Kings playground a dark.., p.1
King’s Playground: A Dark Bully Romance, page 1
KING’S PLAYGROUND
A DARK BULLY ROMANCE
K.J. THOMAS
Copyright © 2023 by K.J. Thomas
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Editor: Samantha Wiley
Proofreader: Rachel
Cover Art:
138448506/@scrapster/depositphotos
89129664/@Tverdohlib.com/depositphotos
Cover Design: K.J. Thomas
Created with Vellum
CONTENTS
Author’s Note
Also by K.J. Thomas
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
To Mikey, the other half of my darkness…
AUTHOR’S NOTE
If a feel-good romance is what you’re looking for, you won’t find it here.
King Chamberlain is full of hate, rage and revenge. This book takes a look at the darker side of HATE from someone who has known nothing else.
This content is only for mature audiences. There are several trigger warnings in regards to abuse.
KJ
ALSO BY K.J. THOMAS
Blackwood Academy
Hiding From Monsters
Running From Monsters
Taming the Monster
Moretti Siblings
Twisted Obsession
Cruel Obsession
The Hunted
Entangled by Him
Stoneridge Academy
Hate Me
Fear Me
Break Me
Release Me
Standalone
King’s Playground
CHAPTER 1
Sage
The groaning of metal on wood places an uninstructed orchestra in my room. Even though it’s quiet the noise is deafening and intrusive.
With all the practiced movements over the years, I’m able to not make a sound as I crawl out of the warm comfort of my bed and inch toward my creaking door.
In the last four years, I’ve acclimated to not being able to sleep soundly. I haven’t had a deep sleep since I was a child and living with my parents. Now every single noisy disturbance I hear in the middle of the night, is like an alarm beckoning me to watch the end of my demise.
The clock on my nightstand reads 5:30 AM. I inwardly growl. Even if I can solve this right away, I’m not gonna get back to sleep. On a good note, at least I won’t be late today, hopefully.
I quietly shift toward my comfy chair I’ve had since I was a kid, it’s perfectly located right by the door. Fortunately I am able to settle in without making any noise. My body’s off the ground in case they glance underneath.
“I wish I could be here when she opens the door,” a masculine whisper, barely audible, flows under the door.
A louder nasally voice that starts off with a giggle follows, “don’t worry, soon everybody will hear what’s about to happen to her.”
I know there’s a few people out there but I can’t make out who they are, their voices are too low.
I’ll find out soon.
Maybe it’s because it’s a groggy morning, or maybe because my body imperatively likes to run late all the time, I struggle through the next hour of getting ready. Classes don’t begin till eight. I still have an hour and a half, but there’s more than a chance I’ll still be late, it’s impossible for me to be on time. My friends have started to intervene, making sure I’m up and at class. If they didn’t, I would be living my life in detention or suspended.
Stone Academy is very strict on dress codes. Four years ago after a few weeks of being a freshman and wearing a skirt every day, my ass was always grabbed. I threw a bitch fit and luckily because of my family standing, girls are allowed to wear pants now. There’s only one skirt in my closet because there has to be, but all I order are the black pants and the light royal blue sweaters. There’s blouses to, but comfort wins every day.
Only four dorm rooms on each floor have more windows and space, located on the corners of every floor. Thankfully I was one of the lucky ones that was able to get one of them.
I open the sliding glass door that leads to my lovely balcony, it’s small but it’s perfect. Once I’m out, I promptly shut it behind me. The metal grates that surround the enclosed space makes it seem so ancient and old. Garland and several strands of Christmas lights are wrapped around them. Not all the dorms have balconies, they’re just scattered on different floors. You’re lucky if you were able to get one, because this is one of the places I spend most of my time, even in the freaking winter, it’s gorgeous.
I lift over my leather bag that holds all the shit I need for today’s assignments and I make sure that it lands perfectly on the small chair that Dani has. Thankfully, she also has a balcony, and her dorm is located right next to me. We’ve been down this road, too many times.
Since I’ve done this several times, I know the best way to position myself over these decorative metal fences.
Within a very carefully crafted minute, my ass is on Dani’s balcony with no damage, dust or tears in my pants, which has unfortunately happened too many times.
I lightly pound on the door after trying it to see if it’s locked or open. Dani likes to come out here for a while and wake up and relax, especially if she has any coffee left in her coffee maker. She replaces that thing at least once a year.
“Fuck Sage, hold on, I just woke up.” Dani opens the door not even looking to make sure that it’s me, it’s always me. She carefully shuffles her way back to bed.
