In Ruins: A Dark High School Bully Romance (A Black Falls High Novel Book 1)

Much to my surprise, Cole rummaged around in my closet before pulling out a black off-the-shoulder dress with little pink rosebuds printed on it. He grabbed a pair of tan suede boots out of my closet next and placed them on a chair next to the dress.

“I want you to wear that tomorrow.”

“Does the king require anything else?” I muttered, watching him from my perch on the edge of my bed.

He nodded to my vanity. “Lip gloss. I love your lips. I find chicks who wear lip gloss sexy. Cherry if you have it.”

I nodded dully. I had it. “Is that it?”

Cole moved to stand in front of me and tipped my chin up.

“This won’t be so bad. Remember how good I made you feel that night?”

A rush of heat swept through my core as I remembered kissing him. Had I known it would result in me being their slave, I may have said no and fled like I’d planned.

You’re not a slave to them if you want it.

I pushed the terrifying thought out of my head and focused on what Cole was saying to me.

“I can make it happen again. Would you like that?”

“No, because I don’t need another video to deal with.” My voice sounded strong through the lie as I glared up at him. He grinned and backed away.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow for school. Make sure you’re wearing the outfit I’ve chosen. If you’re going to be seen near or with us, you can’t look like you crawled from a trash bin. Take the rest of the day to rest. You’re going to need it.”

“Like I’d dream of defying you.” I rolled my eyes at him.

“Maybe you should. I could give you a spanking.”

My breath hitched in my chest at his words. He winked at me.

“You’re a dirty girl, Rosebud. I’ll see you in the morning.” And with those words, he left me alone in my bedroom, my mind in all sorts of dirty places despite my hatred of him and his friends.

I SHOWERED after Cole left and crawled into bed, worry setting in. When the sunlight streamed in through the slit in my curtains the next morning, I let out a groan. The phone ringing had me on my feet and shuffling to it. My parents put a landline in my room. I had no idea the purpose for it other than my dad’s need for nostalgia.

“Hello?” I yawned.

“Rosalie, where have you been? We were worried sick!” My mother’s voice wafted over the line, making me grimace.

I should’ve called them.

“Sorry, Mom. I didn’t feel well last night. So I decided to turn in early.”

“It’s a good thing Fox lives next door! Dad had to call him to go check on you.”

“Gee, thanks,” I muttered, playing with a piece of lint on my pajama bottoms. I knew Fox had simply told them a lie since he knew I was home. I cast a quick peek at my curtains, my eyes narrowed. I imagined if they were open, I’d see Fox’s curtains instead.

“Well, don’t do that again. You had me nearly loading your dad onto a plane and heading home!”

“Sorry,” I apologized again. That seemed good enough for her because we went through the pleasantries before her telling me to be good, despite the fact I was eighteen and could take care of myself.

When we hung up, I went to my chair and hurriedly put on the outfit Cole chose. It actually looked nice on me. Mom had picked it out a few months prior, citing a sale she couldn’t resist. I did a quick twirl, braiding my hair and letting it rest over my shoulder. My green eyes didn’t look so sleep deprived, thankfully. I dotted on the cherry lip gloss and some mascara before I went downstairs.

A knock on my door made me groan. Pulling it open, I found Cole on my front steps, looking like he’d just stepped off a cover of Heartthrob Magazine.

“You’re early,” I grumbled, not bothering to invite him in but not closing the door on him either. He stepped inside the house.

“I’m on time. I told you to be ready.”

“Just getting my bag,” I said, coming back with my book bag slung over my shoulder.

“You good?”

“The best I can be considering the circumstances.”

“That works for me.” He escorted me out to his car. I climbed in the front seat, impressed he’d opened the door for me. Cole still didn’t seem like the chivalrous sort.

“Thanks,” I murmured, pulling my seatbelt over myself and snapping it into place. He nodded and moved around to climb behind the wheel.

“I’m sorry about yesterday.” He cleared his throat as we pulled out onto the street. “I know how scared you are.”

I shrugged. “Not like that matters, right?”

He glanced at me, a rare non-cocky smile on his face that lit up his eyes. For a moment, he looked every bit the sweet, doting heartthrob girls dreamed about getting the attention of. “It matters, Rosebud. I promise it’ll be worth it.”

I nodded, not saying anything. Being blackmailed into becoming a puppet wasn’t something I looked forward to.

He made a left turn onto the main road wordlessly.

