Revenge: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Longhorn Academy Dark Bully Romance Book 2)

by Amy Brown

  I swallow. “You threatened Luke first.” I hate that my voice shakes. I don’t want him seeing that he scares me.

  He leans toward me. “Bitch, you touch one hair on my mom’s head, and I’ll murder you.”

  My anger rises again. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

  He blinks at me, still angry, but a little taken aback.

  “You think you have the right to oust me from this school, and go after my brother, simply because you don’t like me?” I sound breathless. “I’m not leaving, and you’re going to call off your dogs.”

  “I don’t think so,” he snaps.

  “Then get ready for a shit storm of epic proportions, asshole.” I inch toward him, gripping my phone. “Unless you want your family name dragged through the mud, back off.”

  He surprises me when he lunges forward, grabbing me by the front of my shirt. He tugs me against him hard, and I grunt. “Stop hinting, and tell me what you have on my mom.”

  I hold his gaze, unflinching. “Let go of me.”

  He smirks, his eyes dropping to my mouth. “But you love it when I touch you, remember?”

  “Let me go, Mason,” I hiss. He does, and I step back, smoothing my palm over my shirt. “Jesus, you’re a Neanderthal sometimes.”

  He crosses his arms, and studies me. “I’m losing patience. You should have transferred out already. Tell me why I shouldn’t destroy Luke.”

  “Because if you do, I’ll destroy your mom. It’s very simple.” I open my phone, and scroll to the photos and videos stored on my phone. Then I press play, and watch the blood drain from his face.

  His jaw clenches as the video plays. His mom is clearly drunk, and terrified of being arrested. She begs over and over not to tell her husband, Mason, or the police, and she starts crying. Frankly, I feel sick listening to her pleading, and when the video ends, a thick silence falls between us.

  He avoids my gaze, and I can see he has trouble controlling his emotions. Finally, he says, “You’d hurt her by sharing that? She actually liked you, and you’d do that to her?”

  Guilt ripples through me, even as I know I’m just trying to protect Luke. “I just want you to back off. I have no desire to hurt your mom.”

  “But you’d like to hurt me,” he says softly.

  “No more than you want to hurt me,” I growl. “Don’t act innocent here. You started this entire mess. You came after me and my brother. What am I supposed to do, just let you bully us?”

  His gaze is chilled. “You don’t belong here.”

  “You don’t get to decide that.”

  “You’re wrong.”

  I scowl. “I’m not going to argue with you. Will you call off your people, or do I have to damage your mom?” I hesitate. “I don’t want to, Mason. I like her and she isn’t my problem. You are. You and you’re arrogant fucking friends are everyone’s problem.”

  He sneers. “You think you’re the savior of the little people?”

  “No. But they seem to think so.”

  “Don’t act humble.” He grabs my arm, digging his fingers into my skin. “You love it. You love the attention.”

  “Who are you to talk? You’re a gigantic attention whore.”

  “I deserve to be worshipped.” He smirks, letting go of me. “You’re trailer trash and you always will be. What’s that saying? You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig?”

  My face heats. “And yet, you can’t get enough of me.”

  His jaw tenses. “I’ve had more than enough of you, bitch. So much so, I want you gone from this school.”

  I hold up my phone. “Well, unless you want your mom humiliated, you’ll have to put up with me a bit longer.”

  “So now I’m supposed to kiss your ass? Pretend I like you? Are The Elites supposed to accept you into the group?”

  I laugh. “God no. I want nothing to do with The Elites. I plan on destroying you all, one by one. You should have taken my offer the other day. The one where I promised to fall on my sword if you’d spare Luke, and let you guys do whatever you wanted. Instead, you were arrogant, and now you’ll all pay.”

  His face twitches, and I think for one second he might hit me, but instead he clenches his jaw, and says, “I want that video. If I agree to this, I want that video, so I can destroy it.”

  “Hell no. Then I have nothing to protect Luke with.”

  He raises his brows. “You don’t trust my word?”

  I laugh humorlessly. “What do you think, Mason?”

