The phone slams down and I swallow my pride. He might not have had a good reason to kick me out before but he sure as hell does now. “Miss Munroe,” he starts, tilting his head back toward my seat. “I’d highly suggest that you reel in your attitude before you make matters worse for yourself.”
Well, fuck.
I let out a sigh and slink back toward my chair, the fight completely leaving me. I’m fucked.
“Now,” Simmons starts. “I’m going to pretend that you weren’t about to threaten me and we’ll start this meeting over. This time I’m going to speak and you’re going to listen. For the next five days, you are a student at Bellevue Springs Academy and it is my responsibility to punish students who step out of line. At 8:45 this morning, you violently attacked another student and behavior like that will not be tolerated in my school. This kind of behavior may have been accepted where you are from, but not here. I can not blame you entirely for your poor morals or lack of discipline, the principal and faculty at your old school have clearly set subpar standards for you and your peers. You have given me no other option Miss Munroe, you have to be punished.”
My jaw clenches as I watch him looking more than thrilled to deliver his verdict. My nails press hard into my palms and I take a slow breath, trying to calm the rage pulsing through my body. How did my morning so quickly turn to shit?
“Because you have kindly and happily accepted your transfer, I will do you a favor and not expel you.” His threat is as clear as the smile on his face. If I fight him on this, he's going to make me suffer. “However, the school board and the parents will not stand for this. The safety of my students is of the utmost importance and I must remove the threat. You leave me no other choice but to suspend you for the entirety of the week.”
Shit.
“I suggest that you make your way to your locker and clear out your things as you will have no other reason to return to Bellevue Springs Academy.”
Mom is going to kill me, and not just a stern talking to type of killing me, but the full-on dig a grave type of killing. This is not going to end well for me.
I let out a groan and don’t bother saying a word. My back is against the wall and I have nowhere to run. No matter what I say or do, I’m only going to make it worse. I can’t afford to go to the girls' school and I sure as hell won't be accepted into a public school after the shit that’s listed in my records. BHA is my only option. I won’t be able to graduate without it unless I was to go home and go back to Breakers Flats High, but that’s not an option, not anymore.
It's already been decided, no surprise there. In this world, the poor girl from Breakers Flats is worthless. I can't fight my way through this no matter how much I want to. It took a Carrington to put this fucker on a leash. Without the name behind me ... I'm finished.
I get up out of my chair and don’t miss the way Dean Simmons’ eyes tighten, unsure what move I’m about to make, but I’m done. I’m done fighting for equality in this stupid school, I'm done fighting for respect, and I’m done trying to be seen as anything more than just a pussy with a nice set of tits.
I walk out of his office and slam the door behind me without a single word, feeling completely deflated. Despite this school being a complete joke, it was an opportunity that a girl from Breakers Flats would only come across once in a million years. This was my step up in the world, and I blew it. I had the chance of making something of myself and now I’m going to be another statistic. Just another girl who didn’t finish school and ended up pregnant, married, and depressed.
As I walk out into the hall, I find it empty and realize that the homeroom bell must have already rung. Disappointment spreads through me. I would have loved to have seen Milo and told him what’s going on but it’ll be fine. I’m sure he’ll have something to say about it and as soon as the last bell rings, he’ll be barging his way into the pool house and demanding answers.
Not wanting to disturb him during homeroom, I make my way down to my locker and pull out the few things that I’ve stored here for the past few weeks. It’s not much but I’m not about to leave it all behind.
I shove everything into my bag and haul it onto my back before walking out the gates and not looking back.
I bypass the student parking lot and just as they always do, my eyes fly to Colton’s parking space, only today, there’s no charcoal Veneno. I wasn’t expecting him to show up after everything that happened over the past few days, but not seeing him kinda sucks and I hate that. After the way he pushed me away, I should be hating on him. I should be figuring out a way to make him hurt just like he did to me. I should be angry, but I’m not. I’m sad. I’m sad for all the things we missed out on, I’m sad for the joy I know I would have felt being in his arms, but mostly, I’m sad for the way I know I could have loved him.
