by J. L. Ostle
“Excuse me?” My voice comes out clipped.
I feel his hands on my thighs, his fingers stroking along my skin. “I said you can go now. When I want a taste, I’ll give you a call.” He doesn’t smile or smirk, he just looks at me with indifference.
I tighten my fists, my nails digging into my skin. How dare he touch me and speak to me like one of his whores? I grab a bottle of water, uncapping it and pouring it all over his head, making him stand up, but I stand too until all the contents is gone.
“If you fucking touch me again I will report you for sexual harassment. Don’t talk to and treat me like I’m shit on your shoe, like I’m some dumb animal. You stay out of my way, I will stay out of yours. You get me?” I say the same words back to him.
Axel and guy number three are bent over laughing. He treated me like he is a king and I’m just a measly servant girl. You don’t speak to people like that. Aisha is standing there with her mouth hanging open. I pull her arm so we’re standing in line, and once again, everyone is staring at me.
“What?” I shout out to everyone, and they all start moving and looking away.
“What did you just do?” Aisha whisper yells, looking around frantically. “I can’t believe you just did that. Do you know what shit you may have caused now?”
I shrug. “He grabbed me. That group blocked me in and he treated me like dirt. And I don’t take orders from assholes. He is lucky I didn’t kick him where it hurts. Besides, it was water. It will dry.” I grab a fruit cup and a bottle of apple juice.
Aisha keeps looking behind her. “He isn’t going to let this lie now. He is going to do something to show he is still in charge and put you in your place.”
“Put me in my place? Do you know how wrong that sounds? People shouldn’t put people in their place. Maybe my place is higher up than them, but unlike them, I don’t need to treat people like shit to feel I’m better than them.”
We slowly move down the line. “Unless you have more money and more power than them then I’m afraid your place isn’t higher than them.”
It's always about money. “Listen, I was going to stay away, it was them who snatched me up when I was minding my own business. I was defending myself.”
“I have a bad feeling.”
“It will be fine. If they have any sense they will leave me alone.”
“And if they don’t?”
I think about it for a moment. “Then I will keep defending myself in a way I won’t get into much trouble.” I just hope they do leave me alone now they know I’m not someone they can just walk over. If they do feel that they have to prove a point, I need to be careful what I do to stand up for myself.
“Have you been in trouble before?”
“Kinda, but don’t worry about it. So, are we going to watch a horror or a comedy first on Friday?”
We pay and start to head back out. Aisha is practically running out of here. I keep looking forward, but before I walk through the doors, I look back and all three guys are staring at me.
Again, I’m a stubborn ass. I swear my movements half the time are impulsive and I don’t regret them until later when I process what I just did. Like now when I wink at them before turning back around and heading outside.
I’m seriously fucked up.
Chapter Seven
The rest of lunch was uneventful. I tell Aisha we should drop what happened as I feel like she is going to give herself a heart attack. But I do like the fact she’s worried about me. It shows she cares.
Now I’ve had time to process the incident, a big part of me is glad that I did what I did, and the smaller part is the part where I feel guilty and think about my parents. It’s telling me I should have sucked it up and walked away.
I think they were expecting me to nod and walk once guy number two told me to, but if any girl was grabbed from behind it would be an offense. Just because we’re at school doesn’t make it okay. It's still the same as doing it in a club or in a store or even on the street. Especially if you don’t know the person.
When we reach class, we take our seats, and as soon as my butt is on mine, two girls stand in front of me, their eyes wide and their mouths hanging open. They look really cute. One has wavy chocolate brown hair and the other has mousy brown hair.
The chocolate-brown-haired girl speaks first. “Umm, I was in the cafeteria before and I saw what happened. I can’t believe you stood up to him. To them all, really. I always daydreamed about what I would do if I had the nerve, and to see you do it, I wanted to fist pump the air or clap or something. He slept with my best friend last year. She has graduated now but he used her and treated her so poorly after. He loved tormenting her. To see him like that, I just wish she was there to see it. I’m Mandy, and this is Trisha, and if you ever want to hang out or sit at our table you are more than welcome.”
Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. I look to her friend, Trisha, and she is staring at me in awe.
“That is so nice of you. Yeah, we will join you for lunch sometime. No guy should treat a woman poorly. I’m sorry about your friend, but at least she will be happy once you tell her.”
“Oh, I sent her a message. I can’t wait for her reply. I’ll see you tomorrow.” We wave, then they’re gone and sit in their seats.
“How nice was that?” I say.
“Yeah,but think of the consequences of your actions. I feel a storm coming. It is coming soon.”
I roll my eyes at her. “You are such a worrier.”
“It’s a flaw.”
I chuckle then concentrate on the class.
As the day goes on, a few people come up to me, praising me for standing up to the elite crew, telling me what they have done to them or to the people they know. The more I get to know the popular group, the more I dislike every single one of them.
Any regret for what I did soon passes and I’m glad I put that dick in his place. I know Aisha might be right and I’m going to get some comeback as it does sound like they don’t like people who mess up the order of things around here.
