Chapter 6
Jackson
I make my way up to the locker rooms after an early morning training session and do my best to shake out my legs. I went hard this morning and my thighs are killing me. We’re right in the middle of football season and so far, we’re killing it. The boys and I have been working our asses off. There’s no way we’re going to lose Thursday night’s game, not with the way we’ve been training.
The boys mind their own business and I do the same. We’re all fucking exhausted, but lucky us, we have another training session the second the end of school bell sounds.
“Yo, Jackson,” I hear from across the locker room as I peel off my sweaty uniform.
I look across to find Troy, one of the juniors standing awkwardly by the showers. “What’s up?”
“Was that um…your sister sitting out in the bleachers this morning?”
My brows furrow. Why the fuck does he want to know about Kaylah? “Yeah. What about her?” I question, hating what I already know what’s coming. I’m not going to lie, my sister is fucking beautiful and I absolutely hate it because fuckers like this are always snooping around her. With the early morning training session, she was forced to come along with me which also means she’ll be here late this afternoon.
I told her to go and study up in the library as it would be easier to concentrate, but truth be told, I was trying to avoid this bullshit. But what say do I have anyway? Kaylah decides what Kaylah wants to do and nobody can convince her otherwise. Apparently, it was a beautiful morning with a beautiful sunrise and how dare I try to take that away from her? Naturally, Kaylah sat out in the bleachers and watched our training session, no doubt not getting even the slightest bit of studying done.
Troy flinches at my tone and I scowl at him, hoping I can somehow scare the words into refusing to come out of his mouth, but apparently, the dickhead has a death wish and speaks them anyway. “She’s uh, kinda hot. Do you know if she’s seeing anyone or, you know, could you help a brother out and give me her number?”
My back straightens as every fucker in the room falls silent. “The fuck you just say?”
“Shit,” Matthews says, racing forward and putting himself between me and Troy, knowing damn well there’s about to be a blood bath in here. “He’s just fucking with you. Right, Troy?”
Troy has the guts to lie to my fucking face. “Oh, yeah, man. Just fucking with you,” he says with a lame, terrified chuckle. “Just fucking around.”
I keep my eye on the kid, knowing he’s bound to approach my sister at some point and hope he fully understands that if and when he does, I’ll have no other choice but to kick his ass. My sister won’t be dating a fucking low life like that, especially one who asks a girl’s big brother for her number rather than finding the balls to approach her himself and show her a little respect.
Matthews lets out a relieved sigh, realizing that I’m not about to beat the shit out of Troy before relaxing down onto the bench. “I have to admit it though,” he says, giving me a sideways glance. “Troy has good taste. Your sister is fine, but I overheard her talking to some guy yesterday saying that she was seeing someone.”
“Nah man,” I say, shaking my head. “I’d know if she was seeing someone.”
Matthews shrugs. “Yeah, I guess. She was probably just saying that to get the guy off her case. Chicks are always saying they're taken as an easy out.”
I scoff at his comments. “Have a lot of experience striking out, do you?” I ask, grabbing my things and heading to the bathroom to race through a quick shower. After all, the school bell is due to go in less than fifteen minutes.
Matthews instantly starts back peddling. “Nah,” he says. “Not me personally, I just heard they do that from time to time. I don’t have any issues getting chicks, man.” I don’t bother responding as I close myself off in the shower and get my ass ready for the day.
I fly back out of the locker room precisely four minutes later and grin as I walk into the main part of the school and see Tora by her locker with Brooke and Elle.
I can’t tear my eyes off her. God, she’s fucking gorgeous and it’s killing me that she’s keeping herself at arms-length. I’ve been giving her space and hoping she’ll come to me, but I’m quickly realizing that game plan fucking sucks. It’s about time that I make this happen.
