These Dark Hearts: A Darling Hill Prequel Read online

  I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing myself to take a deep breath.

  “Harleigh, baby?” Mom’s voice cracked with regret. But it was always the same. She pulled herself out of her drunken stupor long enough to berate me and then went back to her old ways.

  She’d never liked Nix. Part of me thought she was jealous because he was the person I turned to. But it wasn’t like I’d ever been able to lean on her.

  “Look, Mom,” I sighed, hating the confrontation. “Nix is my best friend. He’s been there for me.” He’s still there for me. “I know you don’t like him, but I need him.”

  “I know, sweetheart. I know. I just… I don’t want you to waste your last couple of years at high school in his shadow.” She came over, grabbing my hand in hers. Her bony fingers clutched onto me like a life raft. “You could do anything you want, baby. Be anything you want.”

  “Mom…”

  “Just promise me you’ll always chase your dreams, Harleigh. Go after what you want.”

  “Sure, Mom.” I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “Whatever.”

  “You’re such a good girl, baby. I’m so proud of you.”

  Proud of me?

  She sure had a funny way of showing it.

  I was applying the last of my makeup when my cell phone pinged.

  Nix: Trick or treat?

  Me: Haha, very funny. I’m almost ready.

  Nix: Good, I’m ready to fuck things up.

  I rolled my eyes at that. Nix didn’t need an excuse to fuck things up, he lived for chaos.

  He and his two closest friends, Zane and Kye, were well known around Darling Hill. They liked to party, live life on the wild side, and generally fuck with the establishment.

  Their words, not mine.

  It had never bothered me before. They usually kept me out of their mayhem and Nix would never put me in harm’s way. But after my argument with Mom, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was different.

  I knew I was different—I was having all these lusty feelings for Nix—but there was something else circling. A shift in the air.

  Or maybe I just needed to relax and have one night of good old-fashioned teenage fun.

  Staring at myself in the mirror, I snorted. Nix was going to die when he saw my costume choice this year. The Harley Quinn outfit was the sexiest thing I’d ever worn, but when I’d spotted it in the local Goodwill store, I’d bought it on a whim.

  Maybe, deep down, I’d bought it to try to get Nix to notice me.

  Everyone went all out for the party, especially the girls. Slutty zombie brides, sexy angels, seductive devils; the guys always had a field day. And I usually blended in with the shadows, opting for something more reserved. Because I wasn’t that girl.

  But maybe I could be tonight.

  My cell phone pinged again, and I smiled.

  Nix: Your chariot awaits.

  He was such a dork.

  Only for you. I silenced the little voice.

  It was true. Not many people got to see the side Nix saved just for me. But it seemed like a fair trade when I didn’t get to see the side reserved for the girls in his life.

  My fingers trembled as I texted him back, nervous energy bouncing around in my stomach. “Relax.” I inhaled a sharp breath. “You’ve got this.”

  I looked hot. I looked like the type of girl Nix usually hooked up with. The blue and red skirt sat high on my thighs and the white cropped tee revealed my flat stomach. I’d curled my hair and pulled it into two high pigtails. My black boots had seen better days, but they would have to do, and they looked killer teamed with my white, knee-high socks.

  God, was I really doing this?

  I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth, trying to imagine Nix’s reaction. A soft laugh of disbelief spilled from my lips. He was going to freak when he saw me.

  Especially after I’d hinted that I didn’t want to go. But watching him with Cherri, and then hearing my mom tell me to always go after what I wanted… well, it had flipped a switch inside me.

  She was right.

  This life wouldn’t hand me my dreams. I had to chase them. Grab them with both hands and make them happen.

  And the thing I wanted most in the world? Nix.

  For once, I wanted him to look at me the way he looked at them. I wanted nothing more than to affect him the way he affected me.

  Another text came through and I quickly read it.

  Nix: Kye is getting restless… are you coming?

  Me: Leaving now.

