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

by Taylor Blaine

  Jaxon couldn’t stop me. He couldn’t distract me. I wasn’t proud of what I’d done. I didn’t want to be caught and forced to answer any questions from anyone – least of all one of the guys I couldn’t help my attraction to.

  Me and my damn body. Why couldn’t I like a boring guy? Someone who didn’t have a twin or sultry eyes that demanded I lick his lips.

  The next class I moved to the front of the class and asked the teacher a stupid question about makeup work or something so I would be busy when Jaxon came in behind me. He took his seat and I claimed mine when the bell rang and I couldn’t distract the teacher any longer.

  Every class I had to dance around being caught by Jaxon and avoiding the constant need to climb on his lap and make out with him in the center of everyone else.

  I didn’t stay through lunch. I couldn’t dodge Jaxon all day, not like I was. There was too much going on in my head and avoiding the hot guy was exhausting both mentally and physically. Instead of going to the cafeteria or the courtyard for lunch, I walked from campus and fell into an easy stride. I wasn’t in any hurry to get back to an empty apartment, but I had an even stronger desire to stay far away from what was happening at school.

  The few miles I had to walk didn’t take as long as I expected them to. With no phone I’d essentially cut myself off from communication with anyone. There were no landlines at the apartments.

  Maybe I could just go back and relax for the day. Just… what?

  Be alone.

  That’s what I needed. I needed to be alone for just a little bit before I had to figure out what I was supposed to do about Jaxon and Braddox and now, my mom.

  Maybe I should just jump both the brothers and let that decide for me. Most likely they’d both get bored and move on after screwing me. That would solve all my problems. Jaxon and Braddox could leave me alone and I’d have been released from the uncontrollable tension wrapping itself around me.

  I only hoped that once I did get a piece of those guys, it didn’t leave me wanting more.

