The Proxy: A Reverse Harem Bully Romance (The Thorns of Rosewood Book 2)

by Cassie James

  Her eyes go wide and she sniffles, trying to still her crying. “And that’s it?”

  “That’s it.” I nod. I’m offering her a free pass, and even as dumb as she is, she knows that. I could make her life hell—but I’m playing the hero, instead. I’m not a hero, though. I glance at Piper again. This time, she offers me a slight smile, and it finally feels like I’m fucking getting somewhere.

  Chelsey excuses herself, hightailing it right for the table of girls she’s in journalism with. I’ll give her one thing, she’s good at following directions. I only watch her for a moment, turning my gaze back to Piper as soon as I can. And now there’s an even wider smile stretching over her lips. Her eyes shining with an appreciation that’s never been directed at me before.

  I like her. Looking at her now, I can’t even remotely deny it. As much as I fucking hate to admit it—she makes me better. And I’m so overcome by this fucking warmth that she radiates that I don’t think twice about wrapping my arms around her, pulling her close, and kissing her right there in front of everyone.

  15

  Piper

  I’m avoiding The Thorns. Everything’s such a fucking mess. It’s been days since Jude kissed me in front of everyone, but I’m still not ready to deal with the fallout. It wouldn’t have been a problem, except I liked it. I liked what happened in the photography room, too. And even though I didn’t let things go too far in there, a part of me wanted to.

  My eyes dart from side to side as I search the library for an empty corner. Just like I did yesterday. I can’t face Jude right now. Or Brennan. Or even Tyler, who I’d managed to give the brush off since my parents were too caught up in work to notice me sneaking rides to school with Macie. I just… I can’t face any of them right now. I’m just thankful Winter Break starts after today, so I can get the respite I so desperately need.

  Two weeks where I don’t have to avoid the way Jude looks at me like he’d like nothing better than to make good on his promise to finish what we started in that abandoned classroom. Two blissful weeks where I don’t have to watch Brennan staring at me like he wants more from me than that quick fuck in his car. And two weeks of not avoiding Tyler when he’s so fucking charming sometimes that it hurts.

  I promised myself I wouldn’t be the catalyst to their explosion. That I would do whatever I could to avoid ripping them apart. But it gets a little harder with every single day that passes. Because the three of them are always watching me. And I want them.

  I duck behind a row of bookshelves, there’s a little one person table back here that I’ve realized no one ever seems to use. I pull the chair to the opposite side of it, wanting to face out so no one can sneak up on me. The last thing I need is one of the guys catching me off guard. I know I’m being overly paranoid, but I can’t risk being alone with any of them. I’m not confident I’d be able to keep my hands to myself. My resolve has been seriously weakening.

  Studying in the library. Talked to Dr. Charles before school today. Skipping his class to cram for Psychology.

  Macie sends a thumbs-up emoji in response. I set my phone aside and open my psych book, pulling my study guide out of my bag and lining it up beside the textbook. I’m not actually all that worried about the exam, but I pretended otherwise when I spoke to Dr. Charles. We took the final for his class on Monday, so we weren’t doing anything but watching a movie today. So, it wasn’t hard to convince him I could use a quiet study period.

  I skim the study guide, barely paying attention to it, but trying, nonetheless. The bell rings signaling the end of lunch—yeah, I definitely avoided that. After a few minutes my phone buzzes. A text from Brennan.

  Hey, is everything okay? Haven’t seen you all day.

  He’s sweet. Sweet enough to check on me even though I’ve been avoiding him the past few days. I should text him back. I start to, but then my phone goes off again.

  I’m not the big bad wolf, Hawthorne. Stop avoiding me.

  Jude. I shouldn’t react to his message, but I do, twisting in my seat as I rub my thighs together. There wasn’t anything suggestive about his message, but suddenly I’m replaying what happened in the photography room with him. My phone goes off again. This time it’s Tyler—a perfect trifecta.

  Hope you’re not going to avoid me all of Christmas Break. I have soccer, and my family is going home to Vancouver without me. It’d be nice to spend time with you.

