Untouchable: Haven Falls (Book 1) Read online

  We go through security guards like the football team plows through condoms and cheerleaders. Haven Falls isn’t exactly a great school, it’s nothing like our neighboring town, Broken Hill, which has it all. The money, the fancy cars, the mansions. Here in Haven Falls, we’re considered ‘the other side of the track.’ We’re the working class people, the people who struggle to get by, the bad apples.

  Haven Falls Private is our school and really, I’m not really sure it deserves the title ‘Private.’ It’s a dump. Most of us attended the public school, but two years ago, over the summer, a brutal fire tore through the school and burnt it to shreds. We had a choice to either enroll in the public school a million miles away or attend Haven Falls Private, the school for the doomed.

  Dad couldn’t bring himself to put me in the public school far away. I was only young and couldn’t drive, not to mention, his work made it hard. So instead, he works his ass off so we can afford the school fees, though I don’t know where they go. The school is in serious need of an upgrade, or at least some touch ups.

  It’s my senior year and so far, we’re only a few weeks in, but I can tell, this year is going to suck. All I want to do is see graduation and get the hell out of here.

  I slip in through the back of the school and head straight for the girls’ locker room in desperate need to fix myself up before anyone sees me. The school looks deserted and it’s clear that everyone is already in homeroom.

  I walk into the locker room and head straight for the mirror. There’s mascara running down my face making my usual lively, blue eyes seem dull and boring, while my golden hair is an absolute mess. I quickly fix myself up and throw my hair up into a bun, pleased that I have hair that just seems to ‘work.’ I can do just about anything with it and it still manages to look like I’ve spent hours perfecting my messy ‘beach hair’ vibe.

  The clothes though…I don’t know what I’m going to do there.

  I pull a hair pin from my bag and break into the closest locker before scrambling through the items. This is clearly a cheerleader’s locker, but it doesn’t matter to me. They’re all stuck up bitches anyway.

  I find a plain black tank and thank my lucky stars that it’s clean. I briefly look around the locker room and confirm it’s empty before stripping off the wet jacket and ruined tank. I’ll have to deal with the wet jeans for the day. Besides, I doubt I’ll be able to find a pair of jeans in this locker room, and even if I did, I’m not wearing any panties. I don’t exactly want to share where my lady taco is concerned.

  I pull the black tank over my head and cringe at how low it sits over my tits. It’s completely showing them off. I’m confident enough to admit I have nice boobies, they’re full and perky, but I’m not exactly one to show them off.

  I slam the locker door and pick up my wet clothes off the bench before marching out of the locker room, pleased that I was able to salvage my look for the day. My jeans are still soaking, but unless anyone actually touches them, they won’t be able to tell.

  My body shivers from being in cold, wet clothes all morning and until the sun really has a chance to warm this green earth, I’m going to have to deal with it, and hope my classrooms for the day have turned on the heating.

  I trudge up the hallway, hating the feel of my wet socks in my boots. I get to my own locker and put in the combination before opening the door and throwing my wet clothes in the bottom. I put my bag up top and am just pulling out my books for my first class when a voice calls from down the hallway. “Get to homeroom, Henley.”

  I glance down the hall to see a scowling Mr. Jacobs, my extremely frustrating Calculus teacher. He’s a douche, just like most of the guys around here. Not to mention, he’s having an affair with the librarian while his wife struggles at home with their newborn twins. He’s a real winner.

  I salute Lord Douche and turn my back on him, slamming my locker closed in the process.

  I tuck my books under my arm and head down to homeroom, knowing I’m only going to be in there for a few minutes before the bell rings for our first class of the day.

  Pushing through the door, every eye turns in my direction and naturally, I ignore all of them. I walk forward and without a word, slide the pink detention slip off Miss Jameson’s desk, not bothering to look up to see the scowl on her face.

  I find my desk, drop my books down beside me, and take a seat before leaning back and sticking my legs out and crossing them at the ankle under the chair of Rebecca Limwits in front of me.

  If only I had some headphones right now.

