Forsaken: A bully romance (An Academy Twin Rivalry Series Book 1) Read online

  He wasn’t Braddox? Could he possibly be Brax’s doppelganger? “How is that possible? You look exactly like him.” Except he didn’t. Now that I knew it wasn’t him, I could see this guy’s eyes were a little larger with gold rings where Braddox’s were just dark all the way through. This guy had a fuller bottom lip.

  “Who are you, if you’re not Braddox?” I bit my lip, embarrassed that I’d kissed him as deeply as I had and felt such longing for him when I’d never felt like that for Braddox.

  No. I thought he had been Braddox. Braddox was the one that did that to my insides. He’d turned my knees to jelly. Not this version of my ex.

  Was Braddox still my ex? He must be, if that wasn’t him standing in front of me.

  “I’m Jaxon. You just made out with Braddox’s twin brother. The smarter, stronger, and obviously sexier version.” He winked, the slow, sensual movement twisting something deep inside my gut.

  I cleared my throat and cocked my head to the side, folding my arms across my chest in a mimicked pose of his. “I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… do that.” While I said I was sorry, I wasn’t sure I really was. I couldn’t help it. He was hot as hell and yeah, I could totally believe he was the sexier version of the twins.

  How had I not known Braddox had a twin brother? Why was he at East Shores and why had Braddox always told me it was just him and his dad?

  Nothing made sense. If Jaxon went to East Shores, maybe he would be my ally at that horrible nightmarish shithole.

  I licked my lips, tasting what must have been Jaxon’s chapstick. The last thing I needed was a reminder of the way his lips had made me feel. I didn’t need that. At all.

  I shifted on my feet, adjusting my hips in an attempt to brush away my need. Maybe I’d missed Braddox more than I’d thought. Would he take me back? Would he consider taking me back? The momentary reprieve left me regretting the choice I’d made to break up with him more than the texts he’d sent me since I left and the memories of being in his arms.

  I’d been far enough ahead of my studies that taking the winter semester off hadn’t been a big deal. How could I justify being out of school any longer when I was close to graduating? No matter where I was supposed to graduate from.

  Jaxon was saying something, but I couldn’t focus. I blinked and rubbed my hands down my face. “I’m sorry, I missed that.” Was it any wonder? I’d been under a lot of pressure the last few months and I’d just kissed a guy I didn’t know.

  He furrowed his brow with impatience and spoke slower. “Pay attention. We don’t need West Shores’ cast off rich bitches here and I don’t need Braddox’s worn out whores sleeping around. You’re not welcome here.”

  I took a deep breath at the monotone way he basically told me to get the hell out of there. And a worn-out whore? Who the hell did he think he was?

  How did I tell him I didn’t have any other options? Why would he care? The unrelenting hardness in his familiar yet unknown features struck me in the gut. I lifted my chin and narrowed my eyes. “You’re not going to scare me out of here. This isn’t my first choice, obviously, but I’m here. Suck it up and welcome me with open arms or we’re going to have problems.” Did he hear the challenge in my tone? I wasn’t a physical fighter, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to sit around and let some guy tell me what to do. No matter how hot he was.

  My cheeks flushed at the fact that I’d been more affected by the kiss than he had. That would never do.

  I turned away, keeping my chin up and my eyes steady. Pulling my backpack on my shoulder from the table, I accepted from Jaxon what I hadn’t been able to do on my own – the motivation to go into classes in a school that didn’t want me there.

  I’d never admit I wasn’t a rich bitch anymore and I had never been Braddox’s whore. No matter how much he’d try to get into my pants.

  Some things you didn’t share with anyone – even your ex’s twin brother who obviously ran the shithole you’d been forced to attend.

  My life just got better and better.

  Chapter 2

  Jaxon

  Challenge accepted. I stood with my thumbs tucked into my jeans pockets and watched as the new girl sauntered away with little to no respect for me. Moments ago, I’d held her ass in my hands. I hated the surge of attraction just the mere thought of her evoked.

