Being the Bad Boy's Victim (26 page)

When we got to the Ferris wheel, the line was empty and so Liam quickly sat down. But then, when the ride started, I noticed Connor walking towards us, a determined expression on his face.

“So are we a couple?” Liam asked, making me look at him. Awkward, I know. He wasn’t even sitting next to me.

“Are we?” I responded dumbly.

Sounds of yelling could be heard from the ground, and Liam and I both looked over the edge to see Connor climbing his way to us.

Yes. Climbing!

“Connor, what the hell?!” I shrieked.

Connor managed to swing himself onto our cart, taking a seat next to a completely confused and shocked Liam.

“Bella kissed me,” he said, his eyes fixated on me. “And we have hooked up. Recently,” he added as something unreadable flashed through his eyes.

“Bella, is that true?” Liam asked, his voice slightly hurt.

I gripped the sides of the cart as it wobbled on its way up.

“Look, Liam…”

“Is it true?” His voice came out cold and harsh, his eyes flashing a bit.

“Yes,” I whispered, looking at my hands.

“You can’t do this, Bella,” he said, leaning forward slightly.

“He’s right,” Connor agreed, resting against the seat. “You need to choose. Me or Liam?”

My jaw dropped slightly, and I made a sputtering noise. “What? Wait, no, no. I… please, just…”

“Make a choice,” Connor’s voice was demanding, causing me to shrink back slightly.

And that was how I, Bella Brown, ended up getting stuck at the top of a Ferris wheel, and about to make one of the most important decisions of my teenage life.

“You need to make a choice,” Connor said.

“I… I can’t,” I whispered.

“You have to now,” Liam seriously said.

Despite the fear gnawing at my insides, I knew then that there was no escape for me. So at that moment, I looked up into their eyes, studying both their faces. At that moment, every second that I spent with the two flashed through my mind.

At that moment, I made my decision.

I took a step closer and wrapped my arms around him, knowing that I made the right choice. Pulling away slightly, I looked into his eyes, seeing the anger, pain, and hurt in them.

“So that’s it?” he spat out.

I bit my lip and looked down, nodding my head. I stumbled backwards as he roughly shoved me away. Predictably, there was some hint of anger in his eyes, and I backed away, my mouth slightly opened.

“Don’t you dare touch her!”

I was gently pulled backwards as Connor came between Liam and me. My eyes widened as I looked between the two, knowing deep down that a fight was on the verge of breaking out.

“Get out of my way, you fucking son of a bitch,” Liam spat out.

My heart was pounding as the two squared off.

“She chose me. Grow a pair and walk away,” Connor countered.

I knew I had to step in, but it was like I just couldn’t move or even dare to speak. Everything was happening so fast, my mind was unable to immediately grasp what was going on. That is, until Liam punched Connor straight in the face.

“Liam, no!” I shrieked, throwing my hands out in horror.

Connor stumbled a bit but was able to steady himself before he was about to throw a counterpunch. I quickly grabbed Connor’s arm, causing him to freeze and look back at me in confusion. Unfortunately, Liam took that as another opportunity to hit Connor. I let out a yelp as I was thrown backwards onto the hard ground, and Connor lunged at Liam.

But the thing was, Liam really had no chance. Punching Connor, that was his biggest mistake. Doing it again, that sealed his fate. I struggled to sit up, a sharp pain going through my side.

“Stop it!” I screamed, standing up as Connor landed another punch directly on Liam’s face. Suddenly, I was pulled back just as Matt ran past me and yanked Connor off of a bloody Liam.

I struggled to break free from the strong arms I was trapped in. “James, let go!” I hissed as Liam stood up, spitting out blood and staggering towards Matt and Connor.

“What the hell…?” Jess appeared by my side, breathless and completely confused.

I pulled away, making my way towards the three.

“Liam! Stop it!” I said, stepping in front of him.

He opened his mouth, ready to respond. Something flashed in his eyes, but he closed his mouth and backed away.

“You’ve made a horrible…,” he spat out, “horrible, mistake.” He turned around and walked away.

“Liam, you don’t understand,” I said, grabbing his hand.

He roughly yanked his arm away from me and faced me.

“I understand,” he hissed. “I understand that you would rather be with that piece of shit than someone who actually cares about you.”

With that, he walked off.

I sighed and winced as a sharp pain shot through my side again. Ignoring it, I turned to face Matt, Connor, James, and Jess.

“Sooo, you chose Connor?” Jess said slowly, looking between us.

I looked at him. His hair was slightly messed up, and there was a bruise starting to appear around his right eye. I bit my lip and walked towards him, my eyes focused on the small cut on his bottom lip. I lifted a trembling hand and placed it on the side of his face, my thumb lightly tracing the cut. Quickly glancing at Jess, I smiled and nodded.

