“What the fuck is she doing?” I heard an angry voice shout behind me. “Stop your girl, Harry!”
Strong arms wrapped around my body and pulled me back. It was Rupert and when he let go of me, Harry was there between us in an instant.
“Don’t touch her Ru,” he warned. “This isn’t about Hughes. It’s about Geri.”
“And why she’s here dead when you all dropped her home?” I gestured to Seb who walked up beside us. “What the hell happened?”
“That’s just it, we don’t know!” Rupert snapped. “The last thing we did was put her in bed and close the door. We left her there.”
“It’s entirely possible that she opened the door herself and walked all the way back here.” Seb added and I felt a shiver over my body as the distant sirens got louder and louder the closer they came.
With the sound of the police and ambulance coming the rest of the group came up to join us around our solemn vigil of Geri’s body, her dark raven hair splayed out on either side of her head. What a tragic way to go. So young and I blinked back the tears that were stinging the back of my eyes.
Had she killed herself? Was it an accident? A murder? Harry put his arm around me and kissed my head as I leaned into him. One of the girls took her cardigan from the crook of her arm and covered her with it.
“This should never have happened,” I said firmly, my voice growing stronger with every word. “Who found her?”
I looked around the group and a short girl with wide red raw eyes lifted her hand slowly. It was clear she’d been crying.
“I did,” she answered quietly. “I was on my way up to get some signal and I tripped over something and it was…it was…” her lip quavered, and James came up behind her and comforted her, giving me a dark look.
“Don’t you think you’ve caused enough problems you ginger witch…?” he tossed at me.
“James!” Harry roared using his hand to push me behind him a little. “How the fuck would any of this be Ally’s fault?”
“Because,” he snarled. “Ever since your bird came to this school, shit has been happening. Everything’s been going wrong. Not hard to work out the source, is it?”
“I had nothing to do with Geri’s death!” I shouted coming forwards. I’d wanted to remain calm and disconnected from him, but my emotions got the better of me. “If anything, it would be you! Everyone knows that you and Elliot controlled her. You’re monsters! Or maybe it was you Pen? Huh? The apparent head girl who bullies on the side?”
I knew I’d probably gone too far. We were standing by Geri’s dead body for god’s sake but if I didn’t stand up for her, no one would have.
It was only yesterday that Pen had humiliated her in front of the whole class, and I’d heard what James had said. From where I stood it seemed as though he’d wanted her there to use as and when it suited him.
I heard a slow clap coming from the group and Pen stepped forward with a sarcastic, smug smile on her face.
“Bravo! Bravo! You pathetic whiny little slut!” she laughed. “Feel better now getting that all out?”
“Pen…” Harry came between the two of us and she glared at him. “Don’t start!” she spat at him. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re dead to me too. It wont look too favourably on my father’s business being associated with a murderer.”
I felt Harry’s body tense and I held onto him to stop him from launching forwards.
“Harry didn’t do anything either,” I said between clenched teeth. “It must just be a tragic accident and the best thing we can do is to not speculate…”
Pen laughed in my face.
“Really? That’s the story you’re sticking to?” she looked around the group before her fiery stare landed back on me. “Because, from where the rest of us are standing, it appears that you four were the last ones to see her alive…”
“Pen…” Rupert began but she held her hand up to silence him.
“Nope,” she continued. “I’m going to go as far as to say that you lured her to her death and got these nimwits to take her out…”
I glanced briefly at James, but she caught me and jumped on it.
“That’s right you Crest Club slut! James told me how you apprehended him in the Crestie Quarters. He said you couldn’t take your hands off him…”
It was my turn to launch forwards and I dived towards James, striking him across the face. Red blood oozed on his cheek and everyone around us gasped.
Harry pulled me back just as voices of the paramedics and policemen came over the dunes and the last thing I saw before Harry dragged me away was the smug smile of the curl of James’ spiteful lips.
Chapter 16
After an hour of giving statements and helping the police with their enquiries, Harry had taken me back home and escorted me right to the front door. Though clearly distracted, and quite rightly, he gave me lingering kiss and waited for me to go inside before he drove off.
My dad sprung from his living room chair when he heard the door and came into the hall, followed by Beth who was wrapping her dressing gown around her waist.
“We heard what happened…” he said pulling me to him. “you must have been terrified.”
