Bullies Love and Lies

by liberty freer

  The nurse comes in a few minutes later and removes the IV. Once I’m ready to go, Sully, Ryan, Brent, and I shuffle out of the hospital.

  “Are we still staying at Silex’s?” I ask, getting into the front seat of Sully’s truck.

  “Yeah,” Sully mumbles, not looking at me.

  A few minutes later, we’re in the drive-through at Burger Hut and Sully’s listing off enough food to feed an army. He repeats the order three times because the man on the other end of the speaker keeps getting it wrong. After Sully pays at the first window, he’s told to pull into spot one and wait.

  “I read your chart. The doctor’s worried you’re not eating enough. Your vitamin and iron levels are low,” Sully says, turning to face me. “Have you not been eating?”

  “Maybe she has an eating disorder?” Ryan says. “Do you throw up your food?”

  “She doesn’t puke up her food,” Sully says.

  “How would you know? It might explain why she’s so skinny,” Ryan says. “I’ve seen her puke.”

  “I don’t throw up my food,” I say, rolling my eyes. “And that chart is private.”

  “Bulimic. That’s the word,” Ryan says. “If you’re not bulimic, then maybe you’re anorexic. That’s probably why you’re so pale.”

  “She just got out of the hospital,” Brent says. “I think this can wait.”

  Sully shakes his head, mumbling under his breath, and I go back to staring out the window, wishing I were anywhere but here

  Chapter 26.5

  RYAN

  “She’s asleep,” Sully says, dropping down to the couch next to Brent.

  “Did she eat?” Brent asks.

  Sully nods. “A little bit. She was queasy and tired. I don’t think whatever they shot her up with has worn off completely.”

  “Dad’s been calling me nonstop,” I say, silencing another call. I relax back on the couch, staring at the lit-up fish tank that’s built into the kitchen bar. My gaze follows a bright-blue fish that paces the tank.

  “He took Rachel to a hotel,” Brent says. “He wants us to come back and talk.”

  “She’s not ready to talk,” Silex says. “You all should go back, but she can stay here.”

  “She’s not fucking staying here,” I say, rolling my head to the side to look at him. He’s lazily sprawled out on the couch with a bottle of whiskey. He’s been drinking a lot more lately. I’ll have to talk to him about it “We aren’t going back either. That shit he pulled with the cops, that crossed the fucking line.”

  “You know how Arden is. He likes to fix things. He thought he was helping,” Brent says. “But I agree, he crossed a line.”

  “So now what?” I say, directing the question at Sully.

  He takes a swig from his beer. “Jones is saying the girl in the video consented, that they were role-playing. Some girl is backing up his claim, saying it’s her. He was released.”

  “That’s bullshit,” I hiss. “He paid some chick to say that.”

  “Why’s Emma denying it’s her?” Brent asks.

  “She was freaked,” Silex says. “Remember how she was in the basement with Arden knocking at the door?” Silex says to Brent, and he nods. “She was like that. Like a wild animal looking for a way to escape the cage.” He takes a sip from his glass. “You all probably shouldn’t knock on doors around her. She clearly doesn’t like it. Odd girl.” He grins. “I like it.”

  “Maybe it isn’t her,” Sully says.

  He doesn’t want it to be her. When he first saw the video, he went fucking nuts. There are a few new holes in my bedroom wall. Jones better hope Sully doesn’t run into him.

  Brent’s knee bounces. “I think all this shit is way over our heads. Maybe we should go home. Arden will know what to do.”

  “He’ll push her too hard,” I say. “She isn’t ready.”

  “It worked for us,” Brent says, giving me a lopsided grin. “Sort of.” He laughs. “We’re better than we were.”

  Silex scoffs. “Barely. You guys are still fucked in the head. Only difference is you don’t let everyone else see it.”

  “Shut up, Si,” I say, but he isn’t wrong.

  “Ryan’s right. We’ll stay here a little longer,” Sully says.

  “What do you think her life was like before she came here?” Brent asks.

  “Obviously it was fucked up,” Silex says. “The girl’s a fucking mess. A beautiful mess.”

