Cruel Summer: A College Bully Romance (Verona Academy Book 1)

by Melinda Terranova

  “I will be. He’s just realised what he lost.” I manage a small smile as we make our way up in the lift.

  Chapter Seven

  Summer

  The auditorium is still empty and I realize I’m thirty minutes early. I sit in my usual place and play on my phone when I notice the professor setting up his things on the desk out front. He clicks through a few things on his laptop when a large picture of Villa Farnesina pops up on the wall. I study the building and wonder if this is one of the places we will get to visit on our Rome trip.

  “Magnificent, isn’t it?” Rob interrupts my thoughts.

  “Will we be visiting this villa?”

  “Yes, this is my favourite museum. It is the most underrated and unknown museum in Rome, which is perfect for us. It means it won’t be packed with tourists.” Rob’s eyes gleam.

  “Did you only choose this career to travel?” I laugh.

  Rob grabs his chest in mock horror. “My secrets out.”

  “I won’t tell anyone.”

  “Good and I won’t tell anyone you signed your friend in last week.” He winks at me.

  I slap my hand over my mouth in surprise. “How did you know?”

  “I count my students every lesson. I also remember faces.” He taps his nose.

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want it to affect his grades. I’m so embarrassed.” I shrink into my seat.

  “I like women who have their friend’s backs, it shows strength and character. Just don’t do it again.” His tone clipped. He raises his eyebrows at me before walking back to his desk.

  The auditorium fills with students. Jake manages to arrive in the nick of time and takes his seat next to me. I’m glad he’s not holding a grudge from the weekend. The lights are turned out and the mini movie of famous Roman renaissance art begins.

  I lean into Jake and nudge him with my elbow to get his attention. “Rob knows I signed you in last week.”

  “What? How?” He looks surprised.

  “He counts heads.” I shrug.

  “Fuck. Am I in trouble? He probably thinks I made you do it.”

  “He knows it was all me. I think you’re safe for now. Just don’t miss any more classes.”

  We are too immersed in our conversation to notice Rob standing on the other side of me.

  “If you two have more important things to discuss, please take it outside.” Annoyance rolls off of him.

  “Sorry.” I sit back in my chair and don’t take my eyes off the screen for the rest of the lesson.

  Thankfully our seats are right near the exit and we manage to escape before Rob can ask us to stay back.

  “What the fuck is his problem?” Jake looks at me.

  “I think I got us on his radar.”

  “To think he came across all relaxed and laid back in the first week.” Jake pulls his bag higher on to his shoulder.

  “Exactly what I was thinking. I feel like we’re in senior high again.” I roll my eyes.

  “We’ll just have to stay silent during class for a while. Think you can do that, miss chatty?” Jake laughs.

  I grin at him. “I can try.”

  “Well, I have to get to my next class. See you tomorrow.”

  “See you tomorrow,” I repeat.

  My phone buzzes in my pocket and I take it out to see my mom calling.

  “Hi, mom,” I manage to answer before it goes to message bank.

  “Sweetie, any chance you can get a few days off and come to the beach house for a long weekend?”

  “What day would I need to leave?”

  “Most probably Thursday night at the latest. We want to leave early Friday morning. Your aunt, uncle and cousins are coming too.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. Can I bring Amber?”

  “Yes, of course. The more the merrier.”

  “Okay, I will ask her when I see her tonight.” I smile. A weekend back home is exactly what I need.

  “I’m so happy I get to see my baby girl,” mom sings into the phone.

  “Love you mom. I got to go.” I hang up before Rob can listen to my conversation any longer. How long had he been standing behind me?

  “So, I guess you won’t be in class on Friday?” He adjusts the pile of papers and books under his arm.

  “No, but I’m already caught up on next week’s readings and I’ll listen to the lecture through the live stream.” My words come out rushed.

  “It’s okay, go have fun. You’re only young once.” He winks at me and strides off towards his office.

