Thank you for your unwavering support and for reading my stories! Working on this for almost five years, I couldn’t have done it without my readers and followers. Thank you, thank you, thank you! (*^▽^*)
I say concluded but I actually have one more side-story to make (I’ve been just so busy that I haven’t even started it yet T^T). Anyhow, I will post it up soon when I can!（⌒▽⌒ゞ
And for those of you who haven’t read this series, please check it out on:
The Bully Series
- They say a bully is a person who uses strength or power to harm or intimidate those who are weaker. They say the four of them are bullies. But what if they're not what you think they are?
Reading order:
Book 1 - "The School Bully"
Book 2 - "Sleeping with a Bully"
Book 2.5 - "30 Days"
Book 3 - "The Bully's First Love"
Book 3.5 - "Hey, Bully"
Book 4 - "Loving a Bully"
One-shot compilations - "One Night"
(IF LINKS DON’T WORK, PLEASE HEAD TO THE WEBSITE VIEW OF MY BLOG AND CLICK THE DREAME ICON Ⓓ TO GET TO THE STORIES. TY!)
Book 1 of The Bully Series: Shy bookworm Sophia Gideon wished she had a boyfriend like in her books. But her wish backfired when she caught the interest of her school's most vicious bully. He enjoyed beating up people and his knuckles were always raw, his boots splattered with blood. Sophia was convinced he was a monster. A cruel, unfeeling, soulless monster. But was he?
Read it here: The School Bully
Book 2 of The Bully Series: Brilliant and overachieving Terry Evans only wanted to be happy. Born in a family where money and power was everything, her life was in shackles, worsened by her mother's abusive nature. Then she met one of the school's most infamous bullies in a place she wasn't supposed to be. And little did she know, he will set the gears in motion to a future she didn't want. Or did she?
Read it here: Sleeping with a Bully
Book 3 of The Bully series: Fearless and reckless Emilia Schuyler just wanted to have her ex step-brother back in her life. While everyone else finds him intimidating because of his gloomy nature, she finds him the total opposite of scary and thinks him wonderful. Problem was, he wasn't cooperating and wants nothing to do with her. Or does he really? And why was she so hellbent on winning him back?
Read it here: The Bully’s First Love
Book 4 of The Bully series: Proud yet vulnerable April Locke only wishes to be free from a father who forced her to endure and live a nightmare all her life. Her savior comes in the form of the man whose love she had cruelly rejected not once but twice. She's still having none of him. Unfortunately, he's having none of her rejections anymore and pledged to protect her with his life. But how can she let herself love him when she knows of a secret that will still make her lose him in the end?
Read it here: Loving a Bully
The Bully series side-stories:
One-shots of The Bully series: A one-shot collection depicting our favorite characters from The Bully series.
Read it on Dreame: One Night
Read it on Wattpad: One Night
Book 2.5 of The Bully Series: He lost a bet and was told to make a girl fall in love with him in 30 days as the consequence. But what he doesn't know, what they both didn't know, was that she had the same task too. Who will say the words 'I love you' first? (A sort of prequel to The Bully's First Love)
Read it on Dreame: 30 Days
Read it on Wattpad: 30 Days
Book 3.5 of The Bully series: Uninhibited and happy-go-lucky Hannah Austin had thought she'd get through high school free from any worries and problems. But then she meets a guy who made her heart beat in a crazy way like never before. The same guy who was also determined to keep breaking it. Despite that, can Hannah endure losing him to protect herself from a big heartbreak? Or can she trust him with her heart again? (Prequel to Loving a Bully)
Read it on Dreame: Hey, Bully
Read it on Wattpad: Hey, Bully
Thank you so much for the support for this series!
Summary: Uninhibited and happy-go-lucky Hannah Austin had thought she'd get through high school free from any worries and problems. But then she meets a guy who made her heart beat in a crazy way like never before. The same guy who was also determined to keep breaking it. Despite that, can Hannah endure losing him to protect herself from a big heartbreak? Or can she trust him with her heart again?
First Cry
Skull was sitting next to me on the couch, holding me as I sobbed into his shirt.
One of his arms was around me, his hand rubbing and patting my back. How'd we ended up in this situation, I'd never know. All I remember was drinking too much alcohol and blacking out. When I came to, we were already in this position and I was already crying my heart out to the one person I’d never thought I would be with. Alone. I didn’t even know he would be at this party.
"Are you done, Hannah?" There was a tinge of amusement in Skull’s voice.
"Why am I crying?" I mumbled wetly, wiping my face on his shirt. "Why are you here?"
He groaned when he saw what I was doing. "Are you still not sober? Hell, where's Terry with that coffee?"
I lifted my head from his chest and blinked at him. "Did you hurt me?" I asked him suspiciously.
The only light in the room came from the lamp upon the table. Still, I saw how he stared at me in disbelief.
"No, I didn't,” he answered. “But apparently, from what I can understand from all your drunken blabbering, a guy named Asshole Will did."
"He's not an asshole!" I shouted.
"Hey, that's what you called him."
I glared at him, though where I found the courage to do so I didn't know when I was afraid of Skull the most among all of Leon's friends. Skull's lips twitched, like he was struggling not to laugh.
"Correct me if I'm wrong but were you referring to William Carter from South High Academy?" he asked. "The third son of the CEO of Carter International which operates a helluva lot of restaurant chains?"
"No," I denied lamely. How'd he know anyway?
"Wow, you're almost as bad as Sophia when she lies," he commented in a dry tone. "Do you mind getting off my arm? I've completely lost feeling of it."
I stared at him for a moment. Then let my gaze wander around. If I wasn’t mistaken, this was one of the upstairs rooms that weren’t open for visitors. There were shelves of books around the room and a desk by the window. It must the study room. How they convinced Jean, a senior and the owner of the house, to let us use the room, I didn’t care to ask.
“You are still not getting off me,” Skull said with a loud sigh and I returned my attention to him.
“I’m sad,” I rubbed my nose and sniffed loudly. “You should comfort me.”
He gave me a frown. “Do you want to have sex then?”
“No!” I burst out, slapping his shoulder. “No way! You remind me of my dead grandpa too much. There is no way—!”
“Your dead grandpa?” he began to laugh. “You mean Old Man Austin who smoked and swore too much?”
“Yeah,” I mumbled. “That’s why I’m afraid of you. Because you remind me so much of him especially when you smile.”
There was a twinkle in his eye when he said, “But not anymore?”
“I’m drunk.” I laid my head on his shoulder and sniffed again. “And I miss Will.”
“Asshole Will who didn’t text or call you and gave you the cold-shoulder?”
"Shut up!" I wailed, slapping his chest this time. "What do you know about unrequited love anyway?"
"I'm in a one-sided love for seven years. I think I know a thing or two about it."
That shut me up. Completely.
"S-seven years?" I stammered, straightening away from him, my eyes bugging wide. "Are you serious?"
"Dead serious," he answered with a grin.
"I have only been in love with Will for like a year and it already freaking sucks. I don't think I can handle seven years of it."
He patted my head. "Maybe you won't have to."
"Who's the girl?” I leaned towards him. “Anyone from East Private?"
"I'm not telling you," he chuckled. "Now tell me more about Asshole Will. How'd you fall in love with that twat anyway?"
"Wow," I glowered at him. "You expect me to tell you when you won't tell me anything about this secret girl?"
"Not even Leon, John or Rohan knows about my unrequited love. And I'm hoping you can keep that a secret."
Now that was a burden I didn't want to take. Keeping secrets was almost an impossible task with me.
"So tell me." He got comfortable on the couch, like he was preparing himself for a long story. "Why'd you fall in love with him?"
I stared at him for a while.
Then I told him.
- - - - - - - - - -
"You said you liked me," Mark whined as he followed me in the park. "Why are you being like this?"
"I'm not going to have sex with you in your car just because I said I like you," I snapped over my shoulder. "Go away. I'm done with you."
Seriously, I was done with him. I thought he was a good guy when we met at a friend’s summer party so I agreed to go to the movies with him. But then he started to get a little bit handsy in the car on the way and even suggested we skip the movies to go to his house instead. I should have known he was a guy who thinks with his dick.
Mark suddenly grabbed my arm roughly and whirled me around. "Listen up, you bitch. I don't know why you're acting coy. I thought you wanted this."
Alarm bells rang inside my head and I tried to pull my arm away from his grasp. "Let go, you bastard."
"Come on, baby," his tone turned coaxing as he leaned closer to me, "You know you want me. Why else would you wear such tight clothes. Fuck, but your tits look awesome in that top."
"Mark, I swear to God if you don't let go—"
“Then let’s not do it all the way,” the crazy asshole dared to even suggest. “I’ll even let you be on top, alright?”
“Screw you. Just let go!”
“Come on, Hannah—.”
"Let her go."
My eyes flew over Mark’s shoulder and I froze. Standing behind him was a tall, taller than Dickhead Mark, and very good-looking guy around our age who was glowering at the hand wrapped tightly around my arm. He had short platinum blond hair and blue almost purple eyes and was wearing a simple white tee, black jeans and white sneakers. He wasn’t that big but he wasn’t lanky either. Simply put, he was gorgeous.
“Let her go. You’re hurting her.”
Mark sneered at him. “This is none of your business, pal—.”
The guy took a step forward, making Mark tilt his head back to look up at him. He was that tall.
“Let. Her. Go,” he repeated and enunciated carefully.
And his expression was that of black thunder that made a chill glide down my spine. Mark would be an idiot not to mind that look. And luckily, he wasn’t.
His face as red as my hair, he let go of me, mumbling, “Fuck this. You aren’t worth it.”
Then he left, mumbling more about how much of a tease I was.
I paid him no mind. My eyes were on the tall drink of a guy. The guy stared back down at me and I was sure he was seeing the admiration on my face. I didn’t care if he did. He was my knight-in-shining armor. My superman. My prince. My—.
“That was all your fault, you know.”
At that, my thoughts screeched to a halt and my crush died before it even really started.
“Excuse me?”
"If you had worn respectable clothes, then you might have not been assumed the worse."
