The Bad Boy's Palything: A Dark High School Bully Romance

by Lannah Smith

  But Alec swept it away from me with a broom before I could.

  "Don't," I protested. "That was my ticket to freedom."

  Christopher immediately helped me to my feet. "What are we going to do with Cow?"

  I shrugged his hand off. "Clean its mouth, I suppose."

  "But the germs—."

  "Then you do it then," I offered, making him grimace.

  "I'll hold it while you clean its mouth," he said. Then he turned to Alec. “You need to find where it got that roach, Alec.”

  Alec gave him a look of deep dislike.

  Gathering the kitten in my arms, I listened with mild amusement as the two started to argue.

  “That is not what you’re paying me, sir.”

  “Part of your contract states that you’ll do everything I ask you.”

  “As long as it is within the bounds of the said contract,” Alec retorted.

  Christopher let out a sigh and pulled me to the downstairs toilet. “Don’t come running to me when a cockroach sneaks into your bed.”

  “Hey, you were the one who ran to me!”

  I shook my head as he ran the tap.

  “You tease Jackman too much.”

  He grinned. “He’s too serious. If I don’t try and control his moods, he’d be stressed out. That’s bad for the health.”

  “You’re the one who keeps stressing him out,” I muttered, crouching down on the floor.

  Laughing, he said, “No way. I’m even the one getting stressed from all the work he dumps on me.”

  Oh, God.

  I was crazy.

  I just had the thought that I loved hearing him laugh.

  See? I was going crazy.

  Handing me a towel, he crouched down beside me and watched as I put it under the running water and wiped Cow’s mouth with it.

  I hoped. I prayed.

  I hoped he didn't find out that I was thinking about his laugh right now. And I hoped he wouldn’t talk to me about that stupid kiss.

  The kitten started to struggle, mewling angrily and Christopher took it from me and held it like he said he would.

  “Will Cow die?” Christopher asked after a while.

  “I don’t think so,” I answered, looking inside of Cow’s mouth. “Cockroaches aren’t poisonous.”

  “But they’re disgusting.”

  I snorted but didn’t say anything. Because, well, it was true. I just learned to live with insects back in Dan’s cabin that I didn’t mind them much anymore.

  Alec wasn’t in the living room when we returned. I let a hopefully clean Cow down and it ran off, hopefully not to hunt another house vermin. I sat on the couch, worrying about this. Then my gaze went to Christopher and I started to worry about him too.

  He was sitting on the chair at the end of the couch, looking deep in thought. His face looked exhausted. I didn’t think he slept at all.

  Something was missing. I could see it in his eyes. But something else had replaced it, something that wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good either.

  “How’s Sophia?” I asked him with dread.

  A fascinating transformation came over him.

  He looked at me, his lips curving up into a huge grin.

  He didn’t look exhausted anymore.

  “She’s fine,” he told me. “She had to deliver the baby through caesarian surgery. Luckily, both mother and daughter are fine.”

  “Daughter?”

  He chuckled. “Yeah. Baby Maria. They named her after Leon’s mother. She’s a black-haired, blue eyed beautiful baby girl. She’s perfect.”

  The soft look on his face was one I had never seen before. I had to look away. My chest felt tight, so tight. Now I knew what that was, that something I saw in his eyes. Relief. Maybe even a little a bit of contentment. But there was also a hint of sadness. Of longing.

  This cut through me like a blade. This wasn’t something I could give to him.

  “Leon must be so happy,” I muttered.

  His laughter died and his face turned dark but warmer.

  “He is,” he muttered back. “The happiest I’ve ever seen him. Still, he’s worried about Sophia. She lost a lot of blood and needs time to recover.”

  “She’ll recover.” I was certain. She wouldn’t dare go and die on Leon. Not when her husband had lived through so much torture.

  Christopher was staring at me, studying me. I lifted my chin and met his gaze unwaveringly.

  His lips twitched.

  Then he said, “Did you miss me?”

  My upper lip curled. “No.”

  “Do you want to have kids?”

  The sudden question knocked the breath out of me.

  “No,” I answered. “Do you?”

  “Yeah.” He wagged his eyebrows. “My dream is to have children with gray eyes and strawberry blonde hair.”

  I let out an unladylike snort. “You can find easily find a woman who can be their mother anywhere.”

  He gifted me with a beautiful smile, saying, “Even if you offered me the world as a choice, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

  I stared at him, my heart pounding in my rib cage, and I didn’t know why.

  No. If I was being honest to myself, I did know.

