Tormented Royal by Lily Wildhart
Chapter Five
Feeling much lighter than I did last night, I practically bounce out of the pool house and over to the main house for breakfast. Nothing will bring down my mood this morning. Not even my dream about Lincoln. I’m marking that down in the ‘going back to the old house and shaking up my memories of a time lost to the past’ column and leaving it there.
I smile at Pattie as I skip through the kitchen, beyond happy to find I’m the first one here for breakfast. I pile up my plate with all of the breakfast goodness I can manage and dive in. Patti and her cooking skills are pretty much the only good things that came from being at the McMansion.
I eat happily until my phone buzzes. I pull it out of my pocket, smiling when I see Indi’s name popping up in the notifications.
Indi: Need a ride? I can swing by and grab you.
Me: That would be amazing. I’m at the house of horrors rather than where you dropped me yesterday though.
Indi: LOL! That’s fine, I remember where that is. I’ll swing by in 15?
Me: Sounds good. I’ll be ready
Indi: See you soon!
I take a bite of my toast and slam back the last of my coffee before jumping up from the table and escaping the McMansion without a run-in with my so-called family. Thank God. I change out of my pajamas and into my uniform, and despite hating this ridiculous outfit, it doesn’t put a damper on my day.
I pull my hair back into a high ponytail. It’s a little messy, with tendrils of hair surrounding my face, but I kinda like it, so I leave it as it is. I finish my look with eyeliner and a swipe of mascara, then slip on a pair of black Louboutin heels. I might usually be a Chucks kind of girl, but today feels like the kind of day where I’m going to need the boost these shoes give me. I grab my bag and dash out the front in time to see Indi pulling up the drive.
“Morningggg!” Indi grins at me like the alt sunshine child that she is as I jump into the Wrangler. She turns down the Midnight Blue blasting through her speakers as I buckle up, and she peels away from the McMansion like zombies are chasing us. I can’t help but laugh at her, and she chuckles along next to me. She slows once we reach the main intersection before looking over at me. “Coffee?”
“Hell yes. There could never be enough coffee in my system to deal with going back to this hellhole of a school.” She laughs, turning away from the direction of school and swinging into the drive-thru at the closest Starbucks.
“How was visiting your old place last night?” she asks, and I grin so freaking wide.
“Well, it turns out my old place is my new place. Long story short, my family are assholes and wanted access to my dad’s money, which is the only reason I was apparently ever with them.”
“Wait, don’t they have enough of their own?” she asks, eyes wide, and I shrug.
“I thought so, but there’s no such thing as too much with people like them. Either way, it turns out my house manager, Smithy, was also in my dad’s will as a legal guardian, so this bitch is escaping the house of horrors and going home. Also, before I forget, you’re invited over for dinner tonight—Smithy insisted. He’ll be serving up some mac and cheese goodness.”
She goes to answer when the speaker box crackles outside her window. “Good morning! Thank you for choosing Starbucks; what can I get started for you?”
“Peppermint Mocha Frappe with extra cookie crumble, extra whip cream, and mocha drizzle,” she says into the box, before turning back to me and laughing when she sees the look on my face. “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. What do you want?”
“I’ll just take a cold brew with mocha and almond milk,” I tell her, reeling off the floofiest drink on my personal coffee menu. It’s too goddamn warm for hot coffee right now, and I know if I have her sugary drink, I’ll crash before lunch.
Once we get our drinks, she cranks up the latest Midnight Blue release and we sing at the top of our lungs until we pull into the parking lot at school. I smile when I see Raleigh and his friends standing near the steps up to the school, and we head straight for them.
“Octavia, hey!” Raleigh calls out, and I smile at him. I loop my arm through Indi’s, practically dragging her along with me.
“Hey, guys,” I offer with a smile, and Indi gives them all a small awkward wave. Oh my God, she’s the cutest. I love her so much, and it’s only been a day.
“I hear you guys are coming to my party this Friday?” one of the guys says, beaming at us with a classic puppy dog smile.
“If you’re Jackson, then you’d be right.”
He clasps his chest, acting like a swooning heroine from some fifties movie. “The girl doesn’t even know who I am, my poor little heart.”
