Chaos at Westbrook High (The Kingston Brothers #3)

Chapter 4

My hands are shakingas I put my lipgloss on. The first day nerves are getting the better of me, and I won’t be able to open the shop and get to school on time if I don’t leave in…two and a half minutes ago.

“Fuck.”

After quickly checking my teeth in the mirror, I rush out of the bathroom and grab my sneakers from the hall. I manage to shove them on without falling over, then I snatch my ball cap and keys from the kitchen counter, frowning when I realize my phone is missing.

“Looking for this?” my older brother asks.

I turn around, narrowing my eyes when I find him lazing back on the couch, hungover and half asleep, as usual.

I’m our aunt’s double—light blonde and blue eyed—but he looks exactly like a twenty year old version of his father—dark hair, brown eyes, and the shitty king of the world attitude to match. He’s the type of guy who expects everything handed to him on a silver platter, and when he doesn’t get it, he lashes out. Mostly at me, because I’m the only sucker left who cares enough to listen to him.

“Who’s the guy?” he asks, waving the phone to show me the text message he’s read from the unknown number.

I cross the open plan space into the living room and take it from his outstretched hand, scanning the words on the screen before I shove it into the back pocket of my shorts. “Stop going through my stuff.”

I’m used to him being a controlling, overbearing asshole, but I’m not used to him having access to all my things like this. We’ve always lived separately, him with his dad and me here with Val, so I’m still adjusting to having him in my space all the time.

“I said who’s the guy?”

“I don’t know,” I say slowly, matching his shitty tone.

It’s the truth. Kind of. He’s never told me his name, so I don’t really know for sure.

Except that I do. I know it’s Kai.

“You give some random dude your number?”

“No.”

“How did he get it then?”

Wren. Wren was the one who used my phone that night in the cemetery not long ago. He’s the one who used my number to call his brother. And I was the one stupid enough to let him do it. I knew I shouldn’t have helped him, but he looked pathetic lying on the ground out there, and my conscience wouldn’t let me leave him until I knew he was okay. That was a mistake, because now Kai has what he’s been trying to get from me for months—the power to contact me whenever he feels like it. And he does. Every goddamn day.

Morning, beautiful. Hey, beautiful. See you soon, beautiful.

Always beautiful.

I’ve never texted him back. I figure the only way I can beat him at this stupid game of his is to ignore him entirely, so that’s exactly what I’ll keep doing.

“You’re really going, aren’t you?” my brother asks, and I blink my thoughts away, swallowing when I catch the look of betrayal on his thin, pale face.

When was the last time he went outside?

“I told you I was,” I mutter, leaning over the couch to whip open the curtains behind him. “Make sure you get some food in you toda?—”

“Damn it, Hailey. Fuck off.”

“You need sunlight.”

“No, what I need is for you to stop acting like a spoiled little bitch,” he bites out. “What, Elijah Kingston gives you a golden ticket to Westbrook High and now you’re Daddy’s little girl? You gonna drop and suck his dick next time you want something?”

The temper I got from him rises inside me, and I resist the urge to punch him in the mouth, snatching the bottle from the coffee table when he reaches out to pick it up. “You’re disgusting. And you’re done,” I add, walking over to the kitchen to pour the vodka into the sink.

“They’re gonna eat you alive,” he says. It’s more of a taunt than a warning this time. He’s already warned me more times than I can count. Now he’s just being a dick. “Don’t come crying to me when he breaks you just like he breaks every other girl who comes near him.”

Him. Not them. I tense, but I don’t bite.

“You think I can’t handle the Kingston brothers?”

“The Kingston brothers,” he echoes, scoffing a bitter laugh as he drops his head back against the arm of the couch. “What the fuck ever, man.”

I roll my eyes and open my mouth to say something, then snap it shut again, knowing it’s best not to rile him even more. God knows what he’ll do if I make him angrier than he already is.

Things have been like this between us for weeks, and it’s only getting worse. The day our aunt Valerie died, I called my brother, hysterical, and begged him to come get me. He decided it would be more fun to get high with his so-called friends and hook up with someone else’s girlfriend, almost getting himself killed in the process. Twice. After he was beaten a second time—inside a hospital room of all places—I brought him home to hide out here. He’s been spending almost all of his time on this couch, drowning himself in vodka and cocaine and whatever other drugs he can get his hands on. He wouldn’t even get off his ass to come to Valerie’s funeral. That hurt, and it hurt even more when he told me to shut the fuck up and let him sleep when I came home crying because he didn’t show.

Every time I try to talk to him or offer to listen while he talks to me, he looks at me like I’m stupid and tells me to leave him alone.

He sucks, but even after all his faults, he’s still my brother, and I still love him, which is the only reason I haven’t kicked him out on his sorry ass.

“She wouldn’t want this, Hailey,” he whispers, his last attempt to get me to change my mind. “I know I didn’t always respect her rules for you, but this is different. You’re about to throw yourself to the same wolves she’s been hiding you from for most of your life. She’d crawl out of her grave to stop you if she could see you now.”

I nod because I already know that, but it doesn’t change my decision. She’s not here anymore, and I have to do something to secure my future before it’s too late. I loved my aunt. She was my best friend. She was my mother. Every time I think about the fact that I’ll never see her again, it makes me want to curl up and scream. But I can’t stand the thought of living my life scared like she did. I’m so sick of being scared.

“I…” I clear my throat, struggling to get the words out. “I have to go.”

“Yeah,” he says. “I know.”

“Will you please eat something today?” I ask quietly while I grab my bag off the floor.

