Ryland Academy Rules: A High School Bully Romance Box Set

by Mya West

  I jump up and run through the forest, but knowing I can’t outrun the dogs, look for anyway to get out of their path. The dogs sound vicious, bloodthirsty even. I find a tall tree with a low enough limb. I jump and pull myself onto the sturdy branch. I start to climb high enough and think the dogs may just run past me.

  Wrong.

  The two dogs circle the tree, and I’m trapped.

  Chase runs up to his dogs. “Elle! Are you up there? Say something.” I say nothing, scared for my life. “Elle, my dogs are trained well. I know you’re up there. Are you okay?”

  I sigh and can feel a tear forming in my eye. “No! I want to go home!”

  The dogs continue to bark at me. Chase says something sternly and they both stop. He makes a clicking sound with his mouth and points into the forest. Jack and Jill run back through the forest.

  “Elle, can you come down now?”

  “Fuck no!”

  “Elle, seriously, why? Look, I still have my guns on me. I could just shoot you down if I had wanted to.”

  “Why do you still have your guns on you at all?”

  “Why do you think. A person, or people, were shooting at us last night. I reloaded and tried to find you, to protect you- and myself for that matter. You seriously think I tried to kill you last night? Why would I?”

  “I don’t fucking know, okay?”

  Even up high in the tree I could hear Chase give an audible sigh. “Okay, then. Hey guys! She’s over here!”

  “Who are you calling to?”

  “My hit squad.” Chase says sarcastically.

  Jaxson and Lance run up to the tree from different directions.

  Jaxson looks up. “Are you okay?”

  “Did you get hit or anything?” Lance says in a serious tone.

  Principal Aldridge runs up in his nightwear with a flashlight. “Ms. Maven, are you hurt?” His wife runs up beside him, out of breath.

  “No, I’m okay!” I yell back. “I’m going to climb down now.” I make my slow descent. When I put both feet firmly on the ground, Mrs. Aldridge runs up to me and hugs me tightly. I start to cry and let myself fall into her.

  Thomas Winters walks through some bushes and is the last to join us. He has a flashlight in his hand and looks at Chase. “Is she hurt?” Chase waves his head no.

  I pan my head around at all the faces looking at me. All of them look sincerely worried for me, except Thomas Winters. For some reason he looks mildly annoyed, as if he stepped in some more scrambled eggs.

  It takes an hour for me to calm myself. The Aldridges allow me to shower and Mrs. Aldridge lays out a change of clothes for me. She apologizes that her clothes aren’t as hip as I might like them and manages a small smile. I thank her.

  When I’m ready, I walk into the living room where everyone is waiting for me. Chase is pacing the room, until he spots me and stops. Jaxson is sitting beside Mrs. Aldridge on the couch. Lance is leaning against a wall in the back of the room with a window open and a cigarette lit.

  “I’d like to go home now.” I say monotone.

  Principal Aldridge looks at me softly. “Mr. Winters had to leave on urgent business for Mr. Cain. I’m so sorry this happened to you Elle. If there is anything I can do please let me know. Obviously, I won’t even let you go to school today. Just relax. Take a day off.” He turns to Chase and his tone becomes sterner. “My son can take you home, right Chase?”

  Chase rolls his eyes. “I told you, this wasn’t my fault.”

  “I can take her home.” Jaxson says, standing up.

  I wave my head no. “Lance, can you drive me?”

  Lance flicks his cigarette out the window, taking his keys out of his pocket.

  Chapter 10

  The drive back to Cain’s house is awkward and quiet.

  Lance has a cigarette in his mouth with the window open. Some of the smoke is wafting in my face. I cough and ask him if he can stop. I’m surprised when he flicks the cigarette out the car and rolls his window up.

  His car feels like it’s soundproof. I can’t hear the road outside, or his engine. His car is sexy fast, but it doesn’t make a peep when you’re sitting inside it. Under normal pretenses, sitting in a sportscar like this would be exciting. I would probably have some questions for him like, what’s the name of this car, so later I could Google how much it’s worth.

