All the Little Lies: A High School Bully Romance Read online

  I slowly craned my neck and was met with a girl posse. You know the type: fake tans, too-white teeth, about a pound of makeup on, reeked of perfume.

  “That’s Christian,” the Britney Spears look-alike said. I knew she was the leader of the group, because she stepped forward as the rest of the girls stepped back. She was their ruler, and by the looks of her, she thought she ruled the entire school.

  I smiled, the slice on my lip cracking open again. The taste of blood darted onto my tongue. “I know who he is.”

  Her face blanched for a millisecond before she recovered, popping her hip out at the same time her hand hit it. “He’s mine.”

  I snorted, and a laugh followed it. I slowly turned my head back over to Christian, and he was still staring at me. I cocked an eyebrow. Really?

  “I said he’s mine, so you can stop staring at him, Hayley.”

  When my eyes met hers again, I eyed her suspiciously.

  She flipped her blonde hair behind her shoulder. “Yeah, I know who you are. I know everything there is to know about you.”

  “I highly doubt that.”

  She turned back and looked at her friends, and, as if on cue, they all smiled creepily like a group of Cheshire cats. Just then, the girl raised her long arm in the air and snapped her fingers three times before the chatter of the cafeteria quieted.

  Oh, great. A show. And I’m in the spotlight.

  “Hello, fellow classmates. We have a newcomer, and I've decided to take it upon myself to introduce her.” She walked over to a table full of boys who looked like they belonged in a chess club together and gave them one withering stare before they scattered like marbles being dropped on a freshly waxed floor. Another one of the girl’s friends ran over quickly and pulled out a chair for her to climb on to stand in the middle of one of the lunch tables.

  This is ridiculous.

  I should have just walked out right then. I didn’t have to be the butt of their joke. I didn’t have to let her bully me. In fact, I could have ripped her hair out right then and called it a day, but then I would have been kicked out of this stuffy, prestigious school and sent back to Oakland High, and that would have been the end of me getting a scholarship to an Ivy League school. If I left now, it’d look like I was retreating, like I was backing down, and that wasn’t me. I learned pretty quickly after my dad died that you couldn’t run from trouble. It’d find you one way or another.

  Running is what got him killed in the first place.

  I had a hard exterior now. Whatever this bitch was going to say or do would be nothing compared to what I’d been through.

  I crossed my arms over my chest, my back unmoving from the wall, ready to enjoy the show.

  “English Prep, this is Hayley Smith. Our new classmate. Can we all give her a warm welcome?”

  I willed my face to stay a neutral color. I had no idea if it got red, but I was praying to God it didn’t.

  Everyone in the lunchroom booed me. But I continued to keep my feet planted on the ground, watching from below.

  The girl, who I now knew was Madeline from someone yelling her name in awe, spun around and mocked a smile in my direction. I cranked my neck up higher to stare into her eyes. She batted her thick eyelashes and puffed out her lips. “So, Hayley, would you like to tell everyone a little about yourself? Or should I do the honors?”

  I didn’t even bat an eyelash. I did, however, look around the room to see if any of the faculty members were witnessing this, because if they were, and they were letting it slide, they couldn’t be trusted. But much to my surprise, there wasn’t a single adult in the room except for a lunch lady who was too busy replacing tomatoes in the salad bar.

  “No?” Madeline giggled. “Let me do the honors, then.” She jumped down from the table, her skirt flying up so high everyone could see her classically pink thong, and came over to stand beside me. It took every ounce of willpower I had to keep my expression bored and my hands from knocking her on her ass.

  “Hayley Smith,” she started. The lunchroom was eerily quiet. It seemed everyone wanted to know my story. In any other circumstance, I might have felt flattered. But not this version of myself. My life was anything but ideal. “Hayley Smith has been in seven different foster homes in the last few years. Such a shame. But can you blame them? Who would want to keep such an ugly, poor, raggedy girl around?” She laughed, along with a few others, and I honestly couldn’t believe there were girls like her that still existed. “Hayley’s father was murdered when she was in middle school, and her mama took it a little hard.” Madeline’s eyes sliced over to mine as she trotted around the lunchroom, stopping by each table for a brief moment before moving to the next. “Hard as in…does the hard drugs now. But once again, can you blame her? Who wouldn’t want to be high all the time with a daughter like that? After all, she’s the reason her daddy was murdered.”

