Sincerely,
Leslie Atkins
At the bottom of the note was the address of the storage lot where the van was housed.
Ami refolded the letter and set it aside to show to Nick when he arrived home. They had a lengthy discussion after they put Charlie and Shae to bed and decided to keep the bar. They talked Carson and Ali into running it for them and offered them a salary that all thought was fair. The name would remain Gabe’s Place, because he had indeed left an imprint in the hearts of many.
Crestview Academy: Tory
Misty Reigenborn
Revision Copyright 2013
By Misty Reigenborn
Chapter 1
Tory took one last look at the picture she’d taken of her cheating ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend kissing in the woods that surrounded the boarding school and ripped it into shreds. She dumped the pieces in the toilet and spit on them. “Asshole,” she told the pieces of Jude’s face that were floating around. “Stupid slut,” she told his girlfriend Molli. “If you hadn’t been so eager to put out for him, he’d still be mine.”
She laughed then, thinking of how she'd lost her virginity the same night she'd learned of Jude's betrayal. She’d given it to Tony, a sexy twenty-one year old that lived a few miles from the school. It had been something that she hadn't been willing to give to Jude. She'd wanted her first time to be special.
She thought it was funny that she'd given in to Tony's advances in his messy bedroom while there was a party going on in the other room after he'd gotten her thoroughly drunk and high. She figured that Tony was better in bed than Jude. He seemed to have a never ending supply of pot and cigarettes, habits that she'd taken up after spending time with him.
She flushed the toilet and watched the pieces of Jude and Molli float away. Sometimes she wished she really could get rid of Molli that easily she thought. But it was time to pay Tony a visit. She wanted to get high, she needed a cigarette, and she was rather in the mood to screw. Tony was good for all of the above.
Slipping off the school's grounds unnoticed was easy. There were few girls that lived there that hadn't snuck out one time or another, and they rarely got caught. Tory thought that it was pretty ironic that their parents were paying all that money to keep them away from the "dangers" of public school when girls there were never short of male attention. The woods around the school provided a perfect place for a quick or not so quick make-out session. Girls at Crestview Academy, the pricey private school she attended; were still getting drunk, stoned and pregnant just like girls in public schools. Those things were kept quiet though. The school still held a good reputation; the graduating classes seemed to be larger every year.
She walked quickly down the side of the road, wishing she had a car, or that she'd called Tony before she left so he could have picked her up in the old junk heap on wheels that he drove. She knew that he had enough money for a new one, considering the fact that he supplied drugs to seemingly all the teenagers (and many adults too) in the area who wanted them. She figured maybe he didn't want to call attention to himself when practically everyone who took the time to notice him knew that he didn't have a job; at least not a real one.
She didn't bother to knock when she got to his house, knowing that his door wouldn’t be locked. She knew with the time of day it was that he would probably be in his bedroom in the back of the house getting high.
"Hey Carl." She nodded to Tony's cousin who was sitting on the floor in front of the TV, playing a video game. "Tony in his room?"
"Yep." With the way he was slurring his words she could tell he was drunk, though he was barely sixteen, a year and a half younger than Tory.
Ah what the hell she thought, who I am to judge?
"He was askin' about you earlier. Wondering when you were gonna come by. I think he wants to get laid."
"Damn good thing that I do too." Carl laughed; turning to give her what she figured was supposed to be a provocative wink before he turned back to his game, going back to blowing people's heads off. "Kids these days," she muttered sarcastically as she knocked lightly on the door of Tony's bedroom.
"Yeah.”
"It's me Tony."
"Get in here Tory.” He opened the door and pulled her into his room which was in its usual state of disorder; clothes scattered all over the floor. "Where have you been? I thought you were coming by earlier."
She could see that he was already high. His pupils were dilated. He was sweating though he was dressed only in a pair of jeans that had seen better days. The air conditioner in the window was pumping out cold air though it was October and hardly hot outside.
"I was busy."
"Busy sneaking around spying on people like usual huh? You little voyeur, you."
He'd teased her since he'd been digging in her purse one day and found pictures that she'd taken of girls from her school, most in rather compromising positions with guys from town and even one with another girl from the school. The woods were a hot bed of passionate encounters. It was easy for her to blend in. She'd always had a knack for being quiet. Though she was pretty with long blonde hair, green eyes and a figure that seemed to stay trim no matter what she ate, it had always been easy for her to go virtually unnoticed.
When she'd gotten out of the shower that day wanting to wash the combined smells of pot, cigarette smoke, and sex off of her body, she'd been so pissed off at Tony that she'd wanted to hit him. But he'd gotten a kick out of it, telling her that she should go into the porno business. She'd glared at him then, telling him to stay out of her purse. He'd given her an innocent grin telling her he'd only been looking for a lighter since his had died.
She hadn't gone back to his house for almost two weeks then but the cravings got the best of her. She'd been coming back without fail ever since.
"Screw you Tony. Do you have any weed?"
He shook his head, digging a cigarette out of a rumpled pack that was sitting on the cluttered top of his dresser. "Nah, I just sold my last bag. I gotta pick some up in the morning. I got coke, though."
