It will take forever to bounce back from this. For now, I settle with kneeling on the cold floor, regurgitating the little I’ve had for breakfast and crying. Later, I’ll figure something out to heal the pain they’ve inflicted upon me.
Later, I’ll find my way back to the surface…
17
Rhett
For so long, I’ve wanted to feel Elly in my arms. To kiss her. To make love to her. What I did was the exact opposite, and I will never forgive myself for it. I took Elly, every single inch of that delicious body, I felt everything… we were consumed by our passion, but I never lost sight of the endgame.
I stayed behind on purpose that day, knowing she wouldn’t resist the temptation of coming up to me and demanding an explanation. Given our current predicament, I figured I’d never see her again. That she’d leave, finally humiliated badly enough to change schools. I wanted to know what she’s like. Kellan has been in love with her since summer camp. Gage is into Elly, as well. I can no longer exclude myself from this equation. She’s incredible. The right amount of sweetness and hotness that gets my blood pumping whenever she walks into the classroom.
I did the unthinkable. The abominable. The unforgivable. I brought down her defenses. I took everything I could take from her, and then I discarded her in front of everybody.
There’s a special place in hell for people like me, and my motivation won’t count for shit. We wanted to keep her safe by pushing her away but… how safe is she, now, if this is how we treat her? What difference is there between what our enemies would do to her, as opposed to everything we’ve done to her?
Gage and Kellan are equally gloomy about this, as we sit in the Range Rover, lacking the courage to go into the school. It’s been two days now, and Elly hasn’t shown up yet. Maybe we finally found the tipping point. That makes me feel uneasy, too… the thought of never seeing her again. We’ve been so focused on pushing her away so Uncle Kevin wouldn’t notice her, that we’ve completely overlooked what our lives will be like without Elly.
“Day three,” Kellan mutters from the passenger’s seat, staring at the steps that lead up to the main entrance.
“Maybe she finally quit,” Gage says from the back.
I can still feel her skin against mine. The taste of her lingers on my lips. The sweet, hot tightness around my cock makes it hard for me to focus. Our moment will never leave me, as short as it was. We had very little time together, but we soared to the greatest heights of our existence, nonetheless, before I ruined everything.
“Let’s hope so,” I reply, one hand resting on the wheel. “Because I don’t know what the fuck else we can do to send her away…”
Kellan squeezes my shoulder in a bid to comfort me. “I’m sorry, Rhett… It couldn’t have been easy for you.”
“Being with Elly was easy,” I sigh. “Pulling back and making a mess of everything was the hard part, because she doesn’t deserve any of this.”
Gage scoffs. “You’re in love, Rhett.”
“And you’re not? Mr. Let-Me-Volunteer-To-Stalk-Her?” I reply dryly.
He hangs his head in shame. “It’s ironic, isn’t it?”
“What exactly do you find ironic?” Kellan asks, looking at Gage over his shoulder.
“We’re all head over heels for this girl, yet we’re all competing in who can make her more miserable,” Gage mumbles.
We’ve rarely shared women between us, but Elly was special from the very beginning. She’s got this way about her that makes her unforgettable. She’s determined and opinionated, smart as a whip and hilariously self-aware. She doesn’t care about the latest fashions, yet every piece of fabric she puts on brings out her beautiful curves.
Kellan, Gage and I have already accepted the fact that she somehow snuck inside our hearts and has refused to leave since. At first, I was tempted to be angry over this, until I understood that each of us have good reason to feel the way we feel about her. Kellan wants a smart girl, the complete opposite of all the bimbos he’s dated throughout high school, and Elly challenges him like no one else.
Gage, despite his ménage affinities, would give all the women he’s fucked so far just to be with her. Proof is in the fact that she got him to quit smoking, which was no easy feat—that he picked the habit up again afterwards… well, Elly can’t be blamed. Grandpa’s death hit us all very hard.
