Tell Me More Lies

Chapter 4: Julian

"So you up for it?" Elio asked as he round the corner of his Convertible. 

"No, and don't ever fuckin’ ask me again. I'm done with that shit." I rake my hand through my hair in frustration. 

"Dude, you have to. Sam won't lay off. I swear I'm going to beat the s**t out of him if Coach wouldn't be up my ass and suspend me for it."

I doubt Coach would want to suspend his best player of the season. If it goes down between Elio or Sam, he'd give the mediocre player the boot long before he even thinks of benching Elio. But I don't mention that, especially when this thing with Sam is between me and him. Guess he's too afraid to tell me straight up that he had to go cry to my younger brother for help.

"Tell him he has to ask it himself or is he too much of a cunt to do that?"

Elio laughs. "You know he is." 

Sam is one of the organizers at The Pitt that schedules riders to compete. He thinks if he could book me a gig it would bump up his status and people would form a beeline straight to him. The go-to guy for gigs. 

But I'm fuckin' done with racing. If he doesn't get the clear picture soon I might have to give him a firm reminder of what happens to people who annoys the s**t out of me. Especially this early in the fuckin' morning.

"You know," Elio starts as he leans on the hood of his car. "You should enjoy it while it last. Next year you'd be off to college and soon enough you'd have white hair and scoliosis, but still have the same brooding s**t on your face. Only in that time, it would be for reasons that you missed out on your youth."

"As long as I don't look like you," I say.

I doubt drinking booze and getting high like a balloon on a Friday night counts as missing out on my youth. I don't share the same sentiment of what Elio considers fun. Despite him being my brother, he's a fuckin' menace. Leave him alone with a beer case and you'd wonder where the s**t went after ten minutes. Takes up after our father.

Too bad Robert Pavlov don't give two shits about us. He merely pays his dues and takes off to his office where he spends most of his nights. Being the star of the town's gossip years ago sure did make him popular in the politics department. But the advertisements and amount of sponsors don't depict what he actually was. A fake. A liar. A conceited man who only cares about his public image and not the image he portrays to his own children. 

Not that we minded. My brothers and I got used to it long before we ever knew how to drive. Robert never got a passenger seat on the ride to my brothers' teenage years. He's only good for being a benefactor for Levi and Elio's delectations. I, however, refuse to accept anything from him. I don't want to owe him and he sure as s**t doesn't owe me. That's how it works.

"Yo, Dane!" Elio beckons. Dane comes at us with the usual annoying smile and plasters his elbows down on the hood of the car, his face in his palms. "You look happy."

"Ah, don't you love the sweet smell of green trees and morning air. Life is sooo good, dudes." He stares at me. "What's up your ass?"

I roll my eyes. It's too early to deal with this s**t.

Elio slaps a palm on my shoulders. "You know, just the usual boring Julian. You'd think he'd be more enthusiastic on the first day of his senior year. And also, Sam wants to book him."

Dane barks out a laugh. "Sammy the clammy? Why'd he think he could pull that off? He does have guts I'll give him that. I think he needs to be put in his place, don't you think?"

"Nah. Not worth it. I'll beat his ass on the field at practice, though. Fucker gets on my nerves."

I shake my head. I'll deal with Sam later.

From the corner of my eye, I see Ayla ambling towards us, her summer trippy blue hair gone. "Hey," I greet her. 

Her stride don't stop until she was inches in front of me. A fist collides with my cheek at a force I didn't know she was fuckin' capable of. "What the f**k, Ayla?"

Elio and Dane snicker behind me. The little shits. "Guess someone's riding the wave today."

Ayla ignores Elio's taunt. "What did you say to Cole?"

I stand up straight. "You mean the druggie boyfriend of yours? Didn't know you had the hots for dirty d**k or else Dane would've been the perfect candidate."

"f**k you, man."

Ayla's frown deepens. "He's not a—" She stops. I stare at her dead in the eyes, daring her to finish the sentence. 

But she can't 'cause she knows it's true.

Cole Jenkins was a rotten apple on the bad side of Ridgewood Bay—we call that Mayfield now.

"He's not my boyfriend anymore." Her eyes cast downward, the frown intact.

"Then why are you so worked up?"

"Bec—"

"Because that motherfucker left her on the side of the road yesterday like a little b***h, that's what." Dane and I looked at Elio, surprised with his sudden outburst. But Ayla wasn't. "Had to waste my time driving her back to her house myself. You should get good company next time. Or is his d**k just too good to let go?"

Ayla makes a threatening step forward. "Better than yours that's for sure. Poor Maddie, had to hear her fake the big 'O' multiple times." 

