The Love of My Bully Read online

  Sean was at the door waiting for her with keys already in his hand. “You really don’t want to go.”

  She glanced down at her pants. She often wore then to deal with the trash. “Well, now I get to deal with the trash,” she said, flicking her hair off her shoulder.

  “Come on, let’s get this show on the road.”

  ****

  Sean didn’t need directions to Drake’s house. Anyone who was anyone knew where he lived. His house was the biggest in town, and of course the one most people wished they lived in.

  Not Prudence.

  From the first time she saw the house as a kid, it always looked … sad. She hated the house and staring up at it now, she felt sick to her stomach, and not because she was about to see Drake either.

  No, this house was a nightmare. It was too garish. It screamed luxury and prosperity and looked down on everyone else.

  Sean pointed at the side of the road. Cars were everywhere and there was no way Sean would get close to the door or be able to leave if he came with her.

  “We could leave her,” he said.

  She was so tempted. “No, we came all this way. Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with this and then we’re back to our night. There’s no way his parents are home so it’s not like I have to worry about having my ass thrown in jail or chased out of town.” She unbuckled her seatbelt, the nerves finally starting to get to her. This was a mistake. She had no doubt something bad was going to happen, or maybe nothing would. It wasn’t like she was going to crash this party. Drake had told Ree to get her to bring her inside.

  The moment she closed the door, Ree looked up.

  Her friend with wild blonde hair gave a little squeal and rushed toward her. It was like the past couple of hours hadn’t happened.

  She would never understand Ree or her need to be accepted by assholes like Drake.

  “Hey,” she said, offering Ree a smile.

  Ree threw her arms around her neck, holding her close. “I knew you’d come. I’m so pleased you did. This is going to be awesome.”

  Prudence grabbed Ree’s hands, making her friend stop. “I’m not coming to spend the night, Ree. I’m letting you in and then I’m leaving.”

  “But you can’t leave. What if Drake wants you to stay?”

  “I’m my own person. I don’t give a shit if he wants me to stay. I’m not going to.”

  “Oh, come on. Don’t be a party pooper.”

  Prudence wasn’t going to be pulled in. “Come on, just lead the way and get this done.”

  Ree wouldn’t stop talking. “He is like the best guy in the world. I know he comes off all hard and mean, but that’s just the way guys are. They have to protect themselves, and I know Drake is a good guy where it counts.”

  Prudence rolled her eyes, pleased Ree hadn’t seen her. The only thing Drake cared about was himself, but she wasn’t going to argue with her. Walking between the cars, she didn’t let go of Ree’s arm once.

  “Hey, Sean came. He can come too. I’m sure he would love to come and party,” Ree said.

  “Not happening.” She didn’t want to be here, so there was no way she was dragging Sean in any deeper than he already was.

  “Wait, wait,” Ree said the moment they got to the door. “We can’t go in the front door.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “No, we’re going to have to go in the back entrance.” Ree put a hand to her face. “Oh, my, that is so funny, because a back entrance, is, you know.”

  “I get it.” It wasn’t funny though. “I’m not sneaking around the back.”

  “You’re going to get us into so much trouble.” Ree kept on giggling. “I wonder why he wanted you to come. Oh, no, what if he wants to be mean to you again? I didn’t think about it. At least you’ll be the talk of the party if he is. It will be so funny what he does but know I didn’t mean for it to be this way. I’m such a bad friend.”

  Gritting her teeth, she tried not to growl at her friend or to get angry. With every second that passed, it was getting harder and harder to not say something.

  “I know Drake’s an asshole but his parties are the best, and I really want to be in there. You understand, don’t you? Or don’t you? I know you’re a loser. You and Sean are happy to stay in the loser camp but I’ve got plans and I need Drake. We have to go around the back. There’s no way he’s going to want to see you like this.”

  Prudence had heard enough. Sean was right, as usual. Ree didn’t deserve their friendship. “You know what, I’m done. After tonight, you’re on your own. I’m sick and tired of you treating me and Sean like we’re some kind of lesser beings. You get what you want, and then you don’t come near us again. And another thing, I’m not going around the back, Ree. I’m going through this front door, and that’s final.” She opened the front door to Drake’s home, her heart pounding. She felt sick to her stomach.

  The door closed behind her and several people noticed her. All it took was one look, and she watched as they ran out of the main hallway, probably about to alert Drake to her presence.

  “See, we should have gone around the back,” Ree said.

  “Not happening.” Still holding onto her friend, she charged through the group of people, wanting them out of her way. She wasn’t going to run away or be scared. Drake was just a baby in a guy’s body.

  Moving through his large home, she didn’t take the time to enjoy it. The place seemed cold and empty, even with all the people inside. It didn’t take her long to find Drake. He sat with his friends in what looked like a game room.

  Someone was talking to him and she pulled Ree toward her. “Connor,” she said, drawing his attention to her. His blue eyes glared right back at her, but she didn’t give a fuck.

  This was her vacation time as well, and she didn’t want to be here at this party.

  “So, you finally decided to show up.”

