Catch Me: A High School Bully Romance (Spring Hill Blues Book 2) Read online

  “Richards?”

  A growl starts in Lex’s chest, rumbling my face. “The fucker who hit Reid.”

  I close my eyes. I knew I was right. I knew that’s who he was.

  “How did you find me?”

  Lex’s muscles lock. I’m testing his patience. If he were Reid, he’d never let me get away with asking questions without answering his first, but Lex takes a deep breath and says, “It turns out Cade’s fuck buddy is good for something. She checked Sasha’s phone during practice and saw the messages between you and Ezra. We didn’t know if Sasha actually knew anything except for the fact that she’s been acting cagey and was the only other person who seemed to know you were missing. We told everyone you went to visit your grandparents for a little while.” He squeezes me tighter. “I got here as soon as I could after calling the cops. The Hayley girl overheard Sasha saying she was going to meet someone at a hotel, so I knew she’d be here. I had to tell them about the picture, Briar. I’m so sorry. It’s the only thing we have on Sasha right now.”

  I swallow. “Sasha is Ezra.”

  “I put that together.” His fingers dig into me. “I’m sorry.”

  I blow out a breath. “I don’t know why I messaged him. I didn’t actually want him. I—”

  “Shh,” he says, rubbing his thumb over my cheek. “It’s okay.”

  I wish it were. I wish everything could just go back to before Reid got hurt and before I decided to run away again. After a few minutes of scolding myself, I ask, “Where’s Cade?”

  “With Reid. Someone had to keep him there. Concussion or not, he was determined to come.”

  My heart breaks all over again. The now familiar selfish feeling hits me, accompanied by a need to hurt myself as much as these guys probably hate me. Just imagining Reid dealing with having a concussion and not knowing what happened to me makes every nerve ending in my body flare in regret. “Why are you here, Lex?”

  He pulls away. Hurt darkens his eyes. “To help you.”

  “I’ve been so awful.”

  “You’re hurting. There’s a difference.”

  I shake my head. “Reid hates me.”

  “Reid…” His nostrils flare. “Fuck it. Reid loves you, Briar. He’s desperate to hear from you.” He fishes for his phone again, but I pull away. “Don’t do this,” he says. “Haven’t you learned by now that running away isn’t the answer? You feel bad for running away and your answer to that is running even further away?” He shakes his head. “Briar, talk to him. Talk to us. All of us. We’re scared. We’re hurt. We want you back. I want you back.”

  His hand curls into me, giving me the strength I need. He hands me his phone. The screen lights up. I see missed calls and texts. One comes in while the phone is in my hand. What’s happening??? I swear to God, motherfucker, answer your goddamn phone.

  It’s from Reid. Tears fracture my vision. I can picture him saying this, or watching his fingers fly over the on-screen keyboard right before he sends the message. A yearning builds inside me. I don’t have any excuses for these guys. I can’t tell them a reason why I ran away again because it all seems so dumb now that I’m here with Lex. It’s never when I’m with other people that’s the problem. It’s when I’m by myself. It’s when I’m lost in my own head. I can’t even trust myself.

  That is a scary ass feeling.

  I take the phone from his grip and hit his Contacts button. Scrolling, I stop when I see Reid and press the green phone to connect the call. The phone barely rings when the other end picks up. “Christ, Lex! What the fuck is happening?”

  The sound of his voice eats away at me. I try to say, “Hi,” but it comes out as a choked gasp. Then, the sobs come.

  “Briar,” he says. My name on his lips is like a promise. “Baby, baby, it’s okay.”

  The nicer he is to me, the more I break down. I know I should be asking him a ton of questions. How is he? Is he hurt? Can I do anything for him? But even now, I can’t get my body to cooperate.

  “Give the phone to Lex, baby.”

  I hand it over, resting my head on Lex’s chest again. His hand rubs up and down my arm. “She’s okay.”

  “The hell she is! She’s crying!”

  “She’s worried we all hate her.”

  A growl rips through the phone. His voice is tinny and low, but I can still hear it, anyway. “Tell her—.”

  “I’ve told her, Reid. She just needs a moment, I think. Sasha was here. The police took her. Richards was here too. I can’t get out of her what they were doing.”

