But there was always some dumb skank who thought she could talk about me or try to push me around. I knew how to take care of myself. The girls who tried to start fights with me always ended up with blood dripping down their faces as they cowered on the floor.
Joel had taught me how to fight since he would bring me along to deals. He would even send me out to do them on my own if he was busy. Most people who were aware of the fact that I was helping Joel deal thought I was nuts, but I considered it a normal part of our relationship. Besides, he never sent me out on deals that were dangerous. He always handled those on his own. I would try to help him as much as possible. I knew that if I got caught, I wouldn’t end up in as bad of a situation as he would since I was under eighteen.
I didn’t use drugs often —with the exception of weed. While I had no problem dealing, I didn’t want to end up like one of the addicts who I supplied. They were gross and pathetic. Joel smoked weed a lot, but as far as I knew, that was the only thing he did. We both knew that if he started using, his profits would disappear.
We walked down the steps from his house to where his Harley was parked outside. He was the only guy I knew who was confident enough in his badass reputation to leave his bike out on the street all night. I grabbed my helmet and put it on before climbing on the bike behind him. I wrapped my arms around him as it came to life, and we tore down the street.
I loved being on his bike more than anything else. I’d made him promise me that we would go on a road trip the summer I turned eighteen. I wanted out of this town and away from my parents. I just wanted to be free.
The ride was short but exhilarating. We arrived in front of my house faster than I would have liked. While I had been in a hurry to get home, I hadn’t taken the time to mentally prepare myself for the fight that was sure to ensue. Sure enough, the front door flew open as soon as Joel parked and shut off his motorcycle. My mother stomped down the sidewalk to where we were sitting before I even had the chance to take off my helmet.
“Get. Inside. Right. Now!” she shouted.
I sighed as I pulled off my helmet. This should be fun. “I can explain—” I started.
She held up her hand to stop me. “I don’t want to hear it. Inside the house—now.”
I kissed Joel’s helmet and hopped off the bike. He started it back up and left, leaving me to deal with my mother alone.
Asshole.
“Mom, let me explain,” I started again, hoping that she would let me talk. “I just wanted to see him for a little bit. I planned to stay with him for only an hour or two, but then I fell asleep when we were watching a movie. I woke up and started freaking out.”
“You never should have gone to him in the first place. You’re grounded.”
“You can’t keep us apart. I love him, and he loves me!” I shouted.
“You have no idea what love even is, Alexandria! You’re still a child.”
“Yeah, I do. I know what I feel for him is love, and there is nothing you can do to change that.”
I stomped past her, focusing on the front door in front of me. Once I made it inside, I hurried upstairs to my room. She followed, obviously not finished with me.
“You are not to leave this house for a week. You were kicked out of school for the rest of the week, and since you don’t need to be there, you don’t need to be anywhere.”
“What does it even matter? This is the last week of school anyway. If I hadn’t been suspended, I would have skipped anyway.”
My mother shook her head. “I will never understand you, Alexandria. You’re not my baby girl anymore, and I have no idea what happened to you. I’d blame Joel, but this attitude of yours started long before him. If things don’t change, I’ll—”
“You’ll what? You might as well figure out what you’ll do to me because this is me, and I won’t change who I am to make you happy.”
“You’re destroying yourself, Alexandria. Look at you—you’re as thin as a twig. You’ve dyed your beautiful blonde hair black and put red through it. You won’t listen, and you have no respect for your father or me.” She glared at me. “And don’t even get me started on those piercings in your lip and nose. They look horrible.”
Currently, I was rocking a septum piercing, a piercing in my nose, and looped snakebite piercings. I really wasn’t sure why she was still so angry over it. I came home with new body modifications all the time. I would think she’d be used to it by now.
“Don’t forget about my tattoo. I know how much you love it,” I said sarcastically.
Almost three months ago, I’d come home with a tattoo on my left arm. I wasn’t eighteen yet, but Joel’s friend was a tattoo artist, so he had done it for me. I’d wanted a tattoo forever, so I’d jumped at the opportunity to get one. I had drawn the design myself. It covered most of my inner arm from my elbow to my wrist. At the top was a skull that ended with partial butterfly wings. Below that was a blue rose. I loved it even though I’d ended up being grounded for a month when my mother saw it.
“I’m tired of your attitude, Alexandria. Enough is enough.”
“I love you and Dad, but I’m tired of you both looking down at me. This is my life, and I’ll live it however I want to. I don’t have an attitude. I just can’t handle how you freak out over every little thing.”
My mother’s nostrils flared as she tried to control her temper. She closed her eyes, and I watched as she counted to ten under her breath. Her entire body sagged the second she hit ten. It was like someone had dropped a ton of bricks on her shoulders.
“I don’t know what you expect from me, Alexandria. I refuse to just sit here and watch you self-destruct.”
I stared at my mother as she spoke. She looked tired, the kind of tired that came from worrying. Her blonde hair was hanging limply around her face, and there were lines around her mouth and eyes that I hadn’t noticed before. Her hazel eyes that were identical to mine had fear in them. I felt a twinge of guilt for causing her any worry, but I pushed it away.
