I Despise You: A Dark High School Bully Romance Page 7

  “You’re going in the wrong direction,” he says. “The infirmary is the other way.”

  His hand lands on my wrist, and I pull away as if he’s burned me.

  “Leave me alone,” I say and break into a run.

  All I need is to get away from him.

  “Not after yesterday,” he yells after me. “You started this game and I wanna keep playing it.”

  I don’t know what he’s talking about, but I don’t care.

  Before I reach my room, I run into Vanessa. She probably has a free period.

  “Are you okay? You look pale,” she says. “Deathly pale.”

  “I’m fine. I just forgot to eat,” I lie.

  “Oh, okay. Then I need to talk to you. It’s important.” Her face is serious.

  “Sure.” Anything to get my mind off the things I don’t want to remember.

  “In my room, if you don’t mind. It’s kinda private.” She licks her lips, glancing around.

  “Yeah.” I follow her inside.

  “Please sit. Do you want a sandwich or a protein bar? I don’t have anything el—”

  “No, it’s fine.” I take a seat on the edge of her bed. “What did you want to talk about?”

  “It’s about Chase.”

  I want to jump up and run.

  Does he have to be everywhere? Does everyone have to talk about him?

  I clench my fists on my lap, my nails digging into my skin as I wipe all emotion off my face.

  “What about him?” I ask.

  “I heard some rumors that you hooked up with him, and that someone saw you coming out of his room. I know it’s none of my business, and I’m not judging or anything, but there’s something you need to know about him.” She settles next to me. “I don’t think anyone told you about it because it’s the school’s best-kept secret. No one really wants to talk about it.”

  “Tell me.”

  “It happened during junior year. After a party. One girl who used to go to school with us... She, um... She was found dead in Chase’s room. Her name was Kayla.”

  “What?” My mouth goes slack as I stare at her.

  Someone seriously messed up this school’s name. It should be called Crazyville Prep.

  “Yeah. According to some very believable sources, she was found with bruises on her neck. But since Campbell’s only son was involved, the cops concluded that she overdosed, and the case was closed. Chase’s name doesn’t come up in any reports of her death or in the press. I don’t think anyone even did a full investigation. His father bribed everyone, and it all went away. The Campbell name is still squeaky clean.”

  “Are you sure? I mean, rumors are sometimes just rumors.”

  “He was with her that night, and I don’t think she just happened to overdose in his room. Yeah, she smoked some weed sometimes, but I don’t believe she was taking something stronger and overdosed, unless Chase somehow had his hands in it. I don’t know. All I’m saying is that you should be careful around him. If you asked me, I’d tell you to stay the hell away from him, but it’s your life, so all I can do is give you a warning.” She shrugs.

  “Thanks for telling me. I didn’t know any of that.” And if it’s true and Chase really killed a girl, my problem has just become impossibly huge. “Is that why you said he gets away with everything? Why no one wants to stand up to him?”

  She nods. “After he got away with murder, no one wants to try and see what he’s capable of next. Some people believe he’s not lying when he says he didn’t do it. His friends, mostly. They’re too dumb to see the truth, or they’re smart enough to pretend to stay in good graces so he doesn’t go after them. The school administration thinks he’s an angel, so of course they believe the cops’ report.”

  “I have to go now.” I get to my feet. “Gotta grab something to eat before my next class.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Vanessa offers me a smile.

  As I make my way to the door, I wonder just what exactly Brittany has pushed me into. Maybe she’s hoping Chase will kill me like he did with Kayla, no matter how crazy that seems.

  But he’d be a fool to try something like that again, right? Then no one would believe he’s innocent.

  I’d be a little too dead to care in that case, but I don’t want to give up now. He can come after me even if I leave the school, and if I leave, I’ve got nothing. If he wants to sleep with me again, then he won’t hurt me.

  I can use that, even if it’s totally messed up.

  But first, I need some time so I don’t freak out every time I see him, and that means I have to switch all the classes we have together.

  Brittany and Chase are going down.

  I’ll make sure of it.

  Chapter 12

  I SUCCESSFULLY AVOID Chase and Brittany for a few weeks, and I’m glad there are plenty of students here, so it’s easy to disappear in the crowd as soon as I catch a glimpse of either of them.

  But even though a part of me doesn’t want to see them ever again, I don’t want to keep hiding from them. I think I’m finally ready to face them again and make Brittany pay for what she’s done. I’m not sure what to do about Chase just yet, but I hope I can handle him.

  A poster catches my eyes while I’m strolling through the hallway, and I go closer to take a better look. It’s an ad for a school play.

  Brittany appears at the end of the hallway and she’s talking to a student I don’t know. I look away from her and focus back on the poster. My pulse quickens as she comes closer, and I don’t know if I’m angry or just want to run, but I refuse to move.

  She keeps talking to her friend and doesn’t notice me.

  “Did you see the poster?” Brittany’s friend asks.

  “Duh. I already applied for the main role, and I’m so going to get it. There’s no one better than me.” Brittany laughs.

  “Yeah,” her friend says, and then they disappear around the corner and I can’t hear them anymore.

