Bryce (Scandalous Boys #1)

by Natalie Decker

  Rolling her dead weight off me, I spring from my bed and check her pulse. It’s barely there. I’m in a panic. I knocked out a crazy, possibly drugged person. Do I have to watch her? Get her to a hospital? I need to wake my parents, but I’m not in the mood to answer questions like why didn’t I watch her? Hell, I’m not in the mood to even look at my parents and not feel betrayed. That horrible secret … How could they? I grab my cell from the charger and call Bryce. I know he’s sleeping. Hell, he probably won’t even hear it ringing.

  “Hello?” he grumbles.

  “Hi, um, I need you to get dressed and come over.”

  “Babe, why aren’t you here? What’s going on?”

  “Listen, I heard Sarah come home. I figured my parents would look for me if they saw my car and not me in my room. Sarah is too drunk to have parked correctly, and they know I’d call and tell them if I was at Emily’s or something.”

  I see his light flick on, and he grumbles, “I’m coming. It’ll be a minute, but I’m coming.”

  “Thank you. But fair warning, I think Sarah is on drugs. Do you still have those handcuffs from when we were kids?”

  “Yeah, keep talking to me.”

  So I do. He asks how Sarah looks; I tell him pale, a mess of makeup, and I explain how I knocked her out. He asks me other things, but most of them I have no answer to. Thankfully, I don’t need one because he’s already tiptoeing into my room. He smiles at me.

  “You look good in my shirt, Smalls.”

  I smile back. “I’m keeping it. But enough about me. What about her?” Sarah starts to stir against my covers. My hand is throbbing from hitting her, and I thought it would feel amazing to punch her in the face, but it doesn’t. I actually feel worse.

  “Is she going to be okay?” I ask Bryce as he looks over Sarah. She groans and twists.

  “Get a bucket. She might puke.”

  I run out of the room. My parents’ bedroom door opens, and my mom steps into the hallway, tying up her purple robe. “Madison, what’s going on? I heard a lot of racket.”

  “It’s fine, Mom. I’m just getting a bucket. Sarah had a little too much to drink. Bryce helped me get her into the house.” Well, sort of.

  She makes her way to my room, and I decide to just let her see the mess. Hiding is what got us all here in the first place, right? I hurry downstairs, grab a bucket from under the kitchen sink, and then rush back to my room.

  My mom is sitting on my bunk brushing the golden locks from Sarah’s forehead. She turns back to me and motions for the bucket. “Set it here. Go get a cold rag. Bryce, be a dear and get me a glass of cold water with some ice chips in it. Madison, I need some aspirin too. Hurry.”

  I follow her instructions and leave Bryce to his task. I return before Bryce. My mom glares at me as she takes the rag and bottle of pills from me. “Were you watching her?”

  “No,” I say in a low tone. I drop my gaze to my feet.

  “You should have been. Unless you decided not to attend the party at all, then that’s a different story. But even then, you should have at least told her. She told me you were going together before I left for work.”

  I roll my eyes out of habit. “Really? This is how it’s always going to be, isn’t it? If Aunt Catlin is convicted, I’ll forever be the babysitter, the coddler, and everything she does will be poor Sarah, or where was Madison? Won’t it?”

  “It’s not like that. I just thought you cared and would protect her. You know these people better than she does. You know who is a bad influence and a good one. Why wouldn’t you help her?”

  “Because she ruined my future, Mom! I’m not her babysitter. I’m not her keeper. And I sure as shit will not sit here and take all this. She should have to deal with her own consequences. Isn’t that what you always tell Kyle and me? We have choices, and we have to live with them one way or the other?”

  She shakes her head and turns to Sarah. Bryce enters the room with the water. I turn back to my mom, but she’s no longer paying any attention to me. Sarah sits up and rubs her cheek. She looks at Mom with wide, fearful eyes. Then she looks over at me. Her eyes narrow into slits. “Keep her away. She hit me.”

  “You were choking me!” I yell.

  “Enough!” my mom says. She glares at me. “Go downstairs. Bryce, sweetie, thank you for your help, but I’m afraid it’s time for you to head home.”

