Facing The Enemy

by M. E. Clayton

  Constance had blanched, but it seemed like the harsher my words, the more determined she was to alleviate her conscience. So, I went from poor, trailer park trash to rich, upper crust teen in a matter of a week.

  But just because my clothes were brand new, that didn’t mean I was. If these people wanted to test me…well, I was ready.

  I was halfway across the deep green, rich lawn when I felt a hand latch onto my arm and whip me around. I knew I was in trouble when I looked up into the dark brown eyes of that asshole, Ramsey.

  My skin burned from where his hand was wrapped around my bicep and I wasn’t sure if it was from rage or something else. Even as furious as I was, I couldn’t deny the boy was hot as hell. Even his name was created to be screamed out in bed.

  Ramsey’s hair was dark brown, a little bit darker than my own shade, and it was cut short on the sides, but was long enough up top to run your fingers through. His brows were thick and arched and they sat above a pair of keen, brown eyes. His lashes were long and full, and they gave him the bedroom eyes look. There was a scar that started at the arch of his right brow and slashed through his eye until it stopped at the edge of his nose. It made him look like the devil.

  His nose was straight and perfectly centered in between two sharp, high cheekbones. His lips were full and sensual, and his jaw was strong and pronounced. His face was pure masculine perfection.

  Ramsey was wearing a form fitting, blue Henley shirt that showcased his wide shoulders, bulging arms and chiseled chest. His waist tapered down to his hips and you could tell that he had a six-pack decorating his abs. He was tall, and his body was held erect by a pair of legs made up of powerful thighs and calves.

  He was wearing jeans that actually fit him and a pair of sneakers that probably cost more than the rent on our trailer back home.

  Ramsey was sex on a stick, and he knew it.

  Too bad I wanted to spit in that perfect face of his.

  I tried to wrench my arm out of his hold. “Let go of me,” I hissed, but instead of letting me go, he yanked me towards him, and even though all my focus was on him, my brain was registering the gathering of people behind him.

  Butterflies took up residence in the pit of my stomach and adrenaline started coursing through my body.

  Bring it.

  Fucking. Bring. It.

  These people could jump me, and all join in on beating me unconscious, but I wouldn’t stop fighting until that unconsciousness claimed me.

  What these arrogant assholes didn’t realize was that I can take an ass whooping. I’ve been doing it since I was six. I’ve survived a grown man’s hands on me. These teenage bitches were nothing.

  Ramsey peered down at me. “And just where in the hell do you think you’re going? I didn’t give you permission to leave,” he said, almost shocking me out of my anger.

  Who in the hell does he think he is?

  I squared up against him, not caring about his army of pampered pussies standing behind him. “I don’t recall asking you for permission,” I replied.

  His grip tightened on my arm and he leaned down into my face. “News flash, Charity, you need my permission to do anything around here.”

  I knew he was trying to get a rise out of me by calling me Charity, but what he didn’t understand was that I was way past sticks and stones. Growing up poor, you were called names all the time. There hasn’t been a joke I haven’t heard and there hasn’t been an insult that hasn’t been thrown my way.

  This kid had no idea who he was dealing with.

  I stopped struggling to break free from his hold because, the more I struggled, the weaker I appeared. I wasn’t stupid or completely reckless. While I can take a punch with the best of them, I knew I couldn’t actually beat him in an actual fight. I mean, come on, he was twice my size and probably had four times the strength. I just knew I wouldn’t go down easily.

  I didn’t falter in my gaze, though. I looked him in the eye when I whispered up in his face, “You might own and lead all these pure, white flock of sheep you surround yourself with, but I’m not one of your sheep. I don’t need your permission for shit, nor will I ever ask for it.”

  His other hand came up and now he had both my arms encased in his punishing grip. Ramsey shook me a bit, and I could swear the look in his eyes was not one of hate. It frighteningly looked closer to lust than anything else.