  I couldn’t give a fuck about that right now. I’m sitting beside a guy I can’t stand, wearing old lady clothes. When I think about what happened last night I feel like puking.

  Luckily, Chase had found my phone and handed it to me before I left. He tried to apologize again, but I didn’t want to speak to him. Jaxson tried to speak to me as well, but I wanted nothing to do with him either.

  I glance at Lance who is fixated on the road ahead of him.

  Lance doesn’t seem to want to talk to me, and agreed to drive me back, which suited me perfectly.

  Lance yawns and rubs his eyes. I wonder how long all of them were looking for me in the woods. I wonder if principal Aldridge said all of them could have a get out of school free card today as well.

  Lance turns to me, then back at the road. “I guess I ended up driving you, right?” I laugh, but it’s more out of frustration. I think he knows the difference. “Look, I’m glad you’re okay. You had everyone worried, especially my father. He had me and Mr. Winters searching everywhere. He would have hired the whole town to search those woods for you if he had to. He’s out of town today on business.”

  I nod my head, but instead of responding, take out my cell phone. I try and turn it on, but the battery is completely drained. I worry that the dew from the forest damaged it somehow. The thought of losing my cell phone, my only way to communicate with a world outside of this place, scares me. I want nothing more than to talk to Autumn and go to bed.

  Did I seriously just refer to her as Autumn? I must be tired as hell.

  The car starts to slow down, and veer off the road. I look at Lance confused.

  “I can take you home, right now if you want.” Lance says looking at me coldly.

  “Isn’t that what we are doing?”

  “I mean back to the city. Elle, you shouldn’t be here. You know it. Just go home. It will be better if you do.”

  I can feel a vein about to burst in my head just looking at the cocky bastard. “Drive me to your guest house! Guest house! Not the city. I don’t have a home to go back to.”

  Lance sighs. “Look I’m sure your home isn’t as fancy as my dad’s, but you don’t need this.”

  “Do you not fucking know? My house burnt down! My parents were in it! They’re dead. Burnt up. Gone. Nothing left. I don’t have a fucking home to go back to.”

  That seems to strike him. He turns his head and looks out the car window. He sighs to himself, looks in the rear-view mirror, and drives the car back onto the road.

  We are both silent again.

  He glances at me then back at the road. “I didn’t know about your parents. That’s terrible.” I continue to look out the window, as if I didn’t hear a word. “My mom- she’s gone- too. I have an idea of what that’s like. It really fucking sucks. I’m sorry.”

  I turn to him and nod my head. “I’m sorry for you, too.”

  Lance drops me off in front of the guest house. We say nothing to each other when I get out. He immediately drives away when I am fully out of his car.

  I can feel a tear forming in my eye. I take out a key, but before I can unlock the front door, Marta opens it and looks at me sadly. She wraps her arms around me, and I lay my head on her shoulder.

  Marta caresses her fingers through my hair. “Dearie, you had me so worried.”

  “I was worried too.” I say, with a small smile.

  Marta says she will have Anna cook up a storm for me. She asks what I want but I tell her whatever Anna has I will eat, right away. I’m starving.

  I go into my room, locking the door behind me and plug my phone in. When the red-light glows, I almost want to jump up
and down with joy. I settle for plopping myself in my bed.

  I take my journal and pen out from under my pillow. I open it up, but I’m not even sure how to process my own emotions right now. I start off with the most prevalent thoughts I have and start to write.

  “I don’t belong here. This is not my home. I don’t belong in any home. I’m lost, in the dark woods. Why am I here?”

  I continue to write my thoughts, not putting much thought on what I’m writing down or if it even makes sense. I click the side of my phone and see that I already have twenty percent charge on my battery.

  That’s all that I needed. I turn on my cell and immediately call Candice.

  She answers the phone with a tired voice. “Hello? Elle?” I look at the time and realize she was probably in a dead sleep when I call this early in the day.

