"Oh, but you told her there was someone?" I raise my voice and she cowers, but I'm on the verge of tears and I think she can tell. I slump on the bench while Tiffany paces in front of me. "I can't believe this, Tiff. Why did you tell her?"
"It was in passing," she manages to get out. "You know Josh and I finally broke up, and I caught them together... I told him I'd get someone older next time like you did." She blushes deeply and I try not to start screaming, even though every instinct in my body is telling me to do just that. "I guess she just found out who it was. What does it matter, anyway?"
"It's..." I look up at her and realize she still doesn't know it's Jacob we're talking about here. He could lose his job - no, he certainly would, and probably his license as well, if this came out. "It doesn't matter, but she's blackmailing me. For money."
"Shit," Tiffany furrows her brows. "Is there anyone you can tell? Like your mom?"
I give her a meaningful look and she sighs. "I don't know, your guardian, maybe?" she tries again hopefully. I avert my eyes and she just stares at me. "You could tell him, he seems nice... Oh... OH."
She finally gets it, and I don't confirm it, but she sits down next to me on the bench and gives me a sympathetic hug. "Shit, I'm so sorry, Alice. I'll do anything to help you. I've stood you up before with Trina, I can't let it happen again."
"Okay," I say softly. "So what are we going to do? Hire an assassin to kill her?"
Tiff laughs nervously and shrugs. "Last case scenario, I guess. I'm here for you though. I'll do anything I can to help you, you know that, right?"
"Yeah," I tell her tiredly. "I know."
"Ready to go, Alice?"
A voice interrupts us, startling us both so much we nearly fall off the bench. "Uh yeah, sure. Let me get my stuff," I mutter back at Jacob. I grab my bag and Tiff embraces me in a tight hug, giving me a hidden thumbs up before waving me off. I can see her staring at Jacob, and I can only hope he doesn't notice.
"What was that all about?" he asks me as we make our way towards the car.
"Nothing," I say too quickly, and he raises an eyebrow at me, but doesn't mention it again.
Two days pass like this, without me saying a single word to him. I can tell Jacob knows something's going on, but he doesn't press me for information. He knows I'm going to come to him eventually, and sure enough, on the evening before I'm supposed to give Trina the money, as we sit down to dinner, I slip.
"I need five grand," I say quickly, and Jacob looks over the table at me.
"What the fuck do you need five grand for?" he asks me.
"I... I just do," I manage to get out. "Tomorrow."
He sets down his cutlery and gives me a weird look. "You're acting... strange. What's up, doll?"
"I just need the money," I say, but he keeps looking at me until I feel my resolve weakening, my whole body breaking in front of his eyes. I sob quick and fast and desperately, and he's next to me in seconds, kneeling at my feet.
"What's going on, doll?" he asks me gently, stroking my thighs.
"There's a girl at s-school," I hiccup. "She..."
"She what?" His grip on my knee tightens.
"We used to be friends, "I try to explain. "She really used to be a nice girl."
"That Trina girl?" he snarls.
"Yeah." I give him a surprised look through my tears. "How do you know?"
"I'm the school counselor," he grins at me. "I know everything."
"Okay. Well..." I take a deep breath. "She found out about us."
He stares at me, not saying a word. His grip lets go a little, but he won't stop touching me. "She knows what about us, exactly?" he asks me, his voice steady but stiff.
"I don't know, that we're..." I stumble around the words, unsure of what to say. "That we're fucking, I guess."
He gets up then, so suddenly he nearly topples the table over. He walks to the other side of the room and looks at me over his shoulder. "She wants money?"
"Yeah," I nod sheepishly. "Five grand tomorrow."
"I'm going to her place now," Jacob tells me. "Someone needs to teach that little shit a lesson."
"No, please!" I run over to him. "Please don't, Jacob. You could lose your job over this."
"Would be worth it," he tells me angrily. "No one messes with my girl."
I ignore the butterflies filling up my stomach and lead him back to the dining room table. There's no denying it - a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders now that I finally told Jacob what's been going on.