  I watch his retreating figure and can’t work out why he was so indifferent during class and so normal just now. I sigh in confusion before heading off to my next class across campus.

  The day drags and I’m a yawning tired mess by the time I leave my last class. I normally enjoy the late afternoon strolls across campus back to our dorm building but today it would be so nice to teleport into my bed. By the time I make it to my room, my feet ache and my bag feels as though it weighs a tonne. I kick my shoes off, drop my bag on the armchair and fall face first into bed. I must fall asleep because I’m startled awake to Amber’s giggles just outside the door.

  “No you can’t come in, my cousin will kill you,” she laughs before closing the door on Stephan.

  “What time is it?” I sit up and rub my eyes.

  “Ten. We’re you asleep, I’m so sorry I woke you.” Amber’s cheesy grin gives away that she doesn’t really care.

  “I fell asleep as soon as I got home,” I yawn and I eye her with curiosity. “Why are you so giddy happy?”

  “Stephan.” She does a little happy dance. “He took me to the movies and dinner.”

  “How romantic,” I tease.

  “I’ve never been on a date before.” She throws her pillow at me.

  “What? Why?”

  “I wasn’t allowed to date.” She shrugs, like it’s no big deal.

  “Your Italian family?” I raise my eyebrows and throw the pillow back at her.

  “Exactly.”

  “So, where’s your killer cousin tonight? I thought he would be out with his sniffer dogs and sidekicks tracking you.” I mimic a dog sniffing the air.

  “He’s preoccupied tonight, so it was the perfect opportunity to go out.” She winks at me.

  My mind goes there as much as I want it not to, but I can’t help linger on the word preoccupied. A crazy part of me hopes it’s not with another freshman and I realize I’m a little bit jealous and I have no right to be. I shake my thoughts from my head and decide to hop into the shower. Amber takes a shower after me and we settle in for the remainder of the night watching The Vampire Diaries re-runs.

  “I almost forgot, do you want to come to my families beach house this weekend? We’d have to leave Thursday night and take Friday off.” I shove a handful of popcorn into my mouth and wait for her response.

  “I’d love to. Where are we going? I need to tell my overprotective dad.” Amber rolls her eyes.

  “It’s in Nantucket.”

  “I’ll just text him now.”

  We continue to watch the episode until the end when I look at the time, it’s one in the morning. “I need to go to sleep, I feel like a zombie lately.”

  “All these late nights are catching up on me too. Maybe while we’re away this weekend we can just relax and do nothing.”

  “Sounds like plan.” I yawn and drift off into a deep sleep full of weird dreams.

  ***

  The shrill of my alarm jolts me from my sleep, I reach out for my phone to shut off the noise and lay there for a few minutes before dragging myself out of bed to get ready for classes. Amber hasn’t even moved from the noise and I leave her still asleep as I exit.

  “Hold the elevator please.” I run toward the closing doors. A hand reaches out to stop the doors from shutting and I rush through to come face to face with the devil himself. “Thanks,” I manage to stutter. We are the only two in the elevator and his proximity has my heart racing, he dominates the space
with his presence. I can feel his eyes on me and the hairs on the back of my neck prickle.

  “Running late, freshman.” His voice is velvet.

  “What are you doing here?” I keep my eyes on the lift buttons.

  “I study at this college.”

  “I meant in this building.” I look at him then, his eyebrows are drawn together.

  “Why do you want to know?” He steps closer to me, clearly knowing the effect his proximity has on me.

  “Amber said you were preoccupied last night.” I inwardly cringe that I said it out loud. Fuck. My. Life.

  “Are you jealous?” He takes a lock of my hair between his fingers and swirls his thumb around it.

  “No.” I pull my hair out of his hands.

  “Are you sure? That little pout of yours begs to differ.” His eyes taunt me.

  “What is there to be jealous of?” I sneer at him.

  He takes another step, cornering me, his two arms resting against the elevator on either side of my head. His eyes are intense, his gaze unwavering, but there’s something beneath his smirk that triggers a warning.

