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

them appear bigger. A fine layer of blush brought color to my fair face, while baby pink lipstick coated my lips. I wore black jeans, black five-inch high heels, and a floral low-cut waist-belted shirt that hid my love handles and emphasized my big boobs.

I looked beautiful. I took my phone out of my purse and snapped a few selfies, smiling at the camera. I chose the last photo and posted it on Instagram, feeling unusually confident.

Wait until Blake sees me.

Hold on. What?

I clenched my phone. After the previous night’s “almost kiss,” my mind was playing tricks on me, forcing me to think about him and his kiss. It didn’t help that he was a good kisser and extremely good-looking, which shouldn’t have mattered at all. He was my bully. I had to remember that. My bully. Nothing else.

I ran fingers through my straight hair to fix it. The music was blasting out of the house, and my blood pumped faster with excitement. Humming to the electro-pop song currently playing, I glanced at the cloudy sky before I texted Mel.

I’m here. Where are you?

Kev and I will meet you at the front door.

I maneuvered around tightly parked vehicles, my pulse accelerating. Mel and Kevin waited for me at the entrance, and they both looked like they were already tipsy. Kev wasn’t wearing his glasses, dressed in khaki jeans and one of his favorite tartan plaid shirts, which was a sharp contrast to Mel’s leather mini skirt and a black shirt with a white “My Eyes Are Up Here ↑” slogan across the chest.

“Wow,” Mel told me as she looked me up and down with round eyes. “You’re a bombshell.”

“It’s nothing special.” I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear.

Kevin was also staring at me, but it was the kind of stare that said I was the most beautiful girl in the world. My stomach knotted.

“Ha ha. Nothing special, she said,” Mel replied. “If that’s nothing special then I look like I’ve emerged out of a swamp.”

“You look beautiful. Both of you,” I said.

Kevin blushed. “Th-Thank you. You too.”

“Let’s go inside and get you something to drink.” Mel wound her arm through mine and headed inside.

The loud music and smoke surrounded me, and the strong beat caused my heart to pound harder. Mel guided us around the crowds of teenagers that transformed this big house into a matchbox, considering how many people were here. She led us to a room with three pools and a mini bar in the corner, and the hairs on my neck stood up. I could feel him. He was here somewhere.

My eyes darted over various faces until I found him sitting between Hayden and Masen at the bar, and I pulled my belly button in. His eyes were already on me, taking all of me in, making breathing difficult. He didn’t look away from me even once as we approached them, stripping me of everything, and that part of me I despised enjoyed it too much.

He was getting to me more and more, and I couldn’t control it.

“Where’s Steven?” I asked Mel.

She frowned, a hint of shadow passing over her face. “He’s probably doping up with his junkie pals at some shitty place. Let’s not talk about him tonight, okay?”

“Okay,” I agreed, seeing how much it bothered her.

“Hey,” I greeted Sarah, Hayden, and Masen when we joined them, ignoring Blake’s stare. Masen nodded at me and took a gulp of beer straight out of his bottle before he turned back to the gorgeous blonde he was talking with.

“Hey, Jess,” Sarah said and leaned in toward my ear. “You look so beautiful!”

My eyes met Blake’s over her shoulder, and a pang hit my chest. His stare was too intense, robbing me of breath and reason, and I needed to force myself to look away from him.

“Thanks. You also look beautiful,” I told her. “That dress is amazing on you.”

She wore a navy bodycon dress that showed off her thin waist and small hips, paired with ballet pumps with ankle straps. Hayden’s heated eyes were plastered on her, and I smiled inside with joy for them. He wrapped his arm around her waist when she moved back to him and pressed a kiss on her lips with such intensity that I grew a bit hot just watching them.

My eyes flitted over to Blake again, who idly swung his beer bottle by its mouth between his fingers. I caught him staring at my breasts and blushed excessively. I pushed my hair to the front to hide my face.

“Okay, if these two ever kiss in front of kids, they’re going to traumatize them forever,” Mel said as she watched Sarah and Hayden kiss and passed Kev and me the drinks.

I rolled my eyes at her and took a cup of something that looked like water, but I knew better. I needed alcohol if I was going to get through Blake’s confusing mood changes. I downed the whole cup in a few gulps, butterflies wreaking havoc in my stomach. I was supposed to hate having his eyes on me. I had to hate it. I couldn’t let him reduce me to a pathetic fool that easily.

Mel handed me another cup, which I accepted eagerly, but then I noticed how down Kevin looked as his eyes shifted to Sarah and Hayden, and I realized he’d barely spoken two words since I arrived.

I placed my hand on his upper arm. “Kev? Are you okay?”

His arm tensed under my hand. “Yes.”

“You don’t look okay.”

He grinned and raised his thumb at me. “I’m great.”

“You know you can tell me anything that bothers you, right?”

“Yep.” His grin grew even larger, if that was possible.

“Guys, let’s go dance,” Mel told us before I could answer him. “We didn’t come here to be utility poles.”

“I guess you don’t want to dance with us,” Sarah said to Hayden, her lips swollen and eyes glazed.

He gave her a flat look. “Fuck no.”

“Right.” She kissed him one more time