BULLY KING Page 2

  But I don’t have any plans, either. This feels like the path of least resistance.

  So I keep walking towards my appointment with destiny because everything feels very much out of my hands right now.

  The admin building is located on the north edge of the prep-school campus. The side facing me as I walk down the central gardens is bustling with parents and students as they wrap up all their last-minute details before heading home for the summer.

  Then there are the seniors who will be going to High Court College next fall. That campus is right on the other side of the admin building. And these kids are having a party in the central gardens that includes water balloons, squirt guns, and cans of brightly-colored silly string.

  They are targeting everyone walking by.

  I would not say the kids at Prep hate me. That’s a strong word. But I am not one of them. I’m the weird girl who lives in the Alumni Inn attic. And before that I was the weird girl who lived in the gardener’s cottage.

  When they notice me coming towards them, a few of them do target me with their pranks, but most of them just look sad. They feel sorry for me. And they stare.

  One kid—not even a senior, so he shouldn’t even be involved in the fun—takes aim at me. But I’m too far away to hit with his massive water gun. Then the other kids pull him back and start whispering in his ear.

  I turn away before I can see the look of pity on his face.

  Because today I am the girl with the dead mother.

  I head towards the woods, take the long way around the art and lit buildings, and cross over onto the High Court College campus. The admin building intersects both campuses right down the middle. And while there is a high stone wall all the way around the college campus, there are also wide gates that allow access inside.

  That’s my route today.

  And what the hell? I might as well enjoy the beauty of this place one last time before I have to move on. Because I know what’s coming. Probably everyone knows what’s coming.

  My days here are over. They died with my mother two weeks ago in that car crash.

  I pass through the wide gate that leads into the college side of the campus and let out a long breath.

  There are far fewer people over here. The cottage houses that act as dorms for the college are all in the woods near the stadium. So while it’s probably a madhouse in the parking lots, over here it’s relatively quiet. Just a few dozen smaller groups hanging outside the admin building.

  I climb the steps and I’m just reaching for the door when it comes slamming open and I jump back in surprise, stumble backwards, and then crash into a girl coming up directly behind me.

  The cause of the crashing door is a tall student. Big and muscular and smells like he slept in a brewery last night.

  The girl I bumped into pushes me aside and then she and he are face to face, scowling at each other.

  The muscular boy growls at her. “Watch where you’re fucking going, Mona.”

  “Suck my dick, Cooper.” She places one hand on his broad chest and pushes him out of her way, then disappears through the open door.

  I stare at her back until the door closes and obstructs my view. Then I look up at the boy.

  He is not a boy. Definitely a college student. Because he is massively tall and has enough scruff on his face to pass for an adult. And hey… do I know him?

  “What the fuck are you looking at, you stupid whore?”

  I step back from the venom in his voice and mumble, “Sorry,” even though I have nothing to be sorry about. He’s the one who came crashing through the door at us.

  “Fuck off, Cadee.” He practically spits my name.

  I’m so stunned that this hulking, handsome man knows my name, I start stuttering. “W-w-what?”

  “Quit fucking looking at me. I told you I never wanted to see your face again, didn’t I? Why the hell are you here in front of me?”

  That girl—Mona—she called him Cooper.

  “Cooper?” I say. Jesus Christ. He’s… changed.

  His hand comes out and pushes my shoulder so hard I stumble backwards again. “Get the fuck out of my way.” And then he’s hopping down the steps and heading towards the student cottages in the woods.

  I watch him as he weaves his way through the central gardens—the gardens my dead father planted years and years ago—until he disappears into a crowd.

  Holy hell.

  That’s Cooper Valcourt?

  Damn. He grew up since I last saw him three years ago.

  The door to the admin building comes crashing open again and I realize I’ve been standing in front of it for almost a full minute staring at a boy.

  I collect myself, slip through the door before it closes, and exhale in a rush.

