Hidden River Three (Hidden River Academy Book 3)

by KT Strange

  I turned back to Reid. His mouth was open, but he was silent.

  “You disgust me,” I said, my voice shaking. “You’re subhuman. You know that? Sub. Fucking. Human.” I whirled on my bare feet, the plush carpet under me burning my skin I moved so fast, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

  A shocked Miss Whatserface stood in the hallway.

  “Miss Quinn,” she said, scandalized.

  “Fuck off,” I snapped, breezing by her. My anger was running out, and hurt, the tears, were going to come next. I wanted to be out of there before I started crying. But I couldn’t walk home like this. There had to be a closet by the front door. Even rich people needed coats. The halls were blurred on the edge with tears as I made it into the entryway, less glittery and grand than it’d seemed barely a half hour prior.

  Right by the front door was a small closet, as I expected, and when I opened it I saw a bunch of jackets and long coats shoved inside. I grabbed the first one I could get my hands on and shoved out the front door, cramming myself into it. It was too big, heavy, woolen, a man’s coat, but it fell to my knees and I didn’t care.

  “Mia!” A voice I never expected made me stop at the top of the stairs down to the driveway. I turned.

  Shawn stood there, his face red, my shoes in his hand.

  “Mia, I was out back by the pool, and I heard-” He swallowed and half-ran to me. “Here,” he said, setting my shoes down. “They’re bringing my car around, I’ll drive you home.”

  “No thank you,” I said tightly. “Did you know? Did you know his little prank was going-” I shook my head and turned away, slipping my feet into my shoes. “No, don’t tell me. Just one more thing, Shawn, just… yeah. Fuck off.” I hunched my shoulders in the coat, holding it around myself.

  “Buck’s out back, giving it to Reid right now. We had no idea,” Shawn insisted. “Please, let me drive you home.” He reached for my hand, and gave me a pleading look.

  The door opened and we both glanced up. Reid stood there, his shirt wet and plastered to his chest. He had a nice bruise forming on his cheek, and I hoped that was from Buck punching him, or better yet, from me slapping him.

  “Mia,” he started and I held up my hand.

  “Dude, don’t start,” Shawn snapped at him.

  “Oh like you’re any fucking better? It’s not like you didn’t chew her up and spit her up when you were done with her and finally got what you wanted,” Reid said, the bitchiest comment I’d ever heard him make.

  Shawn inhaled, like he’d been punched in the gut.

  “Yeah, I’m not doing this,” I said. “You both fucking suck.” I ran down the front steps and started walking down the long driveway.

  “Mia!” Shawn was calling after me.

  “Fuckity-bye!” I yelled over my shoulder, anger propelling me forward. Assholes, both of them. I didn’t need that shit. At all. I’d figure out another way to get the money.

  Eight

  The bus hissed as I stepped off of it, looking up at the sky. God it felt weird to be back in the Park. The streets were cracked, and seemed smaller than when I’d left.

  At least I was grateful I was there at all. Reid’d felt like shit, and with good reason. I’d found an envelope jammed in my locker a few days later, with five hundred bucks in it. Enough for my return ticket to town, and to give Brandt the money he needed.

  I hadn’t spoken to Reid since that night at his party, but I didn’t need to. He was fucking dead to me, but he had slightly redeemed himself, slightly, by paying me the money he’d promised me and then some.

  I held my breath slightly as I walked down the streets of the Park. The sight of our old trailer… it made my heart squeeze. It was run down as always, garbage in bags out front.

  I picked my way up the path, and onto the stairs. My hand lifted as I knocked on the door, and I waited a breath. It was silent. Maybe Brandt wasn’t even there. A few minutes passed, and I felt a tense knot forming in my stomach. What if he was out? It wasn’t like he had a cellphone so I could get in touch with him?

  I heard a shuffling inside, and the door opened. Brandt stood there, in a wife beater that was filthy. He squinted at me

  “Mia? You got the money?”

  I swallowed hard.

  “Yeah, I got it. Mom really need your help. You’ll do it, right?” The money was heavy in my pocket and I don’t want to hand over until he promised me that he do what he had to in order to help her out.

