Reprisal: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Montlake Prep Book 3) Read online

  “Yeah.” Jacob runs his hand through his messy hair. “We were upstairs studying.”

  Troy’s not stupid, and it’s evident that Jacob doesn’t have a book.

  “Who wants pizza?” I place my hands on my hips. “Well, I’m ordering one.”

  “Make it two,” Jacob looks at Troy as we walk back into the kitchen. “You want one, Troy?”

  It sort of bothers me that Jacob can still be friends with Troy after all the shit he’s done to me. He hasn’t been on the receiving end of Troy’s mean tricks. Maybe it’s the code or bros before hos. I don’t know, except I’m not a ho, and Jacob better start acting like a boyfriend. I grab the pizza menu off the fridge door and walk out of the room.

  “Decide what you want while I ask my uncle for his order.”

  Why did I leave them alone? Because by the time I return to the kitchen, Jacob is scowling like he wants to break something in two, and Troy is smirking like the dirty rat that he is. I let out a long breath and decide to ignore the drama for a change. If something is the matter, Jacob just needs to tell me. He knows what happens when he doesn’t talk to me.

  “Well,” I pick my phone up off the counter, “what will it be, gentlemen?”

  ***

  By the time the pizzas arrive, Jacob is out of his funk, and Troy has decided to leave. He apologizes for leaving before the food, but I can’t help but smile as his Lexus pulls out of the driveway.

  I don’t let a second pass without asking, “What’s up, Jacob?”

  Jacob sighs as he tosses his half-eaten slice back into the box. “I don’t like Anthony.”

  “Is that what Troy was talking about while I was out of the room?”

  He doesn’t answer the question. “You have to dump him.”

  “What about Troy? Are you going to dump him?”

  He screws up his face as if I’m talking crazy shit. “What’s gotten into you?”

  “What’s gotten into you?” I counter. “Troy has tormented me since the first day he saw me, but you’re still friends with him. I’m tired of it, Jacob. I’m tired of being messed with by your little boys’ club.”

  “That’s Arielle causing the problems, not Troy.”

  “Oh, that’s rich. No pun intended,” I add. “Blame the girl. Seriously. Troy put a fucking roofie in my drink.”

  Jacob breaks his gaze. “And where did the roofies come from?” he mutters.

  I pause for a moment before I admit it. “Anthony.”

  “Exactly.” Jacob presses his lips into a thin hard line as he stares at me. People underestimate how smart Jacob is. I know his father does.

  “Troy is just as bad,” I shake my head, trying to argue. “I know it.”

  “Troy would follow the code,” Jacob replies, “if you did. But Anthony?” Jacob screws up his face as if he found a hair in his food. “Anthony is trash, Natalie.”

  “Because he’s poor?” I challenge him with a sharp look.

  “No, because he has no respect for the code. There are other kids at Montlake that aren’t wealthy. But they apply for scholarships and win them. They don’t deal and then pretend they have to do it to pay for school. Anthony’s always around causing trouble for you. Remember the first day we met?”

  I nod and keep my mouth shut.

  “You never asked me why I was beating him up. Weren’t you ever curious?”

  “I suppose. I just thought ...”

  “That I was a jerk.” He ends my sentence for me. “It’s okay to admit it. I have no hard feelings about the past. But I was beating his ass because he was selling drugs to my team. We all could have been disqualified from the championships if we were tested.”

  “I didn’t know.”

  “Now you do. And that’s the important thing, Natalie: we. That’s how we think, as a team.” Jacob continues, “No one is on their own—especially not at Montlake. I told Anthony not to do it again, but he did. And then you showed up, protecting him.”

  “I wasn’t protecting him.” The words rush out of me on a breath. “You were in front of my locker. I didn’t know what was going on. He looked helpless.”

  “You know now, and you still defend him. Hell, you want me to share you with him?” The way he says it is with disgust, but then my eyes widen in understanding and Jacob softens his tone, leaning in toward me. “Anthony has been the source of all your drama since day one. Why do you keep him around?”

  I’m not able to answer. I hadn’t put it all together before. Random thoughts start to fit into place. Why am I still friends with him?

  Jacob stands up and runs his hand through his hair. I know he’s getting ready to leave. Our lazy Sunday started out fun, but now, it’s ruined.

  “Natalie,” his tone is gentle but firm. “Anthony plays the underdog because he wants to be that way. He’s in his comfort zone when things are fucked up. He can’t handle life any other way. You’ve got a future where the sky is the limit. Don’t let him drag you down into the mud with him.”

  Jacob kisses me on top of the head and leaves the kitchen. I listen as he walks into the hallway. And a few seconds later, the front door slams shut.

  ***

  Uncle Phil skips his pizza. He has a man, so it’s fewer carbs and more gym. And I don’t have the appetite to eat mine, so for dinner, we have leftover soup, and I make a fresh salad.

