Being the Bad Boy's Victim (32 page)

She bit her lip, looking around once again before speaking. “He’s not good for you, and he's a bad influence. He’ll just use you and then throw you like yesterday's trash.”

“What the hell, Anna?” I spat out, my anger getting the best of me. “Where is this coming from?”

She sighed and looked at me. “Connor is a dangerous guy, don’t deny it. Be realistic, Bella. He’ll never love you. He’ll just use you like he did with the rest of us, and not even think twice about it.” Her voice grew stronger with each word, but her eyes seemed shielded, as if she was hiding something from me.

I flinched at what she said, trying to brush it off. She noticed my reaction and began speaking again.

“Does it not bother you that he has practically fucked every girl in the grade, in this school?” she snapped.

Her words felt like another blow to my heart.

“And you,” she scoffed, “you think you're different? Well, here’s a news flash, you’re not.”

Straight to the heart.

“You fucking bitch!” I couldn’t help snapping at her.

Anna’s eyes widened and she stared behind me, growing pale. Then, an arm snaked around me and held me to his side.

“You have no right to say that,” Connor hissed. “While some of that may be true, I’ll let you know that I’ve changed. Whether you believe me or not is all up to you. But frankly, I don’t give a shit what you do. Just stay away from Bella.” Connor’s every word was laced with venom, and Anna didn’t have to be told twice before she quickly scurried off.

“Bella,” Connor softly said.

I stared at the spot Anna formerly occupied, tears blurring my vision. Those words, they really hit home. But what Connor said… I couldn’t even think.

“Bella, you’re not like the rest,” Connor said, his hand gripping my chin as he gazed into my eyes. “You’re everything I could want in a girl. And I know, I know I’ve done sickening things, but I’ve been trying…”

“Trying to what?” I asked, my voice cracking.

“I’m trying to be everything you want,” Connor replied, sounding vulnerable himself.

Tears began flooding my eyes and I buried my face in his chest, hugging him tightly.

“You don’t even have to try,” I whispered, shutting my eyes tightly.

“That’s it!” Jess snarled, standing up.

I yanked her hand, pulling her back down. “Jess, don’t,” I pleaded, squeezing her hand.

She sighed and nodded her head, giving me a reassuring squeeze back.

“At least let me talk to her,” she said, her voice now calm and steady. “This isn’t like Anna at all.”

I thought it over for a couple of seconds. “Okay, but please don’t kill her,” I said.

Jess nodded and held up her hand. “I solemnly swear to not kill Anna.”

I laughed and let go of her other hand.

“Good luck,” I said, and she stood up, giving me a small salute. I glanced down at all the homework I laid out before me and gathered them all into a small pile.

“Hello, Bella.”

An ice-cold feeling washed over me and I looked around, my eyes locking into the soft blue ones of the boy I just cruelly dumped.

“Liam,” I stated, a rush of emotions taking over me.

“How are you?” he asked, his voice emotionless as his eyes trailed over me, resting on my cheek.

“Good…” I trailed off, placing all my stuff into my bag.

“That’s good.”

“Okay, Liam, cut to the chase. Why are you here?” I snapped, standing up, surprising myself.

His eyebrows rose, and his eyes narrowed down at me. “I go to school here,” he said.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. “Obviously. But why are you talking to me? You haven’t been to school in so long. You’ve ignored all my calls and texts and visits.”

He shrugged and said, “I’ve been busy.”

“Why were you talking to Anna?” The question escaped my lips, and he raised an eyebrow at my second outburst.

“Am I not allowed to talk to her?”

“Stop beating around the bush, Liam,” I said, grabbing all my stuff and getting ready to walk away.

“Wait, Bella.”

I stopped and looked at him, waiting for him to continue. He scratched the back of his neck and looked away for a moment. “I’m sorry.”

“For?” I asked, confused.

“For acting so immature. You made your choice and I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you over it.”

I was completely taken aback, and could only dumbly nod back in response.

“So, can we be friends?” he asked hopefully, the old Liam showing through.

“Yes,” I said quickly, ignoring the warning feeling I got.

A smile broke out on his face and he pulled me into a tight hug. “Thank you so much. I promise you, I won’t do anything to jeopardize our friendship,” he said seriously.

I smiled back and pulled away. “Thank you, Liam. I’ve got to go now though,” I said, giving him one last smile before walking out of the library. A feeling of relief washed over me. For a second there, I was afraid that he was going to give me the same speech Anna did. And truthfully, if he did, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.

