“Back off,” Spencer growls low.
“Let me at the fucking bitch. I’m going to kill her.”
Charlie gives him a hard shove back as the rest of the students loitering around the parking lot begin to gather around, wanting in on the action. “No chance in hell, bro. Colt’s gonna have your ass for this.”
“I don’t give a fuck what he says. Look what she fucking did to me.”
Spencer scoffs. “The cops said it was a random attack, Jude. She’s just a chick and a small one at that. She couldn’t inflict this kind of damage on you even if she tried.”
“I fucking know that,” he roars, “but it doesn’t change the fact that this was her. Let me through.”
I grin, meeting Jude’s eyes over his friends’ shoulders. “Yeah, let him through. Maybe then we can share with everyone what kind of bullshit you tried on me yesterday.” Gasps are heard as Milo’s hand flexes on my arm and it’s clear that I don’t need to explain for them to know what went down. “Oops,” I say, my eyes going wide and my hand flying to cover my mouth. “I think I’ve said too much.”
Jude starts thrashing against his friends’ hold. “I’m going to end you.”
I suck in a sharp hiss through my teeth. “Oh, big mistake right there. Rule one of committing a crime, you never say that shit in front of witnesses. Witnesses equals jail time. It makes you look guilty, but then, what does it matter, right? You are guilty.”
Charlie’s head whips around and he gives me a flirtatious smile as he struggles against Jude. “Hey, girl,” he says with a sexy wink, reminding me just how startling his blue eyes are. “Looking good. How are you doing?”
I give him a beaming smile knowing it must be driving Jude insane. “I’m good. How are you?”
“I’m doing alright. Maybe we could have lunch together today?”
“Sure, I’d love that.”
“Great. Listen, babe … you’re not fucking helping the situation.”
Spencer lets out a groan, slamming his fist into Jude’s stomach. “Calm the fuck down,” he says as the familiar purr of Colton’s Veneno sails through the parking lot. “Colt’s here, man. He's going to have your ass for this. He warned you last night, she’s his. You’re not to touch her.”
“The fuck?” I laugh as students start panicking and racing away, clearly not wanting to get involved in something that has to do with Colton. “She ain’t anybody’s, especially not his.”
“Babe,” Charlie says, looking back at me with the sickly-sweet smile again. “I mean this in the best possible way, but do you mind fucking off now?”
I let out a groan but as the bell sounds, I give in. “Okay, but only because you’re pretty.”
He winks, and with that I allow Milo to start dragging me away. “Okay,” he says slowly as I glance back to see Colton getting out of his Veneno, looking around with hard eyes and wondering what the fuck he just missed. “You have some explaining to do and you have about thirty seconds to do it.”
----------
I stand before my health teacher, Coach Sylvester, as he slams a sports uniform into my chest wondering how the hell I’ve managed to make it to the middle of the day, but more importantly, how the hell I ended up having to do PE. I was not born for this shit. I’m a fuck around and have fun kind of girl, not the put my body through grueling workouts for nothing kind of girl.
“Here, hurry up and get dressed. I don’t take too kindly to students who don’t come prepared for their classes. You should have had your sports uniform ready to go when you looked over your class schedule this morning. You’ve wasted enough of my time.”
What the hell is his issue? I wonder if now's a good time to let him know that I’m not exactly the type to check my schedule every morning either. I’m more of a wing-it kind of girl.
The rest of the class begins making their way over and passes behind us as they start heading for the locker room. “Okay, so where the hell am I supposed to get dressed?” I ask as Milo holds back to wait with me in case he’s about to be called to show me where to go.
Coach Sylvester’s eyes narrow and he looks at me as though I’m stupid. “Where do you think you’re supposed to get dressed?” he grunts, pointing toward the locker rooms where the rest of the boys just filed in. As his words reach them, they all stop and look back at him with questioning, excited glances. “Get in there, get yourself ready for my class, and stop wasting my time.”
I gawk at him while the rest of my class watches on, Colton being one of them. “I’m not getting changed in there with the rest of them,” I snap.