  “Yeah, yeah. Come on it.” He stepped beside and I looked in. Our trailer was trashed. All the hard work I’ve ever done in keeping it clean and tidy was wrecked. It stank of rotting food and Brandt’s unwashed body. I wanted to puke.

  “No, I’m okay, thanks.”

  Brandt frowned.

  “Okay where is the money?” He demanded. I recent my pocket and grabbed it handing it over to him. He flicked to the bills and made an annoyed sound of the back with throat.

  “Yeah this isn’t gonna be enough,” he said with a sneer.

  “What?” I felt betrayed, staring at him, my heart in the back of my mouth.

  “Yeah, I need like… this just isn’t enough Mia. Your mom? She needs help bad. It isn’t her first time cutting up on someone. She needs me, or she’ll go away for a long time. You don’t want that, right?” Brandt asked, his lip curling. My ears were tinny, echoing his voice unpleasantly.

  “I.. How much. That’s all I’ve got?”

  He laughed, shoving the bills in his pocket.

  “Look, you come up with five k, and we’ll call it even,” he said. I went hot, then cold.

  “Five thousand dollars?”

  He smirked.

  “Not much to pay for your mom’s freedom? Unless…” He looked down my body. “I got a friend you can help out. He needs girls like you. I’ll even do your job interview, we can do it in your old bed-”

  I stumbled back.

  “Fuck you,” I spat, shaking. His face transformed from leering to furious.

  “Don’t you tell me that,” he snarled launching down the steps after me. I scrambled back with a shriek. He didn’t even reach me before yells cut through the air, and car doors slamming had me looking over. Reid and Cael stormed into the yard, Reid barreling into Brandt as Cael pulled me back.

  “What the fuck?! What the fuck!??!” Brandt screamed. I ran to the Cael’s car, the convertible, and slid into the back seat. Cael hopped into the front, Reid following him.

  “Hit it,” Reid snarled, and the engine roared as Cael peeled away down the street, leaving Brandt screaming at us.

  “What the fuck was that?” Cael demanded. I sat in the seat, shell-shocked.

  “How…”

  “We followed you,” Reid said blandly, like that was just something normal people did. “You don’t take the bus out of town, and… yeah. I’m glad we did. That druggie psycho could have killed you.”

  I swallowed hard.

  “Yeah,” I said, looking over my shoulder at the disappearing trailer park.

  I’d come… so close. Close to saving my mom.. Close to getting hurt. Everything.

  ***

  “Hey,” Colt said, frowning as he let me into the dorm. “You okay? Hey, are you crying?”

  My eyes were red. After a numbing ride back to Hidden River with Cael and Reid, I’d asked them to drop me off at the school. Exchanging meaningful looks, they agreed.

  Now I was standing in front of Colt, my whole body shivering.

  “You’re pale,” he said, taking my hand in his. “Come upstairs to my room.”

  “I’m okay,” I promised, even though I wasn’t. How the hell was I going to get five thousand dollars?”

  Colt pushed the door to his room open. It was decently sized, a closet hanging open and a dresser with leather straps for handles against one wall. A second door led to a private bathroom, I could see. He even had a full-sized bed, although it was pushed up against the window, the glass open for the breeze to come in. A set of
weights sat at the foot of it, and his books were piled on his desk. There weren’t any posters on the wall. No decorations anywhere. It was like he’d just moved in, but I knew he’d had to have been in the room for… awhile. He was a 356-boarder, his scholarship promised him that at the very least.

  I pushed the sad state of his room away, and sat on the edge of his bed.

  “Everything is falling apart, and I don’t know how to fix it,” I said, looking at my fingers where they were balled in my lap. The bed dipped as Colt sat next to me. His shoulder brushed mine as he leaned in.

  “You wanna talk about it?” He asked. I shook my head, then turned it to look up at him.

  “I just wanna…” I closed my eyes and kissed him. That. I needed that. He groaned, his arm pulling around my waist, tugging me into him. My fingers splayed on his chest, flexing into his muscle through his shirt. He was wearing a soft, worn jersey cotton in faded gray. I pushed him down, down until we were laying on the bed, and I shifted on top of him.

  His hands came up to run through my hair, and he kissed me harder, pushing up on one elbow so he reach me.

