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

“We were arguing, and he was screaming so loud I was sure I would go deaf. Our mom barged into my room and tried to reason with him, and when he asked her for more money and she refused, he hit her.”

“I can’t believe this. He hit his own mother?”

She poked at her fry, grimacing. “Yep. And then I punched him in the face and almost broke his nose.” She put her head in her hands. “It was awful. He left after that and only returned at six this morning.”

“Have you tried suggesting rehab?”

“He doesn’t even want to hear about it.”

“So what are you going to do?”

She raised her head to look at me. “Take a pan and hit his face so hard it turns into a shovel face.”

I burst into giggles just as Hayden appeared with Sarah by his side.

“Why so serious?” he asked Mel. “You look like someone kicked the bucket.”

“Yep. My rat Pepito died, and now I don’t know what to do with my life,” she said dramatically with her hand raised in front of her, all previous worry gone from her face.

Once more, I was surprised by how quickly Mel could recover, or rather, hide her pain when needed. She never cried. She rarely harped on her problems, always pushed forward, and never said I can’t do it.

“You don’t have a rat,” Sar told her as she took a seat between Hayden and me and placed her tray on the table.

“I did when I was eight and thought it was cute to keep rats in the house. My mom flipped out when I came to our doorstep carrying a rat by its tail. Sadly, he died a tragic death.”

“What happened?” I asked.

She put two fries into her mouth. “Our cat Butcher ate him.”

Hayden raised his eyebrow while Sarah and I broke into laughter. “Butcher? Let me guess—he ate rats for breakfast,” he said.

“Exactly. He lived up to his name. He butchered all those rats in the neighborhood with no mercy.”

Sar and Hayden glanced at each other as if looking for the other’s reaction to this. Hayden squeezed her hand underneath the table and leaned in to leave a kiss on her forehead.

My heart swelled at the sight. Seriously, they were goals. They did these small signs of affection all the time, and I wasn’t sure they were even aware of it.

If I had to compare their relationship from six months earlier to their relationship now, it would be like comparing the sky to the earth. From enemies to a sweet couple everyone envied, starting with me. The way Hayden looked at Sarah was so intense that even I, an outsider, felt it, and the romantic in me craved experiencing that. I craved having someone look at me like I was his reason for his next heartbeat.

No. Not someone, but him.

As if I’d conjured him with my thoughts, Blake entered the cafeteria, but he wasn’t alone. He walked next to some girl, their bodies too close, and my stomach churned up a storm. It was hard not to notice how attractive she was, with her waist half the size of mine. His eyes found mine immediately, as if drawn to me, and it was like a kick in the gut. My pulse began drumming.

I tore my eyes away from them and met Hayden’s incisive gaze. I blushed and glanced at my food. I could feel him seeing right through me.

How long would this new girl last? One hour? Two?

“He changes them more often than I wash dishes,” I grumbled. I didn’t mean for it to be heard, but Hayden picked up on it, all right.

“Do you have a problem with that?” he asked.

His question hit too close to home. “I’m just curious as to why he doesn’t pick one,” I replied, trying to downplay it.

“Because he doesn’t want a relationship. He’s with those girls just for sex and nothing else.”

I frowned. “That doesn’t sound right.”

His face remained blank. “If Blake and his girls are enjoying it, who are you to judge?”

Were those girls actually enjoying it? What if they developed feelings for him?

“But why doesn’t he want a relationship?” The million-dollar question.

He stayed silent, and I could see from the corner of my eye that he was observing me over Sarah’s head. I couldn’t look back at him, feeling like I’d asked too much.

“Look, you’re Sarah’s friend, and if you get hurt, Sarah will get hurt too. So, I have to warn you—don’t waste your time on Blake. You’ll only get burned.”

Blush pervaded my face. I glanced sideways at him and opened my mouth to say I wasn’t interested in him, but Hayden beat me to it.

“Don’t deny it, because you’re too obvious.”

Talk about embarrassment. Okay then. Since it was already like this, I figured I might as well satisfy my curiosity.

“Let’s say hypothetically that I’m interested in him. Although, I’m absolutely not.” Mel snorted, and I glared at her. She snorted again. “I’m not interested,” I repeated. “But hypothetically, if I wanted to be with him, why would I get hurt?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Because he can’t love you. Satisfied now? There are reasons why he doesn’t date girls.”

Reasons. Not a reason, but reasons. My curiosity reached its highest peak, and I threw all my shame and caution away. “Reasons? What reasons?”

He looked away from me and reached for his pizza. “I’m not telling you that.”

He was unbelievable. Both Blake and him with their half-assed answers.

“The bottom line is that you better forget about him,” he concluded.

As if it was that easy. My gaze moved of its own volition and locked with Blake’s, who already observed me from his table, and my heart jolted in my chest.

Forget about Blake? I could only hope.

The rest of the week was uneventful, slowly bringing in Thursday night, which had my nerves humming with doubt. I was in luck when I told my parents Mel and I