Fall: A High School Bully Romance (Sunset Beach High Book 1) Read online

  And me.

  THIRTY TWO

  “I assume you can explain,” Bridget says.

  I texted her as soon as I realized Trevor wasn't coming back, asking her to pick me up at Trevor's and to please not ask any questions. She immediately responded and said she'd be there in ten minutes and she actually got there in nine.

  Bridget is the best friend I've ever had.

  I lean back in the seat and I tell her how I ran down the beach and how he was in the water and how we paddled across the bay to his house that he led me to believe wasn't his house.

  “Yeah, pretty much everyone knows that's his house,” she says. “It's impossible to not notice that place. It's amazing looking.”

  “Yeah,” I say, thinking about how that was my reaction to first seeing it.

  “And...you stayed the night?” she says.

  I hesitate, then nod.

  Then burst into tears and cover my face with hands.

  “Oh, shit,” she says and I know she knows. She puts her hand on my back as I hunch over and cry and she doesn't say a word.

  When I'm finished, I sit up, wiping at my eyes. “Sorry.”

  “Don't apologize, Presley,” she says, still rubbing my back. “Don't apologize.”

  “And you don't have to tell me you told me so,” I tell her. “Because you did and I'm just a fucking idiot.”

  “You're not an idiot,” she says.

  “I am,” I tell her. “We got back there and it was just me and him and it was just like when we were out on the pier and he was...different. He wasn't a dick. It was just the two of us and it was just...right. I wanted to. I mean, I really wanted to. I didn't even tell him it was the first time.”

  “Oh, shit, Presley,” she says, wincing. “I'm sorry. Are you okay?”

  “I'm fine,” I tell her. “I mean, I'm not. But that part was fine. Actually, it was amazing.” I shake my head. “And that just makes it all worse. He woke me up and I told him I had to get home so my dad doesn't freak and he just got pissed. I think he wanted me to go with him, but he never even really asked me. So then it just all imploded and I basically told him I'd slept with Derek.”

  “You what?”

  “I know,” I say, throwing my head back. “I know. So stupid. But he was being shitty to me and I wanted to be shitty to him. And it worked. He left without saying a word.” I turn toward her. “That's when I texted you to come get me. Thank you, by the way.”

  She coasts to a stop as we reach a stop sign. “Don't thank me. Of course I was going to get you.”

  “What happened last night?” I ask, realizing I don't know anything and I haven't asked. “Did you get caught?”

  She shakes her head. “No. I managed to get down the beach fast enough and the cops were more concerned with the guys who were mouthing off to them. Maddie and Gina got away, too, but Gina had to leave her car there. She didn't go near it with everything in the trunk.”

  I'm relieved that they didn't get in any trouble.

  “They found me and Maddie called her brother and he came to get us,” she says, patting my thigh. “All good. And Maddie was taking Gina to get the car this morning.” She glances at me. “I'm just sorry we got separated. Maybe then you wouldn't have to be dealing with this.”

  I sigh. “Yeah. Oh well. It is what it is.” I shake my head. “He was just such an asshole when I told him I needed to go home. Like, the complete opposite of how he was last night. Complete opposite. He wouldn't even listen to me, like what I had to say didn't matter. Then he told me thanks for last night, but to not count on it happening again. It just went downhill from there.”

  She turns down my street. “I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say.”

  I don't either. Probably because there isn't anything to say. It's over and I can't believe I was so dumb to let him make me feel like I mattered. I want to vomit, thinking of all the times he'd probably done the same thing with other girls. I hate that I didn't think of it in the moment and let everything happen.

  Bridget stops two houses short of mine. “What do you want to do?”

  I think for a moment. “Let me go in and see what happens.”

  “Do you want me to wait?”

  “Would you?”

  She makes a face like it's a dumb question. “Of course.”

  I lean over, throw my arms around her, and hug her. “Thank you. For everything.”

  She hugs me back. “You don't have to hug me. It's what friends do. I'm just sorry I didn't drag you with me last night. I feel guilty.”

