The Sidekick Chronicles: Sixx and the Beginning Read online

  The Sidekick Chronicles:

  Sixx and the Beginning

  (Prequel)

  Becca Vincenza

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2021 Becca Vincenza

  Cover: Covers by Christian

  Proof Reading: Dawn Yacovetta

  All rights reserved. The book may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  The books are works of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author‘s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Books by Becca Vincenza

  HEXED SERIES

  Hexed Hearts

  Hunter’s Heart

  THE REBIRTH SERIES

  Stolen

  Damaged

  Healed

  Burned

  Drowned

  Tamed

  MERCENARIES FOR HIRE

  Freelance

  Hired

  Contracted

  Authorized

  CURSE BREAKER SERIES

  Art of Death

  Secrets of the Dead

  Dance with Death

  THE SIDEKICK CHRONICLES

  Sixx and the Hellhound

  Sixx and the Fae

  Sixx and the Incubus

  Sixx Saves the World

  Dedication

  To my best friend

  Note:

  This is a prequel novella to the Sidekick Chronicles. Sixx and Ana’s story can be started here or in Sixx and the Hellhound. This is how Ana and Sixx became friends and how Sixx landed her position as Sidekick extraordinaire.

  Sixx and the Hellhound happens years after this prequel.

  Preface

  If you had said to me, “Sixx, those paranormal creatures from the books you obsessively read are real. Oh, and they’re planning on killing you because you’re aware of their existence,” I would have, well, probably given you a strange look and been done with it, or maybe laughed.

  I definitely wouldn’t have believed you. I would have hoped that I’d be a heroine who found her mate and turned into this badass, powerful woman. I definitely wouldn’t have thought that I’d be covered in grime, blood, sweat, and tears. This had not been the future I envisioned for myself.

  At the beginning of the school year, my only thought was of the two more semesters I had to trudge through before I left for college. It wasn’t even the appeal of the whole “college experience” for me. It was about getting out of this town, starting a new life.

  “Sixx, are you okay?” the voice next to me hissed.

  My head bobbed, and I heard it then—the strange cackling sound.

  Oh…oh shit, that came from me.

  “Just a little bit longer, Sixx. Hold on just a little bit longer.”

  I laughed to myself. If only.

  Chapter 1

  There is a great misconception that the wallflower in high school wants to be noticed. That she wants the popular jock, bad boy, whoever the heartthrob is. Some of us want to make it through high school and move on to college.

  Life would begin then, or at least, that was what I was led to believe. Who knew? But for now, this small town that I had lived in my entire life, where I had gone to school with almost the same three hundred people, would forget me the day after graduation. That wasn’t me belittling myself but the plain, cold truth.

  As I sat eating my uninspiring lunch, I tried to focus all of my attention on the book I had brought with me. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a disturbance in the force. Or rather the lunchroom. The new girl who started at the beginning of the year walked in.

  She caused a stir, no matter where she went. A big part of it had to do with her California, movie star looks. Her platinum blond hair draped down her shoulders about to her midback, always in beach waves. She was tall and soft enough to make her any guy’s dream girl with all the right curves.

  Honestly, I didn’t give her much thought besides the one class we shared and lunch. If it weren’t for the gaggle of girls following her with hate in their eyes and guys catcalling, it’d be a relatively peaceful lunch hour. The other part drawing most of the school’s attention was that she hadn’t picked a group yet.

  As far as I knew, her name was Anastasia, and she didn’t talk to many people. She was a loner of the highest degree. Part of me thought about offering a hand of friendship, but she didn’t lack options. So, I refocused my attention back on my book.

  My heart rate picked up a bit as I hit a rather exciting part of the story. I sat up a little straighter as I rushed through the passage.

  Smack.

  I jerked as I dropped the book, losing my place, and glared at the offender.

  “Sorry, they wouldn’t seem to leave me be unless I sat with someone, so I hope you don’t mind.”

  I blinked up at the new girl, “Um…”

  “Seriously, why are all small towns the same? At least, in bigger cities, they ignore you and let you be. All of these—oh, can I have one of those? Anyway.” She popped a fry into her mouth and sighed. “You all care too much.”

  “Uh…”

  “Oops, well, that’s the bell,” she said thirty seconds before it rang. I blinked as she stood up and waved at me. “See ya. Thanks for the rescue.”

  “Huh?”

  After she left, I shook my head as I picked up my book and my tray of food. I dumped the remaining lunch that I had neglected into the trash. My mom had commented about my eating habits before I left the house, which stuck with me. Eating didn’t hold much appeal to me today, hence my book.

  I needed to let the interaction that I had with my mom and Anastasia go. I still had a couple more classes until school was done for the day and I got to go home. Not that it was much of a reprieve from school. My next class would be a breeze, though. After my computer tech class, I’d have math.

  Puffing my cheeks out, I headed to my locker. I hated math.

