FURY: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rosewood High Book 6)

by Tracy Lorraine

  “No,” I spit, stepping into her space and forcing her to back up until her ass hits the edge of the desk. My fingers grip her jaw as my body presses against hers. “I don’t want them. I couldn’t give a shit what they would happily do for me. I want you, Ruby. Just you.” My eyes stare down into her green ones as they fill with tears. She tries to shake her head, but my grip is too hard for her to move much.

  “You’re lying.”

  “Am I?” I sneer, closing the space between us until my nose brushes hers.

  “What do you want, Ash? What do I need to do for you to let me out of here?”

  A smile curls up at my lips at the possibilities.

  “Tell me what I need to know.”

  “Which is?” she asks, forcing herself to sound bored by this whole exchange but I know it’s fake. I can see the heat in her eyes behind her tears, and I can feel her pulse thundering against my fingers.

  I lean in closer, brushing my cheek against hers until my lips tease the shell of her ear.

  “Tell me you’re mine.”

  She tenses but no words pass her lips.

  “Ruby,” I growl. “We both already know it’s a fact, but I need to hear you say it.”

  “A fact?” she spits. “To you maybe, but as far as I’m concerned, I don’t belong to anyone.”

  Pulling back, I rest my forehead against hers, my breaths racing out past my lips and mixing with hers as I stare down at her.

  “Please, Ruby, I need—”

  I’m too lost in her to see her hands lift. Her palms slam against my chest and I’m so shocked by her strength that I back up, putting some space between us.

  “I don’t give a shit what you need right now, Ash. I care about what I need, and that’s not to be anywhere near you.”

  Before I get a chance to respond, she’s ripped the door open and flown through it.

  “Fuck,” I bark, tugging at my hair until it hurts. “FUCK.”

  I take a step back until my ass hits the desk and I rest back, tipping my face to the ceiling.

  All this shit is new to me. I want to tell her how I feel, that I’m serious about all this but I’ve got no fucking clue how to do it.

  I’m surprised to find the gym empty when I emerge sometime later, I was expecting the team to be waiting for me to teach me a lesson for hurting one of their own.

  The bell rings as I’m making my way down the hall and I’m forced to abandon any lunch plans I had in favor of finding my next class.

  All I can hope is that she’s in it.

  But it seems that’s wishful thinking because I don’t see her again for the rest of the day, I do, however, spend my last two classes in the firing line from the team and the squad’s death stares.

  As first days at a new school go, it’s not been the best. Things don’t get any easier either when I finally locate the locker rooms after school to join in with the team’s conditioning session to discover that Coach is busy, and that Jake is in charge and that his sole intention for the session is to see how far he can push me.

  By the time he lets up, my entire body aches and is covered in sweat. It’s been too long since I’ve done that kind of a workout.

  “I think I might have underestimated you,” Jake admits, coming to stand beside me as I get dressed after showering off the mud and grass that covered almost every inch of me.

  “Oh yeah?”

  “That would have broken most guys.”

  “I’m not just any guy though.”

  “So I see.” Another guy comes to join us, Ruby’s friend’s boyfriend, I think.

  “You think he’s got what it takes?” he asks Jake but stares at me.

  “It’s early days. Let’s see if he lasts the week first. Chelsea might kill him first.”

  “I can hear you,” the blond guy, who I can only assume is the dad to Chelsea’s baby pipes up from the other side of the locker room.

  “Fuck off, Dunn. Don’t even pretend you were gagging for a bit of that when she went all momma bear on this guy’s ass,” Jake shouts much to a few of the guy’s amusement.

  “Not denying anything. Might go home and try to get her pregnant all over again though. Ow,” he complains when someone throws something at him.

  “Do we need to have another conversation about Ruby?” Jake asks me as the other guy’s brow rises possessively.

  “Nope. I know what I want. But if you wanted to help me out, you could put in a good word to Ruby.”

  “Not gonna happen, man. You gotta dig yourself out of your own shit.”

  “Great,” I mutter, turning away from them and continuing to get dressed.

  “So, same again tomorrow?”

  “Can’t wait.”

  “Coach and I are going to be picking next year’s team soon. Captain too.”

  I don’t reply and I think it pisses him off but he lets it go.

  “Aces?” he asks the rest of the locker room and after a few minutes, they all start disappearing. I have no idea if that was a group invite that included me, but I make no move to follow.

  By the time I’m ready, they’ve all disappeared, leaving me to walk to the parking lot alone. I climb on my bike and head for home, wondering if Ruby will have met the team at Aces or if she’s hiding from me in her room.

  I get my answer the second I show up at home because her little blue car is sitting in the driveway.

  Stopping in the kitchen for a drink and some food, I make my way upstairs, marching straight past my own door and straight to hers.

  I knock knowing that she’s inside, but I get no response.

  “Ruby?”

  “Go away.”

  “You wanna hang out?” It’s a long shot, but I figure it’s worth it. “Do that chemistry assignment together?”

  “No.”

  I can’t help but smile at the bite in her tone. “Ruby?”

  “What, asshole? I’m busy.”