  I will not think about Cooper Valcourt. Ever.

  Especially not today, when my whole world is falling apart.

  I push my way through the crowds in the lobby until I get to the stairs that lead up to the second floor, and then start climbing them.

  The main reception area in front of Chairman Valcourt’s office is almost overflowing with waiting students. None of whom I recognize since they are all college-age and I have made staying out of sight a priority since the last time I bumped into Cooper Valcourt.

  That was three years ago and didn’t happen in front of the admin building—it happened in my brand-new bedroom in the attic of the Alumni Inn.

  I snap back to attention when Laurie—Chairman Valcourt’s assistant—calls a name out in a very loud voice. “Mona Monroe! Are you here?”

  The girl who told Cooper to suck her dick pushes her way through the crowd. “Get out of my way, jerks. Do you mind? Coming through!” She has long, dark hair with wild, unruly curls that perfectly matches her dark eyes and black tank top. She’s sexy. In every way possible. She’s got the curves, the pouty mouth stained red with glossy lipstick, and the black stilettos that make her look more like a stripper than a student who graduated high school last night.

  I don’t know Mona Monroe, but I’ve seen her around, of course. She went to Prep and the Monroes own one of the lake mansions. The one next door to Cooper, now that I think about it. One of the three you can actually see from the window behind Laurie’s desk.

  “Jesus H freaking Christ! Can you get out of my way?”

  She was the best athlete on the swim team and was probably on her way to the Olympics—because that’s what kids with her family status do when they’re good at something. They take it all the way—but she got caught doping in her sophomore year of high school and was pretty much banned from the sport.

  She’s been something of a clichéd rebel ever since.

  Anyway. Mona opens Chairman Valcourt’s office and slams the door closed behind her with such a bang, the entire packed room goes eerily quiet.

  We all stand there, kinda stunned. And then the screaming starts on the other side of the door.

  “Cadee Hunter! Are you here?”

  “I’m here!” I call out to Laurie, and then push my way through the crowd like Mona did, minus the harsh language.

  The screaming on the other side of that door is still happening when I finally make it over to Laurie’s desk. And it’s not Valcourt yelling.

  It’s Mona.

  I look at Laurie. “What is going on?”

  “Mona,” Laurie says. She’s a middle-aged woman who collects pencils in her bun the way other people collect pens in a drawer. She currently has four of them sticking out from her head in various directions. “Those two will never see eye to eye. If she were smart, she would’ve gone somewhere else for college.”

  “Hmm.” I don’t have a lot of opinions on the college plans of the High Court Prep rich kids. I can’t even get into the local community college unless I take the GED because they are refusing to accept my mother’s homemade high school diploma. So I have zero feelings about Mona’s decision to stay here.

  But, if you think about it, why would she go anywhere else?
Her family legacy at High Court goes all the way back to when this campus was nothing but a one-room schoolhouse on the edge of Monrovian Lake.

  Take the path of least resistance, right? Why not? That’s what I’m trying to do too. No room to judge, Cadee.

  Something crashes on the other side of the door and everyone goes still again, watching. Waiting to see who emerges from the office.

  The door opens and Mona appears, scowling at everyone. “What the hell are you all looking at?” Funnily enough, and without realizing it, echoing Cooper Valcourt’s words to me just a few minutes ago.

  She storms past us and then disappears in the crowd.

  “You’re up!” Laurie says.

  “What?” I turn to her. “Now? After that?”

  “You’ll be fine. He’s always liked you, Cadee.”

  “Liked me? He doesn’t even know me.”

  Laurie points at the door—still open. “In, young lady. We have thirty-seven more kids to discipline this morning. That party last night was one for the books.” She winks at me. “That’s not why you’re here, honey. Don’t worry.”

  Of course, that’s not why I’m here. I’ve never gone to one of the infamous graduation parties. “Do you know why I’m here?”

