ASH: a bay falls high novel Read online

  “I’m trying to be serious and you’re just perfect with what you say,” Belle said. “Sometimes I hate that you can do that.”

  I kissed Belle. “Let’s forget this conversation, angel. The past is there. It’s never going to go away. Like a tattoo…”

  “But you can cover up a tattoo,” Belle said. “Right?”

  “True. I guess that was a bad comparison.”

  “That girl really had a banana tattooed on her?”

  “You saw the picture,” I said. “I didn’t see her. Kyan showed me the picture. He was trying to draw some stuff and I came up with an idea.”

  “I didn’t realize how good you were, Ash.”

  “I just like to fuck around with it,” I said. “That’s about it.”

  “If I ever decide to get a tattoo, will you do it?” Belle asked.

  “I’ll consider it.”

  I brought my lips close to hers again.

  “Let’s all make out and take a selfie,” a voice said from behind me.

  I slowly turned my head.

  It sounded like…

  “Hil?” I asked.

  “Shit,” Belle said. “Sorry, Ash.”

  Hil had his arm around Vera.

  And right behind those two were Uly and Mara.

  “What did you do, angel?” I asked Belle as I set my eyes on her again.

  She winced. “I jokingly invited the rest of Them here.”

  Hil grabbed my shoulders and started to shake me.

  I put my head back.

  I’m going to have to kill him someday, aren’t I?

  * * *

  The last thing I ever wanted in my life was to mix BFH with Ink-a-Tat.

  But as I stood there with the door opening, ushering everyone inside, it was all over.

  “Oh, god, you all multiply,” Lark said from behind the counter.

  “Don’t ask,” I said.

  “Trust me, I’m not,” she said.

  “This is fucking cool,” Hil said. He walked to the glass case and smiled at Lark. “So what can I get pierced?”

  “Oh, sorry, for small objects you’ll have to go somewhere else,” Lark said.

  She chomped on her bubblegum.

  Vera pulled at Hil’s arm. “What’s wrong with you? That’s your first thought?”

  “What?” Hil asked. “It was either that or ask to get a tattoo on my ass.”

  “I’ll pay for that,” Uly said. “Right now. I’ll pay. I swear on my life.”

  “There you go, Ash,” Belle said to me. “Get some practice.”

  “I want nothing to do with Hil’s ass again,” I said.

  “Again?” Lark asked. “Now I’m getting intrigued.”

  “Not like that,” I yelled. “He was wiggling his ass around and I lit it on fire.”

  “Did I hear someone’s ass is on fire?” a voice called out from the back.

  Kyan came out and opened his arms again.

  “Don’t say a word,” I said to him.

  Right behind him was Hae.

  She looked at Belle and her eyes lit up.

  “No,” I said to Hae. “Leave Belle. You pierced her already.”

  “What?” Mara asked. “Belle got pierced?”

  “Where?” Hil asked.

  “My nose, idiot,” Belle said. “Look.”

  She turned her head.

  “Oh, fuck, doll,” Uly said. “I didn’t even see it.”

  “It’s cute,” Vera said. “I want to do that. Can I do that?”

  “Come with me,” Hae said. She grabbed Vera’s hand.

  I punched Hil in the arm. “You should follow. Trust me.”

  “Damn, Hae is stealing all your girlfriends today,” Kyan said.

  I pointed to Kyan and smiled. “Remember that time I saved your ass?”

  “What?” he asked.

  “Banana girl,” I said.

  “What about her?”

  “Do you remember the time you needed my help? And I made a badass tattoo for you for someone?”

  “Ash…”

  “Fuck, man, did she like the idea?” I asked.

  “She loved it,” Kyan said. “She’s coming over later. My place. A little one on one visit…”

  “Oh, Kyan can sleep with customers but I can’t hook up with Shuffle?” Lark asked. “This place is fucked sometimes.”

  I saw the look on Uly and Mara’s face.

  All I could do was smile.

