Who Breaks First: A New Adult Bully Romance (Clearwater University Book 1)

by Eva Ashwood

  “We’ll go get a few drinks, maybe do some dancing. You’ll feel better,” I tell her, rising from the bed and crossing toward my closet. But before I reach it, my phone rings, and I can see from where I’m standing that it’s my dad.

  “Hold on.” I raise a finger to Leslie and dart back to the bed, grabbing the phone and picking up. “Hey, dad.”

  “Emma, what have you done?”

  “What?” I blink. The tone in Dad’s voice is seriously freaking me out.

  “I said, what have you done? I trusted you. I trusted that you would take advantage of this opportunity.”

  “Dad, I don’t know what you mean.” My heart is pounding in my chest as my mind races. What does he know? Did he find out about what’s been going on between me and the guys? Is he mad about it?

  Fuck, of course he is. Not everyone in the world would be as accepting of the fact that I basically want to be with three guys as Leslie is. Especially not my father.

  “I just got a call from Clearwater. You failed your Anthropology class. Don’t you understand that violates the provisions of your admission? When you were given the scholarship, we discussed how there was no room for failure. Admittance to that school was a gift, and now you’ve thrown that opportunity away.”

  I feel sick. The world seems to tilt and sway in front of me. I heard the words come out of Dad’s mouth, but I still don’t understand what’s happening.

  “There must be some mistake,” I choke out. “I worked my ass off in Anthro. I did a great job.”

  “Apparently, not nearly good enough. I got a call from the dean just now. This is serious stuff, Emma. There’s no going back. Once this is done, it’s done. It’s over.”

  “Dad!” I plead.

  “No. There’s nothing else to say. We’re going to have to have a serious discussion about how you’re going to move forward with your life after this. You’ve disappointed me, Emma. After you just abandoned your studies in high school, I thought you were finally back on track. And now this.”

  I have never heard my dad be this stern before. It’s true that my grades in high school were shit, and he never knew the reason for it, so I think he just assumed I blew off classes and didn’t care. He tried to get me tutors and stuff, but none of it helped, because understanding the material wasn’t the problem.

  The problem was that my high school had become like a war zone.

  I feel like I’m in some kind of nightmare as I begin to feel tears streaming down my face. This can’t be happening. I was doing so well in Anthropology. There’s got to be some explanation for this. It must be a mistake of some sort.

  “I’m going to fix this, Dad,” I finally say.

  “There is no fixing this, Emma. There’s no fixing it.” This time, it’s not anger I hear in his voice. It’s just exhaustion. Disappointment.

  And then silence, as the line goes dead.

  My head is spinning. So many scenarios are rushing through my mind that I can’t grasp onto any one of them long enough to process it.

  “What’s wrong?” Leslie takes a step toward me, looking seriously freaked out. She probably thinks someone died or something.

  “I… um,” I reply, but I can’t get out more than that. The only thing I can think to do is call Trent immediately. I speed dial him and bring the phone to my ear, listening as I hear it ring endlessly.

  He’s not picking up, so I decide to text him.

  ME: Trent, did you turn in our Anthropology project on time?

  There’s no response, so I keep sending messages.

  ME: Please answer me. I’ve failed Anthro. This can’t be happening.

  ME: Are you trying to ignore me? Please just tell me if something went wrong with our project. I’m freaking out right now.

  Minutes pass as I stare at my phone’s screen, willing him to respond. But when I still don’t hear anything back, I decide the best thing to do is to go to the guys’ house. If Trent isn’t home, maybe one of the others is. Maybe they’ll know what happened.

  “I gotta go,” I throw over my shoulder to Leslie, walking toward the door.

  “Uh, okay.” She watches me go with a frown. “What’s going on?”

  “I can’t tell you right now. I gotta go.”

  Before she can respond to that, I’m through the door, already closing it behind me. I know that was rude, but I can’t think about anything right now except figuring this out. Making it okay. It has to be okay.

