Fake Love (Bay Falls High NEXT Book 1) Read online

  Fake Love

  bay falls high NEXT

  Jaxson Kidman

  Contents

  Welcome to

  Fake Love

  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

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Want more #bfhnext?

  What is #bfh vs #hch?

  More from Jaxson

  Welcome to

  “Sleep tight, Winter. Let’s see what you remember tomorrow.”

  Written by Jaxson Kidman

  Fake Love

  They think I can’t remember…

  What they don’t know is I can’t forget.

  The car accident should have taken my life, but it only took my memory.

  At least for a little while.

  But I’m keeping that part a secret.

  I know who did this to me.

  And when I get my chance to ‘start over’, I end up at Bay Falls High, in the same building as those who tried to hurt me.

  I remember everything.

  They still think I can’t.

  It’s my turn to lie.

  It’s my turn to plot.

  It’s my turn to set up an ‘accident’ … or three.

  I have help from someone nobody would ever guess..

  I’m going to break them.

  One by one.

  Even if they each tell me they’re falling for me.

  This isn’t the game they think it is.

  It’s kill or be killed.

  And I’ve survived.

  I now own these m*therf*ckers.

  Prologue

  this is what I remember

  I have to get somewhere. It’s a Point A to Point B kind of thing. Or maybe it’s Point D. F. T. Z. Like, who cares about the letter, right? This is bigger than some random letter in the alphabet. This is really big.

  In a way, it’s finally happening.

  Funny how people think ‘we’ aren’t doing much with our lives. The established and esteemed people who sit on piles of money, that they refuse to say how they ‘earned’ it, are the ones trying to look down on me and ‘us’ to say we aren’t doing a damn thing.

  Some were born with a silver spoon in their hand, others a plastic spork.

  I don’t make the rules when it comes to that.

  I just know it’s the truth.

  This is going to change everything.

  This will shake it all up, once and for all.

  The truth…

  That’s the second it all changes.

  I’m lucky that for my sixteenth birthday I was given a big SUV. It’s my favorite thing in the world besides my room. Everyone calls it Tank.

  I love Tank.

  I can’t imagine anything bad happening to Tank.

  Ever.

  But there’s a really big problem right now.

  The road I’m on has a curve to it.

  I know that because I can see it.

  Tank doesn’t know that because Tank is a vehicle.

  I’m in control of the vehicle.

  Meaning when I turn the wheel, Tank turns.

  Duh, right?

  The problem is that Tank won’t turn.

  The wheel is locked or something.

  And the brakes… the pedal goes to the floor and nothing happens.

  Panic hits me and I step on the gas pedal.

  I yell in my mind: Winter, don’t do that!

  I take my foot off the gas pedal.

  The SUV is going pretty fast.

  No, scratch that.

  The SUV is going really fast.

  The second I feel the tires move from the road to the gravel on the side of the road, I know this is going to be really bad.

  My seatbelt is on, but that’s not going to matter in a few seconds.

  To me, the logical thing to do is get into the back of the SUV and hope for the best. Get away from the impact spot.

  Right?

  I unhook the seatbelt and turn and grab the seats.

  In my mind I see myself floating through the air to get into the very back of Tank.

  But it’s too late.

  It sounds like a crack of thunder at the back of my neck.

  Then it’s dark.

  But there’s no pain.

  Actually… for the first time in a long time…

  I feel nothing.

  Chapter 1

  open your eyes

  “Open your eyes, Winter.”

  “My sweet, sweet Winter…”

  “When you were seven, you begged me to see snow. So I tried to rent a cabin in the mountains way up north and there were none to rent, so I bought one. Sight unseen. And it was worth every penny to see you out there playing in the snow. Even if we didn’t have proper clothes for that kind of weather!”

  “Your friends have been asking about you. Evie. Darcy. They want to see you. I told them maybe soon. We just have to be careful.”

  “I know you’re in there, Winter. I know this isn’t the end of anything. Just a pause in life. I can’t… I can’t picture life without you.”

  Machines make noise.

  Beeps.

  A whirring sound.

  Feet squeaking on the floor.

  A door opening and closing.

  Legs of a piece of furniture scratching the floor.

  Laughter from a TV.

  Applause from an audience.

  Someone touches my leg.

  “You’re missing this, Winter. And I’m not going to tell you what happened. You’re going to have to watch it on your own.”

  It’s a man’s voice that does all the talking.

  All the talking… all the time…

  My name is Winter.

  I know that because that’s what the man keeps calling me.

  Who is the man?

