by Sam Crescent
There was no challenge he couldn’t meet.
Gripping the chains, she let go of her feet and started to swing. After lifting her legs up, she brushed them down, then drew them back up before going back down. Higher and higher, she soared, staring up at the sky. Blocking out everything, including the memory of her parents’ latest argument.
Her father was furious because her mother had bought too much alcohol for the party. They were always fighting about money. It was their favorite hobby. She missed their time in the city when everything seemed to be going so well. Her parents hadn’t fought half as much. Closing her eyes, she tried to ignore the twisting in her gut but knew deep down it was no use. There was no getting away from the terror that clawed at her.
Her mother had screamed divorce and Prudence knew what that meant. She only hoped they would figure out what their problems were before they gave up on each other. She didn’t want to have to live with both of her parents in different houses.
“What are you fucking doing here?”
She lifted her head, opening her eyes to see Drake at the park. He wasn’t alone either. He had his friends with him. They smirked at her, standing at his back.
“You own the park now?”
“When are you going to learn that I own everything around here?”
Staring at him, she began to swing again. This wasn’t his park. It wasn’t anyone’s park. Everyone and anyone could come here and have some fun. She wasn’t going to be controlled by his bullying ways. This park was free.
When Sean got here, they were going to head out anyway.
One of Drake’s friends, Carl Long, sniggered. “She’s asking for it, Drake.”
In response to the taunting, Drake moved forward. She tensed up, not really knowing what to do as he suddenly grabbed her leg and pulled hard. His move was dangerous and she let out a scream, seeing no choice but to let go of the swing. They both collapsed on the dirt. She hit her head and reached out to rub the suddenly sore spot.
Drake held her arms, pressing them above her head, keeping her trapped.
She wriggled and noticed his friends went for the swing so it had no chance of hitting Drake in the face. “Let me go.”
“You know, Trash, you’re really starting to piss me off. You don’t know when to stay to your own side of the tracks. No one wants you here.” Hatred swam in his eyes.
“You’re on my side of the tracks, rich boy.”
She heard the gate opening and closing. Lifting up, Drake suddenly pressed an arm across her throat. The threat was there even though he didn’t push too hard.
She would never understand why he hated her so much and if she was truthful, she didn’t care. He was an asshole and she’d been putting up with him and his bullying ways for five years now. She wouldn’t run away screaming. She wouldn’t do anything.
“You’re not the boss of me. You’re not wanted here, Drake. Leave.” She tried to lift up but he was stronger than her. No matter how hard she tried to fight him, Drake always seemed to be the one with the upper hand. It was growing tiresome.
Collapsing back on the ground, she waited.
He smirked. “Giving in already, Trash?”
“My name is Prudence.”
“Get off her,” Sean said.
They both turned to see her friend a couple of feet away from them. Both boys were growing tall and filling out. Sean kept showing her his muscles and making her touch them.
“Well, well, well. Are you two boyfriend and girlfriend?”
Drake’s friends smirked but Sean merely stood, watching. His hands were clenched into fists. Even though Sean had been working out and training, she didn’t know if he was any match for the bully.
With Drake distracted, she used his weight against him, pushing him off her to break free. Within seconds, she stood beside her best friend, scowling at her enemies.
“You’re in our part of town, Connor,” Sean said.
She’d never heard him sound so deadly before. She reached out to Sean, taking his arm in her own, holding him tight against her.
Drake smirked at the action. “You seen this bullshit? As if I want to be here.”
“Then go,” she said.
She was used to Drake’s bad language. Out of all the guys at school, he always seemed the oldest.
Drake turned his cold stare to her. “You think you can tell me what to do?” He took a step toward her.
She felt Sean shake a little. Neither of them would be able to take on Drake and his friends.
“Let’s go,” she said. “He’s not worth it.”
Prudence didn’t even make it a step before Sean was suddenly pulled out of her hands. To her horror, she watched as Drake’s friends slammed him to the ground and proceeded to kick and hit him.
She went to him, but Drake held her against the metal bars of the swing. One of his arms was across her throat, cutting off her air. With his other hand, he pulled on her hair. It wasn’t up in a band so he only caught a few strands, but it was enough to make her scream for help.
Still, he wouldn’t let her go. Tears filled her eyes as the pain exploded on her head.
“Leave him alone. Please.”
“I like to hear you beg. Beg me, Trash. Beg me to stop your friend’s beating.”
She saw he wasn’t kidding. This wasn’t a joke to Drake. He truly despised her. He pressed harder across her throat and she tried not to panic. It was no use though.
Gripping his arm, she couldn’t stop him from hurting her. The evil in his eyes took her breath away. “Please, don’t hurt him.”
“I can’t hear you.”
She cried out as he pulled on her hair. “Please, let him go. Please, please, please.” She kept repeating it, getting louder as he continued to yank at her hair. He’d lifted the arm across her throat but she had no doubt who held the control here, and it wasn’t her, not even close. Drake was always in control.
He smirked. “Boys, stop.”
His friends dropped Sean, who was now bleeding. He curled up into a ball, crying softly.