  “I meant what I said earlier. You’re it for me, little one.”

  “Whatever.”

  “I’ll wait as long as I need to,” I say quietly, resting my head against her door.

  I should just storm in and take what’s mine. The temptation is strong but I know in the long run it’ll just make her hate me more.

  “Well, if you change your mind, I’ll be right next door.”

  I get no response this time, so I leave her to it and kick my own bedroom door closed behind me.

  It’s only ten minutes later that I hear her door open and her storm down the stairs. The slamming of the front door shakes the house before she disappears.

  I fall back on my bed with a sigh.

  What I said was true, I’ll wait for her to calm down and realize that I’m serious although I don’t really want to.

  34

  Ruby

  The memory of how it felt having his body pressed up against mine in that office and the knowledge that he was only on the other side of the wall quickly became too much and not long after telling myself to just stay put and do my homework, I end up pulling my sneakers on and storming out of the house in favor of hanging out with Poppy and Harley at Aces.

  I knew they were meeting the team there but I’d refused to go in case the guys dragged Ashton along. I know he’s good, Stephen has bragged about Ashton being captain of his team back in Seattle, so I can only assume that Jake’s going to want him to be part of next year’s team, and that means he’ll be dragged into the fold.

  They might have all stood by me earlier but that’s only because he’s the new boy. I’m sure that in a blink of an eye, he’ll be one of them.

  I spend the evening with the girls but while they are all busy chatting away and reliving the weekend, I’m lost in my own head, although I’m not so lost not to notice that I wasn’t the only one with my head in the clouds because Harley wasn’t really present either. But no matter how many times I ask her what was up, she refuses to tell me. I can only assume it’s that guy. And although I understand that she m
ight not want to talk about it, I wish she’d give me something so I’d know how to help.

  The sun has long set by the time I pull back up at the house, unfortunately, the second I walk into the kitchen I realize that I should have stayed out longer because I walk straight into what looks like a happy family dinner.

  “Ruby, are you hungry? Come join us.”

  Tingles race down my spine and I rip my eyes from Mom and find exactly what I’m expecting. Ash with his gaze locked on me.

  My breath catches at the heat in his dark depths as he runs them down the length of my body, lingering on my bare legs for several seconds too long seeing as he’s sitting with our parents.

  “Um... no, I’m good, thanks. I’m just gonna...” I take a huge step back before spinning on my heels and running from the room and up the stairs.

  “Ruby,” Mom calls as I make my escape, but I don’t stop to find out what she wants.

  Pushing through to my bedroom door, I throw my purse onto my bed and smile when I catch sight of the flowers sitting on the side.

  “Ruby?” Mom calls, inviting herself inside.

  “What is it, Mom? I have tons of homework.”

  “I just want to... wow, these are gorgeous. Who are they from?”

  “Uh... you?” I ask like she’s lost her mind.

  “I didn’t get you these, Ruby,” she says, plucking the card from its clip and turning it over. “Wow, someone sure thinks highly of you.”

  “It... they’re really not from you?”

  “No, Ruby. They’re really not from me.”

  “Stephen?”

  “Baby, Stephen doesn’t buy me flowers, I doubt he’d buy them for you.”

  “Huh. Do you think...”

  “That they’re from Ash?” she finishes for me when I trail off. “I think there’s a good chance, sweetie.”

  I drop down onto the edge of my bed and she comes to sit beside me, reaching out to take my hand.

  “I know I was mad, and I said some things that I probably shouldn’t have in Seattle. I was shocked, stunned actually. I just didn’t see it coming. I didn’t even consider you’d look at Ash like that, or he you, for that matter. You’re my baby girl, and it’s easy to forget that you’re growing up and turning into a young woman.

  “I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I’m okay with what has developed between you two because, quite frankly, I’m not. Ashton isn’t exactly the kind of boy I always hoped you’d end up with. He’s hot-headed, angry, he’s got a bad reputation, and some of the things he’s done, including being arrested for possible possession of drugs. On paper, he’s not exactly the kind of boy any mom wants for their daughter.

  “But...” she says before I get a chance to try to defend Ash. Although, really, everything she just said is true so I’m not entirely sure what I could say. “I’ve seen how he looks at you. I’ve heard the way his voice softens when he talks about you—”

  “When has he talked about me?” I interrupt, feeling like I must have missed out on something here.

  “It doesn’t matter.” She shakes her head and gives me a smile. “He knows he messed up sending you away like he did—”

  “That wasn’t all he did.”

  “I’m sure it’s not, sweetie. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but maybe you should just give him a chance. Hear him out and then decide where you want to go with your relationship once you have all the information. After all, he’s not going anywhere anytime soon, so you’re going to have to come to some kind of truce at some point. I refuse to live in a house where people are fighting.”

  “I don’t know, Mom.”

  “You don’t have to decide what to do right now.” She twists so she’s facing me and looks into my eyes. “You’re a smart girl, Ruby. If I had any doubts that you’d act before thinking of the consequences, then we wouldn’t even be having this conversation, but I trust you to do what’s going to make you happy. And if that’s Ash, then so be it. The heart wants what it wants, and what our parents or others think doesn’t really come into it.”

