My gaze snaps back to his. He’s even closer now. “Because I push back.”
“You kiss back?”
“Try it and find out.”
He moves in, gripping me by my ribs so he can put me where he wants me, with my back against the lockers. His dark eyes study me, trying to dig beneath the surface. Not sure what he hopes to find, but there’s not much on the inside.
I’m jaded, trailer park trash with nothing to lose. My life, minus a detail or two, is in a ten-page file in a group home down the street, a file he’s read.
“You fuckin’ Bishop?”
“No.”
“Plan to?”
“I’m not one for planning. I’m not known to stay in one place long enough for that.”
“That’s not a good enough answer.”
I pop a shoulder.
“You piss me off.”
“You piss yourself off. Stop butting into my business and everything would be fine.”
He growls, his head dropping as his grip tightens, his fingertips pressing into my back.
Heat stirs in my abdomen and my chest inflates.
A light chuckle leaves him, and the sound, low and dirty, has my skin burning. But then something shifts in his eyes, like the heat and playfulness was detected by what plagues him on the inside and he switches gears, eyes now hollow and hard.
“You’re predictable, Raven.”
“Yeah.” I drop my head back. “How so?”
“You come in here without a fight, let me put my hands on you without shoving me off – like you’ve done to every other motherfucker in this school when they’ve touched you.” His lips move to my ear. “I knew you’d let me, though. Just like I know, under this silk skin you wear like armor, you pretend what others think rolls right off you, but that’s an act, isn’t it? There’s one thing that gets to you. One thing you can’t stand.”
“Yeah, big man, and what’s that?” My heart rate spikes in annoyance as he attempts to psychoanalyze me.
“Everyone thinking you’re your mother’s daughter.” Before I can respond, he spins us, so I’m falling against him, his back now on the lockers. His eyes harden, his voice now brasher. “How many times do I have to tell you, Raven? I don’t need to pay for sex, especially not when you already gave it up so easily. Proposition me again, and I’ll have your ass sent straight back where you came from. We don’t want trash in our school.”
My forehead creases but before I can say anything laughter rings in my ear.
My stare is slow to shift.
A half dozen gym students have filed into the hall.
Their laughter rebounds off the walls, hitting like a wave down the long hall only to ricochet right back.
Blood pumps fiercely against my temples, taking over my vision for a short moment before I blink long and hard, forcing it away, bringing myself back to right now.
They open when Maddoc shoves me away, and I stumble, falling back onto the pile of shit on the floor. His eyes are full of spite. “Let me catch you trying to pick up clients at our school, Snow.” He makes it a point to look at my feet, deeming me worth less than the dirty floor beneath them, a deep frown on his face as he shakes his head.
And I can’t breathe.
I start to sweat, my skin begins to itch and I can’t feel my hands. My gaze travels from person to person, finding each stare more ruling than the last.
When my eyes snap back to Maddoc, it’s not just him I find, but the other two now at his side.
The tripod.
The boys of Brayshaw High, three strong.
They felt threatened by my actions, actions that helped them more than hurt them, but regardless, were out of line as far as they were concerned.
Here, you’re not allowed to have your own moves if it messes with theirs.
They pulled me in, brought eyes on me, made sure everyone knew good and well who I was and where I came from. All so the bomb would hit that much harder when it fell.
The lead-up, all of it, was set to put me in my place, right here for the assholes around to see.
Now it’s not speculation but confirmed fact as far as they’re concerned.
Words straight from their leader’s mouth.
I’m an apple plucked from the same tree.
A whore.
It’s one thing for me to play into it, to act like the slut they see, make them think I fuck because I feel like it, but that’s on my terms. My choice.
And he took it away in two point five seconds with two dozen witnesses.
He’s right with what he said. I can’t stand everyone seeing her when they look at me.
I bite into my tongue to keep from lashing out. Chances are the rage and disgrace will blend, ending in waterworks I can’t control and they don’t deserve – that would be a nightmare.
They want my tears, but they won’t get them this easy.
I force my feet to move, block out the snide remarks and instant offers that hit my ears and shove through the door with my head held high. It’s fake, the vigor I show.
Truth is, these boys got me on my knees, where whores are most comfortable.
But I swear to shit, it’ll take a lot more than three parentless punks to keep me here.
I dab at my lip with the hydrogen peroxide one last time then set the little timer glued to the wall to keep us regulated on the hot water and step into the shower to let the dirt and grime run off the rest of me.
How I managed to sneak back into the house before Maybell woke is beyond me, but I made it with only minutes to spare, then slid into the bathroom before she could see I was a hot, bloody mess.
The timer goes off too soon, followed by a prompt bang on the other side of the door letting me know it’s someone else’s turn and time for me to get the fuck out.
I dress as quickly as possible and slip back into my room, flopping onto my assigned bed. The mattress is ancient and has a dip in the center from years of overuse, but it’s got clean sheets and a soft blanket. Beats the hell out of the drop-down sofa I slept on in the trailer living room the past ten years.
