Faith (A Next Generation Carter Brother Novel Book 1)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  “I really am. He makes me happy, Lily.”

  “I’m glad. Has Dad spoken to you since last night?”

  I grunt, not a fan of my dad at the moment. He’d promised me he had nothing to do with helping Jacob with the prank. He’d forgotten to mention he was the one who’d let down Beau’s tyres. I haven’t had the heart to tell Beau, not wanting him to dislike my father.

  He’d promised me last night he would make it up to Beau and to me, but I’m not holding out hope. I’m his eldest daughter and the first to have a boyfriend. I honestly don’t think he’d prepared himself for this moment, praying I’d stay single forever.

  With Beau not going anywhere though, he is going to have to get used to it. I wasn’t giving Beau up for nobody.

  “No. I’m still a little mad he went that far last night.”

  “At least he didn’t punch him,” she says.

  “Yeah, it’s progress, I guess. Or at least it would be if he hadn’t done that dive across the table. Right now, though, it’s Hayden I want to get back at.”

  Lily grins as we watch Hayden ahead, dancing to the music. “She really does have it coming.”

  I grin evilly. “She really does.”

  “Ewww,” Lily moans, and when I glance at her, her face is scrunched up in disgust.

  “What? What’s wrong?” I ask, looking around, not seeing anything.

  She pulls me to a stop and drags me back a few steps, before pointing to the crowd on our right. I gag when I see my brother Aiden with some scantily dressed girl in his arms, dry humping him. She’s barely wearing anything and it’s freezing out.

  I’m wearing my puffy bomber coat, gloves, and my UGG beanie I’d got in the sale last January. How the fuck this girl can be wearing a short denim skirt, a long-sleeved T-shirt that is ripped so it ends just below her breasts, and a bomber jacket undone is beyond me. On her feet she’s wearing simple boots, and by the look of the blue tinge to her legs, she’s not even wearing tights.

  Stupid.

  “That is just gross.”

  Lily pulls me back and we rush to catch up with the others. “I hope he remembers the talk Dad gave them. She doesn’t seem very—”

  “Bothered with who she sleeps with?”

  She scrunches her face up. “Yes. I was hoping he’d grow out of sleeping around by now. I don’t want him to catch STD’s.”

  “He probably already has one,” I add, waving at Charlotte. “Did she really bake loads of cupcakes?” I whisper.

  Lily laughs, pushing me in the shoulder. “Stop. She was being kind, thinking the boys would get hungry.”

  “She’s just so darn cute, but her cooking really sucks.”

  “Yes, it really does, but I won’t be the one telling her that. She’s loves mothering people. It’s just who she is.”

  “She really is one in a million. Anyway, how are you doing?”

  I know coming here wasn’t something Lily would normally do, but because her favourite girl band were playing, she couldn’t say no. My dad even offered to chaperone, so if she wanted to leave, he would take her home. After last night though, we declined his offer, telling him we’d look after her.

  We’ve managed to stay away from the beer tents and larger crowds. We also didn’t visit the other side of the park where a different techno beat of music was playing. According to Maddox, who had scoped the place out first before letting Lily go anywhere, it was a rave over there. People were smoking, drinking and bumping all over the place.

  People are still drinking from clear white cups filled with beer, but so far, she hasn’t seemed too affected.

  “I’m doing okay. It still pisses me off how much it can affect me, but as long as no drunken fool stumbles into me or breathes on me, I should be okay. I’m actually having loads of fun. I can’t wait to go on to the fair.”

  “And we will, we just want to see Dunk before Hayden tracks them down again. And fairgrounds are always better when it’s dark. The music is louder, and the lights are brighter.”

  “Speaking of Dunk, did Hayden really punch the lead singer in the nose? I thought Immy was joking.”

  I laugh lightly, because seeing Hayden stumble over her words in front of the star singer had been hilarious. What made it funnier was when she’d gone to get out her autograph book for him to sign. She’d ended up whacking him in the nose, causing him to bleed all over the place. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

  “Yeah. She’s hoping she can get his attention from the crowd and say she’s sorry.”

