The Enemy Series

by M. E. Clayton

  Delaney’s mother was also screwing some dude who lived in Monte Carlo. Her dad used Monte Carlo as a cover for research when he was really gambling. And he didn’t care where his wife ran off to because he was too busy giving into the monster in his mind. Delaney’s mother didn’t mind the gambling because she was too busy spreading her legs for a guy half her age.

  All the while, they were going broke, and Delaney was none the wiser.

  As for Delaney, of course, there was nothing on her. No vices, no speeding tickets, not even a fucking B on her report card. Delaney Martin was everything she was perceived to be. She was studious, quiet, and weak.

  Oh, there were times when she flashed some fire, but I saw now that those times were more small sparks than real fire. If she had real fire in her, she wouldn’t have smiled for that fucking picture.

  When she first called, I hadn’t answered, and I hadn’t answered the second, third, fourth, or fifth time she called. I deleted her texts and voicemails as soon as my phone beeped with their notifications. I didn’t want to hear anything the weak bitch had to say. And, even if I had wanted to hear her excuses and explanations, I didn’t want to do it over the phone.

  And, now, I was five beers and three shots in at the party wondering just how far I was going to have to take this to forget Delaney’s betrayal. I figured I’d have to dip into the party favors before the end of the night in order to forget this fucked-up day, but I was okay with that. I’ve snorted up coke before for a lot less.

  We were all sitting on the boulder we usually hang out on when we’re partying at the cove. Sands Cove had an inlet where the beach was smattered with a bunch of different-sized boulders, and we usually made use of the boulders as tables and chairs.

  At often times, beds too.

  And it was while we were congregated around our boulder that Melissa sauntered up to me reminding me of the last time I attended a party here. “Hey, Deke,” she greeted, smiling. She gave everyone else a quick glance. “Hey, guys.”

  She was greeted with polite hellos, but you could tell the girls were super tense about her approach because they knew. They knew where this was going, and I couldn’t even summon enough love for them, at the moment, to care how hurt their feelings were going to be by the end of the night.

  Melissa returned her attention to me. “So, uhm, where’s Delaney?” she asked.

  I smirked, the alcohol helping to dull what I was really feeling. “In New Hampshire with her boyfriend,” I huffed. “They’re being in love and planning their future together.” Melissa looked confused, and I realized she wasn’t the type to appreciate sarcasm.

  “But…I thought you were her boyfriend?” she asked.

  The girls were going to hate me but fuck it. “Nope,” I replied, popping the ‘p’. “She was a challenge. I de-virginized and dirtied her, and now I’m done.” I could hear Emerson’s and Linnie’s gasps, but I wouldn’t look at them. Maybe it was chicken shit because I knew they’d forgive me eventually, but I didn’t look their way. I didn’t owe Delaney Martin a motherfucking thing.

  Melissa took that as an invitation to sit on my lap. “So, then…you’re free to…hang out?”

  Ignoring Melissa, Roselyn said, “Don’t do this, Deke.”

  I finally looked over at my friends and I focused on Linnie. “Don’t, what?” I smirked. “Don’t enjoy uncomplicated pussy?”

  She straightened her back and I could tell she wanted to rip into me, but we didn’t do that. We didn’t air our grievances for the masses. Our group was tight and private. Linnie would wait to yell at me later. I glanced over at Emerson, and her face was stoic; expressionless.

  I looked back at Melissa nestled on my lap and, admittedly, it felt wrong. She felt wrong in my arms, but I didn’t give a fuck. I needed to forget Delaney’s betrayal, and booze, drugs, and women were the only way to do that.

  Suddenly, there was a shift in the air.

  I could feel the change all around me. I glanced over at the group and they were all standing up, backs erect, faces serious, and chins up. There’s only one reason they’d be on guard like that.

  Winston and Delaney must be here.

  When I turned my head in the opposite direction, it wasn’t Winston and Delaney coming down the hill towards us; it was Delaney and Ava.