  That’s one way to dump a bucket of metaphorical ice water over my head. Damn him. Deep in my Piper file, I’ve got plenty of evidence of the last Christmas his parents bailed without him over break. He was smiling in all the pictures, but it didn’t reach his eyes. And I sent countless messages over social media to Jude and Tori, bitching about how mopey Tyler was being. As if I needed the reminder that Original Piper was a real asshole.

  You know where I live, Tyler. Feel free to come by. Maybe seeing you around would help keep her off my ass.

  His answer comes back almost immediately. Wow. And here I thought you might want to have me around because you actually enjoy my company.

  I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings—I just also don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up by starting something that I can’t finish. I don’t want to give any of them a chance if I’m just going to wake up one day disappointed and resentful that I had to choose between the three guys that make me feel… whole. Why the hell does everything always have to be so hard?

  I never end up responding to any more messages. It’s probably shitty of me to ghost The Thorns, but I need the distance between us. It’s crazy, but it was actually easier being around the guys when they all acted like assholes. I had no idea what I was asking for when 2.0 hoped they’d accept me into the fold. Now I wish I could go back, before any of this mess started, before I started falling so hard that I’m not sure I’ll ever find firm footing again.

  I’m determined to get out of here before running into any of them, but my hopes are dashed when I step out into Rosewood’s parking lot and see The Thorns gathered at Macie’s car. To an outsider, they might look casual and relaxed, but trepidation fills me as I approach. They are anything but. There’s an underlying current of tension that has me on edge as I stalk forward slowly.

  Jude spots me first, eyebrows furrowing as he crosses his arms over his chest. My eyes slide to the others, but if I’m expecting anyone to take up for me right now, I’m in for a hell of a surprise. Brennan and Tyler look just as frustrated as he is. It’s a small mercy that the parking lot is mostly empty, because I can already tell I’m not going to want an audience for this. Whatever this is. An intervention, I humorlessly joke to myself.

  “Hey,” I greet them as I stop a few feet away. I sound more confident than I feel, trying to keep up the pretense of my false confidence, knowing this isn’t the time to show any weakness. Not when the three of them look like predators bearing down on me.

  “You’re avoiding us.” It’s not a question, and Jude’s eyes practically catch fire as he spits the words. Jude’s been softening towards me, I’ve noticed it, but he’s all hard edges now.

  My stomach churns, but I lie anyway. “No, I’ve just been really busy with finals.”

  “Right, finals. Because finals kept you too busy to ride with Hamilton in the mornings before school,” Jude challenges, his eyes narrowing as I struggle to find an answer that will appease him. “And finals are keeping you from working on your project with Brennan after school.” He barks out a laugh, his point clearly made as I drop my eyes to stare at my feet. “That’s what I thought. So, why the fuck are you avoiding us?”

  Guilt morphs into annoyance as I listen to him talk down to me the way he used to. It’s not like I expected him to turn into an angel overnight just because he went easy on Chelsey and has seemed pretty interested in me lately, but I didn’t expect him to turn back into a huge asshole again, either.

  I cross my own arms, mimicking his stance as I look him right in the eyes. “I can hangout with Macie if I want, even if that
means I ride to school with her instead of Tyler. That’s my choice. And that project isn’t due until after Christmas. And why the hell do you care, anyway? It’s not your project.”

  “I don’t give a damn about the project, Piper!” he roars.

  Tyler’s suddenly in his face, pushing him firmly back, farther away from me. “Don’t you fucking yell at her like that.”

  “I’ll talk to her however the hell I want.” Jude puffs his chest out, and Brennan’s forced to step between the two of them. Pushing them apart with annoyance clear on their face. At least they let him, instead of keeping at it. But now that undeniable tension is back between them, and it makes me snap.

  “This! This is why I’ve been avoiding you guys!” I throw my hands up in the air. “I am so sick of this toxic bullshit.”

  “Piper,” Tyler starts, but I shake my head and put a hand up for him to just stop.

