Being the Bad Boy's Victim (21 page)

“I-I don’t know,” I whispered, trying to pull away.

His grip tightened, not enough to hurt, but enough to let me know that I wouldn’t be able to get away.

“What do you think I was about to say?”

“I don’t know!” I cried out, pushing his hand off my face.

He reacted quickly, looping his arms around my waist. “You shouldn’t drink,” he stated, his eyes searching my face.

But then, it’s pretty safe to say that I’m a stubborn bitch. And I don’t like people telling me what to do.

“Why not? Why do you care so much?” I snapped, placing my hands on his chest, trying to push him away.

His grip tightened around me, causing my body to press against his. His expression was a combination of hurt, anger, and pain.

“Because I can’t lose you.”

I dropped my hands and stared at him, astonished. He pulled away, taking a couple of steps back.

“What…?”

“My sister’s friends were wasted and they tried to make her drink. She didn’t want to so she left the party to go home. On her way home, she got in a car crash and was killed on the spot by a drunken driver.”

My throat tightened and I took a step forward. “Is Lily…?”

“Her daughter. She was twenty-six when she was killed. Lily is five years old, almost six, now,” he said.

I put my arms around his neck, giving him a hug.

“You're an amazing person. Looking out for me and all,” I whispered, pulling away slightly to look him in the eyes.

Maybe it was the moment, or how right it felt to be in his arms.

I kissed him.

“Limmy?”

We broke apart. I was blushing furiously while Liam grinned as if he had just won the lottery. Lily was standing only two feet away from us, her head tilted to the side, sporting a confused expression.

“Lily?”

“Can we get ice cream?” she asked excitedly, clapping her hands as an ice cream truck drove up.

Liam smiled and grabbed her hand along with mine, leading us to the truck. I grinned and looked up at Liam as he handed the guy the money, and laughed as Lily pretty much dunked her face in the ice cream.

I giggled as he turned around, handing me the vanilla cone.

“You didn't…”

“I wanted to.”

Three hours later

I pulled away, breathing heavily. “Thank you for taking me home,” I whispered, staring up into his eyes.

“My pleasure.” Then he grinned and pulled away, walking off the porch.

Opening the front door and quickly closing it behind me, I touched my lips lightly, enjoying the tingling sensation that was still there.

“Bella?”

I was surprised to see Jess standing in my living room.

“Jess? Oh, I’m so sorry for…”

“I did something bad. Really bad!”

My guard came up, and I looked at her cautiously as she took a slight step towards my direction. The guilty look on her face caused me to stiffen in fear.

“What did you do?” I asked in a hushed tone, my hands getting clammy.

“I-I-I…” But she paused and looked at the ground before looking back up at me. “I… er, called you a bitch for running off.”

I stared at her in disbelief, raising an eyebrow in question.

“That’s the bad thing you did?” I asked, slowly walking up to her.

She looked around frantically, before finally looking back up in my eyes.

“Yeah,” she replied, but her tone sounded unsure.

I watched her closely, not speaking for a moment as she stared back, but some confidence seemed to be leaking back into her.

“Okay,” I said with a shrug, heading towards the kitchen. “You know, Jess, you really scared me there for a second.” When she didn’t respond, I looked back. Something was not right. She looked so distraught. I sighed, then walked back to her and placed my hands on her shoulders.

“What happened?”

“Nothing,” she said in a mere whisper.

I gave her a stern look, with a little bit of annoyance mixed in.

“I just feel bad,” she said.

Now, that was the truth.

“About?”

She sighed, twisting her hands around before gripping them firmly together. “I said things that I shouldn’t have because I was worried about you.”

I nodded and let a small smile creep on my face. “Well, here. You’re a bitch.”

Her eyes widened and she stared at me, shocked. “Wha——”

“Now, we’re even,” I said, grabbing her arm and dragging her to the kitchen.

She stiffened but still followed me, a conflicted look on her face.

After we made pasta, we sat down on the couch and watched
The Notebook
.

“Bella?”

I pulled my eyes away from the gorgeous, shirtless Ryan Gosling, pausing the movie as I did so.

“Yeah?”

“You can’t keep doing this.”

I frowned and stared at her for a moment, trying to understand what she meant by that.

“I can’t keep doing what?” I asked, confused.

She looked at the floor, as if trying to find the words to say. “You need to pick. You can’t continue leading them on, Connor, Jack, and Liam.”

“Where is this coming from?” I asked, feeling defensive.

She exhaled, that conflicted look returning to her face.

“I don’t know. It’s just… It’s not right,” she said, looking at me.

I felt annoyed and angry that she was defending them. Well, Connor in particular.

“It’s not right?” I repeated, my tone almost deadly. “What’s not right is sleeping with all those girls while exclaiming to the world, that this one…” I pointed to myself, “is yours. Like you own her. That’s not right. Connor is nothing but a piece of scum. Jack. Well, I don’t even know him, so I don’t know how I could possibly be leading him on. And Liam? We might actually have something!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air. “I really like him and I would never, ever, lead him on.”

Jess stared at me, completely speechless. “But your mum said…”

“But I say that it’s Liam. I got to see a side of him that I never knew. And you know what? I like it. He’s sweet, caring, loving. All the things that Connor will never be,” I said, my voice shaking.

“A side of L—”

“Yes. He has been through a lot, with his sister and all…” I said, trailing off so I wouldn’t give anything away. It had seemed to me that he wanted to keep it a secret, and I respected that.

“What do you…?”

“I think you should go,” I snapped, letting my anger get the best of me.

Jess’ eyes widened, hurt flashing through them. Reluctantly, she stood, leaving without another word. She just turned her head and gave me a look before she went. As soon as she left, I let out a shaky breath that I didn’t know I had been holding.

