Revenge: A Reverse Harem High School Bully Romance (Montlake Prep Book 4) Page 2

  “Thanks, Troy.” Natalie steps into our warm house, and I take her winter coat. Spring is starting to send out a few buds and crocuses along the driveway, but it’s still freezing cold.

  “Not a problem,” I reply, hanging up her coat. “I get that you want to talk to Dad first after everything that happened.”

  Natalie was squeamish about giving the number of the Columbia contact to her uncle to call. After what happened with Lucas, I sort of appreciate her concern. I reassure her that I won’t be married off the next day because I pissed off my mother. She frowns at me.

  “Too soon?” I ask.

  Natalie rolls her eyes and then steps into the living room to greet my dad. He had no problem giving the number to Natalie and even offered to call and make an introduction. Natalie smiles, and so do I. She’s pretty, especially when she full-on smiles. And I can see why Jacob and Lucas’ opinion of her did a complete turnaround. She sits beside my father, laughing at his outdated jokes about the stock market. Her blue eyes sparkle as she talks about math, waving her hands in the air in graceful arcs as she explains an equation. I must sigh, because they both stop to look at me.

  “You know what,” my dad says, “I’m hogging up your time with your guest.”

  I clear the lump in my throat. “No, Dad. It’s okay. My mind was on something else.”

  My dad smiles as he looks at Natalie, perched wide-eyed in a wingback chair. She shifts nervously. If my dad knew the shit I pulled on her, he’d smack me in the back of my head.

  “Nope, I’m off to the study,” My dad winks at me. “Have fun and don’t study too hard.”

  This is awkward. I have no classes with Natalie. Math has never been my thing, but I’m good with English and history. Dad has always been pleased by the way I can quote things that have happened in the past that are useful for our future. Unfortunately, my book smarts haven’t prepared me for this. I don’t really know what to say to Natalie. And I know I was making a pest of myself in her house. Still, those days I could get away from my mother’s scrutiny were heaven sent, and in a way, Natalie turned into an angel.

  “You want something to eat?” I ask.

  She barely looks at me. “Sounds good.”

  Natalie looks around the kitchen. “Wow, it’s a really big room without all that wedding crap.” She realizes what she said, and her cheeks turn pink.

  I smile. “That’s okay. I didn’t know what it meant to be grateful until now. Every morning when I wake up, I hug my pillow and thank God that I’m alone.”

  Natalie scowls at me, but her lip twitches into a grin. “That’s an awful, but true, thing to say. But maybe we should talk about helping Lucas.”

  I motion towards the nook off the kitchen. It’s one of my favorite places in the house, and I prefer to eat there. In the corner are L-shaped storage benches attached to the walls with canvas cushions on top. A square table made of reclaimed oak is inside the L. The window faces an herb garden that I planted with my sister Vicki, and family pictures are on the opposite wall. Natalie stares at a framed one of Vicki and me when we were in grade school.

  “God, it’s hard to imagine you that small,” she says.

  I laugh. “You must think I was spawned, not born.”

  Natalie tries not to laugh too hard. “Sorry, but you were hateful.”

  “Someday, I’ll make it up to you.” I hand her a cup of coffee and a small pitcher of cream. That’s one thing we have in common. We both drink coffee 24/7.

  “The phone number is a good start.” Her answer is honest, and I nod my head. It’s only a start. “Helping Lucas would be even better.”

  I sit down on the opposite bench from her. “We need to look at that contract,” I reply, “but if it’s standard, the marriage will dissolve if there’s infidelity.”

  Natalie’s face turns bright red, and she stares at me as if I know more than I should. I say nothing but now, I know. Lucas and Natalie are still together. I don’t blame him for risking it, and an image of her half-naked curves stretched across her bed pops into my mind. I can hear her moan. Natalie is nothing like Arielle or what I expected when I first met her. She’s not the dealer’s girlfriend or another middle-class kid with an attitude, judging me because I have a trust fund. No one judges me at Montlake. Montlake is literally my school.

  “If Arielle is caught cheating,” I continue, “then Lucas is free.” I place a cardboard box of fresh chocolate chip cookies on the table. Mother is still on her bakery kick.

  “Of course,” Natalie reaches for a cookie, and her face lights up with her first bite. “Wow, these are good.”

  “Better than sex?” I smirk, but she frowns.

  “Maybe we should have a talk.” Natalie eyes me with a cold look that could freeze my balls off.

  Natalie inhales a deep breath and places her cookie down on a napkin. “The sex talk makes me uncomfortable.”

  “Aw, Natalie, I’m just teasing. No harm, no foul.”

  “I get that you’re coming from a different place.” Natalie squirms a little in her seat. “But you used to say things like that to hurt me.”

  That shuts me down. I run my hand through my hair as I sit back in my seat. The things I used to say to Natalie run through my head. And they’re no different than how I’m talking now.

  “I’m sorry, Nat. I know I was an asshole before, but I’m not trying to be one now. I really appreciate you letting me spend time at your house.”

  We don’t need to say why I spent time there. Natalie takes another bite of her cookie, and I grab one out of the box to give my mouth something else to do besides talk.

