Bryce (Scandalous Boys #1)

by Natalie Decker

  I stifle a laugh. “Dude that’s messed up.”

  “I know.”

  A car honks then, and I look out my window. Graham smacks my chest. “Holy shit! Is that Maddy?”

  Sure enough, it is. She’s wearing high heels and a tight, short skirt. Her purple top is cut low—fuck, I can spy the cleavage from my room. She hobbles a little to a red convertible with the top down. I can’t tell who’s in the back, but it looks like Emily is the driver.

  “Who the fuck is with Em and Mads?” I ask as I clench my jaw.

  Graham mumbles, “Dude, I don’t know. I can’t see from up here. Why do you care so much? In two weeks we’re done with school. We’ve got our whole summer planned out: lake, possibly take a drive to the beach, stay in a condo, hit up some fine, bikini-wearing honeys, and then off to school we go, bro.”

  He throws out his fist, and I tap it with my own. I don’t tell him why it pisses me off that some guy might be out with Madison right now. I don’t tell him that I want to smash and break every bone in that tool’s body.

  I take a seat back on my bed and run my hands through my hair. The frustration is killing me. I grab my last gift to Madison and say, “I’ll be back.”

  “Where the hell are you going?”

  “I’ve gotta drop something off. I’ll be five minutes.”

  He waves me off. “Whatever, man. I’m gonna start playing some Zorge.”

  “Go for it.” I run down the stairs and out the door. I hurry up the steps to Madison’s house and ring the doorbell.

  Kyle answers the door with an apple in his mouth. “What’s up, scab?”

  “Is, uh … Madison home?” I know she isn’t. I just saw her leave. But he doesn’t know I was watching her.

  “Matthews, what do you want with my sister?”

  I step back as he comes out onto the porch. “Kyle, I know you hate me. Why? I don’t know. I honestly don’t care. But I need to drop something off.”

  He sizes me up. We’re about the same height, probably same muscle mass too, so I know if he throws a punch at me, I won’t be going down easy. “All right. But I’m going to be keeping an eye on you. If you go anywhere near her underwear, I’ll murder you.”

  I give him a look. “Dude, I’m not going to be looking through her drawers.”

  Sarah opens the front door right as Kyle and I are about to head inside. She looks at me with a raised brow. “Bryce, what are you doing here?”

  “I came to drop something off for Madison.”

  “Oh, you just missed her. She went to the movies with Emily.”

  Kyle grunts. “Fucking assholes,” he mutters.

  The guys with them are assholes? Why didn’t he go pound the shit outta them then? Fucking Kyle, what a dick. Sarah takes the box from me. “Come on. You’ll have to set it with her boxes.”

  “Boxes?” I ask as I follow her up to their room.

  Kyle snorts. “Didn’t she tell you? I thought you and Graham were like her best buds or something. Maddy’s leaving after graduation. She’s living in an apartment in Pittsburgh for the summer.”

  The whole summer? I’m not going to see her? How the fuck can I win her back if she’s gone for the whole summer? No. I know I’ve waited too long and probably lost her to some douche in skinny jeans, but I’m not giving up.

  “What movie are they seeing?”

  Sarah shrugs. “Some horror flick, I think. I don’t know. Started with an S.”

  “Which theater?”

  Kyle answers, “Gallatin.”

  I rush out of the house clutching Madison’s gift, and hop into my car. Graham is probably going to kick my ass when he realizes I left. Then again maybe Zorge will keep him busy enough not to notice. I just hope he doesn’t forget he’s in my house and light a joint. My mom will go ballistic on him, and then on me when I get home.

  I speed like crazy and get there in twelve minutes. There’s a crowd of people lining up outside to get in. I spot Emily near the doors. Madison is beside her. It’s now or never, man.

  I rush up to the crowd and hear a whole lot of people bitch and moan. “Hey, you can’t cut the line, asshole!” someone yells.

  Madison turns to me, and I say, “I need to talk to you.”

  “Bryce, I’m kind of busy,” she mumbles.

