After Burn (High School Bully Romance) (Diamond Lake High School Book 1)

by K. L. Middleton

  I batted her hand away. “Mattie, don’t.”

  She sighed in irritation and looked up at me. “You’re no fun anymore.”

  My phone buzzed. I released her and checked my messages. It was Gus telling me that he’d asked Mackenzie out and she’d accepted.

  I grunted.

  Mattie moved closer, trying to see my screen. “Who’s that?”

  I put my phone away. “Nobody.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “So, are you just going to let this girl talk trash about us?”

  “What do you want me to do?” I had enough my own problems to worry about. The kind that way beyond high school drama.

  “Everyone at school looks up to you. They respect you.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know about that.”

  “Of course they do. You need to put her in her place while everyone is watching.”

  I laughed at that. “Put her in her place?”

  “Yes, Chase. Someone needs to make her understand that she can’t come into our school and act the way she does.”

  “Why don’t you do it?”

  “Oh, I’ve tried. Believe me.”

  I thought it was odd how Mattie wanted me to take care of this. She usually prided herself on being a royal bitch when needed. I stared at her curiously, wondering what was different this time.

  “What?”

  I sighed and shook my head. “Nothing. Look, I’ve got some shit to take care of. We’ll talk about this tomorrow at school. Can I drop you off somewhere?”

  “Yeah. You can drive me home.”

  I pulled out my car keys. “Let’s get going.”

  22

  Mackenzie

  I drove Grandma Rae’s Beetle to the mall and spent the next couple of hours searching for a formal dress. As flattered as I was to be asked to a dance, I was starting to have second thoughts about going out with Gus. There really wasn’t a spark there and I didn’t want to lead him on.

  And what if he tried kissing me?

  As I zipped up a sexy, black formal gown in the dressing room, I began to wonder if I’d made a huge mistake. Unfortunately, it was too late to cancel our date. I would just have to be frank with him about us staying friends.

  My phone suddenly began to vibrate. I looked at the screen and saw that it was Kara. I’d mentioned to her that I was going to be shopping at the mall and knew the yogurt shop, where she worked, was somewhere in the building.

  Kara: Are you still at the mall?

  Me: Yeah. I’m trying on dresses.

  Kara: Stop by when you’re done.

  Me: Okay. Where are you?

  Kara: Yogurt Bliss. In the food court.

  Me: OK. SYS.

  After trying on a few more dresses, I went with a short dark blue, off-the-shoulder one with a lace bodice and chiffon skirt. I also purchased a pair of matching blue pumps that were on sale. Afterward, I headed to the yogurt shop. Fortunately, it wasn’t busy and Kara had time to talk.

  “So, what did you buy?” she asked, noticing my bags.

  I told her about Gus’s dance.

  “Oh, God. Let’s hope the A-squaders don’t find out. You think they’re bad now…”

  “Fuck them,” I said in a low voice. I was so over their bullying. “Actually, I hope they do find out, so I can tell them where to go.” I then told her about my encounter with Bruce and Tyler.

  Her eyes widened. “You’re kidding?”

  “No. He actually had me against the wall. He’s lucky the bell rang or he’d be singing soprano for the rest of his life.”

  She chuckled. “I guess it doesn’t surprise me. Bruce is such a hothead. I heard that’s why he can’t keep a girlfriend. I’d watch out for him, though. He’s the type of person I could see showing up at school with an AK 47 and going ballistic. There’s just something really off about him.”

  The thought made me shudder. I hoped she was exaggerating.

  “What about Mattie? Did she give you any more trouble today?”

  “A little. Nothing I can’t handle,” I replied as customers starting getting into line. “I’d better let you get back to work.”

  “Do you want any yogurt?” She lowered her voice. “It’s on me.”

  I smiled. “Sure. I’ll take some birthday cake. Just a small one.”

  “You got it.”

  Ten minutes later, I was getting into my grandmother’s bug when my cell phone rang again. This time it was a woman from Herschel’s Diner, asking if I wanted to come in for an interview. Excited, I thanked her and we scheduled one for the following afternoon. As shitty as the day had started, things were starting to look up.

  I drove back to the bait store, showed my grandmother my purchases, and was telling her about my interview, when Chase Adams walked into the shop. Although his eye looked worse than yesterday, I had to admit… he was still an incredibly good-looking guy, even banged up.

  He was also an irritating, arrogant jerk, I reminded myself.

  “Are you all settled in now?” she asked him.

  “Yeah, thank you.” He looked at me and nodded. “Hey, Mackenzie.”

  “Hi.”

  Chase turned his attention back to my grandmother. “I was just on my way out to grab some food and was wondering if you needed anything.”

  His offer surprised me.

  Grandma smiled warmly. “Oh, how thoughtful of you. Actually, we’re going to be closing the shop soon. So, I’m good.”

  “Okay.”

  “Oh, before I forget – the store is armed with an alarm system. So, if someone tries breaking in, it will certainly go off. If that happens, whatever you do, don’t get involved. The police will be notified right away and they’ll take care of any intruders,” she told him.

  “Sounds good. Have you had many break-in attempts?” he asked curiously.