  “What if we broke her?” Brent asks, standing up to pace the room, losing his composure, something he rarely does. “We did some fucked up shit, and look what happened because of it. We should be going to jail.”

  I can see the guilt written all over his face. “She’s not broken,” I say. “She’s stressed. We all are. There’s too much shit going on right now.”

  “But what if we did?” Brent says as he falls back to his spot on the couch.

  “We’ll just have to put her back together again,” Sully replies.

  Chapter 27

  I wake up the next morning from a restless sleep. That damn video played over and over in my head. They all think it’s me, but it isn’t. The memories are hazy, but I remember Jones holding my wrists above my head. He didn’t do that in the video. I remember wanting to have sex, and I was awake.

  I walk into the living room where Silex and Sully are seated on opposite couches. “Give me your phone, Si. I need to see the video again.”

  They both look up at me, but Sully’s the first to speak. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  I stomp my foot. “I was shocked when I first saw it, but it brought up a couple memories, and… Give me the damn phone, Silex.”

  “Feisty, I like it.” He reaches into his pocket and taps at the screen. “Sent it to you.”

  “How’d you get my—” I roll my eyes. “Never mind.”

  “A girl came forward claiming it was her,” Sully says. “She’s saying it was consensual. His charges have been dropped.”

  “Great, then it’s confirmed. It’s not me. We can move on.”

  “They still think it’s you,” Silex says.

  I roll my eyes and open the video, thinking I’ll be able to prove it’s not me right away, but it’s too dark to see details. “It’s just a girl who looks like me,” I whisper. Even though I know the girl consented to this, it still makes me feel uneasy. I turn the video off and go back to my room. I hate that I have this sinking feeling in my stomach.

  I spend the weekend in my borrowed room, using my fake account to stalk my friends back home. On Monday morning, I’m lying in bed after being woken up by my alarm, when I get an idea. I snap a screenshot of the girl in the video. After several attempts, I’m able to lighten up the image a bit. I zoom in on the girl’s hip, but it’s still hard to see. I work at the photo for a few more minutes until I think I have it to where I can prove it isn’t me.

  Entering the kitchen, Ryan and Brent are dressed for school and eating a bowl of cereal at the kitchen bar, Silex is wrapped in a blanket and bitching about not wanting to go to class, and Sully’s making a pot of coffee.

  I clear my throat. “The girl in the video is definitely not me.”

  The room goes quiet besides Silex. He’s still moaning about how getting up early isn’t healthy.

  “Maybe,” Sully says, not sounding convinced.

  “I enhanced the image, and it’s not me. I have scars on my hip, and some of them are reddish. The girl in the video doesn’t.” I pull up the image and hand the phone to Sully.

  “The image is grainy. It’s hard to tell.” He hands the phone back. “How big are the scars?”

  I unzip my jeans, pulling them down on the right side. Most of the scars are fading white, but a few of the longer and deeper marks are still dark pink. Sully grabs my phone again, looking at the picture and then the scars on my hip.

  He hands me my phone back. “How’d you get those?”

  “Glass table,” I say, pulling up my pants and watching Sully’s reaction.
He’s still staring at my hip even though it’s covered.

  “How’d you get scars from a glass table?” Brent asks.

  “Uh… fell,” I say, but it sounds like a question.

  “You fell or you were pushed?” Sully asks, his gaze burning into mine.

  My face heats up. I hate talking about my past, and I hate lying. I think for a moment and then say, “I fell.”

  “You fell because you were pushed?” Ryan asks.

  My face flames with fire because he caught me. I don’t answer him as he holds out his hand for my phone. He studies the image for a few seconds before passing it to Brent.

  “Just because this might not be you doesn’t mean that Jones having sex with you that night wasn’t wrong and that I fucked up,” Ryan snaps.

  “You fucked up?” I ask.

  “He feels bad for treating you like shit. He misjudged you,” Silex says. “He wants you to forgive his sorry ass even though he doesn’t deserve it.”

