Ryland Academy Rules: A High School Bully Romance Box Set

by Mya West

  Lance looks at me endearingly. “Most members of The Beasts don’t know about the Ritual. They just think the girl chosen in the process leaves or something. It is only the elites that know. I did not know what was required of me when I was one of the Chosen. Neither did Jaxson. It’s only after that we find out.”

  I can feel anger boiling inside me. I chose my words wisely. “Why kill someone? What does that have to do with being an Alpha, being wealthy?”

  Jaxson looks at me softly. “It’s to show that you are willing to do anything to be one of the most senior members. It’s to prove that you will take any request they have in the future seriously and follow through with it.”

  Lance smiles and lights a cigarette. “It’s also about leverage. They record you murdering someone, and they have leverage on you. They could release the tapes at any time if they want. That makes it easier for large business to trust you. People are willing to do business with you if they know they have leverage over you. They can trust you to make large deals, some possibly not legal, and you will follow through with it, no questions asked.”

  I look at Jaxson coldly. “You were really going to kill me?” Jaxson lowers his head. “Look at me!” I demand. He does. I see a broken man. I see a man willing to do anything to get ahead because he had nothing, like me. I almost pity him. Some of my rage lessens. Jaxson was not alone that night though, his friend Nathanial Price was with him. “Where’s Nat?”

  Jaxson lowers his head again. Danna looks away as well.

  Lance blows out smoke and looks at me intensely. “He’s downstairs.”

  “Oh god. I cannot stay here. I cannot stay here with two people who tried to kill me.”

  “He’s dead,” Jaxson says quietly. He raises his head. “You don’t have to worry anymore.”

  “What happened?” I ask. Jaxson does not answer.

  An awkward silence grows in the room, until Lance breaks it. “Let us get some rest. Tomorrow night, we leave.”

  “How?” I ask.

  Danna smiles. “You’re going to love this. Well maybe not. I still hate it.”

  Lance smiles back at Danna. “If you have a better plan, I’m all ears.” When Danna doesn’t say anything, Lance continues. “I have a large boat. I have connections in South America that my father, and The Beasts, likely do not know about. Once we get there, we can get new identities. We can become different people. We can’t come back to the US, but we can live somewhere else.”

  I laugh and cover my face. “Oh, fuck. Your plan is to literally sail off into the sunset.”

  Lance smiles back. “They won’t find us that way. We cannot fly. Driving would take too long and is more risky. I have most of the stops preplanned. It’s won’t take us longer than two days before we can get to where we are going. Any questions?” Jaxson, Danna, and I raise our hands. “That was rhetorical. Let us get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to busy.”

  “And dangerous,” I whisper under my breath.

  ∞∞∞

  We each sleep in separate rooms. For whatever reason, whoever lived in this house left almost everything behind. It was almost like they had to escape Ryland as badly as we did. I lie in the same musty bed I woke up from this morning.

  It is the same room. Same people outside of it, but instead of being fearful, I am not. I almost wish we could just stay here, and hope nobody will find us, which would be impossible in a small town like Ryland.

  I’m more nervous to leave this safe house than to escape from it and go along with Lance’s plan.

  And what a plan.

  I had a billion questions for Lance, but he told me to not worry about it. He has thought out everything, and it is too late to go over it all.

  Now, I lie on the bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about how tomorrow is going to go.

  I turn my head and see the words ‘FUCK RYLAND’ etched in the wall. I wonder if the writer got away. Did they have a happy ending?

  How does this end for me?

  I sit up and skirt to the end of the bed. I look out into the dark empty streets. The full moon illuminates anything the light posts do not.

  I wonder what time it is.

  All this thinking has me hungry.

  A PB and J sandwich sounds spectacular right now.

  I sneak outside of my room. Danna’s bedroom door is closed, and so is Jaxson’s. Lance is staying in a basement suite downstairs.

  I walk into the dining area and try and find everything I need for my late-night snack. I open the pantry. It is easy to spot a jar of peanut butter and loaf of bread when that’s all there is on the shelves. I grab the peanut butter.

