Do What I Say: A High School Bully Romance (Dirty Little Secret Book 1)

by Kai Juniper

  I'm feeling sick just thinking about that. It makes me want to run away but there's nowhere to go. And if I ran, they'd catch me. Briggs is an athlete with long, powerful legs that could easily outrun me.

  "Come on." Briggs grabs hold of my arm.

  "Don't!" I yank away from him.

  "You seriously want to stay out here?"

  "No, but..." I swallow and look back at the SUV. "I don't trust you."

  "What do you think I'm gonna do?"

  I pause. "What Finn said."

  "What did he say?"

  "You know what he said," I snap, angry he's pretending he doesn't.

  "That we'll mess with you? That could mean anything."

  "He was implying you'd rape me, or all three of you would."

  "We don't do that shit. I know you think we're evil, and maybe it's true, but we're not rapists. We get plenty of sex. We don't need to force someone into it."

  "It isn't about sex. It's about power. Having control over someone." I glare at him. "And that's all that matters to you guys. Having power over people. Being in control."

  He pauses, his eyes on mine. "I'll give you my word we won't hurt you if you go with us, but if you want to stay here, it's your choice."

  "Your word?" I let out a harsh laugh. "Your word means nothing. You'll say whatever you have to to get your way. You're a selfish, lying bastard."

  He turns and walks off.

  Shit! He's leaving. They're going to drive off and I'll be stuck here alone. I doubt someone else will drive by, and if they do, they'll be a total stranger. At least I know these guys, but I can't trust them. They hate me. And I hate them.

  What do I do?

  "Wait!" I yell, running up to Briggs.

  He turns around. "What?"

  My heart's pounding and my head's screaming at me not to do this, but I don't have a choice. I have to get out of here.

  "I'll go with you but just take me to the nearest gas station. You don't have to take me home."

  The sooner I'm away from them, the better. I'd rather wait for my dad at a gas station than be stuck with the three of them.

  "You sure?" he asks, making me question myself. Why is he doing that? Is he just trying to scare me or is he planning to do something to me and is giving me one last chance to back out?

  I take a moment to think but I really don't have any options. I need to get out of here and going with them is the only way that's going to happen. I just have to trust they're not going to hurt me.

  "Let's go." I hurry past Briggs, glancing at Parker on my way to the back seat. He's in the front, his window down.

  "She's coming with us?" Parker says to Briggs, sounding surprised.

  "We'll drop her off at a gas station on the way to the party."

  They're going to a party? I guess it makes sense. It's Saturday night, but then what were they doing out here?

  Briggs gets in beside me, not looking at me. He leans forward to Finn. "Drop her off at the first gas station when we get into town."

  "How much is she paying us for this?" Finn asks.

  "Just shut up and drive."

  Finn takes off so fast I lurch forward, almost slamming into the seat in front of me. I grab my seatbelt and put it on.

  Briggs moves over to the middle of the seat. His huge legs spread to the side, bumping into mine.

  "What are you doing?" I ask.

  "I get sick if I can't see out the front."

  "Then why don't you sit in the front seat?"

  "Because it's even worse for me," Parker says. "I hurl if I sit in the back."

  "Then why don't you and Briggs both sit in front?"

  "Because nobody drives this thing but me," Finn says. He looks up at me in the rearview mirror. "What the fuck were you doing out here?"

  "I had to pick up a lawnmower part for my dad."

  "They don't sell parts in town?" Briggs asks.

  "They do, but not this one. It's a custom part. I don't know what it's for but my dad insists on going to this guy to get his parts."

  "They're probably off market," Parker says.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Stolen. He gets them for cheap. That's why he drives all the way out here."

  "He doesn't use stolen parts," I say, getting angry.

  Parker chuckles, pleased with himself for making me angry. I should've just ignored him. I need to ignore all three of them. They're going to use this little trip for their own amusement. They've got me trapped in their car and they'll use the opportunity to annoy me, anger me, and try to scare me.

  I get out my phone and check for a signal.

  "Another five miles, at least," Briggs says, noticing me looking at my phone.

  "For what?" Parker says.

