by J Bree
I’m still staring at the floor when a hand wraps around my mouth and I’m jerked flush against a hard, naked chest. I don’t recognize the scent of the shampoo the guy uses and I tense up. He’s twice the size of me and easily drags me out of the girls’ locker room and into the guys’.
Chapter Eighteen
I don’t bother fighting or struggling.
Whoever it is, they’re not Joey so I doubt this is life threatening but I wedge my hand into my jeans pocket to get a hold of my knife anyway. The arm around my chest is like a steel band so I’ll have to wait until the asshole eases up on the pressure. Then, I’ll stab the fucker.
“Not so tough now, are you Mounty?” Ugh. It’s Devon, Joey’s favorite flunky, the one with a crush on Harlow. I wonder if he got an eyeful of her rubbing the Wintergreen oil into her shoulder before he grabbed me? Gross.
He marches me over to a little alcove behind the showers and slams me into the wall. I grunt as the air is knocked out of my lungs and he presses himself against me. He’s standing there in a pair of silk boxers and flip-flops. For the love of God, I’m going to have to stab him. I meet his gaze and see the glazed look of his eyes. Open too wide and bouncing around my face like he can’t stop them. He’s taking drugs, too. I bet every last one of Joey’s flunkies are snorting coke between classes. I want to scream.
Devon keeps one hand pressed over my mouth and he leans in too closely as he speaks. “I’ll let Joey know I caught you. He can come down and finish the bet. We can forget you even exist, Mounty.”
My eyes narrow at him. Joey will never forget me now I have his interest. Devon ignores the warning look I’m giving him and moves so his hand wraps around my throat, squeezing just little.
His eyes may be manic but I’m not worried about him choking me. He’s too much of a pompous rich boy, he doesn’t have the fire required to kill someone, even as high as he is. He starts rambling on like his mouth is running away from him. “Why couldn’t you just spread these legs and let Joey win, huh? You’re a frigid fucking slut. Why did you just have to become a problem we all have to deal with? Well, I’m going to finish this.”
I jerk the knife out of my pocket and press it to his gut. I still prefer the groin but I can’t reach it with how he has me pinned. The hand on my throat spasms as he glances down and sees the blade pressing into his skin, a line of blood already starting to well up.
His eyes are wide and when he opens his mouth to start on his next tirade of crap he doesn’t get a single word out because his body is thrown away from mine by an equally naked, but far more colorful, body slamming into the side of him. It takes me a second to see who it is, because he’s so fucking fast to lay into Devon, but Blaise is beating the shit out of the tweaking asshole. Devon tries to put his hands up but Blaise just keeps on punch until Devon falls limp with a pathetic groan.
I take a deep breath, and then another, and then Avery slips her body in next to mine and watches Blaise pulverize Devon.
“I turned and you were gone,” she whispers.
I shrug. “He grabbed me from behind, I had it under control.”
When it’s clear Devon is unconscious I call out, “He’s done, Morrison.”
Blaise grunts and punches him in the face one last time. When he stands he’s panting and his fists are covered in blood. I finally notice he’s only wearing a pair of boxer shorts and he’s still wet from the shower. He turns to walk towards us and I can’t breathe.
“Sweet lord.” I mumble and Avery snorts at me, incredulously. I elbow her gently in the ribs because, seriously, how the fuck is she immune to him?
Blaise stops in front of me and reaches up to push the stray strands of my hair out of my face. “You okay, Mounty?” he rasps.
I clear my throat. “I’m fine. I had it under control but thanks for, uh, stepping in.”
He smirks at me. “Yeah, I saw that. I think we’re better off with me punching him than you gutting him.”
I blush and slip my knife back into my pocket. Avery rolls her eyes at me. “Get dressed, Morrison. You can walk us back to our room so we don’t get jumped on the way back.”
Avery is on her phone all the way back to our room so I shouldn’t be surprised to find Ash waiting for us, leaning on the wall and scowling at his phone. There’s a lot of activity in the hall while the other girls swan around in the smallest amount of clothing possible to try and tempt him into their rooms. Avery rolls her eyes and marches through them and I chuckle under my breath at the way they all scatter away from her. She’s totally right, they’re all sheep.