  I watched as their heads swiveled every which way, presumably looking for me, but I stayed seated with Melissa on my lab.

  Like hell I would run to her.

  When Delaney’s eyes finally landed on mine, her entire body stilled. I watched as she took in Melissa on my lap and I couldn’t have timed it more perfectly if I had tried. Ava was standing behind her, and when my eyes glanced her way, she looked furious.

  That’s rich.

  Delaney snapped out of her shock, and made her way down, but her steps were small and unsure. When she stopped in front of us, it was a full thirty seconds before she tore her eyes away from a smug-looking Melissa and looked at me. “I…I take it you didn’t read my texts?” she asked, her voice steadier than I thought it’d be. “You didn’t…listen to the voicemails?”

  My chin jutted out and my hands found their way to Melissa’s thighs. “No,” I replied, making sure my face and voice were void of any emotion, whatsoever.

  “Are you drunk?” she asked, her eyes narrowing a bit.

  “Not even close,” I answered, which was true. Delaney’s appearance sobered up whatever little buzz I had going.

  “Deke, I can expl-”

  I laughed, and it wasn’t a friendly laugh either. “Delaney, there’s nothing to explain,” I assured her. “A picture’s worth a thousand words, right?”

  Her brown eyes stared deeply into my green ones for a few tense seconds before she pulled a new-looking phone from her back pocket, fiddled with the screen, aimed it at me and Melissa, and snapped a picture. I watched as her fingers dance across the screen, presumably saving the photo.

  “What the fuck did you take that for?” I asked, my voice faltering a bit and letting the rage peek through.

  Delaney lifted her chin before saying, “Because you’re right. Because when you…when you find out you were wrong and call me to beg for forgiveness, that’s the first thing I’ll see. I’ll see that picture behind the phone ringing, and it’ll remind me not to answer your call.”

  Now that the rage had seeped through in my voice, it was hard to rein it all back in. My hands slid from the outside of Melissa’s thighs to in the inside, and since she was wearing shorts, my hands were splayed across her soft skin. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to call you for anything when I have this available to me.”

  I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but Delaney giving me a tight nod and walking away from me wasn’t it.

  However, she wasn’t going to get off that easily.

  Chapter 32

  Delaney~

  The pain was just like they sing about in sad love songs.

  It was…consuming.

  Deke hadn’t even given me a chance to explain before moving on to another girl. Well, I guess going back to another girl would be more accurate. After all, he’s had Melissa before.

  I knew he was going to be pissed, but I really believed he’d hear me out first before appointing himself judge, jury, and executioner.

  I believed he loved me.

  And, Christ, I didn’t need that stupid picture of him and Melissa on my phone. I knew I’d never get the image of her on his lap with his hands wrapped around her thighs out of my head ever.

  When my plane had been getting ready to land, I had texted Ava, and true to her word, she had met me at the airport. As soon as I told her Deke wasn’t answering any of my texts or messages, she told me there was a party at the cove, and suggested we try there first. The only messaged I had received was from my Dad asking me what the hell I was thinking.

  I ignored it.

  Ava had driven like a bat out of hell to get back to Sands Cove, and when we got to the cove, I had
never imagined I find Deke with another girl.

  I pictured drunk. I pictured furious. I even pictured drugs.

  I never pictured another girl.

  And out of all the girls he could have been with, why did it have to be Melissa? I already had a mental picture of them together from that first night, I didn’t need a reminder of…how good they were together.

  The second my eyes locked onto his hands squeezing her thighs, I knew I wasn’t strong enough to do this. I turned and fled like a coward.

  Too bad I didn’t get far.

  Ava had been right next to me storming off back towards her car, but I was pulled up short from my left side by a hard, masculine hand. Deke whirled me around to face him, and in that move, I noticed the entire party had stopped what they were doing to witness the showdown between Deke Marlow and mousy, little Delaney Martin.

