  I had to admit though it was kind of fun watching each one of the Rulz carrying a bag. As myself, Gi, and Iris hung back a little, slowly following their lead.

  Up a set of turning, wooden steps to the second floor.

  I said second floor in my mind because the height of the house suggested there was a third floor.

  And I was right because I saw another set of stairs.

  Barr walked to a door that was much bigger than a normal door to a bedroom.

  A set of doors that he opened that led the way into a jaw dropping loft apartment.

  That’s what it looked like.

  A wide open floor plan with everything you could possibly imagine you’d need to survive. There were steps against the one wall that went up to the loft part. And along the entire back wall there was no wall at all but a large window that looked out to the ocean.

  My jaw almost hit the floor as I shuffled my feet along the hardwood floors.

  “This could work,” Iris said.

  “This is my place,” Barr said. He released his grip on Gi’s bag and kept walking to a stainless steel fridge. He opened it and took out a drink for himself, Pres, and Kip.

  “Now what?” I asked.

  “Make it your own, love,” Barr said. “But not too comfortable.”

  “No, make it too comfortable,” Kip said. “Pretend we’re not even here. Girls sleepover.”

  “Such a boy,” I said.

  “I think you’ve felt that I’m more of a man than what you’ve had before, girl,” Kip said.

  My face turned red.

  Iris elbowed me to add insult to injury.

  Pres had already walked to the window and stood there with his hands in his pockets.

  He was lost in thought.

  “He doesn’t look good,” Gi said. “I mean, not physically… it’s Pres. He’s… you know… fucking whoa hot… but the way he’s acting…”