Forbidden: A bully romance (An Academy Twin Rivalry Series Book 2) Page 7

  I stood there as the class separated into partners, leaving Jaxon and myself unclaimed. I shrugged as I looked at him. “You pretend to be a girl and I’ll pretend to be a boy.”

  His grin developed slow as he studied me, starting with my feet and moving to my head. “Hate to break it to you, Ramirez, there’s nothing male about you.”

  Laughing felt good. Our mirth mingled and shut us together in a bubble, protecting us for a moment from the animosity of the rest of the class.

  Until Staci’s voice broke through my concentration as she cooed to Braddox. “We can all partner up, Brax. I’m into threesomes or foursomes in this instance.”

  I hardened my gaze and while keeping my eyes trained on Jaxon, I spoke clearly for the whole class to hear. “That isn’t something to be proud of, Staci.”

  “Neither is being frigid.” That voice. Could it have been Braddox? I spun around, laughter covering up who it could have been. I scanned the class, searching for a face that I could pin the voice to. Who had called that out?

  Whoever it was, they were the one who’d tried to rape me in the pool house. I recognized everyone in there. Braddox grinned at me with his arms folded across his chest and Donnie and three or four of the other guys around them. Mingled in with that group was Staci and some other whorish girls that weren’t smart enough to disguise their voices for anything – even faking an orgasm.

  I whirled back to Jaxon, my eyes wide. I couldn’t breathe. Clutching at my throat, I could feel tears gathering behind my lids. “Can you get me out of here?”

  Jaxon didn’t question me as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and rushed me past the teacher, calling back something about visiting the nurse.

  Passing Braddox on the way out, I glanced his way only briefly, catching the concern in his eyes before he smoothed it over with disdain.

  I allowed myself to be tucked under Jaxon’s arm as he led me from the cavernous sounds of the gym as Staci’s barking laugh carried after us.

  My whole body shook. Goose bumps rose on my arms as a cool breeze came through the hallway. Jaxon pulled me along beside him until we ducked into a hall off the main thoroughfare. He pushed my back against the wall and stood in front of me, his chest inches from mine as he braced his arms on either side of me, essentially shielding me with his body.

  I reached out and rested my fingers on his chest to center me. Everything else seemed to pass in a whirlwind. I couldn’t breathe and yet… I couldn’t not breathe either.

  “What happened? I know what they said wouldn’t be enough to upset you. What’s going on?” Jaxon’s voice wasn’t loud or even demanding. His tone reassured me that I was going to be fine and I held onto that more than anything else.

  I dragged in a sharp breath and stared at my fingers contrasting with the dark of his shirt. “I… When I was at the party at Donnie’s house, I was in the pool house out back after talking with Braddox.” I glanced up, trying to get my calm back, then dropped my gaze enough to lock with his. “In the pool house, a guy jumped me from behind and tried to rape me. I was able to get away, but… his voice. It was in the gym today, the person who said I was frigid. That was the same person.”

  Jaxon furrowed his brow and shifted his weight to one arm while he dropped his hand and grabbed my fingers in his. “You’re okay. You have no idea who it could be?” His skin’s warmth sent a different kind of shiver through me and I closed my eyes.

  Shaking my head, I licked my lip, but didn’t speak. He had to know how much I wanted him. The heightened moment didn’t diminish that need, in fact, I would go so far as to suggest it slammed it into hyperawareness.

  “If you recognize it again, let me know. I can take care of it.” He trailed his knuckles down my cheek, my jaw, to my neck and then down to the delicate hollow above my collarbone. He lowered his voice and spoke in a whisper similar to the feather-softness of his touch. “We need to find some time together… alone. Not in a school hallway.”

  I snapped my eyes open, glancing around as much as I could see around the round lines of his muscles. I looked back at him and curled my fingers around his neck. “I don’t see anyone else around.” I moved from the wall, pressing myself against him and lifting my mouth to meet his.

