But neither Kyle or I so much as blink as we remain in our stare-off.
He’s got blood trickling down his cheek from a cut on his eyebrow, his right eye is swelling and he’s got a split lip.
He looks a mess, yet I can’t look away from the devastation.
The commotion around us begins to lessen. But still, we remain immobile.
“Poppy has taken Zayn home,” Ruby whispers in my ear. “Ash can take us. Are you coming?”
“I… um…”
Apparently, Ruby’s whisper wasn’t quiet enough because Kyle answers for me.
“No. She’s not going anywhere,” Kyle barks, speaking for the first time in what feels like forever. His rough, deep voice vibrates through me and affects me more than anything Rich did to me earlier.
Damn him.
“I really don’t think—”
“I don’t give a fuck what you think,”
“Don’t talk to her like that,” I snap, my own anger getting the better of me.
Kyle’s eyes continue to hold mine, he’s not even given Ruby the decency of a glance to apologize for his tone.
“It’s okay, Rubes. You go. Kyle and I need to talk.” I cringe as I hear my slurred voice. I wish I sounded stronger and more in control right now.
“Are you sure?” she whispers, quieter this time so only I can hear.
“Yeah, it’s fine. Kane is here to stop me from killing him,” I say loud enough for whoever is left in the house to hear me.
A smile twitches at Kyle’s lips but I refuse to acknowledge it or to return it.
I’m too fucking mad. Although right now, I’m finding it hard to put my anger and thoughts into any sensible order and I have no idea what I’m more pissed off with.
“Okay,” Ruby breathes. She hesitates by my side for a few seconds but she soon disappears.
“Call me if you need anything,” Ash tells Kyle before they disappear from the house, leaving me alone with just the two Legend brothers.
Most might be intimidated. They’re more than a force to be reckoned with. But I know them better than to cower down to them.
“Kane,” Kyle growls.
“What? I want to see her attempt to follow through on her threat,” he quips.
“Kane,” he repeats, his voice low and haunting.
“Fine. Ruin my party and all my fun why don’t you,” he mutters, swiping a couple of beers from the side before crashing through the front door and slamming it behind him.
“And then there were two,” Kyle muses.
“Don’t try to be cute. What the hell was that?” I ask, my arm flying out and sweeping around the room behind me. I have no idea what specific part of tonight’s clusterfuck I’m referring too, I don’t even really care where he starts, I just need some fucking explanations.
“I didn’t know he was coming.”
“I should fucking hope not. Kyle, that fuck ruined your life, he almost rap…” I trail off, not wanting to say the words, it makes it feel too real and I prefer to live in ignorant bliss as much as I can. “You should have warned me. I wouldn’t have come.”
He takes a step forward and the scent of alcohol and weed that surrounds him like a fog fills my nose.
“Don’t,” I warn, holding my hand up between us. I can’t let him get close to me. And I certainly can’t allow him to touch me. Even when I’m sober I do shit I shouldn’t when that happens.
“You should have told me,” I repeat.
“But I wanted you here.”
“Why? So he could do that to me? Ohhh,” I say, an idea hitting me so hard it makes my head spin. “Did you want a repeat too? I know I fucked up that night, but have you been lying all this time? You were in on it and you did want to see it through. To fuck me at the same time he did.”
“No,” he states, stepping closer. “Never. You’re fucking mine, Harley. Not that cunt’s or anyone else’s.”
“Right,” I say, a manic laugh falling from my lips. “I’m so yours that you had some other chick grinding down on your cock when I arrived earlier. Miss me, did you?”
“You know I fucking did. But I didn’t want her.”
“It certainly fucking looked like it as you touched her. As you let her touch you. Kiss you.”
“Jealous, Kitten? Did you want to be the one grinding down on my cock?”
“Fuck you,” I seethe, taking my own step toward him, my fists curling at my sides ready to land my own punch on his annoyingly pretty face.
“I wanted to show him that you didn’t mean anything to me. I wanted him to back the fuck off,” he growls, making my brows pinch.
“Why? Why do you need that?”
“B-because… fuck,” he barks, lifting his hands to his hair and tugging. When I first saw him tonight he was wearing his standard ball cap but that vanished sometime during the fight, probably at a similar time to when his shirt got ripped at the neck.
“What? What aren’t you telling me, Kyle?”
“Nothing.”
“Bull. Shit,” I snap. “Tell me, Kyle. Tell me whatever the fuck is going on. I deserve to know.”
“Do you? You’re nothing but a fucking snitch. All of this is your fault. All of it.”
“Really?” I ask incredulously. “You really believe that? Because while I might blame myself for what happened to you, I think we both know whose fault this whole thing is, and it’s neither of us. It’s that fucking cunt. Why was he at your birthday party, Kyle?”
His chest heaves, his nostrils flare as he stares at me, fighting with whatever words are on the tip of his tongue.
“Fuck.”
His chest collides with mine before I’ve even realized he’s moved. I crash back against the wall but my head doesn’t slam into it like I was expecting because at the last minute he cradles the back of my skull with his hand.