I glowered at him. "You are judging me by my choice of clothes. Who the fuck do you think you are?" I took a step forward and poked him on the chest. “That’s what’s the problem with you men. You assume that everything a girl does is all about you. It’s summer. It’s hot. Hence, the tank top, short and kimono cardigan. I did not dress up thinking about that asshole who just left. I’m sensitive to heat, alright? It’s hot, alright?” I ended shouting.
He fell silent and stared at me. I stared back at him, fuming.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I’m sorry for... for judging you. I know this isn't an excuse but I grew up in a rather conservative family. I’m really sorry."
I softened at the sincerity I heard in his voice. But it didn’t mean I was over my anger.
"You should change that way of thinking," I said snootily.
"Yes, I should." He nodded. "I also go to South High so I really don't have much interaction with females. I really am sorry for hurting your feelings."
South High? The city’s boarding school for boys? I'd heard rumors that it was such a strict and traditional school.
"Is this why you sound awfully formal?" I asked curiously.
He tilted his head to the side. "Do I?"
"Um... yeah."
He thought about it for a few moments, then shrugged, "I guess I am.”
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“I’m William. What’s yours?"
Good God, even his name sounded traditional.
"I'm Hannah," I shook the hand he proffered. "It's nice to meet you despite the circumstances."
He smiled.
"It's also nice to meet you, Hannah."
- - - - - - - - - -
"He sounds old-fashioned," Skull commented when I paused for breath. "And boring."
"Shut your mouth,” I snapped, pinching his side. “He's not old-fashioned or boring."
Skull snickered. “All South High boys are you know.”
"I'm not going to continue if you keep insulting him," I warned him.
He laughed and waved his hand. "Please. Go on."
- - - - - - - - - -
Will left a deep impression on me since the day we met. I had negotiated to call him Will instead of William and laughingly, he agreed. He bought me ice cream and we sat on a bench in the park where he listened to me rant for almost two hours about Dickhead Mark and how I hated guys who slut-shame women.
My mother called me then, raving about how I should be picking my little siblings up from karate class. Will waved a taxi over for me and even opened the door for me. I had never experienced something like that in my entire life and it made my crush on him deepened.
We agreed to meet at the park the next day. And the next. And the next.
Our conversations ranged from what we did with our family and friends over the summer to how we both liked dogs and what tricks we had successfully made our pets do. We also talked about our families. I told him about my younger siblings who made my life hell sometimes and he told me that his older brothers, Benedict and Charles, two and four years older than him respectively, also loved making his life hell with their antics. He didn’t say hell exactly because he was too polite. But I got the gist.
I was so comfortable with him that I could be real self with him. He was like nobody else in this world.
When I was with him, I felt like I was split in half. A part of me was on fire, wanting to touch him. Wanting to kiss him. The other part was calm like the ocean, just perfectly content, knowing that he might be the one for me.
It took me awhile to decide to tell him that I had feelings for him. I didn’t want to rush things unlike with the other guys I had previously liked and dated. I wanted to be sure with him. But unfortunately, just when I finally planned to confess my feelings for him a week before school started, Will didn’t appear at the park.
And he never did again.
- - - - - - - - - -
“Didn’t you have his number?” Skull asked.
I shook my head. “He said his phone got lost when he went surfing with his brothers.”
“Facebook?”
I shook my head again. “He said his parents didn’t want him to be on social media so he could focus on his studies.”
Skull’s brows lifted. “You know how fishy his excuses sound right?” he pointed out.
I couldn’t deny that.
But I didn’t want to tell Skull he was right because he’d definitely gloat about it so I continued my story.
- - - - - - - - - -
I thought that was the end of Will and me and it bummed me for days. But sophomore year came and it was back to school again. There was a new girl in my class, a pretty blue-eyed blonde named Sophia and I had made it my mission to win her friendship over. She helped distract me from thoughts of Will until I thought I had almost forgotten him. But then I met him again at my mother’s dinner party.
“Will!” I shouted excitedly, earning ire looks from the people who heard. I picked up my skirts, pushed past the crowd and stopped in front of him. “You’re Will, right?”
There was recognition in his eyes when he caught sight of me. But then, his eyes turned blank, he’d never looked at me like that before, and my happiness faded a little. Still, I pushed on.
“Remember me?” I asked him. “Hannah? From the park?”
“I’m sorry but no,” he said, politely distant. “I don’t know you.”
I blinked twice. “Oh.”
Bowing his head slightly to me, he muttered, “Well, if you will excuse me...”
Then he went to return to his table near the front of the restaurant.
I wasn’t devastated. But I was pissed. Whirling around, I walked to the ladies’ room to cool myself down because the urge to strangle him with his tie was almost too difficult to resist. He recognized me. He knew me. Why did he pretend he didn’t?
Realizing that I also need to pee, I went into one of the stalls to do the business. Just then, I heard the door outside open and two girls came tittering inside the ladies’ room.
“Did you see Hannah’s face?” one of them said and the urge to pee disappeared.
“I did. God, that was so embarrassing. And really, where did she get the guts to come and talk to William? How can one be so thick?”
My fingers clenched. I knew who these girls were. They were North High girls whose parents were also my mother’s clients.
“Like William would associate himself with girls like her,” one of them scoffed. “She’s a slut. Probably the sluttiest girl in East Private. I’d be embarrassed to be seen with her too.”
God damn it. It was probably Dickhead Mark who spread the rumors. That or April Locke who I had the displeasure of having a quarrel in the cafeteria when we were in middle school.
I was so angry that I almost went out of the stall to pull all their fake bleached blonde hair from their heads. But I stayed put, knowing that I would just feed the rumors if I did.
Sure. I wasn’t a virgin. I played around with guys for fun but I never played with their feelings. I never let them decide my value.
And it wasn’t like Will and I were in a relationship. I never even told him how I felt.
But why did it feel like I just got dumped?
- - - - - - - - - -
“Do you want me to do something with Dickhead Mark?” Skull asked.
I smiled. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me all night.”
Skull grinned. “Do you?”
Yawning, I shook my head, “I already kicked him in the nuts the day after the party. Then I spread a rumor that he was seen kissing a guy in the locker room.”
“That was you?” he threw his head back and laughed.
I smirked. “I’m really mean when I want to be.”
“I doubt Terry was happy with what you did.”
“She wasn’t. But she let it happen because she was pretty mad at Mark for what he did to me too.”
“Does she know about Asshole Will?” Skull asked curiously.
“Don’t call him that, alright?” I sighed. “And yeah. I called her after the party and asked her about Will.”
“What did she say?”
“She said what you said, that he’s the third son of a CEO,” I muttered in answer. “And a lot of things that I already know from talking with Will. But although he already told me that his family was really conservative, I didn’t know that his family was that uptight and conservative, basically a very traditionally wealthy family that were pretty much all about reputations. She also told me that when his older brothers were in school, they were involved in a lot of scandals because of their misdemeanors and outrageous behaviors so Will was basically his parents’ last hope since he was the good kid.”
“So basically, Terry’s saying that you might be a scandal,” Skull chuckled.
“I figured,” I wailed. “I’m not exactly lady-like. And I’m nouveau riche as they say.”
He shrugged at that. “So what happened next with Asshole Will?”
I let out a heavy sigh again.
And resumed the telling.
- - - - - - - - - -
“Hannah.”
I ignored the voice and kept walking through the thick throng of people. The orchestra was beginning to play and couples were beginning to walk into the dance floor.
“Hannah, wait!”
I was determined to ignore the voice. Just as the owner had ignored me and pretended not to recognize me the last time we met. But annoyingly, everytime he called my name, my muscles tensed and my heart beat quickened with expectancy. Every nerve in my body was yearning for him and it was all I could do not to move into his arms and tell him how much I missed him.
I didn’t know why he still affected me so much. It had been weeks since we last saw each other.
Terry was still engaged in conversation with the guests of their party and I waited patiently by her side until she had no guests to entertain.
"You look really beautiful tonight," I told her once the guests had moved on. "I absolutely love your dress. It must have cost a fortune. I look like a troll next to you."
"You don't look like a troll, Hannah," she replied loyally. "No one could ever make you look like a troll."
"I do look pretty, right?" I giggled. I was wearing a pale green dress that suited me perfectly and my red hair was unbounded, falling into soft waves around my shoulders. "Now if only the one I'm interested in will give me a glance."
"If you're talking about William then he's been staring at you since you've arrived," she pointed out. So it wasn’t only me who had noticed. And that made my heart flutter.
I didn’t want that to make my heart flutter. Because he really did hurt me when he pretended not to know me. But I didn’t let it show. I didn’t want Terry to be worried about me.
Winking at my best friend, I said, "I know. But he snubbed me at the last party we both attended so it's his turn to come to me."
"How vengeful,” Terry commented dryly.
Leaning in, I whispered, "But don't you think John oh-my-God Steele is the hottest guy in the room? And did you hear this is the first party he's attended for years?"
"What do you mean?" she frowned.
"Well, we all know how he turned wild and rebellious once he reached puberty right? My sources also told me he's been flatly refusing invitations since then and his parents couldn't force him to come."
Terry kept frowning. I was about to talk more about John to get her mind off questioning me about Will when I spotted him over my shoulder.
"Oh, crap," I mumbled. "Will is elbowing his way to me."
"You better run then if you want to play cat and mouse with him," she said with a small smile.
"Yeah, I better. See you later!"
I managed to lose Will in the crowd. But somehow, he found me hiding behind a pillar.
“Hannah,” he exhaled as he cornered me. “You have to let me explain.”
“Do I know you?” I asked in an innocent tone as I backed away from him.
He clenched his jaw. “I’m sorry about that. I’m really—”
I didn’t let him finish. “Is it because everyone thinks I’m a slut?”
“No,” he immediately said. “You’re not a... a...”
“Slut?” I offered.
He glared at me. I closed my mouth.
“You have every right to be angry,” he began in a low voice. “And you have every right not to forgive me. I won’t offer you an excuse. But let me apologize for hurting your feelings.”
My brows lifted. “So you can feel good about yourself?” I bit out. “No. Keep your apologies. I’m not even hurt by you brushing me off like that. Surprised, yes. Disappointed, that too. Because I didn’t expect you’d do that to me of all people.”
