Page 28 of Bullied By The Bad Boy

“What did you say to me?” His voice thickens with an emotion that scares me. I lose my willingness to talk and resort to shaking my head. He grabs me by the collar, cutting off my air supply. “C’mon, Tee, repeat it.”

“I…I didn’t say anything,” I whisper, gaze fixated on the wall behind him. His grip on my collar slacks, and I squeeze my eyes shut when he clicks his tongue. I am not in the wrong. If anyone among us should be sorry, it’s him. But for today, I’ll have to let things slide. I’m not safe here with him. “My name is not Tee. My name is Tessa. Now, let me go.”

Ben steps back so I can pass. “Okay. Go.”

He’s fucking with me. He’s going to hit me from behind, isn’t he?

“You go first,” I whisper.

Hands up in the air, Ben heads in the same direction as my class. I can either follow behind him or do the safest thing by using the backdoors. I wait until he’s out of sight, then run out of the building. I might end up late, but there will be no Ben to scare the shit out of me. I adjust the straps of my backpack and quicken my pace as I round the school building to use the other exit. Most students use the main entrance, but this is what being bullied by the bad boy has led me to.

A figure straightens up when I’m near the corner leading to the back entrance.

It’s him.

Ben’s sadistic smile is the last thing I see before stars dot my vision.

“Shit,” he whispers.

Excruciating pain spreads through my stomach. Did he come out here to wait for me? I double over and collapse to the ground as his footsteps grow closer. I even hear Mom’s voice from this morning screaming at me to eat breakfast before leaving the house. I should have listened to her.

Tears burn the back of my eyes, and my eyelids grow heavier. He hit me. Benjamin Carter hit me because I talked to his kid brother. I have trouble staying awake, so I give in to the darkness.

Eighteen

BEN

“Is she going to be okay?”I ask Nurse Mae.

She kicked me out of the room once Tessa was out of my arms. I sink my fingers into my hair while observing her face for any signs to determine the extent of the damage. Her scowl shows I’m unwelcomed here. The last time Tessa fought with Olivia, I was the one who brought her in. To this day, Olivia still gives me shit for that. Nurse Mae probably thinks I hurt Tessa. Well, I did. But it was an accident. I was waiting for that idiot to show up. For God’s sake, I let her go.

Why did she follow me?

She doesn’t ever listen. She is always running her mouth, showing up where she’s not wanted.

The walls around us seem to close in on me. I flex and unflex the same hand I used to punch her. Fuck. “The sooner you get out of here, boy, the faster I can get to work on her. What happened?”

“She fell and fainted.” It’s half the truth. Nurse Mae eyes me from top to bottom, and the disgust coating her eyes makes me cringe on the inside. I point behind me to the door. “I’ll be outside.”

“Get to class,” she orders.

I’m out of there before she repeats it, not because I’m scared of her, but because I don’t want to be there when Tessa wakes up. Noah is waiting for me outside. I step out, and the bastard laughs at my sulking face. The punch was aimed at him. He lost a bet to me, and now he won’t pay up.

The punch was supposed to be an inspiration, a reminder to always keep his end of the bargain.

“My money,” I say, hand stretched out to him.

Noah slaps five ten-dollar bills on my palm, and I pocket them. Last Friday, we had another bet on what team would win. The idiot was confident we would lose because a teammate was injured. I couldn’t say no to free money. If they won’t let me work, I have to find a way around to make money. Fighting is cool, but the bruises are getting more noticeable. Asher might grow curious.

I pace the front of the clinic. I don’t know why I’m here. No one saw me except Noah, who showed up later, and he won’t tell a soul. I can get away with it, but my feet guide me to the principal’s office. Josef will be pissed, which kind of encourages me to knock once and open the door.

The principal looks up when I open the door. Automatically, he frowns. He’s on a phone call. He wedges the phone between his ear and shoulder and mouths the words, “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“Yes,” I reply, and he waves me off.

I should tell him what I’ve done so I can be adequately punished because it’s only fitting, but he returns to his phone call. My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and sneer at the caller.

Her.

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