The Hills: A High School Bully Romance (Richland Heights High Book 1)

by Adele Niles

  “I’ll catch up with you later, Lawson.”

  I flash a fake smile and enter Hell, otherwise known as homeroom with the bitches.

  Whispers fill the corner of the room where Parker, Missy, and a few of the other girls have huddled. They look up and immediately break out in giggles.

  Missy seems a little apprehensive as she holds back her laugh and instead gives me a small understanding smile and then turns back to the group of girls.

  I can feel my face redden and flush. Hot flashes take over my body as I drop my bag on the floor and take the first desk I can see.

  “Seems Lawson has trouble hanging on to things… second time she’s dropped those books… she probably can’t hang on to a boy either.” Parker’s high-pitched voice takes me back.

  * * * * *

  Three Years Ago

  I take one final glance at myself in the mirror and run my fingers through my blond hair. It’s finally sitting right, even with the humidity of the hot summer. I adjust the padding in my bra and pull it up, wishing my boobs would have filled in over the summer like everyone else’s.

  No such luck.

  “Katy, your ride is here!” Mom yells upstairs from the foyer, like always. I grab my purse and bounce down the stairs. “Bye, love you!” I smile at my mother as I pass by. “Bye, Daddy!”

  “Ten o’clock, Katy. Not a minute later.”

  “K.” Without missing a step, I’m out the door and headed to the nearly brand new BMW that Kyle Tate, Annie’s older brother, is driving. Somehow, Annie had convinced her senior brother to take us to a party.

  My parents think we are actually going to the movies.

  Kyle doesn’t say anything as I jump in the backseat of the car. He just nods in my direction.

  “OMG, Katy, this party is going to be frickin’ huge. Everyone is going to be there. Looks like we are going to start high school the right way.” Annie holds up a hand for me to high-five her.

  Annie looks older, like she should be at least a junior or senior. I was jealous. She had a great body and all of the older boys at the pool seemed to check her out. At least, for the whole week we had spent there.

  I didn’t actually know Annie that well. She and her family had moved to Richland Heights only a few weeks ago. Luckily, she was only a few houses away from us on The Hill. We connected quickly and her brother already knew everyone because he was older.

  “Remember what I said, Annie. Stay away from me and my friends… and if I see you screwing around with any guys, I’ll kill you, then them, got it? Especially those low-lives from The Yard.”

  Kyle was a big guy. A lacrosse player who already had a few scholarship offers to some big schools up north. No one messed with him, and I doubt anyone was going to try and flirt with Annie either because of him.

  I hope that didn’t include me by default.

  “I hope Jordan’s going to be here.” I can feel my face blush at the thought of him. His spikey brown hair and dark mysterious eyes. He’s a smaller guy but still has muscle. He’s funny, athletic, everything that seems absolutely perfect for me.

  Kyle pulls up in front of the field at the outskirts of Richland. It’s only a few miles from my house, but it’s such a drastic difference between the mansion in Richland Heights and the farmland that hasn’t been developed yet.

  A huge bonfire is burning in the distance in front of an almost dilapidated barn, and the crowds of people have already started getting rowdy.

  Kyle jumps out of the car and pops the trunk and then opens his cooler. “Here, you each get a beer, so you look cool. I don’t want to see either of you passed out somewhere though.”

  Kyle pulls out the opener attached to his keyring and pops open the beers, handing them to us.

  Annie lifts her beer. “To high school.”

  “High school,” I say as we clank the bottles and take a sip. The bitter carbonation almost immediately comes shooting out of my mouth the moment it hits my tongue, but I force it down.

  Kyle has already left us, and Annie and I make our way through the grassy field to meet up with the rest of the people, hoping that maybe we may know someone, anyone.

  Groups of kids are gathered in little circles as they look over their shoulders at us.

  “Fresh meat,” one of the guys says. He’s wearing a Richland Heights football shirt that is stretched across his huge chest. He stares past me and immediately locks on Annie, obviously checking out her huge chest that is stretching out her own shirt. “Hey, girl, need a drink?”

