Bruised Angel (River of Lies #2) (21 page)

As soon as Chelsea finished her sentence Jacob walked past them making pig noises. She couldn’t have planned it more perfectly if she tried. Chelsea covered her mouth to stop the giggle as Maddison frowned at him. Then one of the girls who Chelsea knew as Emily followed suit and grunted at her.

“What the fuck?” Maddison growled.

“So what’s it like to gag on some guys cock while you take it in the cunt too?” Mason asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

Maddison’s face went white as she looked around the hall, it seemed like everyone was staring at her, all laughing, all pointing. In truth it was only a few people but Chelsea had been in Maddison’s position and she knew that Maddison would feel like her whole world was about to crumble.

“Actually it’s not a very respectful video, we should probably take it to Mr O’Ryan and report it” Chelsea said.

Mason and Lincoln nodded their heads and Maddison grabbed Chelsea’s arm with sheer panic written over her face.

“Wait what video?” she asked tears starting to well in her eyes.

“This one” Lincoln said shoving his phone under her nose.

Chelsea didn’t think anyone could go as pale as Maddison did at that point, she wasn’t sure whether the girl was about to faint or simply drop dead on the spot. Tears slipped from Maddison’s eyes as she watched herself being treated like a whore on the screen. She lifted her head and looked up and around at the students who stood smirking at her. Chelsea looked around and saw Dylan with a wide smile on his face. He shrugged his shoulder and winked. Chelsea pointed at Dylan and his grin literally doubled in size. Chelsea looked up at Mason who too had noticed Dylan. Mason laughed and nodded his head.

“Remind me to give that guy a handshake” Mason laughed.

“What guy?” Lincoln said looking around to where Chelsea and Mason were looking.

Mason nodded his head towards Dylan. Lincoln grinned and gave a thumbs up. Dylan nodded his head and turned walking away. When Maddison caught onto what they were saying she turned to see who Chelsea, Lincoln and Mason were talking about, but Dylan had already disappeared into the crowd.

“Who, who did this?” she yelled, her face quickly gaining colour as she got angry.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Chelsea smiled sweetly.

Maddison grabbed Chelsea by the collar of her school dress. Mason pulled Maddison off Chelsea and stood between the two girls. Maddison growled and turned running through the hall, pushing past people who laughed at her or made pig noises as she made her exit. Chelsea thought about feeling bad but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Suddenly Dylan was by her side and Mason and Lincoln were high fiving him. Chelsea looked up at him and put her hands on her hips.

“So that’s who you were waiting for?” Chelsea asked.

Dylan smiled and nodded.

“Did you always have that planned?” she asked.

Dylan shrugged his shoulder and nodded.

“She had been hitting on some of the music guys, so I may have given them some money to fuck her and let me film it without her knowing.” Dylan said with a smile “so they organised to meet her at Lincoln’s party. When I saw them arrive I went and hid in the bushes and waited for them to get started then I filmed”

“I fucking love it man” Mason said laughing. “You’re a good guy”

Mason put his arm around Chelsea and Dylan and beamed

Chapter Twenty

The rest of the day was quiet and Chelsea felt like a great weight had lifted from her. Maddison’s reign of cruelty may have come to an end. After the bell rang for the end of the day Chelsea wandered around to the oval so that she could watch Mason practice, she was sitting when a shadow fell over her. Chelsea looked up and saw Maddison standing beside her. Chelsea sighed and braced herself for the assault that she thought would follow. However, instead of a tirade Maddison sat down beside Chelsea and sighed. Chelsea looked at her face and could see that Maddison had been crying. Chelsea started to feel empathy for her, she knew exactly what it was like to be ostracised and tormented by other students. She knew exactly what it was like to be the freak.

“I’m sorry” Maddison said dropping her head.

Chelsea raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest.

“That must have hurt” Chelsea said with a smirk.

Maddison looked up at her and frowned before nodding her head.

“I deserve that, I’ve been a bitch” Maddison said as she ran her fingers through her hair.

“That’s an understatement” Chelsea uttered under her breath looking back onto the field at Mason who had noticed Maddison.

His face read concern and he lifted his chin at her. Chelsea smiled and gave him a little wave to let him know everything was alright. Mason smiled and went back to tackling Lincoln, showing off and tackling his friend harder than he really had to. Chelsea couldn’t help but smile at his roostering.

“So is the only reason you’re apologising because you got humiliated today?” Chelsea said looking at Maddison who was watching Mason and Lincoln as well. “When this all blows over by next week are you going to go back to being a cunt?”

Maddison shook her head.

“My parents are changing my schools, Brian, Mr O’Ryan saw the video and rang them” she said her voice cracking “he said he didn’t want me at the school anymore”

Chelsea’s smile grew.

“Well I can’t tell you I’m sad that you’re leaving” Chelsea said.

Maddison glanced at Chelsea and nodded.

“I don’t imagine you are.” she said sadly. “Chelsea I mean that I am sorry, it wasn’t until this that I realised how much it hurts when you’re the only person that everyone is joking about”

Chelsea nodded her head and sat back on the bench, putting her hands behind her and crossing her legs in front of her.

“Well now you know. And hopefully when you work your way up the popularity ladder at your new school you will think twice before belittling the person you know nothing about” Chelsea said.

Maddison nodded and lowered her head.

“Why do you cut yourself Chelsea?” Maddison asked.

Chelsea shook her head.

“That’s not a story I’m willing to share with you. But let’s just say the things I’ve experienced and the things people have put me through makes your torture look like child’s play” Chelsea said.

Maddison’s mouth dropped open.

