SAVAGE: Rosewood High #3

by Lorraine, Tracy

  I do her the courtesy of knocking this time, wondering if she’ll willingly come to the door. Nothing happens beyond. There’s not even any movement.

  “Trash? You in there?”

  Silence.

  “Sweet cheeks,” I sing, attempting to sound less threatening, but still it doesn’t work. That or she’s not there. Something stirs in my stomach that she might have gone somewhere.

  Wrapping my fingers around the handle, I push down. A rush of air passes my lips as I prepare to reveal the room beyond, but the second I push, nothing happens.

  “What the fuck?”

  The door barely moves enough for a slither of light to shine through the gap.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Do you really think this will keep me from getting to you?”

  Silence.

  “And to think, I brought you a new joint. I can hardly give it to you like this.”

  She’s either playing a very good game, or she’s fucked off over the balcony. Either way, it pisses me off that she’s not at my beck and call. I’m also more pissed off than I want to admit that she’s managed to put a barrier between us. Her door’s pissed me off one too many times now. It’s time to show her that I really mean fucking business about making her life her hell until she ups and leaves.

  * * *

  By the time I wake the next morning, the house is in silence, but the banging of my head more than makes up for it.

  “Fuck,” I grunt, rolling over and thinking on the reason for my current state. An empty whiskey bottle.

  I lie on my side ,facing away from the light that’s creeping in through the curtains and curl myself into a ball, hoping it’ll be enough to keep my stomach from turning over. I didn’t eat anywhere near enough yesterday for the amount of alcohol I drank.

  As I lie there wishing I could fall back into a blissful sleep, memories from the previous night start hitting me.

  Finding her getting comfortable with Zayn in the garden. Just a hint of the anger I felt at seeing them together licks at my stomach. She shouldn’t be here, let alone trying to befriend members of the team.

  The redhead flicks through my mind and how she ran at the first sight of my cock despite trying to climb my body like a tree most of the night. Fucking pussy. If she couldn’t handle me then I guess she did us both a favor in the end, even if I’m still craving a release I’m afraid only one girl will be able to provide.

  I think about her door being locked, or what the fuck ever that was about last night, and my fingers fist the sheet as I consider what I might have done if that thing had flown right open and given me the access to her I craved.

  My cock weeps, desperate for the kind of attention it usually receives on mostly a daily basis, or it had until she turned up.

  She’s fucking ruining my life in every sense of the word.

  I spend what’s left of the daylight curled up in my bed, hoping that at some point the hangover will vanish. I know that Rachel is downstairs putting the house back together. Before I turned into the asshole I am now, I used to go down and help, feeling guilty even for the mess I’d made. But right now, I really don’t give a fuck.

  It’s not until the sun’s set that I emerge from my room. I make myself a protein shake in the kitchen before jumping in my car and heading for the gym. It’s not unusual for me to do two good workout sessions two days running, but I don’t usually head here for them when I’ve got a perfectly good gym at home. The need to get away is just too much though. I had no idea if she was in her room, or even in the house, but I wasn’t prepared to hang around and find out.

  She’ll be immersing herself in every part of my life come tomorrow when she turns up at Rosewood High for her first day. I need just a few hours of peace before every secret I’ve been trying to keep is exposed by her appearance. I might have kept her and her mother’s arrival under the rug, but I have no doubt she’ll sing just who she is from the rooftops if it’ll piss me off.

  I head home, still feeling the effects of last night’s drinking and desperate to fall into my bed. The sight of the familiar little red sports car makes me groan. I should have known they’d turn up at some point to drag information out of me after my confession last night.

  Needing to get this over with, I slam my car door and head inside. I stop by the kitchen to grab three bottles of beer before making my way down to my den, where I know they’ll be waiting.

  I find them, exactly as expected, laid out on my two couches staring at the sports channel that’s illuminating the huge flat screen on the wall.

  “Ah, nice of you to join us,” Mason says, slowly pulling himself to a sitting position when I walk through the door.

  “To what do I owe this pleasure?” They both look at me with arched brows. “Ugh, fine. Hit me with it.”

  I fall down onto the couch on the other side of Mason and lift a bottle to my lips.

  They’re silent for a few seconds, the three of us just looking at each other.

  “Just spit it the fuck out.”

  “Stepsister?” Mason asks. “Were you ever planning on telling us?”

  “I told you he was moving the whore in.”

  “No you didn’t. You said you were expecting to have to meet her. You never said anything about them living here or that there was a stepsister situation.”

  “It’s not a situation,” I mutter into my bottle.

  “Oh, so that electric hate that was zapping between the two of you last night as you stared each other down was… nothing?” Jake asks, amusement filling his voice.

  I blow out a breath through pursed lips. “I fucking hate her, okay? She needs to fuck off and leave me to get on with my life.”

  “And what’s she done exactly?”

  “Except turn up and not cower down to your bullshit.”

  “And look hot,” Jake adds. “Don’t forget that.”

  Mason nods, knowing smiles forming on both of their faces.

  “She’s not fucking hot. She dresses like a fucking hobo.”

