I turned my head and saw Charlotte blowing a kiss to Flynn. He playfully caught it in the air.
“Love you, girl!” he called out to her.
I saw Aira in the mix of her friends.
At Charlotte’s car, Kailey opened the front door and Aira ripped her away. She pointed to the backseat and Kailey moved without questioning a thing.
She’s fucking perfect…
I gritted my teeth as she got into the front seat of Charlotte’s car and lit up a cigarette.
She wanted to forget about me?
That was one thing.
Fine.
Fucking forget about me.
But going to a beach party hosted by BFH?
No.
That wasn’t going to work.
Aira would wake up…
“Wes, you cool, bro?” Leo asked.
I pushed from the railing. “Flynn, you stay on top of Charlotte. Not literally. Save that for after I get this shit sorted out.”
“What are you sorting out?” Flynn asked.
I took a deep breath.
“We’re going to that party…”
* * *
All I could smell was cologne as I pushed through the party. A mix of Hidden Creek High and Bay Falls High colliding together in one giant beach house. In a part of town that was nice and quiet and empty because nobody was on vacation right now. Actually, we were just two blocks from where I had set Nick and Dean’s rides on fire.
That was the last thing on my mind though.
I just wanted to keep an eye on Aira.
A set of hands grabbed my shoulders.
I spun and put my hands up.
A douchebag in a white sweater jumped back and showed his hands.
He cackled. “There he fucking is. The fucking legend of Hidden Creek High. Fucking Weslee fucking Jackson.”
I nodded my head. “Hey.”
“I’m Cade, motherfucker,” the guy said. “You’re a fucking legend. How many fucking chicks here have you fucked? I bet your cock is laced with regret…”
He laughed again.
I looked over his shoulder and saw Aira standing a couple feet away with a drink in her hand. She looked mad and hurt. She threw the cup back and chugged the entire drink. Then she took off the other way.
I moved and Cade put his hand to my chest. “Come on, quick. Just tell me who’s easiest to fuck. I want to tear up some Hidden Creek High pussy for my boys who aren’t here.”
I pushed Cade when I should have just knocked his perfect white teeth out.
“Ah, motherfucker, don’t leave me hanging,” Cade yelled.
I ran toward the front door but lost Aira.
The music around me was suddenly turned up. The speakers pounding with some kind of beat.
I went out to the front porch and looked around.
“She’s not here.”
Ryland sat on the railing, his back to a pillar, a bottle of something in his left hand.
He looked drunk as hell already.
“You see her?” I asked.
“Nah.”
“I need to find her. She can’t be near those assholes.”
“Say that into the mirror.”
“You know she can’t be here, Ryland,” I said.
“Are we friends now? What happens when we find her? Who fucks her first?”
I walked toward him and he swung his legs off the railing and tried to stand. He stumbled back into the pillar and let out a groan.
Then he laughed.
“What the fuck are you drinking?”
“Good stuff,” he said. “Hey. By the way. Nice job on the rides. You fucking torched them to shit, huh?”
“Seemed fitting. Just wait until you see what I have in store for you.”
Ryland laughed again. “You’re a fucking loser, Wes. You set shit on fire. In front of Aira. Or she found out about it. You fucking loser.”
I stepped toward Ryland and thought about throwing him off the porch.
“FIGHT!” someone yelled from the front door.
I turned and darted back toward the house.
I fully expected to see Leo toe to toe with one of the BFH douchebags. It didn’t take much to get that going. Trust me. And believe me, I wasn’t racing into the house to break up the fight either. I was racing into the house to keep the fight going. When you crossed the line into the town of Hidden, you played by the rules. And those were my rules.
There was already a gathering around the fight taking place in the room to the left. I wasn’t sure if it was a foyer, a sitting room, the first of seven living rooms, or a piano room.
I pushed my way through the crowd.
I heard the sound of a dong which was random notes being played on the piano.
That was when I saw the fight up close.
It wasn’t Leo. It wasn’t Flynn. It wasn’t my cousins either.
It was Emma.
She was sitting on the keys of the piano with her head down. Some other girl straddled her as they had handfuls of each other’s hair.
Emma swept her left leg and took the girl down.
She then fell to the floor over the other girl and threw a punch.
“Oh, shit,” someone said next to me.
It was some preppy looking guy.
I elbowed him. “Who is that?”
“Emma and Anna,” he said. “That’s years old bad blood.”
Anna slapped Emma across the face and everyone cheered again.
I moved my eyes around the crowd, wondering where…
I spotted Charlotte.
Flynn standing behind her, his hands around her body, his chin resting on her head.
Next to Charlotte was Kailey.
No sign of Aira though.
I stepped forward, almost into the area for fighting, doing anything I could to find Aira.
Something crashed into my shoulder.
It was Anna and Emma.
They were standing now, tangled back up.
Each with a handful of hair. Throwing punches with no target. Kicking in between punches but never landing either a punch or a kick.
They were just turning each other around, yelling and screaming like fools.
