Forbidden: A bully romance (An Academy Twin Rivalry Series Book 2)

by Taylor Blaine

  Jaxon

  I rolled my head side to side where I’d let it rest on the cement block wall behind me. The various textures of the cement with its paint and lines bit into my scalp. Not for the first time I wished I had my lumpy bed to sleep in.

  Things didn’t seem so bad at my mom’s apartment as I slept in the corner of the small jail cell, separated from the other guys by a collection of bars and stale air. One of which was my mother’s inebriated and stoned boyfriend.

  Because I was just barely underage, they’d had to keep me segregated, not that there were a lot of people in lockup in Shores, Oregon.

  Norman and another a guy occupied the cell beside mine and we’d ignored each other for most of the night. I think Norman was trying to sleep off the effects of the drug and alcohol bender he’d been on. When he’d woken up earlier that morning when the moon was still up, he couldn’t remember where he was or what he was doing. I’d finally gotten some sleep after that as the sounds of him freaking out lulled me into a comfortable coma.

  It seemed only just that he was confused, torn up, and altogether miserable by his predicament. I could handle that just fine.

  Yawning, I stretched my neck to the side and then back, rolling my shoulders and leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees.

  I hadn’t heard from Braddox. In fact, I felt like I’d been forgotten since the door to the cell clanged shut behind me the night before. They called out something about breakfast a few hours before, but that was the last time anyone had acknowledged me or the other prisoners there.

  What if Braddox chose to leave me in there? What if he’d gone to Olivia’s? What if they’d stopped fighting and now, she was with him? I ran my hands down my face, irritated with the sleepy sensation I couldn’t shake.

  “O’Donnell. You have a visitor.” A fresh guard stepped into the corridor leading away from the iron bars. He cast a disdainful grimace at the two other men in the adjacent cell and shook his head before turning back the way he’d come in.

  I stood from the metal bench that was anchored to the cement floor. There was nothing I could use in there as a weapon or otherwise. Everything was attached to everything else.

  Taking a deep breath, I shuffled forward. My shoes didn’t have their laces anymore – one more thing that had been confiscated upon booking. I had a hard time keeping the sneakers on my feet.

  I approached the bars, staring at the doorway where the guard had disappeared again. Maybe he’d been joking, playing a cruel prank or something similar because there was no one there.

  After a minute, a shadow crossed the threshold and then there was my twin, ambling into the cell area like he owned the place. Knowing my dad, they probably did. I wouldn’t be surprised if plans were in the works to change the name outside the building to O’Donnell’s Jail or something equally narcissistic.

  Braddox strolled in. His faded dark denim jeans fit his form without being tight. Boot legs covered the top part of his leather boots and I hated that he had name brand sweatshirts and t-shirts that could cover the cost of rent for Mom. He had no idea just what he was rubbing in my face. Or he did. Who knew with Brax.

  I stopped walking when I reached the bars holding me in. I draped my forearms on the horizontal bars of my cell and watched as Braddox approached me. He noticeably didn’t get closer than arms reach, keeping himself safe from me. Wariness furrowed his brow. What had he done now?

  I was the one in jail and yet I had a feeling that he was the one who had done something wrong.

  We stared at each other and he crossed his arms over his chest. He settled onto his left hip.

  “You’ve got to be shitting me. There’re two of you little pricks?” Norman’s voice broke through the tension between us and we both turned our gazes for a fleeting moment toward the occupants of the other cell. Norman stared blearily at us from a spot on the bench on the other side of the holding area. His blood shot eyes had widened as he tried absorbing the double image of me.

  I shook my head and looked back at Braddox, glaring with ill-defined heat. Another minute passed as we stared at each other. I didn’t want to look away. I couldn’t. There was something mocking in the way he looked at me and I suddenly realized what true hate felt like.

  There he stood on the other side of the bars, feet from me, and he wasn’t worried about me. He didn’t ask why I was in there. He didn’t seem worried about me or what I might do. It was like he knew I hadn’t done anything. I wanted the opportunity to tell someone, anyone, that I hadn’t done anything wrong. I’d been protecting my mom. Myself.