  My next class flew by. It was one of my favorite classes. Since this new age was so surrounded by technology, my parents pushed me into these classes. It turned out I excelled at it. Most of the time, when the assignments were given to us, I’d finish early and then research other techniques. That class went by like a breeze, but math? I cringed just thinking about it.

  Today, I had to run back to my locker before math since I had been so caught up in the strange exchange that I had with the new girl that I forgot to grab my textbook. I walked down the hallway lined with lockers and classrooms spaced between them. The industrial-style tile undertow just added to the blandness of this school.

  As I rounded the corner leading down to the hallway that held my locker, two voices filtered through. Almost everyone else had abandoned the hallways since the first warning bell had gone off.

  “Look, Boris.”

  “It’s Forrest.”

  “Okay. Boris, I really don’t care what you want. Leave me be.”

  “It’s not Boris,” Forrest growled. Forrest, the high school heartthrob who was well out of everyone’s league. Forrest, who didn’t date – at least, no one from our school. Forrest once offered to give me a mechanical pencil when I didn’t have one for a second-grade test.

  Slam.

  I flinched as a hand smacked the locker.

  “I’m giving you a friendly warning.”

  My stomach sank; I wasn’t the hero-complex type. I didn’t love the idea of diving into dangerous situations. I liked to believe I was a decent person. But sometimes, just t
he knowledge of someone else witnessing a situation was enough for bullies to back down.

  Taking a deep breath, I stepped around the corner. Forrest stood threateningly over Anastasia, who looked bored. Forrest’s nostrils flared, and his narrowed gaze shifted to me.

  “Hey, Sixx, aren’t you going to be late for class?” he practically snarled.

  “Sure am. But you’re blocking my locker.” I stared pointedly at where his hand slammed into the locker. Was that a…dent?

  “Boris and I were just finishing up. Sorry to have locker blocked you.” Anastasia gave us both a saucy wink before pushing Forrest back. He couldn’t mask his shock that she managed to move him. Heck, I was a little surprised, too. He wasn’t a small dude, and she wasn’t exactly posing for any bodybuilder competitions.

  Forrest’s top lip peeled back before he shook his head, watching her leave. His hand still pressed on the locker that I claimed was mine. Keeping up the ruse that the locker was mine, I cleared my throat. Yup, I was too chicken shit to walk to my locker and grab my books until he was gone. Forrest looked over at me again.

  “See you around, Sixx,” Forrest said with a growl in his tone. I had to be reading too many books because teenagers didn’t growl. I rolled my eyes at my thoughts and waited until he rounded the corner. My shoulders dropped heavily as I made it the next couple feet away to where my locker was. I ignored the slight dent in the locker door where Forrest had slammed his hand.

  I grabbed my book before heading back to my math class. I arrived late, getting the stink-eye from the teacher, who continued with her lesson. While I hated math, the teacher was kind and tried to make it more engaging. We were usually set up into pods of four. Apparently, my pod had taken a drastic change since two seats were empty, and one was filled by someone new.

  I slipped into my seat and tried not to stare at Anastasia, who was not in my pod before.

  “Sixx, how about you give the equation a try?”

  My attention snapped back to the whiteboard and the question of the day, written in black marker, taunting me. I groaned. My heart pounded as more students turned to look back at me. I hated this, hated it. Didn’t teachers understand that some people—aka me, for example—absolutely shut down in situations like this? I sank a little lower in my seat. For a split second, regret hit me as I realized this was probably punishment for walking in late. But it had been the right thing to help Ana.

  “Actually, Mrs. McGregor, can I?” Anastasia asked, fluttering her lashes. The teacher didn’t look impressed but conceded. I breathed a little easier. And just like that, Ana came to my rescue in return.

  Anastasia returned to her desk, and I could have sworn I saw the chair move by itself. She didn’t touch it, but it had been flush against the desk. I blinked a couple of times before shaking my head. She slipped back into her seat and scooted forward, the legs scraping against the tile.

  Nope. I rejected those thoughts. I was just going bananas since the day had been so stressful. And I didn’t eat lunch. I nodded to myself. Yup, that was exactly what it was. Stress and low blood sugar.

  ****

  With no more strange events for the rest of the day, which made me feel like I had walked into the Twilight Zone, I headed home. The school was only a couple of miles from my house, shortened if I took the path through the park. It had been the way I used since I had started second grade. My parents often forgot to pick me up. And due to my lack of desire to sit on a bus for twice the amount of time it took to walk, I skipped the bus.

  It also made my mother quite excited to think that I was managing to get a daily workout in; unfortunately, my massive number of curves was due to genetics, not overeating. Maybe a little overeating. And I decided long ago not to walk every single day. I’d catch the bus or a friend would take me home, especially during winter.

  The pathway I took had transformed into my favorite season. Summer had released its death grip, and fall came barreling in. Rustic reds, burnt oranges, and vibrant yellows arched over me. I sighed heavily, taking in that fall scent. Fallen leaves with the crisp scent of the edge of winter. I tucked my hands further into my pockets. This walk helped soothe my nerves concerning any school problems, but today I kept replaying my interactions with Anastasia.