  “Do you have a plan to help Lucas?” she asks softly.

  “I’m not trying to be fresh,” I caution her, “But Arielle’s not someone who can go without sex for too long. I told her no.”

  Natalie’s eyes widen as her mouth drops open. “Has she hit on you since they married?”

  I shrug my shoulders, grabbing another cookie. “Arielle’s implied that she’d like to be friends again. And she’s not interested in sitting around and talking. And she wouldn’t dare approach Jacob.”

  Natalie tilts her head to the side, and with the cutest expression, she asks why.

  “Jacob cannot stand Arielle,” I reply. “Lucas confides in Jacob all the time and vice versa. At least, that’s true now. He has too low of an opinion of her to find her attractive. With Jacob, it’s soul first and looks second.”

  Natalie smiles as I push the cookie box toward her. She looks longingly but shakes her head. My response is to laugh, but I don’t rib her. She’s set some boundaries, and I need to start respecting all of them if I want more.

  “Thank you for not suggesting I take one for the team.”

  Natalie takes the cookie anyway. “If Arielle chases after you, you’ll end up hiding at my house forever.” Her eyes snap to mine. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

  I look away. “Everyone has dirt to hide. Someone has dirt on Arielle. We could place her in a position where she can’t back down.”

  “Arielle isn’t the type to be forced into a corner,” replies Natalie. “She’ll lash out and it will be nasty.”

  “Then what do you suggest?”

  “I don’t know, but a softer approach would leave her defenseless.” Natalie reaches over and places the lid down on the box. “She doesn’t know how to react to a soft touch.”

  A soft touch. Arielle knows how to respond to hardness, but she’s not as adept at handling subtle persuasion. The thought intrigues me, but I’m not entirely clear on what to do. And I can tell by Natalie’s expression, she’s not sure either. We’ll have to wait for an opportunity, but can Lucas remain patient? The stress is showing in his eyes rimmed with dark circles.

  Our heads turn toward the closed doorway of the kitchen as I hear a commotion at the front door. I check my phone, and it’s barely after seven. My mother can’t be home this early. She never comes back before ten when the meeting ends. I hear a wh
oop and holler, and I’m on my feet heading for the front hall. Standing by the door is my sister Victoria, in Dad’s arms. She’s thinner than when she left. I can tell because her leggings are baggy at her knees.

  Victoria turns, and I almost start at the sight of her appearance. My sweet baby sister looks like a vagabond. Her long blonde hair is unwashed and underneath a gross knitted cap. It’s windy and freezing outside, but her parka is open, revealing an oversized plaid shirt and a load of cheap chains around her neck. She looks like she stole them off a gypsy at Coachella. I swallow hard as she looks at me with her arms open wide.

  “Victoria.” I cross the room and pull her tight into my arms. I can smell the odor of weed in her hair. She can’t afford gummies? “How’d you get home?”

  “I hitched.” She pulls back and smiles but I don’t think she’s kidding. “Ubered from state to state until I got here. Cheaper than the train.”

  “How’s your grandmother?” asks Dad.

  Victoria rolls her eyes. She’s fourteen going on forty. “Dad, you didn’t tell Troy? He’s old enough to know.”

  Dad’s gaze goes past me to Natalie, who’s standing by the kitchen door. We all turn to look at Natalie as she stands there looking at the carpet. I don’t want Natalie to feel awkward in my home after she’s made feel welcome in hers.

  “Nat, come on over and meet my sister, Victoria.”

  Victoria rolls her eyes. “Troy. It’s Vicki. Victoria is some dead queen in England.” Vicki holds out her hand, smiling. Natalie shakes it. I can tell by the gleam in Natalie’s eyes that Vicki interests her. My sister and I were raised by the same straitlaced parents, but it’s apparent that Vicki has become the black sheep. At least she lets it show.

  “Your mother will be thrilled to see you.” Dad’s smile is tight enough to rip skin.

  Vicki rolls her eyes to heaven and back again. “Mom is going to have a fit when she finds out I ditched rehab.”

  “Victoria,” Dad cautions her. She knows that airing the laundry out is forbidden. Even if I was the only one to witness it, it would still be a bad idea.

  “It’s a joke, Daddy. We all know I was with grandma.” Vicki walks over to the couch and plops herself down, putting her dirty Doc Martens on our mother’s antique Queen Anne. “I just wanted to come home.”

  Dad laughs stiffly as he looks Vicki up and down. He’s thinking the same thing I am as the tension in the room rises. My mother is going to shit a wall. No, a whole fucking building. That exclusive rehab cost more than a private college. Too bad they don’t hand out degrees for being sober.

  “Troy, maybe you and Natalie can visit with Vicki.” Dad nods toward the hallway leading to his office. “I ... have some things to finish.” He smiles brightly at Vicki. “I’ll be right back.”

  Dad leaves the room and goes straight to his office, shutting the door with a bang. Vicki stretches out, long and lean, on the couch, her lips curling into a smile as she watches me and Natalie sit down stiffly.

  “Who do you think he’s going to call first?” Vicki smirks. “Mom or rehab?”

