Start a Fire: A Dark High School Bully Romance (The Savage Crew Book 1)

by Julia Wolf

  He tipped his chin, looking straight ahead. “Promise.”

  I settled in, wrapping my arms tight around his middle. He rubbed his palm over my clasped fingers, then put both hands on the handlebars as he drove us out of the parking lot. He took us down the coast, not speeding too fast, but certainly not going slow. I should have known his version of not too crazy wouldn’t exactly match mine.

  Once we were really moving, the wind whipped through me, and I no longer cared about his speed. I didn’t care about anything.

  I liked this. I needed this more than I even knew.

  Each mile we drove, my hold on Sebastian tightened. I would have slipped my hands under his T-shirt to soak some of the warmth of his skin into mine if I didn’t think it would make him drive off the road. Instead, I pressed the insides of my thighs to the outsides of his and rubbed the ridges of his abs with the heels of my hands.

  When he pulled into a spot in front of my apartment an hour later, the front of my body was so glued to the back of his, I had to peel myself off. My legs were jelly, and I stumbled to my feet. Sebastian caught me, grasping my hand to keep me steady.

  “Thank you.” I gave him his helmet back and shoved a hand into my hair, which had to look pretty crazy after a day at the beach and a long motorcycle ride.

  “Anytime. I think you like being on the back of my bike as much as I like having you there.”

  My mouth curved upward. “I think you might be right.”

  Sebastian’s brows pulled together as he glanced over my shoulder at my apartment building. “Can I ask you a question, Grace?”

  I nodded. I could run if he asked me something I didn’t want to answer.

  “Why do you live here?”

  I heard all the meaning behind his question. Why do you live in this cheap apartment complex when you used to live in a big house? Why does your mom work a shit job when she used to volunteer as her career? What the hell happened to your dad?

  “My mom’s on her own now—in every way. We don’t have a lot of money anymore. What we do have, my mom is using for her college classes, and the rest is being saved for my college fund. So, we live here. The rent is low and it’s safe.” I tugged at my hair again. “I’m not ashamed of where we live. It’s not like I had anything to do with the big house we used to live in. That wasn’t my accomplishment.”

  Brow furrowed, he seemed to mull over my answer. “Where’s your dad?”

  I didn’t quite trust Sebastian. We were probably a long way from that, but he seemed sincere in wanting to know me. And if I was making good on our deal, then I had to allow him the chance. I rubbed my lips together as I prepared to say the words I hated most in the world. “My dad died in Switzerland, right before we moved back.”

  He nodded, bringing his hand up to rub his chin. “Last night, you were crying.”

  I wrapped my arms around my middle, suddenly chilled all the way to my bones. “Yeah, I was.”

  “Were you thinking about him?”

  “Mmmhmmm. Sitting under the stars with you brought back memories of doing that with him. And I just...I got really sad.”

  “I didn’t like that, seeing you that way.”

  I tilted my head to the side. “But I thought I was beautiful when I cried.”

  His lips quirked. “I could eat your tears for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Next to your pussy, they’re my favorite flavor. But those aren’t tears of sadness. Those are tears of frustration and anger and pleasure. They’re mine, and mine alone, that’s why I love them.”

  The rhythm of my heart hitched. Everything else ceased to exist except the scary intense boy in front of me and his words floating like captions over his head.

  “How do you make something so twisted sound kind of sweet?” I mused.

  “Ever consider the possibility you might be a little twisted too?”

  I leveled my gaze on him. “Since I met you, I have.”

  He almost smiled. “I’ll see you Monday.”

  “Not tomorrow? You’re not going to show up at the grocery store when I’m shopping with my mom or stare at me while I do my homework?”

  He rubbed the side of his hair, still fighting that grin. “On a normal day, that’s exactly what I’d do. I’ve got some plans I can’t break.”

  I couldn’t fight the slight curl of my lips. He was the worst, but my footsteps were somewhat reluctant as I walked away.

