© 2020 Sheridan Anne.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
All Rights Reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
Cover Design By: Sheridan Anne
Photograph By: Kiselev Andrey Valerevich
Proofread By: Heather Fox
Editing & Formatting By: Sheridan Anne
Introduction
Who the f&*k gave Slade Cruz this kind of power over me?
I don’t know how it happened. One minute he was the guy I loathed and the next thing I knew, I was waking up beside him desperate to get out of there.
When secrets are revealed, Slade and I realize that we are more connected than we could have ever known. Not only are we learning that our hearts beat as one, but we now share a common enemy who neither of us could have foreseen.
I’m quickly learning that Lucien Valentine isn’t only the monster in my storybook, but makes appearances in many. He needs to be stopped, but this war is bigger than just me and I don’t think I have what it takes to fight it.
Betrayals bite hard as secrets are revealed. Hearts are put on the line, and just when you thought you had it all, the devil shows up on your door. This time he might take more than you could possibly give, and it might just cost you your life.
Hold onto your seats because Aston Creek is about to enter a war it never saw coming.
WARNING: The Aston Creek High Series is a Young Adult / New Adult Dark, Bully Romance. It features dark themes, LOL moments, teenage angst, and of course, all the swoon-worthy moments I know you’re all dying for.
This series contains violent scenes, cursing, and sexual content.
Contents
Introduction2
Chapter 14
Chapter 210
Chapter 316
Chapter 422
Chapter 527
Chapter 632
Chapter 736
Chapter 841
Chapter 947
Chapter 1052
Chapter 1158
Chapter 1263
Chapter 1366
Chapter 1471
Chapter 1576
Chapter 1682
Chapter 1787
Chapter 1893
Chapter 1999
Chapter 20104
Chapter 21111
Chapter 22117
Chapter 23121
Chapter 24126
Where to Next?130
Author Biography132
Other Series by Sheridan Anne133
Chapter 1
The front door swings open and the second I step over the threshold; Shaylee begins tearing into me. “Where the hell have you been?” she demands, trailing her eyes from my head to toes and back up again, checking me over for any signs of stress. “Do you have any idea how worried I was? You can’t just stay out all night without letting me know. Tyler Samuels’ mother said he saw you get into some sort of argument with a bunch of boys and then they were arrested and no one has seen you since.”
Oh, shit. That almost seems like a lifetime ago. It’s hard to believe the fight with Roman at the courts was only last night.
“I…” I go to start explaining myself when she gets a good look at the bandage over the palm of my hand and instantly cuts me off.
“What happened to you?” she gasps, rushing forward and forgetting all about the fact that she’s attempting to reprimand me as a good foster mother/aunt should do.
I raise a hopeful brow. “Would you believe me if I said that I was assaulted by a cop?”
Her mouth drops as her eyes bug out of her head. She stares at me for a long drawn-out moment. “Tell me you’re lying. Are you kidding? Who? Which cop?”
I shake my head, realizing I was far too preoccupied to bother catching the dick’s name. “I don’t know. He was a big guy, this tall,” I say, holding my hand way up above our heads. “He had a big pop-belly and a dirty scar down the side of his face. He pushed me on the basketball courts and I fell, scraping up the side of my leg and landing on a piece of glass.”
I hold up my hand so she can get a better look and fury instantly ripples through her. A low growl comes tearing from deep within her throat and she takes my hand, squeezing it a little too hard. “This is completely unacceptable. You have two seconds to get yourself through a quick shower and then I’m marching you right down to that station and we’re pressing charges against that asshole. How dare he put his hands on you.”
I grin wide, looking up at the woman who has had her life thrown completely upside down when child services came knocking on her door only a few short weeks ago. She was once my favorite aunty turned stranger, to now the woman I’m learning to lean on.
I tug my hand out of her vice-like grip and throw my arms around her as my emotions begin to overwhelm me. It’s already been a crazy morning and it’s not even past 9 am. “Thank you,” I whisper, catching her off guard. “I don’t think I’ve ever told you but I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me and Blake.”
She wraps her arms around me, soft, welcoming, and warm and the way she holds me is as if she’s been waiting for this very moment for thirteen extremely long years. “I’d do it a million times over,” she murmurs against my ear, making it a promise and silently swearing to always stand by it.
Her declaration has something healing within my chest and I feel for the second time in less than twelve hours that my life is finally starting to turn around. Shaylee holds onto me for a few more moments and as she pulls away and takes a deep calming breath, her eyes come back to mine. “Tell me you truly meant that and weren’t just trying to distract me from the fact that you stayed out all night.”
I grin and I feel my eyes beginning to glisten with mischief. “I meant that one hundred percent, but did it kind of distract you?”
She shakes her head in exasperation and pulls her lips into a tight line, somehow reminding me of my mother. “Not in the least but it did calm me down enough to give you a chance to explain where the hell you’ve been all night. But don’t be fooled, I still fully intend to throw the law at that dirty cop. Don’t they know who you are? What you’ve already been through?”