  Because I had a killer idea.

  “What do you want, Ash?” Kyan asked.

  “You owe me one,” I said. “And this is a good one.”

  “Okay…”

  “You’re going to tattoo someone’s ass,” I said.

  “Belle’s?” Kyan asked with a big grin.

  I made a fist and Kyan showed me his hands.

  “Don’t do it, man,” Uly said to me. “Don’t do it…”

  “Do what?” Mara asked.

  I started to laugh.

  “Hil is getting his ass tattooed.”

  * * *

  Vera got her nose pierced and Hil was face down in Kyan’s tattoo chair with his ass hanging out of his jeans.

  We all crammed into Kyan’s room to watch.

  But only for a few seconds just to make sure this was going to happen.

  “Are you getting lips on your ass?” Uly asked. “So you could be cliché and tell everyone to kiss your ass?”

  “No,” Hil said. “Get the fuck out. I have an idea.”

  Mara pulled Uly out of the room.

  Belle just stared. “This is one of the weirdest days of my life.”

  ‘Oh, this isn’t normal? You showed up unannounced and Hae flirts with you, pierces your nose, and then you stand up to Tin… and then Them shows up and Hae flirts with Vera and pierces her nose… and now Hil is getting ink on his ass. That’s not normal?’

  I tugged at Belle’s hand and we started to leave the room.

  Kyan looked at me. Wearing black rubber gloves. Holding his tattoo gun.

  “I hate you, Ash,” he said. “You know, I can make something up about you. Tell Rocco. He’ll fire you.”

  “Just think about everything when you’re with banana girl later,” I said.

  “I don’t want to think about you when I’m with her,” Kyan said. “Or any woman. Okay?”

  “Just ink my stepbrother’s ass and we’ll call it a day,” I said.

  And I started to laugh.

  There was a list of things I thought I would never have to say and that was pretty far up on that fucking list.

  We went to the front of the shop where Lark and Hae were talking at the counter.

  “This place is nice,” Uly said. “I can’t believe you never said more about it.”

  “It was my secret place,” I said. “Where I can get shit done.”

  “No, you wanted to hide,” Uly said. “You’re afraid to show your feelings.”

  “Fuck you, man,” I said.

  “Uly’s right,” Belle said.

  “Agreed,” Mara called out.

  I looked at Mara. “Who the hell are you? You’ve been here for ten minutes.”

  “Whoa,” Uly said. “Say something like that again to Mara and I’ll break your jaw, Ash.”

  “I’ll break his jaw first,” Belle said. She punched my arm. “Don’t talk to Mara like that.”

  “What did I do now?” I asked.

  “You’re always hiding this side of yourself,” Uly said.

  “Just like you did with me,” Belle said.

  “With you?” I asked.

  “You stole that poem from me and gave it to Miss Whitaker,” she said.

  I looked away.

  Yeah, yeah, they were right. Oh well… who cares?

  “Man, you’re good at this stuff,” Uly said. “Don’t hide it.”

  “Listen to him,” Belle said.

  I ignored them both.

  And I kept it that way.

  Hae saved my ass by coming over and ta
king Belle and Mara to look at some of the tattoos and drawings on the walls and in the books on the table where some leather couches were placed for people to sit and think.

  A little bit later, Hil emerged from the back.

  He pushed through the beads and nodded.

  Vera walked by him, shaking her head.

  “What did you get?” Uly asked.

  “You want to see my ass, don’t you?” Hil asked.

  “I guess this one time… yeah,” I said.

  Hil turned and pushed his jeans down enough to show off the bandage on his ass, covering the fresh ink.

  He pulled away the bandage.

  I looked, looked away, and looked again.

  “You got your own name tattooed on your ass?” Mara asked.

  “Is that real?” Uly asked.

  “Looks good, right?” Hil asked as he looked over his shoulder.

  Kyan stepped from the back, shaking his head. “That’s what he wanted.”

  “And you did it?” I asked.