  I swallowed my anger, hoarse when I spoke. “You got my message.” That much was obvious, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say that wouldn’t seem like spitting in his face.

  “Yeah.” He jerked his chin my direction, his face devoid of emotion.

  The other guy beside Norman in the cell nearby didn’t speak as he shifted on his seat on the bench. Norman seemed to hang on our every word while the other guy wasn’t interested nor seemed to care about us and the things around our presence. We weren’t his way out.

  “Why’d you call, Jaxon?” The patronizing tone in his voice pulled my gaze back to him.

  I clenched my jaw and narrowed my eyes. He wanted me to beg. Fine. I just wanted to get out of there. I had to talk to Olivia. I needed to see if Crenshaw would mind if I stayed at the office for a while. At least until I figured out what I was going to do. I shrugged. “I need you to get me out of here.”

  Satisfied, Braddox tilted his head the other way, considering me. He motioned toward the ground between us and closed the distance until he could speak softly to me and I could hear it as if he yelled. “I don’t have a problem getting you out of here. At all. We all make stupid decisions sometimes. I was arrested in Paris not too long ago and Dad had to send money to get me out. No big deal. But it had a price.” He wasn’t joking.

  Judging by the seriousness of his expression, he had a price for me. Was it going to be worth it?

  “What do you want, Braddox?” I sighed. Him wanting something wasn’t new. I could probably even guess what it was going to be.

  His concern turned shrewd and he narrowed his eyes. “I want you to stay away from Olivia and Dad. I know you’ve been getting closer to both of them and I want it to stop. Now.”

  I pulled back from the bars, letting my hands hang by my sides as I stared at him. Both of them? He was making me give up both of them just so I could get out of there earlier?

  I drew my eyebrows together, careful not to speak too rashly or show all of my anger. “You want me to stay away from them? Well, I haven’t seen Dad in years, so that one’s covered and Olivia lives on the East Side, Braddox. She goes to school with me. We have the same classes, for hell’s sake. That’s a promise I won’t be able to keep.” I folded my arms, gripping the flesh above my elbows tighter and tighter to keep from tearing through the bars in frustration.

  Something flashed in his eyes and then disappeared behind nonchalance. He stepped even closer to the bars holding me, tapping the metal beside his face. “Then stay in here. It doesn’t affect me at all. And… maybe I need to give the dick who can’t stop staring at you legal counsel? I mean, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?” Braddox’s threat plummeted to the floor.

  I stared at him; my body frozen. I’d never had it so flatly stated to me how much someone hated me. And it wasn’t just anyone. This was Braddox. My brother. I hadn’t done anything to him and there he was… full of hate and bitterness toward me.

  I lowered my voice, blinking as reality crashed around me. “So that’s what we are, now? Enemies? I hadn’t realized it had gotten to that level.”

  Braddox’s nostrils flared and heat darkened his gaze. “You’re a damned liar, Jaxon. You’ve always tried to usurp me and my place in Dad’s life and Mom’s. Yet, you’re going to stand there and say you thought we were… what? Friends? We can’t stand each other and you know it.” Braddox grimaced as if somethin
g had entered his mouth with the aftertaste of arsenic.

  “I thought we were brothers. Family fights. It’s part of being family. We don’t need to see eye to eye about anything, but when we need each other, we should be able to be there for each other.” I dropped my eyes, unbearable sadness rendering its way through me. “I would be there for you. I would get you out of this kind of a mess. I watched over Mom all these years… I gave up everything else to go with her because you didn’t want to.” I snapped my gaze back to his face, searching for a sign that he didn’t completely hate me. “If I didn’t do that for you, who the hell did I do it for?”

  “You. Everything you do is for you. You’re selfish and you know it. You’re jealous. And. You. Know. It.” Braddox shrugged and stepped back, his boredom growing across his features. “I told you how to get out of here. Take it or leave it.” He stepped closer to the other cell, staring at Norman with an intensity I didn’t like. “I’m not kidding when I say I’m happy to get representation for someone else in here, if you don’t want it.”

