Cruel Boy Read online

  Again, she’s quiet, but her lip trembles, and it tells me all I need to know.

  “C’mon, let’s go outside.” I hold the door open for her and walk with her down the steps of that same staircase I once trod when I followed Nina into the abyss.

  But I won’t let that happen now. Not ever again.

  When Monica’s at the bottom of the stairs, she stops, and tears start rolling down her face.

  “What happened?” I ask, standing in front of her.

  “Robby …” she mutters.

  Robby. Every time his name is uttered, a girl cries her eyes out.

  This is not okay.

  I lean in, and ask, “What did he do to you?”

  Her eyes widen. “I … I …”

  “You can tell me,” I say.

  “I can’t.” She shakes her head.

  “You can trust me,” I say. “I promise, I won’t tell a soul.”

  She licks her lips, tears still tumbling down to the ground. “I thought he wanted to get back together. He said he was sorry, and he was going to do better.” She hiccups. “It was all a lie.”

  “Did he hurt you?” I ask.

  She nods and then more tears burst out, and she falls against me, hugging me tight while bawling her eyes out.

  “Where?” I ask.

  “Everywhere …” She points at her body, but most specifically between her legs.

  I hold her and let her cry against me, but rage flows through my veins.

  “Fuck,” I growl. He’s done it before … and now he did it again. Fuck that guy. He’s hurt enough people. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch.”

  “Wait!” Monica grabs my arm before I can walk back up the stairs. “No. Please … don’t.”

  I pause and look at her. “Anything but that,” she adds. “I just wanna go. Can you just take me away from here, please?”

  How can I refuse when she’s looking at me like that? This is Sam’s best friend. I can’t say no to that.

  My nostrils flare as I suck in a breath, and say, “C’mon. Let’s go.”

  I grab her hand and pull her with me to my car, and I help her get inside before I jump in too and lock the doors.

  “What’s that for?” she asks, glancing at me from the side.

  “So I don’t do anything I’ll regret,” I say, and I start the engine. “Where do you wanna go? Home?”

  “Sam,” she says. “She’s working. I texted her, but she won’t reply, and she won’t pick up her phone.” More tears roll down her cheeks, but she swipes them away. “I need her.”

  I nod and shift my car into gear. “Okay. I’ll take you there myself.”

  She nods too, and I can tell she’s trying to hold herself up and pretend she’s okay even though she isn’t. “You’re gonna be okay, okay?” I say. “I promise.”

  She rubs her lips together, her eyes filling with tears. I recognize that pain. I feel it in my bones. But this will pass and so will Robby. Because I will make fucking sure of it.

  * * *

  Sam

  When I’m done stacking the boxes and unpacking the supplies needed for the next shift, I clean the clutter and make sure it’s tidy before locking up. I hop into my car and grab my phone to check the missed messages. It’s taken me some time to gather the courage to look at it, but I figured nothing could be more painful than what I already saw. Unless they made a porno next, which I doubt. God, just the thought makes me shiver.

  Guess that’s the perk of being a creative; you always see everything and anything as if it’s happening right in front of you, which is both a blessing and a curse.

  I take a deep breath and open my messages. Nothing from Kevin, so I guess that’s good. It’s actually from Monica, and she sent it a while back, so that must’ve been the one after I threw my phone in a corner. I open it up and read, but with every passing second, my heartbeat rises more and more than it ever did when Kevin sent that clip.

  Mo: Come pick me up, please

  Mo: Something horrible happened

  Mo: I need u

  Mo: Why aren’t u replying

  Mo: Sam, please

  Mo: Robby’s room …

  Mo: I’m alone

  Mo: Help

  No, no, no!

  Something’s gone horribly wrong at that party. Mo needed me, and I wasn’t there for her. She’s all alone and afraid, and no one’s there to pick her up. I should’ve been there, should’ve read the messages, should’ve run to her immediately.

  Instead, I was too busy trying to ignore that damn phone because of Kevin’s message.