  Lily throws her head back, laughing uproariously. “She’s still going to try and get him to sign it, isn’t she?”

  “Totally.” I grin as we step behind our group.

  “This should be a good spot,” Hayden yells over her shoulder, waving her hands in the air as the band on stage finishes their set.

  Madison steps towards us, worrying her bottom lip. “I don’t think this is a good idea. The security bloke said she had to be on her best behaviour.”

  Hope, who is standing near, glances at us. “You do realise no one can tell her what to do? Not even her parents can tell her, so I doubt she’s going to listen to him.”

  We watch as Dunk is announced on stage and Hayden goes wild. She hangs onto poor Ciara’s arm, jumping up and down as she yells for his attention.

  I glance to the stage briefly, wincing when I see the dark bruises under his eye and across his nose. She really did a number on him. I don’t think it helped when she’d offered to ice it. She’d whacked it on, making it worse.

  When I glance back, Ciara backs away, shaking her head at Hayden. I start to giggle, but soon lose it when Hayden turns to us and storms over.

  “One of you put me on your shoulders. I need him to see me and those bimbos have got their boyfriends to do it. I’ll never get a chance if they stay up there.” She points furiously to where a couple of guys have girls on their shoulders, scowling.

  “And what are you going to do, knock them down?” I ask, joking.

  She sniffs. “If I have to. Now, let me on your shoulders.”

  “No way, I like my back in working condition, thanks.”

  She glares at me before looking at Lily, who wisely takes a step back. “Can’t, weak knees.”

  When the others shake their heads, she stomps her foot before moving back over to Ciara, who is another huge fan of Dunk.

  “I love you, Milo. I’m your number one fan,” Hayden screams, bouncing around and waving her hands. The people in front of her turn around to glare, but she ignores them, screeching at the top of her voice.

  She even goes so far as to knock one of the girls off their boyfriend’s shoulders, so she can take a selfie with Dunk in the background.

  The boyfriend, still scowling, says something to her, but when he doesn’t get an answer, he turns to us and walks over.

  “Get your friend in control. She’s ruining my chance of hooking up.”

  My face scrunches up in disgust. Why do men think about sex every second of the day?

  I smile sadly, patting his shoulder. “We’ll try out best, but she only gets to leave the ward once a year.”

  “Ward?” he asks, looking over his shoulder quickly.

  “Yeah, she accidently grabbed the balls of the man who was being cocky to her in the line at HMV. It was a terrible occurrence, so they hospitalised her. She’s on meds, but once every year they let her take a break from it all.”

  I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing when his eyes widen, and he rushes over to the group of friends he was with, gesturing them to move away. They do, and another crowd moves in, dancing along with the music.

  Hope laughs, glancing over at me. “You are looking for trouble, missy. She’s going to kill you.”

  I hold my hands up in surrender. “It’s not my fault she has crazy tendencies that have people believing my stories.”

  “It’s the eyes,” Lily agrees.

  “Now what is she doing?” Charlotte asks, her expression con
cerned.

  My eyes cast towards Hayden, finding her pushing the new crowd away so she can see the stage better.

  This group look a little rougher, so messing with their heads won’t work. When the biggest of them watches her, then us, we all automatically move to the side.

  Even when Hayden walks towards us, we give her a wide berth. For as long as she’s star struck over Dunk, we’re going to pretend she doesn’t belong with us.

  She’s at a level of crazy none of us are at, but put Theo James in front of me, and I’d definitely reach that level.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “Can we do it again?” Lily squeals, jumping off Wipe Out to link her arm through mine.

  My legs are shaking, my face pale as I turn to my sister. “We’ve been on it five times in a row. Don’t you want to go on the tea cups? Or maybe we could do the bumper cars?”

  I hope to persuade her since I don’t know how much more I can handle. Even the way she bounces next to me has my tummy curdling.