Until Emma finally had enough.
She managed to pry Anna’s hand off her hair and pushed her back. As she did, Anna curled her fingers and clawed Emma across the face.
Cunt was the word that was thrown out there.
That word bothered me right away because I thought about Aira and what had been happening to her. Was it beyond someone from BFH to mess with her? Probably not. Maybe through her old town and school Aira had some bad blood too.
But that word was enough for Emma.
Anna backed away as Emma touched her face.
There were red lines on Emma’s face, one bleeding.
When Emma lunged forward, Anna tried to cover her face.
I had to give it to Emma. She knew how to fight like a guy. She threw a punch that landed so hard on Anna’s nose, the sound of the pop made everyone groan.
Anna toppled to the ground with a cry.
Emma then spit at Anna. “Who’s the cunt now, bitch?”
The tension in the room started to bubble over.
Someone put the music back on.
Everyone cheered.
I touched Emma’s arm. “Hey.”
She looked at me. “What?”
“Come with me,” I said. “Fight’s over.”
“She’s not here,” Emma said. “I haven’t seen her.”
“Just come with me for a second,” I ordered.
I got Emma out of there before things exploded again.
As we walked through the kitchen, I grabbed a towel and some ice.
She balled it up and put it to her face.
There was a laundry room right behind the kitchen and Emma jumped up on the washer.
“What was your deal with Anna?” I asked.
“Why?”
“Answer me.
”
“It has nothing to do with Aira.”
“I don’t care. Answer my fucking question, Emma.”
She rolled her eyes. “I went down on her ex. A long time ago. She never let it go.”
“Why not?”
“She’s allergic to it.”
“What?” I asked.
Emma smirked. “She’s allergic to the hair… so she couldn’t and wouldn’t…”
“Right,” I said. “That’s the weirdest fucking thing I have ever heard.”
“It also didn’t help that when she decided to do it, he stopped her and told her she wasn’t as good as me. And by then her lips were all broken out in a rash.”
“That’s sexy,” I said.
“Fucking cunt,” Emma said.
I now was stuck between picturing Emma blowing some guy and Anna with a blistering face because she was allergic to pubic hair.
What the fuck was that all about?
Emma jumped off the washer. “And like I said, Wes, I don’t know where Aira is. We were all hanging. She was drinking. A lot. Like… a lot. Then Anna passed by with her bitch friends and made some comment. And I’m in a mood.”
“What kind of mood?”
“I want to either fuck or fight,” Emma said in a bold voice.
“You fit right in with us then,” I said.
“Whatever. I’m not fucking you, Wes. Or going down on you.”
“Wasn’t even going there,” I said.
Emma patted my chest. “Good. Thanks for the ice. Now go find Aira. Because she’s probably looking for trouble. And if the trouble she’s looking for is worse than you… damn.”
Damn was right.
This was a big house with a lot of rooms.
It was time to start kicking doors down.
Chapter 10
Aira
“You’re a fucking legend. How many fucking chicks here have you fucked? I bet your cock is laced with regret…”
I lingered out back on the deck as I sipped whatever was in my cup. It was just this endless supply of something fruity and something that was making my head feel floaty. It was the only reason to come to a party like this, right? That’s what Kailey wanted me to do. That’s what I wanted to do. One night to just forget everything that was happening.
Plus, seeing Wes didn’t help anything at all.
Why was he even here?
This wasn’t his kind of party scene.
And if he thought he was going to follow me around all night, thinking the person who wrote cunt on my locker and sent me that letter was going to walk up to me and apologize… yeah, right. Whatever that was… was probably Wes’s fault too. Something he did or something I got into with him or because of him.
I finished my entire drink and turned.
The door to the beach house started to move to the left and then the right.
I kept my feet flat and gave myself a second to realize the door wasn’t moving.
I was just drunk.
As I shuffled toward the door, it opened and out walked someone I didn’t know.
“Drink?” he asked me.
He had two with him.
I swiped one.
“Thanks.”
I went back to my little perch in the corner of the porch so I could watch and listen to the ocean. With the faint background of the thumping music from the party.
“Jacob,” the guy said as he stepped up next to me.
“Aira.”
“HCH?” he asked.
“Yeah. You?”
“BFH.”
“Huh?”
“Bay Falls High,” he said. “You know, we are sort of enemies.”
“Are we now?” I asked.
“Total enemies, Aira. I hate your fucking school. I hate your fucking town. I hate everyone in it too.”
“Then why are you here?” I asked.
Jacob turned and leaned against the railing. “That’s the best part of hate. Either you fight about it… or you release that anger in another way.”
I swallowed hard. I laughed. “Wow. That’s the best you’ve got, man?”
“Oh, I’ve got plenty more, sweetie,” Jacob said.
He spun around and leaned down against the railing. He inched toward me and nudged me.
“Really?” I asked.
“Why are you so uptight tonight?” he asked.
“You know you smell of entitled douchebag, right?”
