The Princess and The Jester: A High School Bully Romance (Westbrook Three Book 3)

by A. D. McCammon

  Gwen giggles nervously when I show her my ringing phone, a picture of my mother smiling on the screen. We’re both still a little out of breath from our quickie, neither of us wearing a stitch of clothing.

  She squeals as my thumb hovers over the answer button, trying to snatch the phone from my hand. “You aren’t seriously going to take her call right now.”

  I smirk. “It’s not like she’ll know you were moaning my name a few seconds ago.”

  “Oh my god.” She groans, covering her face as the pink on her cheeks turns to red.

  It’s not surprising my mom is calling me this early. She sounded so upset when she called the other day to tell me she wouldn’t be back in time for my first day of school. I miss her very much, but I can’t say the news came as a disappointment for me. It simply meant I got to spend more time with Gwen.

  “Trust me. She’ll keep calling until I answer the phone,” I tell Gwen, who lies back on her pillow with a huff as I answer the phone. “Hey, Mom.”

  “Hi, darlin’. Are you ready for your first day of senior year? I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there to see you off this morning. I should be home in a day or two.”

  Nearly eighteen years old and she’s still worried about being here for my first day of school. I think she might be feeling extra guilty because she’s having such a wonderful time with Patrick. Not that she’s told me as much, but I hear it in her voice every time we talk. She’s happy, and that makes me happy. The idea of her being with Patrick doesn’t bother me. I’m sure my dad would want Mom to live her life instead of merely mourning his.

  “It’s fine.” I chuckle, hoping to reassure her. “I’ll make sure Gwen gets a picture of me so you can add it to your collection.”

  Gwen throws the covers over her head as I wink.

  “Things are still going well with her, then?”

  We decided it wasn’t a good idea to tell my mother about us dating yet. She would probably freak out about me and Gwen living in the same house. For now, all she knows is that we’ve made up.

  I tug on the comforter and toss it aside, leaving Gwen naked and exposed. “Everything with Gwen is great.”

  Her eyes go wide as my hand trails up her thigh, her leg bouncing in an effort to stop me.

  “I’m so happy. I knew you couldn’t stay mad at each other forever. What about Thatcher? Have you seen him since he returned?”

  After Thatcher and I left Cory’s party, we ended up going back to Thatcher’s house and talked for hours. I clued him in on everything he missed over the summer. All about Arwen and her golden boy. Then me and my princess. It kept him from blowing up Violet’s phone all night. Though he ended up at her door the next day.

  “Yep. We hung out Saturday night. Everything is good there too.”

  My mother lets out a relieved sigh. “Good, good. And you have everything you need for school?”

  “Yes, Mom. Everything is fine. You worry too much. I’ll see you soon.”

  “All right, I’ll let you go get ready. Tell Gwen I said hello.”

  “Mom says hell…o.”

  Gwen gasps at the same time my mom barks out a laugh.

  “I hope you two are being stealthier about sneaking around than you were as kids,” my mom teases. “If Mark catches you, you’re on your own.”

  Gwen and I exchange a look. Apparently, both of our mothers were well aware of our relationship status when we were younger. It would’ve been nice if one of them had said something. Though, sneaking around was pretty fun.

  “Thanks, Mom. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  “Well, that was mortifying,” Gwen whines as I put the phone back on the nightstand. “I’ll never be able to look your mother in the eye again.”

  “That might make holidays and stuff a little awkward.” I chuckle, my hands roaming over Gwen’s bare body.

  “I like the sound of that.” She sighs, her eyes glossy. “Spending the holidays with you.”

  The thought causes my heart to warm in my chest as well. Gwen loves Christmas. I’ve missed seeing her face light up with joy every year as we put up the tree.

  We’ve been given a second chance, and I don’t plan to miss out on even the smallest of moments with her ever again.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  14 years old

  COLE

  Thatcher takes a deep breath once he’s done telling us everything, his back still turned. My stomach feels sick, my chest tight. When I look over at Arwen, she’s wiping a tear from her eye. I’m not sure what I was expecting Thatcher to tell us today, but this wasn’t even in the realm of possibilities that ran through my head.

