Forsaken: A bully romance (An Academy Twin Rivalry Series Book 1)

by Taylor Blaine

  I could be in one of those romance novels I’d stolen from my mom’s room a couple times where the guy took what he wanted and the girl begged for more.

  Except I didn’t beg.

  That thought snapped through me and I broke the kiss, gasping for air as I turned my head to the side. Loosening my hold on his neck, I backed up, grateful that he responded to my cues to end the kiss. I breathed deeply, my heart rate refusing to slow as I leaned my head back.

  “What?” Braddox stared down at me and for a fleeting moment, I couldn’t remember why I’d stopped what felt right in that second.

  The snap of a door closing and someone laughing brought me out of the confusion. I shook my head and stared into his eyes. “I’m not doing this here.”

  He nodded, careful to hide the disappointment but not fast enough.

  I smiled softly. “Not that I don’t want to do this. Just that I’m not doing this here.”

  The tingling in my skin intensified as his eyes widened with understanding and a slow smile spread his full bottom lip. “Got it. Let’s wait a while and then we can head back to my place. I’m taking my time with you and it’s not going on the cameras here.” He lifted my hand and kissed the meaty side of my palm before nipping it gently with his teeth. “I’m going to make my rounds. I’ll see you in a little bit. Don’t let that ass get distracted by any other guys here.”

  “Not in a million.” I watched him walk away, certain I’d just made a deal with the devil but not sure I was going to change my mind because of it. The fact that he made me feel things I’d been too wrapped up in my own head to acknowledge gave me a giddy feeling. He still liked me. He still wanted me.

  Call me a slut or something worse, but I couldn’t help being grateful that he wasn’t mean to me and didn’t treat me with condescension. The complete difference between him and his brother left the hole in my soul a little less empty. I’d found where I fit in and thankfully, it was a lot more familiar than trying to fit into hell.

  I needed to freshen up. Taking a second to myself, I walked across the lawn, scooping my shoes up as I passed. Donnie had a bathroom in the pool house on the far end of the property. I didn’t feel like fighting with the other girls at the party to use one of the large bathrooms on the ground floor.

  Plus, I needed a minute to wrap my head around the fact that I’d made plans to finally have sex with Braddox. Maybe he’d make it special or maybe he’d make it as common as a roll in the back of a car. Either way, I’d committed and I wasn’t the type to back out.

  Pushing the door open, I welcomed the relief from the damp wind and the chilly sprinkles that continued to hit me no matter which way I turned.

  I rolled my head on my shoulders and relished the soft sounds of the water moving in the pool with its professional lanes marked on the bottom and the diving boards on the opposite end from the door. I left my shoes just outside the doorjamb, walking across the heated tile to get to the bathrooms across from the water and facing the view of the ocean.

  Turning the handle, I started to push the door open, but then was rammed from behind. The movement slammed my chin against the door and I grunted.

  Rough hands pinned me against the still-shut door and my cheek ground on the paneling.

  “You stupid bitch. You think you can leave West Shores and come back here like you’re not a low life whore? You don’t belong with us.” I didn’t recognize the voice, but his obvious hatred of me triggered some instinctual fear that I unknowingly harbored.

  I tried to see behind me from the corner of my eye, turning my head and straining to see behind me. He shoved his hand on my ear, shoving my head harder against the door. His other hand reached up, grabbing at my skirt and yanking it upward. “Something you little posers like to do is keep your ass available for anyone who wants to use it.” He ran his rough hands along the cheeks of my butt and then reared his hand back and slapped my tender skin hard enough to bring tears to my eyes.

  That pissed me off and I found something feral inside me. Driving my elbow behind me with a twist, I broke his hold on my back and drove the pointiest part of my elbow into the spot below his ribs.

  He grunted, jerking back and I turned more fully, lifting my knee into his groin area as hard as I could.

  He doubled over before I could get a look at his face.

  Not one to hang around a dangerous situation, I sprinted from the pool house, desperate to get out of there. I left my shoes by the back door. Thankfully, my clutch hadn’t left my hands.