"We can just give her the money," I tell him. "My mom. She pays you for... having me here, right?"
"She did," he admits, giving me a hard look. "I haven't touched that money. It's for you."
"So just give it to her," I beg him. "No one has to know."
"No fucking way." He laughs at my idea and I want to pull at my hair. "No way that little Barbie is winning this war. Trust me, we're going to beat her at her own game, doll."
I give him a doubtful look, not really sure whether he's right. But I don't say anything out loud, I just let him come back to me and pull me back into a hug.
"Don't worry, doll, I have a plan," he winks at me. "Everything's going to be all right, don't worry your pretty little head."
I sigh, but I melt into his embrace nonetheless. "Okay," I say softly. "Okay, okay, okay."
Twenty-One
Jacob
The next morning, I drive Alice to school and wink at her as she heads inside. I know she's nervous as hell and I'm proud of her for being so brave. She doesn't have to do much though - Tiffany is going to play her role during first period, and I'll be doing the rest soon. All that's left for me to do is sit back and relax until Trina arrives.
We came up with a plan last night, and I'm confident it's going to work. With the help of my girl's new friend, Tiffany, we are going to come out on top and make sure Trina doesn't get what she wants.
I've hated that girl since I first found out about her. She's snobby as fuck, a tall, leggy blonde with bad intentions and an even worse attitude. I'd wanted to warn Alice about her before, but that was before I found out about there being history between the two girls.
Alice had finally confided in me as we lay in bed the previous night. I held her close and she spilled all her secrets. About two girls, best friends, who did everything together. They were always two, never just one, always a pair. Alice confessed Trina helped her through some tough shit, and she learned to depend on her friend a lot. I remember her talking about Trina when we were having our sessions, but she stopped abruptly at the start of this year, and I still don't know why.
Well, I didn't, not until last night.
Trina and Alice drifted apart last summer. Whenever Alice made plans with her to spend some time together, Trina ended up canceling. Alice told me what happened in the end, when she was almost drifting off to sleep.
"We went to a gig," she whispered sleepily. "Except she didn't want to go inside. We were standing in front of the venue with our fake IDs, and she just... told me she didn't want to hang out with me anymore. That I was a waste of time and space as a friend and she needed to change before college."
I smoothed her hair down and she burrowed into my chest, seeking comfort. "She said she was sleeping with some guy... Someone from school, who had a girlfriend. They'd been dating for years, and Trina just... Fucked him. I'm friends with that girl now, kind of. Her name's Tiffany."
She went on to explain how Trina started ignoring her at school. How she refused to sit at the same desk as Alice, how she went from being her best friend to a complete stranger to a total bitch who scoffed when Alice was near her. How her best friend in the world completely abandoned her. It was hard to listen to it, the raw pain in Alice's voice so obvious it made me ache for her. When she finally drifted off to sleep, I kissed her brow and tucked her in tight against my chest. Her forehead finally relaxed once she was dreaming, and I promised myself I'd take care of this shit for her.
We called Tif
fany early in the morning, and she was game with our plan. I told Alice she was a much better friend than Trina ever was, and she agreed with me. That day, during first period, Trina, Alice and Tiffany all had a class together. Tiffany promised to pick a fight with Trina beforehand, big enough to make Trina go off at her during class and get sent to the counselor's office. That was where I came in.
And as I sit there waiting for Trina to come waltzing into my office, I decide I'm not going to go easy on her. I have mercy for little girls, but I have none for stuck-up bitches who hurt my Alice. I'm going to fucking ruin this girl.
Just as the bell rings to announce first period ending, there's a knock on my door, followed immediately by it flying open. Trina walks in, giving me a self-satisfied smirk.
"I was told to come see you," she purrs, sitting down on the opposite chair. "Perfect timing, I might add."
"Why would you say that?" I ask her, my voice easy and my hands crossed on the desk before me. "Any reason you wanted to see me in particular?"
"Oh," she grins at me. "You don't know. God..." She mutters something to herself, then sighs dramatically and throws her hair over her shoulder. "I was told I had to come and see you. Had a little fight in class today."