  As I wait for the bell, I work on tearing the little pink detention slip into tiny little pieces. School stinks. Believe it or not, I actually used to enjoy coming to school. I used to have friends. I used to love that the guy who held my heart was here, not that he ever knew… or well, if he did, he never acted on it.

  Kaylah and Jackson Millington. They were my life. My support system, until they were nothing.

  Kaylah was my best friend. We were friends since we were kids and that friendship only grew as we did. Every secret I had, every problem, every thought was shared between us. We were just that close. Hell, I considered her a sister. The added bonus…she had a brother. A damn sexy one. A brother who, still to this day is the only guy I’ve ever wanted.

  Jackson Millington, quarterback. He was the star of Haven Falls Private. He was a bad boy. He raced. Every girl wanted him. He was just…everything. Until he wasn’t.

  Kaylah and I used to joke about all the girls constantly fawning over him, and to be honest, we used to get bullied like you wouldn’t believe. We were the girls who got to be close to him. We got what they all wanted and for that, they hated us. We were bullied and teased, but we had the protection of Jackson and the rest of the football team.

  The three of us had an inseparable bond, the only downfall was that he thought of me as a little sister. I hated it. It killed me to watch him dating and whoring around. What I wanted most in this world was for him to think of me as…more.

  Things changed.

  For just one night, he didn’t think of me as a little sister. I was more. We were both drinking and Kaylah was home sick. He had taken me home to his place as my dad was home and would have killed me if I’d stumbled through the door smelling like a bar. I don’t know what had happened from there, but something did. He kissed me and it was incredible. One thing led to the another and before I knew it, we were crashing down onto his bed where I finally felt what it was like to be with Jackson Millington.

  It was incredible.

  His body moving against mine. He was gentle with me, knowing it was my first time. It was sweet and sexy at the same time.

  Until Kaylah stormed her way through the door.

  She hated me. I could see it in her eyes. She thought I was like all those other girls who used her to get close to her brother. She never knew how I felt about him, but I went a long way in making sure she didn’t. She would have hated the idea of us together.

  In her eyes, I’d betrayed her in the worst possible way, and in that moment, I saw the regret flashing over Jackson’s eyes. That moment everything changed.

  What was so incredibly special for me, was just another random girl for him to regret.

  By the time school came around on Monday morning, neither of them were there and I haven’t seen them since. That was maybe eight months ago. Kaylah ignored my texts and I didn’t bother trying with Jackson. He had gutted me and I’ve never been the same.

  I still can’t believe it actually happened. The sweetest moment of my life was turned into the worst in a matter of seconds. I just…I need to see him just once. There are so many questions in my head, all of which I’m sure I won't like the answers to.

  Jackson would be starting college now and rumor has it that he’s found ‘the one’ and is destined for greatness on his college football team. I don’t doubt it for one second. When it came to football, he was simply the best. But the idea of him falling in love with someone else�
�I simply can’t handle it. I had always dreamed that it would be me. That he was waiting until the right time to claim me as his own. What a disturbed little fool I was.

  Kaylah though, apparently, she’s dating the king of Broken Hill High, Jesse Ryder. I heard the guy was a douche so I don’t know what the hell she’s doing with him. I’ve never actually met the guy, nor do I want to. I’d also heard he was the biggest manwhore in Broken Hill, you know, right after his older brother, Nate.

  Good luck to her.

  So, now…it’s just me left here to fend off the bitches of Haven Falls Private by myself without a best friend’s comfort or the protection of Jackson and the football team. Now, it’s a free for all and all they’ve ever wanted was to see me break.

  The only good thing that has happened to me over the past eight months was when summer came around. It gave me a chance to escape the whispers and taunts, but now that school is back and I’m a senior, it’s all come back with a vengeance. I swear, every fucker and their dog thinks they know what went down, which means they blame me for Jackson leaving. Without Jackson, the football team had no chance in hell.

  Well, fuck ‘em.

  The bell rings and I get up, scraping my chair across the floor as I go. I grab my book off the desk and leave the room, leaving the mess of my pink detention slip behind.