  The three of us have been thick as thieves for a year now. Though none of us are really much for sharing or talking about the things going on in our lives, I still thought we knew one another pretty well. It kills me that Thatcher’s been going through this and we didn’t see it.

  I didn’t see it.

  Before Arwen, he was my only friend outside of Gwen. He deserves better from me. There were some signs something was going on with him. He was moodier and withdrawn. But I figured it was normal given how much he’s changed in the last couple of years. I never expected…this.

  I’ve been selfish, too busy sneaking around with Gwen to really give it much thought. We’ve been blissfully happy in our little bubble for six months now. As far as our parents and everyone at school are concerned, nothing has changed. But when we’re behind closed doors, she’s mine. I spend most of my days counting down the hours until we get to be alone again.

  If it wasn’t for the odd start to our school year, I might never have noticed something was off with him.

  They say freshman year of high school is supposed to be the toughest of them all. You’re at the bottom of the food chain again. Easy prey. But Thatcher’s status rose instead of declining. Suddenly our peers were treating him like a king. Arwen and I, like part of his royal court. We’ve been dealing with bullies every day for years. It was nice to have a reprieve, but we knew there had to be a reason. There’s always a catch with these types of things.

  So, Arwen and I finally asked him about his newfound popularity. Both of us half-expected him to tell us he’d paid his way into the in-crowd. If only that was the case.

  Arwen elbows me, her stunning gray eyes flaring. She wants me to say something, but I’m scared to speak. What do you say to your best friend after he tells you he’s been sexually abused?

  My emotions are too high. My heart hurts for Thatcher, and I’m angry. So fucking angry.

  “They can’t get away with this,” I say, verbalizing my thoughts.

  Thatcher finally turns to face us, his features void of emotion. Like he’s turned it off with a flip of a switch, made himself numb to it. “They already have. Even if I was willing to tell everyone what they did to me, no one would believe it. They’re all popular, good looking girls who come from wealthy families. I’d be nothing more than the punchline of a bad joke. At least this way we’re protected.”

  I shake my head, pacing the floor to relieve some of the fury building inside of me. “They’re telling everyone it was consensual. Making you out to be some…man whore who sleeps around. Is that really how you want to get your popularity? Because I don’t want any part of that. What Brandi and the rest of those bitches did to you is wrong, Thatch.”

  Brandi Roberts might be the daughter of a famous country singer, but that doesn’t give her a pass to treat people however she sees fit. She and her friends used Thatcher like their own personal practice dummy, using threats and manipulation to keep him quiet about it. They told him he could play along and become a god among his peers. Or refuse them and have his life destroyed.

  His sister Kandice is just as guilty as her friends. She had to know what was happening. That it wasn’t right. And she did nothing to help her brother.

  “Don’t you think I know that?” he seethes. “What choice do I have? It’s either act like nothing happened or
let them make my life worse. Speaking out won’t change what they did. It won’t take it away. This is as close to justice as I’m going to get.”

  “No. It’s not. We can dish out our own form of justice—make them pay without revealing your secret,” I say.

  “Right,” Arwen scoffs. “How do you suppose we do that?”

  Smirking, I rub my hands together as a plan begins to form. “Simple. We find their weaknesses—the skeletons they’re hiding in their closets—and use them against them.”

  “Simple?” Thatcher squeaks, running a hand through his hair. “Are you mad? How the hell are you planning to get this information?”

  “Leave that to me. I’ll take care of getting what we need.” I smirk, patting him on the back.

  No one knows this, not even Gwen, but I’ve become a bit of a tech nerd. It started out with Mark and Nina asking me for help with their phones or computers all the time. It was easy stuff in the beginning. My phone is running slow or I can’t get this app to open. Each time I was able to help them solve a problem or fix something that was broken, they paid me nicely. So, I started soaking up all the knowledge I could.

