01. Chasing Nikki

ChasingNikki

By Lacey Weatherford

Moonstruck Media - Arizona

Copyright © 2012 Lacey Weatherford

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ISBN-13: 978-1468112429

ISBN-10: 1468112422

Published by

Moonstruck Media

Arizona

Kindle Edition

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above,
no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written
permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places,
brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination
or are used fictitiously.  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and
trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which
have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is
not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

This book is available in print and ebook format.

http://laceyweatherfordbooks.com
.

Dedication

For my mom.

Thanks for always encouraging my dreams. Words cannot
express how much I miss you.

I love you so much.

Peggy Jackson

1949 – 2007

For Mike.

I was glad to know your amazing spirit for that short while. 
You left far too soon.

Michael Dunham

1970-1989

Acknowledgments

I often look around myself, and life, for inspiration for
what I write, and this story was no different.  I’ve been a big fan of football
for many years, watching my brother, Glen, and getting to see him make 1st Team
All State and winning the Arizona state playoff as well.  After that I was
hooked for life.

I was watching a playoff game when I first came up with the
idea for this story.  It sat in the back of my mind for about two years until I
happened upon a game with a new quarterback whose name was Chase Walden.  I
fell instantly in love with the way he played football in his
“all-out-no-holds-barred” kind of style.  When I finally had the chance to meet
him off the field, I discovered he was a great kid, full of this natural
swagger that just rolled easily off him.  I knew I had found my muse for my
story.  Thankfully, Chase was intrigued with the idea as well, and agreed to
let me use his name and likeness to build my fictional character.  He helped me
out with some of the current teen lingo, music for my playlist, and allowed me
to pick his brain a bit when I needed.  So thank you, Chase, for the help and
inspiration you gave.  It meant so much.

Life has also blessed me with many more amazing people, and
bits and pieces of how they’ve touched me are blended into this tale too,
helping to make up the story that revolves around Chase.  I thank them for the
lessons and memories they’ve left me with, namely my mom, Peggy, and my dear friend,
Mike.  What a gift it was to know you both.

And, of course, a special thank you to my business partners
of Moonstruck Media, Bels and Kam, who work so hard to make sure everything
always turns out just right.

I love you all!

PART ONE

Chapter One

I took a
deep drag from the joint before passing it to the girl next to me.  She clasped
it easily, lifting it to slip between her plump lips. I watched her inhale
deeply before I looked away, turning back to concentrate on the fire dancing in
the dirt ring before me.  My eyes wouldn’t adjust though, and it kept swimming
in and out of focus. 

Man, I’m cross-faded
already,
I thought.  Then again it would probably be more surprising if I
weren’t, considering how much I’d been partying lately.  If I were being
totally honest, my days were starting to run into one another.  My life was
definitely not what it had been before ... everything, but I didn’t want to
think about that. 

I reached
for the bottle of beer sitting on the ground and lifted it, taking a heavy
swig.  I didn’t even notice the bitter taste of it anymore.  I was feeling
numb, and that’s exactly the way I wanted it.

“Hey,
Chase.”  The girl leaning against me nuzzled the underside of my jawline,
placing a little kiss there as she traced a finger down my chest.  “Wanna get
out of here and go someplace we can be alone?”

 “Maybe
later … um ….”  I chuckled as I pushed her away slightly with my elbow.

“What’s so
funny?” She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout as she stared at me.

“The fact I
can’t remember your name,” I replied bluntly.

“You’re a
jerk!” she said, shoving me hard and getting up to walk away.

I caught
myself before I fell to the side.  “Yes, I am!” I shouted at her retreating
figure, and I tossed back another long swallow of my beer.  I did feel sort of
sorry.  I really should remember her name, seeing as we’d been dating for weeks
now.

I glanced
over to where my friend, Connor, was making out with his girlfriend.   It was
funny, but I could remember his name just fine.  I gave another chuckle and
leaned against the large rock behind me, closing my eyes.  I must not be
blitzed enough yet.

Someone
shook me, and I woke with a start, not realizing I had fallen asleep.  For a
moment, I was unsure where I was.

“Hey,
buddy.  Where’s your keys?” Connor’s voice broke into my hazy thoughts.

“Keys?” I
questioned, confused.

“Yeah. 
You’re too drunk to drive, and my mom is threatening to send my dad out looking
for me if I’m not home in the next thirty minutes.”

“Not cool.”

“Yep. 
Party’s over, bro.”

I grabbed my
beer and slowly got to my feet, while Connor hollered over his shoulder for the
two girls to get into the truck.

He turned
toward me, narrowing his eyes a bit before letting out a laugh.   “Feeling a
little unsteady there?”

“Maybe,” I
replied with a grin.

My friend
offered me an arm, and I leaned heavily against him for support as we made our
way to the vehicle.  I briefly handed my drink to one of the girls in the truck
so I could reach into my pocket to drag out the keys and hand them to Connor.

He helped me
inside and closed the door before going around to the driver’s side.

“Be careful
with my truck.  It’s my baby,” I joked as we started off down the bumpy road.

