For a minute I idle in front of the place, staring at the front door as though I can will her to step out of it. I press down the gas, letting the roar of the engine fill the street, and a flutter of movement at one of the second-story windows pulls my gaze.
Allie peaks through pale pink curtains and I wave, still willing her to come outside. The curtains close and I wait. She knows I’m here. She’ll come.
A few short minutes later she’s closing the front door behind her. Wearing white jeans and an oversized hoodie, she stops beside my car and frowns. “What are you doing here?” She tucks her hair behind her ear, exposing the purple bruise on her lower jaw.
But all I see is red.
“Get in.”
She shakes her head. “What do you want, Roman? Shouldn’t you be at practice or something?”
I try and tamp down my irritation at her refusal. “Nah. Ended thirty minutes ago. Come on.” She’s still not moving. “Get in the car, Alejandra.” Something about saying her full name gets a reaction out of her, and with a muttered curse, she’s opening the passenger side door and sliding inside. “Put on your seatbelt.”
She does.
Thank fuck for small favors.
We ride in silence for the first ten minutes before I take her to a different side of town where the houses are smaller, some with bars on their windows and heavy iron screen doors covering their wooden counterparts.
“Where are we going?” she finally asks just as I pull onto a familiar street.
“My place.” I’m not entirely sure why I’m taking her home with me. We come from two different worlds. But I want her beside me. I need to know that she’s okay.
I pull into the driveway of a three-bedroom, ranch-style home and put the car in park. “Come on.”
Allie gets out hesitantly, checking her surroundings with an inquisitive stare. “This is where you live?”
I nod, searching for any sort of reaction that my life isn’t good enough, but I see none from her. I release a breath. There’s no judgment in her gaze as she takes in the stucco exterior of my home or the fact that the garage door is wide fucking open and my garage looks like a second living room packed full of mismatched sofas with a pool table in the middle.
A car door slams one house over and a voice shouts, “Yo, what’s for dinner?” as Emilio jogs toward us.
“What’s—”
“We’re neighbors,” I tell her as he nears.
“Please tell me your mom’s going to feed me. Coach is killing me with these two-a-days and I need some fucking calories in me before my stomach decides to eat itself.”
“Come on, cabrón. Let’s see what she’s got.”
Allie follows behind but I don’t miss the curiosity on her face as I lead her through the garage and straight into the kitchen. As soon as we’re inside, we're enveloped in the heady smell of my mother’s cooking.
“Mamá,” I shout into the house, knowing she can’t be far. I check the stove, lifting the lid off a large stockpot, finding fresh warm tamales steaming inside.
“Hijo, no toques,” Don’t touch that, she admonishes just as she turns a corner. I’m about to ask her what’s wrong, because my mom only ever makes tamales for two occasions. A holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas, or because my pops is upset about something—usually where I’m concerned—and she’s trying to smooth things over the only way she knows how. With food. But before I can ask, she spots Allie and her eyes widen in surprise.
“You brought home a girl?” Her accent is thick but her English is clear as she takes Allie in from head to toe and a wide smile spreads across her face. Fuck. I don’t think I thought this all the way through.
“Mija, let me see you.” My mother pulls Allie toward her, not bothering to introduce herself or offer any sort of hello before spinning her around and taking her in.
Allie accepts this like it’s completely normal, a hesitant smile on her face as she circles back around to face my mother. My mom is a small woman, a few inches shy of five feet making Allie, who’s tiny compared to me, look tall for once.
“You’re beautiful,” my mother tells her, leaning in to give Allie a kiss on the cheek.
Allie returns the gesture. “Thank you. I’m Alejandra.” Her voice is small but her smile is genuine.
“And how long have you been dating my son?” she asks, and I groan while Emilio chuckles.
“Mamá!”
“What? A mother should know these things.”
I shake my head. “No, she shouldn’t. Don’t scare away the first girl I’ve introduced you to.”
“Sorry, Mrs. Valdez, Allie here is mine.” Emilio tosses his arm around Allie’s shoulders.
