Bully Anthology: Boys of Westview Academy, books 1-4

by Mina Thorne

  “I don’t remember much about their marriage, we left when I was very young,” Barrett said.

  My dad came breezing out of the bedroom holding the red velvet dress draped over his arms.

  “She’s inconsolable,” he said and stopped in front of us. “I don’t have time to deal with this bullshit.”

  “I’ll take it,” I said. “What does she need done?”

  He leaned close to me and said, “Take it to the designer. Have them increase the size but make the tag a zero. She can’t know she’s putting on weight, and she can’t know that I prefer her that way. She looks more like a healthy woman now, not a high strung racehorse.”

  I laughed and said, “No worries. I will handle all of it and get it back to her before the masquerade party.”

  “Thank you, princess,” he said and handed the dress to me. He kissed me on the forehead and added, “I knew I could count on you.”

  He walked back down the stairs, I said goodnight to Roland and Barrett and went back to my room to plan for the masquerade at the club.

  I wasn’t finished getting Elaine back, and I had an idea to get Becca too.

  I could barely suppress my giggles as I worked it all out.

  Chapter 52

  “Are you certain the designer is going to have it here on time?” Elaine asked and paced back and forth as she stressed about her dress for the Halloween masquerade at the club.

  We were all going, I had planned a group costume with Rome, Barrett and Whitt. I was going as Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones and my guys were going as Dothraki warriors.

  Roland was coming along too, I’d tried to get him to be my fourth warrior but he’d opted to go as a cheerleader. He’d even squeezed himself into my uniform and bought a blonde wig with pony tails. I’d taught him a couple routines he could call out with my pom poms.

  “They just texted, the delivery driver will be here in half an hour. Why don’t you go get your makeup and hair done, and I’ll bring it up when it arrives?”

  She smiled at me and said, “Thank you, Stephanie. I know I can be a real bitch to you sometimes, but it is nice to have you here.”

  I smiled back and watched her go up the stairs to her room where a team of beauty stylists were going to get her ready for the masquerade.

  I didn’t even fully understand what her costume was. Just big haired slutty cheating wife in a tacky velvet dress was my best guess.

  I waited for the designer’s assistant to show up, they really had texted me and I only had five minutes to wait. I’d lied to Elaine so I could have a few minutes alone with the dress.

  I took it from the frazzled looking girl, thanked her and headed to my room with it. Sienna was coming over in half an hour to get ready with me so I had to act fast.

  I’d researched online what I had to do. I grabbed my seam ripper and fabric tape from my dresser and went to work.

  After I was finished, you never would have been able to tell the dress was tampered with.

  I couldn’t wait to see the results of my careful weakening of the seams along the edges. I imagined Elaine would explode out of it like an overripe fruit and I was laughing at the image in my head already.

  I took the dress in to where she was sitting, she thanked me profusely, and I headed back to my room.

  I applied my make up, giggled a little at my plans for the night, then called the girl from Elaine’s room who worked on my elaborate braids.

  When Kit let Sienna in, I was almost done my hair and was ready to get into my costume. I had bought another wig, a dark one with short hair for later…to help with something else I had planned.

  I double checked my purse to make sure I had everything I needed, and Sienna and I went downstairs to meet up with the guys. We would be taking a car service so we could sneak some drinks at the party.

  Whitt had come over a few minutes earlier with Rome, Barrett and Roland had just passed my room in the hall. I’d heard them speaking.

  “Are you ready for the best night of the year?” Sienna asked me and stood up after finishing her makeup. She held her arms out and spun around.

  She was dressed as Anne Boleyn, complete with a gorgeous silk hand sewn gown and elaborate wig atop her normal hair. Chase was going as her courtly lover and would meet us there.

  “You look amazing!” I said and smiled. “This is going to be the best night, isn’t it?”

  We held hands and ran downstairs to meet the guys. I couldn’t help but notice how my three boys’ eyes lit up when they saw me.