  Unfortunately, I had no doubt that was exactly what was going to happen.

  ~~~

  Jaxon

  What in the hell was going on with Olivia? She was avoiding me. I wasn’t stupid. I could see she was and I couldn’t understand why.

  Maybe she felt guilty about something. What had she done? I hadn’t heard any rumors about her. I felt like I was going to be fielding the questioning about us sleeping together for the rest of the year. She wasn’t going to school so she got to escape the awkward situations I faced.

  I opted to ditch the rest of the day at school. I had to stop by Crenshaw’s and then see if my father had any more jobs for me to complete. It would be easier to do at the shop then at my mom’s apartment. I checked my phone again for a reply from my dad. I still looked for a chance to connect with him, even though he’d emphasized the need to keep things professional between us or my mom would find out. I still longed for the chance to get to know him better. Know what he liked to do for fun. Did he even have fun? What kind of things did he and Braddox do together?

  I hoped they spent time together. One of us needed to have chance at a healthy relationship with one of our parents. Mom was a lost cause. I think at that point I was simply around to make sure she didn’t overdose or get beaten to death by Norman. She didn’t have any use for me other than the money my dad paid her.

  Even that was close to coming to an end. Then what? Where would I go?

  I tore into Crenshaw’s prepared to tell the old man that I was there to work off some credit when he rushed outside and waved me down as I headed back to the parking spots.

  “We just had a couple cars come in from an accident. Are you here to work?” Desperation on his face had me nodding.

  “Let me park. I’ll be right in.” I turned the wheel, pulling into my usual spot under some trees. I had something to do, something to occupy my thoughts and time. Maybe I could get Olivia out of my head, or Braddox, or even my parents.

  I did my work, relishing the sweat and movement associated with the mechanics of working in the shop. The guys joked around, but mostly we kept our heads down and focused on the jobs at hand.

  Late into the evening, Crenshaw released us, nodding in satisfaction as he wiped his greasy hands on a rag. “Well done, men. Let’s try again tomorrow. Jaxon, you’re fine to not come in. Unless you need to. That was a lot of work for you with your studies.” He looked at me, questions in his eyes, but patience curbing his curiosity. He wouldn’t press me for more while everyone else looked on. He knew of my situation and he supported me in whatever way I needed it.

  I nodded, offering a half-smile as I followed the other guys to the employee room to retrieve our things.

  I waited until I was sitting in my car before looking at my phone to see what I’d missed while I was working.

  Multiple messages waited for me. None from Olivia left me a little deflated, but I opened Dad’s thread with mild anticipation. Would he say something personal to me or just the codes we’d fallen into the habit of using.

  I’m going out of town for a couple days, maybe a week. I’ll have Harold send you the next list of job projects.

  That was it. Nothing like thanks, or see you soon. Nothing that would indicate I was anyone worth his extracurricular time. I didn’t blame Dad, no matter how much it hurt.

  I leaned my head back on the seat and sank lower to fold my arms across my chest and close my eyes. I didn’t want to go anywhere just yet.

  There was a feeling of loss that overcame me that nothing had changed. My life hadn’t changed in six years. Sometimes I was hit with depression, a longing for some segment of kindness or emotional vulnerability with another human.

  I hadn’t been hugged or cared for since we’d moved to East Shores. Fine. I wasn’t weak. I could handle it.

  But it got lonely. I was lonely. It was so hard to admit. I was never lonely when I was younger. My brother and I were inseparable. No one could get between us.

  Now… everyone was between us even in empty space.

  Olivia was the first reason we’d had to talk to each other in years.

  Just a glimpse of my brother was worth the pain and confusion associated with being around Olivia. I wanted her, something fierce, but I cared enough about Braddox…

  If he just had to be with her… If he loved her… Maybe I could step aside. I was just addicted to her. I wasn’t sure what my emotional connection to her was yet.

  Not yet.

  If I let our association go longer, I had no doubt I’d become attached to her. I couldn’t face losing her, too, if she was going to choose Braddox in the end. I’d be happy for my brother, but I would have to let go of my own happiness… again… so that Braddox could have what he wanted.

  Was I strong enough for that?

  I started the engine in my car and sat up, adjusting myself in the seat.

  Driving toward the apartments, I had to admit that the thought of not seeing Olivia even one day had been enough to drive me nuts. I’d broken past my self-discipline and pride and texted her, asking her for a bit of her time to figure things out.

  Was I so lost already that there was no hope for me?

  I pulled into the lot at a little past nine. The sun had set a couple hours before, leaving the streetlights in charge of the illumination for the roads and the lot.

