In Love With My Bully Step-brother

Chapter 3 | Dude, not again!

Ashleigh’s POV

There was nothing left to do but pick up the pieces of my broken self off the floor.

My wrist watch told me I had spent almost five minutes sulking over spilled milk. I just had to accept it. The phone and everything in it was gone.

I swiped at my eyes to keep the tears from falling out. They were just pictures really. I could always get some from his f*******: profile or something, I thought to convince myself. But I knew I would never be able to get back some of the memories that was in there.

It’s fine, my inner voice said and I practiced my breathing exercises to control my nerves. At least I’d gotten something from my year in therapy.

Since I needed the schedule to know when I had classes, I stuck the torn bits into the side of my bag. Thankfully, it hadn’t torn much. Sadly, I couldn’t say the same for the others.

As soon as I got off the floor, I dumped them in the trash can.

My stomach growled then reminding me of the fact that I hadn’t gotten a decent meal in almost twenty hours. The last thing I’d eaten was the mashed potatoes Waldo’s wife had prepared for my goodbye dinner. The best meal I’d ever had.

My dad hadn’t been such a great cook so, I’d had to learn early how to whip up something decent. Plus, I was very picky with what I ate and that had been a huge problem. I hoped that wasn’t going to be the case in this new school.

In my last school, I’d had to stick to sneaking in my own lunch because the cafeteria food had sucked. News had it that the lunch lady was both vegan and mentally challenged. The school couldn’t afford someone with better credentials. With the level of sophistication Oak Bridge boasted, I really hoped their food would be much better.

I was going to find out anyway…as soon as I found the cafeteria.

Thankfully, this didn’t prove difficult. It was recess and most students were already going there. All I had to do was follow the crowd and voila! There it was.

The cafeteria was massive. It consisted of two levels with the upper level being mezzanine. A glazed area on the exterior wall gave an impressive view of the field beyond.

Large, round tables with about six chairs in total were arranged in several rows with just enough space between for at least two people to pass simultaneously.

Adjacent to the entrance, I saw a slowly moving line of students picking out what they wanted to eat from a self-serving buffet. Even though there were staff around to monitor the students, it didn’t look like they were interfering with the sacred process of preparing the perfect tray.

“I see you made it through the first half of the day,” someone said beside me.

It was the sarcastic girl from the group that I had met earlier. She was alone now, but I was almost sure that her friends were probably close by.

“Well, barely,” she laughed. “There was that fall in hallway…”

I shut my eyes. Just how many people had seen me on the floor.

“Oh, quite a number—” the girl answered.

Had I spoken out loud? Damn it!

“—and those who haven’t, certainly will by tomorrow.”

I didn’t know what she meant by that but I wouldn’t trust the glint in her eyes.

“Anyway, cheerios and I do hope you make it through the remaining half.” With another mocking laugh, she turned and walked away, tossing her auburn hair in my face even as she did so.

My eyes followed her to a table close to the window where her other friends were seated. She said something to them and four pair of eyes landed on me. I turned away just as I saw them laughing.

I was used to mean girls. The type with daddies richer than everyone else’s. Although, in this school, I figured it would be harder to tell the difference. Everyone here looked like they came from serious money. Well, everyone except me but I had already concluded that I was going to transfer. I wasn’t going to survive a school like Oak Bridge.

I arrived at the service counter to find that some of my favorite options were on display. This was great! Finally, something that was going my way.

At the beginning of the line, there were three piles of different colored trays —smalt, Sage and white. These were also the official colors of the school. I picked from the Sage pile.

Immediately, I went for the Thai curry noodles and one of the lunch ladies gave me a smile.

“We don’t have many students who go for that,” she said.

“Oh? Well, I love Thai food,” I confessed. My dad had taken me to a restaurant once and I’d gotten hooked.

“Hm. And this was just about to be taken off the menu permanently,” she said, sounding disappointed herself.

I hummed. Another reason not to like this school.

“You could take some more if you want. I could even get you a take away?”

I was deeply touched by the offer, but I politely declined. It’s not like I was staying here anyway so, I didn’t care what they kept on their menu. I thanked her and moved on to get my side of papaya salad and chicken, wondering how sad my life had to be —The only person who had been nice to me since I got into this school was a lunch lady.

When I got to the end of the counter, I saw that the beverage option was quite limited so, I just stuck with a bottle of water. Sparkling water. As the label indicated.

A huge clock on the wall said it was already fifteen minutes into recess and all the good spots were already taken. As I walked with my tray of food in front of me, I searched for an empty table.

The closest I came to was an almost empty one. Only one girl sat on it, quietly picking at her food. I assumed she was alone and, because she looked harmless enough, attempted sitting with her.

“Get off there!” She screamed.

Multiple pair of eyes from the tables around flung in our direction at once. Startled, I stumbled away from the table, turned sharply and bumped into someone…again.

My tray flipped over, dousing the stranger with my noodles before clattering to the floor. I watched in horror as the rice noodles slid down the front of their varsity jacket leaving a trail of sauce and greens plastered to the material.

“Oh, my goodness!” I gasped. “I’m so so sorry. I…didn’t see you there.”

“Of course you didn’t.”

That voice…it was all too familiar. And even as I looked up, I knew what I was going to be seeing. The angry Greek god from before. The one who had all but squashed me beneath his mountainous form.

He stood closer than before and with the sunlight from the window lighting up his face, I could see him clearly now. He had really beautiful eyes, a hypnotic blend of green, brown and gold framed by thin, long lashes. His lips were slightly purple, very kissable and once again frowning deeply at me.

“You need to invest in some f*****g glasses,” he said then lowered himself to be closer to me. I struggled to stay still, trying not to breathe in his lovely scent. “You better watch your f*****g back from now on.”

It sounded more like a threat than an advice. I gulped. He straightened up then and literally swatted me out of the way so that he and a group of other varsity-wearing jocks could pass.

It was then I noticed just how quiet the cafeteria had gotten. About six hundred pair of eyes followed the group until they exited the hall. And then landed on me. I squirmed.

“You ruined Kane Taylor’s jacket? Oh mehn! You are in so much trouble,” the girl who had screamed at me whispered.

Judging by the way everyone was looking at me, I had already figured that out.

I almost turned around and slapped her then thinking that if she hadn’t yelled at me, I wouldn’t have had to bump into anyone. Instead, I ran out of the cafeteria and into the ladies’ room.

I locked myself inside one of the stalls thinking that if I could just hide in there till the end of the day, I would save myself further embarrassment.

This was a disaster. I didn’t know when I started crying until the first drops hit my shoes. I wiped beneath my eyes thinking about how much I missed my dad and my old life already.

I hadn’t had many friends in Phoenix and certainly none that would miss me but I had been comfortable there. I had been invincible. No one had cared about me or what I did. I’d blended in like everyone else.

I wasn’t even twenty four hours into this place and I was already killing it…badly.

I don’t know how long I must have sat there for but sometime later, I heard the bell ring signaling that recess was over. A janitor came in to clean up the place and I was forced to leave.