I can’t help but laugh at him as Indi giggles at my side. The girl fucking giggles. She must be downright smitten.
Raleigh drops an arm around my shoulder and puffs out his chest. “She doesn’t need to know your name, bro, she already knows mine.”
Jackson pulls a face, and Raleigh removes his arm from my shoulder before lunging at him. They start wrestling and laughing, so we say our goodbyes and head inside to our lockers. I drop off most of my books, only keeping what I need for English, and groaning at the thought of repeating the day I had yesterday. The monotonous schedule is one thing I didn’t miss about traditional schooling. On the road, my tutor would change up what we did each day, because ya know, variety is the spice of life. The thought of having the same lessons at the same time every single day makes my little black heart shrivel some more. I’m just hoping that today I can focus enough to take notes at least. Hopefully I’ll actually even learn something. The only classes that I feel confident about are English and French, because languages have always come easy to me. Music would usually be on that list, but right now, the thought of playing or singing makes me want to die a little.
“You ready for another bright and sunny day at Echoes Cove Prep?” Indi asks, shoving her head in her locker like she’s trying to disappear into it.
“Oh yeah, it should be joyous,” I quip, wishing I could disappear too. If she has a portal to Narnia in there, she better not be fucking keeping it from me.
“Whore,” one guy coughs as he passes, and I flip him the bird as his friends laugh like he’s just told the world’s funniest joke. It’s good to see that the delights of yesterday are going to continue today.
I need way more coffee than I’ve already had this morning if I’m expected to actually deal with this shit. If I make it through the day without being arrested, it’ll be a good day.
* * *
English was a breeze. A debate with Ms. Summers about which main character from all of the books on our list fit best into the stereotype of a Byronic hero got my day off to a stellar start. Obviously I chose Heathcliff because well… duh. It’s freaking Heathcliff.
I didn’t even have time to care about Blair and her bitch squad being catty the entire class. Though, knowing I’ll be moving out of her house at the end of the week is definitely keeping my mood nice and breezy.
My entire day is going great until I find myself sitting in Business class, the not-so-proud co-owner of a project with Lincoln fucking Saint… A project that’s going to last the entire fucking semester and make up nearly half of our grade.
Fuck my actual life.
The lesson draws to a close, and I escape to Music without incident. I might need to work with Lincoln on the project, but I’m just stubborn enough that I’m positive I can do it without actually speaking to him.
I slide into the back of the music room, just the same as yesterday. This lesson is a refuge as much as it’s a waking nightmare. None of the assholes haunting my life are in this class. In fact, the only person I know here is Raleigh. The problem is that everything about this lesson reminds me of my dad.
Miss Celine flounces into the room, her scarf waving behind her as she flourishes her arms to bring the chatter to an end. “Morning, everyone, I hope you’re ready for the day! I’ve done some thinking after we finished the vocal seating assignment yesterday, and I couldn’t help but reflect on the skill level of this group in particular. I want to challenge you, so I’ve decided that a solo will be required from each of you. The solos will be performed at the end of the semester, and I’d like it to be an original piece. You are permitted to work with another on the composition if you don’t have the skill to play an instrument yourself, but you will each be required to perform a solo performance.”
I fight the simultaneous urges to groan and pull out my hair. There goes my refuge. This class was meant to be easy. I mean, it's not like I got a choice with the class since my schedule was picked by my guardian. I know Smithy didn’t mean anything by it, so I can’t hold it against him… But fuck.
It’s not that the project will be hard. I literally spent as much time composing music as I did studying when I was growing up. The problem is that I haven’t been able to play, or even really sing, since my dad died.
I got through the last class by the skin of my teeth. I only had to sing one solo line and mumbled through the rest, and I handled that okay. It’s just that I totally hid in the bathroom for ten minutes after that, trying to pull myself out of the dark hole that threatened to consume me from the inside out.
Everyone says that senior year is meant to be one of the best years of your life. I dare those fuckers, whoever they are, to live through the past few months of my life and tell me it’s the best time ever.
“The music rooms will be open to you before the day begins, during lunch, and for an hour and a half once the school day is over. Use your time wisely. Now, let’s warm up!” She turns on the music system, and I can’t help but grin at the song that blasts through—“She’s So Gone” by Naomi Scott. I’d be totally lying if I said this song didn’t feature heavily in my early teen years.