  “God, I love you,” he said, and the words dropped into my heart, warming me all over. I shivered. I felt it back. It was true. I was done lying to myself. I’d tried to lock my heart away, but I couldn’t anymore.

  “Me too,” I said, and the brilliant smile that crossed his face seemed to make all my problems melt away. He kissed me, slow and sweet, until my breathing turned ragged and my body heavy with wanting him. His hands were all over me, stroking along my curves, his knuckles dragging and rasping over my clothes.

  I wanted his touch to erase all the bad that was in my life. I needed him to fix it with his kisses, the sound of his labored breathing, the way he stared at me like I was as much a balm to his life as he was to mine.

  I glanced at the door. He’d propped it open with a slide, the shoe turned on it’s side so it was barely a crack to let light from the hall in.

  “We’ll have to be quiet,” he said, his eyes sliding half-shut. His hand cupped my ass through my jeans and I shivered.

  “Good with me,” I replied, sitting up to straddle his waist. I reached for the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head, tossing it to the side. My hair slid over my bare back as I unsnapped my bra and let the straps slip down my arms.

  Colt’s pupils flared, and his hands came up, to wrap around my breasts. The warmth of his skin, the rasp of callouses there, made me sigh softly. His hips were rocking up into mine.

  “Shirt, off,” I urged him. He smiled and shucked it, reaching down to unzip his pants. I shifted over him, giving him space as he kicked his jeans off, and I freed myself from mine. Time moved slow, like I was underwater in a dream. Soon I was skin to skin with him, my hands crawling all over the curves of his defined muscles.

  He had little scars up the inside of one wrist. I glanced at him and he shrugged his shoulder.

  “Life sucks sometimes,” he said, and my heart ached for him. The cuts were tiny, too small to be anything other than just a way for him to try and stop the pain inside of him. I reached down, taking his wrist in my hand, lifting the inside of his arm to my lips. I kissed the small marks, and he sighed, pulling me down to him.

  My legs slipped over his thighs, spreading over his hips. I was so ready for it, maybe I’d been ready for this with him for… weeks. Months. His fingers curled between us, rubbing between my folds. I moaned, sitting up and working myself over him.

  “Hang on,” he muttered, reaching into the bed-side table. He pulled out a condom and held himself still while he slicked it down his length. I braced my hands on his chest, a fullness inside of me blossoming before he’d even thrust into me.

  Already I was so full of him, my heart was ready to explode. Colt’s eyes were intense on me as he wrapped a hand around himself and guided himself into me from below. I sank down, letting out a sigh at the feeling.

  “Oh fuck,” he hissed, one his hands slapping down on the blankets, like he couldn’t handle how good it felt. A giddy, proud feeling erupted in my chest and I bent down to kiss him, slowly rolling my hips.

  It was perfect. He was… just perfect.

  He looked at me from under his lashes as I slowly fucked myself down onto him, his hand resting on my hip, fingers flexing into my skin at every thrust.

  Inside me, I could feel it, the tight, shuddery feeling of pleasure slowly winding down and up. It coiled hard, and when I whimpered, he let his hand wander between us, teasing over my clit with his thumb lightly.

  Each soft brush pushed me closer to the edge, until my movements were frantic, desperate.

  “Come for me,” he said, voice strained. “I wanna see you-” He groaned as I shuddered, coming hard from just his words, that and the soft touch, his cock inside me. I moaned, not able to move, still over him. He pulled me down, and then rolled me under him. His hand went to my knee, lifting it up, pressing it into my chest. He let loose, his hips pistoning hard, the soft squeak of the bed under us and his breathing the only sound. I lifted my hand, covering his mouth with my palm as he groaned, his muscles rippling as he came hard.

  “Quiet,” I whispered, with a tiny laugh as he glared at me, his hips slowing their roll.

  “Mmph,” he grumbled, pulling out of me. I hated the empty feeling, and I clung to him, needing to feel him close, even then. “You okay?” He asked, running his fingers through my hair. I nodded.

  It was just what I needed to wash away the bad. I relaxed as he got off the bed and went to the bathroom. I heard the sink go, and then the click of the door. I sat up. He locked it.

  “But what about curfew?” I asked. He shook his head.