  He would choose me or Norman and it really came down to my decision. Selfish or not, I had to make a choice. I had to set aside my anger and disappointment in Braddox and our relationship and move on to figuring out what was going to be the right actions for me.

  Was sitting there in jail the best way to get things straightened out with Olivia? Was it the best way to keep an eye on my mom? While Norman was inside, I could try reaching out to Mom and see if she’d sobered up enough from the night before to see things clearly. Who knew what was going to happen, if he got out before me?

  Norman stood, moving toward Braddox. He would do whatever Braddox wanted. It wasn’t a question of if, it was a question of how fast.

  I held up a hand, moving closer to the bars. “Wait.” Braddox wanted my pride and ego smashed beneath his boots. For some reason, he really hated me.

  As much as I hated lying, I hated having my choices taken away from me more. I could do whatever I needed to, once I got out. That’s all I needed. I just needed to get out to see what I could fix.

  Anything was possible once that happened.

  Braddox paused mid-stride, slowly turning his face toward me. “Wait for what? I have things to do and people to bail out.”

  While the bondsmen shops were closed and made it harder for other people to get the kind of money they needed to get out, I had no doubt Braddox had access to the cash needed to get me or Norman out.

  I swallowed, considering my options. “I’ll stay away from them to the best of my abilities, but you have to admit, Olivia is going to be difficult.” He couldn’t expect me to change classes or schools or anything like that. He had to be logical.

  Although, when had Braddox ever been logical or reasonable or anything that might correlate to either trait?

  His lips curved slightly. “Tell you what, I’ll leave Olivia off the table. You’re right. While she’s in your classes it makes it difficult to stick to a deal. So, let’s start with Dad. Stay away from Dad. No texting, calling, or seeing in person. To cover my bases, I’m even going to say no sending telegrams or emails. Got it?”

  No contact with Dad. If I gave that up, I’d lose my connection with my past, my present, and my future.

  I bit my tongue. I wasn’t going to really live up to whatever I promised him. I just wanted out of there. I needed out of there.

  Taking a deep breath, I nodded jerkily. “Fine. Deal. Whatever. Get me out of here.” I needed to get back to Mom to see what I could fix. While I wasn’t interested in staying with her anymore, I didn’t think it was out of line to check on her and see just how much of my things I could get back. Clothes, personal items, and the pictures of our family growing up were all I had of value in the world. I couldn’t leave them in that apartment to be forgotten like yesterday’s trash. The same way I’d been forgotten.

  I caught a whiff of Braddox’s expensive cologne. Cologne I would never be able to afford as long as I was stuck on the East Side of Shores.

  At least I didn’t have to give up Olivia. I nodded tightly, ignoring the constriction of my throat.

  Braddox narrowed his eyes as he watched me. He cocked his head the opposite way. “You know what? Maybe I need to let Norman out, too. I can’t have you running around without someone keeping tabs on you. I’m sure you understand?” Braddox nodded at Norman who growled from his new position right next to the corner of my cell. He glared at me as if that would get Braddox to let him out sooner.

  My stomach clenched. “Sure, I understand. Maybe I can get a little bit of a head start. Keep the game interesting.” Because wasn’t that what Braddox thought of our interactions?

  Real life for other people was entertainment to my brother.

  Or as he’d referred to us – my enemy.

  “Tell you what. Let’s spice up our deal. I’ll bail you out first by a few hours, and you’ll agree to stay away from Olivia everywhere else but school.” He offered me the deal like he was bartering for a candy bar.

  Everywhere but school. Braddox had no idea that we’d almost screwed in the mechanical closet at school.

  Braddox didn’t know that Olivia lived in the same apartment complex I did. He couldn’t watch her every moment of every day.

  I could sneak over at midnight and spend time with her. No one would see what I did in the shadows of the forest around the complex. One more secret I could keep from my brother.

  I jerked my chin up in acceptance of the terms.