Elle and I so clearly have some sort of chemistry and I’m done waiting to explore it. I want to know what this is and I want to know what the hell is holding her back. I’d understand if she was shy and needs me to make that move, but I don’t get that vibe from her. Something else is going on here and I want to figure it out. Hell, I want to figure her out.
I dump my shit in my locker before walking up to the girls. Tora and I seem to have sorted our differences but after I made a bad call and took her to a Haven Falls party, she’s been a little crabby. So this could be interesting. Even more so considering Nate is down the other end of the hallway.
“Hello, hello, hello,” I say, throwing my arms over Brooke and Elle’s shoulders, forcing my way into their circle and loving the feel of Elle being tucked into my side like that, but I keep my attention on Tora, not wanting to overwhelm Elle or make her think that I’m forcing myself onto her.
“Is there something you need?” Tora questions, giving me that signature attitude that she’s become so damn good at performing. Though, I kind of deserve this one.
“Nope,” I say with a wicked grin. “Just saw your boyfriend looking over here and thought I’d take the opportunity to get under his skin.”
At the mention of Nate, all eyes travel down toward him to find nothing but irritation etched into his face and I try not to laugh. I feel for the fucker…kind of. If he just asked me what’s up and gave me the time of day to talk things through, he’ll realize that I’m not trying to steal his girl away, in fact, my end game is something very different and it has everything to do with this blonde bombshell under my arm who seems to be leaning more and more into my side, welcoming my touch just as much as I am hers.
Tora looks back at me with a tight smile. “At least you’re being honest about it.”
I suck in a breath, feigning offense. “I’m wounded, Tora. I’m always honest, especially when it comes to pissing off Nate Ryder.”
Brooke pushes my arm off her shoulder and steps closer to Tora while Elle remains right where she is. “When are you and Nate going to call all this bullshit off?” Brooke questions.
“When are you going to forgive Maxen?”
“Never,” she snaps back.
Oh, geez. I am so not down to listening to the girls’ bullshit boy problems.
“Well, there’s your answer,” I tell them with a proud smile as the bell rings, hoping it’s enough to cut the topic short. “Now, what do you ladies say about me walking you to class?”
Tora turns back to her locker and pulls out her books. “We’re good,” she says, speaking for the group, but there’s one other who I’m still yet to ask.
I curl my arm around Elle and look down at her to find her big blue eyes already looking up at me. “And what about you?” I murmur low, loving the light flush that appears on her cheeks.
“Are you going to carry my books?” Elle questions, raising a brow and testing me as a slow smile spreads across her lips
“Do you want me to carry your books?”
Elle studies me for a moment, biting down on her bottom lip before something flashes in her eyes. “I do,” she tells me, making me wonder if we’re talking about something much deeper than carrying a bunch of books.
Elle’s hand finds mine and a determination comes shooting through her gaze and I realize that I wasn’t imagining this, she wants this just as I do, but there’s still something holding her back.
I smile down at her. If this is something she’s willing to at least try and explore, then I want to know how exactly I’m going to make that happen. “Lead the way,” I tell her before turning back and sending a quick, playful wink to Tor
a knowing just how annoying she’s going to find it.
Elle turns and starts making her way up the hallway. I hurry to keep up with her so that I don’t have to drop my arm from around her shoulder. “Were you being serious?” I ask her. “Do you want me to walk you to class or would you prefer to get out of here for a bit?”
Elle smiles up at me and once again, she knocks the breath right out of me. How is it possible for one person to have so much beauty? “I know a place, but first, I need coffee.”
Why is my heart racing like this? “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
I let my arm slip off her petite shoulder and keep my cool when she allows my fingers to trail down her arm. My fingers brush over the softest skin I’ve ever felt until they’re folding into hers, right where they need to be.
I lead Elle across the road and we walk for fifteen minutes until we’re entering Carter’s Coffee House. Elle practically dives for the counter, desperate to put her order in and I quickly realize that she’s one of those people who are unable to function without their coffee.