  I scowl at my mom and pull Bryce out of the room. I make my way to the living room. Bryce takes a seat next to me and pulls me into his lap. “It’s going to be okay.”

  “I shouldn’t have helped her.”

  “It’s okay to care, Mads. Your mom is just a little scared. It’s fine. Give it a few hours; it will blow over.”

  I shake my head. “It won’t. You don’t get it. She’s looking at the what-could-have-been daughter. The daughter she could have had if she didn’t give up her eggs to my aunt. She probably thinks she should have raised her.” I rest my head against his chest and sigh. “She’s always treated Sarah different. I thought it was an aunt thing, but now I know better.”

  “Babe, look at me.” I do, and he smiles. “Your mom loves you. She probably just feels like she missed out on a lot with Sarah, so she’s trying to make up for it. She probably doesn’t realize it’s hurting you in the process.”

  “Before you came over, Sarah was tearing through the room looking for something. It’s probably nothing, but she mentioned Graham and love.”

  I study his face as he asks, “Graham? She does know she cheated on him, right?” His eyebrow raises.

  “I don’t know. She’s completely whacked out. I mean, she was tearing through the room one minute and then choking me the next.”

  He nods. “That’s messed up.”

  “I don’t want to stay with her. I’m afraid she might kill me while I’m sleeping.”

  “Just come home with me.”

  I lower my voice. “I can’t. My mom will probably come down here to check on me. If I’m not here, she’ll freak out.”

  Bryce shrugs. “You could after she goes to bed. Just slip out and come over.”

  It sounds wonderful. Staying with Bryce and waking up next to him in the morning. But now that Sarah’s all delusional and probably going through a bad high, my mom will be checking on her like a hawk, which means she’ll also be checking on me. I frown. “I can’t. Mom will be watching my room all night.” Then a thought dawns on me. “Ugh, Sarah’s going to have my bed.”

  Bryce kisses my forehead. “It’ll be okay, babe.”

  Footsteps echo off the stairs, and I motion for Bryce to go out the door. I follow him out on the porch, and we remain silent for a good bit. Then he sighs. “Tomorrow, if you aren’t in trouble, I’d like to take you out. Is that okay?”

  I grin like an idiot. “Yes. Text me in the morning.”

  He pulls out his phone and types something.

  Bryce: It is morning. :)

  Me: Thanks. Smart-ass!

  He laughs. “Oh, man. I’m rubbing off on you.”

  I nudge him. “Maybe.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Bryce

  I text Madison at noon. She doesn’t answer, so I put on some music and chill out at my desk. As I’m completely immersed in alphabetizing my movie collection, arms come around my waist, causing me to jump and yelp like a little girl.

  I turn. Her giggle fills my room. She smiles at me. “Ha. I got you.”

  “Jesus, Madison! You scared the living hell out of me!” I yell, but I also have to fight the smile trying to form.

  She pokes my side. “You know you think it’s funny.”

  I roll my eyes. “A little.”

  “A lot. But okay, you don’t have to admit it.” She hugs me, and a swoosh of tingles runs through my body.

  I kiss her forehead. “Well, are you ready to go out on a date then?”

  She nods. “I am.”

  I grab my wallet and keys and follow her out the door. I’m nervous. I want to hold her hand, bu
t I’m not sure if I should. Would she pull away? Shit. This isn’t like me at all. I have this kind of stuff under control. Not when I’m with Madison, though; everything makes me second-guess myself. Shirts, jeans, and now my own moves. Hold hands? Don’t hold hands? This girl is turning me upside down.

  I grab her hand and let relief wash all over me when she doesn’t pull away. Once we’re in my car, she says, “You don’t have a pack of cigarettes sitting here like usual.”

  I nod. “I quit.”

  “When?”

  “The day after you we cleaned up your room searching for your work keys.”

  She beams at me. “That’s awesome! I’m really proud of you.”

  “Thanks. I figured it was time. Besides, this girl I really like hates when I smoke, so, eh …” I shrug like it’s no big deal, but we both know it is.

