Faithless: A High School Bully Romance (The Privileged of Pembroke High Book 3)

by Ivy Fox

  “Then, I don’t understand.” Snow shakes her head, legitimately confused, but the resolve and determination in Addison’s gray eyes, tells me exactly who she wants before she even utters his name.

  “Rome. I want Rome.”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “Did I stutter? I said no,” Snow hollers, taking a page from Addison’s snarky playbook by curling her lip in defiance.

  “Are you high right now? Are they pumping your veins with so much poison that you don’t understand what I’m offering you? I’ll give you my damn kidney. You’ll fucking have the happily ever after you fantasized about. And all I want in return is for you to break it off with Rome.”

  “I said no.”

  “Don’t be stupid, Holland. Rome is going get tired of you eventually, and he’ll come back to me. This way you’re at least getting something out of it. Be smart for crying out loud!” Addison roars, getting up to her feet, the wheelchair behind her almost hitting the wall with her force.

  But neither Addison’s exasperated words, nor her hateful demeanor will sway Snow an inch in her favor.

  “I’m sorry that you had a tough childhood, Addison. I’m sorry that your mother and my father didn’t act in your best interests. And most of all, I’m sorry that you feel you haven’t been loved like you should have been when growing up. But Rome isn’t a bargaining chip. You can’t play with people’s feelings, nor can you switch yours off on the drop of a dime.

  “I’m sure that you love Rome in your own way. Maybe just as much as I do. If one day should pass that Rome falls out of love with me and seeks someone else, that’s his prerogative. I won’t stop him because I love him, and all I want is for him to be happy, either with me or without me.

  “Love is a selfless sacrifice, Addison. Rome taught me that. In a way, I guess we do have something in common, aside from our parentage. We’re both fighters. And while I have air in my lungs, I promise you, I’ll fight to keep the man I love. Not even some snotty, pampered Manhattan princess with daddy issues will get in the way of that. Got it?!”

  “Your measly claws don’t scare me, Holland. You’ll come around eventually. Unlike you, I have all the time in the world to wait until you do.” Addison snickers.

  The raven-haired girl throws one more hateful glare at the platinum-blonde angel, who is trying with all her might not to scratch her newfound sister’s eyes out. I, however, am not as inclined to let Addison leave until she hears what I think about her.

  “You’re a real bitch, you know that?” I accuse, walking into the room, making my presence finally known. Addison casually stares at her French manicured nails looking bored, while I stare her down, with all the loathing I have inside me.

  “I’m what I need to be to get what I want, Ash. I’m not intimidated to fight for it either. Can you say the same?” She wiggles her brow my way.

  “Ash, please. Just let her leave,” Snow pleads, looking exhausted with the recent exchange of words.

  But Addison, being Addison, tilts her head over her shoulder to leave one last remark as she makes her way to the door.

  “Think long and hard, sis. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it’s your life on the line. Consider it. Or don’t. Either way, I’ll get what I want in the end.”

  “Just get the fuck out of here, Addison. You’ve polluted the air enough with your bullshit,” I grunt, pointing to the door. Lucky for me, this time she concedes and leaves the room once and for all.

  I walk over to Snow and sit on the bed at her side, hugging her to me. Now that Addison is no longer in sight, she lets out the breath she was holding, her whole body shaking because of the conversation she had with the sister.

  “How do you feel?”

  “I’ve had better days.” She smiles, meekly.

  “Are you going to take the skank up on her offer?”

  “I said no, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah, I know you did, but—”

  “There’s no buts about it, Ash,” she repeats forcefully.

  “You sure? I mean, I hate the bitch just as much as the next guy, but she’s right. It is your life on the line here,” I explain softly, not wanting to wound her with the topic of her frail mortality.

  “And what kind of life would that be, if I submit to Addison’s demands, huh?

  “It would still be a life, Snow. You know I can’t live in a world where you’re not in it,” I whisper, hugging her tighter against me.