“I chose Connor.”

Flashback

“So?” Connor asked softly, leaning back on the seat.

I looked straight at Liam, guilt threatening to overwhelm me.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, then looked back at Connor.

Connor’s expression fell, and then hardened. Meanwhile, Liam’s eyes lit up and a smug smile appeared on his face.

He didn’t get it.

I bit my lip and glanced between the two. “No, guys. You don’t understand,” I corrected.

They both stared at me, looks of confusion clouding their expressions.

“Bella, what are you talking about?” Liam asked, taking my hands in his.

I sucked in a big breath and exhaled slowly.

“I didn’t choose you.” My voice was barely audible, and I felt a stabbing pain in my heart as Liam dropped my hands and sat back.

So many emotions crossed Liam’s face—hurt, anger, disgust, and lastly, silent contempt.

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes then, and I felt my lips quiver. Turning away from him, my eyes caught Connor's. Instead of seeing his famous smirk—which was what I expected, I saw something endearingly unrecognizable.

Suddenly, the cart jerked forward, and the descent continued.

It was time to move on with our lives.

Tuesday

Liam wasn’t at school.

Wednesday

Liam wasn’t at school

Thursday

Liam still wasn’t at school.

Even after twenty ignored calls, forty-three ignored text messages, and two ignored visits in total.

Why did I even care?

Ever since the carnival, guilt had been eating away at me. Flashes of Liam’s broken expression were haunting me—reminding me of the pain I had put him through by choosing Connor.

Connor.

You know all that guilt that was consuming me? That was nothing, nothing compared to what I felt when I was with Connor. He pissed me off, he made fun of me, and he hurt me.

Now, why did I pick Connor? No, seriously. Why?

Liam was the one who comforted me. He was the one who opened up to me. He was the perfect guy—the one you could easily love forever.

But that was the problem. I didn’t love him.

No matter how much I wanted to, I just couldn’t love the stereotypical prince charming. I was in love with the possessive, sex-crazy asshole Connor, the guy who drove me insane. I couldn’t get him off my mind, which I guess was the main reason I chose him.

Besides, why be with someone when you’re thinking about someone else?

I let out a small groan as I felt a painful twinge again. A large bruise was actually visible on my side where I was hit when I fell, but I was used to bruises. The only problem was the swelling and the amount of pain.

“You okay?” Jess asked as we walked out of the classroom.

I took a couple of short, relaxing breaths, and nodded my head. I noticed her grin as she bumped her hip slightly against mine.

“That hickey really makes your eyes pop,” she said.

I stopped walking and glared at her, letting my fingers brush over my neck.

“Damn that bastard to hell,” I muttered, and continued to walk back to my locker.

Jess just laughed as we grabbed our books.

“Oh hey, Jess! How’s Ja——” I let out a small squeak as I was pressed onto my locker, which made me drop my books. The body pressed onto me more, telling me exactly who it was.

“Connor, get off of me!” I snapped, trying to push myself off of the locker. I felt his chest vibrate as he laughed.

“You might not want to keep shoving your body onto mine then,” he murmured into my ear. “Or else I might just have to take you right here, right now.”

I let out a small gasp and I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. “C-Connor, g-g-get off of m-me,” I stuttered, my voice quiet and barely there. I let out a sigh of relief as the pressure was taken away, and I was able to turn around.

Only to have my back pushed against the lockers, with Connor’s hands on either side of my face. My heart skipped a beat and I let out a shaky breath, keeping my eyes on the ground.

“Look at me,” he commanded softly.

I felt my blush worsen and I continued to stare at the ground.

“Look at me, Bells.” His voice was firmer this time, and he leaned in closer.

I could feel his hot breath fanning my face, causing me to shiver and bite my lip slightly. My mouth parted as he grasped my chin, forcing me to look up at him.

“What?” I snapped. My voice came out irritated and cranky.

Connor dropped his hand, and he took a step back.

“I just wanted to say,” he took a deep breath and continued, “I am really happy you picked me.” Then he gave me a soft smile, turned, and walked to his locker, leaving me stunned.

I closed my mouth and glanced at Jess, who was giving me the look—the one that says you-better-apologize-or-else.

I quickly got my act together and walked straight to him, ignoring all the whispers and stares from the rest of the people in the hallway. Without wasting a second, I pulled his arm so that he turned around. And at that moment, I smashed my lips to his. Cheers and applause rang throughout the hallway, and I felt Connor grin.

This was the guy I loved.

This was perfection.

After school, I was going to try again.

I was going to try to see Liam.

Although the whole “picking Connor” situation didn’t go too well, I still wanted us to be friends. When I told Jess about it, though, she told me to let it go, that I would only be making matters worse by “friend-zoning” Liam.