Blaise sticks to my side and when Ash looks up to see us his eyes dart over my body, looking for injuries.
“I’m fine,” I say and he snorts, following Avery into our room.
“She is fine but Devon is out. I just sent a copy of his latest urine sample to his father. He’d paid off the school nurse to keep it under wraps but his father won’t stand for a drug addict in the family. Not after his brother OD-ed,” says Avery, walking straight the kitchen.
I exhale deeply and slump down on my bed to take my Docs off. One less asshole to worry about.
Blaise moves to shut the door and is shoved out of the way by an enraged Harley. “What the fuck happened!?”
Avery huffs and starts wiping down the counter.
Blaise holds up hand and stops Harley in his tracks. “When I got out of the shower I heard Devon threatening someone. Then I heard him mention Joey and the bet I realized he was talking to the Mounty and I came out to find him pinning her to a wall by her throat.”
“What?! He hand his hand around your throat? I’ll gut him,” spits Harley and Blaise smirks at him.
“Oh, don’t you worry, the Mounty was going to. Pretty sure he’ll end up with a nasty scar. Really, I saved his life with the beating I gave him.”
Ash startles and jerks around to look at me. I raise an eyebrow at him. “What? He’s twice the size of me and grabbed me from behind like a little bitch. He deserves to lose his intestines.”
Avery starts to straighten up the coffee mugs even though you could already take a tape measure to them without finding a fault. “I think I should get one of those knives too.”
I nod emphatically. “I’ll get you one and teach you how to use it.”
Ash grabs her hand to distract her away from her ritual. “Agreed.”
She smiles at him. “Stay for the day? I’ll cook something for dinner later and we can watch something Blaise picks so he doesn’t whine at us. Like old times, but better because Lips will side with me when we pick snacks.”
Blaise huffs. “I don’t whine, you guys just have shit taste.”
Harley kicks his shoes off and ignores the daggers Avery’s eyes send his way. “If he’s picking I’m going to need a beer.”
Ash starts opening cupboard doors in the kitchen and says, “Fuck it, I need something stronger than beer to get through this. Where are you hiding the good stuff, Floss?”
I take the couch knowing Harley likes the armchair on the left, Ash likes the one on the right, and Blaise likes the floor. Avery hands me a coffee and a bowl of popcorn before tucking herself into my side so we’re huddled up together. Harley grabs enough beer to survive the apocalypse and then sits on the other side of me so I’m wedged between the cousins. Avery leans forward to give him a look but Harley ignores her.
Blaise starts the movie and messes with the thermostat until the room turns into a freezer. I sigh and nudge Harley.
“Can you grab me the blanket you’re sitting on? My nipples can cut glass at this point and I’m not ruining my new bras.”
Avery giggles at me and Harley scoffs but he hands me the blanket. Ash watches him tuck it under my leg and then gives me a sly look. “Which ones are you wearing today?”
I choke on my coffee. “Uh no, my underwear choices are not going to be a daily conversation starter.”
Ash shrugs. “Might help me like you.”
“Hard pass.” I snipe b
ack and I try to ignore the hard look Harley is giving me. Ash and his big, meddling mouth!
“They say women pick their colors according to their moods, so which is it Mounty. Red? Are you feeling feisty today?”
I throw a pillow at his head. “Black, now fuck off.”
“Depressed or horny?”
Avery groans and buries her face in her hands. I gape at him but, surprisingly it’s Blaise who comes to my rescue. “Lay off, man. She’s not here so you can poke and prod at her for your own enjoyment.”
Ash shrugs and drinks his bourbon. Harley glares at him. “Why are you asking her about her underwear?”
Ash smirks at him and I decide that I’m going back to a single room next year. Sorry, Avery, I can’t deal with this crap. “We picked out her entire collection together this week. Why do you care?”
Harley tenses and I nudge him with my shoulder. “He decided our path to friendship is going to be paved in lace. I decided he’s a perv and it’s easier to let him go than fight it.”
“Crap, we haven’t gone down to the laundry yet to ask about the thief.” Avery mumbles but she doesn’t look up from her phone.