The last bell rang and I opened my locker, looking for my math book. I watched as a small piece of paper fluttered at the ground. Frowning, I picked it up, turning it over.

“Bella!” My head snapped towards the direction of a very distressed Matt.

“Matt?”

“Connor… some guy… fight…” Matt panted out, frantically pointing towards the exit.

I slammed my locker shut, stuffing the piece of paper into my bag as I sprinted past the door.

Sure enough, there was a huge crowd outside the school, one that was chanting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Pushing myself to the center, I found myself staring at a fuming Connor, holding some guy up by his collar.

“Take it back, you son of a bitch!” Connor spat.

The guy looked like he was trying to say something, but couldn’t because he was being suffocated.

“Connor, stop.” I said softly.

Connor didn’t even glance my way as he lowered the guy to the ground, but still kept a firm grip on him.

“Can’t even finish me off? You’re a disappointment. No wonder your parents are ashamed of you,” the guy croaked out. A second after he said those words, he was lying face down on the ground, completely unconscious.

I looked back at Connor, who was shaking his right hand, a deathly look in his eyes. The whole crowd was silent as I walked towards him.

All eyes were on us.

“Bella, before you…”

“That douchebag deserved to get his ass kicked,” I stated, my eyes twinkling. “Good job.”

Connor’s eyes widened and he stared at me, obviously surprised, not expecting me to say that.

“Come on, let’s go,” I said, grabbing his good hand.

The crowd parted for us, still astounded by what just happened. I ignored all the looks as we walked towards Connor’s car. Glancing back, I caught eyes of none other than Anna.

“He’s going to use you,” she mouthed.

Filled with new confidence, I smirked and flicked her off. “Fuck you, bitch!” I mouthed back at her.

As Connor drove away, I laughed quietly to myself as I stared at his shocked expression on the side mirror. 

“So, you’re not mad at me?’ Connor asked, surprised.

I glanced at his bruised hand and ruffled his hair. “Are you kidding me? That was hot,” I said with a laugh.

Connor glanced at me quickly as he drove, a wide grin spreading across his face. As he parked in front of my house, he leaned over, trapping me in the car. “You’re perfect,” he murmured, his eyes trailing down to my lips.

“And you’re everything I’ve ever wanted,” I whispered.

And then our lips crashed together and the fireworks went off.

This was now my beautiful reality.

“So, how’s Connor?” my mum asked as I placed all the dirty dishes in the sink.

Biting my lip nervously, I tried to not blush as I turned to talk to her. “He’s good,” I said, giggling a little at the thought of him.

“I heard he got into a fight.”

I perked up at that, my eyes grew wide and focused on her. “W-What?” I stuttered nervously in my pathetic attempt to stay calm.

She narrowed her eyes at me, studying my expression. “Shouldn’t you know? I heard you applauded him,” she replied, the sharp edge in her tone cut into me, causing me to wince.

“Applauded him? Mum… no, you don’t get…” I started to explain.

“Look, Bella,” she cut me off, “I get it. You really like Connor, and aside from all the awful things I’ve heard about him, he seems like a nice kid.”

My jaw dropped, and I simply stared at her before speaking. “Are you serious, mum? Who the hell has been telling you all these nasty things about him? Connor is a good person. Whatever that person said were all lies.” My chest was heaving when I finished, and I clenched my fists tightly.

“So he’s never been arrested? He has never beaten up anyone? Well, Tim, the guy that he beat up yesterday, he’s in the hospital.”

I couldn’t manage to think of any reply. Sure, Connor had been arrested before, and yes, he’d gotten in a couple—well, a lot actually—of fights. But he has changed. And as clichéd as it might sound, I believed that he had become a better person now.

“Bella, I know you have good judgment and I will always trust you, but I’d be lying if I said I was okay with you being with… with some delinquent,” she said, looking away in distaste.

“Mum! You know he is a good person! You’re best friends with his mum!” I shrieked, a nervous sweat building up on my palms.

“I don’t want him influencing you!” my mum countered back, “You know, I didn’t believe Mrs. Sheridan when she said you were proud of Connor for hitting that poor boy…”

“No! It…”

She cut me off with a stern look. “After everything that happened to you, I think you’d be the first one to step in, to stop him.” She shook her head slightly and sighed, placing the dish towel on the counter.

It was hard to decipher what she was feeling towards me. Disappointment?

Guilt and disgust rose within me, and I found myself about to apologize before a new emotion took over.

Anger.

