Broken Hill Halo (Broken Hill High 2)

“What the hell is happening in here?” we hear a stern voice questioning.

We all stop and turn to find my mom standing in the kitchen, gaping at us like we’ve gone mad.

I’m about to stutter out an apology when Jesse steps forward with a mischievous gleam in his wicked eyes. “Well, hey there, Mrs. Roberts,” he says with the can securely in his hands.

Mom starts shaking her head. “No,” she says in horror as she takes a step away from him, followed by another. “Don’t even think about it.”

He grins wide. “Too late.”

“RUN,” I yell.

Mom takes off with a scream and Jesse follows behind. She laughs and I can’t help but laugh with them. I haven’t seen mom this happy in ages, and to think it’s because a delinquent teenager is chasing her with a can of whipped cream.

We hurry after them, desperate to save my mother from Jesse’s torturous game, but let’s face it, this game won’t be over until my mother is covered from head to toe.

Ten minutes later, we stand around the pool, looking at the cold water below. Nate holds my hand beside me. “We just have to do it.”

“Or we could all get naked and get in the shower,” Jesse suggests.

“For the last time,” Brooke says. “I’m not getting naked with you.”

“Yeah,” Nate grunts. “I see your dick flopping around enough as it is. I don’t need to see it more than I already do.”

“Thanks,” mom grunts on my other side with a horrified cringe. “I could have done without that mental image.”

“No problem,” Nate laughs.

“Alright,” she says. “On three. One. Two. Three.”

I take a deep breath and launch myself off the edge. I crash into the freezing December water as the cream is washed off my skin and clothes. I push up and break the surface before taking a needed breath. “Holy shit,” I gasp as the cold water rocks right through to my core. “That’s freezing.”

Laughter taunts me and I turn around to find mom still up on the edge of the pool, looking down at all us suckers, shivering in the water below. “You guys are such idiots,” she says before turning away. “I’m taking a hot shower.”

Half an hour later, we all sit in the den. Brooke and I wear a pajamas while Nate and Jesse sit wrapped in bright pink Snuggie blankets mom had seen and ordered off an infomercial last year.

We sit back and Nate explains to mom why they are here and she looks at us, realizing that we know that she knows what the big secret is. “I’m sorry,” she says after a moment of consideration. “It’s not my place to say. You need to talk to your parents.”

“I figured that much,” Nate says.

“I’m assuming you boys are staying here for the night?” she questions. Nate and Jesse both nod their heads and mom pushes herself up off the couch. “Alright. I’ll call Trish. I’m sure she’s worried,” she says. “But you guys are on dinner duty.”

With that, she walks out of the den and I fall back into the comfort of Nate’s Snuggie. “You know she going to make us sleep in different rooms,” I tell him.

“Yeah,” he sighs. “That won’t be happening.”

Chapter 19

I sit in the cafeteria, glaring at Phoenix from across the room as Elle sits quietly beside me, still a little unsure about speaking up amongst my group of friends, though, she shouldn’t be. They’ve pretty much accepted her straight into our group after she had my back and warned me about Phoenix.

The girls chat to themselves and I completely zone out, way too tired to function after Nate kept me up all night. The boys have been gone since this morning on their mission to ransack their home, looking for information on their dad while trying to figure out his nasty little secret. They should be back soon, but knowing them, it’s a very real possibility that they’re just going to skip the rest of the day.

I tap my fingernails on the table, desperate to know if they know anything, though, it’s not like it’s any of my business, but the pitying way mom looked at them last night tells me it’s bad. Hell, all night I was fighting the need to go and beg mom for some answers, but I know better. She’s a loyal friend to Trish. Always has been, always will be. She wouldn’t crack, not even if her life depended on it.

The cafeteria doors swing open and just like I have every other time, my eyes swivel towards it. My hopes plummet once again as a junior walks through the door. I let out a sigh of frustration. All this parent bullshit is too much.

As I turn back to my friends, I catch a pair of eyes across the room, staring back at me. Jackson grins and winks, sending a shiver down my spine and making my skin curl as it reminds me of what he said to me yesterday. I mean, he’s seriously confused if he thinks I’m going to give him the time of day. I tear my eyes off him, absolutely hating the guy and focus every bit of my being on the girls’ materialistic conversation.