I tried to step past him. But he grabbed my wrist and I paused.
“At least let me have a dance with you,” he said almost desperately. “I’d be honored to have a dance with you, Hannah.”
Those words, I didn’t know why but those words thawed the pain and anger inside of me. I turned to him. He had the saddest expression on his face. And everything that I had once felt for him rushed over me like a tidal wave.
“Fine,” I blurted out before I could stop myself. “One dance.”
Damn it. I winched. I couldn’t believe I was so easy and weak for him.
But his blue eyes shining in pure joy and the big smile gracing his lips made this hasty decision worth it. An excited sort of happiness skittered through me as he led me to the dance floor, especially when I saw those North High girls who talked crap about me in the crowd.
And then we danced. In each other’s arms. Staring into each other’s eyes like we were the only people on the floor. I forgot about the North High girls. Forgot about Will’s sin. All that mattered at the moment was that we were together. I didn’t understand what was happening to me but I knew that I didn’t want this moment to stop. I didn’t want to let go of him.
I didn’t want to lose him.
When the music softly ended, we both beamed at each other in delight. I was breathless with exhilaration. He could say any excuse he had about snubbing me at my mother’s dinner party and I would accept everything in an instant.
Will opened his mouth to speak. But then my eyes caught a sight so incredible I got entirely distracted from him.
“Oh, my God,” I whispered. “Is that Terry and John?”
Confused, Will looked behind him.
“Oh, my God,” I kept on whispering. “Why are they dancing with each other? Is she crazy?”
Will returned his gaze to me. “Umm...”
“Give me a moment alright?” I told him, patting his arm. “I need to talk to Terry.”
He hesitated for a moment before he stepped back. Smiling brightly at him, I picked up my skirts and dashed through the crowd to talk to Terry.
But when I returned to find him, he was gone. And I didn’t see him since then.
- - - - - - - - - -
Skull started laughing again.
“It’s not Asshole Will’s fault then,” he said between laughs. “It’s because of you.”
“It’s-it’s not my fault,” I denied. It was. But I didn’t want it pointed out at me.
“You chose gossip over clearing things out between him,” he annoyingly pointed out, still laughing quite loudly. “Damn, you chose to be such a girl at such an important time.”
I couldn’t help it, I was so annoyed at him but mostly at myself that my hands just wrapped around his neck to strangle him.
And that was how Terry found us when she returned with coffee.
Me trying to kill Skull.
And Skull laughing his ass off.
- - - - - - - - - -
next
- - - - - - - - - -
This was one long chapter. I had to cram everything down because this book will only have 5 chapters. I never really planned to make Hannah a book but while I was writing Rohan’s story, the plot just came to mind and I had to make it happen.
I hope you liked this chapter. I hope you will like this story!
Summary: Uninhibited and happy-go-lucky Hannah Austin had thought she’d get through high school free from any worries and problems. But then she meets a guy who made her heart beat in a crazy way like never before. The same guy who was also determined to keep breaking it. Despite that, can Hannah endure losing him to protect herself from a big heartbreak? Or can she trust him with her heart again?
Third cry
“He’s here,” I told Skull in near tears when we got to the balcony. “I don’t know why but he’s here.”
Skull grabbed my shoulders. “Calm down, Hannah. Calm down.”
A tear escaped my eye and I brushed it away. “Terry said he wouldn’t be here. She said that his parents told her when they RSVP’d that he was busy with university to come.”
“How many glasses of wine did you have, Hannah?”
A laugh bubbled out of my throat. “I don’t know? A bottle maybe? I sneaked one from the table because I... I needed liquid courage, Skull. He caught me so off-guard that I didn’t know what to do.”
Another tear fell down my cheek and Skull’s arms went around me, pulling me close to him. I sniffled and buried my face into his chest.
“I’m going to ruin your suit,” I mumbled wetly.
“It’s alright,” he mumbled back. “I’ll hold you until you get yourself together, Hannah. And I’ll stay by your side. All night. I won’t let you out of my sight and I won’t let him near you again.”
“You know something about him, don’t you?”
He didn’t answer. I had a feeling that he knew more than he let on. But I didn’t ask further. Because I was in so much pain that it was all I could think of. It made the tears keep falling down my face and my body went slack on Skull.
I lost time, not knowing how much time had slid by, not caring as I cried. Until I started to care. Because this was Terry’s birthday party. I couldn’t ruin my bestfriend’s special day by freaking out like this.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to compose myself.
“You never really forgot him, did you?” I heard Skull say.
Fresh pain sliced through me. My body jerked with it and Skull’s arms gave me a squeeze.
I lifted my head to look at him.
“How can I?” I cried out. “When he’s everywhere I go?”
- - - - - - - - - -
I didn’t pine over Asshole Will.
I refused to pine over people who hurt me.
In front of everyone, I was still the same cheerful Hannah that they all knew. Even alone, I forced myself to cheer up, that a lot of people had it worse than me. I only had a broken heart. Leon, Terry and Skull had it worse. Hell, even eternally pissed Rohan had it worse than me.
So I wasn’t going to dwell on my pain. I was going to move on. I was definitely going to forget about him. Especially since I was getting busy with college applications and actually studying so I could graduate senior year. I even already made plans with Sophia since our first university choices were the same. So yes, I was going to forget about him just like he asked me too.
But as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t.
How could I when I kept meeting and seeing him?
My mother had partnered with one of the Carters’ restaurant chains during the summer to cater for her company and promote our jewelry brand. It was a year long special event where people would share photos of the company’s event space inside the restaurants on social media to enjoy complimentary drinks and food. And my mother had forced me to oversee the creative installations, saying it was practice for when I would be working for our company and because I was good at art.
I had wanted to do it at first. But when she told me whose restaurant chain it was going to be, I balked at the idea. Still, she pretty much nagged at me to do it until I relented.
- - - - - - - - - -
“You told me you didn’t see him whenever you had to go and work,” Skull said in a disapproving voice.
“I didn’t want to worry you,” I muttered. Ever since the last time I cried on his shoulder, he had made it his mission to take care of me. He had my back the rest of junior year and throughout senior year. And I was afraid I’d disappoint him if I tell him that I wasn’t completely over Will.
The next time I saw Will again, it took everything in me not to run out of the restaurant.
I didn’t know whether he knew I was here, he was talking to the manager near the counter, but if he approached me I wouldn’t know what to do.
Somehow, I had managed to put on a serene expression on my face and tried to put my complete focus on making sure that the sterling silver designs were where they were supposed to be. Only when my job was done did I allow myself to search for him. And luckily, he was gone.
The second time was a week later at another branch of their restaurant chain. He kept watching me while drinking coffee across the room. I felt his stare bore into my back as I worked around and I desperately prayed he would leave.
Wasn’t he supposed to be at Harvard? Sure, it was just like a couple of hours away by car maybe but wasn’t he supposed to be busy? A lot of people did say college was no walk in the park.
But it seemed that that wasn’t true. Because we kept meeting. I kept seeing him. Everytime I went to the restaurants during the weekends to work, he was there, watching me.
I didn't understand why the universe was doing this to me. When I wanted to be near him, the universe conspired to keep him away. Now that I wanted to forget him, the universe was mocking me by letting me see him all the damn time.
And where was Elaine? His girlfriend? More than once, I had overheard the restaurant staff gossip about him and his family but Elaine’s name never came up. Had they already broken up?
Not that it was my business. He wasn’t my business anymore.
- - - - - - - - - -
“What did Terry and Sophia say about this?” Skull asked as he juggled to keep the compact mirror steady in his hand while the other held my small make-up bag. “You did tell them about him right?”
“Hold it still, will you?” I asked as I put on a fresh coat of lipstick. I couldn’t go back to the party looking like a wreck. “And yeah. I did. Because they both started to notice how much I dreaded doing my job at the restaurants and since Terry knows who owns said restaurants, she put two and two together and figured I wasn’t really over Will.”
“She must be unhappy.”
“Very unhappy. I made her promise not to keep secrets from me ever again and yet I wasn’t doing the same.” I reached out to make Skull lift the mirror higher and checked my appearance. “She called Sophia over for an emergency sleep over and I told them everything over buckets of ice cream and junk food. Then she nagged me about how I should be professional and forget Will while Sophia hand-fed me spoonful after spoonful of ice cream and told me that maybe Will still liked me. That maybe, like Leon, he had some circumstances that was preventing him from being real with me.”
Skull laughed. “Terry nagged her too, didn’t she?”
I straightened. “She did,” I said dryly. “Terry said that Will didn’t have a past trauma like Leon. That he needs to man up. Because if he doesn’t and if he keeps hurting me, she’d do something about it.”
“Terry’s only concerned of you.”
“She is,” I nodded. “But I don’t want her doing something about it. She might make things worse.”
Skull sighed when I finally permitted him to lower the mirror. Leaning against the balustrade, he asked, “What happened next with Asshole Will?”
- - - - - - - - - -
“You’re very beautiful, did you know that?” a man told me with a slight leer. “Do you want to have a drive with me later?”
I resisted the urge to knee him where the sun didn’t shine. Because was he seriously hitting on me right now? I knew who he was. And I knew he was very married considering that I had seen him put his wedding ring inside his pocket when he was approaching me. And I knew he was a total sleazebag.
My mother was holding another one of her company dinner parties. A lot of her clients had been invited and this sleazy bastard’s wife was one of my mother’s biggest client. My mother would probably break out into hives if I disregarded protocol and take this sleaze down. So I went on trying to be civil and cordial to him even though it was killing me.
“No, thank you,” I replied. “Now if you will excuse me, I have to go. My mother’s looking for me.”
I tried to walk past him but he had a hand on my arm. “What do you want? Money? Jewelry? Because I can give you everything you want and more if you keep me company tonight.”
He must be joking. I was probably richer than this sleazy bastard.
He must have taken my silence as agreement because he tried to pull me close to him, even tried to take a peek through the top of my dress. I thought about screaming, to hell with protocol but then Will appeared like a knight-in-shining armor that I didn’t need.
“Please keep your hands off our guest, Mr. Jacobs,” he said in a tone with underlying anger and threat. “Or else, I might be moved to remove them myself.”