  “Nothing for you to feel guilty about,” I say, pulling back. “Literally nothing. It was all me.” I wipe some more at my face. “I'll live.”

  “I hope so,” she says. “And you need to be prepared.”

  “For what?”

  “For him,” she tells me. “Trevor. Because he might just stay in asshole mode.”

  I push open the door and look at her. “I'm prepared.”

  THIRTY THREE

  I luck out in the biggest way possible.

  I creep into the house and find a note from my dad on the table.

  “Presley, sorry I got home so late last night,” it reads. “And I had to leave early to get back into office. I promise I'll be home tonight. Love, Dad.”

  I do a quick happy dance, then sprint for the shower. I rinse off the tears and Trevor and the entire previous night. I dress quickly, do my make up in a flash, grab my bag, and grab an apple on the way out the door. Bridget is looking at me expectantly as I get back to the car and I give her a thumbs up to let her know everything is okay. She's still clapping when I get into the car.

  We stop and grab our coffees on the way to school and Gina and Maddie are both waiting on us in the parking lot.

  “I won't say a word,” Bridget tells me as she shuts off the car.

  “No, it's fine,” I tell her. “I'm not hiding anything, especially from them. You guys are my friends. I'm not keeping things from you guys.”

  We get out of the car and they both look tired, but they are both looking at me, expectantly.

  “Did you get caught?” Gina asks.

  I shake my head.

  “Oh thank god,” Maddie says, giving me a quick hug. “We woulda felt like shit if you had.”

  “No,” I say. “I had sex with Trevor Robinson instead.”

  Both she and Maddie look at me like I'm a ghost.

  “For real?” Gina asks.

  “For real,” I say. “Unfortunately.”

  Maddie pinches her eyes shut and holds up her hand. “Hold up. What the fuck are you even talking about?”

  I explain how he was in the bay, how we escaped, and the aftermath.

  “Holy. Shit,” Gina says, her eyes wide. “That's...incredible.”

  “I would not have put money on that,” Maddie says.

  Gina leans in closer to me. “I know I'm a total bitch, but...how was he?”

  Maddie smacks her in the arm, but Gina is still leaning in, waiting for her answer.

  “Amazing,” I say.

  “Fuck yeah, I knew it,” Gina says, looking at Maddie and Bridget. “I've been calling that for years. I just knew he'd know what to do.”

  “Until this morning,” I say.

  Bridget looks down at the ground. The other two stare at me and I explain what happened.

  “Oh, shit,” Maddie says, shaking her head. “I'm sorry, Presley. That truly sucks.”

  Gina puts her arm around me. “Guys suck.”

  I nod. “They do.”

  The roar of an engine tears into the parking lot and I know without turning around that it's Trevor.

  “There's the asshole now,” Bridget mutters, shaking her head.

  The truck screeches to a stop somewhere, but I won't turn around and look. I hear the doors open and slam shut. There isn't the usual laughter that accompanies them when they cross the parking lot. They reach the sidewalk and they're now in my field of vision. Trevor is looking straight ahead, his ey
es nowhere near me. Jake is walking next to him, chattering in his ear.

  Brett, however, is looking at me.

  There's no menace, no sneering like usual.

  He's just staring at me as they walk, a can of Red Bull in his hand. He takes a long drink from the can, then turns away from me, and drops into a trash can. They reach the front of the building and disappear inside.

  I realize I've been holding my breath and I exhale.

  Bridget touches my elbow. “You gonna be okay?”

  I don't think I have a choice. “Yeah. I'll be fine.”

  We walk inside and the first bell rings. I walk to my locker, the girls head to theirs, I empty my bag into mine.

  “Hey,” a voice says.

  I jump, not expecting anyone to be there. I turn and Derek is standing there, smiling at me.

  “Sorry,” he says. “Didn't mean to scare you.”

  “It's okay,” I tell him, turning back to my locker. “Just wasn't expecting you.”

  “Last night was kinda crazy, yeah?” he says.

  “Um, yeah. Totally.”