  The sensation of disrespect from someone at East Shores Academy was a new one. I’d never been ignored or turned away from, not when I’d lived in the mansion with my family on the west side of town and not when I’d moved into the hovel with my mom on the east. No one ignored me. I was an O’Donnell.

  Even though I obviously wasn’t an active member of the O’Donnell family, that didn’t mean I didn’t carry the name and all of the rights that went with it.

  I did my best to ignore the heat still stinging my lips where the sassy newcomer made her mark.

  She couldn’t be there, causing problems. If she knew Braddox in such a way that she’d approached me and kissed me with enough passion I almost laid her out on the table right there, then she was nothing I wanted a part of.

  How many different ways had Braddox known the spunky brunette with her mesmerizing green eyes that contradicted the Hispanic curl in her hair and tone of her skin? Maybe her eyes were fake. But somehow, I didn’t think that was possible. There was nothing fake about her. Not the curve in her hips, the plump shape of her lips, or the rise in her breasts.

  The possibility that she was spying for Braddox was high. She could be there to try to get as much information on me as she could find. She could have pretended to not know Braddox had a twin. Who knew what the girl was capable of? I didn’t know her, but the burn in my gut told me I wanted to. Damn it.

  If Braddox had sent her, I needed to make sure she didn’t want to stay. My twin and I were close enough to our eighteenth birthday, he had to feel threatened. I hadn’t been shipped off and the time for our father’s announcement on who would succeed him would follow soon after.

  Braddox had no idea I’d been working with Dad for a while. He had no idea because Dad and I had kept it between us. I wasn’t sure who was more terrified of Braddox finding out – me or my father. Either way… I had to protect the situation with everything I had.

  I followed the new girl’s steps slowly, taking my time as I soaked in some of the sunlight I’d witnessed the vixen enjoying. Everything about her was exotic and new. She didn’t belong there at East Shores. I’d made the school my own and I could recognize when something didn’t fit in.

  She definitely didn’t fit.

  In the hallway, I made my way to my class. I wasn’t concerned with graduating. I had grades that put me in the top one percent of my graduating class. I kept the impoverished students in line and the teachers appreciated it.

  The girl’s wavy hair hung down past her shoulders with a glossy insolence, marking her in the front row of my Spanish class. Interesting, she was on track B. I would get to see her all day, through every class. Every day.

  I’d have to talk to Ms. Newberry about changing things around. I couldn’t be around the girl more than necessary. She would find out too much just by observing me in class or at lunch. I didn’t want her to know any more than what was already apparent or that she’d caught when we kissed.

  And yet, I couldn’t wait to see what she did. I found myself trying to catch glimpses of her as I passed by her. I gave her a look she didn’t see but that the rest of the class took note of.

  A few kids picked up their phones, texting who they needed to to get the word out that the new girl was blacklisted. Not that it would have taken me marking her. She had marked herself with the over-priced clothing and the way she ignored everyone else without flickering her eyes.

  I took my normal seat in the back, watching as Senora Alvarez continued speaking to the class in Spanish while no one even listened to her. “Cuantas lenguas hablas?” She asked how many languages we spoke and no one replied.

  Except the new girl wh
o raised her hand without looking up from her phone.

  “Si, Ms. Ramirez?” Senora Alvarez blinked at the student, her eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out what she was going to get from someone she didn’t know and who obviously didn’t fit in.

  “Cinco, gracias. Me llamo Olivia.” Her voice, when it wasn’t mad or full of regret, had a lilting quality to it. Was she really saying she knew five languages and that her first name was Olivia? Her name was as exotic as she was. That only irritated me further.

  Senora Alvarez’s lips parted as she stared at Olivia. She forgot to speak in Spanish. “What languages do you speak, Olivia?”

  The rest of the class continued ignoring the teacher and the conversation. I stretched my legs out in front of me, lazy and controlled as if I didn’t want to be there. Yet, I wanted to hear Olivia’s answers more than I wanted to be anywhere else.