  FUCK!

  I immediately kick the gas and chase off the road.

  No time to waste. I gotta get to her now.

  I drive as fast as I can, ignoring the speed limits even though I know that’s dangerous and bad. I’ll deal with the tickets later because right now, I need to get my best friend out of trouble. She’s probably crying her eyes out on the toilet right now. Locked the door to be safe.

  And I wasn’t there to save her.

  Fuck!

  No time to waste. I get to the beach as fast as I can, but I know it’s still not fast enough. After parking my car as close as I possibly can, I immediately jump out and march toward Robby’s parents’ beach house. The music can be heard from outside, and it pulls in more people than the house can manage.

  It’s jam-packed when I walk inside, and I can barely find my way through the crowd. Everyone’s drinking, dancing, and smoking pot, and I’m wading through trying to find Mo. I call out her name, but there’s no reply. I don’t recognize anyone here, so I can’t ask them to tell me where she is either because they probably don’t know her.

  I check the toilets, but those are empty too. She’s not in the kitchen, nor in any of the many hallways. Where the hell could she have gone? I hope to God no one hurt her because they’re gonna fucking pay for it.

  Suddenly, someone throws an arm around my shoulder and pulls me in. “Hey there, Sam. Nice of you to come join us too!”

  It’s Kevin, and I immediately throw his arm off me. “Get off me.”

  “Aww now, no need for hostility.”

  “You’re a fucking asshole,” I spit.

  “Hey, I didn’t wanna do it,” he says, holding up his hands.

  “Right, your left hand forced you to send me that goddamn video,” I say with a snarky voice, and his demeanor instantly shifts.

  “I didn’t wanna send or even record that shit, but Layla asked me, and I still owed her so …”

  I frown. “What?”

  “You didn’t hear it from me.” He attempts to walk off, but I follow him and grab his shirt to stop him in his tracks.

  “Wait, did Layla tell you to tape it or to send it?”

  He leans in, and says, “Both.”

  My eyes narrow. “Don’t bullshit me now.”

  “I’m not. I have proof.”

  He fishes his phone from his pocket and shows me some text messages between him and Layla.

  “See? She literally asked me to do it. I still have the original recording too. Watch.” He clicks away and opens up his files, opening the video again. Seeing them kiss again makes bile rise to my throat, but this one goes on. It doesn’t stop. And it shows Nate pushing her away, angry as hell.

  “She set him up,” I whisper.

  “Yup. Guess she just wanted to tease you.”

  There are a lot of things I want to say right now, but none of them are words I’d say to a lackey of hers. “Thanks, Kevin,” I sneer.

  “You’re welcome,” he muses, pretending everything’s fine. Then he fishes a smoke from his pocket, and says, “Want some? You look like you need to relax a little.”

  “No, thanks,” I say, walking off.

  “You’ll feel much better if you just say yes!” he calls after me.

  Sure, Kevin … I bet he says that a lot. Just like all the other jocks here. They all spin girls around their fingers as though it means nothing, but they
have no clue how much damage they inflict.

  All they do is hurt people and make them suffer. And now it’s my best friend who got unlucky. Well, I’m gonna find her and bring her home with me.

  I search the premises and check every area to make sure I didn’t skip anything, but I still can’t find Mo. The only thing I’ve noticed are the cameras positioned literally everywhere. Were these here too last summer? Maybe they caught something I didn’t …

  Regardless, I have to search for Mo, so I continue until I find a staircase. I go up there, making sure no one saw me before I open the doors for each of the rooms. There are a lot of them, but only one has football posters and trophies. That has to be the one.

  I go in and take a look around. The bed in the corner looks unkempt, as though someone recently slept in it, and a closet door is open too. Someone was in here not too long ago … I hope he’s not still here.

  I search around and open the shower door, peeking through the crack to see if anyone’s there. There’s a light on but no one in the shower. Odd.

