All the Little Lies: A High School Bully Romance

by S. J. Sylvis

  “Who’s Scott?” Ollie asked, searching for Jim’s name.

  “He’s on the force. Call him. Now.” I’d never heard my father’s voice so calm but demanding at the same time. Ollie quickly walked away after glancing at me and put the phone up to his ear.

  “Are you with me now? I need you to pull yourself together so we can figure this out. You hear me?” My jaw ached from both the pressure of clenching my teeth and my father’s hand squeezing my jaw.

  “I’m…” The words were lodged in my throat. “I…I’m not going to lose her like we lost Mom. I won’t.”

  The situations were vastly different. My mother had a choice when it came to leaving me. Us. She could have gotten help. She could have grasped onto her love for us more than her love for her addiction, but she didn’t, and that was a regret I was sure she’d have if she were here. But Hayley didn’t have a choice in this matter. She wasn’t willingly leaving me. The choice wasn’t hers. It was her father’s. Hayley was the casualty in her parents’ choices, and I was going down right with her.

  “You won’t lose her. Do you want to know why?” My father’s hands dropped from my face as he took a step back and rounded the island. “You won’t lose her because you’re fighting for her. And when a Powell man fights for someone he loves, he always wins.” My father started to roll up his sleeves as if he were ready to fight someone. “I fought for your mother once, and I won. The problem was, I stopped fighting.”

  He bent his head, and I was unable to form words. The whites of his knuckles matched his dress shirt as he squeezed the edge of the kitchen island. His head slowly came back up, and he pinned me with a lethal Powell stare. “Don’t you ever stop fighting for the person you love, Christian. Do you hear me?”

  I swallowed back a rough lump in my throat. “I hear you.”

  “Then get your shit together so we can get her back.”

  I dipped my chin, and we walked through the kitchen together, ready to do whatever it took to get my girl back.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Hayley

  I had always imagined that an Escalade would feel like riding in a luxurious limo of sorts. It was big and sleek—fancy, for lack of a better word. But each time we’d go over a bump, I’d bang my head off the side of the door.

  My hand itched to try the shiny handle on the right, but even if my captors were dumb enough to leave the door unlocked, we were going so fast I was likely to die or have serious injuries if I jumped. I kept glancing at the man beside me, the one I felt that I could trust—although, I wasn’t sure to what extent. I replayed his words in my head, ‘Keep him talking.’ I didn’t really have time to dissect the why in this situation, so I just went with it. I had nothing else to lose.

  We rounded a curve, heading for the highway, and my stomach twisted with each jerk of the vehicle. I shifted in my school skirt, glancing at the two men up front and then to the man beside me. His tattooed head stayed straight, but his eyes moved to the corner of his eye.

  I turned my head to the front and tried my best to keep my voice steady. “So, what exactly did my father do to land me in this lovely seat?”

  The burly and most frightening of the men sliced his eyes to mine in the rearview mirror. He grunted and then turned his gaze back to the road. Okay, well, that didn’t work. I decided to keep probing. “So, what? You’re just gonna kidnap me but not tell me why? How is that fair? Is it the settlement? My trust fund, right?”

  Still no answer. “That is what you’re doing, right? Kidnapping me? Wait, is it called kidnapping if I’m not really a kid anymore?”

  There was a small twitch on the tattooed man’s mouth and a barely noticeable nod of his head. I took that as a confirmation that I was doing something right.

  “Seriously, guys. What gives? Were you the ones who killed him?” I chuckled, glancing out the window at the passing trees for a second. “I bet it was you, huh, big man?”

  The driver sliced his eyes to mine again, and I met his cold stare. “Was it you? Do you remember me cowering on the steps in my house? Scared out of my mind?”

  His jaw worked back and forth, clearly agitated.

  “Or was it you?” I leaned forward a little, breathing into the ear of the man sitting in the passenger seat.

  “No,” he answered quickly, not nearly as annoyed or irritated as the burly man.

