Being the Bad Boy's Victim (28 page)

I bit my lip and groaned slightly, trying not to drown in his mesmerizing eyes.

“Shut up,” I finally said, my voice shaky.

He grinned down at me and gave me a short kiss before standing up.

“Aren’t you going to help me up?” I asked, sitting up slightly with my hand held out.

He took one glance, laughed, and turned away.

I gasped and smacked his leg, which only made him laugh harder. But then I squealed as he suddenly turned back and swooped me up into his arms, holding me close to his body. I finally gave in and inched my face to his, wanting to have his lips back against mine.

Just as our lips were about to touch, he spoke, “I think you want to go swimming.”

My jaw dropped and I felt my eyes nearly pop out of my head. “Don’t you dare!” I hissed out.

He grinned and began walking towards the back exit, causing me to go on a rant about how I was going to leave him if he threw me in.

I heard Matt, James, and Jess cheer him on. And I gave them all the finger, which only led to more cheers and laughter.

“Connor, don’t,” I shrieked as he held me above the water. Thinking that I had no options left, and despite wincing at the thought, I closed my eyes and prepared myself to be engulfed by the freezing water.

“For Narnia!” Matt suddenly screamed.

My eyes flew open just as Matt pushed Connor, sending us both into the incredibly freezing water.

“Matt, I am going to castrate you!” I screamed, my voice going coarse near the end. I was fuming as I got ready to get out. But just before I could, Connor got out and lifted Matt over his head, throwing him effortlessly into the water. My jaw dropped open as I watched Matt resurface, a frown replacing his grin.

“Not so funny anymore, is it?” I asked, my teeth chattering slightly as I finally pulled myself out, a victorious grin on my face. But then, I turned to see Jess and James still laughing. When I glanced at Connor, he gestured at me with a nod and then we looked back at the two.

And that was the start of our water war.

“I’m dying!” I said as I sneezed again. I glared at everyone else as laughter rang out. I sat huddled into a small ball on the couch, with three blankets wrapped around me. Even after an extremely long and hot shower, my nose was still stuffy and I was still freezing.

“You look adorable,” Connor said in a girly voice, poking the top of my nose.

I glared at him and tightened the blankets around me in an attempt to stay warm.

“I think it’s hilarious that you’re the only one with a cold,” Matt said.

Connor had to hold me back to prevent me from clawing him to death.

“I will murder you,” I hissed, venom dripping in my tone. I managed to break loose just as Matt dove behind James. James shrieked… shrieked and jumped behind Jess, who, in turn, started begging for mercy. And right when I was about to go in for the kill, Connor threw me over his shoulder, carrying me back to the couch. He sat down, set me down in his lap, and enfolded me in his arms, trapping me. After a couple of minutes of struggling, I gave up, burying my face in his neck. There was a sharp pain running through my side, and I couldn’t help but gasp.

“You okay there?” Connor asked, looking into my eyes.

I nodded my head slightly, gently twisted out of his arms, and stood up to walk.

“I just need some water,” I said.

Connor stood up behind me, his hand on my lower back, guiding me to the kitchen. The pain was growing more and more within me, and after a few seconds, I grasped the counter, my vision fading.

“Here you go,” he said, oblivious to my state.

I smiled at him, taking the glass.

“Bella?”

I looked at him, black spots invading my barely-there vision. “Yes?”

“I love you.”

Then the glass shattered, I felt my body crash to the ground, and then everything went black.

Connor 

“You don’t understand, I need to be with her!” I growled out.

The nurse cowered slightly, looking at the ground.

“You will be with her soon. Just let the doctors fix the…” she stopped and raised her eyes to meet mine. “You’re just going to have to wait.” The small nurse hurried off before I could say anything more.

I took deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself down.

“Come on, Connor,” Jess said quietly, tugging at my hand.

I allowed her to lead me back into the waiting room, where Matt and James sat. I collapsed into a chair, my head resting in my hands while Jess sat with James, her head resting on his shoulder.

“She’s going to be fine,” Matt whispered, wiping his hands nervously on his jeans.

With my head still in my hands, I thought of the way she fell on the ground, limp and seemingly lifeless. I froze then. When I saw the shards of glass cut into her skin, it made me feel nauseous.

“My baby! My baby!”

I looked up to see Mrs. Brown rushing into the hospital, with Mr. Brown right behind her. His eyes caught mine and he walked over to me, guiding Mrs. Brown gently.

“Connor,” he said, his eyes filled with worry. “Is my daughter going to be okay?”

I looked at him, completely speechless.

“Here, um, I can tell you guys what happened,” Jess stepped in, giving me a reassuring look.

I watched numbly as they walked into a hallway.

“I’ll be right back,” I muttered to James and Matt, walking outside. The cool, crisp November air whipped my face. Shaking, I pulled out a cigarette, taking a deep drag so I could calm myself down.

Why? Why did I tell her I loved her
? I berated myself. I mean, seriously? Those three words, they just came out of nowhere.
I don’t know if I really do love her. I mean, fuck! I’ve never loved anyone before, not like that anyway.

This wasn’t like me. Love wasn’t my thing.

I took another deep drag and leaned back against the concrete wall. So many thoughts were going through my mind.  The worst one? I wanted to take back what I said.

No, not because I was only in it to sleep with her—that was from before anyway. But because I didn’t want to hurt her. I did have feelings for Bella, no doubt about that. But I shouldn’t say I love her just yet. I wasn’t ready for that, and judging from her reaction, I guess she wasn’t either.

