by K. G. Reuss
“I only wanted to thank you for helping me in the cafeteria.”
His expression softened as he gazed down at me. “You disappointed me.”
“What?” I wasn’t sure if I’d heard him right.
“I never thought I’d see you let someone break you like that. It was sickening. You looked pathetic on your knees.”
I bristled at his words. “And I never thought you’d turn into such an asshole. I guess we’re both disappointed, huh?”
“I did you a favor, Rosie. You owe me for it.” His gaze darkened.
“I don’t owe you shit,” I hissed up at him, feeling brave. “You put me through hell. If anyone owes anyone, it’s you who owes me.” I jabbed my finger in his chest for emphasis, not sure where my courage was coming from, but not wanting to back down.
He reached out and grabbed my hand, closing his large one around it. I winced beneath his tight grip.
“You should’ve stayed a nobody, Rosie.” He tugged me so close our bodies pressed against one another.
“I’m still a nobody,” I rasped, my heart hammering in my chest at his nearness.
He let out a soft chuckle, his warm breath tickling my face. “You were until you got my attention again. Such a bad girl.”
I shivered against him. He had my back pressed against the lockers once more.
“I like this look on you,” he continued, brushing a stray piece of hair away from my face. “And your hair.” His eyes swept over my red mane in its high ponytail. “It was always my favorite.”
I swallowed down a whimper, my breath hitching as he leaned down to murmur in my ear, “Do you know what happens to bad girls, Rosie?”
“No,” I choked out.
“They get ruined.” His lips brushed against the shell of my ear. “The next time you’re on your knees, it’ll be for me.” He pulled away from me, releasing my hand. His gaze hardened, his eyes sweeping over my trembling body. Something flashed in the blue depths, but it was so fast I wasn’t even sure if I saw it. “You owe me, Rosalie. I’ll be back to collect.”
He didn’t wait for my answer. He turned and walked away, leaving me shaking against my locker, wondering what the hell had just happened.
Three
After my encounter with Fox, I had a hard time concentrating. He wasn’t the sweet boy I’d once known. In his place was a fierce, dominant man. While it terrified me, it also turned me on. I’d never reacted to a guy that way before. Something was very wrong with that picture.
“Rosalie. Hey!” Jamie called out to me as I walked down the hall later that afternoon at lunchtime. I was starving but didn’t want to risk another cafeteria scene. Ian Hall, one of our part-time friends, walked next to her. Ian was the guy who imagined himself a ladies’ man. I’d seen him with a handful of girls over the years, but nothing that stuck long-term. He wasn’t bad looking with his sandy brown hair and dark, twinkling eyes. He was the editor for The Wildcat Roar, our school’s newspaper. While Jamie never admitted her crush on him, it was there. And it was huge.
“Hey.” I smiled at them.
“I can’t do lunch today. I have a yearbook committee meeting with Ian.” Her eyes were wide as she jerked her thumb at Ian, who was smiling at me. “I’m so sorry. I know you don’t want to eat alone after everything—”
“It’s fine. I wasn’t planning on eating anyway, at least in the cafeteria.”
“Rosalie,” she groaned. “Please tell me you won’t eat in the bathroom. That’s so gross.”
I gave a non-committal shrug that had her rolling her eyes.
“You could eat in the library,” Ian offered. “Or I’ll skip the meeting, and we can go to my car—”
“Uh, no thanks.” I gave a rushed laugh, glancing at Jamie, who was frowning. “I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t mind,” Ian continued. “We don’t hang out enough anyway, and this yearbook stuff isn’t such a big deal. Jamie can hold it down for one meeting.”
I cringed, noting the crestfallen look on Jamie’s face.
“It’s cool. Thanks for the offer.” I plastered a fake smile on my face, wanting to get out of there before Jamie became upset. “I’m trying to lie low anyway, what with Juliet and all. The stall in the bathroom is a good place to do that.”
“You need to take back your life.” The look on Jamie’s face had morphed into something angrier at my mention of Juliet. “Punch that bitch in the face. Have your revenge and break her nose.”