I let him hold me, forgetting about the shock of finding troubled Geri dead and soaking up his comfort for the ordeal and continuing hurt I had to experience from James.
My dad stroked my hair then stood back from me, looking into my eyes.
“No matter what, we’ll get to the bottom of this, but until then, you’ll need to keep your distance from the boys in that Crest Club…”
“But Dad!” I cried, thinking of the feel of Harry’s lips on me a few minutes earlier.
“No buts,” he said seriously. Especially that young guy you’ve been cavorting with. The family are a bad seed and I don’t want you anywhere near them.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but I knew in this state of mind he had, there would be no use getting through to him or getting him to understand where I was coming from.
The only thing that could rescue the night now, was going to bed.
“Fine,” I whispered regretfully, and I was almost certain I’d caught the briefest hint of a smile on Beth’s face as I walked between them towards the stairs.
I knew he was right and only had my best interests at heart, but the more I got to know Harry, the harder it was to see the bad in both him and the crazy crest club.
I stopped when I got to the top of the stairs and turned back to them.
“You know, despite what you might think of him, Harry had nothing to do with Geri’s death.”
My dad scoffed and came to the bottom of the stairs before our eyes met.
“Well, we’ll let the police be the judge of the that.” With that, he and Beth disappeared back into the lounge and I was left stood there staring out after them.
I went to my room, pulled off the hideous dress that Tre had picked out for me and buried myself under the covers. My body melted into the bed as I closed my eyes and all I could see was Geri’s shocked dead face.
Something bad had happened to her and I was almost certain James was behind it. All I had to do was confront my demons and somehow get him to accidently confess to be the sexual predator that he was and then, the rest would hopefully fall into place.
The next morning, I was off out of the house before my dad and Beth managed to get downstairs and because I’d skipped breakfast my stomach rumbled as I entered the school building and walked past the dining hall. I ignored the smell of a cooked breakfast that wafted out when someone opened the door.
No, I had to get to the classroom and finish writing my statement for Mr Creswell before lessons started.
I’d decided in the early hours of the morning when I’d woken up in a cold sweat, thinking about James and Geri and the look she gave me in the toilets when she talked about him and Elliot. Or, the way her body tensed when she was summoned by the crest club.
They were things that indicated to me that wha
tever she was doing was against her will. Or, maybe she had been suffering from mental issues and they took advantage of that?
Either way, I’d started jotting down a few instances ready for my anonymous letter and then I’d drop it in the school post room and wait for the fall out.
My heart almost exploded in my chest as I made my way through the corridors, feeling as though I had a ticking time bomb in my hand.
I slipped around the corner without being noticed and burst through the classroom door not giving myself time to properly register the muffled voices that came from within, but it was two late. Two sets of eyes jumped round to rest on me.
Holy shit. It was Pen and James.
I stopped in my tracks and backed away slightly.
“Well, well, well…” Pen said slyly. “Speak of the devil…”
“Sorry to interrupt…” I retorted quickly and turned to leave but she was up in a flash and came towards me, and parking herself in front of my exit. Fuck.
“Don’t leave on our account,” James added with a grin on his face and I could only liken it to smiling at a piece of juicy meat.
I tried to discreetly push the part written statement into my bag, but Pen snatched it from my grasp.
“Hiding love letters now?” she asked sarcastically. “If they’re for Harry, you may as well give up. He’s not…”
Her eyes scanned over the words on the page, glowing with every sentence.
“Oh my god…” she breathed. “This…this is fucking gold. James…I think you need to read this.”
James got up from his seat and came over. I reached for the letter as she handed it to him, but they snatched it away.
I watched in horror as he read it and his cheeks reddened.
“So, this is your plan?” He asked, looking up at me eventually. He turned back to the paper and read it out. “James and Elliot have been controlling Geri. They make her have sex with them and make her feel like she is tied to them. That she has no way out. They even called her from class to the Crest Quarters for sex. Treating her like a slave at their beck and call.”
I turned to Pen.
“You remember that, don’t you?” I asked. “That day in class…”
She laughed in my face.
“Don’t waste your breath you sloppy crest slut. The day I side with you is the day I forget what your fucking disgusting dad did to my family!”
“What?” Her words hit me hard. “Wha….what did he do?”
“As if you don’t know.” She looked at her watch. “Anyway, I have to go to the prefect meeting. If you even breathe in my direction, I’ll make the rest of your life a living hell. Believe me on that.”
