ULY (Bay Falls High - Them Book 1) Read online

  ULY

  a bay falls high novel

  Jaxson Kidman

  Contents

  Welcome to

  ULY

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Epilogue

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  Welcome to

  “Her lips tasted like vodka and a mistake.”

  * * *

  Written by Jaxson Kidman

  ULY

  The opposite of me.

  Not a chance.

  Could never happen.

  Ever.

  And I fall for her.

  I’d known her for a long time.

  We weren’t friends.

  We weren’t enemies.

  We were just different.

  That was it.

  An emergency brings her into my life for good. And it changes everything I think and I know. This is the real story that goes way beyond what happened before. To make this right I have to face the past. I have to stay in the present.

  And when I’m near ‘her’ …

  All I can think about is the future.

  Prologue

  I have no other fucking choice, doll.

  I held my phone in my hand and brought it to my mouth like it was a microphone. I bounced the top of the phone off my lips for a few seconds before throwing it across to the passenger seat of my car.

  The empty passenger seat.

  I started the car and went for a drive.

  I put the windows down and lit a cigarette.

  It tasted like the kind of night I was having.

  Mostly regret, a touch of need.

  I flicked the cigarette out of the window long before it was meant to be left to burn and die. My hands gripped the wheel tight and I stepped on the gas pedal. I was on my favorite road. The road I had memorized and the road where the car could do whatever the fuck she wanted.

  The speed offered me danger and the danger had the chance to calm me down. Just settle me the fuck down for the night. So I could make the decision to turn around and go back to where I belonged.

  This wasn’t a fucking BFH thing either.

  And it wasn’t a fucking Them thing.

  This was personal.

  This cut right into my heart and the fact that I let it get to that point was on me to fix. I had to wear the wound and let it heal whenever the fuck time got around to it.

  Until then… I was on the attack.

  My eyes glanced at the speedometer for a second.

  I was going close to one-twenty on the road.

  In the dark it wasn’t always easy to tell where the road ended.

  Worst case, I’d hit a sand dune and the car would go for a little beach drive.

  In reality, the car would probably explode or be torn into pieces and I’d be thrown around like a toy.

  My eyes moved again and I was pushing one-thirty.

  I let off the gas pedal and the car was still flying down the road.

  I curled my lip as I pressed the brake pedal to start to slow.

  My timing and instinct was fucking perfect.

  By the time I got the car stopped, I was at the end of the road.

  I cut the wheel to the left and made the back tires scream as I spun it around.

  ‘Please don’t do this, Uly. Okay? Think about it logically for a second.’

  ‘Trust me, doll, I’m thinking logically. Pretty fucking clear if you ask me.’

  ‘Then think about me. What about me? Huh? All the things you ever said to me… I told you it was never meant to be. But you refused to listen. You said you were going to give everything up for me. Why? What does that get you? And now you’re going to do this to me? To yourself?’

  ‘That’s what you want to say right now? After all we’ve been through?’

  ‘That’s my point, Uly. We’re not supposed to be together, remember?’

  ‘Fuck what anyone says.’

  ‘Even me?’

  ‘Look, doll, I have to…’

  I never finished that sentence though.

  I just kissed her and left.

  I wasn’t leaving her, but I was leaving.

  Not for good.

  She was too worried about that kind of shit.

  I loved her for it.

  I loved the way she worried about me. About us.

  My eyes drifted to the passenger seat again.

  I growled and grabbed my phone.

  I had to hear her voice.

  She didn’t answer my call though.

  But I got her voicemail… the sweetness of her voice.

  I shut my eyes and knew what had to be done.

  “Hey, doll, it’s me,” I said. I opened my eyes and blinked fast. “I just want to tell you… I love you.”

  I ended the call.

  Now I had to kill someone.

  Chapter 1

  I wasn’t going to spend the day arguing with Hil over a fucking song.

  Or some lyrics. Or whatever other bullshit he felt like picking a fight for.

  In a way I couldn’t blame him. Living in a world where Belle was so close and yet so untouchable had to be tough. Watching Ash and her falling deeper in love with each passing day cranked tighter around Hil’s heart.

  We weren’t the type to just talk about that shit either.

  If we were going to spend time together, it was to write some music or play a show.

  And the only reason I tolerated Ash was to see Belle.

  She insisted on keeping Them together and in a way, we all just went along for the ride.

  As long as Them (meaning myself, Hil, and Ash) had the appearance of togetherness that meant power. And that power helped to keep things not only calm at BFH, but also with HCH.

  East vs. West was still bubbling, but it was more rumor than anything.

  The Rulz vs. Them… the fight that would never end.

  Which was fine.

