Just Drop Out (A High School Bully Romance): Hannaford Prep Year One

by J Bree

  My mind keeps skipping back over to Harley being in here with me. He can’t see me, at least I hope he can’t, but there’s something intimate about me washing myself with him in the room. I begrudgingly admit to myself that like the feeling. He’s probably hating every second of standing here and waiting for me but after my drugging episode I really couldn’t give a damn about what he’s thinking.

  When I shut off the water and wrap myself back up in the towel I wait for the steam to dissipate enough to start dressing. It’s a Saturday so there’s no classes for me to get to, only extracurriculars and I’m not going down to the dining hall after last night. I may never eat down there again.

  Once I’ve pulled my pajamas on I look down at myself and see the bruises that have formed over my arms. There’s two perfect hands, one on each arm, like I’ve been grabbed roughly. I place one of my own hands over the prints and it fits near perfectly. A girl has put them on me, no guy at this school has hands as small as mine. It was probably Avery, she would have grabbed me and shoved me into the bathroom so I was safe enough until I came to and she could get me expelled for drinking. That girl is an evil psycho but I grin at the thought. Maybe it was stupid of me but I’ve started admiring her work. She had a good understanding of the school rules and she was working hard to exploit them and get me out of here.

  I open the stall door and step out into the bathroom with my bag slung over my shoulder. Harley is propped up on the sinks and he’s glaring at his phone. He glances up at me and shoves the phone into his back pocket like it's offended him. His eyes roam over me like Ash’s had down at the staircase. Like he’s looking for injuries and it makes me fucking livid.

  “Is there something specific you need because I really need a nap.” I croak out, my throat still sore. I need water and something to eat. I need ten hours of sleep.

  “What happened to you? What the fuck did Joey do this time?”

  I laugh at him. Was he the only one who wasn’t in on it? Why had Avery left him out? “I’m fine. I’m still standing. Go back to Annabelle and enjoy your weekend.”

  I make to move around him and Harley’s hands shoot out to grab me. They land right on the bruises and I grunt at the sharp sting of pain. His eyes widen and he loosens his grip on me as he pulls me into his chest. It’s not a hug, not even close, but now I’m pressed up against him and I can feel every inch of his rock hard torso pressing against me until I want to melt into him. Danger, Will Robinson. Big fucking danger.

  “Fuck Annabelle, she’s in on this. Did Avery do it?” His eyes dances around my face and I think he’s judging how willing I am to kiss him. A shot of fear shots through my blood. I can’t kiss him. For one I have no idea how to even kiss someone, my experience so far is just the forced kiss from Joey and I mostly just laid there for that. For another, if he kisses me now and then leaves this room and goes back to hating me I will break. I want him too much. So instead of facing my fears head-on, I focus on the tattoo on his jaw like a coward. It’s moving as he clenches his jaw and I think of the little heart pendant I have back in my room that belongs to him.

  You before my blood. If I tell him what Avery had done would he put me before his blood? Did I want him to? Now I had started to question Avery’s motives I wasn’t sure I wanted to drive a wedge between them. The longer I stayed silent the more agitated Harley becomes until his chest is heaving and his hands begin to shake where he holds me.

  “Fuck, can you just stay alive? Can you just leave and keep breathing? Is that too much to ask?” he ground out.

  “Afraid your cousin is going to get life for my murder? I'm sure he can buy his way out of it. I'd rather risk death than leave here. Do you hear me? I’d rather die here than go back to Mounts Bay and become what's waiting for me there.” He stared down at me, his eyes burning into my skull, and then he shoves me away from his body with a vicious curse under his breath. When he rubs the back of his head he glances over at me with a calculating look. I don’t like it, I don’t like that he’s assessing me and founding me wanting.

  “Don’t worry about today. I’ll live to die another day and it won’t be at your cousins hand. Go back to your friends.”