  “Bring her to me.”

  My body locks up, and Lex notices. He pulls away to look in my eyes. He hesitates with his answer, and in that span of time, Reid hangs up on him like it’s already a done deal.

  “We can be in Spring Hill in thirty minutes,” Lex says.

  “Is that my only option?” I ask, rubbing at my eyes, trying to halt the flow of tears.

  We catch each other’s gazes, and there are unspoken words between us. Words I think Lex is trying to convey rather than say. And to me, he’s saying he’ll do whatever I want. He’ll stay here with me, if I want. He’ll drive me to Spring Hill, if I want. Whatever I want, he’ll do.

  I also know that staying here will only delay the inevitable now. If I don’t go to Spring Hill, Reid will come for me. I’m only prolonging the difficult conversation that lies ahead. The one where I hate myself more than anyone I’ve ever hated before.

  Lex sees when I’ve made my decision, and I swear a little light dies from his eyes. “I’ll take you to him.”

  3

  Right before we leave the hotel, Lex pays the balance I owe on the room. He forces me to call my parents on the way to Reid’s. Mom sounds relieved, but curt. I guess they’ve already been through this with me. They started to think I was okay, and then bam, I leave again. I can’t get mad at her for her attitude toward me. After she makes sure I’m okay, she asks to talk to whoever’s with me, so I give the phone to Lex. He pulls the car over on the side of the highway to talk to her. I can’t hear everything that’s said, but I get the gist. She wants me home.

  After he hangs up, he glances over at me, lips thin, “We’ll have to make this visit short.”

  “She’s mad,” I say distractedly, peering out the window. “She has every reason to be.”

  “They ended their vacation early when they heard you ran away again.”

  I cringe. I have a lot of making up to do, if I can even make up for all the shit I’ve done. “I’ll probably be grounded for the rest of my life.”

  “At least until you go to college.”

  The rest of the way to Reid’s house, Lex explains that he, Cade, and Reid came up with the cover story about me visiting my grandparents. No one knows I ran away again except the ones closest to me, and Sasha, of course. I don’t know how they got my parents to agree to the story instead of just calling the police, but here I am, being brought back to everything I ran away from and wondering why the need hit me so hard in the first place.

  When I close my eyes, I still see Reid’s still form in the hospital bed. The panic creeps up that maybe he isn’t okay. Maybe he’s destined to end up like Brady, and then what?

  I don’t know how I can explain it to everyone else because it seems so backwards.

  The closer we get to Reid’s house, the antsier I get. “Who all is there?”

  “Probably everyone.”

  “Everyone?”

  “Cade, Jules. Reid’s parents.”

  “They’re probably pissed at me too.”

  “No one’s pissed at you.”

  I rub my eyes after they start to itch. He’s lying. Lex would do anything to keep me safe. I stare at his profile while he urges the car forward. We’ve been in this exact place, except the car wasn’t moving then. He did what I wanted, so I could feel better, even at the detriment to himself. The veins stick out on his arms as he hangs a left. He’s locked up, rigid, like he’s trying to contain shit inside. He might not even know he’s doing it, but he is. “You’ve always been so good to me, Lex.”

  He blinks, then turns toward me for a brief second before watching the road again. “I’d do anything for you, Briar.”

  My heart beats painfully in my chest. When I look up, I notice he’s pulled into Reid’s driveway. The sun is setting, and the porch light is already on like a beacon. Lex throws his door open first, and I get out slowly. I look up at the sky for a second, asking Brady what the hell I’ve been doing for the past few months. He doesn’t answer. He never does.

  We walk past Cade’s and Jules’s car, parked just in front of the door. Everything in me is telling me to run away, but that instinct—that urge to run until I don’t want to look back—has never done anything good for me. I don’t even know where I got it from. It’s like a disease. They should call it Houdini-itis because all I want is to escape.

  A hand at my back keeps me moving forward. “They’re going to be excited to see you,” he says. He sounds like he means it, but I’m still wary.

  With that, the front door opens. Mrs. Parker steps out, her hands to her mouth. She jogs down the steps and throws her arms around me. “Oh Briar. I’ve been as worried as if you were my own.”