  I don’t know.

  In fact, I don’t know anything.

  I don’t remember anything.

  When my eyes opened, everyone in the room celebrated.

  There were two men and a woman.

  One man was a doctor.

  How did I know he was a doctor?

  I wasn’t sure.

  I just knew.

  He was in a white coat with thin framed glasses, short hair, a defined chin, and a smile on his face. The woman was a nurse.

  Again… how did I know that?

  Same with the doctor.

  I just kind of knew.

  The other man in the room though… he wasn’t a doctor or a nurse.

  “Winter, you’re really here,” he said to me.

  His eyes filled with tears as he moved closer to me.

  He leaned over me then moved down to kiss me.

  I turned my head to the side and shut my eyes.

  When I did that, my neck ached with pain.

  The man kissed my head and I began to cry.

  “Winter… what’s wrong?” the man asked.

  “I’m Winter,” I whispered.

  “Of course you are. Hey, Doc, what’s going on here? She’s acting like she doesn’t know me.”

  “I don’t know you,
” I said.

  The man jumped back and stared down at me.

  Something about him was really familiar.

  “Let’s give her a minute here to actually wake up,” the nurse said.

  “Doc, tell me something,” the man said.

  “We’ve discussed this, Mr. Seacrum,” the doctor said.

  Mr. Seacrum.

  The man is Mr. Seacrum.

  But who is he, really?

  “You were the one talking to me,” I said to him. “I heard your voice.”

  “That’s right,” Mr. Seacrum said as he crouched down. He grabbed my hand. “I was here the whole time. I’m sorry about Tank, but we’ll get you a new one. A bigger and better one.”

  “Tank?” I asked.

  “Your car. I mean, the SUV. You don’t… remember…”

  “Tank,” I said. I swallowed hard. “Tank.”

  Then I shook my head.

  Mr. Seacrum lowered his head and started to cry.

  “What’s happening?” I asked.

  “Winter, you were in an accident,” the doctor said. “A very bad accident. You’ve been unconscious for two days now.”

  “Two days?” I asked.

  “We weren’t sure what was going to happen,” the doctor said. “Would you mind doing something for me?”

  The doctor was calm and soothing.

  I nodded.

  “Can you wiggle your toes?” he asked.

  I wiggled my toes.

  I wasn’t sure how.

  I just thought about it and it happened.

  Like breathing. Like blinking.

  Those were things I knew how to do.

  But where I was… the people around me… I had no idea.

  “That’s great,” the doctor said. “Let’s do an eye test. I’m going to shine a light in your eyes, okay? It’ll be bright. But I want to see what happens…”

  For the next few minutes, the doctor made me follow a light with my eyes. He made me move my arms. Wiggle my fingers. He apologized in advance when he poked me in different spots to make sure I could feel pain.

  I told him I could feel pain.

  My body hurt.

  It hurt really bad. Everywhere.

  “I feel like I was in an accident,” I said.

  The doctor and the nurse smiled.

  I looked to my right and Mr. Seacrum sat in a chair, staring at me, tears running down his cheeks.

  “Why are you crying, Mr. Seacrum?” I asked.

  “Oh, Winter, please stop calling me that,” he said.

  “What should I call you then?”

  Mr. Seacrum reached for my hand. “Call me what you’ve called me since you were a baby…”

  “Which is?” I asked.

  “Dad.”

  So, yeah, I was totally screwed.

  Mr. Seacrum was my father.

  Dad.

  And I couldn’t remember a thing.

  When I shut my eyes and tried really hard, I would have visions of the accident. But nothing else was there in my mind. It was just an empty void.

  I only knew my name because that’s what they called me.

  I didn’t even remember my own father.

  Which made me wonder…

  I looked at my father.

  “Where’s my mother?” I asked.

  “Do you remember her?” Dad asked.

  I shook my head. “No.”

  Dad sighed. “I don’t even know where to begin here.” He stood up and walked away from the hospital bed. “Doc, what do we do? This is the best hospital with the best doctors… including you. What the fuck do we do?”

  Whoa, Dad said the word fuck.

  “Mr. Seacrum,” the doctor said. He looked at me. Then at Dad. “Maybe we can talk in private.”

  “No,” I said. “I’m not going to be kept like some secret here. I want to know what’s going on. Maybe hearing words or phrases will help me…”

  The doctor nodded. “Okay. There’s a chance Winter’s memory may return. Could be today, tomorrow, a week from now. While this is no consolation, at least she’s alive. It’s nothing short of a miracle she wasn’t injured more.”

