The Bully's Possession

Chapter Seven

            My alarm clock sounded as it did every Monday morning. However, this was the first time that I had been awake before my alarm went off. I was tucked underneath my covers, not ready to escape the comfort of my warm bed. When my second alarm went off, I groaned, removing the covers from over my body. I stood to my feet, stretching out my limbs before walking over to my window. I pushed back the curtains, peeking through the blinds to see if the snow had covered the ground. Much to my disappointment, the ground was covered with only a thin layer of snow. I sighed, turning to my closet.

           I picked out something comfortable to wear today, a pair of sweat pants and a white buttoned long sleeve shirt. The jacket I usually wore was still wet from last night, so I had to go with a loose-fitting hoodie today. Since the snow and rain brought colder weather than if it wasn’t raining or snowing, I put on a pair of gloves. Grabbing my books, I raced outside, the cool air blowing right in my face as I opened the door. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Cole’s car parked right out front, still running. I could see that he was waiting for me inside, but I ignored him completely. With my head held high, I began walking in the direction of the school.

           Part of me expected to hear a car door slam from behind me, but instead, I heard the rumbling of Cole’s engine getting closer to me as I continued to walk. Nope, I would not dare to look over in that direction. Instead, I went inside my jacket pocket, pulling out a pair of old earbuds, and placed them inside my ears. I might not be able to carry a book and walk at the same time while reading, but I sure could listen to one. My phone began playing the audio from a book I have read quite a few times, but it remained as enjoyable as ever. The woman who recited the book has this soft voice that matched the book's tone well, causing me to forget that Cole was following beside me.

           Cole suddenly appeared in front of me, jerking the earbuds from my ears and tossing them to the ground. “We aren’t going to do this today, Mia. Get in the car. It's f*****g freezing out here. You don’t need to be walking in this weather. I’ll be surprised if you don’t catch a cold or something.”

           My eyes pierced his without fear this time. Cole seemed surprised. He held his gaze to mine, parting his lips slightly, allowing his tongue to slip through, coating his bottom lip. I would be lying if I said it wasn't attractive to see him like that. Regardless of how seeing him like that made me feel, he otherwise repulsed me. After last night, nothing he could ever do or say would make me trust him enough to be vulnerable with him and surely wouldn’t get me to lower my guard around him again.

           “Come on, Mia. Get in the damn car already! I’m freezing my balls off out here.”

           “And?” I commented slyly. “I am quite content, actually. I would suggest that if you are so cold, that you get back in your car.” Oh, how I wanted to smile, but I held back.

           Cole smirked, then picked me up over his shoulder. I screamed and shouted for him to let go of me, but he didn’t, not until I was sitting in the passenger seat of his car. When he slid into the driver’s side, he rubbed his cold hands together before pressing them to his vent that was blowing out the warm air. “I don’t’ know why you have to be so damn hardheaded, Mia. We have been over this before. I told you, you will ride with me every morning to and from school. Stop trying to disobey me every chance that you can. I won’t put up with it for much longer.”

           I sharply turned my body to him, my jaw tightening and my eyes squinting in his direction. “You know, you keep talking about how you aren’t going to keep putting up with it, but I don’t ever see you doing anything about it either. Here is a suggestion, leave me alone and find someone else to play around with.”

           “And miss all the fun of being around you? No, not a chance,” he partially joked. “I may not have acted on impulse yet, but it’s coming if you don’t start obeying me. I can be a reasonable guy, even caring if you let me, but if you keep provoking me, it will never get better for you.” He stopped, thinking about something. “Unless you like provoking me. Maybe you keep doing it because you want to see how far you can push me. Do you want me to teach you a lesson, Mia?” Cole reached out, grasping my thigh with his right hand while he drove using only his left. “If that is the case, we can skip school today, and instead, I can be the teacher, and you be the student. I am sure there are many ways that you can earn an A from me.”

           “Your disgusting,” I replied, pushing his hand off me. “If I am going to be forced to be in the car with you, at least learn to keep your hands to yourself.”

           He smiled, keeping his eyes on the road. Soon we were pulling into the almost abandoned school parking lot. Even though the snow had hardly covered the ground, a lot of students used it as an excuse to skip school. I would have loved to skip school too, but I would only do that if they closed the school down due to the weather, never purposely. The second the car came to a complete stop, I opened the door and began walking to the entrance. Cole, of course, caught up to me, putting his arm around my shoulder.

