Bully Anthology: Boys of Westview Academy, books 1-4 Page 3

  The driver's door opened and a tall, gorgeous man stepped out, removed his sunglasses and scanned the airport entrance.

  I stood up and walked towards him, wondering if he was there for me. I didn't know why, but I had a sense that he was supposed to pick me up.

  "Yo, are you Stephanie?" he yelled at me through the sliding doors.

  The crowd of airport attendants had moved away slightly, but four of them turned to stare right at me.

  "Tell your ride he can't park here!" one older lady snapped at me.

  "I don't know if he's my ride," I replied and dragged my luggage cart through the doors.

  The man was stunning, breathtakingly so. He was at least six and half feet, had jet black hair and perfect, full lips. His cheeks were angular plains, like a fashion model's, and his chin was strong and had a dimple in the center of it.

  He had the slightest scatter of stubble along his jawline and had impossibly high, perfect cheekbones. His shoulders were squared straight, the stance of the wealthy and privileged, as if they hadn't had a single bad day in their lives to weigh them down.

  "Who are you?" I asked as I got closer.

  He took off his sunglasses to reveal bright green eyes that sparked with irritation. He was also much younger than I'd initially assumed, he was probably close to my age.

  "I'm Barrett. I'm here to take you home."

  "Oh, where's my Dad? He said—"

  "He's in a meeting. It got dumped on my lap, so put your shit in the back and let's go. I've got things to do."

  He put his sunglasses back on and slid into the driver's seat, slamming the door.

  I was left standing on the sidewalk with my jaw hanging open, my bags all stacked on the rolling cart and my mind scattered to all corners of the earth.

  Who was Barrett and why was he here?

  "Are you coming or not?" he demanded, sliding the passenger window down.

  I scrambled and opened the door and said, "I need to put these in the trunk."

  He curled his lip arrogantly and reached down to push a button. I heard the trunk pop open.

  "Thanks," I said but he was on his phone texting before I had a chance to finish the word.

  I managed to somehow get everything stowed away, gave my cart to an airport attendant and climbed into the seat next to Barrett.

  He hit the gas pedal and the car roared to life before I got my seatbelt on.

  He raced away from the airport terminal as I desperately tried to clip myself in.

  I finally got it as he hit the highway and went faster than I was comfortable with, but I didn't know how to tell him to slow down.

  "So how do you know my father?" I asked at last, to break the silence and understand what was going on.

  Barrett was unbelievably hot, but so cool with his obvious disinterest in me.

  He glanced at me, let out a barking, dismissive laugh and said, "He's my father too."

  Chapter 5

  “What do you mean? Are you my brother?”

  Barrett’s eyebrow went up at that and he smirked. “You wish we were related, but we don’t have poor people in my family.”

  That stung. I’d spent my life being around people who thought they were better than me because my mom had chosen to live on the margins of our school district. She’d wanted me to have the best possible education if nothing else.

  And she’d worked hard for every penny she’d earned. From what I understood my father had inherited his money and had been given everything he’d wanted from day one.

  He and mom had only met through circumstance. My grandparents were dirt poor but mom had been an aspiring actress. She’d been stunning and had been given a few small parts in some movies in the nineties. She had a career ahead of her, but had met my father in a club one night and it had been instant love.

  But marriage and a baby doesn’t always mean a happy ending, and for some reason he’d left us both.

  But I railed against Barrett’s arrogant assessment of me being poor. Especially considering I wasn’t wearing cheap clothes.

  “That’s a shitty thing to say,” I mumbled under my breath. “Welcome to Boston.”

  “Harrisburg,” he said.

  “What?”

  “We’re not in Boston. We’re in Harrisburg, outside of Boston. There is a distinction.”

  I ignored him and looked out the window but I understood exactly what he was getting at. With these people their zip code meant everything, it was part of their DNA. If you weren’t from the right area, then you weren’t the right kind of people.

  “And no we’re not, by the way,” Barrett said after a few moments silence.

  “What?”

  “We’re not related. Your father married my mother. But he raised me from when I was five years old.”

  “I didn’t even know he was remarried until last week.”

  “And we didn’t know about you until yesterday, so we’re even.”

  “That’s not my fault.”

  “Not according to my mother. In fact that’s where David is. He’s taken Elaine to have a spa day to recover from the shock of you coming to live with us.”

  “Elaine is your mom?”

  David was my dad, and he’d already chosen his new wife over me and that also stung.

  “Yes, well, Elena. She’s from Brazil and has a bit of a temper. But call her Elaine, it’s her American name.”

  “Right,” I replied, trying desperately to place everybody in my mind. I pictured Elaine as a dark haired beauty, if that’s where Barrett got his intensely good looks.

  It was tough to wrap my head around it all though. This was all so new to me, I’d known bio Dad was remarried but I’d imagined his step kids were little.

  It hurt me that his stepson was around my age, it made his absence feel that much more personal.

  Barrett sighed finally and broke the silence, deemed me worthy enough for a few more moments of his time. “Listen, here’s some advice. Just do your best to keep your head down and make it through senior year. You’re obviously not going to fit in, so survive until you can go away to college.”

