CHAPTER THREE | ❝Mysteries And Deals❞
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I WAS ABSOLUTELY paralyzed in terror due to the scene unfolding before me. There, leaning on the parapet of our five-storeyed building was Jayden Salmon with his blonde hair ruffling in the air and chestnut brown eyes looking lost.
Jayden was the eye candy of our school. Girls were crazy for him even though he was an asshole. He was the perfect stereotypical bad boy who had girls tucked in his pockets. And even though I hated to admit it, but I had the misfortune of dating him for a while until we parted our ways sourly.
However, the current daunting sight made me forget my hatred for him momentarily.
"What are you doing Jayden? Get down immediately!" Our headmaster shouted at him - his grey old eyes flying around the scenery in panic.
Amelia, his present girlfriend, was sobbing now as she pleaded. "Jayden baby? Please get down." Tears rolled down her pale cheeks as her cherry red lips quivered. "Please. Why are you even up there?"
The headmaster repeated himself again, but it was like he was talking to a wall. There was a weird glaze in the deep-seated roots of Jayden's brown eyes. He looked like he wasn't even there, only his body was. His movements were almost robotic as he took another step forward.
I looked around frantically for help. But not seeing anyone to volunteer, I decided to go there myself when someone gripped my arm.
I turned around to see Cameron. In my haste and terror induced shock, I didn't even realize when they followed me up to here.
"I'll go," he spoke in a hushed voice, his deep grey eyes conveying urgency as he dashed towards the building.
And just as I blinked, there he was, on the rooftop, tackling Jayden to the ground. He held Jayden's head between his own hands and switched their positions. Since Cameron's back was turned to us, we could not see Jayden. However, a minute later, I saw Jayden walking away.
My eyes widened.
How the hell could Cameron be that fast? It was like the speed of the wind.
And what the fuck was that?
Beside me, Carter made a tsking sound and shook his head - a dark look crossing his face.
"Baby! You're okay!" Amelia gasped and flung herself towards the blonde boy.
Jayden must have been caught off guard because he almost stumbled backwards, his chestnut brown eyes going wide for a moment.
"Yeah. I'm okay," he mumbled coolly, patting Amelia's head awkwardly.
Whispers and soft mutterings buzzed around me like an anthem as I tried to figure out what just happened.
How could Cameron be that fast? That was impossible. Nobody on the freaking Earth could be that fast. Maybe I just hallucinated it all, the adrenaline rush playing tricks on my vision.
Students had started to disperse by the time Cameron walked up to us, his expression brooding and his brown lips pulled into a thin line.
"Brother, that little act of heroism was totally unnecessary." Carter threw a wary glance at him - his clenched jaw glinting under the sunlight.
I turned to glare at him. "What do you mean? That guy there was going to commit suicide. He saved a life, and you think it was unnecessary?"
"I don't care about that." He replied without looking at me.
"Well then what do you care about?"
"Stay out of this, Hazel," He snapped at me - his blue eyes gleaming dangerously.
Shooting a final glare at his brother, he sauntered away - followed by Christina who fired me an apologetic glance.
I glanced at Cameron to see him sighing wearily - dejection and guilt written brightly across his face. And before I could get my word out, he walked away in the path of his siblings, leaving me baffled.
Something super fishy just happened here.
Holly Heads was the town's crowd magnet. Not because it had exquisite facilities or anything, but because it was the only place where people could chill. Whether be it a social event or an everyday diner, there wouldn't be a single day where Holly Heads wouldn't be crowded. I don't think I would be much surprised if I heard someday that a wedding even took place there.
"Hey, beauty. How are you doing?" Latan asked while I placed the recently cleaned plate on the granite counter.
"Not really great," I answered while he wrapped his strong arms around me - the strong scent of cigarettes flaring up my nostrils.
Latan was a really good friend of mine. Well, we were kind of like friends with benefits.
I ran my hand through his golden-brown long hair which reached just up to his chin.
He leaned down to kiss me, but I stopped him. "Hey not here okay? You know I hate PDA."
"Who cares Kris?" he asked, smirking at me.
Gripping my waist tightly he pulled me closer. He dipped his head to the croon of my neck and I could feel his warm breaths fanning my skin.
"No L. No," I breathed out placing my hand on his chest - feeling the slow rise of his sculpted chest.
I heard him groan. But nonetheless, he pulled himself away.
"Ugh. Fine." He ran a hand through his hand - a sign of frustration. "You know you're becoming boring."
I felt a prick of anger burn me.
"Well then don't stick around." I threw the words distastefully at him before exiting the room.
Just as I was about to reach the door, I heard him say.
"I didn't mean it like that."
Anger still coursed within and hence not bothering to provide a reply, I pushed past the door and walked away.
When I was passing by the back of the diner, I heard a familiar gruff voice with a British accent.
Carter.
I quietly approached their cubicles, making the least sound as possible.
