by K. Walker
“What’s your name, new girl?” he asked and traced an outline along my cheek and down to my chin.
My skin crawled and I tried to turn without answering him. He slammed his other hand on the other side of the locker, pinning me inside.
“Would you just move?” I asked in an irritated way.
He laughed, and I could smell the pancake syrup still on his breath. I got a chance to check out his outfit, and that was when I saw the blue and gold letterman jacket. Great! The school’s QB no doubt, and douche extraordinaire.
“I don’t feel like moving, and I asked you a question,” he sneered. “Didn’t you learn any manners before you came here? Once Duke asks you a question, you answer.”
“Oh, so you’re referring to yourself in the first person. That’s creepy. Well, Duke, my name’s Quinn,” I told him sarcastically and feigned a smile. If I was lucky, maybe he would just leave and I could go back to being ignored or ogled from afar.
“You sure are a fucking smart ass,” he shot, and his head dipped close to my neck. “But you smell awfully nice, Quinn.”
“Uh, thanks?”
I checked around me again, and that time I heard the giggles and the snickers. He was making a fool out of me on my first day, and I was much too self-conscious for that. Not how I pictured my first day at a new school.
Actually, when I thought about it, it should have been exactly what I thought would happen – what with my rotten luck and all.
“I think you and I should hang out. What do you say, Quinn?”
“Duke, I don’t…”
He placed his finger on my lips. “Shh. You don’t have to say anything. Give me your number. I’ll pick you up after school and we can go and do something…” he paused and sucked in a deep breath as his eyes scanned my body, “…fun.”
You’ve got to be kidding me!
“I don’t want…”
“Wait, are you turning me down?” he growled and narrowed his eyes. “Because no one turns Duke down.”
“I…”
I didn’t get to finish my statement. Two sets of hands gripped him in the shoulder and spun him.
“What the fuck?” he barked as he turned, his temper flaring that his sleazy banter had been interrupted. “Tyson?!”
Tyson? Which Tyson?
I leaned sideways so I could see beyond Duke’s large frame. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Tyson spat. If he was a dog, he would have drool dripping from his lips.
“What’s it to you, Pierce?” Duke asked and poked Tyson in the chest.
Duke was a lot bigger than Tyson, but the fire in his eyes could easily smolder the giant. “Didn’t you get the memo? She’s off-limits.”
“What, she your girl or something? I didn’t know you started dipping in the gutter, man,” Duke sneered. “Because she didn’t say anything. And by the way, she was checking me out bruh…”
Tyson grabbed him by the collar and shoved him into the locker. “I said, she’s off-limits. Go fuck with some other skank. She’s mine!”
Mine? What the fuck did he mean by that, mine? I didn’t belong to anybody. I wasn’t a piece of fucking meat! Still, I was glad he had gotten that sleazeball off of me. I would return to that ‘mine’ thing later.
Duke glanced at me and fucked me with his eyes instead before he backed away. “Whatever, man. She wasn’t even all that.” A classic case of the fox calling the grape sour – except in my case, the Miami trailer-park grape was worse – it was bitter and unforbidden.
I was heaving, not sure if I should feel angry at Tyson or grateful. I didn’t have to think long. After Duke walked away, Tyson shot me a wicked glare, like I had just cost him something.
“Well, well, well,” Charlotte smirked and wound her arm around Tyson’s neck. “Don’t tell me you’re into her, too,” she said and glanced me over. I felt dirty when she did. “Hitting the slums, Ty?”
Tyson unwound her arm. “I’m not into her, Charlotte.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” Mia said as she joined the conversation.
I hadn’t even realized they were all there until then. My eyes had been glued on Tyson defending my honor, and Duke buckling under his influence.
“Don’t get it twisted!” he sneered, and I hated that they were mocking him because he was looking at me like I had done something wrong. “I did it because Celine would kill me if anything happened to her.”
“Mmhmm,” Charlotte hummed, and Liv laughed.
“Come on, girls, and leave my brother alone,” Liv ordered and winked at me.
They laughed and walked away, leaving me alone with the angry titan and obvious King of Bridal Creek High.
“Watch your back, Quinn!” he barked at me. “I won’t always be here to do it for you.”
My anger spilled over the edge and I slammed the locker door shut. “I didn’t fucking ask you, Tyson!” I snapped at him and walked off.
The gall of him!
He planned on being a dick all the time. I saw that from the get-go. I just wish I didn’t have the image of his actual dick in my head every time I saw him.
So far, it was his only redeeming quality.
Chapter 7
My day didn’t get much better after that.
I got my class schedule and realized I didn’t have math first period, which meant I wouldn’t be with the one friendly face I had met so far.
All the other periods were the same. Fortunately, I didn’t run into Tyson or any of his goons either. Liv and Bella had general music with me in fourth period, but as usual, it was like I wasn’t even there.
I could take that over unwanted attention any day of the week. Or just being plain rude. Tyson had gotten so much under my skin; it was unbelievable. It was like he had a chip on his shoulder, and I was his newest and easiest target.
By the time lunch rolled around, I was a nervous wreck. I dreaded running into him, and I thought about ditching lunch altogether.
