Being the Bad Boy's Victim (23 page)

Grabbing my bag, I headed towards the library, and placed her down between me and the door. Before she could react, I turned her around and wrapped one of my arms tightly around her waist, as I opened the door with the other.

“Walk, Bella,” I whispered into her ear.

She squirmed in my grip, but stayed in the same spot.

I held in a groan of frustration and sighed. “Then, I’ll drag you,” I snapped, placing my legs on either side of her, I began walking towards the table at the back. Ignoring the shocked looks coming from everyone in the library, I continued to waddle towards the table. Once we got there, I dropped my bag and spun Bella back around to face me, pinning her against the table. Sporting a smug smile, I leaned in closer while she leaned away, a disgusted expression on her face.

“You’re unbelievable,” she hissed.

My grin widened and I let out a small laugh. “I know,” I said.

She rolled her eyes, pushed me away, and dropped into a chair. I sat down as well, pulling out her work from her bag.

“Hey!” she snapped, reaching out to grab it.

“I just want to see which classes you’re failing now,” I said, my eyes twinkling.

She gritted her teeth and crossed her arms, sinking back into her chair. I smiled at her and began working despite the fact that she was unresponsive and still fuming.

But let me tell you one thing… Bella’s anger?

It was a total turn on!

Bella

Surprisingly, we actually studied. I was cautious though, ready for Connor to pull any crazy stunt.

“Are you ready for your Bio test?” he asked, looking over my binder.

I shrugged and leaned back in my chair.

“Bells, babe, come on! I’m trying to help,” he said, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

“With you, there’s always an ulterior motive,” I snapped. “And don’t call me babe.”

Connor laughed and stood up, right as the bell rang. So I quickly grabbed all of my stuff, cramming everything into my bag. Then I stood up and was ready to walk away, when Connor decided to stand right in front of me.

“What?” I asked exasperatedly.

“How is it?”

I tilted my head in confusion. “How is what?”

“Dating Liam,” he said.

I tried to back away, but only found myself trapped because of the chair behind me.

“No escape,” he whispered.

I froze and looked at him, rage filling every inch of my body.

“I don’t owe you an answer,” I hissed, venom seeping into my tone.

Connor wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. I placed my hands on his chest, refusing to let him pull me any closer.

“That bad, huh?”

My vision went red and I glared at him.

“You fu——”

“I mean, judging from the girly pecks he keeps giving you.”

My jaw dropped and I stared at him in shock.

“What are you…? How do you…? Shut up!” I was flustered, my face heated up and I looked at the ground.

Then, a hand gripped my lower chin, forcing me to look up.

“I know you, Bella. You’re not one to enjoy those girly, unmanly moves,” Connor stated, tightening an arm around me.

“Oh yeah?” I asked, raising an eyebrow, challenging him.

Connor dipped his head down so that his mouth was by my ear. “Yeah.” Then he turned a little and gently pushed me, causing me to fall on my back onto the table. He quickly leaned over me, pinning me down. He poised his mouth above mine, hovering expectantly.

What I did next, it made me hate myself.

I put my arms around his neck, pressing my lips to his. Instantly, our lips began moving in synch. His tongue plunging into my mouth, causing me to let out a sigh of delight. He pulled away, causing me to whimper in need. He smirked and began feathering kisses along my jawline. I let out a moan as he pressed his lips to the base of my throat.

“Told you so.”

I looked up to see Connor looking down at me, smugly smiling. Then I watched as he straightened up before helping me up.

As we were preparing to get out of the library, I remembered something.

“Wait. Connor, I need you to do something for me.” I adjusted my bag, fixing my shirt and hair.

“What is it?”

I shuffled my feet and took a deep breath.

“Please just tell me what you’re hiding,” I begged, grabbing his hand.

He frowned and pulled away. “I don’t owe you an answer.”

I gritted my teeth in annoyance, narrowing my eyes. “Yes, you do. It involves me,” I retorted.

Connor leaned in, his eyes flashing dangerously.

“Hmmm. If I told Liam about what just happened, how do you think he’d react?” Connor asked.

I choked and my hands shook.

“You wouldn’t,” I said, my voice barely audible.