I try to put it to the back of my head as I walk out through the student parking lot and onto the main road. I hate walking home, but today, walking is better than waiting around and risking the possibility of running into Dean Simmons.
I can’t believe that fucker suspended me. I mean, it’s not as though this is my first suspension. This will be my seventh … or maybe it’s my eighth. I don’t know, but for some reason, this one hits home a little too hard. It’s never good news when you’re being suspended—I know I completely deserved it—but knowing that this is Dean Simmons taking the easy way out doesn’t sit well with me.
I don’t know what I’m so upset about. It’s not as though I actually like this school. My time here has been complete bullshit. I’ve been discriminated against because of my gender, my class, and my lack of wealth, while also being sexually harassed every fucking day by students and staff. If anything, I should be seeking therapy, but all I want right now is to cry.
If Charles was still here, that wouldn't have happened. He would have been in Dean Simmons’ office and put that fucker in his place. Heaven knows it wouldn’t be because he had a sweet spot for me, but because it would have been another opportunity to assert his power. Either way, it would have resulted in me being left the hell alone.
I wonder if Colton will now have that kind of power? He already kinda does, but Charles’ … wow. When he walked into a room, you knew it. The whole world knew it. He had an air about him that warned people not to fuck with him. Just one sharp glare and you could be on your knees. I don’t know if it was a power thing or maybe a danger thing, I never really got the chance to figure it out. Colton sure as hell did though and something tells me that whichever it was, he’s going to replicate it in a massive way.
I honestly don’t know whether to be impressed, awed, or terrified.
I still can’t believe that Charles is gone. It’s a tragedy while at the same time, it’s something I should have seen coming a mile away. Not the whole same dagger thing though, that completely threw me and left me with more questions than anyone should ever have to ask.
I don’t even know where to begin. I guess the main one is who did it? Hell, I didn’t even know dad and Charles knew each other, though I could be jumping the gun here. Maybe they didn’t know each other. Maybe they both knew someone in common. Maybe they both fucked with the wrong person. Maybe Eli and Nic were right and it's a coincidence and there just happens to be two of the same daggers that were used to kill two of the men in my life.
Yeah … I wouldn’t believe that shit either. Besides, I don’t believe in coincidences, not ones like this.
What I do know is that there are far too many maybes and not enough solid answers. I don’t even know where to start looking for answers, but even if I did, I don’t know if I have what it takes to uncover them or even if I want to. The person who did this is responsible for murdering two of the most powerful men in my life.
It just doesn’t make sense to me. Where's the connection? Why murder a poor man with nothing to his name and then murder one of the wealthiest men on the planet? No fucking sense.
I let out a heavy sigh and realize that I’ve somehow made it all the way back to t
he Carrington mansion and to be honest, I don’t remember a damn step I took since stepping off school property twenty minutes ago.
My back hurts from the weight of my bag and every step I take down the long driveway has me desperate to get inside, though seeing the teal blue McLaren 720S parked by the front has me somehow forgetting all about it.
I’ve never seen that car here before. Don’t get me wrong, I’m used to seeing all sorts of fancy cars pulled up out front who are usually guests of Charles’ but he’s no longer here to receive those guests.
This car is young, it’s for someone who cares about their status and likes to show off. It’s not for some old, rich businessman. No, this is different and it has curiosity burning through me. It’s not my exact dream car like Colton’s Veneno is, but damn, it certainly is nice.
I study every aspect of the car as I walk around it, picturing the way the engine would purr beneath me. My dad would be loving this. I can just imagine him rattling off every detail about it as we pass while he reminds me to keep a good few feet away, not wanting my clumsiness to accidentally scratch the expensive paint job.
God, I miss him.
