Play With Me: A High School Bully Romance (Diamond In The Rough Book 1)(30)

Lindsey’s face fell. “Oh.”

“That’s the price ya pay for shooting vodka all night.”

“Guess it’s rough being the entertainment.”

And as she snickered, her words slapped me across the face.

Entertainment.

I was nothing but the entertainment?

I heard her say something, but I didn’t catch it. I felt her kiss my cheek as her hand lingered against my thigh, but I hardly felt it. And as she walked away, I didn’t even steal a glance at her barely-there ass. My mind had latched onto that word. That phrase. It parsed out every syllable and bounced around in my head. Taunting me. Lashing out at me. Encompassing the whole of my high school career.

Entertainment.

My eyes slowly focused on the crowd around me as images of a trained monkey rushed through my mind. Being slapped around and whipped by trainers before being put in front of a crowd and expected to obey. It was an apt description. One that made my stomach turn over on itself. And as I sat there on the sidelines watching everyone else party, I wondered how I’d gotten there.

Here.

At this dumbass party with these dumbass people.

Do I even like these people?

In a flash, I was unsure of everything in my life. As I slid off the barstool and made my way for the patio doors, I felt people clamoring for my attention. Women tugging me over to the hot tub and guys trying to get me into the pool. Roy tried sliding my leather jacket off, but I simply shook him off me.

“The fuck, man? I set you up with a good catch.”

“You good? You need some water?”

“Give him some space. I think he’s gonna puke.”

“Hey! Clint! What gives?”

I ignored all of their comments and questions as I lumbered into Marina’s parents’ house. I slid the patio doors closed behind me, seeking solace in the ice cold air conditioning of their kitchen. I walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, chugging it back as it filled my stomach. I backed it up with another. Then another. And slowly, I felt my veins being freed of the alcohol I’d pushed through them.

Which freed my mind up to roam even more.

“Clint! The fuck!”

Roy’s muffled voice hit my ears and I turned around. I saw him banging his fist on the kitchen window before he shrugged at me with an attitude I didn’t like. I held my bottle of water up to him before drinking the rest back, but Roy wasn’t a fan of my actions. He looked pissed. Though I didn’t know why.

I mean, did he sell his soul to Satan in order to get me that girl?

Terrible exchange.

I tossed my third empty bottle of water into the trash can, then grabbed a fourth. And as I cracked it open, I started walking through the house. It was small, compared to my father’s. But there was a lot of love in this place. I felt it. The walls bled with it. And it made me smile. The sounds of the party fell into the background as I walked down the small hallway. I stood in the living room, gazing out at the front lawn as whispers of happy secrets puffed up from the plush carpet I stood on.

You don’t belong here.

My eyes fell onto my bike and I felt myself gravitating to the front door. I slid my bottled water into my leather jacket pocket, making my way outside. My feet carried me toward my bike as I drew in a deep breath. And as I slung my leg over the side, I reached for my helmet.

Drink the water first.

“The fuck are you doing!?”

Roy’s voice caused my head to whip up as I held my helmet in my hands.

“You leaving already?”

And as my best friend came closer to me, something happened. Something changed. Something shifted.

For the first time since I’d started high school, I wanted as far away from Roy as I could get.





27





Raelynn





“Now, class, make sure you read the labels on your beakers and bottles carefully. I understand we have a shower in the back, but that doesn’t mean I want to use it today.”

The class let out a soft titter, but I kept my eyes trained on my hands. I wrung them in circles, taking deep breaths as I kept reliving that moment. The look on Michael’s face a few nights ago when he strolled up onto my porch during that thunderstorm. The anger in his eyes. The heat in his voice. The way he scoffed at me before stalking away, not giving me any time to craft any sort of a response.

Just an accusation and my guilty face staring back at him.

Allison nudged me “You listening?”

My head whipped up. “Sorry. Yeah.”

“If you’re listening, what did the teacher just say?”

“He doesn’t want to use the shower today.”

“That was seven statements ago. So you’re not listening. Good. At least I know now.”