"Is that so?" I ask her, raising my eyebrows.
"Yep," she nods, giving me a wicked smile. That little bitch. "I don't need a note to take home, though. I was hoping we could solve this differently."
She parts her legs slightly. She's wearing designer jeans, and she looks nothing like Alice. I'm not turned on in the least, so I just stare at her, waiting for her to go on.
"Word around town is, you have a thing for younger chicks," she winks at me. "Maybe you'd like a taste of this."
"What makes you think that?" I ask her calmly, and she rolls her eyes, coming to stand next to my desk. I raise my eyes at her as she puts her arms around my neck.
"Don't act coy, Mr. Hawke," she tells me, looking at the plaque on my desk. "Jacob. Is that what she calls you when you're fucking her?"
"Here's what's going to happen," I tell her calmly. "You're going to leave, right the fuck now."
"Or what?" she scoffs at me, running her fingers along my collar.
"Or I take the video footage of your hands all over me to the principal," I tell her lazily, pointing to a camera above us. "Little trick I learned in my previous job."
Trina pales a little, but merely laughs in response. "That's illegal."
"Actually, it's not," I grin at her. "Because there's no sound."
She pales a bit more. "I'm going to tell," she says angrily. "That you're fucking a girl in this school. In fact,..." She looks so damn pleased with herself it just makes me want to slap her. "I've already told a few people you're fucking someone here."
"How convenient," I reply with a smile. "Just what I wanted."
She moves away from me, giving me a confused look. I get up and show her towards the door.
"You see, I'm going to take the tape to the principal, and tell him you came on to me. So if you tell anyone I'm sleeping with a student, everyone's going to assume it was you, Trina. Wouldn't that look nice on your college applications? Expelled because you had an affair with the school counselor."
She pales as I open the door to find Alice standing on my doorstep. "Hello, doll," I greet her sweetly, pulling her in and kissing her right in front of Trina. She gives me a confused look and I grin at her, not letting go of my girl. "Hidden spot, no cameras," I wink at Trina. "So what's it gonna be, queen bee?"
"I..." She bites her bottom lip and gives us both a pissed off look. Then, she just storms off without saying another word. Alice nearly falls over, but I hold her up. I hear incoming footsteps, but I don't want to let go of her.
A girl appears on the steps and Alice finally exhales, saying, "Tiff!"
"Alice!" Her friend runs towards her and envelopes her in a big hug.
"So you must be Tiffany," I tell her. "I've heard a lot about you, we just haven't officially met."
"Hi," she says shyly, shaking my hand.
"Thanks for helping us out," I tell her honestly.
"It's no problem, Mr. H," she winks at me. I like this girl. She seems trust-worthy. Still, I need to start thinking of other options if word does come out about Alice and me. I haven't been careful enough.
"You'd better get back to class," I tell them both. "I'll see you later, Alice?" She gives me a shaky nod and I wink at Tiffany. "Can I trust you to take care of this one for me? She seems a little bit shaky."
"Sure thing," Tiffany says sweetly, linking her arm with Alice's. "I'll watch out for her."
I grin as they leave, and Alice looks at me over her shoulder with a thankful smile. I know this means more to her than just making sure she doesn't have to give up that money. I know it was about the friendship she had with Trina too, burying the hatchet and saying goodbye to that shitty part of her life. I'm just glad everything went the way it did...
But with the number of people knowing about us growing, I know I need to do something about it, fast. It's only a matter of time before Trina, Tiffany or Karen slip about Alice and me.
I have another plan, though. Because if there's one thing I've realized this year, it's that Alice Leroux is more than just a patient to me. She's fucking mine, and I want the whole word to know about it.
One way or another.
Twenty-Two
Alice
I can't believe we did it. Can't believe we managed to convince Trina not to tell anyone about us... And so far, it seems like she's keeping her word. She's avoiding me at all costs, slipping past me in the hallways like she's genuinely afraid of me. It's actually a little funny, since I was the one that used to cower in her presence.