  “She must be so lucky.”

  “Oh, she is, but I’m the luckier one. She said yes to me.”

  She nods. “Yes, I did.”

  We drive into town and catch a movie first. She surprises me when she picks an action-adventure flick. It’s actually the one movie I’ve been dying to see. Most girls I’ve taken to the movies either want to see some horror movie—which is fine, I’m just not a big fan—or chick flicks. No guy wants to sit through a chick flick. So yeah, when a girl picks a chick flick, we guys automatically think this is code for “makeout session.” Sorry, we do. But I was turned down a couple of times and forced to watch some really ridiculous crap.

  Madison finds us a seat in the middle row. We watch the entire film in silence from start to finish. Which is another thing I love because I absolutely hate when people talk or ask questions during movies. Graham does that. He sits there and picks apart the bullshit parts in a film, like special effects or the plot. Savannah, a girl I dated a long time ago, used to talk through the entirety of the films I wanted to watch. I stopped taking her after the third time it happened, and then we broke up not long after. She claimed I never took her out. She didn’t see the reason.

  Once the movie is over, I take us to the Mexican restaurant in town called Agaves. “So how am I doing so far?” I ask Maddy as the waitress leads us to our booth.

  “Pretty good. But you do know this is my first date ever, right?”

  We slide into our seats, and I nod. Even though it’s still kind of a shock to me. “I can’t believe no one ever asked you out.”

  She blushes. “I’ve been asked. I just never said yes. Before, I was waiting for Graham. And now, I just … I really like the person who asked me.” She lowers her lashes.

  “Good. Because I really like you.” But that bit about Graham bothers me. It shouldn’t, but it does. If he asks her out, will I be old news or will she refuse him? I hope it’s the latter. Because I really don’t want to kick my friend’s ass, but I will for her.

  “Why do you sound bitter?” she asks as she gazes at me.

  I shrug. “I’m not bitter. I just don’t like the whole Graham thing. I’m jealous, Smalls.”

  She snorts. “There’s nothing to worry about, Bryce. I don’t want him now.”

  I’m going to ask. I need all seeds of doubt to be squashed. “So if he asked you out right now, you’d say … ?”

  “No. Because I don’t want him.”

  I reach across the table and kiss her softly, then smile at her. “Sorry. I just had to.”

  “Okay.” She looks down at her menu. I can see a hint of a smile and blush form. I love that I can make her do this.

  I already know what I want so I just play with the hot sauce bottles, sliding one from my left hand to my right. “What are your plans after we graduate?” she asks, catching me off guard. I miss the bottle and watch it crash into the wall.

  “Well, that depends. My father expects me to attend his old alma mater, University of Virginia. Of course this is only if I can keep my ass out of trouble.” I wink. “But my cousin, you know, Hailey, is at Michigan State. And I’ve been there a few times to visit. I honestly will probably go there.”

  She sets down her menu. “That’s nice. I mean, you at least have a plan.”

  “I know why you can’t make a decision. Don’t give me that look. I’m not making fun of you. Just hear me out. You can’t make a decision because you don’t know who you want to please more. Emily is going where … Florida?” She nods. “Okay, and then there is your brother, Kyle. He’s at the University of Tennessee, right?” She nods again. “Then you got your parents. Your dad wants you to go to Vanderbilt; it’s probably been his dream school for you ever since you got your first report card. Then you have your mom, who wants you to stay close to home. You gotta figure out what you want, Madison.”

  “I thought I knew what I wanted. I did. But now … I’m not so sure.”

  “The good thing about this decision is it’s not an entirely a permanent one. Stay with me on this for a minute. I already see your brow rising, so that means you’re about to argue. If—”

  The waitress comes back to our table and asks for our orders. I give her both my drink and dinner order. Madison does the same, and the waitress leaves us.

  “Where was I? Oh, right. Look, if you go to some school that your dad wants, you try it out for a year but are unhappy or not feeling it’s where you want to be for the next four years, you can always change. Go off to Florida with Emily. See if that’s where you need to be. If not there, then change again. Maybe you do need home or maybe … just maybe … you need to explore the world. You just have to choose one now if you haven’t figured out what the right choice is for you. But you’ll get there. You know?”

