“Bellamy…” I walked over to the bed and crawled over him. His hands went to my waist as he looked at me. “I know who you are.” I pressed a kiss to his jaw. “You’re a bad boy.” Another kiss. “Who’s secretly good.” And another. “I won’t tell anyone, though, because I have a reputation, and I can’t be dating good guys. I like to piss my dad off.”
He smirked before I kissed his lips.
38
Bellamy
“Not going to church…You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Pops shook his head and closed the front door.
I looked at Drew. “He’s not going to church. He’s going gambling.”
“I’d rather play poker than go to church,” she mumbled.
Mom bustled around the corner with a full face of make-up.
Everything about her looked ten years younger because that asshole was out of the house. The restraining order was now official and I couldn't be happier. They’d given dad a court date, although he’d got out on bail.
“I’m taking Arlo over to Genie’s,” she said, “and I’m going to stay and talk.”
Because she’d never been able to just go do things on her own outside of work or grocery shopping. He wouldn’t let her. She felt like she had to explain. And that made me feel like I should have beat that fucker’s ass to the point of death long ago.
“Love you, baby.” She leaned over the couch and kissed the top of my head.
“Love you too.”
Arlo raced into the room, exchanging some weird handshake with Drew before he followed Mom out the door.
“Hey! Butthole!” I called over the back of the couch. “Are you going to tell me bye?”
He ducked his head around the front door. “Bye, Bubba!” Then he was gone.
“I’m favorite.” Drew smirked.
“Good to know his loyalty can be bought with Push-Pops.” I leaned over, sinking my hand between her thighs. “Just like this pussy.”
“Rude.”
“It’s really not.” I slammed my lips over hers, threading my fingers through her hair before I slipped my tongue between her lips. The more I was around her the more I couldn’t get enough of her.
The alarm on my phone went off, and I tossed my head back on the couch. “Shit. I gotta go do something.” I pushed to my feet. “Come on.”
A slow smile overtook her face. “Is it something illegal?”
This girl liked a thrill too much, and I liked that she liked it. “Of course.”
We pulled up to Hendrix’s house and Drew lifted a brow as we climbed out. “Should’ve known.”
Hendrix opened the door, took two steps out, then shook his head. “This is bullshit, Bell.” He pointed at Drew. “That right there is walking, fucking bullshit.”
“Shut up, Hendrix.” I shoved past him into the living room and toward the back porch.
“Seriously. You seriously brought Drucella over here for our man shit. You disappoint me.” Hendrix kicked the screen door open, mumbling under his breath as we followed him outside.
“He’s prickly today,” Drew whispered.
“He’s always prickly.”
Hendrix cut through the overgrown grass to the tarp-covered car at the back of his lot. He tossed the cover off, revealing an old Chevy Dodger with a cracked windshield and missing hood.
“What is that?” Drew lifted a brow.
Hendrix sighed. “Bell, you’re dating a girl who doesn’t even know what a car is.”
Drew flipped him off. “That is barely a car.” Then she glanced at me. “Is this stolen?”
“Yeah.”
Hendrix took a pair of pliers from the toolbox, scowling at Drew. “Is that car stolen, she asked. Like we’d just have shit sitting around. God, rich girls.” He moved toward the car and leaned over the engine. “Wolf and me are going to another revival this week. If you can get away from Medusa, you should come.”
I had no reason to go to that crap with them. “I’m not trying to pick up girls, asshole.”
“Oh.” He glanced over at Drew and rolled his eyes. “That’s right. You’ve gone all pussy and shit. Fine. We’ll keep the virgins to ourselves.”
“Whatever, Hendrix.” I grabbed a razor blade from the kit and went to the driver’s side to file off the VIN number.
Drew leaned against the side of the car. “I’m sorry. You’re going to church revivals. To get laid.”
“Yeah.” Hendrix cackled. “I caught me two virgins with one hook.”
I glanced through the windshield just as Hendrix pullrf at his crotch.
“So wait. You got two virgins, into a three-way?” Drew asked.
I shook my head, climbing out of the car to grab the number from the doorjamb. “Don’t ask him shit about it. Just pat his back and--”
“Call me Casanova.” He chucked the pliers at me. “And screw you for not wanting to know more, you dickdribble.”
Drew’s phone rang. Then rang again, and again.
“Irina.” There was a pause before she turned away from us. “No, I am not putting you on video. Why? You wouldn’t--Fine. Jesus.” She glanced around before turning her back to the yard and holding her phone in front of her face.
“Where on earth are you?” A woman’s voice came over the speaker.
“Out.”
“Is that--Are you doing charity work?”
“No! Look, can I call you later?”
“Your father tells me you’ve run off with a Dayton boy, a criminal. Ruined his house. He’s very concerned for your well-being. You need to return home, Drucella.”
Hendrix’s ears perked up at that comment. He shoved away from the engine, stalking toward her. “Who’s that Drewbers?”
The glare Drew leveled on him could have made hell freeze over.
“Is that him?” The woman sounded alarmed. “Are you in a ghetto?”