  I grabbed the few dollars I’d saved from watching our neighbors’ kids and stuffed them in my purse along with my lip gloss and cell phone. Then I slung it over my body and went to check on Mom.

  “I’m leav—”

  Disappointment washed over me as I took in her sleeping form, curled up on the couch, fingers still loosely curled around another bottle of vodka.

  The irony wasn’t lost on me. The refrigerator was always bare, the cupboards filled with nothing but packets of ramen noodles and stale crackers. But she could always find enough money to buy her beloved liquor.

  “See you later, Mom,” I murmured as I reached the front door, and stepped out into the inky night.

  “Holy. Shit. Is that little Harleigh Wren Maguire under all… that?” Kye let out a low whistle as I climbed into Nix’s car.

  “Hey, guys.” My stomach churned as I tugged on the hem of my skirt, fully aware of how revealing it was.

  “Birdie,” Nix whispered thickly, his eyes roaming over my body. His hands curved around the steering wheel, gripping it tightly.

  “What do you think?” I asked, peeking over at him sheepishly.

  “I… it’s…” He cleared his throat. “It’s a little… much, don’t you think?”

  A little much?

  My heart withered in my chest.

  “Dude.” Kye leaned over from the back seat and hit Nix upside the head. “A little much? Have you lost your goddamn mind? She looks hot as—ow, fuck face, what the hell was that for?”

  “We should go,” Nix grumbled, revving the engine.

  So much for impressing him. He thought I looked stupid.

  Why was I even surprised?

  Nix didn’t think of me as anything more than a little sister. Someone he had to protect and look out for. Someone he let tag along because he felt sorry for her.

  I pressed my head against the cool glass, trying to catch my breath. Trying not to let the torrent of emotion crashing inside of me break free.

  Don’t cry. Don’t you dare cry.

  “I heard that some of the academy kids might show,” Zane said.

  “Nah, no way.” Nix shifted.

  I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t. Not after his flippant comment had shredded my heart into tiny, jagged pieces. But I felt the animosity rolling off him. There were few things he hated more than the kids that lived across town.

  “They don’t have big enough balls. Especially not after how we kicked their asses on the field last month.”

  “Only telling you what I heard, man.”

  “If they’re stupid enough to wander into our territory, then they’d better be ready to pay the price.”

  “Hell yeah.” Zane leaned forward, chuckling, and the two of them high-fived through the seats.

  The three of them were dressed in their usual plain black hoodies and black jeans, but tonight, they’d added scary LED neon masks. Nix wasn’t wearing his, but Kye and Zane were, and the effect was oddly chilling. But then I couldn’t see their eyes, and eyes told you so much about a person.

  Like when I peeked over at Nix and his gaze collided with mine. Cold and stormy, swirling with disapproval. His jaw clenched as he sucked in a sharp breath and refocused his attention on the road.

  “Nix, I—”

  “Not now, B, yeah. Not now.”

  I sunk lower in the seat, wishing it would swallow me whole.

  Tonight was supposed to bring us closer together, to make him realize that I was
n’t a kid anymore.

  But in that moment, he’d never felt more distant.

  Darling Hill Reservoir was a local hotspot with the kids from our neighborhood. Everyone who was anyone had spent at least a summer or two down here, swimming in the murky blue waters, sunbathing on the shady banks. Surrounded by the dense forest, it was the perfect place for teenagers to come and let loose without upsetting the authorities.

  Tonight, it had been turned into party central. A huge bonfire licked the night sky as people danced and laughed, sipping warm beer and liquor stolen from their parents’ drinks cabinets.

  “Wilder, about time.” Paul Odell sauntered over to us, fist bumping the guys. “Shit, Harleigh, is that you under all—”

  “Don’t go there, man,” Kye mumbled. “Not unless you want Nix to rip your head off.”

  Paul stepped back, smirking as he held up his hands. “I can see why it would be a problem.” He glanced at me again and then back to Nix. “Shit, man.” He chuckled as if they were sharing a private joke.