  “Talking from experience?” I ask, intrigued by her story with Stephen and Dad.

  “Yeah, your grandmother hated Stephen when we started dating. Thought he was going to corrupt me.”

  I snort a laugh because we both know that Grandma was right.

  “We’ve got to make our own choices and trust our own instincts. I was wise enough to choose Stephen when we were a lot younger than you are now, so I have to trust that if I knew back then, then so do you.”

  She gives me and smiles that I quickly return. “Thanks, Mom. I really appreciate your understanding.”

  “I just want you to be happy, sweetie. I hate seeing you hurting like this.”

  She pulls me into her arms and holds me tight.

  “Having said all this though, your father is probably going to shit a brick when he finds out.” I can’t help but burst out laughing.

  “I’ll talk to him when he’s back in town.”

  “Rather you than me, Ruby,” Mom jokes. “Are you sure you don’t want any dinner?”

  “No thank you, I ate at Aces with the squad and Poppy.”

  “Okay.” She squeezes my knee before standing up and walking to the door. “Ruby,” she says once she has the door open.

  “Yeah.”

  “Life’s short. Leanora has just taught us that. Don’t waste it.”

  “I’ll do my best. Love you, Mom.”

  “Love you too, sweetie. I’ll leave you to your homework.”

  “Thank you.” She closes the door and I look down at my chemistry assignment that’s still spread out across my bed where I left it before I walked out earlier.

  An idea pops into my head and before I have a chance to convince myself it’s a disaster waiting to happen, I gather everything up and tuck it under my arm. Maybe having some help won’t be so bad. We might even get it done quicker.

  There’s a slight tremor to my hand as I lift it to knock, but I don’t let it stop me.

  “Yeah,” he barks, sending the butterflies in my stomach into hysterics.

  I blow out a slow breath before reaching for the handle and pushing the door open.

  I’m pretty sure the last person he was expecting it to be is me because he doesn’t even look up from his notebook.

  “What is it? I’m busy.”

  I stare at him hunched over. He’s wearing a white t-shirt, the fabric stretched over his wide, muscular shoulders and a pair of black sweatpants. His feet are bare and his hair is still wet from a shower.

  “I... um...” I stutter, now I’m here I have no idea what to say.

  “Shit,” he breathes, so quietly I’m sure I’m not meant to hear it. “Hey.” He looks up at me and although his eyes are softer than I’ve seen many times before there is still an edge to them and despite the fact his lips curl into a smile, I can see the tension within it.

  I get it. I walked out on him earlier when he was trying to tell me something. But as he stood there trying to defend himself all I could see was him grinding up against Nat in that basement and then him with Krissy. If he wants to convince me that what he was saying was true, then he’s going to need to rid those images from my head and replace them with something else.

  “Hey.” I smile at him and I hate that I must appear nervous as I lean back against his doorframe, afraid to step inside and be alone in a room with him. I remember Seattle and the time we spent together in his apartment all too well, the memories already has heat surging through my veins. “Did you... um...”

  He rests back on his headboard as I stumble over my words, his eyes running the length of my body and setting my skin on fire. I might be wearing a hoodie and a pair of yoga pants now but I may as well be naked from the way he’s looking at me.

  “Did you send the flowers?”

  His lips twitch and his eyes fly up to meet mine. I swear to God a bit of color hits his cheeks at my question and it makes the pull I feel toward him e
ven stronger. This vicious bad boy is blushing.

  “Yeah, little one. I did. Wanted you to have something nice to come home to. You deserved it.”

  “Ash, that’s...” I shake my head, my words escaping me. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Are you just going to stand there, or did you want to come in?”

  “Err...” I suck my bottom lip into my mouth as I consider my options.

  “I don’t bite. Well, not unless you want me to.” He winks and I groan.

  “Ash, don’t, or I’ll...” I gesture over my shoulder to leave, although I already know that I’m probably not capable of walking away right now.

  “I’m sorry. What have you got there?” he asks, nodding at the books I have under my arm.

  “Chemistry,” I say, holding up the books to prove that’s what it is and feeling stupid for it. “Thought that maybe we could...”

  “I haven’t started it yet. Come sit and I’ll find my books.”

  Sucking in a deep breath, I nod and slowly close the door behind me.

  I look around the room, wondering where I should sit. My eyes land on his empty desk and chair and I’m just about to head over to keep as much space between us as possible when a box on the other side of his bed catches my eye. I look up at what he was reading when I came in and find it’s not homework at all.

  “What’s all this?” I ask, unable to keep my nose out of his business.

  “Mom’s journals. I found them in her room when Willow and I sorted it.” He studies me as he says her name, I guess waiting for some kind of reaction that he spent time alone with a girl. But I already know she helped him, she told me herself. We’ve been in touch since I left, we’ve messaged most days. Having seen Ash at his lowest, she understands what I—we—are going through in a way that Harley and Poppy don’t. Plus, she knows him, so that helps. Well, until it doesn’t, and she starts telling me just how sweet and thoughtful he really is, even though he won’t ever admit it.