Laughing nervously, sleazy bastard let me go and lifted his hands up. “We were just talking about jewelry, William.”
“And may I remind you that it’s my cousin’s best friend who you are married to,” Will told him sharply. That piqued my interest. I thrived on gossip and drama. “So if I catch you removing your ring again--”
“Alright, alright,” sleazy bastard pulled on his ring in panic. “I’ll... I’ll see you around, William.”
Then he was gone. Leaving me and Will alone for the first time together.
“Is this your restaurant too?” I asked after a long moment of silence.
“It is,” I heard him say.
Damn it to hell. How many restaurant chains did this guy’s family exactly own?
“You probably think I deserve that,” I said bitterly. “For wearing a low cut dress—.”
“Are you alright?”
My eyes flew to him. There was concern on his face, concern and anger. I wanted to laugh. Because why now? Why was he concerned for me now?
But instead, I stared at him.
And stupidly said, “I missed you.”
I watched him close his eyes. So slow that it seemed like years had passed before they closed.
“Did you miss me, Will?”
He didn’t answer.
“It’s an easy question, you know,” I said through the pain in my chest. “A simple yes or no would suffice.”
His eyes opened. He looked at me. But he still didn’t give me the answer I wanted.
Because despite myself, I had secretly hoped that one day, he might approach me while I was working in his restaurant and ask me out for coffee. Or just ask how I was doing. Or tell me that he was sorry. That it wasn’t just me. That he liked me too.
The entire past months, I had been under the assumption that maybe he was always watching me because he liked me as much as I liked him. That he still needed time to break through whatever it was that was holding him back.
But it was clear now. He really didn’t think much of me.
I forced myself to smile at Will.
Because I didn’t deserve this.
“I hope I’ll never see you again,” I told him with all the sincerity I could muster.
Then I turned around and left him.
- - - - - - - - - -
“So you never saw him again?” Skull clarified.
I shrugged. “For weeks, I didn’t. But tonight...”
“Did you talk?” he asked when I trailed off. “Before you downed the wine bottle?”
Tears pricked my eyes once more when I nodded.
- - - - - - - - - -
“I don’t understand why you have to bring the brats,” I told my mother. She was trying to keep my excited younger siblings still and was holding on to them to make sure they wouldn’t run off. “Where’s Dad?”
My mother sighed. “He’s coming. He got caught by traffic.”
“I look pretty in this dress, right Hannah?” Lyza, my younger sister by four years, worriedly asked, holding up her skirt.
I smiled at her. “Of course, you are. I chose that dress for you, remember?”
Someone tugged on my hand and I looked down to see the youngest, Ivy. “I look like a princess, right?” she asked after she took her thumb out of her mouth.
Before I could answer, Alfie, the third Austin child, spoke with a sneer on his face, “She doesn’t look like a princess. She looks like a toad.”
That was the wrong thing to say. “Take that back, Alfie!”
“Alright, alright. Let’s not cause a scene,” our mother admonished them.
But the brats had already began their quarrel. Lyza and I exchanged glances and quickly sneaked away, knowing that it would escalate soon. Lyza found her friends and went giggling off somewhere with them. Terry and John were still in the receiving line of the party and the others had yet to arrive so I mingled with some friends from school as I waited for them.
I was admiring the tall champagne tower at the corner of the ballroom when someone spoke behind me.
“Hannah.”
That voice made me freeze on the spot. I could feel the thumping of a heart somewhere in my chest again for the first time in weeks.
“Can we talk?”
Slowly, I turned my head. It was Will. Handsomer than before. Wearing a black suit that made his blue almost purple eyes stand out.
“I thought I made it clear that I never wanted to see you again,” I said in a shaky voice.
“You did. But I need to tell you—.”
“I don’t care,” I cut-in sharply. I whirled around to face him fully. “I don’t care anymore. You had so many chances to tell me whatever you needed to tell me. And I’m done. You’ll just keep apologizing anyway and then brush me off again. Go back to your Elaine. Don’t talk to me anymore.”
“We weren’t dating.”
I drew in breath.
“Elaine and I, we weren’t dating each other, Hannah,” he repeated, his eyes glittering and searing into me. “She lied.”
Too late. It was a little too late for him to tell me this.
“I have a lot explaining to do. And I’m hoping you’d give me a chance to—.”
“Break my heart again?” I snapped.
He immediately shook his head. “No. If you’ll let me—”
“No,” I cut him off again. “No more. No more of your apologies. No more of you.”
“Please, Hannah.” He tried to reach for me but I stepped away from him. “Please let me explain.”
“I wish I’d never met you,” I told him vehemently through the lump in my throat. “I wish you’d never helped me at the park. I wish that I never fell in love with you. I wish… God, I wish you just didn’t exist. So please. Do me a favor and don’t appear in front of me again.”
He grabbed my arm when I tried to leave. “Hannah, I lo—.”
I pushed his hand off and ran away before I could hear the rest of what he was going to say. Before I could do something stupid. Before I cave.
Before I forgive him again.
- - - - - - - - - -
“You keep a mean grudge,” Skull pointed out.
“I guess I do,” I admitted.
“Sophia had a point though. Maybe Will had some circumstances that’s stopping himself—.”
“Don’t,” I cut him off painfully. “I don’t want to think about maybes and ifs anymore. That would only make me hope. And I’m tired of hoping.”
Skull understood that. The feeling that he knew more than he let on crept on me again but I pushed that thought away.
“But why now?” I asked bitterly as I stared at the balcony doors. “Why is he pushing himself towards me? When I think I have almost forgotten about him, he appears. Why wouldn’t he leave me alone? Why is my stupid heart still yearning for him?”
“The heart never forgets people like that.”
My gaze jerked to Skull. He was looking at the ground with small, melancholic smile on his lips.
“You never forget people like that.”
I let out a cynical laugh. “Even if those people don’t deserve our love?”
Skull lifted his head.
“Unfortunately,” he answered.
Then I remembered.
Skull too had an unrequited love with someone.
And looking at the expression on his face, he never really forgot about her. He never really moved on. Which was why he never gave me the same advise as Terry. That I need to move on. Because he understood all too well the feeling of liking someone who would never like you back.
“Whoever she is, she sucks,” I told him loyally. “Because if I wasn’t in love with Will, I might have fallen for you.”
He laughed low and shook his head. “I know. I’m just too irresistible.”
I slapped his shoulder. “I’m serious,” I hissed, leaning towards him. “Because you’re a great guy. Even though you can be such a dick, you are.”
This time, his laughter was much more genuine and I smiled.
After awhile, we returned to the ballroom, the both of us forcing smiles through the pain in our hearts.
(Please use search bars on the sites mentioned, Tumblr’s redirect links still suck.)
Stories on Tumblr: (on Wattpad and Dreame now!)
30 Days (complete)
He lost a bet and was told to make a girl fall in love with him in 30 days as the consequence. But what he doesn’t know, what they both didn’t know, was that she had the same task too. Who will say the words ‘I love you’ first? (A sort of prequel to The Bully’s First Love)
Fall For Me Again (complete) - a KARD fanfic
On her first day of work, fresh graduate Jiwoo Jeon gets assigned to the editorial department and gets introduced to the head editor. Panic ensues when she realizes that her new superior turns out to be her first love.
Remember When (complete) - a KARD fanfic
Somin Jeon vowed she would never love again. But her irresistibly handsome colleague and friend had other plans in mind and that included her falling in love with him. Again.
One Night Series (complete)
A one-shot collection depicting our favorite characters from The Bully series set months before the first book, The School Bully. Also includes the Christmas Special featuring Sophia and Leon.
Hey, Bully (complete)
Uninhibited and happy-go-lucky Hannah Austin had thought she’d get through high school free from any worries and problems. But then she meets a guy who made her heart beat in a crazy way like never before. The same guy who was also determined to keep breaking it. Despite that, can Hannah endure losing him to protect herself from a big heartbreak? Or can she trust him with her heart again? (The Bully Series side-novel, Book 3.5)
Stories exclusively on Dreame
-THE BULLY SERIES-
Book 1: The School Bully. (complete!)
Shy bookworm Sophia Gideon wished she had a boyfriend like in her books. But her wish backfired when she caught the interest of her school's most vicious bully. He enjoyed beating people up and his knuckles were always raw, his boots splattered with blood. Sophia was convinced he was a monster. A cruel, unfeeling, soulless monster. But was he?
Book 2: Sleeping with a Bully. (complete)
Brilliant and overachieving Terry Evans only wanted to be happy. Born in a family where money and power was everything, her life was in shackles, worsened by her mother's abusive nature. Then she met one of the school's most infamous bullies in a place she wasn't supposed to be. And little did she know, he will set the gears in motion to a future she didn't want. Or did she?
Book 3: The Bully’s First Love. (complete)
Fearless and reckless Emilia Schuyler just wanted to have her ex step-brother back in her life. While everyone else finds him intimidating because of his gloomy nature, she finds him the total opposite of scary and thinks him wonderful. Problem was, he wasn't cooperating and wants nothing to do with her. Or does he really? And why was she so hellbent on winning him back?
Book 4: Loving a Bully (complete)
Proud yet vulnerable April Locke only wishes to be free from a father who forced her to endure and live a nightmare all her life. Her savior comes in the form of the man whose love she had cruelly rejected not once but twice. She's still having none of him. Unfortunately, he's having none of her rejections anymore and pledged to protect her with his life. But how can she let herself love him when she knows of a secret that will still make her lose him in the end?
Games of the Heart (complete)
In a quiet town nestled between the sea and forest lived three friends, Alex, Eliza and Anthony. Popular, easygoing Alex and quiet, unassuming Eliza have been best friends since childhood. The duo became a trio when snarky, sarcastic Anthony became their friend during junior high. Marred by the different ugly sides of love, each of them wished to just graduate from high school peacefully. But with the transfer of a new student, it seems that their wishes would not be granted. And since his arrival, strange things have been happening to the three of them. Especially to Eliza.
Summary: Uninhibited and happy-go-lucky Hannah Austin had thought she’d get through high school free from any worries and problems. But then she meets a guy who made her heart beat in a crazy way like never before. The same guy who was also determined to keep breaking it. Despite that, can Hannah endure losing him to protect herself from a big heartbreak? Or can she trust him with her heart again?
