Of course, thinking about the hotel room also caused me to think about how he’d felt on top of me, how strong he was under that leather…not to mention how great it’d felt to grind against him when I was foolishly trying to steal his knife out from under him.
I didn’t have a good history with hooking up, but if there was someone I’d throw caution to the wind for, just to know how wild it could get, it would probably be with Dante.
“I’m thinking about it,” Dante mused, grabbing the ketchup at the end of the table and squirting a huge glop of it onto his plate. He then literally scooped the ketchup up with his fries. It was…a lot of ketchup. More than I could handle.
I wanted to ask him if he’d like some fries with his ketchup, but I didn’t, figuring that’d be pretty lame, so instead I kept quiet, putting about half of the amount onto my plate and on my burger.
The possibility that Dante was going to stick around confused me. It confused me because, hours earlier, he’d tried to kidnap me. That wasn’t something I could just forget, you know? But, it also confused me because a secret part of me wanted him to stick around. I’d never swooned for the bad boys before, but Dante pulled it out of me.
So did Vaughn.
And Archer.
God, what the hell was wrong with me? I’d been so worried that these Midpark people weren’t my type, that I’d be a loner here until I graduated, and look at me—ready to hang an Open For Business sign above my vagina. I needed to be slapped back into reality.
Look how Archer turned out. I did not want a repeat of that, no matter whose dick it was doing the repeating.
“I don’t advise it,” I eventually said, swallowing my first bite of the burger. “Midpark kind of sucks.” Kind of sucks was an understatement, after what happened to me on Friday.
“Why is that? You don’t get along with the rich?”
“The rich don’t get along with me,” I mumbled, placing the blame on them instead of me. Really, what had I done, besides hook up with someone? Archer should’ve told me he was seeing someone, and he didn’t. He deserved the blame, not me.
Dante leaned back in his booth. He must’ve slid his knife into his pocket, for he set both arms on the booth behind him, his hands knife-free. “I could be your bodyguard,” he offered. “Show those rich kids who’s boss.”
Though my mouth was full, I couldn’t help but laugh. That would be a sight to see. I was sure Brittany wouldn’t know what to do with herself if Dante approached her. Honestly, it was fun to think about.
“Don’t tempt me,” I said once I was able to.
The rest of the day went on much the same. I found myself warming even more to him as the hours wore on, and when it was time to return to Midpark High, I almost didn’t want to. Being with him, it was nearly enough to make me forget about what happened, let the vengeance in my heart slip away.
Almost.
We pulled into the parking lot, and Dante parked his bike in the back corner. School hadn’t let out yet, so the parking lot was eerily empty, save for the fancy cars. The wind was cold as it whipped around, but I was able to easily ignore it, even as I got off his bike. He kicked up the stand, hopping off. He…was going to wait with me, apparently?
I threw a quick look around, not seeing my mom’s old van anywhere, yet. The moment I spotted that thing, I had to leave Dante’s side. I could only imagine what my mom would say, if she caught me near someone like Dante.
And by that, I meant the leather. The bike. The tattoos. Basically everything about him would drive my mom mad.
“How’s it like in there?” Dante asked, gesturing to the high school. “As bad as I think?”
“Worse,” I spoke, grinning. “It’s actually worse than you think.” I could elaborate, but I didn’t. I wouldn’t. What happened between Archer and me, what happened at that party…if Dante was going to stick around somehow, for whatever stupid reason, I didn’t want him to know.
It was almost like I wanted to impress him by keeping my mistake a secret.
So dumb.
“I take it you don’t want your mom to see you with me,” Dante said after a while. “I don’t mind, because I know how most parents would react to someone like me crowding around their beautiful daughter.” He gave me a smirk that I tried—and failed—to notice. “But I do have to ask, what about your boyfriend? Or, should I say, boyfriends? Though I do assume you broke things off with the prick who brought you to that party, because you didn’t leave it looking too good—”
I was horrified at what he was saying. Truly, absolutely horrified.