  I wanted to tell him something. I wanted to explain. I wanted him to know that all this, all I was showing him, it was just an act, a show, all because I was terrified of my father. All because I was scared of our terrible secrets. I wanted to tell him everything that was in my heart that was messing with my head because I knew this would mess with his too if he finds out.

  I didn’t do this.

  “You should really devote your time to find another woman who’ll return your feelings,” I suggested.

  “I could,” he muttered.

  “Right,” I said and it came out more hurt than I wanted it to.

  He didn’t miss it.

  I knew this with the way his head tilted slightly to the side and something slid over his features only to disappear before I could read it.

  “But I won’t.” The sides of his eyes crinkled in a grin that didn’t involve his mouth but nevertheless made my heart speed up. “Because I know I’m going to get that dream too. With You.”

  Hearing that made me want to tell him that he was bound to be disappointed.

  But somehow, I decided I wasn’t going to acknowledge that to him either.

  Chapter 42

  “I don’t understand,” I deadpanned. “Why am I cooking dinner?”

  “Because the person who’s supposed to cook went home,” Christopher explained for the third time. And for the third time, his explanation did not make sense to me at all. “It’s almost Christmas. They’re going to buy presents for their family.”

  “Then why am I cooking dinner?”

  He let out a sigh. “Because none of us can cook.”

  I narrowed my eyes at Alec who was sitting on the stool next to Christopher, reading his emails. “Really? And here I thought the great Alec Jackman can do anything he sets his mind to?”

  Christopher must have thought my remark was hilarious because he laughed so hard his shoulders shook.

  Alec didn’t lift his gaze from his phone but I saw his mouth twitched.

  I found myself wondering why on earth that I had to be stuck in a house with two arrogant men like them.

  “What are you going to make for us?” Christopher asked, leaning his elbows on the counter.

  I almost couldn't focus on anything else when he stared at me like I was the most fascinating creature he’d ever laid his eyes on. Avoiding his eyes, I opened the fridge and scanned it to find whatever I felt like making. There was a lot meat in the freezer compartment. There were bottles of beer too and I tried not to think about that much. Deciding on chicken, I took it out as well as some other ingredients for making roast chicken and sides. It was still early for dinner. I had time.

  Christopher turned my attention with yet another question that made me look at him. "Aren’t you intere
sted to go to university and get a college degree, April?"

  My brows were lifted when I turned. "Why do you ask?"

  "Well, when all of this is over, you might want to go back to school and study whatever you want to study."

  His words floored me.

  Dumbfounded, I asked, "You would let me?"

  His brows drew together. "Why wouldn't I?"

  I put my hands on my hips, staring daggers at him.

  "I just had the impression that you were going to lock me up forever."

  "We have a bet," his head tilted to the side, observing me. "And I'm not a complete jerk that you think I am, April. I'll keep my end of the bargain if you win. And even if you lose, you'll still be free to do whatever you want in your life. The only difference is if you choose door number one, you'll have me, my love and my support in your decisions."

  I turned away, acting like I was going to prepare the stuffing for the chicken.

  It hurt like hell, this feeling inside my chest. But how could something so painful feel so good at the same time?

  "She's probably not going back to school," I heard Alec mutter. "With a massive trust fund as hers, even if she eats caviar three times a day, it wouldn't make a dent on her money. So why does she have to go and torture herself in school?"

  "You're an asshole, aren't you Jackman?" I muttered coldly his way.

  Christopher chuckled. "Don't mind him. He's been burned by a woman once. Now he hates all women."

  Alec looked like he wanted to hit him badly.

  "You really ought to fire him," I mumbled. "He's not a very obedient employee, is he?"

  "I'd like to see him try," Alec was now smirking.

  “By the way, I’m not cooking because you asked.” I lifted a knife and glared at them. “I’m cooking because I can hold a knife and imagine stabbing the two of you jerks.”

  This time, they managed to hold back their amusement and started to talk about business. I finished preparing the chicken and slid it in the oven. Despite my earlier reluctance, I looked forward to creating dinner because it had been a while since I cooked in the kitchen. And it felt good to do something that reminded me of my happy times with Dan.

  Wiping my hands with a towel, I glanced back at the two. Christopher was holding Cow, playing with its ears. Alec, I noticed, was staring at me. His expression showed that something was bothering him. Something about me.

  “What?” I asked, wondering what I did now.

  "Why did your father hit you?"

  The question caught me completely off-guard that I couldn’t mask my surprise.

  Before I could answer, Christopher spoke, "A man who hits a woman is an asshole, Alec, and assholes don't need reasons to justify their actions."