  “Is that for school or at home?”

  “Both.”

  After that the rest of the ride was silent. I was reeling from the blows to my emotions, one after the other, and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with Barrett’s arrogant assessment of my life.

  He finally pulled into a tree lined street, a wide boulevard with driveways far enough apart that you knew these houses didn’t share anything with their neighbors. Each one had a high metal gate protecting the driveway from uninvited guests and an intercom hanging over the edge of the paved drive to contact the main house.

  Near the end of the dead end street, Barrett hung a left and hit a button on his visor. A wide metal gate parted in the middle and I couldn't help but notice the monogrammed M on either side for the Montgomery name.

  It was strange, sharing a last name with a man I barely knew. When mom had married Reg, she'd asked my dad if Reg could legally adopt me so we'd all be Ashers.

  Of course he'd refused. In spite of not wanting me as his daughter, he didn't want to give up his claim on me.

  I suppressed a gasp as Barrett brought the car through the gates and past the tall privacy hedges that lined the road. The space opened up immediately, revealing wide manicured lawns sweeping up to a grand mansion of aged grey stone with a towering black roof.

  "Welcome home," Barrett said sardonically when we pulled up in front of the embellished marble staircase leading to the front doors. "Kit will help you get settled. Now get your shit, I have places to be."

  "Uh, thanks," I stammered. I had a million questions racing through my head but Barrett sent me clear signals that he was done with me.

  I was being dismissed.

  He popped the trunk, I got out and gathered my bags. Barrett roared off and left me standing in front of the mansion in my hand me down jeans, carrying my tattered luggage.

  And all I want
ed to do was cry.

  "Stephanie?" I heard a woman's voice come from the house. "Are you Stephanie? How did you get here? Why didn't anyone tell us you were here?"

  "Barrett dropped me off."

  As she approached I saw that she was older, probably in her thirties, and had bright red hair cut into a bob. Her eyes were blue and her mouth was pressed into a smile.

  I tensed, expecting her to drop some awful comment on me, but she surprised me by giving me a big hug.

  "When Mr. Montgomery told us you were coming, I was elated. I've prepared a room for you and have arranged for a personal shopper to get you prepared for your first day at Westview Academy."

  "Westview?"

  "Yes, your new school. Did Barrett tell you nothing? He is also a senior so he'll be driving you in the mornings. Now let's get these bags inside and get you settled. You must be exhausted."

  I was, it had been an emotionally trying couple weeks that had ended with my father not being here and Barrett being a total asshole to me.

  But still, I was used to fighting and staying above my position in life so it might not be much different here in Harrisburg. I'd always been the underdog, maybe not this much under and this much dog, but I'd always been thought of as lesser than my peers. I would just have to try harder here, and if nobody liked me, then I would fall back on my razor sharp wit and steel straight spine to handle myself.

  These rich bastards wouldn't know what hit them. They wouldn't see me coming.

  But before all that, I needed a bath and a nap.

  And then I could conquer Westview and my new family.

  I woke to the sound of voices in the hallway outside my room.

  My bedroom was on the second floor in the family wing. It was huge, bigger than the entire first floor of our house back in California, and it was all mine.

  It had wide marble floors that were heated for chilly nights, but was covered with thick silk hand woven rugs and natural wool rugs spread about the room. The bed was king size, if not bigger, and the mattress was like sleeping on a cloud.

  "I hope you like pink," Kit had said when she opened the double doors for me and directed two workers to carry my bags into the walk in closet. "I wasn't sure what you'd want but I got you bedding at least, and some toiletries and pajamas."

  "Pink is good," I said and immediately loved the hand embroidered intricate silk comforter draped across the bed.

  The sheets were so soft too, everything was luxurious like something I'd see in a magazine.

  And it was all mine.

  But now it was being intruded upon as my Dad's voice boomed through the doors.

  "Where is she? Where's my princess?" he said and I sat up in bed, clutching the comforter to my chest.

  "She's napping," I heard Kit's strained voice trying to keep him at bay.

  "I don't care, I pay for this god damned house, none of it is off limits."

  My bedroom doors swung open and my dad strode in as if he was commanding troops and not just seeing his long lost daughter for the first time in years.

  "Stephanie, you're up," he said and looked back at Kit. "I told you she'd be fine with me coming in here."

  "Hey Dad," I said and watched in horror as he made his way to the side of the bed and sat down.

  "Stephanie, princess," he said and a broad grin split his face. "I'm so happy to have you here."

  "I wasn't sure. You weren't around when I got off the plane."

  "We had things to do. But I'm here now, is there anything you need?"

  "No, I'm good. Kit's taken care of everything. She’s been a big help.“

  Kit visibly straightened at that and nodded at me in thanks.

  Dad stared at me long enough to make me a little uncomfortable when he finally frowned and said, "Man, you look like her. You look exactly like your mother."

  I laughed nervously and said, "I hope that's a good thing."

  "It's a very good thing, she was utterly captivating. One of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen in my life. Probably still is."