  Deke bore down on me and gone was the impassive mask he had on. He looked murderous and a part of me felt vindicated at his loss of control. Of course, that came to a quick halt with the words he spewed next. “You think just because your pussy was unused that it’s special or something?” he taunted viciously. “You think that just because you let me use you up like a desperate whore, I’ll come running back to you when Reynolds is busy with a better, experienced cunt?”

  “Deke!” Roselyn cried, but I didn’t know why she bothered. It’s not like she didn’t already know that Ramsey, Liam, and Deke were fallen angels.

  He ignored her outburst, and that’s when I knew it was over. Deke adored Roselyn and Emerson, and for him to ignore either of them said so much. Deke’s face was pure evil when he added, “I’m sure Reynolds will be happy to know I was too busy teaching you how to suck dick and be a decent fuck to take your ass. Maybe you can give him that on your honeymoon since the rest of you reeks of my cum.”

  Rage was nothing in the face of pain.

  Nothing.

  Pain was crippling while rage was fleeting.

  Hearing Deke tell everyone the private stuff we did and the fact that I was no good at it was…debilitating. I was immobile with shock at his cruelty, as was everyone else, I think.

  Everyone but Ava.

  “You motherfucker!” she screamed. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”

  There were some scuffling sounds behind me, but I was too…stuck to look back to see what was going on. My mind was processing that Ava probably charged and someone was holding her back, but the noises and screams were faded garble; like my head was underwater or something.

  And just when I thought Deke couldn’t hurt me any worse…“Oh, and I almost forgot,” he sneered. “If the worst happens because you were too stupid and inexperienced to protect yourself, tell the clinic to just charge it to my tab.”

  Have you ever felt your heart tear in half?

  It happens, you know.

  It really, truly happens.

  The words he can never take back sent me into such a vortex of uncontrollable emotions, and I did the one thing I never saw myself doing.

  I attacked Deke Marlow.

  Fists formed, and I launched myself at Deke striking him anywhere I could make contact. “You sonofabitch!” I screamed. “You no good fucking sonofabitch!” I could hear people yelling my name, and I felt…enclosed, but I was too busy attacking Deke to take in what was going on around us. “I fucking hate you!”

  I couldn’t see past my tears, but it didn’t take Deke any effort at all to subdue me, and I heard him say, “Not half as much as I hate you.”

  I pulled back and looked up into his face not caring that he could see into my nothingness; the hollowness I felt. I looked up at him and I felt it; real, unadulterated hate.

  With all my might, I jerked out of his hold and took a step back. My face was a mess, and my voice was scratchy, but I didn’t care when I said, “Don’t ever come near me again, Deke. Ever.”

  He had already humiliated me beyond comprehension, so I didn’t care if everyone saw me running away from him. I ran until I was at Ava’s car and it wasn’t seconds later when she was unlocking the doors and we were getting in, burning the tires in our haste to leave.

  Everything was a blur from leaving the party to arriving at Ava’s. I couldn’t even recall getting out of the car and making my way to her bedroom. But, once I sat down on her bed, every emotion I’ve experienced in all my life came pouring out until I collapsed in tormented cries on her bed.

  Ava’s arms held me as I exhausted every tear I was capable of producing, and it wasn’t until the next morning, that I told her I was going to lose everything, and I had nowhere to go.

  She had driven me to the bank where we spent all morning withdrawing every damn dime from my account. I hadn’t bothered with my appearance, and since I looked like a punching bag with swollen eyes, I think the bank manager felt sorry for me, and didn’t ask any questions or give me a hard time.

  After withdrawing all my money, we had driven to Manotile, one town over, and opened a new bank account in my name only with a bank my parents didn’t partner with. Once my account was all set up, Ava had driven me to a car dealership to buy a car, and for the first time in my life, price mattered. While I had a shit ton of money, I knew it wouldn’t last forever, so I had to…plan.