  “Not for a long time.” She reached under the counter and pulled out a rifle. “I think people know that I’m not one to mess with.”

  Chase nodded in approval. “Wow, have you fired it before?”

  She nodded. “You’re darn tootin’ I have.”

  His eyes widened in shock. “Have you shot anyone?”

  “Oh, I shot toward someone, just trying to scare him. About twenty years ago I had this idiot try and rob me while I was opening up the shop. I can still picture that moment like it was yesterday,” she stared off into the distance, “he wore a black mask, a plaid shirt that was cutoff at the sleeves, and dirty jeans. The damn fool threatened me with a butcher knife.” She patted her gun. “I pulled this baby out and the guy thought I was bluffing. He didn’t think I had the nerve to fire the thing.” She grinned and winked. “I sure set him straight.”

  I’d heard the story plenty of times and was still proud every time she told it.

  “Did they ever catch the guy?” he asked.

  “No. We think he was just passing through town. He rode off on a motorcycle and I’ve never seen him since.”

  “I bet you scared the crap out of him,” Chase said.

  “Hopefully.”

  Chase noticed me putting my new back into the shopping bag. “Going to a dance?”

  I groaned inwardly. I didn’t want him knowing anything about it.

  “She is. She’s going to the Lancaster Charity dance this Saturday,” Grams answered for me.

  Great. Just Great.

  “What about you, Chase? Don’t you guys have a dance the following weekend?” Grandma said. “Sadie Hawkins?”

  He nodded.

  “I imagine you’re going with Mattie?”

  He slipped his hands into his jean pockets. “Actually, no. I’m not.”

  “Really? She hasn’t asked you?” Grandma replied. “I can’t imagine her missing a dance.”

  I looked at her in surprise. I had no idea she knew Mattie.

  “Not anymore. We’re just friends,” he murmured.

  “Oh, well. You’re young. It’s good to play the field. Especially at this age,” she r
eplied.

  “Yeah. Well, I should get going. Have fun with Gus on Saturday,” Chase said to me.

  “How did you know he was her date?” Grandma asked, looking surprised. “Are you two friends?”

  “God, no.” His face turned red. “I mean, no ma’am. I just saw them together yesterday and assumed he’d asked her.”

  Grandma looked at me. “You were with Gus last night? I thought you were just hanging out with your new friends from school.”

  “We ran into each other,” I said, silently cursing Chase. “At Herschel’s.”

  She relaxed. “Oh, okay.”

  “Anyway, I’m off. Thanks again, Rae. I really appreciate you renting the studio to me.”

  “You’re welcome. Let me know if you have any problems.”

  “Will do.” He looked at me. “See you at school.”

  I nodded.

  Chase walked out of the shop.

  “He seems like a nice kid,” Grandma Rae said. “Have you talked to him much?”

  “No.”

  “I hope I’m not making a mistake. I keep waiting for his father to call and cuss me out for renting to him.”

  “You think he’d do that?”

  “Who knows? I’d never suspected him of punching his kid either.”

  “What if he’s lying to you about his dad?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “No. I saw the look in his eyes when he told me. It’s the truth. The poor kid.”

  It was hard for me to think of Chase as being a poor anything. He was tall and muscular enough to defend himself. Either his dad was bigger or he just didn’t want to fight back.

  “Let’s close up,” Grams said. “I’m getting hungry. How about you?”

  “Yeah.”

  23

  Chase

  I walked out of the shop feeling like an asshole, especially after seeing that Mackenzie had purchased a new dress for the dance. I felt guilty and wasn’t even the one who was going to stand her up. The worst thing was, I wasn’t even allowed to bad-mouth Gus. Of course, he wasn’t supposed to talk shit about me either. Whether he’d cheat or not, I really didn’t know. All of his talk about integrity seemed like bullshit, especially for someone playing a game like this. And yet, who was I to point fingers? I’d agreed to the contest and knew Mackenzie was going to get hurt at one point.

  I rested my forehead against the steering wheel. “What the fuck am I doing?” I muttered out loud.

  I should just end it.

  Take the thousand dollar loss. Chalk it up as an expensive lesson learned.

  Fuck it.

  I pulled my phone out and send Gus a message.

  Me: I can’t go through with this. I’m forfeiting.

  Gus: You’re that worried you won’t win her over?

  Me: That’s not it.

  Gus: Right.

  I wanted to tell him that I saw her today, with the dress, but was supposed to stay away from her.

  Gus: Man up Adams. Don’t be a puss.

  Me: Fuck you. It’s not about that. It’s about using a girl for a damn contest. A nice girl.

  Gus: You barely know her. How do you know she’s nice?

  Me: Gut instincts.

  Gus: I’ll give you until Friday night to make up your mind. Ten p.m. Either we do this, or you pay me cash. Deal?

  I sighed and replied back.

  Me: Deal.

  After stopping at Taco Bell, and ordering a couple of burritos, I called Sonny.

  “So, guess where I’m heading?” I said with a smile.

  “Where?”

  “My new digs.”

  There was a long pause. “Say what?”

  I told him about the studio.

  “No fucking way. You really did it?” he asked incredulously.