She snorted. "You know I don't want anything to do with that shit."
"Come on baby, it'll make you feel good. The sex would be even better than usual."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Gimme a cigarette.”
“So demanding. “ He handed her a cigarette.
She lit it, blowing the smoke at the ceiling as she sat down on the bed to take off her shoes. "You're lucky I'm in the mood to screw or I'd have left already."
"You're always in the mood Tory. I turned you from a virgin to a sex addict in no time at all and still you doubt my sexual prowess."
"How'd you know I was a virgin?"
He snorted. "It's not like yours was the first cherry that I popped Tory. There are several telltale signs of virginity. A very tight. . ." She threw a dirty shirt at him before he could finish.
"I think I get the picture Tony."
He laughed. "What would you do if I told you that I was out of rubbers, too?"
"I'd tell you to drive that piece of shit car of yours to the store and get some."
He shrugged. "Ah, so you called my bluff. It's never hurts to try does it?"
"The last thing this world needs is a little Tony running around. While my mom and current stepdad might not give a shit what I do, my real dad just might come after you with a shotgun if you got his still minor little girl pregnant."
"You should get birth control. Condoms really are a drag."
"You know that if I went to the doctor for birth control they might still inform my parents? Then if they didn't have to inform my mother, Langston would throw a shit fit if he found out I used my insurance for birth control. They still live in the middle ages, Tony. My mom probably thinks that if she doesn't get me birth control I won't have sex."
He snorted. "Enough with the talking.” He stepped out of his jeans and kicked them towards the pile of dirty laundry heaped on the floor.
She lay back on the bad, watching him
with hooded eyes as he tore open the foil condom packet with his teeth. The bed springs gave out a tired groan as he joined her on the bed, reaching down and spreading her legs.
He entered her swiftly, pushing himself fully into her then drawing back slightly, teasing her. She responded by wrapping her legs around his, bringing them together right below his butt. He gave her a cocky grin, leaning down to kiss her.
The bed creaked and groaned as he moved above her, the headboard banging lightly against the wall. She was just starting to feel the familiar tingle of an oncoming orgasm when there was a banging at the door.
"What?" Tony didn’t miss a beat in his thrusts.
"There's somebody here for you Tone."
"Shit Carl." Tory had to bite back a moan as he moved faster, as if the very act itself would make Carl go away. "I'm fuckin' busy, or busy. . ."
Tory leaned up, and sunk her teeth into the exposed side of his neck, cutting him off. He glared at her but resumed his thrusts, turning his head towards the door.
"It's just those coke heads that were here earlier right? Tell them to come back in. . . . “ He paused. Tory couldn't hold back her cry then as her drove himself into her fully once again, sending her over the edge and into orgasm.
He licked his lips, grinning down at her as her legs went slack, loosening their hold on him. "Fifteen minutes." With a final thrust he came.
"Whatever man," Carl said.
He moved off of her. Though she could see that he tossed the condom in the direction of the trash can, it fell short, landing on the floor on top of a discarded pizza box.
"You are such a disgusting slob Tony." She wrinkled her nose as she reached for a cigarette.
He looked at his neck, the teeth marks still noticeable against his lightly tanned skin. "You need to quit biting me Tory or I'm gonna have to teach you a little lesson."
She snorted. "I don't know what more you think you can teach me."
He kissed her, reaching down to take the cigarette from her hand, as it was the last one in the pack. "There's plenty I can teach you, believe me." He gave her a sly grin. "It turned you on that he was standing right there at the door, listening to us didn't it?"
She rolled her eyes at him. "Your bed squeaks so loud that the whole neighborhood can probably hear. You need a new bed, a new car, and a better house while you're at it."
"Since when did you get so picky? Last I knew Jude lived in a trailer."
"You keep your mouth shut about Jude."
"Touchy, touchy." He slid a hand up to lightly cup her breast. "Oh, that's right I forgot.” He rolled his eyes. "You've professed your undying love for the guy."
She slapped his hand away. "Fuck you Tony. As if you of all people would know anything about love."
"I know plenty about love. Or sex. Same difference right?"
She could still hear him chuckling as she slammed the bathroom door behind her. His bathroom was just as disgusting as his bedroom she thought. The toilet looked like it hadn't been scrubbed in months, the sink was stained with old toothpaste, and the shower curtain was barely hanging on.
Still, it was better than taking a shower back at the school she thought.
Reaching for the shampoo, she noticed the bottle was almost empty. Geese she thought, did she have to do everything for him? Once every couple of weeks or so, she had been driving his piece of shit car to the grocery store, picking up everything from toilet paper to soap, shampoo and laundry detergent.
She didn't know why he didn't do it himself, since with his line of "work" he always had cash on hand. But then she figured that men would never change. Some of them would be so totally lost without women in their lives that they might as well live at home with their mothers to take care of them forever. She stepped out of the shower and dried herself on a towel that smelled like it hadn't been washed in weeks.
With a sigh, she dropped the towel into the already over flowing hamper in the corner of the bathroom. She stepped into the bedroom, and was rummaging in the oversized shoulder bag that served as her purse for the spare set of clothes she'd brought with her when Tony came back into the room wearing the same worn pair of jeans that he'd been wearing before.
