“No.”
The light seeping in from the backyard illuminates his profile, allowing me to see the evil smirk that plays on his face.
Our stare remains as he lifts a bottle to his lips and swallows down a couple of mouthfuls.
“I should fuck you right here, prove just how worthless you really are.”
His harsh words make my breathing catch.
“But I think that might be too easy, even for you. Plus, I kind of want to see that guy try to fill my shoes when I’m done with you.”
“You’re a prick, Ashton.”
“Oh.” He laughs, drinking more. “I know. I never pretended to be anything else, little one. Or did you forget about my first visit?”
Images from Halloween night flash in my mind like a movie.
“I didn’t. Kind of impossible when I’ve got the evidence of you laid out for me like a good little girl on my cell.”
“Y-you’re lying,” I state, possibly a little too confidently.
“You think?”
My lips part to tell him that he is, but the words die on my tongue.
What if he’s not?
The room starts to spin as reality pushes its way through my drunken haze.
He might have naked pictures of me on his cell.
Holy shit.
My breathing increases as panic begins to take over, but before I allow it to consume me, he’s back right in front of me with his hand around my throat.
“You want to try me, see what will happen?”
I shake my head, knowing that if he is telling the truth, I can’t allow him to let them out in public. I want to be Rosewood’s next cheer captain, not the laughingstock of the school and labeled as the new ultimate cheer slut.
“Good, girl.” His eyes bore down into mine as our breaths mingle. His gaze lowers for a beat to my lips and for a second I think he’s going to kiss me but then he totally ruins the fantasy by saying something that damn near gives me whiplash. “Take your panties off.”
“W-what?” I balk.
“Take. Your. Panties. Off.”
“Who says I’m wearing any? ASHTON!” I squeal as his hands slide up my thighs, taking my dress with it until his fingers wrap around the thin bit of lace at my hips and he tugs until the sound of them ripping fills my ears.
I’m still trying to get my head around what happened when he stands back, his eyes zeroing in on the juncture of my thighs.
“Good luck forgetting about me for the rest of the night.”
I don’t have a chance to blink before he wraps his fingers around my upper arm and pulls me into the center of the room. He rips the door open and disappears, but not before he slams his hand on the light switch, filling the room with blinding light. I squint, covering my eyes with my hand but I soon realize my mistake because he wasn’t just trying to blind me, he was allowing everyone out in the backyard to see what was happening inside the room.
Multiple sets of eyes zero in on me before they start laughing. I rush to cover myself up, but I fear I’m not quick enough and end up flashing every Rosewood student who’s out in Ethan’s backyard right now.
“Oh my God,” I mutter to myself, hiding behind the fireplace and sliding down the wall until my ass hits the floor.
It can’t be two minutes later when the door to whatever room I’m inside flies open and Poppy and Harley come racing toward me.
“What the hell happened?” Harley asks in a rush, her face softening when she sees the state of my tear-stained face.
“N-nothing,” I whisper, really not wanting to relive what I just went through,
“Nothing? One minute you were disappearing off with Justin, then the next we hear is that you’re...” She thankfully trails off. None of us need her to reiterate what just happened.
“Where’d he go?” a deep voice demands as Zayn steps up behind Harley, his jaw tight with tension.
“Justin didn’t do anything,” I say with a sigh.
“Okay, so who...” Harley gasps. “Oh my God, it was him.”
“Who’s him?” Zayn asks. I look to Poppy and smile at her in appreciation for her not spilling everything to her boyfriend. She returns my smile and wraps her arm around my shoulders in support.
“N-no one. It doesn’t matter.”
“Ruby, I don’t think—”
“Zayn, please,” Poppy says softly. “Just leave it, yeah? If Ruby needs you to fight for her, then she’ll ask for it.”
“That’s bullshit,” he complains as more people fill the room, because I’m not already mortified enough.
“What’s going on?” Ethan asks, his eyes drilling into the top of my head.
“N-nothing. It’s nothing. Excuse me.” I push to stand, ready to barge through all of them.
“We should go home,” Harley says, slipping her hand into mine.
“No,” I bark. “I refuse to cower down to that asshole.” I slam my lips shut the second I realize I’ve just confirmed who it was, but I don’t think it really matters, Harley and Poppy were already well aware.
“Who? Who’s an asshole?” Ethan adds, sounding almost as protective as Zayn.
I step up to both of them and look between them. “While I appreciate your support. I can fight my own battles.”
Zayn’s lips part to say something he soon decides against it when Poppy steps up to me.
“Rae,” Harley says. “Could you help us out?”
“Sure thing. Follow me.”
Five minutes later, I find myself sitting on the edge of Rae’s bed with a fresh drink in hand while Harley fixes my hair.
“You ever sleep in here?” Harley asks Rae as she works.
“Yeah, sometimes we mix it up a bit and come in here.”
“So it’s just your shag pad?”
Rae laughs. “Yeah, something like that.”
The second I’ve finished my drink, Poppy refills my cup.
“You gonna tell us what he did yet?”
I shake my head. “He’s just... angry.”
“That’s not your problem though.”
“Who are we talking about here?” Rae asks.