  “Hands off, Larkin, that’s my sister,” Kyle yells from the other side of the circle, but Larkin doesn’t look away. Instead, he blows Annie a kiss.

  “There he is, Annie!” I grab Annie and pull her away from the circle of older guys and toward the group of much smaller guys and girls. Obviously, the few freshmen who somehow made it to the party.

  “He is cute, Katy,” Annie whispers, but it’s loud enough for the entire group to hear, and I quickly look down at the dirty cowboy boots I’m wearing, pretending like I have no clue what she’s talking about. “He’s looking over here. Go… go talk to him.”

  Annie lifts my bottle of beer to my lips, forcing me to take a sip, and it spills down my chest, wetting my t-shirt just enough to be noticeable. “What the hell, Annie?”

  “Go!”

  She pushes me in the direction of the group and then follows as I take one more huge swig of my beer for courage.

  “Hey, Jordan.”

  “Hey, Katy, how’s it going?”

  “Um, good. I haven’t seen you at the pool lately.” I kick the clump of grass in front of me. I hate small talk. I’m terrible talking to boys. Really, to anyone.

  “Yeah, football practice. I’m either there or in the gym now. I don’t have time for playing around. Ball and bitches… that’s what it’s about now.” The words don’t come out as powerful or confident as he probably imagined them to be.

  “Fuck, yeah, baby, Knights Football!” some obviously drunk, chunky kid yells out. “Jordan’s gonna kill it this year.”

  Jordan forces an uncomfortable smile and takes a gulp from his brown bottle.

  A bunch of cheers break out in the small group, which gets noticed by the older, bigger guys in the next group over and they yell louder.

  “I’m gonna go over here real quick, Katy. Just yell if you need me,” Annie says as she disappears into the crowd of older guys, unnoticed by her brother.

  “Come here, I want to show you something.” Jordan grabs my wrist and tugs me in a gentle way toward the other side of the barn, away from the bonfire.

  Catcalls from the group break out. “Jordan’s gonna get some!”

  I’m nervous. My hands are sweating, and I quickly chug the rest of my beer, hoping the alcohol will calm my nerves.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Look.” Jordan points up at the sky. The barn has blocked out the light from the fire and provided a perfect setting to see the stars, away from the lights of Richland Heights. “Cool, isn’t it?”

  We’re alone. All alone. The faint sound of the crowd echoes against the trees and it sounds like they are a million miles away. Now, all I can hear is the pounding of my heart.

  I know what’s about to happen. I’ve thought about it a million times since the first time I saw Jordan at the pool. I wondered what his pouty lips would feel like against mine.

  What they might taste like.

  Whether he would try and slip his tongue in my mouth.

  It made my stomach uneasy and reminded me of the feelings I’d get much lower. Feelings I wasn’t quite sure what to do with.

  “It’s perfect, like you,” I mutter and the second the words fall out of my mouth, I want to cover it to prevent me from saying anything else stupid.

  But I can’t.

  Jordan’s grip moves from my wrist to my hand as he spins, facing me.

  “I… I like you, Katy. A lot.”

  He kisses me. My lips push against his
, and they are as soft as I had imagined. Almost mushy.

  My heart pounds in my ears. I’m really doing this.

  My first kiss.

  Jordan’s lips part and I feel his tongue against my lips, slowing probing its way in, and I open my mouth to meet his. I’m not quite sure what I’m supposed to do. Our tongues swirl together and then we change position, kissing some more.

  It’s nice. Hot.

  I have sensations I hadn’t had before.

  Jordan lets go of my hand, and his hands wrap around my waist, pulling me in close. I do the same to him.

  We pause and hug for a moment. My heart is still pounding but then begins to slow as we kiss some more.

  My dreams hadn’t done this moment justice, and I couldn’t wait to tell Annie about it. About him.

