Bitter (A Dark High School Bully Romance)

“I—”

Jasper cuts me off before I have the chance to respond.

“We don’t need you to answer. We know who you are. But the real question here, is do you?”

My eyes shift anxiously from where they’re locked with his, back to Rafael. Am I supposed to say something? Didn’t he just tell me not to answer?

“Hey boy!” The one that looks like he could slice me with his cheekbones lashes out with one arm, catching me on the shoulder. And off my guard.

I fall roughly against the table, jarring my elbow into the grooves between the planks of wood. Pain and tingles shoot up my arm and through my body, tightening my stomach with a wave of nausea.

“Pay attention when we’re talking to you,” he snaps. Suddenly those cheekbones look less charming.

“Careful now, Beck. Alex won’t be much use to us if he’s got his arm in a cast for the next six weeks.”

Beck. This one with murderous cheekbones is Beck.

Though Beck looks like he’d happily break my arm here and now, he does shift back half a step.

“Look what you’ve done,” Jasper says, glaring down at me and shaking his head ever so slightly. “You’ve gone and ruined a perfectly nice introduction.”

To his other side, the third boy clears his throat.

“I was getting to you, He

ath,” Jasper hisses at him, closing his eyes for a second before his annoyance gets the better of him. “Like I was saying. Alex. It’s really unfortunate that you got marked by the ash. Usually when that happens … it’s someone who already knows the rules.”

Fortunately, the pain in my arm has subsided but my bruised ego won’t let me stay quiet.

“And what rules are those?” I ask. I keep my voice low, low enough that only these three boys … this Brotherhood … can hear me. I keep my eyes focused on Jasper’s, as unsettling as they are, and wait for him to answer.

For a second, I think he’s going to hit me too. This time, without even bothering to make it look like an accident.

If it was Beck, I’m sure he would have. He’s a jumpy one, this Beck. I’ll have to keep a careful eye on him.

Jasper squints up his nose, his jaw working as he tries to decide what to say next. “I don’t know what game you think you’re playing, newbie, but I suggest you cut it out,” he says. His voice is even quieter than mine, but somehow, it’s far more threatening.

“Because for the rest of our time here at Bleakwood, Alex, we’re gonna make you our bitch.”

Chapter Six

“This is so bad. This is really bad.”

Rafael has taken to pacing across the floor again. I sit on my bed trying, and failing, not to wring my hands raw.

“It can’t be that bad. Not really.” There’s a pit in my stomach the size of the Grand Canyon. Sure, I just ate, but I already feel empty. “Right?”

Rafael heaves a sigh and collapses on his own bed, staring up at the ceiling. He looks striking, framed in silhouette by the huge windows behind him. Like the rest of the boys here, he could be a cover model for Teen Vogue.

“Bad enough that if it wasn’t also my ass on the line, I’d be turning you in right now.”

I squirm, feeling my face color. “Have I mentioned how much I appreciate—”

“Oh, shut up,” he snaps. He turns over on his side and props his head up in his hand. “Look, Alex, if The Brotherhood kills you I’m not going to take responsibility. I can’t protect you from them.”

“Kills me?” I say incredulously, my voice croaking.

“Yes,” he replies flatly. “With families like theirs, you think they can’t cover up a murder? Clean up a little ‘oopsie’ one of their dear sweet boys made? Get real.” He swings his legs over the side of his bed and stands up. “I need a smoke almost as bad as you do. Come with me.”