  Because if any day got bad enough, I could meet up with Barr and throw a few punches to his face. Or him to me. And then call it a day.

  Truthfully that didn’t happen anywhere as near as much as I wanted it to though.

  I kicked open the side door to BFH and took a deep breath of freedom.

  The day had been bullshit as expected.

  But whatever.

  I wanted my car, a cigarette, the open road, and my guitar.

  Except I had one fucking problem.

  Someone was waiting for me at my car.

  * * *

  Aaron knew better than to lean against my car. If he was leaning against my car I’d have to break his arm. Or at the very least his wrist. Just to prove a point. And if he tried anything fucking funny, I’d let out a whistle or toss out a text message and Them would be all together, stomping Aaron’s ass into the pavement.

  He stood with his arms crossed until he saw me.

  He put his arms down and nodded at me.

  The guy was built big. His neck and shoulders were fucking huge.

  Appearances… shit, he should have been able to kick my ass.<
br />
  Except I was more dangerous. I wasn’t afraid of what he was.

  And that’s why he was at my car.

  I lifted my sunglasses up and rested them against my beanie. I checked my sleeves to make sure they were halfway up.

  “What the fuck do you want?” I asked.

  “Need to talk to you, man,” he said. “And Them. Can you do that?”

  “I can do anything I want,” I said. “What the fuck do I care about you?”

  “You know me just waiting here for you is enough to kill me inside a little,” Aaron said.

  “True,” I said. I opened my car door, which made him move out of the way.

  “Uly, please,” Aaron said.

  I stood with the door between us. “Please? Are you begging me now?”

  “If I have to, I will,” Aaron said.

  “Where’s the rest of your boys?”

  “Practicing. I wanted to talk to you. Personally.”

  “This is personal?”

  Aaron nodded. “I might be in trouble. And if I’m in trouble, my boys are in trouble. And that trouble…”

  “Fuck,” I said. “That’s the kind of trouble that spills into BFH.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You dumb asshole,” I said. “I thought baseball players were smart.”

  “Uly…”

  “I just want to get the fuck out of here.”

  “You have to hear me out first,” Aaron said.

  I tossed my door open more, slamming it against Aaron’s body. He jumped back and then stumbled. His hands balled up into fists.

  I shut my car door and pulled my sunglasses down over my eyes.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” he said, releasing his fists. He showed me his hands. “Nothing at all.”

  “Good. So what did you do?”

  “It’s not me, Uly.”

  “Not you? Then what the fuck do…” I laughed. “Shit. I know what it is then. You’re coming to me for the sake of a girl, huh? You think by saving her ass, she’ll give it to you.”

  Aaron hung his head.

  I shook my head.

  He had a lot to learn.

  You let the wrong girl get too close and she could rip your heart apart.

  I learned that… twice.

  * * *

  “Whose bag is that?” Hil asked as he stepped on his cigarette.

  “Max’s,” Aaron said.

  “Where’s yours?”

  “Hanging on the fence over there,” Aaron said as he pointed.

  “What’s that matter?” Ash asked.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Hil said.

  “Get to the point of this,” I said. “You wanted Them… here we are.”

  “We’re not here for free,” Hil said.

  “I’ve got money,” Aaron said.

  “We’ve got more,” Ash said.

  “Then I don’t know how to pay you,” Aaron said.

  “We’ll figure that out,” Hil said. “What’s her name?”

  Hil grinned.

  Aaron looked pissed. “Jasmine.”

  “Jas?” Hil asked. “Oh, fuck me… she’s that little short dork, huh? I know her. She’s got mosquito bites, but fuck me if I wouldn’t love a taste…”

  “Hil,” Ash said. “Shit.”

  “Sorry,” Hil said.

  Aaron’s face was bright red. “This was a mistake.”

  “Too late now,” I said. I stepped toward Aaron and grabbed his shirt. “Start talking or we’ll make you talk.”

  “We were partying,” Aaron said. “And this guy offered something to take. Pills. They were good. Really good.”

  “Can’t get it up?” Hil asked.

  “Hil,” Ash said again. “Go take a walk.”

  “You know what?” Hil asked. “Fuck this. He took pills from some guy at a party. He and Jas got fucked up, enjoyed the night, and I bet she wants more. A taste of the dark side and she can’t get enough. Now the little rich bitch has a small problem and it’s not the little nubs sticking off her chest. And this asshole from the party is making a move and it comes down to two things… cash… and secrets between the fucking sheets.”

  Hil turned and walked away.

  I looked at Ash.

  Then to Aaron.

  Aaron nodded.

  “Fuck,” I said.

  “Hil’s right?” Ash asked.

