Do It Or Else: A High School Bully Romance (Dirty Little Secret Book 3)

by Kai Juniper

  "I can't believe you skipped school!" she says when I'm done telling the story. I ended it before I got to the scene behind the bleachers. Neither one of us needs to relive that.

  "Briggs can be very persuasive," I say. "I kept telling him I couldn't do it and the next thing I know I'm telling Ms. Higgins I had a headache and had to leave."

  "And you just hung out at Briggs' house all afternoon?"

  "Yeah, by the pool. I can't believe he never uses it."

  "He kissed you in the pool," she says with a dreamy sigh.

  He did more than that, but I left that part out of the story. I didn't want to tell her we almost did it in the pool. I'd like to forget that ever happened. It was awkward and embarrassing and not something I want to relive. I also didn't tell her what happened in his bedroom after we got out of the pool. It's more than she needs to know and something I'd like to keep between Briggs and me. I really believed those intimate moments we shared were special, for both of us, but I guess I was the only one who felt that way.

  "How did you go from kissing him to losing your virginity?" Charlotte asks.

  "It just kind of happened," I say, not wanting to tell her about that night. I told her a little but kept it vague, just saying it happened and that's it.

  "How'd you feel after you did it?" Charlotte asks. "Did you regret it?"

  "Not at all. It didn't feel wrong or like I rushed into it. I don't really know how to explain it other than that it felt right, like it was always supposed to happen that way."

  She stares at me. "Ella?"

  "What?"

  "I hate to tell you this, but I think you might be falling for Briggs."

  "Well, yeah, I wouldn't have sex with a guy I didn't like. But like I told you earlier, this wasn't the Briggs from school. He was totally different. Kind. Caring. The first time we had sex he went really slow because he was so worried he'd hurt me. The Briggs from school wouldn't even care."

  "That's not what I meant. When I said you're falling for him, I didn't mean you just like him. I meant..." She pauses, looking hesitant.

  "What? Just say it."

  "I think you might be falling in love with him."

  I laugh. "No. Not even close. I admit I fell for him, more than other guys I've dated, but I'm not in love with him. I'm not even talking to him anymore. That's the part of the story I haven't told you."

  I tell her about the city taking my house, and how Briggs convinced his father to get the city to do it.

  "That doesn't make sense," Charlotte says. "Why would Briggs do that, knowing it would upset you?"

  "Because it's what he does. He lures you in so you trust him, then he turns against you. It's all part of his game. The guy I was falling for never actually existed. He tricked me."

  "What if his father was lying? What if Briggs had nothing to do with it?"

  "You sound like my dad. He said the same thing. He doesn't even like Briggs, but for some reason he's taking his side on this. He thinks Briggs' dad made it up so I'd stop hanging out with Briggs. You know, the whole rich people only hang out with rich people thing?"

  "You haven't talked to Briggs since this happened?"

  "What's there to talk about? He can deny it all he wants, but I know he did it, or had a part in it. He hates my house. He hates having it on the same street as his mansion. It makes total sense he'd try to get rid of it."

  "I think you should at least listen to what he has to say." She looks me in the eye. "Isn't that what you wanted when you came here? For me to listen to you?"

  "Yes, but it's different with Briggs. He lies to trick people into trusting him so he can get what he wants from them."

  "Like what?"

  I can't tell her about the valedictorian thing, so what do I say? My brain is tired and I can't think.

  "It doesn't matter. The point is, Briggs can't be trusted. Whatever we had together wasn't real."

  "It sounded real." She smiles. "I kind of hope you guys get back together. I'd love to see the look on Aubrey's face when she finds out you're dating Briggs."

  "Charlotte, you can't tell anyone about this."

  "Why? This is your chance to finally get back at all the people who made fun of you. You're dating the most popular guy in school, the guy every girl wants."

  "I'm not dating him, not anymore, and even if I was, I wouldn't use it get back at people or to prove something. I stopped caring what people at school thought of me a long time ago."

