Our Cracked Pieces (The Pieces Series Book 2)

by M. E. Clayton

  Molly grinned. “Kicking your ass in COD?”

  “You’re on,” I laughed.

  The rest of our lazy Saturday was spent in front of the television, phones being ignored, and pizza being delivered. And not one time, did I wonder if Vanessa was still mad at me.

  Did that make me an asshole?

  Probably.

  Chapter 5

  Rowan~

  It was Monday, and we were back at it, and I felt exhausted as hell.

  After my conversation with Grayson that Saturday morning, I had spent all week pretending to be fine and forcing myself to be the old me around Grayson and my parents. I had even gone to a party with the girls to prove just how fine I was.

  I had been keeping up appearances for days, and it was amazing how exhausted I felt every night because of it. The temptation to unburden myself almost got the best of me a few times this past week. Having Grayson near had weakened the little sister in me, and sad to say, I was actually happy he was back at school. That way I was less tempted to spill my guts.

  And I had taken Grayson’s advice and had spoken with my mom. I had given her the same spiel that I had given Grayson about being nervous about the new chapter in my life coming up. I had even endured Grayson giving me tips on being a freshman in college. And though, helpful, college freshman faux pas were the least of my concerns right now.

  Rushing to sit down, Tammy banged her tray on the picnic table. Me, Carly, and Mandy had already gotten our lunches, and Tammy was playing catch up. On Mondays, we always ate whatever the school was serving from the concession stand. The rest of the week, we often rode with Carly to the nearest fast-food place, if time permitted. If not, the school food wasn’t too bad.

  “Okay,” Tammy rushed out. “Now that I have all you guys here, let me tell you about Thursday night.”

  “Yeah,” Mandy said. “You can’t be texting us that you have something exciting to tell us, then make us wait for days to tell us.”

  “Seriously,” Carly agreed. “What kind of bullshit is that?”

  Tammy rolled her eyes. “Well, after you-” She eyed Mandy. “-left Dina’s party with your man, and you two hookers-” She eyed me and Carly. “-left to go nurse your vagina’s or whatever, guess who came to chat it up with me?”

  We all just stared at her.

  Tammy’s almond-shaped eyes sparkled, and her smile was a mile long. “Diego Cruz.”

  Wow.

  She nodded like a goddamn bobblehead. “And holy crap, ladies, talk about smokin’ hot.”

  Diego Cruz was smokin’ hot. There was no denying it, even if you hated the guy. However, by all accounts, he was a good dude, and I’d never heard of anyone hating him.

  “Holy crap, Tammy,” Carly whispered in awe. “Wha…what’d he want?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “He just started talking to me, and…I talked back.”

  “My tongue would have been too busy wagging on the floor to be able to talk back,” Mandy chimed in.

  I eyed her. “Shut up. You’re in love.”

  “Hey, if Darnell can still have hearts in his eyes for his third-grade teacher, I can appreciate all that can be appreciated about Diego Cruz.”

  I laughed. “You’re stupid.”

  Mandy grinned. “Sometimes.

  “Can we get back to freakin’ Diego Cruz, please?” Carly squawked.

  I rolled my eyes. “By all means.”

  Tammy’s smile was still lighting up half the state. “We hooked up,” she blurted.

  Silence.

  Mandy cleared her throat a bit. “Uhm, like…?”

  “Holy shit,” I whispered. “You lost your virginity to him, didn’t you?”

  Tammy nodded enthusiastically. “And if a girl is going to lose her virginity, it should be to Diego Cruz. Seriously.” Her face took on a dreamlike quality. “It was perfect.”

  “Bullshit,” Mandy remarked. “The first times always suck. No one ever knows what the hell they’re doing.”

  “It wasn’t his first time, Mandy,” Tammy replied. “So, trust me when I tell you, the guy knew what he was doing.”

  “So, spill,” Carly demanded, and after she did, we were the exact picture of giddy high school girls. The best thing about it all? Tammy said Diego’s been texting her every day since then, and though things have a friend-vibe between them, she’s happy he hadn’t slept with her, then turned around and ignored her.

