Path of Destruction (14 page)

Hayden stood and made his way to the end of the aisle; apologizing to people he stepped on along the way. She didn’t look up as he lowered himself into the seat behind her so he leaned forward.

“Hey, angel face. You forgot to save me a seat.”

Ella Jane made a small noise of discontent and glared at him over her shoulder. “No, I didn’t.”

“Come on now. You mean to tell me you’d rather sit with them than me?” He gestured to the girls beside her. They were practically giving Ella Jane a unified death glare. “Yeah, I guess I can see why.”

A bald teacher Hayden didn’t have came by and told their section to quiet down. No one paid attention to him.

Ella Jane rolled her eyes. “Hayden, honestly, I don’t know how to be any more clear. Do you want something? Because I’ve already got detention for a week when we get back from break for skipping class, so the last thing I need is another one tacked on for being disruptive during this assembly.”

“Yes, because I’m sure the information being presented will be riveting. I want to talk, Ella Jane.”

“About what?” she hissed under her breath. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Sure there is. I know you know by now that Cami and I were not together this summer. So if that’s your reasoning for—”

“It isn’t. My reasoning is exactly what I told you it was. I’m a different person now. Too much has happened, and no matter how much you text or call or harass me at school, the girl you’re looking for is gone.”

“The girl I’m looking for is sitting right in front of me. What I can’t figure out is why I know this and you don’t.”

“Clearly you’ve had a much better education than me,” she said drily.

“Well you’re here now,” Hayden teased. “So maybe you’ll learn a thing or two.”

She turned completely around in here chair to glare at him. Which was pretty much what he’d been hoping for minus the evil eye.

“You know what really surprises me? That you haven’t changed at all. You’re still the same arrogant, self-centered ass that showed up expecting everyone to drop to their knees because the mighty Hayden Prescott had arrived.” She paused to huff out a breath. “Well guess what? This time you don’t get your way. No matter what you say or what your deal with the Princess of Summit Bluff is or was,
I
don’t want to do this with you. I just want to be left the hell alone. Okay? Can you understand that?”

Her breath was coming faster and he could see the pain shadowing her face.

“Baby, I…” Hayden leaned forward.

“No,” she said, her voice wavering for the first time. “I am not going to be anyone’s baby. Not now and probably not ever. Just…stop. If you care about me at all, just leave me be. After break, I’ll be back in Hope’s Grove, where I belong, and you can forget we ever met. That’s what I’ll be trying to do.”

Her words struck him hard and fast, like being bitten repeatedly by an angry viper.

She turned around and pulled her knees to her chest in her seat. The girls beside her looked at her like she’d sprouted additional limbs.

“What a freaking head case,” he heard one of them whisper to her friend.

Hayden sighed and leaned back in his seat. Yeah, she kind of was. But she had reason to be. And even if was just in his mind, she was his head case.

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,” their principal greeted them over the loud speakers. Dr. Campbell was overweight, overbearing, and sporting a majorly obvious comb over. “We want to first congratulate you on your success this semester. Combining rival schools was a risk, but we couldn’t be happier at how smoothly the transition has gone. Perhaps the storm that destroyed Hope’s Grove High was a blessing in disguise.”

Hayden saw the tremor that rocked Ella Jane’s shoulders.

The auditorium remained deathly silent.

“Secondly, we want to wish you all a safe and happy holiday break. Regardless of your religion or beliefs, we hope that you will enjoy your time with your friends and family.”

Some kids from the AV club wheeled out two giant projection screens and placed them on either side of the one that lowered electronically from the ceiling as the lights dimmed. Vice Principal Gleeson stepped over to the podium and her voice reached a dramatic hushed level.

“And now, the reason we’ve called this assembly. We have a very exciting announcement to share with you.”

Hayden leaned forward. He could see that Ella Jane remained rigid in her seat. Her sweet sunshine-and-floral scent surrounded him and he ached to reach out to her. Whatever was coming was big, and since they’d called the tornado that had taken several lives a blessing, he had a feeling it wasn’t good.

He was right.

“Hope’s Grove students,” the administrator at the podium continued, “We would like to formally welcome you to Summit Bluffs High School. Permanently. Instead of returning to your local community center to be crammed into small rooms while trying to learn in an environment that will hardly be conducive to doing so, we have petitioned the school board to allow us to use the insurance funds to build an additional wing here at Summit Bluffs. In addition, we’ll be building a larger football stadium and field house as well to accommodate our expanding athletic teams. This week, we learned that our petition has been granted.”

Applause broke out across the room when large-scale images of a new wing, stadium, and field house were revealed. Athletes whooped and hollered. People stood on their feet.

But Hayden ignored them. Because the only person whose reaction mattered had stood up and walked out.

He closed his eyes and contemplated following her. Consoling her. Telling her it would be okay and that he was here for her and that she didn’t have to be so completely miserable at Summit Bluffs.

Her words repeating in his head stopped him.

“If you care about me at all, just leave me be.”

He didn’t know if this was possible, but he cared about her enough to try.

“D
on’t fucking threaten me,” Hayden heard his dad say into the phone. “I can have that entire town bought and sold in under a week.”

Judging from the acidic edge to his father’s razor sharp voice, now was not a good time for Hayden to mention that he wasn’t entirely sure where his grandma was.

Holiday break had been a nightmare. Hope’s Grove First Baptist Church was taking a break from the rebuild, which left Hayden at home more, trying to steer his grandma clear of trouble. For whatever reason, his dad had been more on edge lately—on his case more about not having taken as many risky bets on ball games in the fall and how much more he’d have to book during basketball and baseball season.

“I got that kid to shave those points, Richie. I can do it again if I have to. Stop hassling me about this bullshit.”

