Tormented Royal by Lily Wildhart

Chapter Eleven

After a sunshiney start to my day with Indi, literally bouncing our way into school with Midnight Blue blaring through the speakers, my day actually hasn’t been that bad.

The repercussions of the video haven’t been exactly fun, and people around the school have been anything but nice about it. Not that I expected them to be, the entire Cove is full of shrivel-hearted assholes. The fake love notes in my locker ‘from Finley’ have been the highlight for me. Declarations of love for a slut who throws herself at the guy who hates her.

It’s been awesome.

I should’ve ignored it, pushed it down with all of the other shit that’s been bothering me, but I couldn’t help torturing myself by watching it a few times over. Every time I watch it, I can’t help but focus on Finley. He seemed so sincere in the moment, and he even looks it in the video, but I know better than most how good those guys are at wearing a mask.

All things considered, today could have been significantly worse, that much I’m sure of. As much as I’d like to become a wallflower while the boys keep up the tirade of terror, encouraging everyone else to be giant assholes along with them… Well, I know that isn’t going to happen.

Everyone used to assume—and I guess they still do—that I wanted attention, being the daughter of ‘The King.’ I was blasted across the tabloids, and people think that life is all fun and games when you’re in the spotlight like that… Until you get your period without notice and have to hide from the world because you had a moment of actually being human.

I’ve always preferred to fade into the background, which is why I want to open my own record label and just write music. I’d get to do what I love with music without having to be the face that everyone wants to see. I’m very aware of the chaos that comes with fame. Having had more than a little taste of it, I’m beyond over it.

So after a relatively quiet morning when I slide into what I’ve dubbed our table in the cafeteria, and Maverick drops into the seat opposite of me, I am overwhelmingly not prepared.

“Sitting alone, princess?” He reaches over to grab for the garlic bread on my plate, and I slap his hand, making him grin. “Maybe if you were a little nicer to people, you’d have more friends.”

“Maybe if you weren’t such a psychopath, you wouldn’t think that,” I bite back, making his grin widen. “You’re in Indi’s seat.”

At that exact moment, Indi sidles up to the table, eyes wide as Maverick leans over so that he is very much in my space. “We have unfinished business, V. You’ll be seeing me around.”

I roll my eyes. Of course I’m going to see him around. Echoes Cove isn’t big enough for me to avoid him, or I’d have already made that my number one mission.

“You don’t get to call me V,” I tell him as he stands, and an evil glint appears in his eyes, a malicious smile on his face.

He circles to my side of the table, standing behind me and caging me in as he leans over me to whisper into my ear, “You don’t get to tell me what to do. You have no power here, princess. You’d do well to remember that.”

I look up to find a wide-eyed Indi, who stands watching us, fidgeting like she doesn’t know what to say or do. I smile up at her to let her know it's fine, despite his proximity.

He pulls back and saunters away from me, all eyes on him as the whispers start again.

Indi slides into the chair he vacated and drops her tray onto the table. “Do I even want to ask?”

“Probably not.” I take a bite of my pasta, hoping the joy of carbs can take me back to the happy place I was almost in ten minutes ago. I make myself smile up at her because I’m not going to ruin her day too. “How’s your day been?”

“I can’t complain. I saw Blair trip and faceplant into her locker, so that was fun.” She grins wide, and I can’t help but laugh. “I just wish I’d been able to record it so we could bask in the bliss of it together.”

“I’d have paid good money to see that.”

“To see what?” Raleigh asks as he drops into the seat beside me.

“Blair faceplant into her locker,” Indi tells him, practically bouncing in her seat as she takes a bite from her burger. He bursts out laughing, which only makes my smile widen.

“Yup, I’d have paid good money to see that too.” Jackson and some of the other guys on the team join our table, and lunch break passes in the blink of an eye.

When the bell rings, I can’t stop my frown. I am so not ready to go back to class, French might not be one of the classes I’m having issues with, but I'm starting to panic at how behind I’m getting in Business and Statistics. Focusing on those lessons is beyond hard. Paying attention for four lessons in a row isn’t a strong suit of mine. I really do miss my chaos breaks.

“I’ll see you after school?” Indi asks, and I nod.

“Sure thing. You still good to give me a ride?”

“You know it!” She blows me a kiss before scurrying out of the lunchroom and off to class. If I had my car, I might just head out to the beach by my damn self and skip the rest of the day. You know, if that 4.0 GPA wasn’t hanging over my head. I let out a deep breath and grab my bag.

“I’ll walk you to French,” Raleigh says as he waves off his boys. I can’t help but smile. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone as sweet, yet as cocky, as him.

“You totally don’t have to.”

He scoffs and drops his arm around my shoulders. “It’s on my way, and I wanted to talk to you about Friday.”

