Malik (Carter Brother Series Book 1)

MALIK

Carter brother series

Book One

Lisa Helen Gray

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I hate it when people say ‘
it will get better’
bullshit after you lose someone who means the world to you. How can it get better when both my parents are dead? Or that I have to move miles away from my home to go live with my grandma, who I’ve met three times in my life? All three of those times were when I was a baby, still getting breastfed by my mom. I don’t have any choice though; I need to finish my school year without the hassle of worrying about finding somewhere to live, or how I’ll pay the bills.

Which is how I ended up outside my Grandma’s house three weeks after losing my parents. The only people I had left in the world. Not only am I worried about meeting my Grandma for the first time, but I’m also worried about how I’m going to cope with the loss of my parents.

The last three weeks have been pure torture not having them around to tell me everything is going to be okay. I hadn’t been allowed to stay at our home back in Hadley, so a friend’s parent had taken me in until they reached my next of kin. Hence, coming here to my grandma’s to live. All I wanted to do was to be amongst my mother and father’s things, but the pain of losing them has been too unbearable.

My parent’s death still continues to haunt me every single night. They plague every nightmare I have.

They’d gone out to a work function and were attacked on their way back to the car by some low life thugs. The attacker stabbed both my parents, killing them almost instantly. My mom had died on the scene and my father had died on the way to the hospital suffering from fatal stab wounds to the neck, chest and abdomen.

The police officers assured me they would capture the culprit or culprits who murdered them, but what faith can I have in that when there were no witnesses or evidence to point in someone’s direction? At this point I’ve lost all hope that justice will be served for the deaths of my parents.

Walking up the freshly mowed lawn, I start to wonder what my life will be like from here on out. I’m scared I’ll never get over my parents murders or weight of missing them. I’m worried I won’t get on with grandma, that we’ll clash and I’ll end up all alone with no family in my life. Just the thought has me holding back a sob.

I knock on the door as my hands begin to shake uncontrollably. I know that my life is about to change and I don’t know if it’s for the good or the bad.

I just wish someone could have prepared me for what I’m about to endure. For someone to tell me everything is going to be okay, that they’ll protect me. My naivety will only get me so far, and then I’m on my own.

“I’m so glad you’re here my sweet Harlow, I just wish it was under better circumstances,’’ A sweet voice says before embracing me in a tight hug nearly choking me to death.

After three weeks of getting to know my grandma and getting into a new routine without having my parents with me, I’m finally starting to learn to cope with things.

Today I start my new school. I’m dreading it, more than I dreaded the first time I met my grandma three weeks ago. Thankfully where she’s concerned, I have nothing to worry about. She’s freaking amazing. I don’t know what went on between her and my mom, she’s only let me know bits over the short amount of time I’ve been here.

The gist is she and my mom didn’t see eye to eye on my father. Apparently she didn’t think he was good enough for her or good enough to be a father. My mom was ten years younger than my dad, so I’m guessing that had a huge part in her decision to dislike him so badly. Anyway, my mom rebelled against my Grandma by deciding to move in with my father, and then moving across the country. Once my parents moved, neither of them spoke to one another again. I began to tell Grandma about them, about who they were to me and that’s when she realised all the mistakes she had made and regretted shutting off all communication. She lost her daughter, a loving son in law and all the years of watching me grow up. The fact that I told her how much my parents loved each other was the icing on the cake that my Grandma was now eating. I had the most loving parents a child could wish for, if only my Grams’ could have seen that instead of pushing my mother away.

I also met our next door neighbour Mark, who grandma says is guardian of his five grandsons. I never got to meet the boys, but their grandpa was alright for an old dude. Grandma always makes googly eyes at him when he walks into a room, so as soon as he came I’d make myself scarce.

Grandma said she cooks Mark and his boys a meal or two during the week, but I haven’t met them yet as they’ve been away for the past three weeks on a fishing trip. Grandma assured me they were a nice bunch of boys and said they go to the school I’ll be attending. I think she meant to comfort me, but I can’t concentrate on that at the moment, I just want to get through the first day without incident.

At my old school things were hard for me. The girls were vile and the boys were worse. I’m not a popular person and I like to keep to myself. My version of fun is to study and stay in on a weekend with a good book. It’s why I never understood their reasons for bullying me; I never got in their way, got the attention of their boyfriends, or even outsmarted them in any lessons. In fact, anything that had to do with them I stayed far away from, but it seemed like they couldn’t stay away from me. 

My friend Lilly used to tell me it’s because they were jealous of my looks, but I laughed her off every single time. To me I’m just a plain ordinary girl who had mousy brown hair that fell to the middle of her back, dull blue eyes and an hour glass figure, which most boys find really unattractive. I’m used to being called fat, but I’ve never felt fat so I always ignored those comments they threw at me on a daily basis. I have wide hips, huge ass, and a little bit of a podgy belly. Nothing a few sit-ups couldn’t get rid of though, I swear. Plus, no one can complain about me being unfit since I run for two hours every morning and usually twice a week during the evening.