  But it only made the knot in my stomach tighten.

  Nix had barely said two words to me on the ride over, and it was starting to piss me the hell off.

  So he didn’t like my costume. He didn’t have to be an ass about it.

  “I’m going to get a drink,” I said, leaving them talking about whatever guys talked about.

  You know what they talk about, girls like Cherri.

  Nix didn’t follow.

  And part of me wished I didn’t want him to.

  A couple of guys watched me as I wandered over to the collection of beer coolers and swiped a bottle but the second I met their stares, they glanced away. It was always the same whenever I partied with Nix. No one looked at me, no one talked to me… no one except—

  “Chloe,” I said, dropping down on the bench beside her. “You came.”

  “Dumb, right? I mean, Kye will probably kill me when he realizes. But screw him. I’m sixteen. He was partying way before that.”

  My lips curved. Chloe Carter was a handful. Strong-willed, sassy, and she took no shit from her brother or his friends. But unlike me, she was the kind of girl who navigated the social hierarchy of high school.

  “I like your outfit,” I said, studying her Catwoman get up.

  “This old thing.” She flashed me a grin. “It was my seventh-grade costume for the contest at school. I had to alter it a little to fit but I’m pleased with how it came out.”

  “You look amazing.”

  “You don’t look so bad yourself, Harley Quinn.” She smirked. “Now all you need is to find your Joker.” Her laughter barely penetrated me as I found Nix across the bonfire, laughing and talking with a group of sexy angels. But one of them drew my eye more than the others.

  Cherri.

  My heart cinched.

  “You know, you could just tell him how you feel.” Chloe nudged my shoulder with hers.

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Sure, you don’t.” She rolled her eyes. “You’ve been in love with him your whole life.”

  “I…” I was pretty sure my cheeks were on fire.

  “It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone. I mean, I get it. It’s Nix. You two have that special bond. Childhood friends turned lovers. It’s cute.”

  “He doesn’t see me like that.” The words were like ash on my tongue.

  “He’d have to be dumb not to notice.”

  “You mean like you and Maddox,” I said, following her line of sight to where Maddox West stood with his friends. A group of them dressed as zombie football players.

  “It’s not like that between us. Maddox is… he’s kind of an asshole.”

  I chuckled at that. I knew all about assholes, especially ones with dark hair and molten eyes and tattoos that screamed bad boy.

  But Nix had never been an asshole, not to me.

  Not until tonight.

  “I don’t know how you stand it,” Chloe’s voice lowered. “Watching him with them.”

  Her words made me look over at Nix and the guys again. Cherri had moved closer, pressing her double Ds into his arm as she gazed up at him, all seduction and sin.

  My stomach dropped. “I… I’m used to it.”

  “Yeah, well, he’s a fool for not realizing what’s right in front of him.”

  “Thanks.”

  A sticky trail of dejection snaked through me.

  “Look at us.” Chloe stood, brushing her hands down her skintight latex shorts. “It’s Halloween. The night itself is built on mischief and mayhem and we’re sitting here all mopey. Let’s go, Maguire.”

  “G-go?”

  “Yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “To get a drink, dance… find some cute guys to talk to. Anything but sit here like this.” Hurt flashed into her eyes as she glanced back over to where Maddox was. “What do you say?”

  Chloe held out her hand to me, and I peeked over at Nix again. His arm was around Cherri now as they laughed. His lips dusted her ear, the slender curve of her neck.

  Damn you, Phoenix Wilder.

  “Let’s go,” I said, with an air of confidence I didn’t really feel.

  But she was right. I couldn’t stay here and let my heart break any more than it already had. Besides, Nix was my ride home.

  I was stuck here now.

  Whether I wanted to be or not.

  “This is fun, right?” Chloe yelled over the music as we danced to the heavy beat pounding through the air. My skin was slick with sweat, my heart racing with every roll of my hips and swing of my arms.

  She was right, it was fun.

  The couple of drinks she’d snagged us helped.

