“What in the world is going on? Seriously?” Tarryn looked down at Sasha and Steve, then over at Drake. “Did any of your phones get a notification or something?”
Drake moved, causing Tarryn’s hands to drop away. He slung an arm over her shoulder, pulling her into his side gently. But his body felt stiff and on edge. “Feel like a ride? We could play hooky and go to the lake.”
“You’re incorrigible.” She poked him in the stomach, his abs barely yielding to the teasing jab.
Drake’s mind was racing.
Something was wrong.
And he knew it.
“Yet, you keep me around.” Drake teased back, tilting his head to rest against the top of Tarryn’s. Still though, his posture didn’t relax.
“Entirely against my better judgement,” Tarryn laughed out.
The bell rang and they began walking into school, Sasha and Steve behind them, with more phones pinging as they moved. For a few moments longer, Tarryn and Drake managed to act like nothing was strange about the way people were staring at them and whispering. I mean, Drake always grabbed a lot of attention. They’d proven that by walking hand-in-hand from the car. Tarryn would get used to that. Sort of.
“Um… Drake?” Tarryn’s voice was small as her brain started processing that something wasn’t right. If it were just a video of a skateboarding dog, why would all the students be acting this way? There’d be laughter, not hushed talking. No, she was sure something wasn’t right.
“What’s up?”
“Everyone’s really staring at us. Really. Staring.”
“And like we said, that’s not unusual.” He quirked a smile and gave Tarryn a squeeze. “You’re dating a Castleton, Square. Got to get used to a little healthy jealousy and curiosity.”
“But, we’re not really ‘new, new’. People saw us at the dance and the movie. This is different.” Eyebrows furrowed, Tarryn had a million possibilities running through her brain, none of them good.
“Okay. Hold on. I’ll check my phone. I put it on silent this morning before driving. If it’s one of those viral videos someone sent school-wide, I should have a copy. Nothing to worry over.” But even as the assurances spilled from his lips, Drake knew they were lies.
Drake stopped walking and took a step away from Tarryn; he shoved his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out his cell. A few finger swipes and taps later, he saw what the fuss was about.
And his face paled.
“I’ll fucking kill her.” He seethed, mouth pulled into an angry frown.
“What? Kill who?” Alarmed, Tarryn moved next to Drake so that she could see his phone screen. Her heart thumped wildly as her vision cleared and the first image came into sharp, jarring clarity.
It was the lake.
The floating dock.
Tarryn and Drake were kissing. She was topless.
This was worse than anything she’d imagined.
So much worse.
She grabbed the phone from Drake, eyes growing wetter with each new photo she saw as she scrolled through the email. A school-wide email. A dozen plus pictures.
“Oh my god. Oh my god. Who would do such a thing?” She almost dropped the phone, but Drake took it back from her just in time.
Tarryn’s brain raced.
And she remembered that flash of pink in the woods when she and Drake had stood on the shore getting dressed and talking.
Someone had been there.
Someone had spied on them.
Someone had invaded their privacy in such a devastating, awful way that it made Tarryn feel sick.
Drake had said ‘I’ll kill her’. And it could only be one ‘her’. Only one person angry enough to do something so cruel.
Tabitha.
It had to be Tabitha.
As if summoned, a high-pitched girlish laugh sounded. Both Tarryn and Drake’s heads whipped up, two sets of eyes searching for the laugher. The girl who’d hurt them both.
Drake’s chest was tight, aching with rage.
He shoved his phone into his pocket and started jogging towards Tabs, leaving Tarrying behind. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do… what he even could do. If he hit her, he’d likely send her to the hospital. She deserved it, but he’d never intentionally hurt a girl—bruises from rough sex were different. Losing some control while choking out some chick was different.
But he could feel the fire in his bones, the need in his muscles, to teach her a lesson. One she’d never forget.
Tarryn raced after Drake, tears streaming down her face.
She caught up with him before he could reach Tabs.
“Stop it, Drake. She isn’t worth it.” Her voice pleaded with him, wanting to keep him from doing something he’d regret—even through her anger, she was trying to be a good person, trying to help him hold onto the guy he truly wanted to be. A decent one, loving and looking toward the future.
“I’m not worth it?” Tabitha was standing beside a guy with crystal brown hair and wide-set eyes. “I think you’ve got it wrong, Tarryn. See, Drake was in my bed only a few nights ago. Every inch of my fucking body was worth it then.” She sneered, lip curled, arms crossed over her body to push up her small breasts.
“What?” Tabitha’s hands dropped away from Drake’s shoulders and she took a step backwards. “That’s not true. You’re just bitter and lying.”
“Am I lying? You know Drake’s reputation.” She shrugged, long pixie bangs swishing over her forehead. “You can’t tease him and not go all the way, Princess. Giving him a taste on that dock was an appetizer. But don’t worry, I satisfied him for you.”
“Drake?” Tarryn’s voice quivered and she watched as Drake’s shoulders slumped. “It’s true, isn’t it?”
