Collide: A Riverbend Novel

COLLIDE: A RIVERBEND
NOVEL

Copyright © 2014 J.L.
Hackett & Sara Daniell

This book is a work of
fiction. Characters, places, and things that happen are all
fictional. This book may not be reproduced without written
permission from the author.

ISBN-13: 978-0615952956
(M&E Publishing)

ISBN-10:
061595295X

All rights
reserved.

Visit the authors on
Facebook:

J.L. Hackett

https://www.facebook.com/pages/JL-Hackett

Sara Daniell

https://www.facebook.com/saradaniellauthor

To all the
misfits.

Rock on.

HAVOCK

F
allout Boy. That's whose voice was blaring through my earbuds
as the bad omen stepped out of the back of her driver's black shiny
piece of plastic that probably cost more than my parents house. I
tried not to stare as she self-consciously tucked a few strands of
her long dark curls behind her ears, but I couldn't help my stupid
self. It's a shame something so fine was kept in hiding for so
long. The skirt she was wearing showed enough of her legs to make
my imagination run wild.
If only it were a
tad shorter. . .
I felt an elbow plow into
my side. I pulled my earbuds from my ears and frowned.

"Damn, Havock. You're gonna
bite a hole in your lip. What has your attent-" Jude stopped
mid-sentence when his eyes landed on her ass. He inclined his head
just enough to get a better view. He smiled in appreciation. "That
my friend is the definition of perfection."

"Or insanity." The bell
rang and we grudgingly headed towards the school building. "She's
like something expensive on display. So shiny you can't help but
stare, but if you touch it your mom will beat your ass. She's bad
news, man."

"Ah, you don't believe all
that shit do you?"

"No, but I plan on staying
as far away as possible. That girl is nothing but trouble. Talk
about family drama..." I opened my locker, got the few books I
needed, then looked at Jude who had a neighboring locker. I started
to say something to Jude but low and behold there she stood in
front of us, apparently lost.

She whispered below her
breath to herself.

I couldn't help but laugh.
"Talking to yourself won't help your already shattered rep in this
town," I said before reminding myself that I'd made a promise to
myself earlier in the year to do better about filtering the things
that came out of my mouth.

A tear fell down her cheek
as she clutched her books tightly against her chest causing her
cleavage to show a little more from her v-neck shirt. Of course the
universe would put something so perfect on this Earth that was too
crazy to get close to. It was punishment to men everywhere. She
only made eye contact with me long enough to make me feel like a
total dick then started down the hall.

"She'll never survive in
this school," Jude said as he shook his head. "They'll chew her up
and spit her out before the week is over."

"Before the day is over," I
concluded.

I walked into Speech and
saw her sitting at the back nervously drawing on the back of her
notebook. I groaned a little when I noticed I'd be sitting right
behind her. It wasn't her fault that she had such a bad rep. She
was the daughter of the Mayor who went mysteriously missing, and
her mother was murdered when we were in elementary school. And
there she was. Untouched. I agree, something seemed odd about that,
but something also told me she was innocent. But my intuition
sucked and definitely wasn't enough for me to want to be anywhere
near her. And dammit, now I'd have to sit behind her.

I took my seat and watched
from behind as she continued to scribble. I was sure she'd use up
all the ink in that pen before first period was over. And damn. Did
she really have to smell so good? I leaned back in my seat and
looked toward the front as Mrs. Sanders started to
teach.

"Just a few reminders about
your debates coming up in a few weeks. I will split you into teams
before class is over. I think it's going to be a really good
experience for you guys. The debate topic will be about school
uniforms. One team will be given the task to oppose them while the
other will be for them," Mrs. Sanders smiled at us all then turned
to write our daily discussion question on the board.

As she wrote, Janzy turned
around to look at Reese. "You must be brilliant. Being able to get
away with murder and all." Reese continued to draw, never looking
up. "So why don't you play nice and just tell the police where our
Mayor is. Or do you enjoy this game of hide and seek? Did you bury
him? Is he locked in a dungeon somewhere?" Janzy
giggled.

