by K. G. Reuss
In Pieces
A Black Falls High Novella: A Dark High School Bully Romance
K.G. Reuss
Book 3
Copyright In Pieces: A Black Falls High Novella © 2021 by K.G. Reuss
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This one’s for the boys.
I’m not afraid to die. I’m afraid to live without the threat of death because, really, where’s the fun in being safe?
Cole Scott, In Chaos
Contents
Foreword
1. Cole
2. Enzo
3. Fox
4. Cole
5. Fox
6. Enzo
7. Cole
8. Fox
9. Enzo
10. Cole
11. Fox
12. Ethan
13. Fox
14. Enzo
15. Fox
16. Cole
17. Fox
18. Ethan
19. Enzo
20. Fox
21. Ethan
In Chaos
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by K.G. Reuss
Foreword
As always, please note the trigger warnings for this book/series. This book is told from the guys’ POV. It takes place between In Silence and In Chaos. This book is a dark bully reverse harem. There are adult situations and multiple love interests.
Suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride because anything is possible at Black Falls High.
We do so love the torment.
One
Cole
I stared at myself in the mirror, taking in my all-black attire.
Dressed to kill.
Except the killing had already been done.
The baby. Our baby. He’d tried to take my family from me.
I blew out a breath and straightened my black, silk tie. I fucking hated funerals. They were a culmination of the end of one miserable life and often lead to the birth of another life to take the place of what had been lost.
In Ian Hall’s case not much had been lost. That piece of shit had hurt her. Had nearly killed her. Fuck, he’d try to kill what was mine. The life growing inside her had almost been taken by his insanity. That wasn’t even the worse part. My Rosebud was unconscious in a hospital bed with a tube helping her breathe. And the baby? Who knew.
Knowing at any moment I could get one of the worst phone calls of my life, within days of the last one, made anger course through my body. All at the hands of a maniac who wanted her so much, he’d have killed to have her.
Like I was one to talk. I’d killed for her too.
Seeing her lying in that hospital bed, unconscious, gutted me. Knowing she could wake up any day now and hate me for not being there for her tore my soul to shreds. Not that there was much left to it. I’d given a piece of it away the night I ended Ian’s life. I’d do it again though. I knew I would.
Sickness had taken over my body and made its home within me. But no one but those closest to me would ever know it was me who killed him. He’d died in the accident. That was what the cops said. His neck had been broken. We’d tried to save them both.
We were heroes.
I snorted at the label the news had given us. I’d never be a fucking hero. In this story, I was the villain.
If Rosalie and my baby weren’t enough to kill for, then Ethan only added to it.
Fuck. Ethan. A gunshot to the chest.
My phone rang, pulling me out of the darkness.
“You ready? I’m outside,” Fox grunted in my ear.
“I should go to Rosalie. Ian is dead. She needs me.”
“We need to make an appearance. You heard what Enzo said. We’ll go to Rosalie after.”
I ground my teeth together. I’d heard Enzo and Fox talking when they thought I couldn’t hear them. How they thought I needed a break from shit. How I shouldn’t be under too much stress with all the things happening. How I could snap. They’d taken to making decisions for me. If I didn’t eat, they’d force me. If I wouldn’t talk, they’d sit in silence with me, even when I demanded they leave. And if I needed to fuck shit up, they were at my side, creating chaos with me.
I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a nice break from reality because my head was seriously fucked. Now that I’d let out the monster within me, it was hard to contain it again. There were so many more who deserved to pay. Fox, Ethan, and Enzo always knew I was a ticking time bomb. Hell, I knew it. It was only a matter of time. But when I went off, it had started a chain reaction.
Returning to the man I was would never happen. Something snapped within me that night. Something that could never be repaired.
Fuck. Maybe I’d been broken from the start. The snap was just a fine line between my sanity and insanity breaking its hold on me.
“Whatever. I’ll be out in a minute.” I hit END on the phone and looked at myself one more time in the mirror.
Mother always said I had eyes made for evil deeds. Maybe that was why she never held me as a child and why she didn't love me. I didn't blame her. After all, who could ever really love the devil?
And now, a killer.
Two
Enzo
“How was Rosalie this morning?” my father, Anthony, asked as he straightened his tie in the back of the black stretched SUV which was taking us to the funeral.
“Alive,” I answered, tearing my gaze away from the bare trees as we passed by in the limo. The leaves had long fallen away, a warning cold was coming. “The machines are still helping her breathe."
He nodded. My mother patted the top of my hand reassuringly but said nothing. Mom liked Rosalie, at least what she’d met of her when I’d brought her home that one time. Father had never had the pleasure.
“I’m impressed with how you’ve handled everything. And how you cleaned it up,” Father continued.
“Learned from the best.” I glanced at Emilio who winked at me.
