Cruel Devils

by Mae Doyle

  Parker looks a little panicked and I can’t help but enjoy the fear that shoots across his face. “Listen, Kiera,” he says, leaning so close to me that I can feel his breath on my cheek, “you don’t know what you’re fucking with, so just stop.”

  Oh, I hit a nerve. I like that. I haven’t felt in control around the devils since I came to this stupid school, but I’ve finally found something that sets them off, and I’m going to use that to my benefit.

  “You really think that I’m going to back off when I’ve finally found something that makes you so uncomfortable? You’re dumber than you look, Parker.”

  He looks offended for a moment but quickly clears it off of his face before scowling at me. “I’m going to have to tell the rest of the devils that you’re poking around in our lives, you know. None of them are going to appreciate that.”

  “Oh, no,” I mock, wiggling my fingers at him. “Are the big bad bullies of Meyer’s Grove not going to appreciate that someone is researching what their daddies do? I’m scared, Parker, don’t let them get me.”

  Grinning, I slam my hand down on my math. “Now, if we’re doing with thinly-veiled threats and if you’re not going to give me the information that I need, then it’s probably time that we study, don’t you think? I bet that Mr. Fletcher is counting on you and Luca to make sure that I have good grades, and I know that you don’t want to let him down.”

  Parker exhales and rubs his eyes, letting me enjoy the way his body stretches and his muscles twist under his shirt without him seeing me look at him. If I have to be tutored, and apparently, it’s not going to be optional, at least I’m getting tutored by two people who look like gods.

  “Okay, you know what? I’m going to help you, but only because I want to stay on the team. But you need to fucking back off, Kiera, do you understand? If you don’t, then whatever happens is going to be your fault.”

  “I’m so scared.” It’s almost impossible for me to keep the grin off of my face. I didn’t know that I’d be able to find this much power to make the devils run scared, but I’ve obviously hit a nerve, and I’m not going to stop pressing on it until I get the information that I want from them.

  Also? It’s good to know that the devils have a game coming up. If they don’t back off and let me enjoy my time at this stupid school then I’m sure that I can find a way to keep them distracted.

  It sure would suck if something happened to them and they couldn’t play.

  Chapter 15

  I make it to Thursday without any problems.

  Tutoring with Luca and Parker is tricky, to say the least. I can’t help the fact that when I’m alone with them in the library I like how Parker pulls me close to him and Luca stares at me while waiting for me to answer.

  That’s the thing about all of the devils. I know that they’re dangerous. I know that they want to hurt me and kick me out of the school, but at the same time, I feel myself drawn to them.

  I never felt this way about any guy before, and certainly not about more than one of them at once, but there’s something addictive about the devils that makes it hard for me to stop thinking about them. It’s unhealthy, I’m sure that it is, but I can’t do anything about it. They’re in my mind and the more I try to push them out, the more they settle in deeper.

  I’m trying to explain this to Sophia in the middle of the quad. Lila and Clementine are late to walk with us to get dinner, and so Sophia and I are stretched out in the grass, enjoying the last of the sun.

  “I just feel something for them, you know?” It sounds stupid as hell for me to even say that, but I can’t help it. “They’re so mean. They’re terrible. But there’s something about them that I can’t get over. It’s addicted, maybe?”

  “It’s abusive.” Sophia throws a handful of grass at me and I sputter when it hits me in the face. “My parents always told me that love shouldn’t hurt, and I’d bet that your mom used to tell you the same thing, am I right? There’s nothing healthy about the devils, Kiera. Nothing good in them. They’re rotten to the core, always have been, always will be.”

  “But they could change,” I argue, sitting up so that I can see my friend. “That’s the thing about people. My mom always said that given time and the right reason, people can change for the better and stop being mean.”