  By lunch, I want to drown.

  Today sucks. I’ve had some skank ram her elbow into my ribs in the hallway, some jerk jock requesting me to sit on his dick because losing my virginity to Jackson Millington means that I’m now the designated Haven Falls whore, and to finish it all up, I’ve had the whole cheerleading team do a spontaneous performance in the quad, specifically to call me out as a loser.

  FML.

  I will not break. I will not break.

  Holy hell, I think I’m going to break.

  Usually, I can handle this shit. I’m strong. I have a backbone from years of being tortured by cheerleaders and skanks wanting to get in with Jackson, but it’s been hit after hit since I woke up. Slept in. Dad gone. The state of my home. The truck. Those stupid jocks in the car. The list goes on and on.

  I walk into the cafeteria to the familiar noise of one hundred students’ murmured conversations. If I keep my head down, I might just make it out of here alive.

  I line up to get myself some lunch and sigh as I notice that all they have on offer today is spaghetti Bolognese. I mean, isn’t this supposed to be a private school? Shouldn’t there be a whole selection of meals, all healthier than the one before?

  I take my bowl of spaghetti and turn towards the tables, spying one in the back that looks lonely enough so I can avoid talking to anyone. I start beelining towards it when someone grabs a fistful of my hair and jerks me back with a hard pull.

  “That’s my fucking shirt, bitch,” a prissy shout is yelled in my ear, as I screech out, desperately trying to release my hair.

  I whirl around and come face to face with none other than Candice McGillies. Fuck me, out of all the lockers I had to break into, it had to be hers. Jackson’s on again/off again girlfriend for the past two years. You know, excluding when he left to go to Broken Hill, they were seriously over then, which naturally, she blames me for.

  Candice stands around a circle of cheerleaders, but I don’t let that stop me, especially since the back of my head is hurting. I’m pretty sure she ripped out a good chunk of hair.

  I hold the spaghetti in one hand and bring up the other, slamming it so hard into her chest, she flies back a few steps. “Don’t you fucking touch me, whore,” I tell her, deciding I may as well own it. “It’s my fucking shirt now.”

  Her eyes widen as she flies back, but her friend, Monica, catches her and quickly balances her. Candice surges forward, getting back in my face. “You don’t know who you’re messing with.”

  “Sure, I do,” I scoff. “You’re the captain of the cheer squad. The biggest whore in school. You’re in the prime of your life. Tell me, where do you go after this? College? No,” I laugh. “I doubt that. This is it for you, isn’t it? This is where you peak. It’s all downhill from here.”

  “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” she tells me with a twisted grin. “You’re the one with nothing. Where are your friends, Henley? Where’s your little protection detail now? Oh, that’s right. You fucking screwed it and he ran the fuck away.” I scowl as she continues. “Jackson told me he only fucked you because he was sick of you drooling every time he walked into a fucking room. You know, get it over and done with.”

  Fuck, that hurt. My fingers clench down on the bowl of spaghetti as I try to keep my calm. “Really?” I laugh. “Because he told me you were a lazy screw. You’re all about that starfishing.”

  She scoffs, stepping into me even more. “If I was such a lazy screw, why did he keep coming back? Over and over again. Tell me, did he come back for seconds with you? Hell, were you even good enough to bother finishing the first time?”

  Breaking. Fucking. Point.

  My jaw clenches as my hand tightens firmly on the bowl of spaghetti. I rear back and launch the bowl forward with everything I have, determined to put the bitch in her place.

  In the blink of an eye, Candice is ripped out of my face and thrown back a few steps as a body is shoved between us. “What the fuck is-”

  Too fucking late. The momentum is too strong for me to stop and the bowl of spaghetti is slammed hard into the chest of Noah Cage.

  Gasps and whispers are heard throughout the room before dead silence.

  “Shit,” I gasp, wide eyed. What the hell have I done?

  Noah’s green, fuming eyes look down at the spaghetti falling off his chest in chunks before he turns his glare on me, his muscled, tattooed arms twitching with fury as he clenches and unclenches his fists.