“So what do I have to do today?” I shifted uncomfortably on his leather seats, wondering if I’d find myself on my knees again.

“Haven’t decided.” Cole shrugged. “Maybe we’ll just have some fun. I don’t need help with homework or anything like that.”

“So you’ve mentioned.”

His laughter wasn’t the usual cold bark. Warmth seemed to radiate from him. He was in a rare mood. Usually, Cole was dark and scary. Today, he appeared the polar opposite.

“I still can’t believe it.”

“While you see the player and party guy, there’s also a studious side to me. My parents would kill me if I didn’t do well in school.” He scowled at the mention of his parents. This conversation turned deeper than last time. I found myself interested.

“I heard they aren’t around much.”

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “Hardly ever. I was raised by a nanny until I turned fourteen. Then I was on my own. My older brother Colten left when he graduated four years ago.”

I nodded, vaguely remembering he had an older brother.

“What does he do now?”

“He graduated with a degree in engineering. He works for a company in New York. He travels a lot.”

“Do you get to talk to him often?”

“Not really. He’s calls me about once a week to see how things are and remind me to keep my grades up so I can get the hell out of here. I guess he’s getting married next summer.”

“Oh, that’s cool.”

Cole shrugged. “I haven’t met her. Her name’s Clarissa. He wanted to bring her home to meet our parents, but Mom and Dad were too busy doing whatever shit they do, so Colt decided to cancel. I’ll probably meet her at their wedding, if he even bothers with one. Knowing Colt, he’ll just jet off to Vegas and get it over with.”

“I’m sorry.”

Cole frowned at me as he parked the car.

“Why are you sorry? It’s not your life.”

I scoffed. “But this is, and I know how much things can suck.”

For a brief moment, he looked sympathetic.

“I’ll make sure you enjoy this then. A couple crazies together can only produce the best results, right?”

“I don’t think that’s how this works.”

“It’ll work. I know it will.” He got out of the car and was at my door, pulling it open for me and offering me his hand. I took it hesitantly, waiting for him to let go so I’d topple to the ground. I was surprised when his grip tightened, and his arm wound around my waist.

“Look at everyone stare, Rosebud,” Cole murmured as he led me through the parking lot to the sidewalk.

He was right. It was worse than the party. Cole Scott never stuck with a girl. And as far as I could remember, he’d never pranced around campus with one on his arm like he was doing with me. But he was guiding me like a show dog through the grounds, nodding and high-fiving people when appropriate.

“I don’t like it.”

“Why not? On my arm, you’re untouchable. Eat it up, baby.”

“Except by Juliet—”

Cole pulled me to a stop and angled my face up at him. “You’re tough. You’ll be fine. You’ve impressed me so far.”

I blushed, looking away. He let out a soft chuckle before we started walking again.

“Aren’t you going to stop and see the guys?” I asked as we veered to the front doors of the school, bypassing the guys who were watching us.

“Not this morning. I’m more focused on you. That dress is perfect on you.”

I couldn’t believe this was Cole Scott talking to me. I imagined me saying yes to the guys would have me on my knees again, scrubbing their football jersies, doing their homework and sucking their dicks until my jaw wanted to fall off. But this? It was beyond my wildest expecta-tions.

We stopped at my locker, and I stuffed the books from my bag inside. I was acutely aware of Cole’s eyes locked on my every movement.

I spotted Jamie coming toward us, her movements slowing, apprehension on her face. I was about to point her out to Cole, hoping we could all get along since it would be a long year if I was stuck to the guys for however long, but he had other ideas in mind.

“Come here,” he demanded softly, drawing me to him. “This is about to get really public, Rosebud.” It was all the warning I got before he pressed his lips firmly to mine, his tongue sweeping inside. If there was one thing Cole Scott could do, it was kiss.

“What was that for?” I gasped when he broke the kiss off.

He only gave me that smirk of dark things to come which I was becoming familiar with.

“Um, Rosalie?”

I pulled away from Cole and peered at Jamie, whose gaze volleyed between me and Cole.

“Hey.” I plastered a fake smile on my face.

Jamie raised an eyebrow at me, totally not buying it. “What’s going on?”

“Uh, nothing.” I winced, my voice an octave higher than normal. I sounded like an idiot. She gave me a pointed look.

“Baby, come on,” Cole cooed. “You shouldn’t keep secrets.”

I shot him a glare to which he responded by smirking back at me, the devil in his eyes.