  “Shut up, Si,” Ryan growls. He rubs the back of his neck. “But, yeah. I’m sorry.” He averts his eyes, looking like he’s never had to apologize before.

  “I never thought I’d hear you say that,” I mumble. After experiencing Rachel and how quickly she was able to turn everything upside down, I now understand why he was so determined for me to leave.

  “Don’t get used to it,” Sully says with a grin. “He rarely apologizes.” He grabs Ryan, maneuvering him into a headlock. “Good job, baby brother.”

  Laughing, Ryan pushes Sully away. “Fuck off.”

  “Dad’s calling again,” Sully says, glancing at his phone. “What do you guys think about going back?”

  “I was thinking I could stay with Silex for a while,” I say.

  “No,” Sully growls, throwing Silex a glare.

  “Dad’s calling me now,” Ryan says, pressing ignore on the screen. “I think we should go back tomorrow.”

  “You wanna make him sweat?” Sully asks, laughing. “Poor Dad.”

  Ryan pushes his phone into his pocket. “I don’t feel like being interrogated today. Do you guys?”

  I accept an incoming call. “Hey, Robbie. Sorry I didn’t call you guys back. Things have been a little crazy.”

  “Are you coming to school today? Do you need a ride?”

  “Yeah, I’m going. Hold on.” I cover the speaker. “Can one of you give me a ride to school?”

  “I gotcha,” Sully says.

  “I’ve got a ride. I’ll see you in a bit.” Ending the call, I walk backward, heading toward my temporary room. “Can we leave in twenty? I’m gonna grab a shower.”

  “How about thirty so you can eat breakfast,” Sully says.

  “Oh, I’m not—” Seeing the expression on his face, I pause and then say, “Sure, a quick breakfast.”

  “Guys,” Brent says, frowning at his phone. “Max just texted me. It looks like Jones enrolled at Sudbury High.”

  “What?” Sully growls, grabbing the phone from Brent.

  “Why would he enroll there?” I ask, stepping back into the kitchen.

  “To piss me off,” Ryan says.

  “All because you fucked his sister?” Sully asks.

  “I didn’t think he was the type to care who his sister fucked, but I guess I was wrong,” Ryan says.

  “Did she want more?” Sully asks, quirking a brow.

  “I made it clear, and Miranda seemed cool with it. She didn’t want anything serious either.”

  “Didn’t Miranda move to Europe?” Silex asks.

  “I think so,” Ryan answers.

  “Ah, Miranda.” Silex sighs and then grins. “Remember the night at the lake when Brent joined and we—”

  “Shut up,” Ryan snaps, his eyes darting in my direction.

  “You’re not going to school today. Call Robbie back,” Sully says.

  “I am going,” I say, not wanting to back down. “I’m on probation, so I have to go to school. I already missed Friday.”

  “Exactly. Missing one more day won’t hurt.”

  “Sully’s got you there, sweet Emma,” Silex quips.

  “And it’s not real probation,” Ryan says. “Dad could have gotten it all dropped if he wanted to.”

  “Dad’s gotten too many favors,” Sully says. “The deal made Judge Spataro feel like he has some power.”

  “I bet Jones isn’t even there because of me,” I mumble.

  “He’s there to fuck with me,” Ryan says, leaning against the sink and crossing his arms. “He thinks fucking with you will get to me.”

  “He’s already fucked her,” Silex says.

  “Dude,” Brent says, snapping his head in Silex’s direction. “Do you have any couth?”

  “What the hell is couth?”

  “Tell Robbie to pick you up. I want to talk to him,” Sully says.

  “Why? You’re not going to tell him about…”

  “I’m going to tell him that Jones is a problem and to not let him near you.”

  “You can’t do that. My school life is separate from my home life. I like this school. I don’t want to bring drama there.”

  “It’s a little too late for that,” Ryan says, holding up his phone to show us a picture of Jones in front of Sudbury High. “He posted it two minutes ago, and look at the caption.” I lean closer to see its caption: See you soon, Emma.

  “That motherfucker,” Sully growls.

  “He’s got balls,” Silex says.