Epilogue
All the curtains in the room were drawn, plunging it into darkness. Despite the undeniable luxuriousness of the hotel room, the air seemed musty and suffocating, deepening the gloomy atmosphere. Like nobody had even stayed here despite it being booked for a month already.
I took this all in with one sweep of a glance from the door.
Behind me, I heard Will take in a shocked breath.
Moving further into the room, my eyes narrowed on the unmoving lump buried beneath the sheets of the bed. There was a bottle of wine on the floor and more on the table. Letting out a loud exhale, I made my way to the sheets.
"Hey."
There was no answer.
"Wake, up."
Not even a peep.
Grabbing the sheet, I pulled it down enough to let me see his head. Who knew if this idiot was naked? I surely didn't want to find out.
He was sleeping on his stomach. He had no shirt on. I let out a hum of approval when I saw his massive muscled back. His brown hair was getting longer and he was sporting a scruffy beard that was desperate of a shave.
I narrowed my eyes at him in distaste but also pity. This was not how a grown man should live, if this could even be called living. But heartache was a funny thing. You can either get over it or not. Skull was definitely not over it yet.
I let out another sigh, this time because I felt sad for him.
Then I lifted my heel-clad foot and dug it into his side.
"Hey, bully."
Skull's body flinched. Then he flipped over. He opened his eyes, bloodshot eyes that found me and were now glowering up at me.
"You're the fucking bully, Hannah," he growled and pushed my foot off the bed with his hand"What are you doing here?"
A clatter made me turn my head around. Will looked up at us apologetically. He was bent down, trying to clean up the mess on the table.
"Maybe I should just order coffee for him instead?"
I gave my handsome man an appreciative smile before I twisted my neck to glare down at Skull again.
"Move," I hissed.
A brown brow lifted. "Where?"
"On."
He closed his eyes and smirked. "Don't give me shit so early in the morning."
"It's not morning." I sat my butt down the edge of the bed. "It's the afternoon."
"And I don't need you to tell me the time."
"How many days have you last shaved?"
"I just shaved yesterday morning for Emmy's concerto, Mother," he answered in a weary tone. "Terry would kill me if I went there looking like a fucking hobo."
"Then do it again," I instructed, eyeing him. "And for God's sake, cut your hair."
"Honey," Will warned. "Leave the grizzly alone."
"Please listen to your fiance." Skull lifted his head and frowned at Will. "And I'm not a grizzly."
"Your attitude's like a grizzly," I pointed out irritably.
"I'm a man."
"And your sense of humor is currently nowhere to be found."
Skull sighed and let his head fall back. I tugged on the sheet to get his attention again and he gave me his eyes.
Then he said, "I'm naked under this sheet."
"I already know," I muttered with a shrug.
"Do you want to see my dick to compare it with Will's? Because you might give the ring back."
"Don't be ridiculous."
Will acted like he heard nothing. His phone started to ring and with a resigned sigh, he excused himself and answered the phone by the window.
"His father still hates you, does he?" Skull asked.
I looked at him and grinned. "He doesn't hate me."
Skull gave me a knowing smirk.
"Fine," I shrugged. "He does. He especially hates the fact that he had to deal with me since Mom had already handed most of the business with me."
"I could already imagine the skinny bastard's face."
I whacked his shoulder. "Don't call my future father-in-law names."
Snickering, he closed his eyes again. Then he sighed. Worried, I fell silent, studying him. I know it wasn't my place to tell him to move on but I just wanted him to be happy.
"Do you want me to set you up for a blind date?" I asked him hopefully.
His lips twitched. "No."
"She's really nice," I insisted. "And she has a really nice rack."
He chuckled. "Still, no."
A great sigh escaped my lips.
"Skull, about April..."
"She's out there somewhere, Hannah," he interrupted me again. "She's close. I can feel it. I have to find her."
"It's been..." I bit my lip then released it to say, "It's been eight years."
"Doesn't matter."
I leaned forward. "But Skull--."
"Doesn't matter," he said gently but firmly. "I'm still going to find her."
This was disheartening. Seeing him so miserable pining for her made me feel disheartened for him.
"She's a bi - she's not even friendly," I whispered.
He chuckled. "You don't know her like I do, Hannah."
I stared sullenly at him.
"But yeah. I can't deny that she was a bitch."
Then why?
Why her?
Why did he love her so much to keep looking and waiting for her to come back?
April didn't deserve him. I didn't care if there was a lot of things I didn't know about her, she still didn't deserve him.
Yet I found myself praying and wishing that Skull would find her. So it would end his misery. I found myself hoping that she'd come back. Because Skull didn't deserve this too.
His cell phone started to ring somewhere.
We exchanged glances then he started to dig around the bed.
"You really are naked," I laughed, closing my eyes when the sheet slid lower and I saw his ass.
Will, who had finished the call, walked up behind me and covered my eyes with his hands. "You might get tempted to look," he said with amusement laced in his voice. "It's a very nice ass after all."
"Sometimes, I get thoughts that you might be gay, Will," I heard Skull grumble as he kept looking.
"I studied in a boy's school. There's a lot of ass there."
"Point made."
"He still needs more practice on how to talk like a regular person," I muttered with a sigh. "At least he doesn't sound too formal now."
"Yeah, I still remember when he told me to have a nice day when I was about to leave-- ah, here it is."
The music grew louder and Will let go of my eyes, placing his hands on my shoulders instead. I opened them to see Skull with a pillow between his legs, putting the phone on his ear.
"What?"
He listened for a moment. Then his face darkened.
"What is it?" he barked impatiently.
I exchanged concerned glances with Will over my shoulder. Then I returned my gaze back to Skull t see his body growing tight.
"Are you certain?" he whispered.
"Is everything alright?" I asked worriedly.
Will's hands on my shoulder squeezed for me to calm down.
"I swear to fucking God if you're not certain--," Skull stopped speaking and the anger died on his face. "Alright. I'll call you again."
Knifing out of his bed, he disconnected the call and threw it on the bed. Will was quick to cover my eyes as soon as the pillow fell. Then I heard Skull move to his closet, tearing the doors open.
“Skull, what the hell is going on?” I asked. “Where are you going?”
After a few seconds, I pushed Will's hands away and saw that he was tearing his clothes off their hangers and throwing them to the bed.
“Skull!” I blocked his way as he was grabbing his suitcase. Standing on tiptoe I held his face, my gaze searching his face. “What happened?”
His eyes wildly landed on mine.
Then his next words made my heart squeeze for him.
“They found her.”
previous
A/N:
Thanks for reading!
Loving a Bully, Skull’s story and the final book of the series will be out on the first of November, 2018! Hope you’ll still support my next book. Thanks again!
Summary: Uninhibited and happy-go-lucky Hannah Austin had thought she’d get through high school free from any worries and problems. But then she meets a guy who made her heart beat in a crazy way like never before. The same guy who was also determined to keep breaking it. Despite that, can Hannah endure losing him to protect herself from a big heartbreak? Or can she trust him with her heart again?
Last cry:
I was sitting on one of the swings at the back of my house. My gaze was on the beautiful stars that twinkled in the night sky.
It was past midnight. I was still in the dress that I wore to Sophia’s go-away party. It was chilly and I shivered more than once but I stayed, in the semi-darkness, trying to sober before I enter the house.
I was feeling a little melancholic. We were all going on our separate ways soon to go to college. Well, except for Skull and Rohan. They were going to be seniors this upcoming school year. But they too would be graduating next year and the thought of seldom meeting with everyone made my heart ache.
Something rustled behind me and I stiffened, grabbing my purse on my lap to use it as a weapon if I have to.
Then I let myself relax because it was probably Skull.
He’d often surprised me by coming unannounced and we sometimes stayed up all night on the back porch, just talking and gossiping about our friends. My parents thought I was dating him. We didn’t bother to correct them because we both thought it was amusing. We were only friends. He was my closest male friend. I had never thought I’d get to have a male best friend because of the whole girl-and-boy-cannot-just-be-friends kind of thing. But we never really thought of each other more than friends.
At the corner of my eye, I saw someone sit on the other swing next to me. I sighed and turned my head.
“Why are you here, Skull...?” The words died on my throat.
Because it wasn’t Skull.
It was Will.
Dumbstruck at the sight of him, I could only stare at his side profile. And he took the opportunity of my stunned silence to talk.
“Yes.” He was staring at the swimming pool ahead as he spoke. “I missed you. Every day that we were apart, I missed you.”
I couldn’t help but tear up at the answer to the question that I had once asked him so long ago.
“When I went to Terry’s birthday party last year, I had wanted to tell you that. And to set things right. But you didn’t let me. And you didn’t leave Christopher Lawrence’s side all night. So I left, thinking I was too late because you looked so happy next to him.”
“Then why are you here?” I asked, finding my voice.
Will took a deep breath. Then he turned his head and I gasped at the fresh bruise under his eye.
He smiled ruefully. Then he told me where he’d been.
- - - - - - - - - -
“Can we talk?”
Christopher looked completely pissed off as he shut the door to his car.
“Are you crazy, Carter?” he yelled as he stormed towards him. “You could have hit my car, you shit driver.”
“But I didn’t,” William pointed out, leaning behind his car. The car that was currently blocking the road leading into the Lawrence property. “And luckily, you stopped just in time.”
Christopher glared at him. “You’re a lunatic.”
“Are you really going out with Hannah?”
And he started to laugh. “Fuck, is this why you suddenly appeared out of nowhere at,” he glanced at his wristwatch, “half past eleven in the evening, Jesus Christ!” he returned his gaze back to him. “How long did you wait for me here?”
William shrugged. “I couldn’t exactly crash Sophia Gideon’s party.”
“So you decided to crash my car instead?” Christopher retorted in disbelief.
Almost.
But William didn’t say that.
They would be just going in circles and he didn’t have time to go into circles.
“You haven’t answered my question.” He straightened from his car and glared at Christopher. “Are you really going out with Hannah? Because I’ve heard some things and it led me to the conclusion that you aren’t.”
A muscle on Christopher’s jaw twitched. “What things?”
