The Straight Crimes (4 page)

“Oh, she’s ‘warnin’’ ya,’” Mal mocked Harper as she played with the purple highlights in her bleached hair.

Daisy lifted her eyebrows and looked over to Mal. “For being a nobody, the little redneck talks a big game, doesn’t she?”

Before the snotty girl could blink, Harper had a fistful of her silky brown hair entwined in her firm grip.

“What are you doing?” Daisy cried.

“She’s a frickin’ psycho! Drive!” Mal shouted.

"That’d be real smart. Go ahead, bitch, slam on that gas pedal, but I ain’t lettin’ go of your mousy hair. It’s your call. Personally I think you’d look
 
real 
hot bald.”

"Let go, Queer!”

"What’d you call me?" Harper yanked Daisy’s head backwards with her tightened grip.

“Shit, that hurt. Get off me!”

Mal slapped Harper’s hand. “Knock it off.”

She knelt down and looked Daisy in the eye. "You need to watch your mouth. Consider this your warnin’. Next time, I’m gonna pull your skanky ass out this window and mess you up so bad there won’t be enough makeup in Oceana County to cover your nasty mug.”

“I got it. Now let go!”

Satisfied with the reaction, Harper stepped back and watched the girls race away.

“Wow.” Nik stared at Harper in astonishment.

"I hate them." Harper rubbed her hands and looked at Nik. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I’m fine. I can't believe you just did that.” He laughed. “Nothing scares Daisy, but you really shook her up.”

"Why do you let them talk to you like that?"

"I don't care what they think about me.”

She put her hands on her hips. "So? You shouldn't let them say those things.”

"They're not worth my time.”

“But if you don’t stand up for yourself, they ain’t gonna stop bullyin’ you.”

“Daisy’s gonna do whatever she wants anyway.”

“Didn’t you see her jaw drop? She ain’t gonna run her mouth with me again.”

Nik sighed. “Maybe not.”

“She won’t. And next time you deal with Daisy, Mal, Ricky, or whoever, I wanna see you stand up for yourself. Okay?” Harper put her hand between Nik’s shoulder blades.

Nik’s face scrunched as he winced in pain.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s just some sunburn from yesterday.”

“I see.” Harper clicked her tongue. “So is that why you’re limpin’?”

"What are you talking about?"

“I noticed you haven’t been keepin’ up all mornin’.”

"It’s no big deal. I pulled a muscle mowing the yard yesterday."

"But yesterday we were at the dunes and didn’t get home ‘til after dark. If you’re gonna lie, you’ve gotta do a hell of a lot better than that.”

The desperation in Nik’s helpless stare said more than any words could express.

“Damn it.”

“What?” Nik asked.

"That bastard hit you again, didn't he?"

“Look, it’s no big deal.”

“No big deal?” she asked. “I’m about to show him what ‘no big deal’
 
really
 is.” Harper pulled the hood over her wavy hair, turned around, and stormed away.

"What are you doing?”

“I’m going to your daddy’s job site. You think his buddies will get a kick outta seein’ me beat his pathetic ass?”

“Don’t do that. Besides, they’re not even working today.” Nik hobbled after Harper and stopped her. "Look, I’m okay.”

"Stop frickin’ lyin’! You ain’t okay. I can see it in your face.” Harper lifted his shirt. The deep purple bruises and fresh scratches across his muscular back were overwhelming.

“Be careful,” he warned.

"You can't tell me this is okay. I've seen you with a mark here and there, but nothin’ like this.”

“I should've taken care of my errands yesterday before I left the house, but I was in a hurry.”

"What’d that asshole hit you with, a two-by-four?”

"No, his belt.”

"Bull. A belt couldn’t do all that.”

"Sure it could.”

“No more lies.”

He let out a deep breath. “All right, after I ran up the stairs to get away, he threw me.”

"Into what?"

Nik stiffened his back as much as he could. “He pushed me down the stairs.”

"No way.” She covered her mouth.

“Look, I told you I'm fine."

"Knock it off! You don’t gotta pretend with me. We’re goin’ to the pharmacy. Auntie gave me some money that we can use to get you fixed up.”

"You don't have to do that."

Harper ignored him and marched towards the corner drug store. "The scratches are kinda red. We’ll need some peroxide so they don’t get infected. Your bruises are already swollen, but they may just need some ice. We’ll grab a bag on the way out.”

"Please, don’t fuss over me. This is nothing."

"Stop talkin’. I’m in charge now. Just ‘cause you’re hurt and wanna ignore it doesn’t mean I’m gonna.”

After picking up an arsenal of supplies, they returned to the beach where Harper tended to Nik’s injuries.

