The Way You Love Me: A High School Bully Romance

by Lannah Smith

  "Sure... Whatever you say, big guy."

  "I think I'm going to hit you."

  "Bring it the fuck on."

  "Did you find him, Skull?" Leon cut-in impatiently. "Did you find Rohan?"

  Skull shook his head, features tautened. "Not yet. I've got the others looking for him still. What the fuck was he thinking?" Skull rubbed a hand over his head. "He went too far."

  "My fault," John murmured in frustration. "I should have watched him closely."

  Skull's eyes sliced to the bandage on Leon's cheek. "Yeah, you should have."

  Silence engulfed them and John thought about Rohan. He didn't expect, as they were terrorizing his step-sister's boyfriend, that he'd have so much hate for the bastard. He didn't expect he'd grab a knife and try to stab him with it. And he certainly didn't expect Leon to interfere and get his face sliced up.

  Damn it, but this was his entire fault.

  He should have not lost his focus.

  Then he sneezed and he groaned again.

  And of all times, why did he have to be sick right now?

  This truly fucking sucked.

  "Are you sick?" Skull asked, a smile in his tone.

  He scowled. "For the last time, I am not sick!"

  "If you guys can't shut up, go back to truck," Leon hissed at them. "She'll fucking hear us."

  John whipped his gaze to the girl standing out on the balcony of the house. She was the said step-sister with the asshole boyfriend and she was also waiting for Rohan to come home. John sneezed again and Skull chuckled.

  "She'll hear us anyway if John doesn't stop sneezing," he observed.

  "I can't stop it!" John protested before sneezing yet again. "Fuck this."

  "Bless you."

  "Rohan!" Leon suddenly said and John turned his gaze to him. "Where the fuck are you?"

  John's body went solid and he curled his hands into fists. Whatever Leon was hearing, it must be bad because the look on his face wasn't happy or angry anymore. The look on his face read fear.

  "Man, you got to tell me where you are," Leon said low, clutching his phone so tight the skin of his knuckles were taut and white. Then he motioned to John and Skull that they had to go. "Where are you?"

  "What's happening, Leon?" Skull voiced out his question as he pushed the branch that almost caught his tall frame aside. "Where is he?"

  Leon shook his head to silence him. Then he started to run.

  John followed closely behind.

  Damn it, what was happening?

  When they got to his truck, John didn't waste any more time and quickly entered. Leon slid in the passenger seat and Skull barely had his ass on the backseat when John backed his truck out of its hiding place.

  "I'll fix this," Leon said in a pleading tone that made the hair on the back of John's neck rise. "You know I'll fix this."

  Fix what?

  Before he could ask, Leon had put his phone down from his ear. His best friend's expression was hard and desperate as he worked on the screen of his cell phone, texting so fast his fingers were a blur.

  "Where is he, Leon?" John asked, his hands a death grip on the steering wheel.

  Leon's hands stilled. He exhaled slowly and John instantly realized with devastating clarity before Leon answered where Rohan was.

  "The Den," Leon muttered.

  "Fuck," Skull whispered, leaning forward. "The Den? Are you serious?"

  How did he know how to get there? John thought angrily as he sped up the truck. He and Leon had never given its location away. And after all the hard work, the pleading, bargaining and scolding John did to make Leon stay away from that hellhole, he'd also have to deal and look out for Rohan? That brat really wanted to die.

  "How can he be so fucking stupid?" Skull ranted. "He could have gotten himself killed. Is he okay?"

  "I've got people checking," Leon answered quietly.

  What the hell?

  John twisted his neck towards Leon so fast he heard a crack. "I thought you said you cut all ties," he growled.

  Leon continued to text. "I said I wasn't doing it anymore."

  "You moron-!"

  "Focus," Skull bit off. "Save the fucking argument later. Can't you drive any faster, John?"

  "With pleasure," John muttered before he pushed the truck further past the speed limit. "And we're fucking talking about this when we get back, Leon."

  "Whatever," Leon replied in an irritated voice. "Just hurry."

  Oh, he'll hurry.

  Because if Rohan wasn't dead when they get there, he was going to wish he'd die with all the mess he'd made.

  Chapter 27

  Three years ago, Leon and Terry at age thirteen

  Terry opened the door to the teacher's faculty room. She silently padded inside, greeted a few teachers and went to her class advisor's desk. Her class advisor was sitting on his swivel chair, drinking coffee, but oddly enough, he seemed to be... snooping. In fact, all the teachers in the faculty room were.

  "Is that him?" Terry heard the science teacher ask the math teacher.

  "Yes. His son will be attending the school next school year."