  "Was that Briggs' idea?" she asks. "To hide it?"

  "We both decided it'd be better not to tell anyone. It'd cause too many problems at school."

  "For him, not you. It's Briggs who risks looking bad for being with the girl he bullied." She folds her arms over her chest. "I'm starting to not like him now. He shouldn't be hiding this from people, like he's ashamed or embarrassed to be with you."

  "He's not hiding me. We're not even dating. It's over. Can we talk about something else? I haven't talked to you forever. Tell me what's going on with Asher. And what's this concert he's taking you to?"

  Her face lights up as she tells me about Asher and how he loves classical music and plays four different instruments. Charlotte thinks it's hot if a guy can play an instrument, so playing more than one means there's a good chance Asher will be getting some action soon.

  An hour later we go get dinner, then come back to her house and talk some more. I'm so relieved we worked things out. I didn't want to lose Charlotte as a friend. I didn't want to lose my friendship with Briggs either, but I don't see how it can be repaired after what he did. And now he's trying to take the valedictorian title from me again.

  Why did I ever think he cared about me? He was just using me, and I let him.

  Friday morning, I stride into AP Chem with a big smile on my face, ready to ace this exam and prove to Briggs he's not getting the valedictorian title. Briggs is in the back of the room, his head down as he messes with his phone. He looks concerned. Maybe he got another mystery text. I'm dying to know, but I doubt Briggs would tell me. He's back to the old Briggs, back to being an ass. He's probably plotting against me with Finn and Parker, trying to find a way to blame the hit-and-run on me so I'm the one who gets charged while the three of them go free.

  Shit. What if that's really happening? I could totally see them doing that. My dad can't afford some fancy lawyer to defend me. If the guys tell the cops I was somehow responsible for what happened that night, there's a good chance I'll end up in jail.

  Now I'm panicking. I wasn't even thinking about that. But if Briggs is evil enough to take my house, he's evil enough to tell the cops I'm responsible for the hit-and-run.

  "Ella?"

  I look up and see Ms. Higgins standing next to me, holding out the exam.

  "Sorry." I take it from her.

  Reading the first question, my mind suddenly goes blank. I take a deep breath and force myself to focus on the test and forget about Briggs. I'll deal with him later.

  After a few more deep breaths, I'm able to think again and jot down the answer to the first question. The rest of the answers come easily, and I finish the test before anyone else. When class ends, I glance back at Briggs and see him looking at me. He gives me a smug grin, which tells me he did well on the test, or thinks he did. It doesn't matter. I'm still way ahead of him. There's no way he could catch up to me or pass me to be number one in the class. But it won't matter if I end up in jail.

  Maybe I should try to talk to Briggs and get on his good side. He played me to get what he wants. Maybe I should do the same to him. I could tell him I'm considering giving him the valedictorian title. I wouldn't actually do it, but if I told him I might, would it keep him from going against me?

  During my next class, I text Briggs. Meet me behind the bleachers at noon.

  He doesn't text back.

  It's important, I text.

  I get nothing back. Maybe he's already decided to tell the cops I’m responsible for the hit-and-run. He wouldn't have to convince
Finn and Parker to go along with it. They'd love to see me go to jail.

  How do I stop this? I know Briggs felt something for me when we were together. Not all of it was fake. If I could just get him to feel something for me again, maybe I could get him on my side, or at least keep him from telling the cops some made-up story that lands me in jail.

  Just before noon, I go out behind the bleachers and wait. I'm sure he won't show up, but just in case he did, I wanted to be here.

  Five minutes pass, then ten. After fifteen minutes, I decide to head back. I knew he wouldn't show up. This was a waste of time.

  "What do you want?" a deep voice yells.

  I look back and see Briggs walking towards me across the field, big and tall, with a confidence only Briggs can pull off. The way he keeps his shoulders back, the even pace of his stride, the intense look on his face, it's like the energy shifts and he's this powerful force taking over whatever space he enters. It used to intimidate me, even scare me a little, but I never let him see that.