He flinched while she swabbed his cuts and covered them with bandages.

“I’m sick of people hurtin’ you.”

“I know. I appreciate you taking care of me.”

“It just pisses me off. You’d never lay a hand on anyone.” She smoothed his black hair. “Your daddy makes me so mad I can’t even think.”

Nik watched Harper in a way he’d never looked at someone in his life. He was overwhelmed by her sincerity, realizing she was the only person who cared about him.

All his budding emotions fluttered back. She was stunning, the way her hair blew in the wind and her skin glistened from the wetness of the rain. In all his life, Nik had never seen someone more beautiful.

Suddenly, he scooted closer to Harper and ran his soft fingers across her delicate, pink lips. Then he placed his warm hands on her cheeks and longingly looked into her kind stare.

Nik read the desire in her expression and felt the want on her breath. His heartbeat nervously strummed as he tilted Harper’s head to the side. Then his eyes slowly rolled back as he pressed his mouth against hers in a long, gentle kiss.

Harper’s body nearly melted from his touch. Every part of her that screamed ‘no’ couldn’t compete with her secret passions.

Nik stopped for a brief second, pulling away to catch his breath before looking back into Harper’s eyes.

He’d surprised both of them with his boldness. However, she wasn’t about to fight him.

Nik kissed Harper again. This time, he moved closer and parted her lips with his soft tongue, sweetly and slowly.

It was overpowering. Nik’s brazen manner made Harper’s entire body tingle. The fiery, sexy man she’d been craving for months had finally caressed her skin and kissed her the way she’d always dreamt of being kissed.

Harper relinquished all control as they clung to each other in the chilling rain.

Nik crawled on top of her and overpowered her with his incredibly hungry desire, digging his hands into her damp hair and pulling her mouth into his. They took turns rolling over each other like the waves coming to shore. He squeezed her between his developed thighs as if he was a human clamp, holding her in his strength. Feeling her perfectly taught form against his hard body was astounding.

Harper desperately pined for air between the breathless kisses, barely able to pull away. The way he wrapped his massive body around her like a blanket made her body grow helpless as she surrendered to their passion.

With soaked hair and sand across his scruffy cheek, Nik opened his enticing green eyes and pulled his lips mere inches from Harper’s. Then, he whispered, “I’ve been waiting to do that.”

Overcome with emotion, she breathlessly exhaled. Harper didn’t know what else to say, except, “What the hell took you so long?”

Nik flashed a playful grin. Then he pulled Harper back on the edge of the sandy shore. The rain trickled down and cold waves crashed against their bodies as they lost themselves in each other.

At that moment, both of them knew with absolute certainty they were straight. And even though it was more socially acceptable to be gay, they weren’t thinking about that—because what they had felt undeniably right.

FOUR

T
he heat of Harper’s troubled glare could have melted an iceberg. Feeling confused, her gaze wandered towards the vastly overpopulated lake on that scalding hot afternoon.

From his lounge chair, Nik asked, “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re spacing out, and you’ve hardly said two words to me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, what’s going on?”

“I’ve just got some stuff on my mind. It’s nothin’.”

“You know you can talk to me about anything.”

“I know,” she said, looking back towards the lake.

Ever since Nik and Harper’s passionate kiss on the shore, she’d thought about him incessantly. Although she’d surrendered to their desires and found Nik undeniably sexy, the uncertainty lingered in her mind.

Between the moments of fear, Harper found herself tossing and turning in the night’s heat, lost in fantasy. She’d spent the entire summer desperately aching for him. If she thought about it long enough, the tears of anticipation overwhelmed her senses to a point where she was paralyzed with ecstasy. And after having a real taste of him, she wanted more.

Harper desperately tried to imagine a life with Nik, free of discrimination, but as long as they were together, such an existence seemed inevitable.

Suddenly, the bright skies were overtaken by gloomy clouds and strong winds. The air temperature seemed to drop significantly as if a storm was coming.

“Wow, it’s getting dark. Look at all those white caps coming in.” Nik pointed to the waves.

She didn’t respond.

“Harper?” He sat up in his chair and pulled his sunglasses off.

Without realizing it, she had drifted off into a deep sleep.

As he stood over her, Nik noticed goosebumps on her arms from the chilled air. All she had on was a hot pink bikini over her delicate skin.

Nik pulled the oversized towel from his chair and covered her shivering body. Then he sat on the edge of the chair and warmed her shoulders with his strong hands.

While she slept, Nik adoringly watched Harper, captivated by her undeniable beauty. All he could think about was how incredible it had felt to hold her in his muscular arms…and how he wished he could do it again.

