Surviving Elite High: The Next Generation, Senior Year

Chapter One Robbie lay on his bed, writing in his journal. There was so much to record, he’d been writing much of the afternoon. ‘Summer came to an abrupt end,’ he wrote with a smile. ‘In the blink of eye I was left standing all alone and wanting more. I had completely wasted my summer doing absolutely nothing with my life unlike my boyfriend and friends who all seemed to have something important to do. Tim spent his entire summer working. Yes, he worked his ass off at his dad’s sports shop. His father, Johnny, decided to test his business management skills and gave him the entire store to run by himself. Tim had to do everything, from making orders to supervising every employee under his wing. He also had to make sure that the accounts balanced out at the end of day and even had to wipe the store’s windows when one of his employees called in sick. Tim was on fire and he was extremely happy that his dad put him to the test since he really wanted to major in business at Harvard University. I hoped and prayed that Tim would achieve his goals even if I wasn’t a part of them. Ever since we broke up and got back together, I felt like Tim would leave me at any moment and I would end up all alone. Silly, right? If he did, however, I would be okay with it since meeting Tim was the best thing that could ever happen to me. At the end of the day, I knew very well that I had the love of my five best friends.’ ‘Taylor spent her entire summer in California living the life and going from party to party. Every night, she would text or call me and share with me everything that she had done during the day. I would get so jealous of her. Especially after she sent me a selfie with my favorite actor, Chris Evans. They had met at a friend’s party and she had stolen a picture with him. I really hated her for that! If I’d been in her shoes, I would have r***d him on the spot and gladly served my jail time with a huge smile on my face. Taylor went through a lot the previous year. She and Nicky looked inseparable and perfect together, but everything had been a lie. Their relationship crumbled into a thousand pieces and they decided to head their separate ways, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. I prayed every night that they would somehow find their way back to each other again. I loved seeing them together and I would do anything to see them as a happy couple once again. Sadly, my brother, Nicky, had already moved on.’ ‘Nicky spent his entire summer working on his car. Ever since he got his precious 1969 Retrobuilt Mustang back, he services the car from top to bottom every single day. He would bark at anyone who got near it and would bite you if you were not fast enough to elude his attack. I learned the hard way to keep my distance and watch him from far. Nicky had really become the precious brother I had always wanted and didn’t want anymore. The second I met him the previous year, all I wanted was to rip off his clothes off and ride him to infinity and beyond. Now, I am extremely embarrassed to have thought about him that way. We are brothers. From different mothers and fathers, but we are definitely brothers. I wish nothing but the best for him even though there are days I really want to strangle him. Especially when he teams up with Abby and makes fun of me.’ ‘Abby is my sister even though there isn’t a direct relationship between us. Ever since I met her, I felt drawn to her wild behavior and spontaneous nature. Abby didn’t know what a filter was or knew the basic rules of society. Abby did what she wanted, whenever she wanted. Like when her mother, Madison, would make her look after the shop. She would work for an hour or two and would magically appear at my door, smiling without a care in the world. Her mother would then call her and yell at her over the phone, but Abby would simply roll her eyes, promising to behave from now on. The following day, it was the same thing all over again. We spent the entire summer together, hanging out with Nicky. We went hiking, swimming, running, and many more tiresome activities that would get me all wound up while they simply went ahead and left me behind. They would show up later, out of nowhere, smiling and making fun of me. I hated them, but at least Abby was having a better time than her ex-boyfriend, Josh.’ ‘Josh, like Tim, spent all his summer working at his dad’s mechanic shop. Jacob was teaching him everything he knows about cars and motorcycle in hopes that his son would someday run the family business. Josh loves motorcycles. He would sometimes teach his father a thing or two. There is no doubt in my mind that Josh is going to make an amazing business man and mechanic someday. Josh would occasionally drop by to hang out with Nicky and, out of nowhere, they would disappear for an hour or two. When they would get home, Nicky would smell like alcohol and Mentos. Nicky would then stay away from Nick and John and lock himself in his room until he sobered up or smelled normal once again. Lily would simply raise an eyebrow at him since she knew very well what was going on. She would never tell on him though and would occasionally cover up for his reckless behavior.’ ‘Lily is the sister I always dreamed about. We would talk for hours about random topics or would end up cooking something for Nick and John. Lily was teaching me how to cook. John taught her at a very young age and she wanted to teach me since Nicky wasn’t going to grab a pan and cook something for himself, even if his life depended on it. So we would pull open all of the drawers, take out all of the pans and randomly pick something from John’s Little Cook Book. It was more like a cooking journal that John had written down over the years. He had learned to cook from a very young age and was now a master chef. Lily loves John. Nick would sometimes argue that she loved John even more than him. But I know better. She loves them equally and couldn’t choose one over the other. I feel the same way. I love Nick and John. They are the parents I longed for when I was stuck at the orphanage. Without them, I would have never met Tim or my amazingly perfect brother and sister and my three best friends.’ “What are you doing?” Abby burst into his room. Knocking wasn’t in her skill set. Robbie closed his journal. “Writing. But I’m done now. What you up to?” “Got here about two hours ago.” Abby came over and dropped onto the bed beside him. “And I wanted to see what you were up to since you’ve been so quiet.” “You got here two hours ago?” Where had Abby been? Had she been with Nicky again? Or Lily? He highly doubted it since Lily left very early with Oliver to pick up her grandparents at the airport. “Where have you been?” “Listening to music with Nicky.” Robbie took a deep breath. She had been with Nicky yet again. All summer long, they had spent a lot of time together. She had spent more time with Nicky than with him. What was going on between them? Should something be going on with them? Were they secretly dating or something? Would Abby do something like that to Taylor? Her best friend? “You want to hit the mall?” Abby asked, cleaning up one of her fingernails with the other. “You can visit Tim while we shop.” “We?” “Yeah, Nicky and my fine ass.” Once again, they were leaving him behind, but at least this time, he was going to be with Tim while they ran around the mall like two crazy idiots. “Sure.” Robbie stood up and went to his walk-in closet. He took off his shirt and found a fresh one. As he put it on, he addressed Abby. “You heard anything about Taylor lately?” “No I haven’t. In reality, I haven’t talked to her in days now. How is she?” “Good.” Robbie put on his shoes. “She’s living the California life.” “I’m happy for her. She’s moved on already and that’s good.” “Yeah. I’m still hoping they get back together though.” “Why?” “Because they love each other.” Robbie walked out of his closet and found her sitting up, staring at him. “And how do you know that?” Abby stood, folding her arms. She looked almost insulted. “Maybe, they’ve both moved on to better things.” “Who’s better than Taylor for Nicky?” Abby sighed. “Come on. Let’s go before Nicky comes in here and drags us out. You know how much he loves waiting.” Robbie rolled his eyes. “He’s so impatient! Like seriously, who would put up with him?” “He does have a nice d**k. That’s more than enough reason for me.” Abby held his hand and dragged him toward the door. Robbie laughed, holding his stomach. “I saw his video online the other day.” They walked down the hallway that led into the kitchen and the living room. “It was there for a few minutes and then it was gone.” “Is Uncle Nick still working on getting it offline?” “Yeah. He has a whole team working on it, but people keep posting it. It goes up for a few minutes and then disappears into thin air.” “Where are you two going?” John asked as they appeared from down the hallway. He was busily stirring something in a large pot. Their summer party was a few hours away and John still had a lot to cook. Robbie knew better by now not to offer to help. John was a perfectionist and he needed to do everything himself in order to feel that everything was going as planned. “We’re going with