“Connor?” I turned my head to see Matt poking his head out of the door.

“Yes?” I asked, slightly annoyed.

“She’s awake.”

I quickly dropped the cigarette in the ashtray, my heart speeding up. Patting my legs nervously with my hands, I walked back into the hospital, my legs automatically following Matt.

I opened the door slowly… and froze.

“Holy…!”

Bella

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

My eyes fluttered open, and my heart began pounding. The beeping noise accelerated, and I found myself freaking out. A lady in a blue uniform rushed into the room, her eyes wide.

“Honey, calm down!” she said, rushing to my side.

I lifted my hands slowly, only to feel a cord lying across my face, going into my nose.

“Just oxygen,” she said quickly, taking my hands in hers.

“W-what happened?” I asked, wincing as I felt a couple stabs of sharp pain on my face.

“You had a little accident…” she trailed off, looking back at the doorway. “Would you like me to get the doctor to explain this to you?”

I nodded slowly, ignoring the painful twinges all over my body.

“Bellatrix Brown?”

I looked up to see a doctor walk in, who, if I may add, looked extremely attractive. I opened my mouth slightly and stared, feeling a deep blush rise to my cheeks.

He paused, looking up from the clipboard in confusion.

Embarrassed, I quickly closed my mouth, biting my tongue in the process.

“Umph thyes, that’s meh,” I said stupidly, wincing from the intense pain in my tongue.

“You okay?” he asked, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

Surprisingly, I learned from my mistake and simply nodded, blushing awkwardly and looking away.

“I know you may be pretty confused, and you’re probably feeling some discomfort and pain.”

I nodded along, not really listening to what he was saying.

“But…” he said casually, leaning against my bed, “would you like to tell me how you got those nasty bruises?”

Well, that snapped me out of my trance.

“W-what?” I asked, my voice quiet and barely audible. My throat felt dry, and a sickening feeling spread throughout my stomach.

The doctor gave me a sympathetic look and patted my hand gently. “You really don’t remember what happened?” he asked.

I frowned and shook my head. I was at Connor’s house with Jess, and… Well, that was all I could remember.

“You got some extreme bruising on your torso. There was also some slight internal bleeding, which was probably what caused the stabbing pain you felt. It must have been excruciating because your body went into shock and you passed out. Judging from your injuries, though, they’re several days old. Why didn’t you go to the hospital for any treatment immediately after you got injured?”

I stayed silent, looking down at my hands.

“Were you in an accident? Or did someone do this to you?” He paused and then added, “Someone you know perhaps? A fri——”

My head snapped up and my eyes narrowed. “Excuse me, but what are you implying?” I asked, my words like knives.

He looked slightly shocked, but quickly recovered. “I saw your medical history and…”

“It’s none of your business,” I spat out, anger lacing my tone.

“May we speak with you?”

It was then that I noticed my parents were also in the room, worried expressions etched across their faces. I gave them a small smile as they walked out with the doctor into the hallway, leaving me alone in the room. Leaning back on the bed, I let out a sigh that was soon cut short.

“Holy…!”

I looked up quickly, my eyes widening at the sight of Connor.

“Is there something on my face?” I asked, my heart rate speeding up. I lifted my hand quickly, only to cringe and pull back when I felt the bandage across my cheek.

“How did…?” I trailed off, looking at Connor in confusion.

“You dropped the glass when you passed out.” His eyes locked with mine. “You cut your cheek pretty badly.”

“I can tell,” I mumbled, wincing as I lightly trailed my fingers across the bandage.

He slowly walked over to the bed, an unreadable expression on his face.

“You don’t remember?” he asked softly.

I frowned and sat up in bed, another wave of confusion washing over me. “No. Remember what?” 

Connor’s expression relaxed and took my right hand in his, kissing it softly.

“Connor, may we speak with Bella?”

I allowed a small smile on my face as Connor gave me another kiss—this time on my forehead— before leaving the room so that it was just my parents and me.

My eyes followed him as he left the room and walked out into the hallway. And even as my parents began to talk, my mind was somewhere else.

That look on Connor’s face. It looked pretty much like relief.

Why did he look relieved?

Connor

She didn’t remember.

It was like God was giving me a second chance.

I let out a shaky laugh as I sank into a chair in the waiting room, my head in my hands.

“Connor, you better not be screwing with her.”

My head snapped up, and I stared at James.

“Ex——”

“I heard what you said to her.”

I opened my mouth to protest. But after seeing James’s warning look, I quickly closed my mouth.

“You like her. But you don’t love her. You need to slow down before you fuck up everything you have,” James added

I narrowed my eyes at him, standing up slowly. “I’m not going to fuck this up,” I spat out. “And she doesn’t even remember, so everything’s fine.”

James scoffed and shook his head, looking away for a moment.

“Connor. This isn’t like you,” he stated in a worried tone.

“What? I can’t be happy?” I asked, crossing my arms tightly.

“Connor, you’ve changed. It’s not good for you to act like someone you’re not,” James replied.

“And why’s that?” I asked darkly.

“Because then she’ll get this idea of you and expect you to always be that way. Then the second… the second you slip up, she’ll hate you. And then it will be hell from there.”

I sighed, realizing that what he was saying was true. “What am I supposed to do then?”

“Be yourself. Don’t pretend to be something you’re not. And please, please don’t pull out the ‘L’ word until you’re ready.”

I nodded, punching his shoulder lightly. “Thanks, man,” I said with a grin.