Owned By The Bully - Part 2 in the bully series.

Alice pulled her clothes from the drawer Joseph had assigned for her. Of the ten drawers he had in the wardrobe and chest set, he'd only managed to clear one... and sparingly. 'There isn't enough room for me here,' she sighed, dropping to her knees and blowing the hair from her face. The apartment was stylish and sleekly decorated. It was perfect... for Joseph. Alice felt as though she was constantly in his way. Under his feet and taking up space that should belong to him. Forever using the last of his milk and forgetting to fetch more. He said he didn't mind, but Alice knew he was saying it to be kind. He was her best friend, and he would never make her feel unwelcome, as much of a burden as she was. Joseph’s apartment was beautiful, but it didn't feel like home. 'I miss my family,' she realised. Somehow, despite all his flaws, she still missed

Alice's head lowered further and further as she listened to Jamie's tale. By the time he finished speaking, every muscle in her body had slumped so dramatically she was almost one with the sofa. "And that was just one particularly horrible day," Jamie said. "Every day was like that. School was a warzone. It was hell. I spent most nights staring at a pile of pills, trying to pluck up the courage to kill myself." The thought of Adam stomping on her little brother because he had the nerve to piss himself in fear made her stomach turn. How could he be that cruel? How could anyone be that cruel? To drive another kid almost to suicide and for what? To entertain himself? To make himself feel powerful? 'He was just as cruel to you,' she realised. Images of the night he tried to tie her up like a dog and pull her out into the street flashed through her mind. Then there was the time he almost let his friends rape her

After the final bell, Mr Lowe took Alice aside and told her she'd done a great job. She smiled and thanked him, feeling silly since all she'd done was clean up and count stuff. Any idiot could excel at the tasks she'd completed today. Still—it was nice that her boss was taking the time to give her good feedback and make her feel valued. 'I'm going to love working here,' she thought. "I think you're going to fit in well," he said, echoing her thoughts with a reassuring smile before telling her to go and catch the bus. It stopped just over the road half past every hour, and she'd manage to get the 3:30 bus if she hurried. "Thank you, see you tomorrow," Alice said before practically jogging down the hallways. Most of the students had cleared out the second the bell sounded, leaving the old building eerily quiet. Her footsteps echoed as she hurried to the main reception to sign out. "

Riley dragged her for three blocks, never letting go of her wrist. The entire time her mind was dreaming up scenarios, imagining what he might do to her. What he might make her do.  It wasn't so long ago she was in this exact situation, dreading what Adam would make her do next.  'And you liked it,' her mind piped up. 'You liked being at his mercy.' She had because deep down, she knew he wouldn't do anything to hurt her too badly. He wouldn't ruin her. It had felt like a game—a strangely erotic and sometimes scary game—but a game nonetheless. This felt different. This boy had an aura of danger and death. One false move and someone could get seriously hurt. Either Mike, Adam or even one of his own minions—the triplets. They were a dopey pair, but she wouldn't want them to get hurt.  When he finally stopped moving, they w

Alice dreaded the thought of seeing Riley in class. It felt as though she were two different people living two separate lives that were now overlapping. On the one hand, she was Alice: the professional and adult Design Assistant. But now she was also Alice—the newest member of a teenage gang of criminals. Was it going to be weird seeing him in the classroom?  'A better question is... is he going to make it weird?' Alice thought. Her eyes met his as soon as she entered the classroom. He gave a slight nod as either Lex or TK shouted, "Yo!" She still couldn't tell them apart. Alice gave them an awkward wave as she passed through the classroom, feeling like every pair of eyes was upon her. Luckily, she had some cleaning to do in the back, as well as folders filled with protocols to read through.  It was dull work, but at least it was easy. "I assure you,