  Jordan slides his hands from the small of my back to my ass, pulling me toward him even closer. A sense of uneasiness takes over the pleasure as his hands again find mine and pull them between us.

  His grip tightens on my wrists as he kisses me again, this time harder. I give in. I like this. I like him kissing me this way.

  His hands trace the back of mine, my palms facing him, and he pushes my hand to his crotch. He grinds himself into my hand and exhales. “You want this, don’t you?” His voice seems more confident than it was before. He squeezes my hand, making it cup his crotch, and I fight to pull my hand back.

  “No, stop, Jordan.”

  He eases his grip on my hand. “I’m sorry. I… I just really like you.”

  “Great, I like you, too. That doesn’t mean…”

  Before I can finish, he kisses me again, and I give in. I’m enjoying his lips on mine and the way his tongue feels in my mouth.

  He pulls our hands toward his cock again, forcing me to rub it, but there’s nothing.

  “What the fuck, Jordan? I said no.”

  “Come on, Katy. Just a little.” He’s begging, almost pleading.

  “Hell no, and leave me alone.” I push him away and walk backward, not turning my back on him. “And for the record, Jordan, you’re right. It is just a little, maybe even less than a little. I couldn’t even feel a thing.”

  “Come back here, and I’ll show you.”

  I fight back tears as I walk back toward the party, hoping to see Annie, but she’s nowhere to be found. I quicken my pace to a fast walk as I find my way back through the field, toward where Kyle parked, but his car is gone.

  I wasn’t sure how long I had been behind the barn with Jordan, but it was too long.

  The mile walk back to my house on The Hill seemed to take forever. The buzz I had has worn off and left me with a splitting headache. I look at my watch and realize it’s already after ten.

  I’m fucked. Late. My parents are going to kill me if they haven’t already sent the police off to find me.

  “I can’t believe you! You are a piece of shit, you know that, Nick?” Mom’s voice echoes outside of the house and when I open the door, the volume increases tenfold. I know they’re arguing about me.

  “Screw you, Bev. Maybe you could have helped. Maybe you could have done something.”

  Mom and Dad immediately notice me standing in the foyer of the house and stop yelling. “Hey, honey, have a good time?”

  “Um, yeah. Are you guys okay?”

  “Perfect, just some adult talk. Why don’t you head up to bed?”

  I nod and quickly go upstairs. They hadn’t even noticed I was thirty minutes late. They were too wrapped up in their own drama.

  I’m pissed. Ditched by Annie and she wasn’t even around for me to tell her what happened.

  How Jordan treated me. What he did. What he said. Asshole.

  * * * * *

  Two days later and I’m back in the back seat of Kyle’s car with Annie. This time, for the first day of school.

  Freshman year at Richland Heights High.

  “What are you going to do if you see him?” Annie asks.

  “Nothing. He knows better. Just act like nothing happened. Because it didn’t.”

  I gather up my books and Annie and I walk into school. Annie’s already known because of her brother.

  I’m a nobody. Just another bland freshman girl who will blend in with everyone else.

  High school is different than I imagined. Everyone is bigger. Louder.

  All of the girls are prettier. Better dressed. They’re sexy. Fashionable. They have bodies with curves.

  I catch a glimpse of myself in my window reflection.

  I’m a stick.

  No tits.

  No ass.

  No life.

  Until now.

  “That’s her.” A small girl I vaguely remember from middle school points at me as she talks to an older, more filled-out girl.

  Suddenly, there are more whispers and stares as Annie and I walk down the hallway.

  “What the hell is going on?” I whisper to Annie.

  “No idea, but apparently something to do with one of us.”

  My stomach sinks as I see Jordan standing against the lockers talking to some of the senior boys I remember from the party.

  “There’s your girl, Jordan,” one of them yells out.

  “Nah.” He exhales and leans against the locker. “That’s old news. Been there. Done that.”

  I feel like I’m going to get sick. My stomach turns, and I’m fighting the urge to vomit or attack Jordan.

  I don’t do either.

  I turn and run. Fast. Back home. Away from it all.