"- you know that brother. So fucking well. They did it as bait. They wanted to spot us so that they can get near her and now they know we are here, they'll do everything to find her. Hell, we don't even know who the hell is she. They'll destroy the whole town. It'll be a massacre. Now is that better than the death of that stupid blondie?" he groaned.
I gasped. They were talking about Jayden. Not only him but something to do with a girl and massacre and them and -
I felt a rough palm cover my mouth as I felt his presence behind me - the scent of masculinity and aftershave wrapping around us.
"Hasn't anyone ever taught you that eavesdropping is rude?" Carter whispered slowly - his lips close to my ears.
I rolled my eyes.
"Get off me, buffoon." My words came out muffled under his grasp and I tried to elbow him, but he quickly caught hold of me.
"Easy there, love." He chuckled while moving away from me.
He leaned against the white ply of the cubicle and folded his arms across his chest - raising a thick black eyebrow as he waited for an explanation.
I felt my mouth go dry. I wasn't definitely expecting this invasion when I decided to hear just a snippet of their interesting conversation.
But I willed myself to meet his glower of scrutiny.
"I work here," I said pointing to my blue tank top and golden trousers. "Came here to take the orders."
I peered behind his shoulders to see both Christina and Cameron regarding me with a sympathetic gaze.
"Still can't believe you." I dragged my eyes back towards Carter, while he kept his narrowed at me.
"Don't. Not that I care." I shrugged my shoulders while running my eyes around us - checking whether my boss was around to hear this or not.
"Well, we have already ordered Hazel." Carter pointed to the three martinis sitting on the red plastic table.
I bit back the groan. Busted!
"Okay, I didn't know. But I'll go I guess. Have fun. See you tomorrow at school," I said hurriedly - desperate to get away from them.
"How much did you hear?" It was Cameron's Irish accent that halted me in my steps.
I gulped, not sure of what to say. But I felt that lying to them would get me nowhere.
So turning around, I pasted a mask of nonchalance over my face. "A lot actually. About Jayden-"
"You mean blondie?" Carter interrupted me.
I ignored him and continued. "-and a girl, massacre and oh some ′they′."
Icicles slid through my spine as my gaze met Carter's - the blue in his eyes resembling a raging tsunami now.
"I have a question. Are you guys terrorists?" I mentally facepalmed myself. What kind of a stupid asked that? As if they would really tell ′yeah we are. Wanna hang out?′
Cameron gave me a nonplussed look while Carter's face remained impassive. Christina on the other hand, let out a snort - her brown orbs glimmering jovially.
"Krystal seriously? You're worse than my pancakes and apocalypse."
I gave them a sheepish smile.
"Guess, I'll go," I said timidly and walked away before embarrassing more of myself.
But one thing was clear. These guys were untypical teenagers. They were pretending to be something they were not. They were holding some dark secrets and a part of me wondered if they had any connection with all the murders that had been happening lately.
They were the danger.
They were trouble.
I messaged my forehead as I zipped up my bag, grateful for the day to finally end. I was about to slide the strap over my shoulder when my phone went off.
Sighing, I unlocked it to see a few texts from Maria.
Maria: Where are you? Are you done?
Shit! The fucking engagement!
Me: Nope. Just a little. Hold on.
Maria: Okay. What bout your ride?
Double Shit. The ride was completely out of my mind.
Me: Don't worry. I'll manage it.
Maria: Well text me if you can't. I'll do something.
Me: Thanks.Will do.
Maria: Okay. I'm sending you the address.
Maria: 19A street, Kerrington Mansion, Victoria Falls
Me: Alright thanks.
I messaged my forehead. I didn't know what to do. I had no idea who's gonna be my ride because there was absolutely no one I could ask. I roamed my eyes around the diner - hoping to spot any other co-worker that I could ask.
But my eyes landed on my pervert creepy-ass boss with whom I was no way in hell going to share a ride.
So, grumbling, I trailed my eyes behind him and to find a familiar black head.
Carter.
It's only been one day, and I was already seeing so much of him. Suddenly a hideous idea popped into my mind and before I could talk myself out of it, I found myself making my way towards him.
"Hi," I breathed out.
"What do you want?"Carter drawled lazily.
"Well, aren't you a little ball of sunshine?" I asked while pasting a cringy smile on my face.
He threw me a bored glance.
"If you're just gonna fuck with my time then I gotta go, Hazel. Because I have real work to do."
He started to walk away, and I felt desperation snake its way around me.
"Wait!" I ran up to him while he kept ignoring me. "I need a ride."
He turned around swiftly - one of his eyebrows quirked in surprise.
"You need a ride? From me? I thought you didn't like me?" His voice reeked confusion and mischief.
"I still don't," I mumbled, but catching the amused expression on his face, I quickly corrected my words. "I mean I do. But it doesn't matter cause I need help right now. I could go to my apartment on my motorbike but after that, the place where I'm going is huge...you know, rich lavish, and I don't wanna make a bad impression cause it's gonna affect my best friend. So please?" I found myself rambling to him.
After a moment of silence, Carter spoke up, "Give me one good reason why I should give you a ride."