  “How did you get so wise?”

  The waitress sets down our Cokes, chips, and salsa and walks off. Madison pours some salsa into the two little bowls and passes one to me.

  “Thank you,” I say. “I wouldn’t call it wise. Just knowing that as long as I’m breathing and living, I can do whatever I want. Death is the only thing that can stop that. What?”

  She frowns. “I wish I hadn’t act like such a snob to you before.”

  “I wouldn’t change a thing, Mads.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Madison

  The last few weeks with Bryce were amazing. He took me to the ice display in Opry Mills. I saw the whole A Charlie Brown Christmas cast in ice-sculpture form. It was truly fantastic. He took me to the art museum, which I thought might have bored him to tears, but he seemed really into it.

  Today is Monday, though, and the upcoming week is Thanksgiving break. Bryce says he’ll be in Michigan visiting Hailey. It’s only going to be four days, but still, I’m already missing him, which is stupid because he’s sitting right beside me as we drive to school. This is the first time we’re driving to school in one vehicle since we started dating.

  When Bryce said we were going to take it slow, he wasn’t kidding. He hasn’t even held my hand in school. We say hi in class, but we’ve been kind of acting like, well, like we aren’t a couple. So last night, while we were talking, I mentioned it. And so he offered to drive me to school today.

  “Emily was okay about getting a ride? I can still go pick her up,” Bryce says.

  “She said it was fine. Her words were this: ‘Maddy, you know how I feel about third wheels. Just remember locker time is for us, not him.’ So you can’t hang out at my locker before class.”

  He laughs. “Girls and their secret locker time. Got it. Any other rules I need to know about?”

  I smack his shoulder. “Shut up. And no.”

  “Good. Because I get to take up every other spare minute of your life forever and ever … or until you dump me,” he teases.

  I roll my eyes. “Somewhere in there I have to shower and shave my legs, mister, so no.”

  “For real though, just be honest with me, and we’ll be fine,” he says as we pull into the school parking lot.

  “I will. You have to do the same.”

  “Always.” He kisses me lightly, and my heart melts at how even
his gentle kisses make me all swoony.

  He slides his hand into mine, and we walk like a sappy, happy couple all the way to my locker. He flashes a smile at me right before he lets go of my hand as we reach Emily. Bryce pecks my forehead. “See you later.” Once he walks off, I open my locker and glance over at Emily.

  I must be grinning from ear to ear because my jaw is starting to hurt. Emily squeals. “Oh my God! That was so cute!”

  “He is so sweet. I told him last night how I wanted to hold his hand or at least sit with him at lunch, and he said okay. Em, why did I hate him so much before?”

  “Uh … he threw gum in your hair, and you had to get your locks all chopped off. People thought you were a boy. Then there’s that bad-boy rep of his. He has an attraction to trouble. Oh, and the water balloon thing. That was awful. Oh God, and the whole rumor about you wanting to hook up with Danny What’s-his-face. Barftastic!”

  I nod. “Yeah, but … he’s not, though. Trouble, that is. Em, I think … oh God, I think I’m falling for him.”

  “Are you?” Her eyes widen.

  I shrug. “I don’t know. I mean, I thought I was in love with Graham. But that was over a long period of time; it wasn’t instant. He was really nice, and we had fun. As soon as he turned into an asshat, I felt miserable, yes, but I don’t think it was heartbreak from him not loving me. It felt just like when Kyle does something to disappoint me. You know?”

  “Brotherly. I get that. And with Bryce, if he disappointed you?”

  “I think I might be devastated because it’s more than trust, it’s love too. You know?”

  She nods. “I get it.”

  Everything in my life is fairly great so far. Maybe Bryce is right after all. I don’t need to stress about college or my future, I just need to take a chance. Don’t try pleasing everyone else, just choose what I love. So before second period, I hurry to the guidance counselor’s office and grab the “college, universities, and more” binder. I flip through each page and write down all the art schools I can.