  My head twitched a fraction. My palms began to sweat. My feet were itching to move toward her. How does she know all this, and why is she telling everyone?

  “Poor Hayley,” she said, walking over to Christian’s table. I was beginning to let my guard down. It was starting to get to me. My stomach hurt. My heart was aching with each beat against my rib cage. No, don’t let it in. Don’t feel, Hayley. She finds you as a threat; that’s why she’s doing this. I ground my teeth, pushing all thoughts of my parents away. My eyes began to gloss over, but I hurriedly blinked the tears away. “She’s poor, guys, and I honestly have no idea why she’s here in this school, but I feel kind of bad for her.”

  “Why exactly are you talking about me like I’m not in the room?” I asked, my voice as steady as the three-hundred-year-old oak tree in the courtyard.

  Madeline looked appalled that I had interrupted her story time. A few people snickered, and she shot them a look with her eyes no bigger than slits. “Because trash like you doesn’t deserve to be talked to. Only about.”

  I shifted on my feet. “So, you like to spend your free time talking about trash? That seems strange.”

  Madeline’s perfect round face formed angry wrinkles. Then, almost as if she had gotten a brilliant idea, her face lit up. She scooted closer to Christian, and I felt that tiny piece of jealousy creeping in. She sat on his lap, and my heart began to thud faster and faster. He leaned in close, his sharp jawline taunting me as he whispered something in her ear. She nodded with a conniving smile on her face. I noticed his hand creeping along her bare thigh beneath her skirt, and a chill ran down my spine. Stop feeling. He’s not yours. And he never was mine—not in that way, at least.

  Before I knew it, Madeline was standing up and walking over to me with a tray of food in her hands. It didn’t take long for me to realize it was Christian’s. Every guy sitting at his table was trying to hold back grins and laughs as Madeline approached me. I turned my neck and looked at her group of friends, and they were also trying to hide little smirks. I took half a second and met Christian’s eye before Madeline leaned into my personal space.

  “Ya know, since you’re poor, do you want something to eat?” Yes. I did want something to eat. But I’d have rather chewed my arm off than admit that to these people. The entire cafeteria was under her thumb. I swiveled my head back to Christian. Or his thumb. What made me angry about this entire situation was the fact that Madeline knew I’d feel jealous with her sitting close to Christian. I was certain it was a lucky guess; I was sure every girl in this school wanted a piece of him, which was why she felt threatened in the first place. But she was right. It did bother me. Christian’s looks alone were enough to lure any girl in.

  “Nope. Not hungry,” I said matter-of-factly. “Thanks, though.”

  And just like that, the entire tray of food was shoved into my chest with a thud. My stomach buckled forward as the tray clanked to the floor. Silverware ricocheted off the glossy tile and skittered over to the trash cans. My white shirt was covered in some kind of red sauce, and I was instantly pissed because of three things: One, I really could have used t
he food. What a waste. Two, I now had to figure out how to get a stain out of this shirt by tomorrow or else everyone would know just how bad off I was. And three, I somehow didn’t see that coming.

  Madeline whispered in my ear. “You don’t belong here. And stay away from Christian.” Then, she spun around and took a dramatic bow. Our peers wooed her, but I ignored them all. It wasn’t the first time someone wanted to show their dominance to the new girl. But it did surprise me that Christian was a part of it. Back in middle school, when people would tease or bully his younger brother, Ollie, he’d shut them down within a blink of an eye. But here at English Prep, it didn’t seem he cared much. In fact, it was as if he encouraged it. It was obvious that it was his idea for Madeline to pour his tray on my uniform. Christian was the bully now—or maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he just stood up for people he cared about.

  And he obviously didn’t care about me anymore.