We talk about generic stuff as we wait for her order and just like the night of Crystal’s party, I find I like it more than I probably should.
“Alright, where to?” I ask as she gets her coffee in her hand and takes a sip before mentally drifting away with a look of complete pleasure, which has me growing hard. I mean, am I fucking jealous of a coffee right now?
Elle’s hand falls back into mine as I discreetly adjust myself with the other. “Follow me.”
We walk back towards the school and just when I think she’s about to step over the boundary line and take my ass back to class, she pulls me along, deeper into the trees before she proudly presents me with a small creek that runs along the back half of the school.
“Well, this is cool,” I tell her in awe, glancing around and watching the morning sunlight dance across the rushing water.
Elle beams and it’s as though she’s waiting for me to tell her just how good she did. “Yeah, this place is pretty awesome,” she tells me. “Phoenix and I discovered it years ago and now I just come here when…you know, when it’s all getting too much.”
“Wait,” I say, looking over at her with a curiosity that I’m not sure I’m entitled to. “That leaves me with so many questions.”
Elle cringes and I wonder if maybe she thought she could get away with throwing loaded comments like that out into the world and not have me wanting to ask questions. “Are you serious right now? You don’t actually know?”
I shake my head. “I’m not one for listening to other people’s gossip.”
“But still,” she laughs. “How long have you been going here? How is it possible for you not to know?”
I drop down onto a big ass rock and wave my hand around, gesturing for her to get on with her explanation. “I’m all ears,” I tell her with a grin. “So maybe start with why the hell you were hanging out with Phoenix. You realize who she is, right? She’s not exactly great company.”
Elle hesitates for a moment before turning to look at me, scrunching her face up with a cringe in the process. “I don’t want you to think less of me.”
“I don’t think that’s possible,” I tell her truthfully.
She watches me a moment longer before letting out a shaky breath. “Okay, well…a few months ago, I was at the top of this school. I was the cheer captain and to be completely honest, I was a real bitch. I was worse than Phoenix.”
“That’s not possible.” I shake my head. “There’s nothing worse than Phoenix.”
She considers me with a smirk. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s not like I slept with one of my relatives.”
“Yeah,” I laugh. “That shit is seriously messed up. I can’t believe I dated her for those few weeks.”
“Wait. You were actually dating her?”
“Hey,” I say. “This is your story. We’re not here to learn about my fuck ups, just yours.”
Elle rolls her eyes and gets on with it. “So, over the summer, I was partying hard and letting loose before senior year, and one night, I think maybe I got a little too wild.”
I narrow my eyes with curiosity, picturing a wild Elle and realizing just how much I like it. “How so?”
She scrunches her face up and looks away, ashamed of what she’s about to tell me. “I sort of got naked with Puck and Ty.”
My brows fly up into my hairline and I find myself on my feet. “What?” I grin, looking at her in a new light. Maybe she’s not as innocent as I keep assuming. Pride beams out of me. “You’re down for that kind of shit?”
Elle’s cheeks flush and she refuses to meet my eyes. “I mean, well…I’m not going to deny it. It was fun, like a lot of fun.”
“Fuck me,” I breathe, unable to control the excited grin on my face. “We are not finished discussing this, but I’m far too curious how you went from that vixen cheer captain to this little innocent good girl.”
“Trust me, I’m far from a good girl, but I’m trying,” she tells me before letting out a breath. “So, at the beginning of senior year, Tora and I used to butt heads a lot and it got pretty nasty, to the point that Jesse stepped in and warned me that he’d take me down if I hurt her.”
My brows crease as I watch her, not liking where this story is going. “What did you do, Elle?”
“I…shit. It’s awful,” she warns me. “You’re not going to like it.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
She nods before finally letting it out. “I was the one who gave Josh the idea to mess around with Tora. I thought he’d just pull her aside and freak her out a little, and after Jesse’s warning, I told him to back off, but he didn’t. He went out on his own and that’s…”
“That’s when he attacked her.”