  “English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German. I was working on Russian, but the tutors are few and far between this far to the west.” Olivia’s voice held a smile I couldn’t see from my vantage point in the back.

  Senora Alvarez inclined her head. “Well, that’s impressive. We only offer Spanish here at East Shores. Hopefully, you feel challenged while you’re here.” Senora Alvarez shifted her eyes to the side as she took in the inattentive class. Her eyes landed on mine and I slightly shook my head.

  She flushed, the pink in her cheeks moving up to her forehead and she looked down at her desk. After a minute, she clapped her hands together and pointed toward the clock. “Okay, class, we’ll see you tomorrow. Please, practice your verbs. We’ll discuss conjugating more then.”

  The rest of the class stood, laughing, talking and walking from class. Olivia continued sitting, her curls unmoving as she waited for the rest of the students to leave.

  I slowly pulled my feet under me and stood, walking out after the rest of the students. I didn’t need to see her to feel her gaze on my back. Things were about to get ugly for the beautiful Ramirez. I just hoped she didn’t get too upset or too hurt.

  Or maybe I wanted her as upset as I could get her. The sooner she got out of East Shores, the sooner I could relax in my school again. I only needed to make it three more months until graduation and then I could decide where I was going from there.

  I had to assume she was there on behalf of my brother. Anything was possible with my brother.

  Anything.

  He had everything I was supposed to have in my life. Now I had to find out that the bastard had someone like Olivia in his life. I hated him even more for that.

  The next class passed much the same way as the last. Olivia had to assert herself as too smart for the class and the rest of the students let her without paying any attention to her. That was fine. Not a big deal. When I was done with her, the class wouldn’t tolerate much from her except silence in the back.

  I walked into the cafeteria, glancing around as I took the measure of the occupants. Where was our resident rich bitch?

  She stood on the side of the room, leaning on a vending machine we’d brought in the year before. She studied the options, her head bent with a bottle of Evian in her hand.

  Evian. I hadn’t seen the expensive beverage in a long time. Bitterness broke out on my tongue. She was there to rub our noses in what we didn’t have. What I’d been forced to give up. One more slap to the face from my esteemed brother.

  A group of girls led by Lily Avender approached Olivia, snide smirks on their faces. I stopped walking, choosing instead to watch from afar. Lily was ruthless and Olivia needed a wakeup call. Ms. Ramirez probably hadn’t faced anyone like Lily before in her soft life at West Shores.

  As if sensing something was about to happen, the entire cafeteria seemed to take on an air of silence and waiting. I averted my eyes from the roundness of Olivia’s ass in her jeans. There were plenty of hot chicks at East Shores. I just needed to get that damn kiss out of my head. Why did she have to kiss me like that?

  Lily stood behind Olivia, folding her arms over her chest and thrusting her chin to the side. Her strawberry blonde hair was in deep contrast to Olivia’s thick almost black locks. Lily was also bone thin which wasn’t fun to grab onto. She’d thrown herself at me at a few parties and I’d never followed through. I preferred my girls with some meat on their bones and curves in their clothes.

  “Excuse me, you’re in my way.” Lily’s voice carried easily around the quiet audience. Some tittering in the crowd as people whispered to each other quickly died down as Olivia straightened and turned slowly.

  She arched an artfully maintained eyebrow at Lily, scanning her from head to toe and placing a hand on her hip. Olivia’s smile could have frozen a glass of water if there’d been one around. “I’m in your way?” Olivia stepped away from the vending machine, careful to lift her bottle of Evian to drink from it and make sure everyone who stared at her saw it.

  She glanced my direction as she scanned the cafeteria and her eyes widened for a second and then narrowed. She must have thought I was Braddox again. I’d been told our resemblance was uncanny, but I hadn’t seen my dickhead of a brother in a while, so I wouldn’t know.

  Lily inserted some coins into the vending machine as if nothing else was going to happen. The rest of the cafeteria’s occupants turned back to their tables and their conversations, returning to their activities in disappointment.