Emilio was Father’s righthand man. The guy he trusted with his life. He was a second father to me, teaching me all the ways to take care of business, which included cleaning up a crime scene. Six months ago, I would’ve laughed at it. Now, I knew all those hours sitting in a car watching my father’s men work with Emilio at my side had been worth it.
As much as I tried to deny it, this was my life. I was the son of a mob boss, not just some rich kid from the ‘burbs. Playing the part of just a rich bitch was tiresome. If anything from this entire shitty situation taught me anything, it was that I needed to handle shit. I’d watched my friends fall apart the past week. Hell, I’d watched them fight for their lives too.
“The world is an ugly place,” Emilio said. “Too bad you have to see it, kid.”
Father studied me with his dark eyes. “Can you handle it, Lorenzo?”
I locked eyes with him. “I wasn’t made for this job, Father. I was born for it.”
“That’s my boy.” He patted my knee.
Something warped inside me that night nearly a week ago. Holding Ethan in my lap as we waited for an ambulance kept replaying in my mind.
“Hang on, E,” I encouraged, pressing down on his wound, his blood soaking my hands and clothes. “Fox and Cole went to get Rosalie. They’re going to get her. She’ll be fine.”
“He h-hurt her.”
“Shh.” I swallowed hard at the information. What kind of sick prick hurts a woman like that?
“H-He t-t-tried to t-take the b-baby.”
My guts twisted at the thought of my poor Sunshine becoming the vi
ctim to such a fucking lunatic. Anger boiled low in my guts as I tried to keep myself focused, but all I wanted to do was turn the knife on Ian and send him to hell.
“H-He t-tried to ra—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” I choked out. “Think happy thoughts. Think of Rosalie’s smile. The way she always smelled like lavender and a summer breeze. How she kissed you and touched you. The way she loves you.”
A smile touched Ethan’s lips. My hands shook as I continued pressing on his chest. His skin was so pale and waxy. He looked like a corpse in my lap.
“Yes. Just like that,” I murmured. “Do you remember when you saw her for the first time?”
Ethan nodded, the smile still on his pale lips.
“She was the most beautiful girl in the room. Remember when you told us about the first time she talked to you?”
He shook in my arms, the light fading in his eyes.
“Come on, stay with me, E. You need to be here for when she gets back,” I said, my voice shaking.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
“She needs you. We all do. You’ll break her heart if you leave.”
“I-I drew her a p-picture. Make sure s-she gets it?”
“You give it to her your damn self,” I grunted, holding him tighter as I fought my tears off.
A banging on the front door signaled the arrival of help.
“In here!” I shouted.
The door burst open, and the police came in before the medics.
Ethan was taken from me immediately as the EMTs began working on him. I stumbled to my feet as law enforcement swarmed in.
“Lorenzo De Luca. What a surprise,” one of the officers called out.
I didn’t bother saying a word, intent on watching Ethan as they clicked the belts into place over him and carted him off to the back of the ambulance.
I made to follow, but someone called out to me, “De Luca. We have some questions for you.”
“Did you hear what I said?” Father’s voice brought me back to the moment.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
He sighed and repeated himself. “I said, look the part. Say nothing. If anyone says anything to you, don’t show your feelings about any of it. We’re here for looks only. Got it?”
“Capito, Father,” I said, sitting straight.
Father didn’t like to see weakness. No tears. No slouching. No emotion. Only cool, calm restraint.
He nodded as the vehicle pulled up to the church. Benny, our driver, got out and opened the door. Emilio stepped out first, followed by my father. I got out next and buttoned my black suit jacket, slipped my designer aviator glasses in place, and held my hand out for my mother. She took it and stepped out in her black dress.
The cool fall air bit at me, but it wasn’t the cold that made me shiver. It was the impending situation. Being stuck at this funeral was the last place I wanted to be. I could easily think of ten other things I’d rather be doing, and they ranged from fucked up to more fucked up. Truth be told, I needed a break from the bullshit and drama. I wanted a simple life, not any of this. But this was my life. I had to embrace it or get choked by it. So there I was, arms wide fucking open.
We walked together into the church and took a seat near the middle. I wasn’t surprised when Cole slid into the spot next to me.
Father liked Cole. To be fair, he liked all my friends, but he always told me Cole would make a great addition to the family and had encouraged me to recruit him. I never thought it was a good idea until I learned of Ian’s fate and the reaction it got from Cole.
He’d wept in my arms for all of a minute before he drew himself up and wiped his eyes. He hadn’t cried over the moment since, at least as far as I knew. And I didn’t think he’d wept over killing Ian that one time. I was certain he’d wept because he knew what Ian had done to Rosalie.
“Fox will be here soon. He’s taking a call outside. Mrs. Bishop called and wanted to talk to him.”
I nodded, not saying a word.
