Vengeful Heart: Fighting Heart Erotic Bad Boy Romance Series Book 3 (8 page)

I couldn’t take any chances with Brandon. Even though his words sounded convincing I knew I had heard doubt in Cantor’s voice. There was a very real chance that Brandon Lynes would get off scot free, and Cantor’s guess that the Dean and Brandon would instead destroy my character along the way seemed a very good bet. But I couldn’t allow that to happen. As far as I knew this was my best chance of getting rid of Brandon for good, and I was determined to take it. But if there was a chance that Brandon and the Dean were going to smear me, I had to make sure Brandon was a wounded animal before the committee made their decision. I considered my options and saw I had a hard choice to make. I could set Brandon a trap forcing him to show his true colours, or I could do nothing and hope the committee made the right decision. It was a risk either way. If I did what I was thinking of doing then there was a distinct chance Brandon would go ape-shit long before the committee meeting. And what would happen then? Who knew? I’d been trapped for so long, and I was so enraged with Brandon that any real choice had long since gone. I
had
to do this. I’d avoided speaking to him for well over a week and so now there was a mile of arctic ice between us. For my plan to work I would have to thaw it with a flamethrower.

Amanda looked at me across the kitchen table. Tonight she’d done something with salmon and cous-cous. I thanked her and ate some but I ate lightly, and picked at it with my fork, because I knew what was coming with Brandon.

“You’re way too quiet tonight Ashley. Which man are you pining over now?”

Amanda had become too familiar with me too soon. I was getting to like her, but Amanda wasn’t yet a friend. I still didn’t trust her, but I was trying.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out, Amanda.”

“My bet is Ridgley. He’s going to get sacked, isn’t he? How does that affect our little escape plan?”

“It affects Professor Ridgley a hell of a lot more than it affects us, Amanda. Jeez. The guy is going to lose his job because of…”

“Because of who? Maybe a
little
because of you but maybe a lot because of his dick, Ashley. He’s supposed to be the grown up, after all.”

“You make it sound like we’re school girls, Amanda. We’re all adults. What I did or didn’t do was up to me as much as him.”

“Yeah? But he was the one on the payroll.”

“You sound like you’re on Brandon’s side again.”

She stopped chewing her salmon and looked at me. “Are you serious?” she said eventually.

I believed her. “Just checking.”

“You’re hard work at the moment, Ashley.”

“No more kisses for me then, eh?”

Her face softened into a smile, but the door opened with a clunk and a creak and my sense of humour disappeared altogether. The boys were back, talking and laughing. I could smell beer breath as soon as the front door opened.

Brandon passed the door without a greeting. He looked at Amanda and nodded. He looked at me and said nothing. My heart was speeding along in anticipation.

“Evening ladies. Look at you. You’ll be taking up crochet like a pair of old spinsters soon,” said Luke with a laugh.

“Get screwed, Luke,” said Amanda, but the smile on her face said she was joking. Luke snickered and followed Brandon.

“What is it, Ash?”

I’d somehow drifted off, lost in the subterranean world of my pounding heartbeat. I looked up. “I need to talk with Brandon.” Before I could take care of Brandon, I made a visit to the bathroom. Partly to get my head straight. Partly to make sure I was ready for all eventualities. I pressed the app on my Smartphone, and slid it into my skirt pocket. I was ready. I came out and passed Amanda again in the kitchen. She saw where I was headed.

“Is this all part of your plan?”

I didn’t know whether it was going to work, so I didn’t say a word. I headed down the hall for Brandon’s room.

“…she had the most
massive
rack you’ve ever seen, I mean she was stacked!!” said Brandon. I heard him doing the loud drunken guy thing all the way down the hallway until I walked into his bedroom. He had a bottle of lager in his hand and I saw he was happy-drunk. Until he saw me that is. For a split second I felt like the jealous housewife, wondering which girl had the giant rack. Then I remembered I really didn’t give a shit whose body Brandon had been looking at.

“What do you want?” He said.

“I want to talk to you,” I said.

“Now?”

“Now.”

Brandon looked at Luke. Luke looked at Brandon. Which way would the wind blow? We all waited, and then Brandon turned to me and laid his beer on his desk.

“Well it’s about time, sweet cheeks.”

Luke stood up to leave the room.

“As far as I’m concerned Luke can stay. My whole life is an open book right now, so what’s the point in anyone pretending otherwise. I don’t mind if Amanda hears too.”

“Yeah? So what is this? You want to cause a scene?” said Brandon.

“No, that’s your speciality. I just want to talk to you about what you’ve done.”

“Snap, Ashley. I want to talk to you about fidelity and betrayal.”

“What the hell?” I was dumbstruck. “You want to talk to
me
about being faithful? Get the hell out of here.” I laughed.

“No. As far as I remember we were a couple. Lovers. And then you ran out on me for Cody. Then you go and dump that poor sucker and come back here. Then you go and fuck Ridgley. I mean who the hell haven’t you been screwing?”

“That’s the official line, right? That’s the story you’ve cooked up and you’re sticking to it? Do you remember beating that ‘poor sucker’ half to death, and threatening to break him in half? Brandon, you tell so many lies these days you don’t know which way is up and which way is down.”

Amanda appeared in the doorway behind me. I turned to see her face. She looked concerned. Her voice was weak and careful

“Is everyone okay..?” she said.

Luke moved to the door and took Amanda by her shoulder.

“We need to leave these two to it. Come on,” said Luke.

“No you don’t, Luke. You don’t need to do that at all,” I said.

“
Yes we do
!” Luke shouted and pulled the door against the jamb. It was almost closed. But I’m glad it wasn’t. I wanted people to hear everything that was said from here on in.

“Do you like having everyone in fear of you, Brandon? Look at those two running away. Is that how you like it?”