  I open the jar and smell. When I was a kid, my parents would always give me shit for scooping peanut butter out of the jar with my fingers and eating it. It is not being roommate friendly to the others, but I can’t help myself. I shove my fingers into the jar and almost moan from the pleasure it gives my taste buds.

  I lick my fingers clean and leave the pantry with the bread. I find some plastic knives bundled together and take one.

  A creak coming from another room startles me. I drop the bread and jar on the kitchen counter, and peer into the other room.

  Lance is standing, leaning half his body on the wall beside a large window. He peers through the blinds, causing a small opening with his hand.

  “Any bad guys?” I ask him. He almost jumps, but plays it cool and smiles at me. “I guess who is a bad guy is all relative though.” He raises an eyebrow at me. “I’m staying in an abandoned home with a guy who tried to kill me and a guy I used to hate.”

  Lance looks out the window, then back at me. “Used to hate. That’s interesting.”

  “I guess you kind of grew on me. Especially after everything.” I walk closer to him. He looks down at the plastic knife in my hand, and I smile. “I thought you were a bad guy. I know you’re not now. Tell me, were you trying to help me the whole time?”

  Lance turns towards me, nodding his head with his arms folded. “And you don’t make that easy. I thought what I did to you, handing out copies of your journal to everyone, would have made you run back to the city and forget this place. I think I made you more determined to stay.”

  I smile. “This place, it just… I thought this was where I was meant to be my whole life. Instead I lived in a not so great place. When I came to Ryland, I thought I was destined for great things. All my life, I have been trying to come to a place like this, and now I’m trying like hell to escape it.”

  Lance unfolds his arms and smiles. “I was the complete opposite. From when I was young boy and realized how this place truly was, I thought of nothing but leaving it. The only thing keeping me here was my mom. When she died, I knew I was going to leave, just did not know how or when. I did not imagine it would be like this. I guess I stayed for my dad too. I thought I wanted to be him someday, until I found out he was just like everyone else in this town.”

  I lower my head. “This is going to sound kind of fucked up, but I have to ask. Why didn’t you go through with it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The Ritual? Why didn’t you just do it? Jaxson and Chase seem like they were okay with it, but you never were. I’m obviously happy you didn’t, but…I guess I’m simply curious.”

  Lance laughs. “Yeah, this is a fucked-up question.” He folds his arms again. “My whole life, I was brought up to think like a Cain. Power, money—these are the things that are important. I lived my whole life trying to not disappoint my father, until I realized I want to be nothing like him. You were the breaking point. The moment in life where I confirmed I am not him. I can never be like my dad.”

  I grab his hand and hold it tightly. “I never thought I’d say this, but thank you, Lance. Thank you for not being your father. You’re a better man than he will ever be.”

  Lance turns away from me. “Hopefully, that’s not completely true. If it is, tomorrow is going to go really bad for me.”

  “What do you mean?” />
  He grabs my other hand and stares deeply at my eyes. “Nothing. Forget it. I just have to do a few things tomorrow. When I come back, we all leave, for good.”

  “What happens if you don’t?”

  He leans in closer to me. His arms wrap around my waist as he continues to stare deeply at me. He lowers is head, and I lean mine into his.

  When he kisses me, I feel electricity run through my whole body. My feet feel like jelly. His kiss is masterful.

  At one point, I feel him move his lips away from mine. I move in closer to him, and we kiss longer, and more sensually. I look back at the couch that is covered in plastic. My animal instincts are to rip off his clothes and throw him down on the couch. When I look back into his eyes, I can see him having the same thoughts.

  He lets go of my waist and backs away, peering outside of the window again. “We should really sleep. Tomorrow is going to be dangerous.”

  I can feel the butterflies whirling in my stomach. I do not want to sleep. I want Lance.

  Instead of letting my basic instincts take over, I nod my head. “So, tell me honestly. What’s our chances of your plan working?”

  Lance lowers his head. “Don’t think about that. Try your best to sleep. Everything is going to be okay.”