  She’s just about to open her mouth and answer me when Valcourt bellows, “Cadee Hunter! I do not have all day!”

  “Go,” Laurie says. “You’ll be fine.”

  I don’t know about that.

  After my mother’s death two weeks ago, I doubt I’ll ever be fine again.

  CHAPTER THREE - COOPER

  I have feelings for Cadee Hunter right now.

  Hateful ones.

  Jesus Christ. I haven’t been face to face with that girl since I was a senior at Prep three years ago and she was the last person I wanted to see coming out of my father’s office this morning.

  Forget it. Put her out of your mind. Because, Cooper, you have bigger things to deal with.

  Like the fucking truck parked on the front lawn of my small three-room red-brick cottage and the half a dozen huge men who are currently removing my furniture.

  I start running through the woods, yelling. “Hey! What the hell?” I stop right in front of the biggest one, a huge dude with cannons for arms who is currently holding up his end of my fucking couch. “Put it back! Right now!”

  “Cooper?”

  I whirl around and find Sheriff Woods walking up to me. He’s a short, middle-aged man with a bushy handlebar mustache you mostly find on throw-back cowboys. And he’s mostly a nice guy, but he’s also one of the High Court cronies—i.e. he works for my father. “Make them stop.”

  “Your father called me this morning—”

  “I don’t care. This is my stuff. Not his.”

  “Do you have receipts?”

  “Receipts? Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “Look, son.” Woods places a hand on my chest and I’m immediately reminded of how Mona pushed me in front of the admin building.

  I look down at his hand. Take a breath. And then slowly track my eyes back up to his.

  He removes his hand from my chest. Wise choice, asshole. Because I’m not in the mood.

  “You’ve been kicked out. I have the eviction notice right here.”

  I snatch the piece of paper from his hand and scan it, then crumple it up and toss it aside. “Eviction notice? Tell me, Sheriff, how does one go about getting an emergency eviction notice for student housing without the occupant even being served?”

  I’m gonna lose my shit. I can feel the anger inside me ready to explode.

  Woods, to his credit, looks ashamed. Because we both know this so-called eviction notice might have the Judge’s signature on it, but it was obtained in secret, during the early morning hours, probably in the Judge’s fucking kitchen, without due process, and in exchange for either a healthy sum of money or the promise of a future favor.

  “I thought you were better than this.” I figure it doesn’t hurt to shame the sheriff. He did take an oath to protect and serve.

  “Son,” Woods says calmly. “It’s done. He wants you out.”

  “He wants me to move home. You know that’s what this is about.”

  Sheriff Woods looks out across Monrovian Lake. Right at the Valcourt family mansion on the opposite shore. It’s an imposing home, even from this distance, which is a good half a mile away. Then he looks back at me. “Cooper, if you’re this pissed off because your father is going out of his way to make you move back in the family mansion, then—”

  “You don’t understand—”

  “Shut up.” He pauses so his sharp words can sink in. “Just go home. Your personal things are already there. This is just… stuff. And it’s going into storage. I’m sure you’ll be back at the end of the summer.” But then he stops and shrugs. “Or not. I don’t really give a shit if you’re coming or going. But you need to get the hell out of my face or you will be spending the day in lockup.”

  My own words to Cadee Hunter thrown back at me. And it feels like karma. I run my fingers through my hair and turn away. “Fuck this shit.”

  I’m just about back to the central gardens when I spy Ax coming towards me. His mouth is moving long before I can hear his words. So when he’s finally in earshot, I get the middle of his monologue—

  “… and you know the worst part? He took my fucking bank account! My bank account. With my name on it! Filled with money I earned! He can’t do that, Cooper!”

  Ax is tall, broad, and tatted up from shoulder to wrist with images of demons. Lots of fangs, and horns, and hooves on his arms. His head would normally be covered in light brown hair, but he started shaving it back in ninth grade and never really stopped. Right now, it’s about a quarter-inch long. If the sun hits his green eyes at just the right angle, they turn yellow. He looks… evil. But he’s one of my best friends and we’ve been in this shit together for so long now, there’s no way to back out now.

