Page 56 of Bully Roommate

Maverick laid on his back and patted his chest for me to lay on him.

“So,” I said. “Classes going good?”

He shrugged, running his fingers across my hip and down to my thigh. “They’re okay. I hate English. I hate writing my feelings, it’s not my thing.”

“I never would have guessed,” I laughed.

He huffed, and maneuvered his fingers against my back, freezing when he ran the pad of them across one of my scars. “What’s this?”

I swallowed the dread of him seeing it or ever asking me about it. That day, I’d never forget, because I’d cried my eyes out in our backyard before sneaking up to my room.

Maverick did that to me, and I was certain he didn’t remember any of it.

The only party I attended in high school was my sophomore year at a rundown barn in the middle of nowhere. The kids would throw them often during football season with loud music, underage drinking, and stupid boys teasing the bull in the connecting field.

Haley, my only friend sophomore year, begged me to go, and even though I knew Maverick would be there, I reluctantly agreed. Maybe I could stay clear of him.

“Josie!” Haley yelled dragging me to the rundown barn. “I’m so excited you finally came.”

I smiled weakly, tugging at the jean skirt she suggested I wear, and retying the braid on my right shoulder. “I don’t know,” I whispered. “What if he—,”

“Oh,” she said, waving me off. “He is with Janey Simmons, he’ll be too busy banging her against some tree to think about you.”

I wished that was the case, but it wasn’t. It never was the case. Haley introduced me to some classmates I’d known since grade school, but since I’d been secluded into my shell over the last few years, everyone seemed to have forgotten me.

I found myself nursing a hot beer in the corner, watching Haley dance, while I searched the barn for him because once I did see him, I had to leave. My shoulders relaxed when eleven rolled around and he hadn’t shown up.

Maybe he isn’t coming.

Haley finally dragged me to the dance floor, where I let myself dance with some freshman who wore a Dragon Ball Z t-shirt. I didn’t care, it felt nice to let go for once. After thirty minutes, I went on a search for water, finding a lone bottle at the bottom of one of the random coolers.

I guzzled half of it down and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. My gaze wandered around the party, stopping when I noticed a group of guys at the entrance. Even though kids stood in our way, Maverick’s gaze lingered on mine from across the space.

Panic took over, and I slid my hand into my pocket to double-check for my keys and dashed toward the EXIT. The hot summer night pricked my skin, forming sweat against my forehead.

I just need to get out of here.

The glory was short-lived. I went to take another racy step toward my car when someone pushed me against the barn. Pain traveled from my back and blinded me for what seemed like minutes.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Maverick whispered. His proximity sent red flags up and down my spine.I need to leave.“I told you no one wanted you here,” he spat. His mouth hovered over mine while his palm tightened against my upper arm.

“Let me go,” I whispered, tears brimming the corners of my eyes.

Part of me wanted to believe the look in his eyes was pity—regret—but when he snickered, I knew it wasn’t. “If you show up here again, you’ll regret it. You think this is bad,” he whispered. “I’ll show you what I want to do to you if you come back.”

What did he want to do to me? Hurt me? Put me in the hospital?I couldn’t imagine anything worse than the pain he’d inflicted on me over the years. Maverick’s eyes traveled down to the blue jean skirt I wore, and emotions traveled over his face.

Ones I couldn’t decipher. They didn’t last long, because before I had a chance to plan my escape, he grabbed the hem at the front of my skirt and ripped it. “No one wants to see you in that, don’t ever wear it again.”

It wasn’t my skirt. It was Haley’s. She knew he bullied me, but not all of it. How could I explain that to anyone? No one else would believe me. Why would they? Everyone loved the King of campus.

I opened my mouth to speak but he pressed me harder into the barn wall, and I felt blood began to trail down my back. When he let me go, I jerked away, whatever pierced my back scraped along my skin.

I stumbled over the grassy field, glancing over my shoulder as he watched me. His fists opened and closed at his sides, and his eyes tore daggers into my soul. I hated Maverick Booker and I wished he’d never moved and ruined my life.

“It’s nothing,” I whispered.

Maverick sat me up and stared at me deeply. “What is it, Josie?” I hadn’t realized tears escaped my eyes. “What—,” he stopped, realization washed over him. “I did this to you?”

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