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

by Kai Juniper

  "I don't know about this," she says, sounding hesitant.

  "Why? You don't want people to know about us?"

  "I do. I just don't want it causing even more problems for me. I was hoping to coast through the end of the year without being harassed."

  "Who would harass you?"

  "The guys on your team. Aubrey. Scarlett. All the girls who want you for themselves."

  "I'll deal with them. You have nothing to worry about."

  The door opens and Roy's standing there. "Time for dinner." His brows draw together. "Why was the door closed?"

  "I didn't realize it was," Ella says, passing by her dad as she leaves the room.

  Roy eyes me. "You weren't..."

  "No," I tell him, but I would've if he hadn't come home.

  He's still not okay with me dating his daughter. I have to earn his trust, just like I'm trying to do with Ella.

  Friday morning, when I get to school, people swarm around me as soon as I walk in the building. I've been gone all week, and by now everyone knows about the hit-and-run and my father being arrested.

  People are firing questions at me, but I ignore them, my focus on the girl who's constantly on my mind, and in my dreams, and who I really want to have sex with tonight.

  One of the cheerleaders grabs hold of my arm. "Briggs, where have you been? Are you okay?"

  "I'm good." I look down at her hand on my arm. "You need to let go."

  She takes her hand off me and steps back, acting offended that I didn't want her touching me. Sorry, bitch, I'm taken, and soon everyone will know.

  I smile when I see Ella through the crowd, standing at her locker, struggling to open the door. She's yanking on it, swearing at it, and looking a little crazy, but also fucking adorable.

  "Need some help?" I say, coming up behind her.

  The people who were following me stop and the noise in the hallway lowers.

  Before Ella can answer, I reach around her and yank open the door, then slam it shut.

  "Hey!" She turns around, sees it's me, and smiles.

  I grab her around the waist and kiss her. I hear the gasps from the crowd, the whispering, the comments about how it must be a bet or some kind of joke.

  Keeping the kiss going, I slip my tongue in her mouth, ignoring what's going on around us and just focusing on Ella, and how she feels in my arms, how it feels to kiss her.

  The bell goes off and I slowly back away, smiling at her. "Think anyone figured it out?"

  She laughs. "I think they have an idea." She turns back to her locker to get her stuff.

  "What the hell was that?" Aubrey says, storming up to me.

  "What?" I put my arm around Ella's waist as she closes her locker. "I was just kissing my girlfriend."

  "THAT," she points to Ella, "is NOT your girlfriend."

  "I think I'd know that better than you." I lean down and kiss Ella.

  "Oh my God, disgusting!" Aubrey shrieks. "What is WRONG with you? Are you high?"

  "Let's go," I say to Ella, taking her hand. We turn away from Aubrey and head down the hall to class.

  "Briggs!" Aubrey yells.

  "She didn't take it well," Ella says with a smug smile.

  "Ella!" someone yells.

  I look back and see Charlotte racing up to Ella. "Oh my God, that was amazing! You should've seen everyone's faces when they saw you with Briggs! And that kiss!" She fans herself. "So hot."

  Ella laughs. "I have to get to class. See you at lunch?"

  "Yeah, bye!" She races off the other direction.

  "You're not having lunch with me?" I ask Ella.

  "I don't think I'm allowed at your table." She rolls her eyes.

  I pull her into my side. "Hey. Don't be saying that shit. We're not going back to how things were."

  "I was just kidding. But I would like to eat lunch with Charlotte. I don't want her sitting alone."

  "She can sit with us."

  "At your table?"

  "Yes. And it's not my table. It's just A table."

  "The A table," Ella says. "That's what I used to call it."

  "Why?" I stop outside the classroom.

  "We have to go in. We're late."

  "Who gives a shit. Tell me why you called it that."

  "I kind of had a nickname for you." She hesitates. "I called you A1, for asshole number one. Parker was A2 and Finn was A3."

  "I got the number one spot?" I smile.