  The elevator stops and the doors open. He doesn’t move. “Get the next one, if you know what’s good for you,” he growls at the person waiting outside.

  My heart rate continues to beat rapidly and I can’t believe he said that to whomever was waiting. The doors close again, we mustn’t be on the ground floor yet, it feels as though we’ve been in this damn thing for ages.

  “Now, where were we? That’s right; discussing your jealousy.” He licks his lips.

  I huff in annoyance. The audacity he has thinking I’m jealous of him being with other women. Just the very thought of him with someone else sends anger straight to the pit of my stomach but I don’t want him to know that. I wish this elevator would descend faster.

  “Don’t worry, freshman. With other’s I usually take what I want, only you need to beg.” He smirks before the door pings open, he strides out and leaves me fuming and wanting to slap the grin off his face.

  Chapter Eight

  Summer

  Thursday afternoon rolls around and I am excited to escape Verona Academy for a few days. I haven’t had the pleasure of running into the three assholes for a couple of days which instantly lifts my mood. I wait on the curb with our bags for Amber to return. Amber’s dad loans us one of his Cadillac Escalades for the weekend. It’s windows are blacked out and it looks bulletproof. I giggle as Amber pulls up outside our dorm and climbs out of it.

  “What?” She laughs.

  “Can you see over the steering wheel?” I can’t help but giggle some more.

  “Shut up.” She flips me the finger.

  I throw my bag in the backseat and jump in the passenger seat, eager to get going. Amber and I are heading straight to the beach house and if we don’t hit traffic, we will make it just in time to catch the passenger ferry.

  “Ready?”

  “Let’s go.” I’m keen to get away from this Academy and the monsters that lurk within it.

  The drive is smooth and we make it to the ferry with plenty of spare time and find out Amber’s dad has paid our ferry fee to take the car across. Amber assures me it’s nothing and typical of her dad. The sun has well and truly set by the time we make it to the island.

  “You can drive from here,” Amber announces once we’ve driven off the ferry, she pulls over on the side road and jumps out.

  I climb over the center console and strap myself in. “I’ve never driven a car this big before,” I worry.

  “You’ll be fine.”

  Our beach house has views of Hither Creek and Madaket Harbor and the road to get to it is a bumpy dirt road. I spent my childhood summer’s at this house, my great grandparents built it when they were first married and it has been passed down generation to generation. It’s one place that will always be home.

  “Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Amber squints out the windscreen.

  “Yes,” I assure her for the hundredth time. “This part of the island isn’t very touristy, there’s only locals out here.”

  “It feels very isolated,” she worries.

  “It is and isn’t. The shops and restaurants are about a fifteen minute walk along the beach. The sunsets are spectacular.” I grin. I love this place. If I could move here and never leave, I’d be the happiest.

  I pull up onto the driveway and the lights are already on inside. Our neighbour, Mrs Sellers must have made sure the house was lit up for me. We jump out of the car and the sea air engulfs me as the wind circles around us.

  “Oh wow, I can hear the waves crashing.” Amber looks toward the sandy beach.

  “Wait until you wake up to that view in the morning.” I can’t wipe the grin off my face. This is exactly what I needed. “Let’s go inside and I’ll show you our room. We have to share, I hope that’s okay?”

  “Yes, I’m glad actually.”

  I sense Amber is nervous or worried but I don’t let on that I know. She follows me into the two storey house and into the double room on the first floor. We dump our bags and head to the kitchen to see if there is any food.

  “I found a fruit platter and a cheese platter,” Amber calls from the fridge.

  Thank you Mrs Sellers. “Cheese platter. I have wine.” I hold up a bottle meant for my mum, but she won’t mind.

  We make ourselves comfortable on the three seater sofa and listen to the waves crash against the shore. After a few wines and the calming effect of the sea air, we both fall asleep.

  ***

  The sound of the waves wakes me and I feel the most rested and relaxed I have felt in weeks.

