Page 23 of Hidden Truths

For the longest time my parents don’t say a word to her. They look at one another in silent communication. Dante is ready to explode out of his seat and put his hands on Collette. That’s something neither one of us do because we were raised not to hurt women. However, Collette pushes every single one of our buttons and doesn’t hesitate to try and force her manipulative ways on everyone around her.

“We won’t be training you at all,” my dad finally says, a finality to his voice I haven’t ever heard before.

“Yes, you will. I plan on marrying Dash when the time comes and that means you will teach me what I need to know about leading The Faction,” Collette demands as my dad sets down his fork harder than necessary on his plate.

“You won’t be marrying our son. In fact, I don’t think you truly understand what it means to be a member of this organization. As a woman, you will not sit at the table and force your demands on any of us or the town of High Point. Especially those living in the poor section of town. We will not teach anyone like you because you’re a selfish person who doesn’t deserve to be anywhere near The Faction,” our dad states as he pushes his chair back and leaves the table in silence.

Dante and I finish our dinner and get dessert to go from our mom as Toby starts cleaning the table off. None of us talk and we all ignore Collette as she sits with her arms folded across her chest. When my twin and I are ready to go, Collette gets out of her chair and follows us out the door after we tell our family goodnight. Toby whispers that he doesn’t like her making us both laugh out loud because none of us do.

By the time we get back to campus, Collette is fuming and I know she’s been silent as she plans some kind of revenge against us. I don’t know what the hell she plans, but it will be fun as hell watching her try to pull a fast one against us. She doesn’t have a single fucking plan that can take us down because she doesn’t know how devious we can be when we’re pushed. If any of our parents had a single clue what the fuck we were working on behind the scenes, they’d be running and hiding as fast as they can.

Collette tries to wrap herself around my body as Dante and I get out of the car and close the door of the garage before heading for our house on campus. I extract myself from the skank’s arms and step away from her before we even take a step closer to our destination. With one look at Dante, he gives me a slight nod before we take off at a jog leaving Collette behind. I can hear her shrieking for us to go back with her but we ignore it. The bitch will learn we don’t listen to her because she doesn’t mean a damn thing to us. Collette is trying to play a game she’ll never fucking win and it’s only a matter of time before she discovers the truth.

Hope

Arabella

THE LAST TWO weeks have been somewhat peaceful. No one has attacked me at school or away from campus. I haven’t been going home to my mother’s house though. Vinnie and I have been staying at Mrs. Andrews’ house because it’s safer for both of us. My mother has been partying hard from what I can tell based on the number of people going in and out of the house and the music blaring from some kind of speakers someone took there. If we were in any other section of High Point, they would be getting shut down for all the fucking noise there. Instead, my mother and her friends do what they please because no one gives a shit. Mrs. Andrews refuses to let Vinnie or myself over there for any reason. I can’t blame her because there’s nothing good that can come from us being there. Vinnie won’t be able to sleep and I will no doubt be attacked by my mother or anyone else she lets through the door. It’s never been this bad before.

At school, I’m still hiding from the guys and everyone else. The only time I see anyone is when I’m in a lecture hall or at the library. Karmen still glares at me along with Collette and the rest of the assholes who follow them blindly. They talk shit when I’m around and there’s nothing I can do about that shit. However, if they leave me alone and don’t fuck with me, I’m more than happy for things to continue on with how they currently are.

Brock is slowly finding all of my hiding spots. It doesn’t matter where I go or where I am, he seems to pop out when I’m lost in my head. My friend always brings me something to eat and drink so I’m not eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or cold pizza. The food is hot and filling. No matter how many times I tell him he doesn’t need to spend his money on food for me, Brock doesn’t listen and still does what he wants. I simply roll my eyes at him because there’s nothing I can do to stop him. The man finds me no matter what I do or how often I change where I hide out. It’s honestly insane how often he finds me.

The guys are still looking for me all over campus. They don’t seem to know any of my hiding spots and for that I’m thankful. I’ve been seeing them all over campus. More than ever before. However, they don’t ever have the chance to get close to me because I don’t let them. Every single time I see one of them, I rush off so they don’t have a chance to get close to me. The only one it seems that isn’t actively searching me out is Kash. He holds back and lets the other guys pursue me. That’s kind of how it’s always been when it comes to Kash though. He’d rather have his nose buried in some kind of electronic device versus interacting with anyone else except the guys. I was once included in that group of people, but now I’m nothing more than a passing phase to them. Someone they used to know and spend time with.

Today, it seems as if my luck has finally run out though. As I walk across campus to my hiding spot behind the library, I run into Kash. Literally. My body slams into his and I let out an oomph because he’s fucking solid. Kash isn’t as big as the rest of the guys, but he’s got muscles in all the right places that hide beneath his clothing. Today he’s wearing a black pair of dress pants with a dark blue button-down shirt. I’ve never seen him in a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt. This is simply who Kash is and how he prefers to dress. Kash is so damn good looking and it breaks my heart to know that I can’t ever have him in my life again.