Nicky to the mall. Where’s Nick?” “In his office. Have fun and please be back before four. I can assure you everything will be ready by then.” He stopped what he was doing and started to take out a few ingredients from the double door refrigerator. “I’m not panicking yet.” “He’s so panicking,” Abby whispered into Robbie’s ear. “We will, Uncle John!” Abby pulled Robbie to the front door. “Let’s go and leave him be. You know how he gets when he’s cooking. He doesn’t want anyone around.” Robbie chuckled. John was simply being John. Outside, they found Nicky in his car, waiting for them. He smiled with Abby and waved at Robbie. Smiled? He almost beamed after she appeared from the front door. What was going on between them? Why was Nicky staring at her that way? “Took you long,” Nicky grumbled the second Robbie jumped in the backseat and Abby slid in next to him. “What were you doing? Painting your nails?” “No, I wasn’t, you jackass.” “I was talking to Robbie.” Nicky started his car. “Not you.” Abby giggled, punching Nicky on his right biceps. “You’ve got to understand, Nicky, he was getting pretty for Tim.” Robbie rolled his eyes. They were definitely at it again. “Why are you guys always picking on me all of a sudden? What did I do?” “Nothing.” Nicky drove toward the front gate. “We just got nothing better to do than pick on you, Little Bro.” “Clearly.” “Stop picking on him, Dicky Head.” “You’re always picking on him.” “No, I’m not! You always start it.” “No, I don’t!” Nicky drove toward the center of town. “God kill me!” Robbie stared into the heavens above. Nicky and Abby bellowed with laughter. She reached for the stereo and the car’s speakers exploded with a Bon Jovi song. They started singing their hearts out and completely ignored him. It wasn’t until they arrived at the mall that Nicky opened the door for him and acknowledged his presence. “You want to head to Juicy Shakes? Or want to drop by Tim first?” Robbie was slightly upset with him and Abby as well. He had no idea why they started picking on him all of a sudden. “I’ll head to Tim’s store while you guys go about your business.” “You sure? I’ll treat you to that Kiwi Blast you love so much.” Robbie ignored her. “It’s okay. I want to be alone with Tim, too.” Too. That was the perfect word to end his sentence. Nicky and Abby glanced at each other, looking a little uneasy. He needed to let them know he was on to them. “Okay. If anything, call me, Little Brother.” “Will do, Big Brother.” Robbie turned around and walked away. They were definitely dating! Those two bastards were a couple. He had no doubt about it now. But why would they hide it from him? Who were they hiding from? His answer came to him almost instantly. Taylor. Did Taylor know that her best friend was dating her ex-boyfriend? Or was she in the dark like he had been? Now he understood why they picked on him all summer long. They wanted to bully his ass away so that they could spend some quality time together. How could he have been so stupid? Robbie made a turn and headed down a set of stairs that led to Johnny’s Sports World. Suddenly, he froze, breathing heavily. Every hair on his body stood on end while his legs quivered. For a second, he saw him, the stranger in his dreams, but this time he wasn’t a vision. He was real as the day and night. The man looked extremely different in real life. He had large bags under his eyes, uncombed hair and a long bushy beard. His cold dead eyes, however, still sent shivers up and down Robbie’s spine. They were filled with lust, desire and hate. Could it really be him? Was he real? Robbie rubbed his eyes and focused on the stranger again who had now completely evaporated into thin air. Robbie shook his head, assembling his thoughts. He was starting to see things again. He brushed off the man in his dreams and headed straight for Tim’s shop in the distance. He pushed the double door open and his attention fell on Tim’s deep blue eyes and spiked up hair. “Hey there!” Tim stepped away from the counter and almost ran to meet him. He wrapped his arms around him, squeezing him tight. He tasted Robbie’s lips and smiled happily like a kid on a sugar rush. “Thought you weren’t coming today.” “Nicky and Abby wanted to shop for God knows what so they kicked me to the curb again. I swear there’s something going on between them.” Tim chuckled. “Between Abby and Nicky?” “Yeah.” Tim raised an eyebrow. “Come on! Abby and Nicky? I don’t think they’d do that to Taylor, right? Maybe you still have a thing for him. I’ll ask him if he’s up for a threesome.” Tim winked at him. “It’d be fun.” Blood drained from Robbie’s face. “I’m