  He doesn’t fight me as I swing the door open. We find Annabelle waiting on the other side, close like she’s been eavesdropping on us both. I ignore her, walking straight out and towards my room as she begins to yell at Harley. I intend to ignore their lovers spat altogether but then I hear the slap of her palm across his cheek and I glance over my shoulder at them both. She’s crying and he’s looking at her with a bored expression that doesn’t gel with the tightness in his shoulders. She takes another swing at him and he catches her wrist.

  “It’s pretty fucking simple. I don’t take orders from my cousins. You’ve just proved that you do so you can kiss my ass goodbye.”

  He drops her wrist and turns to leave. Annabelle grabs his arm and screams at him again.

  “Over the fucking Mounty? Maybe Ash is right, maybe you are soft over her.”

  Harley whips around and using his chest alone he backs her up against the wall so quickly the other girls watching scatter. Again, no one steps up to help her, no one cares if he does turn out to be violent. My eyes collide with his for a second before he leans down to her. I think he’s going to kiss her and if he does I’m going to vomit all over again.

  “If you think I’m the soft one then you’re dumber than I thought.”

  And then he leaves her. Annabelle is panting, tears are streaming down her face and the crowd is lapping up her humiliation. She’s always enjoyed the attention she’s had for being shared by them but I don’t think she’ll enjoy being dumped so publicly by him.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I wake on Monday to the news that Avery has dumped Rory.

  There isn’t a single freshman that will look at or speak to him, or Harlow for that matter. Neither seems to care all that much but Rory is now walking the halls of Hannaford like he’s got a target on his back. By the looks he’s getting from Ash and Harley it’s obvious they’re the one that have put it there.

  I watch the entire spectacle of Rory trying to find a seat at lunch with a grin on my face. I must look like a lunatic but there’s something incredibly satisfying about seeing his football team turn their backs on him. After a cold glare over at Avery he ends up sitting with Harlow and Joey’s flunkies. Ash glances over and sees my glee and we share a moment. He knows I gave Avery the photos and, as angry at Rory that he is, he’s fucking ecstatic about the way this is all panning out. Join the club, Beaumont. It feels weird to be on the same side for once.

  My joy quickly evaporates when the dining hall doors open and Joey walks through, his suspension finally lifted.

  He’s looking much healthier than the last time I saw him, there’s meat on his bones and the dark circles that were ever-present have faded. I wonder if he’s been in rehab. He’s been gone long enough to have finished a twelve step process but I snort at the very thought of him sitting around a facility and making nice with people there. Still, it would explain his appearance. Maybe the suspension was really the school covering for him at his parents' request. I’m sure Mr Trevelen is on their payroll, he’s certainly on Avery’s.

  He doesn’t bother to grab a tray. After giving his siblings a sarcastic little wave he joins his flunkies and gives Rory a once over.

  “Weren’t you fucking my sister? Have you lot let a spy into my house?” his arrogant tone cuts through the rest of the chatter at the table.

  “He got caught sticking his dick in someone else’s hole so now he’s sitting with us. You always said anyone who fucks with the twins is welcome here.” is Harlow’s dripping reply. She doesn’t mention that she was the hole. She’s still open for Joey’s business first and foremost.

  Joey tips his head back and laughs, too loud for the echoes in the room. Ash gets up to leave and he tugs Avery along beside him. He’s practically vibrating with rage but, aside from her ashen face, Avery lo
oks unaffected by their behavior. Blaise leans back in his chair and stares Joey down. I wonder whether new money would win over the old if those two had it out.

  I’d bet on Blaise in the physical fight any day of the week. His shoulders were easily broader and more defined than Joey and I knew from concert photos he was ripped. I’d also heard the rumors of the fights he’d won here over the years. The boys dorm was basically a fight club half the time, fighting over girls and money. None of those three ever lost.

  The problem was the old adage the Jackal had told me over and over again, new money can’t become old money without getting dirty first. Amongst the Twelve it was crucial to our domination and survival. If you can find a family close to turning and get in with them, become indispensable, then you can amass power as quickly as money. Matteo had done it dozens of times and now he was the most powerful man in the state.