  I hand Sully my phone so he can type the address and send it to Robbie. “It’ll be fine,” I say, not sure if I believe it. I am pissed off at Jones for using me to get back at Ryan, but I used Jones too. School should be interesting.

  Chapter 28

  “Are you sure he isn’t going to break my hand?” Robbie asks again. “He looked pissed. I’ve never seen Sully like that.”

  “He’s having a bad week. Go to practice; I’ll be fine.”

  “But Sully said not to leave you, and I need my hands.”

  “It’s mostly a misunderstanding. Sully’s overreacting. He’s not going to break your hands,” I say, trying to console him. Robbie looks freaked out. “I give him a gentle push. “Go.” He looks like he’s going to say something else, but I give him a pointed look and say, “I mean it. Go.”

  He walks away, checking over his shoulder a few times before he disappears around the corner.

  “Finally. I thought he was never going to leave,” Jones says, stepping out from the library across from me.

  Resting my hand on my hip, I glare at him. “Why are you here, Jones?”

  “I thought we were on the same side, beautiful? I couldn’t get you to shut up about how much you hated Ryan. What better way to get back at your brother than sleeping with his enemy? Want to do it again?”

  “I’m not Ryan’s sister.”

  “Technicality. He told everyone you were his sister. DNA doesn’t matter to that family.” Jones grins. “How mad is he?”

  “I’m mad too,” I hiss as a little girl skips by. She pauses to look at us, and I smile. She smiles back and then skips away. “You made that video. Why would you do that?”

  “There are casualties in war. Sorry, babe. At least you knew it wasn’t you.”

  “Not at first,” I admit. “I don’t remember much.”

  He narrows his eyes. “We were both fucked up, but I didn’t know you were that out of it. Wait, you don’t think I…”

  I shake my head. “No, I don’t think that.” I look down at my feet. “I…”

  Jones lifts my chin. “Hey, I stopped when you asked me to. You enjoyed the foreplay. Your pussy tastes amazing, by the way. I could have feasted on you for days.”

  “God, Jones,” I say, pulling away from him, my face turning red.

  He laughs. “It’s true. And I took it easy on you. Every couple minutes I asked you if you were okay. When you wanted to stop, we did. I went to grab pain meds from the bathroom, and when I came back, Sully and Ryan were in the room with you.”


  “Really?” I ask, searching his eyes for the truth.

  He smiles. “It worked out kinda perfect, them finding you like that… but I didn’t intentionally try to hurt you. Well, I figured it was going to hurt, but it was going to hurt with anyone.”

  I groan. “You should probably stop talking now.”

  “Why’d you want to have sex with me, anyway? I figured you were doing it to piss Ryan off too.”

  My face flushes. “Mostly to get it over with.”

  “So, how pissed off is Ryan?”

  I roll my eyes in aggravation. “Ask him yourself. How long are you going to fuck with him?”

  “Why aren’t you mad at him anymore?”

  “I didn’t say I wasn’t,” I reply.

  “Team up with me. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

  “No way. You know you’ve pissed them all off, right? Sully and Brent too.”

  He shrugs nonchalantly. “I expected that. They’re brothers.”

  “Ah, you have a death wish?” I say.

  He laughs. “No.”

  “Did your sister ask you to get back at him?”

  He grinds his jaw, looking mad for the first time. “He told you about Miranda?”

  “He told me about the summer fling before she moved to Europe. Did she want it to last more than the summer?”

  “My sister didn’t move away. My parents took her to a treatment center because Ryan destroyed her. He had everyone calling her a whore, and she snapped. She tried to kill herself. She got out last week, and nobody’s heard from her.”

  I gasp. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  “Nobody does. They didn’t want their perfect family image tainted, so they say she’s studying abroad.”

  I look at Jones skeptically. If he wants revenge on Ryan, would he be willing to physically hurt me to get it? I look down at my wrists, remembering the bruises there.

  “I’m not going to hurt you if that’s what you’re thinking. “I’m just fucking with Ryan’s head. Be a good girl and tell him I’m making your life miserable, will you?”