  My heart races as my mind scrambles for something to say. “I…”

  Noah Cage is King Fucking Shit at this school. He’s what Jackson used to be and what Jesse and Nate Ryder are to Broken Hill. He’s our resident bad boy. What he says goes, and I just put spaghetti all down his shirt in front of the whole fucking school. Not to mention, his bitch of a girlfriend, Monica, is standing here too, watching on, probably about to claw my eyes out for embarrassing her boyfriend in front of his school.

  Shit.

  Noah and his friend, Rivers, are the two guys you don’t want to mess with. They’re larger than life, dangerous, dark, and mysterious. The two of them rule this school and to be honest, they’re the kind of guys you don’t want to meet in a dark alley. Well, at least Rivers is anyway. No one really knows much about him and I have a feeling he keeps it that way on purpose. I couldn’t even tell you his first name.

  Add Noah’s twin sister, Tully, to the mix, and you have the most feared pack in Haven Falls. The three of them are fucking lethal. When they work together, they’re unstoppable. No one enters their group and no one gets out.

  Noah’s the pack leader, always up front, the face of the group, where Rivers is the loyal servant, ready and willing to put anyone in their place if they step even a toe wrong. Don’t be fooled though, Noah is no stranger to handing out a beat down, but I get the feeling Rivers enjoys it more. Tully though, she’s the silent assassin. She’s the voice of reason and I don’t doubt the glue that holds the boys together, or at least, holds them back from landing their asses in jail.

  People everywhere have been trying to break into their ranks and I’m not surprised when they fail each and every time. They’re impenetrable. It’s like an exclusive club that no one has the password for.

  And I just put spaghetti all over Noah Cage. I’m fucked.

  I just put the biggest fucking target on my back. I might as well walk down to the morgue, climb up onto a table, and wait for the inevitable. Hell, I’ll sign my own death certificate just to speed up the process.

  My mind continues to scramble as all eyes watch on with interest, waiting for Noah to deliver his smack down. Not a sound rumbles through the caf
eteria. Not silverware against the cheap china, not the lunch lady yelling at kids, not even the sound of one hundred kids breathing.

  Dead fucking silence.

  All I hear is the rapid beating of the pulse in my ears from the fear that’s quickly claiming me.

  I shake my head as I try again. “I…” You know what, I’m already screwed. I might as well go out with a bang. “Well, that will teach you for putting your big fucking nose into someone else’s business.”

  Noah looks taken back as he watches me. I might even go ahead and say that he looks impressed. “Excuse me?” he scoffs adjusting himself to face me more directly, really showing off his sheer size to appear like the scariest shit to ever come out of Haven Falls. But beyond that, he looks surprised to see at least one person in this school has the balls to give him attitude.

  I straighten myself up and raise my chin, challenging him. This is the face of someone who has nothing left to lose and no doubt he senses that. “You heard me,” I tell him, ignoring the way his tall, muscled frame seems to hover and intimidate.

  I pause for a moment waiting to see what he’s going to do. Those green, fuming eyes travel up and down my body before focusing on my face as a grin lifts the corners of his lips. I hate what he sees. Smudged mascara framing blue eyes that have nothing left to lose. Dirty hair and borrowed clothes. I’m a mess and no doubt, he’s about to point it out to the whole school.

  “Well,” he says, appreciatively. “You’re a little spitfire, aren’t you?”

  Say whaaaat?

  Monica squeaks beside him and instinctively slides her arm around him before turning a ferocious glare on me. Just great. He added fuel to the fire. Now they’re all going to think I’m trying to steal her boyfriend and tear me to absolute shreds. Just fucking great.

  Noah’s eyes move from mine and it’s like a weight lifting off my chest, finally allowing me to gasp for breath. He turns to Candice, his grin disappearing and quickly replaced with a less than enthusiastic scowl. Noah takes in her narrowed glare before indicating to the spaghetti at his feet. “Clean this shit up.”