HUNTER: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rosewood High Book 5) Page 3

  But I couldn’t. It wasn’t my place. And as much as I sometimes want to pretend that there might be something between us, just to allow myself a few seconds where life might not be quite so shit, I know there’s not. It’s all fantasy, a game, where Zayn is concerned.

  He’s already proved to be a compulsive liar and last night was just another example of the shit that falls out of his mouth. It makes me wonder how much of it the cheer sluts fall for.

  “Are you okay, honey?” Jada asks when both she and Harley take a step to leave, but my feet root me to the spot.

  “Oh um… yeah. Just tired.”

  “Let’s get you home so you can sleep it off.” I hear the warning in her voice loud and clear. She hates that her baby is now a part of Zayn’s senior year parties. But with Harley being a cheerleader now, she can hardly stop it. Especially when all she’s done is encourage her youngest child to join the squad.

  “What happened to Ruby?” Jada asks once we’re backing out of the driveway.

  “Um…” Harley hesitates. “I think she might have gone home with a friend.”

  Jada’s eyes find her daughter’s in the rearview mirror and then narrow in accusation.

  The last thing I saw of Ruby last night was her dancing with one of the guys after I ran away from Zayn. After that, the only thing I know is that she didn’t spend the night in Harley’s room like we’d planned.

  I cast a glance at Harley who just shrugs at me, clearly not knowing where she disappeared to either.

  The little bit of concern I’d been feeling about our best friend grows even more. I really don’t need anyone else to worry about in my life but she’s changed recently and I fear she’s on a one-way street to self-destruction if she’s not careful.

  The conversation in the car falls silent and I rest my head back, watching the passing scenery. I don’t want to go home. But where else am I supposed to go?

  “Here you go, honey,” Jada says as she pulls up outside my house a few minutes later.

  “Thank you,” I say sadly. “Call you later?” I mutter to Harley before pushing the door open.

  “Sure.”

  “Have a great day.” I put as much excitement into my words as possible but they still fall very flat. I may have turned down the invitation to join them, but really, I’d love to. A day of forgetting about everything and just enjoying the relaxation and pampering, I can’t even imagine what that must be like at this point.

  “It’s not too late to join us,” Harley asks hopefully.

  “I can’t. I’ve got stuff…” I trail off, not wanting to go into details.

  “I know. Have a good one.”

  I wave them both off and watch as their car disappears down the street before sucking in a breath and turning toward the house.

  My stomach drops the second I push inside the front door. It’s in silence with only the sound of Cooper’s crying ringing through the house. My stomach drops, I knew I shouldn’t have gone last night.

  I drop my bags and make my way through the rooms to find where everyone is. We’re lucky, I guess, we’ve got a decent house on the boundary between the rich and poor side of town. On the outside, it might look like we’re a normal, happy family. But inside tells a very different story.

  “What the hell?” I bark as I swing the living room door open to the sound of Cooper’s cries getting louder.

  His face is beetroot red, his little fists clenched in anger as he tries the only way he can to get attention.

  Running over, I scoop him up from his bassinet and cradle him to my chest. His cries lessen but they don’t stop. I discover why when the smell hits me.

  Mom and Dad are passed out on the couch. Neither seems to be aware that he was crying or that I’ve even entered.

  Reaching down for one of the cushions that are falling from the couch, I launch it at the two of them.

  Mom mumbles something, but she doesn’t wake.

  “You two are a fucking joke,” I spit. “They shouldn’t have allowed you to be parents.”

  I take Cooper to the kitchen to make him a bottle before carrying him up to his room so I can change him.

  With him cradled in my arm, I give him his bottle that his chubby little hands eagerly reach for while I check on the other two.

  Austin and Sofia are in Austin’s bedroom playing some shooting game that is way too old for them. I want to tell them that it’s not appropriate, they’re only eight and six, but what else would they do? Life in this house is hell, they’re just trying to make the best out of a bad situation.

  They glance up at me when I enter, but they’re not surprised to find their older sister and not their parents checking up on them.

  “Have you two eaten?”

  “I made toast,” Austin says, ripping his eyes away from the screen once again.

  “Are you sure playing that with Sofia is a good idea?”

  He looks back at the screen with a sigh.

  “We’re not babies,” Sofia snaps before going back to killing someone who jumps out on the screen.

  “Can you play car racing or something?”

  “We’ll change it up in a bit,” Austin agrees, looking at his little sister who’s busy maiming some guy. “Did you have a good night?”

  “It was great,” I lie. They’re not stupid, they know that our lives, our parents, aren’t normal but they don’t need me making it any worse. I want to show them that better exists. That they don’t need to settle for the bullshit hand we’ve been given.

  “I’m going to finish feeding Cooper, then shower. If you need anything, just shout.”

  They both nod, once again lost in the violent game playing in front of them.

  “Where are they?” Austin asks, making the ball that’s already formed in my stomach grow larger. I wish there was something more I could do for them.

  “In the living room.” Just stay up here, are the silent words spoken between us.

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll make you some lunch in a little bit. Please, change the game.”