  I did not take Lancelot Cain to be one to bullshit, but he’s doing a good job of it. I am not sure if he is trying to reassure me or himself.

  “Goodnight,” I say, with thoughts of his kiss lingering.

  I turn to leave, but stop when he calls out to me. “Elle,” he says quietly. I turn to him eagerly. “Your hands stink of peanut butter.” He smiles.

  Back in my room, I stare at the ceiling, again. My whole purpose for going downstairs was to have a sandwich, and I did not have one!

  How awkward would it be now to go back downstairs?

  I wonder if Lance is still at the window, watching the streets.

  I close my eyes and can still feel his lips on mine. I can still smell his cologne. I can almost feel the sensation of his tongue in my mouth and his firm grasp around my lower hips.

  A knock at the door startles me. The door slowly opens, and Lance comes in. “Sorry, I don’t want to bother you,” he says. I sit up in the bed and wave him closer.

  “I can’t stop thinking about you,” he says. “Tomorrow, I don’t know what will happen, but all I know is I want to spend tonight with you.”

  This time, I let my animal instincts take over completely. I grab him by his shirt and pull him on top of me. We kiss furiously, as if getting all the pent-up sexual tension out of our bodies that we have had for each other since first meeting.

  We were supposed to sleep. As Lance had reminded me several times, tomorrow is a big day. All of that does not matter now.

  Lance takes off his shirt, and I yank off mine. When he pulls off his pants, I’m already sliding my panties off.

  We certainly don’t do much sleeping, at all. After several rounds of being intimate with each other, as if tonight is our last night on earth, he pulls me off him. “I need to breathe,” he says, laughing.

  “Well, I need more,” I say playfully.

  “You’re going to be the death of me,” he says, smiling.

  “Well, I think we have completed the Ritual several times over now.”

  Lance smiles. “I think you’re the Beast in this relationship.”

  Lance grabs his pants and takes a cigarette out of his pack and puts it to his lips. Before he lights it, I smack it out of his mouth, and jump on top him. “More like the Beastess.”

  Chapter 11

  Elle

  “Why the fuck are you smiling so much?” Danna asks while I eat dry cereal form a box. I don’t answer and grab another handful of Cheerios instead. “I’m pretty sure we could all die today, but you look…I don’t know, flicking content.”

  “I just love Cheerios,” I say playfully.

  “You are so full of it,” Danna says.

  Jaxson comes to the kitchen. When we notice him, he turns and leaves.

  Lance comes into the kitchen. He walks up to me and leans his head down. I look up at him in anticipation of a kiss. Instead he reaches into the cereal box, grabbing a large handful of Cheerios. I throw a few Cheerios at his face playfully, until he lowers his head back down for a small kiss.

  He smiles at me. From the corner of my eye, I can see Danna has an even larger smile.

  Lance looks at his watch. “Oaky, so I should be back here by noon at the latest.” Jaxson walks into the room again, and Lance turns towards him. “Make sure we are all packed and ready to go, so we can just leave. Jax, before we leave you, and I can take care of the loose end.” Jaxson nods his head.

  Once he is certain everybody knows the plan, he heads towards the door. Before he leaves through the backdoor, he walks up to me with a smile. He lowers his head, and we kiss again. It is not exactly a peck, but it’s not a make out session.

  “For good luck,” Lance says. Before I can say a word, he turns and leaves the house.

  I notice Jaxson staring at me funny. He shakes his head and leaves the room again.

  Danna laughs. “Well, another drama filled morning in Ryland.”

  “Another breaking story, right?” I say jokingly.

  Danna looks at me with a thin smile. “Don’t think I won’t.”

  I look at her puzzled. “What?”

  “Say it,” she says, her smile growing larger. I crunch on more cereal and look at her bewildered. “You make fun of me for all the journalism stuff, but…”

  “But what?”

  “I was right! You were dead wrong. Dead, dead wrong. The Beasts are real. You are what they were fixated on. They meet at the clock tower. I was right about it all!”

  I roll my eyes. “Since we could all be going to our graves soon, I’ll agree. You were right.”