Drew’s face went red. “Mom! Will you stop? I will call--”
Something inside of me snapped. “No. That’s not him,” I said, moving toward Drew. I snatched the phone from her hand. Then stared at the dark-headed woman with a face full of makeup and puffed-out cheeks. “This is him. What’s up, Momma?” I lifted my chin, then swiped a hand over it.
Hendrix cackled in the background. “Yes! You just went from pussy-ass bitch to stunner, Bell.”
Drew tried to snatch the phone, but I held it out of her reach. “You just called her Momma!”
The woman stared at me for a moment, then brought a glass of wine to her red lips. “Are you a criminal, young man?”
“Depends on what your definition of one is.”
Drew jumped up and managed to grab the phone. “No, Bellamy is not a criminal. Yes, I trashed his house because I had a party, because he forgot my birthday. Also, dad called me a whore. Thank you for the Porsche. I love you and I will call you later!”
“Bisous, darling.”
Then she hung up and turned on me. “You” She poked my chest. “And you!” Then she jabbed at Hendrix. “I can’t.”
I lifted a brow. “The ghetto…”
“She’s sheltered! She lives in Saint Tropez and thinks Champagne is an appropriate breakfast option.”
And this was the girl I was falling for. Hard and fast, like an idiot skydiver without a parachute.
39
Drew
A cloud of black exhaust coughed from the tailpipe as Bellamy drove off, and I stood on the front porch, staring at the door. My dad had called my mother, and not only did they hate each other, but he’d never admit his failings to her willingly. And that was enough to tell me whatever I was about to walk into was going to be bad.
I slowly closed the heavy, wooden door. The click of the lock echoed into the tall foyer.
“Drucella. Come here.”
The force of my heartbeat sent a nauseating feeling churning in my gut as I followed the sound of his voice. My dad sat at the breakfast bar, a glass of whisky in front of him. “Hope you enjoyed yourself.” He star
ed into the glass, swirling the whisky before he polished it off.
“I’m sorry I had a party, and the house got trashed.” From the look on his face, I needed to apologize or he might kill me. “It was my birthday.”
“And I assume that should excuse your behavior?”
“You forgot.”
He pushed up, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, and a small paper bag from the side of the counter, then handed both to me. The fact that he totally ignored my comment made me resent him so much.
“Do us both a favor and take those.” I peered inside the bag at the little white box.
“The morning after pill? Are you serious?”
“The fact that you know what that is without even looking at the packaging says it all, Drew.”
A slow fire built in my chest. The way he looked at me was not much different than the way he’d looked at Bellamy. And I hated him.
I hated him for judging Bellamy. For judging me. For thinking nothing was ever good enough. All the resentment and feelings of inadequacy bubbled to the surface.
“Well, you know, I do have daddy issues. That being said, I didn’t fuck Bellamy.” Not on Saturday night at least. “Despite me being a “whore.””
On a heavy sigh, he swiped a hand down his face. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
That wasn’t an apology, though.
“That boy is no good for you, Drew,” he said. “Trust me on this.” He moved toward me, attempting to take hold of my arms, but I backed away. “I only want what’s best for you.”
“Really, Dad? Because it seems like you just want to make me miserable. You put me in that school. Practically threw me to the wolves after I begged you not to. I didn’t even cheat at Black Mountain.” My voice cracked slightly, frustration making me emotional. “And now you’re mad I’m dating a Dayton guy.”
“You’re not dating that boy!”
Defiance rose over any premise of tact. “I am. I’m eighteen. You can’t stop me.”
He slammed a fist over the island, the boom echoing into the tall ceilings. “He has nothing to offer you, Drew. He’s Dayton. His best prospects are jail time and a string of dead-end jobs. And I’ll not allow him to drag you his depth.”
“What are--”
“I sent you to that school to try and teach you some discipline! To show you what life could be like if you didn’t get your act together, not to wallow around in the dirt with its scum.”
My temper spiked violently. “He’s not scum!”
He inhaled a deep breath, closing his eyes like he was willing calm. “Give me your phone.”
“What?”
“Give me your phone. Right now!”
“No!”
He practically ripped my bag from my shoulder, taking out my phone and holding it up. “I pay for this, so if I deem it fit to take it away, I will! You are not to leave the house, and you’re not going to school tomorrow. Test me and I will lock you in your room.”
What the hell? “You sound insane!”
His jaw ticced. “I’m done with this conversation.” He snatched his whisky glass from the island and placed it in the sink. When he turned around, he pointed an angry finger at me. “And you’re done with that boy.” Then he stormed out of the kitchen. Seconds later, the door to his study slammed shut with finality.
He didn’t listen to a damn thing I said. He hadn’t even apologized for forgetting my birthday. And now he’d taken away my phone, isolating me further in this house.
Bellamy would try to text me, and what would he think when I didn’t respond? That I was ghosting him? That I didn’t like him?
The thought had my stomach twisting and knotting. I went to my room and opened my laptop, thinking I could get to him on social media, but the second I tried to pull up the sites, a message from the internet provider popped up, saying they’d been blocked.