  “Sorry Candice. I just needed to talk to you.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Last night someone shot at me.”

  I can hear Candice sitting up in her bed. “What the fuck?”

  A knock on my bedroom door startles me. “Dearie, I have your food ready.”

  “What’s happening?” Candice says confused.

  “It’s just Marta.” I say standing up.

  “Who the fuck is Marta?”

  “She’s like a butler, kind of.” I open the door and Marta rolls in a cart with a silver tray on it.

  Marta smiles at me endearingly. “It’s a steak, medium well. Anna says not to be shy today. Anything you want, dial three and she will pick up and make anything and everything.” I thank her before closing the door.

  “Wait, did you say you were shot at?” Candice says completely confused. “And now you’re having a fucking steak?”

  “I have so much to tell you.”

  Candice laughs. “You’ve only been there for three days.”

  “I know, and I have no clue where to start.” For some reason the thought of nachos enters my mind, and I ask Candice to hold on a minute.

  “Why what’s happening now?” She asks.

  “I’m going to order nachos from Anna. One second.” I pick up the bedroom phone and dial three.

  Even though my cell isn’t near my ear, I can hear Candice perfectly clearly. “What the fuck is going on up there?”

  Chapter 11

  “Didn’t expect to see you here any more, fresh meat.” Selena says with a wide smile while walking past me in the food court. “Would have thought after your little adventure in the woods, you would have left Ryland for good, Pissy Pants.”

  I look at Bryce and Danna. Word does travel fast. I have no clue how they even know what happened. It seems like my nickname around school has upgraded from Apple Pie, to Pissy Pants.

  I ignore the bitch and continue to try and enjoy my sandwich.

  One of Selena’s minions opens her mouth. “More like Shitty Pants. Instead of running through the woods at night like an animal, you should run your ass back to the ghetto.”

  Bryce stands up. “You should probably shut your trap, Mary. Have I told you how your boyfriend and I are recent Facebook buddies? Wonder why he’s wanted to befriend the school’s only out of the closet guy out of nowhere.”

  Mary looks at him with disgust. “Fuck off Bryce.”

  He points a finger at her. “That’s exactly what I plan on doing. I’ll share some pictures when it goes down.”

  The three witches leave without saying another word. Bryce continues to eat his lunch with his head up high.

  Danna looks at him with an eyebrow raised. “You’re fucking Mary Shrill’s boyfriend, and I don’t know about it?”

  He laughs. “I didn’t know she had one till after I said it. That will keep the bitch trio away for a bit.”

  Danna smiles. “You wield your super gay powers so easily.” She looks at me. “So really, Elle, how are you doing?”

  I look at her coldly. “Not everything is a story.”

  Danna gets up and sits in the empty seat beside me. “Please, don’t think of me that way. I truly want to know how you’re doing, to make myself feel better. I worry about my friends.”

  “Is that what I am?”

  Danna looks at Bryce and he shakes his head. “Of course, you are.” She says. “Forever the Outsiders have just been Bryce and me. We need a recruit.”

  Bryce laughs. “We need fresh meat in the club.”

  “Do you guys seriously call yourself the Outsiders?” I ask.

  Bryce nods his head. “I know this is technically your second day physically at school, but have you ever seen us talking to anybody besides each other?”

  I smile. “I do now. Count me in the gang, but I feel like we need matching t-shirts that say Outsiders on them. It’s a sick gang name.”

  The three of us make plans to commemorate our confirmed friendship by hanging out tonight after school. None of us can confirm what we will do though. Bryce says food must be involved. I ask if they can pick me up at the guest house, and Danna says they will be by around six.

  “So, is there some sort of secret handshake the Outsiders have?” I ask.

  “It’s on our to-do list as well.” Bryce says. “It took us a while to figure out the name.”

  ∞∞∞

  I get ready to go out with the gang at the guesthouse. I realize in horror how few clothes I have. I can’t walk around in my school uniform out in the town. Then again, I now consider myself part of a group called the Outsiders, and that feels like something a member would do. I make a mental note to ask if they want to help me go shopping soon.

