The Mercy Academy Box Set: A Complete High School Bully Romance Series

by Lane Hart

  “Hmm,” Sophie says when the conversation cuts off and she tosses the recorder on my bed.

  “Hmm? That’s all you have to say about the way he talked about me? I fell for him and thought he cared about me for weeks!”

  “I need a second to think about this,” she says as she chews on her bottom lip.

  “How would you feel if the man you loved said those things about you?” I ask her.

  “You loved him?” she asks, eyebrows lifting in surprise.

  “I-I don’t know anymore. Whatever I felt for him pretty much got zapped away after I heard that recording since he was pretending the whole time.”

  “And Garrett gave that to you?”

  “Yeah.”

  Sophie goes over to my bed where the device fell and picks it up again. “Can I borrow this?”

  “Why?”

  “Has Royal ever listened to it?” she asks.

  “No.”

  “Does he not know that Garrett recorded him?”

  “No. I didn’t want him to go after Garrett.”

  “Don’t you think Royal deserves to hear it, though, and have a chance to explain himself?”

  “There’s no explanation needed. He used me and never had any intention of us being together after camp,” I point out.

  “So this all happened at camp?

  “Yes, church camp, the summer before our junior year.”

  “Huh,” she mutters. “Do a lot of people have sex at church camp?”

  My face reddens in shame before I answer. “More than you would expect. Please don’t tell anyone. My reputation is bad enough as it is.”

  “I won’t,” she agrees. “But I am going to let Royal listen to this,” she adds, holding up the recorder.

  “No! You can’t, Sophie! Royal will kill Garrett when he finds out.”

  “Maybe Garrett deserves it,” she says with a shrug, slipping the recorder into her back jean pocket.

  “Garrett didn’t do anything wrong!”

  “You don’t think so?”

  “No.”

  Narrowing her brown eyes at me, she asks, “You don’t find it the least bit suspicious that he had the recorder going at the exact moment to catch Royal talking shit about you?”

  “They were roommates. Royal could’ve been talking shit about me all the time, for all I know.”

  “Yet this is the only recording you have of him saying something negative about you?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  “That’s suspicious as hell to me,” she says as she walks over to my door and pulls it open. “See ya later, Hannah.”

  “Sophie, don’t do this!” I beg her.

  “Sorry, hon, but I’m doing what you should have years ago, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

  Once she’s gone, I stand there frozen, unsure what to do next. I can’t exactly tackle her on the stairs to get the recorder back. It’s too late. She’s leaving with it, and soon enough Royal will hear himself and know what Garrett did.

  Chapter 21

  Royal

  “What’s up, Soph? Your text sounded urgent,” I say when I meet up with her at the bleachers on the football field and she’s already sitting on the lowest ones.

  “So, don’t get mad, but I talked to Hannah.”

  “Fuck, Sophie,” I say as I run my fingers through my hair. I thought the Hannah chapter of my life was finally closed. She’s moving on. I don’t even want to hurt her anymore; I just want to pretend like she doesn’t exist. “Were you a bitch to her? I told you I’m done with her.”

  “No, I wasn’t a bitch,” she says with her chin raised defiantly, making me call bullshit. “And we both know you’ve never been done with her. As soon as you listen to this, I do believe you’ll thank me.”

  “Listen to what?” I ask as she stands up to remove something small and rectangular from her back jean pocket.

  “This,” she says, hitting the play button and holding it between us so we can both hear it when someone’s voice comes on.

  It takes me a minute to realize it’s my voice and…Garrett’s. When the fuck have I ever talked to that chump?

  As soon as it gets to the part where I mention senior girls at Mercy, I finally realize it’s the conversation we had at camp, the night before we all left.

  The last night Hannah let me touch her.

  The night Garrett told me she regretted being with me and that the sex sucked.

  “How did you…” I start to ask when it finally hits me. “That son of a bitch set me up!” I explode as I jerk the device from her hand, wanting to crush it in my bare palm or set it on fire. “He gave that shit to Hannah, didn’t he? Either the last night of camp or the last day. That’s why she wouldn’t talk to me!”

  “Yep,” Sophie says, popping her p. “You need to kick his ass.”

  “Hell yes, I do,” I agree before I finally take a seat on the bleachers to think everything through. “This is why Hannah ended things without ever talking to me again.”

  “Can you honestly blame her, Royal?” Sophie asks when she sits down beside me. “What you said was fucking brutal.”

  “I didn’t mean it,” I tell her honestly. “None of it.”

  “Then why did you say it?”

  “Do you remember me telling you about how Hannah said she regretted things about me, about us?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Garrett had just told me that right before the tape starts.”

  “What did he say specifically?”

  “He said Hannah told some of the other girls that she regretted being with me, that she wished she would’ve waited like she had planned, and that…that it wasn’t good for her when we were together.”

  “Sex with you?”

  “Yeah, the sex.”

  “So you were angry and hurt,” she says.

  “Of course I was angry and hurt! I asked her over and over again if she was sure she was ready, and she said she was!”

  “I think Garrett lied to you, Royal. In fact, the tape starts with him mentioning that it wasn’t “good for her”, right?”