  "Phone signal."

  "More like ten or twelve," Finn says. "Last time I came out here I didn't get a signal until I was almost back in town."

  "Why were you guys out here?" I ask.

  "Because the weed in the city isn't good enough," Parker says, sounding annoyed.

  "It's not," Finn says to him. "You want to do shit weed, go ahead, but I go for quality. And this guy's shit is grade A. But since you don't appreciate it, you're not getting any."

  "You drove out here to get weed?" I ask.

  "Not just any weed," Finn says. "This shit's organic. Grown indoors in the guy's house. Best shit I ever had."

  "He's a weed connoisseur," Briggs says. "It all seems the same to me, but whatever."

  "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about," Finn says. "If you actually did it more you'd know this shit is awesome."

  Parker turns back to me. "You want to try it?"

  "You're not giving her my weed!" Finn yells. "That's fucking gold." He picks up a water bottle from the center console and gulps down half the bottle.

  "I'll pass," I say.

  "You've never even tried it, have you?" Briggs says, laughing a little.

  I don't answer, knowing they'll just make fun of me if I do.

  "Bet she doesn't drink either," Parker says.

  Again, I keep quiet.

  "Bet she's a virgin," Finn says, laughing.

  "Are you?" Parker asks, looking back at me.

  "Fuck off," I tell him, rolling my eyes.

  He turns back to the front and talks to Finn. "Maybe she's not into guys. You ever seen her with one?"

  "Nope. And when I touched her, she about lost her shit."

  Briggs leans forward to Finn. "When was this?"

  "Remember when I had to get stitches? It was because of her. She fucking bit my lip when I tried to touch her."

  "You said that happened because you got in a fight," Briggs says, and I swear I hear a hint of anger in his voice. Is it because Finn lied to him or because he touched me?

  "It was because of me," I say. "I told him to stop and he wouldn't listen so I bit him."

  "You should've let me," Finn says. "Might've been the only time a guy touched you."

  Briggs leans back in his seat, his jaw working side-to-side. He seems angry, but why? Why would he care that Finn touched me? Briggs has touched me plenty of times and somehow he thinks that’s okay but gets angry if Finn does the same thing?

  "You ever been on a date?" Parker asks, seeming way too interested in this. Why does he care?

  "Yes, I've been on dates," I snap. "I just choose not to date any of the assholes at school."

  "So have you had sex or not?" he asks.

  "Of course I've had sex," I say, trying to sound as convincing as possible. "Not that it's any of your business."

  "Can you just shut up until we get there?" Briggs says to Parker.

  "Why? I want to know what she's done." He looks back at me. "You ever been drunk?"

  "Yes. More than once." It's a lie. I've had alcohol but I've never been drunk. I've seen too many people get sick from drinking, including Charlotte. One night she insisted on sneaking stuff out of her dad's liquor cabinet and trying it all. She had way more than I did and pu
ked the whole next day. That was enough to convince me not to get drunk. I hate throwing up.

  "I can't see you getting drunk," Parker says. "You don't seem like someone who would even drink. What about drugs? Yes or no?"

  "Just leave her alone," Briggs says. "She's not going to tell you the truth. I bet everything she told us is a lie."

  Does he really think that, or is he just saying it to see if I'll try to convince him otherwise? Out of the three of them, I find Briggs the hardest to figure out. Charlotte made that comment about him having another side, a side that wasn't pure evil, and I know what she means. Sometimes I catch a glimpse of him being halfway human but it's rare and doesn't last long so I'm not sure if it's real or some kind of act.

  Finn picks up his water bottle and finishes it off, then tosses the bottle in the back seat, almost hitting me in the face.

  "Watch it!" I yell.

  He ignores me and messes with his phone. The car swerves and I slam into Briggs.

  "I told you I'm not interested," he says.

  "I wasn't trying to get near you." I move back to the side. "Your friend needs to learn how to drive." I pick up the plastic bottle Finn threw at me and am about to toss it behind me but catch a whiff of something that doesn't smell like water. I bring the bottle to my nose. "What was in here?"

  "Is Karena going to be there tonight?" Parker says to Briggs.