  I’ve got a few hours to kill and decide to get a quick workout in the gym. Working out always calms me down. Although I feel much better today, I still get shaky thinking about what happened with Chase.

  I wanted to run away from this town. I talked to Candice about it, and she immediately called me stupid for even thinking it. I told her about Chase and the shooting range incident. She asked me if there was any reason to not trust Chase in what he said. I didn’t really have any evidence.

  I told her about Jaxson, and the pie festival. She thought it was funny. I should have guessed that would get to her sense of humor. She felt like Jaxson wasn’t trying to be completely malicious. I should talk to him and figure out why he set me up like that.

  I even told her about my two new friends, Bryce and Danna. Although she was happy, I was making new friends, she wanted to hear more about Lance instead. Lancelot, the shitty knight, but he’s there when you need him I guess. Candice pointed out that he searched for me all night when I was lost. If he was truly an asshole, he would have left me out in the cold without a care.

  Candice was especially excited when I explained to her what each guy looked like. I asked her based on the descriptions, which she would be most interested in if she were me. She said there should be no reason not to have all three. Fuck it, I believe was her official answer.

  Therefore, I usually don’t get dating advice from Candice.

  I walk into the gym and see Lance using some free weights, shirtless. He gives me a nod, then goes back to focusing on his workout. I wonder if Candice were here right now if she would change her mind on who she would choose.

  His muscles bulge with every movement he makes. I try not to notice and focus on starting my own workout. I jump on the treadmill and start off at a slow walking pace. After a few minutes of warming up I pick up my speed until I’m in an all-out run. I look at myself in the mirror. I’m already sweating and feeling better. When I’m not running for my life, it can be therapeutic. It allows me to collect my thoughts.

  I notice Lance looking at me from behind, through the mirror. He quickly glances back to focus on his weight workout. I continue to focus on my breathing, but it’s hard to when I keep noticing Lance glance at me.

  He lies on his back on a mat and begins an ab workout. It’s not hard to see why he’s so incredibly defined. I imagine what it would be like to rub my fingers across his chest and mid-section, feeling e
very edge of his abs.

  He raises his head and looks in the mirror, noticing me gawking at him. I quickly look away. When I glance back, his head is lowered, and he’s doing a set of crunches.

  Lance hasn’t exactly been the nicest guy on the block, but I can’t hide how incredibly attracted I am to him. He continues to do crunches. His body glistens in the fluorescent light, making his muscles more pronounced.

  I think about what it would be like if I just got off the treadmill and sat on top of him right now. Our bodies rolling around on the mat, getting our exercise in. Every calorie counts in here.

  Sometimes I wish I would just do whatever I feel, without a nagging conscience about any decisions I want to choose. So, what if I fool around with the billionaire’s son who’s giving me a free ride to university? Nothing bad could happen with that, right?

  I wonder how Candice would handle my situation. She would probably take one look at Lance working out, notice the boxing ring in the back, and guide him there to go a full ten rounds.

  So much for collecting my thoughts. I only have dirty ones on my mind. I get off the treadmill and wipe my face. I start to head towards the change rooms when Lance looks at me.

  “Is that your whole workout?” He asks with a smile.

  “Are you judging my routine?”

  He waves his head. “I thought you’d do some weights. I was willing to be your spotter. Have your back.”

  “You mean check my back.” Oh shit. Stop flirting with him.

  “Or that.” He says with a smile. “You sure you don’t want to workout with me?”

  I laugh. “Maybe, another time.”

  I realize I left my cell on the treadmill and head back to grab it. Lance lies on his back and starts doing chest exercises, his head facing the ceiling.

  I know Candice would jump on Lance right now, without hesitation if she were me, and straddle him while he completes his set.

  She was so curious what he looked like. I needed to show her what I’m up against. I sneakily open the camera function on my phone. Before I walk away, I take a few snaps of him lying down, shirtless.