  They agree and I leave them to it. Maybe I should be more insistent but the last thing any of us need is for the three of us to fall out.

  I sit myself and Cooper in the chair that faces out over the balcony in my room that overlooks our unkempt yard and then the rich part of town beyond.

  Jake’s old trailer is tucked at the bottom of the yard. I’ve spent hours sitting here wishing that I could move into the old, damp thing now that he’s gone.

  I used to feel sorry for him, stuck down there on his own. But as the years have gone on, I’ve found myself craving that musty trailer more than I should. If it weren’t for my brothers and sister, then I think I’d have moved in already, but I can’t do that to them. Who the hell knows when Mom and Dad would have got their shit together and fed them if I didn’t show up when I did.

  He guzzles down the bottle in record time before almost instantly drifting off to sleep.

  I rest my head back, wishing that I could now curl up in bed and catch up on the sleep I missed out on last night like any other normal teenager. But I can’t. I have people relying on me.

  Once he’s fast asleep, I carefully place him in the travel crib I have in my room and begin stripping out of my clothes.

  Probably the only good thing about this house and my fucked-up parents is that I snagged the master bedroom, seeing as I’m basically the parent under this roof.

  I used to feel bad for them. Dad hurt his back years ago and has, apparently, been unable to work since. I’m not entirely sure that is true seeing as he and Mom seem to be able to make more babies than they can look after and he’s able to get about and play with his beloved beat-up cars all day long. As far as I can see, he’s just a lazy fuck who doesn’t want to get a job.

  Mom works, sometimes. But it’s about as sporadic as her moods. In the past, I’ve begged her to go to a doctor and get checked out. I swear she’s got something that could be stabilized with the right medication, but she point-blank refuses, telling me that she’s fine and that it’s nothing a little weed won’t fix. I beg to differ.

  Overall, I fucking hate my life. And after being forced to spend every day here over the holidays, I’m more than ready to get back to school where I can at least get a little reprieve from my responsibilities. Although, life at Rosewood High isn’t any more pleasant at times.

  Not being at school means I don’t have to face the devil who roams the halls and tries to make my life a living hell.

  I always thought he’d get bored when I didn’t react to his abuse when it started, but he never did.

  It just gets worse.

  And after all these years, I have a feeling that it’s not going to stop until I break.

  Or he kills me.

  Right now, I honestly have no idea what’s going to come first.

  “You ready for this?” Ruby asks two days later from the driver’s seat while Harley spins around so she can study me as I drop into the back of Ruby’s car.

  “One step closer to senior year, right?” I mutter sadly. They both know that I hate school or more so life in general, but neither know the whole truth, the dark secrets that I keep hidden.

  They know my home life is shit and that my parents mostly check out on their duties, and they know that he—Preston Hellburn—likes to try to make my life as hard as possible but they have no idea just how much effort he puts in when they’re all busy enjoying themselves.

  “You look tired, P.”

  “Cooper cried almost all night.”

  “Jeez, your parents really need to figure out how to look after a kid.”

  I agree. It’s not like I can argue with that point. Only while I’m sure they’re thinking that it was his crying from their
bedroom that kept me awake, the reality was that I was the one up soothing him, trying to calm him down so that Austin and Sofia also didn’t have a ruined night sleep.

  Thankfully, Harley and Ruby get lost in cheer talk and the upcoming season and championships.

  I smile as they chatter excitedly, and pride swells within me for what they’ve both achieved. I might have no interest in any extracurricular activities, especially those that involve sports, but even I know how hard they’ve worked to be chosen for the varsity squad already.

  As we approach Rosewood High a shiver runs down my spine.

  I’ve got a year and a half, then I can get out of here. I can hopefully manage to secure a place at college and disappear to the other side of the country. Guilt nags at me that while I do that, my siblings will be left behind to fend for themselves. I hate it, but this is my life, I shouldn’t be stuck here because of my parents’ irresponsible decisions.

  There are kids everywhere when we pull into the parking lot.

  Harley and Ruby jump out, more than ready to get started on the new semester, whereas I move with a little less enthusiasm.

  Eyes move over to the three of us. It’s normal. Ruby and Harley have been appointed into Rosewood royalty with their squad places. That uniform means that everyone now wants to be their friend in order to improve their own social status or they just want to fuck them so they can brag.

  I’m used to that kind of behavior. I’ve dealt with it for years.

  I’m related to the king of Rosewood after all. Jake Thorn is Rosewood High. The girls all want him, the guys all want to stand beside him, and everyone bows at his feet seeing as he led the team all the way to the top last year.

  And no one wants to be Jake’s little bitch more so than Preston.

  He might have things that Jake never did. The money, the mansion, the daddy who gives him whatever his black little heart desires, but he’s missing one big thing that he’s desperate for.

  Respect.

  He might think he’s a little version of Jake hanging out with his JV teammates and playing the part of being important, but the reality is that no one likes him. And if someone were to take away his skill on the field, they’d drop him faster than he thinks is even possible.

  He spends his time forcing people to grant him the position as the leader of the junior class but really his rule is all about fear.