She tried to pull away from Drake, only, he wouldn’t let her go. She had to wait until he was ready for her to go.
“You better be careful about opening your mouth at the wrong times, Trash. It’s going to get you killed.” With that, Drake pressed a little harder against her throat before finally letting up. He left the park with his friends.
Pru reached down to help Sean up.
“Stop it. I’m fine,” he said, pulling out of her arms.
“Sean, please. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
“Why did you agree to meet in the fucking park?” Sean got to his feet and he wiped at the blood running down beneath his nose.
“How would I know he’d be here? He’s never here. This is our place.” She didn’t know why Sean was so pissed at her.
“I’m heading home.” He started to walk off and she felt like the world’s shittiest friend.
“Sean, please. I know you’re angry.”
He suddenly stopped and turned toward her. “Yeah, I’m angry. When he’s around, why do you have to stay and fight? This could be you, Pru. You ever think about that? He could hurt you.”
“I don’t ask for any of this.”
“Dammit, I know. I’m tired of his shit.” He bunched his eyebrows, staring off as if he was trying to figure something out.
Without waiting for him to reject her, she walked right up to him and wrapped her arms around him. “One day, he’ll move on. He’ll get bored of all this, and we’ll never hear from him again.”
She kept on waiting to see if Sean forgave her.
He didn’t put his arms around her at first. Seconds ticked by, and just as she was about to give up, he finally held her. “I shouldn’t have shouted.”
“I forgive you.”
“I would have pounded his face,” he said.
She smiled. “I know.”
“Friends.”
“Forever.�
��
Taking hold of his hand, they walked out of the gates and toward his home. Sean’s mother was shocked by his injuries. When she heard who did it, she didn’t tell them to go and deal with them. No, she placed Sean on a chair and attended to his cuts and bruises.
Drake and anyone he was friends with were always protected.
One day, he wouldn’t have all this power anymore, and she wouldn’t have to be afraid.
Chapter One
One more year to go
“Come on, you guys. Don’t be total losers,” Ree Addie said.
Sean was already rolling his eyes.
Ree had joined their twosome three years ago when she moved to Mountain Peak Valley from New York. It had been a huge adjustment for her as she was used to city life, and they were all small-town peeps.
“We’re not total losers just because we don’t want to party,” Sean said.
“Whose party is it?” Prudence asked.
Ree pressed her lips together and neither she nor Sean needed any other clues as to whose it was. Drake Connor’s party.
“Hell, no,” Sean said. “What the hell do you see in him?”
“Nothing.”
Prudence didn’t say anything because Ree had confided in her that Drake didn’t give her the time of day. She personally didn’t get the infatuation her friend had with Drake, but then, she’d rather avoid the kind of attention she still got from him. Ree though was a bit of a flake. She and Sean were no fools. If Ree was given a better offer of friendship, they wouldn’t hear from her. Still, Prudence didn’t have it in her to break off the friendship. The last thing she would want was to see Ree eating alone.
“You’ve got to see something, otherwise, you wouldn’t come to us asking to go to his party.”
“I just thought it would be cool. You know? Next year we’re seniors and we’re out for the summer. Come on, it could be good.”
Sean slammed his locker closed. “No. I’m not going.”
“Me neither,” Prudence said.
“Why not?”
“Are you, like, blind to all the shit he pulls on Prudence?” Sean asked, stopping in the middle of the hallway.
While Prudence’s growth spurt stopped in sixth grade, Sean had continued to grow. He was one of the tallest guys in school. If he’d been athletically inclined, she had no doubt the basketball team would have loved to have him. Only, Sean screamed at balls flying toward him, and loathed any kind of sport, so it was a no-go.
“If she didn’t goad him, it wouldn’t be a problem!” Ree sighed, looking all around the corridor.
Prudence chuckled as Sean looked ready to vomit. “She really does have a crush on that slimeball, doesn’t she?” he asked.
“I’m afraid so. It looks like she won’t listen to reason.” Prudence shrugged. Ree was a good friend … most of the time. Her infatuation with Drake made her kind of suck though. Again, Pru wouldn’t stop talking to her even though she really wanted to date the guy who made her life a misery. She and Drake had never gotten along and she doubted they ever would.
It wasn’t doubt, it was a fact. She couldn’t stand the prick. He truly believed he was something special, and she hated how he assumed everyone would do whatever the hell he wanted just because he said so.
Not this girl.
No matter how many times he pushed her into a locker, or hit her, or whatever his new torment was. She’d opened her locker to spiders crawling out. There had been a putrid and acrid liquid poured all over her stuff, or he simply threw it at her on the way out of school.
Teachers looked the other way and well, she stopped retaliating. She didn’t know when it happened, possibly not long after she had gotten her first period, but she just grew up. Where Drake was an asshole who would make her curse, scream, and do anything to get one up on him. He no longer registered on her radar. She didn’t walk around school fearing for her life. She simply ignored all the bullshit. She either cleaned up the mess he caused or dealt with each problem as it came to her. Each time not showing him it bothered her. She didn’t know if that was what bothered him more, her complete lack of giving a shit.
