Ruthless Royals

by Eva Hart

  I flushed. “I had a good time too,” I replied.

  It was the first time I actually got to have a normal sex life with someone. Most of the time there was money and other incentives involved, but not with him. With him it was…just the two of us, having a good time, not giving a fuck about anyone else.

  Dane got up, stretching, and I could see the outline of his buttocks and his muscles. I smiled to myself. He then went over to the doorway.

  “By the way, I’m going to hit the shower. Why don’t you join me,” he said.

  I flushed, realizing what it was that he wanted. I mean, would we get to enjoy more fun times together? I then yawned, moving slightly.

  “I’ll be there in a minute,” I said.

  “Alright, I’ll be waiting for you,” he said with a smile.

  He then walked inside, leaving the door closed. I heard the sound of running water, and for a moment, I laid there, sighing.

  I felt happy, but I couldn’t help but feel this nagging feeling start to overtake my body once again. I then started to hobble up, grasping the side table, and I realized the drawer was partially open. There was something familiar, and I looked at the inside of the drawer. To my surprise and horror, I started to pull it open slowly, moving over to the very end with the drawer and taking it out.

  In there was my phone. I grabbed it, making sure it was mine, checking the contents. Sure enough, nothing was deleted.

  Why did Dane have my phone? What the fuck was going on?

  I felt confused, betrayed, but mostly incredibly hurt. But I had to find the answers. I wanted to figure out why this was going on. I mean, if Dane was lying to me, I needed to know the truth.

  That night, when the phones were gone…did that mean he had his and stole mine the whole time? Was he just stringing me on? I didn’t know what to say, or even what to do, but I had to get the answers, before it was too late.

  I wasn’t the type to back down from a confrontation, especially when I involved my shit. I mean, I could just pocket this and pretend that nothing is going on like a normal person, but I wasn’t a normal person. I was Jules. I was the type to never back down from confrontation, to find out the answers, and to get the honest truth.

  “You coming Jules?” he asked.

  I stayed silent. I wasn’t going to sit there and pretend it’s all fine while I had my phone in my hands. The dawning horror of what might be going on plagued me, making me realize that there was a lot that I didn’t understand, and a lot that I felt was a bit inexplicable.

  After a few minutes, the water turned off. He then opened dup the door, a towel wrapped around his waist. I noticed him looking at me, his brows furrowed.

  “Are you okay? Why didn’t you come in and join me?” he asked.

  I was angry. He acted like there wasn’t a single goddamn thing wrong, but there was. I turned around, my phone in my hands.

  “I found this while I was getting up. I want to know the truth Dane. What the fuck is going on? Why did you take this from me?”

  I noticed his expression change, and I wondered if that was a good sign or a bad sign, but I knew that I was lied to, that I was used, and I knew that whatever answers I’d get next, they would involve this.

  Chapter 18

  Dane didn’t say a goddamn thing. I looked at him, and I wanted to know the truth. Why the fuck was I used like this.

  “Tell me Dane. I’m not leaving this spot till I know everything. Till I…Till I get the truth,” I said.

  Dane stood there for a long time, not saying anything, and then, he laughed.

  “You really didn’t figure this one out? You thought that I would just up and fall in love with someone like that? oh geez, you really are as naïve as they say,” he said.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” I asked.

  “Well, I think I need to come clean with this. The truth is, all of this was mine and Tabitha’s doing,” he said.

  Tabitha? But…she hurt his sister? What the hell was going on.

  “What are you talking about? I thought you hated Tabitha? I mean, didn’t she have something to do with Bailey, your sister?” I asked.

  “That was Luca. Not her. The truth is Jules…Tabitha and I have been dating for a long time. About two years now,” he said.

  He didn’t seem to feel any remorse when he uttered those words. His voice was even, he had an unwavering glance, and he looked at me like he wasn’t at all terrible. My eyes were wide, my breathing heavy, and my body feeling like a 200-pound weight was just dropped on it and left.

  “So all of the abuse—”

  “You’ve got it. It wasn’t The Elites. It wasn’t them, even though they never denied it. Instead, it was Tabitha and I,” he said.

  So all of this was a setup. The Elites didn’t do anything wrong. They were…they were trying to protect me in their own way.

  “So you…you did all of this to me,” I said, my eyes filled with tears. The one time I think I can be a normal goddamn high schooler, and this all happens.

  “Yeah. I’m sorry I never told you anything sooner Jules, but I was ordered to keep quiet. I wasn’t a part of most of the abuse, but I was set up to betray you. I didn’t want to do it, but Tabitha said that she’d make my life a living hell if I refused. So I did what I had to do in order to protect my own skin,” he said.

  I couldn’t believe this. I was so fucking angry I wanted to scream. But I didn’t want to get mad. If I did, he’d get satisfaction from it. The guy that I had feelings for was long gone, replaced with this…this monster that I didn’t know what to do about.

  “So what, were you and Tabitha dating for a long time?” I sad.

  “Yes. A few months technically in secret. We’ve been keeping this quiet because she doesn’t want people to know about it. We’re open, but mostly it’s for Tabitha rather than me. I do sleep with others, but Tabitha is my main girl, and she likes to be open to get men to join our side and follow what she says,” he explained.

