FIERCE: A High School Enemies to Lovers Romance (Rosewood High Book 4)

by Tracy Lorraine

  I nod, totally understanding where she’s coming from.

  Resting it on my pillow, I climb from the bed so I can get her gift.

  “This is for you,” I say, crawling back on the bed to sit beside her.

  She smiles at me before taking the small gift. My stomach is in knots, it’s nothing huge, but I really want her to like it. It took me long enough to find it.

  I bite down on the inside of my cheek as she rips into the paper and flips open the lid of the jewelry box.

  “Oh, it’s beautiful,” she gushes as she stares down at the necklace and I breathe out a huge sigh of relief.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Can I?” I hold my hand out and she places the box in it.

  I have the necklace out in seconds and I hold up the three interlocked bands and turn them over.

  “Look closer.” I hold it out for her and she gasps the moment she sees our names engraved in it. “And we can add the third once we decide on a name.”

  “Oh my god,” she sobs, her hand comes up to cover her mouth as tears fill her eyes.

  She quickly pushes from the headboard and holds her hair out of the way so that I can place it around her neck. Turning back around to me, she holds the pendant between her fingers.

  “Thank you so much. I love it.”

  “I love you,” I say, leaning forward and capturing her lips.

  “I’m not sure you’ve ever gotten ready so fast,” I say when Chelsea stands from her dressing table in record time.

  “I’m excited,” she says with a beaming smile. “I think this is the first Christmas in, well ever, that I’ve looked forward to.”

  Like me, she’s wearing a novelty Christmas sweater that our mothers insisted on, hers has “baking my little pudding” stitched across the front whereas mine is a standard Santa design.

  “You look cute.”

  “I feel like I should shove a pillow up my sweater so it makes sense. My minute bump doesn’t really do it any justice.”

  “You’ll regret even saying that in a few months.” I laugh, pulling her into my arms and tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Are you ready for the craziness?”

  “More than ready. This is the first of loads of amazing Christmases. Just think, this time next year, we’ll be surrounded by toys and hopefully an excited baby.”

  “I’m not sure he or she will be all that excited at six months old.”

  “Well, we can be excited enough for the baby too.”

  “That sounds like a plan, baby. Shall we?”

  “Yes,” she squeals with delight before we grab the couple of bags of presents we have for our families and make our way to the main house.

  Honey and Mom are busy in the kitchen making waffles, there’s already a stack high enough to feed the five thousand.

  Derek, Luca, and Leon sit at the table eagerly waiting for their food delivery.

  “At fucking last,” Luca barks when he spots us. “We’re not allowed to eat until you two show your faces. Mom wanted to come and get you, we thought it probably wasn’t a good idea.”

  Chelsea’s hand squeezes mine and when I glance over her cheeks are a little red.

  “We were exchanging gifts before heading up.”

  “Sure you were,” Luca says with a wink. “Gifts. Seems to be that you gave her your gift a few months ago.”

  “That’s enough you two. I want to have some appetite left for the waffles,” Derek complains.

  We take our seats and not two seconds later, Honey and Mom bring over breakfast.

  Luca and Leon dive in as if they’ve not eaten in a month while the rest of us watch them in fascination.

  “What?” Leon mumbles around a mouthful. “I’m hungry.”

  Laughing at them, I grab a waffle for Chelsea before placing another on my plate.

  “How was the party last night?” Mom asks, reminding me about the hangover that’s still thudding away nicely at my temples.

  “I’m not sure Shane remembers much of it.” Chelsea chuckles.

  “Overdo it all, did you, son?” Derek asks.

  “Something like that.”

  Thankfully the conversation takes a different turn and I’m able to put aside the fact I don’t remember how I got back into the pool house last night, let alone how the evening at Amalie and Jake’s might have ended.

  I shrug to myself as I look around the table at those I love. Things might be crazy right now. Chelsea and I might not have a clue what the next few months and years might hold for us, but at this moment surrounded by all these incredible people that I know will support us no matter what, I couldn’t be happier.

  We have the best Christmas I think I’ve ever had. We laugh, joke, eat incredible food, thanks to our mothers, and we enjoy each other’s company. It’s the exact kind of Christmas I’ve already dreamed of and I can only hope that those in our future are as heartwarming.

  The sun’s long set when I find myself alone with Chelsea in her parents’ kitchen as she gets herself a snack. How she’s still hungry after everything we’ve consumed today, I have no idea.

  “Hey,” I say, wrapping my arms around her middle and holding her tight.

  “Hey.”

  “Have you had a good day?” I ask.

  “Yeah. The best. Thank you.”

  “What are you thanking me for?”

  She spins in my arms and stares up into my eyes.

  “For everything. For just being you and making all my dreams come true.”

  I open my mouth to respond, but I have no words. Instead, I put everything I feel for her into my kiss.

  “I love you, Chelsea Fierce,” I whisper against her lips, my palm pressing tenderly against her swollen stomach.

  “I love you too.”

  42

  Chelsea

  “I’m not sure how I feel about saying goodbye to this year,” I admit as we walk through Zayn’s front door.

