Pretty Cruel Things: A High School Bully Romance (Edgewood Academy Book 2) Read online

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “Whatever, Lucian.”

  “Always here to deflate your self-inflated ego, Grace.”

  She stuck her middle finger up at me and began to nibble on a croissant. And then Sophie was at the table, Isla in tow.

  She looked nervous. Isla, that is. I doubted Sophie had ever been nervous around her peers. I glanced away from her and at my food. I didn’t want her to notice me yet, but I sensed her take the seat opposite.

  As instructed, everyone at the table was deep in conversation. Sophie had to be the one to incite interest from the group. I counted to twenty in my head before Sophie spoke and that was when Isla finally noticed me. Her eyes widened and her expression changed from curiosity to anger and then to contemplation.

  Interesting.

  “Everyone, everyone,” Sophie said, and the table silenced. “This is Isla. She’s new here. You better all make her feel comfortable and welcome. Don’t embarrass me!”

  I peeked up to see Isla wave slightly. Her cheeks were adorably pink with embarrassment. “Hey.”

  “The new Principal’s daughter,” Henry said. I glared his way in time to see him wink at Isla. Oh, this was a complication I hadn’t seen coming. “Hello there.”

  I looked across the table and Sophie was glowering, too. I groaned and slung my arm over the back of Tat’s chair, hoping this would incite jealousy in Isla.

  “Hi,” Isla greeted Henry back, a little shyly.

  “You’re the girl from the magazine interview,” Tat said.

  “That’s Tat,” Sophie whispered to Isla, not all that quietly. “Short for Tatiana.”

  “Err, yeah,” Isla said to Tat. “My dad asked me to do an interview with the people who make the magazine, but they literally picked those parts out of my interview to publish.”

  “Was it the truth?” Tat pressed, looking genuinely interested.

  “Of course it was,” Sophie snapped. “You calling Isla a liar?”

  I almost applauded Sophie’s acting. I think everyone at the table believed my sister was truly being serious. Except for me, of course.

  Tat shook her head quickly. “No! I just, it was a bit…much.”

  “It was weird,” Grace agreed.

  I could tell Isla was about to explode. “Having an ideal on how I want to live my life is weird?”

  “No, it’s just how firm you seemed about it,” Tat said. “Like, erm, I can’t remember exactly what you said but it was something along the lines of you thinking young people were unable to love?”

  And Tat had just given me my perfect opening.

  “’Though I would never judge someone for the way they live their lives, I personally don’t believe people my age and younger are capable of the kinds of feelings I believe should come with a sexual intimacy. Which is why I’m choosing to wait until I’m with the man I’m married to and madly in love with before I lose my virginity.’”

  Our eyes caught and I watched every emotion Isla was feeling play across her face. My God, the girl was easier to read than a picture book. Mostly, she was embarrassed. And a little pissed, too. I watched her look around for the magazine, as though I was reading from it, but I’d had her words unintentionally stored in my brain for days now. As sickening as they were.

  “You read it, Luc?” someone asked me, but I didn’t bother to look at who.

  I nodded slowly. “It made for a very entertaining read.”

  “I’m sorry, what was so entertaining about my beliefs?” Isla demanded.

  “That you truly believe you’re right. That you think sex is, what? Some soul binding act? It’s a very naïve and immature way of thinking.”

  The satisfaction of the silent table was like a drug to me. A beautiful, rich and silky drug making its way through my veins. I felt full and content and giddy with the situation.

  “Wow. I feel sorry for you,” Isla said, and she appeared disgusted. Huh, not the reaction I’d expected.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I feel sorry for you,” she repeated slowly. “That you’re so lacking in intimacy in other areas of your life that you find the need to try and find companionship in vaginas.”

  As silence reigned over the table, I contemplated Isla’s words. I had put a lot of effort into showing people what I wanted them to know, and yet this girl walks into my life and calls me out on my bullshit within minutes?