His lips crash to mine in a bruising kiss that I have no chance of backing away from.
My hands slam against his chest, but my efforts are futile. He’s too strong. And, if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t want him to stop.
I want him to claim me. Prove to me with actions that whatever that was with that brunette earlier was nothing.
I want him to show me that he means what he says. That I’m his.
My fingers twist in his shirt, holding him against me as his tongue devours my mouth as if he’s going to die without my kiss. The taste of copper fills my mouth from his split lip but it only spurs me on and I suck hard on his tongue making him groan and his hips roll against me.
“Kyle,” I pant when he finally pulls back. “Tell me…” I force out between heaving breaths. “Tell me the truth,” I demand.
“Damn it, Harley.” He slams his hand against the wall beside me.
“What? I have a right to know. Who was the girl? Why was Gray here?”
“I… fuck.” He pulls away from me and backs away until he’s at the other side of the room.
“Fine. Fuck you, Kyle. You can’t tell me the truth then we’re done here.”
His eyes widen in shock but I don’t give a crap. I refuse to allow him to lie to me.
“I’m leaving.”
“You can’t,” he says in a rush, racing toward me but I’m faster and at the door in a flash.
“Watch me.” I push through the door, slamming the screen against the side of the house with my force.
“What the hell?” Kane is up off the swing seat and walking toward me before I get to the stairs.
“She thinks she’s leaving,” Kyle spits at his brother.
“I don’t fucking think anything, asshole. I am leaving.”
Flipping him the bird, I race down the steps on wobbly legs.
“Wait,” Kane calls out. “Let me take you.”
“What?” Kyle barks. “She’s not fucking leaving.”
Kane pins his brother with a hard stare. “She’s not staying.”
Kane throws his car keys at me. “Get in my car, Harley.”
&nbs
p; The second they’re in my hand, I take off. Needing to be away from Kyle as quickly as possible. The more he begs, the more he pisses me off, but I can’t deny that my restraint is slipping.
Even when I hate him, I want him.
Asshole.
“You’ve been drinking, you can’t drive her home.”
“Get in the house, Kyle, before I fucking make you.”
“I’d like to see you fucking try.”
Slamming the passenger door behind me, I watch through the driver’s window as the two brothers stare at each other.
I brace myself, waiting to see who’s going to throw the first punch. It wouldn’t be the first time the two of them had got into it. But before that happens, Kyle spins on his heels, slams the front door so hard I can only imagine that the entire house rattles, and disappears from my sight.
“I’m sorry,” Kane says cooly as he drops into the driver’s side.
“You don’t have to drive me. I can walk,” I offer. I know the last thing Kane Legend wants to be doing tonight is play taxi for me.
“No.”
He starts the engine and backs out of the driveway. Neither of us saying anything else.
A million and one questions spin around my head as the silence stretches on. I want to ask about Kyle, about Gray, about tonight and so many other things about his life, but more than anything, I want to ask about Letty, but even with the amount of vodka flowing through my veins, I’m not that stupid. So I keep my lips zipped as he flies through the streets of Rosewood until he pulls up in front of my house.
Everyone else is home and the only light in the house is that of Zayn’s bedroom where Poppy is probably tending to his wounds, among other things.
I’m almost sick in my mouth at the thought.
“Are you going to be okay?” I give him a double-take when I hear the concern in his voice. It’s so at odds with the anger and tension that’s usually rolling off him in waves.
“I’ll be nowhere near you two, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Kane doesn’t respond, although I do feel his stare burning into the side of my face.
I bite back the questions that are once again on the tip of my tongue and push open the door.
“Thank you,” I say before slamming it on him and making my way to the house.
The front door is unlocked. Zayn probably left it that way knowing I’d be following soon after them.
I grab myself some pills and a glass of water from the kitchen, knowing that this is going to hurt like hell in the morning, and I make my way up to my room.
I kick my shoes off the second I’m inside before letting my dress slide down my body and discard it on the floor as I continue to my bed. I find a tank that I pull over my head to sleep in before curling up under the covers and willing the alcohol to drag me under.
But as I lie there, I can only picture one thing.
Kyle with that brunette grinding on his lap.
I know all of this is just a game of revenge to him. This is what he wants, me hurting and regretting what I did to him.
It shouldn’t hurt this much. But I know I don’t have the power to stop it.
Because I’ve already fallen. And he’s already shattering my heart.
31
Harley
Eventually, I fall asleep with the events of the night playing out in my mind. Kyle’s demands that I stay along with the state of him, make me wonder if I did the right thing.
Should I have stayed and cleaned him up? He was fighting for me after all.
My sleep is fitful and broken but I know it’s just my mind that’s stopping me from fully drifting off.
That is until I come too once again and the scuff of someone’s shoe on my carpet hits my ears.
My eyes fly open, my heart in my throat that he’s come after me. I should have known better than to assume he’d let me walk away like that.
Part of me is excited that he’s broken in to get to me again, although I know I should still be mad at him. But I also know that the second he touches me, all bets are going to be off because I can only fight for so long when his touch burns me from the inside like it always does.