  All our parents—minus Brett, who’s still in New York—are at Rosewood’s annual New Year’s Eve celebration that Camila’s mom organizes every year and tonight is Zayn’s turn to host our party.

  A huge part of me is ready to see the back of a lot of things that have happened this year, but another part of me wants to cherish them. Yeah, I fucked up. Yeah, I did things I’ll regret for the rest of my life, but equally, I got the two best things in my life.

  I glance at Shane as he leads us toward the back of the house and Zayn’s den. I can’t help but smile as I think of all the things he’s taught me. How he’s shown me that it is possible to have exactly what I always wanted. Someone in my corner. Someone who would fight for me no matter what and love me so hard that it’s almost unfathomable.

  “I know you’re staring.”

  “As you should. You look hot tonight.”

  “I’m nothing compared to you. At least every guy at Rosewood and beyond knows you’re taken now,” he says, and when I follow his gaze, I find almost everyone looking our way.

  It seems that despite everyone being at home for the holidays, they’ve not forgotten the hottest gossip to hit Rosewood High in a while.

  “Ignore them. They’re just jealous that I got you and they didn’t.”

  “I’m not sure anyone had any interest in me before you, baby.”

  I shrug, none of it matters. That’s all in the past. We’ve got so much to focus on for our future, and that’s where I intend on putting all my energy.

  A cheer erupts as we enter Zayn’s den, and when I look up, I find almost all of the team and the majority of the squad.

  I haven’t seen any of them since running from school the day Shelly exposed my secret.

  Victoria, Tash, Aria, and a couple of the JV girls immediately see us and come over to congratulate me before taking great pleasure in explaining that Shelly is off the squad for good after that last stunt. Hartmann is on her case big time, one more wrong move and she’s out of Rosewood for good.

  Part
of me is glad, she’s clearly a conniving bitch with a seriously dodgy moral compass, but another part of me knows that it could so easily have been me. If my parents hadn’t intervened when they did and force a reality check on me, who knows how far things might have gone.

  I’d like to think that after finding out about being pregnant that it would have reined me in, but honestly, I have no idea what might have happened if I didn’t spend those weeks at the center.

  When I glance over to find Shane, he’s been swallowed up by the team in a series of guy hugs and slaps on the back.

  My heart swells that we’re now able to celebrate our news with our teams.

  “You’re still going to lead us next year, right?” Aria asks once the excitement has died down.

  “If you’ll still have me.”

  “Hell yes. You’re our way to regional success, girl.”

  A wide smile spreads across my face that my squad have that kind of faith in me.

  After a few minutes, Shane finds me once again and hands me a drink while he takes a pull from his bottle of beer.

  He’s sworn to take it easier tonight after his Christmas Eve excess. He was mortified when I told him what happened that evening, although secretly I think he loves that he’s not only got one up on Jake but that Jake knows about it as well.

  Looking around the room, I find the six of them sitting on one of Zayn’s couches. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see a genuine smile light up Amalie’s face once again. Hopefully, now Christmas is done, she’s been able to turn a corner and look forward to the year ahead.

  We’ve all got so much to look forward to. Graduation, college, moving out, babies—well, that’s just Shane and me as far as we know.

  “Right, boys! Gather around,” Zayn bellows around the room, totally unaware of what shenanigans are going on elsewhere in his house. It seems he thinks the only party is in this room while the rest of our class party outside the door. “It’s time to set out the last challenge of the year.”

  Shane groans beside me as the excitement level skyrockets around the team. He leads me over to the couches to join the others who are no longer interested in the Bears games.

  “You guys are all pigs, you know that, right?” Amalie asks, watching the action along with the rest of us as Zayn starts dishing out names.

  “What?” Mason says as if he’s going to argue. “If you’re going to accuse anyone, it should be the guy whose lap you’re currently sitting on. He started this whole thing.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” she says with a roll of her eyes.

  “You set me up with some stinkers one too many times, I know that for a fact,” I say with a laugh. Shane doesn’t react to my comment like he once used to. It seems that he’s come to terms with my past and believes me when I say that it’s really not as shady as everyone makes out. “Some of the pickup lines those guys use are appalling. It’s no wonder they’re over there still single.”

  “Look at the expression on Justin’s face,” Ethan says, pointing. “I wonder who he’s just been given.” He laughs.

  We watch their delight and horror as all the names continue to be dished out until all eyes turn on the ringleader. At the same time, the door opens and Harley, Ruby, and Poppy walk through the door. Since Harley and Ruby became JV members of the squad, they’ve been spending more and more time with the team and it seems tonight that Poppy is being dragged along, despite the fact she clearly looks like she wants to be anywhere else on earth right now.

  Rich and Justin watch the three of them enter before they share a look.

  “Oh fuck,” Shane says, clearly thinking the same as me. “This is not going to go well.”

  Looking to Amalie and Jake, I find that they got bored with the action and are busy entertaining themselves. That can only be a good thing because I don’t think he’s going to like what’s about to happen.

  Wide smiles spread across Justin and Rich’s faces before they both point at Poppy.

