Break

  A Dark / Bully Romance

  Shattered Trilogy

  Book 1

  T.O. Smith

  Copyright ©June 2022 by T.O. Smith

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Design: Tiff Writes Romance

  Editing: Tiff Writes Romance

  Proofreading: Kimberly Peterson

  Created with Vellum

  For Riley, my reason for everything that I do. I hope this trilogy helps you understand some of the choices I’ve had to make.

  * * *

  For every woman who just couldn’t find the strength and the will inside of them to be who they needed to be.

  I hope this trilogy helps you heal.

  Contents

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  About the Author

  ONE

  I scrunched my nose up at my parents when I stepped into the kitchen that morning. They were so infatuated with each other, even after being together for a little over seventeen years. But honestly, I was also a bit envious. I knew most people didn’t get to experience the kind of love they shared.

  Dad worshipped the ground Mom walked on, and though I gave them shit for it all of the time, I envied them. I could only hope that the guy I fell for would love me as much as my dad loved my mom.

  Dad nuzzled her neck before lifting his head and looking at me. “Your car is still in the shop.” I huffed. He flashed me a grin. “Trent offered to take you to school on his way to work.” Dad looked at his watch right as the sound of my brother’s engine revving outside reached my ears.

  God, he was so impatient.

  “I’m going,” I told Dad as he got ready to warn me that Trent would leave me if I didn’t get a move on.

  My brother and I were inseparable most days. He was basically my best friend. I trusted him with my secrets more than I trusted the girl I actually called my best friend. But then again, Gemma was so much different from me. We’d been almost the same growing up, but when we grew up and realized boys didn’t actually have cooties, she became infatuated.

  Trent blew the horn. I glared at the front door as I marched toward it. Trent was not a morning person, and he hated it when I kept him waiting.

  I snatched the door open to his ’67 Camaro. Dad had found it at a junkyard on my brother’s fifteenth birthday, and under Dad’s supervision, Trent spent close to three years saving up and rebuilding the engine, redoing the upholstery, and repainting the car its original color.

  He glowered at me. “Easy on the car, sis.”

  I dropped into the passenger seat. I acted as if I were about to slam the door, and at his wince, I gently closed it, shooting him a sarcastic smirk. “Don’t rush me out the door then, Trent.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Then don’t take so long in the mirror, Bailey.”

  I rolled my eyes. If we continued this, we would be at it all day. He constantly did things that annoyed me, just as I knew he had a long list of things that I did that annoyed him.

  It was so crazy to most people that we were as close as we were. But I wouldn’t trade my brother for the world. He was the reason I was still freaking breathing most days. Anxiety and depression mixed together felt like a silent killer.

  Trent switched his Bluetooth on, and instantly, heavy metal rock music filled the car. I leaned my head back against the seat, so glad my brother and I had similar tastes in music. I closed my eyes, listening to the loud rumble of his engine during the softer parts of the music as he drove me toward school.

  Heads turned as he pulled up in front, and I saw numerous guys turn their heads, practically drooling at the sight of Trent’s baby. I rolled my eyes and turned to look at my brother. Typical guys. “Are you picking me up after school?”

  He shrugged. “I can, but you’ll have to sit at the garage afterward until I’m done working,” he warned me.

  I shrugged. “I’ll use your credit card to buy a book to read.”

  He rolled his eyes at me, but a grin played at his lips. “Whatever.” He acted like it bothered him, but Trent never minded buying me books.

  I slid out of the car and snatched my bag up from the floorboard, shrugging a strap onto my shoulder before I gently closed his car door, heading toward the front entrance.

  Gemma was by my side immediately, almost as if she had a radar for when I would show up at school. She dreamily watched Trent drive away before we walked inside the building. “Your brother is so hot,” she sighed.

  I rolled my eyes. I heard this every single time she saw him, but Trent had zero interest in her, as he had bluntly told her a few months ago when he finally grew sick of her flirting.

  “Gemma, seriously,” I groaned.

  She flashed me a smile. “What?” She rolled her eyes at me when I shot her a deadpan look. “Okay, yes, I know; he’s not interested in me, but a girl can dream, Bailey.”

  I laughed at her. “Gemma, you’ll be dreaming a hell of a long time.” She liked to think Trent was playing a game with her sometimes, but I knew Trent. He wasn’t interested in her at all.

  She shrugged. “Nothing my vib—” I slapped my hand over her mouth, and she burst into laughter.

  I pointed my finger at her. “I do not want to hear about your toys,” I warned her. She was almost crying with laughter. God, I hated hearing about her one-night-stands and toys. I don’t know why she found this so damn funny. “I’m going to my locker. Keep your crude comments to yourself, yeah?”

  I moved my hand from her mouth and turned towards the hallway my locker was down. “Prude!” she called after me, laughter in her voice.

  I just lifted my middle finger in the air over my head.

