Heartless: A High School Bully Romance (The Privileged of Pembroke High Book 1)

by Ivy Fox

“Not possible.” I laugh, thinking that my guys are perfection itself, but then double back when I realize what she just insinuated. “Wait a second. Did you just say you call dibs? I thought you and Xavier were together now?”

  “What made you think that?” Candy asks, her brows raised high enough that almost reaches her scalp.

  My words fail me, since the image of them together last night comes instantly to mind, making my cheeks grow hot in embarrassment.

  “Oh, nothing. Hmm, so who is this guy you’re fawning over?” I ask, trying desperately to deflect her attention from my reckless slip of the tongue.

  “Have a look for yourself,” she quips back eagerly, and even though I’m far from interested in checking some random guy out, I walk over to the kitchen door window and have a peek.

  “It’s the hottie in the black leather jacket that screams ‘I’m the kind of guy you don’t bring home for dinner to meet the folks.’ Unless, of course, you don’t mind him grabbing your hair, bending you over the table, and fucking you raw right in front of Mom and Pop,” she squeals, wiggling her brows.

  “You really are a twisted individual. You know that, right?” I giggle at my best friend’s peculiar, fiendish imagination.

  “Oh, just look at him already! Tell me he’s not sex on a stick!” she insists, shoving my head in this mysterious man’s direction. The moment my eyes land on the tall, dark-haired man, his familiar face sends terror all through my body.

  “Shit!” I let out, falling to the floor, hoping the man sitting in the corner booth outside didn’t see me.

  “Girl, what the hell has gotten into you?” Candy questions, puzzled.

  “The guy! I know him, Candy. I mean I don’t know him know him, but I saw him at the Ivory yesterday. Shit! Shit! Shit!” I wail, placing my hands over my face out of irrational panic; as if it was even possible for him to have X-ray vision and see me freaking out through the walls.

  “You know, for a girl who never cusses, you sure do sound like a drunken sailor on leave when you stress out,” she teases, scrunching down to the floor next to me.

  “This isn’t funny, Candy. This could be the end for me! What if he knows my mom? What if he recognizes me? You know Vivienne only lets me work here because she doesn’t think anyone from her circle will ever find out. If he tells someone he saw her daughter working here, and it gets back to my mother, she’ll never let me work here again. Not only will she give me hell, but I won’t have an excuse to get out of the house to see Ash and Ollie. That can’t happen, Candy! It just can’t,” I cry out hysterically, almost hyperventilating.

  “Jesus, that’s a mouthful. Just breathe, drama queen.” Candy begins to joke, but when she sees the sheer terror in my eyes, her own facial features turn somber.

  “Don’t stress it, okay? I got you, Holland. I’ll do your tables while he’s here and you can just help Xavi in the kitchen. It’s dying out there anyway so I can handle it on my own. I’ll even be super bitchy to him, so he doesn’t get comfortable and thinks twice about coming here again. Just breathe, hun. It’s all good,” she says, rubbing my back soothingly.

  “Do you think he knows? Do you think that’s why he came here in the first place?”

  “Now you’re just being paranoid. He doesn’t know jack shit. Poor guy probably got lost on his bike and just stopped at the first coffee place he found to grab a cup,” she reasons with me.

  “You think so?”

  “The universe isn’t out to get you, girl. It’s just a coincidence, that’s all.”

  “Okay,” I mumble, even though the small hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, thinking it’s too much of a coincidence seeing the same guy twice in as many days.

  “Shame though. I’d love seeing that gorgeous mug a few more times.” Candy laments wistfully.

  “I don’t care if I ever see him again. My mother would ruin me if word got around.”

  “That’s because Vivienne is a bitch,” Candy interjects, never one to hide any love lost on my mother.

  “Candy…” I try to interrupt, not wanting her to go there right now when I’m such a hot mess.

  “Oh, don’t you ‘Candy’ me. Your nana calls her way worse behind her back. She’s just decent enough not to say it in front of you.”