“It’s in
better hands than yours right now,” Connor ribbed back.

“I thought I
was your baby,” the girl beside me said, squeezing my thigh with her fingers.

 “Really? 
Hmm.  Wonder where you got that idea?” I replied as I lifted the bottle to my
lips.

She sucked
in a hurt breath and pulled her hand away, but I just couldn’t bring myself to
care.

“You’ll
never make it home in time,” the other girl whined as we left the desert road
and turned onto the highway.  “We’re at least twenty minutes away from town
still.”

“Yeah? Watch
me.” Connor laughed, hitting the gas heavily.  The engine revved loudly, and
the truck shot off down the road, causing the scenery to flash by in the blur
of the headlights.

I closed my
eyes, fighting the nausea the motion caused.  All of a sudden I felt sick. 
Clenching my teeth, I gripped the door handle, trying to calm my stomach. I
wrestled with the overwhelming sensation, trying to control it for several
minutes before finally giving up.

“Dude, pull
over.”

“I can’t,”
Connor replied.  “My mom will kill me if I’m late.”

“I’m gonna
throw up, man.  Pull over!”

Connor let
out a stream of cuss words and hit the brakes so hard I felt like I was going
pitch right through the windshield. 

“What the
hell?” I yelled, as I braced myself against the dashboard and turned to look at
him. 

That was
when I noticed the red and blue lights flashing behind the truck, and the sound
of a short, clicking siren filled the air.  I glanced down at the container of
beer I had tucked between my legs and started laughing. 

Yep,
I thought, dragging a shaky hand through my short dark hair as the truck came
to a complete stop. 
Tonight is about to get fun.
 

I opened my
door and puked.

The door to
the holding cell clanked open loudly against the wall, and I groaned as I held
my head in between my hands. 

Were all
jails this loud, or was I being specially punished?  Wasn’t it enough that I’d
spent most of the night vomiting into the toilet in the corner?  At one point I
was almost sure that death would’ve been more beneficial to me. 

“You reek,”
a soft voice said, and for the first time I felt a real momentary stab of
regret, as I looked up into my mom’s face.  I quickly cast my gaze back to her
feet so I wouldn’t have to see the disappointment in her eyes and noticed the
boots of an officer walking toward me.

“Time to go
home, son.  Your mom has posted bail.” He grabbed me by the elbow.

“I’m not
your son.”  I yanked my arm from his grasp.  “Back off.”

“Look, Mr.
Walker, we can do this the hard way or the easy way.  It’s up to you.” He took
hold of me once again.

I growled
under my breath and turned aggressively toward the man, intent on showing him a
thing or two, jail time be damned.

“Chase.” My
mom’s voice had almost a pleading quality to it.  “Please.  Haven’t we been
through enough?”

I turned to
look and saw the tears brewing in her eyes.  That bit of guilt returned to
prick at my conscience. I clenched my jaw so hard it felt like my teeth might
break, but I backed down.

A few
minutes later I watched as my mom signed her name—Tori Lynn Walker—with a
flourish, and I was allowed to leave the police station in her custody.

“Where’s my
truck?” I asked, scanning the parking lot.

“Where do
you think it is?  It’s been impounded.”

“Are we
going to get it now?”

“No.” She
hit the clicker on her key chain to unlock the doors to her red Toyota.

“When, then?”
I asked, trying to ignore the dull pounding ache in my head.

She sighed
heavily as she glanced at me over the roof of the car.  “I’m going to sell it.”

Suddenly the
dull pounding resembled a roar.  “Excuse me?”

“No. Excuse
me, but I can’t take watching you drink your sorry butt into oblivion anymore. 
You aren’t being responsible.  Having a vehicle is a privilege—one you clearly
don’t deserve.  If you’d been the one driving it last night, you would be in a
whole lot more legal trouble than you are right now.  Connor is being charged
with the DUI.  You’ve been charged with underage drinking and possession of an
open container.  From the smell on you, I’d say you were lucky there isn’t a
marijuana charge against you too.” She slid into the car and slammed the door
behind her.

I did the
same, intent on arguing with her, and instantly regretted the movement, my head
throbbing.

“So now
what?” I leaned back against the seat, suddenly feeling too tired to fight. 
“Am I grounded?  For how long?”

“Oh, it’s
going to be much worse than that for you.”

“What do you
mean?” I didn’t like the tone of her voice.

“Well, first
we have your court date on Thursday.  Then after we find out what the judge has
in store for you … we’re moving.”

“What?” I
said incredulously.  “You can’t do that!”

“I have, and
we will!” She threw the car into gear and pulled out from the parking space. 

“Where?”

“To live
with Grandma and Grandpa.”

“You aren’t
serious, are you, Mom? Please, say you’re joking about this!  Do you really
want to make my life a complete living hell?”

My mom hit
the brakes hard as she came to the stop sign.  I could see the anger written
plainly on her face, but when she spoke her voice was soft again.

“The only
person responsible for making your life hell is you, Chase.”

“Mom,” I
groaned.  “Please don’t.”