by Chloe Walsh
Nothing. Nada. Nil.
But apparently all Noah Messina had to do was press against me and my vagina welcomed him like the prodigal prick.
I felt weirdly betrayed by my body.
"Don't be ashamed, Thorn," Noah purred before touching my butt cheek. "I can do all types of things to your ass."
I don’t doubt it…
"Remove your hand from my ass," I warned him as I dropped my hand to his crotch and squeezed, not hard enough to hurt him, but enough to surprise him. "Or I'll remove your chances of fatherhood."
My face flamed and I was the one who was surprised when I felt just how much of him was in my hand…
Noah must have heard the promise in my words, felt it in my touch, because he removed his hand from my ass and backed away slowly.
"You're not afraid of me, are you?" he mused softly as he studied my face.
"Should I be?" I heard myself asking, eyes locked on his.
Noah's brow creased and his tone was oddly serious when he said, "You need to walk away from me, Thorn – before I get addicted."
What the hell?
"Before you get addicted to what, hurting me?" I shot back, truly having no idea what part of my body this bullshit was spewing from.
"Amongst other things," he replied quietly.
"I bet I can hurt you more." I had absolutely no idea why I said that or why I grinned evilly when Noah's face reddened, but my mouth seemed to be suffering from a serious case of verbal diarrhea. "And I've got plenty more paint – just in case the rest of your car needs a makeover."
Noah narrowed his eye in challenge. "Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Thorn," he told me as he shot me a dark look that said I'm not done with you – not by a long shot.
****
I was used to having P.E with boys, my old school had been co-ed, but one particular boy in my class made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
The way Noah Messina stared at me, smirking maliciously whenever I caught him watching me, was shameless and utterly unsettling.
And why was the teacher allowing him to smoke on the side-lines? If we were caught with a box of cigarettes in my old school it meant immediate suspension.
What the hell was he doing in high-school anyway? He looked like he belonged in a gym – or a prison cell…
Noah caught my eye and rubbed his thumb against his fingers, the universal gesture of money, before raising his brows expectantly at me.
Whatever…
Deciding to leave Noah to his broody staring, I gave him the middle finger before running off and joining Hope on the field.
Coach Johnson surprised me when he decided to play soccer and I, in turn, surprised him – and the majority of my class – when I kicked ass.
I grinned like an idiot when I lobbed the ball over Layton Brooks' head and took a shot at goal. The center-back, Devon Lewis, handled the ball in the penalty box, and coach blew his whistle, rewarding our team a penalty.
"You take it, Teagan," Layton Brooks panted as he patted my shoulder.
"It's in the bag," I shot back cockily. Layton grinned and shook his cute head before running backwards to join our team.
Positioning the ball, I took a few deep breaths before taking my shot. The football hit the crossbar before coming back out the pitch. I lunged forward and volleyed it. Coach blew the final whistle just as the ball hit the back of the net, courtesy of my foot.
Goal.
Oh yeah, I kick ass...
Our team erupted in cheers and out of the corner of my eye I noticed Noah standing on the sideline having what seemed to be a heated argument with someone that looked awfully like Hope's brother, but I shook it off. I was having a moment and he wasn't included in my revelry.
"Where'd you learn to do that?" Layton asked as he jogged over to congratulate me. "That was fucking awesome. You're sure you're a girl, right?"
I placed my hands on my hips and inhaled deeply, emphasizing the fact that I had breasts and not a penis. I'd heard that particular question more times than I cared to remember because of my ability to kick a guy's butt on pretty much any sports field. Sticks and stones… "Last time I checked," I replied sarcastically.
"I didn't mean to offend you." He looked embarrassed. "I've never seen a girl play as well as you. Do all Irish girls play like you?"
"Where I'm from sport is a pretty big deal," I told him as we walked back towards the dressing rooms. "Most of the girls in my area are involved in sports – there's not much else to do. I played basketball and soccer for my school back home. And then football and camogie for my local GAA club."
"GAA?" Layton looked confused as he handed me his water bottle.
"Yeah," I chuckled before taking a sip. "Have you ever played hurling?"
Again a frown. He wore his frown like a boss. Cute…
"I brought a few hurleys – the stick you use to play," I told him. "And sliotars – that's the ball you use – with me from home. I can show you sometime if you want…"
A group of girls passed us then, snickering and whispering. "Tranny," one of them snickered.
I rolled my eyes in disgust. "There's a gaggle of geese in every school, right?"
Layton laughed. "Geese?"
I nodded solemnly. "A hissy tormenting hoard of lookalikes who huddle together in a group hoping to overpower and intimidate anyone weaker than them."
He grinned broadly, exposing a really cute gap in between his front teeth. "So girls are geese?"
I nodded nonchalantly and shrugged. "Some girls are, sure."
"What are you then," he asked in a husky voice, stepping closer to me, and I was pretty sure he was flirting with me. I decided I was happy for him to do this since he looked so damn good in the white t-shirt he had on that emphasized his deliciously chocolaty skin tone. "If you're not one of them?"
"I'm a lone wolf," I shot back with a smile.
