The Insulting Marathon
Adriana's P.O.V.
What have I gotten myself into? I mean at first, it wasn't that bothersome; it would just be some stupid gala. But as I thought more and more about it, it didn't seem all pleasant. They were all snobby wealthy people whom only cared about their physical appearance, reputation, and money. I was a random commoner, I would clearly stand out and attention was not something I enjoyed. I was not fond of it yet I was receiving too much of it lately. But there were perks to the entire situation; he would leave my life for good. No more cockiness, annoying moments, losing hair, disturbances, and best of all; no more Ryder Morgan.
Oh, how beautifully tempting that sounds. I can finally live my life in peace. Did I say peace? Yeah, I must have been on some type of drug. How can there be peace when I live with a man who constantly raises his voice and abuses me.
I dragged my lazy self out of bed and trudged over to the bathroom. I swung the door open and shut it behind me with my foot. I always tried to avoid my reflection, all the faded scars and bruises made me despise staring at myself. This time was an exception, I wanted to examine what he was taking to the gala. I stared at my reflection and chuckled softly. From all the stunning models he bedded, he chose me. I poked my cheek and I noticed how dry my face was. My dark circles were evident and even all the make up in the world couldn't conceal them. Other than my discoloration and dryness, I had perfectly clear skin. I snickered once more at his choice of date and took off my clothes then hopped into the shower. The hot water calmed my nerves and it did wonders to my stench.
Minutes later, I wrapped a towel around my wet body and exited the bathroom. I examined my arms and they were pretty clear except the deep scar on my right shoulder that I got a couple of years ago. My wrist was healing and I was thankful for that. I pulled out a pair of dark jeans and a plain white sweatshirt. Once my hair dried, I tied it up in a high pony-tale. Pulling my shoes on, I grabbed my bag and slowly made my way down the stairs. I wasn't hungry so I quickly grabbed a bottle of water before he could come out and argue with me. My eyes spotted him passed out on the couch. One arm was dangling from the couch and what was around him looked horrific. Bottles and bottles of alcohol occupied the coffee table and packets of cigarettes were scattered on the floor. I was quite surprised he was still alive, I assumed the toxins he inhaled and drank would take away his life. I heavily sighed and headed to the bus station.
Entering inside the building, I jogged to my locker. I quickly pulled out my biology book and closed it. The bell rang and students started making their way to their classes. I sighed and tried to fake a smile. It didn't feel right so I just shook my head and started walking to my destination.
Out of nowhere, I was yanked roughly by my free arm into a tiny room. I squealed and a large soft hand covered my mouth. The door was then shut and locked. I tried to fight the supposed criminal who was possibly going to kidnap me, but they didn't even budge. I licked their hand and they pulled it away, groaning loudly.
"You licked me!" the kidnapper hissed in disgust. His voice sounded oh so familiar. The room was pitch-black so I couldn't put a face to that voice.
"I have a black belt in karate, I swear I will have you sent to the ER in no time," I lied and his roaring laughter invaded the tiny room. The room was too dark for me to locate a weapon but my arm moved frantically until it got hold of a long stick. I grabbed the broom that was leaning on the adjacent wall and held it in front of my heavily beating chest. The lights suddenly flickered on and the minute I saw his face, I regretted coming to school.
"Karate, huh? You couldn't even throw a punch," he laughed some more and I glared through my thick dark lashes surrounding my crystal blue eyes. How dare he laugh and say I can't throw a punch?
"Do you really want me to have a go at you?" I said in a threatening tone of voice. I didn't expect him to be intimidated but what I also didn't expect is for him to be amused.
"Be my guest," he gestured for me to continue and so I did. I cracked my knuckles and aimed for his face. My fist was about to be in contact with his jaw until he wrapped his hand around my balled fist. That little touch set fire through my arm and I pulled it away, confused.
"Uh uh uh, not the face. I have people to see and ladies to impress." he commented then snickered at my failed attempt. I rolled my eyes at his previous statement. All I can do around him was glare and roll my eyes, to be honest.
"Why did you drag me into a room that smells worse than you?" that was a complete lie. He smelled like autumn leaves which was very delightful to the nose. I couldn't really describe his scent it was somehow a mystery to me. Wait a second, I could smell him. . . meaning I was that close to him. I didn't notice our proximity until now.
"If you think this room smells bad, then I don't wanna know what you think of yours," he didn't seem bothered by this at all.
"Seriously, what do you want?" I asked irritatedly. Okay, it may not be bothering him, but it's definitely disturbing me.
"I just dragged you here to tell you that we're going shopping after school," he stated casually. The hell am I going anywhere with him!
"You just love hearing me say no, don't you?" he moved closer to me and I took a step back. My back suddenly came in contact with a very hard wall.
"D-don't you dare try anything with me," he chuckled sarcastically at that.
