I hated the slow song dancing bullshit, but with Belle it wasn’t all that bad.
I was happy that she was happy.
At least for the moment.
The night would end. The lights would go out.
And there was still a lot to think about and figure out.
But as long as I could hold Belle like this, everything would be okay.
Chapter 14
Belle’s mother was drunk.
When she spotted Belle as everyone was getting ready to leave, she put down her glass and ran to Belle.
Arms open.
Kind of yelling like some college chick who had just got to the beach for the first time on spring break.
She almost tackled Belle to the ground.
In fact, if I wasn’t there to put my hand on Belle’s back, she probably would have fallen down.
“I love you, Belle,” her mother slurred.
“Oh, shit,” Belle said. “Mom, please…”
Her mother backed off a couple inches.
“You’re so pretty,” she said. “Isn’t she pretty?”
“She is,” I said to Belle’s mother. “Belle is the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”
“God, you two are fucking special together,” her mother said.
“What about you?” I asked Michelle.
“What about me?” she asked back.
“Ash, stop,” Belle said.
“You’re happy, right?” I asked.
“Are you questioning my decisions?”
“No,” I said. “Just the last time I saw you, you were crying. This is a far cry from that. It’s good to see.”
“I love Pete,” Michelle said. “I mean it. You don’t have to believe me.”
“I’m not questioning you,” I said. “I’m just making sure Belle is okay. Her heart is everything to me.”
Michelle touched my face. “You’re perfect for her.”
“Mom…”
Michelle looked at her daughter. “Oh, am I embarrassing you now? Maybe I should tell him about your rash.”
Belle covered her face.
“A rash?” I asked.
“Oh yeah,” Michelle said. “This one… she thought it would be fun to be like me. When she was younger. I don’t know… maybe five years old. She snuck into my room and started putting stuff on her body. Her face. Arms. Neck. Legs.”
“He knows what a body is,” Belle said. “Where’s your fiancé?”
“In a second,” Michelle said. Her eyes were locked to mine. “She mixed all kinds of stuff together. Thinking it was going to make her grow up. Okay? She wanted to be a woman. Okay? She put hand lotion…”
“Mom,” Belle growled.
Michelle snorted. “She thought it would make things change for her.”
I looked at Belle.
Her face was red.
Very red.
“But then she never told me about it,” Michelle said. “And the next day she had broken out in a horrible rash. Red blotches all over her face, arms, neck, legs…”
“Ohgod,” Belle whispered.
“That sounds itchy,” I said.
“Oh it was,” Michelle said. “And then the-”
“There you are,” a voice said.
It was Pete.
The hero and savior of the moment.
He stepped up next to Michelle.
He was just as drunk as she was.
A big grin on his face.
He nodded to me. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
“I’m Ash,” I said.
“I’m Pete,” he said.
“And we’re leaving,” Belle said.
“Us too,” Pete said. “Don’t worry, we have a ride out of here.”
“To a hotel,” Michelle said. “A fancy hotel.”
“I don’t think they need the details,” Pete said.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Ash,” Belle said.
She punched my arm.
I laughed.
“Oh, he is just fucking adorable,” Michelle said.
She made a hhmmm sound like she just ate something good.
“I better get you out of here,” Pete said.
“Good idea,” Belle said.
Michelle grabbed Belle’s hand. “I love you, Belle. Please be happy for me. I promise I’m happy. This guy is good to me. Really good.”
Belle nodded. “Okay. Just be happy.”
“You too,” Michelle said.
The newly met and engaged couple walked away.
I slowly looked at Belle.
She pointed at me. “Don’t say a word about it.”
“I’m not. I mean, it’s good that your rash cleared up…”
Belle looked ready to spit fire.
“Who has a rash?” Hil’s voice asked. “Does Belle have a rash? I warned you about fooling around with Ash.”
“Oh, come on, man,” Uly said. “Out of everyone here, you’re the one who is most likely to have a rash with your history.”
“What history?” Vera asked. “Hil told me I was his first…”
Everyone laughed at that.
“Oh, angel,” I said to Vera. “You were his first… since his last…”
“I’m just joking, Ash,” Vera said. “I bet my number is bigger than his.”
“Whoa,” Uly said. “This just got interesting.”
Hil looked at Vera. “What? Are you serious?”
Vera jumped up and kissed Hil’s cheek.
She walked away and Hil chased after her.
“Great,” I said. “He won’t let that go now.”
“I bet that’s the first time Hil’s ever worried about math,” Mara said.
“Nice,” I said.
“Can we get out of here?” Belle asked. “I’m done with the whole engagement and wedding and weirdness of this whole night.”
“You’re the newlyweds here,” Uly said.
“Not a chance,” Belle said. “No offense, Ash.”
“None taken, angel. If I was going to marry someone, she would need to have really nice skin…”
“Asshole,” Belle said.