“How dare you!” I snapped, crossing my arms angrily.

Her head shot up and her surprised look urged me to continue.

“You’re just going to immediately write off Connor without knowing the whole story? Really? Don’t even try to make me feel guilty. First of all, that fight was between Connor and Tim. By the time I got there, it had already started, but from hearing what that guy said to Connor, he deserved it.”

“He deserved the serious concussion that is forcing him to stay in the hospital for who knows how many days?”

Concussion?

All the pain, all those bad memories began flooding back into me. An image of me smashing my head against the window, thinking I was going to die.

“Stop. You don’t understand” was all I could manage to mutter as I turned on my heel, heading for the stairs.

“I don’t approve of him!” I heard her call out.

Pausing, I turned my head slightly to the side and yelled back, “Well, good thing you’re not the one dating him then.” With that, I made my way upstairs, a sick and empty feeling taking over me.

Once upstairs, I pulled out my phone, staring at it numbly before I decided to call Jess.

“Bells!” She greeted me loudly after only one ring.

I jerked the phone away from my ear, wincing. “Jess” was all I could say.

“What’s the matter?”

Immediately, she became serious, a hint of worry in her tone.

“My mum found out about the fight with Connor and that guy, and now she says she doesn’t approve of him,” I finally told her, my voice was shaky as I willed the tears to stay away, feeling the burning sensation build up behind my eyelids.

“What? How? Who told her?”

I sniffled, “S-some lady named M-mrs. S-sheridan.”

There was a small pause on the other side of the line, and I glanced back at my screen, checking to see if we had been cut off.

“You mean Liam’s mum?” she asked, her voice quiet.

“Wait.” My eyes widened. “Why would she just randomly say this to my mum? How would she have even found out?”

“Liam.”

“Jess, you… you don’t think he planned this. Right?” I asked, my voice was incredibly quiet, but I knew she could still hear me.

Her silence confirmed my thoughts.

“That son of a b—” I began. I was cut off by my door swinging widely open.

“Bella I need you to come downstairs. Now!” my dad said, closing the door the second he was done.

I stared at where he had been just a second ago, my mind racing.

“I need to go,” I murmured softly, my thoughts elsewhere as I hung up. Now, I have seen my dad angry before, but nothing, definitely nothing compared to when he seemed calm, yet angry. Because when he is in that state, he is like a bomb. Once he loses it… it is just bad. I’m not saying he gets violent. No, gosh no, he would never hurt his family. But he does yell. And it hurts because, then, I would see how disappointed he was with me. Glancing down at my phone, I decided to stuff it into my book bag, in case he threatened to take it away.

“Bella!”

I jumped at the sound of my name, and quickly came down the stairs, my heart pounding within my chest.

“Sit.”

I sat down, twisting my hands in my lap, biting my lower lip nervously. Peeking upwards, I noticed my mum sitting on the couch, behind my dad who was standing.

This can’t be good, I thought to myself.

“Your mum told me about what Connor did.” His tone was impassive, which scared me even more.

“Let me…”

“No!” he cut me off, running his hand through his salt and pepper hair.

I winced, realizing how mad he was. “I don’t want you being with a violent guy,” he finally said after a short moment.

I felt my heart plummet into my stomach and my palms start to sweat.

“Dad…”

“No.”

“Dad!” Now, I never, ever, raised my voice at my dad before. I never needed to. But this was different. He wasn’t even trying to hear my side of the story.

“Connor is not a violent guy! He has never hur—”

“That’s not what I’ve heard,” my mum finally spoke up.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t very helpful.

“You can go upstairs now,” my dad said, sitting down next to my mum.

I looked between them, not understanding what was happening.

“Dad, what is going on?” I asked, unsure of the outcome of this “talk.”

He looked at me, with so many emotions swirling through his eyes—guilt, anger, and sadness.

“You’re not allowed to be with Connor anymore.”

Short and to the point.

I made a strangled noise and I pressed my hands hard into the couch. This wasn’t happening. This… this couldn't be happening.

“D-Dad, n-no…” I barely got it out, and my body was shaking.

“I’m sorry.”

“No!” I flew to my feet, clenching my fists. “You’re not sorry because being sorry is a form of regret, and I know, I know you don’t regret this.” I was shaking, tears threatening to escape my eyes.

“Bella…”

“You can’t do this to me!” I shrieked, my heart pounding inside me.

“We are your parents. We can do this, and we will.”

