Breaking Her Bad by Michelle Mankin

 

 

 

 

 

Claire

I arrived first at lunch and was already seated at a table when Missy joined me and slid her tray beside mine. When Chad arrived a few moments later and sat on the other side of her, they started talking about Randy.

Apparently, he was from a wealthy family and had been a big deal in football until he failed a drug test. None of what they talked about surprised me. Randy gave off a vibe like Vance from my old school. In other words, Randy was an entitled jerk. Zip codes didn’t matter—here or there, those kinds of guys were all the same. I wondered why Kyle hung out with him.

Kyle. Kyle. Kyle.

My heart pounded hard against my ribs. I’d seen him several times throughout the morning. Each time he caught me eyeing him, he’d clenched his hands into fists and looked away.

I didn’t understand it. He was the one who had lied, and he’d disrespected me in front of everyone. What had I done to make him angry?

“Holy shit!” Chad said, and I quickly refocused.

“What is it?” Missy asked.

Chad shushed us. “Don’t make it obvious you’re looking. But glance over at the lunch line and check out Randy.”

Missy widened her eyes, finding him before I did. “Whoa.”

“Oh my.” My eyes rounded as I noted Randy’s swollen eye and busted, bleeding lip.

Missy glanced at us. “What’s he going to eat with his mouth like that?”

“Something liquid he can slurp through a straw.” Chad shrugged. “Serves him right. The guy’s a total and complete asshole.”

“Kyle was on a liquid diet after Strader’s guys worked him over.” Missy pursed her lips. “Someone sure schooled Randy, but at least they didn’t break his leg.”

“Kyle had his leg broken?” Feeling sick, I put my hand on her arm. “Why? When? And who is Strader?”

“A couple of guys jumped Kyle for dealing drugs in Lakeside the night he was with you, honey. One broke Kyle’s leg with a bat.” Missy shook her head sadly. “Strader is their boss. His territory is Lakeside. But according to Kyle’s boss, that territory is in dispute.”

“Kyle doesn’t look like a guy who had his leg broken recently,” I whispered.

“Kyle is tough as shit. But when Skellin says jump, Kyle jumps.”

“Why doesn’t he just say no?” I asked.

“Are you kidding?” She lifted a brow. “No one says no to a guy like Skellin. Kyle does what his boss tells him to, or he suffers consequences like he did the night Strader’s guys got him. He should’ve hightailed it back to Southside after taking care of business.”

“How do you know so much about what’s going on with Kyle?” Chad asked, his gaze narrowing.

“You know I’ve worked for him in the past,” she said. “I’ve been up front with you.”

“I thought you stopped working for him when you got the job at Janet’s Design.” Looking green, Chad pushed his tray of food away.

Missy drew in a sharp breath. “Not that type of work. It’s something different this time.”

“Bullshit.” Chad stood abruptly. “I’m going to the gym.”

Missy turned her head to watch him, her eyes filling as he strode angrily away. “Case in point, as if I could forget,” she mumbled, watching him. “Nice and bad should never mix.”

I could barely hear her over the roaring in my ears.

Kyle had been beaten badly after he was with me. I broke out into a cold sweat imagining it. But through the noise, something stuck out. The same thing that bothered Chad.

“How well do you know Kyle?” I asked Missy.

“I’ve known him for a while. I go to parties at his apartment. I work for him.” She slowly turned to fully face me. “And I hear stuff when I’m around.”

That was all very vague, and her tone was as unsettling as her expression. “What exactly does working for him involve?”

“Don’t ask me that, Claire.”

I closed my eyes, but that only made me more vividly imagine Kyle and Missy together.

The few bites of the mystery-meat burger I’d eaten before Missy arrived lurched to the top of my throat as I remembered Kyle telling me he wasn’t serious with anyone, but he wasn’t inexperienced. Neither was Missy, for sure. But I was, disappointingly so.

I reopened my eyes. “You had sex with Kyle.”

“I’m sorry. Claire.” Missy reached for my hand, and when I yanked it back, she looked hurt. “Remember, I didn’t know you then.”

“Right. Of course,” I said dully, staring down at my lap. “And there’s not even anything between Kyle and me anymore.”

That wasn’t quite true. If it were, then why did my insides feel like they’d been hollowed out by a sharp knife? Missy was beautiful, and she’d known Kyle a while. Had sex with him often, almost surely. I’d only had him one night. I was just a hookup. Afterward, it was only my bracelet that he cared about.

“Hey.” She touched my shoulder. “There’s nothing I can do to take back what’s already been done. If I could, I would.” She bit down on her lip. “You believe me. Right?”

Nodding slowly, I said, “Yeah, I believe you.”

“Are we still friends?” she whispered.

“Yes.” But I couldn’t look at her without hurting. “I can’t talk about this with you right now. I need a moment by myself to process.” Standing, I climbed shakily over the bench.

Missy shifted on the bench, giving me a sad look. “I don’t know if being alone is a good idea for you right now.”

“I’ll be all right.” Good idea or not, it was necessary.

Glancing around for someplace private to retreat to, I saw Kyle on the other side of the cafeteria. His wide shoulders were pressed against the cinderblock wall behind him, his long denim-clad legs crossed at the ankles.

Even though I was upset about him, I wanted to throw myself into his strong, comforting arms and have him hold me. How messed up was that?

Sadly, I knew the answer.

Holding me captive with his gaze, Kyle brought a lit cigarette to his mouth. There was no smoking inside the school. He was going to get into trouble, but he probably didn’t care.

Kyle is tough as shit.

He was, without a doubt. He’d been severely beaten. Survived in Southside with no parents. Won a fight against a guy with a blade.

But what was I? An odd rich girl so weak and sad, I could barely keep my head above water. So inexperienced, I couldn’t even tempt a drug dealer for a second night in my bed.

Smoke swirled around Kyle, and I couldn’t look away. My stomach fluttered as I watched his lips close around his cigarette.

Oh, those warm, firm lips of his.

My mind spun with all I’d learned and all that I remembered. I’d begged him to stay in Lakeside with me that night. He could have left, and he should have after doing Martin’s bidding, according to Missy.

Why didn’t he?

Kyle exhaled twin streams of smoke from his nostrils. The smoke rose, forming a screen between us.

Released from the intensity of his gaze, I was able to look away. I needed somewhere to think. Only there was no treehouse, no Kyle as my dark prince to rescue me, and his arms were no longer a refuge. There was only harsh reality that I had to figure out on my own how to navigate.

I could think of only one place to go.