Drake turned around slowly, trying to neutralize his expression, trying to have a poker face Tarryn couldn’t see through, but he’d seemed to have lost that superpower. Seemed to have lost the façade of a guy who didn’t care about anyone or anything.
Because of her.
And he was going to lose her because of his deal with Tabitha. A deal that, in the end, had been worthless.
“It is true,” she spoke quietly, arms straight, hands playing with the edge of her tunic. “Why?”
He shook his head slowly, fighting back tears.
“Why, Drake? Was it really because I wasn’t ready to have sex with you?”
“Of course not,” he held out his hands, pleading with her. “I told you I was fine waiting. I wanted to wait. I didn’t want to treat you like other girls.”
“But then you run off and screw someone else?” She glanced away from him. In private, this conversation would hurt. In public, it was nauseatingly-awful.
“I had to, Tarryn.”
“Why?” She asked again.
“Because she promised to delete those photos if I fucked her.” Now Drake’s voice was shaking. He could feel the weight of so many student eyes on him. But there were only two eyes that mattered.
And hers were sad, hurt, on the verge of unstoppable tears.
“You should have told me.” Tarryn turned around and walked away, leaving Drake behind in his misery. Her heart felt like it was cracked, fractured. A piece of busted window glass holding on for dear life, but unable to keep out the rain.
Drake turned around, sadness mingling with so much anger that he didn’t think he could contain it for a second longer.
“Hey, Tabs. Remember what I said?”
She shook her head defiantly, pointed chin tilted up. “I don’t care, Drake. You deserved this.”
“Yeah, maybe I did. But Tarryn? She fucking didn’t. I’m not just going to hurt you back, Tabs. I’m going to ruin you. I’m going to ruin your family. So say goodbye to your goddamn house, goodbye to your friends, goodbye to this fucking town.”
Tab’s face grew pale.
She truly hadn’t thought this through, despite knowing the dangers.
Drake was a Castleton.
With Castleton money.
Castleton connections.
And her parents were already close to losing their house.
Drake looked at all of the faces crowded around. “Delete the goddamn photos, or it won’t just be Tabitha’s family I go after.”
He started walking, and the sea of students parted to allow him a path. He searched for Tarryn as he moved.
But she was nowhere to be found.
Before he’d gotten to his car, deciding he couldn’t face school, Drake’s phone rang. He looked down, mouth drawing into a hard line when he saw the number.
He pressed answer, steeling himself.
“Yes, Grandmother?”
Seconds later, the familiar wizened scratch of his Grandmother’s voice came to life.
“Is this what you call protecting the Castleton reputation, Drake?” His grandmother’s voice was barely-controlled fury. “I expect you here in fifteen minutes. A minute longer, and my offer is void. I will leave my entire fortune to a charity. Damn you and your father to hell.”
She hung up without letting him respond.
He got in the convertible and cranked it, the rumble wasn’t as comforting as it normally was. Instead, its thrumming sent vibrations through his body that made him feel worse—like he couldn’t find stillness or peace. He’d always be a fuck-up, always watch the world move around him as he fought the current.
He couldn’t be a good person.
He had no idea what made him think he could be.
Tarryn.
It was Tarryn that made him hope.
And he’d lost her.
***
Story continued in
‘Balls’
King of Castleton #4
A note from Ellie:
Hey guys! I didn’t set up a preorder for ‘Balls’ yet—I found out I have to have surgery again. Fun times, right? I already have my next trilogy series on preorder with Amazon and I worry about biting off more than I can chew. I promise to get King of Castleton #4 out as soon as possible though so you can find out what happens with sweet girl Tarryn & Drake, the bad boy we hate to love. Thank you so much for understanding!
**Tentative release: August 2020**
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E L L I E
M E A D O W S
Ellie Meadows is the chosen pseudonym of an established-author wanting to jump feet-first into the contemporary romance scene. Her real (and faux) persona can be described as quirky, nerdy, and not afraid to love without reservation. She believes even when love is complicated and hard, it’s also very simple—be honest, open, and don’t lose yourself to the relationship, because the people who really love you will want the authentic you. They won’t want you watered down. They won’t want you to hide behind walls or lie because it’s easier to swallow.
So Ellie believes you should say the tough stuff before it festers, whisper ‘I love you’ in the dark as often as possible, dance in the kitchen while the food on the stove burns, and fight when fighting’s necessary. But always—always—make up fast and furiously.
Lastly, on the subject of love, Ellie wants to say that consent is important at all stages in a relationship. Enthusiastic, happy-hearted, mutual consent. Even if you’ve been married for over a decade—ask, understand, and don’t take advantage. Far too often, we find ourselves using our sex to obtain things, or avoiding sex to make points. We say we’re tired and don’t want to have sex, when really what we want is to forge a deeper connection emotionally, before we continue to love physically.
PREORDER ELLIE’S NEXT SERIES!