My mother’s frown is immediate, forcing me to bite off a laugh. “Tell him you won’t feed him unless he gives her back.”
Her eyes, lined with age, spark with mischief and she smiles.
Emilio groans. “Not cool, bro. Not. Cool.”
I tug Allie from his arms. She comes willingly and I tuck her beside me, leading her to the table. I’m just as hungry as Emilio. He wasn’t kidding when he said our two-a-day practices have been killer.
When Allie’s back is to my mother, my mom’s concerned eyes meet mine and she makes a small gesture, brushing her thumb under her own jaw. I tilt my head, letting her know with that small gesture that I know why the bruise is there and that she has nothing to worry about.
She trusts me, so with a satisfied nod, Mom returns to the stove, dishing up three plates of food while we take our seats. Within a few short minutes, rice, beans, and tamales are in front of me and I don’t hesitate to dive in. Emilio eats like he’s been starved, which earns him a beaming smile and a second helping. Mom won’t eat until Pops comes home from work, so after making sure we’re all settled, she retreats to her room.
I wish I knew what was up, but our family is private and she would be embarrassed if I brought up family matters in front of guests, so I'll wait to talk to her when Allie's gone.
The first few minutes we focus on our food. Allie’s bites are small, her chewing almost methodical as if she’s savoring the flavors. I’ve noticed she doesn’t eat a lot at school but she’s eating now, so it doesn’t look like there’s reason to be concerned.
“You’re such a lucky asshole,” Emilio says, now on his third tamale and I smirk.
“Consider yourself lucky I put up with you or you’d miss out on all of this.”
Allie laughs. “It is really good.”
“Better than my albóndigas?” I ask and she blushes.
“I don’t know. That’s a hard one. I’m not sure I could choose.”
“Roman’s ma’s tamales. Hands down. She only makes them like twice a year. I would kill for these.”
I ignore him, leaning toward Allie and capturing her lips with my own in a quick kiss. When I pull back her eyes are wide and uncertain as her fingers come up to touch her mouth.
“What was that for?”
I shrug. “Because I wanted to.”
Emilio, having missed the exchange, talks on about how amazing my mom’s food is and how I’m a greedy bastard who doesn’t share often enough. Some of it is a joke but there’s a thread of painful honesty there too. Emilio’s mom bailed when he was seven, leaving behind her husband and four children. He has two older brothers and a little sister. And let’s just say his dad isn’t the domestic type.
But Emilio’s always been welcome here and my mom loves feeding the fucker. As we eat, Allie relaxes, her smiles coming more easily as Emilio and I bitch and moan about practices. Every now and then she sends me questioning looks. I know she’s waiting for me to ask her what happened back at school, but I want her comfortable first. I’m also waiting for Dominique to show up. I have a feeling I’m going to need all the help I can get to pry the names I need from Allie’s mouth.
When we finish eating I draw Allie back outside to the garage and pull her down beside me as Emilio takes a seat on the opposite couch, his expression now serious. The
sun is setting and a cool breeze floats through the open space.
My knee bounces and I’m itching for a smoke but refrain from pulling one out. I haven’t taken a hit since Shadle Creek weekend and it’s better not to blow my little streak.
As soon as Dom’s black Escalade pulls into the driveway, Emilio shifts over to make room for him. Dom steps out in black slacks and a black button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He heads toward us and Emilio whistles at him.
Dom doesn’t react aside from flipping him off. Seeing Dom dressed up isn’t all that unusual. His family is the sort to dress for dinner and use fine china, so I appreciate that he came here straight afterward and didn’t take the unnecessary time to change.
He sits back on the sofa and gives me a look that says, now what?
Allie catches it and turns to look at me. “What’s going on?” Her tone is wary.
I run my fingers through my hair and sigh. “We need to know who jumped you today.”
She starts to stand but I pull her back down beside me. “No more running. Someone hurt you and we want to know who.”
“Why do you care?” she hisses.
Is she kidding me right now? “I care because you're my—”
“I’m not your anything.”