Not even bothering to ask what happened, because it’s always the same thing. Sometimes they get more inventive than others, it’s downright horrible.
A lot of the minions that come after me use only buckets of water. Honestly you can’t get in much trouble with water. It still fucks with my makeup, my hair, and everything else. I should be happy that most of the time it’s not blood or red paint.
Some people just don’t have the best imaginations.
I walk through Dani’s room using only the moonlight as my guide and a few of the lights from her electronics. The smell of a vanilla air freshener wafts through. In my room I use the rain forest scent.
“At least you’re not gonna be late,” Dani states gleefully as she snuggles back into her comforter.
Even though she’s right, I still flip her off. “Class is in an hour and a half, plus we need to eat. Get your ass out of bed.”
She groans and starts to grab her pillow, but I safely make my way out into the hallway before it’s tossed. No one is up at this time. Since we’re in the mountains, in December, everything is always fucking colder. No one wants to get out of their nice warm bed.
“Wow,” I say as my hand starts to search for my phone. My eyes never wandering from what’s right in front of me.
If I wouldn’t have heard them when I did, when I got ready and opened the door this morning, I would’ve been covered in fire hot sauce. That’s what the outside of the bin says. I would’ve been livid.
I very carefully undo the rope from around the door handle. And then send a text message to Mr. Abner. God, I hate hot sauce, I can only imagine getting it in your eyes.
Mr. Abner: they hit again today, but didn’t get me. I hope you like hot sauce. I put two happy face emojis at the end to relax the awesome janitor.
That man is way too good to be working here. He should be playing golf and spending time with his grandkids. From my understanding he doesn’t have any, and he told me one day that he hates golf. The academy is his life and that’s where he intends to stay till his dying day or they kick him out. One time it slipped out or until Ms. Alma lets him in.
My hand absently rubs the area on my wrist that was just broken. Whenever I think about this, all my injuries seem to rise up letting me know how much pain I’ve suffered, because of him.
My time has been hell at the school because of the one guy running the whole damn show.
My eyes start to tear up as I blink them away, going back in Dani’s room to make sure her ass is up.
I’m stuck here. For the past four years, this has been my personal nightmare. I take a deep relaxing breath, reminding myself I am free now, I just turned eighteen. Even with the pact I made with my girls, if things get too bad, I can walk the hell out of here.
Dani gets up and starts busting her ass into gear. At the same time I decided to plop myself on her bed and wait for her to get ready. At least she doesn’t take as long as Egypt.
I roll on my side and glance at Dani’s closed and locked door. The RA is right across from me. If we want to h ang up announcements or anything on her door, we just have to bring our own magnet. I have a special magnet on that door that I had made from scratch.
We use the magnet to put up bullshit about the holidays that are coming up. We’ve even done mental health crisis activities, when one of the students killed themselves two years ago. A lot of people say they didn’t know what it was from, but we do, it was from bullying. They went after that poor girl like they do me.
She didn’t deserve it, and shockingly nothing has changed.
It has gotten so bad that the staff has helped me over the years. Ms. Alma sometimes turns a blind eye. I know the dean, Mr. Easton, doesn’t even care, he never has. He’s sick by the fact that he has to take care of me, I have nowhere else to go.
The more that the staff would try to help me, is when the Chamberlain family would become more involved. All King would have to do is mention the injustice brought on him by the academy. His father would blow up the world to help him. Including the miscreants at the school.
Several times this has resulted in several members of the staff being dismissed and fired. Professors and even a couple of the lunch ladies tried to help me, but that didn’t end well for them. Staff stopped helping and again I was on my own. I am helped only from anonymous messages now. Not just the staff but some of the students are getting annoyed by the bullying happening to me.
The Chamberlain family are real estate giants, they have enough money to wipe out or create anyone they want to. They’re major tycoons on the East Coast. To be in this academy, you’ve got to be loaded. They make everybody else’s money look like pocket change.
It’s a terrifying thought to know what this family can do to you at any time. I’ve been living with this fear for four fucking years. Something has to stop because I can’t keep doing this every day.
First I thought it was an insane crush he had on me, and he was acting like a toddler. Now I realize he actually wants me dead, without actually murdering me and going to jail.
Broken bones and multiple injuries later, will it ever stop?
CHAPTER 2
Sage
I keep my head down, unfocused and distant, as I follow the path of the other swimmers heading back to the locker room.
At the same time years ago when I went to demand to be able to wear pants, I also demanded to know why the swimming area is encased by a glass wall. On the other side of the glass wall is one of the most used hallways in the building. It’s the main highway with a view.
