Reckless Torment: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Crimson High Book 2)

by Bella King

  “Anthony,” he said seriously.

  Anthony sprung up from his seat, at attention like I had never seen before. Perhaps his dad still had some control over that young man.

  “Grace is coming home.”

  Chapter 14

  Anthony’s family left the resort that day, leaving to pick up Grace from the prison she had been admitted into. I didn’t get to hear much of the story before Anthony left, but my dad filled me in the next day.

  My dad was sitting in the leather chair that Anthony had been reclining in the day that he got the news about his sister. I was standing with my arms crossed in front of him.

  “It seems that Grace’s condition has improved to the point where she is more coherent,” my dad explained to me. “The Cadwells’ lawyer managed to convince the courts that her admission into prison was due to a confession under poor mental state. There’s not enough evidence to put her away otherwise.”

  I was confused by this. “Didn’t Grace try to kill Alice and Travis though?”

  My dad shrugged. “There’s no video evidence of that. All the court could gather was that she followed them and entered the school. She denied everything from there on.”

  I was shocked by this news. I didn’t fully believe that Alice and Travis had uncovered Kimberly’s killer, but that was only because I was bitter about Alice abandoning me as a friend. Now, I didn’t know what to believe.

  “Wow,” was all I could say in response. I wondered what Anthony would be like when his sister was back home. I knew that was one of the reasons he started talking to me in the first place, because I had known her.

  I guess I would be able to enjoy the rest of my vacation the way I had originally intended, as a break from Crimson High, and now, more importantly, Anthony.

  “I don’t think they’re sending Grace back to school though. It would be unwise at this point,” my dad noted.

  “Yeah, I bet. People are still worked up around there,” I responded. I couldn’t imagine the hate that she would get if she returned. Students at Crimson High could be brutal. They would tear her apart within minutes.

  “I do believe that she’s still a little mentally disabled from the head injury she received,” my dad added. “Pretty sad stuff.”

  I felt sorry for the Cadwells. Tragedies like this made it hard for me to be made at the people involved. It wasn’t Anthony’s fault that his sister was wrapped up in this mess, and I knew that it affected him poorly.

  Just one day without him and I was beginning to feel sorry about the ways that I had rejected him. I still didn’t want him to come onto me the way he had been, but I could think of some better ways to turn him down without leading him and pulling back at the last second.

  I hoped that I could put all this behind me now that Grace had returned home. Anthony would be distracted by his sister and maybe wouldn’t even be at school. He already had enough to deal with there as the brother of a supposed killer, but now that she was out of jail I suspected the dram would grow worse. How would he handle it?

  I found myself thinking too much about him and not enough about relaxing during the remainder of the trip. I was unable to do anything without Anthony invading my thoughts. So much had happened between us in such a short period of time. Forgetting about him would be hard.

  On the last day at the ski resort, I found one of his joints rolled up in my underwear. Of course he would hide it there. I shook my head with a smile and pulled it out of the drawer, placing it in my back pocket to take around the back of the cabin to smoke.

  I thought about the first day at the resort when Anthony had slipped into the hot tub with me. I had been in such a strange mental state from the weed and I felt so aroused by his appearance. Those tiny swimming shorts weren’t hiding much, and he had fantastic legs.

  He must have had a high pain tolerance as well, because his tattoos trailed down lower than his shorts did. That’s a painful area to get done. It was also admittedly very sexy to me. My guess was that a lot of women were into it, making me wonder why he had chosen me as a target and not some other poor young woman at Crimson High. Then again, maybe he had already moved on and I just didn’t know it.

  That thought sent a pang of remorse through me. I felt my stomach turn into a knot at the thought of Anthony not being around to bug the shit out of me.

  I had to get this off my mind. I popped the joint into my mouth and wandered outside into the cold. It was refreshing for the first time since I had gotten here. I felt free out in the open mountain air. I could smell the pine and frost.

  It would be another year until I returned to this place, so I wanted to remember it fondly. I lit up the joint and took a drag, savoring the pungent fumes in my lungs before releasing them into the sky.

  Relax, Amy. You need to get over this. He’s just a stupid punk.

  Sure he was, but he was also about the only person I had been able to get close to since Kain. Even the guy that I had dated after Kain disgusted me. I was only with him to cover up the pain of losing something real.

  People didn’t understand me. Like Anthony, everyone at Crimson High thought I was a slut. I was trying to change my image but bouncing on a new dick right after Kain died did little to help my image. I wanted to change it.

  The first step for me was breaking up with David. He was the guy that I dated after Kain. There was nothing wrong with him, but there was also nothing right about him. The chemistry wasn’t there.

  At least Anthony and I actually had a bit of chemistry. There was some overlapping interest. I mean, here I was, smoking one of his joints while I thought about him. I even found it a bit charming that he put it in my underwear drawer after I specifically told him to stay out of there.

  What good was chemistry when we clashed like heaven and hell though? How could we make something so chaotic work for us? It was a lost cause, but that didn’t mean I had to remember it poorly. Anthony wasn’t that bad. I even considered apologizing to him if he showed up at school again.