  “You know who I wouldn’t mind losing my virginity to?” Carly said, a sly smile on her lips.

  “Who?” Mandy asked.

  “Officer Connors,” Carly confessed, and my entire body ran cold. “He is so freakin’ hot.”

  “No arguments there,” Tammy added. “He reminds me of William Levy.”

  “Right?” Mandy exclaimed. “I’ve been thinking that this entire time.”

  “And I don’t care that he’s thirty-one,” Carly went on. “I’m eighteen.”

  Tammy laughed. “How do you know how old he is?”

  Carly grinned. “I might have stalked him on the police department’s webpage when he first started here last year.”

  “He is hot,” Mandy murmured. “But he’s so standoffish.”

  “He’s probably forbidden from getting too friendly with the students,” Tammy suggested. “He’s here to keep us in line. Not to become our best friend.”

  I could feel my nails digging into my palms, and I had to literally instruct myself to unclench my fists. I had to instruct myself to keep breathing. I had to instruct myself not to have a panic attack in front of the entire school.

  I had to keep it together.

  I had to.

  “Well, forbidden or not, I’m eighteen, and I wouldn’t say no,” Carly teased. Then she looked over at me. “Don’t you think so, Row?”

  It took everything I had to keep my voice steady, an indifferent look on my face. “I’d rather hear about Diego Cruz.” I shrugged with as much nonchalance I could muster. “Older guys don’t do it for me.”

  “Well, I think we might become friends with benefits,” Tammy said, returning to Diego as the topic. “And I’m perfectly okay with that.”

  As the conversation went back to Tammy and Diego, my insides were churning with the thought that Carly might be even a little bit serious. There was no way I could let her lose her virginity to Officer Connors. It would be something she’d regret for the rest of her life.

  He was evil.

  Suddenly, I felt the weight of my secrets crashing down on my chest, and I wondered if I was every going to be free from the feeling.

  Chapter 6

  Lorcan~

  School was back in session, and everything seemed right with the world again.

  After the silent treatment for three days, Vanessa had finally come around and showed up at my house on Monday evening. And with my parents out of town and Molly out with her friends, Vanessa had shown me just how much she had missed me. The front door hadn’t even shut behind her, and she’d already started going down on her knees. And because I was an eighteen-year-old male, I had let her.

  After I had nutted off in her mouth, she had led me upstairs to my room, and had continued with her apology for being a cold bitch all weekend. Three used condoms later, I had unloaded all over her big tits, inside her ready pussy, and deep in her tight ass. After that, the rest of the evening had been spent with her on her phone, and me on mine, until she had finally gone back home around eleven.

  The rest of the week, things had, seemingly, gone back to normal. Vanessa had stopped being distant, and had texted like she used to do, and had even snuck in some more time together when her parents were gone or mine had been busy. We hadn’t fucked this steady in weeks, but for the rest of the week, Vanessa had been either texting me or had her lips wrapped around my dick.

  A part of me was grateful I hadn’t jumped the gun and had broken up with her without proof that she was cheating. Seeing her back to her old self, her excuses for being distant didn’t
seem like excuses anymore. Maybe she really had been getting anxious over graduation and us going to two different schools.

  With the bell ringing, signaling the end of second period, I left class in search of Vanessa. Our routine had always been to spend our breaks with each other and lunch with our friends. When we had first started dating, we had agreed we would not become that couple that ignored their friends. We had mapped out our free time to include our friends and each other.

  After putting my books up in my locker, I had headed to the east side of the math building where Vanessa’s locker was. When I rounded the corner, the sight that greeted me wasn’t a pleasant one.

  Vanessa had her back against the lockers and Tyler Vanhaus was close enough in her personal space that it looked cozier than was appropriate for a girl who had a boyfriend.

  And my second thought?

  Had Vanessa given me all that pussy and ass all week to throw me off her track?

  I walked up to them, and as soon as Tyler noticed me, he took two huge steps back. Never mind that I was taller than he was, but Tyler and I have attended the same school system since elementary school; the guy knew about my temper. It was no secret I wasn’t afraid to swing ‘em.