“When did you become so violent?” I glanced over at her as we all walked down the middle of the hallway.
“Since that bitch hurt my best friend. I don’t enjoy seeing you this way. You’re so strong, beautiful, and smart. You’re losing yourself because of this shit. I hate it. We’re only a month into the new school year. You need to stand up for yourself. Take no prisoners. Show that bitch and her posse who’s running this campus.”
“Damn, you’re fired up today,” I joked weakly as we stopped at my locker.
“Well, you would be too if you saw your best friend suffering.” She folded her arms over her chest and gave me a pointed look. “Or at least your ass better be.”
Ian’s phone buzzed then. He cast me a wink before answering it. I was grateful he’d moved away from us so I could talk to Jamie for a minute without him listening in. The last thing I needed was him hearing me and printing some outrageous story in the paper. Not that I thought he would, but my track record with good things happening was on the low side. I’d rather be safe than sorry.
“I talked to Fox this morning,” I mumbled.
She dropped her arms away from her chest, her eyes widening.
“What did he say? What happened? Spill.”
“Don’t you guys have a yearbook meeting?” I glanced at Ian who was still on his phone, not seeming like he was paying us the least bit of attention.
“Screw the meeting. I want details.”
I didn’t waste time. I told her everything that had happened earlier at my locker with Fox. Her eyes grew wider as I spoke, her lips parting until her mouth was wide open.
“It sounds like he wants you to suck his dic—”
“Jamie,” I hissed, darting my gaze around to make sure no one was listening to our conversation, Ian included. The halls were almost empty, and Ian was still on the phone.
“You should do it. It’s perfect. Take that bitch’s man. Yahtzee, Rosalie.”
I shook my head, my face flushing. “No. It’s not like that. He was just tormenting me in the only way he knows how.”
“By getting your panties wet?”
“God, Jamie. Do you need to be so vile?”
“Uh, yes? We’re talking about Fox Evans here. He’s every girls’ wet dream in this place, yours included. Hell, you’ve even kissed him before—”
“We were twelve,” I shot back. “It didn’t count.”
“It sure as hell does. One day when someone asks the sex god who his first kiss was, it’s your name that’ll be on those succulent lips. Do it. March your cute ass into that cafeteria right now and plant your mouth on his. I guarantee he’ll kiss you back.”
“There’s something wrong with you.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “You could be getting laid right now by Fox, but instead you’re standing here telling me all the dirty things he said to you instead of taking him up on his offer. I’d say there’s something wrong with you.” She gave me a pointed look.
“Go to your meeting. We’ll talk later.” Ian was off the phone. He smiled at me as he stopped next to Jamie.
“Sorry about that.”
“No worries,” I answered. “We were just having girl talk.”
Ian chuckled. “Aw, I missed it.”
“I promise it was nothing worth hearing.” I glanced at Jamie who had her eyebrows raised at me. “You guys need to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
She grinned, backing away.
“I’m wearing you down, Rosalie Elizabeth Bishop.”
Ian shot a look betw
een us, interest on his face.
“You’re really not.”
“Yes, I am. We both know it.”
“I can’t hear you,” I called out, turning away from her. She let out a boisterous laugh before the sound of hers and Ian’s footsteps disappeared.
With a sigh, I grabbed the sack lunch I’d made last night and walked outside. The bleachers seemed like a good place to sit, so I wandered out to the football field and sat down, staring out to the empty field. I never attended games. What was the point when everyone hated me? That was like rooting for the bad guy.
I was lost deep in my thoughts, nibbling my sandwich, when a warm hand rested on my shoulder.
“Rosalie, fancy meeting you out here.”
I looked up to see who the deep voice belonged to. My heart thrashed violently in my chest as my eyes met the green ones of Ethan Masters. Beside him was Cole Scott, looking like a windswept god with a smile on his face.
“I-I was just leaving.” I rose to my feet and gathered my lunch, ready to get the hell out of there, but he snatched my lunch away and Cole pushed me onto my butt. I choked down my whimper as he stepped around me and sat on the bleacher next to me. Ethan took up residence on my other side.