  Now, there aren’t many devices or firewalls I can’t manipulate. And since everyone keeps their most private and personal information stored on their devices or in the cloud, it won’t be hard for me to get what we need.

  “Okay, evil mastermind,” Arwen huffs. “Then what?”

  I shrug. “We take them down. One by one. Making sure they can’t hurt anyone like this again.”

  Thatcher was right. It’s too late to help him. There’s no undoing what they’ve done. But we can try to stop them from doing it to others. We can strip them of the power they wield around like a sword.

  “I’m in.” Thatcher’s tone is dark, his expression thoughtful as he nods. It’s almost as if he’s taking inventory of the awful things those girls did to him.

  Arwen takes a deep breath, crossing her arms as she eyes both of us. “Oh, what the hell. Let’s take those bitches down.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Present

  GWEN

  Cole leads me through his house, my hand in his as he gives me the tour. The cute ranch style house has so much charm and warmth. Every room is filled with personality, the pop of bright colors fitting each space perfectly.

  I’ve only been in their home once before this. After they were settled in, Cole’s mother invited my parents over for dinner. It was right after Cole and I broke up, making the night extremely uncomfortable. He glared at me all night, while I tried to pretend not to notice.

  Being back here as his girlfriend feels surreal. Much like the rest of the past month. Things with Cole are going perfectly. When his mother got back and he had to come home, there was an adjustment period. I don’t think either of us slept well for the first week. We’ve been forced to sneak moments wherever and whenever we can get them. But it only makes the time we have together seem even more precious.

  It took longer than I wanted, but even our friends are starting to blend together nicely. Arwen and Aidan are officially an item. Which I wasn’t entirely thrilled with at first, but she’s growing on me. And now that Thatcher and Violet have patched things up, they’re bearable to be around.

  Even Mia and Cole are friendly with each other. Except when they’re both bidding for my attention.

  Cole wiggles his eyebrows as we stop at the door at the end of the hall. “Are you ready to see where the magic happens?”

  I quirk an eyebrow, my lips twisting. “You better not have been using your wand with anyone else inside that room, mister.”

  He laughs, leaning in to give me a quick kiss on the lips. “I love it when you get all territorial. It’s so hot.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Are you going to show me your room or just tease me with it?”

  The last time I was in Cole’s room, he was fifteen years old. Back then, his room was still plastered with comic book stuff. Mostly the Joker. He said he related to him more than Batman.

  “Hang on. We might need to set some ground rules before we go in here. I know I’m irresistible, but don’t try to take my clothes off and shit. I’ve got dinner in the oven and my mother will be home any minute.”

  “I’m sure I can manage to keep my hands to myself,” I quip.

  Cole grabs my hips, pulling me to him. “You sure about that?”

  His mouth connects with mine again, but this time his kiss is hungry. His tongue sweeps across my bottom lip, eagerly connecting with my own as I open up for him. It doesn’t take long for my body to melt into his, my head growing dizzy as need tugs deep in my belly.

  He breaks the kiss a second later, snickering as my eyes flutter open.

  “You’re an asshole,” I say, panting.

  He smirks and then opens his door. “And you love it.”

  I walk into his room with a huff, the curve of my traitorous lips giving me away.

  There’s a flutter in my heart as my eyes roam. He’s come a long way from the cartoon style bedding and toy figurines, but the theme has remained the same. Touches of green and purple float in the sea of black. Playing card aces are painted behind his bed, the black paint dripping down the wall as if it were blood. Above his dresser is a gorgeous painting of each cinematic joker. The white rug under my feet is littered with green HAHAHAs.

  It’s perfect. It’s Cole.

  He comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “What do you think?”

  “Your room is kind of awesome.”

  He pulls the hair away from my neck, his lips blanketing the vacated space. “I can’t wait to have you in my bed.”

  I moan, my head tilting to give him more access. “Don’t start something you can’t finish. I don’t want to be all worked up while we’re eating dinner with your mother.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” he muses, his hand working to undo the button on my jeans. “It might be fun watching you squirm every time I touch you.”