  “I can’t have that video surfacing because you get your period, and decide to go on a rampage against me.”

  Scowling, I shake my head. “That comment alone shows what a misogynist asshole you are. Women are nothing to you but a pussy. You’re disgusting.”

  “I respect women. Some women. You’re not one of them.”

  “You don’t respect anybody. None of The Elites do. That’s why you need to go.”

  “So you can take over? You’re no different than us. You just want to be the one calling the shots.”

  “Bullshit. I want everyone to treat each other with respect.”

  “Is that why those guys beat the shit out of me the other night? They kept quoting your words. Were they trying to respect me with their fists?”

  “That’s your own fault. A lot of these kids are filled with years of rage at being treated like dirt. If you want respect from the kids, you’ll need to change.”

  He curls his lip. “Nah. I like how I am. You can all go fuck yourselves.”

  Anger surges in me. “Do we have a deal or not? Talking to you is a waste of time.”

  “We have a deal.” His eyes glitter with malice. “For now.”

  “If anything happens to Luke, anything at all, I’ll release this video.” I do my best not to wince at the wave of hatred radiating off of him.

  “Got it.”

  “Okay then.” I hesitate, unsure how to end this bizarre meeting. I’ve never blackmailed anyone before.

  He stares at me in silence for a moment, then mumbles, “Watch your back, Charity.” He moves past me, slamming his shoulder into mine.

  I wince, and rub my throbbing arm, staring after him resentfully. Mason can’t be trusted. I know he’s already trying to think of a way to hurt me. Maybe for now Luke is safe, but I don’t feel very secure. The level of hate in his eyes makes my stomach hurt. This is all so unfair. All I did was transfer into this school. The Elites came after me, and now my life is nothing but skirmishes and looking over my shoulder constantly.

  Maybe I should just transfer to Pine View High. Perhaps making new friends would be easier than putting up with The Elites every day. But even as the thought crosses my mind, I refuse to give in. I’ll be damned if I’ll allow those pampered pricks to drive me out. They can go fuck themselves. I’m here to stay.

  ****

  When I get home, Luke is in the kitchen making popcorn with Mom. Fred is away on business, and it’s just the three of us for a few days. I love Fred, and I thank God every day he fell in love with Mom, but it’s nice just having the three amigos together again. Especially since we don’t have to worry about the power being turned off, or being evicted. We can just enjoy our time together.

  “Hey, kiddo,” I say, ruffling Luke’s blond curls.

  He smiles, and pops a piece of popcorn into his mouth. “We’re going to watch Mystery Men. Want to join us?”

  I haven’t spent enough time with Luke lately. I’ve been so consumed with fighting Mason, and trying to think of a way to protect Luke, I’ve neglected him. “I’d love to pig out on popcorn and watch a movie with you guys.”

  Mom laughs. “I thought for sure you’d say you had too much homework.”

  I grimace. “I do have too much homework, but I want to spend some time with my two favorite peeps.”

  “Yay!” Luke hugs me.

  I hold my little brother, emotions making my eyes tear. Thank God, I was able to protect him. I thought for a minute there, Mason wo
uld win. I still feel horrible about threatening his mom, but I did what I had to. I’ll never release that video, unless Mason does something to Luke.

  Once the popcorn is done, we head into the media room. Fred has a huge flat screen TV mounted, even though he rarely watches TV. There are surround sound speakers installed around the room, and plenty of comfortable seating. We put our feet up, and search through the thousands of movies available for streaming. Luke finds Mystery Men, and we sit back to watch the movie.

  I’ve seen this movie many times, so I zone a bit, watching my brother. It’s nice to hear Luke’s laughter. He didn’t have enough happiness growing up, and he’s definitely in a better place now. He’s made so many friends, and he’s just a more cheerful kid these days. That was why I was willing to do what I did to keep him safe.

  Mom is happier too. She used to be moodier because she worked constantly. I’d have been moody too with all the stress she shouldered for years. But these days she’s almost carefree. Meeting Fred truly did change our lives. He’s turned out to be every bit as nice as I hoped he’d be. For a long time, I worried there were horrible things about him that might be revealed as time went on, but so far, Fred is wonderful. Maybe one day I’ll discover he’s actually a serial killer, who buries his victims in the basement, but so far, he’s been great.