  As I walk down the hall, I feel like I’m going to faint. My legs are shaking, and if I’d eaten anything recently, there’s a good chance it would be making its way back up.

  This has to be a mistake. That’s the only explanation. I’ve gotten A’s on almost every assignment except our group project, and I know we must’ve gotten an A or at least a high B on that. We all worked hard on it, and our project only got better toward the end of the semester when we were all getting along. When Trent turned it in, Professor Sykes must’ve—

  I stop.

  My feet freeze as my entire body flushes hot, then cold.

  Realization blazes through me. I don’t know why he would do it, but I’m suddenly certain that Trent is behind all of this. He’s the last one who had the project in his hands. He’s the one who was supposed to hand it in.

  He sabotaged me.

  He ruined me.

  How could I have been so blind?

  23

  Reese

  I’m hanging in the living room with the guys, and I have to admit I feel kinda awesome.

  Finals are done, our friendship is recovering from whatever weirdness sprang up between us when we realized we’d all slept with Emma, and the only thing that would make tonight better is if she were here.

  Trent is smiling and laughing. He has a sort of manic energy about him, and I wonder if it’s because the insanity of the semester is finally over. I’m honestly looking forward to the break, to having more time to chill out. More time to spend with Emma. I want to take things further with her. We haven’t slept together again since that first time, and I want to do more of that—but I also want to go do fucking laundry with her, or just go see a movie and sit next to her, absorbing her sweet scent next to me.

  Ah, shit. I’m falling hard.

  Even West, the cranky bastard, has a small smile on his face. We’re going out for pizza later, and I’m considering texting Emma to ask if she wants to come. For a while there, it seemed like things were really fucked up and only going to get worse, and now, the future is looking bright.

  I still want to be in a relationship with Emma. I’ve even been considering asking her about it the next time we’re alone. What we shared in my car that night was so incredible, it’s the only thing on my mind. Honestly, it made finals a little hard. It was hard to keep all the shit I studied for in my head when my thoughts kept going back to her.

  “Hey, you know what? We should go on a road trip!” I sit up straighter on the couch as the idea pops into my head. “This summer. All of us and Emma. That would be fucking epic. It’d be just like old times, only better.”

  The temperature in the room changes as my words hang in the air. I’ve come to the full realization now that all of us have slept with her, but for some reason, I’m still okay with all of us hanging out. It’s fucking weird, and I don’t quite get what it means. When I think about how Emma even considered sleeping with that Peter guy, it boils my blood.

  But when I think about her with Trent or West… I dunno. It feels almost natural. Like it’s the way it’s supposed to be. They each have a claim on her too, and even though I’d kill any other fucker who tried to touch her, with my blood-brothers, I don’t feel that same kind of immediate rage.

  I’m not sure if they feel the same way though. It’s why I haven’t even broached the idea of sharing Emma between us, although I’ve been thinking about it a lot.

  “Where would we go?” Trent asks, rising from the couch again. He just sat down a minute ago, but he can’t seem to
sit still.

  “Maybe the Grand Canyon or something.” I shrug. “I dunno. Somewhere cool.”

  “We can rent an RV,” West says suddenly, and I turn to him as my eyebrows shoot up. He was the one I expected to be most opposed to the idea, but he’s actually nodding thoughtfully, looking almost excited about it.

  Shit. Maybe this will really happen.

  And who knows, the four of us on the road together… lots of things could happen. Maybe something like that is just what we need to work our stuff out.

  “We should go up north,” Trent suggests. “Up the coast.”

  I don’t know why, but Trent’s voice has a hard edge to it, and his smile looks almost grim, like he knows something I don’t. Maybe he had the same thought I did about the three of us sleeping in a cramped RV with Emma and doesn’t like that mental image at all.

  “Where’s Emma?” West asks. I’d tease him for being pussy whipped, but it’s a question that’s been on my mind as well. I haven’t seen her much over the finals week, and I honestly miss her.

  “Dunno. Maybe she has better things to do,” Trent says darkly.