  “Maybe it was this guy?” I asked, pointing my head to the tattooed guy.

  My heart was beating recklessly in my chest but not from fear. I was eager, anxious, and excited. I wanted to push these men over the edge. I felt like I had a smidge of control. I was causing a reaction, and when there was time for hasty reactions, there was time for error. If he let his guard down, I’d run like hell. Undercover sting or not, I was done being a piece in their game.

  “Will you shut the fuck up?” The driver whipped his head back to me for a brief second, and I jumped with the loudness of his voice.

  I didn’t let it deter me, though. I kept poking the bear. If I go down, he’s going down with me.

  “Just tell me. Was it you?”

  “Goddamnit!” he yelled, craning the wheel over to the right. My head smashed off the window, and the tattooed man’s hand reached out and clamped onto my leg. He quickly removed it when the vehicle came to a stop.

  The burly man opened his door and jumped out, slamming it behind him. My stomach dipped with fear, but I kept my guard up, unable to let the fear shade my bravery.

  “Now what do we do?” The man in the passenger seat flipped around to stare at the tattooed man and me.

  “Fuck,” tattooed man mumbled, looking at me wide-eyed. “Keep him talking about your father. We need him to confirm the kill.”

  “W-what?” I stuttered. But before I could get an explanation, my door flew open, and I was dragged out by my arm. The pain radiated down my wrist, and my feet barely touched the loose gravel below my body as the devil himself pushed me up against the side of the Escalade. The door was still open, and I was thankful. At least when this man killed me, I wouldn’t necessarily be alone.

  Christian’s face flashed through my head, and it was like I was instantly taken back to that awful night, five years ago, when all I wanted was him. I remembered hiding on the steps, watching a black-hooded man kill my father right in front of my mother in the middle of my living room. When I squeezed my eyes shut to block out the scene, all I could see was Christian. His playful smile, his gray eyes. He was my light in the darkest time of my life, and it was still true today. Christian was my safe place. He had always been my safe place—my person. My heartrate calmed a fraction as Christian’s face continued to flood my brain. His cocky smile, the smoothness of his cheeks, the defined jawline and relaxed muscles when I’d peek at his sleeping face.

  A slap across my face had Christian’s face fleeting from my vision. Anger flew to my limbs. “Yes, I fucking killed your pathetic fucking father.” I sucked in a breath as his hand wrapped around my neck. He wasn’t squeezing yet, but the pressure was building, and I was suddenly losing my grip on my courage. “He was a narc and had to be dealt with, and you’re just collateral damage.” His hand squeezed harder, and I began panicking. I couldn’t breathe. He was choking me too hard for me to do anything. I clawed at his hands and kicked my feet against the side of the tire. A venomous laugh escaped him. “Jimmy and I were the ring leaders, and then your father came in and started calling shots left and right and switching up the way we did business. Little did our boss know, your father was working with the feds. I killed your father because I knew he was a rat, and on top of all that, he was stealing money on the side, too. For you. We know all about the little trust fund he made you, and once you accept it, it’ll be ours.” An ugly laugh rested among his lips. “Of course, the money is all Franco cares about, but he gave me free rein to do what I wanted with you. And, pretty girl…you are mine.”

  His hand left my neck, and I fell quickly, my bare knees landing in the gravel. I gasped for
air as I held my stomach. After a few heavy breaths, I heard the other two men climb out of the Escalade, but it was no use. Burly Man was still on his high horse. I coughed and sputtered as I tried to regain my breathing, but he pulled me up by my hair. I stared into his dark eyes, and an unyielding amount of fear choked me. His eyes were void. It was like looking into a cold and dark, empty grave. “I killed your father, and I would have killed your mama too if the cops hadn’t shown up.” He pulled my head up higher, and my eyes got blurry, glistening with unshed tears. “And now that you’re mine, I need you to obey and learn how to keep those beautiful lips shut.” He dropped me to the ground again, and before I could protect myself, he kicked me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I heard the footsteps of the other men getting closer, and I hoped that they would save me. It was the first time I’d ever had the thought, and it almost stunned me.

