Chapter 15
“Wait — what?” I turn to him. “You went to Twisted Pine?”
“Freshman and sophomore year. My parents forced me to. As soon as they made me a legal adult and I could make my own decisions, I quit and went to Legion.”
“Were you parents mad?”
“They stopped talking to me. Didn’t want anything to do with me.”
“You don’t talk to them? Like ever?”
“We do now, but only when they need something.”
“Like what?”
“If they’re out of town and need me to go to LA to check on the house or do some other errand. I charge them a fortune to do it, but they have the money, so what the hell?”
“They live in LA?”
“Calabasas. Just north of LA. They’re only there for a few months out of the year. I don’t want to talk about my parents. Just tell me if you’re on board. Do we have a deal or not?”
“I still don’t get why you care if Twisted Pine gets more students. So what if they expand?”
“More students means more money. The kind of money that can clean up their messes.”
“What messes?”
“Shit happens there.” He looks at me. “Shit you don’t even want to know about.”
“Stuff happens at every school. This kid in my class back home got shot leaving the gym after basketball practice. Died before he even got to the hospital.”
“But you found out about it. And whoever did it was punished.”
“Maybe. I don’t actually know what happened to the guy who shot him.”
“The point is, they didn’t hide it. If it happened at Twisted Pine, no one would ever know.”
“Yeah, they would. The parents would report it to the cops and they’d arrest the guy who did it.”
Jackson laughs to himself. “That’s not how it works there.”
“Then how does it work?”
“I can’t get into it. You just need to trust me on this. Do we have a deal or not?”
I hesitate. “I don’t know. I feel like I’m selling my soul, pretending to be someone I’m not.”
“You can still be a smart ass. Push back on the rules. Curse. None of that shit will bother Braden or his friends. They all do the same thing. In that respect you’ll fit right in.
What you can’t do is make them the enemy.
Don’t talk shit about them. Don’t fight with them.
Just hang out with them. That’s all you have to do.
You’ll be accepted because you’re Braden’s cousin. ”
“What if Braden doesn’t want me in his group?”
“Tell his dad. Brock will force him to let you in.”
“And then he’ll go to LA and Braden will do what he wants.”
“Not if he wants to keep living there. Trust me, Braden will go along with it if his dad makes him. Same with Trystan. Brock goes easy on them most of the time but if he really wants something from them, he’ll make them do it.”
I pause, staring at Jackson. “Are you lying to me?”
“About what?”
“What we’re doing here? Is this just a way for you to make sure your team wins instead of Braden’s?”
“I don’t care who ends up at State as long as it’s not them.”
“Forget the state tournament. This is about Legion beating Twisted Pine. You don’t want Braden to win.”
He stands up. “Are you doing this or not?”
Needing a moment to think, I walk over to the wall of windows. Taking Braden down does sound appealing, but I’m not sure if it’s worth the effort. But like Jackson said, doing this will make my life easier at school. After what I’ve been through, the last thing I need is for things to get harder.
But doing this means not being myself, which is something I don’t believe in.
I’ve never done stuff just to fit in. But fitting in isn’t the reason I’m doing this.
I’m not trying to get people to like me.
I’m just trying to survive without making things harder on myself.
I could fight these people, be my usual rebellious self, but all it’ll get me is detention and lectures from Brock.
When I think about it, I’m still being rebellious by doing this.
I’m playing them. Making them think I’m someone I’m not, and in the process, I might discover something that could take away Braden’s God-like status at school.
The guy seriously needs his ego knocked down a few notches, or he’ll end up even more obnoxious than his dad.
“Are you in or not?” Jackson says from behind me.
I turn around. “Do I get to drive the Land Rover?”
He hesitates. “You’ve never driven? Like ever?”
“No.” I smile. “But I promise I’ll try not to hit anything.”
He sighs. “I really love that Land Rover.”
“And I really hate the idea of hanging out with Braden and his friends.”
He walks up to me and extends his hand. “Deal.”
I shake his hand. “So when do the lessons start?”
“When do you want them to start?”
“Now. The only way I’m getting out of that house is if I’m able to drive.”
“You don’t have a car.”
“Brock said he’d get me one if I get a driver’s license, although now I think he’d be happy if I never get one. He seems to want to keep me prisoner in that house. The sooner I get my license the better.”
“Let me grab my keys.” He goes down to his room and returns with his keys and a motorcycle helmet.
“What’s that for?”
He smiles. “I don’t want any head injuries when you take the wheel. This is gonna be more dangerous than football.”
