Reapers and Roses: (Grove High School Book One) Page 6

  I internally groan. I totally knew this shit was coming. "Corey…"

  "No, just listen. We've always been good together, right?" He waits for my response, and I slowly nod my head. "It was stupid – what I did. I know that now. Will you take me back? I know it might be difficult, with long distance and everything. That's why I wanted you to come live with me, so we can be together. I'm not going to let some shitty town like the Grove keep you away from me. Be with me, Rose. Let's start over and do it right this time."

  I sigh and close my eyes. I love Corey, I really do. But he squashed my heavier feelings when he decided to go be a player with all the other girls of Woodbury Preparatory School. I open my mouth to explain my case when the worst thing that could happen right now, does.

  "Rose." My voice comes out like a whip, sharp and controlled.

  My back stiffens, and I sit up straight like I've been whipped on my spine. I cringe, then cringe again.

  God, please Lord, no.

  "Rose." It comes again, although this time with less patience.

  I turn around and ignore Corey as he lets out an annoyed, "Who the hell is that?"

  Once I turn around, I look into the black eyes of what is becoming my worst nightmare.

  "Who is that?" Corey asks again, this time with a possessiveness I don't often hear in his voice.

  "It's no one." I say, giving Easton a look to go away. I can only hope he takes the hint. The last thing that I need is for him to cause a scene. Or for Corey to get hurt.

  "Do you know him?" Corey asks, leaning in close to me.

  "No, he's just some -"

  "Rose, come over here. Now." Easton says calmly.

  "Better listen to him, rich girl." Comes another voice. I look back at Easton's truck and realize that Logan and Jackson are also in the truck. Great, I didn't even notice his friends in there before.

  "I'm going to go say something to them." Corey says, starting to stand up from his chair and wiping a hand down his unwrinkled shirt.

  I leap out of my own seat, pushing on his shoulders to make him sit back down.

  "No. No, you are not. I will be right back. Just stay here, okay? Please." I try to keep my voice strong, but I'm actually worried about Corey. I don't know what these guys are capable of, and from what I've heard, I don't really want to find out.

  I speed walk over to the driver's side window and lean in close to him.

  "What the hell do you want? Are you following me?" I say, completely exasperated.

  Easton tightens his grip on the steering wheel and looks over at me, getting right into my face.

  "Get in the fucking car." He growls.

  "Wha-what?" I sputter. "No, absolutely not! I'm with my friend right now. You can't just come and interrupt me and tell me what the hell to do!" I huff.

  Who the hell is this guy?

  "Rose, I'm not going to tell you again. You don't want me to go and talk to your little friend over there, do you?" He smirks at me, his black eyes twinkling in the sun. It almost seems like he has a little humanity in there and then - nope, nothing.

  It's like he really is dead inside.

  "I'm giving you a minute before I go over there and remove that preppy douchebag from my town." He clicks the home button on his phone, looking at his clock and then looking up at me expectantly.

  By the look in his eyes, I know that he's not kidding. I let out a groan from deep, deep within my soul.

  I stomp back over to Corey, who sits there with his jaw clenched and posture so poised and stiff that you would think he has a board taped to his spine to keep him so straight.

  "Corey, I'm sorry about this, but I really have to go with them. They are some kids from my class and I guess there is some assignment or something that needs to be done...urgently." I lie. "Can we finish this conversation later? We can meet up next week or something...when I'm not so... distracted."

  He narrows his eyes around me, looking me up and down before shooting his gaze to the truck behind him. I'm sure I only have about thirty seconds left, and I really am worried what's going to happen once I get to zero.

  "Please, Corey?" I ask urgently.

  "Those don't look like the best type of people, Rose. It's worrying me a little bit, to be honest."

  "Do you know them?"

  "No, I don't. Not really, anyway. Be careful, and call me when you get home, okay?" He leans over and gives me a peck on the lips, looking over at the truck out of the corner of his eye.