"I wouldn't even dream of it. Don't think too highly of yourself, Lancaster." he stepped back and that gave us a good foot and a half. Phew! If only that could be doubled.
"What makes you think I would agree to go shopping? And of all people, with you " I emphasized on the you, alerting him that I hated his presence and his overall existence.
"Oh? so you happen to have a dress for the occasion?" he crossed his built arms over his toned chest.
"Yeah. . . yeah I do. In fact, I have plenty of dresses." I imitated his previous actions. That was definitely a lie, I wasn't a fan of dresses and I don't enjoy wasting money on them.
"Oh, I'm sure you do," he sarcastically muttered and rolled his warm brown eyes. They currently looked so warm and welcoming, like a bubbly grandmother's eye. Those eyes were on the wrong person.
"What makes-" he cut me off and I scowled. I was just about to rant!
"You'll get in deeper trouble if you're more late, so go save your sorry ass." he unlocked the door and walked out leaving it open. I thought it was ladies first? I don't recall him going through transgender.
****
I walked into the cafeteria and it looked like your typical high school cafeteria. You had the jocks, the geeks, the irrelevant crowd, and obviously; the popular crowd. And you guessed it, The Asshole was seated their with Jessica clinging to his arm. Everyone in that table was incredibly attractive, and if you ask me, that was pretty cliché and unfair.
I spotted Violet and her friends seated on a table next to the popular crowd and she waved for me to come over. Does she want me to sit with them? I walked over to their table and I instantly noticed how attractive they all were.
"Adrianaaa, wanna sit with me and my bitches?" she gestured for the people sitting with her on the table.
"Your bitches?" a fairly attractive blonde guy with green eyes snorted.
"Oh please, you're the one who lost that bet and was my slave for a day making you my ex bitch," she playfully glared at him and he chuckled softly whilst poking her nose. Her cheeks to a turn of color and he retracted his hand as soon as he realized what he did. He cleared his throat and she averted her attention back to me.
"Uh, sure." I smirked at them which resulted in her blushing harder. I took a seat and she began introducing me to her friends.
"All right, so as you all know that's Adriana-" she got cut off by a brown haired and grey eyed guy sitting in front of me in the circular table. He ran his fingers through his soft looking hair, pushing it away from his forehead then looked at me.
"Oh, we know her pretty well," he spoke cooly. What was that supposed to mean? I looked at him confused and he continued.
"The encounters you had with Mr. Bad Boy Billionaire Morgan, over there." he irritatedly continued as he beckoned with his head to the adjacent table.
"Oh. Well what can I say? I know how to put 'em in place," I replied and he looked amused by my response. Was I really joking around with people whom I've just met a second ago?
"You sure do," he smirked and it wasn't the arrogant looking smirk Ryder always wore, it was a playful smirk, one I preferred.
"Anywaaays, that's Charlie,"she pointed at the boy I was talking to a second ago. She continued and I learned that the blonde was Keith. The light haired beauty next to me was named Genevieve.
"Don't," she cringed when Violet used her full name. She then looked at me with her pleading hazel eyes. She tucked a strand of her black hair behind her ears and scrunched up her nose in disgust.
"It's Gen, please call me Gen." I lightly laughed and nodded my head.
"Oh, of course I will, Genevieve." she pouted and they laughed. They seemed pretty cool, and I was surprisingly getting along with them. Violet started talking about frogs and Keith tried to shut her up.
"You killed my frog you heartless freak and you don't want me to talk about them?" she yelled at Keith with glassy eyes.
"Hey hey, he was in it too." Keith pointed at Charlie accusingly and his eyes widened as he sat up straight.
"Me? What no? You were the one who wanted to jump on a trampoline with a fucking frog. You-" Gen stood up and waved her hands frantically, gesturing for them to stop.
"Okay okay, let's not bring up some sad memories. Just let Mr. Squiggles rest in peace." Charlie and Violet shot daggers at Keith and I lightly chuckled.
"Mr. Squiggles? And I thought my gold fish's name was horrible," my old gold fish was my one and only love. When I was six, my whole family set a funeral for him and some of the neighbors came. I was completely devastated.
"What did you name it?" Keith asked curiously. I locked the imaginary lock on the side of my lip with a key and threw it.
"Oh cooome on," Gen pressed on the topic and I shook my head. It felt really good to get along with people.
"I'm not telling you his name but I will tell you that my family set up a funeral for him when I was six. Saddest memory I have." I wiped a fake tear and Violet patted me on the back.
"It's gonna be okay, it's gonna be okay," she said soothingly and they all looked at me sympathetically.
"Thank you for understanding," I croaked. A second later we all were laughing hysterically. After that they all shared a look as if they were having a mental discussion with one another.
"Welcome to the club, Adriana." they muttered simultaneously, and a small smile crept into my features. Maybe making friends won't be so bad after all!
• • • • • • •
I felt my phone buzz in my back pocket and I pulled it out. An unknown number messaged me and I hesitated. After a sigh of defeat escaping my lips, I unlocked the phone and checked it.
