Tempting the Bully: The High School Bully Collection

by Bella King

  “I tried to forget about it, but I couldn’t. I went back to Megan and basically begged her to give it her best shot. Maybe she could convince Anna to spend some time with me. That was when I should have stopped, because Megan did make my wish come true, but it also ruined Anna’s life, and mine in the process.”

  The air in the room was heavy. Bradly and I were both covered in a thin layer of sweat as he continued the story. “Megan gave me this stuff. She said it was a special drink, and that if I could get Anna to drink it with me, then I could have her. I didn’t know that this stuff was basically poison, designed to knock someone out in just a few shots.”

  I gasped. “She made me drink that,” I said.

  “Then you’re lucky to be alive,” Bradly said, shaking his head. “This stuff can kill you. I told Anna that I would give her a hundred bucks if she could drink more than me, and being the naive person, she was, she took me up on the challenge. Never mind the fact that I was three times as big as she was.”

  I shook my head. “I doubt anyone could outdrink you.”

  “Exactly. I knew that, but she had no experience with the stuff. We kept pouring shots in the women’s bathroom, downing them without a chaser. It was all fun and games until I started to feel sick. We parted ways, and I had to go home. I couldn’t stop vomiting, and I felt like I was going to pass out. Jesus, normally I can drink a half half-liter of vodka and keep my bearings, but a few shots of this stuff nearly put me down.”

  Silence fell upon the janitor’s closet as Bradly reluctantly wrapped up the story. I could tell he was struggling with the next words, and his eyes glistened in sorrow as he spoke. “Anna died of alcohol poisoning, and it was my fault.”

  Holy shit, the girl that Molly had told me about had been a true story, and Megan really was behind that. I could see how distraught Bradly was over it, even a year later. “I’m sorry,” I said, placing a hand on his large shoulder.

  His head hung down low, and he took in a deep breath. “Nobody can know. I would lose everything.”

  “But Bradly,” I said softly. “It wasn’t your fault. Megan was the one who poisoned her.”

  “Do you think the police are going to care that she gave me the stuff? If they start investigating this, and they check the tapes outside the bathroom, they’re going to see me going in there with Anna. I would have no defense. I was questioned before, and I denied everything. I had no accusers, and Megan kept her mouth shut, but a month later she began using that information to blackmail me into siding with her.”

  “So, if Megan went to the police, the evidence would point to you,” I said. “I still don’t think they would be able to pin anything on you.”

  “Even so, I would be kicked out of Palm Valley. They’re not lenient about this kind of thing here. Anything that threatens their reputation has to go, and that would be the end of my football carrier. Some of the guys on the team play it fast and loose, hooking up with women left and right, but I had a reputation to protect. I have a future.”

  I nodded my head. I understood where he was coming from. Among the rich, reputation mattered more than anything. You could buy your way out of a prison sentence, but once your reputation was tarnished, it was damn near impossible to get it back.

  I hated Megan even more now for what she had done to Anna and Bradly. Not only had she literally killed someone, but she was holding it over Bradly’s head as well. It made me wonder why Molly was still working for her. Did she also have some kind of dark secret, or was it just because they were cousins?

  “I know it was hard to tell me that, but I think we can work out a solution together,” I said to Bradly. “We have to stop Megan. Do you really want her destroying more people’s lives? Think of all the Annas that she might ruin in the future if we don’t do something.”

  “I have to go to class,” Bradly said, pushing the door open and stepping out into the hallway.

  “You can’t run away from your problems,” I said as he left.

  He ignored me, walking away as though he were walking to a funeral.

  Chapter 23

  If you dance close to the fire long enough, you’re going to fall in.

  I didn’t see Molly at school at all for the first half of the day. She may have been hiding from me after I caught her in my house and almost killed her. I hoped she was more afraid of me now that she was of Megan. I had managed to begin turning Bradly over to my side. I hoped I could take Molly with me as well.

  I spotted Betty at lunch, so I sat down beside her and started to make conversation. “You were right about Molly,” I said cheerfully, taking a bite of my ham and cheese sandwich. Most of the time the cafeteria at school had fancy food, but today they had resorted back to American school classics. I couldn’t complain though, they made them well enough.

  Betty looked surprised to see me. “Oh, hey, what are you saying?” She said, pulling her head back and giving me a confused look.

  “Molly is in deep with Megan. You told me about it during the camping trip,” I explained.

  Her eyes widened, then she looked around as though someone might hear. “Don’t talk about that here,” she said in a hurried whisper.

  I laughed. “I don’t give two fucks if the entire school hears it. I want you on my side. I’m starting an opposition to Megan, and we’re going to fuck her operations at this school up good,” I said, throwing my shoulders back in a proud stance.

  “You’re nuts,” she said, getting up with her plate. “I can’t talk about this here.”

  “Maybe after school,” I suggested casually.

  She looked left and right. There were some people starting to look at us, but not many. “Maybe,” she said in a hushed voice before rushing away.

