Play With Me: A High School Bully Romance (Diamond In The Rough Book 1)(24)

“If I wanted to get you to shut up, I’d tell you your hair doesn’t mean shit to me. Because telling you that your hair is beautiful is like telling someone the sun’s bright. It’s obvious, trite, and overdone. If I really wanted to compliment you, I’d say how taken I am with the way your eyes match your hair. With the way your freckles undulate when you laugh. With the way your mind betrays an intelligence and maturity far beyond the high schoolers I have the privilege of spending time with. And if I really wanted to leave you speechless, I’d punctuate it with something like this.”

He pushed off the doorway, crossing the threshold of the bathroom. His hand cupped my cheek, and as his thumb slid across my skin I felt my heart stop in my chest.

“I’d tell you the sun is jealous of the light you emit simply by being yourself. And that your hair has shit-all to do with it.”

I drew in a ragged breath. “Stop it.”

“I’m serious.”

“I know you are, and I need you to stop it.”

“Why?”

I blinked rapidly. “Because.”

“Give me one damn good reason, and I’ll stop.”

Because you’re not supposed to steal my heart.

“Because your long-winded compliments are going to make us late for lunch.”

His eyes fell to my lips before his thumb ran along my skin. I shivered at his touch just before his lips pressed against mine. My head tilted back. He cradled the nape of my neck as he stepped forward, closing the gap between us. And as he slid his fingers through my hair, I whimpered against his lips.

“Your hair looks fine,” he whispered.

I nodded quickly, then turned away from him. I cleared my throat and pulled my hair back into the traditional ponytail people were used to. I felt Clint’s eyes on me, but I refused to look at him, because if I did I might just give in. I might just stay with him for the rest of the day instead of going to school and doing what I needed to do in order to get out of this hellhole.

He really does know how to own the English language.

The two of us got dressed, then he ushered me out of his room. With his hand on the small of my back, he guided me down the stairs, making a beeline straight for the front door. I knew why, too. Neither of us were sure whether or not his father was home. I mean, surely he’d be at work so close to lunch on a Monday. But things were always unpredictable. Schedules changed at the drop of a hat. Vacations got canceled at the last minute due to work. And sometimes, parents came home for lunch instead of eating out.

Clint reached for the doorknob. “I’ll drop you off at the front curb on the road before I park behind the school.”

I paused. “So we aren’t walking in together?”

“Do you want to?”

“Does it matter?”

The two of us froze as his father’s heavy voice sounded behind us. I slowly turned around, watching as Clint stepped in front of me. He reached behind me, slowly backing me toward the door. And as he opened it, I felt the heat of the day beat against my back.

I didn’t let go of his leather jacket, though. He had to come with me. He was my ride.

Clint cleared his throat. “Morning, Dad.”

“Who the fuck is that?” he asked gruffly.

“Hi. I’m—”

Clint cut me off. “None of your damn business.”

His father narrowed his eyes. “You wanna try that again?”

“No. I really don’t.”

I drew in a sharp breath. “Clint, come on. We’re gonna be late.”

“Did she just come down from upstairs?”

Clint nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“And is that fucking allowed in this house?”

“Probably not, sir.”

His father charged him and I cried out. Clint shoved his ass out, knocking me outside before his father gripped his leather jacket. I reached out for him, watching as his father picked him up onto his tippy toes. And as his father barreled him back into the wall, I cupped my hands over my cheeks.

“I’m sick and tired of you thinking you run this house. Shut the damn door,” he glowered.

I whimpered. “Clint.”

He peeked back at me with nothing but sadness in his eyes. And as his hand reached out for the door, he nodded his head.

“Get outta here, Rae. Sorry for making you late and not being able to give you a ride.”

“Mr. Clarke, this is all my fault. We just need to get to school. This won’t happen again, I swear it. Please, Mr. Clarke.”

His father gnashed his teeth at me. “Shut the hell up and get off my property.”

Clint growled. “You talk to her like that again and you’ll have to deal with me.”

His father chuckled. “And you think you’re what? Hot stuff? Because you can screw some poor girl from your high school in your own bed? You think that makes you hot stuff?”

