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

by Taylor Blaine

  Braddox’s jawline ticked and he shifted on his feet. “I wasn’t only in it for the sex, obviously. It would have helped.” He looked away from me, staring at the floor, then more pointedly toward the door. “If that’s all…”

  It wasn’t, but I wasn’t going to push him any farther than I already had.

  I paused, placing my hand on the doorjamb and looking back at him until he met my gaze with his. “Are you going to Mom’s funeral next Saturday?” Dad had let me know with a text that arrangements had been made.

  Without missing a beat or even changing his expression, Braddox answered. “Why? She’s been dead to me for years.”

  He shut the door on me, not caring that I barely got my fingers off the doorjamb in time.

  If Braddox wasn’t going to do anything to deal with the Ryan situation, then that left me to do the dirty work. I didn’t have any problem with that, but it made things a little stickier since it wasn’t my territory and I didn’t know who to involve.

  Ten steps from Braddox’s room, I stopped at the sound of my twin’s voice calling to me. “Be ready in a couple hours. I’ve got something in mind for Ryan, but it’d be better to have us both there. Like a solid front.” A solid front. When had that ever mattered to him?

  I didn’t turn around and acknowledge him. Why should I? I’d gotten what I wanted and he was going to get to be in charge. That would be fine for both of us for the moment.

  Treading softly down the hall, I pulled out my phone and slid into a seat in the window nook to wait.

  Me: What are you doing tonight? Is everything okay after the stabbing?

  I wanted to put in a smiley face or something, but I wasn’t sure I was asking in a joking way. I honestly wanted to know if she was okay.

  Olivia seemed even-keeled, not likely to lose it at the first sign of problems. She’d slapped me and then Braddox, but that wasn’t like stabbing someone. The fact that she’d physically harmed someone seemed like an alert that she was close to losing it. I didn’t want to see that happen. She’d been through a lot.

  O: It depends. Know anyone being a dickhead that needs to be stabbed?

  I didn’t want to say it, but Braddox definitely came to mind at her question. I grinned, leaning back in the couch and staring at her comment. My thumb slid over the digital keyboard.

  Me: Is that all it takes?

  O: Apparently. I’m hanging out with Steph tonight. Want to come over?

  Did I? Yes, but at the same time, I doubted Stephanie needed another guy around. She probably just needed her friend. Not to mention, I had plans with Braddox to deal with Ryan.

  Me: Maybe later we can get together. I wouldn’t mind kissing you again.

  I hit send before I could delete the last line. I really did want to kiss her again. There was nothing wrong with me telling her that.

  Unless she didn’t feel the same way. What if she didn’t feel the same?

  Her response came seconds later.

  O: I’m not staying the night. Wanna meet me in my room later?

  Me: I’ll text you.

  O: ??

  The thought of what that might lead to left a grin on my lips. I wasn’t like Braddox. Just because she and I hadn’t hooked up yet, didn’t mean I had any reason to be mad at her. For one, it wasn’t the only reason I was interested in her. Did she make my blood boil and parts of me want to spend all month with her in bed, sure. But was that the only thing I found attractive about her, no. She was smart, funny, and kind. Not to mention her loyalty seemed to have no limits.

  Lost in thought, I stared out the window.

  “You gonna stay there all night, or what?” Braddox cut through my thoughts.

  I glanced up, furrowing my brow as I took in his outfit of black jeans and a black button-up shirt. “Are we heading out to rob someone?” The drastic contrast between his outfit and my blue jeans, gray t-shirt and maroon hoodie made me think he had something going on with the mafia or something.

  “No, smartass. We’re going to straighten out West Shores’ crooked dickhead. Let’s go. I’m not waiting for you all night.” Braddox glanced at my clothes and shook his head, but didn’t say anything.

  With the mercurial nature of my mood, it was probably for the best he didn’t.

  Maybe I could get back to see Olivia before it was too late. I needed a stress reliever and spending time with her always left me feeling like a brand new guy.

  Something Braddox couldn’t break.

  I liked that about my relationship with Olivia immensely.

  Chapter 14

  Olivia

  “You should have been arrested. I still can’t believe you did that to him.” Stephanie lowered her phone and stared at me wide-eyed. “It’s all over social media. He was just let out of the hospital. He’s gonna kill you.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “He’s going to kill me.”

  “He’s not going to touch you.” I tossed my hair back behind me and shook it out with my free hand. My other hand was busy twisting a rubber band from my wrist. A small twinge of anticipation tugged in my stomach but I pushed it away. “I don’t care what he tries to do. He deserves it and worse.” Picturing the way his friends looked at me, I giggled nervously. “They were pissed, though, weren’t they?”

  When she smiled, her bruises looked a little less prominent. “They were furious.” She shook her head again and flopped back on the couch in her living room. Staring at the ceiling, she grew pensive. Furrowing her brow, she lifted her head and looked at me where I sat on the recliner. “I really do want to check out Staci’s place. I feel like you did that for me and now I want to do something for you. If nothing else, maybe we can at least figure out what is going on with her. Maybe she has a voodoo doll of you or something that she stabs with pins.”