'Meet me at my car in five minutes, Lancaster'
There was only one person who addressed me by my last name. I already said no to going shopping with him so what did he want?
'No'
'Stop being difficult'
'Stop being annoying'
'Touché'
I was about to stuff it back into my pocket until I felt it vibrate again. I groaned and unlocked it once more.
'But seriously, it's really important. Come out now.'
I sighed. Seeing his face was just so painful! It was around 3:30 p.m. and not many students were around. I walked to the parking lot and I spotted a tall male in a leather jacket leaning on a black, sleek, and lustrous Aston Martin.
Bingo.
I jogged over to where he was and stopped when I saw his car. I was astonished. Oh, how I would love to own one of these babies one day. It looks incredible just parked there doing nothing at all. I've always loved cars. Back then, my father and I used to go to car shows every year. Back then, my father was a dad.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by his voice. "You like?" I just shrugged and crossed my arms over my chest.
"So, what is it now?" I just went straight to the point. The smirk vanished and he walked over to the driver's seat. He pulled the door open and closed it once he was seated. I started at him, confused. He rolled the clear glass window down.
"Get in." he ordered. His tone held so much authority and demand, as if he was addressing a peasant.
"I'm not going anywhere with you." I finally stated. Was he insane? He glared and so did I. Two people can play this game, buddy!
"Get in, or I'll have to do it the hard way," he said in an almost threatening tone.
"You think that threatening tone of yours is gonna intimidate me? Ha, think again, Morgan." he clenched his defined jaw and opened the door. He then took long strides over to where I was standing.
"You asked for it," I had no time to react before I was pulled up and swung over his shoulder. I dropped my bag but that didn't matter at the moment. I was dangling on Ryder Freaking Morgan's shoulder! I was thankful because the area was empty. I kicked and squirmed, beating his stone hard back in annoyance but he didn't even budge. Was he even human? My answer was confirmed, he really was insane.
"Put me down, you psychotic buffoon!" I yelled in demand. He stayed silent the whole time.
"Are you even listening?!?" I tried punching him harder. He swung the door open and gently placed me on the seat. I tried to fight him with my arms but he held them in place. He quickly secured the seat belt and closed the door. He immediately locked the car with his key and I huffed. Once he got in, I started screaming at the top of my lungs. A line of cuss words escaped his lips as he covered mine with his hand and shushed me. When I did shut up , he let go.
"This is considered kidnapping, you idiot." if looks could kill, he would be six feet under by now. What a shame.
"Well I guess you'll just have to keep your lips sealed," he started the engine and I stomped my foot. He winced and I looked at him.
"Do that again and kidnapping you won't be the only crime I'll commit tonight" I smirked mischievously. So his precious little car was his weakness, huh?
"I guess you won't be the only one getting arrested," I eyed the glass windows and looked around the car. Destroying this beauty would be fun.
"You wouldn't dare," he glanced at me from the corner of his eye in horror. I guess my evil plan was evident.
"Don't test me, Morgan. Now pull over or I'll have you attend this car's funeral." he ignored me and I huffed as I sank back in my seat. Awkward silence fell between us. Good, I didn't want to torture my ears any longer. I stared at the beautiful streets and spaced out. His aggravating voice broke my train of thoughts.
"Don't let your mind wander, it's far too small to be out by itself," the nerve of this guy. He dared to insult me after kidnapping me?! I didn't even glance at him.
"The Earth is full, Ryder. Go home." speaking of Earth, I lived in it meaning I'm a human with responsibilities such as work and homework. I glanced at my phone and it was 3:45. Wait hold up. . . my father. Shizz, what excuse was I going to give him?
"Shit," I whispered and he glanced at me.
"Shit indeed. I noticed the garbage collector's arrival too. You better hide," he snorted at his lame insult and I rolled my eyes. Really? Were we five?
"We almost made it to ten seconds without an insult. I think we set a new record." I muttered my last words and he swerved, parking his opulent car. He walked out and made his way to the entrance of the mall. I shook my head and aggressively unbuckled the seat belt. He didn't even wait for me, but I didn't expect much from this imbecile. Females that passed by us gasped multiple times and I had no clue as to why they did. They also shamelessly let their eyes roam his body and didn't even attempt to hide it. He's not all that, y'know.
"Do you like shopping?" he spoke up without breaking his gaze from the floor.
"I hate it but not as much as I hate you,"
"Feeling's mutual, kitten" he stated.
"Oh, that's a relief. For a second there I thought you were madly in love with me, " my voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"Anything is possible except that, kitten,"
"Stop calling me that" I scrunched up my nose in disgust at the stupid nickname given by a stupid homo sapien.
"Never." a wicked smirk played on his lips and I sighed. When will this horrendous day be over?
• • • • • • •
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Until next time,
Danah