by Mae Doyle
It’s one of those coping skills that I learned when I was in therapy after Tiffany’s death, and while most of the time I spent talking about my feelings was a fucking joke, this trick actually works.
Most of the time, anyway. Right now I’m so pissed that nothing could calm me down. But maybe some good pussy.
“Just some guys at lunch. She and I have the same period, so I kept an eye on her. In fact, I asked her to try out for the squad. She didn’t seem thrilled, but I think she will. She thinks that if she makes the squad then I’ll hate her less than I do now, but have you seen how tiny she is? She looks like she’d be a perfect flyer and I just want to toss her up into the air.” She grins at me. “Hope she doesn’t get hurt.”
“Why the hell would you do that?” It’s bad enough to know that this girl is here, but to see her during games and practices, bouncing around in a tiny outfit? Nope. Too much. “What game are you playing at, Bethany?”
“Me? No game, dear brother. Although, you may want to put your game face on. Looks like little miss is actually going to try out.” She points over my shoulder and I resist the urge to turn around and look.
I know what I’ll see if I do turn around. Tiffany’s fucking ghost walking towards me looking just like her before the accident. No, thanks, I have other things I need to think about, not how to avoid my own living hell.
This has to be some fucked-up joke that my sister is playing. Even for Bethany, though, it’s going a bit far. She’s cruel, but making me look at the doppelganger of my dead girlfriend at every game? That’s fucked up, even for her.
“Hey! Elle! Over here!” Bethany calls over my shoulder and waves. Then, in a lower voice, she adds, “we really don’t need someone on the squad, but I’m calling in a favor. As long as she isn’t afraid of heights then she’s a total shoe-in. Won’t you like having her cheer you on?”
I have to bite back the words I want to say because suddenly Elle is at my side. She’s changed from the jeans and black tank top that she had on this morning into tight leggings and a cheer top. I watch as she pulls the hem of it down self-consciously, trying to cover her stomach.
Not that there’s much there to cover. She’s as skinny as my sister but with great tits. I pause and peruse her body, starting at the top and working my way down before I speak to her.
“So. My darling sister here tells me that you’re going to try out for the squad.” Elle looks at me, a flash of fear in her face. Good. I want her to be afraid of me. She shouldn’t be here, and I plan on reminding her of that every chance I get.
“Yeah, she’s rather convincing.” She pauses for a moment and Bethany cuts her off.
“Get your ass over there in just a minute, Elle.” Bethany points across the field. “But right now, I bet that you two have so much to talk about.” She grins at me and winks. Before I can stop her, she turns on her heel and runs across the field to join the rest of her squad. Half of my team whistles at her and she flips them the bird as she goes.
“Can I ask if I did something to upset you?” Elle’s voice draws my attention back to her. Standing this close to her I see how easily I tower over her. It wouldn’t take much for me to overpower her and make her want to leave this school. Too bad there are so many people here.
My pulse starts to throb in my ear as I think about all of the ways that I could make her pay for daring to set foot at Kennedy Academy. My cock is hard in my shorts and I step forward, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and pulling her to me.
I need to get her on her own so I can show her what I think about her being here. I want to drive her out of this school so I never have to look at her again.
Her lips are parted slightly, and she sucks in the bottom one to chew it while she waits on my response. I’d be crazy not to want to part those lips with mine and see them wrapped around my cock. Just thinking about her on her knees in front of me makes my cock twitch in my shorts.
I have to ignore it if I’m going to get through to this stupid girl.
“You piss me off. Everything about you, Elle, is upsetting.” She looks like I’ve slapped her, but I don’t let up. “You being here is not okay, and you need to know that.”
I can tell that she wants to pull away, but I’m not going to let her. Instead, I turn, pressing myself into her side. My cock is hard and her eyes widen as she realizes what I’m doing.
To anyone else, we look like we’re having a lovely chat.
“I don’t want you here, Elle.” Leaning closer, I brush some of her hair behind her ear and whisper in it. She shivers under my touch. “You need to leave.”
She looks hurt and takes a step back, but I keep my arm around her.
“What did I do to you?” I see the flush rise in her cheeks, but she doesn’t move away from me. Stupid girl. She’s so close that I could easily kiss her. There’s nothing stopping me from getting a little closer to sweet, stupid, sexy Elle.
She hasn’t done anything to me but make me think about Tiffany, but that’s enough. I smirk at her and take a step forward, again closing the gap between us. She freezes and I reach out, pulling her by the hip so that she’s pressed up against me.
Digging my thumb into her hip, I hold her in place so that she can’t move. “You think that you want to be on the squad, little Elle? You think that Kennedy Academy is a good place for you? You have no idea what you’ve done. You better keep your distance from me.”
She shivers but can’t step back. Reaching up with my other hand I brush some hair back from her face and then drag the pad of my thumb across her lower lip. She sucks in a hard breath when I touch her, and I feel my cock throb in my shorts.
“What did I do?” Her voice is so soft that I can barely hear it. I lean down to get my mouth close to her ear and I’m reminded how tiny she is. How fragile.