  It feels different being around him now that I've seen another side of him. Even if some of it was an act, I still think Briggs has a good side. I just need to find it again.

  "I wanted to talk," I say, walking up to him.

  "Not here." He grabs my hand and pulls me behind the bleachers.

  I felt a flutter in my chest when he touched my hand. I still feel it as he lets me go. I hate that he makes my body react like this. I shouldn't feel anything for him after everything he's done.

  "Hurry up," he demands, staring down at me, his arms folded over his chest. "Tell me what you want."

  "I want to know if you got any more texts."

  "Why do you care? You're not even getting them. Obviously whoever's doing this is leaving you out of it, which makes me wonder if you're somehow involved."

  "Are you serious?" I huff. "I was standing right next to you when you got one of the texts."

  "I didn't say you were doing this alone."

  I roll my eyes. "Yeah. I have a whole team working with me on this."

  "Maybe you do. You're always hanging out with the tech geeks."

  "Only to help find out who's doing this. I can't believe you're accusing me of sending the texts!"

  This isn't going like I thought it would. I'm supposed to be getting him on my side and instead we're fighting.

  Briggs is staring at me, his eyes narrowed, not saying anything.

  "I didn't do it," I say. "I'm not the one sending the texts."

  "Prove it."

  "I can't."

  "Then why would I believe you?"

  "Because you know I wouldn't do that." I step closer to him, looking him in the eye. "Briggs, I promise you, it's not me. After all the time we spent together, all the talks we had, you know I'm not someone who would do that and lie about it, especially to you."

  He doesn't say anything. He just looks back at me with that serious expression that's been on his face since he got here.

  "Briggs, I—"

  "Why is it different for me?"

  "What?" I say, not sure what he means.

  "Why should I believe you when you won't believe me?"

  I keep quiet and wait for him to explain.

  "You want me to believe you're not the one sending the texts but you don't have any proof, so why would I believe you?"

  "Because I told you it wasn't me."

  "Just like I told you I didn't tell my father to go to the city to get your house torn down. I told you over and over I didn't do it and you still won't believe me. How is that any different than me not believing you when you say you're not the person sending the texts?"

  I look down at the ground. He's right. It's not any different. It just feels different because now I'm the one being accused of something I didn't do.

  "Was that it?" he says. "I can't stay. I need to meet with Coach about tonight's game."

  I forgot he has a game tonight, the first one of the season. If I wasn't so angry at him, I might actually go. I'd like to see him play.

  "You're right," I say, looking up at him. "I can't expect you to believe me if I don't believe you. That's actually the reason I asked you to meet with me." I pause. "I can't prove you told your dad to go to the city to get my house torn down. You told me you didn't do it and I..." I take a breath. "I believe you."

  "You don't sound very convincing."

  "Because I'm still not sure I can trust you. I thought I could, but then you started threatening me again, demanding I get a bad grade on today's test."

  "Let me guess. You got every question right."

  I stand up straighter. "I can't say for sure, but yeah, there's a good chance I got a perfect score."

  "Good for you," he says, sarcastically. "I need to go." He turns to leave.

  "Briggs, wait!" I hold on to his arm.

  He turns back. "What?"

  "Did you get another text or not? Just tell me. I know I'm not getting the texts, but I'm still part of this. I need to know what's going on."

  "We got a couple. The first one came the other day. Said we had to eat lunch with someone we'd normally pick on."

  "That's why you had lunch with Oliver."

  "Yeah, but Finn and Parker wouldn't do it. We got another text saying they get one more chance to do what they're told or it's over. He'll send the video to the cops."

  "Oh my God." I start pacing back and forth. "It could happen any day now! We could be in jail by next week!"

  "That's not gonna happen. I'll get Finn and Parker to do whatever's next."

  "How?" I stop pacing and turn to Briggs. "They haven't listened to you before."

  "They will now. I'll deal with them. Don't be getting all freaked out about this. People will notice and it'll make you look guilty."