  "It fluctuated, depending on who was the biggest asshole. You were A2 for a while but then you started bullying me again about the valedictorian thing and you were back to being A1."

  "And what am I now?"

  "You're just Briggs. You're not an A anymore, unless something changes and you go back to—"

  "It's not happening. I know you don't believe me, and I know you still don't trust me, but this is real, Ella. I'm going to prove that to you."

  And I will. I know I've gone back on my word in the past, but I'm committed this time.

  I know Ella's the girl for me. She saved me, in so many ways. I have a long ways to go to earn her trust but I will, because I don't want to lose her.

  We go in Mr. Walker's class and he sneers at Ella as she walks in late.

  "Ms. Quinn, how many times—"

  "She was with me," I say. "Her locker was stuck. I was helping her get it open."

  "Fine, just take your seats," Mr. Walker says. He turns back to the class. "As I was saying..."

  "Sit with me," I say to Ella as she turns to go to her row.

  "I don't have a seat back there," she whispers.

  "You will." I take her hand and walk her back to my row. I look at the guy who sits next to me and give him a nod to move. He quickly gets up from his seat. "Go ahead," I say to Ella, motioning to the open seat.

  I smile at the shocked look on her face. She clearly doesn't comprehend the power I have at this school, or maybe she didn't think I'd still have it after I kissed her.

  I was never worried about it. I'm a leader and always will be. I make the rules and people follow them. It may sound cocky, but it's true. People might be angry I'm with Ella, or shocked, but they'll get over it and things will go back to normal, except for Ella. She'll get a lot more attention being with me, but she can handle it. If she could handle all the shit I've put her through, she can handle anything.

  26

  Graduation Day

  Ella

  "In all my years here at Devonshore, the biggest thing I learned is to not assume you know someone based on how they look, or what they wear, or even how they act. You never know what's really going in someone's life. You only know what you see, and what they let you see. That may not mean much to some of you, but it will to others." I glance at Briggs, then look back at the crowd. "In closing, my message for all of you is this: Go out in the world and make it better. That's what my dad always told me and I'm stealing it because it's good advice and better than anything I could've come up with."

  People laugh. I take the moment to smile at my dad, who's wiping his eyes. He's been crying through my whole speech.

  "This is it. Our final goodbye to Devonshore High. It's scary to move on, and some of you may have no idea what you're going to do next, but you'll figure it out. And whatever you end up doing, just follow my dad's advice and you'll know you're on the right track. Go out in the world and make it a better place. Let's do this!" I step down from the podium as people clap and cheer.

  It's finally over. I was so nervous about this speech, I couldn't sleep last night. I'm still nervous, wondering if I did okay. I look over at Briggs and see him smiling at me, giving me a thumbs up. It makes me instantly feel better. I love him so much. I want to tell him that, but I always chicken out before I do. Some days I still can't believe I'm dating him, the hottest, most popular guy in school.

  Briggs is still living at Susan's house and soon my dad and I will be living there too. We have to be out of our house next week, and Susan offered to let us stay with her for the sum
mer. Briggs and I will only be there until August, when we move into the dorms. We're both going to Stanford. Briggs swore he'd never go there since it's where his dad wanted him to go, but he changed his mind when he found out I'm going there.

  "What are you doing in here?" my dad says, coming into the house. "You should be out at your party."

  My dad and Susan set up the graduation party in the back yard. Susan decorated all the tables and made it look really nice, way better than I thought it would. The party is for Briggs too, since he didn't have anyone to give him a party. Well, his mom is here, but she didn't fly in until yesterday. Briggs thinks she only showed up because his dad is in jail and she knew she wouldn't have to see him.

  We had dinner with Margo, Briggs' mom, last night. She talks in a very formal way and uses a tone that sounds snobby. She's tall and thin with long legs. Briggs said she used to be a model. They didn't talk much during dinner, and she didn't say much to me. She's leaving to fly home tomorrow, and I doubt she'll be back anytime soon. She doesn't seem to care about Briggs, or have any interest in his life.

