Looking up, I find three sets of eyes staring right at me, amused smirks playing on all their lips. Narrowing my eyes, I try to figure out what the hell’s going on but before I get a chance to do anything, more eyes turn my way. My cheeks burn with everyone’s attention on me.
“Class,” the teacher snaps. “Pay attention. I’ll be taking these in and grading them once the bell rings.”
The majority of students turn back around and continue writing but a couple of the guys apparently find me much more interesting and their eyes stay on me. My skin prickles uncomfortably as their eyes run over me, checking me out.
The second the bell goes, I grab my paper, slam it down on the teacher’s desk and attempt to get the hell out of there. Sadly, someone calls my name right before I make my escape. Turning to look over my shoulder, I find the amused eyes of one of the guys who was just staring at me. “You free this lunchtime? I could really do with a little release.”
Students surrounding him splutter with laughter and a couple of his mates slap him on the shoulder, jostling him forward.
My brows draw together but the moment his eyes drop to take in my body once again, I run from the room. This is the exact kind of attention I was hoping to avoid.
Seeing as I’d promised Camila last week that I wouldn’t spend my spare time hiding in the library, I head toward the cafeteria to meet her.
The second I step foot inside, silence descends as almost every head in the room turns to look at me.
What the fuck is going on?
“There she is,” I hear a familiar voice say from behind me and when I turn, I find Camila running toward me. “Are you okay?” Her eyes are wide and she looks manic.
“Yeah... why? What’s going on?”
“Have you checked your phone in the last ten minutes?”
“No, why?”
“Hey, Brit. How much do you charge for thirty minutes?” a male voice calls.
“Fuck. We need to get out of here.”
“What the hell is going on?” I ask again. Camila looks up at me, her face tight with anger.
“Not here. Come on.”
Her fingers thread through mine and she pulls until I fall into step behind her. Stares follow our every move and catcalls and random questions about my prices fill the hallway.
When she tugs me through the entrance to the library, I know things must be bad. She refused to allow me to hide in here anymore, yet here she is dragging me toward the back of the room to do exactly that.
“You need to start talking.”
“Okay, so…” she hesitates, bouncing from foot to foot and worrying her hands in front of her.
“Camila, just spit it out.” I want to say that I’ve probably already lived through worse this year, but I push any thoughts of my parents from my head.
“There’s this photo that’s basically been sent to every student in the school.”
“Right?” Wishing she’d just get to the fucking point, I gesture for her to continue.
“It looks like it’s you.” She pulls her phone from her pocket and holds it up for me to see.
“What the…” My words trail off as I snatch it from her hand and stare down at the girl’s head in the photo.
I know exactly when it was taken, I guess I could say I was there at the time but the top of the head I can see is most definitely not me.
“It’s from Dash,” I whisper.
“You’re telling me that is you?” Camila’s eyes widen to the point they might pop out of her head.
“No, that is not me with Jake’s cock in my mouth.”
“I didn’t think so. Hang on, how do you know that’s Jake in the photo?”
Letting my back hit the wall, I lower myself down until my arse touches the floor. Camila follows my move and is soon staring at me waiting for answers.
“I went into the trees for a pee.”
She winces, realising that this is all a result of her ‘joke.’
“I did my thing and on the way back I stumbled across Jake and some cheer hussy on her knees. That’s her in the picture.”
“Her hair’s darker.”
“It’s not hard to edit that on Photoshop, Cam.”
“Shit.”
“Show it to me again.” Reluctantly, she hands her phone over and I stare down at it. “You remember what I was wearing that night?”
“Of course, jeans and a t-shirt.”
“You can see the skin of her shoulder under her hair. I was wearing a black t-shirt.”
“Doesn’t mean you couldn’t have taken it off in a moment of passion.”
“Wait, you’re accusing me now?”
“What? No. I was just pointing out what everyone else will say. I knew this wasn’t you the moment I saw it. I didn’t know it was Jake, but even still, I didn’t think you’d got that close to anyone since you arrived.”
“Damn right I haven’t and I intend on it staying that way, and I’m certainly not selling it like this suggests.” I read the text again. Brit sucks your crown jewels for a bargain price, and then my fucking phone number.
I daren’t pull it out of my bag and find out just how many horny guys think they’re going to get lucky.
“This is a fucking nightmare. Why would he do this?” Camila asks, taking her phone back so I don’t have to keep looking at it.
“Because he never loses.”
Dropping my head into my hands, I focus on my breathing. How the hell am I meant to go out there and hold my head up high. Every student in the building thinks I’m a slut who drops to her knees for money and no amount of denying it is going to work. It’s my word against his, their king. I stand no fucking chance.
“What classes do you have this afternoon?”
My head spins just thinking about what’s going to happen when I step foot out of the safety of the library. “I’ve no idea but I’m pretty sure that whatever they are, that I’m not going to be in them.”
“You’re gonna skip?”
“What do you suggest I do?”