“I-I-I’m s-s-sorry,” I stammer out, my heart beating out of my chest from coming into any kind of contact with Kash.

“Don’t be sorry, Song Bird. Um, can I talk to you for a minute? I don’t want to push you or make you uncomfortable, but I’ve found somethin’ and you really need to know what it is. It’s gonna completely change your life and allow you to get out of High Point if that’s what you choose to do,” Kash asks, his tone soft and quiet as he looks at the ground by our feet instead of looking at me.

“I guess. It’s just you, though, right?” I question, looking around the area to make sure no one else is with him to ambush me in some kind of attempt to get me to talk to them.

“It’s just me. I wouldn’t approach you with the guys knowin’ you don’t want anythin’ to do with us. That’s on us and I hope you’ll eventually give us time to explain what happened and why we did what we did. I know that day isn’t today though. But, it doesn’t change the fact that I found somethin’ and you really need to know what it is,” he answers, his voice barely above a whisper as he looks around to make sure no one else is near us.

Kash is nervous. It’s in the way he holds his body like I’m going to run from him at any second. I’m really not sure if the news he has to give me is good or bad at this point. However, knowing that it will give me the freedom to leave High Point means I’m going to listen to him because that’s what I want more than anything else in my life. With the exception of making sure Vinnie stays with me.

“Follow me,” I tell him, making the decision to go to the spot I was heading when I ran into Kash. We’ll be hidden from view and no one will find us. I’ve been there long enough to know that’s the truth.

Kash and I take a seat beneath my favorite tree. We’re completely surrounded by the other trees and no one will see us even if they’re actually looking for us. Brock said this spot was the hardest one to discover because there’s so much tree coverage and it took him following me to actually discover where this hiding spot was. As long as we keep our voices low, we shouldn’t be discovered or overheard by anyone who might get too close.

Neither one of us says anything for a minute after we take our seats. I play with the hem of my shirt since it’s falling apart. All of my clothes are falling apart in one way or another. If I ever have extra money, I don’t ever buy myself clothes or anything I don’t need for school. All of my money goes to bills and what Vinnie needs. Sometimes, I get him something I want him to have. At the end of the day, my brother will always be my priority and there’s nothing that will ever change that shit for me.

“So, um, what did you have to tell me?” I finally ask, my voice a whisper because I’m so nervous and filled with varying emotions.

My heart is racing and I’m shaking. The palms of my hands are covered in sweat too. It’s been a long time since I was so close to one of the guys. Other than the day I ran into Dante and had to wait on them at Slice of Heaven. With Kash being the only one with me, I smell a hint of his cologne. It’s subtle and makes my mouth water with how good he smells. Add in the underlying scent of pine from the body wash he uses and it’s a lethal combination. One I could never resist because Kash is so sweet and not like the rest of the guys he chose as his best friends.

“Well, we know there’s shit goin’ on and that all of the deaths that have taken place in the last few years aren’t what they seem to be. For example, all of us believe your grandparents were murdered. We don’t know by who, but there was somethin’ off about the night they died. I’ve been diggin’ since then into anythin’ I can find about what they were doin’, who was in their life, and how often they met with others outside of the gated community,” Kash informs me, his voice letting me know how serious he is about this as my heart breaks even more.

I might not have been close to my grandparents after my dad died at work, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t mourn them when I heard they were killed. My grandparents were good people and they didn’t deserve to be murdered if that’s in fact what happened to them. So, now anger fills me at the thought that they were taken out of this world for someone’s selfish reasons.

“Okay. I still don’t get what that has to do with me, Kash. I can’t do anything to bring them back or help you solve their murder considering I wasn’t around them for a long time when they died. I don’t know about anything that you do on the computers or anything else. I appreciate the information, but it wasn’t necessary to stalk me all over campus to tell me that,” I inform him, my heart shattering with this new information Kash just dropped in my lap.

“That’s not what I want to tell you, Song Bird,” Kash says softly, his voice as low as mine is while he finally looks at me and I hold in the gasp of shock at the tender look in his eyes. “When I’ve been diggin’, I finally found the will your grandparents left. The one that was shown to the families wasn’t real and that’s why Collette moved to High Point. I don’t know if they created the fake will, or if it was someone else. I’ll eventually have that information so we can put the person behind bars. So, here’s the real will that your grandparents left behind.”

Kash pulls out his tablet and taps it a few times before he hands it over to me. I’m looking at a will with a ton of language I don’t understand. However, my name is the only one mentioned in the paperwork. Looking at Kash, he begins to explain everything to me after moving closer and pointing at various parts of the document while scrolling from one screen to the next. If I thought my heart was racing before, it’s nothing compared to right now. My entire body trembles and I can hardly pull in a breath of air as black spots start to fill my vision. I cannot have a panic attack or anything else right now. Not when I’m vulnerable and here with Kash and no one else.

I don’t bother pulling out my sandwich and Brock never shows up as I finally look at the time and stand from where we’ve been sitting. Kash gives me a soft smile before he drops the final bombshell of the day.

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