  She squeezes me, not letting up, but then, Mr. Parker is there. He claps me on the back until Jules is in front of my face. Tears track down her cheeks. “I hate you,” she sobs.

  “I know.”

  She hugs me, but in the next moment, Cade is there. “I don’t know what we’re going to do with you,” he sighs. His arms wrap around me and hold.

  I close my eyes, fighting back the emotion of having come home again.

  “Reid!” Mrs. Parker scolds. “You’re supposed to be in bed.”

  I peek over Cade’s shoulder to see his stumbling form make his way down the front steps. He looks crazed. My heart lodges in my throat as Cade moves out of the way in time for Reid to grab me. I stare into a pair of intoxicating green eyes. “Are you okay?” I ask, eyeing the raised lump in his hair line with a bandage over it.

  Suddenly, all the oxygen gets taken away. I try to breathe in deep, but nothing comes. My eyes flare with panic, and my fingers sink into Reid’s upper arms, trying to steady myself. My vision narrows. The world’s falling away.

  Something’s wrong!, I scream inside. I can’t bring in air.

  Strong arms grip me from behind, hauling me into a chest. Lex skirts around Reid. “She’s having a panic attack. Watch out.” He brings me into the house and sets me down in the nice living room, the one they don’t use. I’m sprawled across the designer sofa, staring up at the ceiling that feels like it’s pressing down around me.

  “Something’s wrong. What’s happening?” Reid curses. I try to focus on him, but the panic of feeling like I can’t breathe takes over everything.

  “Shh,” Lex says, grabbing my hand. “You’re having a panic attack. Just breathe. Relax.”

  Despite thinking I can’t get any air, I take a breath and realize it’s just an illusion. My lungs fill with oxygen. “I can’t—”

  Reid gets to his knees in front of me with a wince. The look on his face throws me into another bout. I clutch my chest as my heart feels like it explodes out of a racing gate.

  “Should we call an ambulance?” Jules asks.

  “She’ll be okay,” Lex and Mrs. Parker say at the same time. Lex continues with, “She just needs a moment.”

  Reid picks my hand off my chest and kisses my fingers. Instead of looking at his injury, I stare into his unwavering eyes. I can’t believe I left this. I can’t believe I left him.

  I quickly change my thoughts because another feeling of helplessness starts to rise. Reid kisses my knuckles one by one, keeping his eyes on me. When his shoulders move up as he takes a breath, I follow suit, trying to even out.

  “I’m sorry,” I say immediately after the feeling passes. “I don’t know what that was.”

  “That’s your body reminding you that you need me,” Reid says.

  Mrs. Parker whispers something to Mr. Parker, and he disappears for a moment before returning with a glass of water. She squeezes in between Lex and Reid to hand it to me. “Sit up, Briar. Slowly. There you go.” She puts a steady hand on my shoulders and offers me the glass. “I’m going to make something to eat. You look like you’ve lost weight.” She stands, and Mr. Parker puts his arm around her shoulders as they move into the kitchen.

  “Now I can’t even be mad at you right now,” Jules says. “Nice trick.”

  She grins, but I can tell she means it. Her eyes tell me we’re going to have to discuss my leaving…at length. But there’s guilt there, too.

  Cade puts an arm around her shoulders. “I think she’s in good hands for right now, why don’t we give them some time?”

  Jules nods. Lex and Reid part for her to give me a hug. Cade sneaks in to kiss me on the cheek, and they leave, the front door shutting behind them. When I look back, Reid has edged Lex out. He stands off to the side, his arms crossed as he watches.

  I turn on my side, facing Reid. I know why I tried to shut all this out. If I remembered how good it felt to be so close to him, I would’ve come running back within the hour. “Are you okay?” I ask.

  He grabs my hands again. “Are you okay? What did Sasha do?”

  I shake my head. “Reid…” My throat thickens, threatening to keep everything inside again. “Your head. Are you okay?”

  “I don’t care about me,” he grinds out.