  Staci. Thinking about Staci didn’t help the anxiety twisting in my gut. There was nothing around it, though. I needed to figure out what the connection between she and I was and how it affected me. Something didn’t feel right and I had a feeling it was tied to Dad’s death.

  Something in my gut warned me a lot of my identity was going to shift when I found out the secret and that same part of me wanted to leave it alone. Curiosity killed the cat. I didn’t want to test out that metaphor for myself.

  Finishing with my hair, I met Stephanie’s gaze and we stared at each other for a little while. Did she understand what we were doing? Did she get the legalities and the danger involved? Sometimes Stephanie thought she could do whatever she wanted because she had money. Other times she just acted stupid because she was bored. Which time was this?

  “If we do go over there, we aren’t taking the bleach and we’re not destroying anything. Do you understand?” It wasn’t because I liked Staci, it was more of a self-preservation tactic. Plus, Stephanie didn’t need to add jail time to her injuries.

  Stephanie’s eyes grew wide as pure glee spread across her beaten face. “Yes! Come on, let’s go. You can borrow a hoodie.” She scanned my form. “And black pants. That outfit will never do.”

  She pulled me to her room where she proceeded to dress us in reconnaissance clothing or the best of her ability. She even stuffed our hair into black knit hats and swiped black Halloween makeup across our cheeks.

  I glanced in the mirror when she announced she was done and grinned. “We look like little girls dressed for Trick or Treating.” Except we didn’t. We looked pale and scared and like we were leaving to do something we definitely shouldn’t be doing. I swallowed. What would Jaxon think of this? What would my mom?

  Tugging on my arm with both hands, she giggled as she jiggled me in my spot. “Let’s go do some tricking.”

  Spring gales seemed the strongest when the sun was out. Since the moon rode high in the sky, the wind had lost its fervor, and weakly attempted to blow against us when we opened the door.

  We crept from the back door of Stephanie’s, following a well-used path to the coastal side of her property. Stephanie’s place and the Stabler place wer
e separated by a thick rock wall that was covered in ivy and moss.

  At that late hour, we couldn’t see the beauty of the setting. But from memory, I could see the varying green in the plants, the rich brown of the earth, the twisty, almost black vines of the ivy and trees, and the brilliant blue of the sky when the sun was out.

  When we were younger, Stephanie and I had convinced our dad’s it was a good idea to put a small hole in the wall that we could get through. Once we started getting bigger, it hadn’t been much for us to steal hammers from the gardener sheds and pick away at the edges of the hole so we could continue getting through. Even as we had gone our separate ways, we’d always had each other. More so now, then around the time of my dad’s death.

  I couldn’t contain the surge of jealousy that Stephanie shared the secret hideout with Staci, even though Staci had no idea what or where it was. I wanted my life back. I wanted my dad alive, my room back, my car, all of it. I wanted my life back and I hated Staci for having it. If my suspicions were accurate, there was more I would hate her for as soon as everything came out in the open.

  If I was wrong, I’d apologize to her face, but something told me she knew my dad from before. Maybe her mom had been a cheap fling or something. I wasn’t sure. Dad had kind of disappeared a lot there for a while. I wouldn’t be surprised if something like that had happened.

  Stephanie followed me as I pushed the low hanging ivy boughs to the side, ducking and maneuvering through the tight space. I glanced back, huffing. “I can’t believe we used this. When was the last time?” It couldn’t have been long ago.

  “Five years. Junior high. We kind of stopped seeing each other as much around that time and then when we did see each other it was because we drove or whatever.” Her tone turned wistful.

  Had I turned into a bad friend because I’d gotten a boyfriend and thought being popular mattered? I stopped in the shadows of the trees and turned to face her, placing my hands on the tops of her biceps.

  I waited until she looked up at me, her eyes dark in the lack of light. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to abandon you so much when we got into high school.” If I hadn’t let myself get distracted, maybe she wouldn’t have been so lonely and gone after anything with a dick. Maybe she could have been happier, staying away from the boys and just hanging out with me. I don’t know.

  She broke the hold I had on her and threw her arms around me. “It wasn’t just you. I did it, too.” Relief colored her words and even though we spoke in low volumes, I could feel the emotion.

  I pulled back, smiling again. “Funny we’re having this kind of a moment by the old hole.”

  Stephanie patted my back. “Come on. Let’s break into your house.” The phrasing added a humor to the situation and lessened the severity of what we were doing.

  I remembered all the fallen logs, protruding boulders, and sprinklers in their hidden spots throughout the yard. I might have moved out three months or so ago, but that wasn’t enough time to delete years of memories I’d created playing in the acres of property between the two homes.

  Stephanie moved beside me, slightly limping, but otherwise fine and seemingly up for the adventure.

  We got closer to the tree and brush line that surrounded the landscaped yard. Slowing down, we crept closer to the edge, crouching down behind a bush I couldn’t remember the name of.

  From our vantage point it was easy to see the majority of the driveway, the backyard which included the pool, the hot tub, and the basketball court. On the other side of the house would be the garage, the parking area, and the garden which was mostly flowers or had been when Mom owned it.

  Multiple levels with various eaves and angles gave the house an original feel when you looked at it from any perspective.