“Don’t count on it.”

I nod again and walk out the front door, locking it behind me. When I hear a smash inside the apartment a few seconds later—probably the empty vodka bottle—I close my eyes briefly and keep on walking.

Fifteen minutes later,I hop off the bus and pull my keys out, scanning the street while I jog toward my coffee shop. It’s probably too early for kidnappers to be lurking in the shadows, but I was taught from a young age to be aware of my surroundings, and I can’t help it. It”s a basic instinct for me, as simple as breathing. The only time I feel like I’m not swimming in a sea full of potential predators is when I’m at home or inside this building, which is just one of the reasons why I love it so much.

Rushing to ensure I’m there for my delivery guy, I unlock the front door and push it open, my eyes slamming shut when two hands grab me from behind. He shouts as he squeezes my shoulders and shakes me, chuckling when I don’t react the way he’s expecting me to.

“Damn it, Hailey,” Wyatt says, his mouth near my ear. “Why are you so hard to sneak up on, huh?”

“I saw you waiting by your car.”

He moves around me, his hand still on my shoulder as he studies me. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” I lie. “Just tired.”

He nods and moves aside to let me step in first.

“You know I can open for you on school days if you’d just give me a key.”

This again. He’s offered three times since Valerie died, but my answer remains the same. “I like opening.”

“You’re a control freak,” he corrects me, smiling a little when he catches the annoyance on my face. “Valerie used to look at me exactly like that.”

My shoulders drop, and I smile back at him, locking the door behind us before I flick the lights on. “That’s because you used to piss her off, too.”

He laughs, and I throw his apron at him, pulling mine over my head and tying it at the back. I leave him to get to work at the front of the shop while I make my way to the back, doing my best to ignore that familiar ache in my chest while I double check everything’s in order.

I miss her being here. She loved this place just as much as I do.

The cake company we’ve been using for years shows up two minutes early, and I’m thankful for the distraction, forcing a grateful smile for the older guy who hops down from the driver’s side. He waves at me before he grabs my order from the back of the truck, insists he can carry everything by himself, and sets the boxes down on the empty counter next to me.

“There you go, Miss Lawson.”

“Thanks, Terry,” I reply, taking the device he hands me to sign for it. “I told you to call me Hailey, remember?”

“Yes, Miss Lawson.”

I shake my head at him and hand the device back. He leaves, and I stay by the back door for a minute to ensure he doesn’t hurt himself climbing back up onto his seat. He’s perfectly capable, but I know his back gives him hell most of the time. Once he’s reversed out onto the quiet side street, I start carrying the boxes through to the front of the shop, finding Wyatt adding some whipped cream to an iced latte that I assume is for me.

“You’re the best.” I take the coffee he hands me and drop a straw into it, sucking it up like a fiend.

“I know.” He grins, pushing my cap down over my nose as he passes.

He walks around the counter and begins setting up tables, stealing a few glances at me while he works. Wyatt’s cute. He’s got sandy blond hair and a sweet smile. Some of his friends who come by sometimes like to joke that he has a crush on me, but I don’t buy it. He’s just being nice. If he liked me, I’m sure he would have asked me out by now. Not that I’m hoping he will. We’re just friends. Coworkers. Nothing more.

By the time I’ve stocked the cake cabinet and started prepping for breakfast, the main door is opened, and customers start coming in for their morning fix. I’m not as happy as I used to be, but I hide it well, and I don’t think anyone really notices.

The first twenty minutes go by without issue, but then Wyatt’s eyes flick to mine, and I glare at the coffee machine, already knowing what’s up without having to check for myself.

Every goddamn day.

Sometimes twice a day if he’s in the mood to piss me off.

I discreetly look over to see how many of them decided to tag along this morning, even more annoyed when I realize they’re all here. The five of them walk in here like they own the place, spooking my customers, and there’s nothing I can do about it because they’re considered royalty around here. Whatever they say goes, and only an idiot would dare get in their way. It’s bullshit, but it’s life.

Kai winks at me like we share a secret. We don’t. Then he says something to Wren with his eyes on me. Wren laughs at him, and I look away, trying my hardest to ignore them without being obvious about it. I’m busy anyway, so it’s not hard to pretend.

Once it’s their turn, I step away from the register and Wyatt takes over for me. I know the Kingstons are dangerous. I’ve seen the proof with my own eyes more than once. But I don’t think they’re stupid enough to attack my employees for no reason in front of all these witnesses, which is why I don’t mind leaving him alone with them.

“I gotta go,” I say to Wyatt. “Hannah will be here any second. I’ll be back at four.”

“Don’t worry.” Wyatt grins. “I got this.”

I nod, locking my jaw when I hear Kai’s taunting voice. “Baby, don’t be like that,” he calls, but I’m already leaving, my teeth clenched together as I grab my bag from the break room.

I don’t have time to go home to get changed for school, so I lock myself in the bathroom and change in here instead. I pull on a pair of faded jeans and change into an oversized T-shirt. Then I remove my Valerie’s cap and switch it out for a regular black one. When I’m done, I check myself in the mirror and take a breath, nervous again and dreading it.

Don’t be a chickenshit, Hailey.

Forcing myself to move before I change my mind and run home to my brother, I brush my fingers through my hair, adjust my ball cap, and exit the bathroom. When I hear Kai’s voice, I turn around and walk out the back door instead of going through the front of the shop. Not because I’m afraid of him—he doesn’t scare me—but because I can’t stand the sight of him and I’d rather avoid the bastard as much as I possibly can. But once I get to school…

Fuck. There’ll be no escaping him there.