  She scrunches her face up adorably. “But they aren’t fast, and the tea cups are for babies. What about the waltzers?”

  I look to the other girls for help, but they look away, pretending they weren’t listening. “How about you guys go on together? I’m going to grab a bottled water and sit this one out.”

  Because if I’m spun one more time, I’m going to puke up the hotdog and fries I had earlier. My stomach is in knots.

  She looks unsure as she bites her lip worriedly. “Are you sure? We can wait until you’re ready.”

  “No!” I screech, but then stop, clearing my throat as I wave her off. “It’s fine. You guys go and have fun.”

  “But you’ll be on your own.”

  “You have your fast track bands, so I won’t be waiting forever, Lily. It’s fine, now go.”

  She still looks unsure, her body tensing up. “Maybe we should wait.”

  I hug my sister, but I can still feel how tense she is. “Just go and have fun.”

  “I’m going to sit this one out too,” Hope offers, and I watch as Lily’s shoulders visibly relax. I mouth a ‘thank you’ to Hope for jumping in.

  “Are you sure don’t mind? It’s going to be a lot of fun, but we’ll do it again, so you can have a turn.”

  “I’m sure. I’m not keen on the waltzers anyway.”

  Satisfied, Lily grins, pulling Hope in for a hug. “You are the best.” She turns to the others, smiling so wide her cheeks must hurt. “Let’s go. After, we can go on the high drop.”

  I pale when the words leave her mouth. The high drop is a line of six seats on each side of a block that rises high in the sky. It’s stops at the top, waiting until you feel safe, before dropping you like your life means nothing. Whoever thought they were brilliant for conjuring that ride up needs to die a slow and painful death.

  Lily waves goodbye and heads off with the others, squealing with excitement.

  Hope and I find the nearest burger van before ordering our drinks.

  “I don’t think there’s any seats,” she says as I take my change and grab my drink.

  “Let’s look over by the waltzers, that way we’re close.”

  “Okay.”

  We find a bench close to the others and take a seat. I rub my gloved hands together, fighting off the cold. After being spun in the air on the last ride, my cheeks are frozen solid.

  “You look like you’re going to be sick.” Hope giggles, taking a large gulp of her water.

  “I just may if she doesn’t stop dragging me on so many rides that spin or go upside down. There’s only so much tossing I can handle.”

  She giggles. “But you will if she asks because she’s having the time of her life. Four drunken men have bumped into her, one even sat down next to her on the last ride, and she hasn’t even blinked or noticed.”

  I sag against the bench. “I know. I asked if she wanted to switch seats with me when I saw him looking at her. I thought Immy was going to sit there, otherwise I would have said something before.”

  “A lad on the other side of us caught her attention. What did Lily say?”

  “She looked at me, grinning with excitement, but also confused at my offer, saying she was fine where she was.”

  I have to smile because my sister has really shone bright tonight. She always does at places like this.

  She went to her first fair at the age of eleven, and it had taken us hours to get her to leave. And when we did, we’d left with Dad holding every stuffed animal they had, a bunch of sweets she’d won on the penny machines, and a ton of pictures of us together on the rides.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything last night.”

  I glance at her, a little confused to what she means. Her comment is abrupt, which is also confusing. “What do you mean?”

  She fiddles with her hands. “When they were talking about you and Beau like you weren’t there. I should have spoken up for you, for Beau, but if I’m honest, I wanted to see how they all reacted.”

  I giggle at that. “I think everyone did.”

  She laughs, her expression relaxing. “Yeah. Still, we should have stood by you. We’ll be in your position one day and it will be nice to have your support.”

  “You’ve met someone?”

  Her cheeks turn pink. “No. But I have been going on a few dates. I’m just worried over how the men in our family will react when they find out. We’re not at school anymore; they won’t hold back because my date is underage.”

  I feel her pain. “I hear ya. My advice?”

  She glances at me, her eyes round with hope. “Anything would be good. Not that I’ve met anyone I want them to meet, but if I do, I want to be prepared.”