  And I didn’t need this boy to look at me with lust. I was so used to violence in my life; he might just be the man who would give it to me how I sickeningly fantasized about it.

  His smirk was evil and full of malice. “You have no clue of all the ways I can make your life hell, Emerson.” My knees almost gave out as he rasped out my name. It sounded sinful off his lips. “Your fight. Your backbone, as you’re going up against something you can’t even fathom, has my dick harder than it’s ever been, baby.”

  I growled at him. It was either that or let him fuck me on the lawn outside in front of everyone. His threats were turning me on, and if that wasn’t sick, I didn’t know what was. I wasn’t a naïve girl. I knew my sick fascination stemmed from my abusive father. And all the talk shows and all the self-help books told you that the only way to overcome your demons was to find a nice guy. You had to believe yourself worthy to belong with a decent, hard working man who will treat you kindly and with respect.

  The only problem was I knew myself, and I knew myself well. I equated niceness with weakness, and I despised weakness. And I had to be careful because there was a real risk to me becoming Ramsey’s mouse to his cat in this fucked up game he started.

  Everyone surrounding us was so quiet; all you could hear was the wind dancing within the branches and leaves of the neighborhood trees. Everyone was straining to hear the words we were spewing at each other. It was creepy.

  Hearing his words though, it didn’t matter that I was a virgin. I was not going to let him get the upper hand by bringing sex into this. I stepped to him until my body was flushed with his. I could actually feel the heat and hardness from his dick pressed up against my stomach.

  And I was instantly soaking wet because I was sick in the head.

  “As impressive as you might think your dick is, Ramsey. Mindless rutting into my pussy, with no idea of what you’re doing, just doesn’t do it for me.” His jaw tightened, and he looked like he wanted to snap my neck. I jerked my head towards the crowd. “Why don’t you go back to your sheep? You tell them it feels good, and because they can’t think for themselves, they believe you.” I lifted myself onto my tiptoes until the breath from my lips touched his. “I prefer men who can actually fuck, Shepherd.”

  My audacity had actually rendered him so shocked, that I was finally able to break away from his hold. I turned my back on him and did my best not to run down the street like a coward.

  My steps faltered slightly when I reached the sidewalk and I heard Ramsey shouting my name. “Emerson!” I kept walking though, and I knew I was sealing my fate with every step I took, but I didn’t care.

  What these cookie cutter rich kids didn’t realize was that I was still full of rage from what my father did to my mother. And with him being locked up and out of my reach, I was never able to expel the pain and rage that consumed me. And that rage just grew and grew with all the new changes the murder had forced upon me. Not to mention all the years of abuse before my mother’s murder.

  I was mad at my mother for staying with my abusive asshole of a father. I was mad at my father for every breath he was still able to take. I was mad at Constance for forcing me to move.

  I. Was. Mad. At. Everything.

  If Windsor Academy and its King thought they were going to push me around or break me down, they were sorely mistaken. I was looking forward to whatever Ramsey was going to bring my way. I had so much rage; I was ready for a fight. I wanted a fight. No. I needed a fight.

  So, bring it on motherfuckers!

  Chapter 3

  Ramsey

  It’s been two day.

&nb
sp; Just two fucking days!

  It’s been only two days since Emerson walked away from me at the party Friday night and my body was still vibrating with unspent anger…and other things.

  It had taken every ounce of control I possessed not to run after her and…and I don’t even know what. I was that fucking livid at her nerve. It was bad enough that I had already ran outside after her when she walked out of the house. And it got even worse when I shouted after her as she was walking towards the street, but I had to draw the line at chasing after her any further.

  The fucking girl had balls, I’ll give her that.

  But the shocker had come when she had pushed her tight little body up against mine and whispered how she liked being fucked by men who knew what they were doing. The full extent of my weakness was glaringly obvious when, for a split second, it crossed my mind to actually drag her back to the house and force her to accept me.

  Her rage called to the sickest parts of my soul and, if I wasn’t careful, I’d be destroying us along with everything else around us.