  A rather large man was talking to the principal and a few of the middle school teachers in the conference room adjacent to her class advisor's desk. A boy her age stood quietly beside to the man. It was them that all the teachers were staring at intensely and Terry briefly wondered what all the fuss was about.

  She waited for her class advisor to put his cup back to it saucer before she spoke out loud, "Excuse me, sir."

  The teacher visibly jumped with a start. Terry acted like she hadn't noticed.

  "Y-yes, Miss Evans?" he asked as he straightened.

  "I'm here to get the printouts for class."

  "Ah, those." The teacher stood up and went to rummage in his cabinet. "Wait. I'll get them."

  Terry returned her gaze to the people in the conference room as she waited. Her teacher was quite disorganized as well as jumpy and she knew he would take some time. She saw that when the large man, who must be the father, put a hand on the boy's shoulder, the boy shrugged it off viciously. And she noticed that the boy was wearing a heavy jacket even though it was almost summer.

  There were a lot of things she also noticed.

  Like how concerned and pained the principal's eyes became whenever he looked at the boy. Like how the teachers who were in the conference room with them seemed to be tense and afraid of the father. Like how familiar the principal and the father seemed to be as they spoke with each other.

  Like how long and messy the boy's black hair was.

  And like how many fading bruises were peeking out under his hair, on his face and on his neck.

  "Found them," the teacher spoke and she looked at him. "Here they are, Miss Evans."

  Terry took them and excused herself. But before she stepped out of the room, she took one curious look back.

  The boy was looking at her.

  And Terry, who wasn't easily frightened by anything since she knew what true fear was, immediately removed her eyes from him and closed the door behind her.

  Because the boy's face was completely without expression, like glass.

  And his eyes looked cold, black.

  And dead.

  "Did you know Leon when you were in grade school?"

  We were eating lunch when Sophia asked that question. And I'd been in a very good mood before she asked that question because our results came and I was still the top of our year.

  I was also in a good mood because I had thought that compared to Cecil and Mary, I'd rather sit with Sophia during lunch because she wasn't much of a conversationalist and was quiet most of the time.

  I was so wrong.

  Making sure to school my features into disinterest, I looked at her from across the table. Hannah, who was sitting next to her, had eagerly leaned forward, her interest obviously piqued.

  "Why?" I asked slowly.

  "It's just that... I want to understand him better," Sophia whisp
ered reluctantly. "I want to know what he's like when he was a kid. Hannah said you probably knew him when you were in grade school."

  I went silent. For a moment, I was struck by the memory of the first time I saw Leon in school and it astonished me I'd remember after a long time. It felt like it had happened only yesterday, seeing the boy in the conference room with those dead eyes.

  Since that encounter, I rarely saw Leon in school again. Part of it was because he was put in the newly adopted Class S program and the building was different from the regular classes. Part of it was because I knew he was bad news. But mostly because he was always with the person I hated the most.

  John hadn't told me to keep Leon's history a secret. But it wasn't meant to be shared. Still, I thought I should tell Sophia something. Wasn't I supposed to be her friend? Her new confidant? This might earn me a few brownie points.

  "Leon started studying here in East Private back in middle school," I told her. "I heard he moved in town with a relative, possibly before the school year started."

  "How come I don't remember him?" Hannah asked.

  "I don't think you were in the same class with him. I only knew about that last bit because I heard the teachers talking about him." I looked at Sophia, who was silently mulling what I had said, and shrugged. "Look, I don't really know anything else about him. Other than the fact he's become the terror of our school."

  Hannah frowned. "The teachers won't even deal with him. Why is that?"

  "I don't know. They got no evidence, anyway. Even the people he bullied won't spill."

  "Maybe he's got a connection with the Mafia," she mused. "Or his father is the boss himself."

  Sophia giggled. "That's nuts," she said and I completely agreed with her.

  These baseless rumors were getting out of hand.

  "It could happen," Hannah insisted that I began to think she was part of the reason why rumors about Leon got out of hand. I wouldn't put it past her.

  And I still blamed her for making me to going to the ladies' room as an excuse to get away from her questions. If I hadn't gone, I wouldn't have heard that conversation. And if I hadn't gone, I wouldn't have become so angry that I'd call John. I also blamed my monthly mood. I could be quite explosive and rash when I have the cramps.

  Just thinking about it made my head hurt.

  "I think you need to have Italian roots to even be inducted," Sophia pointed out to Hannah.

  "Hey, you don't know anything about Leon anyway." Sophia flinched but Hannah didn't notice as she carried on, "Maybe, as the heir to the Mafia, he needed to beat people up and collect, I don't know, maybe a tooth from his victims?"

  I scrunched my face up in disgust. "Oh, gross."