  My gaze is still glued to the poster. Brittany is so sure of herself it’s annoying, and she doesn’t feel even a little bit guilty about what she’s done to me.

  Maybe I can’t openly do anything against her without risking my place at the school, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find other ways to make her pay.

  Stealing the main role from her may seem close to nothing in comparison, but I have to do something, even if it’ll only make her annoyed for a day or two.

  I read the instructions on how to apply, and then I hurry down the hallway. Learning the text for the audition is going to take some of the precious time that I need for studying, but I can do both, even if I have to forego sleep to do it.

  I’m on a mission, and there’s nothing and no one who’ll stop me from getting what I want.

  AFTER A LOT OF EFFORT and tons of coffee, I get the role. I can’t hide my smile when I see Brittany across the theater room.

  Her arms are crossed in front of her chest, her eyes shooting daggers at me. I can’t believe she can even look me at me like that without feeling ashamed.

  But I guess she has no shame at all. My win is small, but it’s still a win, and I’m going to enjoy it. Brittany can be mad at me as much as she wants.

  My eyes scan over the rest of the list that’s lying in the middle of a desk on the stage to check if Brittany got some other role, but my smile fades when I see who got the lead male role.

  Chase.

  Shit.

  Am I even surprised that he auditioned too and got exactly what he wanted? I guess not.

  Once I get the script, I’ll have to see just how often he and I will interact on stage. He can’t hurt me while everyone’s watching us.

  A tiny voice inside my head screams at me to change my mind and drop out, but I don’t want to do that.

  I realize there’s some stuff I need to pick up backstage that I’ll need for our first practice, so I hurry to get it.

  The backstage is dark and I can’t see the teacher who’s in charge of the play anywhere.
As I traipse through the darkness, trying to find the bag or a closet with things, fingers wrap around my arm and tug me.

  A gasp leaves my throat, my back slamming against the wall.

  Chase grins at me, his body pressed against mine, his fingers tight around my wrists as he pins me to the wall.

  My insides quiver, my chest heaves.

  I can’t breathe.

  I can’t think.

  “Where have you been?” he asks. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

  I inhale his scent, trying to focus. His touch. His breath. His eyes.

  I can do this.

  I can think again.

  I can breathe again.

  “What do you want?” I lift my chin up, staring at him defiantly to show him that he doesn’t scare me, even if that’s not entirely true. “If you still expect me to drop out of the race for the scholarship, or if you want me to give up my role, you’ll have to try harder.”

  His smile widens, and I realize I’ve made a mistake. He rubs himself against me, and I can feel the hardness of his erection, despite the layers of clothes between us.

  A tiny spark of electricity runs through me, and I hate myself for it.

  “I changed my mind,” he says. “I don’t want you to do any of that. Your little game to seduce me is working. I didn’t think you had it in you to do something like that. You’re just full of surprises, and I love that about you.” His lips hover over mine.

  I don’t know what he’s talking about. I’ve never tried to seduce him, but I guess he thinks that I went to his room to make him crazy about me, and not because of Brittany’s evil plan.

  Maybe I should tell him the truth about what really happened that night and see his reaction. Would he care? Would he feel bad?

  Or would he laugh at me and call me crazy, and accuse me of lying and inventing the whole thing to set him up and hurt him? Telling him the truth probably isn’t something I should do right now, because then he might want me gone or silenced to protect himself.

  “Is anyone here?” someone calls, and Chase lets go of me and steps away from me in a second.

  He winks at me before disappearing into the shadows, as if he was never here.

  But I can still feel him all over me. I can still feel where he touched me because my skin tingles, and I can still smell his scent everywhere in the air.

  I close my eyes for a moment and take a deep breath. If Chase believes I’m playing a game and trying to seduce him, maybe I should do exactly that. I don’t know why he wants me to stay if he thinks I want to play him.

  But maybe he sees me as a real challenge now and he wants to show me that he’ll see through my every plan and win in the end.

  But can I actually seduce Chase?

  I don’t think he wants anything other than sex, and getting involved with him even more seems extremely dangerous. I don’t want to end up dead like Kayla, and I don’t know how far I can take things with him.

  Maybe the reason why he changed his mind about me is because he’s actually into me, or he wants a repeat of that night.

  It’s risky for me to try to use that against him, especially when I doubt he’ll listen to me or care if I say no to him. But if I reject him too soon, he may not like that either, and then he could find a way to get me expelled or excluded from the scholarship list.

  I bite on the inside of my cheek. It looks like there’s never a choice with Chase.

  If I keep avoiding him or if I tell him he’s crazy for thinking I’ll have sex with him again, he’ll get mad and I’ll end up paying the price. My dream of going to college will be ruined.

  But if I play the game like Chase thinks I’m doing, I may still lose. The only question is if getting close to Chase can help me find some evidence against him.

  If he killed Kayla and got away with it like Vanessa thinks, then there might be something he’s overlooked, or there might be a way for me to get a confession out of him while he’s drunk or something.

  My life would be in danger, but I’d have to be very careful about how I do it. Once I have the evidence, I could spread it everywhere, hopefully anonymously, so there’s no way Chase’s dad can destroy it all and make it go away.