  I climbed out of my car, locking the door before I shut it.

  Leaning on the side of my vehicle, I couldn’t help staring at the lights that were on in the first apartment by the lot on the ground level.

  Someone was home at Olivia’s. If I walked up and knocked on the door, would I be lucky enough to find her there or would her mother block me from seeing her daughter on a school night?

  For some reason, I wasn’t concerned about the details or even about what would happen after I knocked. I just had to get my ass to that door and actually do it.

  Stupidly attached to her. Or not.

&n
bsp; I had to decide. Let her go or chase after her.

  Braddox declared it as a challenge. I’d basically done the same thing. What if I made her choose? What if I asked her who she wanted more?

  Ten steps to go before I had to decide if I was knocking on her door or going onto my place.

  Nine.

  My heart rate picked up.

  Eight.

  Was I breathing faster? Holy shit. How embarrassing.

  Seven.

  Was I brave enough to ask her?

  Six.

  Or better yet, was I ready to hear her answer?

  Five.

  Would I accept what she had to say?

  Four.

  What if she picked Braddox?

  Three.

  What if she wanted him with his money and his car and his house?

  Two.

  What if she was only attracted to me because I looked like Braddox?

  One.

  What if she picked me?

  Chapter 17

  Olivia

  My knees were bent and I had one leg resting on the other while I bounced my foot up and down. Chocolate my mom had hidden in the closet in the bathroom – like I didn’t know where her secret stash was, please – made for a terrific way to get my head out of the situations around me. Not to mention, I also had some movies on TV.

  The apartment to myself wasn’t so bad. Actually, I highly preferred my own space. Mom hadn’t been forthcoming in the message on exactly how long she was going to be gone, but it made sense when she was leaving the message with Stubel or whoever it was.

  A soft tapping at the door made me freeze. I jerked my gaze from the TV screen to the doorway like I could see through it. I held my breath. I didn’t have a phone. I had no way to call for help. I wasn’t in the best position. Suddenly, my pleasure at being alone and in charge of the apartment left behind the sensation that I was distinctly alone.

  Another tap at the door, only this time louder like with knuckles. I swung my feet to the ground and glanced down at my outfit. Okay, leggings and a t-shirt. I didn’t know anyone in that area. It didn’t matter what I looked like, especially if they were a serial killer.

  I stood slowly. The sun would be gone soon and the television light was already the majority of the illumination in the apartment. I pressed the bottom of my shirt hem down onto my thighs and approached the door.

  We didn’t have a peephole. Opening the door would be flying blind.

  Did I do it?

  I took a deep breath and grabbed the handle, pulling the door open and putting on my best attempt at over-confidence I could muster. A bitch was harder to kill than a friendly person, right? Maybe? I had no idea and a whole lot of hope on my side.

  I exhaled on a whoosh when I recognized Jaxon standing in front of me. The only way I knew it was Jaxon was because he wore the same outfit that he’d worn at school that morning.

  This time though, his hands had a worn look to them, like he’d been playing in paint and couldn’t get it all washed out of his hands.

  For some reason, I couldn’t stop staring at his knuckles with the smallest lines darkened with something he hadn’t been able to wash out. After another second of staring at his hands, I raised my gaze, more than aware how awkward it was that I was staring at his hands and no one had said anything.

  He stared at me as well. My chest rose and fell and I couldn’t figure out why he affected me that way.

  I looked behind him and then back at his face. What in the hell was he doing at my apartment? How did he know which one I was in? “Um… hi?” Yep, I sounded more like a tool than I looked. Shouldn’t I invite him in or something?

  Except… I had no doubt if I invited him in, I’d have to jump him. Have to. No hot-blooded woman in her right mind had a guy like that sitting on her couch without stripping her own clothes off.

  It just wasn’t possible. I had no problem acknowledging that either.

  “You’re not sick.” He cocked his head at me, the easy way he spoke confirmed I was the only one bugged by his presence. And I mean bugged. I couldn’t breathe right, my pulse was racing, I think behind my knees were sweating for hell’s sake.

  I knitted my eyebrows together and shook my head. “No, I’m not sick. Why? Do I look sick?” I reached up, pressing my fingers into my cheeks and forehead. Maybe I looked flushed or something. Maybe there were more rumors rushing around about me. I had no idea what to think or what to do. It was unreal how Jaxon affected me.

  “No. You don’t look sick at all. You just haven’t been at school or here.” How would he know I hadn’t been at my place? Was he watching for me? Like the type of guy that drove by the place of the girl he liked because he wanted to see where she was and maybe catch a glimpse of her? That was extremely hot and more than romantic and it certainly didn’t make things easier when Braddox was trying so hard with me.

