Sleeping with a bully ov.., p.76
Sleeping with a Bully (Overachieving Only Wanted to be Happy), page 76
Damn it, he shouldn't even be here anyway.
I was so deep in thought I didn't noticed he had woken up. He stood close behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, burying his face into the side of my neck. And for the first time in the ten minutes he'd been here, I noticed his knuckles were red. I wisely ignored it.
"Did you get in through the window again?" I asked.
"Do you want me to use the door next time?" His voice was tinged with humor.
"You'll get shot before you could even step inside the porch," I deadpanned.
"There's the answer to your question."
John kissed the underside of my jaw, sending a surge of heat through me. The anger, the hurt and the pain that I had expected to emerge at the sight of him didn't even try to appear. Alone in my room, where we shared a lot of memories together, I couldn't summon enough emotion to make him leave. Maybe because I was too comfortable in his arms.
It felt nice.
It felt nice to be hugged like this.
So I didn't make him leave.
At least... not yet.
"Did you get him?" I asked. The curiosity had been eating me all day.
He didn't even need to ask who I was referring to. "Yes," he answered.
"Is Sophia safe now?"
"Yes."
Breathing an audible sigh of relief, I thought about Carol. She'd be disappointed about the party for sure but better disappointed then harmed.
Another thought occurred to me.
What about Sophia's relationship with Gage then?
"Are they going to break up?" I thought out loud.
John chuckled in my ear. "You have too many questions." He sobered and sighed, "He's with her right now and I don't know what he's going to do. But I hope he isn't going to break up with her. I was hoping he'll have his happy ending with her."
I shrugged. "I really don't care if he does."
His arms tightened. "I care," he said fervently.
Jealousy seared into me. "Then make sure he does," I muttered.
I imagined him smiling when he said, "I will. And maybe I'll get my happy ending too."
My head jerked. "With who?" I asked before I could stop myself.
"Care to guess?"
"Stella?"
His arms tightened again. "I thought you were supposed to be smart."
I didn't respond to that statement. "So is it over?"
He grew quiet.
"It isn't," I whispered, a cold knot forming in my gut.
"There are a few strings left to be tied, that's all."
"Then what are you doing here?"
He squeezed me gently. "I wanted to see you. I wanted to..." he trailed off, hesitating. I turned around and looked up at him. "There are a lot of things I want to say to you but not now," he finished. "After seeing all that shit, I just know that I wanted to see you."
I wanted to be happy he said those words. But knowing how easily his heart could change stopped me from feeling such emotion. Instead, I was stuck on what things he wanted to say to me but couldn't.
"Why can't you tell me now?" I grumbled.
"It's not the right time."
I searched his face for some hint of comprehension. His expression was tired, sad and remorseful. Hope sprung in my heart. I shouldn't be feeling this way, he was a perpetual liar. And I hated it.
I hated that I was dancing to his tune again.
"You have too many secrets, Steele," I replied bitterly.
His face turned to stone. "You have secrets too, Evans."
I tore myself free from him and took a few steps back. "I was always honest with you when we were young," I told him, my voice rising. "Always. But you lost the privilege to know my secrets years ago when you walked out of my life and didn't look back."
He stared at me, his jaw clenched.
"Why did you?" I asked softly. "Why did you leave? Why did you leave me?"
His gaze fell. "I can't answer that right now."
"Secrets are the same as lies," I said, my voice trembling. "And I'm tired of your secrets. I'm tired of your lies."
He didn't look at me and didn't answer.
A painful knot filled my throat and I blinked away the tears I dare not shed. "We were friends. You... you were my only friend. I didn't know what I did wrong then, and I still don't know. But I don't give a damn anymore. You can keep your secrets, I don't fucking care."
He still didn't speak. It hurt, looking at him, so I turned away.
"I'll get Julie so you won't get out through the window and fall to your death," I mumbled.
"You were not easy to forget, you know."
My gaze snapped back to him. He held my stare, his eyes desperately wanting me to understand.
But I didn't understand.
All I could think of were the countless number of girls I'd seen with him. All I could see were his cold eyes when he told me didn't want to be my friend anymore. All I understood was he wanted me out of his life so out of his life I'd stay.
"Really?" I asked quietly. "You could have fooled me."
With that, I turned on my heels and walked out.
But when I came back with Julie, he was gone.
Chapter 15
What Was Once
Seven years ago, John and Terry at age nine
Terry woke up from her slumber when she heard a faint scraping sound coming from the windows of her room. She sat up, her eyes wide, and stared at the thick curtains. After a minute of silence, she began to think she imagined the sound. She was about to lie down when she heard the noise again.
"Yukiko?"
Her name was called out in a soft whisper but she recognized the voice all the same. Her jaw dropped.
"Ouch. Hurry and open the window!"
She hurriedly climbed out of bed and pulled the curtains back. The light filtering in through the windows was sufficient for her to see outside. A boy was hanging on the ledge, looking rather peevish at her.
"Let me in," he furiously whispered at her.
She slid the latch and pushed the windows open. He reached for her and with a great heave, she pulled him up. They tumbled on the carpeted floor of her bedroom with a soft thud.