Connor made me so mad. I knew what Jess said must have been because of what Connor said to her, assuming that they talked after I ran off.

And she called me a bitch? Really? There was something she wasn’t telling me. But I just shook my head, grabbed the plates, and walked over to the sink.

“Leading them on?” I muttered under my breath, shaking my head angrily. “Stupid asshole.”

“Bella! We’re home!” my mum cried out, opening the door wide as Sophie and Luca ran in, giggling like crazy.

My dad followed my mum inside, shutting the door behind them.

“Oh my! I forgot to tell…”

My mum placed her hand on mine. “It’s okay, pumpkin! Jess called us saying that you slept over at her house.”

I frowned, confused. “Ohhh, okay.”

“So how was the party?” she asked, excited.

“Well…”

Jessica

“A bitch? Really?” I asked myself as I drove through the empty streets. I know, I know. I’m a liar. A sick, heartless liar. It was just, seeing her reaction made me feel disgusted with myself. And I knew I wouldn’t be able to tell her. I parked the car, glancing up at the mansion.

Time for another lie.

While trudging on the walkway, I thought over what she said about Liam. What about his sister? What was wrong with his sister? I shook it off as I found myself standing in front of the door. Maybe I should just leave. I’ve already done enough, as it is. Turning to leave, I jumped as the door quickly opened.

“Jess?”

I turned quickly, coming face to chest with Matt.

“Er, hi!” I said awkwardly, taking a small step back.

He stared at me for a moment before stepping to the side. “Come in,” Matt said with a flourish.

As I walked through the doorway, I glanced back at my car, wishing I was still in it, driving home.

“What are you doing here?” Connor spat out. He was sprawled out on his couch, an annoyed look on his face.

I opened my mouth to snap back at him, but I realized what I was here for. What I had to do.

“I lied,” I said, looking from Matt to Connor.

“Hey, guys. Where…? Jess?” James asked, walking down the stairs in only a towel.

I gulped and looked at the ground, blushing slightly. I would be lying if I said he didn’t look absolutely gorgeous.

“What did you lie about?” Connor asked, his eyes narrowing as he stood up.

I bit my lip nervously, thinking over what I was going to say.

“Bella was never abused,” I said, looking up at all three of them. “I lied because I just wanted to scare you off. So you wouldn’t end up hurting her.”

“Who lies about abuse?” Matt asked, a look of disgust crossing his face.

It made me feel awful, but I couldn’t back down now. I just couldn’t live with myself if they knew Bella’s secret, her biggest secret.

“I know, it’s just…”

“That’s sick,” Connor said, glaring at me.

I bit my lip, praying to God that I wouldn’t start crying.

“I get it.”

I looked up in surprise, staring at James with wide eyes. The guys stared at him, the same expression on their faces.

He shrugged, staring straight at me. “You were trying to protect her. She’s your best friend and you didn’t want to see her get hurt. Sure, what you said was wrong—a bad excuse. But I can understand why you did it.”

“Well, I don’t.”

I turned my attention to Connor. He was now only about three feet away from me, causing me to grow nervous.

“But…”

“What did you think I was going to do to her? Sexually assault her? Huh?” Anger was evident in his expression. Needless to say, he was enraged.

“I don’t…”

“You don’t know?” he asked scornfully. “I would never hurt a girl, especially not Bella.”  His tone was cold and harsh, and I deserved it.

Accepting the fact that I was in too deep, I just nodded my head.

“I’m so sorry. That’s all I can say.” At that, I turned to leave, but then remembered something. Quickly turning back, I took a deep breath before speaking. “Can you guys please not mention this to her?”

“What? That you lied about her getting abused to scare me off?” Connor spat out, his arms crossed tightly at his chest.

“Y-yes,” I whispered shakily.

“Fine, we won’t say anything.”              

My head snapped to James. Still only in a towel, he stood there, glaring at Connor.

“Like hell!” Connor hissed, his eyes narrowed.

“You will not say anything,” James said, finality lacing his tone.

Connor turned back to me, taking a couple of steps forward so that he was now in my face.

“If it’s not true, then why can’t I tell her about it?” Connor asked, an uncomfortable heat radiating off of him.

I gulped and took a couple of deep breaths.

“I just don’t want her to know,” I whispered, balling the edge of my shirt into my fists nervously. Looking up at Connor, I tried to decipher his blank expression. I let out a gasp of surprise as I was pushed against the wall.

“Piss me off again like you did today, and I will tell her. As long as you stay out of my fucking way, I’m fine,” he snarled threateningly. He smirked as I nodded quickly, and I let out a breath of relief as he backed away.

I quickly opened the door, ready to leave, when I stopped myself.

“At the risk of pissing you off again…”

Connor raised an eyebrow, a cold look taking over his face. 

“You should know that Bella spent the day with Liam.”

Silence. I bit my lip before choosing my next words.

“She saw him in the park. And according to her, something clicked with them.”

A slight look of hurt flashed through Connor’s face.

“She… she really likes him.”

“This is messed up,” Matt said, shaking his head. “Liam knows Bella is Connor’s g——“

“Whatever. This is fucked up,” Connor said, his tone dead, lifeless. “You can leave now.”

I didn’t hesitate to leave that time.

All I could do then was pray that Bella wouldn’t find out about what I said. In an attempt to clear my head, I shook it a couple of times. Thinking over what had just happened, I realized how stupid I was. I told them about Bella’s biggest secret. Then, I ran back telling them that it was all a lie. And I confessed about doing something bad, and completely raised Bella’s suspicions. Then, I blew it by giving her some crap excuse.

Connor and Matt were right—this is fucked up.