  "I don't know. Why?"

  Parker shrugs. "I just wondered."

  "He's dumping Scarlett," Finn says.

  "No shit?" Briggs says, leaning forward. "You didn't tell me you were doing that."

  "Because I haven't decided."

  Briggs points to Finn. "You told this idiot and not me?"

  "I didn't tell him," Parker says. "He guessed."

  "See?" Finn says. "I'm not as dumb as you think."

  I sniff the bottle again. "This wasn't filled with water."

  Briggs looks over at me. "What?"

  "This didn't have water in it. It was filled with alcohol." I lean up to Finn. "Are you drunk?"

  "No," he says with a hiccup and a laugh.

  "Oh my God, you are! Stop the car!"

  "She needs to relax," Finn says to Parker. "She's too fucking uptight."

  I turn to Briggs. "Make him stop. It's not safe. We could get in an accident."

  Briggs leans up to Finn. "You been drinking?"

  "Maybe," he says with a laugh. "But I don't even feel it."

  "Fuck," Briggs mutters.

  "Relax," Parker says. "He's fine. He drives better drunk than when he's sober."

  "Are you serious?" I ask, horrified that Parker actually believes that. "Finn, you need to pull over."

  "No fucking way. I told you nobody drives this thing but me."

  I look up at the road and see a sharp curve just up ahead. "Finn, I'm begging you, pull over!"

  Briggs nudges Finn's shoulder. "Slow down. The road gets windy through here and it's hard to see."

  "What the fuck's your problem? I don't need to slow down. I've been on this road a million times."

  I turn to Briggs, gripping his arm and lowering my voice. "Please. Make him stop. He's drunk. He shouldn't be driving."

  Briggs glances at me and nods. "Finn, she's gotta pee. Just pull over."

  "She'll have to wait. I'm not going to be late to this party."

  We're almost at the curve now and Finn speeds up. If he misses the curve, we'll flip over the edge. It's not a long ways down but it's long enough that we could all die. I brace myself and close my eyes, not wanting to see this.

  I'm not prepared to die tonight. Why did I go with them? I would've been better off with the coyotes and bears.

  There's a loud thud.

  "What the fuck was that?" Finn yells as the SUV comes to a screeching halt.

  "I think you hit something," Parker says.

  I open my eyes and see Parker and Briggs looking back at the road. We're past the curve so at least we made it, but that loud thud didn't sound good.

  "It was probably a deer," Parker says, turning back to Finn. "You think it damaged the car?"

  "Go out and look," he tells him.

  "YOU do it. You're the one who hit it."

  "Just get out and fucking check," Briggs says.

  "And be late to the party?" Finn says. "Fuck that. If it did damage I'll deal with it tomorrow."

  "At least pull up more so we can see what we ran over," Briggs says.

  Finn pulls forward a few feet and stops.

  I look back and see something on the road. "I don't think it's a deer."

  Briggs turns to look. "Shit."

  "What?" Finn asks. "What is it? A coyote?"

  Briggs takes off his seatbelt and turns around to get a better look. "Shit. We're fucked."

  "What do you mean?" I yank my seatbelt off and turn around, looking out the back window. I gasp when I see it. "Oh my God."

  "What?" Parker says. "What do you see?"

  "It's a guy," Briggs says, staring out the window. "I think he's dead."

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ella

  "Someone go check," Parker says. "Finn, you do it. You're the one who hit him."

  "I didn't fucking hit him! He ran in the fucking road!"

  "Did he?" Briggs asks, turning back to Finn. "What did you see?"

  "Nothing. I just went around the curve and hit something."

  "Then how do you know he ran in the road?"

  "He wouldn't just be standing there."

  "Parker, did you see anything?" Briggs asks.

  "I don't know. It's dark and it happened so fast I didn't even know we hit something until I heard it."

  I open my door and get out.

  "What are you doing?" Briggs says.

  "Going to see if he's alive since you idiots won't do it."

  "Wait!" Briggs jumps out the other side and we meet up at the back of the Range Rover. "He's not moving."

  "That doesn't mean he's dead."