  “How’s Bryce?” Danna asks. “It’s been killing me not talking to him.”

  I grab more cereal and look slightly upset when I realize the whole bag is finished. “Oh fine, fine. His dad is one of them.”

  “What?”

  “A Beast. His dad tried to kill me, and Bryce slugged him over the head with his concert trophy.”

  Danna looks away. “Hell. All the shit I miss being stuck in this house. Well, is he okay?”

  “Lance told me last night about how he was trying to find me all day yesterday. He was always one step behind. He tracked me to Bryce’s home. He said it looked like his father hit him a few times.”

  Danna lowers his head. “Fucking animal.”

  “No, he’s a Beast.”

  “That’s what I mean. Here we are, trying to leave Ryland, and the one guy I know who’s been wanting to do that forever isn’t with us.”

  “It’s hard, but maybe it’s better. Another year or two, and he can leave, no matter how much of a shit his father is.” I peek into the living room and see Jaxson sitting on the couch, staring up at the ceiling with his hands crossed over the back of his head. I sit back at the table with Danna. “What’s it been like staying with Jaxson?”

  She shrugs her shoulders. “He has not been here that long really. I did not even know what happened with you two right away. Lance would not tell me. Jaxson barely said a word to me. Since you came back safe, he has started to open up more by saying hi from time to time.”

  “I just didn’t think he was like that.”

  Danna shakes her head in disgust. “I don’t think he would have. Lance told me everything. In my opinion, Jax would not have done it. I mean, look what he did to Nathanial Price.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Danna raises her eyebrows. “No one told you?” I shake my head. “It was Jax that killed Nathanial, not Lance. That night, after you were out, Lance beat up Nat. Jaxson then fought Lance. At some point, Nat got back up with a blade in his hand and swung at Lance. Jaxson shoved Lance out of the way, and somehow, Nat was the one who was stabbed.”

  I look into the living room, and Jaxson c
ontinues to look at the ceiling, maintaining his pose.

  “I wonder how he’s doing?” I ask, more to myself.

  Danna stands up. “Fuck him. He tried to hurt you, Elle. Do not give him any sympathy. I’m going to my room to get some things ready.”

  When Danna leaves, I peer into the living room again.

  I ignore Danna’s advice and walk into the living room. The couch is empty, but I see Jaxson heading down some stairs. I barely have a chance to say a word, as he almost runs down the stairs.

  Jaxson’s bedroom was on the main floor, not downstairs. I wondered what he was doing. I almost thought to ask Danna to bring her gun and come with me.

  I walk down the stairs quietly. Downstairs is a large living room, bar, pool table, and three rooms. Two of the doors are closed, but one is open.

  When I get closer to the empty room, I hear whispers.

  “I’m so sorry,” I hear Jaxson quietly say. “I’m sorry, but you didn’t listen. Why didn’t you listen to me?” Jaxson sighs heavy. “None of this should have happened. I should never have listened to you and become one of them.”

  I open the door wider. “You can’t take back the past Jaxson,” I say to him. Jaxson is sitting curled up in large ball beside the lifeless body of Nathaniel Price. His soulless eyes are wide open, staring off into nothing. A small camera is lying near his body. I wish I never came down here after seeing him. I cover my face and leave, sitting at the empty bar.

  I could use a drink after what I saw.

  Jaxson sits on a chair near me. “I’m not a bad person. I just want you to know that.”

  “I still can’t believe you. You were going to do that.”

  Jaxson looks away. “I’m going to have to carry that sin for the rest of my life.” He looks at the room where Nat lies. “I’ve got a few now.”

  “Danna told me that it was you who killed Nat,” I say quietly.

  Jaxson nods his head. “The plan was to end the competition that night. Do what we had to do, and be done with it. I would be Alpha and lead The Beasts to a new era, a better one. That is what I thought at least. That’s how I justified what I was planning to do. Nat had been pumping me up all night to do it. This place, it does weird things to you. I grew up with nothing. I was lucky enough to have good parents. Many in our neighborhood aren’t so lucky with that.”