  And how fucking hot each one of them looked.

  They had gotten their costumes at a store in town, but one that sold movie quality props. Rome had gotten his hair colored just for tonight, and they all had fake tattoos on their arms and across their abs.

  They were shirtless, wearing only leather pants with boots and carrying spears.

  I had to admit it, I was really turned on by the sight of three barbarian warriors waiting for me.

  We climbed into the car service and drove to the masquerade, talking and laughing and just being high school seniors for once. I needed the mental break, I needed to simply enjoy life for a little while before anything else cropped up.

  Or before I set my plans into motion tonight.

  The club was decorated like a something out of a movie set, apparently money could buy you professional designers turning your beautiful mansion into a haunted house.

  We walked up the front steps and were greeted by spooky noises, animatronic creatures and actors acting out scenes from famous horror films on the wide veranda just before the entrance.

  We moved through the groups of people here and there and found a few other kids from our school to hang out with.

  Rome had snuck a bottle of peppermint schnapps into the party in his leather barbarian bag and we took turns taking quick sip here and there when nobody was looking.

  I didn’t drink much, I had my own items tucked away that I’d have to pull out at some point soon.

  Elaine arrived on Dad’s arm, she looked stunning in her red dress and Dad looked embarrassingly dorky dressed as Batman.

  He came up behind me, and in a deep voice he said, “Khalesi, it’s Batdad. I hope you’re having a good time.”

  “Oh god, not in front of everybody,” I groaned and turned around laughing.

  “Hello kids, I hope you are all going to drink responsibly tonight,” Dad said and wagged his finger at my friends.

  They all stammered and murmured their agreement that we would all be on our best, non drinking behavior.

  After he left Sienna turned to me and said, “Your dad’s a riot. Mine is such an uptight asshole, I can’t even imagine him talking to us like that.”

  “Yeah, he’s okay,” I said but I realized for the first time possibly that he wasn’t that bad.

  He’d fucked up by not being there, but after finding out about the events surrounding how my grandparents had died, it kind of made sense.

  Maybe he’d been emotionally unable to be there for anyone after he’d gone through that trauma.

  We kept drinking until they announced the dinner portion of the evening. None of us really wanted to join them in a sit down meal kind of thing, but Dad had asked me to at least make an appearance so I could meet some of his business associates.

  I think he liked the fact that he had a daughter to trot out from time to time, especially because he did want me to take over the family company at some point in the future.

  Each of us went off to our family’s tables and were separated while dinner was on. Except for Barrett and Roland of course, sometimes having a sexy step brother and a good friend step brother had its perks.

  Before I sat down though, I told Dad and Elaine that I had to use the washroom and I rushed off to find Kit.

  She was in costume as a fairy princess and met me near the kitchen as planned.

  “Did you bring everything?” she asked. “We only have a few minutes.”

  �
�I did,” I said and pulled the dark wig out of my purse.

  “Not here,” Kit whispered and dragged me into the prep kitchen.

  I put on the wig and pulled on the waitress uniform she provided. Luckily my costume was skimpy enough that I could cover it with the skirt and blouse.

  A girl approached us and I recognized her immediately. She worked for us and had been helping with Elaine’s powder.

  “Tricia,” I grinned from ear to ear. “Thank you so much for this.”

  “Well, I work here on the weekends and when Kit told me about it…how could I say no? Both of those bitches totally deserve it.”

  “So you’re okay with the gluten powder added to Elaine’s meal?”

  “I told Kit I’ll do that, but I don’t want the drugs,” she said and leaned in. “I’ve gotten into trouble before, so if I’m caught carrying anything it could be a black mark on my probation.”

  “No problem, I can slip out and give Becca her food,” I said. “I just have to make sure I remember which one is hers.”

  Tricia brought me a bowl of bisque, I was assured it was Becca’s absolute favorite, and I went to work.

