The Boyfriend Mistake

By Charity West

All Mya ever wanted was to date golden boy Prescott Monroe, captain of the football team, loved by the entire school. But when she gets her wish, it isn’t long before she realizes that things are not all as they seem. The guy everyone in her school loves is hiding something, and there’s a darkness in his eyes that only she seems to see. Can she get away before it’s too late?

Ryder James has earned his label as Central High’s bad boy, and he relishes the title. It gives him a different girl at the snap of his fingers, and more parties than he could ever hope to attend. But the one thing he’s always wanted and knows he can never have—the untouchable Mya Henderson.

Until one fateful morning Mya’s world changes forever, leaving her completely shattered, and Ryder suddenly isn’t the bad boy everyone’s warned her away from. Instead, he’s her knight in shining armor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evernight Teen
• Release date: Oct 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781773398143

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Published by Evernight Teen ® at Smashwords

www.evernightteen.com

Copyright© 2018 Charity West

ISBN: 978-1-77339-814-3

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: Audrey Bobak

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

The #MeToo movement spread rapidly across social media in 2017, and it’s astounding how many men, women and teens spoke out. All too often, victims of sexual abuse/harassment don’t feel safe enough to tell someone what’s happening, whether it’s going to a peer, a family member, or the police.

The Boyfriend Mistake is dedicated to those who haven’t been heard, those who suffered in silence. With some encouragement, Mya takes a stand, but she’s not just doing it for her… she’s doing it for everyone who was unable to come forward.

And for those of you who did stand up, those who spoke out, you’re far braver than me and I thank you for your courage.

THE BOYFRIEND MISTAKE

Charity West

Copyright © 2018

But everything that glitters is not gold,

As often I have heard the saying told;

Not every apple pleasing to the eye

Is good, though men may praise it to the sky.

—Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales

(modern translation)

Chapter One

Mya

I should have been gazing adoringly at my supposedly perfect boyfriend. Ever since the first day of ninth grade, all I’d wanted was to be Prescott Monroe’s girlfriend. Football star. Mr. Popular. And every girl in the school wanted to be his. For some reason, he’d chosen me, and more and more often these days I was wondering why. We’d been dating almost five weeks now, since our senior year started, but I couldn’t help but feel he wasn’t showing everyone who he really was. There were moments I saw a darkness lurking in his eyes and cruelty in his smile. Was I the only one who saw it?

Prescott said something that made the cheerleaders laugh and I tried to focus. I saw his lips moving, but I couldn’t get past the calculating look in his eyes. It hadn’t taken me long to learn that Prescott didn’t do anything without a reason, and usually that reason wasn’t all that altruistic. If he volunteered his time, it was to make him look good, and not because he truly believed in whatever cause he was backing. He didn’t know I’d overheard his conversation with his football buddies the other day, but I’d heard them rating the girls in the school. And I’d heard him rate me.

It was becoming rather clear Prescott wasn’t with me because he liked who I am. So, why did he choose a nobody like me to hang on his arm? My stomach felt unsettled whenever I thought about it and that darkness he kept hidden inside. I had a feeling that one day soon he wouldn’t be able to contain it, and I wasn’t certain I wanted to be anywhere nearby when that happened.

Mya, did you hear anything I said? Prescott asked.

I stared up at him but couldn’t even remember what the conversation had been about.

He sneered before wiping his face clean of emotion. I swear, sometimes I think you live completely in your head.

The cheerleaders laughed and one of them inched closer to him. Little did she know that I wouldn’t put up a fight if she wanted to claim him. But I also knew if I dumped the star of the football team, my chances of ever landing another date in this school were slim to none. Not unless he gave me a really good reason. I had to hope he would grow tired of me sooner or later and set me free. Doing anything else would be social suicide.

Prescott kissed my cheek. Meet me by the bleachers after practice today. I’ll give you a ride home.

Of course, he expected me to attend his practice. I’d learned the first day we were officially a couple that being with Prescott meant I had to bow to his wishes in all things. And one of the rules of being his was that I had to attend every practice and cheer him on. I’d never been the cheering type.

I smiled. I’ll be there.

He winked and moved on, wrapping an arm around a cheerleader’s waist as they chatted on their way down the hall. A locker slammed and jolted me. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Ryder James staring at me, an arrogant smirk on his face. A face I had to admit that was far too handsome, but then they said Lucifer had been the most beautiful angel before he fell from heaven. Truth be told, he was much better looking than Prescott, and probably wanted by twice as many girls. Not just because of his good looks either. Ryder had the bad boy vibe down to perfection. Ripped jeans. Leather jacket. Motorcycle boots to go with the Harley he brought to school almost every day. And when the weather turned too cold or wet, he had a badass black car that roared through the parking lot. Girls swooned when he walked by, every last one of them wanting to be the girl who finally tamed him.

I wasn’t convinced Ryder James could be tamed, and he certainly didn’t seem to want to be tamed. If anything, I thought he enjoyed his bad boy rep and probably loved the fact girls fell at his feet. Well, most girls. I wasn’t bowing before him anytime soon.

