9. Jasper Ridge

9

Jasper Ridge

I saw red as my fist connected with Nate’s jaw. That bastard had pushed her into the way of the surfboard as it fell over the banister. That fucking bastard . He would pay for that with blood.

As if sensing my trail of thought, Jakson and Lia were already by my side, pulling me off Nate and a good few steps away from him.

“ Aw , need your little whore to save you now, Jasper? When you’re done with her, pass her along will ya? Don’t be greedy now,” the sick bastard smirked, wiping his fingers across his busted lip before running his tongue along the edge, soaking up every drop of blood I’d busted out of him, his eyes not once leaving Lia’s.

“You piece of shit!” Jakson roared, already on him like a lion going in for the kill before I could even strike a fist. I could’ve sworn everyone watched as Jakson completely obliterated Nate until he was gasping for breath and falling to his knees. A smirk tugged at my lips at the sight. “Say that again, I fucking dare you! Go on, tough boy, say it !”

Certain that I wouldn’t join in, Lia left my side and attentively rested her palm on the back of Jakson’s back, gently tapping with her fingers. She rose onto her tiptoes, brought her lips close to his ear, and whispered whatever it was that brought him out of those tunneled vision, kill modes of his. It reminded me of Natasha Romanoff’s lullabies she used on the Hulk to turn him back into Bruce Banner.

Except, Jakson wasn’t a monster. He was just a kid.

Since I’d known him, Lia was the only one who had ever been able to pull him back to the present—to calm him down and bring his mind back to her.

She pressed a chaste, gentle kiss to the side of his jaw, and immediately his shoulders softened at her touch. His arms fell from their strangling grip on Nate, who crumbled to the floor, gasping for breath.

“You,” he rasped, “will be paying for this, Calloway. You too, Ridge. When my father hears about—”

“How you called Lia a whore?” Jakson interrupted him.

“Or how you pushed Poppy in front of that surfboard?” I finished.

Coach would most definitely have our asses for this when he found out we’d beaten the captain of our biggest surfing rival’s team.

“This is not the end of this,” Nate grumbled, fixing his busted jaw.

Jakson and I ended up on equipment cleaning detail more often than not. As soon as the guys hear about it, they laugh and dip as fast as they can before either of us can rope them into helping us.

Occasionally, Lia comes down to the surf school to help out. Mostly by bringing us freshly baked treats and sandwiches. Last time, she placed her plastic container on the table and within minutes, my teammates and I had already scoffed down at least two sandwiches each. She chastised us about our unattractive eating habits but the proud smile on her face told me that she was more than delighted that we loved her cooking .

I remembered back when the guys first joined the surf team, I was hesitant about letting them get close to her, fearing they’d hit on her and try to get her to suck them one but she’d convinced me—well, more like straight up demanded that I stopped being an overprotective prick and let her decide whether she wanted to meet them. It was hard for me, though, because she was the closest thing to a little sister I’d ever had. And I wanted to protect her, you know? I just wanted what was best for her.

Even after what she’d said to me, I did end up giving my teammates harsh words about even thinking about sleeping with her. She was still a minor. They all agreed to never push it that far, except Jakson, who was constantly jesting with her and riling her up in any way he could. Out of everyone on the team, Sonny knew he was the only one who could get away with such things without getting his bones shattered at my hand, and he did not waste an inch of time to abuse that power.

Xander, Lachlan, and Kai always hugged her whenever she came into a room, always praised her and her baking skills. They tried to encourage her to come more out of her shell, taking her along to parties and game nights when they could, something Sonny and I had been trying to get her to do for years.

At the movie nights they crashed, they were always on her side on what film to watch, which drove Jakson up the walls having to sit through another cheesy Rom-Com she’d watched at least a hundred times already. I was pretty sure her favorites were How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days and Set It Up .

I was happy that my guys accepted her like she was the unofficial little sister of the team, and I knew everyone here would go to war on her behalf if anything were to happen to her.

“Hey, beautiful,” Nate drawled as no one other than Miya fucking Scott approached him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“Let’s go home, baby. I’m tired of looking at all these losers. It’s giving me a migraine.”

If there were two people I hated most in the world, it would be them. Nate because he was a downright prick and surfed like the dirty cheat he was, and Miya because of all the things she’d said and done to Poppy over the years.