  “And you think that you’re the reason?” Sophia rolls over and sits up to look me in the eye. “I mean, you’re great, Kiera, and I love you, but sometimes it’s not about you. Sometimes things are bigger than you are and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

  What she’s saying sounds so similar to what they’ve told me in the past that I frown at her. “But don’t you think – ” I begin, but she cuts me off.

  “Well, why don’t you ask them yourselves, because they’re coming this way. You can ask them if they think that you may be the savior that they need to be better people.”

  We both scramble to our feet and I feel my heart start to pound in my chest. Part of me is afraid that maybe Sophia is right. The devils may not have any good in them worth saving, and if that’s the case, then I’m just wasting my time.

  But the other part of me…the hopeless romantic part? That part wants them to be good people, even though they’ve shown me a few times that they’re not.

  Although this week has been really quiet, so maybe things have changed.

  Without thinking about what I’m doing, I toss my hair over my shoulder and walk up to them. They all look surprised, but hide their expressions.

  “What do you want, Kiera? You coming to tell us that you’re finally leaving? Because honestly, that’s the only thing I want to hear come out of that pouty little mouth of yours,” Asher growls at me.

  I touch my mouth. Pouty?

  “No, I came to see if you guys wanted to eat dinner together. Maybe call a bit of a truce. I’m not going anywhere and I can tell that you guys have gotten a little bored of being mean to me, so I thought that we could all work something out. There’s no reason why we can’t be friends.”

  Luca laughs and I turn to stop him in place with a stare. “You think that’s funny? You and Parker are the only reasons why I’m passing math, so maybe I want to thank you.”

  “You can thank us on your knees.” Luca stops laughing and pins me in place with his words. I feel my skin getting hot, but I try to push the thoughts away.

  I don’t want them. Not like that.

  Right?

  “I wouldn’t even mind sloppy seconds from that pouty little mouth,” Parker says, reaching out and forking his fingers through my hair. I gasp as he yanks it, pulling me closer to him. I’ve been pressed up against his body before, and I have the exact same reaction as I did the first time.

  I want him. I don’t want to, but I can’t deny the way my core starts to heat and tremble when I’m this close to him. Parker’s evil, that’s for sure, but I want to run my hands up his broad shoulders and pull him to me.

  He jerks my hair to the side, and I cry out from the sharp burst of pain. It’s taken me years to grow my hair so long, and for him to swing me around so casually by it hurts.

  “Nice hair.” Asher leans forward and presses his face close to mine, taking a huge whiff of my shampoo. “It’s intoxicating, you know that? Probably one of your best features, besides your dirty little trash mouth.”

  It’s humiliating, what they’re saying to me, but that doesn’t stop longing from pooling between my legs.

  “Let me go,” I whisper. I feel like all of the fight has gone out of me. Even though I know that I should push them away, for some reason, pinned in place like this and surrounded by the devils, I can’t seem to do anything to protect myself.

  “Is that what you really want?” Caspian’s voice is so soothing and soft that I gasp and fight against Parker’s grasp to turn my head and look at him. He’s staring intently at me, like he hasn’t ever seen me before and isn’t sure of what to make of me. “Do you really want us to let you go?”

  I pause. “Ye
s.”

  Luca laughs. “I don’t think you do. I think that you like this, don’t you, you little white trash slut?”

  “Please,” I say, a little louder this time. “Let me go.”

  Parker yanks my head to the side, pulling my hair even harder than before. I gasp out in pain, but he doesn’t release me.

  “You know,” Asher says, musingly, like he has all the time in the world, “I’ve been thinking about a little souvenir from our white trash friend here. What do you think, Kiera? Think that I should have something to remember you by when we’re not together? Maybe a little good luck charm for when I’m on the field tomorrow?”

  “Women used to give men favors when they went into battle,” Caspian adds before he reaches out and gently touches my cheek. I want to pull away from him, but I can’t without risking pulling out some of my hair. “I think that maybe you should get a favor from Kiera.”