Poppy and Harley both look at me, waiting to see if I want to confess before they say anything.
“My stepbrother,” I whisper.
“Oh,” she says with a laugh. “Yeah, they can be a real pain in the ass,” she says with a knowing wink. Technically, she and Ethan aren’t stepsiblings seeing their parents aren’t married but they’re as good as, so if anyone has any advice for me on this subject then I guess it would be her. “Word of advice?” she asks, and I nod, needing anything she can give me. “Don’t back down. Give as good as you get and prove that you’re stronger than he thinks.”
I let out a sigh, unsure if I’ve got it in me to go up against him. He’s not even started at Rosewood yet, and he’s already embarrassed me in front of everyone I’ve grown up with.
“How?” I ask hesitantly.
“By drinking that.” She nods at the cup in my hand. “Letting Harley make you look even more beautiful than you were when you first arrived and walking out there holding your head up high.”
I nod at her.
“Word has it that Justin’s asking about you,” Poppy says.
“Like he’s going to want me after that,” I mutter.
“Don’t be so sure. You’re hot, girl. Any guy would be lucky to spend time with you,” Harley says, coming around to my front to start fixing my makeup. “And if they don’t, I’ll dance with you.” She winks and I can’t help but laugh.
“Thank you,” I say to the three of them.
With them flanking my sides thirty minutes later, I somehow find enough confidence to return to the party as though nothing happened. It might be their support, or it might be the copious amounts of vodka they supplied me with. But whatever it was, I walk back into that party with my head held high. So what, some of my classmates got a look at too much of me? It’s nothing compared to most of the senior cheer sq
uad and everyone still wants them so...
“Who’s the cutie?” I ask Harley when the guy she was dancing with earlier notices our approach. His face lights up as he locks eyes on her, and he immediately gravitates toward us.
“Justin’s cousin, Nathan. He goes to Maddison Prep. He’s cute, right?”
“Really cute.”
She steps into him and he leans down to whisper something in her ear.
“Hey,” Justin says, stepping to me. “Wanna dance?” He smiles down at me and just like that, everything is okay again.
I slip my hand into his, and he tugs me into his body.
My front collides with his, my arms lift over his shoulders as his hands slide down my back until he grips on to my ass. I’m momentarily reminded that I’m no longer wearing any panties, but with the vodka racing through my veins and the music filling my ears, I can’t find it in me to care.
I look up at Justin and he flashes me one of his winning smiles before dropping his lips to mine. I hesitate for a second, suddenly aware that he could still be watching, but then I realize that he has no power over me. I’m my own woman and I owe him nothing.
He thinks he can walk around doing whatever he wants, then so can I.
9
Ashton
I should have left the party after walking away from her, but the second I stepped outside I walked into a cloud of weed and I found myself joining the guys who were passing around a joint.
I’ve no idea what happened to Ruby, but I did hear everyone talking about what happened.
Part of me felt bad. Only a small part though. Most of me just smiled as I thought back to her standing there with her dress around her waist like a little slut while her underwear was in my pocket.
My cock swells once more as I think about just how damp her panties were when I ripped them from her body.
She can tell me all she likes that she doesn’t want me, but her body tells a very different story.
I take the hit when it’s offered to me before passing it on and pushing from the lounger I was resting back in. I was expecting someone to at least ask who I was, but it seems no one really gives a shit.
Draining the rest of my bottle, I head inside for a new one to take with me on the walk home. I’ve achieved what I came for, I’m fed up with being surrounded by people now.
“Hey, gorgeous. I haven’t seen you in Rosewood before.” A warm hand slides down my back as I reach the kitchen counter.
“Oh yeah, what makes you say that?” I almost growl as I turn around to find a blonde standing before me in a dress that’s almost smaller than Ruby’s.
“I’d remember your face,” she purrs, her hand now trailing up my abs.
“Why’s that?” I ask, dropping my lips to her ear. “Is it one you’d want to sit on?”
If she’s shocked by my words, then she doesn’t show it. Instead, she pulls back to look into my eyes.
“I’m Krissy, by the way, and I think I need to dance with you.”
“Is that right?” I glance down the hall to where everyone is still dancing and I spot a flash of Ruby’s dress, only it’s not just her dress because that motherfucker has his hands all over her.
“Sounds like a great idea, lead the way.”
I smile down at her as I might actually be interested and allow her to pull me out of the kitchen and down to where everyone is grinding away.
The second she comes to a stop, her hands slide up my chest and the length of her body presses against mine. But I don’t feel any of it, I’m too busy staring at Ruby who’s got her tongue in that motherfucker’s mouth.
A growl rumbles up my throat with my need to go and rip him away from her, but my new dance partner seems to take it a different way.
“I think me and you could get on really well tonight,” she purrs, her lips only a breath from mine.
“You don’t even know my name.”
“Huh, I guess I do need to know what to scream.”
My eyes narrow slightly at her. I guess at least she owns what kind of girl she is.
The side of my face burns and when I look over, I find exactly what I was expecting. Ruby has unattached herself from her little friend and is glaring daggers at the girl in my arms.