  Some fucking bleach-blond, muscled assface puts his hand on my shoulder. “Hey, man. Can’t you see she’s already taken?”

  “Get your fucking hands off me, fuckwad.” I shove him off me and then stare at Madison. “Is it true? Is he your new boyfriend?”

  “Jesus, Bryce, lay off,” Emily snaps. “She’s on a date. Go hump a skanky cheerleader.”

  “I’m not talking to you, Emily! I’m asking her.”

  Madison looks up at me. Tears are glistening in her eyes. “It’s just a date.”

  I pull her out of line and over to a bench. She stares at me. I swear she’s about to cry. I rub my thumb under her eyes and whisper, “Baby, I’m so sorry. I was an asshole. And I know you deserve better than me. But I can’t waste another minute not telling you how I feel about you, Madison. I love you, and it scares the hell out of me. I worry about you all the fucking time. I think about you every second of every day. I just … I needed you to know that.” I hand her the jewelry box, and she takes it but starts to sob. “Baby, please don’t cry. Please. Just take it. I got it for you before our trip. I meant to give it to you then, but I wanted it to be special.”

  She opens it and frees the bracelet.

  “Madison!” Emily calls out. “Come on!” Maddy looks back at her and then nods. She wipes her hand under her eyes and sniffles.

  “I’ve gotta go. Thank you, though. I love it.” She pecks my cheek and runs off.

  Chapter Fifty

  Madison

  “Today is the big day!” Mom sings as she enters my room and observes me and then Sarah.

  My mom sticks her thumb in her mouth and approaches me. I dodge her. “Ew. No. What are you doing?”

  “You’ve got a little smudge. I was going to fix it.”

  I shake my head. “I’ll do it myself.”

  Sarah laughs, but Mom turns and tries to do the same crap to her. Sarah squeals and leaves the room. Mom sighs. “Are you nervous?”

  “About what? The speech?”

  Mom nods. “Are you?”

  “Very.”

  “You’ll be fine, sweetie. I’m very proud of you. You’ve gotta leave here in ten minutes.” She exits my room. I’m not alone for long.

  Kyle knocks on my door. He gives me the stink face and then hugs me. “Don’t trip. Remember, Dad’s recording.”

  I frown. “Don’t remind me.”

  “You’ll be fine. I think you should moon the crowd after your speech. That would be hilarious. Right?”

  I punch him in the arm. “That would be so you. I’m not doing that.”

  “Such a party pooper.” He rubs his arm. “Love you, sis.”

  “Love you too.”

  Once he’s gone, I stare at myself in the mirror and take a deep breath. I can do this. I grab my speech and head out the door. Sarah and I are heading over in my car. My parents are buying her a car next week when I leave for Pittsburgh. I can’t believe I won’t be here for the summer.

  I still haven’t spoken to Bryce since he gave me the bracelet. I’ve worn it every day, though. I think my problem is I’m not sure what to say or how to begin anymore. Next week, I’ll be in a different state. In the fall, he’ll be in Michigan. That’s close to six hours apart. My car is barely going to survive the few trips back home for the holidays, let alone a six-hour drive to see him. So, yes, I took the chickenshit road and haven’t spoken to him.

  Sarah and I drive to the school’s football field. In the middle of the fifty-yard line is a stage. On the left of the stage is seating for the band. In front, there are two sections of chairs. Ten in each row to the left and right, and nine rows deep. The first ten chairs on the right are designated for speakers. I sit down
in the last chair.

  As students pour in and take their seats, and parents fill the seats behind the graduating class, my hands begin to shake. “I’m going to puke,” Trevor Davis says as he rushes out of his seat and hunches behind the stage.

  Something smacks my shoulder, and I turn around. Emily plops down in someone else’s seat and pops a bubble of gum against her lips. “What’s happening to poor Trevor?”

  “I think he’s throwing up.”

  “Nice.” She chomps on her gum. “Ya nervous?”

  “A little. I wish everyone would quit asking me that.”

  She kisses the top of my head. “You’ll be all right, sugar pie!” She stands, sliding a pair of sunglasses on, and asks, “Hey, have you talked to Mr. I-Love-You-So-Much yet?”