There’s a group of us walking to our next class and everyone is making conversation. Aisha is talking; she is in her element right now, and I just listen. They’re talking about things that have happened, about people I don’t know. A pang in my chest tightens a little.
They have grown up around each other. Or they have been here since day one of freshman year, and a part of me feels a little left out.
An emotion I don’t think I have felt before enters.
Jealousy.
I had what they have once.
I grew up with people, had friends who were there since kindergarten, but things changed when I was fifteen. I press my hand to my chest. Everyone is starting to turn into white noise.
No, no, no. Not now. Don’t think about it. Block it out. Listen to those around you.
My eyes start to haze when I feel my hand being held and I turn to Aisha who is staring ahead. We have all stopped walking. I look ahead to see Kimberly and her girls, who I now know as Mercedes and Chloe. They stand there like they’re posing for a photo shoot.
Everyone has gone quiet and I can feel the tension building. I look at the people around me and they look nervous; some look pale.
“Come on,” I tell them, and I start walking but Kimberly steps in front of me, blocking my way. “Can I help you?” I say in a sugary sweet tone.
She swishes her hair. It takes a lot for me to not roll my eyes at that movement. I feel like I’m in a teen movie right now. “I just want to warn you that what you did at lunch was a big mistake. I feel sorry about what is going to happen to you. I would watch my back.”
I give her a thumbs up. “Thank you for that. I will keep that in mind.” I smile at her and her eyes squint a little.
“You do know that means something bad is going to happen to you, right? Please tell me you’re not retarded.”
“Yeah, I know what it means. Now that you told me it's coming, I will expect it. You are such a good person
for telling me. Anyone else would have let the suspense kill them. Thank you again.” I’m being sarcastic, but I don’t think she notices. I pat her arm and then I grab Aisha’s hand and we walk around Kimberly and her friends.
“I wasn’t trying to be good,” Kimberly shouts out.
“Whatever you say,” I shout back. “Thanks for the heads up.”
Once we’re a few feet away, a few girls giggle. “I think you left her confused,” Aisha says, shaking her head.
“I know. I think she will be beating herself up about it. I know people like her try and shove fear down people’s throats, but I don’t scare easily. And I have always learned that if someone is being mean to you, they hate it if you are nice to them. It frustrates them.”
“You are my hero,” a girl behind me says.
“I just don’t like bullies.”
I know they never ever like me.
The rest of the day is fine. I was expecting some retaliation by now but I assume it will happen tomorrow. They’re probably thinking about what the best action should be. I’m going to bring a spare set of clothes and keep them in a locker in the girls’ changing room.
I need to make sure I’m prepared.
Aisha and I head to the parking lot and I wave her goodbye when she leaves. Once she’s out of sight I put in my earbuds and play Fight Song by Rachel Platten. It's quite fitting right now.
I’m humming when I feel that I’m no longer alone. I grab my phone in my fist and hold it for dear life, waiting to see what will happen. I take my earbuds out and turn around to see the three guys standing there.
“So, what’s your move then? Going to beat me up? Sexually harass me? Steal my shit? Or are you going to let me keep guessing?” I ask, sounding bored. I’d rather let them get it over with and I will handle whatever they bring my way.
“Fuck, girl, your mind is warped. Shocked you never used the R-word,” guy number three says which I now know is Elijah, and the one who I poured water over is Lucas.
“I like to think that you have a soul, even if it’s tarnished and black.”
“I don’t think I have ever seen a girl talk back at me like that.” Elijah crosses his arms, making his biceps bulge in his shirt. “I think it's hot. You’re right, Axel. I get the appeal.”
I huff. “What do you want? I kinda want to get home and chill.”
“Maybe that’s where you should go. Home. We both know that you don’t belong here…” Lucas starts.
“I would be better back where I came from, back to where my friends and family are. That it would be best for the both of us, yadda, yadda, yadda. I’ve heard this shit before. This is where I am staying until I graduate. I can’t go back or I wouldn’t be here. And if you didn’t grab me like some caveman and talk to me like you would to a pet, even though a pet deserves better than that anyway, I wouldn’t have done what I did. Besides, it was water. It dries. I get it, I ruined your macho reputation but I don’t like being treated badly. It’s a flaw. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going.” I take a few steps back, waiting to see if they’re going to reply, and when they don’t, I turn around and start walking. But my hearing is on alert, ready to turn and hit someone if they try and charge at me.
I’m holding my breath, and after a few minutes, I jump when I feel my arms being linked by Elijah and Axel. Lucas grinds his jaw beside Axel.
“We’re walking in the same direction, so we will be your bodyguards. Never know what creeps are lurking about,” Elijah says.
I stop and pull my arms back. I know this is a trick. They’re going to wait until we’re no longer out in the open and do whatever they have planned. “I think the creeps you’re talking about are you three. No way am I walking with you so you can end up hurting me or upsetting me.”
“Someone has some trust issues,” Elijah jokes, but I have learned over the years to not trust bullies, ever. “We aren’t going to do shit. Lucas wanted to. Trust me, his head is fucked up when it comes to paying back someone, but he was outvoted. Well, for now, anyway. We are deciding what to do with you.”
