Secret Bay High Issues (Secret Bay High - Book #5) Read online

  The recurring theme kept coming over and over. The past was always right there to haunt me, chasing me every single day. No matter how much I tried to move past it, there it was, and I had to find a new way to deal with it and the problems it brought into the present.

  But, maybe Damon was right. Maybe this time we could finally push something into the past and leave it there. It would be better than anything I could ask for, and I hoped it would be true.

  But, like so many other things in life, the only thing that could answer that question was time. Damon would go through another fight, and hopefully that would be the last, or the one after that. I wouldn’t know until he told me he was done, and finally told me whatever it was he was keeping from me now. As hard as it was for me to do, I was just going to have to trust that he knew what he was talking about, and he really would take care of me.

  At least there was some comfort in that.

  Some.

  Chapter 5

  Damon

  This might actually work. It’s not going to be easy, but shoot, with those parts Dean picked up for me and the time I have on my hands, I might as well get it started.

  I don’t want just another bike. I’ve been through way too much with this one. I don’t want to just forget about it and move on. Chad might have thought that he wrecked it, but he doesn’t know how good I am at putting things back together.

  I tried not to think about Chad and what he did to my bike a couple of weeks before. Well, I didn’t have complete proof that he was the one who had broken into our garage and smashed my bike the night after we had a heated argument at a party, but he was the only person who made sense.

  Though I was a fighter, and often walked through life with a chip on my shoulder, that didn’t mean that I had a lot of enemies in town. In fact, I really didn’t. I got along with most people around Secret Bay, and the few people I would rather not deal with, I simply avoided.

  It really wasn’t a big deal to me to stay out of other people’s way in life, though I wasn’t going to back down if they got in my face. Most of the time, anyway. The whole entire reason I had gotten a suspension from school was because of the fight I’d gotten into with Chad.

  The day after my bike had been smashed, I went to school and didn’t back down when he picked a fight with me. I didn’t need more proof. And I wasn’t going to sit down or talk it out with him, either. The fists started flying, and I got the upper hand, just like the time he faced me in the ring.

  Sure, we both ended up with a suspension from school because of it, but I didn’t regret it. I didn’t regret standing up to him or putting him back in his place. But, even the satisfaction of that wasn’t enough to fix my bike.

  Susan offered to buy me a new one, but I didn’t want a new one. So, I set about fixing my old one. Dean, though our relationship wasn’t on the best terms at the moment, had helped me go through the parts that were scattered on the garage floor, and he had picked up the pieces that were missing.

  For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why Chad would steal some of my bike parts, unless, of course, he thought that would make it impossible for me to fix it. Clearly, he didn’t realize I knew a thing or two about bikes. I had modified this one a lot through the years, partly out of interest and making it my hobby, partly because I wanted to learn more about it. I would have been happy to get into bike mechanics after school, and it was still something I thought about from time to time.

  Now, I spent all the free time I could in the garage fixing it up. I missed having Sutton riding on the back of it on our way to school, and I wanted it to be fixed and ready to go by the time I was able to go back. Not that I ever really liked school, but it was a lot better since Sutton had come to Secret Bay.

  I liked getting to see her throughout the day, and with her now in class all day with me being home, I got bored fast. I kept up on my homework, and I did my best to study to stay with the rest of the class when she brought home extra assignments, but I still missed her throughout most of the day.

  Susan and Dean were gone at work most of the days during the week, which meant I had a lot of time to spend in the garage alone. Even with my suspension, Dean didn’t let me spend extra time down at the shop. I could still go in and work on my normal days, but he still limited me to the normal schedule that I had worked when I was in class.

  When I tried to argue with him that it would be a good chance for me to make some extra money, he merely pointed out that it would be less motivation for me to go back to school when the suspension was lifted.

  “I’ll go back,” I tried to protest, but it was useless trying to argue with Dean, especially when it came to things like working at his shop. Once he was set on something, that’s the way he did things no matter how much I argued. And, I knew Susan supported me being at home most of the time, too.

  She was far from happy with the suspension, and she didn’t want me out and running about town just because I wasn’t in school.

  “You’re being punished for not handling the situation like you should have,” she told me when I asked her if she would talk to Dean on my behalf. “So now you’re going to have to stay home during the day. That’s final.”

  Of course, it was just more reason for me to be working on my bike in the garage, and it gave me plenty of time to think.

  All the time to myself meant that I could think about all the things that happened in the house recently – things that were just as much a surprise to me as they were to Sutton, though most of the surprises that were announced were in her life more than mine.

  How can Susan be her mom? I’ve lived with her for years, and she never so much as mentioned Sutton. She never said anything about having kids, let alone a daughter. I would think that it would be something she would have brought up when I was the one who was blamed for Sutton trying to commit suicide.

  And, that doesn’t make much sense, either. If she knew that I was the one who was responsible for her own child trying to commit suicide, then why didn’t she give me back up to the system? I don’t think I could have just accepted someone into my home if they had bullied my own kid enough they almost killed themselves.