“It’ll be fun. Please, don’t make me go on my own. It wouldn’t be fair. You guys are my besties and I do all the same stuff with you. When we hang out, we listen to music, watch movies, you know, that kind of thing.”
She didn’t. The only time Ree ever remembered they were friends was in classes they shared. Ree hated sitting alone, and despite Ree’s obsession with Drake, Pru didn’t see a reason to not sit with her.
“We’ve got a date with pizza,” Sean said, putting his arm around Prudence’s shoulder. “We can’t crash at no rich boy’s party.”
“Prudence, please, I know you won’t let me do this alone.”
“I’m sorry. Sean and I do this every single year. It’s tradition. A way to ring in the summer.” She wrapped her arm around her friend and Ree glared at the both of them.
“Neither of you are fair at all. I just want one night to go to this party and all summer we can hang out.” Ree stomped her foot.
Laughter from across the hall caught Prudence’s attention and she saw Drake with his group of friends and girls who liked to hang around him.
“Instead of having a temper tantrum like a child, go and talk to him. He’s right over there.” Prudence nodded her head in his general direction.
Ree turned and when she looked back at them, there was a huge smile on her face. “Oh, my, you’re so right. I have nothing to worry about.”
Without waiting a second to think it over, Ree left them alone and headed toward Drake.
“You think this is a good idea?” Sean asked.
“I don’t know. He’s never been pissed at her. It could work. I don’t know if I feel sorry for her or not.”
“I don’t. Whatever he does, she has it coming.” Sean didn’t lower his arm and they stood in the same place, waiting for Ree to make her decision.
“Don’t be like that.”
Prudence watched as Ree hesitated a few feet from Drake. He hadn’t even noticed her approach yet. He was laughing at something one of his friends said.
“Why not? She’s always talking about him and making excuses. Why are we even friends with her?”
Prudence nudged his arm. “We’re the only ones who could put up with her brash city ways and attitude.”
“No, you put up with it because you understood her. Me, I don’t get her. She’s seen what a dick he can be to you. Why would she think for a second we’d even want to hang out with him? You’ve heard all the rumors about his family. When someone makes waves, they disappear. Do you remember that Colin guy a couple of years back? They wanted to buy his property and land for some kind of development, and he wouldn’t sell? Then all of a sudden, he’s wanted for some kind of drug smuggling. He was arrested, the key thrown away, and the land is up for sale. I tell you, they’re bad news. The further away we are from him, the better, and there’s no way in hell I’m changing my mind.”
She placed her head on his shoulder. Sean had always hated Drake from the time at the playground where he was beat up. She always felt responsible for it. Drake hated her and because Sean opted to be her friend, Drake always made sure he paid for it. Of course, Drake’s parents were another problem altogether. She had never personally met them, but the rumors were rife around them. No one would stand up to them, not in their small town. They owned half of the factories and businesses, and there were rumors that extended to them blackmailing cops or buying them to do their dirty work. Whenever someone got in their way or didn’t bow down to their power, something nasty would magically happen that would cause the person to leave, go to prison, or to sell up.
It often made her wonder if that was why Drake was as bad as he was. He was a bully, but deep down she knew there was more to him than she cared to find out. Then, she’d find herself not really caring because he’d say or do something that really pissed her off, and she wouldn’t care what he w
ent through or why.
She wasn’t a bad person, though. Until she met Drake, she’d never once started a fight or gotten in trouble. At least in the past year, she’d learned to rise above and now she always held the upper hand, much to Drake’s irritation.
Watching Ree, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the other girl. She was so desperate to be with Drake.
Ree took a step closer and Prudence tensed up as Drake and his boys all looked toward her.
“She really shouldn’t have done this,” she said.
Sean shrugged. “We warned her and now we’ve got to stand and wait here to see what evil dick has to say.”
She giggled. “Evil dick?”
“You bet.”
“You’re crazy.”
“True. I never claimed to be anything but.” Sean pulled her in close, kissing the top of her head.
“Stop, stop. Don’t be stupid.” She burst out laughing.
This was why she adored Sean. No matter what, they always had each other’s back. They both stayed still, watching as Ree finally began to giggle and flirt with Drake.
He didn’t look impressed and the girls who hung out with them. They looked like they wanted to claw her eyes out.
“I don’t see the attraction. He’s a class-A asshole.”
“True, but maybe that’s a thing for chicks nowadays.”
“You’re a chick,” Sean said. “I don’t see you hanging off his every word.”
“I’m clearly immune to his asshole ways.” She sighed as Drake glared at Ree. She wasn’t close enough to hear what he had to say, but Ree turned on her heel and walked over to them.
“Oh, no, he’s being a douche again,” Sean said.
She knew Sean wasn’t a big fan of Ree, but she liked the girl. Ree reminded her a little of what it was like when she was younger and in the city. Ree hadn’t left the city that long ago and often talked about her time in high school.
Ree had tears in her eyes.
“You okay?” Prudence asked.
“What the fuck do you care, bitch?” Ree pushed her arm away and before she could stop her, Ree was already running down the corridor and out of the school.