I ditched the hallway, heading straight for the gym. I didn’t care what my schedule looked like or where I was supposed to be. I needed to work some bags and I needed it now.
Yanking my workout clothes from the bottom of my pack, I pulled them on in the girls’ locker room. No one was in there. Maybe they didn’t start the school day with PE. I didn’t know. I grabbed my wraps from the side pocket of my bag. I held the two rolls in my hands while I rushed into the gym.
Sitting on the set of bleachers off to the side of the large room, I rolled my wraps on, snug but not too tight. I’d been wearing wraps for years and the repetitive motion of putting them on helped focus my anger. If I wasn’t so worried about the fury boiling inside me, I’d unleash on the bags as it was. I didn’t care what anyone said about not being able to beat a bag – there was a high possibility I could cut through a cement wall with my anger in that instant.
I’d been disrespected and betrayed. Who knew just what I could do when I lost control?
Shaking my head to relieve the pressure of my thoughts, I stood and approached the first body bag hanging about my height with a stalking determination. Falling into stance, I started out slow, easing into the rhythm of my anger and the pummeling of my fists on the vinyl bag.
Sara hadn’t answered my phone. She hadn’t replied to my text. Blaze had ignored me. Had they both worked together to destroy my already worthless reputation at Jameson? Everything pointed that direction.
I slammed a cross, a hook, more jabs, fighting with the thoughts and doubts crowding through my mind. Sara wouldn’t betray me. Why would that even be a possibility? Blaze… I didn’t know what to think about him.
All I knew was that Stryker had declared war on me and his army was the rest of the school. They weren’t allowed to touch me. As if that would save me. Or like it was absolve him of guilt.
But it might. It just might make it so I could do more damage. If he wanted me protected, then he severely underestimated what I could do. Stryker, with all of his intensity and desirous looks, was going to get the exact opposite of what he didn’t want.
He wanted me gone? I was going to make my mark on his little school. He thought he could intimidate me out? I was going to do the intimidating. No one bullied me and got away with it.
I thought for sure they’d learned that I was stronger than I looked. Maybe I just needed to work harder at being more in their faces.
Or maybe I needed to embrace my hatred for them and make a point that I didn’t scare easily.
None of that mattered. As soon as I was finished with my workout, I was going to the nurse’s office to get excused for the rest of the day.
If I couldn’t get Sara and Blaze to answer my texts, then I would reach them where they were every Friday night – The Pike.
While it wasn’t my night to fight, I could still get in – even underaged as I was. The bouncers liked me and I kept the fighting to a minimum outside the cage. Not many people messed around when I was there.
I paused in my angry tirade against the bags, leaning against the hanging vinyl and taking a shuddering breath.
If Stryker wanted me gone, why was he also protecting me? Why not just command the school to turn on me, physical hazing and all? Why protect me from the stuff that was easy to handle? Anyone worth their salt in the ring could take a beating, that was nothing.
It was the emotional damage we couldn’t protect ourselves against. I pulled inside myself because honestly speaking, I didn’t know how much more heartache I could handle.
The fact that I was going after Blaze and Sara said I cared more than I should. More about Sara than Blaze. Someone had to tell Johnson I was still a virgin and the only person who knew, besides Sara, was Blaze. He’d been begging me for a lay since we started dating.
I’d turned him down because as much as I cared about him, it never felt right. Plus, his constant negative comments about my weight, my looks, my fighting, anything had made it hard to feel like I could be naked around him.
No one wanted to do something like that when they felt so fat and ugly. Blaze only made me feel good when other people were around, part of the reason I liked him at parties or games. Privately, he wasn’t my dream guy.
I was fast learning that there might not be a dream guy I could hope for.
Not when the ones I would consider screwing only wanted me to hate them. Stryker had pushed me into hate and I wasn’t the hating kind.
His silver eyes sparked passion and unfortunately for him, it wasn’t going to be the good kind. Maybe that night I could direct some of my anger onto Blaze and Sara, get some answers before I had to face my new school on Monday.