As for me, I fell for her from the moment we met, outside the cabin. There’s this enticing mixture of kink and righteousness brewing in her head that turns me on like nothing else. Elly is going to make one hell of a politician someday. She’ll have a good life. She’ll change the world. And she won’t be a part of ours. I think that hurts the most.
“At least mom and dad hired extra security, like we told them,” Kellan says after a while.
“You know Kevin is planning a takeover by now.”
“Has he spoken to your dad yet?” I ask Gage.
Shaking his head, he exhales sharply. “Nah. But I don’t think Kevin will go to him for this.
He’ll get outside guns and he’ll give the O’Donnells the chance to serve him as the new head of the family… or leave.”
“And Kevin doesn’t like leaving witnesses behind,” I say. “Remember Los Cabos?”
Kellan pinches the bridge of his nose. “That alone should’ve disqualified him in grandpa’s eyes. I don’t get it…”
“Blood’s thicker than water,” I reply. “Grandpa hoped Kevin would change once he got more responsibilities in the family. He’s not around anymore to see how wrong he was.”
“He’s been snooping around, you know,” Kellan tells us, his brow furrowed. Gage and I stare at him, waiting for details. It takes him a while to notice. “Caught him in my room yesterday morning. Said he was looking for a charging cable ‘cause he lost his. Obviously, I didn’t buy it. He was looking for something.”
My blood runs cold. “Was there anything missing?”
“Not at first sight, no,” Kellan replies, giving Gage a brief glance. “Everything we have that’s precious is in your vault. That’s the smartest thing we’ve done all summer.”
“Even so, we’ll have to be careful. If he’s nosing around, he’s aiming to hit us with everything he’s got. When the takeover happens, we’ll be in his sights, too,” I say. My voice breaks when I see a familiar figure coming up the steps. “You have got to be fucking kidding me…”
“No…” Kellan gasps.
Elly is back. She’s wearing jeans and a black tee, sneakers and no makeup. Something did change since we last saw her. She’s got her backpack, and her phone in her hand. I guess Kyle retrieved those from Elly’s desk and made sure she got them back after our classroom… encounter.
“Is she insane?” Gage croaks, his eyes bulging. “Seriously, Rhett, how the fuck do we get her out of here before it’s too late?”
My chest aches, much like my groin. One look at her, and I’m already yearning for more. Just me and her between the sheets, so I can taste and feel every single inch of her, until she gets me so addicted that I will wither without her.
Elly’s return also raises a huge issue, one I am not prepared for. If she doesn’t leave, what else can we do to keep her safe? She means a lot to us, and if Kevin finds out, she’s the first person he’ll go after. The stench of danger stings my nostrils whenever I go into our house, whenever I hear Kevin’s name in conversation. The air thickens every time I see him, every time he smiles and shakes my hand.
He won’t even let us have the whiskey business, I know it. That’s why he’s snooping around, looking for weak spots. He wants to take everything good that we have in our lives—he’ll take Elly, too if he ever catches a whiff of what she means to us.
We watch as she goes straight into the school. Neither of us can believe the resilience of this woman. It’s almost scary. I’m starting to think Kevin might be the one in trouble if he goes after her, not Elly.
“She’s like a cockroach. I bet you she’ll survive an apoc
alypse or two,” Kellan says.
I immediately text Prestley, telling her to go ahead with the second part of our plan. She sends a winking emoji as a reply. If Elly thought she would brush this off like everything else, she’s got another thing coming. I loathe hurting her like this, but the more she insists, the more vicious I’ll have to get, unfortunate as that is.
“I’ll be honest, this is all I’ve got left against her,” I say, looking at my phone. “This is our last try. If she still doesn’t leave, then… I don’t know. We’ll have to work a different strategy.”
Kellan and Gage are aware of what’s about to unfold, so they get out of the car. As much as I hate it, I need to be there with them, as well. Elly has to see the three of us. To understand that she won’t be getting any peace here. Trinity High is off limits, for as long as Kevin is alive and breathing and scheming to destroy our family.
