by Lylah James
I rolled my eyes. Day three of us being friends, and Maddox was still an asshole. A somewhat bearable jerk, but still a jerk. Apparently, he couldn’t grasp the concept of just friends and was still trying to cop a feel.
Well, I couldn’t really fault him since he caught me eyeing his dick print again yesterday. He didn’t say a word, but his stupid smirk was enough.
“No. I meant normal friends. As in, you respect my boundaries, and I respect yours. Stop. Getting. So. Touchy.”
“So, you mean, I can’t slam you against the wall and fuck you?”
Sweet Jesus, help me, or I was going to murder this dude.
Exasperated, I gave him a look that said it all. “That’s the opposite of friends, Maddox.”
“Well, that’s disappointing. You’ve seen how good I am on the field, but I was looking forward to showing you how good I am at thrusting.”
There was a flash of mischief in his eyes, and my lips twitched. He was being annoying on purpose, the dumbass. Sure, we were still stumbling over this new friendship thing, but it wasn’t so bad. At least, I didn’t find any more cockroaches in my sweater today and no pink dildo for Maddox.
As expected, when we walked into Mrs. Levi’s class, all eyes were on us. The attention had me on edge, but with Maddox constantly at my side, I was starting to get used to it.
People always stared, after all, Maddox was the center of attention. He loved it, practically feeding off it. His chest puffed out like a proud peacock, eyes gleaming, and his signature smirk plastered on his full lips. Girls fawned, and guys burnt with jealousy.
Now that I was on Maddox’s side, more like he kept me next to him all the time, we turned heads wherever we went. People assumed we were fucking, and I was his latest conquest. Some said I was his girlfriend.
No one believed we were just…friends.
Even Riley was suspicious at first, but she finally understood the nature of our relationship when Maddox stole my apple, and in revenge, I sprayed ketchup on his crotch. Childish and stupid, right?
But there was just something about Maddox that made me feel…carefree.
I ditched the front row and followed Maddox to the back of the classroom, where he always sat. Settling next to Maddox, which put me in the middle of him and his friend, I gave Colton a nod in greeting.
He smiled and fist pumped Maddox. “The whole school is talking.”
My lips flattened in a straight line. “They need to stop gossiping.”
“That’s their job. To gossip,” Maddox said with a lazy smile. “What’s so bad about being my girlfriend, Garcia?”
“Because I’m not.”
“You sure?” Colton shot back.
There was one thing I learned during these three days.
Colton and Cole were twins, but they were nothing alike. Cole was more reserved, the quiet type. He didn’t always hang around with us, and he was less of an asshole and more of a gentleman. In fact, you’d think Colton and Maddox were twins because… they were both pompous jerks. Attitude and personality, both were fuckboys and infuriating.
Now that Maddox and I were friends, that meant his friends were mine. Poor Riley got dragged into this mess, too.
Riley was ready to deck Colton any time now, and I wanted to raise my white flag in defeat, but refrained from doing so. My mama didn’t raise a quitter.
“If you two are going to gang up on me, I’m going back to the front row.” I went to stand up, grabbing my bag with me.
Colton raised his hands up in mock defeat, and Maddox grinned. “Keep your ass seated on that chair, Garcia. I’ll drag you back if I have to.”
I plopped back on the chair. “I’m not your pet, Coulter.”
He leaned closer, his lips next to my ear, so he could whisper while Mrs. Levi started her lesson. “You’re kinda cute when you’re pissed off.”
“Shut. Up.”
He sat back in his chair, looking quite satisfied with himself, like he had just tamed a dragon. As if. I ignored him and focused on the lesson instead. Sure, he was distracting, but I wasn’t going to let him affect my perfect GPA.
***
Hours ticked by, slowly… so goddamn slow...until the final bell rang. It was a long day of being scrutinized and glared at, and the whispers followed everywhere I went. It didn’t matter if Maddox and I were enemies or friends; I was an outsider, always had been and always would be.
Some were curious, some were just plain mean about it.