  Okay, what the fuck?

  West and I both turn to look at him, and West’s expression of confusion and concern matches mine. What’s Trent getting at? Is he going back to his old “vengeance” shit again? Goddammit, I hope not. I thought he worked that shit out with Emma. Even if she was the one who told his dad about the kiss, that was in high school. It’s time to let it go… and I thought he had.

  So what’s up his ass now?

  West opens his mouth, probably to ask that exact question, when a pounding on the door interrupts him.

  “Let me in!” Emma screams from outside, nothing but rage in her voice.

  “Oh, fuck,” I breathe, my gaze flying to the door.

  Something’s not right, and I don’t know what it is. But I’m a little in awe of the force of Emma’s voice. I’ve never heard her sound like that before.

  “I said, let me in, Trent!”

  Trent casually walks to the door and opens it, and as soon as he does, he unleashes a torrent. Emma flies into the house, a fury of fists and shouted words.

  “What have you done? What the fuck have you done?”

  “Hey, calm down.” Ignoring her tone, Trent holds up a hand casually.

  “No, I won’t calm down, you fucking asshole! Explain what’s going on! Tell me what’s going on!” Emma yells, batting his hand away and pounding against his chest.

  “What the hell is going on?” West asks, glancing between the two of them with narrowed eyes. His body is tense, like he wants to come to someone’s aid, but he doesn’t know who to help.

  Emma glances at him, her eyes widening as she temporarily stops beating against Trent’s chest. I don’t think she even realized West and I were here at first, but she also doesn’t look like she’s planning to divert from her war path now that she does know.

  “Yes, Trent,” she turns back to him, her voice lowering to something like a hiss. “Why don’t you tell us all what’s going on?”

  “I will when you calm down,” Trent replies with a mocking smile.

  As if those were the magic words, Emma erupts again, throwing herself at him with all her might, fists flying.

  “You managed to flunk us out of Anthropology! I know it was your fault, you bastard!”

  Shit, this is really getting serious. It occurs to me in an awful flash that what I thought was the restoration of our friendship is actually the opposite. Emma is coming between us, yet again. I can’t believe this is happening.

  “You had it coming, Holloway.” Trent grabs her wrists to make her stop whaling on him. Then he releases her with a sneer, walking back toward the couch. But Emma is right behind him.

  “What do you mean?” she demands, chest heaving as she breathes hard from rage and exertion. She’s fucking gorgeous like this, but I can’t focus on that right now. Not when I’m trying to figure out what the hell is happening. What did Trent do? He didn’t tell me shit about this, and from the look on West’s face, I don’t think he knew either.

  Trent takes a seat beside me as if nothing at all is wrong. At this point, all three of us guys are sitting, and Emma is standing, her fists clenching and unclenching as she glares down at Trent. It’s like she’s facing a tribunal or something.

  Trent leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he meets her gaze dead-on.

  “You purposefully introduced my mom to your dad. You set them up like a fucking matchmaker. And then, once we caught them kissing, you told my father so that you could break up their marriage. Don’t pretend you don’t know all of this, Emma.”

  Her face goes blank and pale as she absorbs his words.

  “Trent, what are you talking about?”

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t play the fucking innocent.” His gaze hardens just like his voice. “Do you want to deny it? I forgave you when I thought all you did was tell my dad. I convinced myself maybe it was even for the best. But I never understood why you kept denying it, when I’d already told you it was forgiven. Why keep lying? And now you’re going to deny this too?”

  There’s a moment of silence that seems to hang in the air forever. Then Emma speaks.

  “Yes, I introduced our parents. I did it because… ” Her voice trails off like she can’t complete the sentence. Then she squares her shoulders, pressing her lips together. “But I didn’t tell your dad about what we saw that night. I’m not lying! Why won’t you fucking believe me? Why won’t you trust me?”

  “Because I just found out my mom has been lying to me for two years,” Trent shoots back, his voice hard. “Trust is a little fucking hard for me right now, Ems. Especially with proven liars.”