  There was also the fact that, after a lot of arguing with Ava about staying with her, I needed to find a place to live. My parents hadn’t officially kicked me out yet, but I was still ignoring their calls and messages, along with Winston’s and his parents. It was only a matter of time before the threats started, so I needed to be one step ahead of them.

  In my new, but economical little Toyota, Ava went her way back to Sands Cove as I stayed in Manotile looking for a small house or something. Originally, I had planned on staying in Sands Cove, but that was before Deke had demolished my soul. There was no way I could show my face at Windsor anymore, but that was okay. All those years of having no life and living in the library were going to finally pay off. I could miss the rest of the school year and still graduate. Not with straight-A’s, but with a solid B average. I just had to call the school on Monday, and since I was already an adult, they didn’t need my parents’ approval, and I could graduate and get my certificate without the ceremony.

  After hours of looking, I finally found a small cottage style house on the outskirts of Manotile, and I contacted the realtor. The second I offered cash, the house was as good as mine.

  I drove back to Ava’s, where we spent the night looking at furniture online. When I pointed out that I needed to be frugal until I got a job, Ava had announced all the furniture would be on her and she didn’t want to hear another word about it.

  We avoided all talk Deke, and by the time I was wrapped up in her bed, her arms around me again, I had half convinced myself I was going to be okay.

  However, lying there in the dark, I couldn’t stop my mind from doing a mental countdown. I had only one week before my period was due.

  One week.

  One week, and life would cut me some slack or it would ruin me further.

  I already knew I’d never get an abortion if I did turn up pregnant, and so that fuckening was akin to Armageddon, because my life would be altered forever.

  And there’s no way Deke Marlow would ever know about it.

  Chapter 33

  Deke~

  It was Thursday after third period and Delaney still hadn’t made an appearance at school. I’d seen Winston, but I kept my distance. I didn’t want Delaney, or anyone, thinking I still gave a fuck.

  But I did.

  I cared because, after Delaney had run from me, Emerson and Roselyn had looked at me with so much disgust, things were still tense between us, five days later.

  I also cared because, regardless of the show I put on Friday, my love for Delaney hadn’t been fleeting. I truly loved her and still did.

  Luckily for me, betrayal trumped love.

  The only other issue I had was that I had become worrisome at Delaney’s absence. Being th
e kind of student she was, I couldn’t see her risking graduation, and that’s how I found myself at Ava’s locker knowing she wanted my balls on a skewer.

  “Ava,” I called out, approaching her.

  She shut her locker and turned to face me. “Deke,” she acknowledged, and her…emotionless voice had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.

  “So, she’s willing to risk graduating?” I hedged.

  The tip of Ava’s lip lifted, and she looked like the Mob boss I always likened her to. “Delaney’s already graduated, Deke,” she said, dropping that little bomb.

  “What?”

  Ava’s face was pure satisfaction when she said, “What do you want, Deke? My good graces are the only thing keeping you on your feet, so say what you want to and then leave me the fuck alone.”

  Her good graces?

  Yeah, right.

  I stepped to her. “And what exactly is it you think you can do to me, Ava?” I dared.

  Her eyes never faltered as she reached into the breast pocket of her uniform and produced her phone. “I’ll tell you exactly what I’m going to do to you, Deke,” she mocked before she looked down at her phone, her fingers flying everywhere, and then bringing it up to my face.

  My eyes darted to the picture on her phone, and it was that fucking picture of Delaney with Winston and their parents. I looked back at Ava. “What?” I snapped. “I’ve already seen that fucking picture.”

  Her smile was positively lethal when she said, “Look closer, Deke.”

  I didn’t want to, but I looked back at the picture on her phone, and that’s when I saw it. The caption was missing. “There’s no caption,” I said.

  “Look closer to the post, Deke,” she said, her voice villainous. “Like…maybe check the date of this post.” I snatched her phone from her hand, and studying the photo, I saw what she was referring to.

  The date of the picture and post was last year in March.

  Last fucking year.

  Reynolds fucking played me.