  "Your time is up, Rose." Comes from the truck behind me. He voice is laced with a barely restrained fury. Looking back at the truck, I notice Jackson sitting in the backseat with a knife in his hand, tapping it up against the window in an impatient pattern.

  I gulp, going from worried to terrified.

  "I've got to go." I say, grabbing my things and walking off towards Easton's car.

  "Wait, Rose-" Corey starts.

  "No, Corey. Just no. I will call you later." I barely spare him a glance as I walk off to Easton's car, getting in the backseat without looking at any of these crazy men.

  Absolute. Fucking. Psychos.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Easton

  Man is the cruelest animal. – Friedrich Nietzsche

  I have to calm myself down and restrain myself from getting out of my car and beating this preppy loser to a fucking pulp. But then I feel tempted to beat myself to a fucking pulp, because...

  What. The. Fuck.

  Rose is not mine, I don't even know the bitch. She's just another rich girl trying to find her way to the wrong side of the tracks. Find some excitement to change things up a bit.

  Even though I'm sure she never would be on these side of the tracks if she had a choice, I can still see the hints of desire every time I look her way. She has the same look in her eye that I'm sure I do in mine.

  Heat.

  "What the fuck are you doing, dude?" Jackson lashes out at me from the backseat.

  "I don't know. I just... don't know. Want me to drop you guys off?"

  Logan barks out a laugh. "Hell no, this shit is just getting good!"

  He slaps his sweatpant covered thigh, more hyped up than the rest of us are.

  We found the man who skimped us on our coke, and what do you know? He didn't have anything for us. I beat him into a bloody mess as Jackson twiddled his knife from behind me, enjoying the pain I was inflicting on someone else.

  Logan doesn't enjoy the mess as much, but he still gets amped up when I get in a fight.

  He knows it has to be done.

  "You know who that guy is, right?" Jackson says.

  "Yeah. I know." I say. This guy - Corey, is nothing but a coked-out trust fund baby. The kid is more trouble than he's worth, and Rose needs to know which side of the track she lives on now. Corey used to be a sporadic buyer, but lately he has been coming through more and more frequently. Not that he deals with any of us exclusively, but I always know what's going on in my town.

  I groan, watching as she waltzes my way with a heavy scowl on her face and whips open the back door to the truck, hopping in and slamming it shut with a grunt.

  I snap my gaze back at her. "You better watch how you treat my possessions before you do something you will regret." I growl.

  "What the hell am I doing here? You had to come and just make a mess of everything, didn't you? What is so important that you had to threaten me? And him!" She shrieks. Oof, she's pissed.

  Good, me too.

  I put my truck into drive and fly off the main road, giving the stupid fuck with loafers a look of pure victory. She's mine now, preppy boy, and I will carve that shit into her ass if I need to.

  Wait… the fuck?

  I grab these thoughts by the next and squeeze the life out of them. She is not mine, she will never be mine.

  I ponder on my thoughts so long that I forget I'm driving like a madman with a stranger in my backseat. Pulling over on a backroad by the Mississippi River, I throw the car into park and glance back at her in th
e rearview mirror.

  "The hell you doing with that loser?" I bark.

  She is sitting as far away from Jackson as humanly possible, and I can see he is enjoying it by the small smirk playing on his face.

  She throws me a look of disgust. "He's my friend. Why the hell do you care? Why the hell am I here?"

  "Stay the fuck away from him. And more importantly, keep him the fuck out of my town." I say.

  She snorts, very unlike her high maintenance ass. "I will do no such thing. I don't even know you guys." She tries to open up the door, but I'm quicker than she thinks, slapping the lock button and child proofing the shit out of her door.

  "Let me out of here before I scream."

  "Scream all you want baby girl, no one can hear you down here." Logan says softly.

  "And if they do, no one will come help anyway." Jackson says.

  Raw fear crosses her features. She looks panicked, like we might hurt her. Her breathing picks up so quick I'm afraid this chick is going to pass out in my car.