She waltzed out of the room leaving her intense perfume in her wake and leaving me with the guy who tried to rape me.
I went to follow out after her, but James grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me back.
“Not so fast ginger witch,” he snarled and he stepped to the side of me and kicked the door closed. “You think I’ll just let you walk out of here after this?”
He held the letter up and I tried to jump for it but he stepped back and slowly ripped it into pieces in front of my face.
“I don’t think I made myself very clear…” he spat coming up close to my face. “You say anything to anyone about anything then your whole families finished.”
I squared up to him.
“Don’t threaten me James!”
He laughed.
“Listen, my father owns Mr Creswell, remember? He controls what he thinks, what he does…” he stepped in close to me, pushing his face against the side of my ear. “…when he fucks his wife. Everything. You even so much as breathe to anyone about this or Geri or the way you forced your naughty little arse at me back in the quarters, then I’ll make sure he cuts your dad loose. Then he’ll lose his house, his money… you’ll have to go into a home probably until you’re eighteen…”
I pushed him away from me.
“You’re a monster!” I shouted in his face. “I’m not scared of you or your pathetic controlling dad.”
“Oh, but you should be…” he taunted. “Your whole world depends on it.”
He grabbed hold of my arm again and tried to pull me towards him, trying to bring my face to meet his, to kiss me and it brought back all the memories of what he did before.
I brought my knee up and shoved it in his cock, making him jump back and howl as I turned to scrambled round the table to the door, but like a superhuman he jumped over it and grabbed hold of me again.
“Come here you little ginger slut. I’m not going to fucking hurt you!”
“Get off me!” I used my fists to pound on his head as many times as I could, but he refused to let go, instead grabbing hold of my other hand and twisting me into a near headlock.
“Stop fighting against me,” he struggled. “You’re starting to remind me of what Geri did the first time we were properly acquainted and with everything that’s going on, it’s getting me emotional.”
“You’re an arsehole!” I strained in his arms. “A murderer!”
“A murderer?” he growled. “Now, now. You’ve called me a lot of names in these part several minutes, but I’m afraid that one is reserved for your father…”
The words hit me again. Why did they keep saying that?
My moment of thought allowed him to overpower me and he twisted me round in his arms and slammed me back against the table.
“I’m not trying to fuck you,” he said gruffly, “I just want to show you that I’m the wrong person to mess with. I’m your worst…”
The door swung open and Harry ran through into the room and dived on James and for a moment I forgot that I’d asked him to meet me in class early to run over the statement with me.
I pulled myself up and watched as Harry held him up by his collar and the two boys fought.
“What did you do to her?” he demanded. “What the fuck has happened to you?”
“No,” James snapped back with a snide laugh in his tone. “What the hell happened to you? Don’t pretend like this isn’t in your nature… don’t try and hide the fact that this is all just a game. A competition…”
“What’s he talking about?” I asked coming forward.
Harry put his hand out to keep me back.
“You’re making shit up, but you’ll be the one in prison once we go above Creswell and get you what you deserve…”
“What I deserve. I deserve to finish off fucking your girl. All I got was to touch her pussy and then….”
He didn’t get to finish, as it only took a couple of seconds for Harry to fully understand what he was talking about and he glanced back at me, eyes full of emotion, regret and maybe sadness that he’d never known about it, before he turned and landed James with a massive punch.
He fell instantly, hitting his head on the table on the way down and landed with a massive thud.
Harry shook the pain out of his hand.
“Fuck!” he growled, and he reached out for me. I nuzzled myself under his arm, breathing in his scent, relieved that he was there exactly when I’d needed him.
He kissed my forehead and let out a sigh of relief, but the feeling was short lived as we both noticed James wasn’t moving at all.
“Is he breathing?” I asked, panic rising from my stomach.
Harry got down to his knees and checked.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” he said under his breath and he looked back at me, his eyes somehow darker than the brilliant blue they usually were.
“What is it?” I asked, getting down beside him. “How badly is he hurt?”
“I…I think he’s gone, Hughes,” he said slowly. “I think I killed him…”
And that was where hell started.
The End of Book One
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sp; Belle Roberts, Diamond - A British Academy Rich Boy Bully Romance (Atherton School Crest Club Book 1)
Diamond - A British Academy Rich Boy Bully Romance (Atherton School Crest Club Book 1) Page 13
