Bullied Cinderella - Hollie Hutchins Page 0,48

to the bed where Jorge had just tried to have his way with her.

I thought I was proving some kind of point by resisting her, but once again I was the one left paying the price for it. The joke was on me. She always had the final laugh, and I was convinced that what all of this mess at the creek was about. Maybe she didn’t know I was watching her. Or maybe she did, and all of this was just another way for her to torture me. The longer I thought about it, the more convinced I was that it was true.

The best way for me to get back at her would be to leave her there trying to tempt me to no avail. I could stop going and watching her. I could let her cry my name all she wanted and never offer to satisfy her. That was the only way to show her that I meant it when I said I wasn’t as weak as Jorge and Dario.

I decided that’s what I would do. I would forget all about her and the stupid creek and everything that happened between us up until then. I would forget that Lucia Chavez existed. But even as I made my mind up, I knew it was a useless thought. If I could do any of that, I would have done it by now. Instead, my nights were filled with dreams of her, and my days were filled with watching her from the bushes. She was eating me up from the inside out like some kind of siren witch.

The last shred of dignity I could maintain was not letting her know any of that. The more I danced along that creek, the more I risked losing my grip enough to actually go to her and give her everything she hoped I would. So, I swore to myself that I wouldn’t.

It was like curbing any other addiction. It needed to be replaced with something new. I went into the parlor and made myself a drink, but of course, Jorge and Dario were lingering around to disrupt me. They were putting on their boots by the door and being very obnoxious. I hoped they were going hunting or something. Maybe shooting some guns would give me the distraction I so desperately needed.

“Where are you two idiots running off to?”

“Mother told us about the property lines and the creek,” Dario replied. “We thought we’d go visit it one last time...before the fence is up. Want to come?”

“No!” I shouted. “No, you can’t go to the creek today.”

“Why not?” Jorge scoffed.

“You just...you just can’t,” I stammered, urgently trying to think of a good excuse. “Because I’m going. Right now. To meet with one of the lawyers. There’s a portion of the property line we still need to discuss and it runs right along the creek. I don’t want either of you poking around as I tend to it.”

They didn’t seem entirely convinced, but I was brash enough to scare them off. At least for the time being. Unfortunately, it meant that I had to return to the creek even though it was the very thing I decided I wouldn’t do again. They were watching and waiting to see me go now, and I definitely couldn’t risk either of them stumbling on Lucia in the state I had seen her in. That was for me, and me alone.

I snarled at them and marched out the door. It seemed like everything was conspiring against me. Maybe Lucia was indeed a witch and making all of this happen on purpose. Even when I didn’t want to go, I was still being forced to.

I heaved my way out to the creek resentfully, mumbling expletives under my breath every step of the way. I could hear the water splashing as I got closer and thought maybe I would be spared the sight of her touching herself again. Hopefully, she was just taking an innocent swim. I could guard the spot and watch her daydream and then carry on.

But once I settled into my spot and looked out at her, I saw it was not an innocent swim at all. She was swimming, but she was completely naked. The creek wasn’t deep enough to cover more than six inches of her bare legs, leaving the rest of her luscious curves on full display. She bent down to the water and splashed it across her tan skin. The sight of her breasts