“I didn’t know that” she said with a shake of her head.

“No you didn’t, you never took the time to get to know me. All you wanted to do was to torment me to make yourself feel better” she said.

Maddison nodded as she wiped away a rogue tear, that Chelsea wasn’t sure was forced out.

“My life hasn’t been easy either Chelsea” Maddison said

Chelsea scoffed and folded her arms across her chest, leaning back on the bench.

“Tell me Maddison?” she said

Maddison shook her head before looking away from Chelsea.

“Look it’s not easy to be the daughter of a father who only cares about how you look and how you behave so you don’t embarrass him” Maddison cried.

Chelsea had to bite her lip from bursting into fits of laughter.

“So let me get this straight. You felt it was alright to torment someone and make their life a living hell because your Daddy wanted you to be perfect and not embarrass him?” Chelsea said with a raised eyebrow.

Maddison shook her head as she turned to Chelsea, anger flashing in her eyes.

“I don’t expect you to understand” Maddison said sadly.

“No Maddison I don’t get it. You see I grew up in a family where my mother was in jail, I didn’t know that she was in jail, just that she had left me with my piece of shit father and his new girlfriend who took great pleasure in doing unimaginable atrocities to me. So no Maddison I don’t get how terrible a life is when you have whatever you want as long as you behave and watch how you look” Chelsea spat feeling her anger rising.

Maddison’s face went white as she shook her head.

“Oh my God Chelsea, that was your life?” Maddison asked.

Chelsea nodded her head instantly regretting letting so much slip. Maddison continued to shake her head slowly, tears welling up in her eyes.

“That’s why you cut yourself?” Maddison asked.

Chelsea shrugged her shoulder and nodded.

“Some of the reason yes” she said running her hand through her hair.

“I won’t tell anyone” Maddison said.

Chelsea shrugged her shoulders again and turned to look Maddison in the eye.

“Maddison I really don’t give a fuck anymore if you don’t tell anyone or if you do. At the end of the day you are just nothing more than a blip in my life. I will heal and move on from the nasty antics that you pulled. But what goes on the internet stays on the internet and that video and you trying to pretend your something you’re not will follow you around for your whole life” Chelsea said.

Maddison sat straight up as if jolted by a bolt of electricity and stared at Chelsea in silence before her eyes welled up with tears and she nodded her head.

“I really do deserve all this don’t I?” Maddison said.

Chelsea nodded her head. If she hadn’t been so destroyed by Maddison, Chelsea may have felt pity for her and her demise, but at that moment Chelsea could no longer give a shit what happened to Maddison Hartley and her little crew of hyenas.

“Yes you do, now you’ve got it and the only thing left to do is for both of us to just move on with our lives. You go to your new school and hope no one there finds out about the video. And I continue to  heal from the wounds of my childhood with the help of Mason and his family” Chelsea said.

“He really loves you, you know” Maddison said.

Chelsea smiled a genuine smile and nodded.

“And I really love him” she said with pride.

Maddison smiled, there wasn’t any hint of malice in the smile at all.

“I never slept with him. He was the one guy that never wanted me” Maddison said as she stood and walked away.

Chelsea’s mouth dropped open. Mason had never told her that he had slept with Maddison but he hadn’t denied it either. Maybe because if he had denied it Chelsea wouldn’t have believed him, but to hear the truth fall out of Maddison’s mouth shocked her. Chelsea leaned back on the bench and smiled as she raised her head to the sky and let the sun soak down onto her face. She couldn’t at that moment be happier than she was.

After Mason had finished showering and dressing he came and plonked down on the bench next to her.

“What was Maddison talking to you about?” he asked.

Chelsea smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Well apparently Mr O’Ryan saw the video” Chelsea said

Mason burst out laughing and slapped his leg.

“That’s fucking awesome” he said.

Chelsea nodded her head and smiled at him.

“Anyway he told her parents and told them that he didn’t want her at the school anymore so they are moving her out” she said.

Mason’s eyes widened as big as his grin.

“That’s fantastic” he said.

Chelsea nodded again.

“But you want to know the best bit. She actually apologised” Chelsea said

“Oh whoa, really?” Mason said.

Chelsea nodded and smiled. Mason put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him, kissing her gently on the lips.

“This day just couldn’t get better I don’t reckon” he said.

Chelsea laughed. She agreed.

That evening while Mason, Knox and Blade sat in the living room watching a football match on television, Chelsea pulled out a canvas Brenda had given her and the photo Kelly had given her of Kelly’s parents and started to draw. By the time the match had finished and Mason came into the room to see what Chelsea was doing, she had finished the outline and was just beginning the shading.

“Oh wow Chelsea that is amazing” he said stepping closer to look at it.

Chelsea smiled.

“Kelly gave me the picture of her Mum and Dad and asked if I would draw it” she said.

Mason squeezed Chelsea’s shoulder and smiled.

“I reckon she is going to be stoked when she sees it” he said.

Chelsea smiled and continued to work. When Mason came to bed, she had finished shading and just had the background to complete so she went out into the dining room to finish off. She was just putting the finishing touches on the sky when movement behind her gave her a fright. Chelsea turned to see Duggar coming into the dining room behind her. He saw Chelsea and quickly looked around to see if anyone else was in the room. When he saw that she was alone his toothless smile grew. Panic started to rise in Chelsea but she straightened her face not to let him see it. Chelsea stood and went into the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water and drinking it with her back to the door.

“That’s a nice little picture you’re doing there. Kelly’s parents hey?” he said.

Chelsea turned and forced a smile to her lips and nodded.