  I needed the connection more than anything else in that moment. Letting the fear of the voice wash away as well as the contention and defenses I had to wrap around myself just to be there at West Shores was hard to carry around. All of it felt good to let go for a spell.

  Kissing Jaxon flushed everything away from me except for the lightning and the burn in my flesh and the desire to get closer from deep inside.

  That’s all I wanted from him. I just wanted to be closer. I moaned when his tongue moved inside my mouth, past my lips and I sucked.

  His answering groan flipped a switch inside me. I couldn’t help myself from grinding against the front of him as I pressed my breasts to his chest.

  My phone buzzed in the small pocket of my shorts, breaking through the moment and making us separate.

  I took in a deep breath, gasping as if I’d been running a marathon. I couldn’t think and Jaxon reached into the pockets of my shorts, his fingers lingering and softly grazing the top of my thigh as he pulled the phone from my pocket.

  Right. The phone was still buzzing.

  He narrowed his eyes and handed the phone over. “What does Stephanie need?”

  I blinked, having a hard time getting my wits about me. Taking the phone in my hands, I stared at the screen and swiped the answer button. “Yeah, Steph, what’s up?”

  Heavy breathing and then a slight sob split the air. I couldn’t keep Jaxon from hearing with the volume up so loud and her own voice almost screaming as she spoke. “He kicked me until I…I think lost the baby. I’m… Can you come get me? I’m at home. No one is here. I need to go to the hospital.”

  “I’ll be right there.” I hung up, my eyes searching Jaxon’s expression as anger mounted on his face.

  He pointed toward the front of the school. “I’ll get my keys. Meet me out front.” We wouldn’t even take the time to change.

  I didn’t think so much could happen in the short time since we’d texted. He must have shown up while I was freaking out about the voice in the gym. I nodded jerkily at Jaxon, leaving the warm protection of his arms and running toward the parking lot. I knew where he’d parked.

  I was so worried about Stephanie. She’d been beaten enough to maybe lose the baby. Ryan had a lot of explaining to do. If Stephanie didn’t press charges, I was going to do what I could to kill him or get him killed.

  I had to have that ten grand somewhere in my things that had been packed. That would pay for something to be done to him. There had to be someone or a group of someones on the East Side who would be willing to kick his ass.

  That’s all I wanted to happen. I needed to see justice happen. Stephanie deserved justice.

  The baby… I closed my eyes against the tears in my eyes. While it was hard to imagine she’d actually been pregnant, we’d both been trying to attach ourselves to the idea. The pain in my chest confirmed I’d attached myself more than I thought.

  Hopefully, Stephanie hadn’t gotten more attached than me. She wouldn’t be able to handle that kind of loss.

  Not right now.

  Thankfully, Jaxon was right behind me.

  Hold on, Steph. We’re coming.

  Chapter 8

  Olivia

  In our gym gear, Jaxon and I raced to Stephanie’s house. He drove with a determination that reassured me. We didn’t speak as we rounded the corner and then turned into her driveway.

  My stomach hurt. How could Ryan do that? I understood he didn’t want to be a dad. But if that’s how he felt, maybe he shouldn’t be having unprotected sex. No point in preaching at Stephanie. She was already dealing with the repercussions and I hated that she was hurting.

  Jaxon slowed to come to a stop, but I didn’t wait. I yelled over my shoulder. “Don’t turn off the car,
I’ll be right back.” Long strides carried me across the pebbled walkway and up the steps. The front door was ajar and Stephanie’s foot seemed to prop it open. She could walk with me to the car. We could go to the hospital. Jaxon would take us.

  “Stephanie, I’m here. Oh, my hell, are you okay?” I pushed the door open more fully, covering my mouth with my hand as I almost tripped and fell across Stephanie’s inert form.

  Her eye was swollen shut. Her lip split and bloodied. Her hands seemed to be trying to cradle her stomach, but she was out and they kind of sprawled to the sides of her hips. Her jeans went from blue to dark purplish red where blood seeped from her crotch area.