  Uncle Phil must have heard some of what Jacob said to me because basically, he echoes the same thing Jacob said about Anthony. He calls me out on hanging with the school dealer, and eventually, I have to admit that he has a point. I’ve complained about being bullied, but I didn’t realize that from day one, people have thought I’m the dealer’s friend. Possibly, even his girlfriend. Is that why Lucas moved so quickly with me? And why Troy assumed he could get away with drugging my drink? Anthony is a nice guy, but sometimes nice guys can be the worst creeps.

  “I’m not trying to be hard on you, Natalie.” Uncle Phil places his hand on my forearm as I stare in any direction but his. “But Greg Saunders has done you a big favor, and well, you need to level up.”

  “I get it, Uncle Phil. You’re right. I need to pull myself up to a higher level, and I can’t do it if ... I’m hanging with the wrong people.”

  Jesus, am I going to be that girl? Yes, I am. I’m tired of the bullying and the innuendoes, and if dumping Anthony will help, I’ll do it. I hate Montlake, but soon it will be in the past, and won’t it be nice if I don’t have to deal with the bullying for a few months?

  “Could we talk about something else?” I pick at a tomato that refuses to get on my fork.

  “Sure. Let me tell you about my latest app that I’m working on.”

  I have to laugh, but I’m willing to listen to his geek talk.

  “Natalie, you’ll like this. It deals with math and code.” Uncle Phil winks, and slowly, I learn what Uncle Phil’s tech really is about. It’s an app that could revolutionize online banking by updating the ancient programming language that the entire system is built on.

  “Almost all financial transactions today use an old programming language—COBOL, specifically—which was developed way before you were born,” he explains. “It hasn’t been updated in decades and will never be, even though more than two hundred billion lines of code are written in it. The people who are proficient in it are all starting to retire. That means the financial industry is sitting on a ticking time bomb. In a few years, there won’t even be enough people proficient enough to teach your generation how to code in it—much less do maintenance work when stuff starts to break.

  “In simple terms, my app helps bridge the gap, translating COBOL into more modern languages on the fly while using a friendly interface.”

  My mouth drops open, and I have to close it to speak. “That’s freaky insane. Do the Saunders know that your app can do all this?”

  Uncle Phil shrugs his shoulders. “It’s still in trials, but it’ll be in the real world soon enough. I hinted that we’re close to solving the issue, but
I’ve led them to believe that we’re not quite ready.”

  “But you are closer to ready.”

  Uncle Phil nods, and I bite my lip as the room starts to spin. I feel overwhelmed with possibilities, and I think it may actually be cool to work for the family business, but not if the Saunders run it.

  “Uncle Phil, the Saunders are horrible people. I mean, Greg seems decent enough, but Troy and his mother are wicked. If they had something like this ... it would make the dark web look like a Disney movie. They can’t have this.”

  “I get that, Natalie, but frankly, you and I will be set for life if I succeed. I could buy Montlake, tear it down, and build an off-brand outlet mall on its ashes. I have to weigh the pros with the cons.”

  “So it’s okay to screw the world for billions.”

  “Natalie, they can’t be that bad.”

  I have nothing to say to that. I haven’t told him the truth about Troy, and it might be too late now. But I can find a way to stop this mess. All of a sudden, fitting in has become vital to our survival.

  CHAPTER 3

  Lucas

  “Dude,” I groan loudly. “I cannot stand it when you look at me like that, Troy.”

  In the fieldhouse, Troy leans against the locker next to mine with a smirk on his face that means he’s ready to tank my day. I toss my dirty T-shirt at him, and it lands on top of his head, covering his shifty grin.

  “Keep it there,” I tell him. “It’s perfect.” But he pulls it off his head and tosses it onto the bench.

  Troy sits down next to me, stretching out his legs. “So, your girlfriend and Jacob are hooking up at her house.”

  No wonder he’s smiling. I didn’t know Jacob was spending that much time with Natalie. Sure, they study together, but I didn’t realize that included hooking up. My body tenses, but I tamp the emotions down. I try to keep my expression detached. If Troy sees he’s gotten to me, he’ll only gloat.

  “What are you talking about?” I ask in a level voice.

  “Natalie? The one you’re seeing after Arielle? She and your best friend are having sex.”

  With a poker face, I say, “I thought you were supposed to be my best friend?”

  He looks stunned that I’d even say that now. I clearly don’t mean it. Back in freshman year, Troy and I were tighter than Jacob and me. Back then, working out year-round wasn’t mandatory for the teams, and as a freshman, I was intimidated by the bigger seniors in the weight room. But I had to build up my muscle, or I’d end up a speed bump on the ice. Troy was lanky but tall, and he asked me one day if I was heading over to the fieldhouse. We went together and stuck together. Everything was fine between us until our parents learned our last names.

  Troy decides to laugh it off, but I frown at him. In the past, he wouldn’t have tolerated shit talk, but now he shovels it out. I pull on my clean T-shirt and stand up, so we’re eye to eye.

  “How do you even know this?” I challenge him.