  Her brown eyes flash, and she leans closer to him. West and I shift in our seats, both ready for violence to erupt again. But she doesn’t launch an attack. Her voice is low and shaky when she speaks.

  “Proven liars? You haven’t proved anything, you stubborn, blind moron! I’m telling you what I know. I was just as surprised and upset as you were when your dad found out. I thought maybe you told him.”

  “Why the hell would I tell him? And you were just as upset as I was?” Trent says, his voice rising to a shout. “Emma, my fucking parents broke up! You didn’t have married parents. You had no mother. You don’t know what it felt like on my end, so don’t you dare say that you were just as upset as me when you found out. That’s utter horse shit.”

  “God, Trent! What do I have to do to convince you I’m telling the truth? I introduced our parents. And. That. Was. It. I had no other hand in all of this.”

  “You introduced our parents, and that’s no big deal?” He surges to his feet, glaring down at her, practically chest-to-chest. “You were the catalyst for some of the most fucked up shit I’ve experienced in my life, and you say ‘that was it.’”

  He dips his head, practically snarling.

  “Emma, all these years I’ve been wanting to do something to you to break you. To break you the way you broke me. You got in my head for a little while, you made me think we could move past all this. But all the time, you were lying to me. I don’t need another liar in my life. Clearwater doesn’t need another liar. So it’s time for you to get the fuck out. This town doesn’t need trash like you.”

  I watch as Emma goes silent and looks even more dejected. Trent turns away, like even he thinks what he said is too much.

  “Guys, come on.” I rise to my feet, holding out my hands.

  West is staring at the two of them with narrowed eyes, but I feel like I have to intervene. I get that Trent’s pissed, but with all this new information coming to light, I think we all need to step back and calm down. We need to talk this out rationally, something we’ve never, ever done when it comes to Emma.

  I shoot a look at Trent. “Come on, man. This has gone too far.”

  “It hasn’t gone too far. I could go much further. Like for starters,”
he says, “let’s discuss how all of this bullshit came about because Emma just wants another mommy.”

  Oh, fuck.

  He doesn’t know.

  He doesn’t know what an open, raw wound that is. I never told him her secret, and I did it to protect her, but maybe if he knew he wouldn’t have plunged a knife into her heart like this.

  But we’ll never know now.

  Within an instant, Emma’s expression morphs into one of inhuman fury. She throws herself at Trent, tackling him—and the move takes him by surprise enough that he loses his balance, toppling to the floor. She lands on top of him and rises up to straddle him, raining blows down with her small fists. Trent grabs hold of her wrists and tries to restrain her.

  “Shit!”

  West and I dive for them. He grabs Emma by the waist, trying to pull her off Trent, while I try to drag Trent away from her. West is stronger than me, and I’m no fucking weakling, but despite our strength, the two of them are going at each other so hard it’s difficult to separate them.

  “Fucking hell. Cut it out, you guys!” I grunt, reaching for Emma to help West.

  “Don’t touch me!” she screams, flailing wildly.

  “Stop it,” West grunts as she catches him with an elbow.

  “Don’t let her get too close. She probably has poison-tipped claws,” Trent bites out, breathing hard.

  Finally, West manages to pull Emma off of Trent. He drags her backward and stands, holding onto her tightly while she kicks and screams, lashing out with her fists. Trent has a little line of blood trailing from his mouth, so she must have gotten at least one good hit in.

  “You okay, dude?” I ask him.

  “Yeah, but she fucking cut my lip,” he replies, bringing his fingers up to touch the blood.

  “You cruel, stubborn, stupid pig!” Emma screams while still flailing. “I absolutely hate you!”

  “Oh, boo hoo,” he says in a sarcastic voice. “Go cry about it to your lecherous daddy.”

  “Let go of me, West,” Emma hisses, but West only tightens his grip with a low grunt. She pushes against his arms uselessly, glaring at Trent. “I’m going to kill you. I’m going to fucking kill you!”