“About the game?” I ask as we head out of the cafeteria. I can’t help but catch Finley’s eye as we’re walking, and his stare is like a brand on my back as I leave with Raleigh. A part of me wants to shrug off Raleigh’s arm because I don’t want those three going after him too, but I don’t want to cower from them any more than I already have. I hate feeling so weak, especially where they’re concerned.

“Kind of. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out after. Just the two of us…” he trails off as we hit my locker, and I swap my books over.

“You mean like a date?” Color me fucking shocked. I mean, I know he’s been a little tactile, but I figured that was just his way.

“Yeah, I mean like a date.” He hits me with that megawatt smile of his, and I find myself nodding, despite my reservations about going on a date with him. This probably isn’t a good idea, I don’t think him and I will ever work, but one date can’t hurt, right? Maybe I’ll be wrong, and it won’t be so bad.

I can’t help but think this is likely going to piss off the guys even more, but fuck it. That’s their problem, not mine.

“Awesome.” His excitement is contagious, and I find myself smiling up at him before letting him walk me to class.

He kisses my head when he leaves me at the door to French before running off toward his own class when the warning bell sounds. Maybe this isn’t a bad thing… Except I’ve never actually been on a date. The guys I dated before now were all roadies or people I met out on tour, and we hung out on tour, so actual dates weren’t really a thing.

Nerves hit me as I take my seat at the back of the room. This totally isn’t what I had on the cards for this year. It’s just one date, what harm could it do?

* * *

My phone buzzes in my pocket, so I sneak a peek at it while the teacher isn’t looking.

Indi: I am so sorry, but my mom called an SOS. She had a fender bender and needs me to pick her up from the garage. I had to leave early.

Me: Dude, no sweat. I hope your mom is okay, I can get myself home.

Indi: Thank you, I hate letting you down.

Me: You’re not, I have legs and if all else fails, there’s Uber.

Indi: Sorry! I’ll make it up to you.

I can’t help but laugh at her. Not giving me a ride isn’t the end of the world, but her sunshine heart really is just that big. While the thought of walking home doesn’t exactly fill me with joy, things could be much worse.

Then I realize she’s not going to be around for Gym.

Fuck my life.

I groan as the bell rings, knowing I’m going to have to face the bitch squad alone. Here’s hoping that my weirdly quiet day continues. The only hiccup in my whole day was lunch when Maverick joined me uninvited, and I’m hoping that this new turn of events continues.

I pack my shit away and head to the locker room, grabbing my gym uniform on the way.

It’s only once I get to the locker room, and the stares intensify, that I really even notice them. I head to my locker, keeping my head held high. Being the nation’s princess for the majority of my existence taught me a few things, and keeping your head up despite the bullshit is one of them.

I change in silence, double checking the lock on my locker once I’m done before heading out to the gym. I’m practically the first one out of the door, despite being one of the last in.

What the fuck’s happened now?

I head to where East is already talking to a few people and start stretching out. Circuits are killer, but doing this shit is going to get me in better shape than I’ve ever been in before. Mac would be proud.

Thinking of him, I realize I should probably find a self-defense class around here somewhere to keep up on the training I was doing with him before. He’d be so disappointed if he found out I’m slacking, and that is more of a dagger to the gut than I need. He was basically my second dad on tour, disappointing him totally isn’t something I want to do.

I really need to text him back later too.

East blows his whistle, calling my attention back to him, and I stop my stretching. His sadistic grin inspires a little bit of fear to spear through my gut. Circuits are already a bitch without that smile.

“Ladies, since you all enjoyed them so much, we’re going to start today with suicide drills and learn not to fuck with other people’s shit. Am I clear?” He glances over to me. Goddamn, why does he have to be so pretty when he’s going all white knight on me? Those gray eyes of his practically fucking sparkle. I smile down at my shoes as everyone groans.

Serves those assholes right for what they did to my clothes and my car.

I’m not surprised he knows, though I am surprised he’s doing anything about it. Not one other faculty member has even mentioned what happened to me. Though considering Maverick seems to have the principal wrapped around his little finger, I’m not that surprised. That and the sheer amount of money floating around this school is enough to keep any teacher under their thumb.

East blows his whistle again and starts the drills. Personally, I have zero issue with them. I mean they fuck my shit up, but I like running, so it's not exactly a hardship. The other circuit shit is worse for me.

He keeps running us until half the class looks like they’re going to pass out. I can’t even laugh because I’m so freaking out of breath, but it’s such a good feeling seeing the others so fucked up that I’m not sad about it. Not even a little.

East blows that fucking whistle of his again, his sadistic grin still in place. “Get your asses up off the floor, we’re not done yet. Start your circuits; and if I see anyone slacking, I’ll keep you extra long!”

I laugh under my breath and head toward one of the empty circuit points, smiling at East as I do. My foot suddenly catches on someone else’s ankle, and I trip and fall, barely managing to catch myself without smashing my face on the hard, wood floor. I may have saved my face, but my knees are fucked.