  “I’m on dialysis, not my death bed. I can keep doing this for a few more years with no issues. I have time, Ash. Don’t worry. I don’t need to fall in line with whatever schemes Addison has when I have other choices.”

  “What choices? Have your days filled with hospital visits for the next few years? What happens when dialysis is no longer an option, or if a compatible donor hasn’t been found? You have a way out of this mess now. Why don’t you see that?” I grumble, hating to disrespect her wishes, but wanting her to understand what a golden opportunity this is.

  She lets out another long sigh, and entwines her fingers in mine, watching how our hands fit perfectly together.

  “If I accept Addison’s proposal and the strings that come attached to it, you do know what it will mean, don’t you? It won’t be only Rome I stand to lose. You get that, right?”

  “Yeah,” I mumble hoarsely after I’ve summed up all the equations.

  If she turns her back on Rome, then she’ll give up on all of us, too. She won’t be able to keep Ollie and me at her side, with Rome being such a prominent part of our lives. She couldn’t just sit back and watch a man she loves to live out his days without her, nor could she break our family apart by asking Ollie and me to not have him in our lives, either. All of us would hurt, and for Snow, that would be a crueler fate than death.

  Still, the words come flying away from my lips regardless.

  “No. Take the deal, baby. Rome doesn’t want her, anyway. He’ll never want her. His heart is yours, just like mine and Ollie’s. You have nothing to lose. Just call her up, and take Addison’s deal.”

  “Ash, as much as I hate the idea of it, she’s still my sister. If I trick her into believing that I’ll forfeit Rome in exchange for her kidney without following through with my promise, then she will never forgive me.”

  “Who the fucks cares?! This is Addison we’re talking about!” I shout, only to gain another one of her long exhales as she tilts her head back to look me directly in the eye.

  “Do you know how big my family is? Three women in total. My nana—who before this happened, was probably on her way to moving indefinitely and live with her boyfriend in England, a whole ocean ready to keep us apart. My mother—a hateful woman who would rather see me lose the battle with my illness than do anything to help me. And then I have Addison—a girl I know nothing about, save for the fact that she used to be my boyfriend’s unfaithful ex. That’s it, Ash. That’s all I have.

  “You don’t understand because you have always had your brothers and your sister around you to fill the empty spaces inside of you. I only had my grandmother. When I started to have a father in my life, he decided his wasn’t worth living.

  “I may never have an actual familial relationship with Addison. We might never even be friends. I know that. But I’m going to do everything in my power to be anything but her enemy. If I take her kidney in bad faith, then I’ve doomed us before we’ve even had a chance,” she explains with teary eyes, desperate for me to understand where she’s coming from. But all I hear are the reasons I fell in love with Snow in the first place. Hate and resentment could never dwell in a soul so pure.

  “Fuck. You’re too fucking good for this world.”

  “No, I’m not. Don’t put me on a pedestal, Ash. I’m made of flesh and bone. I have more faults than I can count. But I have to follow what feels right to me. And right now, I have to have faith that life will sort itself out. Please, whatever you do, don’t tell th
e others about Addison’s visit, okay? I’m worried they won’t understand.”

  Yeah, like I’m telling anyone about Addison’s little proposal. I mean, if Rome gets even a whiff of it, he’d throw himself in front of the bus like the martyr he is. Not happening on my watch.

  Snow’s lashes bat furiously, sweeping the tears down her face, and all I can think about is how she’s never looked more beautiful to me than this very moment.

  I pull her chin just high enough for her lips to sync with my famished ones. Our kiss starts off innocent enough, but the animalistic craving we have for each other quickly takes over. I pluck her lower lip in between mine, sucking at its sweetness while Snow’s fingers rummage through my hair, pulling me closer, erasing any remaining distance separating us from each other.

  The tip of her tongue peeks out, and I latch onto it, using the small breach to invade her mouth completely. Our tongues dance passionately to their own lustful rhythm while our frantic hands discover their way across our bodies.