  "Hey, stop." She looks at me in the eye and I take down a corner of my wall, letting her see that I am not the monster everyone thinks I am, at least I don't need to be. She immediately takes a big breath. "We're not here to throw you in the river or anything. Just wanted to set something straight. You live on this side of town now, not with those fucking uppities. You don't belong to them anymore, and I’m sure now that you're over here you don't even have the friends you used to. Am I right?" She scowls at this, making me huff out a laugh.

  "Yeah, that's what I thought. Those people in Woodbury are nothing but conceited, plastic assholes who care about nothing except their wealth and image. You need to learn the rules of the road. You're no longer rich. We keep our distance from Woodbury for a reason. They stay on their side of town, and we stay on ours. You understand?"

  Jackson leans in close to her and whispers, "This is where you nod your head yes, rich girl."

  Slowly, she nods once. Once again, we are in the locked eyes trance that is starting to become our thing. Locked in each other's gaze. It makes me feel uncomfortable, like she can see deeper into me than anyone ever has before.

  "Good. Now that we understand each other, listen up. That preppy fuck you were talking to. Corey is his name, right?" She nods again. "Yes, Corey. Stay away from him, and I'm not going to tell you again. You might think you're in the right here, but you're not. He's not who you think he is."

  She opens her mouth – I'm sure to ask a million questions, but I don't have time for that. "Stop. I see your mind running a marathon from here."

  She once again opens her mouth, probably this time to curse me out, but Jackson steps in this time, slapping a hand over her mouth. "Quit while you're ahead, babe. Listen to what Easton says, and there won't be any problems."

  Once I'm sure she's not going to talk my ear off, I start up the car again and make my way back to Starbucks, and her car.

  I pull up next to her car and she gets out, slamming the back door and stalking off towards her car. As she's about to open up her door, I roll down my window and smirk at her. "Oh, and Rose?" I sing.

  She stiffens and looks over at me with annoyance plastered across her face.

  "Remember when I said you don't belong to them anymore?"

  She crosses her arms over her chest. "Yes, I unfortunately do remember that piece of information. What about it?" She sasses.

  Damn, she's a bitch.

  "Do you want to know who you do belong to?"

  She rolls her eyes. "No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me anyway."

  "Me, baby. You belong to me." I give her a smile, showing her teeth and all. Her jaw drops, and I figure my job is done.

  I drive off and watch in the side mirror as she gives me a big middle finger.

  Before I roll up my window, I stick my hand out and give her one right back, watching as she flings her arms up into the air in aggravation before jumping into her car.

  Well, maybe her moving here will work out, after all.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Rose

  A man might befriend a wolf, even break a wolf, but no man could truly tame a wolf. – George R.R. Martin

  When I pull up to school on Friday, I'm glad to have survived my first week at this rust bucket of a school. I'm hoping to spend a little time with my mom this weekend. Before we moved here, we would make plans to spend the day together – going to the spa, having a shopping day, just about everything and anything.

  I haven't seen much of her this week. She has been leaving a little earlier each morning for work, so she's already gone by the time I wake up. In the afternoons when I get home, she's either still at work or if I get home late, she is usually sleeping. I'm not sure if she's tired from her first job in forever, or if she's being a heavy hitter with that bottle of wine.

  All I know is, I'm getting a little worried. My plan is to spend a little time with her and maybe rake her out of this depression she's drowning in.

  The good thing is, she hasn't been fired or quit her job yet. She must be doing something right.

  Cara has been a miniature sidekick this week, making sure I don't feel like a lonely duckling as I travel through the graffiti ridden walls and bathroom stalls with broken locks of the Grove high.

  Thankfully, Easton has been out of school the last few days and I haven't seen him since the night he dropped me off at my car after his ambush.

  Logan, on the other hand, has been popping up here and there, trying to be my friend. He's funny, that's for sure. I just don't know if I can forgive him yet for being such a shit on my first day of school.