  I rifled through the books in my locker, trying to find that one stupid textbook I needed for my first class of the day. Without it, I was doomed for the class since the teacher didn’t do power points and wrote very little on the board. She forced us to rely on our textbooks.

  “Hey, whatever your name is,” a deep voice called from behind me as I finally found that damn textbook I needed.

  I turned around, confusion clear on my face, only to find none other than Seth Brinson standing behind me.

  Or Trouble, as I liked to secretly call him.

  Seth was the school’s bad boy. If he wasn’t getting caught with some girl in a compromising position, skipping class, or getting high on school property, he was getting hauled off in cuffs by the police.

  Hence, his nickname Trouble.

  “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you around before,” he said as he leaned a shoulder on the locker next to mine and crossed his muscular arms over his chest, making his biceps flex with the movement.

  Thankfully, living with Trent for all of my life had taught me not to trip all over myself when a hot guy talked to me.

  I simply arched an eyebrow at him. “Okay? I’d like to keep it that way,” I retorted.

  I closed my locker and turned around, walking off from him. I could feel his blue eyes boring holes into my back – or more specifically, my ass. I ignored the urge to turn around and look back at him.

  I was a good girl. Bad boys like Seth Brinson and I would never mix well.

  I dropped into my seat in first period about thirty seconds before the bell was scheduled to ring. Low and behold, Seth strolled in right as the bell rang with some random girl hanging off his arm. Her hair was messy, and she was using her free hand that wasn’t gripping his forearm to try to straighten it out, but it was only making it worse.

  I quietly snorted and shook my head. I guess it didn’t take Seth long to get off.

  I rolled my lips into my mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

  They quickly walked to the back of the classroom, dropping into their seats right as the teacher stepped into the room, her sensible shoes still managing to click-clack across the floor. She looked toward the back of the room and huffed, muttering something before she looked over at me.

  “Bailey, switch seats with Carla,” she ordered.

  Looking over my shoulder, I glowered when I realized just who Carla was.

  I was going to be stuck sitting next to Seth.

  Fuck my life.

  After grabbing my stuff, I walked to the back of the classroom, impatiently waiting as she slowly gathered her things, whispering things to Seth I’d rather not repeat nor ever think about again. I just scrunched my nose up and focused on the books in my hands, wishing she would just hurry the hell up and get out of my new seat.

  She kissed Seth when the teacher turned away for a moment and finally walked to my old seat. I dropped my books down onto the desk and sat down, purposely ignoring the bad boy sitting next to me who seemed to have a damn staring problem.

  Do not engage, Bailey, I warned myself.

  I grabbed my pencil and paper and took notes as the teacher began to drone on about Shakespeare.

  A piece of paper was thrown onto my desk a few minutes later. I glared at it. What were we–five? Who the fuck passed notes anymore?

  I brushed it aside, and I heard him growl in annoyance. I resist

ed the urge to smirk.

  Annoying Seth was actually highly amusing.

  “Are you always so bitchy?” he quietly asked me.

  I snapped my head over to look at him so fast that it actually hurt my neck. “Excuse me?” I harshly whispered. His lips twitched, his blue eyes lighting up with amusement. He flicked his head to the side for a moment, knocking his dark hair out of his eyes. My fingers twitched with the urge to move it aside for him.

  Why did he have to be so hot?

  “Are you always so bitchy?” he bravely repeated.

  I gritted my teeth. “Do you enjoy having balls?” I whispered back.

  He frowned at me in confusion, but answered, “yes.”

  I gave him a sickly-sweet smile. “Then politely shut the fuck up and stop talking to me before you lose them.” I turned back towards the front, gritting my teeth when I realized I had missed something important.

  Fuck you, Seth Brinson.

  A light knock sounded on the classroom door, halting the teacher’s droning speech. With an aggravated sigh, she walked over and opened it, revealing my Aunt Carla, the assistant principal. I hated having a family member that worked at the school, even if I never got into trouble. Trent had absolutely detested it since he didn’t stay out of trouble.

  “Can I see Bailey out in the hall for a moment?” she asked my teacher. I frowned, mulling over the past few days in my head.

  I hadn’t done anything that I was aware of.

  The teacher nodded. She looked over at me with a raised eyebrow and impatiently gestured towards the door. Seth let out a low whistle. “Someone got in trouble,” he whispered, laughter in his voice.

  I purposefully stepped on his shoe as I rounded my desk, making him mutter a curse under his breath.

  I walked out into the hallway. Aunt Carla closed the door behind us so no one would hear what she had to say to me. “What’s going on with Gemma?” I frowned at her, confused as to what she was talking about. Gemma had been just fine this morning. “We caught her skipping school,” she explained at my confused look. “Gemma may be a wild girl, but this is out of her nature.”

  She was right. It was. Gemma liked to get her kicks on after school. Not during.

  “I don’t know. Did she look upset?” I asked my aunt, worry swirling in my gut for my best friend.