“Quinn!” I turned and saw Kyla waving at me.
Whew!
“Hey,” I said and walked quickly over to her.
“Are you going to lunch now?”
“That was the idea,” I replied and gave her a half-smile. “After this morning, I was wondering if I should bother.”
“Oh, I heard about that,” she said and took my hand. “Duke’s a real ass, but Tyson…he’s something, isn’t he?”
“He’s something alright,” I sighed. “I think he has it out for me.”
“Aren’t you, like, staying with them or something?” she asked, holding her books tight to her chest.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean anything,” I said and scrunched up my face.
“A lot of girls would kill to be in the same house as Tyson Pierce,” Kyla told me.
“Yeah? Show me a few and I’ll gladly switch places. Tyson’s a jerk,” I said.
She laughed. “At least he’s a hot jerk, right?”
She bumped into my shoulder and we grabbed a couple of trays next to the food station. I didn’t want to start thinking about Tyson as the high school hottie every girl wanted to fuck.
So far, he was a jerk. That was the image I wanted to maintain. I picked up an apple, a tuna sandwich, a bottle of water and a bag of pretzels, and waited for Kyla to be done with her lunch. She took pretty much the same things, except she had apple juice instead. I had a feeling she and I were going to be great friends.
My senior year was already leveling off.
She showed me to the table close to the center of the room – the seniors’ section. Three other girls were already sitting at the table, and they looked up when they saw me.
I smiled at them and placed my tray on the table. Kyla introduced us. There was a girl with dark curly hair that was caught in a knot at the back of her head, and her red lips curved into a smile as she looked up. She was Annette.
“I’m Lila,” the short, pretty girl smiled at me. She was above average weight, but she had an air of confidence
I loved that right away. She seemed like the kind of girl who didn’t give a shit what anyone wanted to say about her.
And then, there was Simone, who could easily pass for my sister – she had the same long, dark blonde hair, except she had freckled cheeks and hazel eyes. Mine were bluer.
“Nice to meet some friendly faces,” I said and sat down.
“Welcome to Bridal Creek High,” Lila beamed. “Where are you from?”
“Miami Dade,” I replied and unwrapped my sandwich.
“Wow!’ Simone exclaimed. “That’s a long way away. How did your ass end up here?”
I gulped when I thought about the reason. “My mom died,” I said plainly and bit into the sandwich.
There was a hush around the table after that. “I’m sorry,” Kyla said.
“Thanks,” I smiled at her. “Just life, right? Shit happens, and so, here I am.” I was trying to be blasé about my mom, so it wouldn’t hurt at that moment, but their looks of sympathy were too much. “Guys! Please. Not here. I’ve got enough of that going around. Here is where I need a break from it.”
“I got you,” Lila said and shook her head with a little attitude.
“Yeah,” Annette agreed. “So,” she leaned across the table, “you live with Tyson Pierce?”
I groaned. “Not again,” and Kyla started to laugh.
“Don’t mention Tyson around her,” she giggled. “Seems he’s got a thing for her.”
“Like a good thing or a bad thing?” Annette knitted her brows and asked.
“So, here’s the deal,” I started. “My mother’s a non-conversation, and so’s Tyson Pierce. I can’t stand him. He’s a jerk and been a jerk since I met him. I don’t want to talk about him. It’s bad enough I have to see him all the time.”
“Have you seen him naked yet?” Simone leaned in, too and asked.
I blushed because I had. That question was spot on, but I wasn’t going to tell them that. Plus, it was a freaking accident.
“You have!” Lila squealed and started doing a jig with her feet under the table. “Is it, like, decent?” She asked as her fist covered the smile plastered on her mouth.
“Girls!” I groaned and slapped my hand over my face. “Next topic, please.”
I was giggling, though, because the entire thing was just too funny, and to make matters worse, Tyson walked into the cafeteria at that very moment, and only one thing flashed across my mind.
“Speak of the devil,” Kyla said when she noticed him.
“What’s with that other Duke character?” I asked them by way of changing the subject.
Both Lila and Annette clicked their tongues and then giggled. “Now him you can avoid. He’s just a world-class douche and not worth your time.”
“Did you hear he already came onto her?” Kyla asked them. “The pig!”
“Speaking of a pig,” Annette smiled in a twisted kind of way and looked across the room.
I turned around and noticed a group of five girls entering the cafeteria. They had an air of authority about them, and clearly, one of them was the leader of the troop.
“Let me guess – that’s the cheer squad.”
“You guessed it,” Simone said and when I turned around, she was rolling her eyes. “Tonya is the female version of Duke. Don’t cross paths with her if you don’t have to.”
“Considering I’m the new girl, I have a feeling I’m going to cross paths with everyone, good and bad,” I sighed.
“Don’t worry about them,” Annette said. “Just stick with us and you’ll be alright.”
“I’ll take you up on that,” I replied gratefully, feeling a bit lucky that I had been enlisted into a pack on my first day.
The next couple of minutes were spent chatting about summer activities and plans for our senior year, which included a dance I had no intention of attending. With any luck, I would get a scholarship and leave the Pierce home once and for all when I start college.
