Lily Hates Me: A Bully Romance

Ever since I was little, I wanted to be on top of the food chain. My dad raised me to be tough and to do that, he beat me up relentlessly.

I remember the first time my father beat me for crying. He was a brawling man with a lot of anger, and he took it out on me. I broke down and sobbed as he stood over me, yelling at me to stand up straight, to be strong like him. The worst part of it all was that none of my neighbors interfered. They didn't care if I got smacked around by an adult--to them, that was just business as usual. It made me wonder how such an environment can raise someone who could feel empathy.

So, I guess I didn't grow empathy.

He screamed at me to s*ck it up, and I did. My poor mother tried to stop it in the beginning but had to give up after earning a few bruises herself. I don't blame her for giving up on me, honestly. She was scared of dying, and she was too much of a coward to even bother leaving him.

He had been beaten worse than me and had survived, though barely.

I guess I should thank my dad for teaching me to be the predator and not the prey. Because of him, I taught myself always to have power over those wimpy little nerds and show them who the boss is. I enjoyed being feared by all of them. It was better than being pushed around and made fun of every day.

Shoot, I even got any girl I wanted. The girls saw my tanned brown skin, shaggy mop of hair the color of autumn leaves, green eyes, and strong but not too rugged features -- an effortless combination that made me handsome enough for good grades in school and charismatic enough to get laid as often as I pleased. My body was muscular from working out regularly, so all I needed were a few scowls most days to keep the gaggle of girlfriends on its toes. Typical bitches.

Those girls were enough to satisfy my physical needs, but that couldn't fill the emptiness in my heart.

The pangs of lust and loneliness ached at once, one stemming from the other. Every time I saw a couple in love, I could feel the rage growing inside of me like roots taking hold of stone, and I wanted to destroy the love between them. Like Marathon weeds growing from cracks in a sidewalk, bitterness took root in my soul.

Until I saw her...

I felt so unworthy of her. She was perfect, too good for the likes of me. But still, I couldn't help but want to be with her. I wanted her more than anything, despite knowing it would only end in despair.

She was beyond beautiful. My heart hammered against my chest as I watched her with wide eyes and open mouth. Her skin looked like it glowed; the light was surrounding her body, making her look like she was lit from within. When she smiled, I could feel my soul shrinking inside of me as it cried out to be near her. Even the sound of her laughter was nice.

I, Jacob, the biggest bully of Greenville High School, was hopelessly in love.

I pushed the new kid up against the locker and grabbed his throat. His brown hair was in disarray, and I could see his face reddening by the second.

He looked a lot like everyone else; he had this wide jaw jutting from his chin and a pair of wire-framed glasses that hovered above his nose. He was short—only five foot five, which was much shorter than my height, six foot two. He was a scrawny little bastard, and watching him squirm against my death grip was way too much fun. He looked like a scared little worm.

"P..p..please, I don't have any money." He stuttered, which pissed me off even more.

"Bullshit, I saw you being dropped off by your dad earlier, and judging from the car he drives, it is pretty clear that you are a rich bitch." I snarled at him, and he recoiled.

"N-No...I mean...y-yes...but..." The kid couldn't even finish his sentence. I felt my blood boiling inside me.

"What's your name?" I