  I shake my head.

  “Well, even though I think he’s an asshole for how he dealt with the situation, it took some nuts to tell you that stuff. You should at least talk to him. Or not.” I frown at her. She smiles and skips off to her seat.

  I scan the students. Graham puts his hand up. I wave just to be nice. If I think about it, I have no idea why I ever had a crush on him. Coming down the aisle, with his cap in one hand, sunglasses shielding his eyes, and his dark hair in the sexiest bedhead I’ve ever seen, is Bryce. My heart pitter-patters at the sight of him. It’s difficult to breathe as I look at him.

  Graham elbows him, but I quickly dart my eyes to the stage. Our principal, Mr. Saxon takes the stage. He taps the microphone. “Testing, testing.”

  When it works, he smiles. “Good. Welcome, friends, faculty, family members, students, and this year’s graduating class. We’ve got a lot of lovely people today who will be giving words of wisdom and advice that I hope you will take with you into the future.”

  I sit there and listen to all the people talking, and then our names are announced. One by one, we walk across the stage. It’s when my name is called that I stand up with wobbly knees. Walk up there and get your damn diploma, I chastise myself.

  I make it to the third step before I stumble. A hand grabs my arm, sending tingles throughout my body, and rights me before I do something embarrassing like crash and burn on stage. I glance back and smile at the face that easily haunts my dreams. “Go on, Smalls.” He winks. “You’re holding up the line.”

  I take my diploma and return to my seat. I watch the rest of my classmates do the same one by one, and then I’m called up on stage again. The crinkled-up paper rests in my hand. I take a deep breath and put on the biggest smile I can muster.

  Mr. Saxon helps adjust the microphone for me, and then he motions for me to begin.

  I clear my throat. “Hi. I’m Madison Issac. I’ve had classes with some of you. With others, I’ve only ever shared the halls. But today, we’re all here together for a reason. We did it. No matter what we might have been in high school. The cheerleader. The football player. The track star. The teacher’s pet. The bad boy. The bookworm. Point is, no matter what, we all walked the halls. We took the classes. We might have had some laughs with Mr. Hamilton. We might have had a lot of fun with Mrs. Montgomery. Her drama lessons in English were truly inspiring.” I take a deep breath and prepare to finish my speech. “Beyond this, we’re going out into the world. What awaits us is adventure, discovery, and who the hell knows. Whatever it is, we’ll face it head-on. Dive right in. Because this is our adventure, and we need to make it amazing, people!”

  Everyone claps and cheers. They toss their hats high in the air. It’s over. The end. As I walk off the stage, Emily grabs me and hugs me. “Ready to party?”

  I giggle at her enthusiasm and say, “Yeah.”

  Everyone seems to flock to Greg’s. At first I thought I was ready for the party, but now, I’m not. People are brushing up against me. Sweat seems to hang in the air. And I just want out. I find Emily and yell, “I’m leaving.”

  “But this is our last day together!” she whines. “From here on out, you’ll be packing and all busy.”

  “Em, I love you, but I’m seriously tired.”

  She pouts but hugs me. As I’m walking out the door, I bump into a block of muscles. I look up and see Bryce smiling down at me. “Mads, where are you off to?”

  “Home.”

  “Oh. Okay.” He follows me out.

  “Are you not going in?”

  “Nope.”

  He walks me all the way to my car. He helps me with my door. He leans in, and his breath skates across my lips. I shut my eyes and wait for his lips to touch mine. It doesn’t come. His mouth brushes my cheek.

  I blink, and he is no longer in front of me but walking away. My heart sinks. Was this our good-bye?

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Bryce

  Three months later …

  Dudes are carrying in flat screens and computers, and girls are directing guys lifting couches into the large brick building where I’ll spend the next nine months of my life. I pick up my two duffle bags and head on in through the crowded doorway.

  A short woman in a bright yellow t-shirt shouts into a bullhorn, “Freshmen, please follow the right side of the taped area! Second-year students, you’re on the left! Stop at the tables and pick up your packets and key cards!”

