Mr. Heartbreaker: Black Mountain Academy

I back away slowly, pulling Parker along with me.

“Wait, aren’t we going to talk to them?”

“No need. That girl’s not alone. She’s making her own family,” I tell him, rubbing my hands together against the cool night air.

“But—”

“She’ll be fine. But you should probably work on getting your brother’s head out of his ass before he misses his shot at a good thing.”

“He’s young, Ida Sue. Young, dumb and full of—”

“I’ve raised enough boys to have my own baseball team. I get that. But good girls aren’t that easy to find. If he doesn’t wake up and see what he’s pushing away, your brother will know regret. You mark my words.”

“Does this mean you’re going to stop messing around in my love life and concentrate on my brother’s, Ida Sue?”

“You wish,” I laugh as we get back in the vehicle. “Now what’s this I hear about pretty little Faye wanting to move to Alaska?”

“It’s not important,” he says, his face going tight.

Lord save me from strong men who can’t handle their feelings.

“Boy, I may not know much, but I know Alaska doesn’t have a baseball team—”

“Ida Sue, please,” he sighs, but I just pat him on the shoulder.

“What we need is a game plan. You listen to me, Parker, and that girl will be yours in no time.”

“You’re not going to let this drop, are you?” he complains, not bothering to hide his exasperation, but he’s not fooling me. Parker would try anything if it meant he might get to keep Faye.

“How do you feel about kidnapping?” I ask him as we pull back on the road.

“It’s illegal,” he snaps.

“Pfft…,” I wave it off. “Only if you get caught. And I watch those true crime stories. You can get out in a year with good behavior.”

“A year? Ida Sue, I’m not kidnapping Faye,” he growls, flipping on the radio.

Geez, he’s not going to make this easy.

Maybe I need to talk with Faye instead.23MikeI fucked up.

I know I did, but I have no idea what to do about it. It’s been two days since Violet left the house and I’ve made things worse by not going after her. Instead, after she left, I was even more boneheaded and drank some more. Then I woke up with the fucking king of all hangovers. So, while Violet was dancing for whatever the fuck trudged into the Beaver, I was lying in bed, dying.

I’ve not seen her all day here at school, either. I’m only here for her. I should have left hours ago and gone to her place. The only reason I haven’t is because I don’t really know what to say to her. I was an idiot, an asshole, and in the end, I was just another dumbass drunk, jealous that she was standing near the man that everyone in my life had always compared me to.

A man that I’ve always come up short against.

“I guess it didn’t work out, did it, Mike?” Lindy whines.

“What didn’t work out?” I mutter, wondering how I didn’t notice Lindy’s voice was so irritating before.

“You, trying to get with the new girl. Oh well, don’t try coming back to me, either. I’ve moved on. I hear Parker is single these days,” she replies with a snide smile.

“You’re crazier than hell if you think my brother would want anything to do with you, Lindy.”

“Not your brother, idiot. Parker Hale,” she snaps, mentioning BMA’s star quarterback. I roll my eyes, because Parker only has eyes for the new girl, Demi, but if that makes Lindy Parker’s problem and not mine, I’m good.

“Then shouldn’t you go bother him?” I sigh, frustrated that class is almost ready to begin and there’s still no sign of Violet.

“Gee, Violet putting in a transfer really has you acting even more hateful than normal. Fine, I’m out of here. You can watch my ass walk away because I know how well you used to like it. You can kiss that goodbye, too,” she mocks, but I ignore everything she says, except for one thing.

“Hold up,” I snap, grabbing her arm and pulling her back around. I don’t do it gently, either, but I don’t really care. “What are you talking about? What do you mean that Violet put in for a transfer?”

“She dropped off the request this morning in Mr. D’s office when I was in there. I heard Ms. Jansen mention she was putting in for a transfer to some no-name school in California,” she laughs.

She keeps talking, but I ignore her. I’ve only got one thing on my mind. I’m going to find Violet and find out what in the hell she’s thinking. Then I just might spank her ass. I get she’s pissed at me and I get that I’ve pushed our connection, but this isn’t how you handle things. She’s not allowed to run away.