  A sob ripped from me and I leaned against the house beside the door to the dance area, leaning over and bracing my hands on my knees. That was ridiculous. Ridiculous. I’d almost been sodomized. I had no doubt that’s what he was going to try to do to me. I should have looked more closely at who it was. I could have done something, but I couldn’t then. I couldn’t go back. He’d try to shut me up. I had no doubt about it.

  Rachel appeared beside me again, her eyes wide and her mouth in the shape of an “O”. “Olivia, please tell me it’s a lie.” She cocked her head and stared at me, oblivious to the fact that I’d just about been raped in the pool house. I was a cheap cliché and I couldn’t even claim it. Who would believe me?

  “What’s a lie?” Had someone said something or seen something? I couldn’t clear my head enough to think through what she was saying or what the implications were behind the fear in her eyes. Was that fear for me or for her?

  “You slept with Jaxon O’Donnell? You can’t do that.” She looked around, dropping her voice to an indignant whisper. “Seriously, if Braddox finds out, you’re going to destroy him. I don’t think anyone would forgive you for that.”

  Sleep with Jaxon O’Donnell? I blinked at Rachel, frozen in my shock as I tried to process what she was saying. Someone had said I’d slept with the East Shores twin. Who would say that? Who would spread that lie unless they’d heard it from Jaxon himself?

  My stomach clenched. As soon as Braddox heard the rumor, I would lose any chance at an ally. Any chance that someone would make me feel good about myself and want me for me. I wasn’t sure why, but Braddox wanted me.

  I couldn’t lose that. The way he made me feel – minus the angst and pain associated with being around Jaxon – stirred me. I had to keep him.

  The sudden panic that filled me at the thought of losing him almost hurt physically. I spun, looking for him in the dancing room where Rachel had just come from. He’d gone inside to mingle. Where? Where had he gone?

  I pushed past her, searching the dance area. He wasn’t in there.

  I pushed through the dancers, shoving my way across the floor. Instead of taking a left into the hot-boxing room, I went right, taking a different route toward the spacious kitchen and where the bartender was set up.

  I came to a sudden stop at the doorway at the sight of Braddox standing by the decanters of amber liquid. One thing Donovan did well was stock his bar with expensive liquor.

  A few people stood in groups as they talked, holding onto cups in their hands like that was how they would anchor themselves to life.

  The kitchen held a tinge of smoke along the ceiling from the smoking room which gave it a fuzzy, almost fantastical appearance. I could have been in the middle of a dream as I walked slowly into the room, watching Braddox on the other side. He stood beside his friend, Donnie, and stared down into his drink as Donnie spoke hurriedly, his hands moving animatedly with his words.

  Braddox shifted on his feet, setting his drink on the counter beside him and folding his arms. Pure anger darkened his expression and he tilted his head toward Donnie, his brow furrowed.

  His jaw was tight. Oh, my shit. I was literally watching my past severing from my future. I was trapped in my present that was proving to be hell. What was I going to do?

  He wouldn’t believe it. I had to hold onto that. He wouldn’t. Why would he believe that I’d slept with his twin when I hadn’t even slept with him?

  My breath caught as Braddox slowly rai
sed his gaze to mine, as if he knew I’d been there the whole time, but that wasn’t possible. Pain faded from his eyes and changed into betrayal that led to anger.

  He was mad and I didn’t know how to ask him to believe me. I had to, though. I had to ask. I had to explain and I didn’t know how.

  Forcing my feet to carry me across the tiled floor, I paused in front of Braddox, ignoring the accusations in Donnie’s eyes as he stood back, offering support for his friend.

  I swallowed, staring up at Braddox as I waited for the accusations to rain down around me.

  We stared at each other. My throat constricted. “I… I didn’t sleep with him.”

  “Yeah. I believe that. The way you slapped me… thinking it was him? There’s something there, isn’t there?” Braddox didn’t sound mad, but the spark in his eyes told me to tread lightly. He reached up, twisting one of my curls around his finger. He dropped his gaze to watch the dark glossy lock in his grip.

