Path of Destruction (26 page)

No seventeen-year-old male should ever have to see his grandmother naked. That’s what he’d learned at six forty-five in the morning when he’d stumbled into the kitchen to find his bare-assed grandma attempting to make pancakes.

“Gran. Dear Jesus.” He clamped his eyes shut and prayed for the memory to be erased. Nope. Still there. “Dad,” he’d hollered, heading into the other room.

But then there was the clicking, the unmistakable sound of the gas stove waiting for someone to hit the ignite button. How long had the gas been on? He wasn’t sure, but with his grandma, there was no telling. Grabbing one of the aprons his mother owned only for show, he wrapped it around his disoriented grandma and steered her away from the stove.

His dad stormed into the room and shook his head. “What in God’s name is going on in here?” His eyes turned to where Gran sat in the kitchen chair Hayden had placed her in.

“Just making pancakes,” was all she said, her thousand-yard stare landing far away from either of them.

“I turned the gas off,” Hayden offered. “But I don’t know how long it was on before I did.”

His father sighed loudly. “Come on, Mom. Let’s get you dressed.”

She mumbled something Hayden couldn’t make out. He wished for the millionth time that his grandfather were still alive. He would’ve handled this, would’ve made sure she was never in such a degrading situation. He could practically hear the old man cussing all of them in his head. They weren’t doing right by her, weren’t taking good enough care of her. But Hayden didn’t know what else he could do. He felt like a kid trying to play grownup every time he tried to help her.

Before he could flee the scene of the crime, Hayden’s mom rushed into the dining room, blocking the exit.

“What’s going on in here?” Her voice was sharp-edged and unforgiving. “Was she cooking? Did she set anything on fire?”

“Stop talking about her like she isn’t here—like she isn’t a person,” Hayden grumbled. He placed his head in his hands, knowing that this was likely the end of the line for Gran and that there wouldn’t be much he could say or do about it. He’d failed her, worse, he’d failed Pops.

“Little Hayden loves pancakes. Doesn’t he, Edwin? I swear he ate six full-sized ones yesterday.”

Hayden’s heart broke in half when he saw the hopeful way his grandmother looked at his father. They’d met with her doctor after the storm and he’d explained that sometimes she truly wasn’t there—she was somewhere else and the reality she saw was real for her.

“Yes, he does,” his father answered in a resigned tone that matched how Hayden felt. “But we can make him some another time, okay? Right now, let’s get you dressed.”

“She could’ve burnt the entire house down. Could’ve burnt herself badly,” his mother piped up angrily. “This has gone far enough.” She leveled Hayden with a pointed look. “If the two of you won’t man up and do what needs to be done, then I will.”

“She’s not a dog, Mom. You can’t just put her down because she inconveniences you. Think about what Pops would’ve—”

“I know what he would’ve wanted, son,” his dad cut in gruffly. “And this isn’t it. Her confused and putting herself or any of us in danger isn’t what he would’ve wanted. Believe me.”

Hayden did believe him. And he knew he’d played his only card one too many times. “So, what? Gran just gets shoved off into some home for invalids now?”

His emotions were too close to the surface. After all the drama with Ella Jane, the confusing encounter with Cami, and now this, he was at his limit. He’d tried so hard to stop being the selfish punk kid who’d missed out on being there for his grandparents. He’d tried to make up for that by taking care of Gran, being the best friend he could to Cami, and being as patient as humanly possible with Ella Jane. But none of that seemed to count for a damn thing right now.

After his dad had basically told him that he was calling Golden Acres that very morning and there was nothing he could do about it, Hayden had left for school feeling worthless and dejected. To add insult to injury, he’d been on his way to first period when Cooper had accosted him.

“You kiss her?” he’d asked in place of a greeting.

Hayden wasn’t sure if he was asking about Cameron or EJ. “Which
her
are you referring to, Joe?”

Cooper had glared at him as if he’d just insulted his mother.