  Sebastian waited until I went into my building before flying out of the parking lot on his bike. At first, the warmth coating my insides stuck around after he was gone. But as I showered the day at the beach off me, I realized we’d spent an entire day together and I still knew nothing about him. This boy, my tormentor and possessor, took more of my story today without giving me any of his, and I’d let him.

  Not for the first time, I wondered if he’d leave any pieces of me behind so I could put myself back together when he was finally done with me.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I spent Sunday with my mom, fighting for some sense of normalcy. I mean, it wasn’t exactly normal for us to be doing homework side by side, but this was our life now. This part of it wasn’t so bad. It was when I thought of how much better it would be if my dad were here too that I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

  By the time Monday rolled around, I was ready to face another week at SRH. Mom practically shoved me out of the car so she could get to her class on time, making sure to tell me how hideous I looked before she sped off.

  I was still laughing when Nate Bergen crossed my path, slowing his roll so he could climb the concrete steps to the front doors.

  “You’re looking mighty chipper for a Monday, Grace.”

  I marched straight ahead, avoiding eye contact. Not that he was looking at my face. His gaze was locked on my bare midriff. Less than a minute ago, I’d been feeling myself in my crop top and slouchy pants, but Nate managed to make me feel like a cheap slut with one lascivious glance.

  “I had a nice weekend,” I muttered.

  “Oh yeah?” He leaned in, and I caught the scent of his musky cologne. It was the same one he’d worn freshman year. Bile rose in my throat, but I swallowed hard, willing myself to calm. Nate was after a reaction, and I wasn’t about to give it to him.

  “Mmmhmmm.”

  His palm landed on my back, skin on skin. “You should ask me about mine. That’s the polite thing to do.”

  “Stop touching me, Nate.”

  He sneered in a way only really handsome, privileged boys could. “Don’t be a bitch, Grace.”

  I hurried, hoping he’d back off once we were inside. As we approached the door, I spotted Sebastian, Gabe, and their crew hanging out at their normal place on the wall. He spotted me too, but his attention was squarely on Nate.

  Sebastian cupped his hands around his mouth and barked like a dog. He did it so loud, it echoed off the steps and building.

  “Yo, Bergen. Where’s your girlfriend?” Sebastian yelled.

  Nate’s hand slid off my back so he could flip him off, but it did no good. All the boys on the wall started barking and laughing.

  I half expected Sebastian to walk over and stake his claim on me, but he didn’t. He just leaned back against the brick like he had no cares in the world, ankles crossed and shoulders relaxed. He didn’t even acknowledge me.

  Nate stormed into the school while I went slower, giving myself some room from him and Sebastian a chance to say hi or nod or make any damn gesture indicating we were more than strangers.

  He didn’t.

  Of course.

  Irritated with myself and the entire male species, I went to class. At least Bex cheered me up. Her dry wit was exactly the antidote I needed for the shitty start of my day.

  “What does it mean when the guy who stalked you on Saturday pretends you don’t exist on Monday?” I whispered as our teacher went over the paper due next week.

  “He’s probably keeping you on your toes. If he gets too complacent in his stalking, you won’t
even be afraid anymore.”

  I sputtered. She had no idea how on the nose she was.

  “Boys are dumb. Feelings are too.”

  She drew a heart with a big black X going through it on the corner of her notebook to illustrate my point. When I giggled, our teacher gave us both a stern look, ceasing any further conversation.

  * * *

  My stomach was a bag of writhing worms when I entered math. Like always, I was one of the first to arrive, even though I had to walk the farthest to get here.

  Mr. Klaski nodded to me. “Hello, Grace. How’s your project going?”

  “Oh, great. Sebastian and I set up our chart to keep track of our budget. Now, it’s just a matter of inputting numbers. The hard part is done.”

  His brows drew together. “Just make sure you’re sharing the work. I don’t want you to do the entire project. That’s not fair to you or Sebastian.”

  I shook my head. “No, we definitely worked on it together.” After he shoved his dick in my mouth.

  I took my seat, and the class began to fill in. Gabe and Bash came sauntering in just as the bell rang. Gabe slid into his desk in the front while Sebastian sauntered down the aisle, staring at me like I was his target.