First off, boyfriends? Plural? Really? Oh, I wanted to give him a piece of my mind. Like he had any right to judge me or be jealous.
And that party? So, he knew about it. Dante didn’t know specifics, but he knew enough, and that was enough to make me frown to myself. Jacob must’ve been too busy on whatever case he was working on to notice someone else was there, too.
I opened my mouth, about to retort, but then I realized just who he considered my boyfriends to be. Archer and Jacob. Neither could be further from the truth. Archer was a lying ass, and Jacob was…technically my employee. My much older employee, who I might’ve cuddled with and fallen asleep on, but that was beside the point.
I let out a laugh. “I do not have boyfriends, okay?”
“How about just one?”
His eager question only made me laugh more—and miss the fact that the high school had let out, students starting to flood the area near the doors.
“Stop it,” I said. “If you don’t remember, you threatened and kidnapped me this morning. I don’t know what kind of girl you think I am, but you’re going to need to grovel a lot more if that’s what you want.” I said it jokingly, but the moment I saw his mischievous expression, I knew I’d said the wrong thing.
“I know exactly what kind of girl you are,” he mused, and I didn’t doubt I knew what he was thinking of when he said that—my actions in the hotel room. Me, practically throwing myself at him like a cat in heat.
Oh, I could kill him.
Instead though, I only chuckled, moving to hide my smile behind my hand as I glanced around the parking lot, once again looking for my mom’s car. She wasn’t here yet, but I did see a familiar blonde head above the cars. A handsome one, one who, though he stood far away, I knew housed beautiful blue eyes.
Archer.
And, the best part, he was staring right at me. Me and Dante.
I locked gazes with him, and something inside of me ached. To say I enjoyed what happened would be the worst lie I could possibly tell. I’d thought…I’d thought, for a little while there, Archer really liked me. That he could be hot and cold, but it wouldn’t matter. Not in the end.
I was so, so wrong, and now my heart hurt because of what he’d done, what had nearly happened at that party on Friday night, all because he’d wanted to trick me.
When I was sure Archer saw me, when our stare locked for a few quick heartbeats, I did something I’d probably regret later: I turned back to Dante, threw my arms around his neck, and kissed him.
I kissed that leather-wearing psycho so hard and so fast it put my faked passion back in that hotel room to shame. I kissed Dante so hard the heat between us would be felt by Archer, who stood over fifty feet away.
Dante didn’t question me, didn’t push me off him; I had no idea whether or not he realized he was being used, but if he did, he clearly didn’t care.
My body leaned into his, and for a moment, just a quick moment, I wondered why it couldn’t be simple for me. Why I had to go and muddle everything up, go after the wrong guy—give myself to literally the worst guy I possibly could here in Midpark.
The kiss didn’t last forever; it was over soon enough, and when I pulled myself off of him, I threw a look around me. Mom still wasn’t here, which I thought odd, but I wasn’t going to question it. Archer had gotten into his car, and I watched him drive off, his posture tense as he left the parking lot.
&nbs
p; “I’m always down to make your not-boyfriends jealous,” Dante quipped.
I gave him a look. “I think you should go.”
He quieted, his azure stare looking me up and down, warming certain areas of my body in spite of what he’d done earlier. “All right, if you’re sure.” He gave me a smirk as he got on his bike and started it up. “I’ll see you around, Jaz.”
I didn’t tell him goodbye, knowing it wouldn’t be long before he stumbled back into my life somehow. If my dad sent him, would that change things? Would I…would I want to meet the man whose sperm gave me life? I’d admit, I was curious about him, even more so now that I assumed he and Dante were close.
I took a step back, sighing as he peeled away. It would be better for my mom not to see me near someone like that, anyway. Ever since our fight last weekend, I’d felt kind of bad about it. No need to upset her more.
Folding my arms across my chest, I bundled up as I headed through the parking lot, moving toward the school’s doors, where my mom usually picked me up. It wasn’t but a moment later when my phone rang, and I dug it out of my pocket, grimacing at the wind as I glanced at the caller-id.