Hayden backed slowly out of the kitchen. But before he was out of earshot, he heard one more statement he wished he hadn’t.

“Nickelson is in my pocket. Hell, my son even sticks it to his daughter on a regular basis. The money for the stadium is as good as ours and the fundraiser cover-up is already in place.”

Hayden closed his eyes. The comment about Cami made him sick to his stomach. Had he chosen Cameron for himself or had his dad? He honestly couldn’t remember that far back.

“That town is beyond worthless. Seventy percent of it is still rubble. I’ve had most of the insurance claims delayed by a buddy of mine at Countywide. It will be bulldozed and turned into strip malls before those people can blink.”

What the hell?
Hayden stepped around the wall blocking him from his dad’s sight.

“Wow. Pops would be so proud, Dad. Really.” He could feel his blood pressure rising and the need to hit something made itself known.

“Just a minute,” Kevin Prescott said to his son, giving him a palm-up gesture for hold on.

Hayden was familiar with it. It was the “you aren’t worth my time right now” signal he’d been receiving for most of his life.

“Yes. Richie, I’m on it. Have I ever let you down?” His dad laughed his fake ‘running for office’ laugh before disconnecting the call. “Now. What can I do for you son?”

“I don’t know, Dad. Grow a conscience, maybe? How about a soul? You think they sell those where you shop?”

His dad scoffed. “What’s got you up on your high horse today?”

Hayden shook his head. “Do you ever even think about what would happen to our family if you got caught? I mean, seriously think about it.”

Kevin Prescott laughed again, more genuinely this time. “Hayden, I’m going to impart some valuable wisdom on you right now. You ready?”

Hayden glared at the man he was ashamed to share DNA with.

“Here it is. Life is what you make it. Either you go after what you want or you watch it slip through your hands while you cry like a little girl. Which would you prefer?”

“I’d prefer to get what I want without screwing anyone over. Pops had a good life, plenty of money, and yet he managed to keep his pride and dignity intact. How about you, Dad? Which decade do you think you left your integrity in?”

His dad side-eyed him. “This about a girl, son? Because let me tell you, they’re a dime a dozen. If Nickelson’s daughter has you all worked up, drop her. There are plenty of fish in the sea.”

Hayden briefly recalled something his grandmother had said during one of her episodes. “Yeah? Like you dropped Penny Haverty? Wait, it’s Penny Cooper now, right? Did you drop her, Dad? Or was it the other way around? ‘Cause the way I heard it—”

“I don’t give a goddamn what you heard. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop asking questions and avoid mentioning that family’s name in this house.”

Hayden didn’t miss that his father’s bravado was completely diminished. “And if I don’t?”

His dad smirked, but the lines around his eyes remained. “If you don’t, you might not like what you find out.”

“Whatever. Have you seen Gran?”

His dad glared at him. “No. I haven’t. Did you lose her again?”

Hayden nearly growled. He was seventeen. He played varsity sports and had made rebuilding the town his dad wanted to bulldoze a full-time job. But yeah, he would be the only one in this house that gave a damn.

“I’ll find her,” he bit out through a clenched jaw. “And by the way, I hope prison stripes are flattering on you, Dad.”

Hayden headed upstairs to check the guest room and see if his grandma had wondered back in there. The rustling noise coming from his dad’s office made him nervous. He had just heard his dad telling someone not to threaten him after all.

He pulled the door open as gingerly as he could, careful to not make much noise. What he saw surprised and confused him.

“Gran? Looking for something?”

His grandmother looked up from the papers she been filing through, eyes wide and startled. “I-I was looking for Kevin’s birth certificate. He needs it to start preschool.”

Hayden sighed and walked around the desk. His dad’s book full of bets and debts was wide open. Thank God his grandma wasn’t of sound mind or that would’ve been a major catastrophe. He closed the book and reached out an arm to lead her back to her room.

“It’s okay, Gran. I’ll take care of it.”

She smiled with watery eyes and let him lead her out. “Thanks, Hayden. You’re such a good boy.”

It wasn’t until after he’d tucked her safely into her room with some hot tea that he realized how odd it was that she’d called him by name. If she thought his dad was preschool age, how did she reconcile his existence?

He was still trying to work out the many mysteries of the mentally ill mind when he was putting his dad’s books back in the safe. A book from the previous year fell open and Hayden’s eyes landed on familiar name.

Mason.

Brad Mason, Ella Jane’s dad, was listed several times. Out of curiosity, Hayden flipped through several months’ worth of pages.

Brad Mason was a gambling man, and not a particularly successful one. He’d win a little and then lose big, bigger than big. In just the short period of time Hayden flipped through, he’d lost more money than Hayden suspected the lawn care business made in a year. No wonder he’d been so touchy about keeping Hayden away from his daughter. He probably didn’t want her to know he’d gambled her future away.

Just as he was locking the safe, his cell phone rang, startling him. He was relieved to see Cameron’s face on the screen.

He didn’t mind hearing about her latest family drama. He practically looked forward to it. It would be a much-needed reprieve from his own.

T
he turquoise waters called to her as she walked down the long stretch of sandy beach that was behind the resort she’d been forced to visit over Christmas break. Her mother had surprised her with tickets to St. Tropez during their nontraditional Thanksgiving dinner at Summit Bluffs’ newest fusion restaurant. The old Cami would have been thrilled with having dinner as a family because it was something they rarely did, but the new Cami—the post-storm Cami—would have rather sat up in her room with a bucket of cold fried chicken and a
Pretty Little Liars
marathon.

“Aren’t you excited?” her mother had asked as they were taking their first-class seats on the plane. “I know how badly you wanted to go to St. Tropez last summer.”