by Maya Nicole
"What does your mom think about all of this? Have you told her?" The pen stopped tapping and I looked up and met Mrs. Miller's concerned eyes. "Bullying is not okay, but we can't do anything if you don't tell us who is doing it."
I twisted my lips to the side and remained silent. I should have told her, but was nervous I'd have a mental breakdown if I rehashed everything. Would it even help? The Tritons ran the school.
After a tense minute of silence, I looked past her and out into the quad her office window overlooked. "Jax West, Blake Huron, and Morgan Wade."
If she was surprised, she didn't show it. "You should report every incident so myself or Mr. Lee can investigate. We checked the video footage, but there were technical issues." She opened her drawer and then slid a small pack of M&Ms across to me.
"Technical issues?" I stared at her, not believing for a second that the cameras just happened to be inoperable. "Even if I did report them, what good would that do? They're the Tritons."
I took the candy and opened it. I needed a king-size bag after this week. I closed my eyes as the chocolate melted on my tongue.
"Is that what they're calling themselves?" She snorted. "Do they realize they're calling themselves mermaids?"
I laughed along with her before my laughter faded and I played with the small wrapper in my hands. "My mom took everything and left. The police won't do anything until twenty-four hours after she told me she'd return."
I looked up through my eyelashes, and Mrs. Miller's eyebrows drew together. A deep frown slid into place, which made her look ten years older. "Your mother wouldn't leave you like that."
"I'm almost eighteen. I know she was pretty upset about the whole oil platform thing. Maybe it was too much." I tilted my head back and dumped the rest of the fun-sized bag into my mouth.
Mrs. Miller stood and went to a file cabinet and used a key on her lanyard to unlock it. She opened the bottom drawer and pulled a file from the back. She sat back down with a heavy sigh.
I swallowed the last of the chocolate and stared at the folder that looked like it had seen better days. "What's that?"
"I was a year ahead of your mother in high school. When I got a job here, I found this cleaning out the files. The counselor in this office before me kept everything. Forty years of everything." She opened the manila folder and took out a piece of paper. "It's a police report of an assault on Robert Kline by Finn West. Charges were dropped."
I reached forward and took it. "I saw in my mother's junior yearbook she was cozy with Finn, but she went to senior prom with my dad."
Mrs. Miller laced her fingers under her chin. "Your dad stole your mother from Finn. Finn and Natalia had been together since freshman year. They were the couple everyone was jealous of."
The police report didn't tell me much other than Finn West beat the shit out of my father at the beginning of senior year. "Why would Jax and his friends torment me for this though?"
"I'm not sure." There was a knock on the door and the head school resource officer walked in. "Riley, this is Officer Thomas. I want you to seek him out whenever you have trouble with those three."
I looked up at the officer and smiled. He didn't return the sentiment and crossed his arms over his chest. I stood and handed Mrs. Miller the police report.
"I should get back to class." I grabbed my bag. "I'll find Officer Thomas if they bother me again."
I took the late note she handed me and slipped past the officer, not liking how he looked at me. Why was everyone a dick when there was no reason to be?
English was almost halfway over by the time I showed up. As soon as I entered the room, whispers erupted and I tried not to let my anxiety show on my face. I scanned the room quickly and didn't see Blake.
Once I slid into my seat, Aiden reached across and patted my hand, giving me a look that said he was on my team. I was glad I had Aiden and Ivy by my side.
The Tritons were all absent from school, which was relieving but worrisome at the same time. Maybe they had admitted to vandalizing my car and were suspended. I was pretty certain that was where Jax had gone at the end of yearbook the day before.
We sat down in the cafeteria after much discussion of the pros and cons of entering gossip central. The Tritons weren't around and it was our opportunity to see the rest of our friends. We weren't a big group that hung out, but any extra support I could get was a win.
"I can't believe they're targeting you. They're a bunch of assholes." Piper had been the most excited to see us eat in the cafeteria after we had avoided it all week. She wasn't a stranger to being bullied herself and went through a rough patch in junior high.