  “She and my grandmother have a difficult relationship,” I rebuke sarcastically, knowing the word difficult is a kind way to describe their relationship.

  “Hate is no basis for a relationship. And believe me, they hate each other. I’m team Nana all the way. I believe her when she says that it was Vivienne behind everything your daddy did. She’s a ruthless manipulator, and Craig was too much of a pussy to stand up to her. He might have been the one to jump over that bridge, but believe me, your mother did the pushing in her own way,” Candy adds, not holding back her opinion on the matter of my father’s suicide.

  “Can we please not talk about this now? Here? Please,” I beg, not wanting to get into my family drama in, what is usually, a safe haven for me.

  “Fine. Just hide out here and help Xavi. When the hottie leaves, I’ll give you the all clear.” She winks, giving me a comforting hug before standing up on her feet.

  “Thank you,” I whisper, grateful that I have such a good friend in my life.

  Even if she is the only one I have, Candy is worth the world to me. She always had my back. Growing up isolated from kids my own age, she was the only person—aside from my grandmother—I could truly count on.

  I do exactly as Candy instructs and hide out for the next hour until she returns to tell me the guy left. Maybe I did overreact a little. Candy could be right in thinking it’s all in my head, but why take the risk? My mother would ship me back to Brookhaven on the next bus out if someone found out her daughter was working at the town diner; especially under the financial situation my father left her in. I would never hear the end of it. I only have two more months to deal with Vivienne’s foul temper anyway; I won’t jeopardize my summer with Ollie and Ash because of idle gossip.

  “Well, that’s it for today. Everything outside is all wrapped up. You need any help in here?” Candy asks me, pulling off her apron.

  “No, I just need to mop the floor, take out the trash, and then I’m good to go,” I explain, mop in hand.

  “Okay, do you want me to wait for you?” she questions, but I see the hungry side-eye she’s throwing Xavier as he puts on his jacket.

  “No, I’m okay. Why don’t you take advantage and ask Xavier to walk you out to your car? It gets pretty scary this time of night. You don’t mind, do you Xavi?” I flutter my lashes, tilting my head toward Candy so Xavier takes the hint.

  It seems Candy is still not sold on embarking into a relationship with him—which I think is incredibly naive of her—despite them hooking up last night. Xavier is everything a girl could wish for in a boyfriend—he’s funny, kind, honest, and with his dark, Dominican features he’s one of the sexiest men I’ve met. The list of his qualities goes on and on. The only reason I can think of for Candy not giving in to his appeal is that she’s afraid of falling for him hard. Candy can be quite adventurous, but when it comes to matters of the heart, she spooks easily.

  “I’m a big girl, Holland. I don’t need a man’s protection,” she mumbles acrimoniously.

  “Good to know. I wasn’t offering it, either. But my car is parked next to yours so you’ll just have to suck it up with me tagging along,” Xavier replies smugly, his cocky grin on full display.

  “Whatever. Have it your way,” Candy rebukes, picking up her jacket and purse from the counter, and heading to the back door, with Xavier chuckling behind her. “Night, hun. See you tomorrow.”

  “Goodnight, Holland.” Xavier winks at me before placing his hand on the hollow of Candy’s back.

  “Night.” I smile wider at them. Candy turns her head over her shoulder to roll her eyes at Xavi, but as much as she tries, she’s unable to disguise just how bright they sparkle for him, to
o.

  Once they leave, I lock the door from the inside and, for the next fifteen minutes, I mop the floor and make sure that everything is spic and span for tomorrow. I grab my short jean jacket, and the last two trash bags before locking everything up. I walk to the back alley behind The Shack and open one of the large trash bins and throw both black bags over, one at a time. When I feel a presence beside me, I let go of the green lid and jump back in alarm, letting out an almighty shriek. When I see that the person beside me is the guy that I have been hiding from most of the night, I place my hands on my beating heart, trying to slow it down.

  “Jesus, you scared me,” I tell him, but he doesn’t reply.

  He just looks at me with a deep scowl ingrained on his face. I turn to head out of the alley, but he takes a step right into my path. When I move to bypass him, he blocks my way again.