Miss Celine blushes a little before shrugging. “You guys probably know the words, so let’s do this.”
The words wash over me in a wave, and I remember the time I sang this with Dad’s band before one of his shows. It was my first arena performance, and I was hyped for weeks after it. I’ve never been one for performing publicly, but that performance was what solidified my desire to work in the music business. I just wanted it to be in a different way from my dad.
Music has always been a higher power of sorts for me. There’s something about a song that can say more with a few words than I could ever manage in an essay.
I take a deep breath when the song reaches the chorus, singing along quietly. It’s not really a quiet kind of song, but I don’t have it in me to belt it like it deserves. As sad as I am, the song is still too fun to not get lost in it, so I manage to lose myself just a little. When the music wraps up, Miss Celine splits us into groups. I end up paired with Raleigh, and he saunters over to the back corner where I’ve been hiding all class long.
“I did not expect the QB to be a singer,” I tease as he takes the seat beside me.
He grins at me before twisting his chair so he can face me with ease. “There’s a lot more to me than being a QB.”
“I have no doubt. You seem like the white knight type,” I say with an easy laugh, and he brushes off the backhanded compliment, completely unfazed.
“I might have something of a hero complex, but only when it’s needed. I’m all about independent women owning their shit.” His grin widens, and I can’t help but laugh at him. He really is something else. “As for singing, my grandma was a singer. She used to have me singing blues with her as a kid, and I’ve loved it ever since. This was a just-for-fun class for me this year. I don’t need the art credits or anything.”
“An overachiever too, I see.”
“I do like to excel at everything I do.” He flexes his arms as he talks, wagging his eyebrows in an over exaggerated sort of way, making me laugh once more. “Speaking of, you should come to our first game. We’re playing the Asheville Allstars. The guys there can be total douchebags, but I have a feeling we’re going to fucking annihilate them this year.”
“When’s the game?”
“Next week.”
“I’ll be there! I’m sure Indi will come with me, and I hope like hell she has a better understanding of football than me. Otherwise, we’re going to end up cheering for the wrong team. Either way, we’ll definitely be there!” He looks horrified at the thought, which only makes it that much more comical.
“Don’t worry,” he says, nodding sagely as he pats my arm, “I’ll make sure to give you an idiot’s guide at the party this weekend.”
“You usually spend time at parties explaining football to girls?” I ask, an eyebrow raised.
His shit-eating smile is back as he pretends to dust off his shoulders. “Nah, I don’t usually have to flex that hard.”
“You’re such a jock!” I tease, throwing my pen at him.
“I’ll show you how much of a jock I’m not. Come on,” he says as he stands, offering me his hand. This is the most fun I’ve had inside these walls, so I place my hand in his and let him lead me from the room. He pulls me inside one of the other music rooms a few doors down, and I crane my neck while I look around. The ceiling is ridiculously high and one of the walls is fully glass, looking out over the field at the side of the school. A lone piano sits in the corner of the room near the windows, and he takes a seat, clearing his throat before placing his fingers on the ivory.
A lump threatens to choke me as he starts to play a haunting melody, and then… it hits me. It’s a remix of one of Dad’s songs. I go to stop him, but he opens his mouth, and I’m struck fucking stupid.
The boy can sing.
How does he get to look and sound like sin?
He sings the entire song, with so much passion and emotion that I feel a tear trickle down my cheek—I’ve not listened to any of Dad’s songs since his death, and I can’t lock my emotions down. I swipe it away quickly, not wanting him to see just how affected I am. “That was amazing.”
My voice is scratchy as fuck, and it’s instantly obvious that I didn’t hide my sadness well because he jumps up and rushes over to wrap me in the biggest hug I’ve had in months. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“It’s okay, it’s all just kind of… raw still,” I murmur, enjoying the feeling of being wrapped in his arms. It’s rare that I take comfort from people I don’t really know, but there’s just something about him that tears down all of my carefully constructed walls.
“This looks cozy.” My spine goes rigid at the voice, and dread pools in my stomach with his presence. I pull back from Raleigh at the words and turn to find Maverick standing in the open doorway.
