Tempting the Bully: The High School Bully Collection

by Bella King

  Deep breaths, that’s all it took. Breath normally and you won’t faint.

  I took a deep breath and smiled up at Atlas when I was close enough to him. I stopped about a foot away and titled my head.

  “What’s up?” He asked, his voice smooth and confident.

  I wish I was able to have that same confidence in what I did. I admired that part of him, even if the rest was crap.

  “Jared came to my house last night. I had to call the cops,” I said.

  “What?” Atlas said, his green eyes showing concern. “What happened?” His sudden change of tone told me that he cared much more about me than he initially let on. Interesting.

  “Well, I followed him back from the grocery store last night because I was in there getting something for my headache, and he came to my house with a hammer and some rope. I think he was going to kill me, or at the very least, kidnap me.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Atlas muttered, furrowing his brow. “That’s fucked up. I should break his neck.”

  I laughed. “Always straight to violence.”

  “Anyone who does that shit needs to be taught a lesson,” Atlas replied, his voice heated.

  “Yeah, well, he is in police custody now. I doubt they’re going to let him go so easily. By the time the cops got to my house, he had already broken in. It was pretty scary. My father was the only one who was home.”

  “I’m sorry, Virginia. That’s horrible,” Atlas said, his voice softer now.

  This was the nicest I had seen him act toward me. For some reason, I felt like confiding in him about Jared was more appropriate than talking to Jennifer about it, even though she was my best friend. I felt safer around Atlas, even after all the horrible things he had done. I wondered if I was just another victim suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.

  “I’m still working for your father’s company, by the way. I don’t appreciate what you said about my mother,” I said, changing the subject.

  Atlas smiled, looking amused. “I only told you the truth. Apparently, that’s hard for you to accept.”

  I rolled my eyes but cracked a smile too. “I can accept it just fine. You don’t have to make me cry though. I’d prefer it if you were a little nicer.”

  Atlas leaned toward me. “I think I was pretty nice. So much so that you passed out.”

  Blood rushed to my face again, causing my cheeks to turn a rosy pink. My heart thumped beneath my ribcage faster the closer that Atlas leaned in. My throat was dry again, but I cleared it and spoke up. “I don’t really remember what happened. I wasn’t in my right mind.”

  Atlas’s smirk widened. He was getting cocky again. “You loved it. You can’t help but show off for me. Were you like this with Jared? Is that why he’s so crazy about you?”

  “Don’t bring Jared into this,” I warned.

  He chuckled. “So, I’m special then. Got it,” he said, standing back up straight.

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “But you meant it.”

  I huffed at him and crossed my arms. “That’s enough, Atlas. I just wanted to tell you about Jared.”

  “What do you expect me to do about it? Protect you?” Atlas asked, holding out his thick arm and flexing his bicep. It popped from his tight t-shirt, expanding to the size of my head. Fuck, that thing was huge.

  “No,” I said, blushing again, but that’s exactly why I had told him. It was like he could read my mind.

  “Don’t worry, Virginia. I’m keeping an eye on you. Since you don’t want to quit working at my father’s company, I’m just going to have to make sure you don’t fuck up too bad. How about that?”

  “I’m not going to fuck up,” I replied, but I felt good that he was watching over me. It was stupid and probably foolish of me to get comfortable with a douchebag like Atlas, but since I had started butting head with him, I felt that my life had improved significantly.

  “You better not. I might have to punish you if you do,” he said with a wink.

  I felt like a ghost had moved through me and squeezed my heart. I shuddered, almost squeaking as Atlas turned away to leave. I watched him walk away, his swagger exaggerated and his shoulders swaying like the top half of his body was almost too much to for his thin hips to carry.

  I had never felt so turned on and repulsed by a man at the same time. This was getting ridiculous, and I was having trouble processing my feelings. I wanted to hide away from Atlas until he forgot about me, but another, perhaps stronger part of me, wanted to bare everything for him and let him do as he pleased.