  The effects of the weed were growing stronger as I stood out in the cold. I felt like taking a very long nap, and so after doing a lap around the cabin to get some of the cannabis aroma off of me, I went back inside to tune out for a few hours.

  I laid down on my bed, staring up at the back of the mattress above me. That was where Anthony had slept. It amazed me that just a few days with him could grip my heart in such a way. The lasting effects were like ripples once he cast eh first stone.

  Anthony knew how to leave a strong impression. He didn’t do it on purpose, but he was iconic in his own way. Flaws and all, he was special.

  Chapter 15

  Crimson High felt empty when I returned from winter break. I wasn’t prepared to be back at school already. My vacation felt like a tease in comparison to summer vacation. A few more years and I wouldn’t even have a summer vacation, so I should have considered myself lucky.

  I didn’t feel so lucky though. I was alone at school when I returned. I noticed that Alice and Travis were slinking around, trying not to be noticed. I guess they had heard about Grace being let out of jail and they were nervous.

  I would be too if someone that tried to kill me just got let out of jail. I was less bitter now thinking about that. If I had been involved then my life would be so much harder, and Anthony would have a reason to legitimately hate me.

  Speaking of Anthony, I didn’t see him at all until the next day, which I heard shouting in the hallways and a large crowd of students were forming a circle near the lockers. I hurried over to get a glimpse of the action. I broke through the crowd to the inside of the circle.

  “You fucking liar,” Anthony spat, fuming with rage and circling around Travis.

  This was bound to happen eventually with Anthony back at school. Hatred between the two ran deep. It was Anthony defending his sister’s honor against Travis defending his. I had never seen two men angrier in my life.

  They were both sturdy guys. Travis was a football player and A
nthony was just prison-ripped. He had come out like that after his stint in juvenile detention. If they actually decided to brawl, I feared one may end up dead.

  Travis glared at Anthony with unbridled rage. “Your sister is the liar, and so are you. I ought to kill you.”

  Anthony lurched at Travis, fists flying. Travis hunched over and allowed Anthony to slam into him, wrapping his arms around his mid-section to wrestle him to the ground. Anthony wasn’t having it. He lifted a knee, plowing into Travis’ stomach.

  Travis stumbled back, which was when Anthony took the opportunity to advance with his fists again. His bare knuckles hit against the side of Travis’ head, knocking him sideways as he wheezed from the knee to his stomach.

  “Stop it!” I shouted, running into the circle.

  Anthony looked at me briefly, then shoved Travis back with his foot. “You again,” Anthony said, shaking his head at me. “Mind your own damn business.”

  I didn’t know where Alice was, but I figured she wouldn’t want the two guys fighting either. It would solve anything.

  Travis recovered from Anthony’s blows, running into him and slamming his back against the lockers behind him. Anthony beat his fists on Travis’s back, trying to get him off. Travis flung Anthony sideways into the crowd of students, knocking over a few of them with his heavy body.

  Anthony clambered to his feet, wanting more action. He strode back into the circle to continue fighting.

  I jumped in front of him. “Stop fighting!” I shouted at him. “They’ll expel you.”

  Anthony breathed heavily, glaring past me at Travis. “I don’t give a fuck.”

  “Do you want to go back to juvy?” I asked sternly.

  He chuckled. “I’m too old for that. They’d send me to a real prison.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. “And you’re okay with that?”

  Anthony shrugged. “Travis insulted my sister.”

  “I doubt Grace wants to see you in jail, Anthony,” I tried to reason with him. “Let’s go, please.”

  Anthony glared at Travis, but turned around and walked away through the crowd of students. They parted like the red sea to let him through. Nobody wanted to mess with Anthony after this event.

  I followed Anthony down the hall as he took long strides toward the back of the building. I was pretty certain he was going outside to smoke.

  “You shouldn’t be fighting like that,” I said, between breaths, struggling to keep up with his pace.

  Anthony laughed bitterly. “Says you, and I don’t really care what you have to say.”

  “Clearly, you do,” I responded.

  He didn’t say anything, barging through the fire exit in the back of the building that had the alarm disabled long ago to prevent it going off every time a student like Anthony decided it was better to exit out of the back of the building than the front.

  It wasn’t as cold outside now that we were off the ski resort, and I was able to stand outside with his in my school uniform while he lit up a cigarette. He sucked in the smoke and stared off into the distance.

  “How is Grace?” I asked gently.

  Anthony blew out a thin stream of smoke into the air. “She’s okay.”

  “I’m kind of surprised to see you back at school so soon,” I said.

  Anthony propped himself up against the old brick wall with one foot, leaning back onto it as he violated the smoke-free campus rule. Nobody followed it anyway.

  “My parents want me to finish,” he replied. “I don’t want to, but they’re going through a divorce and I don’t want to add to their problems, you know?”

  “I think fighting might add to them,” I reminded him.

  Anthony rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever. I got it. I’ll stay away from that punk-ass bitch Travis. I don’t want to have anything to do with him anyway.”

  “Good,” I said, crossing my arms. “If you need to talk to anyone, I’m here.”

