Boxed Set: The Ink Series Volume 1-5 Read online

The guy smiled a big, white, very welcoming smile. He rubbed at his neck acting a bit nervous to be barging in on me. “Julia told me to head over and see if you guys arrived.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Julia? We call her Nona. She’s my grandma. And, yes, we’ve arrived.”

  He gave a nod. “Well, welcome to Cherry. I live next door to Nona’s and do yard work at their house all the time. She’s a neat lady.”

  I smiled at the word usage. Neat was nothing to describe Nona. Nona was as wacky as they came. But I was sure he was just trying to be polite. He stepped forward, extending his hand to me. “Jesse Capone.”

  “Like the mob guy?” I asked, grinning. He tossed a sheepish grin my way, enjoying my humor.

  “I’m Hope,” I told him, letting my grasp on his sweaty hand go. He was so tan—probably something typical in California. His hair was black and messy with way too much pomade for my liking. It had a natural feel, I was sure of it, but I was also sure it probably withstood the wind or even a hurricane.

  I was a simple enough girl. Having grown up a family of all boys and a mother that didn’t have to try to look beautiful, I learned very little about makeup. I had big brown eyes. Actually, big was an understatement. Nona never went a day without telling me how radiant my eyes were. I wasn’t sure if radiant was fitting, but I let it slide. It was better than hearing her high pitched squeal of annoyance with me. I also had dark chocolate brown hair that was long and did what I asked nine times out of ten. Long and straight, I wished for a perm when I was younger, but once I got older, I learned to live with its natural state. That and my best friend, Karsen, had told me about layers and that dramatically changed my hair for the better. I never looked back after that.

  I had also learned to deal with being small. It wasn’t that I was something freakish, like way under my height. I was almost five-foot eight. I was just petite. My dad always joked the wind would blow away with me one day if I didn’t eat more. But he and I knew that was ridiculous because most days I ate more than all the guys in the house. I thanked the lucky stars for my great metabolism, because Karsen had showed me pictures of her mom once and it was scary the transformation she underwent after popping three kids out. She went from a small, dainty beauty to a giant pineapple blob of a body. We always swore we would never be like that.

  “Well, Hope, I hear you’re going to Ashwilder this fall. I have to admit, I am also part of the population,” Jesse told me with a proud smile on his face.

  “What got you in such a school? Let me guess.” I raised a hand to stop him from giving it up. I looked him up and down. He was tall and muscular. He looked older than his age, which I wasn’t sure of at the moment. His arms were firm and showcased quite the muscular physique. “I’m going to go with an instrument of some kind.”

  Jesse smiled before shaking his head. “Nope, ballet.” He waited for my shocked expression.

  “I love ballet,” I breathed, giving him a smile instead of a dropped jaw.

  “You mean you’re not going to give me a hard time? Wow, you are from a whole new world.” He crossed his arms, still unsure of me.

  “Don’t you know that most football players use ballets as a form of practice? It increases their abilities and makes them more agile on the football field. Ballet is no joke,” I offered.

  Jesse seemed a bit relieved. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and lifted his chin, waiting for my explanation on why I was going to school now.

  “I play the piano, sing and dance as a hobby most days,” I told him quickly.

  “Wow, a girl of many talents. I’m sure you’re a very dedicated person then.” He lingered in the kitchen as an uncomfortable silence wafted the room. I scratched at my arm trying to think of something to fill the air. “So, what do you do around here?”

  Jesse ran his finger across the countertop. He gave me a quick look, really thinking about my question. I waited. Maybe he wasn’t sure what to say to me because he thought I would think less of him. I wondered if that meant he was really wild. He didn’t look too wild.

  “Surfing. That’s what every kid here does all year round, basically.” He exhaled.

  I turned up my nose instantly. The thought of being stuck on a surfboard in water that could possibly have sharks waiting to attack me wasn’t sounding too pleasant.

  “Come on. I know Georgia is sitting by an ocean. You aren’t fond of the water?”

  “I was too busy with singing and dancing and friends to care about the water,” I reasoned.

  Dad opened the door for the movers. Two burly men came in carrying my personal boxes. This made me happy and a bit sad. Jesse and I moved out of the way as more and more stuff starting coming indoors.