  "What difference does it make? I'm going to be arrested anyway when Finn and Parker refuse to do what they're told." I feel like my chest is closing in, like I can't breathe.

  "Ella." Briggs puts his hands on my shoulders and looks in my eyes. "Relax. It'll all work out."

  I feel my chest begin to open, freeing up enough for me to breathe again. How does Briggs do that? How does he make me believe everything will be okay when it won't? It can't. If our fate is in the hands of Finn and Parker, we're screwed.

  "I have to go," Briggs says, stepping back.

  "Good luck with the game tonight."

  "Thanks." He smiles, just a slight smile, but it's genuine, not fake. It's the smile I used to see on the Briggs I was falling for, the one I really miss and wish I could be with again.

  "Briggs?" I race up to him as he's leaving.

  "What?"

  "Is there, um...any chance we could be friends again?"

  He's silent, his eyes on mine. I feel that connection between us, the one we had when we were together, and I'm certain he's going to tell me yes.

  "No," he says, then he walks off.

  No? That's it? I don't even get a reason why? So much for getting on his good side. We kind of made up, but not really.

  I don't know what this means. Can I trust that he won't turn against me? Or did talking to him only make things worse?

  Talking to Briggs was supposed to make me feel better, but now I'm panicking even more than before. That video is going to be sent to the police. I know it is, but then what? What are the guys going to tell the cops? What are they going to say about me?

  I need Briggs to tell me, but he won't. Finn and Parker won't either.

  I'm on my own. It's up to me to save myself. I just have to figure out how.

  Chapter Six

  Briggs

  When I wake up, I check my phone and see it's after ten. This is the first time I've slept this late on a Saturday since my mom moved out. My father hates it when I sleep in. If he were home, he would've been banging on my door at seven, yelling at me to get up. But today he's at the office. He'll be there all day. I have an entire Saturday with no set schedule and nobody telling me what to do.

  I stret
ch my arms out and breathe, smiling as I relive last night's game. We totally crushed the other team, and it wasn't an easy team to beat. They've ranked higher than us for the past three years. It felt fucking awesome to take them down, wiping that smug look off their faces every time we scored. Parker and I were on fire, plowing down the field, taking down anyone in our path. I wish Ella was there to see it. She doesn't like sports, but I'd still like her to see me play, at least once. I'm not sure why it matters to me, but it does.

  I'm doing everything possible to stop thinking about Ella and to stay away from her, but I swear it just makes me want to be with her even more. When she texted me yesterday at school, asking me to meet her at noon, I told myself not to do it. Then noon came and I almost went to see her, but then stopped and went back in the building. I met up with Parker in the cafeteria, but I wasn't listening to anything he said. All I could think about was Ella. Finally, I just gave up trying to fight it and went down to the field. I thought for sure she'd be gone. I was counting on it, hoping I wouldn't have to see her, knowing when I'm alone with her, things happen. Things I can't let myself do.

  When I saw her there, I immediately wanted her. I wanted to take her in my arms and kiss her in a way that would have her begging me to do more. I wanted to go back to how things were when we were together, before I decided to make Ella hate me again. I know it has to be this way, but it's not what I want. It's not what Ella wants either. She actually told me that. She asked if we could be friends again.

  It killed me to tell her no, because fuck, I miss her like I can't even believe. My chest literally aches at the thought of never being with her again. Those few weeks we were together I felt like a different person. For once, I felt good about myself, like maybe I'm not the shitty person I think I am. My own parents don't even want me. What does that say about me?

  Ella's the only person who ever showed genuine interest in me—in who I am and what I want and how I feel. Nobody else gives a shit. I'm surrounded by people who act like they worship me. They do what I say and tell me what I want to hear. But it's all fake. They only do it because I'm popular. Because I drive the most expensive car at school. Because I'm captain of the rugby team. And because they've seen what I can do to people who piss me off. Like Ella. All it took was spreading a few rumors about her and calling her names to get everyone to turn against her. She didn't even do anything to provoke me. When people saw that, they didn't even try to challenge me.