“The Salvation Army,” I deadpanned, which was true. Why pay full price for an item I could get for a fraction of the cost? I never understood the mindset of paying for an expensive item solely for the brand name. Growing up with holes in my shirt and stains in my sweatpants wasn’t new at all. As long as the clothes were comfortable and kept me warm, I didn’t see the problem.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s not going to cut it if you’re my date.”
“A date for an event I don’t have to attend,” I reminded him. “I’m sure if you picked anyone else, they would have been willing to splurge thousands of dollars on a dress to wear for one night. I’m not going to do that. So why don’t I do you a favor and not go with you?”
“No,” he clipped. “I want you.”
I hated how my heart skipped a beat at the fierce tone as he said those three words to me. I still don’t understand why he needed me to go.
If it’s not because he’s hellbent on destroying me, then why?
The mind of Colten Fitzgerald worked in weird, incomprehensible ways.
We first bought me a phone, which I was very reluctant about once we stepped into the store. I didn’t expect the newest phone to be close to a thousand dollars, and I certainly didn’t want to owe him anything either. When I brought up about not wanting to be a charity case again, he only snarled. But, in his words, he did smash my phone, and it was the least he could do.
The poor dude helping us was so uncomfortable when we started throwing insults at one another that he looked close to tears before we finally settled. I heard him ask the guy to put all my contacts on the new device, too, so that was nice. A huge task seeing that I didn’t use the cloud and I had to recite each number one by one.
Colten pulled out his black AMEX card, something I think everyone in this town had aside from me. He swiped it, and the worker barely had time to give him the receipt before he dragged me out the door.
“Jesus, only you would make something that’s supposed to take only ten minutes an hour long,” he grunted, shaking his head as he took the phone from my hand. Then, without missing a beat, he went to set his number in and threw it back at me.
“In my defense,” I replied. “For that much money, I should be using every single function there is, so I had so many questions. What’s the point of getting it if you can’t use it to its full potential for what you’re paying?”
He gave me an odd look, then cocked his head to the side. “You really don’t belong here.”
Usually, he said something like that with much disgust and hatred for me. Yet, this time, all I could see was bafflement and awe, almost as if he couldn’t believe someone like me existed. Not surprising; guys like him were probably fed caviar and golden flakes on top of their food at a young age. For him to not only acknowledge it but to state it aloud only made it more transparent.
“I don’t,” I agreed with a small smile. “Isn’t that why you and the others bully me? They pick on the black sheep because their shepherd is paying a little too much attention to it.”
“You’re not the black sheep,” he scoffed at the idea. “Just the wolf-dog that herds them.”
“Are you calling me a bitch?” I asked, arching up a brow. I wasn’t sure if that was any better than being a black sheep, either. I definitely wasn’t a wolf by any standards. If I were, I would have gathered the courage to leave rather than stick it out in this town for the money.
If it weren’t for my plan of giving back to my two best friends, I would have said to hell with this place.
Then, a sound so foreign to me snapped me out of my thoughts.
The sudden sound of laughter that startled me, making me stare back. When I chuckled just days ago after he discovered my fear of swimming, he gawked at me. I’d actually never seen him fully laugh before—a genuine laugh. He had chuckled and sometimes smiled, but it was always a controlled expression, and full of deviltry.
Everything in regards to Colten was about control—except when he got angry.
Someone like him, who always seemed brooding, cold, and impassive, could also become enraged to a terrifying level. But now, right this moment, he had his head thrown back, one hand raking through his hair and the other holding his stomach as he laughed. He looked so much younger, like a teenager. The joyous sound from my bully was so foreign, deep, and rich that I had nothing to say but gape.
Such a beautiful sound coming from someone cruel and broken like him. His whole body was shaking, and his face lit up as he completely lost himself to the feeling of mirth—caused by what I had said. I couldn’t look away if I tried.
Something shifted in my heart, but I wasn’t sure what it was. An alien emotion. And ever so slowly, I allowed a smile to curve my lips. I shook my head.
“I’ve never heard you laugh before,” I point out teasingly. “I knew I was funny, but not this funny.”
As I expected, Colten quickly lose his mood, and he looked confused for a moment, almost like he couldn’t believe he was laughing. He then frowned, deep in thought at my comment, then sporting a perplexed and strange look on his face. “I guess I don’t think I ever had a reason to laugh until now. No one dared talk back or challenge me the way you did. Most certainly, no girl would ever dare use crude language to ask if I’m calling them a dog. You truly know how to entertain me, Starlight.”
His eyes pierced mine, and once more, I was lost in his gaze. In this moment, I felt like I finally began to understand him—maybe not fully, but something shifted between us. We were no longer quite strangers. Could this develop into something more? Was I mad for even thinking this? The mere thought scared the shit out of me.
When it was just the two of us, he didn’t act like a complete dick. Instead, he spoke with nothing but honesty, and yet, his mood quickly changed at the drop of a hat, so much it kept me second-guessing everything he did.
Which side was truly him?
Did he hate me and want to break me for the fun of it?
Or did he want to make me call him my home?
