"Wha—what are you doing?" she asked as he pulled her into the bathroom and shoved her onto the freshly cleaned tiles.
She had a sneaky suspicion of what the answer was, though she hoped it was wrong.
"What am I doing? What am I doing?" he asked, leaning in. "Whatever the fuck I want!"
"Okay," Lexi whispered, nodding. He scared her when he shouted. It made her feel thirteen again.
"Go on, take your dress off if you don't want to get it wet," he warned.
Lexi crossed her arms and pulled the dress off in one swift movement. Not wanting to get ruined any further, she folded it and hung it over the side of the bath before turning back to Jayce and looking up at him.
"Ready?" he asked, eyes wide and manic.
He didn't wait for a response, just grabbed her by the back of her neck and forced her head down, leading her toward the toilet b
Lexi repeatedly squeezed the can of beer between her fingers, listening to the satisfying 'ding' sound as it popped back into shape. She'd been hiding it from the bus driver under her coat, but since Jayce was drinking his openly, there seemed to be little point.He was also smoking, leaning forward every few minutes to tap the ash out the window of the double-decker. The driver had to know but was thankfully choosing to ignore it, probably for fear of his safety.As Lexi turned to Jayce she frowned at the 'no smoking' sign, placed ironically just above his head."Please be normal around my friends," she begged."Hmm." Jayce took a swig of his beer. "Define normal.""L—like... I... I don't know," Lexi stuttered, struggling to explain what she meant. "Erm, just be nice."This made him laugh so hard he sprayed beer all over the seat in front.
Lexi watched, helpless to stop him, as Jayce strutted over to their table. He didn't say anything to them as they looked up, their faces a mixture of expectation and surprise.He turned his back to them, planted both his hands on the table and jumped back, sliding himself onto the tabletop and knocking their food and drinks into their laps in the process."What the fuck?" one guy shouted as he stood the shake the dinner from his trousers."What are you doing?" the smallest guy asked in a squeaky voice. He hadn't been the one making comments and seemed confused and horrified by the situation."Well, now you can get a closer look instead of staring over and making snide remarks, right?" said, addressing the one who had insulted his hair.The guy ran a hand through his short hair and shook his head."What the fuck, man?" he asked. "We were just havin
'This is insane,'Lexi thought.'What are we doing?'She grabbed Jayce by the arm, clinging to his sleeve as he poised himself to climb over the back fence."What?" he huffed."Maybe this wasn't the best idea," Lexi said.Jayce shrugged off her concerns and her small fist. "You practically begged me to do this. And we're here now. Might as well follow through."Once he'd cleared the fence in a jump, Jayce strode across the garden toward the house. His pace was confident—no hint of doubt in his movements as he cleared the grass between the fence and the open back door. Lexi could see a man sitting inside, presumably the father of the boy. The one Jayce had his sights on.'He deserves it,'Lexi told herself.'What kind of man beats up their kid for getting bullied?'Her ski
'It feels like my head is full of sand,'Lexi thought as she woke and rolled over in the bed. The mental image made her thirsty when she realised her mouth was also dry as the desert. She slipped from Jayce's navy bedsheets and searched the floor for her dress before sneaking down the hallway to the bathroom. The sink she'd cleaned so thoroughly was now splattered with toothpaste. It took her a moment to clean it away before running the tap and guzzling the water like an animal at a trough. She remembered the sink cupboard had paracetamol, so helped herself to a couple, figuring they wouldn't mind. 'They only cost 19p after all,'she reasoned. When she opened the bathroom door Aaron was standing so close she almost screamed. "You were loud," he said. No hello. No small talk. "Sorry," she uttered and went to scoot
Lexi searched through the cupboards for some variety of breakfast food. As she reached into the top shelf of the pantry, feeling about for a box of cereal, a bag of oats tipped over and had plastered her face and hair in a white mist before she could take a step back.When she backed from the pantry, blowing oaty dust from her lips, she saw Sam look up from the table behind a fort of cereal boxes. He crunched on his mixture of honey nut hoops, frosted flakes and chocolate puffs while stifling his laughter.In a huff, feeling her right eye twitching, she grabbed the flakes and poured herself some milk. When Sam gave in to the urge to laugh in her face, she shook her head in his direction, covering him and his food in the oaty mess."Oh, I'm glad to see you've cheered up," Mum said as she breezed through the kitchen, fixing her earrings and puffing up her hair. She gave each of the children a kiss before filling her thermo
