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CHAPTER 1
Birdie
Head down, shoulders hunched, I hold tight to the books in my arms as I make my way through the senior hallway of Atalanta Prep. A place I should feel comfortable, confident, even, but all I see is hell. I don’t belong here, and everybody knows it, and they take enjoyment in reminding me of that every single day.
My parents died last year in a boating accident, and since then, I’ve been in the custody of my half-brother. Our dad and his mom were together before my mom came into the picture. Needless to say, there is a lot of animosity to go around.
Carl’s mom is convinced that my mother took our dad away from her and has spent years stoking hatred in Carl because of it. The fact that my parents didn’t even meet until three years after their divorce was finalized never mattered to either of them.
I wound up with Carl—a scumbag of epic proportions—because there was no will stating what happened to me when my parents died. I can’t prove it, but I’m pretty sure he’s either a pimp, a drug dealer, or perhaps both. He doesn’t spend a lot of time in our apartment in Chelsea, but he’s there enough that I hear things when he gets phone calls before abruptly leaving at all times of the day and night.
“Hey there, pretty bird,” Jesse Miles whispers in my ear from behind as I open my locker, placing his hands on my hips.
“Please don’t touch me,” I mutter.
Jesse is the star of the basketball team and can have any girl he wants, but since I arrived and have ignored him and the whole team, he’s made it his mission to break me. “You know you like it,” he murmurs into my neck as he kisses me through the thick curls of my dirty blonde hair. When one hand moves forward and slips past the waistband of my uniform skirt, I spin and knee him in the groin while running away. Straight out of the school before last period has even begun.
I know I’ll pay for this tomorrow, but I can’t be here. I can’t feel his hands on me like that. I can’t…
Out of breath, I come to a stop and see that I’m in front of our apartment, six blocks away. Wiping the tears from my face, I put my head down and hold my books tighter to my chest as I enter the building when the attendant opens the door. “Afternoon, Miss Birdie.” He’s always so friendly.
“Hi, Duncan.” I can feel his frown follow me inside. I always ask how his wife and grandchildren are, but today, I don’t have it in me, and he can probably tell that something has happened. Despite my school life and my home life being a mess, he’s always so excited to see me, and the feeling is mutual. Duncan is the only nice person in my life right now.
“Holy fuck,” I hear a masculine voice groan as I hustle to the elevator. I just want to get inside and shower, wash away Jesse’s touch. The slimy feeling of his hand makes my stomach roll in protest.
As the bell dings, announcing the elevator’s arrival, I step on and don’t realize anyone is waiting with me until we’re in the enclosure together. Peeking up through my hair at the reflection in the doors after they close, I glimpse two men standing behind me, watching me. Intensely.
Butterflies erupt in my belly as the elevator begins to move. Reaching forward to press the button to our eleventh-floor apartment, I notice it’s already lit up, which means these two men live on my floor.
Swallowing nervously, I glance at them again. They’re both tall, muscular, and tattoos peek out of their shirts around their necks and arms. One wears glasses, making him look sophisticated, while the other sports a scowl. I briefly wonder if they’re related, but their similarities end at their height and size, so it could go either way.
When the car stops moving, I startle as the doors open, and nearly trip in my rush out of the charged elevator. “Easy,” Glasses says as he grabs me by the waist, dragging my body back into his, where an impressive length presses into my backside as he groans. “Don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
Looking back at him, his frown deepens, and I realize I must look a mess from crying. “Thank you.” I can’t catch my breath, so the words come out as a whisper.
“Let her go, Vicious,” the other man snaps, and I shiver from the command in his tone. My eyes close of their own accord when I feel a growl rumble through the chest at my back, and fingers brush along the sway of my spine where my shirt is tucked into my skirt. “Now,” he barks.
“Vi–Vicious.” I try out the way his name feels on my tongue. I’ve never heard one like it before.
“Don’t tempt the beast, little momma; he’ll eat you alive,” that same man says as the doors to the elevator close behind us.
Before I can respond, however, the entrance of my apartment slams open, and Carl stands there fuming as he yells at me. “What the fuck, Birdie? You skipped school and assaulted the star player? Are you fucking insane?”
The two men next to me tense at my brother’s outburst. “He didn’t listen when I asked him not to touch me,” I defend, rubbing my side where I can still feel his hands on my skin.
“Someone touched you,” the man whose name I don’t know spits out.
“I’ll kill him,” Vicious hisses.
Feeling overwhelmed by the men surrounding me, I grow dizzy, and my arm shoots out to steady myself on the wall. “Oh, enough of the theatrics, you cocktease. Get your fat ass in here and go to your room.” Embarrassment heats my cheeks at his words.
Nodding, I begin to walk forward when I feel two sets of hands grab me from behind. “You always talk to women like they’re scum under your boot?” I really need to get this guy’s name. “Or is she just special?”
“Who the fuck are you?” Carl barks out. In his world, he’s the big dog, but I get the feeling these two men don’t give a shit.
“I’m fine,” I try to tell them, but they refuse to let me go until I’m steady on my feet again.
“Your new fucking neighbors. Remember, the walls aren’t nearly as thick as you’d like to think. Lay one hand on her, and I’ll fucking cut it off,” Vicious threatens, and I think Carl pales slightly before telling them both to fuck off and storming back inside.