He said initially; I was nothing more than a new shiny toy to keep him entertained. But, he still wanted to break me apart. To make me surrender to him. He wanted to keep me for himself.
To be his—to be pampered and broken down and then rebuilt so I would rely only on him.
I never had a place to truly call home. Could it be possible?
I broke eye contact first, shaking the question out of my head. No, it’s nothing more than a trick, Tori. You have to get it together, stay out of Colten and his friends’ way, and just survive until it was all over.
He’s only saying these things to tempt me and win his game.
“Where to next?” I mumbled as we continued exploring the stores. Nothing in particular caught my attention, as it wasn’t my style to begin with. From formal, to girly, to preppy—these styles were for people from this part of town. Finally, I was able to find a pair of shoes I liked. Simple black heels with red bottoms. The footwear had spiked trims with adjustable straps that seemed perfect for me, but again, not for that price, as whatever dress I would be wearing probably wouldn’t allow others to see what I was wearing on my feet.
“Well.” He cleared his throat. “Seeing as your stubborn ass won’t even try on any dresses, why don’t we try a different mall? Something more…”
“My class?” I filled in for him.
“You said it, not me,” he said, holding up his hand. “I was going to say more your style as it seemed your go-to is to look at the price tag first.”
“As most normal people would,” I grumbled as we got back into his car.
“I’m not like most people.”
“It doesn’t mean I’m on the same boat as you,” I retorted. Just then, my stomach decided to make its presence known, growling rather loudly when the purr of his engine started to simmer down. Guess walking about for three hours at an outdoor mall wasn’t a good idea if one didn’t have any food in one’s system, to begin with
.
He took his eyes off the road for a brief moment. “Did you eat lunch yet?”
“I didn’t even eat breakfast,” I confessed with a shrug. But, of course, that wasn’t a rare thing when my parents were alive. Usually, one meal a day was good for me, even if it was something like instant noodles or other microwavable food. “It’s fine though.”
“It’s not fine,” he clipped, his frown only growing more profound. “Why the hell did you not eat?”
“What are you? My parent?” I scoffed.
“Why didn’t you say you were hungry?”
“I was going to eat when I got home.” I waved off the comment. Aunt Winnie’s fridge was always crammed with the latest and freshest groceries. If fruits had even a small black spot forming, they would throw it away. It had come to the point where I ended up splurging on a small fridge to store the good food they were going to discard. “It’s not a big deal.”
“No, you’re eating now,” he demanded.
“I don’t want your fancy people meal,” I scowled in return. At thirty or forty dollars a dish, it would be enough to last me a week sometimes. I could ration my food really well. I learnt that from an early age and portions in super fancy restaurants were normally small.
“Christ, I want to strangle you sometimes,” he groaned. Just like that, the Colten I knew and hated was back as I refused to yield to him. I would never in a million years put down my walls for anyone, much less to him. “So, what do you want to eat then?”
“Drive-through fast food,” I challenged him. “You’ve ever heard of it?”
The corner of his mouth twitched and pulled slightly upward at my sarcastic question. “Yes. Contrary to your belief, I have. Especially sometimes at night when I get the munchies. Is fast food more of your class?”
“What do you think?” I beamed back. “Afterwards, feel free to drop me back home. I’ll just wear my prom dress from a few years ago now that I think about it. It’s formal and classy enough that I can at least muster the courage to wear it rather than splurge on a dress I won’t ever wear,” I stated. This was the most logical thing I haven’t thought about until now.
“You went to prom? With who?”
“Is that what you seriously got out of the whole conversation?” I scowled. “Yes, for the record, I did.”
“With who?” he gritted out, drawing out the words slowly in unrestrained anger. I could see the veins bulging out of his neck, and he was about ready to crash us into another car from the way he was cutting in and out of the highway.
“Again, does it matter, or is it any of your business?” I retaliated.
“Is he still in your life?” he questioned harshly.
“Justin? Yes, he’s my best friend.” I didn’t want to go into detail about how important a part Justin plays in my life. He was with me through thick and thin. Though recently, we’d started clashing a little and I wasn’t sure what that was about. But more importantly, why was Colten acting like this? “Are you … jealous, by chance?”
I was utterly baffled for the third time today when his body tensed ever so slightly. I knew I hit the mark then, but I couldn’t believe it. The more I spent time with him, the more I became confused about where he stood with me. Sure, we shared some kisses and furious dry-humping, yet all of that wasn’t going anywhere, even if the tiny voice in my head was telling me otherwise. He had to think the same, too, what with our backgrounds. But, instead, he only tightened his hand on the wheel, his nose flaring. “No.”
“Right,” I drawled out, unconvinced, yet I didn’t want to push it. The thing I noticed about Colten was his need for control. He didn’t have that when it came to us because I refused to kowtow to him like everyone else in the town. “Well, I don’t know why you would be. If you are, though, you don’t have to be,” I found myself telling him.
“Why?”