I turn to see one of the bitch squad, whose name I literally haven’t cared to learn, snickering as she skips away from me like she didn’t just trip me. “You stupid bitch!”

I push myself to my feet and go to charge her, finally seeing red because today was a good day, goddammit. An arm wraps around my waist, and I’m literally lifted off of my feet. “Calm down, V. She’s not worth it.” East plants me back on the floor, pointing in the other direction. “Serena, detention tonight.”

“Sounds fun, sir,” she flirts, fluttering her lashes, and I almost want to be sick when East smiles back at her.

“I didn’t say it was with me, did I? Detention tonight is with Mr. Avery. Have fun with that.”

I burst out laughing because Mr. Avery has some serious hygiene issues and is more than a little bit of a creep. Obviously he wouldn’t do anything to her, but just the thought of detention with him is enough to make her almost cry. She stomps her foot as East turns his back on her before blowing his whistle again. “Circuits!”

This time when he yells the word, I don’t even care. I’ll do all the circuits in the world if it means she has to suffer.

* * *

I practically bounce through the halls after class. Gym wasn’t exactly fun, but seeing someone in this school finally getting punished for being a giant bag of ass has me all kinds of gleeful.

Even the fact that I have to walk home doesn’t get me down. The sun is shining, the sky is clear, and today might just have been the best day I’ve had since being forced back to this horror show town.

I make my way through the parking lot, slipping my aviators on, when a white Mustang pulls up beside me, the roof retracting. “Need a ride, V?”

I smile at East, who looks way less like a teacher right now with his backward cap and his sunglasses. He’s rocking that whole hot as fuck college frat boy vibe with his music blaring from the car. “I’m not going to say no if you’re heading straight home?”

I can practically feel eyes on me as I walk around his car, dropping my bags on the back seat before climbing in. Maybe I should feel a little more wary of him, considering how his brother has treated me since I got here, but I’m not about to hold him accountable for Lincoln. That would just be a shitty thing to do.

“Yeah, I’m heading straight home. Buckle up.” I do as he says while he grins wide at me, and as soon as I’m secure, he peels from the lot so fast that my head shoots back against the headrest. A laugh rips from me at the exhilaration that comes from the speed. He drives like he’s a street racer, but he seems so confident and at ease that I don’t panic at all.

I enjoy the thrill as he drives through the town, the disapproving glances bounce off him like water off a duck’s back, and it is so refreshing. I’m almost disappointed when we pull up to the gates in front of my house. “Thanks for the ride.”

“A gentleman doesn’t drop a lady at the gates,” he says, wagging his eyebrows. “Drop the code in. I need to see Smithy about some cake anyway.”

“You and your cake,” I say, shaking my head as I have to almost crawl over his lap so I can key the code to the gate. I can feel his breath on my neck as I reach out to the box, realizing I should have just given him the stupid code. The tension ramps up by about three thousand degrees when I realize just how close my hand is to his dick as I lean on his thigh.

I shift back, accidentally brushing my hand against it and gasp, looking up at him with wide eyes as my heart races. Part of me wants to lean in and kiss him, but the other part, the part who doesn’t want to be rejected by him, freezes. His eyes are hooded as he stares down at me, and I can’t breathe. His face is so close to mine, and he leans in further just as the gate groans open.

The noise seems to pull him back to reality, and he jerks back. The moment is shattered, and I hurry back to my seat. Heat creeps up my chest as I blush. East might have featured heavily in my fantasies for as long as I can remember, but I’ve never considered that he’d feel like that too. And well… I wasn’t imagining the fact that he nearly kissed me just then.

Was I?

When we reach the house, Smithy is already at the door waiting for us.

“Good afternoon, Miss Octavia. Master Saint, it is wonderful to see you again.” I beam at him as I jump out of the car. East struts around to my side, grabbing my bags before I get a chance to.

“Smithy, my man! How are you doing?” East hugs Smithy, who looks almost relieved to see my old friend.

“Fine, thank you, Master Saint. Are you joining us for dinner this evening?” Smithy looks so hopeful that when East glances back at me, I just shrug. Who am I to say no? East has been nothing but my white knight since I got back. I have zero issues with him. If he wants to stay for dinner, it doesn’t bother me at all. We head inside, and East finally gives my bags back to me.

“Sounds good to me, Smithy! Now… let’s talk about cake.” I laugh as Smithy leads East to the kitchen as I head to the laundry to dump my gym stuff. I wait for the light to flicker on, trying not to shudder at the thought of entering the small dark room.

You’d think life on a tour bus would’ve forced me to get over my issues with small dark spaces, but even the small bunk couldn’t cure me. After being trapped in my closet for almost a whole day when I was younger, the fear manifested, and I’ve never really gotten over it. Dad felt so bad when he finally found me. He was at work when there was a smaller earthquake and my dresser fell in front of the doors after I hid.