  The guy looks like he's around my dad's age. He's got a thick, dark beard and is wearing baggy pants and a lightweight jacket that's ripped on the sleeve. His clothes are dirty and wrinkled and I'm wondering if maybe he's homeless.

  I kneel down, feeling like I'm going to throw up. I've never been this close to a dead body, assuming he's dead. There's a chance he's still alive.

  I reach down to his wrist.

  "Don't touch him!" Briggs yells.

  "I have to! I have to check for a pulse." My hand's shaking as I wrap my fingers around the guy's wrist. I don't feel a pulse but it could be because I'm shaking so much. I inhale a deep breath.

  "Do you feel anything?" Briggs asks.

  "Not yet." I move my fingers around, thinking I might be in the wrong spot.

  "He's dead," Briggs says.

  "We don't know that. Just give me a minute." I focus on my breath, trying to calm down. My hand stops shaking and I press more firmly against his wrist. I think I feel something. It's faint, but it's there.

  "Is he dead or not?" Parker asks, appearing next to Briggs.

  "We don't know yet," Briggs says.

  "He's not." I look up at them. "I can feel a pulse. He's still alive." I stand up and get out my phone. "I'll call for an ambulance."

  Parker grabs my phone from me. "You're not calling an ambulance! Are you fucking crazy?"

  "A guy is lying here dying! We're calling for help! Now give me my phone!" I try to take it but he holds it too high for me to reach.

  "What the hell's taking so long?" Finn yells, coming up to us. "Let's get out of here."

  I stare at him in disbelief. "You just hit a guy and you want leave?"

  “If he’s dead, why the fuck would we stick around?”

  "He's not dead," Parker says, staring down at the guy.

  Briggs is oddly quiet. He's usually the leader but he's not saying anything.

  "So what are we gonna do?" Finn looks at Briggs to answer. Parker does too.

  "I don't know," Briggs s
ays, rubbing his jaw.

  "I say we get the hell out of here," Finn says. "If someone drives by and sees us, we're fucked."

  "You're saying we just leave him here to die?" I say, shocked he'd even suggest that. I knew these guys were assholes but not helping someone who's dying is beyond being an asshole. It's pure evil.

  "I agree with Finn," Parker says. "I say we get out of here. It's not like we can help him. We're not doctors."

  "I can't believe you guys!" I look at them both. "You seriously want to leave a man to die? Not even call for help?"

  Parker looks down at the guy. "Yeah it's wrong but I don't know what to do. We can't stay here."

  "Let's go," Briggs finally says. "Everyone get in the car."

  "We're just leaving him here?" I say, furious they're all okay with this.

  "We'll go call for help but we're not doing it here," Briggs says. "And we're not using our phones. We'll go to that gas station a few miles up that has a pay phone."

  "I don't think that thing works," Parker says.

  "We're gonna find out. Go wait in the car. I'll be there in a minute."

  "What are you gonna do?" Finn asks.

  "Just go!" Briggs yells.

  Finn and Parker walk off but I remain behind.

  "Ella, get in the car," Briggs says, walking around the guy.

  "No. I want to know what you're going to do."

  He glances back at the trees beside the road. "I need to pull him off the road in case someone drives by."

  "I'll help."

  "No! Get back in the car!"

  "Have you not yet figured out I don't take orders from you?"

  He sighs. "Then grab his jacket. I'll get his legs."

  I lean down to the guy.

  "Wait!" Briggs pushes me back. "We can't touch him. It'll leave behind evidence." He yanks his shirt off and uses it to cover his hands. "Hurry up."

  "What? You think I'm taking my shirt off?"

  "You got something else to cover your hands?"

  "Why do I care if I touch him? I'm helping him. I didn't do anything wrong."

  "Trust me, you don't want your prints all over this guy. Now either take off your shirt or get out of here and I'll do it myself."

  I hesitate, then decide to just do it. The guy will be hurt even worse if he's dragged over the road. I take off my shirt, keeping my eyes on the guy and not Briggs. He better not be looking at me, but if he is, it's not a big deal. I'm wearing a sports bra, not something sexy.