Faithless: A High School Bully Romance (The Privileged of Pembroke High Book 3)

by Ivy Fox

  “That’s what they get for letting trash in.”

  I hear their not-so-subtle murmurs, and I see the disdain in their hateful eyes. They think I’m the root of all evil, the thing that brought all these calamities to the Grayson household, and the worst part is, I can’t even say that they’re wrong.

  “Snow,” Ollie whispers, grabbing my hand over the table—like Ash had done a few minutes ago—and bringing my focus back to the two of them. “What do you want to do? Whatever you want, we’ll stand by you.”

  “I want to go to the police.”

  “No,” Ash growls. “We talked about this already. You’re going to keep that gorgeous mouth of yours nicely shut. Or I’ll find ways to keep it occupied, you hear me?”

  “I can’t just sit here waiting for some kind of a miracle that will get Rome out of this unscathed.”

  “My brother knows what he’s doing, Snow. And your lack of faith in him is starting to piss me off,” Ash grunts, unhappy that I still haven’t buried the notion of going to the police.

  I’m about to say something equally unpleasant, but close my lips when Chad comes over to our table. I don’t miss how he doesn’t bring his food with him, making this just a quick visit.

  “How are you?” he asks all three of us.

  “Hanging in there,” Ollie replies with a false grin.

  “What about you?” Ash asks aggressively, not wanting to talk about our problems when, in reality, Chad can get the details from Elle.

  “What do you mean?” Chad questions back, feigning ignorance.

  “You fucked up, didn’t you, choir boy? You got on my sister’s shitlist somehow, and now all of us are paying the price for whatever you did. So out with it. What the fuck did you do?”

  “Nothing,” Chad snaps back, not one bit intimidated by Ash’s blatant disregard of his privacy.

  “Right,” Ash snickers unbelievingly. “I guess doing nothing is an epidemic we all share right now.”

  “Believe me when I tell you that, sometimes, doing nothing is just as bad as doing something,” Chad adds cryptically.

  “Doesn’t seem it worked out in your favor, now did it?” Ash taunts.

  “Guess not. But we all have to live with our choices. We can’t turn back the clock no matter how much we want to.”

  “What I hear are a lot of regrets coming out of your mouth, choir boy. My sister has enough of those fuckers to last her a lifetime. Make sure you’re not another thing she adds to her long list, you feel me?” Ash points at him menacingly.

  “I’ll take that into consideration.”

  “Make sure that you do,” Ash warns.

  I look at Ollie, waiting for him to jump in and get us back to stable ground, but his face is just as stern as Ash’s. Guess both of them are in sync as to what, or better yet, to who is at fault for Elle’s rash and impetuous mood.

  Chad clears his throat and sways his attention from Ash onto me.

  “Elle isn’t why I came to see you. I… umm… I know you guys are going through a lot right now, and I hate to add more shit to your plate than you already have, but I thought with everything going on, you might have missed this,” he begins, taking his phone from his back pocket.

  “What are you talking about?” I ask.

  Instead of giving me an answer, he places his phone on the table and presses play.

  The video playing shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me. It should have been expected. Yet my jaw is on the ground nonetheless with the cruelty that these Pembroke kids show in face of such vulnerability. I don’t see much of it since Ash grabs the phone to keep the images out of my mind. But I caught the gist well enough. Someone recorded my drug-induced freak-out on the runway at the Christmas fashion show and made sure that every student in this school got a good look at me, naked as the day I was born, losing my mind.

  “I got this,” Ash growls angrily as he jumps from his chair and slams the phone on Chad’s chest, not even thanking him for the heads up.

  “Where are you going?” Ollie asks, grabbing his shoulder before he takes another step.

  “Don’t worry about it. Go home. I’ll be there in an hour or two,” he orders assertively, before leaning down to kiss me on the cheek. “Don’t do anything foolish while I’m gone, baby, okay?”

  I grab his arm, holding him still as best I can.

  “Don’t you do anything foolish either. I don’t care about the stupid video. We have bigger problems.”

