So either Aira was lying to me. Or Nova was lying to her.
Or Nova was lying to herself.
I was now on the case to solve the murder of my brother and the murder of Nova’s heart.
In reality, all I needed to do was look in the mirror to see who murdered Nova’s heart.
Fuck me.
I smoked a cigarette and waited outside the big and glorious front doors of HCH.
I could smell cologne and douchebag just pouring from the building.
The last bell cried in relief and the doors blasted open.
I leaned against the metal railing.
No gun.
No bullshit.
Just wanted to catch a glimpse of my Surfer Girl.
I flicked my cigarette away and watched the last breath of smoke run away from me.
Wes appeared from the building with two guys with him. They weren’t his dumb ass cousins. No. Walker and Ryker were still up at Tech.
Trying to figure out what letter came after F in the alphabet.
These two guys I had seen before.
Leo.
Flynn.
All three of them looked right at me.
I gave a quick wave.
And a head nod.
Just to make sure my prick status was in good standing order.
Wes darted right for me.
Yeah, I was in good standing order for sure.
My hands stayed on the railing.
Even when Wes curled up a tight fist and swung at me.
I readied myself the best I could.
His fist felt like steel as it smacked against my jaw.
I kept myself from flipping over the railing, which was good.
Wes grabbed my shirt and pulled me to his face.
“You fucking piece of shit,” he growled.
“Miss me?” I asked.
“We’ll help,” Leo said.
I turned my head and kissed the air.
Flynn surprised me with a punch to the ribs.
I let out a breath and Leo punched me in the eye.
Wes swiped his leg to my feet and another good shot from Flynn took me down.
I hit the ground hard and protected my face.
They kicked me and stomped on me.
I was going to give a minute before fighting back.
I mean, fair was fair.
I went after Wes with a gun. I scared his girl. It was only fair to have his boys rough me up a little. They weren’t going to break anything. They weren’t going to kill me. Last thing they wanted was me sticking around too much or being tied to them more than I was.
“Stop,” Wes ordered.
The beating stopped.
I sat up and flexed my jaw. I wiped blood from the corner of my eye.
“Not bad,” I said.
Wes stared down at me. “I will kill to protect Aira.”
“I know,” I said. “Makes me wonder what she and Ryland really had going on.”
Wes curled up another fist.
“Hold up,” Leo said, putting his hand over Wes’s fist.
Wes looked around. He nodded. “Don’t fuck with me again.”
“You know that’s not possible, right?” I asked.
“Yeah. I know.”
Wes walked away.
Leo and Flynn followed.
I blew them all a kiss and then started to laugh.
A bunch of people were staring at me.
I just kept smiling and got back on my feet.
That’s when I saw Nova.
Leaving HCH with that clown… and his arm was around her.
Cupping her shoulder tight.
That was because he knew she wasn’t his.
He wasn’t confident enough.
She looked squished and uncomfortable.
She looked right at me.
Then she did a double take and broke away from the clown.
They said something to each other and he kissed the top of her head.
My lip fluttered with anger.
Nova ran over to me.
“No worries, babe,” I said. “I’m fine. Just Wes and I-”
Nova swung and punched me right in the mouth.
My head snapped back and I tasted blood.
“You fucking asshole,” she growled. She took a handful of my shirt. “A gun? Are you fucking stupid?”
“Just needed to know where I was standing with things,” I said.
“What the fuck are you really doing here, Elijah?”
“Just finding the truth, Nova. That’s it. Just the truth.”
Her chin quivered. “The truth? You wrote the truth, remember? You made it clear we were never going to happen again. And you were going to be gone for good. So go do it. Be gone for good.”
“Your breath smells like cinnamon, babe,” I said.
She let my shirt go and backed up. “I swear… Ryland must have wrote you a letter or called you… knowing he was going to die. So you could come here and fill in as the biggest fucking asshole in the world.”
“First place,” I said. “That might make my daddy proud, huh?”
“No wonder he won’t admit you’re his,” Nova said.
“Are you ashamed to admit I was yours?” I asked.
“No.” Nova grinned. “That’s the past. And I get to leave that shit in the past. And laugh about it. And know I will never make the same mistake twice.”
Nova turned and I whistled for her.
She stopped and looked back.
Oh, she was so pissed.
I licked my lip, tasting blood. “We had more than two summers, babe. Once you make the same mistake more than twice, it’s not a mistake. It’s what you really want. No matter how hard you try to lie to yourself.”
Nova didn’t respond.
She ran down the steps to find the clown.
I took the steps two at a time and got the hell away from HCH.
I tasted blood the entire time I walked.
And I also smelled Nova’s cinnamon breath.
And that… well… that made me fucking happy.
Chapter 7
Nova
Nothing felt right.
I felt like a stranger. I felt like I didn’t belong there. I felt like my hair was a bright pink color to everyone else’s normal looking colored hair.
I even told Conor we weren’t hanging out tonight.