  “I’m sorry, can I help you?” I ask forcefully, hiding the uneasiness of being alone in a dark alley with a total stranger. Especially one I had gone to such great lengths to avoid running into again.

  “Doubtful,” he sneers, and the easygoing smile he had yesterday when we first met is replaced with a disturbing, evil eye.

  “What do you want?” I rebuke, taking a step back from him, in case his intentions are as dark as the look in his eyes.

  It can’t be money he wants to get out of me since the leather jacket he has on is probably worth my whole summer’s wage. My mind does me a disservice of offering a million other reasons for what a man could possibly have in mind by accosting a girl, alone in an alley, at this late hour.

  “You’re Holland West, aren’t you?” he asks, brow pushed together to look even more menacing.

  I swallow dryly and don’t make a sound, my face stoic to a fault.

  “Craig and Vivienne West are your parents, am I right?” he interrogates, taking one step closer to me intimidatingly. I have to crane my neck up to be able to look at him, but with each step he takes my way, I take another one back.

  “Well? Cat got your tongue?” He seethes with a chuckle. The sadistic sound quickens my heartbeat tenfold in fear.

  “No,” I finally reply when my back meets a brick wall, making my escape that much harder.

  I curse myself for throwing my keys in my bag, instead of keeping them in my fist so I could now use them as a weapon. But, even though I had insisted on Xavier accompanying Candy to her car, this part of town has always been known to be quite safe—a misconception I wholeheartedly regret making.

  “No what, precisely? Are you saying you’re not Holland West?”

  “I’m saying I think you have me confused with someone else,” I blurt out.

  “Liar.” He smirks, looking oddly pleased with my answer. “What’s your game?”

  “I’m sorry?” I question, confused, but hold my breath when his menacing stance overshadows me completely.

  “Oh, you will be if you don’t fucking start telling me the truth,” he relents, closing the remaining gap between us.

  He’s so close I can feel his minty breath on my face and his intimidating chest touching my own. It astounds me how I’m still standing bravely on my own two feet and not crawling into a fetal position. Getting this up close and personal, there is no denying that Candy was right—this man has enticing features; a strong jawline with a small cleft right in the middle of his chin, whiskey eyes that I’m sure most women would love to drink in, and a muscled physique that not all the clothes in the world could hide. But I see none of his so-called beauty. All I see is danger lurking in his eyes. There is no question in my mind that this man is a predator who likes to toy with his prey before making his kill. I’m just uncertain if tonight the said prey is me.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I snap assuredly, facing his menace head-on.

  “Another lie. Keep it up, little liar. But fair warning, it won’t bode well for your health if you do,” he warns in an arctic tone.

  “Are you threatening me?” I growl, using the brick wall to keep my spine steady.

  “Not yet. When I threaten you, you’ll know it. Right now we’re just talking. Only you’re not telling me what I want to know.”

  “That’s because I have no idea who you are or what you want!” I cry out, both in fearful frustration and anger.

  “That’s funny. I don’t know what game you and Vivienne are playing, but it stops today,” he deadpans.

  It’s the second time he’s mentioned my mother by name, and the ominous feeling I get that somehow it’s her fault I’m in this situation doesn’t sit well with me.

  “I told you. You have the wrong girl.” I deny again, baffled by the extent I’m willing to go with this charade when my life could be in peril.

  “No, I don’t. You two are the ones who have picked the wrong mark,” he spits out in disgust.

  “Mark?” I hear myself ask, puzzled.

  Just what the hell have you gotten me into, Mother?

  “That innocent look might fool them, but you’re shit out of luck with me,” my tormentor adds.

  “What? What are you talking about?” I cry out, unable to keep my whole body from shaking with apprehension this time.

  “Just stop.” He breathes out slowly, taking a good, satisfying look at the accomplishment of getting fear out of me. “You’re embarrassing yourself, keeping up this farce. I know that you and your mother are up to something, and considering who your daddy was, I bet you went along willingly enough. So do us both a favor and cut it with the innocent-little-princess act you’ve got going on.”