  “You’re all so goddamn caught up in competing with each other that you don’t realize your jealousy is tearing you apart! And what do you have to be jealous of, anyway? I’m just a poor replacement for your dead friend, right? You’ve all fucked the plastic girl now, so why bother anymore? I’m not going to be the thing that tears you all apart, so move on with your lives—it’s not like I can offer you anything besides what you’ve all already taken.”

  They go silent. All three of them, speechless. It might be the first time ever. My body feels drained, like that took way more out of me than I was prepared to give. I start to turn to escape, but run smack into Macie, who’s just walking up.

  “Well if it isn’t Piper Hood and her band of merry boyfriends!” She giggles, completely misreading the mood here. I need her to just get me the fuck home. She wrinkles her nose. “Oh god, that was dumb. Maybe Band of Boyfriends, like Band of Brothers, but with less war and death.”

  “Macie.” I widen my eyes until she realizes something is up, and only then does she seem to realize this isn’t the time for that particular joke. “See you New Year’s,” I mutter to the guys as I take Macie by the arm and forcefully drag her to the driver’s seat before going around and getting in on my own side. She puts the car in gear but looks over at me for a long moment before she moves. She’s waiting for an explanation. I speak slowly, still trying to analyze things for myself, and explain, “Mace, I think I just said something I probably shouldn’t have.”

  I just laid out way too many of my cards on the table—and I just know I’m going to live to regret it.

  16

  Tyler

  It shouldn’t surprise me that nearly half of break passes by without me managing to get a response out of Piper. I have to bite back the panic that something’s happened to her, remembering how upset she was leaving Rosewood the last day of school. I should never have let Jude talk me into confronting her in the parking lot with him. It didn’t do any of us—or her—any good.

  It’s such bullshit. Things were fine until Jude decided he wanted to try to stake his claim in the middle of the fucking cafeteria. Ever since then, she’s been avoiding all of us. I didn’t even do anything, dammit. And I’m not ready to lose her because of Jude fucking Alton. Hell no. Let him fuck things up for himself, that makes things easier for me, but I have to draw the line somewhere. And that somewhere is the point where his shit starts messing with mine.

  Tired of waiting for her to come to me, I finally suck it up and make the short drive over to her place, not wanting to wait any longer. I’m not going to let the whole break pass without fixing things between us. Especially not when this is the perfect chance for me to get alone time with her while Brennan and Jude are out of town.

  I only knock on the door once before Jackie jerks it open, her eyes wild as they take me in. My first thought is fuck, I came at a bad time, but then she grabs me by the shirt and hauls me inside.

  “Oh, Tyler, it’s so good to see you.” She lowers her voice. “Please, for my sanity, get her out of this house. Don’t bring her back until at least midnight, or don’t bring her back until tomorrow, I don’t even care. Just get her out of this house and away from her bedroom and that god-awful show she insists on watching all hours of the day.”

  As if her mother’s hurried words managed to summon her, Piper appears on the staircase, making her way down to us with suspicious eyes. “What’s going on?”

  “You’re going with Tyler,” Jackie answers immediately.

  “What? No!” Piper blinks, probably trying to erase the sudden panic on her face. Jackie seems to miss it, but I don’t. “Sorry.” She bites her lip as she glances over at me. “I just need time to relax. Finals were really stressful.”

  “Piper Leigh Hawthorne,” Jackie hisses. “Get out of this house right now. Your father and I need some alone time, and I don’t need you walking in on something you shouldn’t.” She looks pointedly over at the living room, making it clear that what she’s insinuating won’t be going down in just the bedroom.

  “Oh my god!” Piper moans, grabbing my hand as she shoots past me, effectively dragging me out of the house after her.

  Nervous laughter bursts from my lips. Holy fucking shit. Did Piper really just get kicked out of her house so her parents could have sex? And did Jackie Hawthorne just tell us that to our faces? Piper climbs right into my car without any hesitation, her face redder than I’ve ever seen it. Even as 2.0. I’m still struggling to hold back laughter as I slide behind the wheel.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” she says in a tight voice filled with mortification.

  “I don’t see why not. It isn’t like your mom just broadcasted to half the neighborhood that she wants you out of the house so she can fuck your dad.”