I stared down at my hands, my leg bouncing.
“You’re a nervous little thing, aren’t you?” Cole asked, his large hand coming to rest on my thigh. He applied pressure to stop my bouncing leg. “Relax, Rosebud. No one is here to hurt you.”
“Scared to eat in the cafeteria?” Ethan cocked his head at me, green eyes narrowed.
“I-I just wanted some fresh air—”
Cole tightened his hand on my thigh, making me wince. “Don’t lie to us, Rosebud. You could get into trouble for doing that.”
I nodded, swallowing down the bile which had risen in my throat.
“Look, could we just get this over with?” I asked, glancing between the two of them. I had to sound brave or risk being eaten alive out there alone. “Just do your worst and be done with it. I don’t want to be late for my next class.”
They both laughed, but it wasn’t a laugh of mirth. It was almost cold.
“What do you think we came out here to do?” Ethan’s hand rested on my other thigh. I stared down at both hands on me and let out a shaky breath.
“Whatever everyone does to me to make themselves feel better,” my words were soft but strong. It was the truth.
Cole chuckled. “Mmm, you want me to do to you what makes me feel good? I’m game.” His hand moved higher on my thigh. I grabbed it to stop its trek.
“Don’t.”
“Or what?” Cole challenged, his eyes locked on mine.
“You’ll be sorry.”
With his other hand, he cradled my face. “We both know that’s not true, Rosebud. There isn’t much fight in you.” He thumbed my bottom lip, his own lips parting. My pulse raced as he leaned in. “I don’t even think you realize what you started.”
“I didn’t start anything—”
“You got our attention.” It was Ethan’s turn to talk. Cole’s hand fell away from my face. “That probably wasn’t the best idea.”
“I don’t want your attention. In fact, I want you to leave me the hell alone. Aren’t there other girls you can damage out there?”
They both chuckled like I’d told a joke.
“It’s not the other girls we want though, sweetheart.” Cole captured my face again and gave it a hard squeeze as he got to his feet, towering over me. His leg came up between mine and shoved them apart as he pushed me back, leaning over me.
“Do you know what we do to little girls like you?” Cole’s breath was hot on my face. I stared up at him unmoving. “Scared girls?”
I shook my head slightly as he gripped my face tighter.
“We own them.”
I swallowed and let out the softest whimper. A slow, dark smile curved Cole’s lips up as he pressed his knee harder between my legs. A tear squeezed out of the corner of my eye as a heat swept through my core. It was a conflicting feeling. I was both afraid and turned on. My brain couldn’t process it all.
“Yes, sweetheart, cry for me.” Cole leaned into me more and pressed his lips to the corner of my eye where the tear had slipped out. He didn’t move away. A soft sigh escaped his lips before he whispered in my ear, “You’ve been chosen.”
With that, he released me. Cole straightened up, and Ethan got to his feet. Both of them walked away from me, but not before Ethan called to me from over his shoulder, “We’ll be seeing you, Rosalie.”
Four
I didn’t tell Jamie what had happened to me on the bleachers. I wasn’t sure if it would provoke the guys more, and since Ian was hanging around, I didn’t want him to overhear. With all the confusion going through me, I didn’t even know if I wanted to provoke the guys. But I did want to know what they’d chosen me for. However, given our combined histories, I imagined it was for something I wouldn’t want. Maybe more torment. Being owned by them made my pulse race and not necessarily in a bad way.
The rest of the day zipped by with no further incidents. By the next day, I’d grown used to telling myself the guys were just trying to scare me and I had nothing to worry about. I’d glimpsed Fox around midnight outside, going into his house after arriving home. His curtains were still closed.
When I woke up, I did my normal routine. I slipped on a green sundress my mom had gotten me on one of her many shopping adventures. Then I hefted my mess of red curls back into a ponytail and made my way downstairs for breakfast. By the time I got to school, Fox was already there, talking to the guys on the sidewalk.