  “Don’t introduce them until you’re sure they’re the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. I think, in time, Dad will see that Beau is that person and come to terms with me not being his little girl anymore.”

  “Your mum is already won over. I heard her say to Mum it’s the uniform that decided for her.”

  I laugh because that sounds like my mum. “She drooled and everything when she saw him in his work attire.”

  “Does he look as good as she says?”

  The sparkle in her eyes doesn’t go unnoticed. My cousin is known for her obsession with men in uniform. “Hotter.”

  She grins, nudging my shoulder with hers. “Lucky bitch.”

  “Oh, my God, can we get some cotton candy? I saw it as we were spun.”

  I jump at the excited sound of Lily’s voice, in awe of her skills in noticing cotton candy while enjoying the ride. She’s like a little girl.

  “Yeah.”

  Hope and I jump up from our seat and follow the group. We’re just passing some game booths when a hand grabs my upper arm, pulling me away from the girls.

  Hope notices me slip away, as a startled yelp escapes me. “Hey!”

  “Bitch, come with me now before someone gets hurt.”

  My knees threaten to buckle under me as the voice that haunts me breathes in my ear. My entire body stills as he tries to pull me away.

  How did he find me?

  Oh, god, he can’t be here.

  Lily.

  She’ll be scared if she sees him, and it will cause her to have an episode.

  My eyes glance away from Hope, even as she grabs the others’ attention.

  “Okay,” I whisper shakily to the man holding me.

  He spins me around to face him, his snarling face having me inwardly whimper. His eyes are dark, soulless, and the hardness in his expression has the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.

  Oh, my God!

  It’s him, the man from the restaurant the night he stood me up, the man who’d helped me pick up my purse.

  Noah.

  “Let her go!”

  My eyes widen when he spins us again to face my sister and cousins. All of them are standing in a semi-circle around us, their arms crossed over their chests as they scowl at the man holding me.


  His fingers latch on to my ponytail, pulling it sharply and making me cry out. “Or what? You going to strip for me?”

  Hayden, who had been the one to speak before, swaggers forward, not even flinching at his degrading dig.

  “Hayden, don’t,” I plead, not wanting them to get hurt.

  She doesn’t even glance at me, keeping her eyes on Noah. “I said let her go. If you don’t, we will hurt you.”

  He scoffs, dismissing her threat with amusement. He spins us around again, dragging me by my hair towards a secluded area. I notice, for the first time, we’re near the emergency exit.

  My hope of someone seeing him handling me roughly and get me help comes crashing down when he starts dragging me towards it.

  I hear a war cry before I’m jerked to the floor and away from Noah. I roll over to my side and see my sister tumble to the floor, still screaming bloody murder and drawing a crowd.

  Noah gets up, his eyes cold as he steps towards her with the intent to hurt her. I can see it in his eyes, the way his hands clench into fists, and the way his jaw locks.

  “No!” I scream, trying to crawl over to my sister. My legs are still trembling and weak.

  Just as the words slip past my lips, I’m stunned into silence and pause my attempt to get to Lily, because Hayden rushes forwards, screaming, “This is Sparta,” and does a full roundhouse kick to his stomach, knocking the breath out of his lungs. He flies backwards, landing on his back with a thud. Before he has a chance to regain his composure, she dives on him, her elbow sticking out as she lands hard on his chest.

  “You son of a bitch,” she screams, moving to straddle his stomach.

  He grunts, shoving him off her, but the second she rolls off, she jumps to her feet, ready to attack.

  That’s when rushing feet gain my attention. As one, all my cousins dive on top of him, screaming at the top of their lungs, not caring there’s a crowd forming behind them to watch the show.

  I sit up, my eyes widening in shock when Charlotte shoves one of her muffins in his mouth. I wince a little, feeling a little sorry for him. Okay, I don’t, he really does deserve the torture. He pales, gagging as he tries to fight her away at the same time as spitting the muffin out.