  Anthony looked at me suspiciously. His eyes were intensely vibrant whenever he got worked up. It was arousing. “You said you didn’t like me,” he said slowly.

  I shrugged. “I don’t want you getting into trouble, that’s all.”

  Anthony smirked, standing straight and tossing his cigarette into the dirt. “You’re a little liar,” he teased, walking up to me with his smirk widening into a grin.

  I shifted my eyes left and right. “No, I just don’t want you to get in trouble. I don’t hate you.”

  “Oh, but I hate you,” Anthony replied. “Do you want me to show you how much?”

  I swallowed hard, becoming afraid of what his next move would be. My heart was drumming in my chest again as I tried to seem calm and strong. I wasn’t.

  I shook my head. “I don’t want you to hate me,” I said quietly.

  “It’s too late for that, Amy. You, Travis, Alice… You’re all the same to me,” he whispered, leaning in closer. “You’re all my enemies.”

  “I’m not like them,” I said defensively.

  “You’re right,” Anthony said, leaning in even closer. “You’re worse.”

  He was so close that I could smell his intoxicating scent again. It was equal parts relaxing, arousing, and frightening. I didn’t know how a man could be all three of those at once, but Anthony managed it well.

  How could I be worse to Anthony than Travis and Alice? He must have been lying. Was he just frustrated because he had feelings for me?

  I searched his face for a hint of what he was feeling. He didn’t look that angry, more like excited. He liked to have power over me and make me feel small. This was his way of defending himself against me. I had power and he didn’t want me to use it.

  Anthony had listened to me when I told him to stop fighting. I did have some hold over him, if only a little. It was enough to make him angry at me though. It was enough to make him feel threatened by me.

  I wanted to use this power, but I didn’t know how yet.

  “I can be cruel too,” I responded to Anthony, continuing to search his dramatically handsome face for emotion.

  His eyes formed narrow slits. “Try me.”

  It was then that I realized that simply fighting back against him wouldn’t be my most effective option. What had angering him the most in the past was to give a little piece of myself to him, but pull back at the last second to prevent him from having any more of me. It drove him crazy.

  I felt a surge of confidence in me as I realized that I wasn’t a victim, but that he could be my victim if I played my cards right. He wasn’t that strong. His anger came from a place of weakness and frustration, or so I gathered from the way he interacted with me.

  I would use this to my advantage.

  I arched my back, pushing my breasts out in a dramatic sort of way. Men were suckers for simple things like that. I watched as his eyes flickered down my shirt for a second. I had his attention.

  I pouted my lips, pushing them out and tilting my head to the side. “Do you really hate me, Anthony?”

  He stuck to his story, but I heard a waver in his voice. “Yes.”

  I smiled. “Then you really won’t like it when I do this,” I said, planting a kiss on his lips.

  I didn’t give him enough time to hold me there. I whipped back into the school building and closed the door. He would have to circle around the front to get in.

  Chapter 16

  ANTHONY

  Amy knew just how to push my buttons so that I would mentally self-destruct. She thought I was the cruel one, but the truth was that she was just as guilty, if not more so, than I of cruel behavior. It wasn’t fair that she was so incredibly attractive. It was as though she didn’t even realize it.

  I wanted to smoke until my lungs were so black and shriveled that I couldn’t think about anything but the pain. Amy was consuming my thoughts and I didn’t think she knew it. Even after rejecting my advances repeatedly she hovered around in my life, making it impossible to control myself around her.

  I could have cruised thro
ugh my senior year at Crimson High without too much event, but Alice and Travis had damn near ruined my life by getting my sister locked up. Even though she was out now, they had still managed to scramble her brains. I wanted revenge more than I wanted to stay in school.

  But in getting that revenge, I would disappoint everyone. I was already a loser in the eyes of many, and I since my parents were divorcing, I wasn’t able to look my dad straight in the eyes and tell him that I was doing fine. I wasn’t.

  I knew that the way I was coping was wrong, but I didn’t care. You always look at people curled up with a bottle of cheap booze on the street and think to yourself how pitiful they are to get to that point, or how even if things were bad you wouldn’t stoop so low. You think that addiction is something that can be avoided by simply staying away from drugs. That’s not how it worked, and I was discovering that.

  I was addicted to many things. The first was nicotine, a habit I was trying to kick but had gotten worse since I was introduced to my second addiction: Amy. She had crept into my life by coming to the ski resort with me. I was immediately pulled in by her beauty only to be knocked back by her unwillingness to fuck me.

  I doubted that I had any real chance with her, but she was playing games with me. I could swear her off and be done with it, but she had sought me out this time, teasing me again with a kiss. It was cruel and this time she seemed to be aware of that.

  I should have done worse to her to keep her away. I honestly thought I had, but it turned out not to be enough to stave off her attention. Either her or I was gravitating back like a moth to the light of the moon. It was so far away, yet I swore I could touch it.

  That brought me to my third addiction. I couldn’t stop myself from exploding into rage every time something didn’t go my way. I was frustrated by everything that had come crashing down in my life, and I didn’t know how to handle it. I was fixated on self-destructive behaviors, and my rage was one of them.