His tone was full of finality, crushing every bit of will in me. I felt as if I was suffocating. This, this was the worst thing that had ever happened to me.

“I hate you.” It came out as a mere whisper, but from the way my parents stiffened, I knew they heard me.

“Bel—”

“I hate you!” I spat out. “I hate you both!” I said it again, my voice cracking at the end, and I looked away as the tears began to fall. Without another word, I stood up and walked upstairs. I slammed the door of my room, and, as clichéd as it was, I slid down the floor and proceeded to cry my eyes out.

They just didn’t understand. They didn’t understand what Connor meant to me.

Connor.

I had to talk to him. I needed to tell him what happened. Grabbing my bag, I emptied its contents onto my bed, searching for my phone. I groaned in frustration when I couldn’t find it, only to then find it under a small piece of paper. Frowning, I flipped over the piece of paper, and then a small gasp escaped my trembling lips.

It was a picture… of me. That’s not all. In it, I was sleeping!

And the worst part? There was a hand wearing leather gloves, resting on my cheek. On the lower corner of the paper, there was a small note scrawled out.

You will be mine.

The paper slipped through my fingers, falling silently to the ground. I felt like I was suffocating.

He… he found me.

More tears escaped from my eyes. Sam, the most abusive, hateful guy I had ever met. He was back!

I placed my hand over my mouth, holding in the scream that so badly wanted to escape. My whole body was shaking like a leaf, and I wanted to vomit. Jerking my eyes away from the note, I grabbed my phone and sprinted out of my room and down the stairs.

“Was Sam released?” I hastily asked my parents, my tone surprisingly strong and demanding.

My parents’ heads jerked towards my direction, confusion and worry written all over their faces.

“What?” my dad asked.

Tightening my clamped fists, I took a couple of deep breaths before repeating myself. “Was Sam released?” I asked again.

My mum stood up, her face serious. “Of course not. Why in the world would you ask that?”

I felt relieved as my heart drastically slowed down, returning back to its normal pace.

“Never mind,” I muttered, grabbing my keys. Ignoring my protesting parents, I hopped into my car, driving down the street without a single backward glance.

I was halfway to Connor’s house when I finally made the sudden realization—If Sam wasn’t the one who left that note, then who did?

Slamming on the brakes, I came to a screeching halt in the middle of the road. Once again, my heart was pounding hard in my chest and my hands grew clammy. I gripped the steering wheel tightly, resting my head against my numb hands.

“This girl is on fi—”
[2]

The sound of my extremely loud ringtone caused me to jerk backwards, which really didn’t help calm down my racing heart. I let out a small scream before I picked up my phone.

Missed call from Connor.

My eyes widened and I stared at the phone blankly. After a minute or so, the voicemail notification popped up, and I rushed to listen to it.

“Hey, baby, I’ve been thinking…” he trailed off and I heard numerous voices in the background. He sounded so different, not at all like how he had sounded only hours before when he dropped me off. I shook my head slightly, it felt like years since Connor had dropped me off at home.

“Connor! Connor, what the hell are you doing?” I recognized that voice, it was Matt.

“W-what?”

“Baby… don’t stop now…”

I felt a wave of nausea surge over me, causing me to gasp out as tears blurred my vision. Throwing my phone in the backseat, I started up the car again, brushing away the painful tears.  

Have you ever felt like you’re about to just crumble? You’re at such a vulnerable, weak point that it seems like even the smallest pressure could crush you?

That’s exactly how I felt right then, standing in front of Connor’s front door. I bit my lip nervously, and I weakly tapped my hand against the wooden door. After a couple of minutes I was ready to leave, but just as I turned to walk away, the door slowly opened.

“Bella?”

I stared back at the obviously distressed James, his eyes were bloodshot and his hair was all over the place. Without a word, I pushed past him, looking around. I noticed the broken vodka bottle on the ground and the empty beer bottles splayed over the counter.

“Bella, you shouldn’t be here,” James said, his hand lightly grabbing my arm.

I started shaking again, and was biting my lip really hard. Yanking my arm out of his loose grip, I stormed upstairs. I saw the light under the door of the bathroom, and I immediately walked over, flinging the door open without a second thought.

What I saw… Well, there really was no word to describe it.

Connor was lying on the ground by the toilet, his head resting against the wall. Matt was crouched near him, a glass of water in his hand.

“Bella?” Matt looked shocked. But I have to admit, I found my true, and somewhat sick enjoyment from Connor’s reaction. His eyes flew open and I watched as he struggled to stand.