  His voice sounded mild but his face had shown a brief flash of anger.

  Alec frowned. "She's had four bodyguards trailing her from middle school up to high school. Someone who hired men to protect their only daughter doesn't strike me as someone who their own daughter needs protecting from."

  "That's because he's an asshole." There was an edge to Christopher’s voice now. I felt something within him issue a warning flare but Alec either was oblivious to it or was just ignoring it.

  "I know,” Alec began, “But—."

  "He has never liked me," I cut-in, wanting this conversation to be done with. The two of them looked at me. For as long as I could remember, my father had always disliked me. I had tried every way I knew to make him love me even just a little but I was ignored. My mother told me it was because he was a busy man and for years, I had thought I was lacking.

  My mother had been a good, loving woman. I had learned through gossip that my father had acted gentle towards her before he turned against her almost as soon as the vows had been exchanged. My mother, I realized now, spent most of her days trying to protect me from him. And when she was gone, no one could anymore.

  My stomach clutched. Painfully.

  But I didn’t let it show.

  “That can’t be possible,” Alec muttered, his brows furrowed.

  "It is,” I mumbled, peering into the oven to check how well the chicken was cooking, “I was just a pretty bauble he kept guard just so he could sell me to the highest bidder when the time was right."

  When I glanced at Christopher, his face had hardened.

  "And did he try?" his voice was soft. Chillingly soft.

  I nodded. "Why do you think I ran away?"

  "Who?" It was Alec's turn to ask.

  "You wouldn't know even if I told you—."

  "Who?" Christopher asked in dark voice that radiated with anger.

  What did I do now? I thought.

  I didn’t have a chance to figure out.

  “Who?” he asked again.

  I let out a sigh. "A man named Montecarlo."

  As soon as I said the name flew out of my mouth, I wished I could suck it back in.

  Christopher’s eyes cut to Alec.

  They shared a look before Christopher continued. "What happened to him?"

  "Why do you want to know?"

  "Just answer the question."

  I shrugged. "My father said he was dead."

  “Jesus,” Alec mumbled.

  I shrugged again. Though I was trying my hardest not to let it show, talks of the past was making me upset.

  “If you’re going to stay, make yourself useful.” I moved to the counter, lifting the kitten from Christopher’s stiff arms. “You can mash the potatoes. And you,” I looked at Alec, “how about you cut the cucumbers?”

  For a few moments, they looked at me like there was no hell they’d get to working in the kitchen.

  But surprisingly, they did as they were told.

  Christopher was slouched behind his desk, a bottle of beer in his hand, his eyes staring blankly at the screen of his laptop.

  He grabbed a bottle from the fridge when she had fallen asleep and took it to his study.

  Alcohol helped him sleep. Work too.

  He hadn't really slept for more than two hours yesterday. He looked like shit, he knew, so he was going to have to exhaust himself until he could fall asleep. If working on problems of his estates wasn't going to help, he might have to run outside the cold again.

  Alec had offered to punch him. April had told him to drink a full glass of milk before she retired to bed. She obviously found out. Alec had probably told him. Acting like he was against the whole idea, his right hand was clearly trying to help him win April over.

  Letting out a groan, he thought about her. She was just upstairs. Sleeping on her bed with her pet. This wasn’t going to work. He knew that now. Staying for an entire month in the same house, knowing she was so close but so inaccessible was going to drive him crazy soon. So he distracted himself with work. Twice, he even went out to shovel the snow from the driveway to calm his libido.

  Thinking about her now was making his body respond. Thinking about that kiss made him go hard. So he set these thoughts out and brought the bottle down. Sleep was a priority now.

  The door opened as he was in the middle of writing a long email ridden with curses because of the incompetence of one of his estate managers. When he saw that it was Alec who strolled in, he returned his gaze back to his email.

  "You knew about Montecarlo."

  Alec’s voice was laced with shock and disbelief.

  "Was that why you killed him?"

  "I didn't kill him," Christopher said distractedly, still typing his email. He wasn’t even surprised Alec would accuse him of this. His right-hand had been giving him looks earlier during dinner.

  Alec refused to stop talking about this. "But you had him killed."

  "I had the police tipped off about a drug deal that was going to happen at the city port. I didn't know he was stupid enough to shoot and have his head blown off."

  "But you disappeared."

  "What was that?" Christopher looked at him.

  Alec stared at him suspiciously. "We were at a club downtown to c
elebrate the promotion of Rohan's friend. You disappeared for almost two hours. It was that night when the drug bust happened."