  “I… I don’t… I kissed him the first day. I thought he was you and I was so happy to see you.” That had to soften things. That would make him feel better. Right?

  “You came here to screw me? What to prove to yourself that you’re not like him? That you’re not like the worthless side of Shores?” Braddox bent his head, pressing his lips to my neck and sending a shiver up my scalp. He kept his lips by my ear and I closed my eyes as he continued speaking. “Right now, it doesn’t matter if you did or didn’t. Everyone thinks you did which means they think you cheated on me.”

  I closed my eyes and he pulled away. I didn’t bother telling him that we hadn’t been together for the last three months. According to Rachel, Braddox didn’t care. That didn’t matter.

  It didn’t matter that he’d slept with more girls than I knew were at West Academy. None of that mattered.

  Nope. What mattered was what people believed happened. As long as people believed I’d screwed Jaxon, they’d know I hadn’t screwed Braddox because that was a rumor that had never started. I watched Braddox turn his back on me and wave me off.

  And so did the five to eight other people in the kitchen. He’d just stamped the rumor with his own testimony. Truth or not – I’d been labeled a traitor and a cheater.

  Now I wouldn’t be able to find a place to fit in no matter where I went to school – West Shores or East Shores Academy. I was stuck as an outcast and there was no way out of it.

  Chapter 8

  Jaxon

  Parking the El Camino at the end of the drive, I hoofed it to the large house and no one questioned my presence as I made my way through the front doors. By the time I made it inside, Olivia and her friend were gone.

  I caught a glimpse of Braddox. His hair looked similar to mine in styling which just pissed me off. He didn’t get to steal my style.

  Right, I got it. We’re twins and there’s only so much we could do to give ourselves our own identities, but come on. I hadn’t seen the jerkoff in so long. Did he have someone watching me, spying on me? My first suspicions returned to Olivia. Was she spying on me at East Shores for my asshole brother? Was she going to be a replay of all the things we fought over?

  I didn’t want her. I had to lie to myself, convince myself of that. I couldn’t want her when it would just make my brother and I replay what we’d gone through when my mom left my dad.

  I had to make sure we weren’t seen in the same room together, so I ducked around the corner before anyone could put two and two together while we were so close. That would be hard to explain and a guaranteed way to get my ass kicked by a huge group of West Shores students.

  Moving along the outside of the rooms, I ignored people who stepped forward to talk to me thinking I was Braddox. I didn’t need the stress of trying to be him. He was a big enough dick; I’d get away with ignoring people and they’d accept it as him. That’s how it worked when you had the kind of personality my brother did. He’d never understand what it meant to not be on top or superior to everyone in any situation.

  That was an affectation I’d left behind in the mansion when I’d moved out. The only way to get over myself was to be less than everyone else I came across. Serving others seemed to be the way to get over the fact that sometimes I didn’t have food. Until I’d been able to get a job for my own money, I’d been stuck hoping my mom was sober when she got paid by my dad and would go and get groceries. If she wasn’t or if Norman was around, the money went toward their recreational activities and whatever else they wanted to do.

  I was rarely involved.

  My mood darkened as I considered everything I’d been forced to give up as I strode through a richly appointed mansion that reminded me of the house I’d had to leave behind. Even with drugs and smoke in the air, I could smell the richness of the furniture.

  The dancing area seemed dark enough but I couldn’t help noticing Olivia’s curves as they darted outside the backdoor.

  I worked my way out onto the marble patio, studying the scene before making any major decisions.

  Olivia stared out over the ocean, her bare shoulders and back flicked with her thick dark hair. I couldn’t look away from the shape of her hips and her long legs set off by the deliciously diminutive skirt and her shoes that made her a few inches taller.

  A pool house sat off to the side. I could run the risk of hiding out there and watching Olivia, but the challenge would be in getting there without her seeing me. Tensing, I glanced at her over and over and then finally made the decision to dart across the well-maintained, carpet-like lawn into the pool house. I tucked myself into a corner by the window and watched Olivia.