  No sign of Mo anywhere, and I wonder where she’s gone or if she’s still here. I check out the open closet and spot something shiny in the back behind some clothes. I reach for it and push aside some clothes. It’s a camera.

  My eyes narrow. What the …?

  I step back and look around the room. Another camera sits on top of a dresser, partially hidden in a box … and it’s pointed at the bed.

  Fuck.

  This can’t be what I think it is, right?

  I peel open the box and check the camera. There’s a card inside, so I take it out. It’s still warm to the touch. This thing was on not long ago.

  I walk to the desk where a laptop sits, and I put the card inside. I don’t know why or what pushes me to do so, but I can’t stop. Morbid curiosity overtakes me as I open the folder and search through all the videos on the card.

  All the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

  Mo.

  I click on it. The video starts. Mo’s dragged into the room by Robby. She’s not walking properly and has trouble standing. He kisses her. She tries to push him away, but he doesn’t listen. The more she shoves him, the harder he grabs her. She slaps him. He wraps her hands behind her back and throws her on the bed. Rips down her pants. Tears off her panties. Pulls down whatever stands between him and her …

  The sight of it makes my eyes tear up.

  I can’t watch this, but I must. For her. I have to know what happened.

  But it’s hard, so hard, to just sit here and not be able to do anything because it already happened.

  When it ends, he releases her from his grip and moves away. He leaves her on the bed, her body unmoving, almost as if she’s passed out. And before he leaves the room, he grins at the camera.

  My fist balls. “Motherfucker …”

  Suddenly, the door opens, and I jolt up from my seat and slam the laptop shut.

  It’s Robby.

  Chapter 31

  Nate

  “I don’t get it. She never skips work,” Monica says.

  I gaze at the place, which is completely dark inside. It looks closed. “Are you sure she’s here?” I ask.

  “She’s supposed to be,” she answers, and she fishes her phone from her pocket. “C’mon, Sam, why aren’t you replying?”

  She continues furiously typing a message to Sam, but there’s no response. These two are best friends, so I don’t think it’s likely Sam would ever ignore her.

  But what the fuck is she doing right now?

  Her friend needs her. Badly. There’s no way anything else is more important than this.

  “Shit.” Mo suddenly grabs my arm. “What if she went back there?”

  “Where?”

  “The party,” she says. “To get me. But I’m not there.”

  “Shit,” I hiss, and I shift the car back into gear.

  “What do we do?”

  “Go back there,” he says.

  “But—”

  “I won’t let him touch you,” I assure her. “I promise.”

  She nods a few times and gazes out the window. “I don’t wanna see him again …”

  “We’ll only go to pick up Sam,” I reply.

  “Yeah. We need to find her.” She shudders and glances at me. “What if that asshole already got to her too?”

  The fearful look in her eyes increases the fury in mine.

  “I’ll kill him.” And I hit the gas hard and speed off.

  * * *

  Sam

  I swallow hard as he steps into the room and closes the door, clicking the lock into place.

  “Hello there, Sam. Didn’t expect to see you here,” he muses, giving me a vicious smile.

  Should I confront him? No, not here. That would put me in danger, and I have no way out.

  “What you doing here, girl?” he asks.

  “Ah …”

  C’mon, make something up, Sam!

  “Just admiring the view.” I smile hard and point at the window.

  What an idiot.

  Couldn’t you come up with a better excuse?

  He rubs his lips together and narrows his eyes at me while sauntering closer and closer. With every one of his steps toward me, I take one back until there are none to take.

  “You seem jittery,” he says, placing his beer down on the desk. “I’d almost think you’re nervous because I’m here.”

  Asshole. “What? Me? No way,” I say in jest while I look around for an exit.

  A devilish smirk forms on his lips. “Oh, c’mon now, Sam. No need to lie to me.” He holds open his arms, and says, “Want a beer? I’ve got more in a secret storage up here.” He winks.

  “No, thanks.” I shake my head, but he still comes closer.