“Seriously?” I yank the helmet from him and set it on the table. “You’re supposed to be supportive, not make fun of me.”
“I’m just looking out for my safety,” he says, walking to the door. “And my performance on the field. Season hasn’t even started. I can’t go into the first game with a concussion.”
We go out to the Land Rover.
“Maybe we should use the Porsche,” he says. “It’s lower to the ground.”
“You have a Porsche?”
“And a Ducati.”
“What’s that?”
“Motorcycle. That’s why I have the helmet.” He gazes at the Land Rover. “Guess it could be fixed. I just hate to see it hurt.” He runs his hand along the side of it.
“It’s a car, not a person.”
“Says someone who’s never owned one.”
“Can we just go? Brock doesn’t know I’m here. He’ll freak if he finds out I snuck out again.”
“You snuck out?”
“Yeah. He thinks I’m in my room. He said he’ll see me at dinner, so we don’t have a lot of time.”
We get in the Land Rover.
“What time is dinner?” Jackson asks as he pulls out of the driveway.
“He didn’t say. I’m guessing it’ll be after seven. I’m sure he’ll make Trystan and Braden go, and they probably won’t be home until later.”
“Are they at the gym?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen them all day. Braden’s probably at football practice.” I turn to Jackson. “Why aren’t you at practice?”
“We practice in the morning and again at night. We do two a day the week before school starts.” He stops at a light and looks at me.
“Per our agreement, anything I tell you stays between us. You don’t tell Braden, Trystan, or anyone else.
And by anything, I mean anything we talk about, but especially if it involves football. ”
“Yeah, got it,” I say, feeling uneasy about this arrangement. I just met this guy. Why am I going along with this? Can I really trust him? Is he just using me to get info about the Twisted Pine football team?
“What’s wrong?” he asks, noticing my foot tapping. I do it when I’m nervous.
“Nothing.” I glance around. “Where are you taking me?”
“To a parking lot. It’s next to an office building that’s been vacant for months. Nobody will be there and it has some obstacles for you.”
“What kind of obstacles?”
“Curves. Speed bumps. Narrow parking spaces. On the driver’s test they make you park between these really narrow lines so it’s good to practice.”
“We’re not doing all that today, are we?”
“No.” He chuckles. “We’ll start with the basics and go from there.”
My phone dings. I check it and see a text from Shayla. I texted her earlier, asking if she wanted to hang out sometime.
How about Saturday? she texts.
I text her back.
That works. Call you later this week.
“The boyfriend?” Jackson asks, noticing me texting.
“No, it’s a friend. Actually I just met her but I’m hoping she’ll be a friend.”
“How’d you meet her?”
“She’s Maria’s daughter. Brock’s maid. She filled in for her mom last week and we started talking. Hey, maybe you know her. She goes to your school.”
“What’s her name?”
“Shayla.”
“Don’t know her. Is she a senior?”
“Yeah. Long dark hair. Shorter than me but about my size. You sure you don’t know her?”
“It’s a big school. I don’t know everyone there.”
“She probably knows you.”
“Why would she know me?”
“Everyone knows the football players. And you’re really—” I almost said hot but stopped myself.
“I’m really what?” he asks, pulling into the parking lot.
“Nothing,” I say, shaking my head.
He parks in a spot and turns to me. “Tell me what you were going to say.”
“You’re really, um . . .” I search for a word that describes him. “Big. Tall. You stand out in a crowd.”
“I’m not the only big guy there. There’s guys even bigger than me on the team.”
“Really?”
“That’s why we’re so good. We have guys that look like they should be playing college ball. Some of them are already getting attention from recruiters.”
“What about you?”
“Can’t say.”
“Why can’t you tell me?”
His eyes go to mine. “Not sure I trust you yet.”
“You don’t think you can trust me?”
“I just met you. And you’re living with the enemy.”
“Braden’s the enemy?”
Jackson doesn’t answer.
“What’s the deal with you two? Why do you hate him so much?”
“Let’s do this.” He gets out, and I meet him in front of the SUV. He hands me the keys. “Be careful with her.”
“You don’t trust me but you’re letting me drive this?” I say, pointing to the Range Rover.
“The car I can get fixed. Doesn’t work that way with other stuff.”
“Like what?”
“Like you going behind my back and telling Braden shit I don’t want him knowing.”
“I wouldn’t do that. I just made a deal with you to take Braden down.”
“It’s bigger than that. It’s about the school. You need to remember that, or you’ll end up telling Braden shit you shouldn’t.”
“I’m not going to tell him anything. He doesn’t even know we’re friends.”