What to do with me? “Again, talking to me like I’m an animal. So it's what? Hurt me or leave me alone? Want me to beg and plead? That won’t happen.”
I take a huge step back when Axel stands in front of me, looking down at me. “The only time we will want you to beg or plead is when you give in and want us to have you.” He leans in, his mouth closer to mine. “To please you.”
God, I hate his voice. It just sends shivers through my entire body.
I take a few steps back, putting some space between us. “That won’t happen either. I’m not some sex toy. I’m not something you can just play with. And I’m definitely not the kind of girl to have sex with three men, especially one that wants to punish me.”
Once the words leave my mouth, Lucas quickly stares at me, his eyes on mine. I see anger, but I see heat there too. I guess he likes punishing people. I bet he enjoys delivering it in the bedroom too.
Well, I don’t do BDSM.
“Who says all three of us will have sex with you?” Elijah pulls my mind back.
“I’m just making it clear. So, again, I will ask, what do you want? I just want to be left alone.” Which is true. I know if I get involved with these three, it will involve the three girls and it will be one big mess.
Lucas clears his throat. “We haven’t decided yet. It’s either I get my payback, one of us fucks you.” Which I presume was Axel’s vote. “Or you join our group, temporarily, of course. You aren’t in the same league to stay permanently but it will put order back in school if people think you’re one of us.”
Hell to the fuck no.
Like fuck am I going to agree to any of those options. “You must be crazy. So, it’s either let you punish me, have sex with me, or hang out with a table full of assholes? I think I vote for option four, none of the above. I’d rather poke my eye out with a blunt knife.”
“So dark… I love it.” Elijah blows me a kiss and I grunt. “Well if you don’t choose then we will have to choose for you.”
“So, if you choose sex, what are you going to do? Tie me up and force yourself on me?”
“We wouldn’t do that shit. Jesus, what kind of people do you know?” Lucas says in a disgusted tone.
“You would be surprised by what kind of people I know.” Sometimes monsters lie dormant until they are released. “Do you know what? I will go for option A. Lucas, get your revenge on me, do what you must. If it makes you feel more of a man by hurting or embarrassing me then go ahead and get at it so we can all move on.” My voice rises. I walk past them, and when I look back, they stand there talking amongst themselves.
Once I’m in the building, I head straight to the elevator. I’m not in the mood to walk up the stairs and I don’t want them deciding what they want to do to me and catching up with me. It doesn’t take long until the doors open, and once I’m inside, I face forward. As the doors close, the guys walk through the entrance.
I see the determination on their faces.
I guess they have decided what to do.
Chapter Eight
That night, I make sure I block my front door with my couch. Luckily, the floor is laminated so it was easy enough to push. I’m not saying they would break-in, but I didn’t want to leave it to chance.
I spent most of the night on the phone to Aisha, telling her about my run-in, and she wanted me to stay with her but I told her I would be fine. She needs to know that I can handle myself. I’m thick-skinned. It takes a lot for someone to hurt me emotionally.
That night, I didn’t hear any banging. I sleep all the way through the night with no disruption. I wonder if they have figured out it's me who lives above them. I’m sure it wouldn’t take much for them to find out.
When morning comes, I grab a quick shower. I decide to wear leggings and a t-shirt that’s two sizes too big that covers my ass. I love lounge clothing. If I buy t-shirts, I always make sure they are baggy.
Once
I’ve had breakfast, I move my couch back. I jump when I open the door and all three guys are standing there. I try and slam the door but all three of them start pushing it open. I try with all my might but the door bangs open. I step back when they take a step in.
Without hesitation, I run to my room. I hear their footsteps behind me, following me again. I don’t shut the door in time and they bust in, blocking the way. I look all around me but there is no escape.
My bat is under my bed but they are closer to it than I am.
Dammit.
All three cross their arms. I know I’ve lost. I look to the ground, sucking in a deep breath before facing them again. “Right, you win. What are you going to do?”
Each of them starts walking slowly towards me, not saying a word. I keep my stance, ready for what is going to come my way. They aren’t carrying or holding anything. They don’t seem the type to beat up women but looks don’t show what they are like on the inside.
They surround me, Lucas behind me, the other two in front, blocking me in. I can feel heat radiating off them. They move in closer, their bodies pressed close to mine. I close my eyes, waiting for it to be over.
I feel their hands on me, gliding up my body and I start to panic. I palm up my fists, ready to start throwing punches if they try and violate me. I feel their hands move up to my shoulders.
A weird feeling washes over me. My body is enjoying their touch, but I push that down. When I feel a hand wrap around my throat, I start to count to three, and on three, I am going to knee every single one of them in the balls.
I get to two when I’m spun around and then let go. All three start laughing. I stand there looking at them like they have gone insane.
Why are they laughing?
Was this it? Was this their punishment? To freak me out?
“You should have seen your face.” Elijah chuckles, gathering himself. “Once we saw your fists, we knew you were ready to start fighting. Which makes you even hotter in my eyes. Good morning, little one. Did you sleep well?”
