Broken Hill Hurt (Broken Hill High 3)

“What the fuck?” Nate grunts under his breath as he follows behind me.

I get to Brooke and distantly realize my coffee is no longer in my hands, but there are more important things to worry about. “Are you ok?” I ask, studying her face.

“I’m fine,” she grunts out as she briefly looks at me and then at Nate over my shoulder. Her attention flies straight back to her locker and I realize she’s getting ready to bolt out of here.

“Brooke?” I say.

“Don’t,” she snaps. “I just want to be alone.”

“Are you sure? I’ll come with you.”

“No,” she demands, flinging her handbag over her shoulder and slamming her locker. “Just… I want to be alone.”

Disappointment flutters through me. “K,” I mumble, pressing my lips together.

“I’ll, um… I’ll call you later.”

“Alright. Let me know if you want me to come and I’ll be there in the blink of an eye.”

“Sure,” she says, pursing her lips. “I’ll see you later, k.” With that, she turns and heads for the door.

“Fuck,” I grunt, slamming my fists into the locker. “I’m going to kill him.”

I take off up the hallway, desperate to do some damage. I mean, today was supposed to be a great day. It started incredible, right up until Courtney realized that Brylee’s acceptance to Yale meant she was going to move away. Since that moment, this whole day has gone to shit.

Nate catches me by the arm and pulls me back to him. “Whoa,” he says. “What the hell is going on? What’s wrong with Brooke?”

“We just caught Max in the junior hallway all over some skanky whore.”

His eyebrows pull down. “Are you sure?” He questions, not wanting to believe that his cousin has it in him to mess up on the girl he insists he’s in love with, the same way his dad had done to his mom for nearly two decades.

“Yes, I’m sure,” I snap as the anger continues pulsing through me.

“Hey,” he soothes, pulling me into him and holding me tight. “Calm down. You’re not about to go apeshit on his ass. I’ll deal with him.”

“No,” I growl. “She’s my friend.”

“I don’t give a shit whose friend she is. He’s my cousin and you’re not about to get another suspension for fighting. That’s my thing. You have a future to think about.”

“And you don’t?”

“Tora,” he says, sternly. “Leave it. I’ll deal with it outside of school. For now, you need to calm down.”

I look away. “What if I kind of already hurt him?”

His eyes narrow on me as he tries to work me out. “What did you do?” he questions.

I let out a long breath. “I kneed him in the balls.”

“Shit, babe,” he groans trying to hold back a grin. “Is it wrong that turns me on?”

The bells rings as I roll my eyes. “You’re like a walking hard-on,” I tell him as I cross the hallway and grab my book out of my locker before making sure my phone is safely tucked away in my pocket.

I turn back to Nate. “I assume you’re going to go fuck around for ten minutes just to piss off Mr. Miller?”

A smirk cuts across his lips as he leans down as presses a soft kiss to my lips. “I’ll see you later.”

I melt into my locker as I watch him walk up the hallway. He looks back over his shoulder and sends me a wink that has me wanting to strip him bare and bite his sweet ass.

As the hallway starts clearing out around me, I realize I’ve been daydreaming about Nate for a little too long and get a move on.

I push through the door of my first class for Monday morning and collapse down into my chair. It’s lonely here without Brooke, but I’ll have Nate here soon. As I wait for the class to fill, I pull out my phone and send her a quick text.

Tora – Remember I love you. I’ll come over this afternoon and we can drown our sorrows in ice cream and chocolate.

Brooke – You have no sorrows to drown.

Tora – I’ve turned into Jesse’s BFF. I have plenty of sorrows.

Tora – I kneed Max in the balls btw.

Brooke – Good. When I see him, I’m going to knee him into next year.

“Tora,” Mr. Miller’s voice calls out. “Put the phone away or it will be mine.”

Tora – Shit. Got to go.

I slide my phone back into my pocket and settle in for the lesson. “Alright guys, your break is over. This is the second half of your senior year and it’s time to get serious,” Miller says. “Open your books to page 89 and we’ll get started.”

I start flicking through my textbook when the door of Miller’s classroom opens wide. I look up and see Nate strolling through with a knowing grin on his handsome face. I can’t help but shake my head at his performance which always manages to push Miller’s buttons in just the right way.