  I wanted to be saved. I wanted help.

  Then, a hard kick came to my face, and everything went black.

  “Come on, Hayley. Wake up.” Something cold landed on my face, and I felt my eyebrows draw together. “That’s it, open your eyes.”

  Slowly, one of my eyes peeled open, but the other one seemed to be stuck. My eyelashes fluttered against my skin as I focused on the person talking to me. When I saw who it was, I yelped and tried to scoot away.

  His face turned from happy to worried. He threw his hands up. “Relax, you’re safe. It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” I continued rubbing my back along the gravel, not caring that it was scratching me. “Hayley,” another voice sounded, and I turned my head. It was the tattooed man. Both he and the man from the passenger seat were crouched down beside me with worried lines on their faces. For some reason, they didn’t look scary anymore. The tattooed man never truly did look scary. He had tattoos, lots of them, but his deep-brown eyes were calming and almost comforting.

  “But you…you hurt Pete.” My voice was raspy as I looked at the man closest to me. He was the one who had to deal with Pete when they first took me. “I heard you hitting him.”

  He nodded and looked at his friend before bringing his attention back to me. “I did, but he’s fine. I knocked him out once and left him there. I had to, or our cover would’ve been blown.” He chuckled. “Plus, your foster dad is a fucking asshole. He deserved a good knockout.”

  True.

  I stopped moving my body on the gravel to get away from them, mainly because I was inching closer to the road, and if another vehicle drove down it, I’d be run over.

  “Hayley, it’s okay. We’re the good guys.” He smiled down at me. “And you…you were the missing piece we needed all along. You just helped put this guy behind bars for a long, long time, and not to mention, you’ve helped unlock many more doors.” I sliced my eyes over to Burly Man who was crouched down by the car, clearly unconscious, with his hands bound together with what looked to be zip ties. Sirens wailed in the distance, and I hoped they were coming for me.

  “You’re a fighter, just like your old man.”

  I slowly sat up and tried to get to my feet. Tattoo Man was beside me within a second, grabbing my arm gently and pulling me up.

  “I don’t understand,” I finally said after taking several even breaths. It hurt to breathe, but my need for answers far outweighed my injuries.

  The other man, who was now standing close to Burly Man, spoke first. I took a step back, releasing my arm from the tattooed man’s grasp. “Hayley, your father was an informant for us five years ago. He got caught laundering money, and instead of doing prison time, we offered him an informant job. He was helping us take down one of the biggest drug cartels in our area. You just helped us take down Franco’s right-hand man, giving us probably the biggest piece of missing information that we needed to start dissembling the cartel’s activity in the surrounding areas. We’re finally getting to him.” He shut his weathered eyes tightly. “Fucking finally. You just hit the tip of the iceberg, Hayley. This is how we get Franco to sink.”

  Tattoo Man stood in front of me as several police cars and an ambulance pulled up behind the Escalade. “I promised your father that if something ever happened to him, I’d watch out for you. I’m really glad I was able to keep my promise.”

  I felt many things in that moment. So many that I couldn’t even decipher the feelings pouring out of me. I felt everything deeply. Raw emotions pooled in my eyes, and they swept down my cheeks gracefully. I allowed myself to feel and to cry right there in front of two men I’d never met before and a dozen officers and EMT workers. For so long, I’d been afraid to feel. I’d been afraid to be hopeful. I’d been afraid to let my guard down. I’d been afraid to think back into the past where I had a father who loved me. Everything changed the night he died. The love he showered me with was destroyed. He put me in danger, and my mother let her grip on reality slip away along with her role as a mother. I was betrayed, and up until a few weeks ago, I felt unlovable. Christian showed me what love was again, and this moment here, knowing at least one of my parents looked out for me, was the start of my healing.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Christian

  I was silent as I sat in the police station’s waiting area. Orange and gray seats were filled with family members of criminals, whereas I was there for Hayley. The girl who somehow helped take down one of the biggest drug cartel’s hitmen.

