by Lannah Smith
"Where's Leon?" John asked when he only found Skull and Rohan. Skull was on the couch while Rohan was on the chaise across him. They were both playing video games, muttering curses at each other.
"Upstairs," Skull grunted, his eyes focused on the TV screen. "But he's—"
John didn't hear what he said next because he was already climbing the stairs. Opening the first door he found, he entered and looked for Leon in the darkness. What he found instead made him narrow his eyes and made him feel even more pissed.
"I didn't know you were here, April," he said, his voice snide.
April glanced his way and didn't look the least disconcerted, even though she was only wearing the skirt of her uniform and straddling Leon. His best friend, on the other hand, was glowering at him.
"When she gets off you, I'll meet you downstairs," John muttered before he closed the door behind him.
Then he exhaled in annoyance.
Damn it.
Why the hell was Leon with her again?
John went back downstairs and dropped his body next to Skull on the couch. "I didn't know he was still fucking her," he muttered at him.
Skull shrugged. "She came earlier, saying she wanted to talk to Leon."
"Are you sure she didn't say fuck?" Rohan mumbled, tapping the buttons on his controller furiously. "I didn't know Leon was dating a North High girl."
John swallowed the angry retort in his throat and exhaled, praying for calm.
"They're not dating," he told Rohan, reaching for a slice of pizza.
Skull groaned when his character died. Rohan put his controller down. Twisting his head around, he asked, "Why not?"
"I don't know. Ask him."
Rohan frowned in thought. "You're not dating anyone right now, aren't you?"
John lifted a brow. "Life's too short to be tied down to one girl."
"Slut," Skull coughed and Rohan chortled.
"Girls are like flowers, kid." John finished his pizza and opened a can of coke. "And it's a guy's responsibility to blossom their beauty. Wait, why are you playing again?" he asked when they turned back to the screen. "You should listen to me, especially you Skull. You might learn something from my passionate love for the existence of females."
They both continued to studiously ignore him. He cracked a smile.
"Why the questions anyway, kid? Don't tell me." He leaned away from Rohan's direction, adopting an expression of disgust on his face. "You're in love with me, aren't you?"
Skull burst out into snickers. With a scowl, Rohan turned around and threw a pillow at him.
"Don't be fucking gross, John," Rohan muttered angrily, dodging the pillow Skull sent back. "There are rumors circulating around school that you're dating someone. That's why I asked."
John's grin died. "You're kidding me right?"
"It's even on Facebook."
That fucking bitch.
This was why he didn't like touching any of the girls in school. They were vultures, circling around, waiting for a chance to rise in society. This was why he didn't like girls in the first place, until he found use of them.
When parents began to flock around him, coddling and fussing over him, he knew it was not because of his talents. It was because of who his parents were and what he was about to become in the future. He didn't take it too kindly. But his parents told him to pretend. So pretend he did.
But when their little girls were forced upon him, it was too much. He didn't like how they cried for his attention, throw tantrums when they lost it, and pretended to like him. He didn't like lowering himself to protect their shallow feelings.
He still pretended. In front of the grown-ups. Since he was little, he had learned from his parents lessons, rules on how to pretend to smile, laugh and never show what he was really feeling. To never show weakness and never trust anybody but them. And he had learned all of them the hard way.
But as soon as the grown-ups turned their back, he was cruel and unaffectionate to their children but in a way that they would never blame him. They blamed themselves for not teaching their children proper decorum. They blamed their children for losing restraint and forgetting manners. But never him.
"I just fucked her," John explained, running an agitated hand over his head.
"She must have thought she hit the jackpot when young master Steele gave her his time of the day," Skull mumbled.
"Hey, don't call me that, Christopher."
"It's Skull!"
"You're both so immature," Rohan mumbled. "So what are you going to do about it, John?"
"Don't worry," John said, putting the can down to his lap. "I'll end those rumors tomorrow."
"How?"
John smirked. "Fuck another girl."
"Is this how the heir of Steele Pharmaceuticals talk nowadays? Your parents must be so proud."
John shifted his gaze to the stairs. April was coming down, pulling her strawberry blonde hair into a high ponytail. Leon was right behind her. John's lips pulled back as he tilted his head.
"Hello again, April. I didn't know you do house calls now."
Her eyes blazed down at him as she passed by the couch. "Fuck you, John."
"You wish," he retorted. "And watch your language, April. We have a child in the room."
At that, Rohan whipped his head around and threw him a withering glare. April's lips curled in derision.