Clenching my jaw, I cup her face and force her to meet my gaze. “We’ve gone over this. You’re mine. My girl. Got it?” She swallows hard but doesn’t respond. “Anyone who fucks with you is asking to be fucked with by me.”
“Us,” Dom corrects and she whips her head around toward him.
“Why?”
I open my mouth to speak but she cuts me off. “And yeah, I get it. You’re a possessive asshole. I’m yours until you decide I’m not. I know. But we’ve gone over this, too”—she indicates the space between us, a small frown on her face—“and we both agreed this is for fun. We’re passing the time. You don’t need to go all alpha protector on me. I can take care of myself.”
Silence.
No one says a thing as I glare into her dark brown eyes, pretending it doesn’t bother me one bit to hear her say that whatever we have between us doesn’t fucking matter. Like she said, we’re just passing the time. I’m not catching feelings for some girl I barely know and clearly she’s not catching any for me. Good.
I release my grip on her jaw before I add to her bruises and give an exaggerated eye roll. “Stop reading into this, vanilla. If I can’t protect what’s mine then how can I expect anyone to take me seriously. I have a reputation to uphold.”
Emilio opens his mouth to say something but I send him a murderous look, shutting him up.
Allie’s brows furrow as she considers my words with a sigh. “I can handle this on my own.”
“Right. Because you’ve done such a great job already.”
“Will you just drop it?”
All three of us shake our heads.
“We’re going to find out one way or another. Why are you so adamant to face this alone?” Dominique presses.
“Because I can. It’s mean-girl shit. You’re blowing it out of proportion. Just because three girls decided—”
“Three?” Emilio questions and Allie’s eyes widen, realizing her mistake. “Names, Alejandra?” he presses.
“I don’t even know all their names,” she mutters, folding her arms over her chest like a petulant child not getting her way.
“Maybe not, but you know at least one, am I right?”
She glares at me and I smirk.
“Maybe.”
I turn to Emilio and Dom. “Can you guys give us a minute?” They nod and head back inside. Once they’re gone I turn Allie toward me, pulling her close until her chest is pressed against my side. I rub my thumb over her jawline before dragging it against her bottom lip. “Who did this?”
Her eyes plead with me to drop it, so I go for a different tactic and crash my lips against hers. She immediately kisses me back as I tug her onto my lap, her legs now straddling my waist. She rocks against me and I’m instantly hard inside my jeans. I devour her mouth, drinking down her soft moans. When I finally break the kiss, I rest my forehead against hers, our chests heaving, her small hands clinging to the fabric of my shirt. “Who?” I try again, capturing her mouth once more and then pulling away. “Tell me, Allie.”
She groans, chasing after my lips but I deny her, instead trailing kisses up the column of her neck. “Allie?” I scrape my teeth against her skin and she shivers in my arms. “Come on, baby. One name. Tell me who did this and I’ll help you forget all about it.”
“Silvia,” she says.
I smile triumphantly before gripping her ass. I stand, wrapping her legs around my waist as I head over to the door, slapping a hand down on the garage door opener to give us some small measure of privacy. Dom and Emilio will know what we’re doing once they hear the sound of the door closing and they’ll make sure we’re not interrupted.
Allie
He’s getting under my skin. It’s been a few days since the bathroom incident and one of the Devils is always at my side. I know they’re doing it to protect me, but it’s getting annoying. I can’t even go to the bathroom without having one of them try and tag along. The first time I went to go pee I had to forcefully shove Emilio out of the bathroom and that was only after he’d stormed in and kicked everyone else out making sure it was clear.
It’s a good thing I wasn't worried about my reputation here at this school before, because a guy forcefully clearing a bathroom usually only ever meant one thing.
Even Aaron has been extra attentive and sticks around until he spots one of the Devils, and then it’s like a handoff. I don’t know if they somehow hashed out my babysitting details or if this is some unspoken guy thing, but I’m ready for it to be over. The one positive in all this is that I’ve somehow managed to make a female friend. Roman likes me sticking around at their practices until he can take me home himself and since it’s not like I have anything better to do, I agreed.