  “Really?” Jake asks, his eyebrows almost hitting his hairline. “Because from what I could see she was a feisty little—”

  “Unless there’s an insult coming then I suggest you shut the fuck up.”

  “You really hate this girl?” Mason asks as if this needs clarifying.

  “She’s ruining my fucking life. She needs to fuck off.”

  “Just as we thought,” Jake says, looking at Mason with a smile playing on his lips.

  “Did you two come for any reason other than to piss me off with this bullshit?”

  “Just thought we could hang out.” Jake lifts his beer to his lips, but amusement still fills his eyes.

  “So where is she now?”

  “How should I fucking know? Back in the trailer park she crawled from hopefully.”

  I can tell by the way they’re both looking at me that they don’t believe a word that’s coming from my lips, but I don’t give a fuck. I intend on proving her just how much I hate her, then I can prove it to these motherfuckers at the same time.

  Thankfully, they drop the subject in favor of the game highlights that start on the TV. All talk turns to football and our upcoming playoff match. Mason sulks the whole time that he’s unable to play, but he gets little sympathy from me seeing as the fucking idiot ran a red light and almost killed himself. He came out of it pretty lightly if you ask me.

  It’s long past a sensible time to call it a night when they head off, seeing as it’s a school night, and they’ve both got girls waiting for them when they get home.

  As I head upstairs to finally hit my bed, I glance at her door, the girl who seems to always be in my head now. What I wouldn’t give for it to be anyone else and to have them naked and waiting for me in bed right now like I’m sure Jake and Mason are about to find. As I push my door open, the image of her dark hair and curvy little body laid out in my bed fills my mind and all my blood rushes south.

  I look back over my shoul
der at her door but decide to hold off for now. She’s probably inside holding her breath, waiting for what I’m going to do. I want to build her anticipation, that way she’ll be even more ready for me when I make my move.

  * * *

  Dad told me before he left that I was to ensure she got to school this morning and to help her out getting her schedule and finding where she needed to be. He clearly couldn’t see the darkness festering inside me as he delivered these orders because he left believing that it might actually happen.

  I sent her a message before I crashed sometime after midnight last night telling her to be ready by eight am. She read it immediately, but she never replied. I’ve no idea if she’d even willingly get into a car with me, but I thought I’d at least try.

  At two minutes to eight, I’m sitting behind my wheel with the engine ticking over.

  Thirty seconds before I told her to be here, the front door opens and she emerges from behind. As usual, she’s dressed in all black. Her skirt shows off her shapely albeit short legs and her oversized shirt has been ripped almost in half, revealing her slim waist. Her hair is piled on top of her head, and as she emerges into the morning sun, she lowers a pair of sunglasses over her eyes, cutting me off from seeing how she’s feeling about today, not that I really give a shit. I just hoped to see a little fear or at least some nerves in them for what today might hold.

  She blows out a long breath before taking a step and heading toward me. I watch her every movement as she gets closer, and fuck if it’s now that my cock decides it wants some action because it starts to swell beneath my pants. Why’s it her swaying hips that wakes it up? What was wrong with Shelly’s the other day or Red’s last night?

  She reaches out and pulls the handle, and just as I’m expecting, she finds it locked.

  Leaning down, she looks through the passenger window at me, her lips pursed in anger that I’d lock her out. When I don’t do anything, she lets her arm fall back to her side as she waits for me to get my shit together. You’re going to be waiting a lot fucking longer than you think, sweet cheeks.

  A smile curls at my lips as pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head and stares at me. Something passes between us. A warning. A promise. Fuck knows, but it’s there before I slam my foot down on the accelerator and speed from the driveway, leaving her behind in my dust. An evil laugh rumbles up my throat as I look back at her standing totally helpless in the center of the large space.

  Fucking idiot. Did she really think I was going to make it that easy?

  13

  Raelynn

  Fucking asshole.

  I don’t know what I was expecting, and I feel stupid for ever thinking he might have taken me to school this morning like a normal fucking human being.

  I was shocked when I saw the message, but I stupidly took it for what it was and made sure I was ready. I didn’t have any other way of getting to school, so I took his olive branch. Only it wasn’t one. I should have known better.

  Dragging my cell from my purse, I pull up Uber and set about ordering a car, hoping I can still get there in time.

  With the car only minutes away, I perch my ass on one of the steps leading to the house and wait.

  Nerves rattle around in my stomach, but I swallow them down. This is just another Monday. Just another school.

  Only this place isn’t just another school, it’s a school where I’m not wanted before I’ve even started.

  I blow out a frustrated breath as a car pulls up into the drive.

  The journey is in silence. I’ve no intention of making small talk with the driver.

  At the first sign of the school, dread starts to weigh heavy in my stomach. The temptation to go running back to hide in my bedroom is high, but without graduating I’ve little chance in creating the life I crave. One where I’m in charge of my own destiny and where I live.

  Sucking in a huge breath, I thank the driver and push the door open when he pulls to a stop at the edge of the parking lot. There are kids everywhere. It looks like just another high school. The buildings I can see look similar to all the others, and the kids loitering around fit the stereotypes I’ve found in every other school. Only this one includes Ethan.