  I took that as a yes. It was clear that Betty wanted to be a part of whatever I was doing, but like Molly and Bradly, she was terrified of what would happen if Megan knew that she had crossed her. Even if everyone had to work secretly with me, I would take what I could get. I wasn’t going to back down now, especially after finding out that Megan had been behind Anna’s death. How many other people had she managed to kill at this school?

  I ate my food like I didn’t have a care in the world, displaying false confidence that attracted onlookers. I wanted them to look. I wanted the whole school to know that Megan’s time here was almost up. There was an opposition rising, and I was the one leading the pack.

  I was almost done with my food when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around, not knowing what to expect, only to find Molly standing there, looking sheepish. Her brown eyes were glossy, and her hair hung down over her face like she was too afraid to reveal herself completely.

  “Oh, you have some gall to show up here like this,” I said.

  “I know,” she said, clasping her hands together in front of her. “I came to say sorry.”

  “Sorry doesn’t mean anything to me,” I said, shoving the last bit of ham and cheese sandwich into my mouth.

  “Well, that’s all I can say. I just wanted you to know that I was sorry, but Megan makes me do stuff that I don’t want to do.”

  “And why is that?” I asked, cocking my head to the side and raising my eyebrows aggressively.

  “Because she knows too much about me. It’s hard to explain,” Molly said, almost wincing as the words left her mouth.

  “Maybe we can talk about it over at the shooting range. I still need help with that gun if you’re not too scared to teach me,” I said, trying to bring some lightness back into the conversation.

  She let out a small giggle. “Yeah, I can show this evening if you want to. I actually do target practice at my dad’s place. He had a really big backyard.”

  “That sounds lovely,” I said with a smile. “And I guess I accept your apology if you promise not to break into my house again.”

  She smiled, looking considerably less bashful than when she had arrived. “I think I can swing it.”

  “Good, now let me finish my lunch. I have class in li
ke five minutes.”

  We exchanged phone numbers and I left, getting to class just in time to slide into my desk and start working on my sketches.

  Chapter 24

  Things are never as bad as we think they are.

  I let myself get absorbed in my sketched during the remainder of my classes. I was always quick to leave the classroom after, never forgetting that Megan could be around the corner, waiting to catch me alone so that she could show me all the evil she was capable of.

  Even though I doubted that Bradly and Molly were going to assist her to the point where it put me in danger again, I knew that she could easily get other people to do it. Nowhere was safe, and I couldn’t let my guard down for a moment when I was in school.

  Even in the bathroom, I made sure to keep my blade out when I went in alone, and I always used the most crowded and public bathrooms in the school. I could never be alone if I wanted to stay safe. Palm Valley Academy was nothing less than a battleground. The weapons were real, and the threat of violence as ever-present.

  I managed to get through the rest of the day with only a few threatening glances from Megan as I walked down the hallways with my head held high. I didn’t forget to meet with Betty after school. I waited in the parking lot for her to come out. It was difficult to spot someone in the throngs of students all dressed exactly the same, but Betty slowed down when she exited the building, clearly looking for me.

  I waved at her to come to my car, opening both doors and hopping in before she even arrived. It would be best if we talked off-campus where nobody would see us, and she knew that as well as I did. While I had nothing to lose from this, she was letting herself get exposed to more danger. It was natural for her to be more cautious than I was, and I wanted to be considerate of that.

  “So,” I said as she sunk into the passenger’s seat and slammed the car door shut, “Welcome to the opposition.”

  She grinned. “Okay, so there’s talk around the school about what you’re doing, And Megan is getting really pissed off about it. Everyone thinks you must be crazy, but I think it’s brilliant.”

  “You’re goddamn right it’s brilliant. Someone had to take that bitch on, and who better to do it than the new girl?” I said, shifting the car into drive and slamming my foot on the pedal.

  The car squealed out of the parking lot, leaving thick black tire marks on the pavement. I was a woman who wasn’t afraid to cause waves, and I wanted that to show in everything that I did. Our heads jerked back, pressed firmly against the leather headrests until I stopped accelerating.

  Betty looked a tad scared, but that may have also been because she was sitting in the car with a woman who was challenging the largest force at Palm Valley Academy. That put her in direct danger too, now that she was associating with me.

  “I don’t want Megan coming to slice my arms off or anything, but I want to help.”

  I chuckled. “She’s too focused on damage control to care about you, Betty. I have her running around trying to get her highest followers to bow back down to her command while they all are starting to raise their heads toward me.”

  Betty crossed her arm, squinting at me suspiciously. “And what makes you any different than Megan?”

  “I’m not trying to manipulate people, and I’m also not interested in building my own personal army,” I said, but then stopped myself. “Well, my own personal army is kind of building itself, but it’s for a cause greater than me. I don’t want to rule the school. I just want to restore freedom and fairness.”

  “All fine and good, but what happens when Megan starts picking people off because they disobey her?”

  “They come to me, and I offer protection,” I replied. “Open up the glove box.”

  Betty did as she was told, pressing the lever to release the latch. The glovebox slowly fell open, revealing the loaded gun sitting on top of the papers. “Wow,” she said in awe, a golden glitter in her eyes.

  “Try fucking with me,” I said, taking a turn to bring us back toward the school.