“They are my friends, Amanda.”

“You know, I’m not sure they are. Unless maybe I’m in the same category of friend as those two. Am I your friend, Brandon? You threaten me and control me, spread lies about me… is that how you treat all your friends.”

“I didn’t lie. You were fucking Ridgley, weren’t you?”

“No, I wasn’t.” Technically, that was true. Not then I wasn’t. “But you told people I did. You and Penny, working like a couple of playground gossips, slinging mud. Why did you do it, Brandon? What good can it possibly do you, hurting someone you say you care about?”

“You weren’t seeing clearly. You were acting strange. Supposed to be here with me, you’re my girl, but you’ve been screwing around.
Again.
Of course I’m going to react. I’m your boyfriend, I have a right to react.”

“My boyfriend? You’re not my boyfriend. You
were
my boyfriend when I didn’t know you. I thought you were so cool, such a nice guy, such a hero - for all of five minutes until you started changing on me. But you were the one screwing around the whole time, first with the red haired girl at the gig, and then every chance you get…”

“So you were jealous, is that it? Is that what all this song and dance is about? You’re cheating for revenge?”

“No, Brandon. It’s about your lying, two faced, cheating. It’s about how you decided to control me by losing me a job I loved, taking away my freedom, smearing my name, and turning my feelings for you from adoration into… something much worse. That’s what you did. It’s what you do. Look at Amanda. You have destroyed that girl. You destroyed her just because she cared about you.”

“What? So you like Amanda now? She hates your guts.”

I took that on board, wondering whether this hate was historical or current. I changed tack.

“It doesn’t matter. What you did, and what you do to people who care about you matters. Brandon, it’s sick. It’s wrong. You’re twisted and vicious…”

I let him chew on what I was saying.

I looked at his eyes, big and wild. He took a quick intake of breath and brushed a hand through his hair.

“You’re accusing me of what, exactly? Being a psycho? Being what, some kind of emotional retard? Am I evil now, is that it?”

Bulls eye
. I don’t like hurting people as a rule. But Brandon was the closest I’d met in real life to one of those Shakespearean villains.

“Only you know for sure, Brandon. But… I think you know.”

He stared at me. He sipped his beer bottle. And then he walked past me and seized hold of the door. I thought he was going to tell me to get out. In my head I was already walking. But no, Brandon gently closed the door. And then he locked it and leaned his big frame against it.

“You said some very nasty things, Ashley. Bad things my friends would have heard. You’d better apologise.”

My heart quickened once more.  I’d imagined he would have shouted at me, lost his cool, said things exposing his character to his friends. But so far, he hadn’t reacted as predicted. Until now. This looked worse.

“I’m not going to apologise Brandon. You have caused immense harm. You know it and I know it.”

He pointed at me.

“No, no, no. You’re the sick one,” he said and swilled his beer until the bottle was empty.

“You’re not turning this on me. All I’ve done since I arrived at this college was fight for the chance of achieving my dreams, Brandon. Meeting a guy along the way was supposed to be a bonus. But since you paid off my college debt, all you’ve done is hurt me, control me, and knock me down.”

“In your head. You make excuses so you can do what you like and sleep with who you want, Ashley. You’re out of control.”

He was almost convincing. It was the same as what Professor Cantor had said.

“No.”

“Yes,” he said, nodding, walking towards me, seeing me doubt myself.

“No, Brandon. You’re the one who’s out of control.”

“You little bitch. You go and screw around and now you’re trying to mess with my head.”

He moved quickly and seized my wrist. I tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn’t let go.

“Stop it. You’re hurting.”

“But you’ve hurt me, Ash. Fair’s fair now.”

He grunted and flung my arm forward. The momentum sent me onto his bed, and before I could scrabble off he was at my side. His fingers dug at the seams of my clothing, and pushed me down as I tried to stand up.

“What the hell are you doing?” I shouted, but in the chaos of emotions, I already knew. He pulled at my top, and it ripped, the buttons of my blouse flying into the air. I was in shock, but I was ready to fight. Now he clawed at my bra.

“Lay down and be a good girl, Ashley. Stop playing hard to get. It’s time for your lesson.”

He pushed so my back landed on his bed, my momentum hurling my legs in the air. I was vulnerable now. He seized his moment, and yanked my skirt down and pushed at my thighs. His touch was forceful and violent. In a moment he would be upon me and it would all be too late. Luke and Amanda would think it was a part of the same old game. Maybe they would even think Brandon had been telling the truth about me, that I was playing hard to get all along. I think Amanda would have believed it and my suffering would have been for nothing. All these thoughts flashed through my mind. I kicked wildly, I thrashed and I fought with all my strength. He pressed my body down with his overpowering strength and laughed at me. But one lashing leg got through and connected with his jaw.  He stumbled back and I moved up as quickly as I could onto my knees. He plastered his hand on his chin and came at me again. I saw he was dazed. And I took all the disgust I had in my body, every scintilla of hatred and threw a punch with the whole of my body weight behind it. I threw my whole self into the punch. It was my one chance. Brandon went backwards and crashed onto the floor. I righted myself and stood up. My blouse was torn, my bra exposed. My tights were laddered and ripped, the seam on my denim broken open. There was a knock at the door. I stepped past Brandon who got onto his haunches and shook his head. I opened the door and let in the outside world of Amanda and Luke. I looked at both of them in turn. “Do I even need to tell you what he just tried to do to me?”

They were silent, Luke shaking his head, Amanda’s eyes roaming from my ripped clothes to Brandon as he slowly stood up, clutching his jaw.

“She’s lying,” he said. But I saw the look in their eyes. A picture paints a thousand words. I caught a glimpse of myself in Brandon’s mirror and saw my forehead was grazed and my legs were bruising.