All Chapters of Private Lessons With The Bad Boy Bully: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

As the cab stopped me in front of the school, I sensed something was very, very wrong somewhere. Because for one, there was loud club music coming out of the front gates.“What the fudge is going on here?” I whispered to myself. “No, this has to be a mistake right? Maybe I misheard?”But I knew I hadn’t, he’d asked me to come to the school gym. And this was it.The gates were closed but not locked, sitting slightly open with the groundskeeper nowhere to be found. There was no security to be seen anywhere either.And from somewhere inside, muffled but present, came the low murmur of… laughter?I stood outside the gates for a moment, then I pushed them open and went inside, headed for the gym.The gym room was the source of the sound, no question. I could feel the bass in my feet on the path leading up to them, and there were voices underneath the music, a lot of voices, more than made sense for whatever I'd been imagining on the cab ride over.I pushed the door open.The noise hit me fi

Alison stepped forward."Aww, look at you. Big runner, huh? Like Usain Bolt?" she asked, and the vicious grin was back now, lit up from underneath with real enjoyment. "Alright, let's give you a good workout then."She gestured toward the far end of the gym, toward the east corridor doors.Toward the pool.My blood went cold."The pool's just down the hall," she said, addressing the room now as much as me, playing to the audience with glee. "If she loves running so much, let's give her somewhere to run. Jump in. That's the dare. What do you think, everybody? Fun, huh?"They screamed and cheered and clapped, stomping their feet and egging Allison on, going "Jump! Jump! Jump!!!"I shook my head. "No.""No?""No." I pulled against the hands on my arms. "No, you don't understand, I can't swim. I'm not being dramatic, I genuinely cannot swim, so whatever else you want me to do I'll do it, but not that, please not that—""She can't swim!" someone repeated in a high mocking voice, and laught

Chapter Thirty FiveLena’s POVWait… Where am I?That was my first thought. I was feeling confused and groggy, because the ceiling above me didn’t look right, and I didn’t know whose ceiling it was or how I’d gotten underneath it.I was cold.That was the second thing, it went all the way through my soaking wet clothes deep into my bones.I blinked again. Why am I wet? I don’t understand… And why am I moving?A man’s set jaw was above me, his wet hair dripping onto his collar as he walked fast through a corridor I only half recognised, carrying me against his chest with both arms as if I weighed nothing.It felt perfectly natural, me being held this way by him, and I didn’t question it for a second until he pressed his lips to my forehead.He pressed a small kiss against my hairline and then my temple, and his voice came low and close to my ear, so different than how I was used to hearing it, all the sharp edges gone leaving only the ordinary human underneath.“I’m sorry.” He whispere

Chapter Thirty Seven“—and the objective today is straightforward. You’ll be working in pairs to produce a supersaturated sugar solution, which will then crystallise over the next several days into what you’ll recognise as rock candy.”The teacher continued, “The science of it is in the nucleation process, which I expect each pair to document thoroughly in their lab reports. Listen carefully as I call out your partners.”Ms Reeves’ dull, monotonous voice moved in and out of my mind like a radio signal in bad weather, present and then not, words without meaning.I was staring at the lab bench, trying not to listen to the students whispering behind me.“That’s the girl who drowned yesterday!”“She’s alive? I could’ve sworn she was a goner!” another one gasped.“Shh! We’re not really supposed to talk about that, remember?”I kept my eyes on the bench still, looking at a small dried water stain on the surface that looked, if you tilt your head slightly and squint, like the state of Florida

His forehead touched mine, and the world narrowed to the sound of just us breathing in sync.His hand came up slowly, fingertips brushing along my jaw as though I was something precious, something that might break under too much pressure."Lena." He whispered my name reverently, like a prayer."Don't say anything," I whispered back. "Please don't, or I'll remember how wrong this…"He kissed me then, cutting off my train of thought.It felt hungry, raw and desperate, like he'd been holding himself back for too long and he couldn’t hold back anymore.His mouth moved against mine with an urgency that stole my breath, demanding, claiming. When I gasped in surprise, he took that chance to deepen the kiss, one hand sliding to the back of my neck while the other pressed against the small of my back, pulling me closer until there was no space left between us.I'd never been kissed before, had no idea what I was doing, but it didn't seem to matter. He guided me through it confidently, taking