  “He’s fine,” Lex says, speaking up. “He got the laceration from the helmet. He had to get stitches, and he was out for a few hours. It’s the concussion we’re all worried about, but he’s over the worst of it. He just needs to be monitored now.”

  An angry scowl makes its way across Reid’s face. When Lex finishes giving me Reid’s health update, Reid says, “Your turn. What happened? Are you okay?”

  I shrug. “I’m fine.” It’s a lame answer, but I can’t think of a better one at the moment.

  “What were Sasha and Richards doing there?”

  I close my eyes, feeling heat creep up my neck and spread over my cheeks.

  Lex moves closer. “Richards had his shirt off. When I walked in, Briar was running toward the door, and Richards was holding his nuts.”

  A shadow falls over Reid. “Did he hurt you? Did he touch you?” With each question, his voice rises and the urgency behind his words promises he’ll make this guy pay. All I have to do is say the words, and Reid would be out of this house in the next second, tracking that lowlife down. Concussion be damned.

  I shake my head. I peek around Reid to make sure his parents are still in the kitchen and then say, “I guess Sasha wanted more incriminating pictures of me. To show you. She thought if you saw that I ran away to be with someone else that you’d drop me. She started snapping pictures of that Richards guy standing in front of me with his fly down and his shirt off. When I tried to get away, he pinned me down on the bed. When she told him to move my shirt up, I panicked and kneed him in the balls.”

  “That’s what she was doing with her phone, wasn’t it?” Lex asks. When I nod, he sighs. “I should’ve fucking known.” He looks down at Reid. “As soon as she heard the police were coming, she deleted the pictures. I thought she was trying to delete the other pic, so I told her not to bother. The police already saw it. I didn’t know there were more.”

  “At least she doesn’t have them anymore,” I say. “Any of them.”

  “I’ll kill him,” Reid seethes. “I’ll hunt that fucker down and chop off his nuts.”

  “We already owe him for that hit on you, brother,” Lex says, like he’s all down for that plan and then some.

  Surrounded by the familiarity of these guys, I feel how tired I am. It’s like I’ve let myself relax for the first time in a week. My defenses are down, and now all I want to do is rest. I didn’t sleep well in the motel. Despite it’s less than stellar cleaning record, my dreams woke me time and time again. “I missed you,” I say, reaching out to touch Reid’s face.

  He holds my hand on his cheek, but the way he looks at me makes me think he’s not entirely sure I’m telling the truth. I can’t blame him. Why would he think I missed him if all I had to do was contact them to come back? “We have a lot to discuss,” Reid says, his lips a tight line. He leans over and gives me a kiss on the cheek. I hold on to that moment, letting his kiss seal a promise to me. He doesn’t like what I did. I knew he wouldn’t. But maybe, just maybe, it doesn’t change the way he feels about me.

  “Her parents want her home soon. She called them on the way here. I didn’t tell them we were stopping.”

  Reid scowls. “I don’t want her out of my sight.”

  “Me either,” Lex says. I tear my gaze away from Reid to find Lex staring at me with his big, brown eyes. “But that’s not fair to them.”

  Reid’s fingers grip me tighter like he can’t bear to let me go. Behind him, his mom walks in to call us to the table. Lex shifts from foot to foot, casting a glance toward the door. After Reid helps me to my feet, I touch Lex’s arm. “It’s okay. We’ll leave right after. My parents are going to be super pissed no matter what, so I might as well enjoy this last bit of freedom.”

  Mrs. Parker looks over her shoulder as she approaches the table. “I’m sure your mother was just so worried, Briar.”

  I bite my lip. I’m sure she’s worried, but the fact is, I made her worry again. I don’t know how I can ever make that better.

  4

  If it’s at all possible, I might even be more nervous to face my parents.

  I know I screwed up. Last time I ran away, I didn’t want to come back. I still had all the animosity for everything going on around me, but this time, I’m glad they found me. Maybe that’s what I wanted the whole time, someone to rescue me. To catch me and shake me out of the hole I dug myself.

  When Lex pulls into the driveway, he turns off the car, and we both just sit back. The front curtain moves, and my heart starts beating even faster. “You don’t have to come in with me,” I tell Lex. “This won’t be pretty, and I deserve it.”