Bayward Street (5 page)

The group of us took to the streets. The night sky was hard to see from beneath the towering buildings that made up our home, but I imagined that tonight it was littered with stars and that the moon was full and beaming down on top of us.

Coop, Daisy, and the remaining members of our little family, Sketch and Phee had stayed home with Eazy. He was still in a lot of pain even though he tried not to let it show. After three days I thought maybe he’d be feeling better, but he could still barely stand, and it was a fight to get any kind of food or liquid into him. I was beginning to think Braydon may have been right when he said E needed a hospital.

Layla skipped along beside me, humming a tune I’d never heard. It wasn’t uncommon, Lay would often compose her own music and write lyrics that match the haunting sounds of her melodies. But this one, it wasn’t deep and sad like the others. She was happy. Happier than I’d seen her in a very long time.

Kyle checked his watch as we crossed the street. “It’s almost nine.”

Luckily, I could see the high-class hotel in the distance, even making out some figures standing outside. The Parkens Hotel was owned by a huge movie director. It was infamous for the celebrities that stayed there, and the hotel staff were made to sign detailed non-disclosure agreements along with in-depth background checks before they were even allowed to step through the door. I read entertainment magazines in my spare time—a lot of shops threw them out or gave them to us for free when they were out of date. So I was up to play with anything that included celebrities or rock stars.

The fact that I’d be walking inside was a thrill in its own, but it wasn’t that, that had my body fizzing with excitement.

I’d never been to a party before.

I was almost fifteen when I was sent to juvenile detention for the attack on my father. The day of my probation hearing was the day I lost all respect and faith in the law.

I sat in the courtroom next to my lawyer. Her name was Mrs. Leighton, she’d been appointed to me by the state, and was kind but stern.

“How are you feeling, Keira?” she asked me with a kind smile.

“Scared,” I answered quietly.

She raised her brow. “Why are you scared? From what I’ve been told you’ve been perfect, no behavioral issues, problems with others, even your school work’s been amazing.” She told me, flicking through her papers and reports about my time away.

I waited until her eyes met mine again. “I can’t go back there, Mrs. Leighton. I knew they had said and done everything they could to pretend like they have a great home to come back to. But it’s simply not true.”

“You don’t believe they’re doing these courses to make your home life better?” she enquired.

I shook my head quickly.

“I’ll do what I can to keep you safe, Keira. You’re my priority.”

I heard the doors behind me open, and I knew instantly it was them. A chill ran down my spine, and I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I didn’t turn around, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing my nerves.

We all stood as the judge entered, it was a different judge than I’d had the first time I was here. He was older, probably closer to his sixties, with an awful comb-over that was slicked across the top of his head, reminding me of Donald Trump.

He went over the basics of the case—what had happened, what the verdict had been, notes from the guards and teachers about my behavior at the detention center. I twisted and turned my hands together underneath the table as the judge started reading statements from my parents.

“Mr. Campbell’s letter reads…” he said in his deep, gruff voice, “…Keira’s behavior has always been difficult to handle. She was constantly trying to push the boundaries with very little regard on consequences, and the effect it had on us as parents. At the time, me and my wife were unsure how to deal with such a troublesome teenager, and I regret the way that we tried to handle her outbursts. After attending parenting courses for the last year, we feel as though we now have the right strategies and the confidence to deal with Keira’s behavior in a more positive way. I apologize sincerely to my daughter for not doing this sooner, and hope that she can forgive us, and come back to our family so we can work on all of our issues together.”

I sat stunned, my mouth gaping open as I stared at the judge in absolute awe. I could see by his face that he believed the complete dribble of lies that was scrawled across the page. Mrs. Leighton caught my eye, sadness in her face as she reached over and took ahold of my hand.

The judge started again, this time the letter was from my mother. It covered much the same things my father had said, just worded differently. Anger began to bubble in my stomach. This was not right, it was not okay. Their lies were almost laughable, and the fact that the judge believed them was a complete and utter joke.