  The Beaumont’s were old and dirty. The Morrison’s were unparalleled in their wealth but squeaky clean. If Blaise took on Joey for what he’s doing to his friends then his hands wouldn’t stay clean for long.

  From the look on his face I’d guess he didn’t want them to.

  “And how fares my little Mounty love?” Joey calls out to me, breaking my train of thought. I’ve been staring at Blaise for too long. Instead of being embarrassed about it I just flip Joey the bird.

  Gasps ring out around me. People begin to get up and move out of the way, desperate not to be noticed by Joey. I take a bite out of my apple and chew slowly, sending a glare down the table at the teachers hearing all of this and ignoring it completely. What a bunch of pussies.

  When the bell tolls it’s warning I get up and walk out of the dining hall calmly. As I push out of the dining hall I feel the heat of Joey’s gaze on my back so I turn to look at him.

  The little smile on his face is manic, feral, and edged with insanity.

  He’s not sober.

  The time away has given him the chance to get a grip on himself and hide the addiction better but the dancing flames in his eyes tells me all I need to know about what’s running through his veins right now. He winks at me and I let the door swing shut behind me.

  Joey’s return to Hannaford means I have trouble sleeping again.

  I doesn’t matter that I have the best lock system money can buy now thanks to Matteo. Every time I shut my eyes I see that raging psycho’s face as he pinned me to his bed and that fucking wink in the dining hall. I’ve slipped my knife into the pocket in the hoodie I’m wearing like a safety blanket but sleep still evades me.

  Usually I fight my insomnia by throwing myself headfirst into my studies but I’ve just about finished all of my assignments for the entire school year. I could go over my notes for my upcoming tests and the end of year exams but I know that I already know everything, that I’ve already crammed it all into my head and it's stuck. I could also start in on the reading required for next year but nothing is holding my interest at the moment.

  I feel restless. Like my skin is crawling and my mind is climbing the walls of my skull and trying to get out. I can’t stop moving or jiggling my legs. My mind is currently torturing me with images of Matteo doing to me what Joey tried to do. I know someday his patience will wear thin and he’ll want to take what he thinks he’s owed. It’s why I have to do well here at Hannaford so that someday I can disappear somewhere even the Jackal cannot reach.

  I’m thinking the Caribbean.

  I have no idea what job I’ll do there but fuck it if I’m not resourceful. Everywhere needs doctors so my original career path works, I’ll just have to figure out how to go to med school there. I can figure this out if I put my mind to it.

  I’m two hours into a deep internet research spiral when I hear a door slam.

  I glance over and see it’s three am so not the usual times for loud noises in the girls dorm. It’s possible someone has gotten up to pee or is even sneaking a guy into their room but my mind is currently a vortex of spiraling anxiety and what-ifs. I carefully roll out of bed, thankful the creaking mattress has been replaced and I can be silent as I sneak open my door.

  My stomach bottoms out.

  Joey is sitting against Avery’s door, his phone in his hand and his face lit up in the dark as he texts someone. He’s wearing dark slacks and a polo shirt, loafers on his feet like he’s just left some elitist gentleman’s club. He doesn’t notice me watching him and I think about calling the student helpline to report him being up here to get him out. My hand reaches into my pocket and I grip my knife. If he spots me and rushes towards me I’ll only need one good swing to take him out. I will use his momentum as he rushes to let the knife sink deep into his throat. It’s a smaller target than his belly but more effective at getting him taken out fast. I’d seen guys stabbed in the gut go on to run through the streets for hours during the Game. It was a good lesson on picking out the weakest spot and aiming true.

  I don’t know how long I sit there and watch him. My ass goes numb and my fingers ache from where I’m gripping the knife handle so tight. I can’t look away from him, even for a second, my eyes refuse to blink. I jump when the door opens and Joey pushes himself off the ground to face Avery.

  I’ve never seen the two of them interact. It’s weird to think we’ve been at the same school for months, eating meals together and passing each other in the halls, and yet I’ve never seen them so much as look at each other.