  “Hey, you want to take a walk down by the water? I can show you there is nothing to be afraid of,” he offered, ducking as the couch almost clipped him. The kitchen was not big enough for lots of people.

  I shrugged. “Who said I was afraid? I just said I didn’t have anytime is all.” I made a quick escape past the movers, making it out to the porch. Jesse followed just as quickly, his black flip-flops making soft taps against the wood. Everything always sounded as if it was being dragged through sand here. It was a bit agitating.

  “So, you didn’t answer. Was that a yes, Jesse, or a no, go home?” Jesse questioned.

  I weighed my options. I could stay inside and wait for my room to be filled to the ceiling with boxes that I probably would never be able to put away in a night, or I could take a walk and get to know a future classmate. I gave a nod, jogging down the stairs.

  It didn’t take long to make it to the water from our house, so it was a quick trip. I was sure if I ran the next time I would be to the water in probably a minute.

  The sand was bleached. Tiny sand dollars speckled the sand along with sea weeds and bits of seashells. The ocean was brutal as waves quickly tickled the shore, almost making it to my shoes.

  “I hope you have some flip-flops,” Jesse commented, pointing at my feet.

  “Of course. These were just better to travel in.” I picked up a stone, brushing away the sand.

  “So, Hope, do you have a boyfriend?” Jesse asked. He immediately concentrated on me, no longer looking forward as we walked. I hoped he wasn’t trying to flirt with me. He wasn’t my type. I really didn’t have a type, but I knew it when I saw it and he was not it.

  “No, I don’t. What about you?” I asked back.

  He shrugged, kicking at the rocks as he walked. “Her name is Lydia. We’ve dated for six months. She plays the violin and does ballet.”

  I nodded, grateful he was taken. It wasn’t that I sensed he liked me—I wasn’t even sure he did—it was just something I didn’t want to dive into with the first boy that showed me he was friendly. Besides, I honestly had never had a boyfriend of any kind.

  Back home boys showed me all kinds of attention. Some even asked me out on dates. But I always found a way to just make a comfortable friendship with all of them, and they grew to accept it. I had never even kissed anyone.

  Well, I had slightly kissed Harvey my freshman year. He’d invited me to a bonfire at his home. I accepted because Karsen was busy for the weekend and I didn’t want to stay home bored. And while we roasted marshmallows and all that fun stuff, Harvey leaned in, his luscious lips connecting with mine. It would have been magical, I was sure, if I hadn’t caught my marshmallow on fire and dropped it on his shoe. It had been a disaster, and Harvey quickly took me home, limping the whole way.

  We came to a stop by a pile of rocks. There really wasn’t any way around them unless you wanted to run halfway up the sand. “What’s over there?” I asked, pointing at the large tour bus. Jesse turned away, heading back the way we came, but I was still intrigued. I was a big fan of music.

  “A local band is all.” He looked back to see if I was following, then jumped onto one of the boulders, leaping from one to the next in long, elegant strides. I could really see his ballet training in action, I thought.

&nbs
p; “What kind of music?”

  “Rock, I guess.” He shrugged, acting as if he didn’t know, but I was sure that he did. He leapt gracefully to another rock.

  I decided to give it a try and made it onto the first giant rock. I glanced back at the tour bus. From where I stood I could just make out the words “Evil kings” in bold letters along its side.

  Jesse pulled me down. “Evil Kings of Ink. You wouldn’t like them.”

  I gave him a bothered look. He had gotten kind of grumpy. Suddenly I didn’t feel like hanging out with him anymore. “Well, I need to get back home. I got lots to unpack.”

  Jesse nodded his head and began trudging back toward the beach houses. He pointed at a house several houses over, light blue in color with a similar Julius Cesar entry way.

  “That’s where I live. If you ever get bored come on over,” he told me, taking off.

  I wiped my hands on my jean shorts, starting back toward my own house, alone now.

  A familiar dog bark called out to me stopping me in my tracks. I spun around just in time to be knocked over by Crawford. Grandma and Claude trailed behind him at a slower pace.

