But this…this is something else altogether. Dread, panic, and anxiety settle into my body to a point of pain. It’s like a shock to my system.
Before I can say or do anything, Liam, the sexy unknown guy I kissed and almost gave my virginity to that night in Malibu, struts over to the black Camaro with a swagger about him that makes girls sigh and cheer like loons. I watch as he taps the hood of his brother’s car, but he doesn’t stop there. He walks up to the side of my car, a playful smirk on his face, then taps my window with his ringed finger.
After that disaster of a party, I’ve known that Liam hates me but for some reason, he didn’t start asking about me after almost a year. It’s as if he thought I wasn’t from around here.
And when he started asking about me, it was in such a way that made it clear to anyone who was listening that he hated me, but in way that said something was holding him back from actually coming for me.
Maybe, like his brother, he forgot all about me and what I did. Maybe.
With my heart in my throat, I roll down my window, not knowing what’s happening, painfully aware that everyone’s eyes are on us.
I look up at his charming smile, then his light green eyes—totally different from his brother’s—stare down at me. In an instant though, the gorgeous sexy smirk on his face dies down. The mischievous light in his eyes vanishes as a steely hardness replaces it the moment our gazes connect.
Yeah, he remembers exactly who I am.
“Well, well, fucking well,” he starts, his voice low with simmering anger. “If it isn’t the tiara wearing, vanilla-caramel cappuccino loving Ice Queen of Clintwood with a loose tongue.”
I feel like I’ve just been kicked in the gut as I notice the same hate in his eyes as I saw in older brother’s eyes.
Holy shit.
His eyes narrow down to slits and then in the next second, that mischievous glint is back in his eyes, but I can see the hard set of his frame. I can see a plan formulating in his eyes when he glances over his shoulder at the crowd watching us then back at me.
“I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting for this,” he whispers, staring at my lips then up into my eyes. He glances at his brother, then chuckles when he looks back at me. “Your life’s fucking over.”
I know I should say something. I know I should defend myself before he makes my life unbearable, because God knows, he can do that with a snap of his fingers. He has the power to flip my life upside down. I can’t afford that right now.
“Aww, don’t look so terrified. I know you have more spunk in that traitorous body of yours,” he murmurs. “Let’s have a little fun, shall we?”
I can see the malice in his eyes, the evil intent in his chuckle.
“I have no intention of having any kind of fun with you,” I spit out and he chuckles, this time with humor.
“Oh, but you were so willing to let me dick you down that night two years ago,” he says, his eyes hardening, then he steps back from my car. Horror spikes through my system when I anticipate what he’s about to do.
“What happened to that slut who wanted my dick at all costs, Mia Montague?” he shouts the words, making sure everyone can hear him. I can see, more than hear, the shock of his words and then the laughs and jeers from the crowd as they all zero in on me, moving in closer.
“What happened, huh?”
I wince, just sitting there in my car. Is this how I go down for all my sins? With everyone watching the two most loved brothers of Palos Verdes making a spectacle out of me? Reducing me to a pile of nothing because of a grudge and hate they’ve managed to keep hidden for so long?
“Go fuck yourself, Liam.”
“Nah, I want you to do that for me,” he starts, watching me. “Why don’t you come out and ride me.”
“Aww, I’m sorry,” I start, blinking at him like I’m clueless. “I don’t ride animals. Bestiality is not my thing.”
I shouldn’t have come here tonight. I should go back home.
“What are you doing here?” Liam questions like he can read my thoughts, his voice low, smoky, and maybe even dangerous, but I’m too nervous to notice.
“Excuse me?” I frown.
“You’re not a bright one, are you?” He chuckles, but his face is still hard. “I said, what are you doing here?”
“What are you? Social Police?” I say, ever so sweetly. It’s one thing that the beef we have going on is personal, but trying to make me feel like I don’t belong? He doesn’t know who the fuck I am. “Do you check everyone’s ID too? You know, to make sure they’re in the right place at the right time?”
Liam is a notorious playboy. Smart and eccentric. There were rumors that he had this energy about him that drew girls in, despite their better judgement. I witnessed that firsthand, dancing in his arms like a wanton crazed girl, all the while trying to forget his brother. I remember Kristine once said he was addictive, and there were girls that apparently tried committing suicide in his bedroom, just to get him to care for them.
“I guess I have to start doing that before I start kissing little things that spew shit about my family and think they will get away with it,” he says instead, watching me.
“I guess you should,” I murmur, then glance at his brother, knowing that the big bad wolf is listening to every word.
“Hmm,” he hums.
“What do you want, Liam?” I sigh, keeping my voice level and calm, ignoring the hard glare coming from his brother.
Rumors of Liam Fitzgerald have since been floating around in the hallways of Clintwood Academy, and if I’m being really honest, I’ve heard about him since middle school and that’s saying a lot. I’ve heard about how he makes sport of embarrassing people, ripping into them like he doesn’t care.
He’s about to do the same thing to me.
“This your first time out here, huh?” he says the words as if he’s trying really hard not to laugh. Why do I get the sense that he’s laughing at me?