The side of the bed dips and I prepare to look into his blue depths and to submit to whatever he’s come over here to take from me.
But when a hand wraps around my mouth and a pair of eyes pierce mine, they’re not blue and I realize my mistake. His other hand wraps around my hip, pinning me to the bed and stopping me from bucking to get him off me.
This isn’t Kyle coming to prove how good it is when we come together.
A scream rips up my throat but with his giant hand covering half of my face, no noise leaves me.
My heart thrashes against my ribs as my panic begins to get the better of me.
Why is he here? Why is Gray in my bedroom?
My eyes are wide as he closes the space between us, his nose bumping against mine.
His face is swollen and still covered in blood and I can’t help hoping that it’s as painful as it looks.
“You’re a stupid fucking bitch, Harley.”
I try to shake my head but it barely moves under his painful grip.
“He’s not going to protect you this time,” he breathes in my ear, sending goose bumps racing across my skin. Unable to hide my reaction to him being so close, my body trembles against his hold. “You are all mine. All. Night. The fun we’re going to have, Princess.”
“Fuck you,” I growl against his hand. There’s no way he could have deciphered the words, but I’m sure he could have a good guess at what I want to say to him. His fingers bite into my jaw in punishment anyway.
As if I weigh nothing more than a feather, he lifts me from the bed and holds me tight to his body, my back to his front.
I fight him. My elbows flying, trying to make contact with his already bruised and broken ribs.
“We can do this the hard way, Harley, or the really fucking hard way.”
A moan of frustration rips up my throat as I continue to try to fight him, but I’m no match for his size and strength, and by the time my muscles begin to grow weary, he’s already carried me down the stairs and out the front door.
There’s a black SUV parked at the sidewalk. He marches us right up to it and pops the trunk.
“No, No. Noooo,” I scream behind his hand as he slams me against the car, pinning me there with his weight and reaches for a reel of tape before pulling a length off.
“You need to learn your place, Princess,” he growls, momentarily releasing his hand and replacing it with the tape.
My scream pierces the air for less than a second before I’m muted once more.
My eyes narrow at him as he turns me to look at him, trying to show him just how much I despise him with just one look.
You won’t get away with this, motherfucker.
He might be right. Kyle might not fight for me. But Zayn will. And the second he discovers I’m not in my bed where I should be, he’ll raise hell to get me back.
He leans in closer and I twist my face away, not wanting to look at him for a second longer.
His fingers grip my chin and he drags me back to him.
My teeth grind with my need to hurt him but with his hips pressing me into the car and only my arms free, I doubt I’m going to achieve much. I lift one, in a brief moment of confidence but he sees it coming a mile off and his hand captures my wrist, bringing it around to my back.
“Don’t even think about it,” he seethes, his eyes bouncing between mine before they drop to my chest. “I almost couldn’t ask for more,” He lifts his free hand and pinches my nipple between his thumb and forefinger until it burns in pain. I don’t so much as flinch as bile churns in my stomach at having his disgusting hands on me.
“We’re going to have so much fun,” he promises again, making me want to turn my head and puke on the ground. He leans in so his vile breath races over my face.
He flips me around, pressing me so hard against t
he back of the SUV that it cuts into my stomach. Both of my arms are wrenched behind my back before he wraps rope around my wrists, binding them together.
“Get in.”
I make no attempt to move which makes the vein in his temple pulsate with irritation, but I figure the longer I can remain standing out on the street with tape over my mouth the more chance I have of this being over soon.
Sadly, that’s not how it happens because, after a second, he lifts me from my feet once more and throws me into the trunk like I’m no more than a piece of trash.
My shoulder smarts as it hits the floor first, quickly followed by my head. Lights flash behind my eyes from the force, a beat before all the lights go out.
“Motherfucker,” I scream against the tape as the engine rumbles to life beneath me.
My eyes burn, tears threatening but I have no idea how long I’m going to be in here for and I have no intention of him seeing my tears.
I close my eyes, trying to keep them at bay and think of Kyle.
He’ll notice I’m missing and find me, won’t he?
I have no idea how much time passes, I drift in and out of sleep—or consciousness, I’m not really sure—but finally, the car comes to a stop and only a few seconds later the trunk opens.
He looms over me, a dark figure in front of the early morning sky. It should be the sign of a new day, of exciting unknowns, but I don’t think I’ve ever been less excited and more terrified in my life.
“It’s playtime, Princess.”
He reaches in, wraps his fingers around my upper arm so tight, I have no doubt it’ll leave bruises and hauls me out. My bare feet land on the sharp gravel and I wince in pain.
Gray slams the trunk closed before dragging me toward a dark, ominous-looking building.
I want to cry with every step I take, it’s like walking on shards of glass and by the time he pulls me to the door and onto a concrete floor, I almost sigh with relief.
The door is unlocked and he pulls me right inside.
The first thing I notice is the smell. It’s rancid. I wouldn’t be surprised to find some kind of animal decaying in a corner.
My stomach turns over and I retch as he walks me further into the dark and damp space.
LEGEND: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rosewood High Book 7) Page 29