"You're all right, Irish," Layton chuckled, his expression sobering quickly when Noah approached.
"Lone wolf, meet the alpha," Layton muttered before jogging on ahead of me. "I'll talk to you later, 'kay?"
I shrugged. "See ya."
"So you like to play with balls," Noah said dryly as he stared down at me with his head tilted sideways.
It was then that it dawned on me…no matter where I lived on this earth one entity would always remain the same, and that was the stupidity of the pubescent male. It was a comfort, really, to know a dick was a dick no matter what school I went to or which town I lived in.
"I'm actually a little disappointed with that one." Shaking my head I stepped around Noah and strode off in the direction of the changing rooms. "I thought you were more original – my mistake."
"Sweetheart, your mistake was getting involved with me in the first place," Noah called out after me.
"I'm not involved with you, sweetheart," I shouted back as I stalked inside the gym.
I barely had the words out of my mouth when I turned the corner and an achingly annoying voice drilled through my ears causing me to look up and mentally groan.
"Ugh," Ellie sneered as she stood in the doorway of the girls changing room, blocking my way. "You're like the proverbial bad penny."
"Yeah, yeah, I keep popping up everywhere." I rolled my eyes and pushed past her and grabbed my bag from the bench.
Swinging around in anger I marched back to Ellie and stood face to face with her, giving her my best bored expression. "If you're going to try and insult me, then at least have the ingenuity to use some original material." My words were dripping with sarcasm.
"Anorexic bitch," Ellie hissed and I held my hand to my chest.
"Ouch. That really hurt." I sighed and wiped a pretend tear from my eye. "How will I ever get over that one?"
"Stay out of my way, Teagan," Ellie said in an oddly serious voice as she stepped closer to me and out of earshot of her friends. "Stay on your side of the fence, stay away from him and we won't have a problem."
With that she turned
on her four inch hooker heels and stalked out of the changing room.
I didn't need to ask who he was, and she didn't need to warn me off. I wasn't interested. I wasn't.
****
Chapter 4
Teagan
Hope offered me a ride home from school, but I declined when I realized all three of her man-child brothers were travelling with her. They were nice boys – well, Logan was a nice boy – but accepting Hope's offer would involve sitting between Cameron and Colton and I'd had my fill of excitement for the day.
As I strolled down the sidewalk on my walk home from school my mind kept flicking back to the argument I'd witnessed between Noah and that guy on the field. I'd pushed it to the back of my mind at the time, but now I was obsessively going over it. The more I thought about it the more certain I was that the guy Noah had been talking to was one of the Carter triplets. Which one I had no clue because they all looked so alike, but he and Noah had looked so intense and this weird feeling kept tapping away in the back of my mind, like a warning…
"Hey you."
A familiar voice called from behind me and I swung around and grinned like an idiot when I realized it was the hot guy from gym class. "Hey Layton," I said as I waited for him to catch up with me.
As he jogged towards me, I took a moment to appreciate just how good looking Layton Brooks was. He was incredibly beautiful for a man – I know that sounded strange, but it was true.
With his black hair shaved tight, his gentle golden-brown eyes, crystal clear skin, and full lips I had to remember to swallow my spit and not drool on him. "You heading this way?" I asked when he reached my side.
"Yeah," he chuckled as he fell into step with me. "So, how was your day?" He nudged me gently as he spoke and I liked that too. Yeah, he could do more of that. "Make some new friends yet?"
"What, besides you?" I shot back teasingly.
He grinned and my stomach flipped a little.
"I was a given," he chuckled before sliding my bag from my shoulder and placing it on his own shoulder. He winked at me I was sold. It was official, I loved America. Why couldn't all men be like this one?
"Err, yeah," I mumbled, blinking out of my reverie. "Hope Carter and her friend Ash, do you know them?"
Layton nodded solemnly before bursting out laughing. "I should hope so," he chuckled. "I live with one of them."
I stopped and gaped at him.
"Ashlynn is my twin sister," he clarified.
"Well damn," I mused before picking up pace again. "It's a small world." Smiling I added, "They're nice girls, and Hope's family are lovely."
"Yeah," Layton replied uncomfortably. "I still don't know how they can live there," he added before shuddering. "It freaks the hell out of me."
I narrowed my eyes. "What does?"
"That house," he whispered. "You know, because of the murders."
My feet stopped moving.
My heart stopped beating.
"What are you talking about?" I whispered.
Layton frowned. "I thought you knew…shit," he mumbled before sighing heavily. "Brace yourself, Irish, you may need a whiskey after this."
****
Noah
People say your teenage years are supposed to be some of the most memorable years of your life.
Well, I didn’t want memorable. I wanted manageable.
Nine months.
Thirty-six weeks.
Two-hundred and fifty-six days.
Reading that letter this morning had severed what hope I'd secretly drummed up for my eighteenth birthday.
I knew I had to keep going after reading her words. But I wouldn’t do it forever. I'd spoken to Low. He had a plan.
Freedom was within my reach.
I could practically taste it.
All I had to do was be patient – and keep breathing…
Flexing my knuckles I stared dispassionately at the man swaying in front of me with blood rushing from his face and forced myself to swallow the bile that was rising in my throat.