“What is it to you, Riley?” Raleigh snaps at him, keeping his arm hooked over my shoulder.
Maverick’s dark hair falls into his brown eyes as he smirks at Raleigh in that ruthless, malicious way he has. It’s like every super villain's smile you see on the TV. He somehow seems fucking lethal with just a goddamn smile. “She’s off-limits.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Raleigh says, maneuvering himself so he’s standing just in front of me. Maverick saunters forward until he's toe-to-toe with Raleigh, crazy-bastard vibes rolling from him.
“You should leave now, quarterback, or I’ll end your promising career before it begins.” He stays in Raleigh’s space, and I watch as Raleigh pales. Maverick pushes him, hard enough to make him stumble. He shrinks back from Maverick, who grins wickedly before turning his focus to me. He steps toward me, and I hate that I falter, that I take a step back. The smile on his face grows until he has me pushed against a wall.
“You won’t get away with this,” Raleigh hisses.
“Oh really? Who’s going to do anything about it? You?” Mav taunts him without taking his eyes from me, and I shrink under his intense gaze.
“Yeah, I am,” Raleigh says, but what he thinks he’s going to achieve other than pissing Maverick off is beyond me.
Mav grins that ruthless smile down at me, ignoring Raleigh entirely.
“You can’t do this,” I stammer, looking around for Raleigh, but I can’t see him. I hope to God he’s gone to get a teacher.
“Can’t do what, princess? Talk to you? Get in your space? Declare you off-limits?”
“Any of it!” The words fall from my lips in a rush, and I clench my fists, digging my nails into my palms in a desperate attempt to center myself. I hate how easily he can make me feel so small. He puts one hand on the wall just by my head, and reaches behind him with the other. When he brings it back, he has a knife in his hand.
A fucking knife.
He presses the blade against my throat, and I swear my heart stops. I can’t even breathe with the cold, sharp metal pressing into my skin.
“Your pupils dilate so pretty,” he murmurs as he pushes the blade harder, and I wince at the bite against my skin.
“You can’t do this,” I say again, my voice shaking despite my paralyzed state.
“Are you going to stop me? Are you going to fight me? Poor lost little princess. Sad little princess. Everyone would believe it was you if I slit your wrists and walked away, wouldn’t they? The apple never falls far from the tree.”
I look up into his eyes, and the delight in them as he stares down at me makes my blood run cold. “Please, Maverick.”
I hate that I’m begging him, but I don’t know just how far he’s willing to push this. I’ve only been this scared a few times before in my entire life, and each time, I froze.
“That’s it, beg me like the pathetic dog that you are.” He sneers at me as he drags the knife down from my neck to my chest, cutting the skin as he goes. I can’t help but hiss at the sting of the blade as it makes the shallow cut. “You sure make pretty sounds for me, little slut. Make some more.”
I cry out as he cuts through my shirt, drawing blood as he goes, until the blade is at my navel. He removes it, and I almost sigh in relief until he places it against my thigh and draws it higher until it’s at my panties. He breathes in deeply with his nose against my neck before rolling his tongue over the skin he cut.
“I bet you’re wet aren’t you, whore? I bet being fucked by my knife wouldn’t even be the most fucked up thing you’ve done. I’d put money on you enjoying it too. I bet I could get you off with just my knife, couldn’t I? Look at how hard your nipples are. Pebbling under my touch like a whore begging for more. I bet if I pushed my fingers past your panties you’d be wet, wouldn’t you? Fucking pathetic. You’re nothing but trash.”
“N…n…no.”
“You really think you get to tell me no?” He quirks his brow and pushes the cold metal harder against my skin, and I squeak again. I hate how small he makes me feel. I flinch as he brings his face close to mine, almost nose to nose. I turn my face to the side, closing my eyes, praying he got what he came here for because I’m not sure I can take much more.
“Off. Fucking. Limits, Octavia. You’ve been warned.”
He pushes off the wall and walks away without another word. My misery is burned away by my fiery fucking rage. My hands shake, and I feel warm from the flush on my face. How dare he do that shit, say that like he owns me? Shame, embarrassment, and anger flood my veins. He has no fucking right, and no reason either. I haven’t done anything to him.