Elle nods again, looking so desperately ashamed of herself. “I didn’t want her to get hurt. That was never my intention and when I realized what he tried to do…I felt sick. I was a monster and I hated myself for it.”
“Nate and Jesse retaliated, didn’t they?” I question, already knowing the answer as it’s exactly what I would have done.
“Of course, they did,” she scoffs. “There was a party and nearly everyone was there. It was freaking huge and I was in my element, which is when Jesse came through on his warning. He tore me to shreds in front of everyone and told them all about what I’d gotten up to over the summer…or well, what had gotten up me. It was humiliating. Everyone looked at me as though I was some kind of walking STD, and I guess I deserved it because I’m sure Tora was feeling even worse.” Elle lets out a sigh. “The fallout happened instantly. Jesse hadn’t even walked away before my squad turned their backs on me and alienated me. I went from the top to the bottom in a matter of seconds.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” I tell her, seeing way too many holes in her story. “Half the cheerleaders have been offering themselves up for fucking orgies in the locker room. Why are you getting blasted for a fucking threesome?”
“Because that was Jesse’s intention and when either one of the Ryder brothers speaks, everyone follows. He wanted them to treat me like trash and that’s exactly what they did.”
“Fuck,” I sigh, seeing the devastation in her eyes. I find myself moving across the pebbled ground and wrapping her in my arms. She smooshes her face into my chest and I realize that while this was a few months ago, it’s still hurting her deeply. “I could kill Jesse for doing that to you.”
“No,” she murmurs against my chest. “It turned out for the best. I was able to see what it was like being on the bottom and it made me re-evaluate the person I’d become and I was able to turn it all around. I guess sometimes you have to lose it all to gain something new. It’s forced me to look at the big picture and I’ve been working on shaping myself into the person I want to be.”
“You sure? I’m still open to kicking his ass.”
“No, Jesse and I have talked it through and we’re all cool now.”
“Oka
y,” I murmur. “So, tell me who this new version of yourself is because I’d really like to get to know her.”
Elle shakes her head before forcing her way out of my arms. “The new me is a good girl. Someone who doesn’t mess around with random guys and focuses on her grades. I’m not the easy chick whose going to fall into bed with you at the click of your fingers so if that’s what you’re after, then you need to go and find it with someone else.”
“As tempting as slamming you up against one of these trees sounds, that’s not why I’m here. I’m not lying, Elle. I do want to get to know you. You’re fucking gorgeous and I’d be a fool to run you off like that.”
Elle considers me a moment before dropping down on the rock I’d claimed earlier. “Alright,” she finally says. “I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and let you get to know me, but the road goes both ways. It’s your turn to spill the beans. You’re Jackson Millington. You’re bound to have an epic fuck up too.”
Now I’m the one cringing as Henley Bronx flashes through my mind. “You don’t want to know about my fuck up.”
The curiosity radiates out of Elle as a devilish smirk crosses her face. “Oh, but you see, now you’ve got me all intrigued.”
I groan, not wanting to open up about this, but after everything she just told me, it’s only fair. I take a deep breath and look up at Elle whose waiting with bated breath. “I made a bad judgment call, got drunk and slept with my little sister’s best friend who thinks she’s been in love with me for the last few years.”
Elle’s eyes widen in horror. “Holy fuck. Everyone knows you stay away from your sibling’s friends. Oh, my God, Jackson. How stupid can you be? What happened? Does Kaylah know?”
I cringe again. “Kaylah walked in.”
Elle bursts into uncontrollable laughter and falls down off the rock, wiping the tears that spring from her eyes. “Holy shit. I really needed that laugh.”
I glare across at her, wanting to rip her a new asshole for shitting all over my situation but also wanting to continue watching her laugh like that. It looked fucking good on her and I can’t wait to make her do it again.
Jackson: Broken Hill Boys (Novella 2) Page 5