So anyway, I’d spent the last three weeks catching up with Grams’, getting to know her and sitting in my room reading or listening to music. Now all that’s about to end as I stand in front of the largest school I’ve ever seen. Back home my school was a playground compared to this. This school reminds me more of a mansion than a place you go to learn.

Grandma offered to walk in with me to the main office but I refused, not wanting to give the mean girls ammo on me on my first day. Now I’m kind of intimidated and wished she had walked in with me. Clasping my sweaty palms together I take in a deep breath.

“Here it goes Harlow. You can do this,’’ I mumble while opening the main gate.

Finally reaching the right building after getting pointed in the wrong direction by two students, I find an old lady sitting down at her desk frowning at a pile of papers. Her glasses are practically hanging from her nose making me wonder how she’s managed to keep them from falling.

“Hi,’’ I wave sheepishly when she doesn’t look up after a few minutes.

“Ouch, oh dear,’’ she jumps, spilling her cup of tea and finally losing her glasses from the bridge of her nose. The string attached to them keeps them from falling onto her desk which disappoints me for some reason, making me feel kind of awkward. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there. How can I help you, Miss?’’

“I’m new here. I was told to report to the main office. I’m a little late because I got lost a few times trying to find my way here,’’ I tell her, not wanting to mention their students suck at giving directions. I bet they followed behind me laughing at my obvious unease and panic.

“Oh you must be Joan’s granddaughter Harlow Evans, correct?’’ she says typing fast on her keypad.

“That’s me, in the flesh,’’ I tell her, my nervousness not just making my mind crazy but my speech too.

“I’m Miss Jane, the schools receptionist,’’ she says before focusing back on her computer screen. “I’m just printing out your schedule and map to show you around the school. Are there any questions?’’

“Is there any way I can take the lessons at home?’’ I blurt out, my cheeks reddening.

“No,’’ she laughs, probably thinking I’m joking. “Let me just grab your sheets then I’ll get someone to show you to your locker.’’

“That’s fine. I’ll find my way.’’

“Nonsense,’’ she says ignoring me before walking over to the printer. When she walks back with the sheets of paper, she pulls up something on her screen before writing whatever it is on a separate piece of paper. “Here is your map and schedule, and here is your locker number and key.’’

Taking all of the items from her I thank her and then stand awkwardly waiting for her to tell me what to do next, beings she offered to get someone to show me to my locker. The bell rings loudly making me jump and groan at the same time.
This is about to get real Harlow.

A loud boom of a male voice comes from the closed door behind me and I turn in time to see a female, who I’m presuming is the head teacher with her tailored suit and clipboard, walk out looking professional and slightly annoyed.

“I expect you to attend all lessons this term Max. If you followed in your twin brother’s footsteps we wouldn’t have to keep having these pointless meetings with each other.’’

“Miss, you’d die without seeing me for a day. I bet you missed me during the holidays, admit it,’’ the boy I’m presuming is Max says to her with a wide grin.

I gasp when he comes out from behind her looking like a college student instead of a high school student. He’s beautiful. Like, seriously fucking beautiful. He has dark brown hair, large shoulders, and I’m pretty sure under his school uniform he’s packing some serious muscle. Holy shit, what do they put in the water in this town? Holy freaking amazeballs. My mouth hangs open, clearly not in control of my body’s hormones.

“Ahhh, just the person to help me,’’ Miss Jean says grabbing my attention. When I see her looking over my shoulder at someone my body becomes tense and rigid. I know what’s coming before she even speaks. “Max, can you show Miss Evans here to locker 456 then to Mr. Rogers classroom?’’

“Anything for you, Miss Jean,’’ he replies in a teasing voice. When I finally turn around to look at him he gives me a wink. He’s looking at me like he’s going to eat me for breakfast. I’m hoping he’s already eaten because if he as so much as comes onto me, I’ll make sure he never eats again. “Come on love, I’ll show you to your locker.’’

“I can find my own way thank you,’’ hoping to get out of this.

“Harlow, I’m the principal, Mrs. Collins, it’s lovely to meet you.’’

“Nice to meet you too,’’ I say shaking her hand.

“Go on then you two, you don’t want to be too late on your first day,’’ Mrs. Collins says making me want to groan loudly.

“Come on Harlow, we’ll be best buddies by the end of the day,’’ Max says grabbing a hold of my hand. An odd sound comes from the back of my throat as he pulls me away from the safety of adults and into the deserted hallway where I realise I’m now alone with him. “What locker number did she say, I was too busy staring at your ass?’’ he asks bluntly, obviously not caring that he was staring at my ass.