Miya was armed with her right-hand minion, Hanna Saint- Hayes (Or as everyone knew her, Black Widow –a nickname given because, despite her dark and almost deathly quiet nature, she sure as fuck did come out with some venomous words when provoked).

Though, her left-hand side remained empty, missing the appearance of little Milla Brzezinski, who I didn’t know much about apart from that she ran in Miya’s close circle of friends. Her whole family history and past remained anonymous to just about everybody in this town, including me, and added to the fact that she was reported missing two years ago, it made her all the more mysterious. I had no idea if her family missed her or anything, but to the police, she was just another red circled name on the list of missing teenagers that would probably never be found.

Being the perky redhead she was, Milla always looked so out of place compared to her two friends, her smile so genuine and friendly it made me wonder why she hung out with them, knowing all the horrid things they’d done over the years. They had bullied the fuck out of Poppy every year since second grade. Once, they even tried to take a swing at humiliating Lia but Jakson made sure they’d never even think about touching her again.

Her Jedi in shining armor.

Nate smirked. “You wanna see me beat them up, baby?”

I could’ve gagged and it would’ve been more entertaining.

Miya’s vicious eyes slid to mine before glancing behind me to where I assumed Poppy stood. The urge to turn around and tell her to sit down in case she had another concussion ripped at my heart. It took everything in me to ignore it. First, I had to shut this little argument, if it could even be called that, down .

“All this for that attention seeking whore?” Miya spat, rolling her eyes. “So pathetic. Why are you even back here, Poppy? Was my demonstration last time not enough to keep you away? Oh, don’t worry, I’d be happy to show you again if you need–”

That. Was. It.

“If any of you so much as whisper a single fucking word in her direction, I will tear those empty heads from your necks with pleasure,” I yelled, glancing at everyone in this damned room before narrowing in on Nate and Miya. “Are we clear?”

I told myself I wouldn’t say anything. Hell , I shouldn’t have said anything. But Poppy…she didn’t deserve the disgusting way Miya talked to her. No one did . I kept trying to convince myself that if it were anyone else Miya said that to, I would’ve done the same.

I would’ve.

Right?

“You and your buddies can get out, or we can make you get out,” I said, voice lethal yet deathly calm as I stalked towards Nate, completely ignoring Miya, which just seemed to annoy her more, “which one is it going to be, princess ?”

Oh yeah , I’d heard that remark he threw at her alright.

His teammates wasted no time hurrying out of here, and eventually Nate got up, teeth barred and head shaking.

“All that for that whore, Jasper?” he laughed, smirking at me, before walking out and slamming the door behind him.

Without wasting a second, I turned around to see the crowds of people standing around watching us. “What the fuck are you all standing around here gawking at?” I yelled and within minutes, the crowd dispersed, and the blazing sound of the music began to boom through the halls.

“Take Lia home, Sonny,” I said, trying to keep my voice from fucking shaking like an idiot. “Don’t take any detours and make sure she gets home safe.”

“Yes, Cap,” he grinned, saluting before tugging Lia out the door with him despite her protests. I overheard him promise her he’d get her a sundae on the way home. That fucker —ignoring my stress on no detours but I wasn’t entirely mad if it meant she’d be home safe before nine. If she wasn’t, I’d kill him, because I knew what it would mean for her.

That was something we never talked about since she promised me to not bring it up. Ever again . Whilst I wasn’t happy about it, she desperately pleaded with me saying that my interference would just make everything ten times worse. Once I’d scanned the internet and read every foster care story there was online, I agreed I wouldn’t speak a soul about what happened in that house, unless she or her siblings were in trouble.

Every fiber of my being screamed at me saying this was wrong but there was nothing I could do to fight her on this. It was something I simply had to have faith in and trust that she could take care of herself, and that she would talk to me if it became more than she could handle.

After I was certain Lia was gone, I turned to Xander expecting at least a pathetic lie of defense on Kai and Lachlan’s behalf. I didn’t know why I did, the guy was silent and broody and only spoke if it benefited him. I swear we were all pawns in a chess game of his. That mind inside his head was a dark and calculating and caging place to be.

Xander said nothing, didn’t even blink as he walked away. Sometimes I really did wonder how he, Kai, and Lachlan were friends—he was an emotionless, cold and stoic asshole most of the time, whereas at least Kai and Lachlan treated others like human beings instead of chess pieces.