  “Because I went to her house, and he was upstairs in her bedroom.”

  That’s unexpected. This conversation is getting weirder and weirder. I’m awake, and I don’t take drugs. I haven’t smoked, not since the season started, because I’m not about to lose the state tournament over a drug test. But my head is spinning in circles as if I took a hard hit on the ice. I have too many questions, but Troy has to answer this one first.

  “Back the fuck up. Why were you in Natalie’s house?”

  “Lucas, please try to keep up with the gossip.” Turning his back, Troy opens his locker like he has better things to do. “My family has invested in Natalie’s uncle’s tech firm. The lawyers are reviewing the paperwork before we sign. My father spoke to Cromwell, and you know that my family practically built this damn school. Cromwell convinced the higher-ups to rescind her expulsion.”

  “I knew that, asswipe.” My temper slips out. “I mean what are you doing at her house? Do they actually let you inside?”

  On the bench, Troy pulls his T-shirt over his head and looks at me thoughtfully. His smug expression tells me that he’s enjoying watching me squirm. Not even a year ago, it wasn’t like this, but I suspect something else was happening behind my back. Something we have never talked about.

  “Of course. I was invited in,” Troy laughs. “Not just over, but in.”

  “You’re a dick,” I say.

  “Not curious to hear anything else?”

  “No, Troy,” I bite out. “Save it for the lunch table. I’m sure Arielle will ask you for more.”

  “She asks for more of a lot of things now.”

  What an asshole! Troy must be doing this on purpose. I’m jealous, and he knows it. I’m jealous of Jacob for being Natalie’s first, and I’m mad at Troy for pointing out my failed relationships. Closing my eyes, I will myself to calm down. I don’t care if I look odd meditating in the fieldhouse, but I refuse to lose my temper. In a moment, I feel calm enough to ask for answers.

  “So, when did the two of you start dating?”

  Troy looks away and focuses on his sneakers as if he hasn’t tied a bow a hundred times before in his life. He stretches his shoulders and cracks his back but pretends like he’s thinking

  “You been getting hit extra hard on the ice or something? It was after you two broke up.”

  “Be a man, Troy,” I snap. “You and Arielle hooked up before we broke up.”

  Carefully, he watches me. “Why would you say that? What makes you think that?”

  “Because the two of you started way too fast. It was like you had known each other for a long time.”

  “Well, that’s because you strayed.”

  It’s my turn to scoff. “I didn’t stray. I was pushed away. Arielle was preoccupied, and you started being a real jerk back then.”

  “You know me,” Troy glares. “I won’t be second place and I don’t eat leftovers. I’ve always been this way.”

  “No, you haven’t!”

  We finish changing in silence. His locker door slams shut, but I don’t look up as I speak to him. “I know about Natalie and Jacob, but I know nothing about you and Arielle. I’m over her, but ...”

  “You expected more from me?” He finishes my sentence. “So does my dad. But I don’t think he’s got it figured out.”

  I look at Troy hard. “You’re not turning into your father. You’re turning into your mother.”

  An expressionless Troy stares at me in shock. That nerve of mine that he was trying to hit, I got his in one smooth sentence. I didn’t mean to shock him with honesty. I was only speaking the truth. Troy used to be like his dad, but his mother’s arrogance is all over him now.

  In a hurry, Troy heads out of the fieldhouse without speaking to me again, but I wait, not to avoid him. I need to talk to someone else. I’m going to hate this conversation, but I can’t let the feelings inside me fester and change me into something rotten.

  ***

  It’s officially winter season at Montlake, and athletic practice has moved indoor to the gym until spring. The parents would freak if those hard, grizzled bastards had their heirs practicing in their shorts outdoors with frost on their noses. Now, I’m a hockey player, but I hate being cold, and I’ll do anything I can to stay warm. When I’m moving fast on the ice, I don’t notice the cold, but walking across campus, that cold wind will freeze balls off. The only warm place is inside.

  But I sit and wait until another five minutes have passed before I head out of the fieldhouse. This better work. Coach Stanford is standing bundled up in a navy parka like he’s ready to climb the Himalayas. Coach drinks coffee out of a thermos that’s spiked with whiskey. It’s always on his breath when he’s outdoors watching a player run penalty laps.

  “Bellman, you finally showed up.” He looks at his watch. “Five minutes late.”

  “Five laps?” I mutter.

  “The faster you run them, the sooner my nuts can stop freezing outside. Fleming’s on his second.”

  My guess was right. Jacob is in trouble and
running laps. He’s always running laps, and he’s fast enough that the track coach spoke to him several times freshman year. But Jacob bulked up and out, and besides, he likes to hit things. I jog across the field and catch up with him.

  Jacob gives me his WTF face when he looks up and sees me running alongside him. We take it down a notch, so we can talk and breathe in the cold air.

  “What did you do?” I ask him.

  “One of my co-captains thinks he doesn’t have to listen to me because I’m graduating. What about you?”