  His hand flattens on my stomach, his fingertips dipping into my jeans and then the hem of my panties.

  “Cole…” His name comes out like more of a plea for mercy than a warning.

  His chuckled breath dances on my neck, causing goosebumps to explode on my skin. “Yes, Princess. What do you want?”

  “You’re so cruel,” I whine.

  “And you’re so wet for me right now.”

  I don’t even try to stop him as his hand glides further, but just before he reaches my center, we hear the sound of a door closing.

  “Cole?” his mother calls.

  “Oops.” He laughs, quickly removing his hands from my body. “Looks like we’ll have to continue this later.”

  “Oh my god,” I whimper, hurriedly buttoning my jeans.

  As soon as I’m done, he grabs my hand and drags me out of his room. His mom is standing at the end of the hall, an amused expression on her face. One that says she knows exactly what we were up to in Cole’s room.

  Lydia Masterson is a tiny thing, in both her height and weight. Cole didn’t inherit his mother’s short stature or red hair, but his bright green eyes are all her.

  “Oh my gosh, look at you.” She places a hand over her chest, a loving expression on her face as she studies me. “You’re absolutely stunning.”

  “She’s definitely not hard to look at,” Cole teases, giving my hand a squeeze before releasing it.

  “Thank you for inviting me over for dinner, Mrs. Masterson.”

  She pulls me into her arms and gives me a tight hug, stirring up emotions I’ve attempted to bury for years. I felt closer to Cole’s mom growing up than I did my own. When they moved out, I was devastated. Cole hated me, so it wasn’t like I could simply visit her. Overnight, I lost two of the most important people in my life.

  “Oh, sweetheart, you’re welcome here anytime.” She loosens her hold on me, placing her hands on my arms as she locks her gaze onto mine. “And I know it’s been a while, but please call me Lydia.”

/>   My head nods in agreement, a rogue tear rolling down my face. She dries my cheek with a brush of her hand. “Don’t you go crying on me, or I’ll end up being a blubbering mess,” she playfully scolds.

  I hiccup a laugh. “I’m sorry. I’ve just missed you so much.”

  Her eyes gloss over, her lips trembling as they press. “I know, baby girl. I’ve missed you too.” She looks over at Cole, who’s watching us with the brightest smile on his face. “I’m so glad you finally got my stubborn son to see reason.”

  “Whoa, now,” Cole says, hooking an arm around my shoulder. “I wasn’t the only stubborn one in the equation.”

  Feigning offense, I huff as my mouth drops open. Only to shrug with indifference a second later. “Yeah, all right. That’s fair.”

  I’ve gone over everything in my mind a hundred times, wondering what I could’ve or should’ve done differently to prevent things from playing out the way they did two years ago. If I’d told him the truth about what was going on, I’m not entirely sure things would’ve ended up any differently. Maybe I’m wrong. Shane hasn’t so much as looked at me at school. Whatever Cole said or did to him that day seems to have had an impact. I just can’t shake the feeling that it isn’t over yet.

  “That’s gracious of you, Gwen,” Lydia mocks.

  Cole kisses my temple as a timer dings in the kitchen. “That’s my cue, Princess.”

  My muscles tighten with anxious energy as he jogs off to the kitchen, leaving me alone with Lydia. I was nervous enough seeing her again after all this time. Add in the fact that I’m dating her son and she knows we’re sleeping together. Then mix that up with the elephant-sized secret I’ve been carrying around.

  Her secret.

  She waves her hand, gesturing for me to follow her. “Why don’t you come sit out on the porch and talk to me while Cole finishes up dinner. Patrick and Arwen won’t be here for at least another half hour.”

  Lydia and Patrick told Arwen and Cole about their relationship shortly after returning from South Carolina. They’ve been seeing each other for a while but didn’t want to involve the kids until the two of them were sure they had a real shot. They both became widowers at a young age, forced to raise their children as single parents. I imagine in that situation you become very careful about your relationships and bringing new people in your life, not wanting your child to suffer another loss.