My dad was an absolute dick, and there was nothing I could do.
40
Bellamy
Me: I can still smell you on my sheets
Me: Taste you on my tongue...
I was in the middle of typing out something really vulgar when a text from Drew came through.
Baby girl: Drucella will not be seeing you anymore. - William Morgan
Heat crept over my cheeks as I stared at my phone.
Arlo sprinted past me, pretending to fly Spike through the air.
Drucella will not be seeing you anymore. Because he thought he could dictate her life. Just like that. When he couldn’t even be bothered to remember her birthday.
That heat bled from my face to my collar, then down to my chest as I snatched my keys from the coffee table and left.
I’d show him just how wrong he fucking was.
By the time I parked in her dark drive, my blood was a spitting, angry cauldron.
I shifted over the console and threw open the passenger door, thumbing over my nose on my way up the sidewalk that led to the front of her house. My pulse sounded like a war drum in my ears by the time I pounded over the door. The ridiculously ornate porch light came on. Then the door opened to Drew’s dad, just as pious and arrogant looking as he was the other day.
He closed the door enough that I guess he felt safe. “Drucella is not seeing you anymore.”
“Bullshit.”
“Young man. You need to leave. Now.” He went to close the door the rest of the way, but I slapped a palm over the heavy wood, halting it.
“You may make decisions for her, but you don’t make decisions for me.”
Some of his color drained from his face. “I’ve put in for a stay-away order. If you choose to show up on my property again, I’ll have you arrested.”
“Like getting arrested is anything new…”
He attempted to close the door again, but I didn’t budge. Drew was the best thing that had happened to me, and like hell I was going to let this asshole rob me of the last few weeks I had with her.
“You’re rich,” I said. “So I’m sure you understand what determination is, which means I’m sure you’ll understand me when I say, I’m determined to see your daughter.” On a smirk, I removed my hand from the door, then turned my back to him and started to my car.
I hoped that asshole let that statement resonate.
The next morning, I stared at Mr Morgan’s text while I waited at Drew’s locker.
That must have been the hundredth time I’d read it, and it still sent a flash of red dancing across my vision.
The halls began to thin out, the bang of locker doors fell silent just before the tardy bell rang. And Drew wasn’t there.
She wasn’t at lunch.
Or biology.
And when Smith didn’t call her name on roll, I knew the dick had pulled her out. He’d paid Brown to keep her in this shithole school through the theft and vandalism and drug dealing, but one look at me in her bed, and he unenrolled her.
Because her dating a guy like me was so much worse than any of those other things...
A cyclone of emotions ranging from anger to defeat swirled through my head as I crammed my books into my backpack. With a slam of my locker door, I shouldered my book bag and started toward the exit.
A light drizzle of rain fell from the overcast sky, and I ducked my head on my way through the parking lot to keep it out of my face.
“Bellamy?” Nora called my name just before I reached my car. The splash of her shoes through the puddles sounded before she stopped beside me, a frown on her face.
“Did Drew get kicked out or something? She wasn’t on the roll and she’s not answering my texts.”
“Yeah, because her dad probably has her phone.”
The rain began to fall a little harder. “What? Why?”
“Because he’s a dick.” I unlocked the passenger door, then tossed my book bag into the back seat. “He texted me last night from it. So my guess is, he took it.”
She wasn’t enrolled at Dayton anymore. He’d threatened to have me arrested
if I showed up at the house again. And he had her phone. There was no way for me to even talk to her at this point. Unless…
“Do me a favor,” I said, leaning into my car to open the glovebox. I rummaged through papers for the burner phone and its charger. “Take this to her.”
I held out the device, but all Nora did was stare at it, confused.
“Dammit, Nora. He won’t let me talk to her or see her. Would you please take it to her so I can at least check on her?”
Slowly, she took the phone from my hand. “So...this is your fault?”
“My fault. Her fault. What does it matter?”
On a sigh, she crammed it in her purse. She took a few steps around the back of my car before she paused. “You like her. Like you actually like her, don’t you?”
“No shit.”
She held my gaze for a moment. “Okay. I’ll take it to her.”
“Thank you.”
I climbed in my car, scooted across the console, and sank behind the wheel, watching the drops of rain splash against the windshield.
I don’t know what I expected to come from this thing between me and her anyway. We were worlds apart, and even if she wasn’t jetting off for college in New York come fall, I’d known since day one her family would never approve of me.
The people of Barrington lived in the castle on the hill, and I was nothing more than a peasant. And that shit only worked when it was a poor girl after a rich boy.
This thing with Drew was never supposed to be anything more than a little fun, a deal. A sordid exchange. She was supposed to be a one-time high--something I could easily walk away from and quit, but wasn’t that how all addictions started? The thought of being without her sent a crippling sense of hopelessness creeping through me. Which meant, like all addicts searching for that high, I was probably about to do something really stupid to satisfy my craving.
No Good: A Standalone Enemies to Lovers Romance Page 24