  One of them needed to be less appealing.

  “Do you mind if I come in?” He motioned toward the inside of my apartment but he didn’t step forward like he was going to push me in.

  I glanced behind me and then back at him.

  He held up his hands. “Sorry, unless you have someone here already.” He didn’t ask it like a question, more like an expectation.

  I shook my head and glanced once more at the couch. Was there anything hugely embarrassing lying around, like underwear or a bra or a huge mess?

  It seemed fairly passable so I pulled the door open more and motioned him in. “No one else, just me trying to make sure I didn’t have any underwear lying around or anything.” Why did I say that out loud?

  His grin as he passed reassured me it wasn’t stupid. I fluttered my hand at the modest furnishings and half-shrugged. “Make yourself at home. Do you want something to drink or eat or something?” I wasn’t sure what we had but it couldn’t be much.

  I moved into the small kitchenette and opened the fridge, silently hoping it wasn’t empty.

  Anything would do at that point.

  My jaw dropped at the sight of cheese sticks, apples, lettuce, dressing, sandwich meats, eggs, milk, butter, jelly, and more. I couldn’t believe the abundance in just the fridge. Shocked, I opened the freezer and gasped. Expensive ice cream sat on the shelves with frozen pizzas, frozen lasagnas, and burritos took up the space on the bottom part.

  “Are you okay?” Jaxon didn’t sit where I’d indicated. Instead, he stood behind me, closer than I would have liked before I had my bearings but not close enough according to the tingles in my nerves. Apparently, my body just wanted to be smashed against his.

  I stepped forward, putting some distance between us and closing the door. “I… Sorry, I’m fine. My mom just stocked the fridge and stuff before she left to go out of town. I… Let’s just say I’m used to us not having a lot to eat, you know?” I folded my arms and smiled tightly at him, more than a little ashamed I had to explain what it felt like to go hungry when I used to spend in one day on a meal what my mom and I spent in a month.

  He took a step back, resting his rear end against the counter behind him. Lucky counter. He nodded and folded his arms, too. “Oh yeah, that’s one of the cons of living in East Shores. Nine times out of ten, you’re very familiar with hunger. There’s no delivery here. Most of the delivery guys get robbed of the food, more than the money.” He side-grinned at me, his charm helping me to relax into the moment.

  “Do you want something? We have a lot. There’s no way I can eat all this this week before she gets home or before it goes bad. I… I can make a sandwich or something?” Just seeing all that food made me hungry. I’d been fine thinking we had no food in the house and crunching on Mom’s secret treat stash in her bathroom. If I’d known we had actual food, I wouldn’t have touched the chocolate.

  Jaxon’s eyes widened and he pushed off the counter. “Really? I’ll help make them.”

  I grinned at him. He was as excited as I was and that made me feel warm in a different way. Maybe he could understand the
frustrations of living in East Shores. Especially when I’d been used to living in the life of excess in West Shores.

  “Let’s take everything to the table.” I handed him meat, cheese, mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce, pickles – we had pickles! – tomatoes, and onions.

  As I grabbed out some plates, I was grateful to find a bag of chips Mom had crammed in the cupboard. I held them up like a trophy as I turned toward the table.

  Jaxon retrieved a butter knife from one of the drawers and a cutting board from one of the cupboards on the bottom. We needed a slicing knife which I pulled out of the knife block my mom had saved from our previous life.

  Jaxon and I sat companionably in silence for a handful of minutes as we built sandwiches fit for West Shores wallets.

  After we’d finished, we set them on our plates and just stared at them. Almost reverently, I spoke softly. “This sounds sad, but I haven’t seen anything so delicious in a long time.” I peeked at Jaxon from under my eyelashes.

  He was nodding softly, staring at the sandwich in front of him. After a moment, he turned his eyes toward me. “Thank you for sharing.”

  I wrinkled my nose, uncomfortable with the serious expression on his face and teased. “Well, I’m not sharing my sandwich. Let’s be clear. I might bite your hand, if you try to take it.”

  Jaxon laughed, the sound warm and welcome as if it washed away the awkward tension between us. It left behind a more heightened sexual awareness but the animosity had rinsed away.

  “Oh, don’t worry. If I want you to bite me, it won’t be my hand.” He winked as he picked up half of his sandwich and took a bite, closing his eyes at the taste and reveling in the moment.

  My mouth went dry as I watched him. He’d tell me where to bite him? Biting was a thing? I’d never bitten Braddox. I’d never been bitten either. Teeth could be sexual? I suddenly wanted to ask Jaxon to show me what he was talking about. Instead, I picked up my sandwich and fell silent as I ate, too.