Nik couldn’t get her off his mind. There was an unspeakable ache shouting at him to chase her. It didn’t matter what anyone thought. He wanted Harper so badly he couldn’t stand it.

After an hour nap, she was awoken by unsettling banter.

“Nik?” Harper quickly sat up after noticing his unoccupied chair.

“Get off me!” he cried.

“What the hell are ya gonna do about it?” a heavily intoxicated voice mumbled.

Harper immediately recognized the unintelligent ramblings of Ricky Wiley. Until that point, she’d evaded him since their first altercation at the schoolyard. Sooner or later, she knew they’d meet again.

After untangling herself from her beach towel, she fell out of her lounger and raced to Nik’s aid.

“Man, come on,” he pleaded.

“Shut up.” Ricky slammed his fist into the side of Nik’s head, knocking him to the ground.

"Get your fat ass off him." Harper dug her nails into Ricky’s pale skin and tugged his arm back.

With his free hand, he reached around, restrained her by the shoulders, and looked back to Nik. "Oh look, it’s the other queer.”

While shaking his head, Nik struggled to hear Ricky’s words over the ringing in his ears.

"Back off, he ain’t done nothin’ to you.”

His yellow eyes glowed. “I didn’t think you were stupid enough to come looking for trouble.”

“Trust me, we weren’t. Who the hell would wanna see your ugly face if they didn’t have to?”

“Real funny. I warned you to stay outta my damn way, little girl.”

“I guess we were askin’ for it huh?” she mocked him.

“Yeah, now you’re both dead.”

Harper wa
ved her hands sarcastically. “I’m real scared.”

“You should be.”

“We’ve been here all day. Just ‘cause your drunk-ass stumbled over here doesn’t mean we’re movin’. Besides, you don't own the beach, moron.”

"Everyone knows I hang out behind Iggy’s Bike Shop. Your kind ain’t welcome here.”

“We ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

“Yeah you are,” Ricky growled.

“You gonna do somethin’ about it, tough guy? I ain’t got a problem dealin’ with you again.”

He sneered. "Oh, but you wouldn't hurt me. I'm a guy. You like guys, remember?" He pulled her into his sweaty body. "What's wrong, Queer? Don’t you like being touched?”

"Get off me.” Harper shoved him away.

"You like it,” he teased.

"Leave her alone,” Nik shouted, bravely making his way to his feet.

However, Ricky instantly threw his fist into his jaw and knocked him back into the sand.

His audacity fueled Harper’s rage. She charged at the ogre, shoving her fists into his flabby chest. Then she grabbed his shoulders, pumped her leg back, and threw a hasty kick into his groin.

“You bitch!” Ricky swore, writhing in agony.

She proceeded to jab her elbow into his flushed face and quickly leapt to her feet.

Ricky reached out and pulled her down by the ankle.

She fought him off while his sweaty hands tugged on her legs. During the struggle, she pulled free and kicked his rib cage.

"I’ll kill you!”

Harper smirked. “You’ve gotta catch me first.” She leaned over and threw a large pile of sand into his face.

Ricky couldn’t see anything, coughing and spitting while wiping his face clean.

Without looking back, Harper raced to Nik’s side and helped him to his feet. “C’mon, get up!”

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know, just hurry.”

With hands locked, they feverishly raced across the beach, leaving all their belongings behind.

Being inebriated made it more difficult to maintain his balance, but Ricky eventually struggled to his feet, gritting his teeth while charging after his prey.

As Harper and Nik raced across Main Street, their bare feet smacked against the smoldering hot blacktop. It felt as if they were running through fire.

They raced by all the shops and into the foreboding Dark Woods.

“Do you know your way through here?” she asked.

“Yeah, just watch your head.” Nik pulled back the low-hanging branches and swept large spider webs out of their path.

Breathless and frightened, Harper turned and saw Ricky’s enormous body straddling his motorcycle.

“Shit, he’s comin’.”

Nik glanced over his shoulder. “Just stay along the tree line. We’ll lose him here in a minute.”

Ricky’s bike growled while he revved his engine. It fishtailed as he recklessly made his way down the street.

“What’s he gonna do, run us over?”

Panic washed over Nik’s brow. “Follow me.”

He pulled Harper into the heart of the woods where the crinkled fingers of the old treetops twisted, barely allowing light to the forest floor.

The hungry motor roared over fallen tree limbs as if it were a splitting chain saw. It crunched through leaves, decimating everything in its path.

Harper was astounded by Ricky’s violent perseverance. No matter how fast they ran, the motorcycle seemed to gain ground on them.