He placed a hand under his chin, feigning a thoughtful expression. My eyes widened. Didn't this guy listen to any of the things I said just now? Was he on drugs?
"Are you on cocaine or something? What about everything I told you right now?" I scoffed.
Giving me his classic smirk, he continued, " Let me rephrase that. I meant, what do I get out of this?"
Was this guy fucking serious?
I racked my brain - thinking about something, anything I could give him. But when nothing hit me, I settled for the most common prize.
"I'll pay you for the whole ride," I looked at him wearily - half expecting him to object again.
However, instead, he walked over to his car.
"Get in. Or I'm leaving without you," he yelled before slipping into the driver seat.
Smiling at the small victory, I swaggered forward to his Audi. After settling down and giving him my apartment address, we vacated Holly Head's parking lot.
The silence in the car was comfortable. And even though I hated to admit it but the soft music that swirled in the air around us added more to my enjoyment. Turned out that Carter didn't have that bad taste in music, and in fact, most of our tastes clashed when it came to pop music.
After a while of peaceful humming, I finally asked him a question that's been constantly nagging at the corners of my brain.
"Where's Cameron and Christina?"
"They left a while ago," he replied while keeping his face straight and focused on the road.
I wanted to ask why but thought better of it and kept my mouth shut.
The rest of the ride was spent peacefully accompanied mostly by silence and occasional hummings by Carter.
After reaching my apartment, I invited him in, but he informed me, that he would rather stay outside than get in the 'hut of the mouse'. Rolling my eyes at him, I gave him a shrug before walking inside my apartment.
My fingers danced on the rough plaster of the wall of my bedroom until they found the smooth plastic cover of the switch. Flicking them on, my eyes widened when they landed on the beautiful purple dress that was sprawled over my bed.
I scrunched my eyebrows at the small yellow piece of paper sticking at the edge of the dress - the handwriting over it well-known to me.
If you like this dress too much you can keep it. It was made for you. - Maria, xoxo.
I smiled at the warm gesture and took the fabric in my hands before going to change. After dressing and doing my makeup, I texted Maria telling her that I was leaving. I grabbed my room keys from the counter and hurried down the stairs.
After meeting with Carter in the basement, his expression told me everything I imagined and wanted.
My knee-length dress was dark purple which hugged my body perfectly. The sleeves were off-shoulder and glass length with intricate brocade work, and my waist was sequined with beautiful stones and pearls. My lips were also coated with a dark purple color and my eyes were lined in a wing shape giving it the perfect smoky look.
When I first saw the dress, I thought it was perfect and now Carter just proved my point. His mouth was slightly parted, and his cheeks were flushed. The moonlight cast a dark shadow on his face, softening the texture of his lips and highlighting the glimmer in his blue eyes. However, the thing that caught my attention was his dilated pupils. We were standing too close and his six-feet-two figure loomed over me, allowing me to feel the heavy rise and fall of his chest.
"Woah..." He breathed out slowly - almost as if he was in a trance.
The corners of my lips twitched slightly and it seemed like a wake-up call to him. He immediately collected himself and said, "Right. So ready to go?"
"More than I'll ever be," I grinned at him before getting in his car.
After giving him the address that Maria sent me, we settled into a comfortable silence.
That is, until I spoke up, "How do I look?"
"You look...okay," he replied, his eyes focused steadily on the road. I could see the rigidness of his shoulders as they constrained against his black leather jacket.
"Okay? Well, that certainly wasn't your first impression when you said 'Woah'," I gave him a smirk.
I heard him curse softly.
"That was not...because... of your look. It was because...you took way too long to get ready," he grumbled.
"Sure, Carter. Whatever helps you sleep." I laughed.
Through my periphery, I could see a small smile playing on his lips too.
Once we reached our destination, I got out of the car and took out some cash from my purse. It was little but I knew it was enough. I held them towards him. "Here."
He gave me an incredulous look for a second and then spoke up, " I don't need the money, Hazel. Keep it. "
"But-"
"I just wanted to mess with you," he winked at me.
Of course, he wanted to do that. Jerk. But right now I wasn't mad at him. Instead, I was thankful that helped me when I was in this trouble.
"Thank you. Really thank you," I genuinely smiled up at him.
"It's fine. By the way, do you have a ride home?" he asked as his brows drew together in concern.
"Yep. Is that concern I see in you, Carter Harvey?"
He rolled his eyes before replying, "Don't flatter yourself."
"Trust me. I won't", I grinned cheekily at him.
There was a beat of awkward silence between us before I broke it, "Thank you again. Really. You have no idea how big I owe you for this."
"Well then you better be ready when I ask you for it," he smirked at me.
"And here comes the jerk again," I laughed causing him to smile.
"So will I see you tomorrow?" he asked as he started his engine.
"Sure. Good night Carter."
"Good night Hazel," he gave me a final wave before driving off into the darkness.
I turned around to see the huge mansion of Kennington. Taking a deep breath I walked towards it with the pleasant memory of the moment I just spent with the hot-headed and arrogant Carter Harvey.