“That you’re looking for April Locke.”
“Fuck,” he exploded. “Where the fuck did you hear that?”
William shrugged again. “My family doesn’t just own restaurants. We also own several bars. People tend to talk a lot when they had a few drinks, you know.”
That information made the anger fade from his face. “What else did you hear?” he asked in interest.
“I’ll tell you. But first, answer my question.”
Christopher stared at him for a long moment. And William stared back at him, trying not to show his desperation.
Yes. He was desperate. For years, he’d been desperate for Hannah.
But a lot of things happened. Things that made him keep away from her. Things that made him lose her.
This time, however, he wasn’t giving up anymore. He was going to fight for her. But first, he had to find out if she really was in a relationship with Christopher Lawrence.
Only then was he going to give up.
- - - - - - - - - -
“Why now?” I asked when he paused to take a breath. “After all these years, why now?”
“Like I said, I was going to tell you everything at Terry’s party,” he told me and I shut my mouth.
Damn. I should have let him explain. But I was too shocked and too hurt.
“But the black-eye...”
I stopped talking when Will smiled at me.
- - - - - - - - - -
“I’ll tell you everything I know,” William told Christopher when the larger man still didn’t speak. “And trust me when I say that I know a lot. Including the information on her family.”
William watched as Christopher’s head jerked back.
“Let’s not talk about that here,” he said in a low voice, his eyes darting around. “Keep your fucking mouth shut.”
William wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t going to run his mouth knowing how dangerous that information was.
“So Hannah?” he prompted and with a sigh of frustration, Christopher finally answered him.
“We’re not dating.”
A wave of relief coursed through him so strong his legs nearly buckled. “You aren’t?”
Christopher answered again, humor in his tone now, “We aren’t.”
“But two years ago, she said—.”
“What did you expect her to do, Carter?” Christopher cut him off with a shrug of his shoulders. “She went there to see you. To talk to you about your stupid note. But then you suddenly had a girlfriend.”
“She said that you were dating to get back at me?” Will had never heard of something so ludicrous.
Sighing again, Christopher said, “Man, how can you be so thick? Of course she did that to get back at you. And of course I helped because she’s my friend.”
- - - - - - - - - -
Will was staring at me like he was disappointed in me and I tried to look everywhere but him.
Then I hesitantly explained, “It was Skull, no, Christopher who started it. I merely played along with him because I was too embarrassed—.”
“I was going to correct her, you know.”
I closed my mouth again.
Sighing, Will ran a hand through his hair. “When Elaine said that she was my girlfriend, I was going to tell you that it wasn’t true. That she was just one of Charles’ exes who was trying to convince me to help her make him jealous to get him back. But Lawrence appeared. He had his arm possessively around you. And when you said that he was your boyfriend I...” he shook his head. “I thought I was the only one getting hurt. Not you.”
Heck, I must have been a very good actress.
“And you bought it,” I muttered.
“I did,” he muttered back. “Because whenever I saw you with him, you looked like so content. And you seemed to have moved on.”
- - - - - - - - - -
“So what are you going to do now that you know the truth?” Christopher asked when William was about to turn around to get inside his car.
“I’m going to tell her everything,” he answered, pausing to look at him.
“Tonight?” Christopher gave him a bewildered look. “It’s late.”
“Yeah.”
“And you don’t know where she is.”
William frowned. “Isn’t she still at Sophia Gideon’s house?”
He smirked. “No.”
“Then she’s probably at home.”
“Do you even know where she lives?”
That gave him pause even more. He knew what part of the city she lived in but he didn’t know her exact address. When they used to meet each other in the park, they had their own respective vehicles so he never had the chance to take her home.
“What’s her address?” he asked.
Christopher started laughing.
“What’s her address, Lawrence?”
“She hates your guts, you know,” Christopher told him. “She never wants to see you again. And as a good friend, I’m thinking that I should be keeping you away from him.”
“That wasn’t our deal,” William gritted out.
“Hey, our deal was that you give me information in exchange for answering your question about me and Hannah dating.”
“Lawrence—.”
“And I heard about your problems with your family, Carter. Have you fixed them already?”
“I wouldn’t be chasing after her if I hadn’t,” he shot back angrily.
- - - - - - - - - -
“Problems?” I said with a start. “What problems?”
Will leaned forward on the swing, his elbows on his knees, and clasped his hands together.
Staring in front of him, he reluctantly began, “You probably heard that my family is old-fashioned, Hannah.”
“I did, yes.”
“And that they didn’t want any more scandals in the family after my brothers’ kept screwing up.”
This time, I didn’t answer. Because I knew. And it seemed he didn’t need one.
“I had expressed interest in you to my older brother, Benedict, after you and I met several times in the park. Ben knew you because his girlfriend used to go to East Private when they were still in high school. And he told me he heard several things about you from her.”
“What things?”
“He said that you had trouble with some girls. You were probably in middle school then.”
I remembered. I was bullied and judged for supposedly seducing some of my classmates’ boyfriends which I never did.
“My father heard our conversation. He said there was no way he was letting someone like you in the family. And he told me to stay away from you.”
“Is that why you didn’t appear at the park anymore?” I guessed.
He nodded.
“And why you gave me the cold shoulder at my mother’s dinner party back when we saw each other again?”
He nodded again. “I saw the hurt in your eyes when I did that. And it nagged at me. I couldn’t forget about you. So when we met again at Terry Evans’ party the same year, I tried to talk to you. Do you remember?”
I did remember. “I also remember you disappearing.”
“Because my father saw us dance,” he replied darkly. “He was... very angry with me.”
“And he probably got even angrier after the Camerons’ fundraiser,” I ended. “When he saw us talking. When he heard me say I liked you.”
He nodded again. “I chewed on it over the weekend. I didn’t like how things ended between us. And then I made a decision to fight for you.”
- - - - - - - - - -
“That probably didn’t go well as planned,” Christopher told William. The two had moved to Christopher’s house where they were sharing a few can of beers.
“It didn’t,” William admitted. “When I told my father, he got so mad. He said that I was going to ruin our family’s name just like my brothers.”
“I hear Charles is working at one of your branches in Australia while getting a master’s degree.”
William didn’t know how Christopher knew that. But he didn’t ask.
“He is,” he answered. “Benedict is also doing well in university. He’s going to graduate in the fall. But it didn’t matter to my father that my brothers were becoming responsible. He had it in his head that I was the golden child. That I was the only son that would never disrespect his authority. That I was going to be like him.”
“That sucks,” Christopher muttered as he popped another can open. He offered another one to William, seeing that he was about to finish his can, but William declined. He still needed to drive.
“I tried to convince him that the rumors about Hannah was wrong but then he hit me.”
Christopher spurted out his beer in surprise. Luckily, he’d been facing away from Will.
“He did?” he sounded disbelieving and amused. “That skinny bas – I mean, your father did?”
William narrowed his eyes at him. “Yeah.”
“What happened then?” Christopher said through his laughter.
“Are you laughing because I got hit or because you don’t believe my skinny father can beat someone up?”
He aimed an unrepentant grin at him. “Both. Now tell me what happened next?”
William had the mind not to tell this idiot anything anymore. But he still needed Hannah’s address. He had briefly considered asking Terry Evans but she would definitely not give it to him. He’d seen the angry looks the Evans heiress had sent his way when she thought no one would notice.
“He’d never lifted a hand on me before because like I said, I was the good son out of his three children,” William began again. “And it surprised me. But not as surprised as my mother. We didn’t know that she saw and heard everything. She had a heart attack that night.”
- - - - - - - - - -
“Oh, my God, is she alright?” I asked with a gasp.
Will gave me a reassuring smile. “Yes, she is.”
“But a heart attack...”
“I know,” he murmured. “Still, we were lucky that she made it. But my father and brothers were angry at me and blamed me for what happened. And they made me promise not to talk about you or see you anymore.”
- - - - - - - - - -
“So you stayed away from Hannah because you didn’t want to upset her?” Christopher asked.
William emptied the can with one long swallow before answering. “Yeah. I thought that just like Dad, she was against Hannah. But after a few months, she took me aside and asked me if I still had feelings for Hannah because she heard that I kept driving back to see Hannah while she worked in our restaurants. I told my mother I did. Then she told me that it was alright to ask her out if I still wanted to. That she’d convince my father to give us his permission.”
“But then you thought that we were dating,” Christopher pointed out with a grin.
William glared at him. “I did. Which was why I didn’t make a move. But then I started to hear things about you, that you slept with some of our part-timers while you were supposedly dating Hannah. And so I thought about stealing her from you.”
Christopher was choking on his beer when he said, “Hell, you really do know everything that goes in your business, don’t you?”
“I’ve been keeping tabs about you and Hannah,” William shot back. “Of course, I’d know.”
“So you went to Terry’s birthday party thinking to steal her from me?”
“Yeah,” he groaned. “But she was still mad at me. She didn’t let me talk to her.”
- - - - - - - - - -
Will turned quiet and I stared at the stars again, thinking how messed up things had become.
“Maybe we really aren’t meant to be,” I mused quietly. “The universe kept us apart all these years. Maybe it was telling us that we weren’t destined for each other.”
“Do you really believe that?” he muttered.
I shook my head. “I don’t know what to believe in anymore,” I admitted.
He stood up from the swing to kneel in front of me. Taking my hand, he said, “I was a hopeless coward, Hannah. I had also heard from my brother that you were the type to fall in love easily and then get bored. At first, I used your past as an excuse. I wanted to be considerate. So I ran away from you thinking it was the right thing to do. For us both.”
I didn’t know that. Damn it, I was definitely going to get the name of that girlfriend who talked crap about me from him later.
“And you had seemed to have moved on—.”
“I had never really moved on,” I cut him off fiercely. “Never.”
He looked confused. “But those guys you went out with before Lawrence?”
Seriously, I needed that name!
“All distractions,” I snapped at him. “To keep myself from thinking about you. I didn’t even have sex with them. I didn’t even have sex with anyone since I met you.”
William shook his head. “I hated myself. I still do. But I was afraid that you’d get tired of waiting for me and throw me away. Even so, I just want to be with you.”
Tears started to cascade down my face. Because it was surreal. I had already thought that it was too late for William and me.
