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

I didn’t like lying to my parents again, feeling like the pile of lies I’d told them had grown a lot bigger lately. This time, I said Mel had invited Sar and me to a sleepover at her house, and they only let me go after I promised I would spend the whole weekend studying and working on my assignments.

The old guilt seeped in. I was supposed to be their perfect daughter who remained in her bubble that kept her away from the horrors of the real world. I wasn’t supposed to mingle with people who had one foot in a prison cell.

But then again, I was tired of trying to be perfect for them. I was tired of the limited freedom.

I glanced at Mel, who was deep in her thoughts as she drove us to the track. She looked exhausted, with worry lines embedded deep into her forehead, and I guessed it had a lot to do with Steven. Apart from not coming home, he’d also missed a whole week of school, and no one knew what he could be up to.

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

“Never been better,” she replied, her gaze fixed on the unlit road.

Her dark eye circles and face told a different story. “How are you sleeping these days?”

“I’m not sleeping at all. I’ve become a vampire, and now I function at night too.”

I went into a fit of giggles, shaking my head at her. “It’s that bad?”

She tightened her grip on the wheel. “On a scale of one to ten? It’s thirteen plus three.”

“So that’s why you’ve been popping those energy drinks lately.”

“Yep. Red Bull is my new best friend, my future boyfriend, and also my future husband.”

“Wow. I wish Red Bull and you all the best in the future.”

“Thanks.” She switched gears and ran her hand through her shoulder-length hair. “Between my idiotic brother and the school festival, I barely have time to breathe. Add in my anti-bullying campaign and the vice president duties, and you get a zombie.”

“Now, you can’t be both a vampire and a zombie. You have to pick one.”

“Vambie?” I chuckled. “I’ve been so busy with the festival. I had to confirm the participants of the workshop and make sure we got all the necessary rights for the bullying documentaries.”

“The workshop?”

“Yeah. We’re going to create clay figurines and sell them. All proceeds will go to anti-bullying organizations.”

“That’s so cool! I wanna join.”

She glanced at me. “You do?”

“Yeah. I used to make clay figurines in elementary school. It was fun.”

“Great! I’ll count you in. Sar will make some too, and she’ll also create drawings with anti-bullying messages.”

“That sounds cool.”

Mel’s Samsung, which was in the dashboard holder, chimed, alerting her to a new message from her dad.

She snorted. “So he finally decided to text me back.”

“Finally?”

“Yeah, finally, because he’s sooo busy. He never has the time to even respond to a call.”

“That sucks.”

“Big time. He keeps working extra hours, and whenever I go to see him, he has only a few minutes for me. Last week, he forgot we were supposed to go out for dinner, and I had to wait for him at the restaurant. When I texted him to see what was going on, he just sent a short apology and rescheduled for ‘sometime in the future.’ It’s a damn mess. Ever since my parents filed for divorce, our family has been falling apart.”

“Maybe his work is his way of dealing with the divorce?”

She clenched the steering wheel. “That doesn’t mean he has to neglect his children. It’s as if it’s not enough that Steven and I have to go through hell because of them—we also can’t have a normal relationship with them?”

“You still think it would be better if they got back together?”

“Two hundred percent yes.”

I didn’t say anything in response, unsure of what to say to that. I knew if this were happening to my parents, I wouldn’t want them to stay together and be miserable just for my sake. That would be selfish of me. I’d want them happy, even if that meant a divorce.

But I understood Mel’s perspective. It was a big change, and it created a huge family rift. She and Steven were going through a lot because of their parents, and it could leave a mark.

Mel slowed down when we got closer to the track. Just like the last time, the clearing was filled to the brim with cars and crowds of people wearing black, promising another night of excitement and adrenaline. I got out of the car, and the cold breeze bit deep into my cheeks and nose. I pushed my hands into the pockets of my jacket to keep them warm.

“Let’s find that idiot,” Mel said, and I followed her.

The smell of weed was strong in the air. It came from a nearby group of guys in their twenties who wore black hoodies and permanent scowls on their faces. Once more, I felt out of place. If my parents knew I was here, they would both have a heart attack for sure.

I looked around, searching, but not for Steven. My pulse sped up, a prickle of awareness hitting the back of my neck because I knew he was nearby.

This was proved right a couple of seconds later, when I found him talking to a red-headed guy I didn’t recognize in the distance. Blake wore a neutral expression on his face, but there was something about the two of them together that didn’t feel right.

“There he is,” Melissa said then rushed to Steven and Masen, who sat next to each other on the hood of Steven’s Audi TT and smoked. Masen’s smile transformed into a deep scowl when he saw Mel.

Melissa stopped in front of Steven and placed her hands on her hips. “Do you even remember that you have a home, punk?”

I gaped at Steven now that I saw him up close. He looked like he’d aged ten years in the last few days, and a rash