“How much further?” she asked.

“Up here, hurry.”

Nik grabbed on to a tree branch while offering his hand to Harper.

Suddenly, his sweaty grip on the bark began to slip. The pain burned through his entire body, but he pushed through and lifted her to the top of the hill.

“He’s gonna find us.”

“No, he won’t. Follow me.”

Before they were seen, Harper and Nik raced inside an abandoned tool shed. The malodorous stench and intense heat were hard to ignore, but at least they were hidden. Through the cracks of the door, they fretfully watched his violence unleash.

The motorcycle’s eerie growl echoed off the trees as Ricky relentlessly attempted to scale the hill. The smell of burnt rubber filled the air while his tires spun out of control.

“He ain’t gonna stop. Maybe we should keep runnin’.”

Nik disagreed. “This is the safest place. He won’t find us.”

Beyond the unsteady beat of her heart, Harper heard a voice of reason, screaming at herself for challenging someone as unstable as Ricky. She had no idea what he was truly capable of.

Suddenly, a police siren overpowered the sound of Ricky’s bike.

“Is that a cop?”

“Yeah.” Harper
opened her eyes wider. “See the lights? They must’ve seen him comin’ for us.”

Knowing he was intoxicated, Ricky began to panic. He quickly backed up, punched the gas pedal, and sped off deeper in the woods to evade the officer.

The paths from that point were too small for the squad car. Instead, they reversed out of the forest and sped down the road in Ricky’s direction.

Relieved that the psycho was out of sight, Nik and Harper opened the door and raced to the edge of the hill.

"He's gone," Nik noted, wiping the blood from his mouth. He leaned over and rested his hands on his knees.

Harper gently placed her hand on his back. “He hit you real hard.”

“Tell me about it. My head’s pounding.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Are you all right?”

“No, not really.”

Nik looked concerned. “You’re trembling.”

“Yeah.”

“Just take a deep breath. It’s okay, he’s gone now.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe he touched you.”

“I know.”

“I’ve never seen him that crazy.”

“He’s insane.”

“With all the hits you got on Ricky, I figured he’d leave us alone.”

Harper was annoyed, trying to make sense of the situation. All she could do was shrug her shoulders and roll her eyes.

Nik sensed her apprehension. “Harper, what’s wrong?”

After wracking her brain for the right words,
she let out an exasperated groan. “I’ve gotta go.”

"Is everything okay?"

“I can’t do this right now.” She moved swiftly through the woods. Her feet were so badly scraped that it burned as she crossed the street, making her way back to the beach.

Nik immediately sprinted after her. "Harper, what's going on?"

"I don’t wanna talk about it.”

"C’mon, Ricky’s gone. Everything’s okay now."

"You really think so?” she said sarcastically.

“Yeah, we saw him drive off. He’s gone.”

“Only for now, but what happens the next time he comes after us? What if we ain’t as lucky?”

“I don’t get it. Nothing ever scares you.”

“Nik, he chased us down with his bike. What if we got killed? And how long before he tries again?”

“Then let’s go to the police and get a restraining order. They’ve probably caught him already.”

“That ain’t gonna stop that punk. He hates us. Last week we had to put up with Daisy and today it was Ricky. Who’s it gonna be next time? It’s ridiculous. How long are we gonna have to fight people off?”

“What are you saying?”

The sadness weighed in Harper’s expression. “We’re ignorin’ the truth. We’re straight. And obviously we like each other, but no one accepts us. They never will. I think we’ve just gotta be realistic—this ain’t gonna work.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“’Course not.”

“Who the hell am I talking to right now, ‘cause it sure as hell isn’t you. The
 
real
 Harper would tell me to stand up for myself and fight back. You’re not afraid of anything.”

“There’s a difference between bein’ attacked and bein’ killed. You hear about these hate crimes all over the country all the time; people gettin’ hurt or murdered just ‘cause they’re straight. I don’t want either of us to lose our lives over
 
this
.”

“We won’t.”

Harper frowned. “We’re givin’ people in this town a reason to get upset. They’ll just keep comin’ ‘til one of us gets hurt. That’s why this needs to end.”

"Please don't go. We can fight this. C’mon, aren’t I worth it? I sure as hell think you are.”

“It ain’t that easy.”

"Harper, listen to me. The way we feel about each other is no one's business but our own. If you like me the way that I like you, that's all that matters. We can take on anything.”

"Don’t you see the way people stare at us when we're together? You don’t hear them whisperin’ and snickerin’? Look at Ricky and Daisy, they keep callin’ us queers. How many other people are thinkin’ the same thing? I just don’t see this ever stoppin’.”