Scoring Wilder(33)

Chapter Ten


I should have realized something was brewing. Tara and her cronies had been much too quiet since the Foghorn-Wake-Up last Tuesday. So, when Tuesday of the following week came and went, I thought the hazing thing might have been a one-time occurrence. Oh, how wrong I was. Tara and the other upperclassmen were creative. (Much too creative to not have had proper training from some kind of terrorist organization. I was going to have to look into that.) "Wake up, Freshman," Tara yelled Wednesday morning, jarring me from my sleep. I blinked my eyes open to find Tara, Sofie, and a few other seniors in my room, standing around my bed.

"What the hell? Get out of my room!" I scrambled to sit up.

"That's no way to speak to your captain, Bryant," Tara answered with a sadistic grin. "Get up, get dressed, and meet us at the fields with Becca and Emily in fifteen minutes."

I held my tongue as the seniors left my room to go wake up the other two girls. I wanted to throw my shoe at Tara's head, but by then she was down the hall and my aim wasn't that great. I had no clue what they were up to, but it's not like I really had a choice in the matter.

I threw on my workout clothes and went downstairs to fill three water bottles and grab some granola bars. Emily and Becca came down a few minutes later and the three of us silently headed to my car.

"I have no clue what their problem is, but last week seemed like a team hazing thing. Now it's just the three of us. That can't be right, can it?" I asked as I put the car in reverse.

"It's bullshit. I have no clue what we did to be put on Tara's shit list, but I'm not letting her walk all over us," Becca added from the passenger seat.

It was Emily that tried to defend the seniors. "Maybe it won't be that bad, guys. Maybe they'll have breakfast or something for us at the practice fields." Becca and I rolled our eyes.

"And then maybe we'll gab about boys until practice starts," Becca added sarcastically.

The seniors were waiting for us when we pulled into the parking lot, and I felt like I was about to stand in front of a firing squad.

"There are our three favorite rookies. So kind of you to show up," Tara oozed with her arms crossed in front of her chest. I'd never met someone whose personality clashed with their looks as much as Tara's. She was gorgeous and sweet looking with perfect features that seemed to morph into a girl-next-door appearance. Yet, her true nature was anything but sweet. What had her childhood been like? Was she bullied or was she the one doing the bullying? I’d bet my left boob it was the latter.

"Let's start with some laps, girls," Tara instructed. My first instinct was to protest, to call her out on her bitchiness, but at that point I still hoped that if I played her game and proved to her that I was a willing subject, then she'd back off.

We did laps, sprints, up-downs, and push-ups until Emily threw up and begged to stop.

"Seriously, I feel sick and we still have practice later," Emily begged.

Tara's hard eyes shifted to Emily. "You're right. Emily, since you're obviously the weakest link, you'll do double what the other girls do."

No. That was it. Picking on Emily was taking it too far. Emily didn't deserve any of this. At least Becca and I talked shit about Tara behind her back. Emily was the unassuming victim.

"I'll do Emily's stuff. I'll do double."

Emily's warm eyes flitted to me and I saw hope flash behind her gaze.

I could handle Tara. I'd handled girls like her my whole life. Today wouldn't break me, but Emily looked like she was at the tipping point and I wouldn't let Tara force Emily to quit the ULA soccer team. It wasn't worth it.

Sofie stepped forward with an odd expression on her face. "I think that's fine. Let's let Kinsley take both of the girl's spots since she's so generous."

I stared daggers at Sofie. Did she and Tara get off on being cruel? How did they sleep at night? Oh right, standing up in their coffins, because they were f*cking vampires.

Tara's eyes lit up. "Oh, great idea, Sofie! Becca and Emily, you've done enough. Kinsley will keep going for the both of you. Start doing up-downs, Bryant. We'll tell you when to stop."

My middle finger was itching to flip her off. I would have done it, too, but then I saw relief flash across Emily's face. If I fought them, they'd make her keep going.

"You can do it, Kinsley. Just imagine how sexy you'll be in a bikini," Becca called with a defiant air. She couldn't do anything to Tara, but she could cheer me on.

I smiled at Becca and started doing up-downs. I didn't protest once. I thought about the Olympic tryouts, I thought about how hard I'd worked to get to where I was. One bully wasn't going to stand in my way of achieving my goals. Especially not when I had Becca and Emily cheering me. A second wind came over me and I pushed myself harder, accepting Tara's challenge and meeting it head on. If she wanted me to sprint, I'd sprint faster than I ever had before. If she wanted me to do crunches until I threw up, I'd do it with a giant smile on my face. Bullies never win.

"What the f*ck is going on here?" A dark voice yelled, and I looked up from where I was doing push-ups.

Liam walked up to the group, dressed in a black t-shirt and black workout pants. The dark clothes combined with his sharp, angry features made him look seriously dangerous. What was he doing here? Was it already time for practice?