She shrugs. “You’ll look guilty if you run from this.”
“Let’s be honest here, they’ll all think I’m guilty no matter what. I could climb up on the school roof and plead my innocence and no one would hear a word. Jake Thorn rules this school and if he says I’m a whore, then that’s what I’m going to be.”
“You’re going to let him win, just like that?”
“For now, yeah. Not sure what else I can do.”
“This is bullshit.”
“You’re telling me.” A laugh falls from my lips but there’s no amusement in it.
22
Jake
My need for revenge as I walked away from the pool dripping fucking wet was all-consuming. I managed to ignore the fact my cock was rock fucking hard after being pressed against her soft but toned body under the water and focused on my need to ruin her. She doesn’t get to call the shots around here, that’s my job and if she thinks she can humiliate me, even if it’s only in front of Poppy, then she’s got another thing coming.
Swinging the door open on my trailer, I stormed inside, my muscles still screaming after my workout and I head straight for the shower, my mind running a mile a minute trying to come up with how I’m going to end her.
In the end, I gave up brainstorming and pulled out what was left in the bottle of vodka Poppy gave me the other day and a fresh joint I stole from Ethan and lit it up.
The alcohol and weed running through my system helped to relax me, but the images of her wet body were still front and center of my mind.
Needing someone else to be the reason for my constant hard-on, I pulled out my phone and flicked through some of the photos I’d taken over the previous months. Some totally innocent, others not so much and it was those I needed. Faceless girls, soft curves and hot little mouths. That’s what I need right now.
If I hit call on the right number, I’ve no doubt I could meet one in only minutes and get exactly what she’s lef
t my body craving.
I’m scrolling through the photos when one catches my eyes. It takes me a moment to remember when it’s from. The head full of blonde hair as she quite obviously sucks on me is all I can see of her. My breath catches as the wrong blonde girl pops into my mind. My veins fill with lava just thinking about her and the effect she has on me.
Opening up my messages, I forward it to someone I know can help.
Can you Photoshop this chick’s hair so it’s a much lighter blonde.
The three little dots appear immediately.
Give me five.
Taking another swig straight from the bottle, I place my phone on my thigh and wait. It lights up in half the time he said and the result staring back at me is perfect. My cock weeps at the thought of it being the Brit on her knees choking on my cock.
I save the image and wait until the perfect time. I want to be around to witness the fallout and that won’t be possible while I’m hiding out in this shithole that I call home.
Knowing the image is sitting on my cell is fucking torture. I almost hit send a million times before school the next morning, but I know it’ll be pointless. I want to see her face when everyone thinks it’s her. The thought of seeing her pain and embarrassment has my mouth watering and my muscles twitching. It’s exactly what I need to settle the angry beast that’s festering inside me.
“Mr. Thorn, where do you think you’re going?”
“I’ve got shit to do,” I shout over my shoulder as I head for the classroom door, leaving the rest of my classmates completing their task like good little children.
“You can’t just walk off —”
The door slams behind me, cutting off whatever it was that she was going to say.
Walking into the deserted lunchroom, a couple of the ladies laying out lunch look up at me, but no one questions me. Sitting on top of our usual table, I pull my phone from my pocket along with the new SIM I picked up on the way here this morning. I spent most of first period loading it with all the numbers I’d need, thanks to Ethan handing over his own phone at my demand. He has the number of everyone worth knowing so I know this will hit as I intend. Plus, gossip goes around this place like wildfire on the best of days so I’ve no doubt that those whose numbers we don’t have will have it forwarded to them. No one likes missing out on the latest Rosewood drama.
I quickly slip my usual one out and replace it with the new one. I’m fairly certain that everyone is going to know this has come from me, but I thought it probably best not to be totally blatant about it.
Opening up my messages, I find the image and select send to all. My thumb hovers over the send button. A moment of doubt hitting me, making me reconsider what I’m about to do to her but I picture the reason for all this. The woman who ruined me, Brit might not be her, not by a million years, but she stands for the same thing. She’s from the same world and that’s enough for me.
With anger beginning to fill my veins once again as I think about the poor little boy she abandoned, I tap the button. A shiver runs down my spine as realization of what I’ve just done hits me. If she didn’t hate me already, then she will after this. Hopefully then she’ll stay as far away from me as fucking possible and I can attempt to continue with my bullshit life.
Even though everyone’s still in class, I start getting replies almost immediately and it’s when I get my first inkling that this might have been a massive mistake.
She can suck on me anytime she likes.
Shit, I’m hard just looking, man.
Come to daddy.
My stomach knots at the thought of her touching someone else. Of someone else’s fingers gripping her hair tightly as they fuck her mouth. I know the photo isn’t actually of her, she’ll know the truth too, but my guy did such a good job that everyone else will believe it’s her. I know for a fact that the guys won’t be looking that closely at the photo to spot any obvious issues.
Jesus. I’m so fucked.