  I didn’t know all the details, even though Jim thoroughly explained them to me as we all sat around my kitchen, waiting for news. Even Ann, Hayley’s social worker whom I’d met briefly, showed up. Apparently, Pete finally came to, after being knocked out, and grew a heart. He called the police and Ann to tell them what had happened to Hayley in hopes of finding her.

  My heart had never thumped so violently as we waited hours for someone to let us know that she was okay. I had to keep my memories in check as my mind kept drifting to the night of my mom’s accident. I waited hours for Hayley to call back that evening, and she never did. It was eerily similar tonight. Ann was the first to get a call that Hayley was safe, and she and I immediately jumped in our vehicles and headed to the police station where we have both been for over an hour now.

  Tonight felt like it had lasted years. From the second I found out something was wrong to now had taken actual years off my life.

  My knuckles were bruised from taking my fear and anger out on the hallway wall, and oddly enough, my father was the one who got me to calm down. I found that to be ironic, considering he was usually the one who got me riled up. Ollie didn’t speak a word as we waited. Instead, he sat with Piper’s head in his lap as she curled into a ball on the couch and dozed in and out of sleep.

  Shaking my head, I bounced my leg up and down as I stared at the one door keeping me from Hayley. They needed to question her and get a statement before she was released—as if she hadn’t already been through enough.

  Part of me felt guilty. I felt like I had failed her. I had wronged her when she first came to English Prep. Tormented her, bullied her. And now, after I found my way back to her heart, I let her walk right into danger.

  She needed me five years ago when her father died right in front of her eyes, and she needed me tonight as the same danger hit her head-on, and I wasn’t there.

  I swore to myself, after pacing my living room hours ago, that if I got her back, I would spend the rest of my life making it up to her.

  The door jerked open from across the waiting area, and I leapt to my feet. I growled silently as I realized it wasn’t Hayley, but instead a fat man with a gnarly beard. His girlfriend jumped to her feet wearing nine-inch heels and a skirt showing entirely too much of her saggy ass and swarmed him with sloppy, full-of-tongue kisses.

  I was almost thankful he came out of the door instead of Hayley, because if I had to continue listening to his methed-up girlfriend ramble on at the speed of light about their love story, I was going to commit a crime just so I could land on the other side of the steel door and away from her annoying voice.


  Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea. How can I get to the other side of that locked door?

  The man was still halfway in the doorway as his girlfriend jumped on him and wrapped her legs around his middle, her tiny legs barely fitting because of how large his circumference was. They were gross, but they’d serve as a great distraction for others as I tried to slip past, so kudos to them. The police officer who escorted the man out cringed with disgust as he turned his back to walk down the hall, and that was when I slowly stood up.

  “What are you doing?” Ann leaned forward, putting her phone back in her purse.

  I shrugged. “Going to get Hayley.” The moment was fleeting, so I took another step, and Ann hissed.

  “Sit down! You’re going to get yourself into trouble.”

  “I don’t care,” I answered quickly, keeping my eye on the woman behind the glass and the slowly shutting door. “She’s been back there for hours. I’m going to get her.”

  “Christian,” Ann huffed as she glanced at the closing door. I raised an eyebrow. Sorry, Ann. You can’t stop me.

  Ann must’ve seen the look of determination on my face. Her furrowed eyebrows softened. “Don’t get caught, and if you tell anyone I helped you, I could lose my job, so don’t.”

  Ah, I think I like Ann.

  I strode over to the door, slipping past the couple in their gross embrace as Ann stood and walked to the glass window. I stuck the toe of my shoe in the inch-wide opening, keeping the door open for a fraction longer. As soon as I heard Ann ask the receptionist a question regarding Hayley, I slid inside the threshold and helped it latch quietly.

  If there was anything I’d learned in my eighteen years of life, it was to act as if I belonged even when I felt like I didn’t. If you looked suspicious, you likely were, but if you acted like you knew where you were going, no one would bother you.