  "Hey, Richard Keaton was found missing his front teeth."

  Sophia's hand started to tremble so much she had to put her fork down. Her face noticeably paled. But Hannah still didn't notice as she continued to talk about Leon and the Mafia.

  "Cheese puff," I declared, glaring Hannah down.

  Hannah stopped talking. Sophia's gaze jerked to me.

  "Cheese puff," I repeated as hard as I could.

  Hannah clamped her mouth shut and her eyes cut to Sophia's confused face. Cheese puff was our conversation safe word whenever I want her to stop talking and change the subject. It was for her to realize that she was becoming so insensitive, something she couldn't help because of her chatty personality.

  Sophia gave the impression that she was alright but her averted gaze told another story. And Hannah finally noticed.

  "You know what," Hannah hesitantly said. "Maybe Leon's not part of the Mafia. Maybe he's part of an intelligence group. Like a spy kid or something."

  "Oh, for heaven's sake," I mumbled. "Can we please talk about something else?"

  Sophia sent me a grateful look. I gave her a quick nod, resisting the urge to smirk smugly. Hannah began to discuss an upcoming party at a senior's house, a party I already told her I wasn't going and a party she was adamant to get the two of us to go to. She couldn't invite Sophia, Leon would obviously freak, so she kept trying to make me come with her instead.

  When she started to talk about going shopping, I almost said cheese puff again.

  I just groaned and put my head down, wishing the lunch hour would soon end.

  "Maybe I should get a tattoo," John mused, staring at Leon's tattooed back as Leon did push-ups on the floor of his basement gym.

  "Maybe you should get a girlfriend," Leon grunted as he continued. "So you'll leave me alone."

  John glared at his back.

  Here he was, trying to make light conversation to make Leon try to get his mind off Rohan and yet the jerk had to diss him.

  He did get a girlfriend.

  And he didn't like being reminded of the fact that he lost said girlfriend.

  Shaking his head, John muttered, "Sorry, but my body is allergic to monogamous relationships."

  Leon gave him an askance glance. "Really? Is that why you've been mooning over that girl?"

  "What girl?" John grumbled while he deliberated what weight he should lift from the stack.

  "Evans."

  A loud clank echoed around the basement when John dropped the dumbbell he had picked up.

  What the hell?

  "In fact," Leon went on, pushing off the floor to pick up his water bottle. "Why don't you tattoo her face over your chest?"

  Damn it.

  Damn it.

  He knew. He actually knew all along, the asshole.

  John scowled at him. "You're unbelievably talkative today."

  "I'm trying to get rid of you. Is it working?" Leon answered, humor in his tone now.

  "No."

  "So, about that Evans girl..."

  "Are we really talking about her?" John asked, exasperated.

  "She's been hanging around Sophia lately," Leon persevered, ignoring his groan of protest.

  "Great." He scratched his head and turned away. "We're really talking about her."

  "But I don't see why. She doesn't look interested to be Sophia's friend."

  John whipped his gaze at him. "Just like how I'm not interested to be having this conversation with you?"

  His snide remark, however, was ignored by Leon again.

  His best friend must really want him out of his house.

  Well, unfortunately for him, John was not going to leave him alone. He'd been having nightmares again since they picked up Rohan from the Den. He'd seen the devastation on his best friend's face when he took one look at the brat. It destroyed John too, seeing Rohan so broken but he had to stay strong for all of them, just like how Leon was trying to be strong for Rohan.

  John wasn't going to be leaving him alone for awhile.

  Especially since he wasn't seeing Sophia as much as they both liked. Being with Sophia meant a happy Leon. Not being with her meant a despondent Leon.

  So John definitely wasn't going to be leaving him alone for awhile.

  "I don't see why you like her," Leon muttered, twisting the cap of his bottle. "She's barely a C-cup."

  And, unfortunately for him, Leon wasn't going to give up without a fight.

  "Seriously, Leon?" John groaned, leaning his back against the wall, crossing his arms on his chest. "Are we really, really going to talk about her?"

  "I'm still not seeing you leave."

  "I'm not going anywhere, Leon."

  Leon glared at him and he glared back.

  Then a thoughtful look came over his best friend's eyes and John braced himself.

  "So she's just one of the girls you fuck on a regular basis, is that what she is?"

  John straightened from the wall in a flash but didn't move from it.

  "You've bragged about assigning girls on every day of the week. What day is she? Tuesday? Thursday? Wait. You went home early last Friday. So is she the Friday girl, then?"

  "Even if it's you," John murmured low and deadly. "Even if it's you, Leon, I will smash your fucking face in if you talk about her
like that ever again."

  Leon's brows rose.

  It wasn't John to threaten him like that.