Broken Hill Halo (Broken Hill High 2)

“How thoughtful,” I grunt with sarcasm.

He winks before pulling up a chair of his own and forcing me and Brooke apart. “So, what’s going on?” he asks the table.

The girls fall into easy conversation with the boys and I push up out of my chair before heading over to the barista to order a new drink. He takes my order and I lean back and wait against the counter, realizing that there are far too many people scattered around the table for the barista to have to navigate with a hot beverage in his hands.

Laughter comes from the table and I can’t help but smile. I love the way my two groups have merged together. At the beginning of the school year, these two groups wouldn’t go a mile within each other, but now, they’re partnering up and forming great friendships.

I absolutely love it.

The barista hands me my latte and I stand back to take a few sips before risking taking it anywhere near Jesse again. I get back to the table and pull out my chair as Jesse’s phone starts blaring on the table. I can’t help but look down and see Nate’s name scrawled across the caller ID. A pang of jealousy cuts through me which is completely irrational. I mean, they’re brothers for god sake. Of course, he’d call him every now and then, but I kind of wish it was me. I always wish it was me. When I’m not with him, I desperately wish I was.

What have I become?

“Yo, fucker,” Jess says as he accepts the call and puts the phone to his ear. He looks across at me and throws an arm over my shoulder with a grin. “What’s up? You’re disturbing my hot date with Tora.”

“Ugh,” I groan as Jesse goes quiet. I push his arm off my shoulder and am surprised when he doesn’t put up a fight. I look over and watch as his eyes widen in shock.

“Fuck,” he curses before flying up out of his chair. “We’ll be there in a sec.” Jesse hangs up the phone with the attention of every last person at the table. “Puck got jumped,” he explains in a rush.

Within a matter of seconds, every last coffee is abandoned as six bodies try to scramble for their belongings and hurry out the door. I see Jesse’s Range Rover parked in front of Brooke’s Mercedes and I find myself running towards it, knowing Jesse is going to get to the hospital a lot faster than Brooke.

I climb in the front seat as Tyson hurries into the back. He slams the door and before I know it, I’m latching onto the handle as Jesse pulls out into the traffic. “Shit,” Tyson curses from the back. “Who would fucking do that?”

“I’ll give you one guess,” Jesse grunts.

“The quarterback,” he replies.

“Which one?” I question, looking across at Jesse.

His eyebrows pull down, but it’s Tyson who responds from the back, “Good question.”

We pull up at the hospital and hurry through the doors of the ER. I find Nate sitting in a corner beside Maxen, leaning forward on his elbows and I rush towards him. He hears me coming and stands up just in time to catch me. “What happened?” I ask as I search his horrified face.

“He got jumped. I don’t know,” he says as he looks over my shoulder at Jesse. “I was halfway home from school when he called. He said something was wrong with his car. It wasn’t starting, so I turned around to get him, but when I got there, he was on the ground covered in blood.”

“Shit,” I cry as my eyes well with tears. “Is he ok?”

“I think so,” he says as he pulls me into his chest, though I don’t know if it’s for my sake or for his. “He was passed out, but it’s bad. He’s cut up and bruised. His left arm is broken and I’m pretty sure he has some broken ribs.”

Crap. Crap. Crap.

Jesse steps back from me and curses before sending his fist through the drywall. “Fuck, I asked him to come with us, but he said no.”

“Blaming yourself isn’t going to help shit,” Nate snaps at him.

Just then, the girls come hurrying through the door and crowd around us. Courtney has heavy tears in her eyes and is demanding Nate give up every last detail, though, he can’t tell her anything more than what he’s already told us.

“Shit,” Nate curses a moment later as two older people come rushing through the door. I release my arms from around him and watch as he goes to meet the couple. I’ve never met them before but it’s clear these are Puck’s parents. The woman pulls Nate in for a quick hug before talking to him for a bit, probably trying to piece together what the hell is going on.