  “Yeah, I think so,” I say before I rewind and play his shady ass voice again. “That’s right after he told me that shit.”

  “He planned it all out,” Sophie says. “He knew that once he told you the lies she allegedly said about you that you would have a knee-jerk reaction and want to hurt her back. So he was ready and recorded it. Then, he gave it to Hannah, making her think you used her and convincing you that she regretted being with you when, in fact…you two loved each other, didn’t you?” she finishes on a sigh.

  “I don’t know,” I say. “I thought so, but everything ended so fast and then school was starting back. I should’ve talked to Hannah…”

  “Yeah, you should’ve talked to her, and she should’ve played you the recording. But both of you were too hurt and upset, so you didn’t.”

  “I’m gonna kill that asshole,” I threaten through clenched teeth while squeezing the recorder in my palm.

  “You can’t kill him,” Sophie says. “But he definitely deserves some serious payback.”

  “That fucker is taking Hannah to prom! He’s been trying to get with her for years; and he thought that, by pushing me out of the way, he could have her. Then, for prom, when no other guy would ask Hannah because of my threats, he tried to play the part of the hero.”

  “I think you should let him take her to prom,” Sophie says.

  “What? Are you out of your mind? He doesn’t deserve to walk, much less walk into prom with her!”

  “Just hear me out, okay?” she asks. “You and I could still go to prom together…”

  “You never told me who you want to go with but can’t,” I point out.

  “Doesn’t matter. This is about you.” She blows me off with a wave of her hand. “The two of us go together, Hannah goes with that weasel, Garrett; and then when the asshole least expects it, you make him pay by taking him out of the picture.”

&n
bsp; “Kill him?” I say in surprise since that’s a little extreme even for me.

  “No, Royal, just prevent him from enjoying the rest of prom so that you can swoop in and be with Hannah. It’ll be perfect! You can dance with her and explain everything and then live happily ever after!”

  “Sounds like a long shot,” I mutter. “Besides, I’m done with her. I have to be whether I want to or not. I’ve already made plans, remember? Now that I’ve signed the contracts, I can’t back out of that shit.”

  “I’m not suggesting that you back out of your commitment. All I’m asking is if you still want to be with her or not? You’ve already wasted almost two years when you two could’ve been high school sweethearts, the couple that makes everyone want to puke because you’re so perfect together.”

  “We probably would’ve broken up before Christmas break our junior year.”

  “You don’t know that!” Sophie exclaims. “And you never got to find out because of one dickwad interfering.”

  “Yeah, that’s true. No matter what, he’s gonna regret fucking with me.”

  “That’s the spirit! Now, how exactly are we going to make him pay?” Sophie asks with a sinister smile.

  “We can plot my revenge all you want, but that’s it, okay?” I tell her. “I’m not doing this to try and get Hannah back.”

  “Don’t you want to at least make things right, prove to her that you’re not the asshole she thinks you are?”

  Do I care what she thinks about me?

  Fuck yes, even though I wish I didn’t. And after hearing that recording, knowing how she must see me…I can’t leave things like that. It’s a goddamn miracle she even let me touch her that one night at homecoming.

  So yeah, I need to set the record straight, to make amends and convince her to forgive me for everything I’ve put her through over the last few years. But that’s it. Nothing more.

  Whatever happens, I absolutely, positively, cannot let myself fall in love with her all over again.

  Chapter 22

  Hannah

  Going to prom with Garrett isn’t exactly a fairy tale dream come true or anything, but it’s better than missing out. He’s exactly the type of guy I should want to be with.

  That’s why I’m going to try my best and give him and tonight one hundred percent of myself. It’s the least I can do for him taking a chance on being my date when no other guy will even speak to me.

  I just wish we could’ve gone with Maddie and Aric, but of course Royal said no.

  “You look beautiful,” Garrett says after we order dinner. “Sorry. I’ve already said that, but it’s true.”

  “Thank you,” I tell him as I sip my glass of water just to have something to do. Being here, alone in a fancy restaurant with him is awkward.

  When he reaches across the table to cover my hand with his, my first instinct is to pull away. I have to fight the urge to avoid hurting his feelings. Unfortunately, there’s still just no spark. Not even the faintest flicker. I feel…nothing for Garrett other than friendship.

  Maybe…maybe I just need to dive in headfirst and sleep with him.

  That would be crazy, yes, but I feel like I’m going to go insane if I can’t find some way to stop thinking about the boy who took my heart and my virginity.

  “Are you okay? Your hand is cold,” Garrett tells me as he gives the top of my hand a squeeze.

  “I’m fine, just a little nervous about seeing everyone at prom,” I say, although I secretly can’t help but wonder if I’ll ever warm up from a man’s touch again. But that has to be impossible, right?

  Eventually, one day, someone will light that fire inside of me again. They have to. I refuse to believe there’s only one person in the world who can turn me on.

  Royal

  “Okay, so be cool,” Sophie starts as we each sip our modified punch in the ballroom, me in my black tux and her in her silver dress after she made me dance five songs in a row with her. I usually wouldn’t be caught dead dancing; but since Soph has been great, being there for me these last few months when Aric was too busy with his new girlfriend and Blake too busy with his pregnant baby mama, I caved.

