Broken Hill Hearts (Broken Hill High 4)

A drink gets thrust into my hand and I thank whoever put it there. Tonight is incredible. I’ve got the best buzz going, all my friends are here, and I’ve had an incredible day, apart from the welt I’ve got just below my belly button from Nate’s stupid paintball.

I wriggle my way between the dancing bodies and come up beside Brooke. “Are you planning on keeping this one?” I ask over the sound of loud music.

“Oh, yeah,” she grins. “For the night that is.”

“Ok. Be careful,” I tell her. “We don’t need another pregnancy scare.”

“WHAT?” a harsh demand comes from behind us. Brooke and I spin around to see Maxen gawking at her in shock. “You were fucking pregnant?” he yells, getting in her face and making the new guy scurry away, not wanting any part of this.

Whoopsie. Should have kept my mouth shut.

“I wasn’t fucking pregnant,” Brooke spits at him, pushing him back out of her face. “Mind your own damn business.” She turns to me. “Thanks a lot.”

I hold my hands up in innocence and slowly start backing away. “Sorry,” I whisper, hoping she’ll forgive me. This is not where I want to be right now. So, I do the only thing left for me to do, I scram.

Chapter 11

I stand by the drinks table filling a glass of water. After dropping that bomb, maybe it’s time I cut back on the alcohol and start acting like a decent adult, you know because that’s what I am now. An adult. Ugh.

“Water?” a deep voice questions as a heavy arm is thrown over my shoulder. “What the hell are you drinking that for? It’s your birthday, you should be finishing the night by hurling in the bushes. Give something for that douchebag of yours to clean up in the morning.”

“Can I help you?” I ask Jackson without bothering to look up as I drop a few perfectly circular ice cubes into the water. I bring the cup up and take a little sip. “Mmmmmm,” I groan, loving how the cool water manages to help my spinning head. Yeah, definitely time to cut back on the alcohol.

“You good?” Jackson laughs.

“Yeah,” I grin. “Is there something you need?”

“Yeah, actually, a few things,” he says. “For starters, you can tell me where the hell Jesse has taken my little sister. I can’t find her anywhere, and I swear, if I find out that he has her locked in his bedroom somewhere, I won’t be able to control what I do to him.”

“Ok…. pick something else.”

“What?” he grunts.

“Let’s be honest,” I tell him, nudging him with my elbow. “Kaylah isn’t a little girl and if she’s managed to get Jesse’s attention, then that little girl you once knew is now a wild, foxy, minx. So, it’s probably best you don’t know where they are because I can guarantee that Jesse is probably buried balls dee-”

“Stop” he demands, “I cannot hear this.”

“That’s what I thought,” I chuckle. “Now, what else do you need?”

“Elle.”

“What?” I grunt.

“Look at her, dude,” he says, using his arm over my shoulder to rotate me and force me to take in Elle dancing with Courtney and Brylee. I mean, he’s not wrong, she looks incredible. She’s pretty damn hot if I say so myself. She has the eyes of every guy here on her and I’m sure it’s driving Jackson insane.

“You realize she isn’t an object?” I remind him. “If you want her, then you have to win her over and fast because she’s not going to stay single for long. I mean, every guy here is staring at her like she’s their next meal. In fact, you better get in there and save her from them.”

“How?” he whines.

I shrug my shoulders and push his arm off me. “Figure it out, dude,” I laugh. “I’ve got my own problems.”

“Yeah, you do,” he scoffs. “You’re a hot mess.”

“Shut up,” I grunt, “or I’ll be forced to remind Elle that you were screwing Phoenix.”

His whole body shakes with disgust. “Ugh,” he groans. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“You were thinking you wanted to screw the head cheerleader like every quarterback should be doing.”

“Yeah, big fucking mistake,” he grunts, reaching around me and plucking a new beer off the table. “I’m out of here. I need to work my magic.”

“Good luck,” I call after him. “You’re going to need it.”

Jackson turns back and winks before disappearing into the crowd.

I turn back to the table and refill my glass of water that somehow emptied itself out over the past two minutes. “What’s going on?” Nate says as he moves in beside me. “Is Jackson trying to steal my girl again? I’ll kick his fucking ass you know.”

“Chill out,” I laugh. “He wants an ‘in’ with Elle. You’re safe. My ass is still yours… for now.”