I heard she’s poor. She’s probably just fucking him for money.
Desperate whore.
She’s not even that pretty.
Do you think she’s fucking Maddox’s dad too? I wouldn’t be surprised if she has a sugar daddy.
Oh my God, that’s so funny! Both father and son. Her hole is probably so stretched out.
She might be fucking her way through the whole football team.
They didn’t understand why Maddox was so fascinated by me, their words, or why me and not them. Honestly, neither did I. Maddox was somewhat a mystery even to me. Why did he put me on his radar?
Riley let out a huff, her face red with anger. “What the fuck is wrong with them?”
“Just…ignore it,” I said, breathing out a tired sigh. “They’ll eventually grow bored and choose another victim.”
“It’s not fair.”
No, it wasn’t, but I was learning to accept my fate.
Riley, bless her heart, looked ready to attack someone, but I pulled her back.
“You have dance practice, right? Don’t be late.” I nudged her toward the door.
She let out a sigh and gave me a sad look. “You can’t them walk all over you, Lila. I did that. I let them bully me to their satisfaction and they took everything from me. My friends, my popularity, my pride… until I had nothing left. They are like vultures. They won’t stop until they break you apart. You need to show them who’s boss because you are.”
After all, I had nothing to be scared of. Maddox was on my side now. His friend. His only friend who was a girl. I had more power than any of the girls he slept with. He was king, and as much as I hated it, that made me the unofficial queen. Berkshire Academy was my kingdom.
But no one wanted a cold queen. The last thing I wanted to do was have them despise me any more than they already did.
Once Riley left, I walked into the bathroom since my bladder was close to exploding. The bus wasn’t going to be here for another fifteen minutes, so I had enough time.
I was washing my hands when it happened.
When they rounded up on me.
In the mirror, I caught sight of four girls. I recognized two of them. Bethany, probably the most popular girl in Berkshire, and her best friend, Suraiya. The other two girls were familiar, but I didn’t know them well enough to know their names.
They circled around me, and I shut off the tap, shaking away the droplets of water from my hands.
“Can I help you?” I asked, suspicious of their sudden appearance.
“She can speak,” Bethany mocked, with a fake innocence.
“If you’ve got nothing to say, I’m leaving.” I walked past her, and she grabbed my arm, digging her long nails into my skin. I didn’t flinch, but it stung like a bitch.
“Not so fast, Garcia.” She said my name like it was a stain.
“What do you want?” I wasn’t scared, but I didn’t like how there was one of me and four of them. They crowded around me, trying to be intimidating.
Bethany smiled, though it looked every bit as fake and malicious as she was. “I just wanted to give you a little…warning.”
I laughed. “Maddox? Right, of course. Go ahead, give me your warning.”
I tried to appear unfazed, but I knew what was coming. They were here for a reason. The fact that I wasn’t cowering or begging for them to spare me angered them.
“Let’s just say, I’m trying to save you some face. Maddox will grow tired of you, soon enough, and he’ll drop you like yesterday’s trash. You’re
going to be hurt because that’s what he does. He breaks girls like you for a hobby.”
I returned her fake smile with one of my own. “Oh, like he grew tired of you and threw you out like yesterday’s trash?”
The corners of her eyes twitched, and her smile slipped off her lips.
I wasn’t done yet. If she wanted to be a bitch, I was going to show her how to play the game right.
I shook her hand off me, tsking under my breath. “I remember that day. Gossip tends to travel fast.”
Last year when I was still the new girl, Maddox and Bethany slept together. The next day, she publicly claimed she was his girlfriend, but he turned her down in front of everyone by saying: You were a good lay but not good enough to earn the title of my girlfriend.
It was harsh, and things turned ugly that day.
But Bethany was rich and spoiled as well as the cheerleading captain. She was Miss Popular and gossip like that didn’t affect her. Sure, her pride was wounded, but she bounced back quickly and kept the title of queen bee.