  I opened a couple of the Xanax I’d found in Elaine’s room and emptied the capsules in the bowl. I thought about it for a moment, and added one more. They were supposed to calm you down, but I hoped the effect would be even deeper…I hoped she’d fall asleep.

  That was when part two of my plan would hopefully kick in. The magnesium citrate I’d picked up at the pharmacy a few days back.

  I’d read a post on Facebook about how ten ounces of it had basically caused a guy to explode from diarrhea. I didn’t know how to get that much into Becca, but I poured some of the flavorless liquid into her bisque and stirred it around until it didn’t seem like anything had been added.

  “Perfect,” I laughed. “This is going to be hilarious. And then maybe she’ll know to never fuck with me again.”

  I put the bowl, along with several others, on a tray and walked out into the dining room as just another waitress.

  My night had begun.

  Chapter 53

  The best thing about the rich is how they don’t notice what’s right under their nose, especially when it’s one of the many people who serve them on a daily basis.

  In this case, I was able to put on a black wig and an ill fitting waitress uniform and not a single one of them noticed that I wasn’t one of the regular staff.

  Because none of them even knew who the regular staff actually was. They were so ensconced in their money and small world of social niceties and impressing each other that anybody who worked for them wasn’t even a blip on the radar.

  When I approached Becca’s family’s table, they didn’t even look up. Becca was on her phone scrolling snapchat but anybody who was anybody at Westview Academy was here tonight, so there was no point.

  Her siblings were also on their phones and her parents were engaged in a lively conversation with one of our neighbors, Mr. Carrington.

  I didn’t even pick up much from their conversation because my hand was shaking so badly and it took every ounce of concentration I had to steady it.

  I set down each bowl of bisque carefully though, and none of the people at the table even bothered to look at me.

  I finally set Becca’s down, the one with the napkin next to it, and stepped back.

  Her mother looked up and said, “Look, Becca. Chef made your favorite. This is something you can eat and not worry about your daily calorie count or balancing your macros. Chef’s special dishes are worth it.”

  “Oh awesome, I love this stuff,” Becca said and set her phone down on the table.

  Tricia had been right on the money, Becca couldn’t resist it.

  I smiled and took the tray back to the kitchen, arriving at the same time as Tricia.

  Kit was waiting for us and she jumped up from her seat and said, “Well? Did they eat it?”

  “Becca dove right in on hers,” I said.

  “Elaine is a little hesitant, she hates eating,” Tricia said. “But I’ve done what I can do. Perhaps Stephanie should head back to her table and encourage Elaine to eat the bisque.”

  I nodded and took off my disguise. I left it on a shelf in the kitchen and went back to my seat.

  Elaine was talking to another woman and her bisque was on the table getting cold.

  “There she is,” Barrett said with a wide smile. “I was just thinking about coming to see if you were okay.”

  “She probably fell in the toilet,” Roland said with a wink.

  I laughed and told them, “I’m fine. Looking forward to this bisque. I hear Chef’s recipe has been featured in a two page spread for Gourmet Kitchens magazine.”

  Elaine’s ears perked up at that and she turned around. “Our chef?”

  “Well, the club’s chef,” I said and dipped my spoon into the liquid.

  I needed her to eat the gluten, she had a horrible gluten allergy. And it wasn’t just one of those trendy things that most people seemed to say these days, Elaine’s actually led to horrible bloating and stomach problems.

  “We should appreciate that we have the opportunity to try it now before he’s famous,” Dad said and dove in with enthusiasm.

  Elaine waited for a moment and followed the rest of us, we actually had a nice conversation while enjoying our meal together.

  For one brief, shining moment, we were a family.

  And then it was over. I refused to feel guilty for what I was planning.

  Elaine pushed her bowl away and stood up to spend some time with her friends, she said.

  Dad left to spend time with business associates, and Whitt and Rome came over to take their seats at our table.