  When the movie ends, Luke sighs. “This was fun.”

  “Yeah.” I smile.

  He stretches. “We should make it a regular thing.”

  “That would be amazing.” I study him. “How’s school lately?”

  “Really great.” He brightens. “I’m having the best time. Who knew school could be fun?”

  Mom sips her soda. “Didn’t you say there was one kid giving you a hard time?”

  I still. “What?”

  Luke gives mom a dirty look. “I told you not to say anything. Charity worries too much about things like that.”

  Uneasiness ripples through me, but I try not to show it. “Who was this kid?”

  Luke groans. “He was nobody. It was nothing. There was this one kid who started shit talking me yesterday, but he just disappeared. He’s probably off bullying some other kid.”

  My heart starts to pound. Was that kid the one Mason had coerced to go after Luke? Or was it just some random bully? There are plenty of them out there. “What did he say to you?”

  Luke shrugs. “I barely remember. My other friends stood up for me.”

  “Really?” My heart squeezes with relief.

  “Yeah. They yelled at the guy. He didn’t seem to care, but then today he wasn’t around, so I guess it worked.”

  Or threatening Mason worked.

  If that kid was sent by Mason, I stopped him just in time. Jesus, Mason really was going to go through with it? Was that just a coincidence? Relief wars with uneasiness. He said this wasn’t over. I can only hope he leaves Luke out of it the next time he comes after me. I have no doubt there will be a next time too.

  My phone buzzes, and when I glance at the screen it’s a number I don’t recognize. I answer, and am surprised to hear Patrick’s voice.

  “Hey, Charity, it’s me, Patrick.” He sounds unsure of himself.

  “Hi. I recognized your voice.”

  “Did you?” He sounds pleased. “Hopefully that’s a good sign.”

  A good sign for what?

  He clears his throat. “I was wondering, would you want to grab coffee this evening?”

  My gut reaction is no. I’m not sure I want to get involved with Patrick, or anyone right now. It doesn’t matter how nice he is, my emotions are still a confused mess because of Mason. I may hate him, but it’s more complicated than that.

  “Umm…” I laugh. “Tonight?”

  “Is this too short of notice?” His voice is soft.

  He’s so nice, I hate disappointing him, and say quickly, “Sure. Why not?” Why did I do that? Now he probably thinks I like him, and I’ll end up having to hurt him anyway.

  Ugh.

  “Really?” There’s a smile in his voice. “Great.

  At least I like him as a person. He’s attractive too. If I wasn’t still confused about my feelings for Mason, I’d probably be into Patrick. But my love/hate relationship with Mason is all consuming at the moment. One minute I hate him, the next minute I want him. I have a grudging respect for what a bastard Mason is. He’s skilled at turning things on me, and it’s exhilarating when I thwart him and get him instead. I didn’t know that was something that I’d find appealing. Mason has taught me a lot about myself. Not all of it pleasant.

  “What’s a good time for you?’ he asks.

  “I have homework, so maybe 8 o’clock?” I grimace. “Is that too late?”

  “No, that’s perfect.” I have a feeling even if it wasn’t, Patrick would say it was. He’s definitely a nice guy, especially compared to Mason. But then again, who isn’t? “You said the other night you don’t have your license yet. Shall I pick you up?”

  “Sure,” I say.

  “Awesome. I’ll see you at 8 o’clock.”

  When I get off the phone, Mom and Luke are both watching me, grinning. “What?” My face warms.

  “Got a hot date?” Luke laughs.

  “Not really. It’s just coffee.”

  “With Mason?” Mom asks, smiling.

  “No.” I frown. “It’s a guy named Patrick. I met him the other night. He’s much nicer than Mason.”

  Frowning, Mom says, “Oh.” I’m sure she’s confused by why I’m so ambivalent about Mason. Since she doesn’t know any of the bad stuff he’s done, she has it in her head we’re friends. But I’ve been so negative about him, she’s understandably puzzled.