serious! I honestly think those two are dating behind everyone’s back.” “I’m serious too. It’d be cool to sandwich you.” Robbie rolled his eyes, looking as serious as he could. “Okay!” Tim raised his hands in the air. “You’re not in the mood to joke around.” “Of course I’m not. Those two asswipes bullied me all summer long in order to keep me away from them. Why couldn’t they simply tell me the truth instead?” “Maybe you’re imagining it all, or maybe, they haven’t told you anything because you’re Team Taylor all the way.” Robbie was perplexed. “What? That’s not true.” Tim folded his arms and shook his head, studying him closely. “Okay! A part of me does want to see them back together, but I just can’t believe that Nicky and Abby are dating and that they didn’t tell me anything.” “Again, maybe you’re imagining it all, and so what if they’re dating? They’re free to do whatever they want.” Robbie had to agree with him. “But what about Taylor?” “If they’re dating, let them deal with the consequences. Don’t get involved and pick a side. Let them sort this out among themselves. Okay?” Robbie sighed, dropping the issue for now. “Fine. Hopefully, I’m wrong.” “Exactly. Now, about that threesome, Nicky or Josh?” Robbie rolled his eyes, trying not to laugh. He wrapped his arms around Tim and smirked. “Why not both?” Tim wetted his lips. “Can you even handle that much d**k?” “If I can handle you, I can handle them.” “Damn! How long has it been?” “About three weeks, since you’re so busy here.” Tim shook his head and glanced at his watch. “More like twenty-two days, eight hours, and fifty-three minutes. But who’s counting, right?” Robbie laughed. “Have you really been counting every second since the last time we made love?” “Can you blame me? I can’t wait to have you naked and in my arms again. f**k Nicky and Josh. You’re mine!” “Excuse me.” A woman who looked to be in her late thirties, focused her light brown eyes on Tim. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’m looking for a pair of gloves. I can’t seem to find them anywhere.” Tim took a step away from Robbie and addressed his customer. “Right this way, Ma’am.” He pointed to the other side of the store, leading the way. “He’s a great boss.” A girl stood next to Robbie. She appeared to be a year younger than Robbie and a lot shorter. The girl had long brown hair, light brown eyes and white snowy skin. She wore the lime green uniform of Johnny’s Sports World and a huge smile. Robbie had seen her somewhere, but he couldn’t recall where. His confusion must have showed because she chuckled. “I know. I know. You don’t know me. But I do.” “Really? Sorry, it’s just that I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere, but I can’t remember where. Where do I know you from?” “School. I’m a junior. You’re Robbie, Nick and John’s adopted son. I absolutely adore them. Thanks to them, I’m studying at Elite High.” “Oh!” Robbie realized who she was. She was one of the many students who were lucky enough to get a full scholarship from Nick and John. “I see now.” “Yes. I’m Sophia.” They shook hands. “Nice to meet you, Sophia. You work here?” “Yeah, I started last week. I worked at China Town, but the owner is a complete jackass! He’d make us work all day long with no breaks in between. If we were dumb enough to take one, he’d subtract ten dollars from our weekly pay.” “I hate him already.” “Me too! So I quit and flipped him the bird as I left. As much as he claims that his fish is fresh, it’s not.” Robbie laughed. “So how did you end up working here for Tim?” “He found me crying on the floor after I realized that I needed the job.” “I’m really sorry.” “It’s okay! Tim’s a great boss and I sort of like one of his friends.” She blushed, looking away. “Oh my God!” Robbie squealed, almost jumping up and down. “Who?” “Josh.” Sophia rubbed the right sole of her shoe on the ground. “He’s really cute. He barely drops by, but when he does, I can’t pull my eyes away from him.” “You know, he’s single.” “I know! Tim told me.” “I see you met Sophia.” Tim appeared next to them. “Yeah.” The double door swung open again and another customer walked in. Sophia ran to meet him and welcome him to the store. They made their way to the football section where they began to talk like old friends. “She seems nice.” “She is and she has a huge crush on Josh.” Robbie snickered. “Yeah she told me.” “Want to help me unpack a few things?” Tim pointed at the counter behind him. “Sure. Why not?” Tim led him to the back of the store where they started opening boxes of tennis balls. While Tim priced them up, Robbie took them to shelves where Sophia neatly displayed