  Hopping out of my car, I run a hand down my Dolce and Gabbana dress in an attempt to smooth out the wrinkles.

  "Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Comes from Logan behind me.

  I turn around and give him a look, which only makes him smirk playfully and drape his arm over me. "What's that look for, you're not happy to see me?"

  I attempt to shrug out of his hold, but it only makes him tighten his arm around me.

  "You ass, would you let me go?"

  "Uh, no babe. Sorry."

  I give up on and continue on our walk inside of the school. When we pass a group of girls, I hear the head of the bitch squad whispering about me and sneering. "She is such a slut, I swear. Can't you tell how badly she wants their attention?" The girl whispers to her friends, except she doesn't say it quietly, and I immediately feel my guard start to rise.

  How dare these girls? They don't even know me.

  I look her over, noticing her spaghetti strap tank top that rises over her belly button, showing off a dangly belly button ring. She's also wearing black leggings that honestly look so thin, if the light shines on her ass I'm sure I will be able to tell the color of her thong.

  Her minions are wearing similar attire, showing off way too much skin.

  And they call me the slut?

  I open my mouth to say just as much when Logan beats me to it. "Ay, you bitches got a problem?" Logan lashes out angrily.

  The whole group stiffens, and the minions look down at the ground while the leader looks at Logan with fear in her eyes.

  "Logan, I didn't even see you there. I missed you last weekend, baby. Why didn't you text me?" Gross. Gross and nasty is what this girl is.

  She might as well spread her slutty thighs and let all of the Grove High see what's between her legs.

  "That's what I thought. Keep your mouth shut or I will shove my cock in there so deep you won't be able to talk for a week." He winks, and then pulls me with him the rest of the way into school.

  I look back at them as I'm being pulled inside and see the main girl's face turn beet red. I laugh under my breath and look up at Logan, surprised he had my back. I'm sure he's slept with at least half of the group, he really didn't have to stick up for me like that.

  "Thank you." I say softly.

  Logan stops and looks down at me, confused. "For what, babe?"

  "For sti
cking up for me back there. I'm sure those are your floozies or whatever. I would hate to ruin your reputation."

  He breaks out in a big smile, showing off his dimples that make him look absolutely stunning with his blonde shaggy hair. "No worries, babe. We've got your back."

  "Not sure if Jackson does…" I say.

  "Nah, he does. He's just quiet. He really likes you, actually. Him and feelings just don't mix well." He shrugs like it's no big deal.

  He walks me to class and then just as I'm about to turn the corner, I hear him call my name. "What?" I say, walking back up to him.

  He pulls me around the corner where there are less nosy, lingering students. "Fight tonight. You will be there, right?"

  "Tonight?" I gulp, suddenly nervous. I really, really don't want a repeat of the last fight. "I'm not sure…"

  He laughs. "There is no 'I'm not sure'." He mocks me. "You're going. Easton wants you there, you go there."

  So, there is definitely no hope in getting out of this one. "Can I bring Cara?"

  He waves his hand noncommittedly. "Sure, sure. Whatever."

  A small sliver of relief pours over me. Maybe if we stick together this time, I have a less chance of being assaulted. "Okay, then. I guess."

  "Damn right. Text me when you're on your way. Easton doesn't want you alone."

  "Oh, for fuck sake. What the hell is wrong with that guy?"

  He scratches his chin but has a knowing look on his face. "Yeah, not getting into this one. Text me when you get there. Do not walk alone." He says seriously, pointing his finger right into my face.

  I reach up and swat his finger out of the way, tired of all these bossy men. "I will text you when I get there. Quit acting like you guys are my father or something. It's really starting to creep me out."

  His head falls backward and he lets out a bark of a laugh. "Oh, rich girl. You are in for quite a ride. Good thing is, I think you will fit in just fine here." And with that, he stalks off towards a leggy blonde who keeps glancing back and giving Logan fuck me eyes.