  "We were running out of ice," I say to my dad. "I was just getting some more."

  "Let me get it." He comes up to me in the kitchen. "You should be out back with your friends."

  I have friends, plural, now that I'm dating Briggs. They're not close friends like Charlotte, but more like casual friends. They're people who wouldn't even talk to me before I was dating Briggs, like his rugby teammates and some of the cheerleaders. I always hated those people, but after getting to know them, they're not that bad. It's like I said in my speech, you can't assume you know what people are like until you actually get to know them.

  "Did Calvin leave?" my dad asks as he gets the ice from the freezer.

  "Yeah, he left with Oliver. They were going to some other parties."

  Calvin is still living at Oliver's house, and in a week they're moving to Boston to intern at a tech company for the summer. Calvin still talks to his dad, despite Briggs telling him not to, but at least Calvin refused to move back into the house.

  I look out at all the boxes stacked up in the living room. "Are you going to miss it?"

  My dad sets down the bag of ice and stands beside me. "I am, but I think it's time to move on. I love this house and all the memories we have here, but I'll still have the memories. They'll never go away."

  "We lived here with Mom." I get sad when I think about that, like I'm losing another piece of her from my life.

  He puts his arm around me. "I know it's hard, honey, but we'll get through it. We always do."

  My dad got close to a million dollars for the house and the land. Around here, that doesn't buy much, but he'll be able to get a small house that's newer and nicer than this one. He hasn't started looking yet. I think he's waiting to see how things go with Susan. If the two of them get more serious, I could see him buying a house with her.

  "Need some help with the ice?" Briggs asks, coming in from outside.

  "I got it," my dad says, picking up the bag.

  "I'll be out in a minute," I tell my dad as Briggs joins us in the kitchen.

  Briggs looked so damn hot today in his suit and tie. He's changed into jeans and a shirt, but I still can't take my eyes off him. He's been helping my dad and me with the lawn business, and when we're working together, I find myself forgetting to work and just staring at him—his tan skin, and his muscles, glistening with sweat.

  "I know that look," Briggs says, taking me in his arms.

  "What look?"

  He smiles. "The look that says you want to have sex with me."

  I smile back. "I wasn't giving you that look."

  "You were. Trust me, I know that look. It's my favorite one. And if I didn't think your dad would be coming back, I'd be doing you right here on the counter." He leans down to my ear. "Tonight, you're all mine. And I hope you took a nap because you're not getting any sleep."

  His voice and his words have me heating up inside. I want it to hurry up and be tonight so we can take our trip. We're driving up the coast for the weekend, just the two of us. I had to talk my dad into it, saying how I'm an adult now and how I'm responsible, which is all stuff he knows. He just wasn't ready for me to go on an overnight trip with my boyfriend. We leave tonight and won't be back until Monday. I've been looking forward to it for weeks.

  "Briggs?"

  We look over and see Margo coming our way. I pull away from Briggs, but he keeps his arm around me.

  "Hey, Mom, what do you need?"

  She stops in front of him. "I'm going to head back."

  "To the hotel? You just got here."

  "I've been here for nearly an hour and have a terrible headache."

  "But you'll come back later, right?"

  "I think this will be it." She gives him a slight smile. "You should be with your friends and I need to rest before my flight tomorrow."

  "So this is it? This is goodbye?"

  "I'll go wait outside," I tell him.

  "No. Stay," he says to me, but his eyes are on his mom. "Do you really have to go?"

  "I'm sorry, Briggs, but this just isn't me." She looks around at the house. "I'm not comfortable here, and the music out back is hurting my ears."

  That's her reason for leaving? Because she doesn't like my house or the music we're playing? She needs to get over it and be here for her son.

  "When am I going to see you again?" he asks.

  I can hear the hurt in his voice and it breaks my heart. Why is his mom doing this? Why can't she just stay another hour and be with her son? It's his graduation day. She should be celebrating with him, not sitting in her hotel room.