  Some lanky dude holding a desktop computer monitor bumps into my side. “Sorry. People are pushing from behind.”

  “It’s fine. Need a hand with that?”

  He starts to shake his head, but someone pushes him again and he stumbles forward. He loses grip on his computer monitor, and it almost comes crashing to the floor. I reach out and grip it. “Thanks, man. Assholes. I swear they’re everywhere,” he says.

  “Yeah, they are. Hey, jackasses!” I say loudly. “We’re all moving at the same time, so stop shoving.”

  Lanky Guy pales. A deep voice behind us shouts, “I’ll come up there and bash your fucking face in if you don’t move!”

  “Let it go. I don’t need to make enemies my first day here,” Lanky Guy says. “The line is moving.”

  We start to move forward, and a guy about six feet tall with big-ass arms comes into view. I take one of my hands off Lanky Guy’s computer and flip off the asshole. “You’re dead, you fucker!” he yells.

  “Let it go. I don’t need to make enemies my first day here,” Lanky Guy says. “The line is moving.”

  We start to move forward, and a guy about six feet tall with big-ass arms comes into view. I take one of my hands off Lanky Guy’s computer and flip off the asshole. “You’re dead, you fucker!” he yells.

  Lanky Guy swallows. “What did you do that for?”

  “He’s not going to do shit. He’s trying to impress the girls in front of him.” We start moving again, and I say, “I’m Bryce, by the way.”

  “Max. I’d shake your hand but … you know.”

  We walk up to the table and get our packets, and it turns out me and Max are actually in the same room. Once we drop our stuff off in our tiny room, we head back down to my car and grab the rest of my things. Max is on the floor by the time I’m finished setting up his computer.

  “Hey, man. Is it cool if I unpack later?” I ask. “I gotta go see someone.”

  Max moves his wire frames up his nose. “Yeah, that’s cool, man. See you later.”

  I leave the building and walk about ten minutes across a few streets and a long stretch of lawn. I glance down at my phone and stare at the text from Graham. I’m heading to my destination when I see her. She’s walking down the sidewalk to a large building. She’s carrying a big, black briefcase.

  I sneak up behind her, grip her waist, and turn her toward me.

  “AHHH! FUCK! My eyes!” A burning liquid eats away at my eyeballs. My tears feel like fire spilling out. I try rubbing them, but it’s not helping.

  “Oh my God! You scared the living hell out of me, Bryce! Bryce? Wait, why are … ”

  I can’t really see what she’s doing; she’s blurry as hell through the stinging tears. “What the fuck was that? Mace?”

  �
��Yes. My brother gave it to me. You’re real? Like really real?”

  “Madison, I can’t see a thing! Yes, I’m real. Jesus, does this shit stop?”

  She latches on to me, at least I hope it’s her, and guides me up some stairs. “Sorry. The elevator is broke. I’m so sorry. Why would you attack me from behind, though?”

  “I wasn’t thinking. I was just … so excited to see you. Fuck, this shit hurts. I’m not sure whether I like your brother or hate him right now.”

  “You’re lucky I didn’t use my rape horn on you.”

  I don’t know if that would have been worse. I just know, right now, I never want to be sprayed with that shit ever again. She pulls me into a room and says, “Take off your shirt.”

  “Babe, right now is not the time to get me naked and take advantage of me,” I tease.

  She smacks my arm. “I’m going to bend you over the bathtub and wash out the pepper spray. I don’t want to get your shirt wet on accident.”

  I let her take off my shirt and hear her gasp. “Babe, I want to kiss you.”

  “What if I’m in a relationship?” she says. “It’s been three months since I’ve seen you.” I hear the water pouring out of the faucet.

  My heart pounds in my chest. Jealously courses through my veins. She better not be in a relationship. I won’t be able to stomach it. Sit back and watch some other guy make her happy? The thought makes me clench my fists.

  “Bend over the tub.” I do as she asks.

  “Are you in a relationship?”

  She guides my head under warm water, and I spray water from my lips while holding my breath. She pulls my head back. “How are you feeling?”