I shrug my shoulders. “To be completely honest, considering the company I was keeping, they probably just assumed I was a rotten apple.”
Shay throws her hands up and she instantly begins to overreact. “Great. I only just got you and I’ve already lost you to the dark side. What is it? Drugs? Alcohol? Fighting? I know you keep that old knife under your pillow. Please don’t tell me you’ve been hanging around with the kind of people to peer pressure you into this kind of stuff.”
“Holy Cow, Shay. Calm down,” I laugh. “It’s nothing like that. I was hanging out with Damian and Slade from school.”
“Slade?” she questions, pulling back and looking at me through narrowed eyes. “Why does that name sound so familiar?”
“Slade is Daniella Cruz’s son. You know, mom’s best friend from high school.”
“Oh my God,” she gasps, throwing a hand to her chest. “That’s right. How could I have forgotten? How is she? I haven’t seen her for so long. She was such a great friend to your mom. It’s a real shame that we grew apart but you know how life gets in the way.”
I nod. “She said the same thing.” And a shitload of other things.
Shay carries on as though I hadn’t said a word. “How’s Slade? He must be…what? Eighteen or nineteen by now? He was such a good little boy with the cheekiest little grin.”
If only she knew that cheeky grin turned into a devilish smirk that could have women’s panties disintegrating with only the click of his fingers. “He’s, ahh…he’s good,” I say, failing to take the interest out of my tone.
Shay goes to continue when she stops herself and looks at me with furrowed brows. “Wait a minute. What do you mean ‘she said the same thing?’ When did you see her?”
“I, umm,” shit. “I saw her at her place.”
“Her place? Why were you at her place?” Shay’s head tilts before a slow, knowing grin begins to spread across her face. “Is there something going on between you and Slade? Is that where you were all night?”
“Umm…” I cringe, looking up at her through my lashes, hoping this isn’t going to bite me on the ass. “Is it going to be a problem if I was?”
“Oh, no, honey,” she beams as Ben comes striding in from the hallway, gawking at me in horror. “Hell, yes. That’s going to be a problem.”
“Shut up, Ben. She’s nearly eighteen. She should be allowed freedom. She’s been locked up by that horrid man for thirteen years. She deserves to have a little fun.”
“Not if it involves running around with strange boys in the middle of the night and sleeping in someone else’s bed. What kind of role models are we trying to be here?”
Shay looks up at her husband and raises an unimpressed brow. “Should I remind you that we were dating when I was only fifteen?”
“Yeah, but that was different,” he says, his gaze sweeping across to me and then back to Shay.
“How so?”
He lowers his voice and leans into Shay. “Because I remember what we used to get up to and believe me, I don’t want that for her. What if she…you know, got herself knocked up? We can’t have her ruining her life before she’s even had a chance to really begin. Think about it. Just one little mistake could change it all. We owe it to Chelle and Jake to keep her safe.”
Shay cringes and sinks back before turning her cringe on me, making my stomach sink. “I’m sorry, Sky,” she says, looking as though she’s hating herself for having to put her foot down. “He’s right. Maybe we need to have a chat tonight about setting some boundaries if you’re going to start dating.”
“Dating?” I grunt with wide eyes. “I didn’t say anything about dating, and especially Slade Cruz. He isn’t exactly dating material. We’re just hanging out. We’re fr…kind of friends, actually, I don’t know. I don’t think we’re friends at all really.”
“I don’t even know what to make of that,” Ben says, gawking at me in confusion as Shay gives me a knowing smile with excitement brimming in her eyes.
She walks toward me and runs her thumb lovingly down the side of my face. “You like him, don’t you?”
I guess there’s nothing better than honesty in times like these. “I don’t really know to tell the truth. He’s kind of an ass and tormenting him was the most fun I think I’ve ever had, but for some reason, I just can’t seem to stay away from him.”
“You know, your mom and Daniella always used to joke about you two getting together. Maybe this is a blessing from your mom to go for it.”
“I don’t know,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s way too soon for that.”
“I agree,” Ben cuts in. “Why don’t you take a little break from the guy to think it over? There’s nothing quite like a bit of alone time to figure things out. No need to see him too much.”
Shay nails him on his shoulder. “Shut up. She can see him as much as she likes to figure out what’s going on between them.” She turns back to me. “How does Slade feel about all of this?”
I shrug again. “I mean, he certainly likes the way my ass looks in my jeans.”
“Okay,” Ben grumbles, turning away. “It’s way too early on a Sunday morning for this.”
Shay laughs as I watch his retreating figure disappear into the kitchen. “He’ll come around,” she says. “He still sees you as the little four-year-old girl who used to run around in her mother’s bikini pretending to be Miss Universe while waving at her adoring fans. I don’t think he realizes that you’re a woman now. He’s just trying to protect your innocence as much as he can.”
I nod, understanding where she’s coming from. “I lost my innocence a very long time ago, Shay,” I remind her. “I don’t think there’s much more for Ben to protect.”