  “Lucky for you, I’m a fucking problem solver.” He winks before leaving, trying hard not to show the bubbling rage inside him.

  “Whoever he’s searching for, I almost pity the fool,” Chad interjects before leaving Ollie and I alone, watching Ash storm out of the cafeteria.

  “Right now, my pity is at its limit. What about you, Snow?”

  “Same.”

  “We need to do something. Doing nothing, like our boy Chad there, is not an option,” Ollie hushes at me conspiringly, watching Elle’s BFF grab his untouched tray of food from a table and dump it in the trash can, looking even more lost than when he came in.

  “I agree. I can’t live with the what-ifs either.”

  “Sounds to me, you already have something cooking inside that beautiful head of yours. Care to share?” Ollie asks, his boyish smile beaming at me, warming me from the inside out.

  “As a matter of fact, I do. I think it’s about time I face my biggest regret head-on.”

  Chapter 5

  Asher

  The minute I see who I’ve been trying to get my hands on for the past hour, I immediately follow him into the locker room, ready to demand my audience. I stand pissed and furious right at his back, and when he turns around to face me, his scowl becomes as profound as my own.

  “Everyone, leave,” I order, telling my swim-meet teammates to get the hell out so I can have a private one-on-one with Reid Hurst.

  The eerie way that everyone does as they are told doesn’t surprise me. What does aggravate me is the few staggering feet which seem unsure if they should leave me alone with Reid or not. Their disobedience is the only thing that takes my attention away from him for the briefest of seconds.

  “You hard of hearing?” I growl at the two lingering juniors who aren’t good at taking orders.

  Their worried glances demonstrate their hesitance in leaving their buddy alone with me. That doesn’t surprise me either, especially since I don’t have a reputation for having a stable temperament. Everyone knows I’m too impulsive and rash for my own good, using my fists to settle most of my arguments. But something tells me their reluctance in being good, little juniors and not doing what they’re told, has more to do with my older brother being locked up than anything I could have done in all of my four years here at Pembroke. I mean, if one Grayson is capable of murder, who’s to say the rest of us aren’t?

  “I’m not going to break him if that’s what you’re worried about. Just going to ruffle his feathers a little bit.” I smile menacingly toward them, feeding into their fear.

  “You wish, asshole,” Reid scoffs, unaffected by my little intimidation, giving a tight nod for his two friends to leave us be.

  “You sure?” One of them has the audacity to question.

  “I got this,” Reid confirms nonchalantly.

  Yeah, you wish, asshole, I think to myself, but keep the snarky comment from leaving my lips so his wannabe groupies will take the hint and get the hell out.

  When we finally have the locker room all to ourselves, I lean in just a little bit closer to my supposed friend while he begins to get ready for practice, entirely overlooking my pissed-off presence.

  “Tell me something, Reid, because I’m all sorts of confused right now. If I asked you to keep an eye on Holland while I was away, and asked you to pull down that fucked-up video of Trevor’s party—the one that I would bet my left nut your sister had a hand in doing—what makes you think I’d be okay with every chump
in this school beating off to a video of my girl, naked and scared out of her mind? Huh? Mind explaining where your head was on that one, buddy?”

  He gives me his own sinister look, and I find myself hating the fact that he is an inch taller than me.

  “I couldn’t give a shit what you want, Grayson. As far as I’m concerned, our friendship is done and over with. Sort your shit out yourself.”

  My eyebrows frown at that, and I take a step back, noticing for the first time how this fucker looks even more unhinged than me.

  “The fuck is your problem?” I bark out, only to have him scoffing in my face, slamming his locker door behind him.

  “The fact that you don’t even see that we have a problem is what makes you the biggest asshole amongst us, Grayson. I honestly thought we were friends. But now I know that was a fucking lie, a stupid illusion on my part. Thanks for clarifying what a bastard you are. I won’t be making that mistake again.”

  Although the anger in his words is blatantly clear, I hear a trace of hurt behind them, too.