  She goes up to him and kisses his cheek. "Best of luck to you in college. I'm sure you'll do very well. Goodbye, Briggs."

  We watch as she leaves. She didn't even tell me goodbye, which is fine with me. I don't need her goodbye. I need her to care about her son.

  "I guess that's it," he says.

  "I'm sorry." I hug him.

  "Whatever. I don't need her. I got along without her all last year and survived."

  I pull back and look at him. "Did you ask her about the divorce?"

  "Yeah, and she said she's not getting anything, at least not anytime soon. She'll have to wait for the court to decide, but if my dad ends up broke, there won't be anything to split up. She'll get nothing."

  All of Briggs' father's assets were frozen when he got arrested, including the house and all the cars, because they were bought with what's considered stolen money. If Briggs' father is convicted, the assets will be sold and the money will be given back to the victims of the investment fraud scheme.

  Briggs had no idea his dad was taking money from people and putting it in fake investments, but he noticed things didn't look right when he was working for his dad and going through the files. When he mentioned it, his dad blew up at him. It was the day I walked in and saw his dad punching him. Briggs thinks the stress of keeping the scheme going was one of the reasons his dad became so abusive last year. He knew he might get caught and was taking his stress out on Briggs. The two of them haven't talked since the arrest. The judge thought Briggs' dad was a flight risk so he denied bail, leaving Briggs' dad in jail, awaiting a trial.

  It's been an adjustment for Briggs to live without money, but I think he's starting to get used to it. He misses his car, and just having a car in general. I've been letting him use my truck, which is funny because it's the truck Briggs made fun of for years. The first time people at school saw him in it, they all stared, unable to believe it was actually him. Briggs played it off like it wasn't a big deal, and eventually people just accepted it.

  Briggs was able to keep the money he’d saved but it’s all going to pay for college and won’t even cover a semester. He’ll have to get a job and take out loans to pay for school. I ended up getting a scholarship that pays for most of my tuition and financial aid to cover the rest.

  "Did Parker ever show up?" Briggs asks, checking hi
s phone.

  "I don't think so."

  "Figures. He said he'd be here, but I knew he wouldn't show up."

  The court hasn't made a decision yet regarding Parker and Finn and their punishment for the hit-and-run. Parker's lawyers think he'll get off with a fine. Finn will probably get a fine and some time in prison, but it won't be much, probably less than a year, according to his attorney. Briggs is still friends with those guys but he uses the term 'friends' loosely, meaning he'll hang out with them now and then but knows he can't count on them like he could an actual friend.

  "We should go back outside,” I say.

  "Before we go, I need to tell you something." Briggs’ arms go around my waist and he gets a serious, almost nervous, look on his face. "You did an awesome job on your speech today. You're a way better valedictorian than I would've been."

  I smile. "Thanks, but you already told me that. Twice."

  "Yeah, I know. I'm just..." He looks me in the eye. "Ella, do you trust me?"

  "Yes. Why are you asking me that?"

  "Because for a long time you didn't. And if you still don't, I understand."

  "I do, but I'm a little worried why you're asking me that."

  "I want you to believe me when I say this. I want you to trust that it's real."

  "I do. I mean, I will. So what is it? What are you trying to tell me?"

  "That I love you."

  "Briggs." I feel my eyes tearing up, but I'm smiling.

  "What? You don't believe me?"

  "I believe you, but I already knew."

  "But when I told you that before you—"

  "It’s not about what you said. It's about what you did. You risked your reputation to be with me at school. You stopped seeing me as Trailer Girl and starting treating me like a person, a person you actually care about. You told me your secrets and let me see the side of you nobody else gets to see. That says a lot more than hearing you say those words." I smile. "But I like hearing you say them."

  I wait, but he doesn't say anything.

  "That was a hint," I say.

  "I'm waiting to hear it back."

  "You know I love you." I roll my eyes.

  "You should say it."