"Crack heads." He sighed, dropping down onto the bed. "Are so predictable."
"As if you mind." She put on the clean pair of panties that she'd dug out. "You'd be out a job if not for the drug addicted masses."
He leaned over to the bedside table to snort the line of coke that he had arranged while she was in the shower. "That I would be."
She shook her head at him and finished dressing.
"You wanna go out for pizza? I need cigarettes, too."
"I should get back to school."
"You’re the one that says nobody notices when you're gone. It'll only take a few minutes. We can pick up one of those hot n ready pizzas. There's a convenience store right there too, where I can get smokes."
"Fine, then you can drop me off somewhere halfway close to school."
"You're not gonna eat with me?"
"I can grab a piece in the car while you drive. Let's go."
He grabbed his car keys and pulled her out the door with him, somehow managing to avoid the various obstructions in the way. There were dirty magazines, empty CD and DVD cases, an over turned bean bag chair and more dirty clothes scattered across the living room.
Carl was still planted in front of the TV, though it looked like he was playing a different game now, since he was now trying to escape from zombies; blowing their heads off instead of the fellow soldiers he'd been blowing away in the last game.
"Night Carl." Tory gave him a little wave.
"Have a good one Tory." He didn’t look up from the game. “Are you bringing back something to eat Tony?"
"Yeah. If anyone else comes by, tell them I'll be back in half an hour or so."
"Right," Carl said, then returned his attention completely to the game.
When they got in the car, Tory had to push a bag full of discarded fast food wrappers onto the floor before she could sit down.
"You need to hire a maid." She wrinkled her nose at the aroma of stale French fries that hung in the air of the old car
She cranked her window down, leaning her head out to breath in the cool night air. He turned the key, the car coming to life with a sputter.
"Why would I need a maid when I've got you?"
"Asshole," she said as he pulled out onto the road.
"You love it and you know it." He was wearing a cocky grin.
"What would you do without me Tony, really?"
"Guess I'd just have to get laid somewhere else."
She reached over, smacking him in the leg.
"Light me a smoke will ya?" He had spotted a half empty pack in the mess at Tory's feet. She was reaching to push the car's lighter in when he said "You know that thing doesn’t work. I think there's a lighter in the console somewhere."
Shoving aside several balled up napkins and two empty cigarette packs, she finally came up with a cheap disposable lighter that looked like it was almost out of fluid. She stuck a cigarette in her mouth, having to flick the lighter several times before it finally put out a flame. After taking a deep drag, she handed the cigarette to Tony.
He pulled up in front of the shopping center which housed a grocery store, a dollar store, a movie rental store, and the pizza place several minutes later. They both got out of the car.
"Why don't you go get the cigarettes while I get the pizza?" He motioned to the convenience store down the block.
She sighed. "Because I'm only seventeen idiot."
He handed her a wrinkled twenty from his stuffed wallet. "I'll get the cigarettes and you get the pizza. I keep forgetting you aren't eighteen yet."
"Cradle robber."
"I know.” He went back to the car, too lazy to walk the half block down the street. "I'll meet you in front of the pizza place."
It only took a few minutes at the pizza place. She walked to the edge of t
he lot to wait for him as he hadn't yet returned from the convenience store. As soon as he pulled in she opened the door, putting the warm pizza boxes on her lap as she slid in. She wondered if she could distract him enough that he’d forget about the nine dollars in change left over from the pizza, as she was low on cash because her mother was late with her allowance yet again.
While she was away at school, it was up to Tory to care of buying whatever she needed. She didn't care as long as she received her money on time. She'd rather her mother not send her clothes. Her mother's tastes somehow seemed to vary on the spectrum from old lady to downright whorish.
She pulled a slice of pizza out of the box, taking a small bite of the cheesy, greasy mess, trying not to wince at the over abundance of calories and fat the pizza must contain. Granted she could eat pretty much whatever she wanted and keep up her figure with little exercise, but this was just too much she thought.
"You want a pack of smokes to take back with you?" Tony said.
"Nah, you never know when they're going to decide that it's time to search. If they get an inkling that someone has something they shouldn't they search people's shit at random. Besides, I'm not that addicted."
"But you are addicted to the glory that is the hot body of Tony."
"Sure.” She finished the pizza and dug in the console for a napkin that wasn't already covered with grease from another trip for fast food, finally finding one that looked unused. She brushed aside an empty condom wrapper. "Do you ever throw anything away Tony?"
He grinned at the wrapper in her hand. "I kept that for a souvenir to remind me of the time that you wanted me so bad you couldn't wait until we got to the house."
She felt heat rise to her cheeks at the mention of their hurried encounter on the side of the road in the backseat "I'm going to clean your car out one of these days when I have more time. You're going to help me clean up your house, too."
"I like my house the way it is.”
"Shit Tony, a sewer rat wouldn't like living the way you do. I'm surprised you're not overrun with bugs and rodents. But maybe they're too disgusted by the whole mess to move in."
Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set Page 100