HIDDEN CREEK DARKNESS: a hidden creek high novel

by Kidman, Jaxson

  His eyes looked down at my chest.

  I turned and hugged the towel tighter against me.

  “Just go away,” I said.

  “Sure. I’ve seen enough for now. Hope you and Wes can figure things out. Oh, I remember that from a long time ago. The way he looked at you. He could tell you were going to be a beautiful young woman. Me too. Your parents didn’t help matters with the clothes they made you wear. Like they wanted you to appear older.”

  I backed away, not wanting to turn around on him.

  I didn’t trust him for a second.

  “Oh, another thing about the waves,” West said. “You think you have it figured out. And then one comes and just hits you hard. Drags you under. Holds you there. Makes you count your blessings. And you never know if you’re going to escape it. Have a good one, Aira.”

  West winked.

  He walked across the beach with his heavy boots kicking sand.

  I hurried to get to Julia’s house, my body shaking the entire time.

  I raced up the deck steps and ripped open the door and ran through the kitchen.

  But then I stopped.

  There was a note hanging on the fridge.

  Written in a red marker.

  c u soon cunt

  I ripped the paper off the fridge. It was written on a grocery list Julia had made. Julia’s list was in the same red marker. Her handwriting was sloppy but not like that last line on the list.

  My hand touched my phone screen and I called the first person I could get to who lived in Hidden.

  Then I ran out of the house and hoped nobody was going to come after me.

  * * *

  I smoked my cigarette and watched as Leo stepped out of the house.

  “I don’t see anything in there, Aira.”

  “Nobody is in there. I’m freaking myself out. I think. I don’t know. You saw what was written there, right?”

  “I saw it,” Leo said. “And other stuff happened?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know.”

  “No offense, but why’d you call me?”

  “You were the first person on my screen,” I said. “And I didn’t want Wes to show up and do something to his father.”

  “West was here?”

  “On the beach. I was surfing with Novalee and I walked her back to her car because she let me use a surfboard…”

  “You surf?” Leo asked.

  “Does that matter?”

  “No. Sorry.”

  “I came back to get my towel and phone and West was there. He said he had been watching us. He made all these weird comments. About his family. About messing with him. I think he… I think he sort of threatened me.”

  Leo walked to the railing and put his arms against it, leaning forward. “Fuck. Wes is going to lose his shit.”

  “You could maybe not tell him.”

  “Yeah, right,” Leo said.

  “You’re that loyal to Wes? Or, are you afraid of him that much?”

  “I’m not afraid of Wes, Aira,” Leo said. He looked at me. His eyes were blue with specks of green. “He’s my best friend. We know everything about each other. I’ve seen the shit West has done.”

  “You’re not worried what Wes will do?”

  “Of course I am,” Leo said. “But it’s how things go.”

  “You think his father would do something like this? To scare me?”

  “To fuck with Wes’s head? Maybe.”

  “It could be anyone though. A lot of people want to go after Wes.”

  “Or maybe someone is just after you,” Leo said. “You’ve made as many enemies as friends.”

  “You’re talking about Mika.”

  Leo shrugged his shoulders.

  “Fuck her,” I said. “She got what she deserved.”

  “Yeah, she did,” Leo said. He pushed from the railing. “West shouldn’t be bothering you. That’s family shit. Not yours to deal with.”

  “I hate this, Leo. I hate everything that’s happened.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Leo said. “I won’t give my advice on relationships. But I’ll hang around for a little bit if you need. If you need to get changed or something. I’ll stay out here.”

  “I appreciate it,” I said. “I freaked out, Leo. I do that sometimes. Because of the fire. Because of this town.”

  “I see you’ve picked up a new habit to deal with it,” he said, nodding at my cigarette.

  I took a drag. “Reminds me of Wes.”

  “How romantic,” Leo said.

  He looked forward again and reached for his phone.

  “Are you calling Wes right now?” I asked.

  “Don’t worry. I’m not. I’m going to catch hell from him for not calling him right away. But we’ll deal with this after tonight.”

  “What’s happening tonight?” I asked.

  Leo looked back at me. “Why don’t you go get changed or whatever? Clear your head. Then we’ll talk.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that, Leo.”

  “I won’t lie… you shouldn’t.”

  * * *

  I fucking missed Wes.

  Okay?

  That was the truth.

  I should have been on the beach with Nova and everyone else. Kailey, Charlotte, and Emma should have been there. And Wes too. With his cousins. With Leo and Flynn. It should have been all of us hanging out, smoking, sipping something that tasted like fire, flirting, kissing, touching, and maybe surfing too.

  After I showered, I threw on some comfort clothes. My favorite pair of shorts (thanks to Wes making comments about my ass when I wore them, making it known that the scars on my legs were not going to define me), my favorite extra-large hoodie, and my favorite low top Chuck’s.

  Outside on the deck, Leo was still there.

  “Thank you for that,” I said.

  “No problem. I’ve been making a list in my head of what this could mean. It’s not good. But it could be worse. I think someone is just messing with you to get to Wes. To send him over the edge.”