My hands tremble slightly as I pull the new SIM from the back of my phone and shove it deep in my pocket, hoping that I’ll be able to shove the memories of those replies down with it. It’s only a few minutes later that the ruckus of students leaving classrooms and heading this way filters through the mostly silent cafeteria.
No one pays me any attention as they come piling in, they’re too busy chatting with their friends or more importantly, staring at their phones and showing it to the people they’re with.
My fists clench and my muscles burn knowing exactly what they’re looking at and exactly what the guys are feeling as they do. They’re picturing her with her full red lips wrapped around their cocks.
My heart pounds in my chest and my teeth grind with my need to walk over to every guy who thinks they’re staring at my Brit.
My Brit.
“Fuck this shit.” Jumping from the table I’m sitting on, I storm toward the exit before the rest of the team or cheerleaders appear. The last thing I need is them trying to dig into what’s wrong with me. As if I have a fucking clue. I’d like to know why I’m so screwed up just as much as they do.
23
Amalie
I just about manage to keep the mask on my face until I step through the front door. Thankfully, Gran’s out so she’s not there to witness my meltdown the second I slam the door behind me.
“Motherfucker,” I scream, my voice shaky with emotion that’s bubbling up from the stress of the past hour.
How can he manipulate that photo to make everything think that’s me? He’s the fucking whore out of the two of us, not that anyone would ever look at him badly for his escapades.
My chest heaves as I suck in deep breaths and I desperately try to calm down. He doesn’t deserve my tears.
I get myself a glass of water before heading toward my room. One look at the photo of my parents on my nightstand and the tears I’d banished instantly fill my eyes once again.
Perching my arse on the edge of the bed, I reach for the frame and run my finger over my mum’s flawless face.
“Oh Mum,” I sob. I’m fairly sure that no matter how much time passes, there are always going to be moments like these that all I need is a hug from her. I need the reassuring words that only a mother can give to tell me that everything’s going to be okay. That I’m not about to become even more of a social outcast than I was already by being publicly humiliated by the school’s bad boy.
What would she tell me to do? I wonder as I continue staring at the photograph. My dad would probably be threatening to go to his house and knock him into next week for treating his baby so badly, while my mum simultaneously calmed him down and supported me. Her reaction would be much less dramatic, telling me not to allow one boy to make me think less of myself when he’s the one who should be embarrassed by his actions. She’d tell me that I’m better, stronger than this and to go out there with my head held high and allow people to think what they like because I know the truth.
It all sounds so good in my head but in reality, I want to hide and never show my face in that school again. I know that photo that’s currently doing the rounds isn’t of me, but everyone thinks it is.
Trying to shake the image of what I’ve left behind in the canteen from my head, I pull out a bikini top and a pair of shorts and head into the bathroom. If I’m going to spend the rest of the day hiding, then I might as well get a bit of a tan at the same time.
Grabbing my book and water, I leave my phone deep inside my bag, not wanting to even look at the kinds of messages I’ve probably received.
The only bit of the garden that’s still in the sun is right at the bottom, so after dragging one of Gran’s comfortable loungers down, I settle myself in the warm rays and try to block out the world.
I’m lost in my book and just as things are about to get interesting, the strangest noise hits my ears. It’s almost as if someone’s acting out the goings-on in my book with the heavy breathing and grunting that seems to be coming from the trees behind me.
&nb
sp; Trying to ignore it, I go back to my book, but I can’t block it out and end up re-reading the same sentence three times.
I sit there for a few more minutes but when the sounds continue, my curiosity gets the better of me. Putting my book down, I head toward the trees. This place is a kid’s heaven, I can imagine all the dens that have been built down here over the years, it’s almost a shame that most of the houses that run along the thick undergrowth are old people’s homes.
My heart races as I descend farther into the shadows and I start thinking that this is probably the stupidest thing I’ve done in a while. I’m either about to stumble across a couple going at it or some ax murderer is going to finish me off. That would sure be a dramatic end to Jake and his stupid photo.
The panting continues and just when I’m convinced that I’m going to find a couple of teenagers stealing a moment of passion, I stumble across the real reason for the noise.
My eyes widen and my body stiffens as I watch a half naked, sweaty Jake pull his chin up to a tree branch above his head.
“Ugh,” he grunts as he manages it, before lowering back down and repeating.
It might be dark in here with only a little sunlight filtering through the leaves above but the sweat running down his back glistens before soaking into his waistband that’s sitting low on his hips.
My stomach twists and tingles fill my entire body. I want to say it’s anger, this boy’s got his heart set on ruining my life but I fear what I’m feeling right now is more than that.
I should turn to leave, he’d be none the wiser that I was even here but my body refuses to move.
My eyes stay locked on him as he pulls himself up so his chin hits the branch a few more times before he lets go with a growl and drops to the ground. Sticks snap and leaves rustle where his feet land.
I hold my breath, afraid of what’s going to happen when he turns and finds me because it’s inevitable.
THORN: A High School Bully Romance (Rosewood Book 1) Page 11