I give Spencer a blank stare and he bursts into laughter. “Yeah, that didn’t even feel convincing coming out of my mouth,” he admits. “You’re going to be up against those girls for as long as you live. Even if you and Colton break up. They’ll never stop tearing you down until they win and when it comes to you, I have a feeling those girls will never win.”
“Never.”
“Though, to be fair,” he continues. “I didn’t think you were ever going to come around.”
“Me?” I laugh. “I didn’t come around, Spencer. You idiots just realized that if you can’t beat me, it’s best to join me.”
“Bullshit. You’re the one who realized that if you wanted to live peacefully here that you were going to need to reel in your attitude.”
“Dude, my attitude is still shining bright. It didn’t get reeled in at all. Besides, I think it’s more like you realized that if you didn’t climb aboard the Ocean train that you were going to get left behind. I had Charlie wrapped around my finger in a matter of days and Colton … well, he was mine the second I walked through the door. And as much as I’d rather not admit it, Jude wanted me too. You had no choice but to accept me or be left out in the dark. Just face it, I’m a force to be reckoned with.”
Spencer looks back at me, playfully narrowing his eyes. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
I roll my eyes and dig my spoon deep into my ice cream again. “You’re an idiot,” I tell him around my full mouth. “You know that, right?”
“Ughhhh. Anyone can tell that you didn’t grow up around here,” he says, scrunching his face in disgust. “Where are your manners? Don’t you chicks take etiquette classes or some shit like that? Ice cream is going everywhere. Close your damn mouth.”
I roll my tongue around my mouth, making a point of not giving a shit. “This is as good as it’s gonna get,” I laugh. “Loosen up, Spence. Trust me, it’ll look good on you. Who knows, people might even start to like you then.”
“Ha. Ha.”
A noise sounds outside the kitchen before Colton’s deep voice is hollered through the impeccable mansion. “Jade, where are you?”
I look over at Spencer as a wide grin spreads across my face. “Kitchen,” I call back and rise to my feet on the counter.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Spencer questions, looking up at me with a fearful suspicion.
I glance up at the cupboard above the massive fridge. “Lift me up there.”
His brows dip as his face crunches in distaste. “What? No.”
I throw myself at him, leaving him no choice but to either catch me or let my stubborn ass fall to the floor. And just as I knew they would, his survival instincts kick in, and he catches me with ease. “Get off me,” he grunts as I try to claw my way up his body to reach the top cupboard.
“Shut up and shove me in the cupboard. The more you complain, the longer it’s going to take.”
Spencer groans low and giving up his fight, hauls me up as high as he can go. I laugh to myself as I get my feet up on his shoulders and do my best to open the cupboard. “Fuck me,” he grunts. “You’re not as light as you look.”
I scoff under my breath. “Maybe you just don’t log enough hours in the gym like Colton does. That man can throw me around with one hand and you’re here struggling while I do all the hard work.”
Spencer ignores my jab and shoves his hands up against my ass before giving me a hard shove and sending me soaring into the back of the cupboard. A sharp laugh tears out of me as I slam into the back wall and try to adjust myself into a little ball so the cupboard doors can be closed. “Holy shit, dude. I think I just put a hole in the wall with my head.”
“Hope it hurt.”
“I hope your face hurts.”
“I hope your brain hurts.”
I scoff. “I know yours does.”
Spencer sneers at me before reaching up and closing me into the cupboard. “I wonder if there’s a padlock around here somewhere. It would be nice not having to see your ratchet face every day.”
“Lock me in here, Spencer, and I swear, I’m going to fuck your dad and become your new stepmom then change the wifi password and send you to your room.”
He chuckles under his breath before going a little too quiet. “Yo,” I hear Colton saying while listening as his footsteps grow deeper into the kitchen. “Where’s Ocean? I could have sworn she just said she was in here?”
“Don’t know, man,” Spencer says. “I just walked in. You must have just missed her.”