  “That’s what I said. You told me I have my own enemies.”

  “You do. So maybe I’m wrong. But Wes has more enemies than you. I hate to say it, Aira, but you two not together is a big deal.”

  “Oh well then,” I said. “What happened… happened. I can’t go back in time.”

  “Yeah, well, speaking of time. I’m out of it. I have to get going.”

  “Where?” I asked.

  Leo grinned. “Somewhere.”

  “Which is the thing you’re going to tell me about.”

  “Right,” he said. “I can give you ride if you want.”

  “Where, Leo?”

  “There’s a place on the other side of town. It’s full of vacation homes. Lots of quiet space and long roads. Flat roads. Nice turns too.”

  “Meaning what?” I asked.

  “Street racing.”

  “Street racing?”

  “Crotch rockets, Aira. They race there.”

  “Why does… I’ve never heard of it before.”

  “That’s because normally we stay away from that. Rich guys throwing around big bills for fun trying to out speed one another. Total waste of time if you ask me. But tonight…”

  “This has to do with Wes?” I asked.

  Leo nodded. “Yeah.”

  I shut my eyes. I swallowed hard. “He’s going to race?”

  “No. I am. Flynn too.”

  “What?”

  “Look, if you want to be there, I’ll give you a ride. I’m sure everyone else will be there. It’s been slowly filtering around HCH about it. We challenged Nick and Dean to a race.”

  “Let me guess… that’s not the biggest surprise of the night.”

  “Not even close, Aira,” Leo said.

  He walked across the deck to the steps and went down them.

  I shut my eyes again.

  I had a vision of me and Wes in his bed. under the covers, facing each other. Laughing with our morning breath, pretending tha
t we had nothing but time to waste together.

  That was all gone though.

  I opened my eyes and walked to follow Leo.

  I didn’t want to be alone.

  And if Wes was going to do something stupid, maybe I could try and stop him.

  Chapter 7

  Wes

  I had my hood pulled up and a hat on to hide my face the best I could.

  I walked the sidewalk alone and saw where the bets were getting placed.

  A guy named Cole sat on the top step of a vacation home that wasn’t being used. He had a bunch of baseball hats flipped over on the step next to him. He had the collar of his fancy polo shirt popped up and was taking cash left and right. Behind him two other guys were counting the cash and writing down the bets.

  Just a little bit away the street was full of people and cars.

  And street rides.

  The first two rides were already in place.

  A pitch-black ride, the rider dressed all in black too.

  Next to that was a low street ride. The back wheel was fucking huge and the ride was longer than a normal one. It was a mustard color with a white skull along the side of it. I figured it was probably some rich douche from BFH. They loved to come down here and race and throw cash around and stir up trouble.

  Nothing here was my battle tonight.

  At least not yet.

  “Place a bet,” Cole called out. “Last chance on race one. Don’t be a fucking pussy. Hey, you. I’m talking to you, hidden guy.”

  I stopped and turned.

  I walked to the steps and pushed my hood back.

  When Cole realized it was me, he leaned back.

  “Oh, hey. Weslee. What’s up, man?”

  I stared at him for a few seconds before putting my hood back up and I walked away.

  That would be enough to get the conversation started.

  That I was there.

  That I was trying to hide.

  It was already big news that Flynn and Leo challenged Nick and Dean to a race. Flynn and Leo didn’t have street rides so we had to make sure we got them each one to use. They were at a disadvantage of not having time to work on the rides and give them a little extra kick when it came to engine power and speed, but the point of this race wasn’t to win.

  Not even fucking close.

  I crossed the street and worked my way through the crowd.

  I walked up a set of porch steps and leaned against the pillar as the race was about to begin.

  The whiny street ride engines echoed around as everyone started to cheer.

  I heard the sound of someone whistling and when I turned my head I saw Flynn.

  His arm wrapped tight around Charlotte, keeping her close.

  Which was smart.

  Those assholes from BFH would do anything to get their hands on Charlotte’s tits. Then again, who wouldn’t? Not to mention BFH had a wild reputation for cash and cock. They loved a good challenge.

  Kailey and Emma were behind Charlotte, arms locked.

  “I like that look,” I called out to them.

  “Oh yeah?” Emma asked. She leaned over and kissed Kailey’s cheek. “There. Give you something to use later.”

  I grinned. “Crazy chicks. Hey, where’s…”

  Before I could say Leo, I saw him.

  And he wasn’t alone.

  Aira was next to him.

  My eyes went to her and when she looked at me, she hurried to look away.

  It shouldn’t have shocked me that she was here.

  This was a big thing.

  But to see her walking next to Leo…

  Not that I didn’t trust Leo. I just didn’t want to see Aira being comforted by someone else. Even if Leo wasn’t touching her at all. Leo knew better too.

  Aira stayed down on the sidewalk as Leo came up the steps.

  “We need to talk, bro,” Leo said to me.

  I opened my mouth as a loud bang went off.

  The two street rides whirred to life.