  She sighed softly. Aunt Carla thought of Gemma as family just as my parents did. We’d literally been friends for that long. “She looked like she had been crying, but I couldn’t get anything out of her. I was hoping you could help.”

  I shook my head at her. “She hasn’t mentioned anything to me.” I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my hoodie. “I’ll talk to her during class change if I can find her.” I reached out and squeezed Aunt Carla’s hand. “I’m sure it’s nothing.” I frowned. “I probably just accidentally hurt her feelings about Trent.”

  Aunt Carla didn’t look convinced, but she let me back into the classroom, dropping the subject. “So, what’s the punishment?” Seth asked me when I sat back down. “Detention?”

  I glowered at him. “My only punishment is being stuck sitting next to you,” I retorted.

  He laughed, but he left me alone the rest of the period, for which I was thankful. Seth may be hot, but he could be incredibly annoying.

  When the bell rang, I got my stuff and walked out, trying to evade Seth, though I could feel his presence coming closer and closer to me.

  It was annoying as shit. I really just wanted to be left alone.

  I spun around on my heel. “What?” I snapped in annoyance. He barely stopped in time to keep from trampling all over me.

  “Let me get your number.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Surely you’ve got better lines than that shit,” I told him, not amused in the slightest.

  He shrugged. “I don’t need to use lines, babe.”

  I rolled my eyes at him. “You want my number?” I asked him. He grabbed his phone, those blue eyes locking on mine. I smirked.

  “It’s—” I leaned in close to him, “go fuck yourself.”

  With that, I spun around and marched off in search of my best friend.

  Gemma walked up to me and grabbed my arm. “We need to go talk,” she whispered. I breathed a sigh of relief. I had been searching for her all fucking day with no luck. She hadn’t even been in our physics class after lunch, and I’d spent my entire lunch block searching for her.

  I grabbed her arm and led her toward the restrooms. It was the end of the day, and though I would have much preferred to have this conversation in my car, I was currently carless. Mine had broken down a couple of weeks ago, and Trent called it a shitbox beyond repair and sent it off to the dumps.

  “Can we have the restroom please?” I asked the two girls that were fixing their make-up in the mirror.

  They glared at me. “Go find somewhere else to make out.”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to tell them that I wasn’t actually a lesbian or bisexual, but Gemma didn’t give me a chance.

  “Get the fuck out!” Gemma screamed at them, shocking the hell out of me. I swung my wide eyes to my best friend.

  Something was definitely wrong. Gemma didn’t lose her cool like that. She was always extremely happy and hyper.

  They walked out, shooting Gemma dirty looks as they did so. She flipped the lock on the main door before turning to me. “I’m pregnant,” she whispered.

  I stared at her for a moment, waiting to see if she was going to suddenly announce that this was a joke. But she only stared back at me. I finally heaved a sigh. “Whose baby is it?” I asked her. Gemma slept around a lot, so it was a sensible question to ask.

  She fidgeted nervously. “I’m ninety-nine percent sure that it’s Brandon Brinson’s – Seth’s older cousin.”

  My eyes widened. Oh, I knew who he was. Everyone in our small ass town knew who Brandon Brinson was. “Gemma!” I whisper-yelled. “Are you out of your mind?”

  Brandon Brinson had just gotten out of prison for arson. He’d gone in when he was seventeen and served four years inside. He was the absolute worst person to be having a baby with.

  She burst into tears. I quickly pulled her into a hug and held her, gently rubbing her back. I didn’t know what to say. What the hell could I say?

  Gemma was torn the fuck up over this, and I knew nothing I could have said would have made her feel better. So, I did the only thing I knew to do.

  Which was offer her my silent support.

  As Gemma cried in my arms, I quickly sent a text to Trent letting him know I’d catch a ride with Gemma. She didn’t need to be alone right now.

  TWO

  Seth

  There was something about that girl that I couldn’t get out of my damn head.

  Bailey Donovan.

  I’d never noticed her before—didn’t even realize we had first period together. I don’t know how someone like her could have flown under my radar for so long. But now that I had noticed her, I had no intention of walking away without getting what I wanted from her first.

  I caught Gemma and Bailey outside by Gemma’s car. Gemma took immediate notice of me, her cheeks burning red, but the girl I wanted to look at me completely ignored my presence as if I didn’t exist.

  And it irked my fucking nerves.

  I cleared my throat, but Bailey only proceeded to open the door and throw her stuff in. Gemma looked at Bailey and nudged her with her elbow. Bailey looked over her shoulder at me, shrugged, and turned back around, pulling her phone from her pocket, texting someone back. “Tell your brother I said hi,” Gemma said.

  Bailey rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything in response.

  “The weather is fucking fantastic,” I sarcastically commented.

  Bailey finally looked back up at me, annoyance flashing in her eyes. “Do you just not understand what someone’s silence means?” she demanded.

 

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