by R. E. Bond
Josie gasped, looking horrified at her son’s attitude.
“Caden!”
“Look at what he did to her face!” Caden shouted suddenly, my hand tightening in his as the anxiety started racing inside me.
I was frozen, which made me feel weak.
Caden shuffled closer to try and comfort me, but Max threw his hands in our direction with anger.
“I find you in here, trying to apologize for hurting her, and you blame me? I’d never hit my own child!”
“You lying piece of shit!” Caden bellowed, causing me to jump at the volume.
Josie watched as her son pulled me under his arm despite how tense I was, and when I winced slightly as he kissed the top of my head, she sighed.
“Caden Holloway, kitchen now.”
“But Mom, she…”
“Kitchen. Now,” she repeated, waiting for him to give in and follow her without further argument.
Max smirked before leaving the room, and I knew it would only be the beginning of trouble.
Caden didn’t come back that night, and for once I craved to be held.
I just hoped Josie didn’t believe my father’s lies about her own son.
Chapter three
Rory
“The hell happened to you?” Lukas asked at school on Monday morning as he reached my locker, making me roll my eyes.
The bruises were throbbing, but I ignored them and opened my locker to grab my books.
“None of your business.”
“Like, how it’s not my business that you and Caden are messing around?” He asked dryly, a snort of irritation leaving me.
“Yep. Exactly like that.”
He watched me silently as I closed my locker and turned to him, keeping my voice low.
“You and I aren’t friends, Lukas, and I don’t have to tell you shit. Stop trying to make it seem like you actually give a fuck about me.”
He followed me as I turned and walked to class, his voice gentle as he replied.
“Aurora, I do care. You don’t understand…”
Rage coursed through me as I shoved him hard into the lockers beside us, ignoring everyone gawking at me as I got in his face.
I assumed no one got to push the kings of the school around, verbally or physically, but I wasn’t going to take anyone’s shit.
Fuck the system that they had in place.
“I don’t have to understand shit. I fucking hate you, so stop trying to play nice with me.”
Asshole.
I’d never forgive him.
He genuinely looked upset but sighed, putting his hands up in defeat.
“Okay, I’m sorry.”
I snorted as I turned and walked away from him.
“So you keep saying.”
I’d just sat down in class when Claire sat her prissy ass beside me with a grin.
“Where’s your guard dogs today? I see you and Lukas are on the outs, so have they already lost interest in the pathetic charity case?”
A shadow fell over us, and Jensen’s voice calmed me slightly as he spoke.
“How about you try swinging a punch at her and fucking see?”
She gritted her teeth and glared up at him with irritation.
“Are you taking Caden’s place while he’s absent today?”
He chuckled. “Rory would kick your ass in a fight, and you know it. She’s got more fucking mean in her than you do, so I wouldn’t even try it. Now, get the fuck out of my chair.”
Claire was fuming, and that made me smile a little as she snapped, “How the fuck is this…”
“I’ll let Rory remove you if you really want?” He cut her off, waiting for her to growl and storm across the room to her regular table before he sat down in the vacated seat and leaned back to get comfortable.
I raised an eyebrow, grateful that he’d gotten rid of her.
“Thanks, but I can take her on, Jense.”
He gave me an amused smile before putting his arms behind his head lazily.
“You thought I was saving you? I was saving her, Rory. I know you’d beat her to a fucking pulp.”
I grinned as I opened my book and read over my notes, but after a while I noticed him still watching me out of the corner of my eye.
I put my pen down and turned in my chair to look at him, my voice sarcastic.
“Something you wanna ask, Gilbert?”
He chuckled, leaning forward and resting his arms on the desk.
“It’s not some tough girl act you’ve got going on, is it. You literally don’t give a fuck about anything, and you’ll throw punches whenever the fuck you think you need to.”
I shrugged one shoulder and smiled slightly.
“I like to fight. You guys thought I was all bark and no bite? Cute.”
“Yeah, you are,” he grinned, making me snort.
“Oh, fuck off. You know I can hold my own.”
“I mean you’re cute,” he replied more quietly, my body becoming warm at his tone.
My face heated at his words, but I managed to speak through my embarrassment.
“Ah, thanks. I guess.”
“So, since you live with Holloway, where the hell is he today?” He continued as if the conversation hadn’t turned awkward a second ago.
Boys were weird.
Hang on, what?
I frowned, cocking my head slightly.
“You mean you haven’t spoken to him?”
“Not since Saturday morning. We left after your dad dragged you out,” he replied, looking right at the bruise I was still sporting, question in his eye that he thankfully kept to himself.
“I haven’t seen him since he came and checked on me after that,” I mumbled, his eyes narrowing on me as he sat up straight.
“The fuck do you mean you haven’t seen him? You live in his fucking house.”
People were listening in on our conversation now, so I leaned closer to talk.
“We had a problem after you guys left, okay? Can we talk after class?”
“No, let’s go and talk now,” he replied bluntly, casually standing up as if we weren’t in the middle of fucking class, giving me a frown when I didn’t move. “Coming?”
Was he fucking serious?