I had to pass by them to get into the school. Hauling in a nervous breath, I grabbed my bookbag and made my way to the front doors, keeping my head down. I didn’t want to catch their attention.
That all went to hell when Enzo called out to me, “Cafeteria girl! Come over here!”
“Shit,” I hissed. I kept walking, pretending like I hadn’t heard them.
“Cafeteria girl!” Enzo shouted again.
Go away. Go away. Go away!
I was almost to the front steps of the school when a warm hand grabbed my elbow and pulled me to a halt.
“When you’re called, you answer,” Cole growled in my ear, his blue eyes dark. Knots of anticipation corded through my guts. He pulled me to the group of guys, pushing me into the center.
“There she is. Sunshine.” Enzo reached out and gave my ponytail a tug. “Where were you going so fast?”
“Well, it’s time for school, so I was, uh, going,” I answered, hoping I sounded stronger than I felt at that moment.
“Smart ass.” Ethan grinned. I returned his grin with a wobbly one of my own.
“Have you had any trouble lately?” It was Fox. I spun and looked at him. His jeans and blue polo clung to his hard muscles. His dark hair was still messy, like he’d been running his fingers through it all morning.
“Just with you guys,” I answered, holding my head up and locking eyes with him.
A small smirk spread across his face as the guys laughed. He hadn’t smiled at me in ages. My heart ached at the sight. He’d been so different since his mom passed away. All I’d wanted to do was help him through it, but he’d pushed me away and became my enemy.
“Look at our girl, having us pegged,” Enzo said.
Our girl?
I couldn’t have heard him right. It made my heart jump in my chest for reasons I didn’t have time to explore.
“We’re having a party at Cole’s Saturday night,” Ethan broke in. “You should come.”
I glanced at Fox, wondering what he thought about it. He stared back at me. I figured he’d have told me to get lost.
“I don’t go to parties.” It was the truth. I’d never been invited to one before, not that a lot of invitations went out for these events. However, to hang out at an elite party meant you probably should at least have your name known or you’d risk getting shoved into the pool. At least that’s
what happened to Jason McCormick, a guy from my calculus class. They’d pushed him into the pool. There were even videos online of him breaking down in tears after being pulled out when people realized he couldn’t swim.
“I think you need to correct yourself.” Cole grasped my hand and gave it a squeeze. “You didn’t go to parties. You will now.”
“No, I won’t.” I tugged my hand free of his.
“I assure you, you will,” Cole growled back. “I’m picking you up at eight. Be ready.”
I stared wide-eyed at him before glancing to Fox for confirmation. He stepped forward and tucked a loose piece of hair behind my ear.
“Be ready at eight, Rosie. If you don’t go with Cole, you’ll go with me, and I promise you’ll have a lot less fun with me in the car.”
He backed away and gave the guys a nod. They moved so I could step through their circle. I spotted Jamie in the distance, worry painted over her delicate features. I was sure she’d witnessed the whole thing along with probably a hundred other students as they passed by us.
I stepped through the guys, my heart racing. My mind was reeling.
“Hey, Sunshine,” Enzo called out to me. I paused and looked at him over my shoulder. “You look beautiful today.”
My cheeks heated as I rushed away. I thought I’d hear laughter from them behind me, like Enzo’s compliment was a joke. But no, there was silence.
“What the hell was that?” Jamie yelped when I reached her.
“I don’t know.”
“Are you OK?” Her eyes swept over me. “Were they mean?”
I shook my head. “No. Not so much.” That stumped me. They hadn’t been mean. They’d been dominant and bossy, but not mean. Even Fox hadn’t really been.
“They’re staring at us. I mean you.” Jamie averted her gaze from the guys. “They look hungry.”
“What?”
“Like, they’re staring at you like you’re an all-you-can-eat buffet. What in the hell is going on?”
“I wish I knew,” I muttered, pushing past her. I could still feel their stares on me. I launched into telling her what had happened on the bleachers and then with Fox as we walked to my locker. I couldn’t process it all and holding it in wasn’t helping. I had to tell someone. She gave a low whistle as the floodgates opened, and I spilled everything to her.