As for right then, I just wanted to go home.
I skipped the nurse’s station and, with my backpack over my workout clothes, ditched the school and walked the eight miles to my house. Two hours left me with a lot of time to think and plan.
All I could think when I finally walked inside the house was that revenge was going to feel so good. Even better than Stryker’s hands on me – and that was saying something.
Chapter 8
Gray
Dad knocked on my bedroom door just after six when he got home. He must have still gone to boxing practice. I should have been there, but honestly, I didn’t want to deal with the idiots of the team or the school.
I just couldn’t focus on them anymore for the day. I needed a break and some time to get my plan together.
“Gray? You in there?” He didn’t sound worried about me at all. He needed to be kicked and I was in the mood to do exactly that.
“Yep.” I tossed on my side, facing away from the door. I didn’t want to talk to him. He wouldn’t go away until he’d spoken with me, probably lectured me for skipping classes, or whatever. I knew how it would go. He’d check on me, do his fatherly duty, and then disappear for the rest of the night. I could go as well. I already ordered an Uber to pick me up down the street in just under two hours. Surprisingly, I could get one that far out in the boonies. It would cost me, but I had money.
The door creaked as he opened it. Dad never came further into my room than a foot or two through the opening. I didn’t roll over to look at him. I knew what he looked like. He’d be scowling at the way I had my room – untidy, but not messy enough to be considered unkempt. He couldn’t yell at me to clean it because the floor was still passable. Plus, he knew what battles to pick and which ones to leave alone.
Since Mom left, Dad and I were on some kind of awkward balancing act that neither of us was brave enough to upset. I could handle the discomfort that came when real talks happened, but I had a feeling he couldn’t handle much of anything.
“You didn’t tell me you were coming home.” He said home like it really was our home and I clenched my jaw tight against the declaration. He’d lost our home. Or had he forgotten?
I spoke through my gritted teeth, careful not to sound angry. “I didn’t feel well.” I closed my eyes, holding my arms tight against my stomach. He didn’t need to know why and I wasn’t lying.
The thought of what I was going to have to go through at my new school and the lack of communication from my old friends left me nauseous. I had to get things figured out. I had to understand or I would go insane.
Dad shifted his feet. I could hear the movement on the rustle of the cheap carpet pil. He cleared his throat. “Okay, well. I’m going out. I won’t be back until late. If you need anything… Um, there’s a twenty on the fridge. Maybe you could call out for pizza or have Sara come stay or something.”
I squeezed my eyes shut tighter. He didn’t understand. He wasn’t even asking if I felt any better. Nothing. He didn’t ask about Sara or how she was doing or how Blaze was doing. Nothing. At least he was leaving me some cash. That would help with what I was spending to get out of there.
I didn’t answer, choosing instead to listen to the soft in and out of my breathing while I waited for him to leave.
He didn’t say another word
, at least having the decency to shut the door behind him. His footsteps faded down the hall.
I flopped to my back and sighed, staring up at the empty ceiling. The room was empty except for a couple boxes shoved in the corner. Even the walls seemed cold with the barren expanses spreading around the room with small pinholes here and there attesting to someone else having lived there before us.
The front door shut with a snap I could hear clear back in my room.
I closed my eyes. Just a small nap to get through the next hour or so, then I could get ready to go. I had a night ahead of me and I had to look spot on.
***
The Uber guy watched me in the mirror, flicking his eyes from the road to the mirror constantly during the hour ride. I couldn’t wait to get out of the car when we arrived at The Pike. If I wasn’t so sure I could take the idiot, I wouldn’t have gotten in the car. Plus, I had my phone ready to call 911, if he did anything out of the ordinary besides staring at me.
“Do you want my numb-″ His words were cut off by the slamming of the door.