  “Did you get caught?” he asks. “A couple of us ran and hid down the beach for, like, two hours until they were all gone.”

  “No,” I tell him. “Didn't get caught.”

  “I saw you,” he tells me. “But didn't get a chance to talk to you.”

  I close the locker door, turn, and look at him. “Yeah. I wasn't there very long before it all...happened.”

  He leans against the locker next to mine and smiles. “I'm glad you didn't.”

  “Me, too.”

  He shoves a hand in the pocket of his shorts. “I wanted to ask you something.”

  “Yeah?”

  He nods. “Yeah. Do you know about Fall Ball?”

  I shake my head. “I have no clue.”

  He laughs and nods again. “Okay. So, it's sort of like our homecoming, but we don't really do a homecoming the same way other schools do. But it's pretty much just like our fall formal dance.”

  My stomach twinges. “Oh. Okay.”

  “And...I was wondering if you wanted to go with me?” he says, dropping his chin to his chest, looking down at me.

  “Me?” I ask, shocked. “You want to go with me?”

  “I'd like to, yeah,” he says, laughing. “Why is that so weird?”

  It's weird for about a million reasons. Because we didn't get off to the best start. Because of Shanna. Because of Trevor. Because of a million reasons.

  “Oh, I wasn't trying to be rude,” I tell him. “Sorry. I just...I just didn't know anything about it.”

  “Then I'm guessing no one else has asked you?” he says, raising an eyebrow.

  Before I can answer, I glance past him. Trevor is coming around the corner and the girl I'd seen him with a couple days before is draped all over him. His arm is wrapped around her waist and her mouth is next to his ear as they walk. Brett and Jake are trailing behind them. Jake is on his phone and Brett is looking in my direction. Trevor glances toward me and hesitates just a fraction when he sees me.

  And Derek.

  Trevor quickly looks away, but Brett doesn't. They hang a right and disappear down the hallway.

  I look down at the ground for a moment. I can't believe he's with her, not more than a couple hours after we were in bed together. I'm not sure what I was expecting when we left it on such a bad note, but seeing him with her like that just hurts me in a way I don't think I've been hurt before.

  “Hey,” Derek says. “You okay?”

  I'm not. I'm as far from okay as I've been in a long time.

  But I'm also pissed off.

  Pissed off that he thinks he can just use me for one night and then kick me to the curb and laugh at me while does it.

  Maybe in the past he could've done that.

  But not now.

  I look at Derek. “I'm okay.”

  Because fuck Trevor Robinson.

  “And I'd love to go with you,” I tell him.

  THIRTY FOUR

  By lunchtime, the news has spread.

  Everyone knows I'm going to the Fall Ball with Derek Morgan. I can tell by the looks I'm getting, all of the side eyes that are landing on me as I walk to class. When I get in Gina's car to head to lunch, it's way too quiet and I know the girls all know, too. Gina is behind the wheel, Maddie is up front next to her, and Bridget is in the back seat next to me.

  “Okay,” I say. “Let me have it.”

  “Is it true?” Gina asks, glancing in the rearview mirror.

  “Yep. I told him I'd go with him. He asked me this morning before first period.”

  “Are you sure you wanna go with him?” Bridget asks. “I mean...are you sure?”

  I nod my head. “Yep. As soon as I saw Trevor with that little skank again, I told him yes.”

  “I hear he flipped out,” Maddie says. “When he found out.”

  My hand folds into a fist. “Who? Trevor?”

  “Yeah,” she says, twisting around in the seat. “Someone told him in second period and he literally walked out of class and didn't come back.”

  “Good,” I say. “Fuck him. I'm not some sex toy he can just toss aside when he's done with me. I hope he's pissed off.”

  We drive for a minute and no one says anything.

  “What about Shanna?” Bridget finally asks.

  “What about her?” I snap. “He asked me. And she told me the other day they were over. She made a point of telling me that and that Derek isn't a bad guy. So why would I care about her?”

  “I was just asking,” Bridget says.