them for everyone to see. As they placed the last item on the shelves, Nicky and Abby walked inside the store, laughing and sharing a milkshake. “You ready to go, Little Brother?” “Actually, I’m riding with Tim.” “Yeah. I’m done for the day so we’ll head out to the party in a few.” “Okay.” Abby glanced between them. Her eyes fell on Sophia for a second or two. “I guess we’ll see you there then.” “Sure thing,” Robbie told them. “Just hurry up because Dad told us to be there at four,” Nicky added. “We will,” Tim answered for him. Abby and Nicky then turned around and left. “Are you guys fighting or something?” Sophia asked Robbie. “No. Why?” “I don’t know. The whole exchange seemed a little bit awkward.” Tim laughed. “Tell Roger to shut the doors, we close in one hour.” “Really? We get to leave early?” “Yes. I’ve got plans for tonight.” “Awesome! I’ll get to it, sir.” Sophia spun around and made her way to the front doors where Roger, a fellow worker, stood waving good-bye to a customer. “Something tells me that tonight’s party will be awkward as fuck.” Robbie sighed. “I hope you’re wrong, Tim.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Of course, the second he and Tim hit the center of town, traffic came back to life, making them freeze on the spot for hours. As much as Tim complained, they couldn’t go anywhere, and by the time they got home, everyone was already there, including Tim’s parents who were always late to any event. They arrived at exactly fifteen minutes past seven. “Oh my God!” Lily shrieked the second they stepped through the front door. She was standing in the kitchen with her mouth wide open. “What happened? Why are you guys so late? Dad is freaking out. Why haven’t you answered your phones?” “Sorry!” Tim flinched. “We got stuck in traffic. There was an accident or something. And there was no reception.” “Okay!” Lily ran to one of the cabinets and took out a few plastic cups from inside. “Everyone’s out back, already eating. So move along. Hurry!” Robbie chuckled. “Do you need help?” “No! Just go!” Tim and Robbie hurried to the backyard where everyone was already assembled around a large table, eating their dinner. As they made their presence known, everyone looked up. “Hey!” Nick glanced at John who looked sick to his stomach. “I’m so glad you guys could join us.” “What happened?” John asked. “Are you guys okay? I called you a million times.” “Sorry, Uncle John! We didn’t have any bars for a long time and some jackass crashed his car slowing down traffic.” “But you guys are okay, right?” Jane looked a little concerned. “Yes,” Robbie replied as he and Tim walked next to her and sat down. “We’re fine. Just really late.” “As long as you guys are okay, everything’s fine.” John smiled. Robbie nodded and glanced down at the table. His eyes fell on Grandpapa and Grandmama who were sitting down next to each other. Grandma Caroline sat next to John, munching away. A few seats away from her sat Allison with Brad. She smiled meekly at him and continued feeding Brad little pieces of ham without giving him a chance to breathe. Allison laughed merrily as she continued to feed him nonstop. Robbie was extremely happy to know that they had patched things up and that they were as happy as could be. In front of him sat Abby and Nicky, right next to each other. They looked pleased. In fact, they were starting to look like a real couple. “Okay!” Lily appeared with a few cups in her hands. She gave them one each and sat down next to Oliver who was sitting next to Tim. “Serve yourself whatever you want, guys.” Robbie took a plate from the large stock in front of him and served himself ham with macaroni and cheese. As he continued to look around, his eyes fell on Kitty and her family, Madison and her family and Jacob and his family. The only one missing out on this memorable event was Taylor. “What happened to Taylor?” Josh asked Tim. He was sitting next to Abby and appeared to have developed telekinesis over the summer because he had definitely read his mind. “Why isn’t she here? She’s family after all.” “She couldn’t get an earlier flight.” Tim served himself his food. “Her flight will land in like two hours or so.” “That sucks!” Josh took a bite out of his turkey leg. “She’s greatly missed.” “Bianca missed or really missed?” Robbie asked him. Josh and Nicky snickered, doing their best not to laugh out loud. “Really missed,” Josh responded. “Stop it,” Tim warned them, trying not to smile. They continued with dinner, talking about random topics to keep each other entertained. The twins dazzled them with several dirty jokes while Christian and Ian silently listened