  A can of pop dropped from the vending machine and Lily picked it up, turning back to Olivia’s retreating form. She shook the can, hard, back and forth and up and down. “Hey, Diva.”

  Olivia paused, turning back, her haughty expression unchanged except to include a question in her eyes.

  Lily pointed the can toward the new girl and popped the top, spraying the contents all over Olivia’s expensive outfit. If I had to guess, I would put the value of the girl’s clothing at somewhere close to a grand. I wasn’t a fashion guy or anything, but the shoes alone were worth almost eight-hundred dollars.

  Olivia didn’t flinch as her clothing absorbed the dark colored pop. The front of her shirt and pants took on a splotchy appearance. Mostly the shirt itself was destroyed.

  Everyone turned back, many gasping and some laughing at the situation.

  Lily held the near-empty can by her side and waited for Olivia to do something. We all did.

  The new girl opened her Evian bottle and held Lily’s gaze with her own. Lily recoiled as if she were going to be wearing the expensive beverage herself, but she didn’t back away.

  Pop had gotten into Olivia’s hair and she shook her head back, her curls falling down her back. She didn’t look away from Lily and the four other girls standing around her as Olivia tilted the still-full bottle of water over her hair and rinsed the pop from her curls. The water hit the ground with a splash in the silence.

  After another second, Olivia leaned to the side, tossing the now empty water into a nearby garbage. She didn’t speak as she turned back to Lily and held eye contact.

  Everyone was frozen as we waited for what she would do next. Was she going to hit Lily? Fight her? More than likely Olivia would inspect her clothing and cry because of the damage.

  But none of that happened. Nothing.

  I straightened my stance, taking in the determination in Olivia’s gaze. What was she going to do?

  As if performing for Lily alone, Olivia held Lily’s gaze with her own. She didn’t look away as she reached up and pulled her shirt off over her head, revealing smooth skin and a coral bra with scalloped edges that barely hid her nipples and showcased the round firmness of full C cups. Her flat stomach indented at the sides where her tiny waist curved outward for hips I couldn’t stop staring at.

  She tossed her shirt at Lily, ignoring the definite shift in the room as every guy stared longingly at her. I wanted to run through the crowd, ripping their eyes from their heads as they looked. The irrational jealousy not making sense and wholly unwelcomed.

  Olivia’s wet curls fell against her back as she thrust her hands on
her hips and tossed a cocky smile at Lily and her cohorts. “Shoot, my shirt was ruined. Guess I’ll have to go to class like this.” Olivia had no obvious qualms as she turned from Lily’s group and sauntered away. That’s the only thing that girl did when she walked – sauntered with more attitude than I’d ever seen in any one female.

  Lily’s red features distorted and she rushed from the cafeteria, pissed that her plan had backfired.

  Not only did she not make the new girl cry, she had put on display for everyone there how desirable Olivia was. Rich bitches weren’t wanted at school, but taking off her shirt left her more wanted by at least half the school than before, even if they didn’t like her.

  I just hoped my own hard-on wasn’t showing as I left the cafeteria for my next class. It would never do to want the new girl from West Shores and my brother’s cast-off.

  I had to have better taste than that. Better class.

  The coral lace of Olivia’s bra made her skin look golden and smooth. She’d walked with her shoulders back and her neck elongated, leaving me suspiciously certain she had more class than the entire school combined.

  My longing to have her kiss me again like she had before tried to convince me that it didn’t matter if Braddox didn’t want her anymore. His loss.

  But I didn’t believe that. I couldn’t want her, even for a fast screw somewhere. Braddox and I didn’t share. We never had. Even hand-me-downs weren’t acceptable between the two of us.

  I’d never take it and he’d never offer. A girl he’d discarded wasn’t one I needed anything to do with. I couldn’t stoop that low. I didn’t honestly believe she’d been completely abandoned by him anyway. He’d sent her after me and I couldn’t trust anything about the situation.

  That’s what happened when you hated your twin because of betrayal.