by K. D Clark
CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter 10
Chapter One
Sabrina’s grandpa had passed away two months before the day she and her mom moved into the house in Falcon Haven. Falcon Haven was exactly how she’d remembered it as a child. A middle-class neighborhood on the outskirts of New Jersey. It was a couple hours from where her and her mom had lived for the past 10 years. As she sat at the kitchen table she realized the house still smelled like her grandpa-peppermint and old spice. If she thought about it long enough she swore she could still hear him at the stove making her favorite childhood food—mac and cheese. In his will he’d made it clear that the house was to be left to his one and only child, Sabrina’s mother. They’d both still been grieving as they’d packed up their small apartment and moved into the blue house on Clark Ave. Almost all her grandpa’s stuff had been removed from the house, either having been taken by other family members or donated to charity. It made it a little easier to deal with the grief.
It was a moderately sized house with two bedrooms, a finished attic and a finished basement. Her grandma and grandpa had put their heart and soul into the house. They’d saved up all the money her grandpa had made working at the factory to buy the house straight out. Years later, the paint on the front of the house was starting to chip and the once-thriving garden was filled with weeds. Either way her mother was grateful to have a paid-for house. It was one less thing she had to worry about. Although she and her mom did fine on their own, having a single mother came with its own unique struggles. Sabrina and her mom had lived in the house when she’d been a child while her mom had gone to nursing school. Sabrina would always cherish those memories and the relationship she’d built with her grandpa. Now, she sat at the kitchen table across from her mom as they ate dinner. She felt the butterflies in her stomach as she thought about starting a new school. They had left their old life behind and senior year of high school wasn’t the ideal time to start over.
“I guess I need to find out where the bus is,” Sabrina said to her mom before picking up a noodle of pasta and putting it in her mouth.
“The bus doesn’t pick up from here. We’re too close to the school,” her mom said.
“We aren’t close. The school's miles away,” Sabrina complained. She should have done her research beforehand but it was typical of Sabrina to leave everything for the last minute. In reality she could say her mom should have told her but her mom worked nights and slept when the rest of the world was awake. Night shift payed more and they didn’t have the luxury of giving up extra pay.
“I used to walk the same route when I was a kid. It’s not bad until it gets cold outside. I can drive you when I get home from work in the morning but you’ll be early.”
Sabrina groaned. The likelihood of her waking up any earlier than she had to was slim to none.
After they’d eaten and cleared their plates, Sabrina grabbed the full trash bag, tied it up and headed outside to the trash can. It was fall in New Jersey but it wasn’t cold enough that she needed a jacket quite yet. It was quiet outside besides the sounds of leaves ruffling in the wind. She walked the black trash bag to the side of the house.
“Getting settled?”
She jumped at the sound of the male voice behind her and quickly turned around. Leaning against the side of a black Camaro in the neighbor’s driveway stood a guy probably around the same age as her. His feet were crossed out in front of him and he wore a black leather jacket that almost blended into the color of the car—hence why she hadn’t noticed him before.
“You scared the shit out of me,” she said putting a hand over her chest. Her heart was fluttering.
The guy rummaged in his jeans pocket before pulling out a pack of cigarettes and putting one to his lips. He lit it and inhaled. She gripped the trash bag tightly in her hand as the smell of smoke filled the air.
“You don’t remember me do you?” he asked, his voice deep and husky.
It made goosebumps appear on her arm. She squinted her eyes in the dark; the only light was coming from the porch on the house next door. She was able to make out the brown hair, sharp jawline, and as he stood to stretch, his shirt lifted slightly to reveal a lean and muscular body. Even in the dark she could tell he was more attractive than the guys at her old school. She shook her head coming up empty. She was sure she’d remember if she had met this guy before.
“Jayce. We used to play together as kids,” he said.
The memories came flooding back to her of a small boy with blond hair that she used to ride her bike with during the summer. She had to do a double-take just to be sure.
“You look different,” she blurted out.
He told a long inhale of his cigarette before tossing it on the ground. He pushed himself off the car and walked around to the driver’s side. He smirked. “Yea, so do you. I’ll see ya around.” He got inside the Camaro and sped off.
Sabrina quickly threw the trash in the can and went back inside.
She tried to wipe the tears from her face with one hand as she used the other to steady the bike she was trying to walk to the house. Jayce was shooting his basketball into the hoop and saw her before she could get into her yard. He let the basketball fall out of his hand and ran over to her.
“Sabrina, are you ok?”
She brushed him off. She didn’t want to tell Jayce about the twins up the street, Joey and Erin. She had been riding her bike when she’d heard them talking to each other loudly saying she didn’t have a mom and that she was poor. She didn’t know why they were being so mean but she did have a mom. Her mom just had to study a lot and wasn't home all the time, and she didn’t think she was poor. She wiped at her face again.
“I’m fine, Jayce. I just want to go home.”
He put a hand out to stop her from walking further towards the house. “You’re crying, Sabrina.”