She stormed away.
Mara went with Belle.
“Do I want to know?” Uly asked.
“No,” I said. “Just a little joke. She’s cute when she’s pissed.”
“They all are,” Uly said. “Then they get vicious.”
“Hey. Any word on Mac yet?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Uly said. “I really think he was just checking up on things. Seeing the situation between us and the Rulz. Nothing else makes sense.”
“Right,” I said. “Good. Fuck it then.”
“Come on, man, let’s get out of here. It’s been a long and weird night. I’m sure Belle needs some comfort.”
I laughed.
My phone started to buzz in my pocket.
“I’ll be right there,” I said.
Uly jogged forward to catch up to Mara and Belle.
I walked much slower and looked at my phone.
I swallowed hard.
Before taking the call, I looked around.
My eyes settled on Belle.
Guilt hit me, but I swallowed it down.
“This is Ash,” I said into the phone.
“Ashby… are you alone?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“I have something to tell you.”
“Spill it.”
“I know where he is.”
* * *
I leaned down and pressed my lips to Belle’s bare shoulder.
I shut my eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of her skin. The smell of the sheets. The smell of us together in my bed.
She threw her elbow back.
“Enough,” she whispered. “I’m tired.”
I smiled. “It was okay when you wanted attention though, right?”
“I make the rules, not you,” she said with her eyes shut.
I kissed her shoulder again.
My fingertips traced lines along the curves of her body. Down to her leg. Back up. Gently squeezing at her hip, making her groan and kick at me.
“Fuck off, Ash,” she whispered with a smile on her face.
I kissed her shoulder again and shut my eyes.
Don’t do it, Ash. Don’t fucking do it. Look what you have here with Belle.
But it was too late to even attempt to talk myself out of it.
It was going to happen.
I got out of the bed and knew Belle would be okay.
Everyone else was sleeping at my place again.
The plan was to be back soon enough. But chances were she’d wake up to find me gone.
I left the house, got into my truck, and typed in the address on the dashboard screen. The GPS map turned a few times and showed me the distance and the time.
He’s forty-five minutes away.
That meant the guy who killed my mother got out of jail and just… went home? Went back to whatever place he knew as home. To do what? To sit and enjoy his freedom? To sip a drink and think I made it? To know he did his time and he could shed his guilt?
Those thoughts just created more anger, creating a waterfall from my head down through the rest of my body.
He didn’t live in the nicest part of town.
And I didn’t care.
This was about the truth. This was about what I needed to get out of it.
If my father had told me the truth when I was younger…
What? What, Ash? What would have changed for you?
There was no answer to that question.
I had no idea.
And some questions had no answers and some answers were never tied to a question.
But I had my answer… I knew where he lived.
And I had a question… why the fuck did you leave?
Because somewhere in the young heart of myself that didn’t exist anymore, I wondered if the guy had stopped and stayed, maybe he would have been able to get my mother out of the SUV before it went over the cliff.
He would have been an asshole and a hero all in the same breath.
But instead…
Lights suddenly flickered behind me.
They weren’t police lights though.
Just someone turning their high beam lights on and off.
Over and over, creating a mild strobe light effect.
I tried to ignore it but it was hard to do.
Then came another set of headlights.
Right in front of me.
The high beams came on.
And the vehicle cut to enter my lane and crash into me.
* * *
If I called Uly and Hil, they would have shown up… but I was about forty minutes away from Them. And if they woke up, everyone else would have. That meant Mara, Vera, and Belle would have been sitting there wondering where I was and why, and everyone would be getting pissed that I was doing this alone.
This was for me.
Me doing something for little Ash.
Now I was sandwiched between two vehicles.
Two sets of high beams burning bright, one in front of me and one behind me.
If I really wanted to get out of there, I could have easily cut the wheel and peeled out.
I didn’t.
The vehicle in front of me did nothing.
I looked at my side mirror and saw someone get out of the vehicle behind me.
A figure approached my truck.
Head down.
Hood up.
I wondered if it was Kip or the Rulz fucking with me. Just like Kip did with Werthwood’s car. Just to add some pressure onto us. To Them. Since the East vs. West thing seemed to be more about mind games than throwing fists now.
The figure then stood next to my truck.
The person reached up and knocked on the window.
I curled my lip and put the window down.
“Going to need you to step out of your vehicle, sir,” a voice said.
“Fuck yourself,” I said.
“That’s no way to talk to authority.”
“I am authority,” I said. “I’m authorizing myself to tell you to go fuck yourself.”
“And it always comes down to this…”
He turned and lifted the back of the hoodie to show me he had a weapon.
The sight of the gun made my heart jump.
When he turned back around and lifted his head, the grin on his face made me sick.
“Don’t make me call the guys out, motherfucker,” Mac said.