She growled and lashed forward, backhanding me in the face. I didn’t see it coming, and it hurt. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth when I tried to lick my aching, bruised lips. Her friend kneed me in the back of my legs, and I fell to my knees.
“You’re easily disposable, Lila. I claimed Maddox a long time ago, and all the girls of Berkshire know he’s my property. That’s the same as playing with fire.”
Maddox… her property?
Oh fuck. My stomach cramped, and I busted out laughing. This was probably the most hilarious shit I’ve heard in this decade.
They looked at me like I was a maniac. Maybe I was.
I was about to get my ass beaten, and here I was laughing at my assailants.
Bethany hissed, her face growing red. Poor little, insecure Bethany.
She pressed her thumb against my bleeding lip, and I forced myself not to flinch. She smirked and pressed harder. It hurt so much that unshed tears burnt the back of my eyes. “You’re as pathetic as I thought. Dirt poor, not beautiful enough, so easily forgotten and so easily replaceable that you had to grab onto the richest and most popular guy.”
Her voice told me everything I needed to know.
I was poor and beneath them. Maybe I wasn’t as pretty or as rich as Bethany and the rest of Berkshire, but… Bethany, she felt threatened by me.
“I don't slut shame, but I can smell a bitch from a mile away,” I said lazily. “You smell of jealousy. Very stanky. Go take a shower, sweetie.”
Bethany gave me a disdainful sneer, her face twisting, and I saw all the ugliness she hid beneath the sweet girl mask that everyone loved and bowed down to.
She was Berkshire's official Queen, a pretty face with a nasty soul and a hideous heart. Her minions still had their hands on me, holding me in place and keeping me from attacking them. They had successfully trapped me; my arms twisted painfully behind my back and their knees were pressed into my shoulder blades, keeping me close to the ground.
Bethany crossed her arms over her huge tits, smirking down at me. “How would your grandparents feel if they lost their grocery store? Their only income and source of survival? They’ve had the store for fifteen years now, right? I guess, it's time to close down.”
So, she did her research on me.
Bethany brought her face closer to me, and I saw the evil glint in her eyes. “Tsk, how sad would it be to watch them beg my daddy? I can ruin you and your little family. All I have to do is snap my fingers, and I'll watch you burn to the ground.”
Rage bubbled over. She thought I was weak. She and her minions thought I was helpless.
Bethany gripped my jaw, her long nails digging into my sensitive flesh. “Where's Maddox now? Your hero is not here to save you.”
I let out a small laugh.
Maddox, my hero?
She was mistaken.
I was my own hero.
I didn't need him to protect me or my family. I was my own protector in this story. Like Maddox once said, I didn't need a prince charming or a knight in shining armor.
Bethany's first mistake was standing too close to me. She had underestimated me. Once again.
My head reared back before I brought it forward, slamming my forehead into her nose. Hard.
She screamed, her wails piercing, as she pushed away from me. I twisted my arms away, kicked back at my attackers before standing up on my feet again.
I wasted no time and grabbed Bethany by the throat before she could escape and slammed her against the bathroom's wall.
“Don't. Fuck. With. Me,” I hissed. Blood gushed from her nose; it wasn't broken, but I knew it was probably painful as fuck.
She glared at me, but too bad she was no longer in control. Her friends tried to grab my arms, to pull me away from their queen bee, but I held her tighter. Her throat was small and delicate in my hand.
“Don't fuck with me,” I repeated. "You won't like the consequences. You might not like to get your hands dirty, but I don't mind. After all, I'm a poor, dirty rat, right? You don't threaten my grandparents. You don't threaten me. Because trust me, I will destroy you. I have my ways, Bethany Fallon. That's your first and only warning.”
I pushed away from her, and she gasped for breath, wheezing. “You… fucking… bitch.”
Suraiya tried to grab me, but I sidestepped out of her way. “You’ll end up with a broken nose, too,” I warned.
She smartly took a step back, and I smiled. Yeah, maybe I did look like a maniac in the moment, but Riley had been right. I couldn’t let them walk all over me.