The Beasts of Greenstone Academy
AMAZON
-Reckless Little Liars-
-Ruthless Little Dares-
-Runaway Little Souls-
One little lie…
changed everything.
And I went from the new student everyone ignored,
to the girl The Beasts loved to hate.
#
My stepfather, Warren Greenstone, is rich. Connected. Loving. Founder of an elite academy. He’s the answer to our prayers. But he isn’t what he seems. And neither is Greenstone Academy.
Behind all the perfects, there’s a twisted secret. A deviant club that only accepts the most elite students. The Stone Society.
I don’t qualify.
God, I want to belong.
So I tell a lie.
Now everyone believes I’m Warren’s illegitimate daughter, but that’s better than being from the wrong side of the tracks with an alcoholic dad who abandoned me.
Yet instead of being more accepted as I hope,
I become a target.
The feared Beasts of Greenstone like nothing more than torturing defenseless girls. And the pain is made sweeter when the girl is just like them—Children of affairs. Bastard boys. Never quite good enough.
To survive, I’ll have to win their hearts. I only hope that I’m beauty enough to win over The Beasts… and that their barks are worse than their bites.
ALSO BY ELLIE MEADOWS
An over 100,000 word standalone novel ready to binge-read, with a bonus story!
###
Trigger warning- this story contains material that some readers might find disturbing. Expect references to sexual assault, foul language, and instances of violence.
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Abused runaway Anna has a plan for a better life. Keep her head down. Study hard. Don’t let anything, or anyone, derail her from making a fresh start. It isn’t just her future at stake anymore.
Then she meets Silas by chance—a tall, dark, and handsome EMT with a painful past—and her walls start breaking down.
They can find a sanctuary together or keep their hearts closed. Safe, yet never whole.
But there are dangers that threaten and memories that burn.
Love is a choice. Life can change in a heartbeat.
**read on for a teaser of HEART NOTES**
HEART NOTES
-sample-
Silas.
I ain’t got the words no more
To talk it out, to scream and shout
You want to yell my name and curse
Only god, the father, can reverse
The mess I am and what I’ve done
No room in heaven for this son
Can’t take it back, can’t make him live
The devil take me for my sins
‘You can’t save a man who’s drowning
When land’s within reach
And he ain’t swimming
I lost a friend; I lost my soul
Nothing left to fill that hole’
The great and broken I am
***
I woke up drenched in sweat, still feeling the itch of that need under my skin—the desire to shoot up and let the world fall away. It made me want to claw at my arm, rip out the hurt, but it was all memory. Lodged in my brain. A scalpel couldn’t cut it out.
Even now, I’m an addict. If you put me in a room with heroin, I’d use. I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. It hits you seconds, just seconds, after you push. The relaxation, the feeling of floating, the warmth. I dream about it—choosing the vein, tapping the needle, watching the liquid leave the syringe as I push the stopper.
Sinking into water.
Floating.
Freedom.
I threw off the covers and got out of bed, my sweaty bare skin instantly sprouting goosebumps against the chill of the fast-moving fan above. Even the sheets were soaked. I pulled them off to find the mattress underneath only a little damp. Gathering up the bed things, I walked out to the closet that housed the washer and dryer. I stuffed everything in, closed the door, started the machine, and realized I’d forgotten the soap.
“Whatever,” I muttered, walking t
owards the kitchen. The green glow of the clock mounted next to the fridge taunted me. 3:45 AM. I always woke up at the same damn time. No matter how much time passed, how much I tried to forgive myself, my subconscious was never going to let me forget.
The way his mouth had foamed. The way his body had jerked in my arms.
The way I was too late.
I never used to be an ultra-morning person. Once, I could sleep until two or three in the afternoon and not bat an eye at the time. But now…
And it had to be this exact time, every night, like I didn’t remember what the hell happened.
Like I don’t remember that Asher’s dead and jack-shit can bring him back.
Him dying sent me spiraling. I should have run away from the crap that killed him, but instead, I ran full-out towards it. Using every night until my feet looked like I’d been attacked by a prickle of porcupines. My family tried to reach me, tried to intervene. Shit, I didn’t even go to his funeral. I didn’t even go to Asher’s damn funeral. I hated myself for that.
My phone pinged. I didn’t bother looking at it. Only one person texted me at this time of night to check on me—my partner Tanner. He didn’t do it all the time now, not since he met Laurie and decided to give love a try. I thought he was crazy. Love was what ruined a person, beyond repair. There’s no other drug like it.
At 4 AM, my phone pinged again. I walked over to where it was charging by the antiquated, banged-up tin bread box left by the last tenant. It wasn’t Tanner. It was mom.
M: Had you on my mind. Can’t sleep. You?
M: Are you awake?
I knew if I didn’t respond, she’d just keep texting. She got in these obsessive moods. At least I could say I got my talent for addiction honestly.
I’m fine. Doing laundry.
Brawl: A Bully Romance (King of Castleton Book 3) Page 13