  I had to tamp down my fury. What was she doing up there? Besides proving my suspicions that she was spying on me and then reporting to Braddox. Why else would she dress like she had something to give away?

  My palms itched at the memory of touching her skin as she’d kissed me in the courtyard. There was something about the way she fit in my arms that left me feeling intoxicated. I still couldn’t get her out of my head. Did I really think Braddox would allow her to dress like a slut if she was really and truly his?

  I pulled further into the shadows as Braddox strode confidently from the house and paused when he saw Olivia. Something like anger and then relief crossed his features.

  Cocking my head, I narrowed my eyes. He hadn’t been expecting her. He approached her and when he pulled her into his arms, I almost ran from the pool house to kill him.

  I dug my fingers into the wood of the windowsill, gritting my teeth as my breathing went shallow.

  What I wouldn’t give to hear what they were saying. Braddox bent down and they kissed.

  Then Olivia slapped Braddox.

  She slapped him. My eyes widened and I couldn’t stop the grin that replaced my grimace. The only reason she would slap him was because she thought he was me.

  I wasn’t thrilled at the slap but more about the fact that she’d leaned into the kiss, given him some of her time and hadn’t fought at first.

  She’d kissed him, not knowing if it was him or not.

  I rubbed my eyes. I didn’t want to watch them talking. There was something in the way they stood close to each other. If they kissed again, I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to feel the pain that brought. She wasn’t mine. She couldn’t be mine. I had to make sure she wanted to get away from me. I didn’t need her at East Shores. I didn’t need her anywhere near me.

  How was I going to make it clear to her that she couldn’t go back and forth like that?

  I scanned the inside of the pool house. Another door on the far side of the pool gave me a target. I moved quickly to the exit and pushed the door to get out. Stepping into the back alley between the house and the pool house, I glanced around once more to make sure I wasn’t seen.

  It would be one thing, if everyone thought I was Braddox, but something entirely different if they could see us both at the same time.

  I needed to get out of there. Olivia wasn’t going anywhere. Braddox would have to take
care of her. I couldn’t do that when she wasn’t mine.

  With a meandering path, I took my time heading toward the front of the house and my car. I jerked my chin at people who called out my name and flicked my fingers at others I barely recognized.

  Thirty minutes passed and I finally got to the front drive, making my way steadily toward my car. The further I got from the house, the lengthier my stride became.

  Until, twenty feet from the El Camino, I came to a sudden stop at the sight of Braddox and Donnie leaning on my only piece of property of any value.

  I clenched my teeth and moved forward, gripping my fingers tight into a fist. I offered a tight smile and then ran my right hand through my hair. I didn’t say anything. I wouldn’t give them any idea that I was intimidated – because I wasn’t.

  “Well, well, if isn’t my long-lost little brother. You’re awfully far from home.” Braddox pushed off the car and glanced back with his arms folded across his chest.

  Looking at him was unnerving. We hadn’t lived together for so long, I often forgot there was someone out there who looked exactly like me.

  “I remember you always wanted an El Camino. You must be doing pretty good down there, huh?” He lifted his eyes to mine, an eyebrow arched in challenge.

  I didn’t care what they did to me. I’d never admit that I had done more illegal things to get that car than I wanted to remember. I’d only been able to get the job at the shop because Crenshaw saw me working on the car in the road and he liked the skills I’d shown. No one knew I didn’t have skills. I just had a library card and a lot of time where I didn’t want to be home.

  I shrugged, tucking my thumbs into my pockets and tilting my head to the side. “You always wanted a Nova. I’m sure you have fifteen by now. Did your daddy get them all for you?” Our dad, but as far as I was concerned, he wasn’t mine anymore. He’d given me up. That’s all that mattered.

  Braddox didn’t need to know I worked on the side with O’Donnell. Right then, as I stared at my brother, I couldn’t think of him as my dad. He’d chosen Braddox. Not me.