Bethany’s minions surrounded her as she moaned and cried about her nose. I gave them a final glance and walked out of the bathroom.
I wasn’t Miss Popular; I wasn’t rich or the cheerleading captain… but the lack of these titles didn’t make me weak because I was no doormat.
The next time they threatened the people I loved, I’d show them my teeth and claws.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Lila
I stumbled out of school, my legs feeling a bit shaky. My knees were bruised from where they had slammed me on the bathroom floor. My lips throbbed, and I could feel a headache coming. That was one hell of a slap, kudos to Bethany.
As I walked through the main gates, the bus drove past me, and I stood there, dumbfounded. Damn it, I missed my bus. Fists clenched, I held in the urge to cry because now was not the time for it.
It was cold. I was moody and in pain.
But I. Would. Not. Cry.
“Lila!”
My steps faltered at the sound of Maddox’s voice. Huh.
“Lila, what the fuck?” he called out. I looked over my shoulder to see him running toward me. His mouth was curled in a dark scowl as he approached me.
My dark hair fell as a curtain around my face, and I looked down at my feet. I didn’t want him to see the bruises, didn’t want his pity or his stupid, mocking laugh.
But Maddox, being Maddox…
He crowded into my space, his front pressing against my back. His arm curled around my waist, and he pulled me into his body.
“How did this happen?” he asked, his voice low and serious.
“What do you want?”
“The back of your skirt is ripped. Doesn’t look like an accident. Who did this?”
What?
I pushed away from Maddox and reached behind me to realize that he was right. There was a large tear in my Berkshire skirt, big enough for my panties to be visible and everyone could see it. No wonder I felt the cold breeze on my ass.
Anger flared up inside me, and I let out a shuddering breath.
I didn’t want to cry because I was hurt or humiliated. They were tears of outrage, and I swiped at my cheeks, refusing to let Maddox see them.
“Lila,” Maddox said slowly. The sound of my name came from his lips so softly, as if he cared. It was stupid, but my heart still did a silly jump.
He grasped my shoulders and turned me around to
face him. I kept my face lowered, but he was having none of that. His fingers grazed my cheeks, and he brushed my hair away from my face.
When he let out a string of curses, I knew he saw the bruises. His hand clenched my arm, and he dragged me to the bench. I tried to pull out of his grip, but he held tight.
He sat me down and knelt in front of me, looking like a dark, angry warrior. He was…pissed?
“Who did this?” he asked, his voice hard and strained.
“Your girlfriend,” I shot back. I wretched my hand from his grasp and crossed my arms over my chest. “She isn’t too happy of our friendship status.”
His eyes turned into slits, and he gave me a hard look. “Bethany,” Maddox hissed under his breath. “She’s going to regret this.”
I scoffed at that. “I don’t need a protector. I can take care of myself.”
His lips twitched. Even though his expression was hard and serious, the humor was back in his blue eyes. “No, you’re right. You’re the dragon.”
Ha. Very funny.
I rolled my eyes and looked around us. Most of the students had gone home already, and I was probably two or three of the few who took a bus, since everyone had a car or a driver to pick them up. Perks of being rich, I guessed.
“What are you doing here?”
Maddox dragged his fingers through his hair, still short since his last haircut. I couldn’t decide if I liked the long hair better, but I missed his poodle hair.
“Coach needed to speak to me. I was about to leave when I saw you walking out of the building and noticed the tear in your skirt. Nice panties, by the way. It reminds me of your cherry lips.”
Mental facepalm incoming: 3…2…1.
Maddox brought his hand up, his thumb brushing over my sore lips. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”
I gave him a sheepish grin. “I can tell you about the part where I broke her nose and choked her.”
“Atta girl,” he praised out loud. “I was almost worried you were going to tell me you didn’t fight back.”
He grabbed my water bottle from my bag, and I watched as he wet his handkerchief. Against my nature, I stayed silent and watched him. His eyebrows furled in concentration, his lips in a firm, straight line, and his eyes darkened as he studied my bruises.