Lads & Lattes (High School Clowns & Coffee Grounds Book 1) Page 12

  "I love Lush," I added as we walked into the fragrant store. The aesthetics of the shop were cool and a bit edgy with brightly colored bath bombs in different shapes contrasting sharply against the dark charcoal and black of the containers and labels. “I’m just happy the house we’re renting has a tub in my bathroom so I can use them.”

  Lyla nodded an enthusiastic agreement before focusing her attention back on the products. I followed suit, my attention landing on a few bath bombs that caught my eye. I read the little tags saying what they were made with and what they would be best suited for. Chuckling to myself, I grabbed several meant for relaxation and a couple of their Halloween specific ones. I debated getting some of their lotions, but I still had a large container that I had bought right before we moved. A little pinprick of homesickness bubbled in my chest, reminding me of the local shop I had loved to go to for the lotions and perfumes that were made by a woman who lived one city over.

  “Emma!” Lyla calling my name helped me push away the negative emotion and the signature prickling of tears building in my eyes. “You ready to check out?” I nodded and paid quickly for my things. Lyla hadn’t gotten anything, settling on just sniffing all the products while I had browsed.

  “So, now where?” I asked, my eyes darting from one store to the next. I hadn’t been to this mall before. Since I spent almost all my time outside of school either at work or doing homework with the boys, I never really had the chance to come explore it. We made small talk as we were walking aimlessly through the hallways and window shopping. After our second loop through this wing of the mall, we headed into one of the clothing shops.

  “So,” she started as she browsed the rack, “tell me about pre-Nebraska Emma. Who was this mysterious Cali girl?” She struck a dramatic pose with her back bowed and hands clasped under her chin. “Was she the popular girl all the boys swooned for? Or…” She tossed on a pair of fake glasses from one of the displays and gave me a dorky smile. “Was she a nerd? A band geek?” She put them back gently onto the plastic stand while I answered, breathless from laughing so hard at her dramatics.

  “I guess you could consider me as popular.” I shrugged, unsure. “I got good grades and everything, but I wasn’t in band or any of the academic clubs. My friends, however, were typically focused on gossip, so I usually ended up dragged into the middle of everything that was being talked about,” I explained, fiddling with one of the necklaces on display. “This might sound terrible because they’ve been my friends since I was in diapers, but since coming to Nebraska I’ve found more ‘real’ friendships. You know?”

  “I definitely hear you there,” Lyla agreed with a nod. “One thing that also helps is once you’re out of high school a lot of that pettiness and gossip doesn’t typically mean anything. Granted, I’m working full time with one online college course, so I’m not sure if it’s the same in college, but I’ve found it’s a lot better since I graduated.”

  “When did you graduate?” I asked as I pulled a red plaid scarf off the rack to check the price. Lyla held up a pair of simple hoop earrings and glanced at herself in the mirror.

  “This last spring, so it’s not like I’ve been out for a while, but I worked at Coffee Grounds since I turned 16, and as soon as I could I switched to full time.”

  “Is that what you want to do?” I put the scarf back as I talked, swapping the red out for a gray and white patterned scarf that reminded me of my bedspread.

  “I don’t know,” she hummed. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she tilted her head to think about the question. “I really do love it. Maybe look into promoting to management. I know the owners were looking into expanding to have another shop, so maybe I can get on there.”

  “That’d be pretty cool,” I agreed. We paid quickly for our items, me with the scarf and Lyla with a pair of sleek sunglasses and the small hoop earrings, before heading out to get some food from the food court. Hopping in line, Lyla ordered what she wanted and stepped off to the side while she waited for her food.

  “What about you? What does Emma Clark, barista extraordinaire, want to be when she grows up?” I chuckled at her extravagant title before I paid for my slice of pizza.

  “I’m not sure.” I nibbled on my lip in thought. “I want to get a business degree, but I’m not sure what I want to do with it really. Haven’t given it too much thought, was more thinking about getting into the college classes and then kind of picking from there when I see the concentrations and what I fit best with.” She nodded sharply before taking a bite of her slice that had just been passed to her.