  Sure, it wasn’t just me. There were a lot of kids who were involved, but she transferred me back to this district because of what happened. And still, she never said one word about any of it.

  Shoot, she didn’t even say Sutton was her daughter when she told me that Sutton was going to come live with us. It’s like she just brushed all that information under the rug and pretended that it wasn’t even a thing.

  Who knows how long it would have lasted if Dean and her hadn’t started fighting again. And how long is that going to last, anyway? Last time they fought like this it ended with him moving out and Susan acting like they weren’t ever going to speak to each other again.

  Would it be such a bad thing if they did break up? Of course it would be. Dean’s the father you never had. But Sutton clearly hates him. But why? She’s never actually given good reason why she does. Only that she thinks it’s weird how fast they moved.

  That’s not enough reason to hate someone. He didn’t do anything to her. But still.

  My phone buzzed and I sighed. That was my alarm to get to work. So, I wiped my hand on my pants and put the tools back in the box before heading inside the house to change my outfit. I liked going down to the shop to work for the afternoon, and I hoped Sutton would stop by on her way home from school.

  She wasn’t taking the long way home anymore, not after being accosted by my debtors, but, she still said she wanted to stop by and see me at the shop when she was on her way home from school. I knew she liked to take her time getting back to the house with Dean around, and when he wasn’t down at the shop, she and I could talk for a while without either Susan or Dean interrupting.

  I had been meaning to talk to her anyway. I felt bad that I had kept more information from her, even when she directly asked me for the truth. I still felt that it was for her own
good that she didn’t know, and the truth would come out soon enough, but at the same time, she had been so open with me, and I felt it was only right to be open with her in return.

  I wanted to surprise Sutton with a trip for the summer. We would both be out of school, and it might be a great way for us to get our minds off the stress and drama that had become our lives here in Secret Bay. I knew she could use the vacation, and with her talk of going to college, I wanted the chance to have her to myself for a while before she was once again entrenched in studies.

  That is, unless she decided to just dive into life like I planned to do. I didn’t want to hold her back in any way, but at the same time, I didn’t think college was everything, and I wanted her to be able to see things from all points of view.

  But, even if Sutton didn’t have the chance to stop by, I still liked to show up for my shifts on time. I got paid by the hour, and Dean was really strict about that. Even though I was practically his son, he didn’t pay me for time that I wasn’t there, and I could use the money.

  I didn’t want to rely on Susan for paying for everything for me, and most of the money I made during my fights were going to those three guys. Hopefully, that wasn’t going to last much longer, But, when it did come to an end, the only source of income that I had would be coming through Dean’s paychecks.

  I walked through the garage door leading into the kitchen and tried to slip past Susan unnoticed. But, she seemed to be waiting for me, and she stopped me as soon as I pulled the door closed behind me.

  “Sit down, I want to talk to you,” she said.

  “I can’t talk right now, I’ve got to get to work,” I replied. I knew she’d just gotten home herself, but she had to know I couldn’t sit and talk.

  “I already told Dean you were going to be late. This is important,” Susan replied sternly. I sighed. I knew there was no point arguing with her, so I sat down.

  “What?” I asked.

  “What happened between you and Chad?” she asked bluntly.

  “We got into a fist fight. He wrecked my bike, and I stood up to him,” I replied with a shrug.

  “For starters, you don’t know that he was the one who did that, and besides, that’s not what I’m talking about,” she crossed her arms. “You and Chad and Peter were inseparable up until just a few months ago. It seems shortly after Sutton moved in, you pulled back from everyone in your life but her.”

  “This isn’t Sutton’s fault,” I started, but Susan held up one of her hands to stop me.

  “I didn’t say that it was, but I do want to know what happened that tore you apart. From what I understand speaking to Peter’s mother, he doesn’t hang out with Chad much anymore, either,” Susan said.

  Although I knew Susan was friends with many of the other mothers in school, I didn’t know they would talk about things like that. But, that was beside the point. I wasn’t sure if I could tell her what really went down, but, I had a feeling Susan wasn’t going to let me go to work until I gave her something.

  “Come on,” Susan prompted. “Now’s your chance to tell the truth. You want to get to work, you better start talking.”

  I sighed. “Chad did something to Sutton shortly after she moved in, and I dropped the friendship because of it.”

  “What did he do?” Susan asked. “Sutton didn’t know anyone when she moved here, so how could he have done something that made you break off your friendship with him? I’m guessing it must have been pretty bad if you were so willing to just walk away and never go back.”

  I shifted nervously in my seat. This was something I didn’t feel I should be the one to tell her, but at the same time, I was getting too far in to back out. Sutton wasn’t going to be back from school for quite some time, and I wasn’t sure she would even answer Susan’s question anyway.

  “Come on,” Susan pressed. “You want to get to work, don’t you?”