“Keira, do you have anything you would like to say?” the judge asked, addressing me for the first time since we walked into the courtroom. I looked at Mrs. Leighton, and she gave me a small smile before nodding.

I stood up sharply, I’d had enough. “Everything they said is lies. The most ridiculous crap I’ve ever heard! Did you not read the previous statements? Our neighbor saying they would always see my mother with bruises or the fact that I was well undernourished for a child my age? Do you know why that was? Because I was never fed. The day when all this came to pass, my father had just beaten the crap out of my mother. Because she’d taken money from his wallet to buy food as I hadn’t eaten, FOR NEARLY TWO DAYS!” I breathed heavily, my hands gripping the edge of the table so tightly it was painful.

“Keira,” Mrs. Leighton whispered sternly, pulling on my arm and forcing me back into my chair.

“The first thing that you should note, Keira, is that this is my courtroom, and I will not be talked to in that manner. Are we clear?” the old man scolded me with a deep frown. “All these incidents have been explained by your parents. According to them, you’re the one who was doing the abusing, hurting your mother and when you couldn’t get your way, and you finally broke and took a knife to your father.”

“No! That’s a lie,” I screamed, flying out of my chair again. Mrs. Leighton grabbed me and pulled me back into my chair.

“Keira, please… calm down. You’re not helping the situation,” she growled in a low voice, only for my ears. My heart was racing, and my breathing becoming shallow.

“One more outburst like that and things will get very serious,” the judge growled loudly, slamming his gavel on the desk in front of him.

How could this be happening? Why do they believe my pathetic excuse for a father and not me? My head started to spin, I just couldn’t fathom what was going on.

“As far as I’m concerned, sending you back to your parents means possibly putting them in danger,” he explained, a dark laugh escaped my throat, but I didn’t say anything. “But, they’re still very sure that the steps they’ve taken are the most positive and they’re willing to try whatever they can in order to keep their family together. You, young lady, should appreciate the fact that they still want you in their house, rather than throwing you to the foster system.”

I couldn’t handle this anymore.

I gripped on to Mrs. Leighton’s thigh causing her to look at me, sadness and shock both shining back at me.

“I’m going to be sick if I stay here,” I whispered as the judge rattled on and on about how my parents were willing to accept me and my troublesome behavior. “I need to leave.”

She nodded sharply before standing. “I’m sorry, Judge Morrison. My client is not well, could we please have a verdict before she makes a huge mess over your courtroom floor?”

Judge Morrison frowned but nodded. “She’s to return to her parents’ care under strict probation, as of her release date on June first.”

“Fay?” My body was being shaken, the harsh movements breaking me free of the dark memory. My eyes cleared and I saw Kyle staring down at me, his eyes full of concern. “You okay?”

I shook my head, attempting to free myself of the fog that filled my mind. “Yeah, sorry. Just thinking.”

Kyle used the back of his hand to brush against my cheek. His fingers felt hot against the coolness of my skin.

“You guys coming?” Cody called from the doorway of the hotel. He raised his eyebrows, asking me silently if I was all right. Throwing him a soft smile, I looked around at the rest of my friends who all stood watching me curiously.

I forced a soft laugh. “Yup, I’m good. Let’s go.”

The enthusiasm in my voice was far from convincing, but I threw Kyle a smile before pushing away and walking to where Cody held the door open.

He mirrored my smile, obviously satisfied I was okay and swept his hand out in front of him. “After you, ma’am.” Relief filled me when I saw the way he was dressed. I was worried that we were going to stand out, we didn’t exactly have a lot of options when it came to clothing. I’d gone with a pair of tattered black jeans, scuffed converse shoes and a red tank top with a worn leather jacket over the top.

It was as nice as my shit got.

But Cody was dressed much the same in a pair of low riding jeans, that I wasn’t even sure how he kept up on his slim frame and a band shirt.

I mocked a curtsey. “Thank you, young sir.”