“What?”
“Oh, I wasn’t asking. I know it’s your first time out here.” He’s cocky, his eyes glistening with evil merriment.
“So why did you say it like a question?” I fold my arms, feeling like he’s trying to get a rise out of me. “Do you have something to say here?”
“Yeah.”
“Come on then, Liam, spit it out,” I challenge, and I think some people hear me because a murmur starts among the crowd and they pull in closer.
Liam’s nostrils flare, watching me, but I see him visibly try to contain his anger. He chuckles, but it’s for the benefit of the crowd. Then he bends over my car, slapping the top as he stares at me.
“I just wanted to say,” he starts low, then like a fucking speaker, he raises his voice. “You’re not fucking welcome here!”
Gasps and winces come from crowd, but he’s not done.
“Get the fuck out!”
Stunned, and a bit shocked, I burst out laughing and he frowns like he was expecting a different response from me.
“Holy shit,” I gasp in between laughing. “You should see the size of your fucked up ego.”
“The fuck?”
“You think this world belongs to you, huh?” I mock, then glance to my left at Julian who’s watching the whole thing. “Guess we all know where you get it from.”
“I don’t think cupcake, I know. The world fucking belongs to me,” he says. “The same can’t be said about you. Oh, and you’re parked in my brother’s spot.”
Huh? Of all the shit I was expecting to fly out of his mouth.
I frown, confused, making Liam laugh maniacally like this is the funniest shit ever.
“Hmm, little Miss Popular.” It’s the way he makes a mockery out of those words, his hard gaze taking me in with anger. How can anyone still be angry about what happened three years ago? “Are the words coming out of my mouth too complex for you to understand?”
I hate him.
I hate the condescending way he’s talking to me. The way he’s lo
oking at me.
“Fuck you,” I murmur, and he chuckles.
“Aww, are your little feelings hurt?” he starts. “I’m just telling you to fuck off. You clearly know nothing about how things work out here.”
He says that with his voice loud, making sure that people hear him. I don’t respond but he sees the answer in my eyes, then he shakes his head with a mocking pout on his insanely gorgeous face. “What, nobody’s invited you out here before?”
Well, no. No one has invited me out here before. Until today.
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” I play it cool, leaning back into my seat, smiling up at him.
“That fake smile is as cold as the glint in your cunning eyes.” Liam chuckles lightly, then he taps the top of my car, making me jump. “You’re a jumpy little thing, which is so at odds with sneaky trap-bitches like you, deliberately making moves to trap my brother and I?”
I reel back as if he just slapped me right across my face. Is this the same guy who made me laugh, made me lose my mind on the dance floor just two years ago?
“A trap-bitch?”
“Come on, Mia, don’t play coy now. You know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t you?” He chuckles again, knowing that everyone is watching. And listening! He actually leans over my car, looking comfortable.
“See, I respect a girl that actually puts in the effort to be seen, and we both know how fucking good you are at that. But taking my brother’s parking spot is more than a little desperate, isn’t it, cupcake?”
Cupcake?
“I’m not your cupcake!” I huff, feeling my cheeks warm as anger rises in me. “And this isn’t anyone parking spot, genius.”
“It is.”
“You’re crazy.” I roll my eyes, not surprised at his childish-ness. The boy drives a neon green Lambo for Pete’s sake!
“And you’re a little thief,” he counters. “But then again, gold diggers always start with small things.”
I gasp, this time unable to stop the anger building in me. I grab the door handle and shove open the door, making sure to hit him in the process, but he moves away, laughing.
“Who the fuck are you calling a gold digger?” I seethe, my chest heaving up and down so fast it hurts.
Liam looks around, pretending to look for someone. “Hmm, it looks like those words were directed at you.”
Snickers and chuckles rise up from the crowd behind him, all of them laughing at me and all I can do is stand there, the burn of his words sinking its claws into me, bringing out the ugly monster inside of me.
“I’m sure a brainless bimbo like you can see that I’m talking to you.” He doesn’t smile or laugh; he just stares at me. I can see the hate in his eyes. He’s doing this to see how I react, not for the crowd.
“Did you just call me a brainless bimbo?” I seethe, ready to pounce on him.
“It depends, do you even know what that means?” He stares at me, his face is all a big smile, but it’s his eyes that make me almost pause. They’re serious and carefully studying me.
He’s protective of his brother, I realize. He’s got the same look of distrust on his face that I saw in his brother’s eyes three years ago. His brother who hasn’t said a word other than…
I freeze.
He wasn’t telling me to breathe, let alone trying to calm me down like a decent human being who cares. No, Julian’s not made like that.
He was telling me to move! What the fuck?
“Aww, look at that confused look on your cute little face. And you’re tiny too, a word to the wise, my brother would split that ass in two, that pussy is so small.”
And that right there is the last straw. I won’t be ridiculed by some immature, attention loving, mama’s boy with daddy issues.
I pretend to be amused and disinterested, folding my arms like a high and mighty spoiled little bitch as I watch him.