“Oh, Bella, don’t kid yourself,” Connor said. “Of course I would.” Then he pulled away, leaving the library without another word… leaving me completely and utterly speechless.

Jess left after lunch ended, an obvious attempt to avoid me. After what Connor said, I realized that I could only depend on her to tell me the truth.

Later that day

“Mum, can you pass the salad?” I asked, holding out my hand expectantly.

She smiled warmly and handed it to me.

“Bellaby! Guess what?” Luca asked cheerfully, bouncing in his seat.

“Yes?” I asked, grinning at his excitement.

“I’m going to be Superman for Halloween!” he cried.

“Bellaby! Bellaby! I’m going to be Cinderella!” Sophie cried out, twirling around in delight.

“What are you going to be?” they asked at the same time, staring at me with eager eyes.

I shrugged and played with my food.

“But Halloween is Monday!” Sophie said in a hushed tone, her eyes as wide as saucers.

“I have three days to choose, Sophie.” I said, laughing. “I think I have enough time to choose.”

“Well, you can’t go shopping Sunday night. That’s when the Michaels are coming over,” my mum said casually, picking up all of our empty plates.

I choked a bit on a piece of salad in my mouth, causing my dad to look at me in alarm.

“You choke a lot,” Luca observed, hopping off his chair and walking off with Sophie to go play.

I scowled and stood up, helping my mum.

“Do we have to have dinner with the Michaels again?” I asked.

“Yes! Mrs. Michaels is one of my closest friends. So, no complaining,” my mum warned me. “And Mr. Michaels is your father’s boss. So as long as you’re staying here in America, you must be nice to him. He could take away your father’s job whenever he wants to.”

I crossed my arms angrily, glaring at my mum.

“I didn’t even want to be here,” I snapped, not thinking over my choice of words.

My mum placed the plate down in the sink, letting out a sigh. Turning to face me, I noticed the annoyance, as well as sorrow, in her eyes.

“So you wouldn’t mind leaving? Just like that,” she asked, her tone quiet.

“No, but…”

“What about Jess? What about Liam? Or Connor?” she asked, her voice rising with each question.

I sighed and leaned back on the table. “I didn’t mean that,” I whispered, staring at the ground.

“Do you know how worried I was for you?” her voice cracked at the end, which made me turn my head up in her direction.

“I’m sorry,” I said, quickly walking over to hug her. I felt her shoulders lightly shaking in my arms, making it obvious that she was crying. I bit my lip, the sickening feeling of guilt taking over me.

“I just don’t get why you want to go back there. Why would you go back there?” she choked out.

“Mum, I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry.”

Then, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Seeing my dad, I stepped away from her, letting him pull her into a warm embrace.

“I’ll take it from here,” he mouthed.

I nodded and went upstairs, locking myself in the bathroom.

I felt sick to my stomach. Seeing my mum like that brought back all the memories I had pushed to the back of my mind. When I first woke up in the hospital, she was the first one I saw. The first one who cried. The first one who hugged me and reminded me how much she loved me.

And not once did I think about how she felt.

I splashed cold water on my face and took deep breaths. Pushing myself away from the sink, I left the bathroom, headed to my room, and collapsed on my bed. The sound of my phone ringing made my eyes fly open in surprise. Reaching over to my nightstand, I grabbed my phone and stared at the unknown number that flashed on the screen.

“Hello?” I asked, dropping back onto my soft pillows.

“Hello, my favorite little foreigner.”

I frowned and sat up slightly, adjusting my phone.

“Who is…?”

“Babe, it’s Jack. Don’t tell me you already forgot about me,” he said, amused.

My eyes widened and I looked down at my phone, slightly surprised.

“Jack, why are you calling?” I asked, confused. It had been weeks since we met, and since Connor punched him in the face.

“Ouch, hun. That hurt,” Jack said, feigning offense.

I rolled my eyes, leaning back on my pillow.

“But seriously, why are you calling now?” I asked.

There was a slight pause before he spoke again.

“If I remember right, you owe me a date.”

I scowled and considered hanging up at that moment.

“How could I forget?” I snapped, referring to the football game fight. I heard Jack chuckle darkly.

“Yes, yes. Anyway, is tomorrow okay for you?”

“No,” I said quickly.

“Bella.”