My mom.
Great.
I answered it right away, saying, “Mom. Where are you?” Normally she’d be here by now. I did spot a few familiar faces from the party, though Brittany and her posse were long gone. The bastards. Everyone steered clear of me, shooting a few glances my way, along with ugly snickers.
“The van broke down. Luckily, I’m not too far from the house, but I can’t come pick you up,” my mom spoke in a hurry, sounding totally freaked out. “I can’t imagine what the cost of a tow will be in this town. It’ll blow everything I’ve earned so far, I think.”
I really hoped that was my mom exaggerating, but I knew the cost of the move hadn’t been cheap—and we were never a family overflowing with money. Damn it. Couldn’t that van have waited a few weeks before breaking down?
Or, hell, couldn’t my mom have called a few minutes ago, when Dante was still here?
“Do you think you could get a ride with someone? I really don’t want you walking—” As my mom spoke, my eyes flicked around. By now, I’d say the majority of Midpark students had either funneled into their rides home or their vehicles. The parking lot was mostly empty, save for some stragglers, none of which I knew.
Really, I didn’t know anyone well enough to feel comfortable asking them for a ride, not after what happened on Friday.
Maybe Vaughn, but I didn’t see him. Maybe Bobbi, but ditto. She and I were supposed to get together after school this week to practice the choir songs—the concert was in two weeks, which hardly felt like enough time.
Shit. I really had no one.
It was as I stood there, listening to my mom drone on about how it wasn’t safe to walk in Midpark, as I looked around at the emptying parking lot, that it really hit me. Everything, all at once, like a brick wall thrown right at my body.
I was alone.
Not really alone, but as alone as someone could be near other people. These Midpark students didn’t give two shits about me. Archer had fucked me and dumped me, and I was sure the gossip mill was rampant today with what had happened at the party. Brittany probably had ninety percent of the school behind her, rallied against me. Bobbi wasn’t really my friend; she was only helping me because Ms. Haber told her to. And Vaughn…
Vaughn probably just found me strange, something fresh and new, someone who could occupy his time. He was confused by me, but that’s it. Whatever strange feelings that had risen inside me when we were close didn’t really mean anything.
Nothing I felt here mattered.
Nothing at all—and that was a depressing thought if I ever had one.
“It’s okay, Mom,” I told her. “I’ll find a way home.”
“I’m sorry, honey.”
I closed my eyes when she said that. It wasn’t the first time my mom had apologized for something out of her control. We were never dirt poor, but we were always one disaster away from not being able to pay the bills. Here, we had fewer bills, but since we lived in Ollie’s house, he was also paying her less, our live-in situation factored into her pay.
“Don’t be,” I said. “Things happen. I’ll be home soon.” After I told her the usual I love you and goodbye, I hung up, heaving a sigh.
I did my best to be strong, but sometimes pretending to be strong wasn’t enough. Sometimes you just felt the overwhelming urge to sit down, slump your shoulders, and give up. The depressing feeling didn’t often get to me, but after everything that happened, I supposed it was only a matter of time.
I was strong, but I wasn’t that strong.
As I slid my phone into my pocket, I wondered if Mom would even know if I chose to walk home. Maybe Frank, the guard at the gate, would tell on me, or maybe he wouldn’t. Mom would literally—eh, well, almost literally—kill me if I walked home right after reassuring her that I would find a ride.
In the end, I figured I’d walk, since I really had no one I could ask. I’d make do. Since I survived a mini-kidnapping earlier, I could handle anything else the day threw at me.
Bring it on, Midpark. These shoulders of mine might slump every once in a while, but you have not won this battle. You won’t, ever, because I’m going to win.
As I walked the route back to the Fitzpatrick’s house, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy, like someone was watching me. I kept throwing glances over my shoulder, figuring my mom’s paranoia had gotten to me. I got my dad’s looks but my mom’s suspicion. Yay for me.