Elio frowns. Ayla used to sleep over our house so she'd know what felt like. Hell, I used to sleep over Dane's because I'm positively sure the fuckers have a goal to burn through ten boxes of condoms a month.

She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Cole told me someone was threatening him."

I blink, waiting for a punchline. 

When she doesn't continue, I speak, "And did the number come from me?" She kept quiet. "Case closed. Wasn't me."

"Yeah, but you're the only one who had access to my phone last week when I left it at your car. So, he thinks it's you."

I cross my arm. "Yeah, well, it wasn't me. But let me give you a piece of advice. If someone threw me to the curb because he assumed something that isn't true, I'd cut my losses."

She breathes an exasperated sigh. "You know how much s**t I got from the stepdick for sneaking out just to see him? And, what, I get repaid with a foot up my ass?"

I shrug. "Serves you right for dating an idiot." I straightened the bag hanging loosely around my shoulders. Goddammit. This thing is staring to rip from its seam. I hate shopping for s**t. "That wasn't me who threatened him otherwise he would've recognized the number from when I texted him last month you had crabs and should stay away from you."

I should've seen the slap coming, but I didn't. This time it hurt like a motherfucker. "s**t, Ayla. Hit me one more time and I swear—"

"You'll ditch me in a desert? I'm not really buying your empty threats anymore Julian. But go ahead."

I swear she's getting bolder by the minute. Ayla is a year younger than I am and while that firecracker inside her was what caught my attention the first year she attended RH, she was almost like a sister to me despite wanting to kill her most of the time. "Pass. No boobs is worth the hassle."

Almost like a sister.

"Yeah? Then why are you with Charlotte? Pretty sure she's flatter than a G note." 

"Butt out with Charlotte."

"I'll butt out if you stick your nose into someone else's relationship. Preferably yours. God knows it takes more than a therapeutic retreat for you two to stop bitching around."

Charlotte is an on again off again fling that I have. Last I checked we weren't dating now so there's no point in bringing her up in conversation.

Dane quips up. "That's not the only place Julian's sticking his nose into." He bellows in laughter. 

I sharply tug on one of his elbows resting on the hood of the car and his chin slams down hard. He yelps in pain while cradling his chin like fuckin' a baby.

"Watch the paint job," Elio scolds.

Ayla rolls her eyes. "You know, I'm starting to get fuckin' sick of you being about my business with C—"

"What the fuckin' ass is she doing back here?" I look at Elio where a deep scowl had plastered itself on his face. I furrow my eyebrows.

I follow his gaze near the double doors of the front entrance. A girl climbs out of a silver Lexus. I assumed it was the ex-girlfriend I pretty much witnessed him chase out of Ridgewood Bay because she photoshopped picture of him with a tiny d**k and made it circulate around the school back in seventh grade.

But, no, this was worse. It was s**t show so much fuckin' worse. 

The girl turns around, waving a small goodbye to the man in the driver's seat. My blood started to heat up.

Sierra Pierce.

What the hell? She's back? She's fuckin' back.

Ayla looks between me and Elio sharing the same pained expression. "What? You two know her or something?" Our faces showed it because something inside her clicked and she smiled. "Oh, s**t, you do. You're in for a treat boys. That's the stepdick's niece living with us for a year. The little snitch."

She's a snitch, alright. One I'll have to get rid of soon. 

She's living with Ayla. That's gonna be interesting.

"Why's she staying with you?" I ask her, my tone far too aggressive that I intended. 

"I don't know much about the deets but I heard her father was locked up. Apparently, the dude embezzled millions from his job."

I hear Dane let out a whistle. 

Taron Pierce was in prison? Didn't think her father was capable of doing s**t like that. But I guess if his gold digging wife hadn't gotten to his ear, she would have eventually.

"Damn. Didn't think I'd see her around town anytime soon," Elio says but I don't look at him. My eyes trail her, never leaving until she disappears behind the door.

All of it comes back like a heatwave. 

Her. The fire. The day at the lockers. 

I wonder if the little red devil still sits on her shoulder. One way to find out.

"Why's that?" Ayla asked.

Elio sighs. "Let's just say she's been blacklisted by the Pavlov family long before she even hit puberty."

"What'd she do? Make dandy's fall in love with her and left you at the altar?"

"Better you ask Julian. Pretty sure the dude can fill you in more than he can fill up Charlotte's holes. Ain't that right, Julie boy?" Elio taunts by the irritating nickname Charlotte called me.

I smack him hard in the head. "It doesn't matter. She'll be gone by the end of the week." 

I'll make sure of it.

She got a lot of f*****g nerve coming back to town. Guess my message wasn't clear enough for her. I'll have to teach her a lesson myself. When I'm done, she's gonna wish she burned down along with that building.