It was the first time I experienced an earthquake, and they still make me almost shit my pants. Though not quite as much as small dark spaces. I shudder just thinking about it. No thank you.

I empty my gym clothes into the hamper and then head upstairs to change. It doesn’t take me too long. I don’t ever really obsess about how I look, so leggings and a hoodie with messy hair is absolutely my go-to. By the time I get back downstairs, Smithy already has a milkshake for me on the counter, and East is halfway through the one in his hand. “Making yourself at home, I see.”

He grins over at me before taking another sip of his milkshake. “If Smithy makes you these every day, I might never leave.”

I climb onto a stool at the counter, and somehow he still towers over me. What the fuck are they feeding people here, super grow Wheaties? “I mean, you’re only next door. It’s not like you’re exactly far away, is it?”

“This is very true. Smithy, one of these days I’ll convince you to jump the fence and come live with us.” Smithy scoffs at his words and shakes his head.

“Very unlikely, Master Saint. Then who would look out for Miss Octavia?” He smiles warmly at me as I take a sip of my milkshake. “But, as long as you treat her well, you will always find a milkshake here for you. Now then, if you two want to go get comfortable, I’ll start dinner.”

“What are we eating?” I ask as I jump from my seat.

“My main man Smithy is making homemade pizza,” East says with a grin as Smithy shoos us from the kitchen, and I blow the old man a kiss. My love for pizza knows no bounds. I could literally eat it every day and not get tired of it.

I head into the lounge with East and drop onto one one of the sofas. “Movie?”

He sits on the sofa with me and makes himself comfortable. “Sounds good to me. Anything in mind?”

“There’s that new one out about fighting a war in the future…” I offer with a small shrug. Why does this feel awkward all of a sudden?

“Action movie. Girl after my own heart. Glad to see that much hasn’t changed.” His smile is sad, and I get the feeling that I’m missing something. I have no fucking clue what, though, so I put the movie on and settle in.

The uncomfortable feeling leaves once we get into the movie. I’d almost forgotten how alike East and I can be. While Lincoln was always my savior in the shadows, the dark protector, East was the sunshine on a cloudy day. It’s funny to me that East is the older of the two when Lincoln has always acted like the eldest.

Smithy joins us once he brings the pizzas in, and it warms my heart to have him back in my life so much. I missed him when I was gone, even if I did have Mac and Dad. There’s no one quite like Smithy.

Time passes in a blur as we eat and watch the movie, and once it’s over, Smithy makes his excuses to disappear. Not that I blame him, he has his own life to be getting on with, rather than spending all of his time with me. I hope he does anyway. The thought that he’s putting his life on pause for me doesn’t exactly fill me with joy.

“I should probably head back before the world implodes,” East says once Smithy has left. He stands and his t-shirt rides up, giving me a glimpse of his abs and that freaking ‘V’ making me want to groan. Goddamn. “Do you need a ride in the morning?”

“No, I should be good. Indi will be back to playing chauffeur tomorrow. She just had to go rescue her mom tonight, but thank you.” I stand and stretch out as I yawn. Apparently, I’m more tired than I thought.

I walk him out, and as he stoops to slide his shoes back on, he picks up the black envelope on the mail table. “What’s this?”

“Just some stupid charity gala invite. I’m surprised you guys didn’t get one too.” I shrug and lean on the wall as he drops it back on the table and turns his attention back to his shoes.

“You going?” he asks, eyebrows raised as he slips the shoes on and leans down to tie them.

“What do you think?” My sarcasm is on fire, and he just starts laughing.

“Fair point. Octavia Royal and charity galas don’t go hand in hand. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

I roll my eyes at him as I usher him out of the door. “You’ll see me in Gym, unless you plan on quitting anytime soon. You having that job still seems so weird to me.”

A look of guilt flashes across his face, and he runs his hand through his hair. Weird. “Nope, no quitting till Lincoln can escape.”

He jogs down the steps and jumps back into his car, driving off with a wave before I shut the door. This has been the strangest fucking day, but I’m too tired to try and dissect it. I call out a good night to Smithy before heading upstairs.

The door to the balcony is open, which is unusual, but I guess Smithy has been in here cleaning. I shut the room up and climb into bed, shutting off the light. The moon shines in from the windows, still lighting the room enough that the darkness doesn’t make my heart race. Thinking about being trapped always puts me on edge in the dark.

I close my eyes and try to unwind, and just as I start to drift sleep I hear soft music coming from outside, I can’t tell if its from next door or downstairs, but I know those chords, those lyrics, anywhere. It’s one of my dad’s songs. Just like that, my good mood disappears, and I drift to sleep with tears slipping down my face.