“You, Elle, didn’t do anything. But your presence here reminds me of something that I’d rather not remember.” She’s standing perfectly still, and I take her chin to force her to look up at me. “I’m the prince of this school, Elle. You don’t want to cross me.”
I’m not sure what she’s thinking. Her face is almost expressionless. At the very least, I was expecting some tears or her to flush harder and try to pull away. She’s close enough to me that I could easily kiss her. I could claim her as my own.
As much as I hate the idea of seeing her around school, I hate the idea of seeing with someone even more. That would almost be like seeing Tiffany with another man.
Even before I know what I’m doing, I’ve made up my mind. I don’t want to have Elle Suttles. Hell, I don’t want to see her stupid face anywhere near me but I sure as hell don’t want to see her with someone else.
I can play with her. I can take out all of my frustration and anger over losing Tiffany on her. But nobody else is allowed to touch her.
She’s under my protection. But she’s also my toy. And like any hunter, I like to fuck with my toys.
“Can I go?” Her voice is even quieter than before and I realize that my thumb nail has dug a halo into her skin on her hip. Pushing her back from me, I nod. “Good luck with tryouts,” I smirk. “I think that Bethany mentioned they want you as a flyer, so you better hope that nobody accidentally drops you.”
Her eyes widen and she takes one step back from me, then another, before turning and jogging across the field. My whole team is watching her now, but nobody whistles or calls out. Teague must have told them. Elle is mine to play with and nobody else in the school can touch her.
Nobody can look at her.
I give myself a shake and start walking toward my team, but my eyes are on her ass as she jogs away. My hands burn where I touched her and my cock is hard as I think about pressing her little body up against the wall, pinning her in place, and taking her for myself.
Elle can run all she wants, but I’m faster. She’s like a scared little rabbit, and rabbits tire out long before predators do.
I’m going to keep an eye on her.
And
then I’m going to destroy her.
Chapter 3
Elle
I’m sure that my parents want me to tell them about my first day at Kennedy Academy, but the last thing I want to do is try to explain Clay. How would I even begin?
So, there’s this guy…well, he’s got the body of a god, but I’m pretty sure that he’s an evil sadist. Oh, and his preppy little sister wants me to join the cheerleading squad, but I think that she only wants me to do that so she can have me injured. If they toss me high enough into the air and then drop me then I might completely shatter when I hit the ground.
I’ve never felt this fragile before, but it’s true.
I’m so close to shattering. I’m doing everything that I can to hold it all together, but today was hell. The designers at Kennedy Academy spared no expense when making their school, but it ended up being a beautiful prison.
Nothing more, nothing less. I hate everything about it, from the amazing skylights and incredible classrooms to the gorgeous grounds and the inspiring teachers.
It could burn to the ground tonight and I wouldn’t feel any sadness, as long as it meant that I never had to see Clay again.
But even though I hate Kennedy Academy, it’s still better than being here. Hell, if I got dropped while cheerleading and ended up in the hospital it would be better than being at home. Life in a hospital feels preferable to staying in the same house with Ted. So, mom, wish me luck.
Nope. Not a conversation that I want to get into right now, or ever.
That’s why I’m already in my room when my mom and Ted come home with some pizza for dinner.
“Elle! You hungry? Ted and I would love to hear about your day!” My mom doesn’t have to yell since our voices carry so well in this house, but it’s just like her to make a scene. Ever since she met Ted she’s been trying to be “more authentic”. In her eyes I think that that means trying to be true to herself, but it really just means that she’s more of a pain in the ass than ever.
Instead of answering I walk into the bathroom and turn on the shower. The only cool thing about my room is that it has this attached bathroom, which means that I have my own private space. I got all of my toiletries unpacked and moved in, and now I sprinkle some fragrance beads into the shower while the water heats up.
In just a few minutes the entire room is filled with steam and the scent of lavender. Stripping, I step in, enjoying the way the hot water streams down my body, burning me. I want it to wash away everything that happened today. When I close my eyes, I think about the way that Clay looked at me…
No, he looked through me.
Like I wasn’t even there.
It makes me shiver, but worse than that? I felt something for him. How I could feel something for someone who hates me is beyond me, but the low tugging in my stomach tells me different.
If he just weren’t so damn hot then this wouldn’t be a problem, but he’s the perfect high school quarterback. Tall, strong, blonde, piercing eyes, ripped.
He’d be the guy from my dreams if he didn’t act like he came right out of my nightmare.
Even though I was busy with practice, I tried to keep an eye on him while he worked out. He’s good when on the field, and I can see why so many people practically worship the ground he walks on. But not me. No matter what he does or how great everyone else thinks he is, I have no interested in fawning all over him.
And yet…
Yet…there’s something incredibly sexy that I just can’t deny.
I drop my hand to between my legs as I think about him, but before I can even enjoy myself I hear my mom calling me again.
“Elle! You have a friend here!” She bangs on the wall downstairs and the sound carries easily into my shower.
Fuck.