“Are you two seeing each other or something?” Jamie locked her stare on Cole. I had to hand it to her, she came off as tough, not backing down from him as he returned her gaze.

“Something like that,” Cole answered. “Rosalie likes me so much that she just does what-ever I tell her, huh, Rosebud?”

“You’re an ass.”

“You like it,” he shot back, tightening his hold on me. His lips brushed against the shell of my ear as he whispered, “Play nice.”

I forced a smile on my face.

“We’re just having fun.”

“Mm, bad girl.” He chuckled softly. “Is that what we’re calling it?”

Jamie blinked rapidly, clearly floored by our little display. “O-kay,” she muttered. I could practically see the questions zipping around in her head.

“Give me your phone.” Cole turned to me.

I shook my head at him. “No.”

His stare hardened. He definitely didn’t like to be told no. “It’s not a request. Give it to me.”

I nearly told him no again, but the look on his face had me digging into my bag and handing it over. He snatched it from me and typed something out before his own phone buzzed.

“Perfect. Now I can reach you whenever I want.” He handed my phone back to me.

“Great,” I muttered, trying to keep the brittle smile on my lips. “It’d be terrible if I were unreachable.”

Cole winked at me before turning to Jamie. “So, Jamie, right?”

She nodded mutely.

“How about you and Rosebud do your morning ritual tomorrow instead? It’s a bit crowded right now.”

“Cole—” I started, anger coursing through me.

“It’s fine, Rosalie. I only wanted to tell you the signups are posted for the fall musical. I figured I’d let you know since you said you were interested in trying out.”

“Oh!” I let my excitement show. “When are tryouts?”

“Next month.” Jamie glanced between me and Cole.

His expression darkened considerably. I knew he was close to letting his inner jerk out more, so I quickly bid Jamie goodbye, promising we’d talk later. She nodded slowly, confusion and hurt warring on her face.

“If I have to do this, could you at least be nice to my friends?”

We started our walk to my first class, Cole snagging my books out of my arms and carrying them in his, his other arm wrapped around my waist.

“You mean friend. Singular.”

I shot him a glare. “Yes. She’s the only one I have, and I’d like to keep her if you don’t mind. I thought that was obvious considering I’m now your bitch.”

He chuckled. “Sure, but you have us now. We’re your new friends.”

I snorted. “Bullshit. You guys aren’t my friends. You don’t care about me. You’re my tormentors. That’s not even close to the realm of friendship. And stop kissing me and touching me,” I added as an after-thought.

Cole laughed, tightening his hold. “I’m claiming today as mine, so I do what I want.”

“Is that what happens? You guys just calls dibs?”

He shot me a smile and shook his head. “Not really. It’s pretty up in the air. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from everyone else soon enough. Maybe you should anticipate being bent over a desk with me buried inside that tight little pussy.”

The heat raced across my skin at his words. He smiled knowingly at me as I tried to be tough. “Great. Can’t wait for that,” I said with an eye roll, but deep inside, butterflies flapped to life.

“You’re so fucking sexy when you’re turned on,” he growled, stopping outside my classroom. “Just appreciate that we found this to be more enjoyable than releasing the video. I think if you open your mind, you’ll find this could be a hell of a lot of fun.”

I swallowed hard, looking away from him.

He was quick to bring my attention back. “We’re only getting started. I’ll be sure to let the guys know to go easy on you until you’re more comfortable.”

“Really? You’ll go easy?”

He smiled down at me and thumbed my bottom lip, hunger burning in his baby blues. “I didn’t say I would. If there’s a hard truth about me, it’s that I don’t go easy on anyone.”

“You’re a jerk,” I managed to say as he leaned in, his eyes locked on mine.

“From here on out, I’m your jerk, Rosebud. But I think you’re going to enjoy how rough I am.”

“You think so?” I rasped, leaning into him.

His lips tilted up into that dark smirk I’d become accustomed to. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s when a woman is interested in me. And you are most definitely interested. You think you shouldn’t be, so you’re playing hard to get. And baby, you definitely got me hard. I just need to make my move. It’s coming.”

“And let me guess,” I said, feeling brave as I rested my hand on his chest. His heart beat fast beneath my fingers. “So will I.”

“You can fucking bet on it.” He brushed his lips gently against mine, heating me straight to my core. “I’ll see you later.”

I took my books from him, lost for words. His wink said it all as he backed away into the throng of students.

I was in so much trouble.