  But then my eyes landed on Nix across the bonfire, and everything closed in around me. I inhaled sharply, watching like some kind of masochist as he hooked his arm around Cherri and pulled her into his side. She giggled, draping her arm around his neck and throwing her head back letting him lick her skin. Kiss her. Bite her.

  Heat bloomed in my stomach, but it wasn’t only hate swirling there. It was something else. Something dark and needy. A deep pulse inside me. A pulse that only quickened when his eyes locked on mine. Nothing else existed. Not Chloe or the music or the wild flames dancing against the inky backdrop.

  There was only me and Nix.

  The boy who owned my heart even if he didn’t want it.

  And her.

  She was part of this, whether she realized it or not.

  Cherri straddled his long, outstretched legs and started dancing, grinding on him as if he belonged to her.

  He didn’t.

  Nix was mine.

  Only he wasn’t, not in all of the ways that counted.

  Nix didn’t take his eyes off me, yet he let her kiss him, touch him, take what wasn’t hers to take.

  Why?

  Why are you doing this?

  Raw emotion stabbed at me. Deep and visceral, it shredded what was left of my heart wide open. But I couldn’t stop watching. I couldn’t stop silently asking him why?

  “Harleigh.” Chloe grabbed my arm, trying to pull me away. “Don’t do this to yourself. He’s not worth it.”

  But he was.

  Nix was everything to me—everything.

  So why was he being such an asshole?

  Tears stung my eyes and I blinked, breaking the volatile connection between us. “I need some air.”

  “Girl.” Chloe chuckled. “We’re in the middle of bumfuck nowhere.”

  “You know what I mean.” I stumbled toward the reservoir where it was quieter, the crowds of kids all looking to party sticking closer to the bonfire.

  “Harleigh, wait,” she called after me, but I couldn’t stop. I needed to get away from her, from them.

  From myself.

  What had I been thinking wearing this stupid outfit and thinking I could impress him?

  Nix didn’t see me like that.

  He’d never seen me like that.

  I was his little Birdie. His best friend. The
girl he would always love but never want.

  God, it hurt.

  “Hey, you okay?” Chloe nudged me gently, lacing her arm through mine.

  “I’m… I’m stupid.”

  “No, you’re not. But you know, maybe you should just tell him how you really feel. At least it’ll be out there and you can move on, one way or another…”

  “So he can reject me with words too? No thanks.” Strangled laughter almost choked me. I leaned into her, grateful that I wasn’t alone.

  Chloe and I weren’t best friends or anything like that, but she was the nearest thing I had to a girlfriend. I could talk to her about this stuff, couldn’t I?

  “I know we’re not close or anything,” she went on. “But I’m always here, Harleigh. If you need a friend—” Something caught her attention along the beach and her eyes widened. “Oh shit,” she breathed, and my head snapped over to whatever she had seen.

  “Is that—”

  “Marc Denby and his crew, yeah.”

  We both watched Marc and his friends stroll toward the party as if they owned the place.

  They didn’t.

  They were from across town, Old Darling Hill, and they definitely didn’t belong in a place like this.

  “Why would they come here?” I whispered.

  “Why do you think?” She cast me a grim look. “Come on. We should go see what’s happening. Kye can’t get in trouble again. He’ll get kicked off the team.”

  So would Nix.

  The Darling Hill High Hawks were on a winning streak; partly because Nix and Kye ran an impressive offence and partly because most other teams feared them.

  Chloe dragged me back toward the bonfire. Marc and his friends had already reached the party, people giving them a wide berth.

  “You must be lost,” Nix said, stepping forward, his LED mask pushed up onto his head and Cherri now nowhere in sight. “Because I know you didn’t come here willingly.”

  Kye and Zane flanked him, the three of them like a wall of muscles and ink and intimidation.

  “It’s a free country, Wilder.” Marc spat, grabbing his ball cap and spinning it backwards before lowering it back. As if that one move somehow made him any kind of match for Nix.