Taking a break from the new guy and just wanting to be with my old friends.
Well, not really my old friends. They were at a party. I was invited to that party. And so was Conor. That’s where I should have been. But I didn’t want to have things get weirder.
Too late.
“He stood right there,” Aira said as Wes hugged her from behind. She swallowed hard. “He just stood there and talked crazy.”
“Drunk crazy,” Wes said.
“With a gun?” Charlotte asked.
It was officially the fourth time I heard the story.
I didn’t really think Elijah would have done anything all that crazy.
Then again, showing up to Aira’s house with a gun -loaded or not- was crazy enough.
My entire body hadn’t calmed down from the situation.
Of course, I couldn’t say that to anyone though. Especially Aira. She lived it. She walked up to her deck only to be met with Elijah.
And his intentions…
Which were to get information. I warned them about it too. He wasn’t going to take anyone’s word as truth. He needed to know for sure. He needed to believe it himself. Find whatever version of his truth he felt was best.
“He understands what he did,” Leo said. “I would have kept going on him too.”
“Fucking asshole,” Flynn said. He held Charlotte’s hand tight. “If he ever tried that shit on me, I’d make him eat the gun.”
“Yeah, bullshit, Flynn,” Wes said. “Play that in your mind five hundred times and live in your pretend world. When you see it for real…”
“Hey,
I’m just saying what I’m saying,” Flynn said.
“Which is what?” Wes asked. He released his hold on Aira. “Huh? You think I did something wrong?”
“Nobody said that,” Leo said.
“Fuck, man, we’re having a conversation here,” Flynn said.
“No. You’re running your mouth with shit you don’t know. You want to talk like a tough guy so you can bounce Charlotte’s gallon jugs on your face?”
“Wes, stop,” Aira said.
“What did I do?” Charlotte yelled.
I looked at the opposite end of the deck at Kailey and Emma.
They were somber.
And quiet.
I felt like this was all my fault, yet it wasn’t. I didn’t do anything in this situation at all.
“I’m not going to fucking stop,” Wes said.
“Neither am I,” Flynn said.
“What the fuck are you going to do about it?” Wes asked. “Huh? Just pretend you’re tough enough to punch me?”
“Nah. I just wouldn’t grovel to Elijah.”
“You fucking asshole,” Wes said.
They were instantly tangled up.
Charlotte covered her mouth and screamed for Flynn.
Aira let out a whimpering sound and looked at me and looked away really quick.
Wes drove Flynn into the railing and almost sent him up and over it.
Leo managed to pull Wes away and was able to get his attention enough to get him to calm down.
“Who covered you?” Leo asked. “Huh? Who was there? The three of us. It’s us. We’re not enemies.”
Wes and Flynn were out of breath.
Wes pushed away from Leo and walked to the other side of the railing and lit a cigarette.
“You did what was right, Wes,” Leo called out. “You kept your girl safe and you got him out of here.” Leo looked at Flynn. “And don’t say shit about what you would do. Until you face it, you don’t know.”
Flynn gave a nod. “Yeah. Right. I’m sorry about that, Wes.”
Wes didn’t say a word.
I sipped from the red plastic cup in my hand.
Everyone had sipped a little on mixed drinks.
Not me.
There was no mixing anything in mine.
I leaned against the house, at the top of the deck’s steps, still feeling as though I crashed their party.
“What about you?” Aira asked me.
“Me?” I asked.
“Did he say anything to you?”
“About this? No.”
“You sure?” Aira asked.
“Aira, why would you ask that?” Charlotte asked.
“Just a question,” Emma said in a cold voice.
I scoffed. “Are you seriously accusing me of something?”
“Don’t listen to them,” Charlotte said.
I looked at Kailey.
Anything? Please…?
She looked down at her feet.
I drank whatever was left in my cup. It was like drinking fire but I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice.
“He came looking for you,” Aira said. “He’s still after you, Nova.”
“I don’t care,” I said. “I punched him for you, Aira. And Wes.”
Wes laughed. “A girlie punch?”
“Fuck you,” I said. “I’ll break your nose.”
Wes turned and stuck his head forward. “Come on. Do it.”
“That’s enough,” Emma called out. “First off, Wes, she could break your nose. And if you suggest one of us girlie girls can’t, I’ll get my baseball bat and remind you who we are. Second, this isn’t about breaking your nose, Wes.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Good thing then.”
I swallowed hard. “I don’t understand what’s happening. When I found out what happened I went after him. I fucking went after him. To prove my point…”
“Your point?” Aira asked.
“Yeah. My point. To him. To you. To everyone.”
Aira didn’t respond.
I scoffed again.
“Fuck you,” I said. “All of you. If you think I knew what he was doing, you’re all assholes. Worse than he is.”
“So you were just with your new boyfriend and that was it?” Aira asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Is that a problem for you?”
“Do you even really like that guy?” Emma asked.
“What?”