  “She can’t remember a thing!” Dad yells.

  “Dad, relax,” I said.

  Dad turned to face me. “Why did you call me that? Do you remember me?”

  I waited a few seconds before shaking my head no.

  Dad lowered his head.

  I couldn’t imagine what he felt.

  At the same time, I couldn’t figure out what I felt.

  How did I really know he was my father? At that point, anyone could tell me anything and I would probably just believe it.

  My entire existence could end up becoming a lie…

  A lie.

  Lies.

  Liars.

  You fucking liars.

  Cheaters.

  Liars and cheaters…

  “Winter, are you okay?” the nurse asked.

  “Give her a second,” Dad said. “She’s thinking. She’s remembering…”

  I licked my lips. “No. I’m fine. I mean, I’m not fine. I can’t remember anything. Wait a second. Doctor… how can I talk? How can I know words and stuff? How can I move my arms and legs?”

  The doctor pursed his lips together and nodded. “This is what I tell everyone… the brain sometimes does what it wants. Okay? Now we can get into some deep medical conversation here. We can talk about lobes, nerves, anything you’d like. In my opinion, we need to just give this a little time. The good news is that it appears Winter has all her motor functions. As far as the memory goes… we’ll have to wait and see. I’m sorry.”

  “The amount of money this is costing me, you better come up with something better than that,” Dad yelled.

  The doctor then stormed out of the room.

  The nurse moved toward Dad and touched his arm. “Jack, please… you know everyone is doing their best here.”

  I watched the way she touched his arm.

  And then Dad touched the nurse’s face.

  “You’ve been amazing, Leslie,” he whispered.

  He then leaned in and kissed her forehead.

  I gasped.

  I guess they forgot I had no memory… because this is weird.

  So the nurse is Leslie. And Leslie and Dad are…

  Leslie broke away from Dad.

  “Why don’t you go make a few calls, Jack?” Leslie offered. “I’ll stay with Winter. I’m sure her friends are going to be thrilled she’s awake.”

  Friends?

  Dad looked at me. He smiled. “No worries, my sweet Winter, you’re going to be okay. If I have to spend the rest of my life going over every moment, memory, picture… I will.”

  I had the sudden urge to cry.

  Dad loved me. I could see it. But I couldn’t feel it.

  How strange…

  Dad left the hospital room and I moved a little in my bed.

  Everything hurt.

  “Let me help,” Leslie said.

  She rushed to my side and I sat up a little more.

  I looked at her. “So he’s my father…”

  “Yes,” Leslie said. “He’s been here the whole time. He talked to you. He watched TV with you. You have a good father, Winter.”

  I reached with my left hand and touched Leslie’s hand.

  “He’s my father. He kissed you. So you’re… Mom?”

  Another wave of emotion attacked me.

  Leslie pulled her hand away.

  She shook her head.

  Leslie wasn’t my mother.

  But she was dating my father.

  Which meant my parents were split up. Or maybe my mother was dead.

  I had no idea.

  I had no idea about anything.

  The rest of the day was spent trying to figure stuff out.

  Apparently I was really lucky.

  Something happened with my SUV - Tank - and I went off the road going at full speed. The vehicle was completely destro
yed and I was found outside the SUV, a bloody mess. The back of my head was shaved in an area where I had to have staples put in.

  It was very weird because I knew what all of that meant.

  But to look at someone, it meant nothing.

  Leslie helped me from the hospital bed just before dark and I walked to the window in a lot of pain, but I wanted to see the sunset.

  I knew what a sunset was.

  I knew the planets.

  My favorite was Jupiter.

  Leslie asked me why and I told her because of the red spot.

  She touched my back and told me I was doing great.

  Dad paced the hospital room too much. He looked afraid to come near me, which made me feel bad that I couldn’t remember him.

  I watched the sun go down as day became night.

  Leslie hugged me and said she would see me tomorrow as her shift was over.

  She and Dad kissed goodbye and did the whole touching of each other’s hands thing… where you touch as long as you could before you had no choice but to break your hands apart.

  They really liked each other.

  When Leslie left the room, Dad looked at me.

  “How long have you two been together?” I asked.

  “A year.”

  “How did you meet?”

  “I sort of blew myself up.”

  “What?”

  Dad frowned. “You don’t remember it. It was your favorite story to tell. I was working with a circuit on something I was inventing and-”

  “Inventing?”

  “Yes, Winter. I’m an inventor. Engineer. Inventor. I don’t know what you want to call it.”

  “You yelled at the doctor about money… does that mean…”