A smile twitches my lips at the thought of managing to find a girl that’s on her squad. I really, really hope they’re friends. That can only work in my favor. I saw the way she almost combusted when I spoke to the girl in our kitchen, and I didn’t so much as touch her.
This girl, though. Krystal or whatever her name was, she seems more than willing to play my game.
“It’s Ashton, baby. And you can scream it all night long if you wish.”
She grinds her hips against mine. If she’s expecting to find me turned on by her then she’s about to be bitterly disappointed. She’s going to need to do more than breathe around me to make me even a little interested in what she has to offer.
The girl shooting hate glares at me though, one look and she stirs something inside me she really shouldn’t.
“Now that sounds like a plan I can get on board with,” she whispers in my ear before licking her tongue around the edge. I shudder, but it’s not for the reason she would like, I’m sure.
My hands slide down her back until I grab on to her ass, pressing her tighter to my body as we dance together.
“I’m not sure I like having all these others around. You wanna go somewhere a little quieter, get to know each other a little better?” she almost moans in my ear.
My eyes lift to Ruby once more and the second I see that fuck’s tongue slip into her mouth, I step away from the blonde, take her hand in mine and drag her from the room, ensuring I lock eyes with Ruby before I disappear with my little friend.
10
Ruby
Ruby“Let’s get out of here,” Poppy shouts in my ear, distracting me from watching Ashton pull Krissy from the room.
“I... um...” I look to the empty doorway and up to an expectant looking Justin.
Something heavy settles in the pit of my stomach. I never should have come back after my time with Ash. I should have just gone running back to Harley’s with my tail between my legs.
“Y-yeah, okay. Is Harley coming?” I look over Poppy’s shoulder for our friend and eventually find her dancing with the same guy.
“Yeah, she’s just saying goodbye to Nathan.”
Five minutes later and I’m climbing into the back of Zayn’s car, although Zayn is nowhere to be seen.
“I can’t believe my brother is letting you drive his car.”
“He likes me taking his things for a ride,” Poppy says with a laugh while Harley groans and folds her body into the seat as if she wants it to swallow her whole.
“Please, I’m begging you. Stop.”
“So, tell us about Nathan,” I say, poking my slightly fuzzy head through the gap in the seats and staring at Harley, glad that they haven’t turned their inquisition on me. I’m well aware that they have yet to straight-up demand to know what Ash did to me earlier, but as much as I appreciate that, I know I’m only on borrowed time.
“He was so sweet,” she swoons, her eyes going all soft and pathetic. It’s a look I’ve never seen on her before but with the smile that’s playing on her lips, I quickly realize that it’s one I want to see more of.
“Did you get his number?” Poppy asks.
“I did. We’re going to meet tomorrow.”
“Eeek!” Poppy squeals. “That’s so exciting.”
“Who’d have thought it, Harley Hunter with a prep boy?”
“Oh shush. He’s not like that.”
“Did he drag you into the nearest room and get you off minutes after you met him?”
“Well, no. But he did kiss me before I left.”
“Exactly. He’s a prep boy, a proper gentleman, not like the idiots we go to school with.”
“You realize your boyfriend is one of the idiots we go to school with.”
“I do.
There isn’t anything gentleman-like about Zayn, let me tell you.” I spot Poppy’s eyebrows wiggling in the rearview mirror before Harley starts begging her to stop.
“Tell me later, yeah,” I say, slapping Poppy gently on the shoulder.
“Sure thing. He does this thing with his tongue...” Poppy bursts out laughing when Harley groans once more. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding... kind of.”
“So, you’re seeing him tomorrow? What’s the plan? Where are you meeting him? You gonna kiss him again?”
“I don’t know. He said he’d message in the morning, but he’s in town until early evening. Anyway, enough about me. Are you going to tell us what went down with Ash tonight and why he ended up leaving with motormouth Krissy?”
I groan, falling back into my seat.
“I have not had enough to drink to relive it yet. But I think we all know why he willingly dragged her out of the room.”
“You think he’d let her suck him off when he’s blatantly only hard for you?” Harley asks, making me wince.
“Two things,” I mutter, holding up two fingers, but with my blurry vodka-induced vision it looks like I’m holding up four. “One... he’s not hard for me. He fucking hates me and would rather throw me out to sea and watch me drown than he would put his cock anywhere near me. And two... umm...” I hesitate when I totally forget where I was going. “Oh yeah. Krissy is a whore.”
“Amen,” Harley sings, lifting a bottle of vodka that I didn’t know she’d snatched on the way out. “Those bitches give us cheer girls a bad name.”
Poppy’s eyes meet mine in the mirror once more and I read her silent thoughts loud and clear, and I can’t help but agree. I haven’t exactly been acting much better than them in the past few months.
The three of us pile out of Zayn’s car and stumble toward the front door. Jada is home, her car is parked in the driveway and the lights are on, but as we stagger through the kitchen for snacks, we don’t see any sign of her. It’s probably a good thing, Poppy is the only sober one out of the three of us right now, but if the way she’s tipping the bottle she’s taken from Harley to her lips is anything to go by, then she won’t be for long.
FURY: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rosewood High Book 6) Page 7