“Yeah, Coach. That hardly seems fair,” Milo adds. “Or I don’t know … legal.”
Coach Sylvester glares at Milo. “What’s fair is treating all my students as equals. If the boys have to get dressed in there then why should she get any special benefit? One school. United. Equal,” he finishes, adding the school code to bring home his point.
“Come on,” Spencer says behind me and I turn around to find my future wannabe husband, leaning against the gated doors of the locker room with his arms folded casually over his wide chest. “I promise I won’t bite.”
“I might,” a guy I don't know adds as I feel Colton’s intense stare shooting into my back like a laser beam.
Milo steps in closer. “This is fucking insane,” he insists. “This is a sexual harassment case waiting to happen.”
“One school. United. Equal,” Coach Sylvester replies. “If she doesn’t like it, she can leave and she’ll receive a fail for physical education. What’s your pick?”
My jaw clenches. This is fucking humiliating. Surely there has to be some kind of law against this. I’m only seventeen, still a minor while some of these guys are eighteen. I really don’t give a shit if they see my body. I have nothing to be ashamed of but that doesn’t mean I exactly want to go flaunting it around and stripping myself of privacy.
“What happened to all that gender equality you girls are always going on about?” Spencer questions. “Here’s the perfect chance. If we have to use the locker room and get dressed together like sardines, then you can too. If you girls want to be like the boys, well, come on in baby.”
I scoff, turning a sharp glare on him as I feel the rest of the class watching on with interest, some with excited gleams sparkling in their eyes while the others look nervous to be involved with this bullshit. Colton though, he just looks bored and it’s as clear as day that he’s not going to do anything about this. Why should he though? As of last night, we’re at war.
“Shoving me into a dirty locker room with you fuckers is not gender equality. That’s taking a massive step back from equality but of course, you wouldn’t understand that because you’re a man. What you’re trying to achieve is just another privileged jerk taking advantage of a female who’s backed into a corner. If you really want to see a set of tits so bad, you have a phone. Look them up on porn hub because you won’t be seeing mine.'' I turn back to Coach Sylvester. “And for the record, Milo is right. This is a sexual harassment case against a minor waiting to happen, and I can guarantee that your ass will be the one to burn for it.”
Coach Sylvester clenches his jaw before grabbing a set of keys from his back pocket. He unthreads an old key from the chain and shoves it into my hand. “You have three minutes to use the staff bathrooms. A second later and you fail my course. As for today, you’re going to sit out and look pretty. You’ve wasted enough of my time. You won’t be slowing down my game with your girly bullshit.”
With that he turns his back and stalks away, leaving me gaping after him as the guys chuckle and stalk back into the locker room.
“Are you okay?” Milo questions, his voice filled with concern and looking just as shook as I feel.
I nod my head, watching after Coach Sylvester with venom. “Yeah … I, um … yeah.”
“I can’t believe that dick thought he could get away with that,” he says, his tone filled with malice.
My eyes drop, unsure what I
should be feeling. I’m an odd mix of humiliated, proud, upset, and disappointed and the feelings combined are messing with my head. I guess I expected more from the teachers. Not even the teachers were that low in Breakers Flats. There were certainly some shady ones but for the most part, they just wanted to see us do well and get out of Breakers Flats. I guess I assumed there was a higher standard here. Maybe teachers who had our backs no matter what genitals are hiding beneath our pants.
“Yeah,” I tell him, completely agreeing as I hold the uniform up to him. “I guess I’ll go and get dressed for my afternoon of sitting on the sidelines being a good for nothing girl who’s only going to slow the game down.”
“Shit, Ocean,” Milo sighs. “Give me two seconds to grab my shit. I’m coming with you and I swear, I won’t even peek at your titties no matter how curious I am.”
A smile pulls at my lips and I thank God for Milo in this very moment. Without that ridiculous comment, I fear I would have broken down in tears. “Curious?” I laugh. “What’s there to be curious about?”