  “Like her panties? If she wears any?” Luca asks. When the others laugh, he lightly traces his hand down my side, resting his fingers in the waistband of my skirt. “Do you even wear panties, Kiera? Shall I check for you?”

  Panic rises up in me and I look around for my friends. Where the hell are they? And why aren’t they helping me out? Sophia isn’t anywhere to be seen, and neither are the twins, and I can’t help but hope that they’ve gone to get hope.

  It’ll have to be from a teacher. No student at Meyer’s Grove is going to stand up to the devils.

  But nobody’s coming.

  My head is jerked farther to the side and I cry out. There’s a flash of silver in the air above me and my head is suddenly released. I hear a soft snick, and my stomach drops. When I lift my head up and stand straight, I immediately reach up to run my fingers through my hair.

  Some of it is still there, but there’s a huge clump missing. Asher waves his hand in front of me, a fistful of my golden curls swinging from it. “Found me a little something to remember you by. You think that it will bring me good luck tomorrow or is it only going to attract flies?”

  My face heats and I feel my heart start to race. If he knows how upset I am, I know that he’ll only lord it over me more. I have to stay calm or I’m not going to be able to walk away from this.

  But all I want to do is hit him.

  All of the other devils have stepped back a bit, and it’s just Asher and me. He still has the scissors he used to cut my hair hanging loosely from his fingers, and when he sees me look at them, he gives them a spin and throws them, point down, into the ground.

  They land with a thud and quiver for a moment.

  I can’t help it. I know that what I’m doing is stupid, but I lunge for them and manage to get my fingers through the holes before Asher tackles me and throws me back on the grass.

  “Give them back, you gutter slut!” He screams, his face just a few inches from mine. Instinctively, I close my eyes against his rage, but I don’t let go of the scissors.

  Swinging my arm around, I slam them down, aiming for his back. I know that I could hurt him, or even kill him, but I honestly don’t care right now. All I want to do is make him stop. Make him leave me alone.

  His full weight is on me, his body pressing me hard into the ground. I can feel his hips grinding into me and his huge cock pressing through his pants.

  Holy shit.

  My eyes fly open and I slow my hand, just a little, but enough for Luca to react. His hands are fast and tight on my wrist and he jerks it back and to the side, making me cry out and drop the scissors.

  “Ouch! Stop!” I scream, writhing under Asher and trying to get my wrist back from Luca. It feels like it’s on fire, like it’s bent way out of place, and I need to get ice on it. The shooting pain from my wrist up my arm makes me grit my teeth, and it’s only when a few tears start to run down my face that Asher adjust his position and sits up.

  He’s still straddling me, his strong thighs on either side of me, pinning me in place. “You look good down there, you know that, Kiera?” His voice is mocking and I turn my head to the side so I don’t have to look at him.

  Luca drops my wrist and I immediately grab it, cradling it to my chest. It hurts like hell, the hot pain from how he bent it making my stomach turn.

  “I think that I could get used to seeing her on the ground like that.” It’s Parker. I know his voice without having to look at him. The devils have me pinned in place, and it doesn’t seem like anyone’s going to come to save me.

  But where are my friends? I can’t believe that they would leave me like this. “Please let me up,” I whisper, still not making eye contact with Asher.

  He laughs and shifts his position, digging his hips into mine. I feel his huge cock and my body aches for him to touch me.

  What the hell is wrong with me?

  “You looking for your friends, Kiera? You need to know something about them. They may say that they’re there for you, but when it gets bad, like right now, they’re not going to stick around. We’re the only ones who are going to be in the thick of it with you.”

  “Because you’re the ones who threw me into it!” I buck up against him, trying to get him off of me, but he just laughs and pins my hips down to the ground. “Let me up! I hate you! I hate all of you!” There are other students in the quad, I’m sure of it, but nobody comes to help me.

  Nobody cares. I’ve never had this thought before, but it’s true. I know it. They know it. Nobody is going to come for me, and there’s not a damn thing that I can do about it.