  Snow’s fingers carve themselves into the nape of my neck while I tenderly grip at her throat, worshiping it with my desire. My other hand is more adventurous as it molds itself around a firm breast, the hospital gown unable to match its curiosity. Snow begins to moan into my mouth, and I watch her squirm under the covers, her pussy already begging to be taken.

  “Where’s your grandmother?” I ask hoarsely, my cock struggling to get free from its confinement.

  “My grandmother? She went back to her hotel for a shower, I think. Why?” she asks, perplexed I’d even mention her precious Nana when I’m fondling her body.

  “Just covering my bases. It would be bad for her to walk in on us, right when you’re coming all over my fingers,” I explain, licking and biting at her lips.

  “Ash, don’t,” she moans on a high timbre as my hand starts to travel south. “Ash,” she begs again, only her body betrays her plea. With her eyes already shut, she opens her legs, just enough for me to find her wet core, dripping with need.

  “Open your eyes, baby. I want to watch your pretty little face as I ruin you.”

  My thumb lightly caresses her little nub, making her succulent lips part for me. Her eyes become half-mast silver bullets slicing me in two, making me ache inside. My eyes must be as hooded as Snow’s when her slick juices wet my fingers, desperate for them to invade her hot warmth.

  I bite down hard on her lower lip as I thrust myself inside her while lavishing her clit with the attention it seeks. I eat up her faint wails with my mouth while I play her pussy to make her sing the tune I’m composing. She begins to quiver and quake, but I never let up, wanting to hear her call out my name while I’m ravishing her.

  “Ash,” she whimpers, so close to her peak that glistening sweat starts pooling at her brow.

  “What is it, baby? Does it hurt?” I taunt, my stiff cock bursting to come undone.

  “Yes.”

  “What can I do to make it better, baby?” I tease as I stroke her inner walls until I find the beating pulse that will make her yell out in ecstasy. “Is it my cock that you need in this tight pussy of yours? Thrusting inside you, hard and deep, until you forget your own name. Is that what you want, baby?” I coo, brushing the pad of my thumb on her lip while the other strums her clit until she sees stars.

  “Yes!”

  “Fuck, I miss being inside you. Just thinking of you down on all fours while I fuck you raw from behind, gripping your head by your hair, has my dick hard as fuck.”

  “Ash,” she supplicates, unable to take any more of my dirty talk while I’m knuckles deep inside her.

  Right now, I’m as lost to the moment as she is. My imagination runs rampant at all the dirty little plans I have in store for her. How I’ll use and abuse her body in ways that she’ll be crying out her ecstasy, losing count at how many orgasms I can coax out of her. I grip her chin, my mind maddening with lust when her parted lips open a bit wider for me.

  “I want to fuck this pretty little mouth again one day. I want to watch Ollie punish this tight cunt until you’re boneless, while you suck me to oblivion. Will you do that for me, baby? Will you take us both, and let us love you? Let us take your body and brand it ours. Fuck, I can’t wait to cum in this mouth.”

  “ASH!”

  I press my starving mouth on hers as she rides my fingers, thinking of me and my twin fucking her six ways from Sunday. Snow’s pussy clenches around me as her hips rise on their own accord, while the orgasm rips through her, elevating her body into her own secluded paradise.

  My heart leaps to my throat, as the soft, post-orgasmic blush that tints her cheeks makes her look even more tempting. As her breathing begins to even out, her eyes continue to smolder while watching me lick my fingers clean.

  “Don’t look at me like that, or I promise you, sick or not, I will bend you over and fuck your brains out right here and now,” I warn while my dick begs me to go through with the threat.

  She licks her lips in such a tantalizing way, I swear the woman is trying to kill me.

  “Are we interrupting something?” Elle asks, walking into the room with a familiar redhead at her heel.

  “Candy!” Snow shrieks, and the girl at my sister’s side almost plummets me to the ground in her pursuit to get to my girl.