  Rage boiled though my veins. Who did this girl think she was? A strange sensation began to burn at my face, and I realised I was embarrassed! Me, embarrassed! I couldn’t remember the last time that had happened, if ever.

  And then Sophie started to laugh so hard that the food in her mouth popped out, defusing the tension. “Oh, Luc, I think you’ve finally met your match.”

  I shot her a glare. Fuck her, too. “I hardly doubt it. She hasn’t got a fucking clue what she’s talking about. She lives in La-la land.”

  My twin kicked me hard under the table. I could read her unsaid words in her cold eyes. I was deviating from the plan. Offending the stupid girl wasn’t part of the plan, but I just didn’t care. Fuck her. Fuck the lot of them.

  “Sorry about him,” Sophie said. “My brother is really smart, but he also has a really smart mouth.”

  “Brother?” Isla seemed surprised.

  “Twin brother. Yeah.”

  Sophie gave me another, softer kick and when Isla glanced back my way, I forced a smile onto my face when all I really wanted to do was swipe everything off of the table and storm away in a rage.

  I watched her silently seethe as she finished her omelette. As part of the plan, the sheep sitting at the table tried to engage with her, tried to make her feel welcome. It didn’t take a genius to realise she wasn’t at all interested in their fakeness.

  I ate one last mouthful of food and slammed my chair back needing to get far, far away from this situation. I only made it to the door before Sophie got to me, yanking my arm and pulling me to a halt.

  I could have fought against her, could have carried on walking, but I let out a deep breath and slowly turned to face my angry sister.

  “Sophie, what can I do for you?”

  “What the fuck was that about?” she demanded on a sharp hiss. “Way to go on pissing her off!”

  “She might be into that kind of thing.”

  “Does she look like she is?”

  I shrugged and before I could open my mouth to tell her about some of the shy girls in this school I’d been with who actually weren’t all that shy when they were naked, Sophie narrowed her eyes and took a step closer to me.

  “Don’t mess this up for me, Luc. You need to fix this.”

  With a sigh, I nodded and kissed her cheek before walking away. There really wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my sister.

  ***

  Fix this. You need to fix this. Sophie’s words rebounded through my mind as I sat on the floor in my dorm, back against the base of my bed, bouncing a tennis ball against the door.

  Fix it. Fix it how? The girl was an enigma to me. Like an elephant trying to understand the motives of a goldfish. I’d never met a girl yet who didn’t secretly want to let loose and just needed the right prod to do so. But after our conversation on the train, and once more in the canteen, I knew Isla was about to become my biggest conquest yet.

  The thought excited me.

  I sprung up from the floor and tossed the tennis ball on my bed. Part of me didn’t want to see her again. She somehow had the capacity to see right through me, and I felt afraid to be that bare in front of her again. But Sophie’s voice telling me to fix it wouldn’t shut up, and I was honestly a little excited at solving the puzzle that was Isla Brighton.

  I knew exactly what to do to begin to thaw her icy exterior.

  ***

  I’d been to Isla’s dorm room only once, and that was when the previous occupant had been there. Kristin Snake. Who, actually, was a bit of a snake. We’d had sex. I hadn’t called. It wasn’t a performance I wished to repeat, fr
ankly. And she’d ratted me out to my father saying that I’d forced her into having sex with me and it was non-consensual. I’d never been more disgusted in my life. As if I would want to force a girl to do that.

  That was reprehensible.

  Kristin had left a few months after; once Sophie had taught her a lesson, anyway.

  I shook the memory aside and knocked twice on the door. It opened pretty quickly and there stood Isla, looking as lovely and innocent and pure as ever.

  “Lucian?” she asked, genuinely surprised.

  I could understand why she’d be shocked. I hadn’t exactly left our conversation in a good place.

  I tried to give her a warm smile. “Can I come in?” From the disbelief on her face, I doubted my smile was warmer than shit covered in snow.