  “Good. I don’t really care one way or the other, to be honest. Olivia and her mom moved into the O’Donnell house this morning. Dad married Maria last week and now Olivia’s new place is next door to mine. She’ll be going to West Shores again. You don’t need to worry about running into her at school so that will help you keep your end of the deal.” His grin came with gut wrenching slowness. How was it possible he’d pulled the rug out from under me?

  Even when I’d planned on subverting my agreement, he’d out-maneuvered me.

  I blinked, gripping the bars of my cell as I stared after Braddox as he turned, laughing, and walked away.

  I couldn’t breathe. My voice was hoarse as I called out. “Braddox! Braddox.”

  My twin stopped. He’d only made it a few feet and he turned back to me. “Yeah. Don’t think to renege now. It’s done as far as I’m concerned.”

  I licked my lips. “I know your goal is to nail Olivia.” I rushed on as Braddox narrowed his eyes. “Fine. I get it. If she’s living with you, that makes things a different situation. You can let Norman out, if you want to. He beats Mom, gives her drugs, and so much more, brother.”

  Braddox stilled as he listened to me, glancing with steely eyes at Norman who shrank from the bars of his cell. “I’m not letting anything get in my way, Jaxon. You want Olivia. I get that. But I was serious when I said challenge accepted. She’s not yours to make a deal over.”

  I held up my hands as if in surrender. “Fine. That’s totally fine. But I’ll make sure she knows what happened here when I do get out. I know you had to sign in to get to me. Dad will know that, too. If you walk out of here without releasing me…” I trailed off. I had his balls in a vice there. Why hadn’t I thought of that before? Desperation was making me think, breaking through the fog of no sleep and despair.

  “Go on.” He held his lips stiff, barely moving them as he spoke.

  “I’ll accept your terms and stay out of her way, unless I have to be around her because of similar circumstances like she’s at school or something and you…” I let my smile spread across my lips. “Can’t touch her either. You can play your flirting games and all that, but you can’t sleep with her. No matter how much she begs you.” I stepped back from the bars and threw my arms in the air. “Because as soon as you do, all bets are off. I’ll wrap up the deals I’ve got going on my end. They affect you more than you know and you won’t like what happens when they are finalized. What do you think? Agree?”

  He wouldn’t know ex
actly what I referenced, but he had to know something was going on with Dad to bring up that connection.

  He didn’t say anything about my relationship with Dad as he studied me.

  He looked at Norman, stepping away from me to get a better view of the shit Mom had left Dad for. Braddox slowly grinned. “I didn’t know who you were. Now that I do, you’re on your own. If I find out you went back to Jennifer, I’m going to hire someone to kill you. Do you understand?” He tapped his chest. “I have the money to do so.”

  Cocking his fingers like in a shooting motion over his shoulder, Braddox turned and moved toward the exit. “I’ll see you later, Jaxon. Try not to be a perma-dick. It doesn’t suit you.”

  While I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach finding out Olivia had moved in with Braddox, I couldn’t help smirking at Braddox’s reply. He accepted the deal and it wouldn’t be long before I’d be released.

  I didn’t have too much time to get things figured out, but now I had to plan how to get to Olivia. I had to make her understand what had happened and why I couldn’t see her anymore.

  While Braddox wouldn’t be having as much fun as he thought he would be, I had more of a chance at making sure Olivia was protected from his predatory ways.

  If nothing else, she deserved a chance to breathe from underneath the pressures around Braddox and me.

  One way or the other, I hoped she threw her knowledge about Staci in Braddox’s face. Once he knew about that, his plan would change. I could only hope Olivia was pissed enough at him not to forgive him too easily.

  If I wanted a chance to apologize to her, I could use all her animosity at Braddox I could get.

  Getting out would be the start. I had to put things into motion that even Braddox couldn’t stop.

  Chapter 3

  Olivia

  Braddox left without looking back which I was glad for.

  Normally, I can stick up for myself when I’m frustrated or mad, but with Braddox… Ugh, I just wanted to cry. How could he do what he’d done and then stand there flirting with me like he hadn’t screwed some tramp right after spending time with me?