  Chase would be too preoccupied with his own future to worry about me then, and I could get the scholarship.

  My plan seems like a crazy dream, but it’s not like I have a ton of options. I have to try something.

  Getting justice for Kayla is the right thing to do, even if I have selfish reasons for doing it.

  Chapter 13

  MY PHONE VIBRATES ON my nightstand, forcing me to look up from my book. I push myself up and grab the phone. My brow furrows when I see an unknown number on the screen.

  The first thing I notice is an invitation to lunch. I guess someone got the wrong number. But when I read the rest of the text, my shoulders stiffen.

  Chase.

  It’s the name written at the end of the text. What are the odds that this isn’t Chase Campbell but someone else?

  He’s not the only person named Chase, and I don’t think he has my number either, because I’ve never given it to him.

  But I know I’m fooling myself.

  It’s Chase. Of course, it’s him.

  Finding out my number isn’t a problem for him. All he has to do is request something and he’ll get it, no matter how hard it seems.

  I don’t think Vanessa gave it to him, especially since I know just how much she dislikes him and thinks he’s dangerous. He must’ve found another way.

  I start typing a reply, but then I pause. If I want to find some evidence to prove that he killed Kayla, I need to stick to my plan and get close to Chase, no matter how crazy that seems.

  I don’t know if he’s even capable of feeling anything for anyone other than himself, but I have to try, because if I don’t do anything, I’m not getting the scholarship for sure.

  But I’m annoyed that he just got my number and hasn’t even bothered to ask me first. I guess he didn’t expect me to give it to him, which makes sense, but instead of trying the decent way, he just got my number some, potentially shady, way.

  I bite down on my lip. What else does Chase know about me?

  If he can find my number so easily, then he can figure out who I really am and how I got here. He’s probably curious about me, especially if he’s never heard of my family.

  Almost all the kids here have well-known parents, or at least well known in the Campbell family circle. I haven’t heard of most of them, but someone like Chase, who moves in the same circles, probably has.

  But if he knows the truth about me, what is he going to do with it? He can use it to blackmail me, so maybe he’s inviting me to lunch so he can tell me his demands, which I guess I won’t like.

  There’s also a chance I’m overreacting. Chase wanted my number, but that doesn’t mean he asked someone to look into my family and me.

  I sigh and decide to reject his offer. At least for now.

  I’m busy with studying and preparing for the play, and that should be a legit excuse. Chase needs to study too if he wants to be the best student, so he should be able to understand. I need more time to think what exactly I’m going to do with him.

  Another text comes a few moments after I send my reply. I groan because Chase now wants me to have breakfast with him tomorrow morning, because I can’t study while hungry.

  I silence my phone and place it back on the nightstand. Let him think I’m too busy to even see his text. It’s not like I haven’t told him what I’m doing.

  I focus my attention back on my book. Movement on the screen of my laptop catches my eye.

  I have a new email in my inbox, so I grab the laptop to check it out. The subject line tells me it’s about the play, so I click it open.

  The teacher wants us to meet in the theater room in about ten minutes. I scowl.

  Winning the main role in the play to annoy Brittany is already coming back to bite me in the ass, becau
se I’m going to lose even more time than I expected.

  I close my laptop and quickly get dressed. I don’t think there was anything mentioning the props and our disguise in the email, so I’m glad I don’t have to carry anything with me.

  The teacher probably wants to give us some quick notes, and I already hate that I’m going to have to see Chase.

  Rejecting him face-to-face doesn’t feel the same as doing it over a text. Maybe I’ll have to accept. Unless our meeting with the teacher takes too much time, so even Chase will have to go do his homework or something.

  I pass through the busy hallways, unable to think about anything other than Chase. When I enter the theater room, I don’t even realize it’s mostly dark and empty until I stop in the middle of it.

  I glance around. Shit. I must’ve misread the email.

  Maybe the teacher means for us to meet tomorrow at 10, rather than in 10 minutes. But I can’t believe I was that airheaded while reading the email.

  It’s just so weird. Maybe I’m early, and everyone’s going to get here a minute or so before the start.

  A shadow jumps out of the darkness, making me yelp. I instinctively turn around to run, but strong arms wrap around me from behind.

  “Hey, princess,” Chase breathes into my ear, sending shivers through me. “Glad you could make it.”

  His hand slides up my stomach, squeezing my breast through my clothes. His other hand roams down, and I close my legs.

  Warmth pools in my body, but this is way too similar to what happened in his room, and I just can’t take it.

  “Let go of me!” I yell, trying to push him away from me. If I’m loud enough, someone’s going to hear me and come check what’s going on.

  “Are you sure that’s what you want?” His lips brush my earlobe. “We’re all alone here. No one’s going to see us. And if they do, so what?”

  “Let go of me now!” I dig my nails into his arms.

  “All right.” He steps away from me. “We’re going to lunch anyway.”

  “What?” I spin around, glaring at him.

  My body is still shaking slightly, so I cling to the anger that’s bubbling inside me.