Worse Than Enemies : A Dark Bully Romance by J. L. Beck

Author:J. L. Beck [Beck, J. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Dark, Romance, Bully
Amazon: B09THNFX7Q
Publisher: Bleeding Heart Press
Published: 2022-05-27T05:00:00+00:00

20

By Sunday afternoon, Salem looks a little pale, a little drawn, and she’s not as bubbly as I’ve gotten used to seeing her. But at least we’re hanging out for the first time since she slept over.

“Here’s a tip: don’t mix painkillers and booze unless you’re with people you trust.” Salem frowns down at the fries she’s moving around on her plate. “I’m not taking them anymore. I don’t like who I am when I do.”

“When did you start? And why?”

“Over the summer. It was something new. I didn’t like who I was before I started taking them out of my mom’s bathroom either. It was more fun than feeling like shit over other things.”

“Like what?” When she doesn’t look up from her plate, I press her harder. “What other things?”

“I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“You don’t have to. So long as you still want to be my friend, even when you’re not on pills.”

She rolls her eyes but grins, too. “It didn’t make me that different. Just happier. And invincible. Like nothing could bother me.”

If I didn’t see for myself how it ended up when she mixed the pills with a lot of alcohol, I might ask to try them. I could use a break from everything for a little while.

She takes a small bite of her sandwich and chews slowly. I sense there’s still something bothering her, but I don’t want to force her. Finally, she sighs. “There’s somebody I was hooking up with over the summer. On and off. Not he-whose-name-I’ll-never-speak-again,” she adds with a grimace. “It ended before I was ready, and I didn’t take it well. I thought I was over it, but when school started, it all came back.”

So it’s somebody from school. Hayes? They supposedly only hooked up in junior year, but it could’ve bled through to the summer. He flat-out almost killed somebody for her, which points to there being feelings somewhere. And he was so sweet and gentle with her afterward.

She even threw herself into his arms the first day of school and he didn’t tell her not to touch him. There was no awkwardness that I could see, and I can sense awkwardness from a mile away. Mom trained me well.

Bitterness touches my heart. I hate it, but I can’t help it. What if all this time he’s been tormenting me, he was tormenting her at the same time?

“It’s not Hayes, is it?” I blurt out. I instantly hate myself for it. What if it is and I’m rubbing salt in the wound?

She almost chokes, her face red by the time she swallows the fry she was chewing. “God, no!” She laughs. “That’s ancient history. I mean, he’s a good friend now, but I wouldn’t fall apart over him. No offense.”

“Why would I be offended?”

“Because you’re almost related.” She eyes me, lips pursed. “You almost bit my head off.”

“I didn’t mean to.” I take a long sip of my soda hoping to cool my flushed cheeks. She’s right. I’m on edge.

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