There’s a soft sigh before I hear the sound of my ice cream tub being scooped off the counter and I curse myself for not bringing it with me. “Did you check on Jude?” Colton asks, his voice becoming louder as he moves closer to the fridge.
“Yeah, the fucker will be fine, but he ain’t eating. I think he’s going to try and starve himself.”
“Fine by me,” Colton grumbles. “That’d be one less thing to worry about.”
“You’re telling me. I heard starvation is a painful way to go. If that’s what he wants to do, then he can be my guest. But it might not have to get that far, not if your girl gets her hands on him again.”
“Yeah,” Colton says, his voice thick with emotion. “She did a fucking number on him.”
‘“She did more than just a number on him. She’s a fucking savage.”
“You should have seen it, bro. She was fucking going for it. Had I not walked in … I don’t know. I don't want that for her but if it comes down to it and we have to finish him, it’ll be me. I don’t want that shit on either of your shoulders. She’s too fucking good for that.”
Well, shit. This just got heavy.
Spencer laughs. “I mean, she’s not bad, but she’s nothing special.”
“Dude, you told me just last night that you think she’s fucking awesome.”
Spencer coughs and I roll my eyes. “Nah, you must have been hearing shit. I definitely didn’t say that.”
Colton groans and I hear him walking through the kitchen, tearing open the cupboard doors. “She’s in here, isn’t she?”
I can’t help the snicker that comes bubbling up my throat and just as he steps in front of the fridge, I throw the cupboard doors open. “SURPRISE, BITCHES!”
Not having expected me to be up so high, Colton’s eyes bug out of his head and as I laugh and go to reach for him, I underestimate the momentum I had from throwing the doors open and topple right out.
A loud screech comes tearing out of me as I fall face first, panicking as the marble floor rapidly comes closer and closer to my face. My arms and legs flail about but Colton’s quick reflexes have his arms snapping around my waist and catching me just mere moments before my face becomes a jumbled mess and I’m left with no choice but to beg Laurelle for her plastic surgeon’s phone number.
“Fuck, Jade. What the hell are you doing?” Colton gasps, looking down at me with wide eyes.
I glance up at him and give him a pathetic smile. “Whoops,” I say, swallowing back the fear and doing my best to recover from the sheer panic that tore through my chest.
Colton shakes his head, far too amused by my idiocy to remember to help me to my feet until I start squirming around in his arms. He gets me safely back on my feet and as soon as a soft kiss has brushed over my lips, I look over at Spencer with a cheesy as fuck grin. “You think I’m awesome?” I question. “Are we supposed to braid each other’s hair now?”
He rolls his eyes and just as he goes to start denying that he ever said it, we hear Laurelle’s chirpy tone welcoming someone into Colton’s house. “Ah, Melissa. How lovely it is to see you again. Please, come on in.”
There’s a short silence before Laurelle’s guest replies in a warm tone. “You too, it’s been far too long. How are the girls?”
The boys go stiff at my sides and I glance up at them to find them staring at each other, both locked in some sort of silent conversation. “Who the fuck is Melissa?” I ask when they don’t give anythin
g away. Though I don’t think I need them too, there’s something familiar in her voice, something off-putting.
Their sharp stares drop down to mine and I see their dismissal before anything’s even been said.
“Colton,” I demand in a no-bullshit tone. “Who is Melissa?”
He presses his lips into a tight line before letting out a soft sigh. “Melissa Carter. Jude’s mom.”
“Fuck,” I grunt. “What is she doing here? Why would your mom invite her over here?”
Colton shakes his head. “I don’t know, but she’s not welcome. You stay here with Spence and I’ll get rid of her. The last thing we need is her getting too comfortable here.”
“Excuse me?” I snap as he turns and starts for the kitchen door. “Like hell I’m staying back here. I have a few things to say to that woman.”
Colton whips back to me but I’m already passing him and now he’s the one trying to keep up. “You’re not going to say a damn word,” he hisses, trying to keep his voice low as we get closer and closer to the foyer with Spencer right on our heels.