And as Clint slammed the front door closed, I heard a resounding smack.

“No!” I exclaimed.

I heard his father yelling from behind the door, and it scared the living shit out of me. Holy fuck, his father made Clint’s mean side look like Mary Poppins. I heard them fighting behind the door. It kept rattling with fury as I backed away from it. I stumbled down the porch steps, trying to get my feet underneath me as tears rushed down my face.

And as a woman’s voice started yelling above all the ruckus, I made a mad dash for the road. I kept running and running. I ran until the yelling faded behind me and the sound of Clint’s voice was but a distant memory. My lungs heaved for air. I felt my legs giving out as I got to the entrance of his neighborhood. I tore across the street, hearing horns honking as my cardigan wafted behind me. Sweat trickled down the nape of my neck. It grew hard to draw in air as I stumbled my way for the front doors of the school. I had to tell someone. I had to let them know what the hell was happening to Clint.

But, when I ripped the doors to the high school open, Allison appeared at my side.

“Girl. Holy mackerel. I’ve been looking for you all day. Michael! I found her!”

The sound of footsteps rushed beside me before someone else took my arm.

“She looks like hell. Come on. Bathroom time.”

I shook my head. “No, no. I need to talk to someone. I need to—”

Michael rubbed my back. “We’ll talk in a second. Right now, you need a brush to your hair, a wet paper towel to the back of your neck, and some water.”

Allison sighed. “Did you oversleep?”

He scoffed. “The girl never oversleeps. You know damn good and well her mother did something.”

I kept shaking my head, trying to get a word in edgewise. They dragged me down a hallway and into one of the unisex bathrooms our high school had. A new installment after our school system passed some law that required two of them to be in every school now. They tugged me in there and closed the door. I put my hands on my knees to try and catch my breath. A cool paper towel came down against my neck, and the temperature change made me heave.

Causing me to throw myself at the toilet.

“That’s it. That’s right. Get it all out,” Allison said softly.

Michael sighed. “What should we do?”

“Is there anything we can do? Just be here for her?”

I couldn't speak. Couldn't talk. Between catching my breath and gagging into the toilet, I didn’t have a chance in hell of telling them what had actually happened. Not that I could say anything in front of Michael without starting some sort of third world war between us all. No, I had to keep it to myself. Just until I could pull away from them long enough to talk to a counselor of some sort. Tell them what I’d witnessed. Tell them what was going on.

Maybe then, Clint could get the fucking help he’d needed all this time.





22





Clinton





I punched mindlessly at the buttons on my controller. Roy kept yelling out, jumping out of his seat and trying to direct what I did with my car. But I didn’t give a shit. I hadn’t gone to school since my father blew his fucking cap through the roof and beat me to a bloody pulp. Well, practically. It felt like that for the past couple of days. My face ached. My nose kept bleeding at random times and my eye was swollen shut. The bruise on my jaw kept growing, and the more it grew the harder it got to eat.

Thank fuck, I like bananas.

Roy scoffed. “Come on, Clint. You mean to tell me that other eye still isn’t good? You completely missed the guy on the left.”

I snickered. “You put more mods on your car, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. Cost me a shit ton, too. Trying to make back some of the money so I can get to modding this other car I won last night in a race. It’s a sweet one, too.”

“Well, get us ready for another one. I’m gonna go get something to drink.”

I set the controller down and walked out as Roy continued cursing under his breath. I shook my head as I walked into the kitchen, then sighed as I opened the fridge. The only good thing about this school week was that Dad had jetted off with Cecilia again. She’d convinced him to whisk her away to the Philippines. Why the fuck she wanted to go there I had no idea. But the promise of beaches, cocktails, and landing tail for my father was too much for him to pass up.

Which got him the fuck away from me.

That man had knocked me around for a good half hour after I shoved Rae out the door. And my only hope was that she hadn’t stuck around long enough to hear any of it. It was brutal. I felt myself fighting for my life as I dodged some of my father’s punches. Even when Cecilia intervened, he knocked her to the ground with his elbow. My father didn’t give a shit about anyone other than himself. And after that moment, I knew he wouldn't think twice before burning me to the ground if it benefited him.