“What?’’ I ask, pulling my hand out of his.

“I said I was staring at your ass, big deal. Loads of lads will so get used to it love. So I’ll ask again, what number did she say your locker was?’’

“Look, I think I’ll be fine to find my own locker,’’ backing away from him.

“Where’s the fun in that?’’ he grins snatching the paperwork from my hands before I have the chance to pull them away. “Oh you’re in my brother’s registration class, sweet. You’ll need to shorten your skirt to get his attention, and maybe unbutton a few buttons,’’ he says gesturing to my shirt with distaste.

My mouth opens in shock by his words. Do I really look like the girl who would roll her skirt up a few inches and unbutton a few buttons just to get a guy’s attention? I don’t even answer him because I’m worried about what I’ll say to him if I do. When it comes to people like him my mouth doesn’t have a filter and after what happened with the last person I ran my mouth off to, I’ve learnt my lesson to stay quiet. Sometimes anyway.

“You don’t speak, are you deaf?’’ he asks me, nearly bumping into me when he stops outside a locker. Looking over I see it’s mine. Breathing a sigh of relief and happy to finally unload the million and one books Grandma sent me with, I snatch the key back from Max without looking at him. I’m scared of what I’d do or say to him if I did. When he nudges me with his large shoulder, I realise he asked me a question. A stupid one at that.

“What has being deaf got to do with not talking? I’d be able to talk, just not hear you, you moron,’’ I say unloading all the shit from my bag.

“I see your point,’’ he chuckles. “Right, come on before Miss Stevens comes looking for me. She hates it when I’m not in her class on time. If it wasn’t for the fact she’s older than my Granddad, I’d be worried she wants a piece of me.’’

“Or maybe she is just annoyed at your lack of attendance?’’

“Nah, I’d go with my theory.’’

“Okayyyyy,’’ I say, waiting for him to show me to my form class. I lift my eyebrow, gesturing for him to lead the way, but he just stares at me making me feel self-conscious. “What?’’

“Oh, form class, come on. You have gorgeous eyes by the way. Fancy going out with me the weekend? We can go to my friends place. His mom works out of town a lot so he has the place free.’’

“Um, no thanks.’’ I mutter, thankful when he starts walking.

“Your loss babe, but because you’re new I’ll give you another week before I ask you again. Once you realize who I am, you’ll be begging me to take you out.’’

“I bet I will,’’ I grumble, relaxing when he stops in front of Mr. Rogers class. “Cheers for the pep talk, see you,’’ I tell him before adding ‘hopefully never’ under my breath.

“See you hot stuff. Don’t forget to roll that skirt up and unbutton a few buttons,’’ he shouts just as I open the classroom door, reddening when I realise everyone in the class just heard what he said when they all start laughing. I keep my head down as I walk over to the front desk where Mr. Rogers is sitting, looking annoyed at the door behind me. Already I’ve made a bad example when a girl in the front row mumbles ‘slut’ under her breath.

“Hi, I’m Harlow Evans; I started today,’’ realizing too late he already must know that.

“Take a seat Harlow. I’m just about to take the register before the bell to your first class goes. I hope Miss Jean gave you everything you need?’’

Mr. Rogers is a middle aged man. Probably the same age as my mom and dad are.
Were
. He has thick blonde hair, plump face and wears silver glasses. He’s wearing slacks with a fleecy jumper making him look professional yet casual. He looks kind, and seems understanding and obviously cares about being a teacher.

My last form tutor didn’t care about any of us. She never even stopped the bullying I received when in her registration class. Something about Mr. Rogers tells me he won’t tolerate that in his classroom, which makes me relax and instantly like him.

“Yes sir she did,’’ I smile before turning to look for a seat. I go to take a seat in the front next to a girl with greasy blonde hair, bad case of acne and a desk full of books. Thinking she’s my best bet I go to sit next her, but once she realises I’m heading her way she shoves her backpack on the chair next to her.

Great!

I don’t say anything as I walk past her, ignoring the stares from the other students as I make my way to the only other seat in the classroom that is empty, that I can see anyway. I’m too busy trying not to show my nerves to take a good look around. The empty chair is next to a lad who has my skin crawling already. Something about the way he grins at me while patting the seat next to him raises my hackles. Immediately I can tell sitting next to him for the rest of the school term is going to be torture and a huge mistake.

Placing my bag under the desk I take my seat next to the unnamed creepy guy without looking at him. I keep my head forward, listening to the teacher call out the names on the register.

“I’m Craig, but people call me Davis. What’s yours?’’ he asks invading my personal space. His breath smells like something that died and has me wanting to gag. It’s the horrible stale smoke smell from his clothes that has me heaving though and wanting to move away from his closeness.