I rolled my eyes and
started tapping my pen against my desk. At least school would be
somewhat entertaining now. And I’ve only undressed Reese six, no
eight times, in my mind since we’ve been in class.
I chewed on my bottom lip. I messed with my lip
ring with a slight grin on my face.
This
year might not be so bad after all.

The bell rang and I grabbed
my things, slinging one strap of my backpack over my shoulder. I
stopped and waited for Reese to pack up her things so I could
leave. She was blocking the way, and I really needed to sneak a
smoke before my next class.

“Any day now would be
nice,” I mumbled.

She never paid me any mind
and continued taking her precious time. I scoffed.

“Seriously, princess? You
won’t be treated like royalty here. You could at least let me go
around you.”

She never responded. She
finally moved out of the way, and I cursed as I walked around her.
Who the hell did she think she was?! There was no way I’d get a
smoke in before the next class. I sulked into my math class and sat
at the back.

The teacher announced to
pass the homework to the front. Just as the paper slid from my
hand, my name was called over the intercom. What had I done
now?!

“Havock Satterly, you are
needed in the office.” I raised a curious brow. I grabbed my things
and left the class. When I entered the office, Mrs. Wells held the
phone out toward me. I pointed to myself. She nodded. Weird. I
didn’t have a missed call on my cell phone.

I held the phone to my ear.
“Hello?” I asked with hesitation.

“Hey, sweetie. It’s mom. I
lost my phone and well, I couldn’t remember your cell number. Bad
mom of the year award goes to me, I know,” she giggled. “Listen, I
need a huge favor.”

I leaned against the desk.
“O-kay?”

“You know the Mayor's
daughter?”

I groaned. “Who
doesn’t?”

“I need you to bring her
home today after school.”

I laughed in shock. “To our
house?”

“Yes. Poor thing was placed
in the system when her father went missing a week ago. She needs a
place to stay where she’ll feel loved and safe until her father is
found.”

“Shouldn't you be asking
Garrett to do this?”

“He can't. He already has
plans. I’ll explain later. I need to get back to work and you need
to get back to filling that brilliant brain with knowledge. Love
you, Havock.”

I hung up. I was
speechless. I’d have to invite the bad omen into my old as hell
Chevy and into my home. Mom had that high
pitched
, you’re not gonna like this but
you can’t talk me out of it
, tone and it
had me worried. I decided not to go back to class. I needed a
cigarette in a bad way. I went out the back door near the gym and
stuck my hand in the side pocket of my backpack, pulling out my
pack of cigarettes. I set my bag down and leaned against the wall.
As I inhaled, I held the smoke in my lungs. I thought about all the
possible scenarios of why this girl would be coming home with me.
Just as I exhaled, the door opened and long dark curls came running
past me. I dropped the cigarette on the ground and put it out with
the sole of my shoe. I barely got two hits in. That girl was
determined to keep me from smoking.

“Hasn’t anyone told you
that you can’t run from your problems?” I called after her as I
snatched up my bag and caught up with her.

I watched her hands grip
the straps of her bag tighter causing her knuckles to turn white. I
should have been more sensitive to her shattered emotions. She had
been through a lot. She could thank my snarky attitude to the lack
of nicotine in my system. When the color left her cheeks and she
swayed on her feet a little, I caught her just in enough time
before she hit the ground. She started apologizing in a whisper as
I steadied her back on her feet.

"Maybe I should take you to
the nurse?" I offered as she hugged herself tightly.

She shook her head as she
continued to apologize over and over again.

"Are you sure? I mean, you
just almost face planted in the dirt."

She blinked her eyes a few
times before actually looking at me. "I...I didn't eat," Is all she
said as she looked away.

I could have pressed her
for more answers. Like, why was she running? And, where exactly was
she going to run to? Instead I shook my head and held out my hand.
"Havock Satterly."

She took it tentatively,
her hand shook. "Reese Johnson, but you probably already know that.
I'm also known as Murderer and Bad Omen," her voice not much more
than a whisper as she spoke to me.