"I'm taking her home," Leon told them, getting his helmet from the table. "I'll be back."
"Careful, Leon," John warned good-naturedly. "After she's done with your dick, she'll be after your heart next."
Leon sighed and put his hand on the small of April's back. "Let's go."
"I hope to God you wore a condom."
"Shut it, John."
"Don't worry, darling." April lifted the corner of her lips, appraising John with an almost lazy glance. "I don't have feelings. There's nothing he can say that will hurt me."
John's answer was a cock of his brow.
Cold-hearted bitch.
Girls may be vultures but she was a snake.
Insidious. Cunning. Contemptible.
If he had to pick a flower to describe her, he'd pick an oleander. In the language of flowers, it meant caution. Oleander flowers were also known to be toxic, which was exactly what she was.
She may have fooled a lot of guys but not him. John had known her since her spoiled toddler years to her spoiled teenage years. He only put up with her because they ran in the same circles but when she went after Leon, his tolerance faded. He didn't like the thought of her using Leon, even if it was just for sex, because he knew she had an ulterior motive. She always had one.
As soon as they left, Skull, who had hunched over on his seat being unobtrusive as possible, straightened and looked around.
"Huh. I got to call the maids later," he said in contemplation.
"Why?" Rohan asked.
"To make sure her nasty ho germs won't stick around."
Rohan grinned. "What the hell did she do to make you morons hate her?"
"She's evil, Rohan," Skull told him. "Evil."
John nodded in agreement. "That and because she made him cry during middle school."
Skull's nostrils flared. "Hey, fuck you."
"I still remember that massive party you hosted when you heard she transferred schools last summer, Skull."
"Really?" Rohan said in curious amusement. "Did she really make him cry, John? Why?"
Before he could tell him, Skull threw his controller down and lunged at him. John yelped and quickly jumped out of the couch, running away from him.
◆◆◆
I adjusted the strap of my backpack as I made my trek across campus. Stifling a yawn, I trudged through the grounds, the crunch of leaves echoing around me.
A horde of guys passed by me, laughing and shoving each other. They were players of the football team. I would have ignored them when I saw a kid, a freshman by the looks of it, being dragged along with them. Somebody's arm was slung o
ver his shoulder and he didn't look comfortable. Not in the least.
Narrowing my eyes, I saw that it was Dwayne Williams, the vice-captain of the football team, who had a hold on him. Suspicion began to nag at me. Dwayne was not known to be friendly nor was he a good guy.
I followed them when they turned into the narrow alley behind the building. Just as I turned the corner, Dwayne suddenly pushed the freshman aggressively against the wall. The kid whimpered in fright when Dwayne grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. My alarm turned into anger.
What a bastard.
"What are you doing, Williams?" I demanded.
Dwayne looked up and lost his cocky grin when he saw me approaching. He let go of the freshman's collar and swung his arm around the trembling kid's shoulders.
"If it isn't little Miss Evans," Dwayne declared mockingly. "What can I do for you?"
"Let him go," I said in the coldest voice I could muster.
Dwayne's eyes widened. "Jimmy? What did you think I was doing to him?"
"Jim Austin, right?" I asked the frightened freshman. He nodded. "Please go back to your class."
"But Jimmy and I aren't done talking," Dwayne scowled.
Returning my gaze to him, I told him, "You're done. Class is about to resume in five minutes and freshmen have their exams today." I lifted my chin at Jim. "Go. Now."
Dwayne's scowl deepened. His friends looked unhappy as they murmured among themselves. Having no other choice, Dwayne lifted his arm from Jim's shoulder and the kid immediately scampered away.
"You should have just minded your own business, Terry," Dwayne muttered darkly.
My brows rose. "Aren't you a senior now, Williams? Shouldn't you be outgrowing these childish antics by now? Or is it actually hard to grow up and be a man?"
He pointed a finger at me. "Watch your mouth."
"Remove your finger from my face or I will break it."
"You bitch."
Unfazed, I crossed my arms over my chest and interrupted, "You know I've been called a lot worse. Now will you remove your finger? Or should I really snap it into two?"
In anger, Dwayne lunged at me, raising his arm to strike. I was prepared for it, however. Grabbing his wrist with both hands, I ducked under his arm and while turning in a full circle, twisted his arm up and behind his back. I shoved him forward, slamming his body against the wall.
His friends tried to help him but I gave them a threatening glance and they stilled.
After all, wasn't I the princess of the school?
The title, though irksome, had its benefits.