  I left the lunchroom as slowly as possible to head for the bathrooms, not wanting anyone to think I was running away from Madeline or her threat. The girl’s bathroom was as pristine as the rest of the school, the ceramic sinks sparkling as if they were scrubbed clean seconds before walking in here.

  I glanced at my shirt and bit the inside of my cheek. For fuck’s sake. I hurriedly untied the stupid bow around my neck and unbuttoned the front of my blouse. The air conditioner blew on my bare shoulders as I shrugged it off and began running it under water.

  “Make sure that’s cold water or else it’ll stain worse.” My eyes flicked up into the mirror, but I was only met with my own face and the navy stalls behind me. I began running the damaged cotton under the cold water and scrubbing some hand soap on it.

  “Here,” I heard the voice again. I dropped my head when something nudged my shoe. It was a stain removal pen, the kind that I’d expect only an old lady to keep in her purse.

  Slowly, I bent down and grabbed it. “Thanks.” The scent of fabric cleaner filled my nose when the creak of a stall door caught my attention. I kept my gaze on my shirt, respecting the girl’s need to keep her face hidden.

  “You’re welcome,” she answered, coming up beside me. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, and she smiled nervously. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

  This had me turning my head to get a good look at her face. I searched every curve, the jade color of her eyes, the pin-straight penny-colored hair. “Should I?” I asked, putting the cap back on her stain removal pen. I held it out to her, and she took it back slowly.

  She snorted. “No, I’m not very… memorable.”

  I wished I could say the same about myself, but thanks to my parents, I’d always be remembered.

  The girl tucked her hair behind her ears and shifted nervously on her feet. She was wearing expensive-looking black shoes, their shine catching my eye as she moved farther away from me. “We went to middle school together before you moved.” She half-rolled her eyes. “I actually moved shortly after you but made it back here before my junior year.”

  “Oh,” I muttered, wringing out my now stain-free blouse. Fuck you, Madeline.

  “I’m not surprised you don’t remember me.”

  “Why is that?” I walked over to the hand dryer but waited a beat so I could hear her answer.

  She shrugged, staring at the bruise on my face. “You didn’t seem to pay attention to anyone, except for…” I finished for her. “Christian.”

  She glanced over to my cut lip. “Yeah. Plus, I wasn’t the most popular person.”

  I ran my blouse underneath the air dryer for a few seconds, getting some of the water to dry before putting it back on over my tank top.

  “Well, I’m not the most popular either. Not anymore.”

  She gave me a half-smile, and I returned it. I didn’t necessarily want a friend, but at the same time, it would be nice to have someone to go to for a stain removal pen, because ten out of ten times, the bully won’t just strike once. I was certain Madeline would do something else to torment me. That was how girls like her worked. I’d been to four different high schools, and there was always one girl who enjoyed tearing down others. The school may change, but the girl never did.

  “I know you already know me,” I said, sticking my hand out, “but I’m Hayley.”

  Her smile grew as her palm collided with mine. “I’m Piper.”

  The bell rang, breaking our handshake. “What’s your next class?” she asked.

  “Poly sci,” I answered. “With Mr. Lincoln.”

  “Follow me; I’ll walk you.”

  “Only if I can use you as a human shield when Madeline throws more food on me.”

  Piper stopped and looked back at me with wide eyes. “That’s who ruined your shirt? Sorry, but you’re on your own with her. I was the butt of her jokes my entire junior year. I don’t mess with them.”

  “Them?” I asked as we began walking again. I kept my eyes peeled for anyone else who wanted to mess with me, but no one even glanced in our direction.

  Piper stopped in front of a classroom, and I assumed it was poly sci. “Yeah. The it crowd.” She shook her head. “Meet me outside by the front doors after school. I’ll drive you home and fill you in on English Prep. You didn’t just walk into a prep school; you walked into a kingdom. And you and I? We’re just peasants.”

  “Oh, I don’t think you want to drive me home. I live—"

  She shook her copper hair before I could finish. “After school. I’ll see you by the doors.” Then she turned around, disappearing into the hall. Okay then. When I moved to find a seat, my heart dipped when I was met with a familiar pair of blue eyes—Ollie.