18
Elly
I have no idea what I’m doing here, but the headache excuse only kept me at home for two days. If I spent another day in bed with a “crippling migraine,” my mom would have taken me to the hospital for an MRI. But it’s okay. I’ve had time to mull things over. To understand exactly where I stand with Rhett, Kellan and Gage.
What they did is unforgivable, but I will not let them win—that much I’ve made clear to myself since before the classroom incident. My loins still ache for that son of a bitch, but I won’t give him any satisfaction. And if anyone in school wants to make fun of me, they can go ahead and yuck it up. By next year, I’ll be enrolled in college and far away from this shitty town.
I gave myself to Rhett, I opened myself up to him in so many ways… Something broke inside me when I realized what he did. I’m numb on the inside, and perhaps that will be my ticket to survival in this unforgiving suburban jungle.
Their Range Rover is parked next to the school. I can make out their shocked expressions through the windshield. Yeah, they did not see this coming. Good. I keep my chin up as I go inside the school, bracing myself for all kinds of backlash.
As soon as I set foot inside, people start to notice me. I’m early, so the herd has yet to come in and crowd the ground floor, but there are enough students around for me to feel uncomfortable.
The looks on their faces make my stomach churn—a mixture of intrigue and disgust. This holier- than-thou attitude is sickening, to say the least, especially since more than half of the girls watching and judging me right now probably lost their virginity behind the bleachers.
Nevertheless, I keep going, focused on reaching my locker. After the classroom stunt, I doubt The Hotshots have anything else planned beforehand. They hoped they finally got to me. Well, fuck you, the three of you, because I am still here.
I hear laughter, somewhere to my right. My head turns as I follow the source. The beauty queens stand in front of the noticeboard, giggling. Others gather round them, stretching their necks so they can see, before they, too, start chuckling. My instinct is quick to tell me I might want to see whatever it is they find so amusing.
As if sensing my approach, Prestley glances over her shoulder. “You’re quite the star, Eleanor. Though I would’ve pegged you for the granny-panty style,” she says.
She steps back, so I get a full view of the source of their amusement—the noticeboard.
There’s a pair of panties pinned to it, on top of various school announcements and softball lists. They’re mine. Rhett took them off when he fucked me to the gods and back.
My legs are weak. Remember, Elly. Hold it together.
I can’t show any emotion. Nothing at all. There’s no teacher in sight, so everyone feels comfortable enough to laugh at my expense. I completely ignore Prestley and get closer to the noticeboard. A yellow post-it is next to my panties.
“Return to Eleanor Fox,” the note reads.
In an instant, my entire resolve comes crumbling down. Brick by brick, my defenses shatter, as fire rages through me, burning my insides and breaking my heart all over again. All the self-control I’ve practiced until now, the breathing exercises, the positive thoughts… it’s all gone in a puff of black smoke, and I’m suffocating.
My eyes sting. I can’t believe they managed to push it this far. It didn’t seem possible.
“These yours, Eleanor?” One of the football jocks sneers, picking my panties from the noticeboard. They all laugh as he flings them around. “I wonder where else you’ve left a pair.”
“We can organize an Easter Egg hunt,” Prestley says, arms crossed. “Only, we’d be looking for Eleanor’s undies. Winner gets a blowjob from our star whore, here.”
I freeze, my muscles stiff and paralyzed. A couple of yards behind her, I see Rhett. Kellan and Gage are further to the side, keeping their distance. They don’t look happy at all, which is intriguing, since they’re the ones who planned all this. Maybe they were expecting more people to show up before I got to the noticeboard. Maybe they wanted a bigger spectacle.
As the rage grips me by the throat, I snap. I give them the show of their life. No longer caring for consequences, no longer caring for anything at all, I shift my focus on Prestley, first. That smirk needs to go. I swing out a left hook and punch her in the jaw. She cries out in pain as she falls to the side.
The others gasp in shock, while Sarah and Tandy try to help Prestley back up. But I’m not done yet. I kick the jock in the balls and grab the panties from his hand. He collapses onto the floor in a fetal position, breathing heavily from what I assume is mind-numbing pain. What I’m giving them now is merely a sliver of how I’m feeling.