  “We’re even now,” Kyan said to me. “Got it, Ash?”

  “Yeah, that’s fine,” I said.

  “It’s good, right?” Hil asked.

  “It’s stupid,” Vera said.

  “What? Why?”

  “We know your name, bro,” Uly said.

  “Yeah, but a lot of people don’t,” Hil said. “So now I can show them.”

  “Because telling people your name is too hard?” I asked.

  “You’re all fucking weird,” Lark called out.

  “I agree with that,” I said.

  Hil put the bandage over the tattoo and picked up his jeans. “Well I like it.”

  “That’s all that matters,” Vera said.

  We all looked at each other.

  And we all started to laugh.

  Chapter 4

  “My ass is itchy.”

  Everyone looked at Hil.

  He sat on the beach and wiggled back and forth like a dog wiping its ass on the floor.

  “That’s your fault,” Belle said.

  “Hey, Ash, strum a guitar for Belle,” Uly said.

  My eyes moved to him.

  He was feeling good.

  I promised everyone I would be their driver for the night so they could have some fun.

  Uly and Hil played a show at a different place.

  It was bigger than Aya’s, and a hell of a lot louder too.

  It was a good show.

  Probably their best one yet.

  I didn’t need to say that though, because they knew it the second they walked off the stage.

  That’s why they wanted to have some fun on the beach.

  So I found a quiet spot and had no problem sitting with Belle, flirting with her, touching her, looking at her. Wasting time with her was the best way to waste time.

  Uly grabbed his guitar from the sand and held it out for me.

  “Not interested, man,” I said.

  “Come on,” Hil said. “It’ll help me to forget about my ass.”

  “Hey, Hil,” Mara said. “If you ever forget your name, just look at your ass. Right?”

  “See? You like it, beauty,” Hil said to Mara. “Uly isn’t brave enough to get his own name tattooed on his ass.”

  “Shit, you know what?” Uly asked. “The name thing is actually kind of bad ass.”

  “That’s right,” Hil said.

  “No, listen,” Uly said. “You know Filthy Line, right? The band?”

  “Yeah, we know who they are,” I said.

  “The lead singer has his name tattooed on his ass too,” Uly said.

  “There you go,” Hil said. “I’m a bad ass rock star.”

  “No, bro,” I said. “You’re still an idiot.”

  “I think it’s hot,” Vera said.

  “You should have gotten Nash’s name on your ass,” Mara said. “That would have made more sense. That would have made you a rock star.”

  “Lucky for me I was born with two ass cheeks,” Hil said.

  He started to laugh.

  I just shook my head.

  I put my arm around Belle tighter and held her close.

  “Come on, man,” Uly said. “Strum a chord. For Belle.”

  “Yeah,” Vera said. “Play for your girl, Ash.”

  “No thanks,” I said in a calm voice.

  “Do it for Belle,” Uly yelled. He put his head back. “For Belle!”

  He stumbled and started to laugh.

  “Bro, just show her,” Hil said. “What the fuck?”

  “I said I don’t want to,” I said. “Let it go.”

  “Whatever,” Hil said. “Loser.”

  “Loser?” I asked.

  “Loser,” Uly said. “Just play the fucking guitar, man.”

  “I said I didn’t want to,” I said.

  I took my arm from Belle. As I started to stand up, Belle grabbed me.

  “Don’t,” she said. “They’re drunk.”

  I looked down at her. “So are you, angel.”

  “But not like they are,” she said.

  “Fine,” Uly said. “Fuck it.” He put the guitar around his neck and started to strum it. “I’ll play a song. For everyone.”

  He cleared his throat loudly.

  “Say one word about me and you’re done,” I said.

  “I’ll say more than one word,” Uly said as he strummed on the guitar. “I’ll say a lot of words.” He changed his voice to start singing. “My old friend Ash, couldn’t strum a string. He lost his girl, he lost everything… and my old friend was now a loner. And the worst part was, he couldn’t even get a…”

  Uly smiled.

