One Kiss

Chapter 32

Seth stared at the Harrison house. His lip curled, Josh Harrison was nothing more than a spoiled brat. The kid had enough money to do anything and he spent his time throwing useless parties. He could travel the world, see new places, and meet people. Get the fuck out of this crappy town, but he didn't do that. He settled further into the bushes. This little recon mission was necessary in case he needed to enact his next plan to keep the charges against Zayden alive. Plus, he had a little surprise for Zay and his little crew, one that would remind them he was in control of the situation.

His eyes tracked Alyssa and Josh as they got into Josh's truck and left for school. Several minutes later West came out followed by Zayden.

"You sure you don't want to ride with me?" West asked.

"I would but I'm working after school."

"Come on, Zay, I can drive you it's not a big deal. You know what Mr. Salazar said."

Zay groaned. "Fine, fine, let's go them. Don't you have practice after school though?"

West shrugged as they climbed into his car. "Then Alyssa can take you to work. The point is that you're not alone. Ferrel may be out of the picture and Blaine might be suspended but that doesn't mean Seth won't send someone else after you."

Zay paused in the act of shutting the door. "West, what if he pulls another stunt like he did with Alyssa's car? I couldn't bear it if any of you were hurt because of me."

"Hey, relax, I don't think Seth is stupid enough to pull the same sort of stunt twice. It would raise too many questions. The last thing he wants is people looking in his direction. Especially the cops."

Zay nodded and shut the door. Anything else they said was lost.

Seth grinned. He definitely wasn't stupid enough to pull a stunt twice but he had plenty of other ideas to keep Zayden on the hook. His issue was getting his hands on the proper bait to keep his prey dangling. He waited until he was certain they were gone before he crept out of the bushes and dusted himself off.

"I think it's time for me to leave my little gift. Wouldn't want Zay to believe I've forgotten about him." He hummed as he strolled up to the front door and carefully left his gift. He gave it a pat, turned, and left.

***

Zay nodded. "Do you think they'll react badly to the announcement?"

The boy he was speaking to nodded and sank further in his seat. "Not only will they react badly, but I'm also quite certain it will be the thrown down of the century."

Zay grinned. "It's always possible. If you want to tell them then I suggest putting plans into place in case you're forced to leave the house."

"I already have. My aunt told me I can stay with her."

"If you have a support system then you can do this. It's what has helped me. My parents disowned me, threw me out of the house, and refuse to acknowledge I still exist. My father canceled my car insurance so I was forced to have my car towed from the house."

"Dude, that sucks."

"It did but I'm happy I finally told them even if it went horribly. I wasn't happy pretending and the only future I could see for myself was marrying some woman and both of us being miserable because we were pretending there was any sort of a relationship. It wasn't the sort of future I wanted for myself. I wanted to be free to be myself," he explained. "Look, I can't tell you what to do, and to be honest, I shouldn't because it's your decision, Hunt. Think about it and if you decide to tell your parents I suggest bringing a friend to show support. My best friend Alyssa was with me when I told my parents."