He looks back at me as he makes his way to the locker room door. “You can’t tell me that if some chick had her vag out on display; lips, clit, sausage warmer and all, you’re not going to peek, at least a little?”
I think about it for all of three seconds before knowing that I would. Everyone would, it’s natural human curiosity. Everyone wants to know what someone else is packing. Hell, if Jude bent over in front of me right now to showcase his stinging ringer, I sure as hell would look even though it would most likely scar me for life.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Milo disappears inside the locker room and just as promised, he walks back out a moment later with his bag on his back, and an encouraging smile ripped across his handsome face. He leads me toward the staff bathroom and for the comment that prick of a coach made, I fully intend on keeping the key.
Milo and I duck inside the bathroom and I'm honestly surprised. It’s fancy as hell. There are three showers in a connecting room, toilets with doors rather than just stalls like the guys have, and not to mention a fancy as hell dressing area complete with hairdryers, straighteners, and towels that look more expensive than mom’s old car.
“Well, shit,” Milo says. “At least we now know why the fees are so damn high.”
I scoff under my breath and make my way into one of the toilets and close the door behind me. I deal with business and make quick work of getting dressed. The sports shorts coach gave me are about four sizes too big and droop under my knees, but it’ll have to do. There’s no way I'm going to back out. I’m showing my face on that soccer field and I’m doing it proudly.
I pull the drawstrings as tight as they will go and tie my shirt at the back so I look at least a little cute. My long boy sleeves get rolled up and before I know it, I’m good to go.
Milo and I walk out of the staff bathroom and pick up our pace as we hear the rest of our health class down on the field already playing.
We get down there a moment later and Coach Sylvester’s eyes instantly come to mine with a heavy scowl. “Take a seat, Oceania,” he demands, pointing to the grassy field by his feet. I groan under my breath at the use of my full name while Milo mutters an “Oh, shit,” under his breath.
I walk right past the coach and into the center of the field. The boys instantly stop what they’re doing with loud protests for me to get out of their way. I roll my eyes and as the soccer ball is discarded and rolls out in front of me, I pick up my pace, hoping I can still do this.
My foot kicks out and the instep of my foot collides with the ball, sending it soaring through the sky. I watch with a smirk as it sails exactly where I want it to go.
Coach Sylvester’s eyes widen a fraction before the ball slams hard into his chest and a loud grunt is pulled from within. I silently thank Sebastian for teaching me his little party trick all those years ago and make a mental note to tell him all about it.
I hear the chuckles of the guys around me and of course, I feel one set of eyes that are staring heavily into my back. I raise my chin and keep my gaze locked on the douchebag with the ball between his hands. “Just because I am a girl it does not mean that I am lacking. It does not mean that I am going to slow the game down, and it sure as hell does not mean that I deserve any less respect than the rest of the dickheads out here. Got it? Because if you don’t, we’re going to have a big fucking problem.”
His eyes narrow on mine and there's silence around the field for far too long. Finally, his chin lowers and the heavy scowl fades in defeat. “It’s your funeral,” he murmurs, and just like that, the game picks right back up without another word being said.
Two hours later, I stand under the hot stream of the showers, knowing damn well that this shower is better than the ones the boys are currently suffering through. Hell, they’re probably cold and on timers.
I clean myself off, not wanting to get out. I’m not one for physical fitness but I’ll be damned if I show weakness in front of those boys. I pushed myself harder than I’ve ever pushed myself before and made sure that I kept up with them for the whole two hours. My body is going to hate me for it when I wake in the morning but seeing the glisten of respect in their eyes was worth the pain.
A noise catches my attention and I stand a little straighter only to hear the familiar sound of feet scrambling through the bathroom followed by a wicked laugh. The door slams heavily and I jump.
Fuck, fuck. FUCK. That’s not good.
Shutting off the water, I grab my towel and wrap it around my body before rushing out of the shower. Everything is gone. They stole my uniform, my underwear, my sweaty sports clothes, even my shoes, and socks. My bag is gone with my phone so I can’t even call for backup. All I have is the towel around my body.