On the walk home, a tow truck drove by, pulling my mom’s van. Whatever was wrong with it, she probably wouldn’t have the money to cover it. I wished I could help, somehow, but I—
Wait a minute. I had some leftover money under my mattress. Granted, I’d hoped to save that money for a time when I needed it, or to further pay Jacob for his services, but…what good was paying Jacob more if he ended up finding something and my mom and I had no way to leave the city?
The same could be said of the flipside, though. What if I somehow gave my mom the money, she fixed the van, but Jacob refused to work for me unless I paid him more?
Shit. Either way it seemed I was up shit creek without a paddle. Both sides had possible consequences. I’d have to choose one and hope for the best.
If my past decisions in Midpark were any indication on how it would go, I’d choose wrong.
Chapter Five – Vaughn
I sat in one of the lounges in the house. The Scott house was more like a castle than a mansion, a giant, multi-story home built on acres of land, with security all around and cameras in every corner. A lot of illegal things happened here, and it would continue until the family was no more. I would become a part of what took place in the basement, after high school.
Really, I had no idea why I still did my homework. All I had to get was a passing grade.
I had my math textbook open in front of me, a notebook on my lap. I sat cross-legged on a chair, the TV in the lounge on for background noise. Try as I might to focus, I just couldn’t.
Jaz wasn’t in school today, and I was pretty sure I knew why. I’d seen the video. It was hard to avoid it, with everyone talking about it, showing each other, passing it around through texts and shares and mentions in their stories.
Jaz had gone to a party with Archer Vega, and she’d been humiliated for all to see. I hadn’t been there—was never one to get invited to such things, and if a girl ever did make the mistake of inviting me, I never went—but if I had been, things would not have gone down how they did.
It stunned me, how protective I was of this girl, even though she’d just entered my life, and frankly it shocked me how confused she made me.
Girls had always fallen on either side of the line. Some wanted to test me out, see if they could change me, while others wanted absolutely nothing to do with me—even my last name couldn’t change the unnerving quality I had. It was partially why Markus had agreed
to keep me in-house after high school; I wasn’t good at pretending like some of my brothers and cousins were.
Jaz, though, was different. I couldn’t say how, couldn’t say why, but she just was. From the very first day, when she’d sat down at my lunch table, I’d known. As the days wore on, I only grew more and more confused by her, and today, when I realized she wouldn’t be joining me for lunch, when I really started paying attention to what the school was talking about—even going so far as to look it up myself—a pit had formed in my stomach.
I realized then I wanted to protect her, and I wanted to make all those who hurt her pay. Archer, Brittany, her prissy friends…every single face I saw in that video.
It was strange to me, because I’d never cared enough to have feelings like this, especially about a girl. That’s all Jaz was, I knew. Just a girl, a girl who didn’t belong in Midpark. A girl who was vehement in her investigation into Midpark’s history, and my family’s involvement in it. If anything, I should steer clear of her, but I knew that’s not what would happen.
When it came to her, my willpower was oddly weak.
I shouldn’t be thinking about her now, shouldn’t let those dark eyes dominate my mind any more than they already had, and yet I couldn’t shake the thought of her. She was distracting in the most peculiar of ways, and I didn’t know what to do with myself.
A fit of giggling erupted in the hall, and I glanced over to the archway separating the lounge from the hall, finding a small figure dashing in. I barely had time to shove my notebook and textbook aside before she got to me. A three-year-old child, one of the newest members of the family, with the typical dark hair of the family and eyes bluer than the sky on a cloudless day.
Tori leaped into my arms, crawling onto my lap. I let her, because I knew better than to deny her what she wanted. Just because she was young didn’t mean she didn’t know how to make your life a living hell. She could be dreadfully annoying, sometimes, as most children could. But with her, I was pretty sure she did it on purpose.
“Whatcha doing?” Tori asked, blinking her eyes up at me. She wore all black, our family’s usual colors, though unlike the majority of the Scotts, she enjoyed wearing fluffy dresses. I did wonder if that would change as she grew up.
Defiant: A High School Bully Romance (Midpark High Book 2) Page 4
