Broken Hill Hurt (Broken Hill High 3)

Chapter 1

I push back from the table and fly out of my seat as I save my phone from being drenched in Jesse’s caramel latte. It’s all over the table, quickly spreading. “Fuck,” Jesse grunts as everyone scrambles for their belongings not wanting to risk them being covered in the yummy goodness.

I mean, I love that I’ve gotten Jesse addicted to Carter’s Coffee House, but sometimes his carelessness is not always welcome, especially now as the latte begins to dribble off the side of the table and hit the floor, making it splash up against my legs.

Nate grabs someone’s car keys as Brooke starts throwing napkins at the brown liquid, but her aim is shocking and they go everywhere but the spilled drink.

Damn it, why couldn’t he have spilled it when it was nearly finished? Instead, the latte was scalding hot and as full as can be.

People are rushing around and the table looks like a coffee massacre, especially when Brylee knocks over her drink in her haste to save her purse.

All of this within the space of three seconds.

I quickly realize that the four napkins Brooke is throwing down on the table aren’t going to be enough. We’re going to need some paper towel, cleaning products, and probably a mop. I step back and my legs instantly get tangled with my chair and my handbag at my feet.

I start to fumble as I lose my balance. My arms begin flailing around as my torso wobbles back and forth. Hell, I’m sure I’m even pulling one of those faces you see in slow motion videos when people are about to eat dirt.

There are too many bodies moving around and nothing to save my fall. With my chair right behind me and my body weight thrown to the side, there’s literally nothing I can do.

I’m going down. Hard.

“Fuck,” I screech as I fall. My hip catches on the edge of Nate’s chair and I feel a sharp pain ripping through me. I crash down to the ground while knocking into Nate and sending him flying forward towards the table.

Caramel latte drips off the table and lands on my face as Nate flicks himself around and gapes at me on the ground. I clench my eyes together and squirm myself away from the hot drink. Holy fuck, that hurt.

Nate is there in the blink of an eye. He hooks his hands under my arms and pulls me straight up off the ground. “Fuck, babe,” he says with wide eyes as both Jesse and Elle’s booming laughter rebound off every wall in the room. “Are you okay?”

I mentally check myself as coffee drips off me. I must have only been down for a fraction of a second, but it was enough to cause some damage. My hands hurt, my head hurts, my right knee hurts, and my hip stings like a fucking bitch.

I cringe as I try my best to tune out their laughter. Reaching down, I pull the hem of my shirt up and get a good look at my hip. “Fuck,” Nate curses as he takes in the instant bruise that has begun spreading over my hip.

Nate rubs his thumb over it and I shrink back. “Don’t,” I cry as the pain brings tears to my eyes. I try to blink them back, but they’re here for the long haul. “It hurts.” I look up at him to see him trying his hardest to hold back a grin. “It’s not funny,” I demand, yanking myself back out of his hands as the first tear falls.

“I’m sorry,” he says as his grin widens. “But, it kind of is. I mean, you went down like a sack of shit.”

“Thanks,” I grunt, pushing myself back into my chair and ignoring the spilled drinks covering the table. That’s Jesse’s fuck up so he can deal with it now. I’m done. I try to relax into my chair but the pain in my hip is just too much.

Nate’s grin disappears as he takes me in. He crouches down before me and I can’t help but pout out my bottom lip. He raises his hand and places it against my cheek. “Do you want me to get ice?” he questions as I lean into his touch.

“No,” I sigh as everyone continues fixing up the mess around us. “It’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” I say, looking up at the worry in his eyes. “Can we just get out of here?”

He cringes before looking down at his phone and checking the time. “I don’t know,” he says. “I think we should wait a little while longer.”

I let out a heavy sigh and nod my head. Nate and Jesse’s dad is officially moving out of their home today and while that’s the best news to hit the face of the earth, it’s not exactly something the boys want to be home to witness.