  The smell of copper was strong in the air.

  I fell to my knees beside her and reached to feel for a pulse at her neck. Her eyelids fluttered and she moaned. “Steph, I’m here. Oh, shit, girl.” What did I do? There was no way she was going to be able to walk to the car. Not only that, but would Jaxon let her in his vehicle with the blood everywhere? It would ruin his car. I couldn’t help thinking of the time Braddox had made us all wait outside his car until we were dry from swimming at Donnie’s before he’d let us in to go for dinner.

  I held Stephanie’s cold fingers in mine. What if she didn’t make it?

  Before I could think about what else we could do or how to get her to the car, Jaxon was there, gently pushing me to the side. “Watch out, Liv.” He bent and scooped Stephanie up in his arms, rocking her gently until her head fell against his chest. I let go of her hand so he could hold her better.

  He jerked his chin at me. “Close the door behind us and then get in the middle seat so I can rest her head on your lap. I don’t think she’ll want to be alone now.”

  I nodded, fumbling to do as he said. As soon as his butt was clear of the doorway, I slammed the door shut. I didn’t even care if we left a mess behind. Right then wasn’t the time to worry about trivial things.

  I rushed ahead of Jaxon with his arms laden with my friend. I pulled open the passenger door and slid in to sit on the bench beside the driver. The seat would be tight, but I didn’t care.

  Jaxon slid Stephanie in, putting her feet on the dash and snapping the door shut with a click. He climbed in beside me in seconds and started the engine.

  I cleared my throat. “Are you sure this is okay? It’s going to ruin your seats.”

  He furrowed his brow and shifted into first. “That’s a pretty petty thing to be worried about, don’t you think? If I was worried more about my car interior than a person, I probably need to focus on my need to be a douche as a place to improve.” He shifted again as he picked up speed, peeling out of the driveway and onto the road.

  When the drive to the nearest hospital should have taken twenty minutes, Jaxon cleared it in ten.

  He screeched to a halt in the ambulance loading zone and waved his arms as he jumped up and down after climbing from the car. Staff rushed to help us and in seconds, Stephanie was being pulled from my lap and carefully placed on a gurney.

  I glanced back at Jaxon, worry for him and for Stephanie pushing me to go and pulling me to stay.

  He shook his head and motioned me on. He was thinking of me and Stephanie. He wasn’t worried about himself.

  I pressed my lips together and then offered a soft grateful smile. As I turned from him to follow my friend, I couldn’t help listing the things I was grateful for in that moment.

  Jaxon didn’t seem to be anything like Braddox.

  Jaxon hadn’t questioned my need to check on Stephanie.

  Jaxon hadn’t let me deal with the stressful situation on my own.

  Jaxon had taken care of my friend.

  Jaxon was taking care of me.

  While I didn’t need a guy to have my back, it sure felt good to have someone in my corner.

  I glanced back once more as his engine roared to life and then pulled out. He had no idea how much he was making himself invaluable to me. Just in a couple weeks, I’d already attached myself to him.

  How far did I really want to take this? More and more, I wanted more with him.

  I didn’t want to get stuck with a guy like Ryan. Stephanie moaned, pulling my attention back to her. I had to make sure Stephanie knew she wasn’t stuck with Ryan. She could do better than him. I couldn’t remember a time when they’d actually declared themselves as an item.

  Staff moved the gurney into the hospital and I followed until they said I couldn’t go any further.

  Sitting in the waiting room was apparently how I was going to be spending my school day. And as I had a ton to think about concerning Staci, Braddox, and Jaxon, I didn’t mind the extra time away from school. Especially a school that wasn’t sure how much it wanted me there.

  A couple days after Stephanie was finally sent home to finish recovery, I went to school expecting the same simple routine I seemed to have fallen into.

  Show up. Go to class. Subtly flirt with Jaxon but keep any real intimacy at bay because the more attention I gave him, the more animosity I got from others. The girls wanted him and the boys had a loyalty thing going on.