The boy I once knew is definitely no more, in his place is a psychotic savage of a man. I already know there will be no reasoning with him. He’s become the honed weapon his father always seemed to want him to be.
I’ll give him fucking off-limits.
I clutch my shirt to my chest and send Indi a message with an SOS for yet another shirt. I need to clean up this blood too. Fucking Maverick Riley.
I curse myself for not finding this rage when he was here. Next time, I promise myself I’ll be stronger.
Next time… because I already know that this won’t be the end of it.
* * *
My rage stays with me all fucking day, like a close friend keeping me warm, with that cold, slimy shame lying just beneath it. Raleigh did eventually come back with a teacher but Maverick was long gone, and Indi had already saved the day with a new shirt, thankfully I managed to clean up the majority of the blood with the neckerchief.
I scurried off with Indi after reassuring them both I was okay. She didn’t ask questions, just helped me out, and I’m glad. Because reliving what happened isn’t something I want to do. The shame of enjoying what happened, having him pressed up against me, that his words sparked something primal in me, is still too raw.
Raleigh didn’t seem to put much stock in Maverick’s words, but I know that those three assholes hold more power here than people let on. They rule this fucking place with an iron fist.
That much has been drilled into me time and again.
It was more than apparent at lunch that Maverick’s decree had been heard when even Jackson refused to meet my eyes. Apparently off-limits means being my friend puts you on a hit list, and no one wants to be on the wrong side of Lincoln and his faithful followers.
Though considering what happened with Maverick, I don’t blame Jackson and the others. But if Lincoln and his two besties think they can actually control my life, they have another thing coming. I’ve had just about e-fucking-nough of that lately, thank you very much. I just need to find my rage sooner when they’re around. Thankfully this shirt covers all of the marks he left on my skin, and the cuts weren’t deep enough to scar.
To top it all off, it seems like we’re back to our regularly scheduled programming in Gym class. Rather than taking us out to the track to run laps and practice sprints, East has us working circuits. Thirty minutes of the intense routine isn’t even enough to burn away my rage.
At the end of class, he sends us to run suicide drills. I throw myself into them wholeheartedly, running until my heart feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest.
The bell rings, and East blows his whistle, calling the drill to an end. Everyone leaves the gym while I stand, bent over, trying to catch my breath. I’m seriously considering continuing to run until I’m too numb to do anything else.
“V, what’s going on with you?” East calls once the gym is clear. His footsteps echo in my direction when I don’t answer right away, but I keep my mouth firmly closed so I don’t flay him with all of the vitriol bubbling up inside of me. “Hey, V.”
I stand to face him, and his eyes go wide. I guess my fury is written all over my face. I’m usually pretty good at hiding my emotions, but I’m beyond all that today. This whole fucking town is toxic.
“What’s wrong?”
I take a deep breath, trying my damnedest to tamp down some of the boiling rage, because I know I’m going to have to answer him. I just don’t want to piss him off.
“Your fucking brother and his crazy-ass friends,” I say, my jaw still clenched.
“What did those little dicked, sons of bitches do now?” His question actually makes me laugh for the first time since Maverick’s little declaration earlier. Fuck, I needed that.
“I assume you saw the crap on ReachMe?”
He rubs the back of his neck, his discomfort obvious. “Yeah, I did, but don’t worry. No one will believe that it’s true.”
His words that echo Lincoln's from the diner yesterday, sting. I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way but that doesn’t stop the hurt.
“If you say so.” I shrug, trying not to let the burn of his words show. I refuse to believe that he shares the same views about me that his brother does. “But between that and the three of them casting me out publicly—I’m untouchable, and being my friend will make you an outcast. Being anything more than that is, well… social suicide. You know as well as I do that that’ll extend beyond school.”
“Those boys are fucking idiots,” he grumbles, rubbing a hand down his face. “Let me see if I can’t talk some sense into those assholes.”
“No, don’t bother. We both know that’ll just make it worse. I’ve got this. You know me, I never start a fight, but I will sure as hell finish it.” He barks out a throaty laugh before pulling me in for a hug, and I just hope I find the strength to see my words through.