His evil face looked calm and his evil eyes almost looked like they were sparkling.
He was built for these moments.
Brooks fucking Crest… following me?
I opened the door and Mac stepped back.
He lit up a cigarette and smiled at me.
“Mind if you turn off those glaring lights?” I asked.
“Sure thing, Ash,” Mac said.
Mac let out a whistle and both sets of high beams turned back to regular headlights.
“Taking a trip?” Mac asked.
“No,” I said. “Just cruising. Thinking.”
“Why aren’t you home cuddling next to that sweetie of yours? What’s her name again? Beth? Bec? B… Belle…”
I gritted my teeth. “You bring her into anything and this will end bad.”
“Oh, it’s going to end bad, Ash,” Mac said. “Don’t go down this road. Turn around. Go home.”
“Go home?”
“Go home,” Mac said. “Look at me. Being generous. I’ve got so much going on right now, I don’t have time for you. For this bullshit you’re about to cause.”
“You have no idea what I’m doing here, Mac.”
Mac stepped toward me. “That’s where you’re wrong, Ash. I know exactly why you’re here. And you don’t want to do what you’re about to do.”
“You don’t know shit, Mac.”
Mac flicked his cigarette away. He grabbed for my shoulder but I shook him away. I shoved him back.
Instantly, vehicle doors opened on each vehicle.
Mac put his hands out. “It’s good. It’s good…”
I made fists and was ready for the fight of a lifetime.
Getting pummeled by BC was not on my to-do list, but oh well.
“You come into BFH again and I’ll destroy you,” I said.
“I’m saving you from doing something stupid,” Mac said. “You have to let this thing with Liam go.”
My heart sank.
Racing.
Sinking.
All at the same time.
My lip curled and I tried to take a deep breath.
Mac nodded.
He was giving me a second to process what he just said.
How did he know the name of the guy that killed my mother?
* * *
“There’s two ways to do this, Ash,” Mac said. “We talk. Or we fight. And if we fight, I’m calling everyone out. Because I’m not in the mood to fight. And you’re far away from home now. Anything goes. I have no rules other than my own. You know that though. And I already told you I’m busy right now.”
There was an even more smug look on Mac’s face.
Maybe he’s in love…
That made me laugh in my head.
But on the outside, I kept my face stone cold.
Like nothing bothered me.
“So what do we do?” Mac asked.
“How do you know Liam?” I asked.
“That’s a tricky story, Ash,” Mac said. “Not sure if you want me to bore you with all those details or not. I mean, I can… we can talk all night. We can cuddle in the bed of your truck. Spoon a little. Then you can buy me breakfast.”
Mac laughed.
He was such a prick.
I dared myself to punch him.
Just one good punch right to his face and then take off.
But anything I di
d right now would go back to Them. Uly. Hil. And that meant the girls too. That was the last thing I wanted. Even for Vera. For as crazy as she was, she didn’t need to feel the wrath from BC.
“So let’s talk this out,” Mac said. He lit another cigarette. “Liam isn’t untouchable. But for you he is, just let it go.”
“We were kids when he was put in jail,” I said.
“That’s right,” Mac said.
“So what the fuck gives?”
“I’m giving you a warning,” Mac said. “Don’t do it. I was going to talk to you before but then your boys showed up with guitars. What were they going to do? Play me a song?”
Mac laughed again.
“You’re tied to Liam,” I said. “Somehow you know that piece of shit.”
“Not tied to him, Ash. I don’t really know him either. I’m just fulfilling a little bit of a promise. And it’s kind of my thing to deal with. Let me just…” Mac clicked his tongue. “There was a time when Liam was an outstanding pupil at the prestige buildings of Brooks Crest…”
“Rich piece of shit,” I said.
“Kind of like us,” Mac said.
“And let me guess… you’re tied to him through money. His father or uncle or someone knows someone you know. That’s how he got out. Right? Waiting for my father to have his guard down for a second. Then they strike. Somehow get Liam out of jail. And now you’re here.”
“I don’t want to be here, Ash,” Mac said. “I’m actually doing you a favor. The better option would have been to watch you walk into the fire. Right on your own. And then we could have shown up. Or waited. I don’t know. I didn’t play it out. I just wanted to see you and tell you to stay away.”
Mac took a deep drag of his cigarette and dropped it at my feet.
He got way too close to me.
“Just fucking listen to me,” Mac said. “I’m going to make sure this works out. My thing to handle.”
“It was my mother who died,” I said.
“And for that, we are all very sorry, Ash.”
I grabbed his shirt and pulled him nose to nose with me.
“Careful,” he whispered. “Don’t do anything stupid here.”
I opened my hands and Mac backed away.
He walked away.
I turned my head and watched him get into his SUV and he started to drive.
The vehicle in front of me backed up and turned around too.
They drove off into the night.
ASH: a bay falls high novel Page 14