What? I demanded, feeling more cross with him than I should have.

Does he give you treats and belly rubs?

My hands clenched at my sides as I gritted my teeth to hold back the smartass comment that rose to my lips. When I was certain no one was looking, I flipped him off and spun on my heel to storm away. His laughter followed me. Something told me he wasn’t laughing at me though, more like he was amused someone would dare tell him to fuck off, even if I hadn’t used words to do it.

My locker was almost at the other end of the hall and I stopped long enough to drop off the books from my last class and pick up what I would need for the rest of the day. I didn’t have any classes with Prescott except first period Calculus. I nearly snorted at how impressed I’d been that the football star was smart enough to be in Calculus. Prescott was smart, when he applied himself, but it hadn’t taken long to figure out that other people did his work for him. I wondered how he’d do when it came time to take a quiz or test. Or would someone help him then, too? It wouldn’t surprise me if he’d lined up a way to cheat.

I hurried down the hallways toward my next class and slid into my seat just as the bell started to ring. Pulling my purse off my shoulder, I dug inside and grabbed a pencil, slamming it down on the desk a little too hard. It bounced then rolled onto the floor with a clatter that seemed far louder than it was. As I reached for it, a pair of boots came into my line of sight. Following them up, over a pair of jeans that molded a little too well to the muscular thighs underneath, up past the t-shirt that clung lovingly to a set of abs that had my cheeks flaming, and finally my gaze settled on Ryder’s.

You’re not in this class, I blurted.

He smirked at me, much like he had earlier, before bending and picking up my pencil. He dropped it on my desk before claiming the seat next to mine. Flustered and more than a little embarrassed, I tried to force my eyes to look forward and not at the guy who made the room feel two sizes smaller. It was hardly fair the most popular guy in school didn’t get so much as a butterfly flicker from me, but one look at Ryder and I became a hot mess. What was it about him that pulled at me? I’d thought I was better than the other girls begging for his attention, but maybe I wasn’t. There was definitely something irresistible about him, but resist I would.

Sorry to disappoint you, princess. My schedule was changed.

I glanced his way again, to find him assessing me from head to toe. I smoothed out my hair, knowing the untamable mess was probably frizzy. What did a guy like Ryder see when he looked at a girl like me? My sundress was modest, my ballet flats chosen for comfort. I’d seen the girls he dated, and I used the term dated very loosely. Ryder didn’t date. He hooked up and then moved on to his next conquest. And still the girls fell at his feet, even knowing they would be used and tossed aside.

His gaze lingered on the front of my dress and I fought the urge to pull the neckline up higher.

Did I spill my lunch or something? I asked, drawing those blue eyes back to mine.

When did you start dressing this way?

My brow furrowed. In clothes? Since birth.

No. He flicked a finger up and down. In sexy things like this dress. Since grade school, you’ve dressed in nerdy t-shirts and jeans. Was the jock so tempting you had to change who you are to get a piece of him?

I was fairly certain if I were a cartoon character this would be the point my face would turn red and steam would pour out of my ears. I glared down my nose at him and opened my mouth to give him a scathing retort, but the teacher banged on her desk to get everyone’s attention. I glared another moment before facing the front, but not before I caught another amused look cast my way by Ryder. Was he trying to piss me off? And to what purpose?

Class, I have a special assignment for you today. I know this is Health and we’re supposed to discuss ways of remaining healthy. The teacher’s cheeks flushed. The administration has decided one of the ways you can remain healthy is by having safe sex. Or preferably no sex at all.

There were snickers throughout the room. I was pretty sure I was the only virgin left in my senior class. At least, to hear the other girls brag, you’d assume they’d done more than kiss. A lot more. Until Prescott, I’d never really dated. I’d shared a few kisses starting as far back as seventh grade, but they hadn’t meant anything. I was still waiting for the toe-curling kiss that would tell me I’d found my Prince Charming. Prescott definitely wasn’t him. A toad perhaps, but that was one frog that wasn’t going to transform.

Your assignment for the next week is to take care of a baby. You’ll have to change it, feed it, and talk to it. The more you interact with your baby, the higher your grade will be. Kill your baby, and you fail the assignment.

Some of the guys groaned, probably thinking they’d already failed.

The teacher clapped her hands until silence reigned once more. Now, for this project, I’m going to split you into groups of two. You and your partner will be mother and father to your baby for the next week. You can take turns keeping the baby overnight or taking care of it during school hours. I expect everyone to participate.

A girl raised her hand at the front of the class. What if the father decides not to help with the baby?

There is going to be a form everyone has to fill out to show how they participated. If it looks like one partner did all or most of the work, they will get a better grade than the other person. Now. Would the girls in the first and third rows look to your right.

Dread filled me as I looked at Ryder.

Congratulations. There is the father of your child. Be sure to exchange information if you don’t know how to contact the person already. I’ll be passing the babies out before class ends.

Ryder smiled and winked at me before focusing on what the teacher was saying. How the hell was I supposed to raise a child with Ryder James? Maybe he would be an absentee father. I’d honestly rather do all the work than have to work alongside him for the next week. Something told me he would