“Damn, I missed you, V. You show those assholes what you’ve got. Maybe they’ll pull their heads out of their asses.” He squeezes me tight again before releasing me and looking back down at me with a soft smile on his way too pretty face. “How are you settling back into the Cove?”
“It’s been pretty shit, honestly. Though, I did find out yesterday that I don’t have to stay with Vivienne and Nate, so I’m heading back home this weekend.”
His eyes go wide as I tell him my plans, and then he grins. “I guess it’ll be just like old times, well, kind of. I’m still at the house with Linc. Since Mom fucked off not long after you guys left and Dad is always gone with work, it’s like we have the place to ourselves.”
“Your mom left?” I ask, shocked as hell. I had no fucking idea, I know I haven’t been here, but that seems like the sort of thing I’d have heard before now.
“Yeah, I figured Linc told you after you left.” He scratches the back of his neck and shifts from one foot to the other. He offers an off-kilter smile before shrugging. “I guess not, though. That’s all in the past now anyway. But it’ll be good to have you back around. Smithy still makes me a birthday cake every year, so now I’ll have an excuse to come back around more often.”
“You’re welcome whenever.” I smile, then notice the time. “Shit, I better go get changed. Indi is going to kill me if I keep her here too late.”
“Sure, go. I’ll talk to you later.” He hugs me again quickly before I run to the locker rooms and jump in the shower. When I head back into the main part of the locker room, the place is empty. I open my locker, pull out my phone, and see a message from Indi.
Indi: Got to grab a book from the library. I’ll meet you by the car.
Me: Sorry! I didn’t mean to take so long. I’ll be out in a minute.
Indi: No rush, the parking lot is still practically full so we can’t get out yet anyway.
Weird. Most people would usually be gone by now.
I throw my phone back into my bag, slipping out of my gym clothes and pull out my uniform. It takes me all of a second to notice the giant holes cut into my shirt.
Fucking bitchy asshole girls.
I check out my skirt to find it in tatters too.
I fucking hate this school.
Fuck this, I could leave in my gym clothes, but fuck them all.
I throw the shirt and skirt in my bag, slipping on my untouched underwear and blazer. I let my hair down from its ponytail and fluff it up. If these assholes think I’m going to cower just because they fucked with my clothes, they have no idea who they’re fucking with. I have bikinis that show more skin than this.
I pick up my bag, slip on my heels, and check out my reflection. At least I picked pretty black lace underwear today. I look like something out of a fucking Victoria’s Secret ad. It’s so fucking stupid, but you can bet your ass I’m going to rock this shit. I refuse to be beaten twice in one day. These assholes have no idea who I am, and the girls at this school don’t scare me.
I hiss as I apply a little foundation over the red line down my skin to hide the mark Maverick made earlier before sliding on some lip gloss. I head out of the locker room in nothing more than my underwear and blazer.
The comments are almost instantaneous. I guess news of what the bitches in my gym class did spread around the school, which explains Indi’s message about the parking lot. I hold my head high and strut through the halls, owning my shit like a badass bitch. I find Blair and her bitch squad all giggling by my locker, phones out and taking pictures. They stop laughing when they see the look on my face. I know I’ll see those pictures online later, but what’s one more at this point?
“I look fucking awesome, right?” I ask with a small wave as I pass them by. If they thought this would break me, they can think again. I’ve survived worse than their attempted humiliation.
I get to the end of the hall just to come face to face with Lincoln, Maverick, and Finley. Lincoln’s jaw ticks as he takes in my appearance. Maverick’s heated gaze on my chest where the cut on my skin is hidden almost makes me want to cower. But not again, not today.
“Not so off limits after all, am I?” I wink at him, and I swear to God Finley smirks as I push between him and Lincoln.
The catcalls and shouts I get as I pass the football field to where Indi is parked just make me shake my head. I can’t help but laugh when I hear Raleigh tell them to shut their mouths before yelling, “You look like fire!”
I finally reach Indi, and she gawks at me as I climb in the car. “Don’t even ask.”
“Bitch, you just owned that. Whoever did this to you fucked up. There’s no way in hell you look as good as you do right now and don’t get half the school simping over you by tomorrow morning.”
I bark out a laugh as she throws the car in drive and peels out of the parking lot. I knew I loved her for a reason.