  “That’s smart, no use in deciding on something if you don’t think you’ll like it.”

  “Exactly.” I beamed at her. My slice was passed to me, the hamburger pizza making me smile. Reid would be so proud, I chuckled internally, I’ll text him about it later. We spent the rest of the hour wandering a bit more, the conversation and bond between us having grown tighter during our shopping trip.

  Nebraska is definitely not looking so bad.

  10

  October 12th

  So… much… homework… hahahelpmehaha

  #IsItGraduationYet #NotFunnyFriday

  The rest of the week had gone by horrendously slow. The amount of homework I had been assigned had kept me up later than I was used to in an attempt to finish it on time. The mid-term tests in several of my classes on Thursday and Friday had worn me out with the length of studying I had done each night, but now it was officially the weekend, and I only had to study over the course of the next two days for a short quiz on Monday in Civics.

  My mom was still working ridiculously crazy hours, but she had finally gone to the store last night and picked up a couple of things, so that was better than nothing. My stomach growled at the thought of food, but I decided to hold off until we were at the haunted house place the boys demanded we go to tonight.

  Checking my phone, I felt my jaw clench when my dad hadn’t messaged me back at all today. I had spoken to my dad approximately three times since we moved away, each being through text, and only then as a couple of not-so-detailed messages. I was at the point I didn’t want to even bother with talking to him if he couldn’t give me more than one worded answers. The feeling of loneliness had built to higher levels unless Reid, Kingston, and Jesse were with me. Spending time texting Lyla, Aubrey, and Zoey the last couple weeks helped a bit when I was alone, but the silence of the house was suffocating even with the sound of my music playing.

  A text from Reid let me know that they were out front to pick me up, having decided to drop off their bags at Reid’s house before getting me since they were all staying at his house tonight. I glanced once more in my mirror to check my outfit; my black fleece jacket was layered on top of my thicker peachy-pink sweater, while my chunky knit gray scarf was wound around my neck. The weather had chilled in the last couple of days, and my California blood wasn’t used to the biting wind, so I made sure to also wear knee-high boots and tall socks. Grabbing a pair of gloves and a knit beanie, I stuffed both into my purse on my way out the door.

  “Hey, Emma,” Kingston greeted as he got out of the passenger seat. His smile made my heart flutter within my chest. In a poor attempt to hide my blush, I fiddled with my hair and bangs, using my hand to hide my cheek.

  “Hi, Kingston.” I smiled up at him and sank into the front seat. Reid’s bright smile flashed my direction as I buckled. “Hi, Reid. Hi, Jesse,” I added a bit louder over my shoulder towards the silent boy in the backseat.

  “Hey there, Cali girl,” Reid responded before pulling out of my driveway. We were fairly quiet, Reid and Kingston the only ones talking on the drive to our destination. I watched the neighborhood and houses give way to fields, the road turning from paved cement to dirt and gravel the farther from town we got. The haunted house we were going to had several attractions like a scary corn maze, haunted castle, and a few other things you could go through as well as bonfires and a couple of food and drink stands. The sun was just starting to
set when we pulled into the lot. Tall yellow corn stalks lined the perimeter of the place, and two workers stood under the entrance sign with wristbands and cash boxes.

  “Four unlimited please,” Reid asked when we reached the gate. He held out enough money for all four of us even though I hadn’t given him money for mine. I opened my mouth to say something, and Kingston’s hand came to my back, his beard rubbing gently against my hair.

  “There’s no use arguing, Emma.” He chuckled at my pout. “None of us will let you pay when we’re taking you out.” I was glad it was getting dark and that the main lighting throughout the space was from the bonfires because it helped conceal my blush that once again spread across my cheeks.

  “Here you go.” The guy who held out the wrist band was about our age. I was pretty sure he went to our school or I had seen him around when I was out with the boys. I pulled up my sleeve so he could secure it on my wrist; his bright blue eyes were focused on my face. “You have fun,” he murmured as he winked at me. The action put me on edge, and a wave of sharp tingles ran down my spine as the feeling of hairs standing on end emanated from the back of my neck. Reid must have seen the movement because his arm slipped around my shoulder to comfort me.