  “Give me the guitar then,” I said. “Let’s go. Fine.”

  “There you go, bro,” Hil said. “Nothing to worry about.”

  Uly took the guitar off and held it out.

  “You know I was just fucking around, Ash,” Uly said. “Having some fun. Just trying to-”

  I swung my fist and punched the body of the guitar so hard, my fist went through it.

  I felt shards of wood cut and rip at my knuckles and my hand.

  Uly jumped back and let the guitar go.

  I had to shake the guitar away, letting it fall to the sand.

  It was still intact. It just had a hole in the body.

  “What the fuck did you do again…,” Uly yelled.

  He stepped toward me and I had my right fist ready to go again.

  “Fuck,” Mara said as she hurried to her feet.

  She jumped at Uly, hugging him from the side to keep him from getting to me.

  I was going to knock him out.

  “I said I didn’t want to fuck around with a guitar,” I yelled.

  I looked down and around at everyone.

  Including Belle.

  Then I walked away.

  * * *

  “Your hand is bleeding, isn’t it?”

  I kept my hand behind me as I watched Belle get closer to me.

  “Nope,” I said.

  “Liar,” she said. “Want to tell me what that was?”

  “Not really,” I said. “Just blowing off some steam.”

  “Yeah? Beating up a guitar?”

  “Better than what I wanted to do to Uly.”

  “Ash…”

  “Stop,” I said.

  “At least get your hand cleaned up,” she said.

  I turned and opened the back of the SUV.

  I grabbed Uly’s bag and ripped it open.

  I used one of his t-shirts to wrap around my hand.

  “Mad at me for this too?” I asked Belle.

  “Nope. Uly’s an asshole. So is Hil. They were trying to be funny. Drunk funny.”

  “Which isn’t funny at all,” I said.

  “I know.”

  I sat in the back-back of the SUV and Belle got close enough to hug me.

  She slipped her arms around my body and hugged me tight.

  I reached around her and pulled Uly’s shirt off my hand.
I flexed it a few times and I was fine. Just a couple cuts from the wood of the guitar.

  “That’s two guitars you’ve ruined, Ash,” Belle said.

  “Your point?” I asked.

  She looked up at me. “What’s making you do that?”

  “Because I’m Ash and I can,” I said.

  “And because of what happened at the tattoo shop.”

  “Nope.”

  “Yes,” Belle said. “That’s where you feel at home a little, right?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Look at BFH,” Belle said. “It’s the same crazy stuff over and over. You, Uly, and Hil… Them… you’ve done what you wanted to do all along. Even with the fights with Hidden Creek High and East vs. West. It’s a lot to have going on. Then I showed up. And I brought a lot of stuff with me. Then Uly with Mara. I really didn’t see that coming.”

  I laughed. “I did. He always went down there to visit his mother when Mara was there. He tried to play it off. Like it was never a thing. I noticed it. I didn’t say anything though. That’s his shit to deal with. I mean I’m glad they found each other. The shit with his mother though…”

  “Which was taken care of,” Belle said. “And then you have Hil. And that crazy chick…”

  “Vera is meant for him,” I said.

  “She brought Penelope back.”

  “For a minute.”

  “That was intense, Ash.”

  I stroked Belle’s face. “Look, angel, I don’t really want to recap things here. I went through it.”

  “You can admit things to me, Ash,” Belle said. “Penelope…”

  I sucked in a breath. “Okay. Fine. Penelope. From day one I could see something was off there. But then it just got really twisted really fast. She bounced between Uly and Hil in such a vicious way, angel. Back and forth. Ripping their hearts to shreds. And I couldn’t do a thing about it. Ruined their band. Ruined everything else too. And then she set her sights on me. But I wasn’t interested. I think that set her off even more. She wanted all of Them.”

  “Sorry you all went through that,” Belle said. “And I’m sorry she showed up again. I think she’s a rotten bitch. But if Uly and Hil are good with it…”