  "One of, I hope," a woman's voice came from the hall before she appeared.

  And when she did appear, I immediately connected her as Barrett's mother because she was also utterly stunning. I could see where he'd gotten his thick, dark hair, perfect lips and high cheekbones.

  "Yes, Elaine, one of. But not the most...of course that title belongs to you," Dad said with a laugh and turned to watch his new wife walk towards us.

  She looked like she was walking a runway in Paris, her hips swung and she balanced on fashionable high heels.

  "Hello, darling," Elaine said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'm so happy to have you here, the house really needs more feminine energy."

  "Good, good...why don't we leave you to get ready for dinner and we'll see you downstairs in half an hour?" Dad said, patting me on the leg through the comforter before he stood up and stalked out, leaving Elaine behind.

  Kit hesitated and followed Dad, but slowed down near the door.

  Elaine clapped her hands together and locked her eyes on mine. Her smile stretched wider and I couldn't help but notice how straight, white and perfect her teeth were in her mouth.

  She didn't say anything for a moment, but finally took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes. "Listen, Stephanie. You might think you're coming in here to take David's attention and money away from me, but you have it all backwards if that's your intention. You might be his princess, but around here there's only room for one queen...and that's me."

  With that, she turned on her spiked heel and left my room, her long strides covering the distance in seconds.

  Kit peered in and said, "Are you okay?"

  I nodded and she shut the doors.

  But I wasn't okay.

  I didn't think I'd ever be okay again.

  Chapter 6

  "You look lovely, I think that's one of my old dresses," Elaine said as I took a seat at the dinner table.

  "It was hanging in the closet and seemed to fit," I replied, dropping my eyes to the beautiful place setting in front of me. The dress was a pretty one, light blue with a small belt done by Chanel. The nicest piece of clothing I’d ever worn.

  "It looks good on you, it was always too big for me. Well, not in the chest though, it was too small for me there," Elaine laughed and motioned for the kitchen girl to fill her wine glass.

  "I think she looks stunning, like a perfect princess," Dad said and beamed at me from his end of the table.

  It was weird eating in a room better suited for a Harry Potter movie set, there were so many chair and just the three of us spread out so far that we practically had to yell to communicate.

  Just as I noticed a fourth place setting, Barrett came sweeping in looking as cool and gorgeous as before. He seemed to have been out in the sun, his skin had that healthy tanned glow that only the super rich could afford or gain naturally by leisure time out doors.

  "Good evening, Elaine," he said and bent to kiss his mother's cheek before stalking along the opposite side of the table from me and taking his seat directly across. "Good evening. Sister."

  "Hello Brother dear,” I replied and forced myself to stare right into his piercing green eyes. I saw him flinch at that name and I liked it.

  "It feels so good to have the family together," Dad said and clapped his hands.

  Several of the kitchen staff emerged in matching grey and white uniforms, each carrying a serving tray.

  They bustled around us and filled our plates with dinner while I tried my best not to squirm and grab the spoons from their hands.

  I'd never been served like that before and I hated it.

  It made me so jumpy, but Barrett, Elaine and Dad all seemed perfectly fine having people scurry around them like Disney mice on Cinderella, preparing her for the ball.

  "Thank you," I said repeatedly but they seemed slightly annoyed by that. As if calling attention to them put their jobs in jeopardy or something. It was just one more way my me
re presence upset the delicate biome of this house.

  My father's house.

  I nibbled at my meal as I listened to the discussion around me but they might as well have been speaking a foreign language.

  Elaine was obsessed with tennis lessons at "The Club," while my father was obsessed with his work and that left Barrett who was obsessed with his phone.

  He barely looked at me during the entire meal in spite of us being right across from each other.

  At least that language I could speak. I understood that obsession because Maddy and Brie were texting me nonstop.

  Although at first I'd been really mad that Brie had fucked Josh, the guy I'd wanted to lose my virginity to, but I'd gotten over it real quick when I realized I had no friends out here.

  And when I realized that barely anybody at my old school seemed to even miss me.

  I'd spent all those years desperate to fit in only to be forgotten the moment I left. The moment that horrifying video had stopped trending and my presence left the minds of people who had once felt so important to me.

  It left a hollow feeling in my chest, as if somebody had carved me out and left me empty.

  So Brie was back in group chat and my phone buzzed constantly through dinner.

  "What's your dad like? Is he hot?" Brie asked.

  "Back off, slut. I don't need a new step mom," I wrote back with a grin.

  "I just like hot Daddy bods, I can't help it."

  "You should see Reg now, talk about a Daddy," Maddy wrote.

  "Seriously gross you two, stop it, skanks."

  "Haha skanks 4evah," Brie replied.

  "How old are your stepbrothers?" Maddy asked.

  "Barrett is my age and Roland is two years older."

  "Are they hawt as fuck?" Brie asked.

  I smiled and wrote, "I haven't seen Roland but Barrett is pretty hot."

  "Pics or it never happened," Maddy wrote.

  I sighed and leaned back in my chair as if I was stretching and suppressing a yawn.