“You know damn good and well why I’m not listening.”

The teacher cleared his throat. “There something you want to share with the class, ladies?”

Allison shook her head. “No, sir. Nothing.”

And when he looked at me, all I did was shake my head.

“Good. Now, one last thing. Once you document everything you see from your experiment, I want you to keep your notes with you until tomorrow’s class. We’re going to be taking three sets of notes and comparing them for grades at the end of the week. So make sure not to get any liquids on them.”

I sighed. “Great.”

Allison giggled. “I’ll help you out as much as I can. I know you’re not the cleanest person around.”

“Thanks? Maybe?”

“Hey, at least you were listening this time.”

I shot her a look, but all she did was giggle. Our teacher released us to the hounds, allowing us to conduct the experiment in front of us with very minimal instruction. I hated chemistry. Science had been the bane of my existence ever since middle school. But it was required, and if I took it now I wouldn’t have to take it in college.

Good for you, thinking about the future.

Allison and I worked in silence for a few minutes. We poured chemicals into beakers together and documented what we witnessed. We combined elements that made a sort of putty mixture before melting into a pile of goop. Which was weird and utterly unexpected. I was almost certain we’d done that particular facet wrong. But what really felt odd was standing with Allison in complete and utter silence.

So I took a leap of faith.

“You know, don’t you?”

She sighed. “It’s not hard to pinpoint. Especially since Michael didn’t want to walk with us this morning.”

“Has he talked with you about it?”

“No. He hasn’t so much as looked my way.”

I sighed. “I’m so sorry, Allison.”

She shook her head. “Nothing to be sorry about. If anything, you should apologize to him for keeping it from him for so long.”

“Thanks.”

“Just trying to tell it like it is.”

I paused. “He was so angry, Allison. I mean, just furious. Standing on my porch, drenched in water. Fists clenched. Teeth grinding together. I mean, I didn’t even get a chance to respond before he stormed back off through my drowned front yard. I’ve never seen him like that before. I’m worried about him.”

“He probably feels betrayed.”

“And I feel like shit for that.”

“How are we doing back there, ladies?” our teacher piped up from across the room.

I tried my best not to sigh. “Doing great, Mr. Abernathy.”

He nodded. “Wonderful. Now get back to work.”

Allison picked up her pencil. “Right away, Mr. Abernathy.”

We kept our heads down with the experiments and the descriptions until his attention was off us. Then, Allison flickered her eyes over to me. I felt her studying me. Trying to figure out what the fuck to say next. And I hated it. I hated all of this. I wanted to talk with Michael. I wanted to explain what had happened, to tell him the kind of life Clint actually led, because I knew Michael well. I knew if he knew, he’d look at this differently. Despite the fight. Despite the blood. Despite the anger.

Then I felt my cheeks flush with red.

“I’m so embarrassed, Allison.”

She rubbed my back. “He’ll come around soon enough. He has to.”

I scoffed. “Does he, though? Because right now, I’m the all-around shitty friend.”

“He just doesn’t get it right now. He needs to cool that hot head of his, and then yes. He’ll come around. He always does.”

“Have you ever seen him this upset before?”

And when I looked over at her, she shook her head.

“I haven’t, no. But, I know what he’s like when he gets frustrated with schoolwork. Or his parents. He loves you. Just like I do. And when he’s done pitching his fit, he’ll come around. Trust me.”

I shrugged. “If you say so.”

“Boys just don’t understand this kind of thing.”

I scoffed. “Well, add me to that bunch. Because I don’t get it either.”

She sighed. “Look, in the end, it doesn’t matter. It’s over, right? So just give Michael some time and he’ll bounce back eventually. I’m sure of it.”

“I really hope you’re right.”

“If you’d like to share with the class, I’m sure all of us could take a break to listen.”

I bit down on the inside of my cheek as Mr. Abernathy’s voice rose above the class. My eyes locked with his, and I saw him staring at me with a cool look on his face. He thought he was clever. Smart. Observant. But all I did was smile politely at him before drawing in a deep breath.