  Everyone is scared of him. He’s a loose cannon. One minute he can be completely normal, just your average school kid, and the next he’s like the devil incarnate.

  My skin prickles as we walk inside the building and toward our lockers.

  He’s here, I know he is. But then, I expected it. Since Jake and the Bears won the championship, his reign of terror has stepped up a notch.

  He wants to be captain next year and for some fucked-up reason, he thinks I can convince Jake to give it to him.

  What he doesn’t seem to realize is that Jake would never listen to football advice from me, or anyone for that fact. He has his own opinions and ideas for his team and his word goes. He’s not going to care what his little football-hating cousin thinks.

  I roll my eyes at myself and the whole situation. If it weren’t so insane, I might care more but at this point, I figure I just need to put up with him. One day I’ll walk away from this place and never have to look him in his dead eyes again.

  “Ew, what the fuck is that smell?” Harley complains when I open my locker.

  My own stomach turns as it hits me, and I almost puke on my feet.

  “I have no idea,” I admit, my watery eyes landing on a lunch bag on top of the books I left here over the holidays.

  They both lean in closer to get a look at what’s causing the stench.

  “Maybe I left my lunch here,” I say with a shrug, knowing that it’s not true but I may as well try.

  “What the hell were you going to eat, a dead bird?” Ruby deadpans.

  Her suggestion of a dead animal makes me heave as I remember walking out to feed Smidge, Austin and Sofia’s rabbit, a few days before we finished school for the holidays to find the cage open.

  I shouted at them for not closing it properly the last time they played with her, which only made them cry harder and for me to feel like the worst sister in the world.

  But it wasn’t them.

  My stomach turns over.

  Motherfucker.

  My hands tremble with the realization that he’s been at the house. In the past, everything he’s done, any interaction between us has been at or around school. He’s never once sought me out at home before.

  The sweet faces of my siblings run through my mind. I can’t let him anywhere near them.

  “Well, whatever it is, you need to get rid of it. It’s stinking up the entire hallway.”

  I look over my shoulder to see people starting to look this way with their lips curled in disgust.

  “Great.” Reaching inside my locker, I hold my breath as I pick up the bag and bring it closer.

  “Oh my God, that’s vile,” Ruby mutters, covering her face with her hand.

  I can’t argue. It’s repulsive.

  Right as I turn to hotfoot it outside to the nearest trash can, I spot him.

  He’s standing right in the doorway—of course he is—totally blocking my exit with a smug smirk playing on his lips.

  Kids around us seem to stop talking as they look between the two of us. It’s no secret that there’s no love lost between me and Preston. Unlike most of the kids around me, I’m one of the only ones who doesn’t go running when he so much as looks at me.

  When I said that I’ve refused to back down over the years, I mean it.

  Preston Hellburn is no better than me. So what, his daddy has money and he lives in one of Rosewood’s biggest houses? I don’t care that he can throw a football better than most. To me, he is just a person. A rotten one at that, and there’s no way I’m cowering to him just because he thinks he deserves it.

  Holding my head up high and with the possible remains of our beloved pet rabbit in the bag I’m holding, I walk toward him.

  Predictably, he doesn’t move.

  “Excuse me.” There is no politeness to my tone. It’s cold, harsh, exactly the way he deserves to be spoken to.

  “Make me.” His voice is low, ensuring no one else would be able to hear.

  My teeth grind as he stands before me unmoving, totally unfazed by my presence.

  The air crackles between us, pure hatred firing off.

  There’s movement behind me, but I don’t look to see what’s going on. I soon discover who’s joined us though because Preston smiles down at me. There’s no happiness in it, I don’t think this guy has ever been happy, it’s full of malice and abhorrence. But only a second later, he steps aside and allows me to pass.

  “Everything okay?” a familiar voice booms down the hallway. I want to feel relief, but I don’t. The last thing I need is Jake getting involved in this. Preston is trying to use me to get to him. I refuse to allow it to happen.

  “Of course. Poppy was just taking out the trash.”

  He nods to his little pathetic group of followers and they all take off in the opposite direction, allowing me to run outside and dump the bag.

  As I run for the bathroom, the vile scent lingers in my nose. Slamming the door back against the stall, I drop to my knees and heave.

  No one bothers to check that I’m okay. I’m not sure if that’s because the smell is clinging to my clothes and skin or just because they don’t care. Either way, it’s nothing new. I like living my life mostly in the shadows.

  The only people I really expect to follow are Harley and Ruby, but they’ve got their own lives now, they hang out with the team and squad. And I’m more than happy for them to go off and do that. I have no intention of joining that crowd.

  I know the three of us are unlikely friends with them craving the cheer spotlight and me hiding, but our friendship runs deeper than our hobbies. I don’t know what it is but it’s there and it means everything to me. It’s why I’m not worried about their rise to fame within the Rosewood hierarchy. They won’t forget me.

  I wipe my mouth with some tissue and flush the toilet. I might have lost my breakfast thanks to that prick but I don’t feel any better.

  Tears burn my eyes as I think about what he did, but I refuse to cry. He doesn’t deserve any kind of reaction from me, let alone my tears.