Ms. Alma gave me a tight smile and all she said was, “if you want, I will talk to you about this every year, because I know you love swimming. Every year it will change, it will.”
And she was right, the first year was horrible. I was always embarrassed and ran by. I was a teenage girl new to her hormonal body. I had a lot of shit to figure out and I didn’t want to be pointed at or even laughed at.
It takes a lot of energy to worry about what others think. Over time I got sick of wasting that energy and stopped caring so much.
I have a towel wrapped around my one piece swimsuit. Some of the girls here don’t even care anymore, their towels are just draped over their shoulder and they pay no attention to the people that watch them as they walk by.
Unfortunately, my self-esteem still isn’t that high, but at least the walk to the locker rooms doesn’t have as much effect on me anymore as it used to.
My gaze goes through the thick glass, past all of the perverted onlookers, male and female. I can make out falling snow through the decorated windows with different accumulated snow patterns on them. The snow is thick and heavy and just downright gorgeous. The main walkway is lined with festive poinsettias.
All the lockers are nicely done, decorated in tinsel. Jingle Bells joyfully flows through the speakers, allowing only the girls in the locker room to hear.
I barely remember Christmas from when I was younger, my parents were always busy, but it’s still the most fascinating and wonderful time of the year for me. It’s a version of a magical fantasy coming to life, extracting you from your minimalistic days.
I stare briefly at my locker, then grab my metal box that has a key code. Yeah, I’ve learned my lesson over the years and there’s no way I leave my stuff unattended so people can hurt me with it.
The music changes over to another Christmas melody as I turn the knobs getting the right combination, until the lid pops off.
My shampoo and conditioner have both had dyes added to them, plus hair remover. Thankfully, I was able to catch that first, that would’ve been crushing to lose my hair. The dyes, unfortunately, I didn’t catch. I’ve gone several weeks with pink, blue and green hair.
The tray in the box easily slides out and accompanies me back to the shower stalls. It doesn’t take long until the jet stream is hot, water is flowing over every angle of my body. Massaging and exfoliating. I’m glad these lockers have private shower stalls or I would sneak out and go back up to the common rooms. Community showers are just not the way to go when you always have to watch your back.
My towel and swimsuit are hung on a hook outside so I can gather them after my shower. My clothes, all the ones I was wearing before class are currently stuffed in my locker. I was running late, of course, this morning, so I never had a chance to fold them nicely.
My mood darkens as my hand desperately searches around only finding air outside the shower stall. I should’ve known something was going on. It’s been quiet, too quiet, and almost heaven for the last twenty minutes. No bitching about boys or other girls and listening to whiny screaming assholes trying to get themselves ready again.
I want to rip open the shower curtain. I imagine everybody’s standing out there waiting to take pictures, to laugh, to share everything with those not so fortunate to have witnessed this epic charade.
“Dammit,” I mumble to myself as I reach for my tightly secured Ziploc bag in my shower tray. The water is off, but it’s definitely starting to get colder. I take out a waterproof rag that I bought specifically for this and start wiping all the excess water off and drying my hair the best I can.
Our gym teacher’s a bitch. She only lets everybody have one towel and you’re responsible for washing them. It’s pointless for me to even go to her office right now. She won’t help, she’ll give me a lecture on how I can be properly prepared next time, or how I can avoid accidents like this.
Two incidences in one day, that hasn’t happened in so long. Normally if I just take it, within reason and not make a big scene, they go the fuck away. It’s been down to maybe just one incident a week and that’s awesome for as much as I used to get.
I take out the lacy black undergarments. I was trying to find the thinnest material that would fit in a small little bag with my rag. I still have to walk back to my fucking locker. ‘Show no fear,’ I keep repeating to myself as I finish getting dressed, making sure my girls are even, not going in different directions since they’ll be visible in the crowd.
I open the curtain and watch the once smiling faces fall down, cast in disappointment. As far as they know, I don’t have a clue what happened, just a girl taking a shower.
“Is everyone okay?” I play stupid and act concerned. Glancing down at their stomachs, then cringing. People would be worried if they had this many staring at them. Ten girls, all different from the next one, are all watching me, mouths opened at different levels.
Callie snaps her mouth shut and gives me a cold, unwelcoming smile, her normal look. Her makeup is back to flawless as she stands there in her thong, lacy underwear and four-inch heels.
I don’t wait for a reaction, I don’t care. As I quickly head over to my locker, she mumbles out, “bitch.”