  “Come on, Cali girl,” he whispered, nudging me away from the guy with the intense blue eyes and wavy light brown hair who continued to stare as we walked away. “Sorry, I didn’t like how he was looking at you,” Reid muttered in my ear as we got farther away from the entrance. I smiled up at him, his face so close to mine I could feel his minty breath on my skin.

  “I didn’t either, feel free to rescue me whenever you want,” I teased.

  “You got it.” He squeezed me to him. Jesse and Kingston had already gotten in line for food and drinks by the time we joined them. After ordering a hot dog and some hot chocolate, we made our way over to one of the open bonfires and sank onto the hay benches. Reid seemed to know so many people, saying hey or waving at pretty much any teenager who passed us. Kingston knew just as many, but his greetings were usually a nod or a single wave. Like me, Jesse focused on eating and not interacting with anyone else.

  I wonder how someone so anti-social ended up with what seems like two of the most well known guys within the city.

  “I love Halloween!” Reid practically shouted when he finished his food, his hands clapping in front of his chest. “It’s my favorite holiday.”

  “I like it too, mainly cause all my birthday parties were also costume parties which is super fun,” I explained. I tipped up my cup and finished up my hot chocolate. Reid’s head whipped to face me at my words. Kingston’s coffee brown eyes centered on my face as Jesse slightly angled himself over toward where I was sitting.

  “When’s your birthday?” Kingston asked before Reid could. I chuckled at the pout Reid sported, his bottom lip curling out in an undeniably adorable way.

  I gave them a sly smile. “October 31st.”

  “Oh, my god! Your birthday is on Halloween? How did we not know? Must plan a party,” Reid hollered, although the last statement was more muttered to himself than to anyone in particular.

  “How old are you going to be?” Kingston asked nicely, completely ignoring Reid’s outburst.

  “18. I just realized I have no idea how old any of you are.” I turned to them expectantly.

  “Kingston’s the oldest, he turned 18 at the end of August,” Reid explained. “Jesse’s the youngest, he’ll turn 18 in April. I’m 17, and my birthday is in December.”

  “I’ll need the exact date, so I can get you a present and plan you a party. Kingston, your party will have to wait until next year since I got here late.” I gave him a cheeky smile making him laugh. Reid agreed quickly, but only with the stipulation he could throw me a party in return. “I suppose. Nothing super crazy,” I shouted after him as he darted to the trash can to throw away our cups.

  The next couple hours were spent bouncing between the different ‘haunted’ attractions which, to be honest, were quite entertaining, and hanging out near the bonfires. We ran into a few different people we knew from school, and by we, I mean Reid, who was sweet enough to introduce me. I had just left the bathroom when I ran into something solid.

  “Oh, sorry,” I started as hands caught my arms to keep me from falling. My heart rate picked up sharply when I looked up into the worker from the front’s bright blue eyes. “Didn’t mean to run into you.”

  “No worries, just glad you didn’t get hurt.” His tenor voice was smooth, but the way he stared at me still put me on edge. “You didn’t get hurt, did you?” I shook my head trying to take a step back, but his hands kept me from going too far.

  “I better get back to my friends.” I attempted to hedge around him again, but the blue in his eyes seemed to sharpen dangerously as I shifted.

  “Emma.” Kingston’s smooth tone was a blanket of safety as he stepped up next to me. The creep from the front finally dropped his hands and took a step back, his smile friendly as he looked over at Kingston.

  “I’m Brad.” The worker stuck a hand out to shake. Kingston obliged him, unaware of how edgy Brad was making me.

  “Kingston,” he said politely. “We best be going back to the rest of our group. Nice to meet you.”

  “You too.” Brad smiled, but when he turned to me, something in his smile made me want to cower. “Try not to run into anyone else, Emma.”