  That was just…that was so shitty. I didn’t know what the fuck I could do here. I felt like I was just watching my entire life spiral out of control, mercilessly as I listened and witnessed all of this.

  “So what was the plan? How were you going to hurt me? Were you going to pretend that you cared only to throw it all away at the end?” I said.

  “Of course. That was the endgame all alone Jules. The truth is, I don’t really like you. You’re hot as hell and a nice fuck, but I don’t like you the way that you think I do. My goal was to betray you, and that was the truth of it all,” he said.

  I wanted to scream. I wanted to cuss him out, to tell him that he was a fucking monster.

  “But you let yourself get hurt. That night at the fall formal--”

  “That was all fake Jules. I never got hurt. It was all a lie,” he said.

  My eyes were wide with shock. He didn’t actually get hurt. I cared for fucking nothing!

  “So what did you want with my phone? What the hell were you looking for?” I asked.

  “Oh, just some information. Just some dirt on who you were. After all, you managed to piss off Tabitha on the first day, so I wanted to find out what our little princess here could do to my mean-spirited queen,” he said with a laugh.

  I felt anger course through my body, frustration only grow even more so with every single passing moment.

  “Well, did you find anything?” I said with a sarcastic tone of voice.

  “Nope. Other than the fact that your dad was a no-good porker that would put people in jail, and that your mom doesn’t seem to give much of a fuck about you. She’s been absent for most of your life, correct? She doesn’t really seem to care about her daughter,” he said with a smile.

  I wanted to fight this, to tell the bastard to shut the fuck up bout my family. I mean, I was pretty upset with my mom, sure. She stopped trying to contact me after a bit. My dad as well has a shady past, so it’s not like I can do much about it. But it still angered me how this man wa
s practically tossing my parent’s names to the ground and spitting on them.

  “You’re a piece of shit,” I said.

  “I know, but my goal was to take down the elites. The goal was to bring you, and them down. I wanted revenge for my sister. Tabitha pretends to like the Elites because they will listen to her. She doesn’t like them. In fact, she wants to bring them down too. I, however, have a more personal vendetta against them, and I have my reasons for hating those fucking bastards,” he said.

  “So you have a personal beef, and you want to take it out on me,” I said.

  “You’re just a player in the game Jules. You’re nothing more than a pawn that I needed to use. My goal was to follow Tabitha’s instructions. I liked you Jules, but a job is a job,” he said.

  The way he said that made my body burn with complete, utter anger. I hated that he pretended like there wasn’t a goddamn thing wrong with the way he acted.

  “You do realize that you stole from me, right?” I said.

  “What you going to do about it? What are you going to say? ‘Dane took my phone, but I can’t prove it because his dick was so good’?” he said with a mocking tone.

  I felt my face burn with both embarrassment and anger. To think, the first time I ever managed to fuck someone, and it had to be this.

  “I cared about you. I thought that you were different from the others. I thought that you actually cared,” I said.

  “I was different, just not in the way that you thought I’d be,” he told me with a teasing grin.

  I was so angry about this. I took my phone, rushing downstairs to get my clothes on. I felt Dane’s presence behind me, and I felt anger as he stood there.

  “You want me to take you back?” he offered.

  “And what, so you could gloat to others about how you used me? No, fuck off. I’m out of here. I got the truth, and that’s what I wanted. Good to know that you’re just a piece of shit,” I said to him before putting my shirt back on.

  How could I have been so duped. But I noticed Dane was still standing there.

  “I think you’re making a mistake if you think I’m just going to let this go. I wanted the dirt on you, and now that I have what I need, I don’t think you’ll be happy with my next decision,” he said.

  “What, you going to try to ruin my life more than you already have?” I muttered.

  “Correct,” he simply said.

  There was no way in hell this could get worse. I was getting out of here, and the last thing I wanted was to stick around with him. I gave him the middle finger before opening the door and slamming it, noticing that the gate was there.

  The fucking bastard left it open because he knew I’d just wend up walking out. Did he want me to find that phone, or was it just another ruse as a part of his plan? I didn’t even know anymore, and I felt the anger grow within me. I had to go back to campus, I had to wash the taste out of my mouth of what had happened.

  It was Friday, and there wouldn’t be any classes till Monday. I think I could at least lay low till Monday. When I got to the dorms, I felt hollow. I noticed JJ was sitting in the entryway, reading her book.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  “No. I’m not. I’m hurt, betrayed, and used. Turns out I was wrong, and maybe, just maybe, The Elites were right,” I said to her.

  “How?”

  “It’s…it’s a long story JJ. I need some time alone though. At least for now,” I said to her.

  “Fair enough. If you need to talk, I’m here for you,” she said to me.

  I nodded in thanks, heading up to my room. I closed the door, locking it, and looking around my apartment.

  It felt so hollow, especially after realizing how much I was used. I flopped down on my bed, feeling the tears begin to fall down my face. I was angry. I didn’t know what to do. I had to talk to my dad about the phones, but I felt so broken and used that I was just…angry. I didn’t know what to do about any of this, or even what the hell I could do at this point.

