My Bully's Love - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

I faked being sick at supper time last evening because my face was already bruising over, and I was too sore to do much moving; this morning wasn’t any better. I have a cut on my bottom lip, and both cut and bruise on my right cheekbone. Thank God my concealer covers it all up, unless you look closely, and then you can sort of make out the cut that is on my cheekbone. I’m wearing my hair down today to help hide it as much as I can.
When Mason called to check up on me last night, he tried to come over, but eventually I talked him out of making the drive over pretending to be really tired, but he’s the first face I saw when I entered the school this morning. Once he was sure that I was doing better, he left me to go to class.
All day long I have been waiting for snide comments but not one person has said a word. It isn’t until I’m heading to meet Mason at the library when I’m slammed face first into the set of lockers by the Art room, and a familiar voice sends shock waves through my entire body by just hearing his voice.
“You’ve been a bad girl, Ella!”
I whimper, not only because I’m still sore, but because my body responds to Jace in the only way it knows how. Dampness covers the crotch of my underwear as I stand pressed against the lockers with my bully’s hard body against mine. I don’t bother saying anything, because it doesn’t matter if I did or didn’t do something, he’s going to find fault in me somehow. Jace looks up and down the hallway and then pulls me into our usual meeting place, locking the door behind us.
“I have somewhere that I need to be right now, Jace.” I don’t dare look at him.
“Oh, and where is that?” He asks, snidely.
“A tutoring session in the library.” My voice is but a whisper.
“You know this is our time to meet. Why are you scheduling other things during my time?”
My head snaps up, “I thought you were done with me. You have ignored me for over a month, and since I had that open, I scheduled my tutoring sessions.”
“Oh, I know who you’re tutoring, Ella, and you’re going to stop it immediately.” He steps right up into my space, “The only guy you will spend any kind of time with is me. Do You understand?”
I don’t know where I get the courage from but for once, I don’t back down, “No! I will not lose another friend because of you, Jace!”
With speed that I didn’t know he had, Jace has his hand wrapped around my neck, “Do you want to repeat what you just said?”
I’m barely on my tip toes, with my hands wrapped around his wrist, “Jace,” I choke out, “you’re hurting me!”
“Tell me that you are going to stay away from Mason fucking Baker, and I will let go.” He sneers.
I continue to hold back the words, I will not give him the satisfaction anymore, “No!”
“Are you fucking him? Is that it? You don’t want to give up the sex?” His eyes are harder and angrier than I’ve ever seen them, and it’s beginning to scare me.
“Jace, you are the only one that has ever touched me intimately,” I choke out.
He studies my face before letting me go, “It doesn’t matter, you don’t have time for anybody else. I will be taking up your spare time from now on.”
His words confuse me, what does he mean by that? I stand to my full five-foot, three-inch height, “Says who?”
"Says me!”
“You don’t even like me, Jace! Why would you want to be around me?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Ella.”
A heavy sigh escapes, and my shoulders slump in defeat, “I can’t do this anymore, Jace. Hate me all you want, but just leave me alone. I can’t take the bullying anymore.” Tears roll down my cheeks all on their own as I drop my head, looking down at the floor.
Jace isn’t having it, though. He steps even closer and takes hold of my chin, snapping my head up and getting ready to lecture me about who knows what, when a look comes across his face, and he starts to move my head from left to right as he observes something.
“What the fuck happened to your face, Ella…and don’t you dare lie to me?” He looks as though he’s about to lose his shit.
I had forgotten all about my face until now, “What, your little friend didn’t tell you how he tried to get a piece of the same action that I was giving you?” I jerk my head back from his grip and step back, “Toby didn’t tell you how he roughed me up because I like it when you do it?” He stands there with shock and disbelief across his face, “He didn’t tell you how he was about to rape me when MY FRIEND, MASON, came in and saved me from his assault?”
“Ella…”
“No, you don’t get to tell me who I can be friends with, Jace. You’re not my boyfriend, hell, you’re not even my friend anymore! You chose to walk out of my life for reasons that you still haven’t told me, so I don’t owe you anything!”
I shove past him, but he grabs my wrist and swings me back around, his irritation is apparent, but I no longer care. We stare at each other until I decide that I’m tired of playing this game and try leaving again, but he pulls me to him. Releasing my wrist, he takes hold of my face in both hands and next thing I know, our lips are crashing together.