  “Oh, hey, Cavanaugh,” he said. “I was just talking to your girl about some chemistry homework.”

  “Well, it’s my time with her now,” I replied. “You can talk to her about chemistry in chemistry class.”

  He threw his hands up in a surrendering motion. “Hey, no problem, man. I get it.” He looked at Vanessa. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Sure thing, Tyler,” Vanessa returned, and I could tell by the edge in her voice that she was pissed at me.

  I waited until Tyler had turned his back and was far away enough not to be able to ear hustle, before turning to face Vanessa. “What the fuck?” I spat.

  Her big green eyes bugged. “Are you kidding?” she spat back. “You were so rude, Lorcan.”

  “And you were standing too fucking close to him, Vanessa,” I fired back.

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh, give me a break,” she drawled out.

  I folded my arms over my chest. “If a girl was standing that close to me, you would have lost your shit, and you know it.”

  Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but I’ve had plenty of girls hit on me over the years. Even after I became serious with Vanessa, I still got propositioned, and I knew it was because girls thought I was the entire package with my looks, intelligence, and money. But I wasn’t.

  I really wasn’t.

  I could be a bit of a dick, and I didn’t suffer fools gladly. But my biggest black mark was my temper. I had a terrible one, and I was constantly trying to overcome it.

  Like fucking now.

  The look Vanessa gave me was scathing. “Well, of course, I would,” she admitted. “Girls are constantly trying to steal my boyfriend.”

  “And you think I appreciate guys trying to steal my girlfriend?”

  Rolling her eyes again, she huffed, “Oh, please. All these high school boys know they can’t compete with you.”

  I wasn’t buying it.

  “Watch your friendliness, Vanessa,” I warned, realizing that I wasn’t completely trusting her about face this past week.

  There was a flash in her eyes, but it was gone immediately. And when her hand reached down to palm my dick, I knew she was trying to manipulate me, but my dick didn’t care.

  “I think you’re overreacting,” she returned. “But I know a way to calm you down.”

  “We need to get to class soon,” I reminded her, my dick getting pissed at my brain.

  Her hand massaging my rising dick-in front of whoever-she lifted on her tiptoes. “I can get you off in under five minutes, and you know it.”

  Okay.

  Before you judge, let me make one thing absolutely clear; I had mad stamina. I was eighteen, for fuck’s sake. But Vanessa knew what she was doing. And we’ve been sleeping together for so long, there wasn’t anything she didn’t know about my body and how to make me cum.

  “Are you going to swallow me?”

  Her hand deserting my dick, her arms came around my neck, and I had to reach down and scoop her up because she was so much shorter than me. “I have a better idea,” she teased in my ear.

  “Goddamn it, Vanessa,” I groaned. “We can’t do that here.”

  Her head nuzzled my neck, and she went for the sex kitten vibe. “But my ass misses what you can do to it, Lor,” she cooed. “Don’t you want it?”

  “If that’s what you want, then we’re skipping,” I growled, my dick primed and ready for her bullshit. “Either suck my dick, and we can go back to class, or we skip the rest of the day, so I can fuck that sweet ass of yours.”

  She laughed, and I hated my weakness. “I’ll meet you by your car.”

  I put her down. “Five minutes.”

  Vanessa winked at me. “Five minutes.”

  I watched her walk towards the girls’ restroom and wondered if it was worth it. While I had no problem ditching, I knew Mr. Hostettler was going to light me up tomorrow.

  But my dick just really didn’t care.

  Chapter 7

  Rowan~

  “Ms. Rowan Lewis, please report to Ms. Toller’s office. Ms. Rowan Lewis, please report to Ms. Toller’s office.”

  Once the sounds of the intercom disconnecting sounded, Mr. Downey, my biology teacher, peered at me over his glasses. “Okay, Ms. Lewis,” he said. “You’re excused to go see what Ms. Toller wants with you.”