  “The fuck I ever do to you?” I ask, honestly stumped at what has Reid’s panties in a bunch.

  “Fuck! Are you for real, man?” he growls, pushing me hard on my shoulders to gain some distance from me. The little gap he created between us doesn’t seem to be enough, though, since I catch the fire in his eyes, burning to take a swing at me. He’s jonesing for any excuse I can give him so he can beat me into a pulp. “Are you so self-involved you’ve never once thought about anyone else but yourself?”

  “Reid, brother, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I counter calmly, seeing as one of us has to have a cool head about us.

  “Don’t you ever call me that again, you fucking prick. I’m not your brother. If I were, you would have had my back,” he shouts, pointing his finger right in my face, hatred bleeding out of him and knocking me on my ass.

  I’ve been friends with Reid Hurst most of my life, and not once have I ever been the target of his animosity or rancor. Usually, that shit is reserved for his old man. Revulsion for our respective fathers was something we had in common, and initially, what fortified our friendship. But seeing the same hate in his eyes now directed my way doesn’t sit well with me. Not by a long shot.

  “And when have I ever not had your back, asshole?!” I yell, losing my own cool. “Seriously, what the fuck is up with you?”

  “Your fucking daddy! That’s what’s up! I’m talking about my sister, asshole!”

  Shit.

  I take a step back, and then another, because now that the penny has dropped inside my head, it made me understand how badly I fucked up. I realize what a miracle it is that Reid hasn’t kicked my face in yet. If the roles were reversed, he wouldn’t be so lucky. But fuck, I was so out of it when Snow fell naked to the floor the way she did in the school’s fashion show last month, I totally forgot about the shitstorm that happened after. I forgot how Rome outed Addison like that, telling the whole world—right in front of Reid and his folks—how she fucked our father behind his back.

  Fuck.

  Reid deserved more than me just completely erasing that scene from my mind. He deserved an explanation, at least, of what went down or something. No wonder he’s pissed at me. Shit, I’m pissed at me!

  “You should have told me,” he accuses resentfully, and words fail me since I know he’s one hundred percent right. “She’s my sister, man. If it were Elle in that type of situation, I would have told you.”

  “Addison is not Elle,” I reply, my knee-jerk reaction to defend my baby sister taking center stage, instead of being mindful of my friend’s pain. I’m rewarded with another one of his scoffs, but at least he doesn’t make any attempts to punch my lights out.

  “You know what, Grayson? Fuck you! You think your family is all high-and-mighty, but it’s got as many fucked-up skeletons in the closet as any other family.”

  Can’t argue with you there. I’m sure mine has more than most, I think to myself, but again, I don’t say anything, preferring to let Reid get this shit off of his chest once and for all. It’s the least I can do for him. Although there is a little voice in my head saying I’ve really fucked this up, letting him vent out his frustrations on me is too little, too late to rectify the wrong I’ve done.

  “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

  “Not sure there is anything I can say.” I shrug apologetically.

  Ollie would have the right words to show remorse right now. He’d know exactly what to say to ease Reid’s pain.

  Me, though?

  I’m the asshole who fucking shrugs, incapable of lessening the suffering of the person who might be the only true friend I have, outside of my family.

  “Jesus! You are such a hypocrite! Addy was sleeping with your father, Ash! Your fucking father! And you never once thought to tell me? To warn me, so I could put a stop to it? I mean, I know my sister isn’t perfect. I know that. But she is still my sister. I should have protected her. Your father was a grown-ass man taking advantage of a girl, who you fucking know has tons of daddy issues, thanks to my old man. But instead of coming to me so I could help my sister out, you and Rome both kept your mouths shut and ignored the whole thing. You’re fucking disgusting! In my book, both of you are a pile of trash. You hear me, Grayson?!”

  “Shit, okay. Don’t leave anything out,” I choke lightheartedly, but the ill-timed joke falls flat since my guilt is all too consuming.

  He’s right.

  Reid’s so fucking right.