Hayden put a hand up. “I’m really not in the mood for this to—” he’d started to say when Brantley Cooper had punched him directly in the face.

A few guys from the team had started shoving Cooper and a fight was about to break out when Hayden sat up with a hand in the air. “Enough. I’m fucking fine. Move along.”

Most of them did.

“Not you,” Hayden said when Cooper glared down at him. “You help me up. We need to talk.”

Shockingly enough, Cooper held a hand out. Hayden let himself be yanked to his feet before lifting his book bag from the ground.

“Wanna do me a favor?”

“I just did,” Cooper responded with ice in his voice. “I didn’t knock you out cold.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Hayden rubbed his throbbing cheekbone and checked his jaw. Still clicked. “It’s about Ella Jane.”

The two of them continued walking down the hall as if nothing odd had transpired. “Oh yeah? What about her?”

“Tell her. About you and Cameron.”

Cooper’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know what you’re—”

“You just decked me, Joe. At school. Risking suspension. Or worse. Over Cameron. Obviously you’re more than just social committee buddies. I’m guessing you’re the guy from last summer. Tell Ella Jane before she finds out from someone else. The two of them aren’t exactly friends.”

“No shit. But I don’t know what you’re talking about. Last summer? We didn’t even start speaking until school started.”

Hayden stopped and tilted his head. Was Cooper not the guy then? Who the hell was? “Never mind. But still. If I were you, I’d tell her. Believe me, if she feels like you kept this from her on purpose, she’ll never speak to you again. Pretty sure you’re about the only person she does actually speak to.”

In the midst of a sea of bodies in the crowded hall, Ella Jane passed by with Jarrod Kent. She didn’t look at either of them. Hayden noted that her eyes were glazed over and she didn’t really seem to be looking at anyone.

“Not the only person apparently,” Cooper muttered. “Though I see you’re still getting the cold shoulder.”

“Story of my life.”

“It pains me to say this, but give her time. She’s been through a lot.”

Hayden thought about his grandparents, about Cami lying in that hospital bed unresponsive, about his dad constantly hassling him about how to run his bookie business next year, how hard he’d tried to get through to EJ only to lose her to a douche bag like Kent even after he’d tried to defend her honor at prom.

“Haven’t we all.”

The two of them walked a few feet before Hayden stopped and risked another blow to the face.

“For the record, what happened after prom didn’t…” He paused to think so he didn’t say something offensive about Cami. “You ever wish you could go back in time? Do things differently just to see if you’d end up in the same place?”

Cooper’s forehead wrinkled. “I try not to think like that. I can’t so it’s pointless.”

“Right. I know. I just meant—”

“I get it,” Cooper said evenly, his gaze drifting to where Ella Jane was now passing Cameron at the opposite end of the hallway. “I just don’t think anything good will come from wishing.”

“D
id you run into a truck face-first?” Cami pressed her fingertips to his cheekbone. He winced, and she grimaced in response. “Sorry. Looks like it hurts.”

Hayden leaned against his locker and out of her reach. “I can handle it.”

“You sure have taken a beating this year. Who’d you fight over Ella Jane Mason this time? I saw her with Jarrod in the hallway. What’s that about?”

“Not Kent. Brantley Cooper. I think you know him.”

Cami full on scowled. “God. He acts like they’re just friends, but he can’t seem to let his jealously over her go.”

Hayden gave her a sardonic smile. “Funny thing, it wasn’t over her this time. It was over you.”

Cami’s eyes rounded and her mouth fell open just slightly.

“And,” Hayden continued, “since I know
I
didn’t tell anyone about our after prom escapades, I have to assume that—”

Cami cut him off with a groan. “Sorry. I’m so sorry. I did tell him, but not because I thought he’d punch you in the face.”

Hayden tucked his books into his locker and slammed it. No sense in pretending he was going to be able to do homework with the way his grandma needed his constant attention.