Blaise looks up from the floor at us. “Someone is stealing your underwear?”
“Her used underwear,” says Ash.
Harley looks at me incredulously. “Are you a magnet for fucked up shit and psychos?”
Avery laughs. “Why yes, Arbour, she is.”
Fuck me with a rusty spoon, can I please catch a break?
Chapter Nineteen
The phone buzzing silently in my pocket doesn’t mean much to me. It’s only when I see that everyone in my history class has received a text at the same time that I know there is trouble at Hannaford.
Harley frowns as he looks around and then raises an eyebrow at me. I nod and he slips his phone out of his pocket discreetly. I don’t attempt to look at his screen because that will definitely attract the teacher’s attention but I shouldn’t have worried about discretion.
“Fuck!” Harley shouts and leaps out of his chair. When the teacher scowls at him he grabs his bag and snaps at her, “Lips and I have to go. Family emergency.”
He waves a hand at me and I shove my books away too.
The teacher stutters out, “You’re not related.” But Harley ignores her, throws my bag over his shoulder with his, and then shoves me out of the room.
“I can’t just leave my classes, I’m not invincible here like you are.” I grumble as he takes my hand and drags me.
“Avery will square it, come on.”
I follow him, though I have to run to keep up with his ridiculously long legs, and he propels us back to the girls’ dorms. He taps his foot, agitated, as I unlock the door, then drops our bags just inside the door. The room is empty and quiet, no sign of Avery. I grab my phone to try and figure out what the fuck is going on.
There’s a text of a link from an unknown number. Harley starts to pace, scrubbing his hands over his face like he can scrub away whatever is eating him, and I click the link. I find myself of the stupid gossip website and I glance up at Harley.
“Is it you or the twins?” I say and he stops to stare at me.
“Neither. It’s Morrison.”
I frown at him and put my phone down. “What about him? I thought his family was clean.”
I hear a key slot into the door and Avery bursts in, Ash hobbling behind her carrying an absolutely trashed Blaise.
“Sit him on the couch! I’ll grab the bed out and then I’ll deal with this.” Avery snaps and I wave her off, rolling the spare bed out from under her bed and setting it up myself. Avery collapses on her bed and starts furiously texting.
“Can someone please explain to me what the fuck is going on?”
Harley shoves a bucket under Blaise’s nose as he starts to heave and Ash sits beside him, an arm slung around his shoulders casually.
“Didn’t you read it? See the photos?” Ash snaps and I glare at him.
“Obviously not. If it’s personal then I’m not fucking looking.”
Blaise groans and vomits. Avery gags and stalks over to hide in the bathroom while she furiously sends text messages. Harley grabs a bottle of water out of the fridge and presses it into the back of Blaise’s neck.
“It’s Annabelle right? It has to be, she’s the only one who’s been in our room. Dammit Morrison, I told you not to let her in there! She’s a fucking snake.” Harley says as he starts to pace again.
Ash groans, “Drop it. It’s out now, all we can do is deal with the fallout.”
A shrill ringing starts and everyone stops to look at Blaise. He loses the little color he had in his face and looks like a corpse instead.
“Just leave it, you can speak to him tomorrow,” says Ash, in a tone he usually only uses at Avery. A knot forms in my stomach.
“I’ll get it out of the way now. No use putting it off.” mumbles Blaise and he answers the call.
To give him some privacy I grab the bucket from him to empty and Harley follows me to the kitchen.
“Annabelle found a stash of letters from Blaise’s dad. He writes to him weekly and for some stupid fucking reason Blaise keeps them. She took photos and now the dumb bitch has posted all of them on the gossip site.” Harley clears his throat and continues, “She also had photos of him and she’s posted them as well. The letters…aren’t good and he’s drinking and smoking in the photos, which, to his parents, is worse than nudes. His dad is going to fucking kill him.”
I stop scrubbing and cut him a look. “As in be very angry or actual murder? Do I need to adopt him, too?”