"Get off me," she grumbled.
"Sorry - ouch, that was my foot!"
"Lower your voice, baka! The maids might hear."
They glared at each other as they both knelt on the floor. Then she blinked as she took him in. He looked like a sight. His jacket was ripped away from his sleeve, his shirt was soiled and there were streaks of dirt on his face. They were the least of her worries, however. Because he wasn't supposed to be here.
He also wasn't supposed to be climbing trees and windows so late at night.
"What are you doing here, John?" she asked when she found her voice.
He continued to glare at her and didn't answer.
"You're not supposed to be here. And weren't you supposed to leave earlier this morning? Your nanny must be worried sick by now. And your parents! What will they do when they find out you've—?"
"They were fighting."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "What?"
His gaze dropped and slid to the side. "They were fighting. My parents."
She bit her lip and shifted closer to him. "John—"
"And I've always wanted to try being reckless," he interrupted with a grin. "It was quite easy now that I think about it. Sneaking out of the hotel was easy. Getting a cab to take a 9 year old here was also easy considering the money I brought with me. And climbing the walls and that massive tree wasn't a difficult task once I get over my initial fears of breaking my neck."
She scowled, "You're an idiot."
"I'll be gone in the morning," he promised. "They'd never know I left. As long as I show up in the lobby they wouldn't care to look into my room."
"But how will you get back?"
"I told the cab driver he's in for more money if he comes and take me back to the hotel. Don't worry," he rushed to tell her when she started to protest. "I could tell he wasn't the bad sort when he tried to call the police when I started scaling the walls."
"You gave him a lot of money, didn't you?" she accused.
He grinned. "He was a kind man. We even talked about his son on the way here."
Terry sighed. She knew John would never change his stubborn mind. Still, she couldn't help but worry over his recklessness. Kind or not, she needed to be sure he was safe. Maybe she should call his nanny...
"Don't even think about it," he warned, reading her thoughts and she scowled at him again. "Whatever you're thinking right now, stop. I'll be alright. Don't over think this."
She watched him stand up and stretched his arms up high. Removing his jacket, he walked to her bed and sat on it. Then he bent down to remove his shoes.
"You're such a brat," she mumbled irritably. When he laid on her bed, she got up from the floor and joined him. "And who said you could sleep here?"
His brows rose. "Surely you're not thinking of letting me sleep on the floor?"
"The thought has merit."
But even as she said that, she tugged the sheets over them and made sure he was comfortable. John was on his back, staring at the ceiling. She laid on her side and looked at him. Worrying about him.
"Do you think this is proper?" she asked him after a while.
"We're children. Of course, it is." He turned to his side to look at her. "And you're not that pretty anyway."
She rolled her eyes. "Just go to sleep, John."
But John didn't sleep.
Neither did she.
They stayed up all night. Just talking.
And when they did fell asleep, they were both holding each other's hands.
~*****~
I opened my eyes.
The first thing I saw were the piles of work I should have been doing.
Lifting my head from my folded arms on top of the table, I scanned my gaze around the SRC office. The other tables also had piles of folders and files waiting to be done but their occupants were missing. I sighed in relief when I saw I was alone, that nobody had seen me sleeping on my desk and neglecting my work.
With a sigh, I straightened and checked my reflection in the small mirror on my desk to see if I was still presentable. I hadn't realized I had fallen asleep and I was still feeling a bit groggy. I blame the lying bastard who slipped into my room last night.
It was hard to sleep after our conversation.
It was hard to sleep when all I could smell on my pillows and sheets were his scent.
I had Julie change them as soon as I woke up. The curiosity was eating her, I could see from her expression. She had just changed them the day before. And coupled by my enigmatic request last night, that I needed her help for something then immediately changed my mind as soon as we entered my bedroom, no wonder she was curious. She didn't dare ask however because she knew it wasn't her place.
The door open just as I was about to start work again and I lifted my gaze.
Then my jaw dropped open.
Because Hannah was pulling Sophia, her of all people, into the room.
"What the hell is she doing here?" I bit out, staring contemptuously at the tiny blonde.
"You said you'd be here," Hannah answered as she sat on the chair in front of my table. Sophia gingerly took the other seat opposite hers. "I missed you," she continued with a flutter of her lashes.
I clenched my teeth. "And her?"
"You said you needed help doing boring stuff for the Student Council. She's your help."
By the look of the shell-shocked expression on Sophia's face, she didn't know anything about what Hannah had planned. I glared at Hannah, who was smiling brightly at me. The idiot even pushed a pile of papers I've yet to segregate to Sophia's direction.
"You could help me," I growled.
She showed me her manicure and said, "But I only got this done yesterday! I don't want to ruin them."
Oh, I'm going to strangle her, I though angrily.
She really wasn't going to give up. She really was so adamant for me to be friends with Sophia Gideon. Her mother must have dropped her a lot of times when she was a child for her to develop such a hard head. Or she probably chewed on the paint of her crib. It didn't matter what reason it was because I was really going to strangle her this time.
"What - what can I do to help?" Sophia suddenly asked, her voice trembling.