“It’s totally fine if you’re using him,” Aira said. “Makes sense to make Elijah jealous. Drive him crazy for all that he’s done.”
“I’m not…”
“But look what he did in return,” Aira said. “He could have really hurt us. Killed us.”
I shook my head. “Are you seriously trying to find a way to blame me? Or drag me into this? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Nobody is blaming you, Nova,” Emma said.
“We just don’t know how far Elijah will take this,” Kailey said.
“Oh, look, you finally talk,” I yelled. “Good for you, Kailey. Glad to hear your voice.”
“Nova, calm down,” Charlotte said. She approached me with caution. “Please… you’ve been drinking…”
“We all have,” I said.
“Not like you,” Aira said.
“What does that mean?”
“You know what that means,” Aira said. “Hiding from your feelings. In a cup. Or in Conor.”
“Wouldn’t Conor be in her?” Wes asked.
“Oh, so funny, Wes,” I said. “So fucking funny.”
“Thanks,” Wes said.
“Wes, shut up,” Aira snapped.
“You know what? Screw this. I’m leaving.” I stepped down. “You’re all wrong. You have no idea…”
“Then tell us,” Aira said. “Tell us what’s happening then. Because the second he showed up you’ve been different.”
“Because I love him!” I yelled. “I’m not over him. Or what happened.”
“He could have done something really bad,” Aira said.
“And I didn’t know about it,” I said. “And when I found out, I hit him. For you, Aira. For… you…”
“You did it for yourself,” Aira said. “Don’t lie.”
“Don’t argue with her when she’s drunk,” Emma said. “Never works.”
“Nova, we can talk about this tomorrow,” Kailey said. “When you’re…”
I threw the empty red cup.
It didn’t go anywhere.
I looked stupid.
More stupid.
I turned and hurried away.
My legs felt gooey. My head spun. I was sure I looked like a complete fool stumbling through the sand.
“Nova, wait,” Charlotte’s voice cried out to me.
I didn’t wait though.
I made her catch up to me.
She did with ease.
She got in front of me and put her hands out and stopped me.
“This was a shit night,” she said. “Everything is messed up.”
“Yeah,” I said.
“Nobody is pointing the finger,” Charlotte said.
“I have one I can point at all of you.”
“Nova… come on. This is insane. Everyone figured Ryland and Elijah didn’t get along. Or even really know each other. And Elijah shows up to look for revenge? We all thought that was some cheap attempt at getting into your pants. But it’s obviously more than that.”
“Anything else you need to say?”
“What else was said,” Charlotte whispered. “It’s a little true, Nova.”
“Meaning?”
“We all hung out and had a drink,” Charlotte said.
“And I didn’t,” I said.
“Right.”
“So?”
“You snuck away to get your own thing over and over,” Charlotte said. “It’s like you’re trying to hide it but not at the same time.”
“Why’s that your business?”
“I don’t want to see you hurt,” she said. “
Or have something bad happen.”
“Too late,” I said.
“Nova…”
I backed away from Charlotte, shaking my head.
I walked away, alone.
Too. Fucking. Late.
* * *
“Are you gone?” Carly asked as I got into the front seat of her car.
“Wait,” I said. “Are you?”
“No,” she said. “Britt needed to get home tonight. So I told her I would drink water.”
“She okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. She has an appointment in the morning for her knee. That’s all. The party was kind of lame, honestly. It was at one of Ashley’s friend’s house. Way outside HCH territory. Just a bunch of snobby bitches standing with their right knee bent, trying to look better than everyone else. Kind of sad, actually. I’m glad you called.”
“Did you leave Britt there?” I asked.
“No. Took her home. She’s nervous about tomorrow. She wants to surf really bad.”
I looked down.
I should have been there for her. Through her injury and all of it. But I had lost her. I had lost a lot. And I thought I replaced it but I was wrong. Because Aira… and all of them…
“Hey, are you okay?” Carly asked.
“What? Yeah. I’m great.”
“Who were you with?”
“Nobody.”
“You were with Weslee Jackson’s crew,” Carly said.
“So?”
“That’s bad blood, Nova. With all the Elijah stuff.”
“I know. I’m stuck in the middle of it.”
“That’s crazy,” Carly said. “I kind of hope he just leaves soon.”
“Me too,” I said.
My stomach backflipped with guilt from the little white lie.
“Okay, what am I doing here?” Carly asked. “We can crash at Britt’s. But she might be sleeping. She’s probably an emotional mess too. Shit. We should stop over then. We can get some snacks and keep her company. I’m sure she’d love to see you. What do you-”
“No,” I said.
“What?”
“Take me to Conor’s.”
“Oh?” Carly asked.
“Now,” I said. “Take me to Conor’s. I broke plans with him for tonight. Now I’m going to make it up to him.”
“Gross,” Carly said. “That’s my cousin you’re talking about.”
“Oh well,” I said. “You wanted this to happen.”
HIDDEN CREEK AGAIN: a hidden creek high novel Page 7