  Chapter 5

  Isla hesitated, the door pressed into her side. She clearly wasn’t going to let me in without some gentle pushing.

  “Or I could stand out here if you don’t want to get in trouble?”

  My words had the desired effect. Her eyes hardened and she stepped aside. Good to know. The girl liked to prove people wrong.

  I could use that to my advantage.

  I walked into her room and compared sides. It was obvious that Grace had lived in the room a while. Isla’s side was still mostly bare and unwelcoming. She’d barely even unpacked.

  “What’d you want? To try and convince me for a third time why casual sex is the way to go? Maybe offer a demonstration?”

  She was referring to our conversation on the train. The one I had pretended to forget.

  “So that was you on the train. Yeah, sorry about that. Sometimes I like to bother strangers to see how they react to me.”

  She folded her arms and made a face. “Really? And what would you have done if I’d gone along with your wind up?”

  “Had sex with you, of course,” I answered simply.

  She snorted. “You’re. A. Pig.”

  Okay, this wasn’t going to plan. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to piss you off. I came to apologise for what I said at breakfast.” And to trick you into thinking you want to sleep with me so you lose your good girl rep.

  “It’s fine,” she said, but she didn’t sound fine.

  “It’s not.”

  “Did you purposely memorise my interview to throw in my face?” she demanded.

  Memorised? Although that could have been a good idea for someone who wasn’t me. “Really? You think I’ve got time to do that?”

  “Well how else did you get it so right?”

  “I have photographic memory. I read it and instantly remembered it.”

  “Oh. Well, you’ve apologised so don’t think you need to stick around.” She sat down at her desk, dismissing me. But no, she’d fired up the beast within now, and that beast wasn’t so easily controlled.

  “You want to go for a walk?”

  She turned to face me, her expression appealingly confused. “What?”

  “A walk. You don’t know this building well. I could show you around. Like a tour guide.”

  “I’m not having sex with you.”

  I almost laughed again. I was beginning to like this girl. “I didn’t once mention sex in my offer.”

  “As long as you don’t try and convince me that your way of life is the only way of life.” She stood from her desk, but she eyed me as though I were a snake about to strike.

  “I’ll try to keep my opinions to myself,” I said.

  “Let me grab a jacket.”

  Though her fear of me was entertaining, it wasn’t part of the plan. I didn’t want her scared of me, of my intentions. I wanted her to fantasize about me, about what I might do to her. Time to step up the game. As she moved to grab her coat, I latched onto her wrists and pulled her to my chest, staring down into her stunning face.

  “You really do have amazing eyes,” I said lowly.

  Her gaze widened and she shook her head, stepping away from me.

  “You don’t need a jacket,” I said, moving towards the door. “It’s warm outside.”

  “Oh. Let’s go then.”

  I opened the door for her, and she slid past, keeping as much distance between us as possible. And, because I’m only human, I checked out her ass as she passed. She waited for me to shut the door and together we walked side by side in silence.

  I couldn’t stop staring at her from the corner of my eye. She was fascinating. I felt like I’d just discovered a new species of animal. I was proud of the discovery. I wanted to show it off. But even more, I wanted to tame it.

  I glanced her way as we descended the dorm stairs and noticed she seemed as much in thought as I was. I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what she was thinking about. Would she be honest and tell me? Or would she try to hide it?

  “What are you thinking about?” I asked as we stepped out into the warmth.

  “Nothing,” she said, folding her arms. “So, where’re we going?”

  “Here.” I gestured to the back of the building with a cock of my head.

  She seemed sceptical. As though I might be leading her into the woods to kill her. “Where does it lead?”

  I walked away from her and counted to three before she followed.

  “I want to show you something.”

  “What?”

  “Just wait and see,” I snapped.

  “You’re not going to take me in there to murder me for what I said at breakfast, right?” she said, her voice carrying from behind.

  I laughed internally and turned to shoot her a mysterious smile. “You do deserve punishment for that one.”