  I cringe at how shitty I'm being and put my hand on her arm. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a bitch. But I don't see why I should be making decisions based on if I'm going to upset other people.”

  “It's fine,” Bridget says, smiling at me. “You can be a bitch. I just don't want you to get hurt.”

  “Why would I get hurt?” I ask.

  “Because Trevor's an asshole and Shanna's a fucking snake,” Gina says from upfront. “Because being on the wrong side of those two seems like a place no one wants to be.” She pauses. “But Derek is fine and I'm gonna need a report on what he's like in the sack.”

  All four of us burst out laughing and it's what we needed to break the tension. But I'm suddenly aware that maybe I have no clue what I'm doing.

  I lean back in the seat. “I don't know. Maybe I'm just being stupid. I know I'm trying to piss Trevor off and that's not fair to Derek. But he's been really nice to me after that first night. Am I being stupid?”

  Maddie turns around again and looks at me over the top of her sunglasses. “There's nothing wrong with trying to piss off a guy who treats you like shit. And, look, I don't know about Derek. We've known him forever. And yeah he comes off like a serious douchebag sometimes, but so do half the guys in this stupid ass school. If he's been nice to you and you wanna go out with him, then do it.” She looks at the other two. “And we'll support that, right?”

  Bridget nods immediately.

  “As long as you guys support my deflowering a junior,” Gina says. “Then yeah.”

  We all laugh again as she pulls into the parking lot of The Hamburger Hut. I'm still not sure I'm making the right decision, but I'm also tired of second guessing myself. I thought there was something with Trevor, but I think I just got suckered. That's more on me than him anyway. So I'm not going to feel guilty because another guy asked me to go to a dance with him, no matter who doesn't like it. If people want to talk about it, they can talk about it. I can't stop them and I'm not going to waste my time trying.

  We go inside, order, and our food arrives faster than normal. I'm ravenous and tear through my burger and fries. I'm halfway through the chocolate shake when I spy Brett coming in the front door.

  Alone.

  He looks immediately toward our booth and heads in our direction.

  “Oh, what in the fuck?” Maddie whispers, seeing him coming. “This is the last thing we need right
now.”

  Gina turns in her seat just as he gets to the table. “Wow. Your master let you come here by yourself? That's a new one. You must be growing up.”

  Brett ignores her, staring at me. “I need to talk to you.”

  I shrug. “Then talk.”

  “Alone,” he says.

  “Fuck off,” Bridget says. “We're having lunch.”

  He ignores her and stares at me. “I'm not leaving until we talk.”

  “And he's letting you talk by yourself?” Gina says. “I don't even wanna know what you had to do to earn that privilege, but I'm assuming it involved being on your knees.”

  “Fuck off, Gina,” he says, frowning, but his eyes stay on me.

  “Alright,” I say.

  “You don't have to,” Bridget says. “You don't have to do anything he says.”

  “I know,” I say, sliding out of the booth. “But now I'm curious.” I nod to the door. “Let's go.”

  I follow Brett outside to the parking lot and he leads me to a silver Toyota Tacoma. He stops when he gets to it and turns around. “The fuck are you doing?”

  “Uh, talking to you?” I answer. “Because you wanted to talk to me alone?”

  “Not what I mean and you fucking know it,” he says. “I mean with Morgan.”

  “I'm apparently going to some formal with him,” I say. “I thought everyone knew about the dance? Maybe Trevor hasn't told you about it?”

  He leans back against the truck, his arms folded across his chest. “I'm not fucking around, Presley.”

  “Well, Trevor is, so I don't really care what you're doing,” I say. “And, honestly? Fuck you and him and Jake. You guys show up on the beach and harass the shit out of me. You look at me like all you want me to do is spread my legs for you. You cut my fucking leash when I'm out in the water not bothering anyone. And now you're here, trying to get me to take you seriously?” I laugh. “You're a fucking joke and I don't care if you're fucking around or not. And I may have hit that turnstile one time in Trevor's bedroom, but I'm not hitting it again. Ever.”

  He turns and looks away for a moment.