  “Dad’s not happy you called the cops on me, Floss.” He says in a sing-song voice. Avery’s eyes are cool even as her shoulders tremble.

  “Don’t call me that. Is that all you have to say, because we both know it wasn’t me that called them.”

  The clock was ticking. Joey was going to make his next move on me soon. “Nevertheless. Just telling you what dear old Dad thinks. He asked me to pass this on to you.”

  Joey’s hand cracks across her cheek so hard she bounces back against her door. Her head makes a sickening thud and I open my door up wide, the light from my room cutting through the darkness. Joey doesn’t look up at me but Avery’s eyes grow wide.

  “Goodnight.” He says in that same tone and he walks off.

  I take a step towards Avery and she pegs me with a look of such loathing I stop dead in my tracks. She tucks back into her and shuts her door quietly and I’m left with my own thoughts again.

  My head is pounding with an intense headache from lack of sleep the next day. Aside from preparing myself for Joey’s next tantrum at me I’ve put his little visit with Avery out of my head completely. She didn’t want my help when it happened right there in front of me so I assumed she still wanted me to stay the fuck away from her so it was a surprise to arrive at History and find her leaning against my desk.

  Harley has a habit of getting to all his classes mere seconds before they began so he wasn’t the reason for her visit. I give her a cool look as I take my seat and gather my supplies.

  “Something has been bothering me, Mounty, and I want some answers. I own the teachers at this school. I have since middle grade, so how is it a lowly little scholarship student could override my instructions, hm? I’ve had a chat with My Embley and he nearly went into heart failure at my questions. It seems you’re now scarier than I am.”

  She’s deflecting. She’s running interference so I don’t question her on her brother or her fucked up family dynamics. I play along with her little game in the hopes that she’ll leave me alone so I can focus on Joey instead. “Did you know that money isn't the only thing that can influence people? Some people have other buttons and all you need to know is where they are.”

  She smiles slowly at me and Harley walks into the classroom. He frowns when he sees Avery speaking to me and hurries over to us both. “I'm well acquainted with manipulation. What I'm asking is how you did it.”

  I drop my gaze down to the assignment I’m due to hand in today and I give it a once over even though I know it's perfect. Harley drops his bag onto the floor at my feet and stands over me with his hands on
his hips frowning. I look up and find Avery still staring at me with an expectant look fixed on her features.

  “That is absolutely none of your business but a word of warning, you should think twice about who you target at this school.”

  Avery glances between Harley and me then smirks and takes her own seat. The teacher arrives and starts calling for quiet and Harley drops down into his chair.

  “The fuck was that about?” he whispers at me, leaning in so I’m drowning in his delicious smell. Would it kill the guy to be average for once and not smell like living ambrosia? Ugh.

  “Just discussing tactics, nothing to worry yourself with. Your cousin is fine.” I whisper back as I breathe him in. I hope it’s not too obvious that I’m turning to putty over him again.

  He shakes his head at me and goes back to his work, a small frown creasing his brow.

  He doesn’t ask me again.

  I think that will be the end of the confrontation with Avery but once again I’ve underestimated her. It’s another hard lesson to learn.

  I walk into the sitting room in the girls dorms after dinner and stop dead when I see Avery holding my bag. Gritting my teeth I curse under my breath at her. I should have known this was coming. I had seen too much and gotten too close to the Beaumont family once again. No good deed at this school goes unpunished.

  She holds the lighter up and I cringe.

  It’s replaceable. I did the sums once, I can do them again, but they’re due tomorrow and I’d slaved away at the workbook for weeks. It’s the culmination of months of learning and it’s worth seventy percent of my overall class mark. I’ll have to pull an all-nighter to have a chance of getting them done in time.

  “I’m quickly learning that personal humiliation isn’t the way to get you out of here. I’m tempted to look into what happened to you at your Mounty school to make you so resilient but who has the time for that, hm? You need a 3.75 GPA or higher to stay here right? How low do you think flunking Math will drop it?”