"Hot assholes." Santina looked over her shoulder at their table. "I'm missing my daily eye-candy today."
I laughed because Santina was a lesbian. She swore it was because penises looked like they had the eye of Mordor.
"I've got some eye-candy right here." Alex elbowed her. "I don't see why they are so popular. They don't do anything except swim."
Ivy began ticking reasons off on her fingers. "They're rich, mysterious, have amazing bodies, and I hear they are amazing lovers."
A chip went down the wrong way and I coughed, tears springing to my eyes. All eyes were on me as I took a swig of Sprite and shook my head. "How can high schoolers possibly know what good sex is?" This wasn't a romance novel.
"If you have enough of it." Aiden looked to their table and put his cheek on his fist. "I bet Miles is an amazing lover."
"I do not need to hear about your sexual conquests." Alex laughed. "You're really thinking about going after him?"
"He asked me out." Aiden grinned and did a little finger wave to Miles, who was looking in our direction. "If he wants to test the waters and explore his sexuality with me, I'm fine with that."
I missed the lunch crew we ate with. It was yet another thing that had been missing from my life over the past few days. I needed to find normal again, or as close to normal as possible.
I'd never felt like I needed to hide away and never come out again, but the last several days it had been temping to just stop caring.
My day was really starting to look up, but then the three of them walked into the cafeteria and headed straight for our table.
"Fuck." Ivy stood and put herself between them and the table. My best friend was badass to her core.
"Move out of the way, Ariel-reject." Morgan glared around her at me. "Unless you want to be next."
If I could have seen her face, I'm sure she would have rolled her eyes. "Listen, fish boys, I don't know who you think you are-"
In the next second, Jax was around her and pulling me to my feet. "Come with us. Now." I didn't want my arm pulled off, so I stood.
The entire cafeteria had gone silent. Where the hell were the SROs? They should have been in the cafeteria doing their job. There were usually two during lunch that kept the peace.
"She isn't going anywhere with you." Aiden stood and pulled me away from Jax and put me behind him. "Go pick on someone else."
Jax narrowed his eyes. For a second, I thought a fight was going to break out, but then Jax backed up a step. "You'll regret this."
"I can't wait," Aiden deadpanned as they walked out of the cafeteria.
As soon as they were gone, the noise reached deafening levels, and I wanted to bury my head in the sand.
I sat back down and stared at my half-eaten food. "Thanks, guys. That was pretty-"
"Murderer. Murderer. Murderer." The chanting started from the far side of the cafeteria where the Tritons crew sat and got louder and louder.
My face was probably as red as Ivy's hair as I ran for the nearest exit. I'd rather run than have them see my cry.
I ran right into a brick wall of a body and almost fell back. "Officer Thomas. They-"
He laughed and shoved past me just before Ivy and Aiden came out of the cafeteria. I stood gaping as he walked into the cafeteria, the chanting filtering out and then cutting off as the door shut.
I
shut my eyes and held up a hand as Aiden started to talk. "I need to get out of here."
"We'll come with you." Ivy's voice was shaking.
"Alone."
I walked as fast as I could to the nearest bathroom and shut and locked the main door. I didn't hear anyone inside and a sob escaped me.
I needed to find my father.
"Come on, Riley. Please don't lock yourself away like this." Ivy stood at the end of my bed where I was curled under the covers. "They want to break you, but you can't let them."
"Easy for you to say, they haven't done shit to you." My words were muffled by the pillow my face was buried in.
"Ivy's right." Aiden laid down next to me and yanked the comforter and pillow away from me. "When I came out in junior high, do you remember what happened?"
I rubbed my swollen eyes. "Yes."
"I could have locked myself back in my closet, but instead, I embraced it, and soon enough only a few assholes were calling me a faggot." Aiden stroked my hair. "So let's get you dressed and looking fierce. We'll show those idiots that you are a queen."
I snorted back a laugh. "I'm scared."