Sometimes, I even wondered if Kai and Lachlan were just friends.

“What do you want us to do, Cap?” Kai, always the voice of reason, asked.

“Take care of this mess down here. Make sure they all leave in the next fifteen minutes and whatever alcohol is left is all yours until Jakson gets back to kick your asses for drinking all his favorites without him.”

Both of them smirked before disappearing into the crowd, no doubt hurrying to get everyone to leave. I looked down to where Poppy was still laying on the floor, unmoving, and against my better judgment, I fell to my knees and gathered her in my arms before making a headline straight to the stairs and up to my room.

This was wrong, my brain screamed at me as I pushed past drunken students on the stairs, but I didn’t care. I wouldn’t let them all stare at her like she was the whore Nate called her out to be. If anything, I was the only one who could spar with her because I knew anything I threw her way, she could take it and return it back twice as hard.

I kicked open the door to my bedroom with my foot and guided us both inside. I had no idea what I was doing but that didn’t stop my body from walking over to the bed and laying her down on it. Maybe she was concussed again? I should stay just in case she was.

No. I shook my head, breathing out a frustrated breath. What the fuck was happening to me? My fingers twitched anxiously, and I scrunched my hands into fists, flexing and scrunching. I couldn’t look at her like that.

Walking over to the bathroom, I picked up the trash can and grabbed a few pills. Placing them down on the nightstand, I put the trash can by the side of the bed and then scooped my hands around her waist. Gently pulling her over onto her side, I made sure the trash can was in line with her face in case she woke up and puked everywhere.

Water . She needed water.

I hesitated before walking out the door, my gaze falling down on her body. She still wore those small, light gray jean shorts that made her ass look fucking fantastic. I noticed some of the guy’s downstairs thought the same but they were being taken care of.

They didn’t get to see her like that. I did .

That had to mean something, right?

Her tall frame shivered. My sheets reeked of whiskey and cigarettes, of Xander Hawthorne. The asshole was probably fucking in here before everything happened. He was the heir to James Hawthorne—his family owned the town, hence it being named after them. It was his great, great, great grandfather or something who founded it with his little polish mechanic shop on main street and it grew from there.

He was practically royalty as far as this town was concerned.

The king.

“Jasper.”

Poppy’s hoarse voice drew me from my thoughts as she stirred beneath me.

“Shhh,” I whispered, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear, “I’ve got you. Will you let me take this off you, Wellsy?”

She shivered, before giving a slow, exhausted nod.

“I need to hear you say it.”

I didn’t fuck around when it came to consent.

Unlike some bastards I knew.

“Yes,” she stirred, and that was all the invitation I needed before slipping my hands under the jersey, gently taking her arms out of the sleeves and tugging it over her head.

Walking over to my bathroom, I threw the jersey over the side of the bath and pulled out one of mine from my closet. Something tugged at my chest, but I ignored it, pushing it so fucking far down I couldn’t feel it anymore .

Pulling my jersey over her head, I watched as she smiled wearily and breathed in. “It smells like you.”

A small laugh escaped my lips, “Yeah, Wellsy? Do tell, what do I smell like?”

Her lips tugged up into a tiny smile—someone else mightn’t have noticed it but I did. I noticed every single fucking thing about her, it terrified me. No matter how much I hated it, she was in my head so fucking deep I couldn’t get her out of it. It had only been one day since she’d been back, but she’d been in my head for years .

I hated her for making me feel like this,

and I hated myself for letting her.

“Like…home.”

My. Heart. Fucking. Shattered .

“Like the ocean, summer breeze, and…lavender. You always smell like lavender,” she mumbled before falling down against the pillows.

“My mom used to put lavender drops on my pillow when I was younger. She said that it would scare away the nightmares. I’ve never stopped using it,” I whispered before realizing what I’d just admitted.

Panicked, I looked down at her to see if she’d heard what I’d said but all I found was her shivering frame fast asleep on my pillows…in my bed.

Relief coursed through my veins—she didn’t hear me.

But why did that make me feel worse?

Poppy stirred, a soft whimper escaping her lips as she rolled over onto her back. Brown curls fell across her chest and as I dipped down to push them away from her face, my eyes caught hold of nearly twelve fresh bruises, making up nearly triple the size of my fist, scattered across her collarbone and disappearing beneath my surf jersey.