My anxieties returned when the bell rang, and I was leaving the cafeteria when I ran into Duke again. He glared at me and then walked by so closely his shoulder brushed against mine. But he was so huge I still ended up knocking my arm against the wall.
I ground my teeth and kept walking. And I thought Tyson was bad.
It turned out that Tyson, Liam, and Jonathan were in my art class. It was hard not to notice the way the girls in the class gawked and fawned over them. Once, when I checked behind me, Tyson was leaning against the desk of a pretty blonde who was clearly googly-eyed over him.
“Ugh!” I mumbled to myself and turned around again.
I was more than happy to get out of there when the bell rang. I wasn’t quick enough. “Don’t act like you don’t want some of it,” Tyson whispered in my ear and walked by.
I knew he didn’t mean him. Or his dick. Damn! Now the image was back in my head. Jonathan and Liam laughed like they knew what he had said. They probably did.
The blonde walked up to me just as I was going through the door. She knocked into my shoulder and stopped right in front of me. “Don’t think because you live with him that he’s yours, trailer park trash” she spat and shot me a killer look.
“What?” I asked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. But it seems, living in a trailer park taught me better courtesy.”
“Back off!”
My head was spinning after she walked away. Back off? Off of what? Tyson? Hell, she could have him. They all could. He was an ass, and not the kind of ass I wanted to be spending my time thinking about.
Just one day in school and already, I hated the fact that I lived at his house. Of all the people Aunt Celine had to marry, it had to be Robert Pierce, father of my high school nightmare.
By the time the school day ended, I was ready to get out of there. I didn’t know where Liv was, which meant I was stranded.
“Great,” I said to myself and slammed the locker door shut out of frustration.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
It was Lila. “I need a ride home,” I told her. “Not sure where Liv is, and I’m not asking Tyson. I would rather walk but don’t have a clue where to go.”
She laughed. “I’ll give you a ride. Come on.”
“Thanks, Lila.”
“It is entirely my pleasure,” she grinned.
I laughed when I realized what she was insinuating. “You do know it’s not like he’ll invite you into his room, right?”
“A girl can dream,” she laughed.
I laughed with her, too and walked out of the building. “Where are the others?”
“I don’t know,” she replied as we reached her red Ford Focus. “I think Kyla has some dance thing, and Annette has already left.”
I laughed at her nonchalant way of addressing them. “Cool. Thanks for saving my life,” I told her again as I slipped into the car.
I was closing the door behind me when I spotted Tyson across the yard. He was staring at me and wearing a scowl, and I wondered what new sin I had committed.
Chapter 8
I tried to steer clear of Tyson when I got back to the house. I discovered it wasn’t that hard to do.
First of all, neither of them was there when I got home. Secondly, once I was in my room, I didn’t care if they were home or not. Third, and best of all, I could eat in my room. I didn’t have to interact with them at all.
Perks of living in a mansion, I guess. If only I had my own bathroom. I was lying on the bed, checking my very, dull social media life when I heard a knock at the door. I paused and wondered if I should pretend that I was asleep. But it could be Aunt Celine, and I didn’t want to be an ass.
“Who is it?” I called and rolled over to sit up.
“It’s me,” Aunt Celine said from the other side.
“Come in!” I called and pushed the laptop aside.
She pressed the door slowly open like she was afraid of some hidden trap I had set on the floor. I smiled at the thought of Tyson falling into a dungeon if he ever snuck into
my room.
“Hey,” she called and closed the door after her. “How was your first day?”
“Uh, it was okay,” I told her. I didn’t want to worry her about high school drama I could handle – for the most part.
“Oh, good. I’m glad. Who did you get a ride with this morning? I had asked Tyson to take you with him because I know Liv carpools with her friends.”
“I went with Liv,” I told her honestly. I had no reason to protect Tyson. He was an ass and I wished I could tell her how much.
“Really?” she asked and knitted hew brows. Then she heaved a sigh. “It’s just for this week.”
“No, it’s fine. I didn’t mind riding with Liv. She was cool about it, and she only picked up Mia.”
“Oh. Well, as long as you were fine. And you’re situated in school and everything, right?”
“Yeah, I’m all set. You don’t need to worry about me,” I assured her. “I’m used to handling myself, remember?”
“I know, but you’re in my home now. And I’m fussy, so sue me,” she smiled and lightly touched my cheek. “Okay, I’ll leave you alone now.”
“Okay,” I smiled at her as she walked out. For a second, I thought, with her being there, life with the Pierce’s might not be so bad after all.
That thought lasted for just a night. In the morning, I was back to relying on getting a ride with Liv or him.
I got ready, and that time, I waited by the door that led to the garage from inside. He came down, and his face was tight when he saw me.
He walked past me without a word, opened the garage door, and walked to his door. I planned on waiting for Liv. No way was I going to ride with him.
“Get in!” he barked and slammed his door. I looked around because there was no way I was going in his car. After a couple of seconds, he stuck his head through the window. “Are you deaf? Get in!”
“I’m not going with you,” I told him. “I’m waiting on Liv.”
I turned away, folded my arms, and walked back a little distance from the garage. “If you don’t get in, I’m going to leave.”
“Fine!” I replied without looking.