  He sat down beside me, never taking his eyes off me. Mr. Klaski droned on about the project, answered questions, and essentially explained it all over again. Since Sebastian and I were nearly finished, I tuned out, gazing unseeing at the ceiling.

  A folded slip of paper landed on my desk. Giving into my curiosity, I unfolded it.

  Grace,

  Cut that shit out right now.

  I don’t like it.

  You’re eating lunch with me.

  Don’t run.

  SV

  The note wasn’t as bad as I’d expected, but I guess Sebastian was smart enough not to document all the evil he had planned for me. I gave him a sidelong glance, expelling a long breath. He raised his eyebrows, and I nodded, either agreeing to lunch or to part with my soul.

  As soon as the bell rang, Sebastian had my backpack in his hands. “Why do you always carry bricks in this thing?” he murmured next to my ear.

  Goosebumps sprung up on my flesh. “The better to defend myself with, my dear.”

  He chuckled. “That’s my line, since I’m the big bad, aren’t I?”

  Not answering, I followed the flow of bodies into the hall. Gabe stood by my locker with his arms raised. “Guh-race,” he bellowed. “My little princess Grace.”

  I flipped him off and walked right by him. Sebastian and Gabe allowed me two steps before they surrounded me on either side.

  “Where are you hurrying off to, princess?” Gabe cajoled.

  “I’m trying to get away from these two annoying dogs who keep following me.”

  Gabe barked like he’d done this morning, and the few people in the hall looked our way, but then quickly faced away. I was learning, even in a school of four thousand where it was easy to remain anonymous, kids knew Gabe and Bash.

  “I remember you agreeing to have lunch with me,” Sebastian said.

  “I don’t really remember being asked,” I hissed.

  Sebastian gripped my elbow, coming to a halt. Gabe kept going, but when he saw we were no longer with him, he turned around, walking backward.

  “Oooh, a lover’s quarrel already?” Gabe pressed his hands to his cheeks. “What will I do if Mother and Father break up? I’m too sensitive to come from a broken home. Don’t do this to me!”

  Bash flipped him off, and I couldn’t hold back a snicker. The boy was out of his mind, but when his sense of humor wasn’t shooting barbs at me, I appreciated it immensely.

  “We’ll be up in a minute. Tell Bex her girl is coming,” Sebastian said, not even cracking a hint of a smile.

  Gabe saluted him. “Aye, aye, cap!” Then he was gone, leaving the two of us alone.

  Sebastian steered me against a bank of lockers, dropping my elbow when he saw I wasn’t planning on making a run for it.

  “You’re pissed at me,” he stated.

  “I don’t know if I am or not.” I folded my arms in front of me. “I guess I was surprised when you acted like you didn’t even see me this morning.”

  “I saw you.” He leaned a shoulder against the lockers. “Do you think I want to give that asshole Nate any type of ammunition? The kid loathes me as much as I despise him. If he thought we were together, he’d go after you even harder just to get under my skin.”

  “We’re not together,” I said automatically.

  His lips curled. “We’re not? Then why am I refraining from getting my dick sucked?”

  “Ask yourself that.”

  Those worms in my stomach slithered violently at the thought of anyone else’s mouth on him.

  “Grace…” He slammed his palm on the locker. “You infuriate me sometimes. Don’t argue for the sake of arguing. You were pissed I didn’t claim you this morning, and now you’re pissed at yourself for caring.”

  “You can’t claim me. I’m not a lost piece of baggage.” Even though claiming was exactly what I had expected him to do.

  His hand came up, gripping the back of my neck and tugging me against him. “Are you hungry?”

  The change of subject was so sudden, it took me a second to understand what he was asking.

  “Always,” I confirmed.

  He dipped his chin so our eyes were level. “Then let’s go feed the monster. You can yell at me after.”

  We started for the steps while I wondered how he’d so easily turned everything around. One second, I was pissed, and the very next, I was letting him walk me to lunch.

  “How do you do that?” He raised his eyebrow, so I clarified. “How do you make it seem like I’m the crazy one when this all began with you losing your mind?”

