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

He smiled at me. “Thanks. See ya.” He cast a quick glance at Blake, who didn’t move an inch from his spot, and left.

I gripped the box with the pizza as I wondered what I should do now. Chills rushed down my neck when the cold breeze swirled around me.

“What’s with this sudden attitude change?” I asked. I still expected him to say this was a prank and I was a fool for believing it.

“Can I come inside?”

I gaped at him. He didn’t bulldoze his way in but asked for permission? This was getting more surreal by the second.

“Why?” I wasn’t going to drop my guard just because he was acting all nice.

“Because you’re clearly freezing.” He pointed at me, and I looked down my body. I was visibly shivering. “Also, I want to talk to you, and I’d like to do it inside.”

I’d always wanted Blake to treat me like a human being, but I couldn’t just act like we didn’t have a painful history. I couldn’t be all happy about it, even though my heart rejoiced at him being here.

“You’ve never cared about what I want, so why should I care about what you want?”

He scowled, his arms folded over his chest and flexing. “Okay, I get it—you’re getting back at me for everything I’ve done to you, but will you give me just five minutes? That’s all I’m asking for.”

Another bitter remark was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t say it. For reasons I couldn’t explain to myself, I stepped aside and motioned for him to enter, my gaze on the floor. He strode inside like he owned the place, and I stood mesmerized by the confidence he exuded, drinking in his body clad in a black leather jacket and dark jeans.

I erupted into a fit of coughing as I joined him in the living room and lowered the pizza on the coffee table. The flicker of appetite I’d had earlier was completely gone. I felt vulnerable because he was seeing me like this. My gaze darted over to the disgusting tower of used tissues on the coffee table, but he didn’t even look in that direction.

He pointed at the TV screen. “You like House too?”

My stomach fluttered, and I glanced away. “Yes.”

“It’s the best show.” I didn’t know what to say, dumbfounded by him.

He went to the fireplace and stopped to inspect the photos of me with my family on the mantel. I grimaced when his gaze landed on the image of ten-year-old me. I was the fattest then but blissfully ignorant of how much I actually weighed.

“So? What do you want to talk about?” I asked, hoping he would stop staring at those embarrassing photos and turn around.

He didn’t. To my mortification, he took the photo of me when I was seven and had just received my Martin from Granny. I was missing a front tooth, but my smile was bright nevertheless as I held the guitar in my hands like I’d found a chest filled with gold. My heart skipped a beat when a small smile tugged at his lips.

I darted around the coffee table and snatched the photo out of his hand. “Stop.”

His smile disappeared. “Stop what?”

“Stop acting like it’s normal for you to just come here out of the blue.”

He ran his hand through his hair, his gaze moving around the room. “I’m trying to make things right, Jessica.”

My pulse accelerated at hearing him call me by my name. His eyes met mine and stayed on them, captivating me.

“Maybe I want to turn over a new leaf,” he said.

A warm sensation shot through my chest, and I allowed myself to bask in it for a little while. Sarah had said love could empower us when we were at our lowest and illuminate even the darkest of places, and at this moment, I could feel that. I could feel some of the pain that had held my heart hostage beginning to dissolve. I wanted that. I wanted to turn over a new leaf with Blake, but I had to be real. His words sounded too good to be true.

“And you think you can just snap your fingers and we’ll start anew? Do you have that little respect for me? No, wait—forget about that because you obviously don’t respect me at all. You showed me that the first day of our senior year.”

He clenched his fists at his sides. “What do you want me to say? I won’t lie to you. Yes, I didn’t respect you. Ever since the day I met you, I felt only hate for you. Do I wish things were different now? Maybe. But back then, I felt there was no alternative for me.”

I lowered the photo on the mantel with a thud, glaring at him. “But there was an alternative! You could’ve ignored me. Instead, you chose to bully me!” My sore throat closed up on me, protesting against the yelling. I sniffed a few times. It was high time to use a tissue.

He went to the coffee table and plucked a tissue out of the box. “Here you go.” He offered it to me.

My cheeks grew scorching red. I grabbed the tissue out of his hand and turned my back to him, refusing to let him see me blow my nose. I could hear him chuckle as I blew it, and I cast a glare at him over my shoulder, still pressing the tissue against my nose.

“This is not funny,” I said, but because I was squeezing my nose with my tissue, my voice sounded like Bugs Bunny’s, which, I had to admit, sounded too funny.

He broke out in laughter, and I just stood motionless as I watched him, captivated by it. He was laughing. It was full-on laughter that illuminated his whole face and erased all traces of the ever-present cruelty. I couldn’t stop looking at him.

Young Blake came to my mind again. His bleeding pain was such a contrast with the smile