“I’m seeing someone,” I said, pursing my lips in finality.

“And?”

“And? And I’m seeing some——”

“I heard you. You’re seeing someone. But you’re not in a relationship, right?” he said.

My jaw dropped and I narrowed my eyes, forgetting that he couldn’t see me.

“Bye!”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Fuck no,” I spat out, hanging up. I threw my phone to my chair across the room, and fell face first back onto my pillows. After letting out a muffled scream, I turned back over and faced the ceiling. Then, I wiped my tangled hair from my face as I let out an exasperated sigh.

So many things were running through my mind, but I refused to be defeated. I had one priority at that moment—and that was to find out what was going on with Jess and Connor.

“I don’t know!” I cried out, throwing my hands up in the air for a split second before returning them to the safety bar of the cart.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to make a choice now,” Liam said quietly.

“No, it’s not okay. You need to make a choice,” Connor said, his eyes burning into mine.

“I… I can’t,” I whispered. I found myself being jerked forward as the Ferris wheel came to a sickening halt.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please hold on tight. We are having some technical difficulties at the moment. But we already have people working on it. So just sit back and relax,” the intercom crackled.

I felt my blood run cold, my heart stop beating, and my breathing get cut off.

“You have to now,” Liam said, staring at me with such intensity.

I, Bella Brown, was stuck at the top of a Ferris wheel with two now very impatient boys. And I had to make a decision, whether I liked it or not.

Oh, and did I forget to mention? I have acrophobia—the fear of heights.

24 hours earlier  

It was a Sunday evening.

We were having dinner with the Michaels… again.

It was almost as if the two previous times didn’t convince them enough that this was pointless. First, Connor ran off, taking me with him. Then, there was that whole Liam and Connor debacle.

Take a hint, people!

I was exhausted. And the best part? Guess what I did this entire weekend? Absolutely nothing! Well, I did do some thinking, some self-reflection, and made some tough decisions.

First, I was going to let go of whatever happened between Connor and Jess. Second, I wasn’t going to tell Liam about the kiss. It was not like we’re a couple… yet.

“Pumpkin, at least smile,” my dad said as I slowly walked down the stairs, inwardly groaning at the set-up of the table.

“Let’s just get this over with,” I muttered as I sat slumped into my seat. I frowned as my skirt rolled up, exposing my upper thigh. I wasn’t about to let Connor harass me again. I took a deep breath as the doorbell rang, dragging my feet with each step towards it.

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Michaels,” I said politely, stepping to the side as a sign of welcome. As they walked past me, I dropped my smile and narrowed my eyes. “Connor,” I all but spat out.

He smiled at me, stepping through the doorway.

“You are as kind as you are beautiful,” he said, leaning down so that his hot breath tickled my neck. He walked off, causing me to fume with pure anger and hatred. Did he seriously just call me ugly?
That son of a…

“So, are you excited for Halloween tomorrow?” Mrs. Michaels asked, her eyes shining.

I shrugged casually, and continued to eat my pasta. She frowned slightly, glancing at Connor and my parents.

“Haven’t you heard about the carnival?” she asked in a poor attempt to spark my nonexistent interest.

“Yeah, but with school and…”

“But, Bella, you don’t have school tomorrow,” she said, looking confused.

I put my fork down, unsure of what was going on. “What do you…?”

“We take Halloween very seriously here,” Connor cut in, making me turn to look at him. “There’s no school because of the carnival, which lasts the whole day.”

“Oh,” was all I could say. Sure, I was surprised not knowing about the whole no-school-on-Halloween thing, but I didn’t exactly care.

“So are you going?” Mrs. Michaels asked, leaning forward, her eyes now shining again.

“I don’t think…”

“Nonsense,” she said, cutting me off. “You can go with Connor. You’ll take her, right?” she asked as she turned to look at her son.

Connor looked back to me, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “Of course!”

Before I could protest, she clapped her hands, turning to my mum. Immediately they began talking, while I tried to think of an excuse.

“What about Sophie and Luca?” I asked, my eyes wide at my own outburst. 

Everyone became silent, looking at me in surprise.

“I… I mean, who’s going to take them, trick or…” I stammered.