“The baby is doing well,” Cole continued in a whisper. “Docs say they might let Rosebud off the meds soon, so she’ll wake up from the coma they have her in. Hopefully, she’ll be able to breathe on her own. Her mom said they were going to do some testing this morning to see if she can handle breathing.”
I nodded again, my chest clenching at the possibilities.
She’ll make it. She’s strong. So strong.
“I want to be there when it happens. I have to be.”
“You will be,” was all I said.
We sat in silence as students from school filled in the empty seats. Ian’s mom and brother sat in the front. His father stood off to the side, his eyes raking over the crowd. Despite news coming out about the shit Ian had done, people still came to the funeral. When questioned by law enforcement, we’d made sure to paint a vivid picture of Ian’s obsession with Rosalie and how nasty a breakup they had. It wasn’t a hard sell considering what he’d done to keep her with him. Attempted murder/suicide screamed our truth for us. Case closed.
I watched with narrowed eyes as the place continued to fill up. I supposed morbid curiosity drove most of them. Everyone wanted to see if the rumors were true. News about the incident spread like wildfire through the school. I’d only heard bits of it through social media rumors and the grapevine, but it was enough. For the most part, it seemed half the people were in shock while the other half thought Ian was a little nuts to start with. I’d read a few online stories of girls telling of their encounters with him.
We’d kept all the dirty details about Juliet and us and our own notebook issues under wraps. We didn’t need to get any deeper into shit than we already were. So far, we were heroes. We needed to keep it that way. Being four guys who were hot for Rosalie would set the pearl clutchers in town into a fit of crazy, and there was enough crazy already.
“My parents are in the back,” Cole grunted. “Think Daniel will cause a problem?”
“Doesn’t matter if he does,” I answered. “We’ll solve it.”
Time passed quickly, and it wasn’t long before Fox was sliding in next to us.
“How’s Rosalie?” Cole asked, clearly worried something had changed in her condition in the last thirty minutes.
“Still a sleeping beauty,” Fox said.
“And Ethan?” Cole pressed.
“Better. Docs said if he continues to improve, they’ll try to take him off the ventilator tomorrow morning. His tests went well this morning according to his dad. He called after I talked to Rosie’s mom.”
“And if shit goes south?” I glanced to Fox.
A muscle feathered along his jaw.
“Then they just try again later. His parents are positive he’ll pull through. So are the docs last I knew five minutes ago.”
“It’s been almost a week,” Cole grumbled.
“He needed the rest,” I said, hoping they’d at least appreciate some humor.
Fox’s lips twitched up. “I’m going to tell him you said that.”
“Good. I hope he kicks my ass.”
Three
Fox
I had a hard time sitting in church, knowing Ian’s body was in the casket and people were weeping for him.
The last thing that piece of shit deserved was tears.
Even after part of the story came out in yesterday’s paper, people still came to his big send-off.
I was only there because Enzo’s family thought it was a good idea. I’d much rather be beside Rosie at the hospital. Not that she was awake. She had a head injury and punctured lungs, so the docs were keeping her sedated to heal. Not to mention all the other shit wrong with her. Broken bones. A stab wound to the stomach. Cuts and bruises. And the wounds from where Ian tried to force himself on her.
The thought churned my guts. We didn’t know exactly what went down since Ethan was out of it when we arrived, but it didn’t take a genius to figure it out.
Having almost lost both of them had changed my wor
ld in an instant. Nightmares about that night plagued me. As I held her in my arms while she struggled to breathe. As I offered her my breath. As I begged her to stay with me. Reliving every moment in slow motion.
I’d spent almost every waking moment with her or Ethan.
Despite things looking up, we weren’t out of the woods yet. Ethan’s injuries were extensive. He’d required two transfusions since he’d lost so much damn blood, an emergency surgery that lasted hours, and a ventilator. The doctors couldn’t believe he was even alive.
Just a fraction of an inch to the left, and he would’ve died immediately.
Instead, Ian couldn’t finish the job and had missed his heart. Ethan’s lungs took a hit but fuck it. He was alive. Ethan hated running and cardio anyway. Maybe this would be an excuse for him to sit it out now.
“Friends and family, I want to start by thanking you all for coming today to celebrate the life of Ian Daniel Hall,” the minister started.
It took everything I had not to roll my eyes. My fingers dragged through my hair in frustration.
I watched as Ian’s dad took a seat at the end of the front row, his leg bouncing and hands clasped, as he stared at his son’s mahogany-colored casket. The lid was closed, thankfully, and a photo of him sat on top.
I despised having hatred in my heart, but it was there. I’d lost someone I loved once too. Maybe this was karma. Although, I did pull Ian from the wreckage. Granted, I didn’t bother doing much past that to save his ass. I was too concerned with Rosie.