I gave him an unimpressed look, speaking in a hushed voice to avoid getting into trouble.
“It’s class time, and unlike some, I need to pass because I don’t have money to fucking bail me out.”
“You’ll pass, promise. C’mon, don’t make me drag you. I know you don’t like being manhandled,” he sighed impatiently, causing me to hesitate before deciding he would definitely throw me over his shoulder and drag me out if I didn’t.
I grabbed my books and followed him towards the door, making the teacher frown.
“And where are you two off to?”
Before I could reply, Jensen raised an eyebrow at him and cocked his head.
“Doesn’t really matter, does it, sir?”
The teacher seemed nervous but glanced at me with annoyance.
“Miss Donovan…”
“Is leaving with me. She’s one of us, and don’t you fucking forget it,” then he basically shooed me from the room as people started gossiping.
Great way to lay low, right?
Once outside, I gave his shoulder a solid punch.
“The fuck was that? You can’t just talk to…”
“Holloway says you’re one of us, so I’ll give you the rundown about how it works around here, okay? Our dads all pay a hell of a lot of money to this school to get them to turn a blind eye on a lot of shit. Lukas’s mom pays a nice chunk as well now he’s here, but that’s just to keep up appearances. You’d know what she can be like when it comes to social standings. Our great, great grandfathers built this school, so we’re basically school royalty or some shit. Lukas’s mom can’t stand the thought of him coming across as lower class, so that’s her reason to throw money around. We could murder someone and it would get swept under the rug. You follow
ing?”
“Sure. You guys are the kings and we are your servants,” I snorted, his lip twitching into a sly smirk.
“Servants? I like that, but you’re far from a servant, Rory.”
So full of shit.
“Are you blind? I’m the poor girl who…”
“You’re the girl who managed to get in with the kings. Pretty sure that makes you a queen, babe,” he winked, heading into an empty classroom and plonking down at a desk, waiting for me to do the same before his smile faded. “Now, tell me what the fuck happened after Ty and I left on Saturday.”
I fiddled with my hands for a moment before meeting his serious gaze.
“Caden got the blame for my face. We were in my room and Max and Josie came in. Max went off at him for hurting me, and I’m pretty sure Josie believed it because she asked him to go out and talk to her. I haven’t seen him since.”
“Your dad’s the one who hit you, yeah?”
I gave him a tiny nod, hearing him mutter a curse before he replied.
“He’s probably at his dad’s. His mom sends him there when she doesn’t know what to do with him, which isn’t very often.”
I leaned back in my chair, looking surprised. “His dad’s actually in his life? He’s never mentioned him.”
“No offense, but he’s only known you for a few days, so he wouldn’t have wanted to. His dad’s a touchy subject at the best of times, so for him to tell you, he’d need to know you better. His dad’s a mean son of a bitch when he wants to be, so Caden’s never gotten along with him. He used to beat on Josie when Caden was younger, and he put Caden in the hospital when he was a kid because he tried to protect her. He was best friends with my dad when they were younger, but I’ve always been told to stay away from him. Caden hates him and he has good judgement, so I keep my distance. Tyler’s the same, and Lukas hasn’t even met him. You know, if you want to hang out without Caden on weekends and stuff, you can come see us, yeah? Like Sunday you could have…”
“I was locked in my room until this morning, and besides, I have no way of talking to you guys to find out where you are,” I shrugged, still thinking about Caden’s childhood, but he just rolled his eyes and smiled like a smug fucking asshole.
“Give me your phone.”
“What?”
“Trust me?”
“Fuck no,” I growled, earning an amused chuckle from him.
“Good girl,” then he snatched my phone before I could react.
Fucker.
I went to snatch it back, but he held his other hand out to stop me with a grin.
“Calm down, I’m only putting my number in for you. I’ll put Caden’s and Ty’s in too, in case you need them.”
I was confused at him wanting to spend time with me without Caden, and it put me on edge a little.
From what I’d gathered, the guys didn’t let outsiders in, so why would they want to bring me in to their group?
I relaxed slightly as he handed my phone back, before he pulled his own from his pocket and started texting casually, my voice sounding confused as I spoke.
I wasn’t used to people just being nice, and it felt strange.
“Thanks, Jense.”
Within five minutes, Tyler waltzed into the room with a smirk as he plopped down in a chair in front of us.
“You sure like to make a scene, Jense. Claire’s posse have already spread it around that you and Caden are both banging her.”
I snorted and gave Jensen an overly sweet smile.
“They wish I was fucking them.”
Jensen raised an eyebrow, looking confused as fuck.
“Hang on, you aren’t fucking Holloway?”
“No.”
“Looks that way to me,” he chuckled, not believing me for a second, not that I really blamed him.
“We like to upset my dad. Guess the jokes on us now that he’s actually mad,” I muttered under my breath, but Tyler looked at me sternly, his voice rumbling with anger.
“Doesn’t matter how much you piss him off. No man, especially your own fucking father, should lay a hand on you. Jense texted me about Holloway, and to be honest, he probably swung a punch at your dad and that’s why he’s in trouble. After school we’ll drop you home and I’ll ask Josie myself where he is. No biggie.”