“Just try and stop me, Colton,” I snap at him. “You weren't the one he drugged and attacked. You didn't have your clothes torn off. You weren't the one that lost every bit of happiness when he slammed himself deep inside you. You lost nothing, so you sure as hell don't get the option to silence me. I’ll say whatever the hell I need to say and I’ll do it without feeling bullshit pressure from you two dickheads. If I feel the need to tear that woman to pieces, you two are going to take one hell of a step back and keep out of my way. Hell, have a little fun with it. Maybe you can score my performance out of ten.”
The boys share a glance and a million messages pass between them before Colton pulls me into his chest and presses his lip to my temple. “Okay,” he finally says. “You do whatever the fuck you need to do, but you don’t let on that you know where he is otherwise, we’re fucked.”
“This ain’t my first rodeo, Colton.”
I step out of his arms and with the boys at my back, we storm toward the foyer.
Within seconds we find both Laurelle and Melissa crowding the foyer, and the second I see them together, all I can do is rage. The last time I had a conversation with Laurelle, she was sending me down to the wine cellar after telling me that I was worthless and not good enough for her son. The last time I saw Melissa, she was doting over her poor lost son, acting as though he wasn’t a monster.
A sound of disgust comes tearing from my throat and the women both snap their gazes toward me. They look over me as though I’m trash before focusing on the boys at my back, and it’s almost as though they’re acting like I’m not even here.
“Colton,” Momma Carrington says. “What have I told you about spending time with the help? She is here to work, not to socialize.”
Colton steps into my back and although I’m not facing him, I feel the tension coming off him in waves. “And what have I told you about addressing my girl? She’s not working today. This is just as much her home as it is mine. Hell, she’s more welcome here than you are.”
Laurelle sucks in a loud gasp. “Colton,” she shrieks as I mentally high five him. “We have company. How can you be so rude? You weren’t brought up that way. It’s this … girl that you’re spending your time with. She’s a bad influence on you. I forbid you from seeing her anymore. I thought I instructed you to cease her employment.”
Colton laughs at my back and I feel the rumble right through to my chest. “Careful, Mom,” Colton says in a low, chilling tone. “Ocean bites a lot harder than you can.”
Pride surges through me. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of having your boyfriend stand up to his toxic mother to defend you, and not just in the ‘leave her alone, she’s important’ kind of way, but the real ‘come at us and we’ll fucking destroy you’ way.
Laurelle’s eyes drop to mine and her lips pull up in a disgusted sneer. “Go and fetch my guest some refreshments and while you're at it, you can find yourself a uniform. What have I told you about showing respect for your employers? My home is not yours to holiday in. If you must be here, then I expect you to work.”
Melissa looks over me in the same way and I quickly realize that these two are exactly the same. “Your home?” I question. “That’s funny. You divorced Charles nearly three years ago. This home is Colton’s. I’ve seen the deed, Lauren, and you aint on it.”
She sucks in a horrified breath, quickly realizing that I’ve gotten her name wrong on purpose and knowing damn well that it’s a show of disrespect. “You have two seconds to get out of my sight before I …”
I take a step forward. “Before you what? Tell me, really, because I’m so damn interested to see what a classy lady like yourself is about to say. What is it that you think you can do to me that this town hasn’t already done? Though I have to admit, I’m a little more curious to see if you’re the kind to get your own hands dirty. But then, you’d never admit to that in front of your snotty country club friends, would you?”
Her jaw clenches and she snaps her gaze back to Colton’s as I hear Spencer choking on a laugh and getting silently scolded by Melissa. “You need to handle this.”
I feel Colton’s eyes on my body, heated, hooded, and full of seduction. “Oh, believe me, I plan to.” Gasps are heard from both the women but they don’t get a chance to express their horror before Colton continues. “Actually, I wouldn’t mind doing that now. So, unfortunately, I’m going to have to cut this little catch up short. As always, Melissa, it was such a treat seeing you again. I’m sure we’ll see you again soon.”