I’d already forgotten about him by the time I hit the front door line-up. “Hey, Bruce. How’s the card tonight?” I reached up and fist bumped the bouncer who watched the doors. I wasn’t supposed to be in there, but The Pike was good about watching who they served alcohol to and who they just let in to dance.
The customers were the ones who shared what was at their tables.
“Gray, girl. You’re not on tonight. Boss says he makes more money when you’re on.” He winked, the gauging in his ears big enough I could slip my thumb through, if I wanted. A green and red snake tattoo crawled up his arm and curled around his wrist and forearm. The man was rough with a goatee and hair swiped back from his face. “I know I make more when you’re on.”
I laughed, not in the mood to joke around, but also aware that my fighting there was allowed by both the owner and the bouncers. Keeping relations good was in my best interest. Not only did I relish the fighting, I needed it. I needed the release of anger, the adrenaline rush, and the attention from the crowds when I won.
Bruce pulled the cord back, letting me through and turning his glare back to the group of college-aged men trying to pay him to get in. Bruce didn’t need the money; he’d want to see some cleavage from a girl or something.
The music pulsed down the hallway, past the bathrooms, to wrap around me as I walked through the doorway. A different local band played every night in between the card lineup. I wasn’t sure who was on, but I didn’t mind checking to see if any local talent had shown up. I needed a girl that was worth fighting to get any attention in the arenas.
Red arrows painted onto the black concrete flooring led the way down to the dance area. The ring would be lowered from the ceiling when it was time. The Pike was named for the local fish that was both ferocious looking and delicious to eat.
Blaze and Sara would be down by the bar. Sara’s favorite game centered around trying to get the hot bartender to either flirt back with her or give her a drink to make her go away.
I nodded to a few people who recognized me from the fighting and pushed my way through half-drunk groups standing in clumps by the walls. The music thumped around me and the lights flashed in a seizure-inducing pattern, leaving a dark ambience in its wake.
Large speakers marked the front of the room and a huge collection of dancers bobbed and weaved on the floor. Bleachers lined the huge arena-style room where people were making out or sitting in groups drinking.
Sara and Blaze were nowhere near the bar. In fact, I came to a slight stop as I saw them swaying in each other’s arms to a slow song! Were they kidding me? Anger burned inside me. I wasn’t even gone a week and already they were both betraying me. I could have seen that coming, if I hadn’t been so wrapped up in missing them so much and hating the school I was at.
I couldn’t just watch as they swayed side to side, her in his arms.
I stormed toward them, reaching out and ripping them apart by their shoulders. My anger fueled my power. “What are you doing?” I didn’t even give Blaze too much of my attention. But my friend… How could she do this? We were supposed to have each other’s backs. I’d been to a lot of schools over the last few years but Timbercreek had felt like home because Sara and I had connected so easily so fast. Maybe that hadn’t been real. Could I handle if our friendship had only been one-sided?
Sara’s face was already streaked in tears and she blinked at me in confusion. Glancing at Blaze and then back at me, Sara widened her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her head. Without trying to explain, Sara turned and shoved through the crowd, her sobs lingering with the bass of the song.
I whirled back to Blaze, folding my arms across my chest. “Start explaining, Jackass.” He wouldn’t get any leniency from me. Betrayal was one of the worst things you could do and he knew it. They all knew it. It was a teenage code or something.
“Jackass? Wow. Not gone more than a few days and you’ve already turned on me? What is wrong with you?” Blaze clenched his jaw, the side angle ticking as he stared at me. I recognized the expression as his pre-fighting face, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t afraid of him and he knew it. Maybe that made him feel threatened? I don’t know.
A niggling in the back of my mind had me questioning why Sara looked like she’d been crying for a while before I’d shown up.
“I haven’t turned on you. You guys have been ignoring me since Tuesday. I’m not that far away and you’ve already moved on.” I heard the plaintive tone in my voice and I despised myself for it. They didn’t need to know that I needed them. They didn’t need to know anything.
A tingling in my flesh alerted me that I was being watched. Someone watched me with an intensity that I could feel without having to see.