Ivy came out of my closet and threw two hangers on the bed. "What's the worst they could do? If they were going to physically hurt you, they would have already."
"Even the police are on their side." I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth. "They could murder me and get away with it."
I had fallen headfirst down a deep, dark hole of what-ifs when I got home from school. I was letting them win instead of putting a stop to their madness. It wasn’t like I had a choice in the matter. It was three against one.
"No." Aiden stood and took a red lace bra from Ivy. "Jax has kissed you twice. He might hate you for whatever reason, but that boy desires you."
I scrunched my nose and sat up. "It's all just a game."
"Then beat him at his game. Go after one of his friends." Aiden laughed and twirled the bra around his finger. "Turn them against each other."
"You want me to seduce one of them?" I couldn't help it, I laughed at that. "It's not a bad idea, though. Maybe I can get some information out of one of them."
Ivy practically skipped over to the bed and grabbed my hands, yanking me to my feet. "You can ask Morgan to dance with you and give Jax a show he won't forget!"
"I don't know... that will probably make the situation worse, won't it?" I snatched the bra from Aiden as it almost hit me.
"Maybe, but he'll also be pissed at Morgan." Ivy ushered me into the bathroom. "Take a shower and we'll do your hair and make-up."
"This isn't one of those high school dramas you like to watch. Besides, I literally have no sex appeal."
"Honey, I'm gay, and I even know that is false. Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean others don't." Aiden plopped down on the bed and pulled out his phone. "Now hurry up, you hussy, we have men to seduce."
My common sense told me going to the senior bonfire to flirt with Morgan was a bad idea, but if I could distract him, there might be an opportunity to get information out of him. And maybe Ivy and Aiden were right. Maybe they would turn against each other.
It wouldn't hurt to try.
Chapter Nine
The parking lot for the cove was almost full by the time we arrived. The town of Salinity Cove got its name from the crescent-shaped inlet that was sheltered from the wind and provided a private setting for shenanigans.
It was surrounded by cliffs, and the only way to get to it was through a three-foot wide path. During the day, it was a hotspot for families looking to escape the world for a bit, but at night, teenagers and young adults used it to party.
It was a tradition in our town to have bonfires most Fridays during football season. There was always alcohol and teenagers in compromising positions. It wasn't my scene, but it was where the Tritons hung out.
Aiden took my arm as we neared the path between the rocks that led to the beach. Melissa and a guy named Jacob stood at the entrance with their arms crossed over their chests.
"Are they supposed to be security?" Aiden snorted and stopped when Melissa blocked our path.
She looked me up and down before pulling out her phone to text something. I didn't need to see it to know she had just told the Tritons I had arrived.
"Can you move?" Ivy put a hand on her hip and glared at Melissa. "We don't live in Riverdale."
I laughed at the comparison. Ivy reminded me of Cheryl Blossom with her red hair and feisty, no bullshit attitude.
Melissa looked at her phone again. "You two can go in, but this one can't." She pointed to me and smirked. "Tritons’ orders."
"Let's go, guys." I turned to walk away and ran straight into Jax.
Jax had his hands shoved in his jeans and his dark blue button-down shirt was rolled up to his elbows. He looked like he was going to a cocktail party or a happy hour, not a bonfire at the cove.
"What's the problem here?" His blue eyes sliced into me and left me feeling filleted open. He was so unbelievably gorgeous with his sharp jaw and five o'clock shadow that I almost forgot who he was.
"Your enforcers here aren't letting me on a public beach." I backed up a step because the woody citrus smell of his cologne was about to make me drool.
His head tilted to the side and his eyes moved down my body. My hair was down and curled to perfection by Aiden. It was longer than I usually liked, falling just below my shoulder blades, but he had trimmed the ends to make it not feel as weighed down. My make-up was simple, but Ivy had insisted on a deep red lip gloss that made my lips look amazing.
Even I had to admit I looked hot.
"Let her in." Jax brushed past me and disappeared down the path.