           I huffed, pushing his arm off me, and sped up walking. “Don’t,” he said, rejoining by my side. He replaced his arm, only for me to knock it off yet again. Cole slammed me up against a locker, punching his fist into the one closest to my face. “Goddamnit, Mia! Stop f*****g with me!” My lips quivered, and my eyes shifted to the floor. “f**k! I’m sorry, Mia.” He knew that he had gone too far.

           Without saying a word, I pushed him off me, walking right past him without looking back.

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           God, she drove me f*****g absolutely nuts. I have never met someone like her, someone that was so scared yet full of challenge. Mia made me lose my damn mind, but I couldn’t seem to stay away from her. I didn’t treat her well. Hell, I knew it, so did everyone else, but I wanted to. I wanted to make her happy, which I couldn’t understand for one second as to why.

           When she walked past me, I dug my nails into the palm of my hand, squeezing as hard as I could until I could feel the blood trickling down my wrists. The pain calmed me, f****d up, I know. Sometimes when I got out of control, pain could be that trigger that contained me, helping me to snap out of it. It wasn’t like I enjoyed being angry all the damn time.

           Joel was waiting for me in our usual hang-out spot, outside behind the school. I was still pissed at him for talking to Mia without my permission, but we talked it out as we always did. Joel got on my last nerve, but I could never stay mad at him. If it weren’t for him, I would be in a much darker place in my life. He helped me at a time in my life when I needed the most help, so I owed him. Not tearing his head off was me doing him that favor.

           “Hey, man. Where did you go yesterday? After the whole thing with Mia, you just kind of vanished.”

           “Yeah, I needed to clear my head,” I said, pulling out a cigarette from my fresh pack. Joel sighed, striking his lighter for me. “Did your sister make it back home okay?”

           Joel cracked a smile. “I guess so though she wouldn’t stop talking about you the entire time. Why in the world do you got to f**k with her like that knowing damn well you have no interest in her?”

           I laughed, “because it pisses you off, and I know you are the one that has to deal with her.”

           “Asshole,” he grunted.

           He knew that he could be the only one to call me that and get away with it. Joel had somewhat become like a younger brother to me. Like me, Joel was always getting into trouble, despite how much I tried to keep him out of it. One day, I stopped trying to keep him out of and let him join in with me, and he has been a pain in my ass ever since but has also always stuck by my side.

           “So, are you going to tell me what has you all worked up today?”

           “Nothing,” I said, knowing fully well that he knew I was lying already.

           “Yeah, sure, because your hands are bleeding just for the f*****g fun of it. Come on, Cole. We both know that you only do that when you can’t control yourself. What happened?”

           He wouldn’t let it go until I offered him a little something. “Mia, of course, who else would it be?”

           Joel let out a low grunt, clearly showing his dislike in the interest I have for Mia, which he couldn’t understand. “Seriously, dude, leave that girl alone. If all she is going to do is make you like this all the time, then why bother with her in the first place? You need a release, someone that is willing to offer you a good time. It has been too damn long for you. That is exactly what is wrong with you.”

           “No, it isn’t, and keep your f*****g mouth shut about Mia. Besides, I’m more interested in her now than I ever was before. She showed me a different side to her yesterday and even today. Mia is different, Joel. I don’t want to just jump in the sack with her.”

           He rolled his eyes, grabbing onto my shoulders, shaking me violently. “Snap the hell out of it, Cole. This damn girl has you worked up into a frenzy over nothing. Mia won’t ever give guys like us the time of day, so I don’t understand why you are even wasting your time with her. Mia is meant to be with guys like Gavin.”

           I grabbed hold of his shirt, spinning him around and throwing him up against the side of the building. “If you ever as so much as mention some s**t like that to me again, I will beat the s**t out of you.” I punched him in the gut, making him hurl over in pain.

           “Geez, Cole!” He said when I finally let him go. “You are willing to fight me over some chick! Yeah, your best friend, your closest friend, for that matter. Go ahead and try it with her, Cole. I’m telling you that you are doing nothing but wasting your time. When she finally pushes you too far, don’t come to me asking me for help!” Joel took off, smacking his lips as he walked by me.