  “Tyler!” I fucking lose it. Now I’m laughing and I can’t stop. “Tyler, you stop laughing right this minute!”

  It still takes me another long moment to pull myself together enough that I can start the car and back out of her driveway. When we’re halfway to my place, I let out another chuckle and she decks me halfheartedly in the arm. Now she’s struggling not to laugh, too. And for a moment, everything feels so light and easy. Like all the last day bullshit didn’t happen. Like Jude didn’t stake his claim in front of everyone. Like she never huddled with Brennan in the stands, distracting me from soccer even when I claimed over and over again that she wasn’t.

  “Where are we going?” she asks, even though I’m sure she doesn’t have to. We’re turning onto my street now.

  “My house.” I feel her eyes bore into the side of my face. “I just figured we could watch a movie,” I add hastily. Not wanting her to think I’ve got ulterior motives. I just don’t want to risk sharing her time with anyone else—not even strangers out in the world. I’d much rather be alone with her at my place, knowing no one can interrupt or ruin things.

  She doesn’t protest, even as I pull into my driveway. “What are we watching?” she finally asks as I’m undoing my seatbelt. Shit, I hadn’t thought about it. I pull an answer out of my ass.

  “I know Christmas is over, but Die Hard’s a classic, right?”

  “Please,” she says with a scoff. It’s light, though, and there’s no bite to it. It’s indignant more than anything else, I realize, and I shoot her a smile when I realize what’s getting ready to come out of her mouth. It’s an old argument, between our entire friend group believe it or not, but it’s one of my favorites. I wonder how she knew. “If we’re watching Christmas-adjacent movies, we’re watching When Harry Met Sally. No question.”

  I step out of the car and go around to her side to open her door for her. “The Nightmare Before Christmas?” I offer as she steps out and lets me wrap an arm around her shoulder.

  “You’ve Got Mail.”

  “Piper, are you trying to kill me?” I joke as I unlock the door and pull her inside the house. She pauses in the threshold, pulling in a deep breath as she stares at the surroundings. I don’t know how familiar the place is, but she doesn’t quite look like she’s seeing it for the first time. “I’m no
t watching chick flicks with you.” I say, trying to keep things light even as her face temporarily falls, I imagine struck by some memory that’s not altogether pleasant—based on her expression.

  “Just Friends.” She looks over at me.

  It takes me a long fucking moment to realize she’s suggesting another movie, not friend-zoning me. Not yet, anyway. I breathe out a long sigh of relief that makes her eye me curiously.

  Instead of facing the question I’m worried she’s about to ask—I don’t exactly want to tell her I just had a mild panic attack thinking she was telling me I had no shot with her—I turn away from her and take my jacket off, hanging it on the coat rack beside the front door. When I turn around again, she’s gone.

  “Piper?” I call out. I hear her muffled, “In here,” and follow the sound of her voice to the living room.

  I stop just inside the doorway, struggling to swallow as her eyes meet mine from across the room. Slowly, way too goddamn slowly, she pulls her sweatshirt over her head. A weird sort of striptease that leaves her in a pretty damn skimpy tank top. And she watches me the whole time, knowing exactly what she’s doing to me. Fuck.

  She turns a grabs a blanket before settling on one end of the couch, wrapping it around her like a shield. I kick my shoes off and flick the light switch that control the Christmas tree Mom insisted on putting up for me. I glance at the pile of gifts I still haven’t bothered to unwrap. Piper’s eyes follow mine, but I clear my throat to draw her attention away, not wanting her pity.

  “We’re not watching Just Friends just because you’re in love with fat-suit Ryan Reynolds.”

  “Okay, one, you’re an idiot—I’m in love with Ryan Reynolds in general. He’s like Canadian royalty, something you could never hope to achieve.” I roll my eyes as I collapse on the couch, not quite next to her, but not really all the way at the other end either. I pull the remotes from the table before kicking my feet up and leaning back to start browsing. “And two, it’s totally a compromise! I get my stupid love story, and you get your raunchy comedy.”