  “Thanks for bringing him, Nona,” I exclaimed, petting Crawford roughly to get my enthusiasm across to my furry friend. Crawford licked my hands, completely happy now. Nona and Claude snuggled close to each other as we headed up to our house.

  “You’re welcome, sweet pea. So, isn’t this just amazing?” Nona gushed, her red hair fluttering in the wind, her hands flapping dramatically to get her point across.

  Claude smiled as she gushed about the house and the water and anything else she could squeeze in. I nodded my head, acting like I was listening. I continued petting Crawford’s head as I climbed the porch steps.

  Dad was busy unpacking dishes in the kitchen, a pile of newspapers gathered at his feet. “Hey, Mom.”

  Nona whisked across the room like a damsel in distress. She grabbed him, nestling Dad into her barely-there bosom, her hand stroking his thick hair. “I’m so glad you all made it in one piece. Now where are my boys?” She looked around the room as if expecting them to jump out.

  “Elliot and Easton went down to the shore store to by surfboards,” Dad told Nona, tossing some plastic forks in a drawer. Nona sighed.

  “You know, Hope is also rather interesting, there’s just not two of her,” Dad teased Nona. Nona clutched her chest, egging him on.

  “Munchkin knows I love her. Hope, did you get to meet Jesse?”

  I gave Nona a nod, looking into the box Dad was working on. I hoped there was a scrap of nonperishable food to get my hands on.

  “Jesse is a good guy, although I don’t understand the infatuation with the spandex he is always running around in.” She furrowed her brows, staring off in confusion.

  I started laughing. “Nona, he does ballet.” I curtsied to demonstrate. Claude whispered something French in her ear. Nona lit up, shaking her head that she now understood. “Well, I guess I picked wrong then. Jesse doesn’t like girls.” She shook her head again. Claude laughed too now.

  “Jesse said he has a girlfriend,” I told her, emphasizing the girl part, trying to let Jesse off the hook. He did do her yard work, after all. I could just imagine the torture he would go through on a daily basis now.

  Dad stopped going through his box, shooting me a surprised expression. “You know all this from a twenty minute walk?” He shook his head. “I think someone has zoned in on a new potential girlfriend.”

  I groaned. “He has a girlfriend, and he’s not my type.” I started down the hallway. There was only so much embarrassment I could take.

  I overheard Nona talking about my little buds and how she remembered back when she was developing into a woman, and that was enough for me. I probably would never have anything other than ‘buds’ in her eyes.

  I crawled onto my mattress that was now resting on the bedframe. Crawford plopped down at the foot of my bed, managing to squeeze between a tower of boxes and the wall. He let out an animalistic sigh, and the room went quiet. I put my hands behind my head staring up at the ceiling and the dingy paint. I could hear the ocean from my room. Its peaceful flow was very settling.

  I hoped this place was all Dad made it out to be.

  Wandering off

  I shoved the last of my shoes into my tiny closet. I had managed to unpack my entire room, down to the last picture frame. My walls were now covered in all my friends back home, photos of Karsen being her silly self and photos of Mom looking so beautiful like always. It almost made me feel at home.

  I turned the snow globe on my nightstand, the white flakes rocked gently at the bottom. It was a gift Karsen gave to me right before we left. She knew how much I loved ballet and she found the perfect snow globe with hot pink ballet slippers and polka dots, because I loved them.

  I stepped back, taking in my small but quaint bedroom. It had appeal. It would do just fine, I thought to myself. Maybe this place wasn’t as bad as I imagined it would be.

  I pulled back my lavender curtains, tying them with the turquoise ties, and stared out the window. It was dark and I couldn’t see much. The moon shined against the ocean. The waves crashing against the shore made a dull hush sound, and I breathed in the salty aroma.

  Suddenly there was a big flash of light. Thinking it was lightning, I fixed my attention on a couple of passing kids. They were slowly making their way through the sand, hand in hand. I didn’t know them but it was clear they were a couple. Several more followed shortly behind them, and then I finally realized, it wasn’t just a couple random kids. It was a continuous stream passing by to get to the flashing lights.