  I should have informed him the minute Rome told me what was what with his sister. But the thing is, when I think of Addison and Reid, it’s like they’re two different people. They are poles apart—two very opposite realities for me. One I care for, and the other I couldn’t give two shits about.

  Sure, Reid is a pretentious prick, but he’s always had my back. As for his sister, she is nothing but a backstabbing bitch. As much as he wants to deny it to himself, I know Addison is the one behind Snow’s video leaks. And this one right here stinks of her handy work. I’d bet my life on it.

  But my distaste of Addison shouldn’t have interfered with my friendship with her brother. That’s where I failed. And by the menacing glower he’s giving me, I’m not sure if there is a bond left for us to even call it a friendship.

  “What do you want me to say, Reid?” I finally reply regretfully.

  His shoulders deflate, and I witness his anger turn into something more troubling, lonelier. I know that loneliness—I felt it when I stayed at Chad’s house while sorting my fucking life out. It’s a feeling so hollow and relentless that if you’re not careful to cut it at its root, it can swallow you whole and leave you even emptier than you started. Snow gave me the reason to climb out of that hell hole. I’m not sure Reid has anything in his life worthy of hanging on to.

  “Fuck, you don’t even have basic decency in you, do you? How about a fucking apology? Can you do that? Have you ever said sorry for anything you’ve ever done wrong in your fucking life? Huh? When was the last time you ever apologized for anything, fucker? When?!” he roars, plunging his fist into the locker beside him, rather than hitting the mark he really wants to cause damage to—my pretty face.

  When was the last time you ever apologized for anything in your life?

  The memory of weeping as I held Snow in my arms after my father tried to defile her, instantly comes to the forefront of my mind. That was the only time I’ve said sorry where I really felt it in every fiber of my being. The need to say the words was bigger than me. Afraid that, if I kept them clogged up in my throat, they would suffocate me right there and then. But even at the time, I took the coward’s way out, and only apologized for failing Snow the way that I did when she was fast asleep in my bed, and I was high as a kite. And with each tear and regretful plea I cried that night, I prayed that, in the morning, she wouldn’t remember how I fell apart while she was nestled beside me.

  I might hav
e apologized to my teammates and to my coach for leaving them high and dry when I was doing my stint in counseling, but Snow was the only one that ever really got a sincere apology from me.

  However, my silence and reluctance in sharing such a private moment with him, only gets Reid more riled up.

  “You know what, Grayson? Forget it. You’re not capable of it, and honestly, even if you apologized now, I wouldn’t believe you. Friends are there for each other in good and bad times. You don’t know the meaning of friendship, much less loyalty. Maybe I’m an idiot for believing you ever did. But that’s no longer my concern. We’re done. You got a problem? Fix it your goddamn self. Get your hands dirty for once,” he growls, giving me his last parting glower.

  He slams into my shoulder as he passes me on his way out, and I just stand there, thinking of how I always fuck things up, even when I don’t intentionally mean to.

  “Reid, wait!” I supplicate before he leaves the room, and by some unworldly phenomenon, he complies. Although he makes no effort to turn to face me, so all I get from him is his back, which is better than nothing.

  “I know I don’t deserve it, but Holland shouldn’t suffer for my mistakes, Reid. She has gone through enough, just by being in my life,” I tell him truthfully.

  “I don’t doubt that,” he counters harshly.

  “Just give me the name of the guy that helped you last time in removing the video. I promise it will be the last favor I ever ask of you.”

  He bows his head and looks at his feet, only to raise it after a heavy, silent moment of thought.

  “I’ll text you his name and number, but after this, we’re through. You feel me?” he states hoarsely.

  “Yeah, I feel you,” I reply on autopilot.

  He starts to go out the door, but something inside me just can’t let this go. Not like this.

  “Reid, for all its worth, I am sorry. I know it doesn’t count for much, but I never wanted you to find out about Addison and my father the way you did. I wasn’t a good friend to you in that regard, but I hope you know I am your friend and always will be.”