“That’s my favorite cologne to wear,” he said.
“So you own it?”
“Parents bought it for me,” he said.
“That doesn’t do a thing for a me.”
“I’m being honest.”
“Fuck honesty,” I said.
“So you want me to lie to you?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Jacob laughed. “You’re on fire right now, Aira. I’ve been watching you.”
“Oh, so now you’re trying the creeper angle.”
“No. I’m an observer. That’s all. Could tell something’s bothering you. Pretty girls like you don’t come to these kind of parties and just stand outside and get wasted.”
“I do,” I said.
I pushed from the railing.
I stumbled and Jacob was there to catch me.
One hand on my lower back and the other on my stomach.
“Caught you, sweetie,” he whispered.
I swallowed hard again.
I broke away from Jacob. “Don’t touch me.”
“Too late. What’s done is done.”
“Seriously,” I said. “I’m not interested in games.”
“Okay, fine. No games.”
Somehow I ended up in the corner of the deck with Jacob standing in front of me.
If need be, I could knee him in the balls.
“You’re beautiful and you’re sad. And I’m beautiful and I’m sad.”
“You’re sad?”
“Completely sad.”
“Why?”
“Someone broke my heart, Aira. Ripped it out. Stepped on it. You know that feeling?”
I caught myself nodding.
Fucking fruity drinks…
“See, you get it. So if I wanted something stupid and cheap, I’d go in there. There’s so many dumb, drunk chicks. But that’s not what I want. That’s not my thing. At least not tonight. I’m just looking for someone to talk to about it all. Someone who gets it. You get it, Aira. You get me.”
“You’re better off with the drunk chicks, Jacob,” I said.
I slipped under his arm and got away.
I walked down the steps and looked up to see him staring down at me.
“Trust me,” I called out.
“Oh, sweetie, you just trust me,” he said.
Jacob vanished and I sipped my drink as I walked around to the front of the massive beach house.
I walked up the front porch and heard noise from inside the house.
I stepped through the open door and heard everyone cheering and dancing. Someone said something about a fight.
I grabbed the guy’s shirt. “Who fought?”
“Two chicks,” he said. “It was fucking crazy. One knocked the other one like right out. Like… with a real fist and shit…”
“Who were they?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
I walked back outside.
That’s when I saw Ryland sitting on the railing, swaying left to right.
“You look as drunk as I feel,” I said to him.
“That was one of your girls in there,” he said.
“Huh?”
“Throwing fists. Emma.”
“Emma got into a fight?”
“Yeah,” Ryland said. “Took the other one down for good.”
I turned.
Ryland called my name.
“Don’t worry about her,” he said. “Wes took care of her.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Wes. He pulled her out of the fight and too
k her to get cleaned up. Emma had a cut on her face.”
“Emma and Wes…”
Ryland put his right hand to his mouth like he was trying to whisper a secret. But we were too far apart to whisper.
“Not the first time… if you know what I mean…”
I gritted my teeth. “I hope you fall and break your neck, Ryland.”
Ryland laughed. “Careful, Aira. You’re too far in now. Way too far in. There’s no escaping it either.”
“What does that mean?”
“I tried to warn you. And everyone.”
Ryland swung his feet over the railing and jumped off the porch.
I went back inside the beach house and I saw Emma with a towel to her left cheek.
I charged up to her and pushed at her shoulder to shove her back.
“What the hell?” Emma yelled at me.
“What happened to your face?” I asked.
“You missed the fight. Where were you?”
“I was out back. What happened? Wes was with you?”
“Oh, jeez, Aira, give it up,” Emma snapped. “Either love him or don’t. Leave everyone else alone.”
“What did you do with him? Huh? What happened?”
“What do you mean what happened?”
“Ryland told me-”
Emma laughed in my face. “Always listening to Ryland. That’s your problem. I think you secretly like it. Like him.”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Emma?” I asked.
“Never. I’m not like you.”
“Yeah. Pull the chain to turn off the open sign between your legs once in a while.”
Emma’s eyes went wide. “Sorry that the princess virgin doesn’t know how to handle a dick.”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Kailey said as she got between us. “What the hell are you two doing?”
“Nothing,” I said. “Nothing at all.”
“I just got into a fucking fight and now Aira is accusing me of fucking Wes behind her back,” Emma said.
Kailey looked at me. “Seriously?”
“I didn’t say that,” I said. “This is your fault too. You wanted me to come here and drink.”
“And have fun,” Kailey said. “What is wrong with you, Aira? You’re so hung up on Wes. Figure out what you want.”
“I want to get away from you stupid bitches.”
“Plenty of doors around here,” Emma said.
I backed up. I slowly lifted my middle finger. “For you… cunt…”
Emma laughed. “Last time I checked, I didn’t have cunt carved into my locker. And by the way, what you think you know about me and Wes. It’s completely true. I’ve seen it all and had it all… twice.”
HIDDEN CREEK DARKNESS: a hidden creek high novel Page 9