Somehow, Kasey Henderson wound up keeping me company the first day and we sort of just hit it off. I’ve managed to convince her to stick around two other times and realized it’s nice having a girlfriend. It makes me miss Adriana even more, but that’s not a friendship with any chance of recovery.
The big game is today and it’s all the guys are talking about. “You’re still coming to support, right?” Emilio asks, tossing a french fry at me.
I nod and take my seat beside Roman at the lunch table. He pulls me close and I lean my head on his shoulder, feeling more tired than usual. I poke at my food, not making any real effort to eat before pushing my tray toward Dominique who’s already finished his. “Here, you need fuel for the big game.”
He grins and picks up my burger, eating the whole thing in four bites. I don’t bother hiding my laugh. Dom is practically a garbage disposal when it comes to food. They all are.
I know I should probably try and eat some of my lunch but the very idea of it makes bile rise in my throat. I’ve lost more weight and my clothes are starting to hang loose on my body. Between the lack of appetite and the running I’ve taken up, I’m getting leaner. I still have curves but I’ve lost some of the softness around my stomach and thighs, not that I’m complaining.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Roman asks, surprising me.
Saving me from having to respond, Kasey picks that moment to plop down beside me, setting her tray down on the table with a loud smack. “Urgh, can you believe her,” she practically snarls.
I lift my head, giving her a questioning look.
She rolls her eyes. “Sarah. She’s all over Aaron and it’s disgusting. I can’t stand her.”
I look across the cafeteria and spot Sarah standing behind Aaron who's sitting at a table. Her arms are wrapped around his neck, her breasts pressed against his back. “I take it you’re not her biggest fan?”
Her lip curls in disgust. “Definitely not. She’s a bitch and she’s only all over Aaron because she thinks it’ll make him jealo
us.” She points a finger toward Emilio before shoving a fry in her mouth, still glaring in her brother’s direction.
“Me?” Emilio’s balks, eyes wide and a horrified expression on his face. “I don’t want none of that.”
I lift my water bottle to take a sip just as Kasey snorts. “You slept with her last weekend. She’s my neighbor. I totally saw your walk of shame the next morning.” I choke on the water and Roman slaps my back a few times before the coughing subsides.
“You slept with that piranha?” I ask.
Emilio glares at Kasey, stabbing a finger at her in return. “Not cool, baby Henderson.”
“Gross. Don’t call me that.”
“Hold on. You slept with Sarah Draven?” I ask again.
Emilio sighs and Roman fights a grin. “What baby Henderson left out is, there was a party. I was drunk. That basket of crazy over there took advantage of me.”
I snort. “Riiiight.”
“Hey, at least I learn from my mistakes. You’re still sleeping with this asshole.”
Roman shoots him a glare and Kasey snickers. I give Roman a quick kiss on the cheek and his glower instantly softens. “I happen to like this asshole,” I tell him and everyone else at the table makes gagging sounds.
I roll my eyes and steal a fry off Kasey’s tray only to throw it at Emilio who somehow manages to catch it in his mouth.
“So, the game…?” Emilio says, trying to shift the focus off himself. “Who are you going with, because you can’t show up alone.”
I roll my eyes but notice Roman scowling. I guess he hadn’t considered that. “I’ll be fine. Nothing has happened since the whole bathroom incident and nothing is going to happen. You three went all psycho on Silvia and she’s been avoiding me ever since.” Every head turns to look where she’s currently seated, alone and in a far corner picking at her lunch with a look of complete misery on her face.
All three give me smug smiles. As soon as Roman learned Silvia was behind the attack he went all caveman and pulled in every guy on the football team to make sure that her status as an outcast stuck. She’s a social pariah now. I almost feel bad. Her own friends have abandoned her and the school pretends she doesn’t exist. People will walk into her without batting an eyelash. I noticed in second period even our teacher ignores her. I have no idea how the Devils managed that but they did.
Wicked Devil: An Enemies to Lovers, High School Bully Romance (Devils of Sun Valley High Book 1) Page 14