  I looked and watched the race as the all black street ride took a quick lead over the mustard yellow long ride. People cheered and ran forward to try and follow the race. There were two paths to race on. Taking the straight away down to where someone stood with a white flag to end the race. Or the other path was around a couple turns which meant tilting the street ride down close to the road. That was the path Leo and Flynn were going to take.

  For good reason.

  When the sound quieted enough, I looked at Leo. “You ready?”

  “You want to talk now?”

  “Not really,” I said. “You sure you can handle the turns?”

  “They’re like fucking toys, Wes,” he said. “I’m not worried about a thing.”

  I nodded. “Aira okay?”

  “Not at all, actually,” he said. He grabbed my arm. “Go talk to her.”

  I walked down the steps and nodded to Flynn.

  I moved toward Aira and both Kailey and Emma stood there like guard dogs. Ready to attack me if I got too close to her.

  “Want a smoke?” I asked Aira.

  “Sure,” she said.

  This was new to watch. The sweet, innocent girl in the sundresses who lived next door to me when she was a kid was very different now. I knew part of this new Aira was because of her house burning down and the way her parents were. But I also knew a better portion of it was my fault. And this fucking town.

  I watched the way she took the first drag of her cigarette and it did something to me.

  “Wasn’t sure if I’d see you here,” I said.

  “Leo told me what was going on. I didn’t know. The one day I decide to ignore my phone, right?”

  “Yeah. Right.”

  Aira took another drag and looked away.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked her.

  “You remember what was on my locker?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Cunt.”

  “Yeah. Well… it was written on a grocery list on the fridge.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah,” Aira said. “It’s weird. I think I’m losing my mind.”

  “Do you think someone did that on purpose?” I asked. “Went into your house?”

  “Don’t say that. I won’t sleep at all, Wes.”

  “I’ll watch your house at night then,” I said. “If someone is fucking with you, Aira, I’ll find out.”

  “Yeah, well, another thing that happened was your father stopped by.”

  “Your house?” I asked, my nostril flaring.

  “No. The beach. But close enough.”

  “Aira…”

  “I can take care of it,” she said, trying to act cool and tough.

  “I’m sorry,” I said to her. “He’s trying to get to me through you. I’ll handle it.”

  “By doing what?” she asked. “What are you going to do, Wes? Beat up your own father?”

  “If it makes him leave you alone, then I will,” I said. “I’ll do anything to make sure you’re okay.”

  “Stop saying things like that. Plus, what are you doing here? Street racing? That’s what you’ve become?”

  “I’m not racing.”

  “Oh, that’s right. You’re making Leo and Flynn do it.”

  “You don’t understand what’s happening here, darling.”

  “Then make me understand. You’re out to do what? Try and get yourself killed? Because that’s going to fix things?”

  She was taking shots at me and I deserved them all.

  I watched her smoke and she looked crazy pretty as she did so.

  I purposely leaned into her smoke as though it were my chance to taste her lips again.

  Which I could have done anyway.

  “You should go home if you don’t feel safe here, darling,” I said. “This is personal now. I have to make a statement.”

  “What about us, Wes? What kind of statement are we going to make there?”

  I closed in on her. My body an inch from hers and I looked down at her.
>
  I swallowed hard. “I just want you safe. Protected. I want you to be happy. And I don’t want you looking over your shoulder worried about things. I miss you, Aira. I really fucking miss you. But I only want all of you. Not a little bit here and there. Not a piece of your heart. Not a little of your trust. I want everything. And if I can’t have everything, then I’ll live with nothing.”

  I lowered down and brushed my cheek against hers.

  Probably a stupid move to make because I wasn’t the kind of person who held back.

  But that’s what Aira did to me.

  When I turned away, I put my head down.

  I let all the thoughts hit me at once.

  Which meant Nick and Dean were really fucked.

  * * *

  Nick and Dean were across the street getting ready.

  Ryland was there too. Wandering around, slapping hands, grabbing shoulders, making quick passes at as many girls as possible.

  “It’s about time, bro,” Flynn said.

  “Yeah,” I said.

  “There might be people waiting around the turns,” Leo said.

  “I’m not worried about that. Whoever is in the way is in the way.”

  “This is a little crazy,” Flynn said. Then he showed his hands. “I love crazy though.”

  “Does being with Charlotte drive you crazy?” I asked.

  “All the time,” Flynn said. “She makes up for it though. With a different kind of crazy.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be all over you tonight,” Leo said.

  “Oh, I already told her what I want her to do.”

  “Giving orders now,” I said. “Good for you.” I grabbed the railing of the porch and threw one leg over. “You know what to do, right?”

  “We’re all set,” Leo said. “We’ll keep them occupied. Ride dirty and do everything to keep their focus on us.”

  “I can’t wait,” Flynn said. “We’ll have them so fucking flustered they won’t see a thing.”

  “That’s the point,” I said.

  “What about Ryland?” Leo asked.

  “Nothing to worry about. He’s sending them to do his dirty work like always. And I look the same. He’ll be hanging back, looking for some ass.”