“You’ve made me cry a lot, Will.”
He squeezed my hand and stared at me beseechingly. “I’ll understand if you’ll never forgive me—.”
I put a finger on his lips. “But even though I want to play hard to get, I think it’s better if we heal this breach. Lord knows you have a lot of sucking up to do.”
Tears hit his eyes. “So you’ll give me a chance?”
“Who knows?” I shrugged lightly. “Maybe after getting to know each other, we’ll find out that we’re really not compatible.”
“That will never happen,” he promised fervently. “This might sound crazy but from the moment I first set eyes on you I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”
- - - - - - - - - -
“Why her?”
William turned his head to look at Christopher. “Excuse me?”
Christopher lifted his gaze from the can of beer in his hands. “Why Hannah? Why did you fall in love with her?”
Why?
It wasn’t because she was beautiful.
It wasn’t because of that flaming red hair and crystal green eyes.
It was her fiery character, unlike his, that piqued his interest at first. All the things she said as she spoke insult after insult about that Mark guy had him hanging on to every word. He had stayed with her at first because he felt bad about judging her and hurting her. But he ended up enjoying their short conversation, even felt disappointed when she had to leave, and enjoyed meeting her again at the park.
She left a deep impression on him. Her beauty, her voice, her worldview and her personality. All these things left a deep impression on him. She was a genuine person. She didn’t hide her thoughts and was confident in her own skin. He didn’t even realize he was attracted to her until he had spoken to his brother about her.
“Well?” Christopher prompted.
“Do I need to have a reason?” he said with a sigh.
“Yeah.”
“Because... because she’s... she’s Hannah.”
“What?” Christopher lifted his brows.
William leaned back on the chair and smiled. “Because she’s Hannah.”
“I don’t understand,” Christopher muttered in confusion.
- - - - - - - - - -
“I don’t understand either,” I told him.
Will smiled and reached to touch my face. “Because you’re you,” he said to me, his gaze never leaving mine. “Everything about you, everything you’ve exposed me to made me fall in love with you. Your smile, your laughter and your eyes. Eyes that spoke volume of your feelings for me. It was inevitable. You made me fall for you.”
I stared at him, completely speechless.
“I know I hurt you so much. And more than once. But I plan to spend a lifetime to make it up to you. I love you, Hannah—.”
I pulled him up and kissed him. And he kissed me back. We kissed for so long my mouth started to hurt as much as my heart. But this time, my heart wasn’t hurting from pain. It hurt because it had never felt this full.
“But you haven’t told me what happened to your eye,” I said when we came up for air.
He laughed. “Christopher still didn’t want to hand me your address after telling him everything. It took a lot of convincing that I wasn’t going to run away this time.”
- - - - - - - - - -
“Thanks for the address,” William told Christopher as he made his way to his car.
Christopher didn’t say a word as he followed.
Then suddenly, he grabbed William by the shoulder and punched him in the eye.
“What the hell?” he shouted, stumbling back and grabbing at his face.
Pulling his fist up to his chest and rubbing it with his other hand, Christopher told him, “That’s only a taste of what you’ll have if you break her heart again.”
“Damn it!” William glared at him through one eye. “How am I supposed to see her like this?”
He shrugged. “Your problem. I still don’t think she’ll talk to you.”
And saying that, he laughed and went into his house.
- - - - - - - - - -
“So will you?” William said after I was done cussing Skull out with every expletive I know.
“Will I what?” I asked him irritably.
“Will you give me another chance? And be my girlfriend?”
“Heck, yes,” I sighed. “Do you really need to ask that?”
His relief came out in a joyful laugh and then a kiss that seared me to my toes and more. After everything he’d put me through, it was no wonder he held his breath after asking. But I was done holding on to my grudge. I was done being done with him.
He loved me. And tried to fight for me. That was enough to forgive him.
My cell phone rang inside my purse. I pulled away from Will and glanced down on the grass where it had fallen. Will bent down to pick it up for me and with his permission, I took my phone out of my purse.
Then I answered the call and said, "You didn't have to hit him, asshole."
Skull's answer was a laugh.
previous next
Quick AN:
While writing this, I had kinda wanted to make a full novel for Hannah. Everything seems really rushed I know but I didn’t really plan for this to have more than five chapters at the most because I still am working on other fics. T^T
Epilogue is coming up. Also the short intro to Loving a Bully.
Summary: Uninhibited and happy-go-lucky Hannah Austin had thought she’d get through high school free from any worries and problems. But then she meets a guy who made her heart beat in a crazy way like never before. The same guy who was also determined to keep breaking it. Despite that, can Hannah endure losing him to protect herself from a big heartbreak? Or can she trust him with her heart again?
Second cry
I looked out the window of the cafe from where I was sitting, wondering if this was a wise decision.
But then again, I wasn’t known for being wise nor for making good decisions. I was known for being reckless. For being stupid and crazy. Terry would always nag me to start acting like an adult since we were already juniors. I thought about it. I even tried doing it. But I was still in high school. The boring, adult stuff can come later. For now, it was all about fun for me.
Picking up my café latte, I took a small sip and continued to stare out the window. A fancy restaurant was opening across the street. There was a huge ribbon in front of the doors and a few well-dressed people milling around it. There was even going to be a small media coverage from the looks of the men carrying cameras and some women and men holding microphones, waiting for their cues to start.
I put my chin on my palm and sighed. I skipped the last day of school before Christmas break for this. I had lied to Terry that I had a cold so I was staying at home instead. She probably didn’t believe me. But luckily, considering she was busy taking care of Sophia and her boy problems, she just let me be.
The sound of a chair scraping back made me turn my head.
Then I blinked. And dropped my jaw.
Skull was sitting across me like he had been there since the dawn of time. He was holding a cup of coffee in his hand and had sunglasses on. And he was grinning widely at me like he knew exactly why I was here.
“Why are you here?” I asked him when I found my voice.
He took a sip of coffee before answering, “I skipped school too.”
“It’s not something to be proud of,” I replied with irritation.
Chuckling, he lowered his sunglasses to the table and leaned forward. “So tell me then. What are you doing here?”
He probably knew, the big jerk. And he was enjoying my discomfort from the amused look on his face.
Skull and I had a weird sort of friendship ever since I confided in him about Will at Jean’s party. I felt pretty embarrassed after Terry sobered me up with the coffee she brought. Skull had long gone then and when Terry asked me what we did before she came, I lied to her and said I didn’t remember. And even pretended that I didn’t know the guy looking after me and who I had tried to kill was Skull. She didn’t enlighten me. And I kept pretending innocence.
Like I told him, he reminded me of my dead grandpa. And I had been so afraid after that night that he’d spread my secret crush around school which was why I always avoided him. That and I was a little nervous around his other friends too.
Still, when we celebrated Sophia’s birthday at his private resort, we had fun playing volleyball together even though he kept trying to bully me. We also found out that we shared some hobbies, like making fun of our friends. He also knew that I liked doing art and made me share some of my fan art with him, something I really didn’t do. He was a good guy. But he teased people too much.
That was why I didn’t have a good feeling about him suddenly appearing out of nowhere.
“You’re stalking Asshole Will, are you?” he said when I didn’t speak.
“No,” I denied.
He stared at me, still grinning. “Yeah, right. That’s his family’s restaurant opening across the street.”
“It is?” I feigned innocence. “I didn’t know.”
“You’re so full of shit.” He shook his head.
I didn’t deny that.
Sighing, I cupped my glass with my fingers and muttered, “You’re right. I am here to see Will.”
“See?” He leaned back with a smug smirk on his face. “That wasn’t so hard right?”
“But I’m not stalking him.”
“Fine,” he lifted his hands with a sigh, “You aren’t. But why aren’t you there?” he pointed at the restaurant. “I mean, he probably invited you, right?”
Bowing down my head, I said, “No.”
Silence.
Then he said in a tone of disbelief, “You mean you haven’t fixed things with him yet? It’s been almost a year since we talked about him right? Didn’t you see each other since then?”
I lifted my eyes to glare at him. “I fail to see how my failing love life is any of your business,” I grumbled.
He laughed and reached out to mess up my perfectly styled hair. “Come on. Tell me. I’m pretty sure you haven’t told Terry about Asshole Will. You need someone to tell or else you’ll burst.”
I snarled and pushed his hand off me. He was right though. I didn’t tell Terry that I wasn’t over Will because I had always pretended to be a girl who didn’t want to settle, who only wanted to have fun and not steady. It was a matter of pride.
“I’m only telling you because you didn’t blab about Will the last time we spoke,” I told him. Then I glanced at my watch. “And because I heard he’d be here an hour from now so we still have time.”
“Stalker,” Skull coughed and I threw a fork at him. Unfortunately he dodged it.
“So?” he prompted, lifting a brow.
Leaning back, I crossed my arms and glanced out the window.
Then I told him. “The last time we spoke was at the Camerons’ charity fundraising dinner...”
- - - - - - - - - -
“Will you stand perfectly still, Hannah?” my mother hissed under her breath.
Letting out a small sigh, I complied. The two of us were standing at the side of the ballroom, waiting for my father to finish his conversation with his friends.
“And for God’s sake, when the dinner starts, eat in small portions.”
In short, she was telling me to eat pretty.
I tried not to show my irritation. Ever since her jewelry business boomed, she had turned from a loving, devoted mother into a mother that was all about appearances. I tried to understand that. She was still trying to fit in the upper stratum of society. We all were. But I wished she’d stopped being hard on me.
“Hey, Mom,” I leaned towards her and she gave me her ear, “Can I go after dinner?”
She gave me an annoyed look. “No.”
“But it’s boring,” I whined.
“Seriously Hannah. Can’t you be more like Terry?” she chided quietly. “And here I thought you’d be excited to come since Haru Evans is here.”
I blinked. Then a wide smile spread across my face. “He’s here?”
There was amusement on her face when she told me, “He’s standing at the head table, dear. And try not drool around him, alright?”
Now this was the mother that I used to know.
Winking at her, I promised to be on my best behavior then left her side to meet and greet Haru. She couldn’t stop me, she got waylaid by the other guests so she glared at me instead.
