Bully And The Beast

Chapter 4- Backwoods Of An Indian Summer

Chapter 4

Ro's Pov

I watch as she drives off, her lips still lingering on mine.I stand there on my front porch steps, and she still looks so f*****g incredible...of course she does. Her soft curves.. the way her hips swayed back and worth when she walked will always be engraved in my mind.God, I miss that scent... the way she smells, like lavender and rosewater.. I've spent years trying to find that scent of hers... and I've never even come close to it.I hate making her cry..hurting her.She always had a way of frustrating me and keeping me calm at the same time.Part of me wishes I never met her, but I have never been able to take my eyes off of her since the moment I saw her. Her sunkissed olive skin, her long brown hair...and those eyes of hers.I could never get tired of her looking at me like I f*****g mattered...No one ever looked at me the way she did.. still does. I didn't want to ..need her. I wanted to hate her. I tried from the very beginning. I did everything I could to stay away.. but she didn't. She always seemed so broken, I just wanted to protect her if it meant she'd look at me with those eyes again.. like I was hers. Everything I did... I tried to make her hate me back, and still, we were drawn together like magnets. No matter what I said about her or did to her ... even if it wasn't true, no matter how horrible.. when we were alone, she'd forgive me...And it'd make me love her even more. Some nights when I'd walk her home and we'd sit on her front porch listening to music, talking... she'd always beg me to stay with her for just a little while longer. I never knew why she didn't wanna go home, but I could feel her sadness radiating off of her like an invisible force. We'd stay outside for hours, and still she'd grab me by my hand and say, "Please stay... just for a little longer,please Eros." Sometimes, she'd lean against me, and I'd let her just so I could take in the scent of her apple and honey shampoo.She'd fall asleep in my arms some nights,and she'd look so beautiful.It was also the few rare times that she was actually quiet...I could pretend just for a little bit that she was all mine. I knew we couldn't be together.Most guys talked about wanting to f**k her, or that she was just some dumb fat slut,and I'd laughed it off or joined in on it..but I knew she was so much more. I wanted to do more than just kiss her or hold her or even f**k her.I wanted to protect her.. save her. I wanted to love her, all of her.. completely. Because I knew she would love me too.

Ava's Pov

After four coats of paint, you can still see a faint outline of the words if you stare long enough... I freaking hate this town.I told my boss I needed two weeks, and then I'd be back, but honestly, I don't think I can bear to be this close to him for that long. The air is so thick even with the air conditioner cranked all the way up.I need a shower and to get out of this house.I wait for the water to heat up before stepping in... I let it wash away the white paint.. and hopefully wash away my shame, my guilt... my lust over that boy. I start scrubbing my skin hard til it feels like I might actually draw blood. I start fighting back tears and my body feels weak.He's right, I should listen to him for once and go home... I don't belong here anymore. The hot water becomes almost intolerable, and it hurts my skin... but I just stand there numb to it as I think back to his hands on me...choking me, biting my neck..his words. It's my fault Daimen is dead. It plays over and over in my mind. I have no idea how long I had been standing there under the water when I heard a sudden crash. I quickly wrapped a towel around myself and crept downstairs, my hand clutching onto the terry cloth material... I could feel my heart pounding in my ears at this point.No one was there.However, there was glass all over the living room floor, and the window had been smashed in with a reasonably sized rock. These f*****g people... they're really trying to piss me off aren't they. They want a whore...I'm gonna give em one.Another thing I hate about growing up in a small town, besides the people, is there are only three things to do come Friday nights around here, and football season is over...and I'm way too old to be hanging out down by the lake with a bunch of teenagers and kids home from college. That means there's only one place everyone would be... especially his ass. They wanna act like we're still in high school fine. I dig deep in my closet and find this black tank dress. I was always too afraid to wear it back then... especially after he pointed out how many rolls my stomach had when I sat down. I grab a pair of scissors from the cup on my desk and cut two inches from the hem, and make a massive slit on the side. I leave my hair down..in wild curls because I know he likes it. I also paint my nails and wear high heels I can barely walk in because he has always liked my legs. As I paint the corner of my eyes with black coal liner, my anger builds .. I get my purse, and before I leave, I grab something from the floor.I drive to Billard's Bar. It's one of only three bars in the entire town. It's dimly lit and smells like stale beer. Music is blasting over the sound system, but I can barely make any of it out over all the people talking and yelling at each other. That's when I see him and the same group of assholes he was hanging out with twenty years ago. Jesus, I hate every last one of them. I see Archer approaching me drink in hand, stupid smile on his face. " Not right now, Arch. I owe a piece of s**t a punch in the f*****g face and he owes me a god damn window." I watch as he drinks from his beer laughing as he blows his shot and scuffs the pool ball. Three of those idiots start leaving, one of them saying they'll catch him later.They walk passed me, whispering and snickering like always...Three assholes down, two to go.I walk straight towards him and see his bearded little lap dog Gavin nudging him with his elbow to look up.He looks up from the missed shot.. his eyes start from my legs and wander up my body til they meet my gaze. I see the lust dripping from him as he scratches the eight ball. He mutters something under his breath as I push past him and grab the pool cue from Gavin's hand. " Well, look who dragged their fine ass back here..Does Satan know hell froze over?" I try my best to give a flirtatious smile, but honestly, I find Gavin Mitchell utterly repulsive. He is living proof that it's not always physical appearance that would make a person unfuckable.His lightly tanned skin was covered in freckles and he had a cluster of beauty marks that trailed down his neck.He had a decent build to him. His sandy brown curls only made his deep gray eyes stand out more.He had a strong jaw line that extenuated his full lips, especially when he smiled.. and I'm not gonna lie his mouth was pretty amazing. It was just everything that came out of it that made him a complete insufferable asshole. He smelled like gasoline and alcohol and standing this close to him made my stomach uneasy. "I should just put up a billboard at this point with the way y'all are rolling out the welcome mat around here, Gavin." I bend over getting just close enough to Ro that it'll piss him off. I line up a shot, and he slams his beer on the table. He gets close to my cheek, tucking a loose curl behind my ear. He wraps his arm around my waist...His voice is low..deep " What the hell do you think you're trying to do here, Ava?" I sink the first striped ball in the top corner pocket. I tilt my face towards him, knowing full well what I'm doing. "Funny.. Haven't we been here before." Gavin senses the tension and clears his throat.."So... Ava? How long you staying in town for anyway?" My stare slowly pans away from Ro's face and struggle to free myself from his grasp. I line up the cue before taking another shot. " Gee, I don't know, Gavin. I gotta take care of some stuff before I leave." I see the confusion on their faces. I miss the shot, and Ro takes his turn. I watch him closely, and he knows it. "See, I didn't realize what bad shape my momma's place was in.. Why Gavin it's practically falling apart." I pick up Ro's beer, holding it up to the light and study it.." It's needed some new paint..". My voice begins to trail off as I look deep into the glass.Both of their eyes have become fixated on me wondering what I might do...I hold the bottle neck to my lips and tilt it back and finish it's content and ignoring Ro's protest. I smashing the glass on the floor, and I see the anger in his eyes.I dig in my purse and pull out a large rock and slam it on the table. " And wouldn't you know Gavin... new windows, Let's hope that's all it f*****g needs."I grab Gavin drink and down his shot as well." See you around Ro." I walk towards the door and can feel his rage trailing behind me...