  The thought makes my blood run cold and I take a deep breath.

  “If you don’t get off of me right now, I swear to god, Asher, I will kill you.” He’s already made this same threat to me once before and hasn’t made good on it, so there’s no reason for him to believe that I will do anything of the sort to him, but it gives him pause and he shifts his weight, rolling off of me.

  Immediately, I use my good hand to push off of the ground. My right wrist aches terribly and I pull it back to me, holding it against my stomach so that the devils can’t grab it. I can’t believe that this has happened to me. My head is swimming, but I’m not sure what I need to do.

  “You can all go to hell.” Caspian is the only one who’s not staring at me, and he flinches a little when I throw my words at him. “I hate you all. All of you.”

  The tone sounds across the quad and I realize that I’m going to miss lunch and then be late to class but right now I don’t give a shit. Reaching up, I feel for my missing hair. Asher cut a huge chunk out of my curls and I don’t know what I’m going to do about it.

  “You look like shit,” Luca offers, a sick grin on his face. “You should probably go rest and see if some beauty sleep will help.”

  Parker chuckles and kicks the ground. His shoes are probably worth more than the car I had my eye on back home, and my stomach clenches as I watch him. “There’s no amount of beauty sleep that could help this piece of trash look better,” he says casually, his eyes locked on mine. “Although, I bet that some sex hair would be kinda hot.”

  Before I can move away, he steps forward and grabs my hip. “You want me to help you with your hairstyle?” When I don’t answer, he pulls me, turning me so that I’m looking at Caspian. “Or maybe he’s more your type? What do you think?”

  “No,” I mutter, trying to pull away.

  “Not Caspian? Hmm, then Luca? Asher? Who do you want, Kiera?”

  “None of you.” My words are quiet, and my voice is level, even though I want to scream at them. Back home, I would have known what to do. Even if they still wanted to torment me, at least I would have better known how to stand up to them.

  Here, though, I’m completely out of water. All I know is that I’m not going to let them get away with this.

  Parker leans forward and runs his lips along my jaw to my ear. Instantly, my body springs to attention. I can feel my nipples hardening and my core throbbing for him. I try to fight it, but I can’t help the way that he makes my body feel, even though I hate
myself for it.

  “You just let me know when you want some personal help or attention, Kiera,” he murmurs, his warm breath hot on my skin. “I’m happy to be there for you.”

  With that, he roughly lets me go, pushing me away from him a bit. I stumble back but catch my balance before tipping over in the grass. The four devils laugh and turn to walk off, Asher slinging his arms around Parker and Luca.

  They look so happy.

  I’m fuming.

  I don’t know what’s going on with my friends. I don’t know why everyone here seems to hate me. But I do know that I’m not going to let the devils get away with this shit any longer.

  Chapter 16

  I skip the rest of my classes, even though I’m pretty sure that I’m going to have hell to pay for it later with the teachers. There’s a huge lacrosse game tomorrow, and there’s no way that I’m going to waste any time that I need preparing for it.

  After class, I’m sure that the devils are going to be running drills, and I should be doing homework, but instead of being bent over my math or English, I’m working on something else. I’m figuring out how I’m going to bring the devils to their knees.

  It just involves a bit of science, that’s all. Thank goodness my dad and I sued to do fun little science experiments on the weekend when I was younger. They were all fun and games, but it’s a lot more serious now. Bending over my notebook, I double-check to make sure that I have all of the proportions right.

  Yep. I do. My heart swells as I think about how proud my dad would be of me. Well, he wouldn’t be proud of me sneaking into the chemistry lab and stealing ingredients, but I’m sure that he’d be proud of me for taking matters into my own hands, right?

  Right.

  I’m about to start mixing when a rap on the door freezes me in place. I have the horrible mental thought that it may be the headmistress coming to check on me, but that’s insane, right? Meyer’s Grove is way too big and busy for her to check in on one student who didn’t show up to class.