My eyes widened in awe as I stepped through the doors into the lobby of the hotel. It was simple but beautiful. The floors were pure white tile, the light off the massive chandelier that hung above me reflecting off all the pristine surfaces. Gasps filled the space as my friends all entered, taking in the stunning room.

“Can I help you?” a young woman smiled from behind the front desk, it was lined with gold trim. Her outfit even matched it—white with gold accents.

Cody stepped forward, and I followed as he approached the woman. I was surprised that she didn’t eye us skeptically or call security. We must have looked so out of place.

“You must be here for the party on floor eighteen.”

“Yup, my name is Cody Dean.”

The woman looked down at the desk, running her finger down a list. “Ah yes, there you are. How many will be joining you?”

Cody looked around, doing a quick count. “Uh, five more.”

She made a note and held up some kind of card. “Here’s your entrance card. You’ll need to swipe it for the elevator to allow you to get off on that floor since it’s a private party.”

“Thank you.” I gave the woman a soft smile as Cody took the card and headed left to where there was a bank of six elevators.

“You guys ready for this?” Cody asked as we piled in the elevator and he swiped the keycard against the panel. It automatically entered level eighteen, and the doors slid shut slowly. “I promise, you’ve never seen anything like this.”

I didn’t know if I was the only one who was nervous, but my whole body was so giddy with excitement that the nerves in my stomach were severely overpowered. Smiling faces of my friends filled the cramped area, and when the elevator dinged and the doors swept open, I realized just how right Cody was.

The music was the first thing to hit me, the base of the stereo slamming against my chest.

We stepped out of the elevator into a crowded hallway. People laughed and mingled in small groups, most of them carrying red plastic cups, which I knew immediately would contain alcohol.

“Heaven on earth, I’ve struck gold,” Lee murmured, holding his hand to his chest. I laughed and threw myself onto his back.

My senses were overcome as I tried to take everything in. “How many rooms are on this floor?”

“I’m not even sure,” Cody beamed.

Doors seemed to be open all the way down the long hall, people stepping out and moving on to the next. I heard the squeal of a microphone and the beat of a drum.

“There’s a fucking band!” Layla bounced on her feet and clapped her hands. “I’m going to find it.”

“Be careful,” Kyle yelled as she practically ran off down the hallway, with an excited Andre right behind her. “I think I’m gonna need a drink,” he groaned.

“This is meant to be fun brother o’ mine.” Lee laughed, giving Kyle a shove. “Chill out, and enjoy yourself for once.”

Lee boosted me higher on his back. “Onwards, Cody. To the booze.”

Cody laughed, and we trailed behind him as he weaved through the flow of teens. I didn’t miss the way that the girls eyed the two brothers. They were identical in every way apart from the clothes they wore. Not only that but they were hot as hell.

I peeked through the doorways as we passed by. Most were filled with people, girls dancing, guys drinking, there was one that even looked like it was a games room with a couple of pool tables and people sitting around playing cards.

One caught my eye more than the others, though, and I wiggled urgently, trying to climb down off Lee’s back.

“Woah there, lady.” He stopped and crouched down so my feet could touch the floor.

“I’m just going to go in here for a second.” I pointed back to the doorway. Lee looked ahead, Cody and Kyle continued walking, chatting between them and not noticing we’d stopped.

“You want me to come?” he asked.

Shaking my head, I held my hands up. “No, it’s okay. I just want to have a look around. And your brother will never let me do that without him next to me.”

Lee rolled his eyes, understanding what I was saying. “Okay, I’ll come back soon.”

He gave me a hug and jogged off to catch up with the boys. I ducked inside the room before Kyle noticed I was missing and came back for me. The room I stepped into was quieter than the rest, almost as if people knew not to go inside. The music from down the hall still filtered in softly, but people were sitting around casually chatting and laughing, not grinding on each other or sculling drinks like I’d seen in the others we’d passed.

Folding my arms across my chest, I spoke loudly, “Layla’s still waiting for that guitar.”