  She deadpanned. “Ha.”

  “Come on, keep up.”

  She appeared by my side in moments and I controlled my glee. Lamb to the slaughter, so it seemed. We stepped into the forest and I watched as she came alive. Her eyes darted in all directions, taking in the wildlife and the looming trees and the lush, green grass. I kept close to her, the smell of her perfume intoxicating and making me feel a little drunk. It was a bit like having two personalities, being around Isla. The sane part and the not so sane part. She was a game, a ploy, and I needed to remember that. And yet all I wanted was to close the distance between us even more.

  We walked in silence for a little while. Sometimes, attention so focused elsewhere, Isla would trip over rocks and fallen branches, and I revelled in steadying her, revelled in having an excuse to touch her, even though it wasn’t skin on skin like I wanted. We were almost ten minutes into our walk when Isla tripped again, this time so badly I needed two hands to grab her.

  “So, erm,” she said, pulling away from my grasp. “Tell me something about you.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. What do you like doing in your spare time?”

  Small talk. The absolute worst form of social torture in the world. “You mean, other than my bedroom activities.”

  “Why do you do that? Why do you treat sex like a sport, like a game?”

  I laughed. “Because the little crease you get between your eyebrows whenever I do is the cutest little thing.”

  “Is this some kind of defence mechanism? Pissing people off and trying to get under their skin?” she fired back at me.

  Two could play that game. “I’d like to get under your skin.”

  “Well, I’d like you to get under a moving bus.”

  Did I mention how much I liked feisty girls? “Ouch. That wasn’t very nice.”

  “You thought wrong because I’m not nice. Sorry.”

  I stepped closer to her, loving the complete uncertainty in her expression. She had no idea what I was going to do next and the feeling was fucking mutual. I stopped when we were inches apart, my head bent so that our noses were almost touching.

  “I think you’re full of shit. You are nice. In fact, you’re all raindrops and roses and cream-coloured ponies and purity.”

  “Why do you say purity like it’s a dirty word?”

  “Because,
to me, it is.”

  Furiously, she shoved the palms of her hands into my chest. “I’d rather be pure than a walking collection of STDs.”

  Ouch. That one did hurt. I’d never caught a disease. I liked to fuck, but I was smart about it. “I’m probably cleaner than you, Princess. Knowledge is power. The naïve are fools.”

  “You think because I’m not clued up in sex positions that I lack knowledge?”

  “I guess we’ll see.”

  “Oh yeah? How?”

  “Once school starts. People here might look like a bunch of backwards shits, but the biggest desire here isn’t sex, like you might think. It’s power.”

  “Which you seem to think comes from knowledge.”

  “I know it does. The more you know, the more powerful you are.”

  She backed away from me, but I couldn’t stop wanting to push her buttons.

  “For example,” I said, continuing into the woods. I heard her start to follow me. “I know that your mother and father are divorced. Your mum took a job in Brazil designing a new luxury hotel and won’t be back for two years. I know you think innocence is endearing, but actually it’s a weakness. It’ll be your downfall here at Edgewood, Isla. You can count on that.”

  She grabbed my arm, yanking me to a stop. “Stop talking down to me. You’re no better than me or anyone else at this school.”

  “I’m not?”

  “No!”

  “So why are you here? Why did you agree to come on this walk with me?”

  She floundered for a second.

  “I gave you a chance. And all you’ve done is insult me. What kind of person enjoys hurting someone’s feelings? A psychopath, that’s who.”

  So now she was back to insulting me. “You think I’m a psychopath?”

  “You haven’t really given me a choice.”

  I froze because actually, she was right. Again.

  “You know, I was warned to stay away from you. From you and Sophie. Now, I can’t understand why someone would think Sophie was untrustworthy, but you, you’re an obvious candidate for dick of the year.”

  Someone had warned her about us? That could be dangerous. “Who warned you?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Someone emailed me anonymously. Does it matter? They told me what I already know.”