“Good evening, Haru,” I told him as I approached with a wide smile.
He turned towards me and smiled back.
“Good evening, Hannah.” He stepped forward to give me a short hug. Releasing me, he stepped back and said, “I didn’t know you were here.”
I sighed. “We’re on the same page, then. Where’s Terry?”
Something flashed in his eyes but it went away quickly. “She’s at home. Studying.”
Odd but I thought she’d be here.
“She’s really hardworking, isn’t she?”
“Yes,” his face softened. “She is.”
“I look beautiful tonight, don’t I?” I told him, waving a hand down my dress.
He laughed. “Of course, you do.”
Someone approached him then and whispered to his ear. He nodded and turned to me, “I have to go, Hannah. It was good to see you again.”
Reluctantly, I nodded. “The pleasure was all mine, Sir Evans.”
With a chuckle, he gave my shoulder a brotherly pat and turned to walk away.
I stared at his back with a small frown. Because I didn’t feel it. That fluttery feeling nor the butterflies on my stomach. My heart didn’t even race nor did I stutter. And that was when I realized I had gotten over my big, old crush on Haru Evans. It stunned me. I had dreamed of marrying Haru and being Terry’s sister for years. But suddenly, I was over him. And I think I knew why.
The dinner was about to start. My mother found me and dragged me to our table. As dinner went on, I realized that Haru was in the same table as John and Ethan, Terry’s tutor. My mother had to scold me several times to stop staring at them and my father had to pull me down when I craned my neck just to get a good look at them.
Then I spotted John leaving the table to go to the balcony. After several minutes, Haru too excused himself and went out through the same balcony doors. I couldn’t help but be curious. And of course, I had to do something about it.
“I need to use the toilet,” I whispered to my mother. “I’ll be back.”
She didn’t trust me to be back immediately. Still, with a defeated sigh, she waved me away and I left before she could change her mind.
I couldn’t exactly walk to the direction of the balcony right away since my parents were watching me carefully. So I went to where the toilets were, located outside the hallway.
But then I found him.
Will.
He was on his phone, talking agitatedly to whoever it was on the other line at the end of the hallway.
It had been over eight months since we last saw and spoke to each other. Since he lived in the dorms in South High, I couldn’t exactly strut over there and demand him to speak to me. My mother would kill me if she finds out. And his family lived in the wealthiest neighborhood of the city with gates so high it would be impossible to climb over or escape.
So once again, I tried to forget him. I went on dates with other people and even had new crushes. But he was always on my mind no matter how hard I tried and I find myself comparing him with the other guys I went out with. It wasn’t because he was handsome. It wasn’t because he saved me from Dickhead Mark. I didn’t know why exactly I liked him but I knew that I just had to see him again.
- - - - - - - - - -
“You were probably just obsessed with the thought of him,” Skull pointed out as I took a break from my story-telling to take a sip of my café latte.
I put down my glass and frowned. “I did consider that, you know. Maybe it was because he was the only guy who didn’t fall for my charms right away and ask me out. Maybe it was because he gave me the cold shoulder. Maybe it’s because he’s the one who got away. Maybe I have a complex for guys who don’t treat me right. Maybe it’s because I was bullied in middle school and somehow have low self-esteem that I didn’t realize I have and so a part of me believe that I don’t deserve someone better.”
“Wow,” Skull whistled. “That was long. And I don’t think you believe that.”
“Exactly,” I pointed a finger at him, “Because I’m not exactly someone who craves recognition and acceptance from people who don’t give them to me. If you like me, that’s good. If you don’t, well fine. It would bum me out but I won’t cry over that.”
Skull didn’t speak and stared at me with what seemed to be admiration.
My shoulders fell.
“That’s why I don’t know why exactly I’m so hung up on Will,” I mumbled pitifully.
- - - - - - - - - -
“Will?” I muttered softly, taking a step towards his direction.
He heard me speak and turned his head. Then, spotting me, his eyes widened.
“I’ll call you back,” he mumbled into the phone before disconnecting. Then he slid it into his pants and returned his attention to me.
He looked good in his suit. Better than I remembered. Somehow, since the last time we saw each other, he’d grown muscular and his hair had grown longer.
He didn’t speak for a moment and stared at me.
“You aren’t going to say you don’t know me again, are you?” I chuckled nervously.
“No,” he finally responded.
I let out a breath of relief. “That’s great. How are you? It’s been so long since we last saw each other, right?”
He nodded. I took another step towards him.
“Do you want to hang out maybe?” I suggested. “Since the dinner’s practically over? You still owe me an apology. You suddenly disappeared, you know.”
This time, he looked away from me and I realized that he was being so distant and cold when he was all over me at Terry’s party.
“What’s wrong?” I asked hesitantly.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, still not looking my way. “But I can’t hang out with you.”
My shoulders dropped in disappointment. But I didn’t give up. “I heard you’re graduating high school next year. Is that why you can’t hang out with me? Maybe we can trade digits and you can call me when you’re free—.”
“I can’t, Hannah,” he cut-in quietly.
“What do you mean you can’t?” I asked, perplexed.
“I can’t hang out with you. Ever.”
It suddenly felt too cold in the hallway. I blew out a breath through the pain that gripped my chest tight.
“May I ask why?”
A moment’s hesitation then he shook his head. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”
He walked past me and I was too stunned to stop him. But at the last second, before he disappeared through the doors of the ballroom, I managed to unfreeze and turn around.
“Do you know what you’re doing to me?” I snapped.
His footsteps came to a halt.
“Do you know what you’re doing to my heart?”
His head lifted and he turned to face me. The expression on his face was a mixture of shock and awe.
“Because I don’t why but I like you, Will,” I went on, clenching my hands into fists. “I like you. Since the first time we met.”
“Hannah,” he started to move towards me, “Hannah, I—.”
“William.”
He stopped, his expression hardening. Behind him, a man who was an older version of him was staring sharply at us. Belatedly, I realized that we had a small audience of guests who were starting the leave the ballroom.
“Let’s go, son.”
Will didn’t hesitate. He turned and walked towards him obediently. The older man glower at me before he grabbed his son’s arm almost violently and steered him back into the ballroom.
Later, while I was waiting with my parents outside the Cameron mansion for our car, someone delivered a note to me. And later, when I read it in my bedroom surrounded by my two dogs, my heart broke into a million pieces.
Thank you for telling me you like me. But I can’t accept your feelings. I’m sorry. Please forget about me.
-Will
- - - - - - - - - -
Skull pushed a napkin my way and I slapped his hand.
“I’m not crying,” I snapped.
“But you look like you want to.”
“I’m not going to cry,” I muttered angrily. “I didn’t even cry after I read that note. He may have broken my heart but I was too angry at him and that stupid note to cry. For two weeks it was all I could think about. Why was he telling me to forget about him? Why wasn’t he giving us a chance? I’ve been nursing this pain and anger for two weeks and if he doesn’t give me an answer today, I’ll really cause a scandal in front of his stupid restaurant.”
Skull’s lips twitched as he looked at me. “Lucky I’m here.”
“Why?” I lifted a brow. “Are you going to stop me from causing a scene?”
“No. I have front row tickets to a good show. Why would I stop you?”
That made me smile.
A car parking across the street caught my attention. I jumped out of my seat when I caught sight of a familiar platinum blond head on the driver’s seat of the car.
“He’s here,” I said excitedly. “Bye.”
But Skull also stood up. “I’m coming with you.”
I glared at him. “No, you’re not.”
“You can’t really stop me, Hannah-bear,” he said with a grin as he put on his sunglasses. “So let’s just go.”
“Whatever,” I huffed as I walked to the door. “Just don’t come close and pretend we don’t know each other.”
Skull snickered behind me. “Fine.”
Will had just slid out of his car when I reached him. I actually had a million things I wanted to say to him. I even practiced my speech in front of my vanity mirror. But everything I wanted to say got stuck in my throat because he was helping a pretty brunette out of the passenger’s seat of his car.
And she was clinging to his arm like she owned him. Like she was his girlfriend.
Will spotted me and his head jerked back. I managed to slap a smile on my face and even managed to wave at him.
“Hi,” I greeted cheerfully. I was going to keep smiling even if it kills me. “Fancy meeting you here.”
There was a hint of resignation in his eyes as he stared down at me. “Yes,” he said quietly. “What a coincidence.”
Turning to the restaurant, I said, “Look. They’re opening a new restaurant here.”
“It’s his family’s restaurant,” the girl unnecessarily inserted herself into the conversation. “Are you a guest too?”
“Oh, no,” I shook my head. “I was just passing by. And you are?”
She smiled at me. “I’m Elaine. Will’s girlfriend.”
It was like I just got stabbed in the gut.
She was looking so happy that I wanted to stab her in the gut.
I wanted to cry. I was going to cry.
Will opened his mouth to say something but then an arm snaked around my shoulders and a deep voice spoke, “Are you done here, baby? We’re already running late for our reservation, you know.”
It was Skull. He was smirking down at me but his hand on my shoulder was giving me a light squeeze, telling me to hold on.
“Who’s he?”
My gaze flew to Will. He was staring at Skull with an almost angry look on his face. Elaine, on the other hand, was looking up and down at Skull with mild interest.
Recovering from the blow I had just received, I wrapped my arm around Skull’s back and put a hand on his chest. “Oh, this is my boyfriend, Sku-Christopher,” I told Will. “Christopher, this is Will. He’s my... he’s an acquaintance of mine,” I ended with a bright smile on my face.
Skull offered his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Will.”
I might be imagining it but was Will trying to crush Skull’s hand as they shook hands?
“We better go,” Elaine piped up. “Your parents are waving us over, Will.”
“We have to get going too,” Skull pulled me closer to him. “We’re going to celebrate our week anniversary today. I need to show her how much I’m grateful that she gave me a chance after the guy she liked before turned out to be an asshole.”
Will’s expression turned darker with each word Skull spoke. But I didn’t care. I was done with him. He was an asshole. As of this moment, he was dead to me.
I didn’t know how I got inside Skull’s car. All I knew was that I was crying too much and sobbing too hard on his shoulder.
And he let me.
Skull let me cry and let it all out on his shoulder again.