My voice drew the attention of almost the whole room. But it was when Braydon turned to me with a giant grin on his face that I couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“Well, well. Looks like someone let the riff raff in.” There was no sarcasm or disgust in his tone as he advanced on me, so I knew not to take offense to his mocking. Even from our brief interaction a few nights before, I’d gathered that was just the way he was. “What a surprise to see you here.”

“I wish I could say the same, but I should have guessed you’d be at a party like this.”

People watched us interact with cautious eyes, they didn’t know who I was, and weren’t quite sure what to make of me. When Braydon threw an arm over my shoulder and guided me to the bar, they relaxed and turned back to their conversations, most anyway. A few girls narrowed their eyes from across the room, I could feel their laser stares.

“Let’s get you a drink.” Braydon grinned as we stepped into the kitchen of the hotel room. People moved out of his way as he went about grabbing a cup and pouring in some vodka followed by orange juice. He handed it to me before hefting himself up onto the counter.

I sipped at it, feeling a gentle but familiar burn slip down my throat. Braydon watched me in amusement, and I raised my eyebrows. “What?”

“That shit was half and half and you didn’t even flinch.”

I rolled my eyes. “Alcohol isn’t a foreign substance to me. We just never have anything to mix it with, so this is pretty good.” It was true. While we didn’t base our lives on getting drunk every night of the week, it wasn’t uncommon for us to use alcohol as our drug of choice in an attempt to escape life, even if just for a few hours.

He laughed loudly, slapping his hand on the marble surface beneath him. “A girl who drinks her shit straight… my heart be still,” he crowed, his hand gripping at his chest dramatically.

“Anyone ever tell you that you should go into acting?” I asked sarcastically.

“Basically every second person. You get that when your dad’s a famous movie director.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

My mind took a minute to catch up with what he’d just said. Maybe it was the alcohol hitting me already. “Woah, wait a second. You don’t mean—”

“That my dad owns this whole hotel? How else do you think someone would get away with booking out a complete floor and filling it with drunken teenagers?” He looked at me like it was obvious.

I’d known from the second I saw Heath and Braydon, and even their friends, that they came from some kind of money. Their clothes, the way they held themselves, their confidence. It all made sense. But not even I could’ve imagined just how much money they were worth.

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered before lifting my cup to my mouth and swallowing back the entire thing.

Braydon jumped down off the counter and snatched the cup from my hand. “Round two!” He began to fill it again, this time letting the vodka flow more freely. I tried to remind myself that I couldn’t get drunk here. I didn’t know these people or what might happen and if the boys ended up having to carry my ass home. I’d be in so much shit.

I prepared myself, ready to tell Braydon I didn’t want another until my eyes connected with two sparkling blue pools that had been haunting my mind for days.

His hands were frozen on the bottom button of his dress shirt. The rest of it hung open, displaying a tanned chest that was thick and toned and softly outlined abs. I was completely entranced. I wasn’t sure what drew me to Heath. He was sexy but so serious. Everything about him screamed untouchable.

Maybe that was the draw?

A girl walked out of the hall beside him, her feet unsteady on her sky-high heels as she adjusted her dress with a silent smirk on her lips. Heath’s eyes flicked to her, but he shook his head as he continued to button up his shirt.

She reached out and touched Heath’s arm, but he didn’t even acknowledge her. The group of girls in the corner of the room giggled as they watched on. Realizing she wasn’t going to get any attention from him, she plastered on a fake smile, lifted her chin and walked over to the giggling gaggle. They swarmed around her whispering quietly.

A red cup appeared before my face, and I snatched it from Braydon’s hands, taking a big gulp. The burn was more intense now, it continued all the way down to my stomach and settled, filling my body with warmth.

I felt a hand press against the small of my back, forcing my body to move.

“Hey…” Braydon protested, “…she was my friend first!”

I let Heath guide me away from the kitchen and back down the hallway that he’d just emerged from, pushing me through a bedroom door and switching the light on before slamming it closed behind me. The covers of the bed were tossed about, and I couldn’t help but screw my face up in disgust. Just as I opened my mouth to smart off about what had happened in here, I found myself pressed against the wall.