  “He tried to force himself on her,” I finally blurted. “They went on a date and when they were back here, he tried to force himself on her. I stepped in before anything could happen, but I hate to think about what could have happened if I wasn’t there to do something about it.”

  Susan’s jaw dropped. “And you didn’t tell me!”

  “We didn’t think it was something worth getting you involved over!” I said defensively. “Sutton didn’t want to make a big deal out of it since nothing happened, and we’ve been staying away from Chad ever since.”

  “You didn’t think it was worth coming to me!” Susan shook her head in disbelief. “Not only should you have come to me, but you should have gone straight to the police!”

  “It’s not something that needs to get that big,” I said again, but Susan wasn’t in a listening mood.

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” she said. “This absolutely needs to be brought to the attention of the police!”

  “That’s Sutton’s choice, isn’t it?” I asked rather innocently. “I mean, isn’t she the one who should be able to make that call one way or the other?”

  Susan shook her head. “She’s been through so much already, how do you think she felt when that happened? I doubt she would want to go to the police just because she’s tired of all this!”

  “Exactly, which is why I think you should talk to her about it before you get the authorities involved,” I said. “Why do you think she didn’t tell you?”

  Susan sat back in her chair and sighed. She clearly didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t blame her. I didn’t know what to do, either. But, I did feel that Sutton should have a say in what happened next. She was the one who was the victim of the attack when it happened, and she was the one who didn’t want to say anything about it.

  I didn’t think it was my place to force her one way or the other. She was nearly an adult, and in my mind, that meant she was able to make her own decisions. I trusted her judgment, even if Susan didn’t.

  “This isn’t the sort of thing that can be ignored,” Susan said. “If Chad did something, or even tried to do something to Sutton, the police need to be called.”

  “I don’t have time for this right now,” I replied. “You need to talk to Sutton about it before you do something like that. I’m already late for work. You said if I answered your question then I could go. I answered, and now I’m going.”

  “Damon!” Susan called after me, but I didn’t listen. I didn’t care if she was Sutton’s mother or not. I had to get to work, and I wasn’t going to let her strong arm me into calling the cops when Sutton wasn’t aware of what was going on.

  It was up to Sutton what she wanted to do, and if Susan thought that the police should be called, then I would leave that up to her and Sutton to decide. But, as far as I was concerned, I had handled it with Chad, and I didn’t care what he said or did to apologize, I was done with him and his friendship.

  Although, after the fight he and I had had in the cafeteria, I had a feeling I wasn’t going to have to worry about it anymore. That was likely the one thing that sent the message louder and clearer than anything else I could have done.

  Susan was right. There was a time when we were inseparable, but that was when we were younger. That was before I knew the kind of guy Chad was. Now, he had shown his true colors, and I wasn’t going to be his friend anymore.

  The decision was made in my mind, and nothing could change it.

  What was done, was done.

  Chapter 6

  Sutton

  Ever since I was accosted by those three men on my way home from school, I avoided going down to the Bay alone. I didn’t take the long way home at all anymore, and only cut through downtown if I was on my way to the board shop to see Damon after class.

  His suspension would be over the next day, but then we had the weekend before he would be back at school, so I still wanted to stop by and hang out with him for a few minutes before heading back to the house.

  It was rare for Dean to be there on a Thursday afternoon. I’d learned he was mostly likely to be there o
n a Monday or a Tuesday, so I was hopeful today I’d just have the chance to talk to my boyfriend without him hovering in the background listening in on what we were saying.

  At first, when I noticed he seemed really interested in what Damon and I were talking about when we were together, I thought Susan might have put him on our case to find out if we were talking about anything she would want to be aware of. But, the more time I spent with Damon, and the more I noticed Dean eavesdropping on us, the more I felt he was just nosey himself.

  He wanted to know what we were talking about for his own information. Why, I wasn’t sure. But, I had a feeling he wasn’t going to use it for anything good.

  It wasn’t like he’d be able to get anything really useful from listening in on us, however. Damon and I were always very careful when we knew either Susan or Dean was around. We didn’t want them being involved in our relationship at any capacity, even if we weren’t talking about anything they would find interesting.

  And, with those three men on the back of my mind as well as Damon continuing to fight after he told me he was going to be done, it was hard for us to just stick to the mundane topics of school when we were together. I wanted to know if there were any updates in him getting out of the fights, or if he had any more information he could share with me about those men.

  It wasn’t that I was watching him, or even that I didn’t trust him, because I fully did. But, I didn’t trust those men, not one bit. I didn’t trust that they were telling Damon the truth, and I hoped they weren’t going to try to strong arm him into doing more for them.

  I still wasn’t entirely sure what they had over him to begin with, but, he wasn’t going to tell me until after the last fight, and I was just going to have to accept that. So, I would make an effort to be as supportive as possible until he got through that fight, then he’d finally explain to me everything.