“Aww, Liam. All those poor, badly constructed punch-lines over a parking spot?” I taunt, looking around. “I don’t know, boo, I can’t seem to find your brother’s name. Maybe it’s lost in the dirt somewhere around here, as is the custom with both of you. So, so lost in the dirt.”
That’s a lie, but the hollers and exaggerated cheers from Clintwood say otherwise.
Liam doesn’t smile. His face darkens as he narrows his eyes at me.
“Allow me to let you in on a little secret that you should be aware of, seeing as you’ll need to remember it from now on,” he starts, stepping closer to me as he drops his voice. “I won’t fucking let you take anything away from my brother and I, let alone a stupid parking space. Your family is vermin and I’m going to destroy you for what you did to mine.”
I blink several times, shocked, hardly believing what I’m hearing. This can’t be about what happened three years ago, could it?
“Excuse me?” I gasp, my mind racing a million miles a second, trying to place any association my family has ever had with the Fitzgeralds, but I come up blank. I’ve only ever interacted with Julian and Liam—with my mouth and tongue it seems—but that’s it.
“Pretending to be shocked won’t help you.” He drops his voice to a mocking whisper, “But then again, I guess that’s what women in your family do. You take what you want, destroying families, consequences be damned, no questions asked. Gold-diggers like you tend to do that a lot.”
Women in my family…
My mother’s sick, she’s hardly herself.
My aunt’s been mostly absent…
It’s just been me.
“Women in your family tend to…”
Those words echo in my ears, as everything becomes smaller in front of me, but somehow, Liam becomes bigger and more menacing. In that moment, I don’t know what comes over me, all I can see is red. My vision blurs and then refocuses on Liam’s smirk.
“A family of gold-diggers,” he presses.
Without even thinking about it, I slap him so hard across the cheek.
Everyone gasps, but Liam hardly moves. He just cocks his head to the left, an evil smile on his face, watching me like he’s proud of his handy work, proud of how I just lost control.
“Cute but devilish,” he whispers, then he glances behind him and raises his voice. “There she is, the so-called Ice Queen of Clint-fucking-wood Academy.”
Some people start laughing and snickering at me. Liam turns to look at me, thoroughly amused. At this point I’m shocked and appalled at my own actions, I can hardly breathe.
“There’s the ugly truth for everyone to see,” he grits out, rubbing his jaw methodically, his eyes dilating a little.
I take a step back, shocked at myself. I can feel a thousand eyes on me, but none of them haunt me as much as the intense, shiver-inducing gaze I can feel burning a hole at the back of my head coming from the Camaro.
“You…” I start, but my voice is hoarse. “You don’t know anything about my family.”
“Sadly for you, I know a whole lot more about your family than you’d like anyone else to know.” Liam drops his voice to a whisper. “You know, the things you lie about Every. Single. Day.”
It’s the devious look on his face, the tense set of his shoulders as he watches me—that’s how I know that he knows.
The Fitz brothers were going to wreak havoc in my life, and if I wasn’t careful, I was going to stand there like a fool, watching as they plunder and destroy me with the world of teenage assholes witnessing my demise like I didn’t pave the way for most of these dollar store clothes wearing bitches to be here.
I can’t and I won’t let that happen. It would be a cold day in hell when I allow anyone to embarrass me like that.
“Tell me, princess,” Liam starts, his voice dropping a few octaves, making a shiver go down my spine. “Did you lash out because I showed everyone here that you’re not as invincible as you’d like them to believe? Showed them that you’re, in fact, as tight as a padlocked Bible?”
He circles me, leaning in to sniff my hair. I tremble, unab
le to believe what’s happening to me.
“Or maybe that anger stems from somewhere else, entirely? Whorish genes, maybe?”
If you listen carefully, you can hear my heart cracking as I gasp, taking a step back when he advances.
Images of my mother flash in my head.
I can see her smiling.
I can see her dancing with me in the studio.
And I can see her, on this day two years ago when she broke down in front of me, the doctors having delivered that she had ALS, and it was breaking down her system faster than they thought, which meant she’d never dance again.
“Stop,” I whisper, but Liam keeps going, the intent to not only ridicule and destroy me so publicly, but to hurt me on a deeper level, so clear in his blazing eyes.
“Or maybe, you’re one of those barely developed, stuttering fools who can only communicate through violence and anger, pissing off other people then acting like the victim when you’re called out on your shit.”
“Stop.”
“Yeah, I think that’s you. Standing over there in your Gucci boots, shaking like a leaf, looking so skinny like you’re about to blow away with a light breeze.”
Mia, you need to eat more, dear.
Mia, you’re wasting away.
Mia, I’m going to be alright, take care of yourself.
“I said stop!” I scream, bringing my hands up to cover my ears, my eyes shut tightly, trying to chase away my mom’s and aunt’s voices.
When the loud, shocked gasps reach my ears, I realize where I am, and who’s watching me. As well as who’s in front me, making a spectacle out of me.
Appearances, Mia. Maintain appearances.
Liam stands there, a big, mocking smirk on his face as everyone starts laughing… at me.
Devious Kisses: A Bully Enemies -To-Lovers Romance (It's Just High School Book 1) Page 16