“I fell,” she lied. She didn’t want Jayce to think she was being a baby. She just wanted him to go away.
“Oh yea show me the mark then.”
She didn’t say anything.
“Was it those twins up the street again?”
She stayed silent.
He sighed and started to head up the street towards where the twins lived.
“Wait, Jayce, stop.”
She dropped her bike and walked fast trying to keep up with him. The twins were still in their front yard laughing about something. They didn’t see Jayce coming and he walked up right behind Erin and pushed him. He fell to the grass.
“What did you say to Sabrina?”
Joey helped Erin up from the ground, and he brushed off his pants. Both of them stayed quiet. They were probably scared of Jayce and she kind of was too. He pushed Joey this time and he fell to the ground.
“Leave her alone,” he said.
Joey and Erin’s mom came out of the house witnessing Jayce standing over Joey as he coward on the grass.
Jayce
She looked different but he could spot her out of any crowd. She was thin with long legs but her face had stayed the same. Those innocent brown eyes could hypnotize a man. They told him everything he needed to know, that he needed to keep his distance. He remembered all the time they’d spent together as kids and there had been many times he’d wished she hadn’t left. Everything had gone to shit after she’d moved away but he tried not to dwell on that now as he drove through the streets of New Jersey. There wasn’t many people out and he liked it at night—it was quiet and the only time he was able to work since he had school during t
he day. The other foot soldiers didn’t like that he was still in high school. He could understand why, considering the mafia wasn’t a part-time job. His capo told him to stay in school so that’s what he did. He only had one year left anyways. It was only a matter of time before he could devote all his time to the mafia and then it wouldn’t be long until he was a made man. He pulled his car into the empty parking lot of a liquor store. It was lit up with neon signs, and a lady in her sixties leaned against the counter reading a magazine. A few minutes later, Mason, another foot solider, pulled up beside Jayce in his old Chrysler 200. Jayce got out of his car and got into Mason’s.
“When you going to upgrade?” asked Jayce.
“When I get made and start making some real money. Here.” Mason grabbed a small duffle bag from the back seat and threw it at Jayce.
Part of being a solider was doing all the grunt work that no one else really wanted to do. A soldier’s main responsibility was to earn money and kick a large portion of the profits up to his capo. Jayce didn’t make a lot of money, just enough to cover his rent and the basics. It was the potential to make more that kept him going. Becoming a made man meant getting a cut of what the soldiers made and a lower percentage to kick up to the boss.
“Shit, man, I’m still trying to get rid of what you gave me last time.”
Mason shrugged. “They’re going to want this gone by the end of the month, man. You’ve been hitting up the clubs on the north side?”
Jayce shook his head. “Can’t get in.”
The one downside of being so young was selling is harder. He couldn’t get into any of the bars or clubs that the other soldiers could so he was left on the street or in sketchy strip clubs where the owners turned a blind eye.
“You think Cameron can get me a fake I.D?” Jayce asked.
“Maybe, but I think he’s trying to lay low for a while.”
Jayce nodded and reached for the door handle. “I’ll see you at tribute tomorrow?”
“Yea, see ya.”
He dropped the duffle bag into the back seat of his own car next to two other bags. Once he got into the driver’s seat he slid a hand over his face. It was going to be a long night.
Sabrina
The next morning, Sabrina woke up in a panic. She ruffled through the covers until she found her phone and checked the time. It showed both of the alarms she’d set had already gone off and she’d somehow slept through both of them. She vaguely remembered her mom attempting to wake her up. She now had 20 minutes to get to school. She quickly got out of bed and hopped in the shower, grateful that she had unpacked a good amount of her clothes last night so she wouldn’t have to search through boxes. After quickly showering, putting her hair in a ponytail and throwing on a pair of jeans and a tight t-shirt, she walked outside and realized she didn’t even know where to start walking. She had 15 minutes to get there. Feeling defeated, she looked up the school on her phone and started following the walking direction on Google. This was not the way she’d wanted to start off her first day at a new school. She popped in her ear buds. She turned the music up and tried to zone out as she walked toward the school. She just needed to get through this year and then she would be done.
She could do one year. Ten minutes into the walk, a black Camaro pulled up beside her. She took one ear bud out, the window rolled down and Jayce stuck his head out. The moonlight hadn’t done him justice last night. Now she could see his biceps as he leaned out of the window. A tattoo decorated his forearm and she suddenly felt very self-conscious next to her childhood friend.
“Do you want a ride? You’re never going to make it in time,” he said.
Sabrina shook her head. “I’m ok. I think I’m almost there now.”
Jayce smirked showing a dimple in his left cheek. “No you’re not. Get in the car.”
She opened her mouth to argue but if she was being honest with herself she had a chance to avoid being late on her first day and she was going to take it. She slung her book bag from around her shoulders and held it in her hand as she made her way to the Camaro. She pulled open the passenger door and sat in the black leather seat. Jayce rolled up his window and pulled back into the traffic. His car wasn’t the cleanest; water bottles filled the floor and a couple of big gym bags were in the back seat, but it smelled ok.