  I sigh, feeling pretty defeated. “To be fair, Ax, it was drug money.”

  “Not the fucking point!” He yells this. “And what the hell is going on here?”

  I look over my shoulder at the movers. Then turn back to Ax. “Apparently the Judge signed an eviction notice for my father while we were sobering up.”

  “What?” He grabs his head with both hands. “But—”

  “Hey!”

  We both turn to find Lars, the other leg of our tight trio, jogging across the gardens towards us. Lars just looks like a Lars. He’s tall, and lean, and well… just think Alexander Skarsgård. That about sums him up. “What the hell is happening? I just made bail and the Mayor called saying we were kicked out or something and—” He stops mid-sentence. Presumably because he’s spied the movers.

  I press my fingertips to my forehead, then cover my eyes with my whole hand. My head is pounding so hard. “They really have kicked us out.”

  “What’s that?”

  I remove my hand from my eyes and find Lars pointing at the folder in my other hand. “This?” I sigh. “This is my new job packet.”

  “What job?” Ax says. “We’re on a fucking plane in three hours to goddamned New Zealand. Please tell me that’s a job in New Zealand, Coop. Or I’m gonna lose it.”

  “Yeah. We’re not going anywhere. It seems our fathers have managed to ground the plane.”

  “No.” Ax grabs his head again. “No. No. No. I’m not staying here.”

  “We’re supposed to move home.”

  “No.” Ax is turning in circles now. “No fucking way. I’m not going home. I don’t care anymore. I’m so done with this place.”

  Lars puts a hand on his shoulder. “You can crash at my house.”

  “You’re going home?” Ax is stunned. He looks at me. “You’re going home too?”

  “What choice do we have? They took everything from us, Ax. We have to run the Fang and Feather rush to get our shit back. The Chairman wants me to choose the next crop of initiates.”

  Lars
bellows a laugh. “Oh, that’s funny.” He points at me. “That’s actually funny!”

  “It’s not a joke. And you two are stuck with me. Guilty by association, I guess.”

  “Cooper!” Ax puts a hand on my shoulder. “No. You need to go back and talk to him. Apologize.”

  “For what? That girl was begging me last night. I wasn’t gonna tell her no. Fuck that, I’m not apologizing.”

  “You have to.” Ax is pleading. “I’m not going home.”

  “You can stay with me, dude,” Lars says. “It’s cool. The Mayor won’t mind. Hell, sometimes I think he likes you better than me.”

  That’s probably truer than Lars would like to admit, but it’s not something we talk about.

  “Cooper,” Ax says. “Dude. I don’t ask for much. You know that. I take my licks. I deal. I’m not complaining. But I am not going home. Ever. Can’t you at least… I don’t know, beg? If we have to run the rush, you need to beg for us to stay in one of the cottages. Because I’m done. I’m done taking it.”

  And he is. I can see it all over his face.

  Fuck.

  I turn my back to him and rub both hands over my jaw. “Fine. I’ll ask.” I turn back to him. “But he’s gonna say no. And when that happens you will just go home with Lars, bite your fucking tongue, and play nice for the summer. You don’t even have to run the rush. I’ll cover for you, Ax. But you will show up at least and make them think you’re on board.”

  I see the rebel in him. I see that fire inside that wants to tell me to go fuck myself.

  But he knows I’m right.

  “We have one more year,” Lars says. “Just one. More. Year. And then we’re out, Ax. It’ll be over.”

  Ax looks at me and I give him a small nod.

  But I don’t believe it any more than he does.

  When your fathers are the Chairman, the Mayor, and the Judge—well… you don’t walk away from that.

  There is no out.

  My friends follow me back towards the admin building, keeping a few paces behind me, very quiet now. The time for protest over.