  “Don’t be shy,” he says.

  “Are you drunk?” I ask.

  He shrugs. “Maybe a little. Does it matter? Let’s have a good time.” He grabs my arm, and I feel so icky, I jerk free, gazing at the spot he touched with revulsion.

  His eyes follow mine, and when he looks me directly in the eyes and sees the disgust, his whole demeanor changes. Within seconds, he’s grabbed me by both arms and pulled me with him across the floor. I scream, but he covers my mouth with a hand.

  “Fucking girls should know better than to come in here without permission,” he growls in my ear. “What were you really doing? Checking out my laptop? I saw you sifting through my shit. You won’t get away with it.”

  “Let. Me. Go,” I hiss, and I bite his finger.

  He grunts, and I kick backward straight into his nuts. He cries out in pain and releases me. I move away from him and get to the desk quickly. I take out the card and tuck it into my pocket. But Robby’s already blocked the door with his body.

  “You’re not going anywhere, Sam,” he says.

  “Fuck you, I’m going to the police,” I answer. “You’re going to pay for what you did to Mo.”

  He laughs. Louder and louder. “You think I’m gonna let you? You think you’re the only one who ever caught me?”

  I gulp at his words, but I remind myself I’m a fucking resilient bitch. If I have to fight to get away, then so be it.

  “You think your stupid girlfriend was the first to come here?”

  “Don’t talk about her like that,” I growl back, tears streaming down my face.

  He laughs, approaching me. “She wasn’t my first, and she won’t be my last.” He holds up his hand. “Now hand me back the card.”

  “No. You did this to Nina too, didn’t you?” I say, eyeing the room to see if there’s anything I can grab and use against him.

  He licks the top of his lip. “She was … different.”

  So he did.

  Nate was right all along.

  Everything he told me was true. He just didn’t know how bad it truly was.

  Nina never told him what happened to her. What he did that made her so broken. And I bet it’s on the fucking card too.

&nbs
p; “You drugged her,” I say, swallowing away the lump in my throat.

  He scoffs. “She drugged herself. She took the pills willingly.”

  “You gave them to her.”

  “Everyone takes them,” he says, shrugging it off as if it’s no big deal. “It’s not a party when no one gets high.”

  “She died because of you!” I shout.

  He snorts. “How the fuck was I supposed to know she was gonna snort herself to death?”

  “You’re sick,” I hiss, and I reach for a drawer in his desk.

  “Thanks … We all are,” he muses.

  “No, you just tell yourself that so you can live with yourself,” I spit. “You’re nothing but a vile monster.”

  He snorts. “You think I did this on my own? Open your goddamn eyes.”

  My eyes widen. “What the fuck do you mean?”

  He shakes his head, laughing at me. “Enough talking.”

  He suddenly attacks me, throwing himself on top of me, and I struggle with him, grasping at the drawer, for anything. His hands wrap around my neck while I reach out, and I barely manage to hold the drawer. But I can’t breathe, and he’s right on top of me. Him and those filthy hands of his strangling me. The look in his eyes mad with lust and rage, and all kinds of things I never thought I’d see.

  Mo trusted him. She liked him and thought he’d be her knight in shining armor.

  He’s a fucking sicko who uses and abuses girls.

  Fuck him.

  I reach for anything I can use to save myself, expending every last drop of my energy on the tips of my fingers. I pull as hard as I can, and the drawer tumbles to the ground. A pair of scissors fall to the ground, right on top of my hand.

  I grab them … and shove them straight into his side.

  He howls in pain, and his grip on my throat loosens. His hands move to his side while he rolls off me. I push him away and scramble off the floor, wiping the blood that’s on my hands on my pants. I look at that entitled motherfucker, and with a grimace on my face, I walk up to him and kick him in the side.

  “This is for Mo,” I growl while he whimpers in pain. I grab the bottle of beer and empty it out over his painful gash. “And that’s for Nina.”