Gasping, I turn off the water and grab my towel, stepping out and drying off as quickly as possible. The bath mat I put on the floor soaks up all of my dripping water and sticks to my feet as I dry off. My hands are shaking as I try to beat whoever came to visit. The last thing I want is someone from school up in my room.
I have no idea who could be here, but I don’t want to be caught with my guard down. The only two people who showed any interest in me are Clay and Bethany. Everyone else treated me like a pariah. At first, I thought that it was because they hated me, but I think I know the real reason.
Clay.
He must have done something to make people back off.
Dammit. The thought of Clay being here right after I was about to touch myself and think of him makes me blush.
Wrapping the towel around me, I reach for the door knob, but I’m too slow. Before I’m even out of the bathroom there’s a knock on the door. I freeze and wish that there was more than one way in and out of this room.
Why the hell would one of them come to my house? My heart pounds in my chest as I imagine Clay on the other side of my door, leaning against it and listening for me. I know that it’s stupid, but it almost feels like I could have summoned him by thinking about him.
Especially while touching myself.
“Elle, geez, how long does it take to dry off? Get out here.” Bethany’s voice cuts through my thoughts and she turns the bathroom door knob as I quickly wrap the towel around me. When she pokes her head into the bathroom, she coughs in the steam. “Holy shit, how can you breathe in here?”
Thank God. Not that I’m happy to see her, but it’s better than her older brother. She fans steam away from her face.
“Bethany. Hi, I was just…practice was tough today and I was super sweaty,” I tell her, tucking the end of the towel in on itself so it stays up. I pray that it won’t slip down and expose me to her.
“Well, get out here so I can talk to you.” She slams the door shut and I hear her tapping her foot while she waits on me.
No, no, no. I don’t know why she’s here, and after my little run-in with her brother, I’m not entirely sure that I want to see her. She seems completely two-faced and I’m cautious when I walk back out into my room.
“You too poor for a bedframe?” She kicks my mattress with disgust and then looks at me. “Seriously, though, how long have you lived here? And why haven’t you unpacked? Your room sucks.”
I’d never admit it to her, but it does. This room is nothing like the one that I had back home. Then, I’d actually taken time to paint and hang up art and pictures. My room here feels more temporary. It’s simply a holding cell until I graduate and can get the hell out of Blacksburg.
“Oh, I’m sorry that it’s not up to your standards,” I spit back, still holding onto my towel. “I had to come to your stupid school this morning instead of setting up my room, so that was fun.”
“Yeah? Did you like it?” Ignoring my sarcasm, she walks over to a stack of boxes and lifts the lid to peek inside. It’s packed with books and she scoffs, dropping the lid on the floor before turning back to me. “Did you like cheerleading?”
As much as I hate to admit it, I kinda did. I never thought that I’d play a sport, not that cheerleading is a sport, exactly, but hanging out with girls and some guys who don’t look like they want to kill me was a bit of a nice break.
“It was fun, yeah. Thanks for the invite to try out. Do you know when I’ll hear if I made the squad?” I try to sound nonchalant, but she smirks at me like she can see straight through me.
“You did. Like I told my brother, we’d like another flyer, and you’re the perfect size. Here.” She picks up a bag from the floor and hands it to me. I take it but keep my eyes on her. Knowing Bethany, it could be just about anything in there. “Open it, it won’t bite, dummy.”
I peek inside and there’s a uniform all ready for me. It feels strange for me to look at it, but when I do, I can’t help but feel a bit of pride.
They want me. I don’t care if it’s because I’m a bit smaller and they’ll be able to throw me up into the air. The fact is that after an incredibly shitty start to the day, there’s a group of people who want me to join them and that feels
damn good.
So much for wanting to blend in and disappear. Jesus, hand me a fucking uniform and I’ll fall right in line with the rest of the brainwashed clones at Kennedy Academy.
“Don’t fuck up, okay? I’m putting my neck out for you.” Bethany walks to the door and leans against it while she waits for my response. She looks completely out of place in my room with her cute clothes and her made-up face.
Even though we’re so different, for a moment I can’t help but think that maybe we could become friends.
“Thanks for doing that, Bethany, I really appreciate it. I don’t know what made you want to be so nice, but – ”
She cuts me off. “It’s not because I’m nice and it’s certainly not because I like you, Elle. It’s only because we need someone small like you. Also, I really like to fuck with my brother, and you’re the perfect way to do that.” She wiggles her fingers at me, and I feel my stomach sink. “Wear it Friday for the pep rally and the game. I’ll see you tomorrow, sweetie.”
She saunters down the hall and the stairs like she owns my house and before she goes I hear her talking to my mom. “I just love your daughter so much! I think that Friday she may just spend the night at my house after the game. Does that sound okay to you?”
For once, I can’t hear my mom’s response, but I know what it’s going to be. She’s going to be thrilled that I’m making friends and she’ll take any chance that she can to pawn me off so that she and Ted can have some alone time.
Dropping the bag with my uniform, I kick it across the floor. It seemed like such a good idea earlier, but now I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.
Clay
Apparently, some of the assholes that go to this school didn’t get the memo that Elle is off-limits and belongs to me because all week I’ve heard people talking about the cute new girl.