We stayed in the empty room until lunchtime, and by the time we got to the parking lot, Lukas was already there waiting for us.
He seemed surprised to see me with them without Caden, but he didn’t voice it.
Wise boy.
“What’s the afternoon plan, guys?” He asked as Jensen unlocked his car and shrugged.
“Gonna hang out with Rory at Holloway’s for a bit. Might have a swim or something.”
I was too busy checking his fucking car out to be listening.
Why did all these rich fuckers have flashy cars?
He had a similar taste to Caden, and I shamelessly checked the new model black Chevrolet Camaro coupe out, trying hard not to drool.
I felt Lukas’s eyes on me, and I glanced up to find him watching me cautiously.
I sighed. “Did you want to come with us to hang out?”
“You’re cool with that?” He asked with surprise.
Don’t take it to fucking heart, idiot.
“I personally don’t give a fucking shit,” I smiled sweetly, waiting for the other two to jump in the back before I climbed into the passenger seat, hearing Tyler chuckle at Lukas who was scowling at me.
Fuck him.
I ignored him and turned to Jensen as he climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Back to our talk before, why the fuck do people think you’re all kings of the fucking school? I mean, I get it, but how does everyone just follow that rule?”
“Easy. They’re shit scared of us. We’re hot and rich, and we fuck good,” he winked, earning a disgusted swat to the arm from me.
The other two buckled up silently, but once on the road, Lukas leaned forward with a scowl again.
“The fuck are you telling her all that shit for? It’s not just your shit to tell, Jense.”
Jensen shrugged. “It’s common knowledge, so it’s fine. Besides, all kings need a queen, right?”
“Right?” He replied slowly, making Jensen smirk.
“Well, you’re welcome. I made her ours.”
Lukas looked annoyed as fuck now.
Well, good.
Asshole.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means, between Caden sticking up for her and me telling our teacher in class this morning that she’s one of us, she is officially part of our group,” he exclaimed proudly to Lukas’s horror.
“Bad idea, Jense,” he hissed, but Tyler laughed like a fucking hyena, smacking his knee as he hooted.
“Claire’s gonna blow a fucking gasket! Do you think people will just bow down to Rory?”
I listened to them talk it over, only half paying attention, but I perked up instantly when we arrived at the house to find Caden’s Challenger parked in the driveway.
We all walked inside together, and Caden looked up as he leaned against the bench with a teasing smirk on his face.
“I know you guys can’t handle it when I’m not around, but a welcome home party?”
Jensen rolled his eyes playfully.
“As if. We were coming over to swim in your pool and hang out with Rory.”
Caden’s eyes landed on mine and his expression softened instantly.
“Hey, how’s the face?”
“It’s okay,” I shrugged, not knowing how to act in case he got into trouble, but he finally raised an eyebrow and smiled at me.
“Well, are you gonna just stand there, or give me a hug?”
I hesitated before walking across the room, a strange sense of relief washing over me as he pulled me against his chest and held me tightly, kissing the top of my head. “You sure you’re okay? I would have checked on you, but Mom kept my phone here.”
“Did sh
e send you to your dad’s?” I asked softly, his body tensing before he replied with bluntness in his tone.
“You know about my dad?”
“Only that he exists and you stay there sometimes,” I mumbled, instantly feeling bad for upsetting him, but he just chuckled.
“Liar. What have the guys been telling you?”
Jensen leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.
“Basic shit. You get sent there when you’re naughty, and your dad’s mean.”
“When I’m fucking naughty, huh?” He asked with amusement plastered on his face.
“Yep.”
“So, what did I miss at school today?” He asked, not moving back from his hold on me.
Tyler laughed like a maniac, waving his arms around with sudden enthusiasm.
“Oh, you should have been there, man! Jensen stood up for Rory in class, so you can imagine the gossip around that, but he took her from class with this big speech to the teacher that she’s one of us. Guess the school just got themselves a queen. Lukas and I weren’t even in their class and we heard about it within minutes of it happening.”
Caden finally moved back from me, giving me a frown.
“Why did Jensen need to save you today? Everyone knows to leave you alone.”
Tyler kept fucking laughing.
“Save her? Fuck no! He told Claire to fuck off for her own safety, or he was going to let Rory kick the crap out of her. Kinda wish he’d just let her to be honest. I love a fucking girl fight.”
Caden scowled, ignoring his friend’s opinion as he turned to me.
“Claire started her shit on you?”
I rolled my eyes.
He was acting like I’d had the fucking shit kicked out of me, not a little girl tiff.
“She just figured without you there to protect me, that she should see how far she could push me. She didn’t do anything other than sit next to me. Jensen told her to get out of his seat before she could say much, though. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“His seat, huh?” Caden asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice that I didn’t understand.
I gave him a casual shrug that he didn’t seem to really like.
“Yeah, he decided to sit with me so people backed off.”
Caden and Jensen shared a silent conversation for a moment before Tyler spoke up, breaking their standoff.