I make my way up the sixty-six steps and put the McLaren to the back of my mind. It’s not even 9:30 am and my day has already sucked. All I want to do is climb into bed and turn on Netflix. I’m sure I’ll be able to find something that will take my mind off all this bullshit fuckery.
A week. What the hell am I going to do for a whole week?
I could go and visit my boys for a few days, but I’m sure mom wouldn’t appreciate that. She tends to be a little stricter on me when I’m serving time on a school suspension. I can just imagine her snapping at me ‘You’re not on a holiday, Ocean. Get up and clean something.’
She’s going to give me hell for this. Though, I guess I could spend my next few days working. Maryne could put a list of things together that could keep me busy though I don’t exactly know where my employment status stands now that Colton is the big man in charge. I know before he was kinda my boss but not directly. Now … it’s different. I’m not sure how I feel about him actually being my boss or if he’s even going to allow me to keep working, and right now, it’s not exactly something that I want to go and speak to him about.
I let out a sigh and push my way through the massive front door, instantly dropping my school bag on the marble floors, just the way I used to do when I was back in Breakers Flats and Mom and I had a home of our own.
Shit, maybe I’m getting a little too comfortable here. The other staff would get roasted for walking through the front door like this instead of using the service entrance.
A loud, disgusted grunt has me stopping in my tracks and my head snapping up to find two girls, hovering in the foyer, both staring at me like I‘m some kind of piranha.
“Ummm …” I say, taking them in and very quickly realizing that these girls are identical twins and look like the female, much shorter and feminine versions of Colton.
Great. Cora and Casey are home and I’ve already made an ass of myself.
“Ummm?” The one on the left snaps. “Who the hell are you and what do you think you’re doing waltzing into my home and dumping your shit at the door as though you own the place?”
“I, uhhh.”
“Can I help you?” the other responds, scrunching her face in disgust. “Hello? Do you speak? Or are you not capable of stringing a sentence together?”
All I can do is stare, although it’s probably making matters worse. Are these two bitches seriously Colton’s little sisters? They’re fucking cows. They’re gorgeous though, absolutely stunning but their shitty attitudes make them so damn ugly. It’s a shame, I bet they would have gone far in life, though with the money at their backs, I guess their attitudes don’t really matter. People would put up with a whole lot of shit just to be close to that kind of cash.
These girls are the exact type of people I was expecting to come out of Bellevue Springs and up until now, I’d been judging my ability to nail down the stereotypes. I’ve gotten everyone wrong so far, but these two fit exactly where I had predicted. Shallow and mean. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of the guys have lived up to that shitty expectation, but they’re dudes and they’ll never be able to tear a woman down the way that another woman can. These girls … well, these girls could destroy someone with a simple stare. They’re exactly the kind of bullshit I was expecting to find here.
I somehow pull myself together before I start making matters worse, yet I have a feeling that there’s literally nothing I can do that will make this mess any better. “I’m Ocean. I live in the pool house with my mom, Maria. She’s the new live-in housekeeper.”
If looks could kill …
“You’re the help?” the one on the right screeches, taking a step back as though being anywhere near me could have her catching a disease. “Yuck. What do you think you’re doing walking straight through the front door?”
“Yeah,” the other cuts in. “You should be using the service entrance out back. Ugh, we’re going to have to disinfect everything.”
The fuck?
“I …”
“No,” she continues, holding a hand up to cut me off. “I don’t want to hear your lame excuses. This is a disgusting violation of the rules. We should have you fired for this.”
Fired? My eyes bug out of my head and as I go to tell them exactly what I think of their fucked up rules, a throat clears to my left. “Is there an issue, ladies?” Harrison questions, looking as proper as ever.
“Uh, yes, there’s a problem,” the one on the right scolds. “You’ve been allowing the help to waltz in and out the front door. She should be using the service entrance like the rest of the staff do.”