  The next few minutes are filled with tears and incoherent words, as the two girls keep hold of each other. I can’t understand most of what they’re saying, but I can see the happiness in my love’s eyes for having her childhood friend here.

  “This is your doing, little sis?” I nudge my sister on her shoulder.

  She gives me a shrug, as if tracking down Candy and getting her on a plane to visit Snow wasn’t a big deal.

  “Have I ever told you how proud I am of you?”

  “You didn’t need to. I know you are.” She gives me a cocky grin.

  “Humble, too,” I tease her with a chuckle.

  “Sorry. That’s just not part of my DNA.” She grins widely.

  “Don’t I know it. Cockiness runs thick in the Grayson genes.”

  “Ain’t cocky if it’s true,” she counters with an all-knowing smirk.

  “That’s what I say!” I point to my chest and laugh louder, gaining a few giggles from my five-foot kid sister.

  With all the shit going on in our family, especially regarding our prick of a father, it’s a wonder we’ve made it so far. All of us could have easily been more fucked up in the head than we give ourselves credit for.

  Maybe Snow was right. Maybe the reason why we’re still sane is that we always knew, if push came to shove, we had each other to watch our backs.

  Family.

  It isn’t about sharing the same blood. It’s about sharing the same love and respect for one another. Sure, you might fight and curse at each other from time to time, but no argument could ever erase what we feel, what has been ingrained in our very bones. We’re all weaved into this same familial thread, linked together by our genuine affection and care.

  So, yeah, maybe we were unlucky on the parent front, but fuck if we didn’t hit the jackpot with the rest of the Grayson clan. I don’t know who I would have become if I didn’t have Ollie, Rome, and Elle.

  I definitely wouldn’t be the kind of man Snow could have ever fallen in love with. The bond of brotherhood we share is awe-inspiring. It can build you up with their support just as fast as it can give you a big slice of humble pie to ground you. It’s your conscience in human form, telling you when you’re on the right path to greatness, or about to stumble and fall with the decisions you make.

  My conscience.

  Hmm.

  “What’s with the scowl, all of a sudden?” Elle interjects, bringing me out of my reverie.

  “I’m just thinking about something. You mind telling Snow I had to do some stuff? I’ll be back before dinner.”

  “Sure,” my sister mumbles suspiciously. “Although I doubt she’ll even know that you’re gone
. Something tells me that those two have a lot to catch up.”

  My eyes find my girl again, sitting cross-legged on the bed with Candy, listening attentively to her friend talk about Brown and her experience as a freshman in college. True to herself, Snow moves the attention off of her and directs the spotlight to her friend.

  I’m about to leave when I remember the letter in my pocket.

  “I almost forgot. Give her this when you two are alone, okay?”

  My sister’s cheery face suddenly falls with the endeavor.

  “Another letter from Rome?” she hushes, saddened.

  “It’s his way of communicating with her. It’s driving him crazy not to be here and care for Snow. This way, he feels a little piece of him is always with her. Snow needs his words as much as Rome needs to write them. You get that, don’t you?”

  “I do. It’s not that I don’t think we should give her the letters. It’s the fact that she feels powerless enough, without having a physical reminder that her boyfriend is up at Rikers because of her.”

  “He’s there because of our father, not Snow,” I snap back, but then feel like an ass for blowing my lid on Elle. “Sorry. I’m just in a weird mood today. I’ve got some stuff I need to figure out. Hold the fort, will ya?”

  She gives me a small, stiff nod, and I know my little huff rubbed her the wrong way. Unfortunately, right now, I have bigger fish to fry than worrying about my kid sister’s sensibilities. And to get said fish, I’ll need to hurry my ass and get to the water.

  Less than forty minutes after leaving the hospital, I’m in the last place I thought I’d be today—Pembroke High, in all its privileged elitist glory.

  I walk into the auditorium, the chlorine instantly hitting my lungs and reminding me of my rightful place in this ugly world—in the water. I take a long inhale, letting the chemicals seduce me since this is as close to my passion as I have been in months.