  I gathered my stuff, shoved them in my bag, and made my way out of class. After depositing all my stuff in my locker, I had made my way to the counseling offices. I had no idea why Ms. Toller needed to speak to me, but I couldn’t ignore her summons. As a student counselor, she had more authority than most the teachers here. Ms. Toller answered to only the principal and vice principal.

  When I finally made it to her office, I knocked on the door, and was quickly instructed to go in. Opening the door, I walked in and found that Ms. Toller wasn’t alone, and my entire body threatened to crumble into a heap of refusal. Officer Simon Connors was in the office with her, and it was all I could do not to vomit everywhere.

  “Shut the door, Rowan,” Ms. Toller instructed. “Shut the door, then have a seat, dear.” I did as I was told, refusing to look at Officer Connors.

  When I took my seat, I asked her, “What’s this about, Ms. Toller?”

  “Officer Connors just wanted to talk to you about something.” I could feel all the blood drain from my face, and Ms. Toller must have noticed it because she quickly added, “You’re not in trouble, Rowan.” She smiled kindly

  “Ms. Lewis, I’m not sure if you’re aware of a senior prank, where some students had broken into the Administration offices, going through private, confidential student files,” he said. “But I am questioning every student whose name comes up in my still ongoing investigation.”

  I kept my eyes on Ms. Toller. “I…” I had to clear my throat. “I thought you said I wasn’t in trouble?”

  Officer Connors didn’t let her speak. “You’re not, Ms. Lewis,” he went on to assure me. “You were just named as one of the popular kids here at Sequoia High, and I thought you might be a good source to tap into.”

  “I haven’t heard anything,” I lied, and my stomach churned when I realized I had just handed him the opening he needed.

  He addressed Ms. Toller. “Ms. Toller, would you mind giving us a moment?”

  My eyes still on Ms. Toller, she glanced down at the watch on her wrist, and looked back at Officer Connors. “How about this? It’s close to lunch, so how about I take off, and you two can take your time?”

  “No-”

  “That’d be great, Ms. Toller,” Officer Conners said, cutting off my pathetic cry for help.

  I sat there, frozen, a victim of my own immature stupidity, as Ms. Toller got up and walked out of her office to go to lunch. My entire body turning cold as she said
from the doorway, “Take your time. I’ll be back after lunch.” The door shutting behind her sounding like a gunshot.

  My face still glued to Ms. Toller’s desk, I heard him getting up and walking towards the door. When the distinct sound of the lock engaging filled the room, I finally addressed him. “I…I thought you weren’t going to s…say anything?”

  His hands came down on my shoulders, and his breath was hot on my ear. “And I didn’t,” he said. “Your secret is still safe with me.”

  Seven weeks ago, me, Carly, Tammy, and Mandy had gotten swept up in prank week. It was a tradition at Sequoia High, and almost all the senior’s participated. It was supposed to be fun and…risky, but not damaging, hurtful, or illegal. But it hadn’t turned out that way.

  Not for me.

  If you chose to participate in prank week, you were assigned a task by another senior who was anonymous. Carly had been assigned with breaking into the Administration offices at Sequoia and taking as many school transcripts as she could from the freshman. Taking freshman transcripts was supposed to have been harmless. Being freshman, there was plenty of time to request their transcripts without jeopardizing college admissions. It was supposed to have been harmless.

  With Carly being assigned the prank, of course, Tammy, Mandy, and I had volunteered to help her. With the four of us in on it, we could grab a shitload of transcripts and reign supreme with our prank. We’d had it all planned out.

  But our plan had gone south during our escape when my pant leg had gotten caught on the school fence, and I had foolishly urged the girls to save themselves. I mean, it was just a prank, right?

  When Officer Connors had grabbed a hold of me and had dragged me to his on-campus office, he had hit me with legal ramifications of what we’d done. He’d also informed me that there were cameras in the school offices and, unless I wanted to ruin my friends’ futures as well as my own, it was in my best interest to work with him.

  His hands slid over my shoulders and down my chest until he had a handful of my breasts in each hand. “I missed you last week.” I cringed but didn’t say anything. “But as much as I’ve missed you, we don’t have much time, Ms. Lewis.” His hands left my chest, but that wasn’t a good thing.