  “Yep. I’m all moved in.”

  He groaned. “Dude… I’m so fucking jealous. Where’s it at?”

  I told him.

  “Time to celebrate. I’ll try and get my hands on some brewskies and head on over.”

  “I have to work tonight. I’m just going home to eat and change.” Fortunately, Lenny’s wasn’t too far from the studio.

  “What time are you off at? I wanna see your place.”

  “I’m working later than usual. I won’t be home until after eleven sometime. How about tomorrow? You, Bruce, and Tyler can stop by. We’ll get a pizza. It’ll have to be after seven though.”

  “Why?”

  I told him that the studio was above a bait shop. “Guess who’s grandma owns it?”

  “Who?”

  “The new girl. Mackenzie.”

  “No fucking way.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I heard she’s been talking shit around school about Mattie. She’s super pissed.”

  “Yeah, I heard the same thing. Mattie isn’t all that innocent either, though. She’s usually the one starting things.”

  “You’re not defending Mackenzie, are you?”

  “Fuck no. I’m just saying that if the new girl is really talking trash, it could be in retaliation. I’d stay out of it if I were you.”

  “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Hey, you still going to Jason’s party this Friday night?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Sweet. Can I crash at your place afterward?”

  “Sure. We have to keep it cool though. I promised Rae there wouldn’t be any crazy business.” Which happened quite a bit when my friends and I were partying.

  “Who’s Rae?”

  “Mackenzie’s Grandma.”

  “Jesus, Dude, when did you start being a Boy Scout?”

  “Fuck off. I just don’t want to be kicked out of my new place.”

  “I suppose. Does your old man know?”

  “Not yet… but he will soon enough.”

  I knew he was working late but would come home eventually and find the letter I’d left him. I told him about finding a place but didn’t leave an address. It was a small town and he’d find out soon enough.

  “He’s going to be pissed.”

  “Let him be.”

  There was nothing he could do. For the first time, in a long while, I wasn’t anxious about going home. In fact, I’d never felt so relaxed.

  I went on. “Anyway, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I’m almost home.”

  “Home... You lucky son-of-a-bitch.”

  I smiled. “You don’t have it so bad at yours.”

  He grunted. “Right. You saw what I’m living with right now. I love my mom but she’s turning into a real drunk.”

  “Maybe you should say something to her.”

  “Like what?”

  “Tell her you’re concerned that her drinking is getting out of hand.”

  He snorted. “She’d tell me to mind my own business.”

  “You never know. At least she’d know that you were worried about her.”

  “I suppose. We’ll see. I’ll figure something out, eventually.”

  “I know you will, Bro. Just hang in there.”

  “Easy for you to say, homeowner.”

  I chuckled. “I’m not a homeowner. I’m a renter. But, it’s close enough.”

  “Quit rubbing it in. You sure there’s not room for me?”

  “No and I’m not allowed to let anyone live here with me.”

  “We could keep it on the down-low.”

  “I can’t take any chances.”

  He snorted. “Just like I said. Boy Scout.”

  I laughed.

  24

  Mackenzie

  Wednesday started out fairly well, especially after learning that Mattie was out sick. It certainly made first hour more bearable.

  Second hour, I walked into the classroom and noticed that Chase was back. Feeling a little more relaxed, after yesterday, I headed over and sat down next to him. We exchanged quick “hellos”.

  “How is your eye? Doing better?” I asked, needing to break the awkward silence as we waited for the teacher to arrive.

  “Yeah.”
/>
  “Good.”

  He pulled out his phone and began scrolling through it.

  More awkward silence.

  I looked around the room and noticed almost everyone else chatting with their lab partners. I decided to try again.

  “So, how do you like the studio?”

  He smiled. “It’s great.”

  “Good.”

  Crickets…

  Since he wasn’t contributing to the conversation, I went silent. No matter how nice he’d seemed around my grandmother, apparently Chase didn’t have the time of day for me.

  The hour went pretty quickly, fortunately, and when the bell rang, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Just as I was leaving the classroom, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Chase holding up the pen I’d been using during class.

  “You forgot this.”

  Our fingers brushed as I took it from him. “Thank you.”

  “Yep.” He turned and walked away.

  I watched him move down the hallway with that now familiar swagger. My eyes traveled from his broad shoulders down to his low-riding jeans.

  Maybe Chase wasn’t as bad as I thought he was.

  He could have just as easily left the pen. It was almost like offering me an olive branch.

  I snorted.

  Yeah, right.

  I was definitely way over-thinking this, for obvious reasons - he was hot and I was still panting after him. Even after his rude behavior the other day.

  Turning around, I headed toward my locker. Whatever I felt toward Chase was a waste of time. We hung out in totally different crowds, not to mention that his was filled with the biggest assholes of the school. I decided that the best thing I could do for my sanity was to stay as far away from him, and his crowd, as much as possible.

  At the end of the day, Kara gave me a ride home from school and we talked about my date with Gus.

  “Did you tell anyone else about it?”

  “No. Honestly, I doubt we’ll go out after the dance anyway. I’m really not into Gus.”

  “Really? I think he’s kind of hot,” Kara admitted.