  Personally, if anyone would have asked me, they would have found out, Braddox wasn’t even on my radar. Not to mention, I wasn’t going to share Jaxon.

  Braddox didn’t seem to be home when I was there and Jaxon had a job but he didn’t want me to tell anyone. So, I wandered the lonely O’Donnell home by myself after school while waiting for Stephanie to get out of the hospital. I’d gone to visit her some, but for the most part the staff was discouraging visitors unless they were family.

  When I got a text from Stephanie right before gym, I couldn’t help my grin.

  S: Come over after school. If I have to listen to one more lecture about how I’m not supposed to let strangers in the house, I’m going to finish what that douche started.

  Stephanie had lied and told her parents that it was a stranger and the person beat her by the door. Nothing was stolen or anything, but her parents had believed her. Not that they were looking for the truth. I wasn’t even sure they’d come home to check on her.

  Me: You bet. Need anything?

  S: No. See you then.

  I twisted my lips sadly to the side. She didn’t need anything which was code for she just needed a friend. I could do that.

  I shoved my phone into the locker and slammed the door.

  Before class, I either tried to be the first or last one in, especially for gym since the locker room was a fairly solitary place. I don’t know the last time an adult actually went in there. I didn’t need to be contained in a space like that with the likes of Staci and her gang.

  That day I was going in last because I’d had to get Stephanie’s makeup work from her teachers.

  As if I’d conjured Staci just by thinking about her, there she suddenly was as I rounded the end of the bank of lockers.

  Dressed in her slutty gym clothes, she leaned her shoulder against the tiled wall. One ankle crossed over the other as she waited for me with her hair down around her shoulders and an eyebrow arched high.

  The collar of her shirt had been ripped out, like she was mimicking the style of the boys’ tanks. Even the sleeves had been removed in a similar fashion and you could definitely see the rounding of her bare breasts from the sleeve holes.

  “Ramirez.” She watched me as I moved to walk around her. Turning, she leaned her back on the wall, keeping me in full view.

  The door was feet from me. I wasn’t scared of Staci. But with my most recent past, I wasn’t exactly going to get the benefit of the doubt, if I beat the crap out of her and she lied and said I started it. I had no problem sticking up for myself, but there wasn’t much I could do, if they took her word over mine.

  As I ignored her calling me by name and strode confidently toward the door, I came up short as four of her friends walked in front of the door and blocked it.

  I stared them down with a challenge in my eyes. They might have numbers on their side, but I’d take one or two down with me when
I fell.

  There was one advantage in being my father’s only child – I got to learn the things he would teach a boy, too.

  I half-turned, keeping the group in my peripheral view as I took in Staci. “What do you need, Staci?” I couldn’t call her Stabler. That seemed wrong to me, even though it was her last name. It just seemed… I couldn’t explain it. There was something off about the whole thing.

  She reached up, running her fingers through her blonde hair and shaking the tresses out and down her back.

  A delicate gold chain caught on her hair and pulled the ornament out from under her shirt and let it fall onto the material.

  The charm was a small helicopter.

  I blinked, squinting to see it better.

  “Look, Ramirez, I don’t know what your problem is. You left. I understand you ran the school before, but you left. You left. Then you think you can come back and claim everything like you’d never gone? No, sweetheart, it doesn’t work like that.” She shoved off the wall and stalked toward me, corralling me toward the bank of lockers at my back. “It doesn’t work like that at all.” She glanced over my head and gave a tight nod to one of the girls. A second later, the door to the gym opened and closed.

  “I wasn’t the queen and I certainly don’t think I am now. You can have whatever you think is yours. I don’t care. I just want to be left alone.” I held my hands out at my sides. Hopefully, she considered that enough, because that was the only warning she was going to get.

  She stepped closer to me, her cat-lined eyes glaring for all they were worth. “No, you little bitch, that’s not how it works. You’re back in this school and you’re wrapping Braddox up. I want him, but you’re playing games and you need to stop.”

  She moved closer.

  And closer.