  I was in the workout room, punching away on a speed bag, when I heard the door open. I didn’t bother glancing up because I knew it could only be Deke and Liam. They had texted earlier that they were going to stop by to shoot the shit. But I knew better.

  They were worried about me.

  After Emerson had left me standing on the lawn, looking like a madman, I had stormed through the house towards the kitchen, and had grabbed the first bottle of liquor I saw. It ended up being a bottle of whiskey, but I hadn’t cared. I had just needed something to take the edge off before I ran back out after Emerson and murdered her in the street.

  I had headed off to my assigned room, locked the door and drank myself into unconsciousness. And since Liam and Deke had never seen me lose myself like that before, there were here being mother hens.

  “Yo, Reed,” Deke called out.

  I didn’t turn around or let up on the speed ball. These guys were the brothers I never had. They didn’t need me to entertain them in this house. All three of us were only children, so our loyalty to one another was solid. We’d been causing havoc since we were all in the second grade together.

  I could see Liam straddle the weight bench out of the corner of my eye. “So, now that you’re not unconscious from an alcohol induced coma or nursing the hangover of all hangovers, what’s going on with you and the new girl?”

  I turned away from the still swinging speed ball and reached down for the bottle of water that had sat at my feet. I took a drink and then reached for a towel to wipe my face. I was stalling because I wasn’t exactly sure how to answer him. It wasn’t that I was thinking up a lie, I just didn’t have an answer that made sense. “Not sure,” I admitted, finally.

  Deke was sitting next to Liam on a balance ball, rolling his hips side to side, trying to hold his balance. “You owe me a note, Lee,” he said.

  I looked over at Deke. “A note?”

  Deke smiled. “I bet him a hundred dollars that you didn’t have any clue about what you were doing with her.” He jerked his thumb at Liam. “He bet that it was just a game and you knew what you were doing.”

  I growled. “Fuck you, Deke.”

  He threw his head back and laughed so hard that he almost lost his balance. After he managed to control himself, Deke looked back up at me and grinned. “Oh, come on, Ram. We were there, dude. I’ve never seen you react that way to a girl before. Hell, I’ve never seen you react that way to anyone.” He pointed out. “Since when do you lose your temper?”

  “He’s got a point, man,” Liam agreed.

  And they were right. I never lost my temper. I pulled in my anger and then I calculated and plotted and destroyed. The saying that revenge is a dish best served cold is spot on. Uncontrolled rage and unbridled emotion were, almost always, the source of a person’s downfall. You react without thinking things through and the results were most always disastrous.

  “I mean, don’t get me wrong, Ram,” Deke continued. “Once I got a good look at her, my dick was all but-”

  I couldn’t stop myself. “She’s mine,” I snapped out, and I watched as Deke put his hand out and Liam slapped another hundred-dollar bill into it. “What the fuck?”

  Deke smirked. “I also bet him that you weren’t going to share.”

  “So, what’s the deal, Ram?” Liam asked.

  I sighed and grabbed a stool to plant my ass on. I went with honesty. “I want to fuck her,” I admitted.

  Liam rolled his eyes. “Dude, every guy who was at that party wants to fuck her.” I stood up and Liam threw his hands up and fanned them down at me in a calming down motion. “Goddamn, Ramsey, calm the fuck down,” he breathed. “Even if that girl hadn’t thrown herself into the spotlight by fighting with you, you have to admit that she’s got a body any breathing male would want to explore.”

  “Including you?” I barked. “Including Deke?”

  “Jesus Christ, Ram,” Deke spoke up. “You know better than that.”

  I let out a deep breath and sat back down on the stool. I did know better than that. Liam, Deke and I have been inside the same girl before, but if one mattered, we never crossed that line. The thing is, this is the first time a girl has matter to me, so it was kind of new territory.

  I guess that’s why there were here. Trying to figure out how they were supposed to play this. But how can I tell them anything when I didn’t even know how to play this.