  What do you do when the one person you thought was on your side turns out to be nothing more than an abusive piece of trash? I didn’t even know, and I felt like Dane was just going to make things worse. Maybe I should’ve stayed oblivious.

  If I stayed oblivious, would it have been better? Would it have made this easier on me? That would’ve been debatable. If I stayed oblivious, I wouldn’t have my phone now.

  There weren’t any messages from anyone. Thankfully, my contact in Vegas didn’t message me after I told them I couldn’t go back for not, not till Alice got back. But I felt alone. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was truly alone, and I realized that I was at the mercy of these people. I couldn’t stand up to them. The person who I thought was going to help me face Tabitha turned out to betray me too, and now, it was just myself.

  There was a lot on my mind, a lot of questions, but very few answers for me.

  I went throughout the Monday after with a scowl on my face, ignoring everyone who was around. I could see the glances on their faces though, the looks of both betrayal, and shock at what I did. I didn’t want to talk about it. I noticed that JJ was keeping her distance from me again, not really talking all that much when I said hello to her in homeroom. But I saw out of the corner of my eye a glare courtesy of Phoenix.

  “Hey look, it’s Jules the easy lay. How was your little time with Dane,” Phoenix snapped.

  I ignored him, and I saw Phoenix’s look there, a look of pure anger from his face, one that screamed that I had fucked up.

  “Come on, don’t talk to that slut man. She messed up, and it’s obvious she has zero desire to fix it,” Luca said.

  I couldn’t believe this. They were over here acting like total dicks to me because of what I did.

  “Hey, I’m just—”

  “Quit trying to justify yourself, slut. We know what you did. Not like word around the school hasn’t gotten around,” Phoenix said.

  They were pissed, and I thought about asking them what they meant by that, but soon, they were gone. This left me with no answer to their anger, other than maybe, just maybe, there was something else going on. I didn’t expect them to be so pissed, but here they were, angry at me instead of telling me why they were.

  After I finished homeroom, I got up and left, but of course, not before things took a turn. I noticed that a couple of people were talking, and I immediately stiffened as I heard their words.

  “Yeah, turns out she’s like really easy. What a gross ass slut,” one of them said.

  “Yeah. It seems like Dane was pretty proud of it. She seemed to know all the tricks,” another one of them said. My face burned as I heard those words.

  I couldn’t believe this. I thought Dane cared about me. I thought he did truly mean what he said. I thought…I thought he was different.

  But, as I went through the hall, all I heard were rumors circulating about me, and rumors about the truth regarding Dane and me. of course, that was also met with looks of pure hatred, and I couldn’t help but feel angry with them, and also with myself.

  I trusted Dane. I thought I could finally have a normal life. And for what? To be hit with this instead of the truth? I felt angry, and I honestly didn’t know what to do. It was a super dick move, and the fact that he lied about who he had made me flustered, and angry. I was pissed that I even trusted him, since it was obvious that, because I did trust him, I got my own behind in trouble.

  I didn’t know what to do.

  I continued to hear the sound of students talking, all of them gossiping about me. I felt like all of the eyes were on me, and they wouldn’t leave until something happened.

  Throughout lunch, I kept hearing the words. “Dane’s little slut” ghost through my ears. Didn’t like hearing that. if I knew Dane would be so open to making sure my life was a living hell after I had found out, I wouldn’t have done any of that.

  I knew this was the mistake. This was my fuckup, and I couldn’t do anything about it.

 
That is, unless if I got my dad involved.

  He was the head of security. Surely, he should take my side if things of this nature were happening. Though, he wasn’t super available the last few weeks. I wasn’t sure why, but I figured it had something to do with the fall dance. Regardless, I needed to go to him, for both of our sakes.

  But, as I approached the door, I got this nagging feeling I was making a mistake, that I would find out shortly after that that I really was alone.

  Chapter 19

  I could hear the jeers from all of the other kids, feeling like all eyes were on me. I didn’t like this. I felt like…because all their eyes were on me it wouldn’t end. I figured talking to my dad after school would be the perfect way to get help. I mean, I feel like if I went to my dad, and then to the principal, I could at least get a little bit of help. They wanted me to stick around here anyways, so it would only make sense to have this in place, and to have them as an outlet. But something felt off. I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t get the feeling that I wasn’t going to get anything from this as ai approached the doorway. The principal’s office wasn’t a place I went to a lot, and I hadn’t been here since my first day. When I finally got the courage to knock, I heard the sound of a voice, and I opened the door.

  In front of the desk was a woman with silvery-white hair, blue eyes, and glasses perched nearly on top of there. The person looked at me with a curious glance.

  “Hey there, what can I do for you?” she asked.

  “Well, I wanted to talk to my dad. I think he needs to know. There was an instance of stolen phones a few weeks back, and he was asking for information. Well, I know who did it, and I’d like to provide that information,” I added.

  “I see. You’re his daughter…right?” she said.

  “You mean the head of security? Yeah that’s my old man,” she said.

  “Wonderful! It seems like they were waiting for you, and I know that inside the min room I’s a bit quiet, but I ca assure you, both the principal and your father are talking, and they are working everything out nice and neat,” she said.