“No, Miss Carrington, under no circumstances have I been allowing that to happen,” Harrison says, meeting my eye and silently begging me to keep my damn mouth shut before I make matters worse. “Miss Munroe, while being staff, is also a friend of Mr. Carrington’s and has been welcomed by both your brother and your father to use the main facilities of the property.”
They both scrunch their faces in disgust and it’s almost comical how it’s done in perfect unison. Their glares turn back on me and I swallow as the one on the left takes three steps forward and places herself right in front of me. “I see what's going on here,” she says, her voice low and demeaning. “You’re not good enough for him and I’ll be damned if I allow my brother to be spending his time fucking around with trailer trash like you. He’s the head of this family now and there are standards, high fucking standards, that you couldn’t reach even if you were a hundred feet tall.”
“You’ve got it wrong.”
She scoffs. “Look at you, I don’t have it wrong. If anyone around here has it wrong, it’s your misconception that you actually mean something to him. Do yourself a favor and scatter away before I’m forced to step in because trust me, bitch, that’s not something you want.”
With that, she turns and stalks away, and like clockwork, her sister follows behind, leaving an awkward Harrison to slip back into the shadows of the foyer. I gawk at their backs, wondering who the hell these bitches really are. All I know is that they just threw down the biggest challenge and I don't think I have the will power to control myself this time.
Game fucking on, bitches.
Chapter 6
Maryne collapses down at the table beside Mom as I push my dinner around my plate. “He’s a mess,” she says with a heavy sigh, scooping up her fork and looking down into her food.
“Who is?” I question, instantly receiving a glare from my mother who very kindly suggested that I keep my mouth shut for the rest of the day after hearing about my suspension and the bullshit drama with the twins in the foyer. I can’t wait to find out what she’s going to stay when she realizes that my suspension is just an opener for my transfer to a new school.
“Colton,” Maryne says, not noticing mom’s silent scold. “He hasn’t been doing well these past two da
ys. The booze wafting off his skin is just …” she sighs, cutting herself off. “I don’t know what to do anymore. I've tried talking to him but he’s insistent on heading down this destructive path. His grief is just … He’s going to screw it all up before he even gets a chance to really start.”
She trails off and suddenly my appetite no longer exists. I was kinda hoping that he’d be doing better today.
Mom meets my eyes across the table and the silent scolding is gone, replaced with pain. She understands the grief he’s suffering through just as I do and it’s not easy, even if your father wasn’t exactly the idol you’d always wanted.
Mom nods and just like that, I’m out of my chair and crossing through the staff quarters.
I get to the internal door and I can’t help but think of the twins. I’ve remained on my side of the mansion all day, not wanting to start up more bullshit with the sisters from hell, but unfortunately for them, it’s time to break some rules.
I push through the door that leads into the main part of the house. It’s well past nine at night and with the funeral being held tomorrow and the celebration of Charles' life after, the mansion is a flurry of activity, yet not a single family member can be found.
Harrison is walking around overseeing everything and I don’t miss the way his eyes narrow on me as he watches me cut through the main part of the house, a part he and I know damn well that I’m not supposed to be in, but screw him. Someone needs to check on Colton and something tells me that I’m probably the best option even though it means dealing with his bullshit.
I haven’t seen him since finding him in the private bar last night and to be honest, I’m not entirely sure that I’m up for a repeat performance of that. Just thinking about it has me cringing with heartbreak. I should never have allowed Colton to get so deep but when I think about it, I don’t actually think I allowed it to happen, it just sort of did and that’s on me.
I gave him the power to hurt me and last night, that’s exactly what he did. I’m a fool because right now, I’m about to let it happen all over again. I must be a glutton for punishment. I should turn around and run back to the pool house as quickly as I can. I should lock the door and chain myself to my bed and not emerge until this bullshit is over or at least until I find the balls that I’ve lost somewhere along the way. Instead, here I am, standing at the bottom of the massive staircase and launching myself up it, desperate to get to him.
Cocky F*ck: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rejects Paradise Book 2) Page 5