  She pointed at Ree, wanting to hurt him instead, to wipe the smug look off his face. “I didn’t finally decide anything. I don’t want to be here, but Ree is here. So all of your requirements have been fulfilled.” She let Ree go and made to take a step back. Her exit was covered, though, and she refused to back down. There was no way she’d ever show any kind of weakness in front of this guy.

  Drake laughed but ignored Ree, who grinned at him with hope.

  “Where’s your boyfriend?” Drake asked.

  “Sean’s not her boyfriend. They’re just friends,” Ree said.

  She didn’t avert her gaze from Drake, and neither did he from her.

  “What more do you want, Drake? Blood? A urine sample?” She wanted to shock him, to make him look weak in front of his friends. Instead, he smirked as if he knew what game she was playing. She didn’t even have a clue what game she played, only that she had to survive. She was in Drake’s territory now. There was no one on her side here.

  Drake watched her, and it made her feel really unsettled, especially to have this kind of attention from him. It was the first time in a long while that she’d felt like this.

  This wasn’t high school, or the park.

  She was in his home, and in a way, she was at his mercy. And she didn’t like it, not even a little bit.

  “Why don’t you just let her go?” Ree asked. “She’s going to go and watch boring movies anyway. We don’t need her to have some fun.”

  Ree moved up to Drake, reaching out to touch him, but he did nothing more than push her aside as if she was trash.

  “Why do that?” Prudence asked. She went to reach for her friend to give her a helping hand but Drake was in front of her, stopping her. “What is your problem?”

  “She was more than willing to have you come here, to deal with me, and you’re still going to help her.”

  “It’s what friends do.”

  He laughed. “You really need to think about who you keep as a friend.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” she asked. “I’m done with this.” She had enough of dealing with this crazy
drama for the year. She would have to put up with Drake for another year once school started, but that didn’t mean she needed to bother with him for the summer too.

  Just as she was about to leave, he captured her hand, stopping her from going anywhere.

  Staring down at where he held her, she gritted her teeth and glared at him. Why couldn’t he just leave it alone? Why did he have to always make something bad? She didn’t get it and doubted she ever would.

  “I’ve got an idea.”

  “For what?”

  “You do something for me, and I’ll let you leave.”

  Prudence laughed. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I don’t see anyone letting you leave. So how about we have a little fun?”

  She wasn’t the least bit interested in having his kind of fun. “I’m done. You got what you asked for.” She turned on her heel, ready to leave, only no one would allow her to pass.

  This was what she hated most about doing this. Once she was inside Drake’s territory, he was the one in charge, not her. “Get out of my way,” she said through clenched teeth.

  No one moved.

  Drake chuckled and tutted. “You see, Trash, you’re nothing here. No one gives a fuck about you here. You could even call Sean, but I’d have my boys kick his ass and toss him into the pool naked. He’d be humiliated.”

  She didn’t want him to win. This was a power struggle, but one she was determined to win.

  How?

  Turning to face him, she folded her arms beneath her breasts and stared at him. “Okay, big guy. You want to play a game, let’s play.” She could play whatever game he wanted. He didn’t frighten her, and she had no intention of backing down.

  Ree moved up beside Drake again. “Let’s go and party.”

  He did no more than push her away once again.

  “Well, Drake, what is it going to be?” she asked. She didn’t know why she was goading him. The last thing she wanted was to be anywhere near him, and yet, she couldn’t stop herself.

  She truly was screwed.

  Chapter Four

  Time to play

  Drake watched her, seeing the attitude shining back at him. This was the Prudence he knew. The one that didn’t back down, the challenge in her eyes. This was better than he imagined. “I say we play a game. It’s pretty simple. Truth or Dare.”

  “Truth or Dare? Seriously? You want to play that game?”

  He smirked. “Why not? Have you ever played it before?”

  “Everyone has played that game at least once in their life and I’m no exception.”

  “Then what is the big deal?” he asked.

  “I don’t have a big deal. You want to play Truth or Dare, we’ll play it. How many turns?” She dropped her hands and took a step closer.

  Drake knew he had a captive audience. Everyone was waiting to see what he’d do. They were all fucking cowards and he didn’t care about a single one of them. What he liked was to make people do what he wanted. He was the one with all the power, and because they were no better than blood-sucking idiots, he liked to control them. Every single person here would do what he wanted and all he needed to do was click his fingers.

  “We play until I say we finish,” he said.

  “There’s nothing to stop me walking right outside that door.”

  “Go ahead. See if you can try. Not one person here is going to let you leave. They do, they’ll never come to one of my parties again, and guess what, my parties are the fucking best.”

  He watched her hand clench into a fist. It had been years since she last hit him back or gave him a real good punch. He didn’t know why he even craved this kind of reaction from her. Anyone else, he’d fucking kill them, plain and simple.

  With Prudence, he liked to play with her, to tease her, to see just how far he could push before she’d even think to push back.

  “Are we playing here? Who is playing?”

  He smiled. “You and me. No one else, right fucking here.” He pointed at the ground.