The second I let my eyes close, Maybell pops in.
“Come on now, Rae. Breakfast with the others, chores, then the rest of the day is yours.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“And I’m not asking. Come on now, you need to put some meat on those bones.”
Ugh. Kill me now.
Like the maintenance chores, each week we’re assigned cooking duties. So far I’ve only had to set the table and wash vegetables. Turns out today, I’m on pancake duty with Victoria. Fucking yay.
She starts mixing as I pull out the large portable skillet thing they use to cook on.
I’ve seen them but have never used one before. It kind of reminds me of the hot plate we used at home, assuming there was something worth making.
When I get stuck staring at the dials, Victoria sighs and reaches over, showing me how annoyed she is with the flick of her wrist as she helps me out.
“Thanks.”
“Whatever.”
Okay then.
About fifteen pancakes later, and she starts talking.
“So.” She adds more water to the batter. “What happened with you and the Brays?”
“Not sure what you’re referring to.”
“Rumor has it, last week someone saw you riding Maddoc in the back seat while the other two drove you around.”
“Bet that was a sight to see, through the tinted ass windows and all.”
She scoffs, turning to me. “You trying to deny it? Chances are someone took a picture. And the front window isn’t as dark.”
“I’m not trying to do shit. Think what you want, I don’t really give a damn.”
“Wouldn’t matter if you did anyway, they seemed to have already passed you on.” She goes mute on me after that, just the way I like her.
A little over an hour passes before I’m able to start on my outside chores. Thankfully, all I have left for today is watering the pl
ants out back and spraying down the swing set.
Soon as I stand from wrapping up the hose a whistle sounds and I turn, squinting down the dirt road I’m not allowed on.
Royce jerks his chin, lifting a joint in the air in offering.
I glance at the house, finding the only girls outside busy with their own jobs, so I head his way.
“Wanna burn?”
“Why not, got nothing else to do.”
He scoffs and points to a few logs laying at the edge of the dirt and together we move to it.
“So, what brings you to my neck of the woods?”
He squints at the trees. “Not sure.” He shrugs. “Got bored. Had a joint and ended up here.”
“Your boy won’t like this,” I sing-song and he glances my way. “He told me to stay away from you.”
His eyes narrow a moment before dropping his head with a light laugh. “I knew I was right, but I half didn’t wanna be.”
“I’m sorry, Riddler, did you say something?” I snatch the joint from his fingers.
“Nah. Nothing.” He glances my way. “But you should watch out. Maddoc don’t play.”
“Seems to like to.”
Royce considers that a moment before a grin splits his mouth. “He does, don’t he?”
I laugh lightly.
He stares at me, a crease forming at the center of his eyes before he speaks. “Come to a party tonight. A Bray party.”
I shake my head. “Hard pass. I’m not interested in being your punching bag, and your little game of ‘sharing is caring’ is over so no need to flaunt an old toy.”
“All right. I’ll rephrase.” He shifts to glare my way. “Be at the party, or – same drill, slightly changed – Maybell finds your bed empty, since you like to sneak out after your curfew when you think no one’s around.”
I look away, but he continues to stare at my profile.
“Where do you go?”
I leap to my feet. “None of your fucking business.”
“I’ll see you tonight then.”
“What is with you guys, surely you don’t always get your way?”
“’Course we do. Sometimes it takes a little forced effort such as this to make it happen, but in the end, we win.” He grins, and for a second he seems almost innocent, until the joint hits his lips and he walks away with more swag than should be allowed for a single human.
With a roll of my eyes, I head back for the house.
Soon as I walk inside, Victoria is leaning against the frame to the room I currently live in, her arms folded over her chest.
“Thought you weren’t fucking them?”
I tell her what she wants to hear to get her to go away. “Guess I’m a liar.”
I drop onto the bed and lie there a moment before plugging in my earbuds. I pull my pocket knife from my bra, slide my hand under my pillow and pass out.
Maybell wakes me up for dinner and evening clean up. As soon as all is said and done, I’m antsy from sitting around all day – it’s hard to let myself relax indoors when I’m so used to needing an escape. Not sure I’ll ever convince myself there’s a soft place to land when a roof is involved. I throw on my knock-off Vans and head out the door with nowhere to go in mind.
“Can I tag along?”
I glance over my shoulder at Vienna. “I’m just going for a walk.”
“I could use a walk.” She falls in line beside me, and together we head down the road, passing the park the boys play ball in.
Vienna looks over the broken-down court. “You know our school was built by a Brayshaw back in the day?”
I cut a glance her way. “I figured, yeah. Brayshaw High...” I trail off, curious where she’s going with this.
“It was. Before, students below poverty weren’t even allowed to attend, they’d actually bus them to the town over. It was only for the power families and their spawns. But then one day, all of a sudden, they were bringing in people like us.”
“Strange change of heart.”
She scoffs. “I heard it was because kids who had nothing, had nothing to lose. I mean, think about it ... if all the kids at the school were meant for greatness, who did that leave to do the dirty work when dirty is needed?” She trails off, effectively planting a damn seed.