  I was so confused by Atlas in the most wonderful way, but I couldn’t let anyone know. How shameful would it be if Jennifer, Beth, or Rachel found out that I kind of liked Atlas? I would never hear the end of it.

  I nearly jumped out of my skin when a hand landed on my shoulder, jolting me out of my hazy state.

  Chapter 20

  Secrets are hard to keep, rolling through the cracks like smoke in an elevator.

  “Is Atlas bothering you again?” Jennifer asked from behind me.

  I whirled around so fast that I almost fell, having to brace myself on the glassy white wall beside me. “No, no problem here,” I said, unable to think straight.

  “So, you two were just having a friendly conversation?” Jennifer asked, raising a faint blonde eyebrow.

  I nodded eagerly, my lips pursed together in a half-smile.

  “Why are you so pink?” Jennifer asked, her voice showing signs of suspicion.

  “It’s hot in here, isn’t it?” I asked. My armpits were sweatier than usual. Maybe that would explain the pinkness in my cheeks.

  Jennifer shook her head. “Something weird is going on with you. Are you okay? What were you talking to Atlas about?” She clearly wasn’t buying my excuses.

  I sighed. “I just told him that I wasn’t going to quit work just because his dad owned the place, and he said alright.”

  Jennifer laughed. “Come on, he’s been harassing you nonstop this year and suddenly he gets all passive with you?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe he’s scared of me now.”

  “After you walked around naked in front of him? If anything, he probably wants to fuck you now,” she said.

  My stomach was feeling crazy, like there were lizards inside of it scrambling o climb up my through. My knees were wobbly, and my legs felt like jelly at the suggestion that Atlas wanted to have sex with me.

  I tried to laugh it off. “No way. He just knows he can’t bully me anymore.”

  “You look pale now. What’s wrong with you, Virginia?” Jennifer asked, frowning. She placed a hand on my shoulder again. “Do you need to see the school nurse?”

  I moved my shoulder away from her hand. “No, I’m fine.”

  “Maybe there was something in the water that got you sick,” she suggested.

  “No, really. I feel fine. It’s just warm in here,” I said.

  Jennifer gave me another look to tell me that she didn’t buy my story, tilting her head down and looking at me with an unamused expression. “Tell me about it later, okay? I have class.”

  “Sure,” I said, relieved to have a reason to leave the conversation. I needed to get the hell out of here and collect myself.

  We parted ways, and I ran to class, drawing looks from the other students as I barreled down the hallway. I didn’t care what anyone thought about me right now. I just wanted to sit down and unpack what was going on.

  I rushed into the classroom, where the teacher was already beginning the lecture. She paused when I rushed in and flung myself into the seat, frowning slightly until I sat up straight and turned my attention to her, after which she continued her lecture.

  I had already almost been given detention in her class before, when Jared had flicked notes into my lap. This time I didn’t have him to distract me, but Atlas was doing a hell of a job with taking on the role as my main distraction, and he wasn’t even in my class.

  My eyes were fixed on the tall, thin woman giving the lecture in fr
ont of me, but my mind was floating off in an entirely different direction. Atlas had been bad enough for me when he tormented me. Now that I had begun to grow close to him, I found that his influence was even greater. I had begun to grow excited at the thought of seeing him again, and what he could do to me.

  As the teacher droned on, I tuned out completely, content to stay in my fantasies for a while and take a break from the real world. I never understood those airhead girls at the school until I became one for Atlas.

  Chapter 21

  You don’t know what you have until you lose it.

  I felt like I was walking on a cloud on the way home. I had ducked out of school early, trying to avoid any familiar faces so that I could have time to think. Jennifer was all over my ass about Atlas now, suspicious of what was going on between us.

  Nothing was going on between us. I felt like it was me who was getting confused about him. He was still as arrogant and rude to me, with some of the harshness chiseled off the edges. That just made him more bearable, not more likable. He still didn’t like me as far as I knew.