  “Okay?” I ask. I’m so hot sweat is dripping down my spine, dampening the dress shirt under my jacket. Time for something to go.

  “She’s here,” Sophie says, making me freeze with both arms by my side as I try to remove my jacket.

  “Where?” I ask, accidentally hitting Sophie upside the head when I spin around and pull my arms free as my eyes search the crowd. “I don’t see her.”

  “What part of ‘be cool’ did you not understand?” she asks while slicking her blonde hair back into her updo. “She’s in the photo line with her back to us.”

  Finally, I spot a sexy bare back and know it’s Hannah’s before I even check out her head or her ass. Yep, it’s her. Her brown hair is down but swept over the front of one shoulder where her braid usually hangs, out of view. Her dress is gorgeous, shimmering gold, similar to the one she wore to homecoming but only longer. From across the room, she twinkles like a star in a pitch-black night.

  There’s a tug on my shoulder before I realize I’m heading in her direction. “Not yet. Be cool,” Sophie reminds me.

  Rolling my shoulders, I turn my back to the couple before I get a glimpse of the asshole with her. “I’m totally cool.”

  “No, you’re not, but at least you didn’t run over to her.”

  “I wasn’t going to run,” I grumble. “I was just going to stroll briskly…”

  “Right, well, just be patient and wait until he goes to the restroom. Hopefully Hannah will go too, and then it’s showtime.”

  “What if this plan doesn’t work?” I ask.

  “It’ll work.”

  “How can you be so confident? Part of me is sure it’ll just make everything worse when I get rid of her date.”

  “At first, she may be pissed; but if you can get her to listen to you, everything will come together,” Sophie explains. “And I guess we’re going to find out either way, because they’re heading for the restrooms right now!”

  “Shit, okay. Keep an eye out and text me if Hannah comes out before Garrett.”

  “Will do,” she agrees. “Oh! And luck is on your side, because Maddie just went inside too, so I bet she’ll keep Hannah talking for a few extra minutes. Now go, and good luck!” she adds with a shove to my back in the direction of the restrooms.

  I step into the men’s room right as Garrett is zipping his fly and turning away from the urinal.

  “Royal! Hey, man, how’s it going?” he asks like we’re friends or some shit as he walks over to the sink to wash his hands.

  “How do you think it’s going?” I ask him when I’m standing so close the front of my chest is brushing against his shoulder because I’m several inches taller. “You’ve got some balls showing up here with my girl after the shit you pulled.”

  “Wh-what? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says. “You hate Hannah.”

  “You know, once I started thinking about it, I remembered something important about the SAT. You were one of the few Mercy students at the retake, and everyone I talked to said it was you who told them Hannah outed me for cheating. But that wasn’t the whole story, was it?”

  “I-I don’t know what you mean.”

  “You seem to always be in the right place at the wrong time, man,” I tell him. Removing the recorder from the inside of the breast pocket of my tux, I slam it against his chest, and Garrett catches it before it falls to the floor. “Now, you’re gonna take that and get the fuck out of this bathroom, out of this ballroom, out of this fucking hotel in the next five seconds and never speak a word to Hannah again, or I swear I will drown you in one of these toilets.”

  Like the pussy I know he is, he takes off running in a full sprint out the door; and a moment later, my phone dings with a new text from the front pocket of my pants. Pulling it out, I see a message from Sophie.

  Nice job! The as
shole is out the door and there’s no sign of Hannah yet.

  Good. Part one of my plan worked.

  I text back, Let me know when she comes out.

  Sure, I could’ve gone after Garrett weeks ago, kicking his ass right after I found out he was taking Hannah to prom or learned about him screwing me over with her years ago. But Sophie was right. It’s going to be much sweeter to steal her from him tonight rather than bloody him.

  I am not my father, and I’m not going to let my anger control me anymore.

  Now, all I have to do is give Hannah a few more minutes and wait for her to get annoyed that Garrett disappeared before I step up and start trying to make amends for the hell I’ve put her through.

  Time is running out, but there’s no way I can leave until she forgives me.

  Hannah

  “Hey!” Maddie says when she walks into the bathroom and I’m standing at the sink counter, reapplying my lipstick.

  “Hey!” I reply. “You look awesome, girl.”

  “So do you, hot stuff,” she tells me with a grin. “Are you having fun? How long have you been here? I haven’t seen you on the dance floor.”

  “Garrett and I just got here a few minutes ago, actually. Dinner ran late, but it wasn’t like I was in a big rush to get here.”

  “Yeah,” Maddie agrees. “I figure we’ll only stay another half hour or so before Aric insists on going up to our room.”

  “You two have a room here?” I say in surprise. “Seems like a waste of money since you two sleep together every night,” I add with a grin.

  “Yeah, well, it’s prom, so we’re making it special. What about you and Garrett? Any plans to let him take you upstairs?”

  “God no,” I answer without hesitation.

  “That was a quick response,” Maddie points out with an arched red eyebrow.