“I don’t expect a damn thing from you.”
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I stared at the room number on my schedule and then looked back at the classroom door in front of me. 312. I was in the right place. I took a deep breath before opening the door and walking in.
Several students looked up to see who had entered. I ignored their stares as I focused on the teacher sitting behind her desk in front of the classroom.
She smiled as I approached. “Can I help you?”
“Uh…yeah, I’m a new student,” I said nervously.
I had no idea why I was nervous. It wasn’t like I hadn’t moved to a new school before. My mom had moved us around a lot—so much so that I’d lost track of how many schools I’d been to. She’d promised me that this time would be different. This would be the last time we moved.
Yeah, right.
That was what she’d said every single time. I just hoped that my freshman year would be the year that she really meant it. I was tired of moving all the time, and now that I was in high school, it wouldn’t be as easy to make friends.
I held out my schedule, and the teacher glanced at it.
“It’s nice to meet you, Logan. I’m Mrs. Jenkins. Let me grab you a book.”
She stood and walked to a door a few feet away from her desk. Once she disappeared inside, I glanced over my shoulder to see two-dozen students staring at me like I was the most interesting guy in the world. I sighed, hating how this happened every time. Being the new kid sucked, but what could I do?
The teacher reappeared and walked back over to me. “Here is your book. We’re starting on chapter three today. Why don’t you take a seat next to”—she glanced at the seating chart on the desk—“Chloe Richards. Chloe, will you raise your hand, please?”
I turned to face the classroom and saw a girl raise her hand. I walked toward her, ignoring everyone else as they continued to stare at me. I sat down next to her without even looking her way. I knew my new
neighbor would be watching me like everyone else.
“Class, let’s give Logan a warm welcome. Now, if you’ll open your books to chapter three, we can begin,” Mrs. Jenkins said.
Once Mrs. Jenkins turned away from us to start writing on the board, I glanced over at my neighbor. My mouth dropped open as I stared at her. Damn.
She glanced over at me and smiled before turning her attention back to the front of the room.
The girl was gorgeous. Her hair was a light blonde color, and her eyes were bright blue. I noticed she was wearing a shirt with some rock band on the front. She was tiny, but she had more curves than most girls our age. She looked like an angel.
She glanced over and caught me staring at her. She leaned close to me and whispered, “I’m Chloe.”
I smiled at the sound of her voice. It was as sweet as the rest of her.
“Logan,” I whispered back.
“Where are you from?” she asked.
Where am I from? I sighed and decided to go with the last state we’d moved from. “Missouri.”
“Cool. I’ve lived here my entire life. I’ll warn you now—there’s nothing to do around here. It’s boring as hell.”
I smiled. I don’t think I’ll be bored with you around. “Good to know.”
We both turned back to pay attention to what Mrs. Jenkins was saying.
A few minutes later, Chloe poked my arm. I gave her a questioning look.
“Do you think her hair is real or a wig?”
I snorted in laughter, but I quickly covered it with a cough when the students in front of us turned to look. “Uh…I don’t know.”
“I vote wig. There is no way she could get her natural hair that high on her head.”
I glanced up at the teacher and then back to Chloe. “I think you’re right.”
“Finally! Someone agrees with me!” She snickered.
I spent the rest of class glancing in Chloe’s direction. I couldn’t get over how pretty she was. Sure, I was a teenage guy, so I noticed things like boobs and ass, but there was just something about this girl.
When the bell rang, she turned back to me. “Let me see your schedule.”
I handed it to her, and she glanced over it.
“You have a couple of classes with me. Our next one is together, and we have lunch together, too. I always sit with my friend, Amber. You’re welcome to sit with us if you want.”
She smiled at me, and I knew right then and there that I was fucked. This girl was already under my skin, and I wanted her more than anything. I would make her mine.
“Sounds perfect,” I said.
Four Years Later—Fall
I deepened the kiss and started slowly sliding my hand under Chloe’s shirt and up her stomach. She froze at the touch and pulled away.
“What’s wrong, babe? If we’re going too fast, just tell me. After the other day, I thought…” I looked at her with concern in my eyes.
I’d thought that we were in a good place, but her body language was telling me otherwise. We’d been together for a few months now. Plus, I’d known her for over four years, so I knew when something was wrong with her.
“Logan, remember how I wanted to talk to you the other day?”
I nodded, but I stayed silent as I tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach. Something was seriously wrong.
“Well, I need to tell you something.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them to look at me again. “Something happened between Drake and me. Right after you and I got together a few months ago, I went over to his house to hang out and study for a couple of our classes. Neither of us intended for anything to happen, but we ended up having sex. I am so sorry I didn’t tell you. I just couldn’t stand the thought of hurting you. It was an accident.”
I froze as I looked down at her. Drake was the local rock star and someone she’d become good friends with since we came to West Virginia University. While she had sworn that nothing was going on between the two of them before, I’d noticed how he was always watching her. My gut had warned me about him, but I’d refused to listen. Instead, I’d blindly trusted her, assuming that she would never lie to me.
“An accident? What? You just accidentally fell on his dick?” I yelled, losing my temper.
How could she do this to us?