How could I be so stupid as to allow that to happen? Here I was, foolishly thinking that I’d earned their respect. Hell, Colton didn’t even mutter a word throughout the whole health class. He just kept pushing himself harder in order to keep the bar too high for me to handle.
With no other choice, I’m left to walk straight out of the staff bathroom into a school full of boys wearing nothing but a towel, leaving my pride and dignity behind. My eyes begin to water as I try to hold my head up high but the further I walk, the louder the laughter becomes.
By the time I reach my target, I have strange boys all around me, each of them desperately trying to get a peek, hoping to the Gods above that I accidentally drop my towel. Hands reach for me, my ass and breasts are groped more than any woman should ever have to endure, and wolf whistles are heard from one end of the school to the other.
My fingers latch onto the towel with everything I’ve got as I step up in front of Colton and his band of douchebags with practically the whole school here to watch. Colton stands with his back to me but there’s no doubt he hears the ruckus behind him, yet he refuses to turn around.
“Where are my fucking clothes?” I demand, forcing myself not to cry.
Colton slowly turns and as he takes me in, his brow raises in surprise and it hits me, this wasn’t him. Anger pulses through his hazel eyes and I wonder if this has something to do with Spencer’s comment this morning about me being Colton’s to fuck around with. If that’s true and Colton declared me his to fuck with, then someone has gone against their king. Right now, I couldn't give a shit. Right now, I just want my fucking clothes and to get the hell out of here.
I feel like a fucking rabbit among a thousand hungry foxes. There’s no way I’m going to get out of this alive.
Colton studies my body, letting his eyes lazily drag up and down, silently reminding me that he has all the power here. “I don’t know what you're talking about, but it sounds as though you need to take better care of your belongings.”
“I know you know who did it.”
“Of course I fucking know who did it,” he says, stepping forward and crossing into my personal space like he had last night. Though last night felt somewhat intimate
, this just feels all kinds of wrong. His voice lowers, only for me to hear. “I told you, if it’s a war you wanted, then it’s a war you’ll get. You’re not already backing out, are you? What a shame. I thought you had a little more fight in you. I haven’t even had a chance to really humiliate you yet.”
“Look at me, Colton. I’m standing in the middle of a fucking all-boys school in nothing but a towel. There’s nothing you can do to me that’s going to make me crack. I’m seeing this through.”
I look over Colton's shoulder at Jude who’s watching through narrowed eyes. I know it was him, after this morning’s bullshit, it’s fucking clear as day. “Did you think I was going to fold into a ball and cry on the bathroom floor until someone came to find me? Fucking weak. You want to make me look like a little bitch for not being able to walk through those doors in nothing but a towel, but the only bitch I see around here is you. You failed,” I tell him. “Again. Who steals a woman’s clothes anyway? That’s so fucking lame. You’re playing with the big kids now, Jude. If you plan on making an impression, then I’d suggest you up your game.”
“Get out of my fucking way,” A demanding voice cuts through the crowd, making me glance over my shoulder to see the top of Milo’s head as he shoves and pushes his way through the gathered bodies. “Where the fuck is she?”
Milo breaks free of the crowd and almost falls when he reaches the center, but as he sees me standing here in nothing but a towel, his protective side comes out and for once I’m actually grateful for it. “Who the fuck did this?” he demands, glaring around the circle and coming to the same conclusion I had as he stops on Jude. “You’re going to go down for this.”
Jude scoffs, his lips pulling up in a sneer. “Fuck off, Rinaldi. This has nothing to do with you.”
“She’s my fucking friend and you just tried to humiliate her in front of five hundred horny teenage boys. What’s your fucking game?” he demands, peeling off his shirt and handing it back to me. “You couldn’t follow through on your sick plan to attack her last night so you hoped someone else would do it today? You’re fucking pathetic, man. Grow the fuck up.”
Tough Sh*t: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rejects Paradise Book 1) Page 9