  “Just about,” Aaron said. “Look, I like her a lot. But this guy is creeping everywhere, man. I’m afraid he’s going to hurt her. Or do something to her. You know? I paid him for what we took that night. I paid him for more. These stupid fucking pills though… Jas loves them. They make her feel alive. Alert. They make her…”

  “They make her act wild,” Ash said.

  “Exactly,” Aaron said. “I don’t really care. In a sense.”

  “Of course not,” I said. “Let her get hooked and fuck up her life, right? As long as she’s opening her legs for you, right?”

  “It’s not like that, Uly,” Aaron said.

  “What do you want from us?” Ash asked.

  “I told you,” Aaron said. “I’m afraid for Jasmine. Me and the guys went to handle it. Baseball bats and shit…”

  “You made it worse,” I said. “He wasn’t afraid of you.”

  “Fuck no,” Aaron said. “He has money too. This isn’t about business.”

  “It’s personal,” I said. “Like you told me in the parking lot.”

  “And the guys are nervous too,” Aaron said.

  Ash and I looked and saw Max, Owen, and Ryan watching the conversation.

  “Fuck,” Ash said. “What do you want us to do?”

  “Is he BC or what?” I asked.

  “He’s not BC,” Aaron said. “And you three… the name and reputation will take care of it. And if he does something to Jasmine…” Aaron looked ready to cry. “I mean, even beyond that. If he starts trying to spread that shit around here. They’ll point to you and-”

  I jumped at Aaron and put my fist to his chin. “Don’t tell me what you think is going to happen. You’re not guilting me into helping you.”

  “Sorry,” Aaron said. “I just…” His eyes moved. “What the fuck is Hil doing?”

  I let Aaron go and turned.

  “What the fuck,” I said.

  “Shit,” Ash said.

  “Tell me he’s not…,” I said, but didn’t finish.

  Ash half grinned and nodded. “He’s pissing in Aaron’s baseball bag.”

  * * *

  Aaron started to run, but I had to stop him.

  I swung my right fist and hit him square in the jaw. He fell like a magician who did a trick to make his legs disappear. For a second I thought I had knocked his ass out.

  The other baseball jocks came running over.

  Ash and I were ready.

  But Max, Owen, and Ryan all showed their hands.

  They weren’t ready for a fight.

  “I’m okay,” Aaron said. He touched his jaw.

  “Let Hil do his thing,” Ash said. “That’s the start of our fee.”

  “You’re going to help?” Owen asked.

  “We didn’t say that,” I said. “But get us all the info on this pill guy. And then get Jasmine the fuck away. Get her somewhere safe. Shit, call in an anonymous tip and have her ass get busted. I’m serious.”

  “I can’t lose her,” Aaron said.

  “That’s not our problem,” Ash said. “Protecting BFH is though. You’re all fucked for this.”

  “We didn’t do anything,” Max said.

  Ryan swung his foot and kicked Aaron in the ribs.

  Owen jumped at Ryan to push him away.

  I made a fist and hit Ash’s shoulder. “We’re good here anyway.”

  Ash nodded and we walked across the field toward the bleachers to meet up with Hil again.

  He lit up a cigarette and grinned at us.

  “Feel better?” I asked.

  “Damn, I had to piss so bad,
” he said.

  “Nice talk there,” another voice added.

  I turned my head and saw Belle.

  Pretty Belle walked right up to Ash and threw her arms around the side of his body. He put an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

  Fuck, if I had her, I would have picked her up and kissed her on the lips. A real kiss.

  I thought about all the shit I did for her.

  Then again, we all did shit for her.

  If it wasn’t for Ash, she wouldn’t have gotten to know Lake and have all this writing shit going on.

  If it wasn’t…

  Fuck that.

  I chased away the thoughts.

  “Hil just pissed in a baseball bag,” I said.

  “That’s disgusting,” Belle said.

  “That’s why we’re leaving,” Ash said. “Let’s go, angel.”

  “Hey, beauty,” Hil said. “It’s natural. Everyone has to piss.”

  “Let’s get back to the piss talk later,” I said. “What are we going to do about Jasmine?”

  “Oh, you heard?” Belle asked.

  “Heard what?” Hil asked.

  “Someone is spreading a rumor she’s a druggie. I can’t see it though. She’s a geek.”

  “Easy, angel,” Ash said. “Rule number one is you stay closer to me than ever before.”

  “Why?”

  “Bad dude lingering around,” Hil said.

  “Nothing to worry about,” I said, as though I had to keep Belle calm.

  “Bad dude?” Belle asked.

  “We’re going to take care of it,” Ash said. “Aaron and Jasmine got a little too close to a fire.”