  His hand on my nape squeezed. “I’ve talked myself out of many situations I shouldn’t have been in. Comes with the territory.”

  Bex waited for me on the wall with Gabe keeping her company. She didn’t look miserable, but she wasn’t jumping for joy either. I ducked out of Sebastian’s hold and bumped Gabe out of the way with my shoulder.

  “Go away,” I groused at him.

  He held up his hands. “Jesus, little princess, you’ve got to watch that temper. I was only having a conversation with your girl. No need to lash out.”

  I checked with Bex, and she gave a subtle shake of her head. Gabe might have thought he was charming, and sure, a lot of girls probably did too, but Bex wasn’t one of them. Guilt struck at me. She’d befriended me, then got roped into having lunch with boys she found frightening. I didn’t blame her. I wasn’t exactly comfortable sitting here either.

  Thankfully, something caught Gabe’s attention. Probably a pretty girl or a butterfly. With him, it could be anything. He wandered off, and I hopped up on the wall beside Bex. Sebastian straddled the wall on my other side, took a wrinkled paper bag out of his backpack, and unloaded his lunch.

  I decided to ignore his presence entirely and focus on Bex.

  “I worked on my sketches this weekend.” I took my sketchbook out of my bag and opened it to my rough drawings. “I’m almost ready to start sculpting. I want your opinion before I show these to Ms. Steinberg.”

  Bex took my sketchbook, quietly studying my drawings. Her mouth curved upward after a moment. “Constellations?”

  I nodded. “Yes. I was inspired a few nights ago.” I tapped on the page she’d stopped on. “This one’s going to be a mobile. I’ll weld a stand from copper pipes, I think, and each piece will hang from copper wire.”

  “Oh my god, that’s going to be so dope.” She flipped the page. “And this one?”

  “Wall installation. I think I’ll use stainless steel sheeting. I have to talk to Ms. Steinberg about that too.”

  She puffed out her cheeks and exhaled a long breath. “I’m so fucking jealous of your clear vision. My mind’s all muddled right now. I still don’t know what I want to do.”

  Sebastian r
eached around me, snatching the drawings right out of Bex’s hand. I could put up with a lot, but fuck with my art, and I saw red.

  My fists clenched tight. “Give that back to me, Sebastian. If you ruin it, I swear I’ll do my best to ruin you,” I seethed.

  He glanced up, eyebrows raised like he was actually surprised by my response. “I’m only looking.” Then he surprised me by handing it over. “These are going to be made from metal?”

  “Yes.”

  His mouth quirked. “And gazing at the stars with me inspired you?”

  I sighed. “Yes.”

  He took a bite of his sandwich, his smirk planted firmly on his face even as he chewed. “Guess I’m not all bad for you then.”

  “Bad enough.” I stuffed my sketchbook into my backpack and zipped it with resounding finality. He’d trampled all over my life. If he thought he could trample on my art, he had another thing coming.

  “Maybe.” His brows drew together. “Where are you going to do your welding?”

  Of course he’d been listening to every word I’d said. Why wouldn’t he have been?

  “I’m using the shop here at school. I’ll probably start later this week if my art teacher approves my ideas and can help me source material.”

  “I could help, you know. Sourcing materials. Setting up in the shop.” His gaze locked on mine. “If you asked.”

  I shook my head in confusion. “Are you...do you take shop class?”

  He chuckled, dark and without humor. “You don’t know much about me, do you, Grace?”

  “I seem to remember telling you that recently, but you haven’t done anything to rectify that.” And he still wasn’t.

  He rubbed his chin, looking me over. “Do you work tomorrow?”

  “No, Wednesday and Saturday.”

  “Tomorrow after school I’ll show you the shop.” He pointed to my backpack where my sketchbook was hidden. “If you’ll show me more of what’s in there.”

  “You might as well be asking to crack open my brain and take a peek.”

  His head cocked. “Is that an option?”

  I shoved at his shoulder, but he caught my hand. My breath hitched at his fingers closing around mine. He held on to me for only a few seconds, enough to drag his thumb along the pulse in my wrist, then placed my hand back in my lap.