I gave him a half-shrug as I took out my new phone to see who was texting me. I rolled my eyes when I realized it was a picture of us he had taken. He’d put his number in my new phone earlier on. Of course, he needed to make sure that he could get hold of me anytime. He was giving a cocky half-grin while I was looking at the mirror, checking out the heels I liked before lying and telling him I didn’t care for them. I ignored how it made my heart race to see his lopsided smile and decided to answer Justin’s text and save his number later. I texted that it was me and to expect him to contact me on this number. “As I said, I’m not interested in dating. So no one is going to take away your shiny toy, you big baby.” I jabbed him in the arm. “You’re the most jealous man I know.”
He paused before turning to me with a deadpan look.
“You know other men I should be aware of?”
I sighed, shaking my head. God, he was infuriating.
Chapter Thirteen
Colten
I didn’t do nervous.
I didn’t do anxious.
Ever since I was a child.
In fact, the last time I’d felt remotely scared was when my father beat me as an act of disciplinary action against whatever I was doing. Yet, when I realized I could use my fists just like him, I stopped feeling afraid.
Tori, however, brought out another side of me that mades me feel alive and terrified me at the same time. I’d never been so wound up about picking someone up from their house. I never cared what others thought about me showing up.
Yet, in her case, I couldn’t help the uneasiness boiling in my stomach.
Especially now, when I pulled into her aunt’s estate. The event would start in an hour, which was more than enough time for us to grab something to eat. God, I had never seen her look happier than she was eating a two-dollar cheeseburger with fries—although I’d offered to buy her anything she wished.
I fought her right until we made it to the fast-food drive-through.
I wouldn’t confess, but I would have done it again to see her eating so happily again. The more I tried to comprehend her, the more confused I grew about why she made me feel all sorts of emotions. From the moment I saw her, I felt as if my heart had started beating again.
The thought of her made my heart pound recklessly like after an intense run. Just thinking about her with another man made me see red and want to torment her until she only thought of me. I wanted to be everything that consumed her thoughts, the reason why she wanted to get up in the morning.
I wanted to be her home and savior. I wanted to see and own every single new emotion she had.
Getting out the car and grabbing a bouquet of flowers I’d bought because I’d seen her gawking like a kid at some hydrangeas at the mall, I made my way up.
She told me to text her when I arrived, but I liked the element of surprise.
Not to mention, I got a kick out of seeing her mad and her cheeks flushed.
Knocking on the door, I soon came to realize that for all I knew, Nina might be the one coming to open it. The last thing I wanted was for her to try to finagle a way to squirm her way into the event. Knowing her, she would do just about anything to get my attention, even though I’d made it more than clear I was not interested.
After a drunken one night in freshman year, she’d been hellbent on making me hers. An impossible feat.
Especially since I set eyes on my Starlight for the first time.
Now, whatever breath I had left in my lungs was stolen at the sight of her as she opened her door and stepped out in a beautiful black dress with a plunging neckline. Relief flooded me that it wasn’t Nina, then, all thoughts centered on the hot girl in front of me.
And hot was an understatement.
When she stepped outside, I ordered to stop, then walked around her, taking her in while she stood waiting for my slow perusal. The back of the dress was no more modest for it scooped down to just above her ass, showing her delicious flesh. I stepped close to her and inhaled the spicy scent of her perfume at the nape of her neck, following the graceful curve of her spine with my gaze.
Intoxicating.
How could I keep my hands off her and stop myself from stabbing the eyes out of anyone who dared to look at her the rest of the night? Insane, mind-numbing desire for her consumed my being until every singular thought I had was about her, not the other way round, as it should be.
If this was how Zayn felt about Diona, no wonder he seemed to have lost his damn mind sometimes. I already knew he would be in a pissed mood because she didn’t want to come to the prom. But, unlike him, I refused to give Tori a choice. I wanted her there, whether she liked it or not.
Why? I couldn’t explain it. I just had to.
I stopped in front of her and a sudden urge to spank her ass and make her change into a pair of sweatpants and a sweater took over. I narrowed my gaze on her while my cock stirred, tenting my black slacks as I swallowed the bundle of anger forming and threatening to spill. “You are most certainly not going to the event like that.”
“If you want me there as your date, then you don’t have a choice,” she replied, indignant. “You’re early, and you didn’t text me.”
I ignored her, pushing past her. “I thought you said you’d be wearing your prom dress.”
I’d never been to Winnie Bower’s estate before. Yet, it matched about every other estate in the whole town. Beautiful, marbled, and massive. All the homes here seemed to be copies of one another, without an ounce of individuality to them. I wondered what Tori’s room looked like.
“This is,” she curtly replied.
“You did not go to prom dressed like that.”
“Well, I did,” she crossed her arms, puffing out her chest and making her tits practically spill. All I could think of was: Who was that Justin guy she went to prom with?
Fury filled me again, but I tamped it down. If I lost my cool, she might refuse to come with me, so I did the next best thing. I shoved the bouquet into her hands, along with the present I bought.
Here.” Christ, why were my hands clammy?”
Her eyes widened as she blinked a few times. “Are these … for me?”
Bringing down the Star: Small Town Bully Romance Book 1 Page 9