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

Each time I saw him talking to them, jealousy ate away at me along with possessiveness. He wasn’t mine, but that didn’t stop me from balling my hands into fists and wishing I didn’t have to see him talk to other girls. Not even once did he glance in my direction, and it was hard to delude myself into thinking it didn’t affect me.

To divert my thoughts, I looked at Kevin, who sat between me and Marcus. They were holding hands, and I melted for the hundredth time at another display of their affection. Dating hadn’t come easy for Kev, especially during the first few days when whispers and curious eyes followed him and Marcus as they walked hand in hand around the school, but Marcus—that adorable guy—dealt with it like a champ, supporting Kevin through everything. He didn’t let anyone get to him, and it was touching to see him so protective of Kev.

Kev had changed a bit, becoming slightly more confident. He still chose to talk less, but having Marcus by his side did wonders for his self-esteem. He was starting to accept his sexuality and allow himself to be with whoever he wanted, and I was happy for him.

Warming up to Marcus also helped him relax more around Hayden, and I had a hunch that he wasn’t crushing on Hayden or me in the same way as before. I was glad, not only for him but also for Marcus.

I grinned at them. “So, tomorrow will be your week-iversary, right?”

Kevin blushed. He was such a sweetie. “Yes.” He pushed his glasses up his nose. “Do p-p-people even celebrate week-iversaries?”

I chuckled. “You two can celebrate them.”

“I want to take him for ice cream,” Marcus half-joked as he looked at Kev with eyes full of adoration.

“You should,” I told him. “Kev is crazy about ice cream no matter what time of year.”

“There’s this small parlor near the river, Icy Shack,” Sar said. “Hayden took me there last week. Their ice cream was to die for.”

“I went there.” Mel piped in from Sarah’s other side. “Their ice cream is the best, isn’t that right, Steven?” She glanced at him, who sat right next to her with his head buried in his phone.

He barely looked at her, totally distracted by whatever was on his screen. “What? Yeah, yeah, sure.”

Mel rolled her eyes. “Steven’s brain.exe stopped working.” Steven didn’t even hear her, his gaze glued to the device.

“Then we can go there,” Marcus told Kev. “What do you think?”

Kev smiled. “Let’s do that.”

I giggled and placed my hand on Kev’s shoulder as I leaned toward him. “Just make sure Kev doesn’t eat too much ice cream. He doesn’t actually know when to stop.”

Kevin flushed, while Marcus chuckled. Out of habit, I glanced at Blake, who stood nearby facing us. He glanced away almost immediately, and my smile vanished. I could have sworn he’d been looking at my hand that was still on Kevin’s shoulder.

I retracted it, my heart bouncing. Mel said something, but I didn’t hear her as my thoughts spun frantically in my mind. It was that easy for Blake to make me flustered.

Sarah’s face lit up when Hayden headed our way, and her starry eyes slid down and up his body. Just like Blake, Hayden attracted girls’ attention, but he never looked anyone’s way but Sarah’s, his gaze smoldering.

He crouched in front of her and placed his hands on her knees, and I couldn’t stop a smile from forming on my face. But envy flickered in me a second later, reminding me I wanted the same thing with Blake. My treacherous eyes went to him again. I was extremely nervous about the song I was going to perform, even more so because Blake was going to be in the audience.

“You look like you’re about to get me naked right here,” I heard Hayden whisper in her ear. I blushed, looking all around the gym as I pretended I hadn’t heard that.

“I’ll get you naked later,” she replied seductively in his ear and kissed his cheek.

My fingers curled into a fist of their own volition. Their exchange brought back a whisper of a memory of Blake’s lips on me, and it was almost too much. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It was hard to believe that had actually happened and wasn’t just a product of my imagination.

The game started ten minutes later, and my eyes sought Blake more often than not. I was high on seeing him play, fascinated by his focus and skills. He and Hayden scored the most points, and when our team won, it wasn’t even close. Far from it. The whole gym broke out into cheers and unintelligible shouts, and I jumped to my feet to clap like everyone else with a gigantic grin plastered to my face.

The guys rushed to each other and did a group hug. I shouted words of encouragement along with others, and when Blake looked in my direction, it was like a kick that knocked all the air out of me. Our gazes locked for the first time after almost a week. Our eyes communicated what our bodies wouldn’t, and it brought me a burning longing that increased with each second we spent looking at each other.

For a few moments, it was like our argument hadn’t ever happened. It was like there was just us and this connection that resonated between us, and the world wasn’t so dark anymore.

But then Masen clapped Blake on his back and exchanged a few words with him, forcing Blake’s gaze away from me, and the spell was broken. Sarah met Hayden halfway before they went in for a celebratory kiss that was movie-worthy, invoking another painful fantasy of Blake and me together.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out and unlocked it to find a message from Mom.

We’re here.

I looked around the audience in the bleachers, squinting to find my parents in the sea