  Zayn follows their fingers before all the color drains from his face. He shakes his head, but I know as well as he does that his refusal is futile. The rules of the game state that you don’t get a second pick.

  Zayn barks something at the two of them, the only words I make out are a series of swears before he storms from the room, much to the amusement of everyone who was watching the exchange.

  “Well, tonight might have just gotten more interesting,” Ethan states, having just watched the same thing we did. He glances to Jake, who’s still oblivious to what’s just happened. He’s going to lose his shit when he discovers his team is using the only family member he actually likes as a pawn in their games.

  All the guys disperse, probably heading off to find their conquests for the night. We might not have been involved in all that, but we all know that they have until the sun comes up to score their girl.

  Jake eventually allows Amalie up for air, but no one fills him in on what he missed. Instead, we break off into a series of different conversations about the upcoming year as they all drink and I sip on my fruit juice.

  Before I know it, the final countdown is on and we’re speeding toward putting this dramatic year behind us.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here,” Shane whispers in my ear before pushing from the couch and pulling me with him.

  I follow him, my hand firmly grasped in his, as he makes his way outside to Zayn’s back yard.

  There’s a big crowd out here knowing that we’ll soon be able to enjoy the fireworks that are going to light up the sky.

  Ignoring everyone around us, Shane pulls me into his body, his hands resting on my hips as he stares down into my eyes.

  “I can’t wait to find out what the future holds for us,” he whispers, his voice rough with emotion. I know he’s worried about his Mom, she’s adamant that the moment the holidays are over that she’s filing for divorce from Brett and moving on with her life. Without his dad breathing down his neck, he’s had the space to be able to really think about what he wants. He’s got applications written up in the pool house ready to send off to start college in September. He’s still insistent that he’s going to study part-time so that he can work to support us. As much as I hate that he’s having to put his future on hold for us, I’ve learned that nothing I say is going to change his mind. He wants to do right by us, and I really can’t argue with that.

  “I know, me too. We’re soon going to be able to say that we’ll meet our baby this year.”

  His lips brush mine as people around us start counting down to midnight.

  Our kiss deepens right as the cheer goes up around us. I forget where I am, that we’re surrounded by our entire class and just hand myself over to him, showing him that I am his and that I want this for many, many years to come.

  Shane rips his lips from mine right as the first of the fireworks display cracks above us. He turns me in his arms, rests his hands on my belly as his chin lands on my shoulder. We look up as color explodes in the inky night sky, signaling the start of a fresh new year.

  It’s time to start anew, to put our past and our mistakes behind us and look forward to our future together and our new family.

  Before the fireworks end, I lower my eyes and look around at all my classmates around us. I see them all differently now. I no longer need to be the center of their attention, I no longer need to be Chelsea Fierce, queen bitch, head cheerleader, and the girl no one liked. I’m now Chelsea Fierce, girlfriend, friend, and soon-to-be mother. I smile to myself, happiness washing over me once again.

  My eyes land on two people in the crowd and I gasp.

  “What is it?” Shane asks, noticing my reaction.

  “There in the doorway.”

  I keep my eyes on the unlikely couple to see if Zayn’s going to win his challenge tonight. He’s got Poppy pinned up against the wall with his forearms caging her in.

  He lowers his head, but before we get to see if his lips meet hers, the crowd moves, and our view is blocked.
/>
  “Looks like this year is going to be just as dramatic as the last one.”

  “That’s fine as long as it doesn’t involve us.”

  Shane turns me back around. “How about we keep our drama inside the pool house?”

  “Sounds perfect. Fancy going there right now?”

  “Have you all to myself to celebrate the new year? Hell yes, let’s go.”

  He takes my hand and leads me from Zayn’s house so that we can bring in the new year as we intend on spending the rest of our lives, together.

  Epilogue

  Shane

  Six months later…

  “Chelsea, are you okay?” I call through to the bedroom after the sound of something heavy hitting the floor rings out through the pool house. “Chelsea?” I shout again, panic starting to filter through me.

  Her due date was four days ago and every weird noise she makes has me on edge.

  I’m so fucking excited to finally meet our little person, but equally, I’m more terrified than I have been in my entire life.

  I glance around at all the baby stuff that covers every available surface of our small home as I push from the couch to make sure she’s okay.

  “Chels—” My words are cut off the second I push the bedroom door open. “What the hell are you doing?” I ask, although I can’t deny that the sight before me is fucking incredible.

  “Please, Shane. I’m fucking dying here. I need this baby out of me,” she says, looking over her shoulder, her tired eyes begging for me to do the thing she’s been asking of me for the past week.

  I know I should just do it. But our baby is so low now, ready to come out, it freaks me out a little just thinking about pushing myself inside her.

  However, the sight of her on all fours totally bare for the taking does have my cock swelling with my need for her.

  I think she thinks I’ve refused because I don’t find her attractive like she is right now. She couldn’t be farther from the truth. She’s even more beautiful and sexy to me now carrying our baby. There’s no doubt that I want her, it’s just my fucked-up head that keeps stopping me.