  “I’ll do that.” I edged around him and practically yanked Kingston along when I grabbed his jacket.

  “Woah, Emma. What’s wrong?” He pulled me to a stop after we were away from the creepy worker.

  “Something about him was weirding me out. Reid hadn’t liked how he was looking at me at the gate earlier either,” I whispered, leaning into his chest so I couldn’t be overheard. “I don’t know how to describe it, but he scares me.”

  “It’s all right,” Kingston cooed softly while wrapping his arms around me, his hand rubbing my back in long, soothing strokes. “We’ll make sure he stays away from you from now on. He goes to our school, I recognize him from some old classes and parties. Come on, let’s go get the others and head out. We’ve hit all the attractions anyways.”

  After finding Reid and Jesse, we left. Reid was angry, his normally exuberant attitude nowhere to be seen in his harsh frown and hard eyes. He continued to scan the crowd for the worker, but he wasn’t anywhere to be found among the attractions or at the gate when we passed. Jesse looked pissed, similarly to how he did with Veronica, but I worried he would actually punch Brad when he found him. I felt terrible because we had had a great night until this situation.

  “Emma,” Kingston murmured to me as we got out at my house. The car ride had been completely silent, the tension stifling as we drove home. “Everything’s okay, I promise. No one is mad at you, baby doll,” he assured me quietly. I felt my eyes well up at the attempt to comfort me. I nodded and headed into the empty house, alone again. The silence emanating through the hollow walls was the last straw, and I crawled into bed and cried, falling asleep to the suffocating silence that was only broken by the quiet sound of my tears.

  October 13th

  Today, I will think of nothing to do with last night.

  No creepers or tense silences with my boys.

  #AllTheFizzyBathBombs #SelfCare #StressFreeSaturday

  My mom was busy working in her office the next morning with plans for some kind of party at this new hotel for one of their clients and would be staying the night. That meant another night home alone.

  Awesome… not.

  I had tried to talk to her, but she was too focused on her computer and paperwork to pay attention to me so I gave up after a few measly words. I spent the rest of the morning taking a really hot bath with one of my new bath bombs to try and soothe the jagged edges inside me. It worked, at least a little bit, and soaking in the tub and wearing an exfoliating mask helped to de-puff my face after spending so long crying last night. I felt a bit better this morning since Reid had messaged saying h
e was sorry he had gotten so upset, that it wasn’t at me but at the guy from the haunted house place. I knew that it wasn’t my fault and that he wasn’t mad at me, but it was still nice to hear it in the light of day. Knowing that any of the guys would say that after they’d had the night to cool down and get some space made me feel much more secure that they truly meant those words.

  I alternated between studying, watching some TV, and getting ready for the party that the boys were dragging me to tonight. Studying wasn’t too bad since the information was pretty straight forward, and it was just a quiz not a test. After several hours of doing that, my hair was styled in loose curls and my makeup was done a bit more dressy than usual with some eyeshadow, and I had actually painted my nails. Although it was a plain black, it was still more than I usually did.

  “I’m heading out, sweetie. I’ll see you tomorrow,” my mom hollered down, “be good and let me know when you’re back from hanging with the boys!”

  “All right, bye, Mom. Love you!” I yelled back up as I pulled out my outfit.

  “Love you too!” I heard the sound of the door quietly closing and the click of the lock as she left to meet her ride. Turning my attention back to my closet, I tried to decide what I wanted to wear, startling when my phone started to ring fifteen minutes later.

  “Hey.” I put the phone on speaker, setting it on the bookshelf next to my closet so I could focus on the array of colorful fabric. “What’s up?”

  “We’re heading to your place.” Reid’s voice was far away but loud enough that I could understand him, meaning he was on speaker. Knowing them, Kingston was holding the phone between them. “You ready?”

  “Almost, just trying to figure out what to wear.”

  Reid chuckled. “So you’re a nakey Emma?” he teased, making me roll my eyes.

  “No,” I lied. Well, it technically wasn’t a lie since I was in underwear and a bra. “Is it going to be inside or outside?”