Page 428 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

I barely hold back from banging on the door. My parents are in their room. From the quiet, I assume they’re already asleep. I stayed for about an hour after the game talking to Coach about the scholarship. He seemed both annoyed and pleased with my blabbering.

Fuck! Was I bugging out? Did he notice I was on something?

I rush into my room and stare into the mirror. Black eyes, dilated pupils, stare back at me.

Terror washes me with a new wave of fanatic energy. I turn on the shower, strip, step inside. It’s not warm enough, butit doesn’t matter. The water on my skin is orgasmic. I groan, leaning against my hands, arch my back. I have a hard-on, but I don’t even bother jerking off. This already feels so good.

Ecstasy? I didn’t taste anything in the energy drink—but they always have a bitter aftertaste.

Fuckingbitch.

I find myself in front of Harper’s door seconds later, and realize I’m stark naked, dripping water on the carpet.

Christ, what the fuck is wrong with me? I rush back into my bedroom, close the door, lock it, stare at it like it’s a fucking snake.

I can’t go outside if I’m bugging out. If Dad catches me like this I’ll lose my?—

Scholarship.

I got a motherfucking scholarship.

I fall on my bed, a big shit-eating grin on my face as I rake fingers through my wet hair. Christ, was it real? Isanyof this real?

Pulling on sweats, a hoody, giving my hair a quick towel, I’m in front of Harper’s bedroom door again. I knock quietly, but she doesn’t answer. So I text her.

OPEN

I wait, but she doesn’t even come online to read the text.

Fuck. I can’t just stand here, and I don’t dare knock any harder.

WHAT DID YOU DO?

No reply. Growling under my breath, I take the stairs two at a time and slip into the screening room. I throw myself down on one of the sofas and turn on an action movie. With the doors closed, there’s no way I’d be waking up Dad with this racket—the room is soundproofed for a reason.

The movie helps. Having a beer helps too. Turning off my phone so I don’t keep texting Harper pointless messages like “fuck u” and “ur dead” helps more than anything else.

Minutes into a second movie, my edginess disappears and I’m enveloped by a strangely focused euphoria. I found a soft-porn flick on one of the on-demand channels. It shouldn’t do anything for me, but in my heightened state, just seeing a pair of tits gives me a hard-on.

I’m still considering whether I should try and jerk off, just to see if I can make myself come when the smell of Harper’s shampoo hits my nose.

Harper

I stare at my message history with Talia, a sinking feeling in my stomach as I rehash the evening.

Harper:

NEED SOMETHING FUN 4 ME + JUDE

Talia:

JUDE? REALLY? XD

Harper:

HE WORKS 2 HARD. NEEDS 2 CHILL

Talia:

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