“Don’t have a car yet?” he asked
“Don’t have a license,” Sabrina admitted. “I failed the first two times.”
They drove the rest of the way in silence. She was relieved she didn’t have to walk the rest of the way, she had longer to go then she’d originally thought. They pulled into the parking lot. The school was huge and now she wished more than ever she had done some research beforehand. The parking lot itself was the size of the whole campus at her old school. It was full with students who congregated around their cars—girls in cheerleader skirts and people with band instruments in their hand. It was obvious that Jayce had the nicest car in the school. People waved at Jayce as he drove to the back of the parking lot. Once the car was in park he turned to her.
“Do you have a ride home?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“Meet at my car after school.” He said it as a statement instead of a question.
“You really don’t have to do that.”
“It’s fine, that’s a pretty long walk. See you at 2:30.” He flashed her a smile, showing off his bright white teeth.
Her heart skipped a beat. Her childhood friend had really grown up. “Ok, see you at 2:30,”
Jayce got out of the car, opened the back door to grab one of the gym bags and headed towards the school. He slapped hands with a few guys on the way to the door, and Sabrina had a feeling that he was well-known around the school. Taking a shaky breath, she slowly made her way out of the Camaro. She felt eyes on her as she slung her book bag over her shoulder and closed the door. She caught the eye of several girls that seemed to be looking her up and down and she wished she would have woken up earlier to at least put some makeup on. She navigated through the parking lot, and pushed open glass-front doors. The school was more like a college campus than a high school. The foyer opened up to a wide staircase that led to a second floor of open doors she assumed were classrooms. She was struggling to figure out how she was supposed to navigate her way to all of her classes when she spotted a small map in a glass frame. She squinted at the map until she found where the main office was. She weaved through the hallways trying to avoid eye contact with as many people as possible. She’d had enough eyes staring at her in the parking lot. They had to not get new students often. The lady at the front desk of the main office was older with gray hair that she kept at the top of her head in a bun. She had long fingernails painted a blood red.
“Sabrina Wilson. I need to pick up my schedule.”
“Wilson? Any relation to Albert Wilson?” the lady asked.
She nodded. “Yes, my grandfather.”
The lady reached across the desk and patted her hand. “I’m so sorry for your loss. Albert was a big part of the community.”
“Thank you.” A lump formed in her throat at the thought of her grandpa.
“I live in the subdivision. I would always see him sitting on the porch in the summer time just soaking up the sun. He’d wave to anyone who would drive past.”
“Oh.” The lady put her hand over her mouth as the bell sounded. “I’m so sorry I just made you late. Here’s your schedule and let me write you a tardy slip.”
Once Sabrina had walked out of the office it took her almost ten minutes to find her first class. The school felt even bigger when no one was walking the halls. Her first class was biology and when she slipped into the classroom and made her way to a seat in the back a few people turned their heads but then focused again on the board. As the day went on more and more people stared at her. They were mostly girls and when she made eye contact with them they would give her dirty looks or whisper to their friends. By the time lunch came around the nervousness she’d
had all day turned into full-blown anxiety. She quickly walked down to the cafeteria, getting there early enough to buy her lunch and snag a table in the corner by herself.
She watched as the tables around her filled up with people. Some had pulled chairs from other tables—she assumed those were the most popular groups. She spotted Jayce across the room. He slapped hands with a guy with long shaggy blond hair sitting with the football players. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out from his pocket and packed it against his wrist, not seeming to care about the teachers standing around. He said a few words before patting the guy on the back and pushing the door open to go outside. A body appeared in front of her view and she looked up to see a tan-skinned girl with long, skinny legs and brown hair that was pulled into a ponytail.
“Do you mind if I sit with you?” she asked.
Sabrina nodded. “Yea sure.” She was relieved to have anyone sit next to her so she didn’t look completely out of place.
“I’m Wendy,” she said, setting down her tray and sliding into the seat across from Sabrina.
“Sabrina.”
“First day?” Wendy asked.
“Yea, this school is a lot different than my last.”
Wendy took a small bite of her salad. “It’s a big place.”
“You grew up here?”
Wendy shrugged. “My parents and my grandparents went here. I guess you could say I’m a third generation to Falcon Haven.”
Sabrina grabbed a couple fries from her tray and popped them in her mouth. She felt someone staring at her again so she turned around, catching the eyes of two girls at a faraway table. They quickly turned their heads down towards each other and started giggling.
“What is up with the girls at this school?” she said quietly to herself.
“What do you mean?” Wendy asked.
“Every time I turn around they’re staring at me like I have two heads.”
“Well you did pull up here with Jayce,” Wendy said.
“You know Jayce?” She mentally slapped herself for the stupid question. Of course they knew each other—all of them had probably gone to school together since they were in kindergarten. She was the only outsider.