I gasped, liquid splashing over the rim of my cup and coating my hand.

One of Heath’s hands was pressed against the wall beside my head while the other pressed gently against my stomach, holding me in place. “What are you doing here?” His tone sparked frustration inside me, and I tilted my head up so I could see his face.

“I was invited,” I managed to grind out between clenched teeth. “Now if you don’t mind, you’re in my personal bubble.”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Straightening my body, I pushed against his hand forcing him to take a step backward. I couldn’t help but shake my head. “I don’t know why I thought you were any fucking different.”

Turning around, I reached for the door handle, but I was once again torn away. This time, Heath ripped my cup from my hand and tossed it against the wall. Liquid splashed everywhere, staining the cream colored carpet with orange droplets.

“What the fuck is your problem?” I growled, not letting myself be intimidated. I wasn’t scared of Heath. He may seem dark and brooding, but I never got the feeling that he’d try to hurt me. And that was an intuition that after living on the streets for almost two years, I had down pat.

“I’m not good enough to be here with a bunch of teens, who are rich enough to probably buy their own island? What is it? You don’t want these people to know that we’ve met before? Because Braydon didn’t seem to give a flying fuck—”

My crazy rant was cut short as Heath placed his hands on either side of my face and pulled my lips up to meet his. The second his lips touched mine my body practically melted. My hands reached for his waist, pulling it against me. His mouth tangled with mine, controlling every single movement, even tilting my head to where he wanted it.

Getting lost in the moment, almost made me forget about the destroyed bed and him and the girl having to adjust their clothing on exit. I froze, pulling at his wrists so his hands fell from my face. I stepped back immediately, breathing heavily and my heart pounding.

I touched my fingers to my lips which had already grown slightly swollen and plump. Shaking my head, I whispered, “No, this is not okay.”

“Why?” His smooth voice moved through my body like a gentle wave.

“I don’t know what’s normal for you, Heath. But for me, I don’t want to kiss a guy who’s just been in this very room fucking another girl.” Thrusting my hand toward the bed and raising my eyebrows, I dared him to argue against the evidence.

He scrubbed at his face. “I didn’t fuck Jay. She made me bring her back here to clean something off her dress. Then she fucking wet my shirt, so I had to change.”

“I can guarantee you, that’s not what every other person in that room thinks.”

“And I don’t give a shit what anyone in that room thinks.” He sat at the edge of the bed and leaned forward, bracing his elbows against his knees.

Sighing, I leaned back against the door. “Why did you say I shouldn’t be here?”

He looked up at me below a heavy brow. “These kids are rich assholes, Fable. I should know, a lot of them are my friends.”

“And I’m not worthy of being in their presence?”

He laughed, and I took a moment to enjoy the sound, even if it was completely void of amusement. “Do you know what they would do to you if they found out who you were, and where you were from?”

This time, it was my turn to chuckle. “Do you know how long I’ve had to deal with people’s abuse and criticism? It’s not new to me to have people call me names and treat me like the shit on the bottom of their shoe. I gave up giving a damn about that a long time ago.”

Shaking his head, he looked back at the floor. “Not these kids. They’re ruthless, calculated. People who aren’t like them get broken down and dragged through the dirt.”

I got it now. It wasn’t that Heath didn’t think I wasn’t rich enough, or pretty enough. He was trying to protect me–again.

“Let me tell you something…” I started, waiting for his eyes to look up at me before I continued, “…I was out on the street for just forty-eight hours before I was approached by some gangsta looking to add to his list of whores to pimp out on the corner. It was another twenty-four when I was pulled into a side alley where they beat me up and stole everything that I’d managed to escape my home with. Later that week a rich guy wearing a suit tried—”

“Enough,” he snapped, his hands clenched as he pushed off the bed and stood to his full height.

“Your friends out there may be vile with their words, but I’ve already lived through the fucking sticks and stones. So you really think that they are going to be the ones to hurt me?” I snorted humorlessly. “I couldn’t care less.”