“Trust me,” she says, pulling me into her arms and squeezing tight. “There’s plenty.”
She kisses my cheek, the same way mom used to and as she pulls away, she takes hold of my good hand and drags me into the kitchen. We find Ben bent over, scrambling through the fridge. “What do you guys want? Bacon and eggs on toast, pancakes, or cereal?”
“Bacon and eggs on toast,” Shay and I say in unison, making Ben roll his eyes and grumble something under his breath.
Shay takes me over to the dining table and forces me into my seat before trudging to the fridge and leaning around Ben for the orange juice. “Now, I have all freaking day to waste, so if you intend to have some semblance of a life today, you’ll get your explanation out of the way. I need to know every single detail for when I go down to the police station and make an official complaint.”
“Complaint? What the hell are you talking about?” Ben demands.
“Skylah here, got herself assaulted by a cop last night.”
I groan knowing the way she just described it is going to have Ben losing his shit and the moment he turns and gapes at me with fuming eyes, tells me that I’m right. “Tell me she’s talking shit?”
Shaylee hits him for his language and I decide it’s probably best to get this over and done with. “So, Slade and Damian have a bit of a rivalry with some of the guys on the basketball team from Hunters High.”
“Wasn’t that the team that they played against the other week?” Ben questions.
“Yeah, that’s them.”
“Oh, yeah,” Shay chuckles. “When that unfortunate boy turned blue...”
I laugh to myself, remembering the look on Slade’s face as he realized what I’d done. I raise my hand and decide that if I’m letting everything out, that I might as well tell it all. “Ah, yeah…guilty. That was me. I turned that unfortunate boy blue.”
Shay’s mouth drops as her brows raise to her hairline. “Are you kidding me?” she gasps, horrified by my actions.
“Hey,” I say, more than ready to defend myself. “Slade completely deserved it. He was being an ass and besides, what’s a little blue ink between friends? It’s not like it hurt him.”
Her eyes bug out of her head as she gives me an impressed grin. “That was Slade?” As I nod, she goes on. “Wow, he’s really grown into a strapping young man. He’s very tall and the shoulders on that boy are impressive.”
Damn straight they are. She should see what else he’s got going on.
“Can we stop fawning over the blue boy and get back to how she got assaulted?” Ben demands, looking up at me from the kitchen table where he’s busy cracking eggs over the frypan.
I groan and sink back into my chair. “Fine. So, we were just chilling at the basketball courts. The boys were screwing around on the court while I was drawing and then the douchebags from Hunters High came and started trouble.”
“Language,” Shay reprimands.
I roll my eyes and continue. “Slade and Damian literally did nothing but the other guys were determined to start something. I tried getting between them but one of the other guys called me a slut and suggested he wanted to do something you know...not so good to me. Before I knew it, they were fighting.”
Shay sucks in a gasp. “What? Did you try to stop them?”
I cringe again. “Umm, not so much.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, I kind of joined in for a bit. He said nasty things and I wasn’t going to let him get away with it. I’m done being disrespected.”
For the first time this morning, Ben grins wide and seems to actually approve of something
I’ve done, but before he can congratulate me for a job well done, Shay cuts him off. “Can we fast forward to the part where the cops got involved?”
“Oh, yeah,” I laugh to myself. “So, they arrived shortly after and pulled us all apart and because Slade was owning it all and the other guys we’re being little bitches and acting like victims, the cops went for Slade. I tried to stop them and told them that Slade wasn’t to blame but the guy was hellbent on arresting him and grabbed me. He threw me down onto the asphalt and that’s how I cut up my legs, but when I threw my hand down to break my fall, there was a piece of glass and it sliced my hand open.”
“Shit, Sky,” Ben groans. “You should have come home after that.”
“I know, but they arrested him and I had to get him out. It wasn’t fair. Those other assholes should have been arrested, not him.”
“I know,” Shay sighs. “Don’t worry. I’m sure they would have called his parents by now and Daniella would be down there trying to sort this out.”
“Oh, no need to worry about that. I got him out. A kid got the whole thing recorded and I threatened the cops that if they didn’t let him go, I’d press charges and go to the press about their officer assaulting a minor. That seemed to do the trick.”
Shay puts her hands at her temples as Ben shakes his head, taking long calming breaths. “Okay, on second thought,” Shay says. “I might just head down to the police station by myself. Maybe you should avoid that place for a little while.”
“Yeah, that’s not such a bad idea.”
The conversation is cut off when Blake comes striding into the kitchen and looks down at me. The second his eyes meet mine, his betrayal comes flying to the front of my mind and nearly cripples me. I love this kid with everything I’ve got but the memory of him announcing to the world that I was raped stings too much to forget.
In his defense, he was blind drunk and could hardly stand straight. He saw Slade Cruz staring down at me and instantly thought the worst, especially with how he’d been going out of his way to make my life a living hell. But when he saw the tears brimming in my eyes, Blake snapped. He told the world exactly why Slade should back off and just like that, my world crumbled.
Lost Girl: Aston Creek High (Book 2) Page 1