  I sigh heavily. “I’m glad to see you, Vicki, but you should have called.”

  “So they could tell me to stay put?” Vicki’s gaze lands on Natalie. “Is she your new girlfriend?”

  Unexpectedly, Natalie laughs, throwing back her head as if it’s ridiculous. My jaw is tight as I stare at her reaction. I look at Vicki, and she’s laughing too.

  “I guess not,” smiles Vicki. “Are you losing your touch, big brother?”

  “Victoria,” my voice is sharp, “Calm the fuck down. You just got home.”

  “Troy, relax.” Natalie wipes her eyes. “I’m Natalie and I go to Montlake. Your brother and I hated each other before Christmas, and now, we’re friends.”

  “Sounds like a miracle,” replies Vicki. “Once Troy hates someone, it’s forever. My brother carries a grudge tightly. He’ll grip it until his knuckles turn white. He’s worse than our mother. Have you had the pleasure of meeting her?”

  Natalie nods and says nothing, but her strained grimace and averted eyes speak loudly.

  Vicki chuckles at her silent answer. “I’m surprised you came back.”

  “You came back,” replies Natalie.

  “Ouch,” laughs Vicki. “Turn that back on me.”

  Slowly, the atmosphere relaxes as we banter back and forth about nothing. I don’t want to talk about Vicki’s past in front of Natalie. And I suspect that she may already know part of the story. I check the time on my phone. I didn’t realize that we’d been talking for almost an hour.

  “So, I hate to end this, Natalie,” I stand up, heading for the closet. “But you’ll thank me when you’re gone before our mother arrives.”

  Natalie jumps up so fast that we all laugh. “Sorry,” she giggles, “But your mother will never drink enough wine to be happy to see me.”

  Vicki sits up, taking her feet off the table. “Agreed. You don’t want to be in the line of fire when she comes through the door.”

  I help Natalie into her coat. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  “Nice meeting you, Natalie.” Vicki holds out her hand, and Natalie shakes it.

  “Nice meeting you. Maybe we’ll hang out together?”

  Vicki smiles her first genuine smile since arriving home. “That sounds cool.” Vicki looks at me. “I’m going to go upstairs, big bro, and pretend I’m asleep.”

  “Good call,” I reply. “Go on up, and I’ll come up as soon as I see Natalie off.”

  “He’s good like that,” Vicki winks and hurries upstairs. I roll my eyes, but Natalie takes it in stride as we walk outside.

  “Thanks for being kind to my sister.”

  She gawks at me. “It wasn’t to be nice. Your sister seems sweet. A little lost, but sweet.”

  I sigh. “Vicki’s been through a lot. She’s playing it off, but it’s there. The hurt goes deep, and I’m not sure the little sister I remember is still there.”

  “I went through a lot too,” Natalie says softly. It has started snowing again, a light dusting, and a few flakes land on her lashes. I can’t help but stare into her eyes.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry,” I mutter, looking at the pavement.

  Natalie starts again. “I meant my parents’ passing. It was unbelievable at first, but I’ve made peace with my grief, so I can function. Now, I want to succeed in life.”

  She tilts her chin up as I look down into her earnest eyes. Natalie takes my hand and holds it. I feel her tight grip on my fingers, and I hold my breath.

  “Arielle will never accept me as the queen of Montlake, but that’s what I want now, so I can take it away from her. The same way that she took Lucas. Is it bad to compete for selfish reasons?”

  “No,” I shake my head and wrap my fingers gently around hers. With my free hand, I open her car door. “It’s not bad. Not for us. You have to practice, take small victories. It’s how I learned. It’s how you’ll learn.”

  Natalie smiles tenderly, and I stop myself from pulling her against me and kissing her. I take my own advice. Small victories. I have to learn how to be trusted again.

  CHAPTER 3

  Natalie

  They’re back to their old tricks. In the morning, Beth and I approach my locker, and someone has taped condoms to it spelling out the word slut in blue and gold foil.

  “Not this old shit again,” Beth yanks off the S. “Can’t these kids learn how to spell anything new? Why is their vocabulary so limited?”

  I laugh while I peel off the L. “There’s a lesson here.”

  “What? Practice safe sex?”

  I laugh harder. “No,” I lower my voice. “I always have to be on guard and watch my back. Not everyone will accept me.”

  Beth carefully sticks the condoms onto the inside flap of her messenger bag.

  “Plan to use them later?” I ask.

  She wrinkles her nose. “Not alone.” And then she winks. “Yeah, you know what? We’re going to use them la
ter.”

  My eyebrows shoot up, and Beth laughs. “Trust me.” She smiles with a devilish curve to her lips. “We’re going to have fun.”

  The rest of the day passes uneventfully. Even lunch is boring. Arielle remains at the first table only because I don’t want to stir up catfight drama. Mrs. Petrenko stands by the wall nearest to the first table, trying her best to look casual while another math teacher circles the room. After Lucas and Arielle’s latest meltdown, Cromwell added an extra teacher to lunch duty as if their presence could change the dysfunction into something healthy. Thank God Cromwell didn’t have us in another assembly lecturing us about peace, harmony, and getting along.