  The way his upper lip snarls when talking about my father pushes my terror away and triggers my fight-or-flight response. With all the strength that I have, I press my hands on his chest and push him away from me. I know I’m not strong enough to keep the bully at bay, but he relents all the same and gives me back my breathing room.

  “You don’t scare me,” I proclaim, looking him dead in the eye, each word so confident I almost believe it myself.

  My hostile antagonist leans down, so I don’t have to crane my neck up to glower at him. Thankfully, he doesn’t eat up the space that I was able to create between us. But he doesn’t need to be on top of me to get his point across. The rancorous grin plastered on his face is threatening enough.

  “Yet. I don’t scare you, yet. But trust me, cross my family or me, and fear is all you’ll have to look forward to.”

  And with that parting remark, he turns his back to me and leaves me alone to wallow in shock, utter confusion, and—as he intended—deathly fear.

  Chapter 10

  Oliver

  Disappointed for not getting any new messages from my girl, I turn my phone face down on the wicker coffee table. I then lean back in my seat, watching my brother do laps in the pool to try and sort out his frustrations. At least he found an outlet that doesn’t involve his fists.

  For the past few weeks, Snow has been jittery as hell, always looking over her shoulder like someone is going to pop out and hurt her. It took us forever to find out what was going on. I have to admit that I began to think she was getting cold feet about moving in with us, and her nervousness was due to not knowing how best to approach the subject of turning down our offer.

  Thankfully, Candy set us straight and told us some creeper accosted her in the back alley one night as she was putting out the trash. Every night since then, both Ash and I make a point to pick her up instead of us meeting at our little secluded beach. We should have been doing that all along, but Snow likes to keep her independence in every part of her life and hates to be driven around town by us like we’re her chauffeurs instead of her boyfriends.

  But she’s sucking it up to give us back our own peace of mind.

  Of course, I would feel a lot better knowing who this fucker was. It’s just bad luck it was too dark for her to get a good look at the bastard. If I had a face to match some sort of description, I’d be able to search for the motherfucker and l
et Ash loose on him. It’s unsettling not knowing if he’s still lurking around, hoping to catch Snow off-guard and alone, just so he can try his chances at her a second time.

  Over my dead body am I going to let that happen again.

  If it were only up to me, I’d be at The Shack twenty-four-seven making sure Snow is safe but, again, she won’t have that. She’s so damn adamant that Ash and I spend time with our family since it is supposed to be our family vacation and all.

  I don’t have the heart to tell her our family is broken beyond measure, with little chance of repair. If it were just Ash, Rome, and Elle living under this roof with me, then things would be different. But with my father here, there is no way any of us can relax. The air in this house is thick with resentment; even the walls stink of animosity in having my father roam its halls. Why the man is here and not back in Manhattan is a mystery to me, but not one I care enough about to solve. I’ll let Rome deal with that little mind-boggling occurrence.

  “Ollie, dinner is ready,” Elle announces through the patio screen door. “And grab Ash, will you? If he does one more breaststroke, he’s bound to burst a blood vessel. Or I am, if I have to watch him do another lap,” Elle adds with a teasing grin and a roll of her eyes before heading back inside.

  I laugh and call my overzealous brother to get out of the pool, throwing him a towel to dry off when he climbs out in front of me.

  “We could have just eaten back at the diner, you know? She can’t keep us away all the time,” he mumbles, annoyed while drying his hair.

  “What, and get an earful because we’re smothering her? No way. We play this her way,” I counter, trying to voice some reason to my brother’s impulsive thoughts.

  I place my hand on his shoulder, almost covering the tribal sun tattoo beneath, and offer him a comforting squeeze.

  “Look, I gave the cook my number so he could text me if he saw anyone that might look suspicious or made Snow on edge. We’re all good on that front. Let’s just eat whatever vegan pasta Elle cooked up tonight, wash up, and then pick our girl up from work. We’ve just got to remember she’ll only work there for a few more weeks anyway. Soon all this worry will be over.”