  I had not been ready for Emerson Andrews to fight back.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled. “I’m sorry.”

  The room fell into a complete silence until Deke broke it moments later. “Are we playing this by ear then?”

  I ran my hands up and down the top of my thighs as I looked at my best friends. “She doesn’t know the rules and so she’s not going to play by them. I don’t see how I have any choice but to play it by ear for now.” They both nodded their heads in agreement. “Just know that however this goes, whatever is being played out, Emerson Andrews is mine and only mine.”

  Liam grinned. “I never thought I’d see the day where you didn’t have something or someone under control.” The asshole winked at me.

  “Fuck you, Lee,” I replied.

  “So, when you say yoooooours?” Deke asked.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “I mean mine, Deke. Mine to torment, mine to play with and mine to fuck,” I clarified. “No other guy touches her, or I’ll kill him.”

  “Goddamn it!” Liam snapped as he handed Deke another bill.

  “What the fuck now?” I asked.

  Deke had a shit eating grin plastered across his face. “I also bet Liam that, not only were you not going to share, but she was more than just a warm pair of thighs for you to settle in between.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  Fucking Deke.

  He smiled and just said, “Let’s go play some pool.”

  I shook my head, but I couldn’t help the smile on my face. These two guys were the only people in my life that I genuinely loved. My parents could go fuck themselves and everyone else could suck my dick. Liam and Deke were my only real family.

  “Go ahead,” I replied. “I’m going to shower and then I’ll meet you guys in the game room.” They both made their way out the door, leaving me to clean up my workout area. We had maids, but I wasn’t such an asshole that I couldn’t clean up my own mess. Besides, I was the only one living here on a permanent basis, there wasn’t that much to clean so much as the maids just dusted and shit.

  I headed upstairs to my bedroom, and stripping down, I walked into the en suite bathroom. I stood under the spray of hot water and just let the pressure of the water work on my shoulders and back. Alone with my thoughts, I couldn’t deny that Emerson had me tied up in fucking knots.

  It was more than just bringing her under my control. It was more than just a bullying tactic to boost my ego or assert my reign over this town and its people. I keep going back to the pull I felt in my gut when I first laid eyes
on her. I had been drawn to her even before I knew she was a fighter.

  I had been drawn to her mere presence, and when I had walked up to her in her plain clothes with no makeup, the buzzing in my brain and the rush of my blood was an instant sign of something deeper than basic lust.

  It was all over once I was standing in front of her, really taking her in. Her face, her body and her goddamn attitude had snared me. I grabbed a hold of my hardening dick and replayed her voice over, and over again in my head; her voice telling me how she liked to be fucked. And sooner than she was going to realize, I won’t be needing to jack off anymore.

  Chapter 4

  Emerson

  It was only Sunday, but anxiousness was already coursing through my body at what tomorrow might bring.

  I hadn’t seen Bailey all day yesterday and my aunt was off vacationing…well, somewhere. I learned early on that almost all the kids in this town were latchkey kids. Their parents were absent for the most part, only showing up for holidays or whatnot, with some parents not even showing up at all.

  I tried to imagine that kind of existence, but I couldn’t. I wanted to murder my father with every fiber of my being, but I loved my mother. I couldn’t imagine growing up without her.

  I was in the kitchen fixing lunch, and I absolutely hated that I had to make use of their food. Growing up the way I did, I started working at the local diner when I was 14 years old. I had worked as a busboy and then worked my way up to waitressing. I paid my parents half of what I made, but I was able to save the rest. So, when I came here, I did have some money to my name, but it was pennies in comparison and not destined to last long if I didn’t swallow some of my pride.

  So, I had relented and let Constance buy my school uniforms, but only because I hadn’t known what to buy and the arrangement was that I’d pay her back. I had managed to find a job in town at a quaint, little café, where I would work part-time after school. It wasn’t much, but there’s no way I was going to live off Constance. Plus, I’d have somewhere to be and not be stuck in this house with Bailey.