Harley smirks and shakes his head. The smirk slowly slides off his face as he watches Blaise over my shoulder. “He shouldn’t go home. His parents are fucked. Not like the Beaumonts but just fucking shitty humans who shouldn’t be trusted with a kid. How fucked is it when I’m the only one with good parents and they’re mobsters. Decent and loving, dead or fucking gone.”
I swallow roughly at the emotion in his voice and then whisper, “I’m not going to look at the site. He didn’t look at my naked photos and I’m not looking at… whatever this is. Is there anything I need to know? To keep him safe?”
Harley hesitates before answering and Avery stomps out of the bathroom. When she spots Blaise on the phone she moves towards us instead.
“I got the photos taken down and a trace on who posted them. It’s Annabelle, which we know, but the dumb slut is saying she was hacked. I pointed out to her that she didn’t just trip over the letters and they certainly didn’t take selfies!”
Harley snorts and Avery nods at him, “Blaise is officially moving in here until we’re sure he’s not going to try and kill himself over this.”
I jerk away from the sink in shock. “Is that a real concern?”
Avery grimaces. “He’s jumped off a bridge while drunk and morose before. And the last scandal his dad caught wind of ended with him having his stomach pumped because he tried to drink himself to death. The boys’ dorm isn’t as secure as ours and everyone has extracurriculars except you. If you can get out of your tutoring session with the Mounty boy then you can make sure he’s safe here.”
There’s a sharp crack noise and I find myself shoved against the sink by Avery’s body as Harley pushes us both behind him. Avery squeals and shoves him out of the way. “It’s his phone! He’s thrown it against the wall, it’s not a terrorist attack, for God’s sake!”
I meet Harley’s eyes and see the shadows there. I lean in to whisper to Avery, “Some things are ingrained. Some things are unavoidable.”
I let Blaise spend all of Thursday drunk because I’m a fucking saint like that. Friday he wakes up so unbelievably hungover that I hide every drop of alcohol in our room. When he breaks into Avery’s closet to find it while I’m in the toilet I call Harley to come pick it up.
By Saturday, he’s climbing the walls and I consider killing him to get some peace.
“Fuck this. Let’s go out,” he snaps
while I cook.
“No. Drink your coffee.”
“Fuck coffee, haven’t you ever heard of the hair of the dog? I need tequila.”
I shake my head and Blaise flicks a pen at me like the spoilt brat he is. When the others get back from their extracurriculars I’m ready to throw Blaise out of the room and Ash smirks when he sees the look on my face.
“How is suicide watch going? Have you hidden the bed sheets from him yet? Why are you still using real forks? You should switch out to plastic until he’s come down from the ledge.”
Harley walks in with arms full of Blaise’s crap I’ve asked him to bring to try and keep him busy. He drops it on the rollout bed and then waves me over to him.
“He’s better. He spent all morning whining before I left so progress is being made.” snipes Avery.
Blaise rolls his eyes at them both and slumps back on the couch. “I wouldn’t be whining if you let me fucking drink. The Mounty is practically a fucking AA sponsor and she needs to lighten the hell up. Let’s go to the bar in Haven, they do the best cheese fries.”
I glare at him as Harley hands over the notes he’s made me for our classes. I rummage around in my bag and give him all of my assignments. “Drinking is making it worse. Harley brought your guitar, write a song and chill the fuck out. Eat ice cream. Watch your shitty movies. Do homework. Do not drink and do not get high.”
Blaise kicks the coffee table and Avery cusses him out. He’ll be dead by dawn it he keeps it up. She marches over to him and jabs him in the chest sharply. “Just so you know, you ungrateful little shit, I’ve had the posts taken down and I’ve contacted your agent to release a statement on your behalf claiming the entire thing was a slanderous hoax concocted by a jilted ex. He doesn’t give a shit about the photos and the press is lapping it up. You’ve even had a spike in sales! I’ve also burned the letters and sent your father a gift basket with a lovely note telling him to choke on the fucking pretzels. Ash and Harley will now be opening, reading, and destroying any correspondence from that man before you see it. So get up. Eat something substantial, have a shower, do your homework. No one fucking cares that your dear old daddy is scum. I don’t, Ash and Harley don’t, and, if she were honest, Lips would tell you to tuck your vagina back into your jeans and get over it.”