She was covered with them.

Fresh bruises.

Recent fucking bruises.

Someone had hurt her.

Laid their hands on her.

I was going to be sick.

I stepped backwards, blinking and rubbing my eyes nearly a hundred times. I’d imagined that. I had. Please, for the love of fucking god, say I’d imagined that.

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered, eyes squeezed shut as tightly as humanly possible. “Please, I’m sorry . I promise. Don’t !”

“Poppy—” I rasped. How the hell did you even ask someone if they were being abused?

Was she safe? At home, was she safe? Was it people in town? Did Nate do that to her?

“Hey, Wellsy, look at me. You’re okay,” I coaxed, desperately wanting to protect her from whoever it was that was hurting her. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

She recoiled backwards into the pillow as if she’d been slapped across the face, tears streaming down her reddened cheeks as her eyes remained squeezed shut.

“Poppy?” I rasped, falling to my knees by the side of my bed. “ Wellsy ?”

“I didn’t mean it!” She cried, flinching backwards. “I swear!”

“Who is it, Wellsy?” I gasped, the pressure in my chest constricting my airway as I continued to look at the helpless girl in my bed fighting off demons alone inside her mind. “Tell me who’s hurting you and I swear to god I will help you, Poppy. I don’t give two shits about our past, I will look after you. I promise you.”

The room began to spin as I gripped her hand in mine. Using my free hand to cup the side of her cheek, I gently tugged her face towards me. Her lips were slightly parted and trembling together as beads of sweat began to cluster across her forehead. Brushing each one away with my thumb, I gripped her chin. “Poppy, please . Open your eyes, Wellsy. I know you can do it.”

As I lifted my hand to push away another rogue curl, Poppy gripped my hand so fiercely my blood circulation nearly got cut off. “D-don’t leave m-me,” she stammered, brows pinched together as air tumbled out of her in harsh, uneven breaths. “I don’t w-want to be a-alone.”

I stopped breathing. If she knew it was me she was so tightly grasping onto, she would’ve told me to leave. Not stay . But for some reason, I was kind of glad she’d asked me to stay. Not that I had any intention of leaving her side until she fell asleep after that anyway. I may have been a complete asshole to her all her life, and even though I hated her entirely, I wouldn’t have left her like that. I was raised better than that .

She deserved better than that .

Sinking back onto my heels, I exhaled deeply. “I’m not going anywhere, Wellsy. You’re not alone anymore.”

And I meant that.

Until I knew she was safe.

Until I knew those bruises weren’t intentional.

I’d watch out for her.

Rival or fucking not, I wouldn’t let anyone hurt her.

Her grip loosened at my words, hand falling almost limp in mine as I rested our conjoined hands lightly above her stomach. It only took a few minutes for her breathing to even out but I still stayed by her side for an extra twenty just in case she woke back up again.

Slipping my hand out from beneath hers took a lot more convincing than I thought it would. The further I stepped away from her, from my bed, the greater the pressure pushing against my ribs became, pounding that I was making a mistake.

She wasn’t mine to look after.

She wasn’t anything to me.

I just needed to remember that.

Water . Yes, right. She needed water.

I walked out of the door without looking back. She was a distraction that would never happen again.

But the bruises…

Nope . Not going there. Maybe it was because I felt sympathy for her. I mean, getting knocked out twice in one night was a big fucking achievement. Shit . I should’ve apologized for what happened at the surf school… right?

I wasn’t that heartless. I may have despised the girl but my mamma raised me better than to knock a girl out and leave her on the floor. Hell , she raised me better than to knock people out in the first place. But some people really fucking deserved it.

People like Nate.

Why the fuck had she come with him, anyway? Out of everyone in this town, she’d chosen that bastard. God, Wellsy . I thought she had better taste in guys than that.

My fists clenched at my sides as I walked down the stairs and out into the kitchen to where Kai and Lachlan stood, a bottle of beer in their hands. I opened the fridge and stared into it.

She hadn’t even recognized me earlier at the surf school. If she had, would it have been different? Would she have refused to let me treat her? Would she have given me one of those bone shattering glares that left me wanting to kiss her with such force it knocked all the smugness out of her?

She’d probably curse my name to the devil and storm off.

Fuck .

There was no way I was missing her now too.

Nope.

This was not happening.

Not this year, not ever.

I’d make sure of it.