“Yeah, well, turns out Joe has a thing for you, Cami-girl. Is the feeling mutual?”

The darkening of her cheeks was answer enough.

“It started out as just…casual…but now it’s…”

“More than that,” Hayden finished for her, touching the swollen side of his face. “I see that. The question is, can you?”

A
fter making hot dogs for the human garbage disposals otherwise known as his brothers, Cooper made them help clean up the house a bit and put their laundry away so that his mom wouldn’t have to. She had enough to deal with.

He’d overheard bits and pieces from his parents arguing to know how dire the situation was becoming. It was bad. The farm would be auctioned off if his parents’ money-gathering tour of the countryside wasn’t successful sooner rather than later. Thankfully he’d been hired on at the docks. It was ten bucks an hour and every little bit helped. He’d start Friday night and work through Tuesday night. Monday and Tuesday would suck, going to school on no sleep and all. But there were only a few weeks left until graduation anyway. He could deal until then.

Once the rambunctious duo and his mom had turned in for the night, Cooper grabbed a quick shower and headed out to the barn. His stitches were beginning to itch like hell, but he knew from experience that just meant it was healing.

Healing. Now there was an interesting concept.

It had been nine months since his best friend died, yet some days, Cooper didn’t feel like he was healing at all. Ella Jane sure as hell wasn’t. Her pain and anger lived right on the surface, boiling just beneath her skin. Most of the time, he felt as if every little thing he did would make her angry. She was his best friend now, he supposed, and he couldn’t talk to her about the one thing that was making him the most insane at the moment.

Sure they talked about the farm more now, each of their parents, and how much they wanted out of Summit Bluffs High School. But he wanted to seek her advice about Cameron, wished he could come out and ask her point-blank if he was an idiot. If she was so far out of his league that they weren’t even in the same conference.

He wanted to ask if she would hate him for wanting some type of relationship with a girl she didn’t like very much, though much as she tried to hide it, he suspected she was harboring some serious feelings for Prescott. After their huge blow-up after prom, he’d thought the lines of communication would be a little more open—but if anything, she’d become more withdrawn. He wasn’t sure why or if there was anything he could even do about it.

It all made him tired to think about. There were never enough hours in the day and he was exhausted.

The barn hadn’t held livestock in years, but the faint animal scent still remained. It was dark, but Cooper knew the way to the ladder by heart. Once he reached it, he gripped it with his two hands and began his ascent. Bed sounded so good right now. Part of him wished he’d just slept in his old room in the house, but his parents had turned it into an overcrowded home office after he’d started sleeping in the loft.

After flicking the lamp on in the loft, he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the couch. His eyes flickered to where it landed. Next to a girl.

His heart rate accelerated so fast he wondered if her unexpected presence might actually give him a heart attack.

“Cameron?”

She’d fallen asleep, her knees tucked under her on the end of his couch. He said her name again, slightly softer as he recovered from the shock.

She blinked herself awake, her eyes opening wide when she spotted him standing there. Shirtless.

“Hey,” she said softly. Her voice permeated the protector layer of asshole he’d been keeping up around her at school.

The school had kept up on its tornado preparedness, setting off the sirens on Tuesday. He’d wanted to go to that damn closet and comfort her so badly that he’d had to go outside to keep from breaking his own self-imposed rule of leaving her alone.

“I didn’t know you knew where I lived.” It was a lame opening line, but he didn’t know what else to say.
What the hell are you doing here
seemed rude.

Her cheeks flushed a sexy shade of pink and her eyes lowered. “I followed you home from school.”

Cooper glanced over at the clock on his nightstand. “It’s after nine, Cameron. You’ve been out here for that long?”

She shrugged. Then she stretched out long, her legs tensing beneath the denim of her jeans. He’d never seen her in jeans. Skirts, yes. Those damn jegging things, yes. But jeans, no. They looked good on her. Really good. Other parts of his body took notice. She was adorably sexy with mussed hair and dreamy eyes.