  Did he hate me as much as his big bro? He blinked once, twice, three times as I stood frozen at the door, waiting for his glare. But it never came. Relief pooled around my body. I didn’t even know why I cared. I was here for education so I could get the heck out of this shitty town. I hadn’t seen or talked to anyone in this world for several years. I shouldn’t have cared what they thought. I shouldn’t have cared that Christian hated my guts. So what?

  If I allowed myself to feel, it would have hurt a little. Stung like a hornet on my very heart. But my feelings were off. Always.

  My shoulder lurched forward as someone rammed into me from behind. I gasped when I turned around, but my anger was replaced by a surge of shock when I saw that it was Christian. He brushed past me quickly, the heat of his anger wafting all around us. Ollie looked from me then to Christian with a bemused expression. I was right there with him. What is his problem?

  Nonetheless, I sucked it up and walked into the classroom with my shoulders square and spine intact.

  I’m ready for round two.

  Chapter Four

  Hayley

  Buses sucked. Greyhound buses, school buses, and city buses. They all sucked. I was cautious of people now. Watchful and guarded, never sitting too close to a stranger. I remembered my mother teaching me what stranger danger was as a little girl, but up until those men entered our home when I was on the brink of turning thirteen, I didn’t truly realize how dangerous strangers were. Since that day, I was constantly surrounded by them. Even my own mother grew to be a stranger.

  So, the city bus ride to and from my foster home and English Prep shouldn’t have been that big of a deal, but I still felt uneasy. The only benefit to the forty-minute bus ride every morning was that it got me out of the house sooner and back later. Pete was on his best behavior yesterday evening, even waving to Piper as she drove off in her convertible, and Jill left me half a plate of food on the stove. It was disgusting and tasted like cardboard, but at least it was food.

  As much as my new foster home sucked, I was happy to be there after school yesterday. I felt sick sitting in Piper’s passenger seat while she gave me the rundown of the popularity contest at school. Here’s what I learned: Christian was the “king” of English Prep, and Madeline was the “queen”. I knew that much already from my brief encounter in the cafeteria. She filled me in on the other kid
s—popularity ranging from whose parents had the most money. It seemed as if English Prep was more of a breeding ground than anything. She told me where the best keggers were and how they were thrown after every football game. It was all very normal in terms of high school, except Piper mentioned that they all held themselves to a higher standard because their families were treated like royalty in town. There was even a rumor that Christian’s father had the police force in his pocket. That wasn’t the first time I’d heard of someone having the police on their side, even if they weren’t technically on the good side.

  I held my tongue before my mouth blurted the question I didn’t want to care about: Were Christian and Madeline dating? I shouldn’t have cared. I didn’t have room in my life to care, but I did. Jealousy surged through me, and I had no right. Christian and I were close before my life was turned upside down, but he was never really mine. We weren’t an item, per se. We never kissed or any of that. But we were close, and everyone knew it. We were drawn to one another. Spent most of our free time together in his fancy treehouse behind his mansion-like home. But I still had no right.

  I argued with myself the entire night about why I cared. As I lay there on my pitiful mattress on the floor of a bedroom that felt more alien to me than anything, I couldn’t stop replaying Christian’s glare and repeating everything the Wicked Witch of the West spewed in the cafeteria. Piper ended up giving me the answer to my question without me even asking. She completely warned me off Christian. “Madeline and Christian aren’t together, not officially. But unofficially? Yes. Unofficially, Madeline sucks his dick whenever he snaps his fingers, so she claims him on a daily basis. And if she senses a threat, it’s hard to tell what she’ll do.” My stomach tightened at the thought. There was something about the past and Christian that caused a spark inside of me to burn bright. I knew the hurt was creeping in, but I pushed it down. Instead, I replaced it with anger. Christian had no right to shoot me dirty glares and sick his psycho, unofficial girlfriend on me. Every time I thought of him after I got out of Piper’s car, I saw red. The weepy, sad part of my soul that was forever hung up on Christian and my twelve-year-old self’s feelings, was gone. That was the old Hayley. The new Hayley had no feelings and didn’t think of the past.