  She didn’t seem unkind, and she had a more outgoing personality than I did. So then, why wasn’t she gravitating to a group? Any group? I shook my head. It was not my concern and certainly not my problem. As I broke through the park on the other side, I entered the subdivision that held my house. Or rather, my parents’ house.

  It would be much easier to slip between houses to get to the oh-so-clever and not at all generic street name—Peach Avenue. But Apple, Tangerine, and Rose Streets mostly housed homes that had dogs. And those dogs needed fences. And even those without dogs had privacy fences. So I walked around the subdivision to get home.

  Each house was designed and built from a model. Each house had a Stepford Wives, creepy, similar look. Even as I walked down the street, I had a hard time deciphering the differences.

  I strolled into a parking lot with landscaping that matched everyone else’s on this lane, not because of an insane HOA but because my parents preferred to match those around them. The windows were dark, and no cars sat in the driveway. I sighed heavily as I walked up to the door.

  I tried twisting the knob; unsurprisingly, it was locked. I dug through my backpack and pulled out my house keys before flipping the lock over and stepping into the empty, dark house.

  “Home sweet home,” I muttered, my voice dropping on deaf ears. Just me again tonight.

  Chapter 2

  The next week followed the same routine. Not that my life usually strayed too far from the normal. The only difference now was that Anastasia stopped to eat lunch with me at least twice this week. The more popular girls who wanted to absorb her into their group did not take kindly to it. They liked knowing the status quo, and having her as an anomaly freaked them out. And because she had decided to show an interest in me, they set their eyes on me.

  Ah, to be considered part of the décor again. I rolled my eyes at the thought as I pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose, keeping my head down during math class. The rest of our pod returned the day after. The teacher rearranged us a bit, but Anastasia and I shared it with Ashley A. and Nicole. The two girls wanted Anastasia where they could keep their eye on her.

  “So, Seven.”

  “It’s Sixx.” I paused, muttering the next part under my breath. “You’ve known me since first grade.” I kept my head down as I worked on the worksheet we were given.

  “Yeah, whatever, Five. We heard that your parents are usually gone, leaving you all alone in that big ol’ house of yours. Would you consider throwing a welcoming party for your new friend Anastasia here?” Nicole patted Anastasia, who gave her the stink eye. I almost snorted but stifled it.

  My brows pinched as my face twisted into distaste at the idea of a party. Ashley A., though, narrowed her gaze on me. Her lips spread into a devious smile that made me uncomfortable.

  “Aren’t you two close?” Ashley A. asked, her tone implying something more.

  Sighing heavily, I looked up from my work. My instincts knew the best way to deal with her was to ignore her. And as much as I wanted her comments not to bother me, I didn’t like what she was asking. “Why is that your business? And I don’t know why you would think that.”

  Because really, we weren’t what I would call…close.

  “Forrest said you two have been eating lunch practically every day together,” Nicole said with a bit of a sneer. I sucked in a breath, my eyes widening a bit.

  “This is none of your business, but since you two are so interested in my and Sixx’s relationship, she has been tutoring me in math.”

  I made a choked noise.

  Both Queen Bee types looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

  “Little Five over here was named after a number because she is so bad with them. Her pa
rents had hoped that it would help with her grades,” Nicole said, still laughing a little. Anastasia looked at me and shrugged. My cheeks burned. It wasn’t a secret that I burst into tears in first grade during a math test because I had been so frustrated with some of the more basic math questions. It probably wouldn’t have been something that most people remembered. Besides, Nicole pointed out that I should know numbers since my name was one. The class cracked up.

  That moment didn’t mold me into a math geek. Instead, I shied from it and often struggled to keep my math grades up. It wasn’t a secret that I asked for extra credit.

  “Yeah, you’re not wrong. Math is not my strong suit,” I agreed, hoping that if I did, they would leave me be. I didn’t even care about their unclever nicknames for me. Calling me by a different number didn’t hurt my feelings like they were hoping it would. Most people didn’t know the real reason behind my name. When I asked my mom when I was turning six, she had been stressed with work and forgot the fake story they had told me.

  My mother had the type of pregnancy where she didn’t realize I existed until well into her third trimester. Rare, but not unheard of. My parents were wholly unprepared for a child. A child, they both decided long before they got married, that they didn’t want. They both vehemently ignored the bun burning in the oven until the night of my birth—June 6th, at six a.m. My parents couldn’t have thought of a more original name like Lilith or something. Nope, they went straight for the kill. Sixx.

  That isn’t to say my parents weren’t smart because they were. My father was a college professor, and my mother worked for multiple charities and in the corporate world for a long time. But with kids? They had no idea. If it hadn’t been for pressure from my father’s mom, I don’t know if they would have kept me. Even if they had the means financially, they moved to the ‘burbs, and my grandmother lived with us for the first couple of years of my life, taking care of me until she passed away.