We’d been doing so well together. I was happy. She was happy—or so I’d thought.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “Why are you telling me this now? Why wait all these months and then dump this on me?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just couldn’t take the guilt anymore. I don’t want to keep lying to you.” She stared into my eyes.
“I’m glad you told me, Chloe. I want you to be honest with me. I don’t really know what to say, but I’m trying to understand here. You said this was right after we got together?”
She nodded.
“Okay…well, as long as it was just once, I am willing to look past it. I know how confused you were about us then.”
I pulled her into a hug as she burst into tears.
“What’s wrong, Chloe? I forgive you, baby girl. I forgive you.”
She continued to sob, and then she managed to gasp out the words that would seal our fate, “It wasn’t just then. It happened again a couple of weeks ago. I went to his house to try to work things out because we hadn’t really talked since it happened, and things got carried away.”
My body tensed as I tried to fight the rage building inside me. “You had sex with him two weeks ago? What the fuck, Chloe?” I dropped my arms from around her like I’d been burned, and I stood up. She was still crying as I continued yelling, “That son of a bitch! He knew you were mine, and he still went after you. Twice! Un-fucking-believable! I’m going to kill him!” I stormed across the room to the door and threw it open.
She jumped off the bed to come after me. “Logan! Logan, stop! Where are you going?”
I glanced over my shoulder at her, and I headed for the stairs. “I’m going to teach that bastard a lesson. I knew something was up between you two. I just never thought he would pull that. I never thought you would do this to me! How could you, Chloe?” I continued to yell as she chased me down the stairs.
All around us, students stopped dead in the hallway and stairs to stare at us as we passed.
“I’m so sorry, Logan, but please just stop.”
She reached for my arm, but I threw her hand away.
“Stay away from me, Chloe, or God help me, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
We had made it down the stairs and out into the parking lot. I quickly unlocked my car and jumped in. Chloe tried to open the passenger door, but I kept it locked as I put the car in drive. I left black marks as I screeched out of the parking lot. I glanced back in my rearview mirror to see her running for her own car and jumping in. I turned my attention back to the main road.
I drove straight to the bar where Drake’s band often played, knowing he would be there on a Friday night. As soon as I shut off my car, I jumped out and ran toward the building. I heard Chloe calling my name as she chased me across the lot, but I ignored her as I went into the bar.
When I entered, Drake was up on stage, playing with the band. I headed straight for him with Chloe on my heels. Before she could stop me, I jumped up on the stage and punched Drake in the face. She screamed as Drake’s head jerked back from the force of it. Blood started trickling down from his nose to his lips. The crowd started screaming, and the other band members quickly grabbed me as I lunged for Drake again.
“What the fuck?” Drake yelled as he glared at me.
He glanced up and went pale when he saw Chloe standing in front of the stage, crying and shaking.
“You stupid son of a bitch! Did you think I wouldn’t find out that you’ve been fucking Chloe behind my back?”
I lunged again, and Adam, one of Drake’s bandmates, was caught off guard, letting me go. Drake saw me coming and jumped back before landin
g a punch of his own in my stomach. I grunted and dropped to one knee before standing back up and going after him again.
“Come on, pretty boy, I’m standing right here. Come and get me,” Drake taunted.
I threw another punch that Drake wasn’t quick enough to dodge, and it landed in his rib cage. I threw myself at Drake while the pain distracted him, and we flew backward into the drums, sending them flying. I could hear Chloe screaming at both of us as we continued to throw punches before Adam and Eric pulled us apart.
Eric pried Drake off of me and held him tight as Adam twisted my arm behind my back and held me in a death grip. I struggled to get loose, but it was no use.
Jade—another one of Drake’s bandmates, who had been standing on the end of the stage the entire time—put her fingers in her mouth and whistled. “That’s it! Grow the fuck up, boys, or at least take it outside!”
I looked at Drake with pure hatred in my eyes. “How could you, Drake? I asked you that day at lunch if there was anything between the two of you before I went for her. You told me nothing was going on and that nothing would. You promised me that you would leave her alone, and look what happened. You fucked her not once but twice behind my back.”
Drake glared right back at me. “Yeah, I did fuck her twice because once just wasn’t enough for me, and I’d do it again if I could.”
I tried to lunge for him, but Adam was prepared this time, and he held tight.
“All right, guys, both of you outside now,” Adam growled as he held me back.
He marched me offstage and across the bar to the door. Eric followed closely behind, still holding on to Drake. With their arms wrapped around each other, Jade and Chloe followed behind them at a distance.
When I stepped out into the cool night air, I breathed deeply, trying to control my rage. How did my life come to this?
Chloe was everything to me, and she’d betrayed me. She might as well have stuck a knife in me. It wouldn’t have hurt as bad as this.
Once we were far enough away from the bar doors, Eric and Adam released Drake and me, and they stepped back.
“All right, you want to kick the shit out of each other, be my guest. We’re not going to stop you, but you guys need to get your shit together. Fighting over a girl is fucking ridiculous, and you know it. So, do what you want. Just get it out and over with before our drums suffer anymore,” Eric growled.
Taming Alec Page 9