Trapped (Bullied Book 4) (Bullied Series) Vera Hollins (best large ereader txt) 📖

So foolish, yeah

I strummed faster, emotions resonating within me, pouring out of me.

I’m a coward, but then I’m not

I’m a girl who wants a way out

Of the problems and the pain

So she won’t have to run off in shame

I’m so foolish, so foolish, yeah

I want to fight

And cure my lows with light

But I’m so foolish

Losing it all

I want to wake up and be strong

I used vibrato on the G string and plucked the strings, playing the last notes. Just like always, I was immersed in my music, unaware of everything and everyone as the song carried me somewhere far away, and it was the closest I could get to complete bliss and peace.

My eyes still closed, I played the last note and smiled as silence wrapped around me. I felt like I was on top of the world, invincible. Music pumped through my veins and filled me with happiness that was larger than life. This was all I’d ever wanted.

Loud claps broke out, and I snapped my eyes open, remembering I had an audience. Mel and Sar watched me with stars in their eyes and smiles as big as mine, but Hayden was nowhere to be found. I looked around for him and let out a startled gasp.

He stood in the arched doorway…right next to Blake.

Blake’s eyes were liquid fire as he watched me, stripping me of everything. His face had an expression I’d never seen before—all traces of his constant disdain gone—and it was like I was seeing a completely different person. My heart throbbed, bound to him in a world where no one existed but us.

“That was amazing, girl! Bravo!” Mel was the first to break the spell, and I tore my gaze away from him. Mortification filled every inch of me.

Blake was here. He’d heard me sing. He’d seen me play guitar. He was here, and he’d heard every goddamn word that had spilled out of me.

Oh hell no.

Unable to look anyone in the eyes or stay here a moment longer, I did the only thing that came to mind—I grabbed my guitar and jacket and fled from the house.

My parents had invited all our relatives from Bridgeport—more than twenty of them—to a Sunday BBQ to celebrate my college acceptance. The weather was on our side, allowing us to jam-pack our small back yard and spend time outside until the evening.

My dad, never one to miss a chance to give a speech, repeated a bunch of times how lucky he was to have such a good and responsible daughter who was going to follow in his footsteps. I couldn’t look at anyone when he said he’d never been more proud of me. My stomach churned with guilt and a fierce need to tell him I didn’t want to go to his or any other law college.

Each smile and laugh I shared with my parents and relatives felt fake and shallow, and a voice inside screamed at me to take the bull by the horns and stop this gigantic charade.

I didn’t say a word, but I promised myself I would tell them by the end of this month. I’d tell them I would finish music school and become a singer. I had weeks to find the guts.

Now all I had to do was conquer my fear of performing in public, which was even tougher when Blake was included. My moment of triumph had been cut short when our eyes met across Hayden’s living room, and I’d felt more vulnerable in front of him than ever. I had probably looked like a serial killer was after me when I rushed to my car and passed Masen, who had arrived at that time.

Mel had left me a dozen messages, checking up on me. She’d even said she should kick Blake where the sun doesn’t shine.

Did Blake say anything after I left? I texted her.

Nope. He was serious as the Statue of Liberty.

He didn’t mock me?

Nope x2.

Sarah had also texted and told me I was awesome and there was nothing I should be ashamed of.

I wasn’t ashamed. Okay, I was a little ashamed, but most of that shame came from the fact that Blake had witnessed a very personal moment I’d never have chosen to share with him.

I didn’t even want to imagine the taunts that would come out of it. He would eat me alive. Sure, he hadn’t said anything in front of my friends, but it would have been silly of me not to expect him to give me a hard time at school.

What was Blake even doing there? I messaged Sarah.

He and Masen came to pick Hayden up to go out.

Of all times? I’m so unlucky.

They usually hang out on weekends. But I wouldn’t call it unlucky, because he looked floored by your performance. You should’ve seen him when he saw you.

My heart drummed wildly as I reread her message time and time again. I wanted to ask her for all the details, but that felt desperate even to me, so I refrained myself from asking anything. But oh boy, did I want to know.

On Sunday night, I gave in to my curiosity and went to Blake’s Instagram before I hit the sack. I must have been a glutton for punishment because there was no other way to explain why I was compelled to scroll through his photos in search of…what?

His account was all about parties and moments with different girls or friends, and all of the photos painted a picture of a bad boy life. Cigarettes, booze, fast cars, and bikes—it was a world so foreign to me, yet I was enthralled by it. I was drawn to the adrenaline and danger he seemed to experience every day, unable to forget his pain on that basketball court in the gym when he cried for Emma, whoever she was. That pain was unlike anything I’d witnessed, so deep it had completely changed the way I saw him.

He was