  I wondered if he really was excited about my body, or he was just doing all this macho shit to ruin me. Maybe this was all part of his technique for fucking over women. When his bullying stopped working, he had taken on a new way of gaining control over me. That could be it.

  I didn’t want to believe that he would do something like that, but it made sense. Him actually being interested in me was absurd. He hated me because my mother had accidentally killed his mother. He wasn’t going to get over that just because we talked about it.

  Then again, maybe he just needed to get all that off his chest., He could be just as conflicted as I was, struggling to make sense of his dueling hatred and passion toward me. He could be walking along the edge of a razor, split down the middle, bleeding from his inability to decide whether or not to take a chance on me.

  It would be so much easier if he would tell me what he was doing. I thought for a second that I should call him and ask what the deal was. We still got phone books in the neighborhood every year, so I had his house’s landline number. I was almost home, and I could settle this confusion once and for all.

  In less time than it took me to think the idea up, I dismissed it. It was too crazy to jump that kind of thing on him. What if he denied it and made me look like a lovestruck fool, like it was all fabricated in my troubled head? Maybe I should still be seeing a therapist.

  I got home without even realizing I was there, gliding through the door with my head still way up in the clouds. It wasn’t until my father came rushing down the stairs that I snapped out of my daze.

  “Virginia! I have news,” he said, his face wild with excitement. I hadn’t seen him this excited since before mom died. He immediately took me out of my daze.

  “What is it?” I asked, dropping my book bag at the doorway.

  My father rushed up to me, holding my shoulders, nearly shaking me as he spoke. “I was given a job at the same place you work. H & H hired me. Money isn’t going to be an issue anymore.”

  “Woah, what?” I said, taken aback. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  “Yes, Mr. Montgomery called me on the phone just a few hours ago to ask me if I wanted a position. Of course, I accepted.”

  “Wow dad, that’s great,” I said, still confused.

  “Right, so you don’t have to work there anymore if you don’t want to. In fact, I would prefer you focus on school from now on,” my father said, his voice quivering in delight.

  I didn’t want to kill his awesome mood, but this was really bugging me out. I wondered if Atlas had something to do with this. It didn’t take much from what I had told him to piece together that my father was hurting for money. Was he behind this?

  My father’s brown eyes were dancing with excitement, far removed from anything bad in the world that we had to endure these past few years. This was a new beginning, a chance to finally have some peace. Everything was coming together, but what was the reason behind it? I needed to know.

  “Did you apply there or something?” I asked.

  My father finally stepped back, out of my personal space, sweeping his hand through his salt and pepper hair. “No, actually. He was looking for someone to fill a position in management and thought to call me. How cool is that?”

  “Wow,” I said, thinking more now that Atlas had to be behind this. It was too much of a coincidence for him not to have something to do with it.

  “We should celebrate, but Mr. Montgomery wants me to come in tomorrow morning pretty early, so I’m going to try to get some sleep tonight. I hope you’ll accept a rain check from me,” my father blurted, excitement still dripping from his voice.

  “Of course, dad,” I replied, my mind still trying to process everything he had told me.

  “Great,” he said, skipping out of the room into the kitchen to make dinner.

  I slipped off my shoes and grabbed my bookbag, heading upstairs with it to unwind and take a shower before dinner. All of this was beginning to overwhelm me. The last few days had been a nonstop thrill, and the rollercoaster my life had become didn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. It was twisting and turning at incredible speeds, rockets strapped to the back to exert maximum G-forces on my body and mind.

  I needed a hot bath and a drink, but I would only be getting one of those. I hadn’t even been drinking much soda lately with all that was happening. I guess that was a good thing.

  I took the carpeted steps up to my bedroom by threes, tossing my bookbag on my black bed and going straight for the bathroom to turn on the bathwater. Three twirls of the golden knob and the water was streaming out of the tap and into the tub, piping hot.