Someone pulls my hair, and I hiss as my head gets jerked back. I quickly turn around and throw punches left and right, until I’m free again. Sarah falls back, her nose bleeding. It quickly descends into a brawl, as Tandy and a few others try to take me down. But I won’t let them.
I kick and I punch, and I scream like a mindless animal, letting it all out. All the anger, all the pain and the misery they’ve caused me. I’ve tried so hard to bottle it up, when releasing the darkness would’ve been so much better. Healthier, even.
Someone punches me in the side. I grab a ponytail and pull with all my strength. Tandy screams when I ram my elbow into her ribs. Another girl’s claws find my face, and the scratches burn as my skin rips open. A whistle shrieks through the hallway.
“Let’s get out of here!” Sarah shouts.
Footsteps rumble around me, and all I see is white as I start to hyperventilate. I’ve gone off the deep end and I don’t know how to get back. The agitation swells and I can’t tell the people apart anymore. I’m holding my panties and continue throwing punches around with no particular direction, until someone picks me up and takes me away.
“Let go!” I growl.
“Stop it!” one of the security guards barks from the other end of the hallway. Finally, the high school’s personnel responds to the hell of a brawl I just kicked off.
“Let me go!” I say, but firm arms are locked around my waist, and I can’t feel the ground under my feet anymore. I’m carried away and taken outside through one of the emergency exists.
The door clangs shut behind us. “Goddammit, let me go!”
“It’s okay!” Rhett’s voice stuns me.
I’m suddenly limp under his hold, my heart lodged somewhere between my chest and my throat. He lets go, but I can’t stand properly. My cheek stings, my side hurts, and legs are spaghetti strings. My breath is ragged. My soul is torched. I’ve let all the anger out, and I’ve got nothing left to function on, anymore.
“What…” I can barely hear myself, as I try to make sense of what just happened.
“I’m sorry,” Rhett says. “I’m so sorry, Elly… I’m sorry.”
I blink several times, trying to make out his figure. He’s standing right in front of me, but everything is hazy. He takes out a small pack of tissues. His shoulder-bag drops on the concrete floor.
Birds sing in a nearby tree, and the tranquility is all the more confusing.<
br />
“I’m so sorry,” he keeps saying with a broken, trembling tone. I hear a water bottle’s cap get unscrewed, the crackling of its plastic body. The concrete at my feet darkens as some of the water gets spilled. Rhett gently presses a wet tissue against my face, and I welcome the cooling sensation against the broiling scratches.
“Ugh… That feels good,” I whisper and grab the bottle from his hand, pouring the rest of its contents over my face. My skin sizzle, and I can see clearly again.
I wasn’t hallucinating. Rhett is actually here, with me, his brow furrowed as he keeps apologizing. “I’m sorry, Elly. I… I’m sorry.”
For a moment, I contemplate the meaning of all this. He got me out of the skirmish he’s practically responsible for. He put my panties up on display, for everyone to see them, after he humiliated me in front of the entire class—and the school, for that matter. As in love as I am with him, I can’t… I can’t let him soften me up. It could be another trick. And even more than that, he doesn’t deserve my forgiveness.
I throw my panties in his face. He catches them, his gaze darting between the soft lace and my expression. I throw the empty plastic bottle at him, too. It bounces off his broad chest.
“Fuck you,” I say bluntly. “Fuck you to hell and back. Fuck you and Kellan and Gage, while we’re at it. Fuck the three of you.”
Moving away from him, I pray to all the gods that I can make it back inside on my own. I need to collect my backpack from the hallway where I dropped it, and I need to come up with a good excuse for what just happened. There’s no better excuse than the truth, though. Bullying is frowned upon these days, and they all pushed me beyond my limits. It’s time to get the authorities involved and see how the Flanagan boys like the publicity.
Trinity High: High School Bully Romance Page 14