I glanced to the side, folding my arms, and froze as my gaze landed on Stryker, Gunner, and Brock standing off to the side of the dance floor. Their eyes studied me and the guy I was with. Why was I so aware of them?
In the space of the second that I saw them, a girl walked up to Gunner and started grinding on him. He didn’t even acknowledge her but at the same time he didn’t turn her away. She just danced on him like he was a frozen statue she couldn’t get enough of.
Stryker stared at me with something in his eyes I couldn’t label. It took everything in me to turn away from the pull in his gaze. A small memory of the last time I’d looked into his eyes reminded me that he was the reason I was having such a hard time at Jameson. Him and his boys.
I turned back to Blaze and yelled above the music. “Why was Sara crying? What happened?” Even my anger about being ignored wasn’t enough to keep me from being worried about Sara. She was everything to me. If she wouldn’t talk to me, then someone had to.
A mosh started in the center of the dance floor, the movement contagious as the jumping and body slamming spread. I stepped back from the center of it, moving toward the side of the room.
Blaze reached out and grabbed my arm, dragging me toward the bleachers. “We need to talk.” He pulled me unceremoniously, as if I weighed less than nothing. I jerked from his hold and stopped the frantic momentum away from the dance floor.
Shaking my head at him, I thrust my hands on my hips. “Who do you think you are?”
He stepped in front of me and jutted his chin out. “Last I checked, I was your boyfriend.”
“Yeah, my boyfriend who betrayed me. You’re an ass, Blaze. You told the guys at my school I wouldn’t put out for you? Do you know what that’s done to me?” I studied his face for some kind of denial, some kind of explanation. Would he even try to explain it to me?
“So what? You won’t. It’s not a lie. I was more than happy to give a heads up to the new school. Maybe if they know you’re a prude, you’ll be forced to give it up and learn to loosen up a bit.” Pure hatred twisted his normally good looks. His blond hair had been spiked and his blue eyes flashed in the lighting.
“Forced to give it up? You want me raped
or something?” I swallowed back the bile his comment brought up. He wanted someone to force me? Why would he want that? Then it hit me. He’d never cared about me. I’d spent so much time thinking we were meant to be together and he’d never cared about me. He just wanted a piece.
He shrugged. “Whatever, Gray. None of it matters. If I can’t get it, someone else might as well.” He smirked at me.
I shook my head, blinking back tears. Wow, the terrible day didn’t want to end.
A guy shoved into me from behind and I fell to the side. I closed my eyes, expecting to hit the ground and get trampled by the moshing group. Instead I was caught in muscular arms that tightened around me as they lifted me back to standing.
Glancing up, I swallowed. Stryker didn’t look at me as he yelled at the guy who had pushed me over. “Hey, you owe her an apology.”
The guy laughed without looking at Stryker, a nose ring in his right nostril moving with the sound. “I don’t owe her shit, man. She got in the way. That’s her fault.” He shook his head, eyeing me with a strange hunger, and jumped off, like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Stryker turned back to me, his dark eyes flashing as he looked me over. “Are you okay?” His jaw ticked but a tenderness in his eyes unnerved me. Why did he care? He wanted my life to be hell at school, but at The Pike he was going to protect me? It didn’t make sense. I couldn’t figure it out. What game was he playing?
“What? Why?” Between Blaze’s revelation and Stryker’s confusing actions, I needed a drink or something to get me some clarity.
He jerked his gaze from my face, his hands still on my body, burning his hold into my flesh. Why did my body react to his nearness like that? I hated it. I hated that I could feel him from across the room.
Gunner’s dancing girl was gone and he stood beside Stryker with his arms at his sides. Brock stood to the other side of Stryker, his arms folded across his massive pecs while he watched me and Blaze. His eyes were narrowed and his lips pressed together.
Her Challengers: A high school bully romance (Bad Boys of Jameson High Book 1) Page 7