  “I wouldn’t,” Betty said, shaking her head.

  “And neither will Megan if she knows what’d good for her.”

  “You don’t think this is dangerous?” She asked, raising her perfectly plucked eyebrows.

  I stared down the road. “I know it’s dangerous, but I won’t let Megan continue her reign at Palm Valley Academy. It’s time for someone to put a stop to this.”

  I pulled the car back into the school parking lot, letting Betty out and waving her goodbye. She thanked me for my ideas and said that she was excited to be part of the opposition.

  “If you can, let other people know about this. I want to gather up as many people as we can,” I told her as she walked out to her car.

  “Believe me, they already know,” she said, waving his fingers over her shoulder as she left.

  I nodded. That was true. It was hard to suppress the word of an uprising when I was so transparent in my hatred of Megan. What Betty had said about danger was right. I was putting other people in danger, not just myself. It was hard to justify something like that because I didn’t want to see my friends getting hurt, especially not Bradly.

  On the other hand, he was dead to me if he didn’t side with me, and he likely would come under harm if it came down to it. I wouldn’t even let a 300-pound football captain stand in my way. I just hoped that he wouldn’t. I wanted him more than just as an ally, I wanted him as a romantic partner.

  I was sure that Bradly already knew that, but it was too soon to start pushing him in that direction. I wanted it to happen naturally, and he would have to prove himself before I developed deeper feelings for him.

  It had bothered me when he talked about Anna so fondly. Had he not been so eager to get with her, she would still be alive. I couldn’t forget that he wasn’t a perfect man. He had done some disgraceful things last year, and even this year he had done horrible things to me. He had a lot of work to do before I would accept him fully.

  All that aside, I had feelings for him that were hard to deny. I kept going back to how he had satisfied me so well in his ten over the weekend. It had been borderline magical, and I wanted it again. I wanted to taste his lips and feel his hot skin against mine again. I wanted to hold him and have him hold me back. I wanted him inside of me.

  Fuck, just thinking about it was sending signals to my pussy to grow wet. I had to get my head together. Molly and I were going to her father’s house for target practice. I had to get my brain out of the sexy fog it was in so that I could improve my skills. It was time to get serious.

  Chapter 25

  There are few things as satisfying as hitting your target on the first try.

  I let Molly drive me to her father’s house. I guess that I trusted her enough to sit in a car with her and leave my car at school. There weren’t a lot of things that she could do to me while she was driving. Plus, I wanted to talk to her about what she had been doing in my house, and what Megan had on her that made her so afraid.

  Half the people at this school were too terrified to talk about Megan, even behind her back, but I was going to get the information that I wanted out of Molly. Bradly had already told me all I needed to know about him. Now, it was Molly’s turn.

  “So, you’re going to need to tell me what Megan is holding over your head sooner or later. It might as well be sooner,” I said as we went on our way.

  Molly gripped the steering wheel with both hands, two AC vents blowing cold air directly into her face, keeping her brown hair in a perfect part the entire drive. She glanced over at me and gave me a weak smile. “It’s pretty bad,” she admitted.

  “Bradly’s was pretty bad too,” I said.

  “She’s blackmailing him too?” Molly asked.

  “Yes, but not for long. He’s joining the opposition, and you would benefit from it too. Megan doesn’t have to know,” I said.

  Molly breathed hot air through her nose in amusement. “Funny,” she said dryly. “But probably impossi
ble.”

  “Probably? So, it’s not impossible.”

  “It is. Megan knows too much about me. We’re family, remember?”

  I tilted my head back onto the headrest and closed my eyes halfway, trying to maintain a state of casual relaxation in the car to put her at ease. We would be on the road for a few hours, and I wanted to get her talking as soon as I could.

  “You’re already taking me out to learn how to shoot properly. You’re basically training me to oppose Megan. Whatever she has on you, it doesn’t matter anymore. You’re on my side,” I explained.

  “I’m not,” she said, gripping the steering wheel harder. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  “Okay, so if you’re not going to tell me why you’re scared of Megan, at least tell me what you were doing in my house.”

  Molly shrugged. “The same thing I did last time. I was leaving you a message. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

  I laughed. “You broke in.”

  “I had the key.”

  “And you weren’t supposed to,” I said, waving my hands in front of me. I was quickly losing my cool. I tilted my head back on the headrest and took a deep breath. “You faked being sick, didn’t you?”

  Molly nodded. “Megan told me that I couldn’t go with you.”

  “Who the fuck cares what Megan says?” I exclaimed, unable to retain the anger inside of me. All of this was so ridiculous. Both Bradly and Molly were insane to let their lives be controlled over some stupid blackmail. That was no way to live.

  “I care about what Megan says because she’s the only person who knows the truth,” Molly said.

  “What truth?”

  “The truth about the girl who died last year.”

  “You mean Anna?” I asked, surprised that she would bring that up. Wasn’t that Bradly’s thing?

  Molly nearly jumped out of her seat when I said her name. “How do you know about Anna?”

  I chuckled. “You told me about her at one point.” I didn’t want to leak Bradly’s information if she didn’t already know about it.