  I stand, preparing to go to my room. Luke has turned on the Xbox and is about to start playing Fortnite. Mom follows me out of the room, and before I can escape upstairs, she stops me.

  “How’s Mason’s mom?” she asks.

  I have no idea how she is. I’ve been too busy blackmailing Mason to ask about her. But I have to say something. “She’s fine.”

  “Is she going to seek help?” There’s a line between her brows. “I’m not comfortable just dropping this if she isn’t going to do something about her drinking. It might endanger the lives of others.”

  I’m not sure what Olivia Johnson has planned. I can’t ask Mason either. If I ask about her, he’ll think that’s some sort of veiled threat. I decide lying is my only option. “Mason said she’s talking to a professional.”

  Mom sighs, looking relieved. “Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried.”

  “No need. It’s being handled.” God, why do lies roll off my tongue so easily these days? Olivia truly does need to seek help. She’s going to end up hurting herself, or someone else, if she doesn’t get her drinking under control.

  I continue up the stairs to my room, and I shower. I let my hair air dry, rub on a CC cream, and I flick on some black mascara. I’m not going to get super dressed up, but I do want to look nice for later. I sit down on my bed, and study until it’s time to go downstairs to meet Patrick.

  He’s exactly on time. It’s not lost on me that Mom is hovering when the doorbell rings. I guess I can’t blame her for being curious. When I open the door, Patrick looks striking in a white dress shirt and jeans.

  “Come in,” I say. Mom will go nuts if I don’t introduce her. “Mom, this is Patrick.”

  They shake hands, and Patrick’s eyes are warm as he greets Mom. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Ballard, or is it Cartwright?”

  “Either works, but I’d prefer you call me Gloria.”

  “Oh, okay.” He looks uncomfortable at the idea. That’s a distinct contrast between how Mason was only too happy to use my mom’s first name. Just one more example of how arrogant he is.

  “What are you kids up to tonight?” she asks. She already knows it’s a coffee date, I guess it’s just something to say.

  “I thought we could go by Smarties Coffee, to sit and talk.” He grimaces. “It was hard t
o talk at the party because it was so loud. I’d like to learn more about Charity.”

  What a mature response. Mason would never have been that eloquent.

  “Yeah. The music was crazy loud.” I smile. “Well, shall we go?”

  “It was nice meeting you, Mrs.—er—Gloria,” Patrick says.

  “Same,” she responds, giving me an approving wink. Of course she likes Patrick. He’s just the kind of guy any parent would want their daughter to bring home.

  Patrick opens the door for me on his black BMW sports car. Then he hurries around to the driver’s side, and slides behind the wheel. The new car smell is nice, and it mingles with his citrusy cologne. The car purrs to life, and we head down the lane.

  “Paula says you used to go to Longhorn Academy.” I study his angular profile, once again thinking how attractive he is. His blond hair brushes the collar of his white shirt, and his cheekbones are high and aristocratic. His hands are tanned and strong on the steering wheel, and I wonder what they’d feel like on my body. It would be so convenient if some guy could sweep into my life, and help me forget all about Mason.

  “I did.” He nods.

  “She says The Elites are one reason you left.”

  He laughs. “They were the only reason.”

  “Did they pick on you?”

  “They pick on everyone.” He frowns. “It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. I just chose not to put up with it. I don’t think school should be about playing nice with the bullies. I’m there to learn.”

  “I agree one thousand percent.” I laugh. “Sometimes I feel like all I do is worry whether or not today will be the day The Elite get the best of me.”

  “From what I hear, you have them on the run.” He shoots me an admiring glance.

  “That might be an exaggeration.”

  “Not from what I hear.”

  I frown. “Who are these spies reporting my every move to you?”

  He grimaces. “It’s not like that at all. A lot of the kids at my school used to go to Longhorn. They like knowing The Elites are getting some shit finally.”

  “The Elites have to tread lightly, but they’re still very much a force to be reckoned with. Especially now that Mason is back in the fold.”