  Today couldn’t get any worse than it already it is.

  But it does.

  The long walk home gives me plenty of time to clear my head and wipe away the humiliation. I didn’t even make it to my first class before I ran. Thank God Mom and Dad were at work. They wouldn’t know I skipped the first day. I could plan tomorrow out and how I’d straighten things out, if I could.

  I unlock the front door to find both Mom and Dad at home, sitting at the kitchen table.

  “Katy, why aren’t you in school?” Dad asks.

  “Long story, I’m not feeling well, it’s…” I fumble for words and then slide my hand across my lower abdomen as I look at Mom.

  “Oh, okay, honey, I get it.” She looks at Dad. “Girl stuff.”

  Dad rolls his eyes.

  “Why are you both home? Shouldn’t you be working?”

  Dad bites his lip. “Well, we were going to talk to you when you got home, but I guess now is as good as time as any. Maybe it’s good you aren’t at school today.” Dad pulls out the chair at the kitchen table and motions for me to sit. “I… I… um…”

  “Your father lost his job, and we decided to separate. We’re moving to Malone.”

  “Wait, what? Who’s moving to Malone?”

  “You and me,” Mom says as a tear streams down her cheek. “I called this morning and have you enrolled in the high school over there. As soon as I can lock down an apartment, we are going to move, but for now, I’ll drive you back and forth.”

  I’m numb. In the span of one hour, my entire world has collapsed.

  Chapter Ten

  Lawson

  “Hey, Lawson, wait up,” Missy yells from the back of the classroom and snaps me back to reality. Back to Richland Heights High, three years after my first, first day.

  “Look, Missy, I don’t want any trouble. I’m just here to graduate and get out of this freaking hell hole of a town.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Parker says as she steps closer.

  “I think we all started off the wrong way.” Missy’s smile seems less fake now. “Parker, maybe we should give Lawson a chance to show us who she is.”

  Just the sound of that makes me cringe, like I have to try out to have friends in high school.

  “Stay away from Jordan,” Parker demands as we squeeze through the doorway and out to the hall.

  “That’s not a problem for me, but you may want to keep a leash on him, because he seems to be the problem.” I motion up ahead a
t Jordan, who has another girl leaned up against the lockers as he continues to talk to her closely. “Asshole,” I mutter under my breath.

  Parker pushes her way through the crowd and wraps her arms around Jordan, who casually dismisses her to continue his conversation.

  “M & M!” a high-pitched voice shrieks over the crowd as the blonde girl cuts through the crowd and hugs Missy. “What’s up, Parks?” she says over her shoulder, still clutching on to Missy.

  I can only see the back of her head as she buries her face in Missy’s shoulder and they hug. “Missed you all summer, girl. How was Cali?”

  “A-maz-ing. And the guys. Holy shit, girls. Cali-boys are the shit.”

  The girl steps back and locks eyes with me. Everything stops for a moment, and I shake my head from side to side.

  “Oh, hey, Annie. This is—”

  “Kat—” Annie cuts off Missy, and I cut off Annie.

  “I’m Lawson, nice to meet you, Annie.” I squeeze her hand as hard as I can as we lock eyes. “First day here at Richland Heights.”

  “Um, yeah,” she says, giving me an odd stare but then plays it off.

  Missy and Parker turn to move down the hallway and Annie holds back. “Katy, what the hell? Why are you back? How are you back?”

  “Long story, Annie, but please,” I drag out the word as I beg, “don’t say anything to anyone. I’m Lawson, not Katy. Not that girl from three years ago who was humiliated.”

  “You don’t think they are going to figure it out?”

  I stop in my tracks and flip my auburn hair over my shoulder and then motion my hands down the rest of my body. “Seriously?”

  “You did kinda fill out and grow up,” she says.

  “Please, just keep this secret until I figure things out.”

  “What’s to figure out?” Annie asks.

  “Jordan. I’m going to find a way to ruin his life the way he ruined mine.”

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