  None of us even really touched the meal they placed in front of us at one point. I wasn’t hungry, I think my nerves were too shot to eat.

  We took turns passing around the peppermint schnapps and taking small sips here and there while talking and carrying on. All around us people chattered and laughed, and the music began to play. Nobody seemed that interested in their food, it must have been a rich people thing.

  Whitt slid closer to me and took my hand under the table, giving it a squeeze.

  “You’re fucking stunning, sweetness,” Whitt said and leaned over to kiss my cheek. “Did I forget to mention that earlier?”

  “You might have,” I grinned and looked at Rome and Barrett. “But don’t worry, so did they.”

  Both of them squirmed and their discomfort radiated off them in waves. “You are though,” Barrett mumbled and picked at the tablecloth.

  “I just assumed we didn’t even have to mention it,” Rome replied, trying to cover up his faux pas. “It’s just so obvious.”

  Clearly they were upset that Whitt had been the first to kiss my cheek openly, therefore claiming me in public. We weren’t quite ready to let people know I was dating each of them, so tonight Whitt was the winner.

  I leaned over and motioned to Roland. He moved his chair closer to me and I whispered in his ear, “I need you to tell Taylor Dennis that Becca’s got a thing for him.”

  “Rapey tennis guy?” Roland asked in shock.

  “Yeah, but don’t worry…he’s not gonna want to do anything with her once the magnesium citrate kicks in. I want him caught and I want him gone,” I said.

  “My god, you’re diabolical. You’re going after three of them tonight, aren’t you?”

  “I am,” I said and flashed him an evil smile. “I can’t help it. I was never like this but when you fuck with me, I’m gonna fuck back even harder.”

  “That’s my kind of girl,” he said and looked me up and down. “You do look hot, by the way. Very fuckable. If I were into pussy, I’d be all up in yours, darling.”

  I laughed loudly and thanked him. It was legit one of the nicest compliments I’d ever gotten.

  I watched Becca’s table for a moment or two and noticed she seemed to be getting a little loopy. I elbowed Roland and told him, “I
t’s time. Go talk to him, get him to take Becca for a little walk.”

  Roland nodded and was off, I saw him snake through the crowded room to where Taylor was leaning up against the wall sipping a cocktail and watching all the young girls. He was dressed like that old tennis player, the one who got mad all the time…John McEnroe or something. How appropriate considering Taylor used to throw so many tantrums himself.

  But the fake mullet wig he had on was jarring, it made him look even older and creepier and for a moment I wondered if I was making a mistake. If I was setting Becca up to be harmed, if I was putting her in danger.

  But then I remembered the icy cold piercing my body into my bones and the sorrow I had that night I was abandoned on the beach.

  And then I remembered how she had drugged me and left me alone with him, an obvious predator. She didn’t care about me or my safety.

  And I narrowed my eyes and my resolve grew harder.

  She deserved everything that she got, she had tried to kill me. She could have killed me if Barrett and Roland hadn’t shown up.

  Wait staff arrived and took away all our dishes and brought us after dinner drinks. All non alcoholic for us, of course.

  I watched as Roland talked to Taylor, Taylor smiled creepily and spied Becca with her family.

  Her mom and dad were gone, so she was easy prey with just her siblings.

  Roland walked back and we waited now that the seeds had been planted.

  Taylor was so fucking gross, it didn’t take him long to sidle up to Becca and pull a chair over to her.

  She was obviously out of it, even from here I could see that her eyes weren’t focusing and the Xanax had mellowed her out to the point that she seemed drunk.

  Taylor didn’t care. He helped her up and led her out of the dining room.

  “We have to see where he takes her,” I said and stood up quickly.

  All four boys followed me and I felt a little like Veronica Mars, tracking somebody who was about to commit a crime.

  We saw him lead Becca to the same gazebo I was in when he’d attack me and it made me feel sick. She had set me up there, drugged me and left me to be raped by Taylor.