I turned back to Dwayne, who was turning red in the face from the pain. "I can have your vice-captaincy revoked, Williams," I told him in a cold voice. "One more toe out of the line and I'll have you kicked out of the team."
Taking a step back, I let him go. He whirled, his expression murderous. We glared at each other, none of us backing down. Then, as sudden as his anger flared, he diffused and turned pensive. Wary, I kept a close watch on him and his friends.
"What about you?"
Confused, I asked, "What do you mean?"
A grin broke out of his face and his eyes began to scrape me from head to toe.
"I've heard... things." His eyes alighted on mine. "About you."
It took everything in me not to wince.
"Well, congratulations," I intoned. "The bell has rung. Go back to class."
He laughed and for a moment, fear took a hold of me, making me almost tremble where I stood. My hands fisted, my nails biting into my palm. The pain shot through me and I didn't tremble.
"Pretending to be innocent," he remarked. He leaned in and continued in a low voice, "When in fact, you're just as dirty as the rest of us."
Before I could react, he had stepped back, laughing.
"I'll see you around, Terry."
He dared.
John's hands shook with anger and he clenched his teeth.
He fucking dared to try and touch her.
John watched as the bastard and his friends laugh at Terry and went away. Terry was still rigid on the spot. Whatever Dwayne had said gave her pause. When she was able to move, her face was blank, the blood drained from her face, and her hands were clenched into permanent fists.
His temper soared.
Dwayne Williams was going to fucking pay.
John turned and walked out of the alley, reaching for his cell phone at the same time. After searching for Skull's name in his list of contacts, he pressed call and put it to his ear.
"What?" Skull asked as soon as he answered.
"About Dwayne Williams, you found something about him, right?"
There was a long period of silence before Skull answered, "Rohan did. He also found more and it's worse than we think it was. You sound pissed. Are you al—?"
"Tonight," he interrupted, clenching his fist around his phone.
"What do you mean tonight?"
"Let's get him tonight."
Before Skull could reply, he ended the call. He felt his temperature increase as his anger elevated and he did his best to lock it down.
With one thought, he crossed the campus and went to his truck.
Dwayne Williams was going to pay tonight.
Chapter 7
11 years ago, John and Leon at age five
"Are my eyes deceiving me or is that really Thomas Steele I'm seeing?"
John looked up from his picture book. His father, who was about to close the door of his car, turned his head around. John watched his eyes light up in recognition, his lips lifting into a wide , he looked at who his father was staring at.
"Nick, is that you?"
A tall, black-haired man was standing a few feet away from them. Holding his hand was a boy John's age. John scrunched his nose at the sight of him. His clothes were a mess, his shoes muddy, and tucked under his arm was a soccer ball. He was so covered in dirt that he clearly was in dire need of a bath. Contrary to him, John was spotless. Even his shoes looked brand-new, as though he'd just taken them out of the box.
When the boy caught him looking, he slipped behind his father's legs. John snorted and resumed reading his book.
The men greeted each other jovially, clapping each other's back.
"Good to see you again, Nick. I forgot you live in the area."
"What brings you here?"
"Business. My family is moving here for the time being."
"Is that your son?"
John slid his gaze up to the man who clearly was his father's friend.
"Yes," Thomas answered, patting his son's head. "This is John. He just turned five last month. Say hello to my friend, John."
"It's nice to meet you, sir," John complied. "I'm John."
"He's the same age as my son." Nick twisted his upper body to look down at his son, who was still hiding behind him. "This is Leon. Sorry, he's a little shy to strangers. Come, Leon. You should introduce yourself too."
"He looks just like you," Thomas said in amazement. Leon slowly stepped forward and he crouched down, smiling at the young boy. "Hello, Leon."
"Hi," Leon whispered.
"My son John is going to need friends since we're new in town," Thomas gently told him. "I hope you can be his friend."
No way, John thought, glaring at Leon's dirty shoes.
There was no way they'd ever be friends.
His truck was a fucking dump.
This was what John thought as the engine sputtered for the fourth time and died. Gritting his teeth, he leaned back and exhaled. His eyes scanned the dashboard, at the bobble head dog to the burnt cigarettes and crushed cans of beer and soda. A faint rotten smell lingered in the air and it made him wrinkle his nose in disgust. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the car seat.
How long? How long was he going to be like this?
Well. At least he had finally calmed down and curbed the burning anger inside him.
But, fuck it. He still wanted to hunt the asshole down and tear him into sh
reds.
Two loud knocks rapping against the window made his eyes fly open.