to their every word. Pretty soon, they were retelling the twins’ jokes and laughing like two little kids on lots of sugar. They had definitely learned something new that day. It was toward the end of dinner that something really weird happened. Allison excused herself from the table and Nick and John soon disappeared after her. Where did they go? John would never leave his table unattended. It was really out of character for him. Robbie knew John very well now. Something was definitely wrong. As he looked around, he wasn’t able to spot them anywhere. He needed to investigate. “I’m going to use the bathroom,” Robbie lied to Tim. “Want me to tag along?” “It’s okay.” Robbie kissed his lips. “I can find it on my own.” “And here I thought that ‘using the bathroom’ was a secret code for ‘Tim, let’s f**k,” he whispered so no one would hear them. Robbie laughed. “You’re such a pervert.” “Am I?” Tim grinned. “Yes!” Robbie got to his feet. “Be right back.” Robbie made his way to the backdoor and looked inside the house. His attention fell on a radiant light coming from inside Nick’s office. Clearly, they were inside, talking. But what were they talking about so secretly? Like a cat in the middle of the night, Robbie tiptoed toward the wooden door and from up close, he heard their muffled sounds. He placed his ear over the heavy oak door, doing his best to listen to every sound. “How could this happen?” John asked, almost whispering. “I don’ know, but that’s what they told me.” “This is bad,” Nick murmured. “We need to hire security.” Robbie’s blood froze. Security? Why would they want to hire security? What was going on? Who was in danger? “I know,” Allison admitted. “I’m freaking out too, but I’m doing my best to put on my happy face and pretend that everything’s fine. I haven’t even told Brad. He warned me that this could happen years ago and he was right.” “I don’t blame him,” Nick said. “He was trying to protect his family.” Wait. What? What were they talking about? What did Brad warn Allison about? How was he protecting his family? And from who? “Should we tell him?” Allison asked. “He has the right to know.” “No,” John said firmly. “Why put him through more sorrow and pain?” “I agree,” Nick added. “We can handle it. We knew very well that this could have happened. We just didn’t know that it was going to be this soon. Besides, I’ve got a plan. We’ll hire twenty-four hour a day security and update our security system.” “Will that be enough, Nick?” Allison asked. “Yeah. I doubt he’ll find us anyway.” “I agree with Nick. We should remain calm. The second we panic, it’ll be downhill from there.” “Okay, guys. I’ll put on my best poker face on and keep you guys informed on any new development.” “Great idea,” Nick said. “And don’t tell Brad. You guys finally patched things up and this could send you back to square one.” “I won’t.” A hand landed on Robbie’s back. He spun around and came face to face with Tim, who looked worried and concerned. “Oh it’s you. Thank God.” Robbie placed a hand on his chest, doing his best to control his fast breathing and pounding heartbeat. Tim held his hand and pulled him into the kitchen. “What were you doing? Were you spying on them?” “Yes. And you scared the s**t out of me.” “What were they talking about that you had to eavesdrop?” “To be honest, I don’t know, Tim.” “You’re a lousy spy. Did you know that?” Tim embraced him and kissed his lips. “But I still love you.” Robbie chuckled. “I don’t know what they were talking about, but it sounds bad.” “Really? How bad?” “Bad enough to have Nick and John get private security.” Tim looked away for a second, thinking to himself. “This reminds me of the time Uncle Nick was still in politics. He’d walk around with an army of bodyguards so don’t stress about it. I’m pretty sure everything’s going to be fine.” “You really think so?” Robbie felt a little bit better after hearing his words. “Yeah!” Tim traced Robbie’s back with his hands and kissed him passionately. “You’ll see.” Pleasant tingles travelled every inch of Robbie’s soul, coming to a sudden stop inside his beating heart. Robbie had never felt more secure by Tim’s warm words and contagious smile before in his life. “Okay, if you say so.” “Okay!” Madison screeched through the speakers, shaking the entire house from top to bottom. “Hit me, DJ Josh! I’ll show you all what real talent looks like. Put on any Britney song. I know them inside out.” Robbie and Tim glanced at each other. “Let’s go! This ought to be good.” Robbie laughed heartily as Tim tugged his arm, pulling him to the backdoor. Tim was right. Everything was going to be fine. Or was it?