  She lowered herself into a sitting position, crossing her legs. He wondered if she and Sean had anything special going on tonight. She wasn’t dressed to impress. She was never dressed for anyone but herself and he liked that. It was probably the only thing he did like about her.

  “This is a game for twelve-year-old kids, Drake. You can’t come up with anything else?”

  He sat opposite her, ignoring all the bullshit coming out of her mouth. Drake didn’t care about anyone else, just her, and being right here in this moment. “You scared, Trash?”

  “I’m not afraid of you, Drake. You know that. This isn’t the first time we’ve been doing this together and it won’t be the last.” She stared at him. “How does this go?”

  “Simple. Truth or dare?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Er, Truth.” She held onto her knees, staring at him.

  “You ever fucked anyone, Trash?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “You’re still a virgin.”

  “My turn. Truth or dare?” she asked.

  “I’ll go dare.”

  “Kiss your own ass,” she said.

  The crowd erupted into laughter. He did no more than kiss the tip of his fingers and place them against his butt. “Done. Truth or dare?”

  “Truth.”

  “You’re not going to go with a dare?”

  “Drake, just ask me a question so I can get out of this,” she said.

  “You ever sucked a guy’s cock?”

  “Wow, okay, this is just fucking ridiculous. No, I’ve never fucked anyone. No, I’ve never messed around with anyone. Yes, I’m a virgin. Are we done now? Can I go?” she asked.

  “Not yet.”

  “Truth or dare?” she asked again.

  “Truth.”

  “Why do you hate me so much?” she asked.

  This took him by surprise and he remained silent, very much aware of everyone watching them. He couldn’t stand to have their attention and he certainly didn’t want it.

  “Well! Are you not going to answer me, hotshot?”

  “I never said I did,” he said.

  “Oh, come on, you totally fucking hate me!”

  “Does that bother you? Thinking I hate you?”

  She glared at him and he loved the challenge in her eyes. “No, it doesn’t.”

  “Then why waste a question?”

  “What I don’t get is if you don’t hate me, why oh, why, do you treat me like shit?” she asked.

  “’Cause trash is always treated the way it’s supposed to be.” There was a loud chorus of whoops around the room. “Truth or dare?”

  “Dare.”

  Now they were getting somewhere.

  He didn’t want to scare her off too soon.

  “Drink a shot. Someone grab her a shot.”

  “That’s it. One shot?”

  “Why not?”

  He was handed a shot, which he immediately gave to her, waiting for her to drink it. The booze at his parties were always the good stuff, and he watched as she knocked it back, trying not to cough as it burned the back of her throat.

  “That’s right, that’s the good stuff.”

  She handed him the glass while shaking her head at the same time. “That’s horrible.” She covered her mouth to cough. “Truth or dare?”

  “Dare.”

  “Ugh.” She looked around the room and then he saw the wicked smile that played across her lips. “Kiss Ree,” she said.

  “That’s it? You’re going to waste your dare on a silly kiss with your friend?”

  “What’s the matter, Drake? Chicken?” she asked.

  “Oh, you don’t even know who you’re messing with.” Grabbing Ree, he pulled her down to him. She was always close by anyway, always hanging around for whatever crumb of attention he could give her. Gripping her hair tightly, he slammed his lips against her, kissing Ree while at the same time looking at Prudence for any reaction. Her brow was raised but she seemed comple
tely unmoved by him kissing her friend.

  Ree stroked his face and he quickly pushed her away. He didn’t like to be touched unless he was the one doing it.

  “Truth or dare?” he asked, sitting on the floor, watching her.

  “I’m going to go with truth.”

  “You ever fantasize about me?”

  “No, ew, gross. Are we done now?” Prudence asked, getting to her feet. “I’m done playing silly games. I’m not like this. I don’t party, and I don’t mess around. Sean’s waiting for me.”

  “With the snap of my fingers, I’ll have my guys beat the shit out of him. Is that what you want?”

  “You’re an asshole,” she said.

  “I didn’t claim to be anything more. Question is, are you going to just sit around and bullshit with me, or are you going to play fair?”

  “Why don’t you just tell me what you want so we can both get over this?” she asked.

  “Everyone out,” he said, shouting to be heard over the music. When no one moved, he broke eye contact with her, forcing everyone to get the fuck out of the game room. The moment the door was closed, he got up and flicked the lock. His parents, for some reason, always insisted on having locks on doors, but he didn’t mind that. “We’re all alone.” He took a seat opposite her.

  “I don’t like this. You don’t like me.”

  “What makes you think I don’t like you?”

  “For years now, you’ve been calling me trash and hurting me. I don’t know how you can see that as being anything other than hatred, to be honest.”

  He smiled. “Like I said, I don’t hate you.”

  “You have a funny way of showing it.”

  “I dare you to strip.”

  “This is ridiculous.”

  “Do I look like I’m joking around? I mean business, Pru. Strip. Or do you want Sean to pay the price?” He was more than happy to make Sean pay for her insolence.

  She had come into his domain and now she thought she could be the one in charge. Not happening. Not on his watch. This was his turf and there wasn’t anyone who could make him stop.

  He held his cell phone up, ready. “You want to test me, Prudence?”