We got to the bottom of the path and took in the shoreline, lined with bonfires and high school students laughing, dancing, and making out. We walked across the sand toward the biggest bonfire.
"He's already spotted you," Aiden said in my ear. "It's those pants. They hug your curves like a second skin."
I stopped, and Aiden and Ivy gave me questioning stare. "I don't know if I can do this."
The whole thing felt sleazy to me and was begging for something to go wrong. I never flaunted my body unless I was dancing. It wasn't that I was embarrassed with the curve of my hips or the roundness of my ass, but I didn't want to be objectified by horny teenage boys.
"Sure you can. You're already doing it without even trying. Honestly, I'm surprised you owned a pair of jeans that fit you this tight." He smacked my ass playfully as we started walking again. "Just turn on your inner siren."
I rolled my eyes and pulled at my black long-sleeve top that had a deep V-neckline showing a hint of my red lace bra. It was sending the wrong message, but to get their attention maybe that was what I needed. "My mom bought me these pants."
"Well, your mom is a smart woman. She knows a well-dressed tush is all you need to make that push." Aiden and Ivy separated from me as we stepped into the throng of partiers.
There were three bonfires spread out along the beach of the cove and most had music blaring and alcohol flowing. I spotted the Tritons, surrounded by their crew and a gaggle of girls dressed in skirts, shorts, and bikini tops that left little to the imagination.
I was way too overdressed.
Jax already had a girl on his lap and met my eyes from the other side of the flames. He looked like he wasn't having the greatest time, but a second later he was kissing the girl's neck as she threw her head to the side and giggled.
Blake had a girl on either side of him, his arms wrapped around their waists. He let one of them pour a shot in his mouth and tipped his head back. He was dressed in sweatpants and a white t-shirt that showed how powerful his upper body was. He was dressed like he didn't give a shit, or he just knew that he could wear lederhosen and girls would still fall at his feet.
Morgan was standing near the fire with his arms crossed, chatting with Miles, one of the other top swimmers of the school. If the Tritons weren't around, Miles would have b
een the top swimmer. I didn't quite understand why he'd asked Aiden out. He’d had a girlfriend at the end of junior year.
Morgan looked like he had just gone to a biker rally. He wore distressed dark jeans, leather boots, and a tight black shirt under a leather jacket.
Jax's eyes narrowed the closer I walked to the bonfire. A wave of confidence washed over me knowing he was watching me. He stood as I stopped next to Morgan.
"I'll only race that asshole if he lets us examine his bike first. Last time he almost beat me and I'm pretty sure he had a mod on it." Morgan still had his attention on Miles, but as soon as Miles looked at me, he turned his head. "Can I help you?"
His eyes landed on my lips before moving down to my chest and then down the rest of my body. I slipped my hands in my back pockets, making my chest more prominent.
You can do this.
"I want to dance." I parted my lips slightly and wet my lips. Morgan's eyes moved back to them.
"You want to dance?" He uncrossed his arms and turned toward me. He looked over my shoulder and then a grin spread across his face. "Okay, vixen. Let's dance."
Vixen was better than murderer.
He led me to where a mass of bodies was dancing. He pulled me flush against him and we began swaying to the music. It wasn't like on the ballroom floor when we could actually move our feet; we were limited because of the sand.
He put his mouth against my ear over my hair. "Jax is going to kick my ass. I hope you appreciate me sticking my neck out like this."
"Consider it repentance for all the shit you've done to me." I slipped my arms around his neck and tried to keep my body from touching his without much luck. "Where'd you learn to dance?"
"I told you. YouTube." He smirked. "You can learn anything off there."
I rolled my eyes and he moved his hands right above my back pockets. "Where were you three today?"
"Aren't we nosy?" His eyes sparkled in the firelight. I couldn't stop my stomach from fluttering. "We were dealing with some oil spill aftermath."
My stomach turned sour and I tried backing away, but he tightened his hold on me. "Let me go."