Colton walks to the front door and opens it wide for her and for a short moment, she starts to go until she realizes that she’s being kicked out by her friend's eighteen-year-old son. Not to mention, her husband’s new boss. “No,” she snaps. “I will not be forced out by a bunch of children. I have come to discuss my son.”
I take a step forward, forcing her gaze on me and making her uncomfortable with my proximity, but in comparison to how her son made me feel, I figure I still have a few levels of fucked-up to go before I cross a line. “What about him?”
“He ...” her eyes flick around to Colton’s and then to Spencer’s before coming back to mine. “He’s missing.”
“Your son is a fucking pig,” I spit. “He’s a rapist. I hope that wherever he is, he never comes back.”
She sucks in a horrified gasp. “How can you say that? You don’t even know my son. You’ve been here for two minutes. My Jude is a good boy.”
“Oh really? I don’t know him? I actually think I know him pretty damn well. I know him well enough to know that years ago, he raped a sixteen-year-old girl, and I know him so fucking well that only a few weeks ago, he raped me too.”
Melissa’s hand slaps hard across my face. “You’re a liar,” she shrieks as Spencer rushes into my back and grabs my wrists, restraining me from making a dog’s breakfast out of her face.
“You know it’s true,” I tell her. “I heard all the fucking stories. I know how you and your husband paid her off to make that story disappear, but don’t you think it’s funny how no one has seen her since? Fucking suspicious if you ask me. I wonder what kind of damage a scandal like that would cause?”
Melissa glances around in a panic, staring at a horrified Laurelle though something tells me she’s horrified at possibly having her name involved in a scandal and not because of the news she’s hearing. “NO. SHE’S LYING. YOU CAN’T BELIEVE HER.” Melissa looks back at me. “You’re trash. I've heard stories about you, sleeping your way through Bellevue Springs. You’re just after a payday, but guess what? You won’t be getting one from me.”
I step a little closer and watch as she takes a hesitant step back. “Did I mention anything about wanting your dirty money? You’re a delusional bitch if you honestly think your precious little Jude is a good little momma’s boy. He's a monster. A rapist.”
She shakes her head so violently that I fear it will rock right off he
r shoulders. “You. Are. Lying.”
“Really? Do you want me to tell you how he drugged me, how he forced me up the stairs, how he shushed me when I tried to scream for help? How about when he hit me? Tore my dress and forced himself inside of me while I cried, begging for him to stop? That’s the piece of shit you’re defending.”
She watches me for a short second before her eyes begin to narrow. “You know where he is.”
I grin, not daring to hold back despite knowing that the boys must be shitting themselves right now, terrified that I might just say a little too much. “If I knew where that fucker was, I can assure you, he’d be dead. You better hope that you find him before I do because I will end him. No one gets away with touching me. Unlike the poor girl before me, you can’t buy my silence.”
With that, I storm over to Colton and rest my hand against the door handle. “Now, if you don’t mind, my boyfriend has already asked you nicely to fuck off. You don’t want to wait around to see how I’m going to ask.”
Melissa huffs while Laurelle stares on, shocked but also far too intrigued and I have a feeling that this news is going to spread like wildfire, but I don’t need to be ashamed, I should be proud to fight back. No one takes from me and gets away with it.
I will not be silenced.
With no other options, Melissa takes her sorry ass out the door, and just before I get the chance to slam it in her face, she shoots one hell of a nasty glare at me. “This isn’t over, Oceania Munroe,” she says, letting on that she already knows exactly who I am.
I grin wide, knowing damn well that I have the upper hand here, after all, I have her son rotting in the wine cellar dungeon. “Try me, bitch. I dare you to come for me.”
She huffs once again and just like that, she’s gone. The door gets slammed and by the time I turn back around, Laurelle is nowhere to be seen.
Barbie B*tch: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rejects Paradise Book 3) Page 7