Bitten By Love

Chapter 25

***Simone's POV ***

All the ride back to school, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face and I played mindlessly with my new necklace.
Ramon was playing a love song and I wondered when is the best time to let him know that I have a boyfriend. Or maybe he doesn't need to know at all. It's not like he wants me to be his girlfriend. We're just friends.

We pulled into the school yard and I saw a few girls standing around eyeing Ramon's black Bentley with fascination. When they saw me in the front seat, however, they shot daggers at me with their eyes. They were green with envy.

Their prince had a poor, boring girl in his front seat and there was nothing they could do about it.

We walked towards the school together and Ramon held my hand all the way. If those girls didn't hate me before, they do now and I'm almost sure that Davia is going to hear about me hanging out with her ex.

"I really enjoyed my day." I told Ramon.

"I hope we can do it again." He kissed me on my cheek then left me standing at my locker.

The bell rang a few minutes later signaling the end of the school day. I gathered my books from my locker and went to wait outside for Trey.

"Hey Simone. Happy birthday." A chirpy voice said from beside me. I spun around to see Ashalee.
"Geez. Thanks." I said. She has never spoken to me before and I was finding this conversation rather weird.

"So......" she chatted on. "A bunch of us are going to hang out at The Pastry House tonight. Would you like to join us?"

"Hmmmmm..... I don't think so. I already have plans for tonight."

She cocked her head to one side.
"Are you sure?"

I nodded.

"Well if you change your mind you can give me a call." She scribbled her number on a piece of paper and handed it to me. The friendly smile she had on her face was really freaking me out. Why would someone as hot and popular as Ashalee want to hang out with me? Maybe it's because they saw me with Ramon..... Or since Davia and Ashalee are best friends, they're trying to prank me. Either way, I'm not afraid of Davia or her friends. Its not like I'm in a relationship with her ex. We're just friends.

I shook my head. That girl will go the extra mile just to see me unhappy.

Trey came to pick me up fifteen minutes late and when I got into the car he was in no talking mood.
"What's wrong Trey?"  I asked.

He huffed. "I'm just having some personal family issues."  He told me and I wondered how he has never spoken about his family before.

I leaned back and relaxed. There's no way I'm letting Trey's grumpy mood ruin my birthday.

"Simone, can I ask you a question?" Trey broke the silence.

"Sure." I muttered.

"Would you hurt me?"

His question caught me by surprise and I opened my eyes and I was sure he heard me gulp.

"Well- huh. - N-no I won't hurt you."  My voice shook when I spoke and I wondered if maybe, just maybe Trey knows about Ramon and me.

"Oh thank God." He breathed heavily. "Cause if you did, I don't think I could control my anger."

What the hell!!

Maybe I should break up with Trey before he actually hurts me.

Trey stopped the car suddenly.
"Happy birthday Simone." He smiled then kissed me briefly.
"And I have your birthday present right here."

He pulled out a small black box from his pocket and handed it to me.

I slowly opened it to reveal a beautiful ring.
"What's this for?"  I asked.

He took it from the box and slipped it onto my index finger.
"It's a promise ring and with this ring you will promise never to hurt me."  He leaned closer and his voice deepened. "So do you promise?"

I didn't know what to do so I simply nodded.

"Good." He said and started driving again. I was shocked. Trey is not that type of person. He was romantic, not so much controlling as he is now. I wondered what changed him.

He turned up the radio as high as it could go and it blared with violent songs. As we neared my house he turned down the volume.

I walked into the kitchen, Trey behind me. No one seemed to be home. I placed my books on the table and went to get some water from the fridge.

"Surprise!"

I spun around to see Mom, Dad, Josh and Trey. My mom placed the cake she was holding on the table and lighted the eighteen candles.
They started singing happy birthday and I really wished Ramon was here to celebrate it with me.

" Come blow out the candles and make a wish honey." My mom said.

"And please don't wish for any drama like you and Sam did last year." Josh chuckled and I decided not to make a wish as I blew out the candles.

Then it was on to the presents. My mom got me some new clothes and my dad bought me a tablet. Where's the car? Am I not supposed to get a car when I turned eighteen.
I opened Josh's gift last. It was a silver bracelet with an inscription on the inside.

Forever and Always.

I smiled. "Thank you so much Josh. This is really nice."

Josh hugged me. "Imagine all the nice things you will be getting once we get married."  He joked.

Trey started coughing.

"Are you ok Veron?" My mom asked.

"He's being coughing like that since morning." Josh stated, cutting a piece of the cake. "I told him he should get it checked out."

" Oh dear. Would you like a class of milk?" My mom offered.

"No thank you Mrs. Channer. I actually have to be somewhere right now. I have a date." He said, looking at his watch.

"A date?" My dad sounded intrigued. "Who's the lucky gal?"

Trey smiled. "No. It's not that type of date."  He said. "It's a business date."

What kind of business date could he be having? I tried not to look worried in front of my family.
My insides burned like wild fire with jealousy. There thought of Trey being with someone else is tearing me apart.