I don’t comment and now I can’t shut my brain off. It sort of makes sense what she’s saying. Power trickles down.
It’s like in my neighborhood. Every dope dealer has a dealer who has a dealer, and so on. There’s the piss on selling dime bags to kids on the corner, but that bag traveled from a bigger hand somewhere else at some point.
“Speaking of the Brayshaws,” she mumbles, bringing me back to now. “Looks like they’re having a party tonight.”
“What makes you say that?” I give her a side glance.
She motions to the school parking lot that has just come into view. There are at least two dozen cars there, students all around, laughing and acting like fools, having fun.
“This is how it goes. The Brays plan a party once or twice a month, set a time for everyone to meet here and together they all head over, sometimes there’s even a theme to keep it fresh and fun. If you don’t make it here before Leo, one of the guys on their team, you can’t go.” She glances my way briefly before returning her eyes to the scene. “They don’t give out the location and everyone has to check their phones at the door. It’s like some super-secret shit.”
“You ever been?”
“Nah.” She shakes her head, pretending she’s not interested but her next comment tells me she wishes she has. “Heard it’s invite-only.”
I spot Chloe sitting against the hood of some red little sports car and roll my eyes.
“Surprised you didn’t get invited.”
I scoff before I can stop it and she spins to look at me.
When I glare at her and look away, she starts laughing.
“You did! Why the hell are you not going?”
“Why would I?”
“Better question... why not? It’s not like you’ve got somewhere else to be. Shit, I don’t know about you, but this is the first time in a while I’ve had a spot to go back at the end of the night. My mind’s not on how to get my next meal or where I can sneak a shower. We’re fucking teenagers for a while longer. Why not act like one every once and a while?”
I stop and turn to her, watching to see any sign of a liar or a con. And not the kind we poor kids have to be from time to time but the shitty kind we can choose to be better than.
She stares right back, even lifts her chin a little, so I nod and start walking toward the herd of cars.
“Holy shit, wait,” she whispers. “Are we really just gonna walk up in there and expect one of them to give us a ride?”
“I’ve learned not to expect anything.” I turn to her with a smirk. “We’ll either catch a ride or have some fun stirring up shit for the in-crowd.”
She pauses, shrugs and then laughs as we continue forward.
By the time we hit the parking, all the partygoers are hoping in the cars and a few kids are hitting each window with a little white card.
“What is that?”
“Directions maybe?”
“I don’t think we’ll be finding a ride.”
Right then, a familiar black SUV pulls around the row of cars, and all eyes trail it as it pulls over...right beside me.
The window rolls down and some guy I don’t know leans out.
“That’s Leo,” she whispers, and I roll my eyes.
The corner of his mouth lifts and he swings his eyes her way a minute, licking his lips before he looks back to me.
“And he can hear you.” I tilt my head and he then glances to the back as the window rolls down, revealing a couple girls I recognize from gym. High and mighty smirks on their faces.
“Royce didn’t think you’d show. I told him you would.” He eyes me.
“You don’t even know me.”
“Don’t need to know you to know you’d be here. No
w get in.”
That’s when I notice the blonde in the front seat. She leans over Leo, running her hand up his arm.
I raise my hands and shrug in mock disappointment. “Looks like you’re all full. Guess I missed my chance.”
His smirk grows, but there’s an edge to it he can’t quite cover. “Get out,” he says without even sparing the girls a glance.
All their glares whip from him to me.
Vienna chuckles beside me.
“We could squeeze—”
“I said out.”
With low grunts, they do as they’re told, slamming the doors as they quickly run to the back of the line of cars.
Leo’s eye follows them. “We write the number of people in the car to make sure nobody gets picked up on the way. All the cards were already given out.” He glances back to me. “I was their only shot for tonight.”
“You can still change your mind. Bet they’re a guaranteed lay.”
He assesses Vienna. “I’m good.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Vienna jokes, making him laugh.
“Get in.”
I look to Vienna and together we shrug and step forward.
When we both get in the back, Leo scowls out his window, then peels out.
This better be fun.
It takes a solid twenty minutes to get to the party place, an old ranch house on a deserted piece of land. Nothing but the house lights seen for miles.
It’s one of the creepy looking places that murderers buy so they can torture and kill their prey without perked ears and prying eyes.
And we’ve just got locked inside.
Leo fist bumps a guy on the way through the narrow hall and we get frown after frown as we bypass a huge ass line of students.
“Bathroom line?” Vienna whispers, and then we reach the end, seeing a big dude scanning each person and confiscating their cell phones.
My hand instantly hits my chest.
Leo sees it and frowns, looking from the metal detector to me. “You got a phone in there?” He pops a brow and I shake my head.
“Nope. No phone.”
He’s slow to accept my answer and then looks to Vienna. “You?”
“Dude. We live in a group home. Like we could pay a cell phone bill.”
He nods and then we’re through the dark curtain.
Boys of Brayshaw High Page 8