  Throwing my bag over my shoulder, I take off toward where the sign is pointing to the entrance to discover what this day is going to hold.

  The second I start moving, heads turn my way. I’m sure after Friday night people are wondering who I am. I don’t pay them any mind as I hold my head high and focus on the building I’m heading toward. That is until I feel his stare burning into me. My skin prickles, and a hint of fear runs down my spine, but like fuck am I allowing any of these motherfuckers to see it. I don’t care if I come across like a bitch, none of these kids will get to see the real me. The only thing they’re going to experience is the hard outer shell I’ve learned to shield myself with.

  I refuse to look his way, or for my steps to falter. I don’t want him to think he has any power over me.

  Relief floods me when I pull the door open to the entrance, and I shut off all the curious eyes.

  I stand at a little glass window and wait for someone to help me. The women beyond all tap away on their keyboards, none of them bothering to look up even after I ring the bell.

  Eventually someone comes over. “Can I help you, love?”

  “Yeah. It’s my first day, I—”

  “Ah… Raelynn, is it?” she asks after looking down at a piece of paper. “Principal Hartmann is waiting to meet you.”

  “Fantastic.” The sarcasm in my voice is impossible to miss, but somehow it seems to go over her head as she directs me to his office before shutting the little window, halting anything else I might have had to say.

  I’m standing at his door in seconds. I don’t bother knocking—after all, he’s expecting me.

  He glances up from his desk at my intrusion, his brows creasing as he takes me in. I already know I stand out from his usual student like a sore thumb. I just saw most of them on my walk here and none of them quite have the style or aura about them that I do.

  He clears his throat, I guess hoping to cover the fact that he was gaping at my outfit of choice. “I guess you must be Raelynn.”

  I fall down into the chair in front of his desk.

  “Correct. Do you have my schedule?” I’ve been in enough of these ‘welcome to the school’ meetings that I don’t need to hear the bullshit he’s about to spew at me.

  “Is Ethan not with you?” he asks, looking back to the door.

  “No.”

  “His father assured me that he’d escort you here and show you around today.”

  “That was nice of him. But there’s no need. I’m capable of fending for myself. Just give me my schedule and a map and I’ll get out of your hair.” I barely contain a snort when I look to the top of his head to find he has none.

  “Oh… um… if it’s all the same to you, I’d be much happier if one of our students welcomed you properly.”

  “Oh don’t worry, Principal…” I look down at his name badge, pretending that I’ve already forgotten what his name is. “Hardmann, I—”

  “It’s Hartmann, actually.”

  “Right. Well, I can assure you that I’ve had quite the welcome already. None of that will be necessary.”

  He waves me off, turning to press the button on his intercom. “Sandra, get a cheerleader here. I’ve got a job,” he barks before releasing it and turning back to me.

  “I’ll hear nothing of it. No student of mine starts at Rosewood High without a proper welcome.”

  “Fantastic,” I mutter under my breath.

  Thankfully, he passes over my schedule and releases me without much further bullshit and allows me to start my first day.

  “Jesus fucking Christ,” I say, looking at the chirpy blonde waiting for me in her red and white cheer uniform outside the principal’s office. “This day’s just getting better and better.”

  “Hi, I’m Shelly. I’m going to show
you around, welcome you to Rosewood.” She’s so fucking happy it makes me want to puke on her pristine fucking uniform.

  I snort at her, pull my bag higher up my shoulder and take a step past her. “You’re dismissed. I can figure this shit out myself.”

  “Um… but Principal Hartmann said—”

  Looking over my shoulder at her, I laugh. “And of course, you always do what Principal Hartmann says,” I say, mimicking her chirpy tone. “I bet he’s got you sucking him off on a weekly basis.”

  She splutters in disbelief, her cheeks brightening in anger or embarrassment, I’m not sure. “I… um… fine. Do your own thing. See if I care.”

  I arch a brow at her minor tantrum for being dismissed and take off. I look down at my schedule to see I’ve got English Lit first. I come to a crossroads in the hallway and glance down each corridor. I’ve totally got this.

  It must be at least thirty minutes later when I find a door that has the right number on it. I suck in a breath and knock before pushing it open. As expected all eyes turn on me, but there’s only one set I see. Ethan’s.

  Fuck my life. Of course, he’s in my first class of the day.

  His eyes hold mine and stop me from entering the room.

  “Can I help you?” the teacher asks, turning from where she’s writing something on the board.

  It takes another full two seconds for me to rip my eyes from Ethan’s.

  “Sorry, I’m… uh… new here.”

  “You must be Raelynn. If you—”

  “It’s Rae,” I interrupt.

  “Okay, Rae. If you’d like to take a seat.” She points into the room and I take a step in that direction. Karma once again bites me in the ass when I realize the only spare seat in the room is right in front of Ethan. Of fucking course it is.

  Rolling my eyes, I make my way over as an evil smirk spreads across his face as I get closer.