I swiveled my gaze at her and she visibly flinched. I narrowed my eyes. Was she shaking? Good. I wasn't someone to be trifled with and it was fortunate for her to realize that early.
Picking up a stapler, I slammed it in front of her and she jumped in her seat. "Segregate those papers and staple them together. And make sure you do it right."
Immediately, she snapped into action. Hannah was smiling fondly at her and I aimed a paperclip at her face. Her smile disappeared when it hit her forehead and she threw a disgruntled look at me. Shaking my head, I grabbed a folder and went back to work. I was too busy to deal with them. As long as the both of them shut their mouths.
At that moment, Carol and her friends entered the room. My body tightened as I looked at Sophia then to them. Just as I expected, Carol looked like she had just seen a ghost and backtracked, crashing into her friends, who had the same look on their faces. The door closed with a loud bang, making Sophia pale in horror.
I understood why they reacted that way. What happened yesterday made Sophia more infamous and everyone was back to being frightened by her.
That morning, I expected two pieces of news to hear when I arrived in school.
One was about Pete Ward beaten up by the school bully and his minions.
And two was about the school bully breaking up with his girlfriend.
The first happened. The second didn't.
And it didn't make any sense. Sophia didn't have any use now any more to him since Leon finally got Ward. He also didn't have a reason to be with her anymore. So why were they still together?
"What was that about?" I asked, playing dumb.
Maybe I could learn the reason why with Sophia in the room.
Maybe I could find a reason to make her leave us alone.
Hannah straightened in her seat and leaned forward. "You didn't hear?"
"I wouldn't ask if I did."
"Everyone's talking about it. Pete Ward got beaten up to a bloody pulp last night."
Sophia pretended like she wasn't listening as she concentrated on her task. There were frown lines on her forehead and I knew she was worried. She should be worried. I didn't know how much she knew about her boyfriend but being with somebody like him wouldn't do her any good at all.
"Really?" I muttered. "And does everyone think it's our little classmate's boyfriend over here who did the deed?"
She bit her lip and stapled faster. And despite my irritation, I found it amusing. People usually made excuses to get away from my presence but she... she was sticking around. Which was unusual considering she avoided me ever since we partnered in class.
"Yeah..." Hannah answered in reluctance.
I wasn't bloodthirsty by any means. It was rare for me to desire harm to fall upon people.
But I couldn't help but think good riddance.
"What was that?" Hannah asked.
Damn. Did I just say that out loud?
Covering my mishap, I sighed out loud and told her, "I said get out if you're not going to help."
"That's not what you said!"
My eyes narrowed. "Are you going to help or not?"
"B-but my nails!"
"God, you are seriously making me want to strangle you!"
Hannah gasped dramatically. "You can't do that! What would Otousan and Okaasan think?"
I snorted. "Shut up, weeab."
"How dare you call me a weeab!" she cried in outrage. "Y-you're the weeab!"
"Yeah, really good comeback, kid." I closed the folder I had been working on and grabbed another. "And I don't call Dad Otousan."
"Yes, you do."
"No, I don't."
"Sophia, do you think I'm a weeab?"
I glanced at Sophia when she didn't answer. She was staring off into space, which didn't really surprise me since she was always like this, even in class. But she was blushing.
"What's wrong with her?" Hannah whispered to me.
"I think it's the blonde in her," I deadpanned.
Hannah gave me a disapproving look before she turned to Sophia. "Sophia?" she called softly. "Sophia?"
Sophia's head jerked up and she blinked. When she saw us staring at her, her face flamed even more.
"What are you thinking which made you blush that hard, ne- I mean, Sophia?" Hannah asked, grinning cheekily at her.
I deciphered the double meaning in her question and I cringed inwardly.
Oh, gross. Sophia couldn't possibly be thinking...
"Did you guys finally have sex yet?"
Sophia's mouth dropped and she glanced at me.
"For God's sake, Hannah," I mumbled.
Hannah turned to me. "What?" she asked innocently.
"You can't just ask people if they had sex, yet. And besides, that guy is fucked up."
"You think he's fucked up?" I heard Sophia ask softly and I turned to her.
"Everyone knows he's fucked up," I answered irately.
"So?" Hannah interjected."He needs someone to help him get unfucked up, that's all."
My brows rose. "Unfucked is not a word."
"You know what I mean," she sighed.
Sophia's face was completely red as she listened to us talk.
"And besides," I pulled another folder to me and opened it, "if they have sex, things will get a lot worse for her."
Sophia leaned into me, a move I didn't anticipate her to do, and asked, "Why?"
I stared at her.
She was really weird this morning.
Then I replied, "You're a virgin, right?"
I didn't know it was possible for a completely red face to turn redder.
"W-what?" she stammered. "How did you know?"
I rolled my eyes. "Please. Anyone can tell you're a virgin." I gave her a severe look and continued, "I bet you're waiting for a guy who deserved it before you'd give something that perfect one that'd sweep you off your feet and shower you with words of love and praise. So will you give up your virginity to a guy with a notorious reputation who fucks anything that moves?"