  “Fuck the rules,” he said, crawling onto the bed next to me. He pulled up the sheet, and I settled into the crook of his arm, feeling safe and finally relaxed. “So… what happened?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” I said. “But somehow… I need to come up with five grand to help my mom.”

  “What?” I could hear the frown in Colt’s voice without even looking at him.

  “Her ex,” I said, “he’s… he’ll only help out, help out with her case, if I give him five thousand dollars.”

  “Shit,” he said. “You…”

  “I don’t have it. My uncle doesn’t. I’m out of choices, I guess.” I felt lost. Colt sighed, wrapping arms around me tight.

  “It’ll work out,” he promised.

  “I hope so,” I whispered. “Right now it feels like I can’t fix anything I’m supposed to fix.”

  “I know that feeling,” he said, running a finger down his cheek. “I love you, Mia. You’ve got the biggest heart of anyone I know.”

  I smiled and closed my eyes. His warmth, his closeness, it was keeping the nightmare outside the door at bay.

  “I love you too,” I said, letting sleep tug at me. I hoped I wouldn’t have dreams. I didn’t need to dream. I was already living in one.

  ***

  The sheets rustled. I groaned, opening my eyes. Sunlight was streaming across the bed. Colt knelt beside me, getting back under the covers. I whined under my breath and closed my eyes again.

  “What time is it?” My voice was rusty, disused from a night of good sleep.

  “Noon,” he said. “You missed the boarder’s breakfast. But then, so did I. Wake up.”

  “Noooo,” I protested, cracking one eye. “Why?”

  Colt wore a grin a mile wide.

  “I got five thousand reasons for you,” he said, lifting up his hand. In it there was a wad of cash, rolled up tight. My eyes widened.

  “What’s that?”

  “Five grand,” he said, sounding inordinately proud of himself. He stretched out beside me, setting the roll of… it looked like hundreds, on his bed-side table. “Feel free to blow me out of gratitude.”

  He was joking, but I didn’t even laugh. I stared at the money.

  “Where’d you get it?” I asked. He shook his head.

  �
�A wizard doesn’t reveal his secrets.”

  I glared at him.

  “It’s magician. It’s a magician doesn’t reveal his secrets.”

  “Whatever, maybe I’m Harry Potter? How would you know. Anyway, get down here, let’s celebrate.” He smiled and pulled me down on top of him. My heart was beating hard down near my stomach.

  “It makes me nervous when you magic cash out of nowhere,” I said.

  “Why? Cause I’m not rich like some of your boyfriends?” He asked, an the irritation in his voice made me not want to press further on the topic.

  “Boyfriends?” I asked. “Are you my boyfriend now?”

  “Maybe,” he said with a cheeky tilt of his head. His hand was sliding under the covers, down my bare back. I shivered. He was almost fully-clothed, in a t-shirt and boxers. It felt dirty-good to be naked on top of him. “There’s an opening for a girlfriend in my life. Think you’d like to interview?”

  “Asshole,” I said. His hand cupped my butt, squeezing.

  “Yeah we can get to that,” he didn’t miss a beat, and I blushed. “But honestly, Mia…” His tone went serious, and his smile was open, relaxed. “I meant what I said last night. I love you.”

  I bit my lip, then bent, kissing him slowly.

  “Me too,” I whispered. “I love you too.”

  And I did. My feelings were so real, so present. What more did I need? I closed my eyes and lay my head on his chest, and soaked in his warmth and the feeling of his hand running up and down my back. Finally everything was going like it should’ve been. Finally, it felt like my heart was healing over, the cracks fading. My chest filled with happiness, and I squirmed against him, getting settled with a sigh.

  The sun poured over us both, warming the sheets.

  “Colt?”

  “Yeah’m?” He sounded sleepy, his arm heavy across my back.

  “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “Mhmm,” he mumbled. I closed my eyes and smiled. I’d send the money to Brandt, and everything would be fixed. Finally.

  Nine

  “What the fuck is going on?” Shiv asked, frowning as we stepped out of our last class of the day. It was always noisy as school ended, but the roar of students talking, and outright shouting, had me on high alert. I looked down the long hallway, the skylights bright above us. There was a crowd at the end of it, students, and topping them slightly, I could see…