“I’ll take them,” my dad said with a wave of his hand. “I don’t want you missing out on any fun. So you can still go with Connor.”

I bit my lip in an attempt to hold off the frustrated scream.

“It’ll be fun, a night you won’t forget,” Connor said, winking.

I narrowed my eyes at him as our parents began talking again.

And you want to know the worst part?

He was right.

It was a night I wouldn’t forget.

Monday afternoon

“I cannot believe you didn’t buy a costume!” Jess snapped at me as she parked her car with a piercing screech of the tires.

Thankfully, my seatbelt saved me from what would have been an unfortunate bruise to the head.

“I didn’t think…”

“That’s right! You didn’t think!” she shrieked, slamming her door.

I rolled my eyes as I got out of the car. “Chill your tits, mum,” I said, walking alongside her. As soon as I said that, she froze, staring straight at me.

“Jess? Are you…?” I jumped back as she burst out laughing, her brown hair shaking wildly as she threw back her head.

“I’m crazy,” she said after she finished laughing, pretending to wipe the fake tears from her eyes.

I laughed and nudged her with my shoulder.

“Yes. Yes, you are,” I said, giggling as she punched my arm lightly.

But then, her face turned quite serious as she glanced at the mall doors.

“Now, listen to me, Bella. Inside there,” she gestured to the mall. “Inside that hellhole, it’s survival of the fittest, especially around this time of the year.”

I raised an eyebrow at her, shaking my head as she glared.

“Whatever you say,” I said with a sigh. I let out a gasp as we walked through the automatic doors. People were freaking out and grabbing everything they could find.

“What the…!” I let out a yelp as Jess smacked my arm.

“This is all your fault!” she exclaimed, holding my arm as we walked further inside.

I frowned as I looked out at the chaos spread out before me. “Let’s just get this over with,” I muttered, letting a furious Jess drag me off into some costume store.

After trying on numerous costumes, most of them more appropriate for three-year-olds, I was close to giving up.

“Are you serious?” I asked incredulously as I pulled the hem of the skintight dress. It was a black leather dress with no back and the bottom barely covered my ass.

“What?” she asked as she looked me over. “I thought you wear things like this all the time.”

I frowned and crossed my arms, watching as Jess realized her mistake. Her eyes widened and her hand flew up to her mouth. “I didn’t mean it like…”

“Whatever,” I said, shaking my head as I pulled the bottom down awkwardly. “I don’t need a costume.”

Ignoring Jess’ shocked look, I walked back into the dressing room, pulling off the scrap of leather latex.

As she drove me home, we stayed silent, not even attempting to talk.

“I’m sorry,” she said as she parked.

I took a deep breath, trying to push away the guilty feeling that was creeping inside me.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured, dropping my head into my hands. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.”

“Look, I know you’re still hung up on that…”

“It’s not that,” I said quickly. “Well, not anymore, that is.”

She turned her body so that she was facing me. “Is it because Connor is taking you to the carnival?” she asked.

“No, it’s just…I’m overwhelmed. I can’t take this anymore,” I said, sitting up.

A confused look crossed her face.

“It’s just… Never mind,” I cut myself off, putting a fake smile on my face.

Jess stared at me, obviously seeing through the act.

“When you want to tell me what’s going on…” she paused, but then quickly continued, “I’m always here for you.”

This time, the smile was real as I gave her a small hug, getting out of the car.

“See you at the carnival!” I called over my shoulder.

“Look for the angel!” she cried out.

I laughed, remembering the costume she had bought months before.

“Will do!”

He was here.

I glanced at the mirror, looking over my outfit. I had kept it low key, only wearing skinny jeans and a loose top with a drawing of a pumpkin on the front. See? I still managed to dress up! Well… as best as I could.

I hid my disgust as my mum hugged Connor, who was now standing inside the living room.

“Let’s go,” I said, my voice tight. My fists clenched in anger as Connor’s eyes raked over my body, a smug grin appearing on his face.

“Ready for our date?” he asked, his eyes gleaming.

I felt a sly smile of my own cross my face, a bit of smugness filling me. “Actually, I’m meeting Liam there,” I said.

I saw something flash through his eyes, his expression faltering. Although he quickly composed himself, I beamed, letting him know I had noticed it.