"What the hell?" Dave whispered. It was more a hiss than a whisper, coming out louder than the boy probably intended."Keep your voice down and act cool, okay?" Sam whispered without looking up."What's with you and Jayce Riley?" Kevin asked."Are you tight with him now?" Dave asked. "When on Earth did that happen exactly?"The boys were in his face, bombarding him with questions he couldn't even begin to answer. He had no clue as to why Jayce was suddenly acting so strange.Not knowing what to tell them, he tutted and shoed them away. After the whole fiasco with Angelica, he wasn't in the mood for a Spanish inquisition.His mates followed him through to the main building and there she was, standing in her usual spot with her best friend Kaycie.When their eyes met, he scowled and looked away. She looked pained and sad, as though she want
With his friends in tow, Sam ambled over to his usual table. When Jayce shouted him over everyone in the vicinity glanced up, some staring for longer than others. His friends froze briefly before muttering that it was okay."You best go sit with him," Kevin whispered. They didn't dare invite themselves along, knowing it wasn't a good idea to try to join Jayce without his expressed invitation.Jayce kicked out the chair next to him, smiling up at him like they were best friends. His return smile felt forced and strained, as if his lips were made of rubber not skin. Hopefully, nobody would notice.'Do they honestly expect you to not be nervous?'he wondered. As he looked about the table, he guessed the answer was yes. They looked back at him with the same expression as when they chatted among themselves.'Am I one of them now?'Sam wondered.
Lexi stared at her phone. It hadn't chimed all night. Chris had barely spoken to her at university—just curt responses to questions—so it wasn't likely that he would send her any messages.'Should I message him to apologise?'she wondered.'To tell him I didn't realise he intended the night out as a date?'There was little point. Even if she had realised, it wouldn't have made any difference. She was tied to Jayce. He could ruin her reputation and her brothers. Even if she didn't crave his attention, that wouldn't change.Jayce was yet to text her either. He hadn't said he would, so it wasn't as if he was wilfully ignoring her. Still... she'd been staring at that empty inbox for hours now.When the notification bell did finally chime, Lexi's heart almost burst from her chest. Her heart filled her being with delicious adrenaline as she read his name. That
Lexi followed Jayce into his room and watched as he pulled the computer chair from its spot beneath the desk. Its wheels got stuck on the threadbare carpet, dragging uselessly as he pulled the thing along. "Sit," he demanded, placing his hands over the top of the backrest. "Erm," Lexi uttered and frowned as she turned away from him to lower her bum into the seat. The scene felt too familiar for her liking. What exactly was he playing at? "You like this, right?" he asked, a sneer in his voice. "Did you like it when Edward tied you up?" "What?" Lexi gasped. "Of course I didn't! I only want to do this stuff with you." "Or my brother, huh?" he asked. "What? No," Lexi protested. "Why are you saying this? What's happened?" Her heart skipped a beat as she heard the ripping of tape. As he wrapped the tape arou
Lexi felt a ripple of anger surge through her, but as she looked down at her hands, seeing the chocolate sauce smeared across her knuckle, her brain reverted to its earlier mindset.'I am me... take me or leave me.'As her mood settled, she was able to see Aaron for what he was. Not powerful. Not fearsome.'You need to wield power over me to feel big,'she thought.'And you never even realised I was the one with the power. I allowed it to happen. I enjoyed it.'Lexi took a deep breath.'Well, not anymore.'His face, a twisted sneer of lips curled in expectance, waiting for her to plead with him, suddenly wasn't gorgeous. It was laughable.Turning on her heels, she left him, mouth slightly agape, and walked into the living room. She didn't stop when she reached the coffee tabl
Lexi dropped the cake into the tin as carefully as she could but still managed to get gooey chocolate fudge topping on her fingers.'Hmm.'She considered washing it off for just a second before licking and sucking at each of her fingers in turn."Tramp," Sam commented as he passed her.Lexi glanced up at him, smirked and shrugged. Life was too short to worry about what people thought of her.'I'm me,'she thought.'Take me or leave me.'As this thought passed through her brain, she felt a dip in her stomach. The fact Aaron had rejected her still hurt, even though everything had turned out for the best and she was happier with Jayce. He made her feel safe. Even when she'd been in the most dire of situations, his arrival had put her at ease. His swagger and confidence—over confidence some might say—had a magical way of rea