But Jacob seems withdrawn lately, like he's unsure about the current situation. I know he's worried about his job, but I wish he'd just talk to me, let me know what's on his mind. He refuses to tell me what's going on inside his head, and I'm too shy to press him for the details.
It's the next week and we're just getting into bed when my phone rings. I see it's my mom and Jacob motions for me to come to bed, but for the first time, I don't want to. Instead, I show him I'll just be a minute, and pick up my phone, heading into the hallway for some privacy.
"Hey mom," I say softly.
"Hi, honey." She sounds a little distraught, and I wonder what's going on. My mother has shielded me from bad things my whole life. I never knew when she was struggling, never talked about my dad and his other family, nothing. But I could always tell when something was off.
"What's wrong?" I ask her softly, hoping that for once, she'll tell me the truth.
"I just... I'm very tired, sweetheart," she tells me with a faint laugh. "I haven't had the best day today."
"Work stuff?" I ask sympathetically. She never opens up to me like this and I'm hoping she'll go into more detail about her day, but at the same time, I don't want to pry.
"Yeah, you could say." Her laugh is a little bitter, and it makes me wonder.
"Tell me what's going on?" I ask her. "I'd really like to know, mom. I know I can't help but... I want to do the best I can, maybe just listen to what's going on over there, you know?"
She's quiet for a long time before sighing very deeply. "I haven't been completely honest with you, honey," she tells me, her voice rough. "I should have told you the truth from the beginning."
"What is it?" I ask her, my heart pounding hard in my chest.
"I..." she pauses before all the words she was hiding spill down the line and into her receiver. "I didn't get a job here, dear. I thought I was a shoe-in. There was an opening, they were holding interviews for a new co-anchor of the news. I was frankly a little bit offended they wanted to interview me." She scoffs, and I smile to myself. At least she still sounds like herself. "I was... probably a little snobby when I came there. And I didn't get it."
"Oh, mom, I'm so sorry," I say, and I mean it. I know how hard she's had to work to get her career whe
re it is - it cost us a lot of mother-daughter time together, too. "Is there anything I can do?"
"No, honey, not really." I can feel her spirits picking up on the other end of the line. "It's been rough, waiting around to hear on a dead-end job. But I have a new offer, in the Bay area this time."
"Awesome," I grin into the cell. "That sounds great, mom. I'm really happy for you."
"I guess I'm considered too old for this job now," she admits sadly. "I mean, don't worry sweetheart, we're still set money-wise. It's just hard to drop out of the eye of the public like this, I'm taking it a little harder than I should be, probably."
"I understand," I tell her honestly. "I didn't know you were struggling, mom. I'm glad you told me."
"I wanted to ask you," she says sheepishly. "If maybe... you'd like to move there with me?"
Her words hang in the air and my heart pounds loudly in my chest. "With you?" I repeat. She's never offered something like that to me before. But it would mean... It would mean leaving Jacob behind.
"Yeah," she giggles nervously. "I thought we could have some quality time before you escape to college, you know? I've missed you so much, darling. I feel like I've been an awful mother. I just want to make it up to you."
I hesitate before replying. "Thanks, mom. I'll have to think about it," I say with my heart beating really fast. "I really appreciate the offer. I'll let you know soon, okay?"
"Yes, of course. I'll talk to you soon," she says, and we say our goodbyes. Even after she's cut the line, I stand in the hallway with the cell in my hand feeling a little bit lost. I can't believe she finally wants to spend some time with me. She's never really been much of a mother - more like a cool aunt.
But leaving all this behind... it would hurt so fucking much. Not seeing Jacob would be a damn nightmare, and my heart and head hurt when I merely think of it. At least I have some time to make a decision... though if I know my mom, she'll be rushing me the first moment she gets.
I head back into Jacob's bedroom and find him reading my copy of Pride and Prejudice, his glasses on the bridge of his nose. When he sees me walk in, he hastily hides the book, making me giggle.
His Doll: A Dark Bad Boy Romance Page 13