  The exterior lights were on in the front, but they’d been shut off in the back. That would make entry much easier. Lights on in the kitchen and living room on the ground level as well as in two rooms on the second level suggested someone was home.

  A car pulled out of the driveway. Stephanie and I ducked lower behind the bush. I covered my mouth with my hand to hold in my nervous giggle.

  Stephanie glanced at me sharply and shook her head.

  I nodded, lowering my hand, suddenly serious. What in the hell were we doing?

  The headlights from the car skimmed past us as it turned in the driveway, pulling away from the house. The inside of the house glowed without change. Someone had left, but not everyone.

  Less than two minutes passed as Stephanie and I stared at the house. My fingertips started to hurt from the cold. I should have worn gloves. Next time Stephanie and I went on an illicit adventure, I’d have to remind her to dress us better.

  A truck pulled into the driveway with an extended cab and parked in front of the house, still in full view from where we crouched.

  Three guys climbed out, high-fiving as they headed cockily into the house.

  Stephanie and I turned our faces slowly to look at each other. I swallowed, distaste in the scrunching of my nose. “Do you think she’s screwing them all?” I might have been a virgin, but I’d heard plenty of stuff from Stephanie to know what was possible and what wasn’t.

  The fact that Staci had hinted at groups hadn’t actually registered as something that she actually did. Hopefully, I didn’t have to ask her.

  “I wanna see.” Stephanie stayed crouch to the ground and crawled across the grass, keeping low until she reached the house. She pressed her back against the siding underneath a partially covered window. From that distance, the black lines under her eyes made her look like a football player – a really small one.

  I was too nervous to move. Stephanie had more balls than I did to creep around so close to the house. My palms broke out in a sweat and I rubbed my moist hands on my bent legs.

  What were we doing? What had I gotten myself into? What had I expected we were going to do? Maybe just prowl around the edges of the perimeter or something that made us feel daring and dangerous, but not actually anything illegal. Certainly not going right up to the house. That hadn’t been something I’d considered as a possibility.

  Stephanie’s smile was bright as she turned on all fours and placed her fingers on the edge of the windowsill, slowly rising up until she could peek through the slit in the curtains. She stood slowly, transfixed on whatever she watched through the window. Waving her hand my way, she motioned for me to join her, only glancing back over her shoulder with urgency on her face.

  What was she watching? What was happening in that house? What if those guys were raping Staci? Or maybe they were beating her up. I had no idea. Anything seemed likely, though.

  I stood, repeatedly scanning the property I could see for a sign that we were going to be caught or something worse – I’m not sure if there was anything worse, but I was watching for it. Hunched over, I took another handful of minutes before I could make myself run across the grass. In a bent over position, I ran like a little bitch. Not my proudest moment.

  Coming to a stop beside her, I pressed my back against the siding, studying her face and trying to control my breathing. Whispering, I rubbed my fingers together and blew in them. “What’s going on? Why are we so close to the house?”

  “She really is a slut, Liv. I can’t believe this. It’s oddly… hot? But really disturbing, too. I’ve never…” She shook her head but didn’t look away from the window.

  Curiosity did get the better of me, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to see what was going on in that house. I turned, ducking so I was under Stephanie’s range of view and peeked through the opening.

  Stephanie hadn’t been wrong. I dropped from the window, covering my mouth and widening my eyes as I spun back to where I’d been before looking.

  I wasn’t sure I could ever unsee that. Staci had been naked and on all fours. The three guys had surrounded her and with the brief glimpse I’d gotten, they were availing themselves of parts of her she shouldn’t be comfortable with. “Holy crap, why would she do
that?”

  Stephanie shrugged and ducked back to sit with me, something sparking in her eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe she’s as messed up as I am.” She ended on a grin but I could see something wasn’t right.

  I furrowed my brow, staring at Stephanie, trying to get that image out of my head of the things going on behind us. “Have you done something like that?” I couldn’t picture Stephanie allowing a group of guys to do to her what Staci obviously welcomed.

  I couldn’t picture Stephanie doing anything trampy, though. She was my friend and I didn’t want to think of her that way. She wasn’t a porn star or anything else. She was my friend and should be respected.

  She shrugged, resting her forearms on her drawn up knees and sliding down until her butt hit the bark beneath us. I followed suit and waited for her to continue. She glanced at me, guilt in her eyes and then she looked back at her hands. “I’ve done things… with guys, Olivia, that I’m not proud of. I’m not really sure Ryan was the father, but… what do you do, right? I was pregnant and he was the guy I was with. Doesn’t mean he was the only guy I’d slept with. You know?” She took a deep breath and then sighed. “I know you don’t understand. You’re one of the most loyal people I’ve ever met. I just hope I deserve you as a friend someday.”

  Her odd comment gave me pause and I studied her a little bit longer in silence. After a second, I reached out, grabbing her hand and holding it in mine. We sat there in silence for a while longer.

  The front door opened and closed. I held my breath as if whoever had come outside was going to catch us where we sat. Three guys whooped and hollered in satisfaction. We couldn’t see from where we hid, but the truck starting up told us they were leaving.

  Staci would be alone again. Maybe. But for how long?