"Who told you?" Edward shouted, making Lexi jump. "Who told you?""W—who... wh—"Edward stumbled forward, coughed up a few bubbles of red froth and fell to the floor with a thud.Lexi's eyes shot up to meet Sam's. He stood where Edward had been, a pair of red-stained scissors in his right hand.His eyes were glazed, but as the mist cleared, he shook his head and threw the weapon to the ground.The faint sound of a helicopter grew louder and louder until it made Lexi wince and squint.'The police helicopter?' she thought. It could often be seen or heard patrolling the area, but she had never seen it close up. The only time she'd heard of it landing in a field like this was when her cousin's little boy had started having a seizure. Her mind drifted off on a dreamlike tangent, trying to remember what had happened with little Tyle
As they awaited Jayce's arrival all Lexi could think about was the fact she was soaked in her own urine.'I stink of pee,'she panicked.'I can't let him see me like this. He must already hate me.'She looked over at Sam, who was being oddly quiet. Usually, you couldn't shut him up. He would be making inappropriate jokes or sarcastic remarks or something...'He must be terrified.'A fierce sound erupted from her belly, making Edward laugh. "Aww, are you hungry?"He took a chocolate bar from his pocket, unwrapped it and took a giant bite, all without breaking eye contact."You sadistic little prick!" she shouted, though it came out an inaudible growl.The sight and smell of food made her hunger grow to the point her stomach felt like it had a gaping hole inside. When she heard the footsteps outsid
Lexi wiggled, trying her best to jerk her body left and right. She figured if she kept this up, she might manage to loosen the bindings.It took her nearly an hour to give in from exhaustion. Even with the excessive amount of sweat dripping from her body, the tape wasn't giving an inch. He'd wrapped too much and too tightly.'Damn you, Edward,'she thought.'Why are you doing this to me?'Being restrained had been one of Lexi's turn-ons. Something that made her hot and wet. But this... this was torture. Not being able to move for hours on end while sweaty, too hot, scared, and desperate... well, there was nothing sexy about it.She hated it. The situation. The horrible gag pressing down on her tongue and making her salivate. The pressure in her bladder. It was unlikely he would return to let her use the bathroom.'I'm going to pee myself,'
"Have you heard from your sister?" Mum asked as Sam passed through the kitchen. She looked up from the dishes, dried her hands and checked her phone. "I can't seem to get hold of her.""No." Sam shook his head. "She's probably with her uni mates and her phone died. You know what she's like."Mum nodded, but there was a look in her eye—the troubled glint of a mother who sensed her child might be in danger.He would have talked to her. Calmed her down. But he had an important date and there just wasn't time. Kayley had messaged, asking to meet him for a milkshake, and while he'd known she would contact him for another 'date,' he was still nervous to go.As he left the house, Sam checked his pockets, making sure he had everything he might need. This was more than just a habit, he had to make sure he had everything he might need.Little bubbles of anxiety forming in the pit of
As Lexi woke up, for the first few seconds her brain was protected in a haze of amnesia, blissfully unaware of yesterday’s events.She felt the soreness of tears around her eyes a few horrible seconds before her memory updated itself.The first thing she did was check her phone.Nothing.'So weird,'she thought. Surely he would have something to say on the matter of being dumped and in such a cruel and cowardly manner. He'd be pissed if nothing else.Then a thought occurred. Maybe Jenna hadn't gone through with it.She decided to message her to make sure, and her friend was quick to reply, telling her both that she had let him down as gently as possible and letting her know her phone was working.She considered messaging Jayce but ultimately decided against it. Instead, she sent a text to Edward.
Sitting on the wall opposite the corner shop, Sam kicked his heels against the brickwork in quiet rhythm as he enjoyed his second cigarette of the morning.He was making so many ‘spur of the moment’ trips to the shop that Mum had started to get suspicious. This was the reason he'd re-taken up skateboarding, just to use as an excuse to leave the house.'A pretty clever ruse if I do say so myself,'he thought with a smile.He was still smiling when Angelica and Kaycie turned the corner. Angelica favoured him with a dirty look and spun her face away so fast her stupid ponytail almost whipped her friend across the face. Kaycie glanced up at him, made a face he couldn't read and looked down.Kayley's words replayed in his brain—'That girl fancies you.'He took the last drag of his cigarette while the girls were inside the shop and flicked th