  “Wake up sleepy head.” I nudge Amber before climbing off the sofa to take in the spectacular view of the most beautiful beach on Nantucket.

  Amber yawns and stretches before sitting up, her hair falling out of the bun she had tied it in the night before. “I haven’t slept that well in forever.” She gets up and comes to stand on the back deck. “I could really get used to this place.” She takes in the view.

  “Coffee?” I ask.

  “Yes please. So, what are the plans for today?”

  “We have to go into town to get the groceries my mom ordered. We can check out all the tourist spots too if you want?” I make my way to the coffee machine.

  “When is everyone getting here?” Amber joins me in the kitchen.

  “Probably around lunch.”

  “I can’t wait to meet your mom, she sounds so nice.”

  “She is.” I grin. “I miss her.”

  “Aww babe.” Amber gives me a big hug. “I’m going to go take a shower.” She takes her coffee mug with her.

  My phone buzzes and I check to see who it is. It’s Ryan and I ignore his call. I don’t want to be thinking about boy problems today.

  We head into town, the main tourist area is fairly quiet and I show Amber where we will be having lunch tomorrow.

  “It has the best clam chowder.” I nod as the memories of last summer flood back. I spent the summer with Ryan, bike riding, swimming and just being lazy teenagers before our senior year started. A small part of me wishes I could rewind the clock and re-live my summer in paradise. I sigh at the thought and promise myself to call Ryan back later tonight,

  Once the car is packed with the groceries, we head back to the beach house. “I could get used to driving this tank.”

  “I can use it anytime I want, so if you need to borrow it, it’s yours.” She grins at me.

  “What will your dad use?”

  “He has plenty of cars to choose from,” Amber states as though that is a normal thing.

  Amber turns the stereo up loud and we sing at the top of our lungs as we cruise back to the beach house. It’s one in the afternoon and my parents haven’t arrived yet. I decide to give them a call.

  “Sweetie.” My mom’s voice sounds strained.

  “Hey, are you nearly here?”

  “No, honey. The ferry service has been su
spended for now. They found a body near the jetty.”

  “What?” I gasp. “What do you mean a body?”

  “Someone has drowned. There are police everywhere, so I doubt we will make it over.”

  “Oh no. That poor person.” My heart sinks.

  “You and Amber enjoy your weekend. I think we might head back home and reschedule our weekend getaway for another time.” The phone rustles against my ear.

  “Summer.” My dad’s voice is urgent.

  “Hi, dad.”

  “I need you to be careful. Check the locks tonight. You know where the gun is, use it if you need to,” he orders.

  “Yes, dad. Relax. I know what to do. You’ve drilled these things into me since I was a toddler.” I roll my eyes.

  “If something were to happen to you,” he trails off before I hear the phone rustling again.

  “Are you still there, honey?” Mom asks.

  “I am. Tell dad not to worry. We’ll be fine.”

  “Be careful and have a good weekend.”

  “Okay,” I sigh. “It would have been so good to see you and dad.”

  “I know, honey. Come home next weekend.”

  “Love you mom.”

  “Love you too.” She hangs up.

  “Amber, where are you?” I call out.

  “Out here on the deck.”

  I make my way to her. “My parents aren’t able to make it. The ferry service is suspended, they found a dead body near the jetty this morning.” I sit in the adirondack chair next to her.

  Her face turns a pale shade of tan. “A body?”

  “Yep, it’s so sad.”

  Her gaze turns to the ocean and the crashing waves. “I’m sorry you aren’t going to see your family.”

  “At least I’m not here on my own.” I grin. “Let’s make some drinks and turn the music up.” I jump up and head to the kitchen.

  “I’ll be right back. I need to make a call.” Amber disappears down the path toward the beach.

  We spend the afternoon drinking and dancing. The orange and red glow of the sunset turns all the whites in the house a golden yellow colour. Amber is asleep on the couch and I wander down the wooden planks and onto the cool sand, there is not a another soul for as far as I can see. I take out my phone from my jeans pocket and call Ryan.