I kept my eyes locked on my opponent's face – not daring to look away – focusing on my target before extracting the final blow.
He dropped to the ground, eyes closed and body jerking.
I closed my eyes and swallowed my groan of disgust.
Two-hundred and fifty-six days until I'm free…
****
Teagan
"Thanks a bunch, Uncle Max," I screamed the minute I stalked through the front door. I knew he was home because his stupid car was in the driveway. Oh, it was on like the donkey-Kong.
Stalking through the hallway, I marched into the kitchen, leaned over the table and glared at his rapidly receding hairline until he looked up from his newspaper.
Layton was right. I did need a whiskey – I needed several of them.
"For what?" Max asked as he folded his paper and stood up.
"For moving us slap bang into the middle of the Texas chainsaw massacre," I hissed, disgust filling my tone.
Max rolled his eyes and moved towards the sink to wash his mug. "We're in Colorado, Teagan, not Texas."
"Did you know a girl was murdered in the house across the street?" I demanded. "And a man died in suspicious circumstances after raping someone in there?" It sounded worse when I said it like that and I felt like vomiting.
The image of Lee's face flooded my mind and I flinched. "Mrs. Carter looks like someone took a freaking hacksaw to her face."
"Yes, I knew all those things, Teagan," Max replied and that kind of threw me. The tense set of his shoulders and the defensive tone in his voice also confused the hell out of me.
"You knew," I huffed haughtily as I planted my hands on my hips. "So you knew about all that crap and still moved us here?"
"It's a great location," he replied tightly. "All of that happened over twenty years ago and none of it was Kyle or Lee's fault."
"I really think you're missing the point here, Uncle Max," I moaned. "The fact of the matter is two human beings died across the road from us in vicious circumstances." I raised my hands in despair. "Haven't you ever watched the Poltergeist?"
He stared back blankly.
"Ugh, forget it." I pressed my fingers to my temples. "I'm going to my room. Which room did you unpack the holy water in?"
"Teagan, stop it," Max told me as he walked over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders. "You know better than to judge people by the actions of others."
"I'm not judging the Carters. I know they're good people," I told him honestly. "I'm just judging how likely we are to have paranormal activity in our neighborhood."
"Oh for the love of god," Max grumbled and pinched his nose. "The only paranormal activity going on around here is in your imagination."
"Mocking is catching, Max," I told him in a petulant tone. "And another thing, could you please talk to..."
The sound of our front door opening and then slamming shut caused my words to stick in my throat and I did what any ghost-fearing person would do. I covered my face with my hands and froze.
"Teagan."
Oh god it knows my name…
"Teagan, I was wondering if I could borrow your trig…Oh hey, Teagan's uncle."
"Call me Max."
He speaks to dead people?
"Nice shirt, Max. My dad has that in blue."
Moving my hand away from my face, I let out a sigh of relief to see Hope looking at me peculiarly. "Oh, thank god it's you," I breathed as I clutched her arm in relief. "I thought you were a ghost."
"You're a really weird girl," she mused as she stared at me. "You know that, right?"
I nodded and sighed heavily. "It's an issue I'm dealing with."
****
Chapter 5
Teagan
"God, I'm starving," Hope grumbled as she carried her lunch tray over to an empty table.
I was coming to the end of my second week as the new girl and getting into the swing of things. I now understood that under no circumstances should I
ever use the girl's bathroom on the second floor. I still shuddered thinking about who I saw in that cubicle...
Block it out, Teegs…
Repress the image of his hairy ass…
The cafeteria was packed full of students and I followed Hope, taking special care not to drop my tray as I maneuvered between groups of students.
"I could eat a cow." Stopping at the circular table in the center of the cafeteria, Hope pulled out a chair and sat down. "Well, half of one anyway," she said dryly as she removed the plastic covering her beef sandwich.
"How lovely for you," Ash grumbled as she joined us. "I really needed to know that."
From where we were sitting, I could see the same group of girls who'd called me a tranny. This time I could see their leader, and wasn't in the slightest bit surprised to see Ellie Dennis sitting in the center of the gaggle. They were pointing and snickering as animatedly as they had in gym and I had a minute of silence for my sex.
"Is there something going on between you and Noah Messina?" Ash asked before taking a sip from her carton of apple juice. "He's been staring at you since you walked into the cafeteria." She chewed a piece of her sandwich and swallowed before casting a fleeting glance behind her shoulder.
"Nothing besides the mutual hatred we share for each other," I grumbled. My eyes wandered around the cafeteria, reluctantly seeking him out.
My eyes found Noah over by the window and as if he could feel my eyes on him, Noah looked up from where he was texting and winked at me.
"I think he's hot for you," Ash added with a smirk. "He's been watching you like a starving man watches the cooking channel."
I snorted in disgust. "A man starved for cash more like."
Ash and Hope stared blankly at me and I found myself saying, "He wants money. When he broke my windshield fighting I kind of retaliated by tossing some paint on his car."
Hope's eyes widened. "You forgot to mention that part," she breathed. "His Lexus – you're the one who ruined his baby?"