  I quickly pulled my hair back in a ponytail and slicked on some chap stick. I gave myself a once over before deciding that I looked decent enough to go outdoors. I stopped suddenly in the doorway, realizing I should change into flip-flops. I sniffed my shirt as I kicked my shoes off. I could probably use a shower as well. I smelled like old dusty boxes and sweat. Shaking that idea out of my head, I spritzed a couple extra puffs of Love Spell on and headed out my door.

  The television was on in the living room. Easton and Elliot were sprawled out on the carpet, a big bowl of popcorn in tow. They didn’t even notice me taking off. I searched the rest of the house for Dad. “Where’s Dad, guys?”

  Easton made the glug-glug gesture with his hand, tipping the imaginary glass to his mouth. That was all I needed to know. Dad had passed out for the night.

  Turning to the kitchen, I saw his drink of choice sitting on the table. Jack Daniels. I rolled my eyes, taking off out the door. There was no one to worry about my wandering off. Dad was wasted and Easton and Elliot were young—they only cared about what was on the television, so I knew I was free.

  The sky lit up with another flash, and then a loud boom. It was music. The bass from music, I realized. As I walked faster across the sand I felt my insides growing more and more excited. I loved music and this would be the perfect way to get used to my new home.

  I gave Jesse’s home a quick glance, hurrying past. I hoped he wouldn’t spot me on my late night adventure. It seemed he wasn’t too fond of Rock music from his bitter tone when I had questioned him about it earlier.

  I slowed down at the sight of the crowd in the entranceway. A metal sign was attached to the chain link fence. Henry Park. I hurried through, squeezing past all types of people. There were big burly men with black clothes and chains and girls with short skirts and bikini tops. The theme was black—that was very apparent. Black or bathing attire.

  I looked down at my pink tank top realizing I stuck out like a sore thumb. I shrugged the thought off as I continued to squeeze through the crowd, the music becoming louder as I made it through trying to find and opening.

  “Wow,” I said to myself, finally in front of the stage. A giant flash of light went off from the side of the stage, smoke wafting past my nose. Pyrotechnics, one after the other, went off as the heavy rock music played. EKOI hung on a black backdrop in white lett
ers; the words tattered for a more dramatic effect. The stage lighting flashed to the beat, making everything in its path flicker all the colors of the rainbow.

  I stared down at my skin as it glowed along to the lights and music. I had never been to such a thing. I’d had my fair share of concerts, but never something so powerful and alive.

  “Let me hear you scream!” the singer yelled into the crowd. In seconds the crowd was roaring. I covered my ears, the sound deafening. It was another world. I couldn’t believe the small walk took me to such a place.

  More and more people poured into the already congested crowd, eventually I had nowhere to turn. My body was pinned between a guy with overpowering muscles and tattoos galore on his arm and another guy holding a giant beer and wearing an Evil kings of Ink t-shirt. Neither of them realized I was in between them. They only cared about the music.

  I was starting to feel claustrophobic. I needed to leave. Suddenly this wasn’t feeling like the best idea. The feeling intensified once the crowd started shoving each other. A giant mosh pit erupted out of nowhere and my body ping-ponged off the muscle of the man in front of me. I tried to stop myself from being shoved to the ground, but it was no use. I let out a terrified scream, begging them to stop and notice me.

  “Hey! Hey, hey, back up!” a male voice ordered.

  I kept my hands over the back of my head trying to keep from being smashed. The crowd parted but I stayed where I was afraid, too move. The music continued in the background.

  “Now stand up,” the voice commanded.

  I dropped my arms, looking over my shoulder at him. He was wearing a black cutoff t-shirt, a silver chain around his neck and carried a wooden baseball bat in his hands. I stood up, deciding it best to regain my footing before he left me to fend for myself.

  “Are you okay?” he said loudly, his voice carrying over the music perfectly.

  I shoved my flip-flop back on my foot. “Yeah, I think I’ll be okay.”

  I turned to leave as another mass of people crowded my way. This place was a zoo. I sighed, trying to squeeze through. Finally realizing I was no match for such giant thugs, I gave up, turning back to him for assistance. He perched the bat on his shoulder, giving a nod that he understood I needed his help. With one loud yell and a couple swings of the bat, he cleared me another path. Extending his hand in front of him he gestured for me to start walking.