  I looked at myself in the mirror. My face was flushed, and it wasn’t nearly hot enough outside to blame the heat for this. I was going through a whirlwind crisis, barely able to hang on to my sanity throughout it. I wasn’t able to hide that now that my emotions had chosen to manifest in my physical body.

  I gave myself a firm slap in the face, trying to shock myself back into a normal state. It didn’t work, only succeeding in making my cheek a bit darker pink. I sighed, waving a hand of dismissal at myself in the mirror and turning back to the bathtub.

  The water was filling up fast. I grabbed a bottle of shampoo and squirted some underneath the foaming stream of water. For lack of proper bubble bath, shampoo did in a pinch. I almost never actually had bubble bath because I rarely took baths. I spent so much time in the pool swimming, I didn’t much care for baths. It was like a pool that I couldn’t swim in. What was the point?

  I say that, but now I felt like having a bath. It was uncharacteristic, but summertime had brought with it some severe changes. I was opening up, changing things drastically in my life, and beginning to feel the warmth of life once again. I needed to experience things that I didn’t normally do so that I could figure out who I really was. Did I even know that?

  Obviously not, with how I was feeling about Atlas. I shook my head at my own thoughts, removing my clothes and returning to the mirror. I hadn’t really noticed the freckles on my breasts the way that Atlas had. I never thought much of myself, but he drew attention to the details. I found it intriguing that he noticed them.

  I looked at the freckles. I guess they were kind of cute. I could see why he liked them. I smiled at myself. I wasn’t so shabby either. I whirled back around just as the bathtub was about to overflow. I was mindless and easily distracted these days.

  I turned the knob to stop the water. Most bathtubs had a safety feature that would begin draining the water if it got past a certain level in the tub, but not this one. Expensive houses were built strangely. They didn’t follow regular conventions that your average house was built with in mind. They had different designers and different standards for them.

  I liked some aspects of that, but my bathtub wasn’t one of them. If I got in it now, water would spill off the sides. I reached down into the steaming depths of the
tub. The water was almost too hot to put my arm in, but not quite hot enough to burn my skin. I pulled the plug and let the water drain for a few seconds, mashing it back into place when I was satisfied with the new water level.

  I stood up and lifted my foot over the tub. I could already feel the heat of the water on the bottom of my foot as I hovered over it. I dipped my foot in, watching the bubbles form around my leg as I sunk into the tub. I lifted my other leg and put it in, then crouched down.

  As soon as the water hit my ass, I took a sharp breath in, letting it out deeply as I sunk my torso into the water. The tub was still filled up too high, and some of the water splashed over the sides. Fuck it.

  The water felt like it was cooking me alive, but my muscles relaxed into so nicely. I didn’t ever want to get out. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes. If I fell asleep and drowned, I wouldn’t even care.

  I think I must have fallen asleep, because I opened my eyes to find most of the bubbles gone and the water only lukewarm. My hairline was sweaty, and my toes looked like little raisins when I lifted them from the water. I laughed at myself and got out, feeling a bit woozy.

  I was just in time, because my father called me down for dinner just minutes after I had gotten dressed in a pair of sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt. I bounced down the steps, just as comfy as can be, and joined my father for dinner. Everything was going to be alright.

  Chapter 22

  A bridge is only capable of holding so much weight before it breaks.

  I decided that I needed to confront Atlas about my father’s new job. It was wonderful that we finally didn’t have to worry about money again, but I found it awfully strange that Atlas would do something so drastic after trying to get me to quit. If this was his way of getting me to quit, it defeated the purpose. He didn’t like my entire family, not just me.

  I avoided Jennifer for a while, ignoring texts and dodging her at school the next day. I didn’t even show up to swim practice, because I didn’t want to be made to explain myself before I had the whole story. I wouldn’t be able to put together something understandable for Jennifer if I didn’t understand it myself.