I nod and swallow hard before I explain, “I’m just awkward around people.” I dare a glance in his direction and see the corner of his mouth lifting.
Is he going to laugh at me?
“Me too.”
His words stun me, and I end up staring at him. “Really?”
“Yeah.” A grin forms on his face, and he doesn’t look as scary anymore. “People tend to suck.”
Maybe we can be friends, or at least get along like Aspen and I do.
Feeling hopeful, the corners of my mouth lift, and I don’t feel so uneasy anymore.
COLTON
I was surprised when I saw Brie waiting at my house. Yeah, I said she can ride with me, but I didn’t think she would.
When we walk into school together, it feels like all eyes are on us. Brie falls back a couple of steps, and I wonder if she doesn’t want to be seen with me.
Glancing over my shoulder at her, I joke, “Too late to worry about your image now.”
“What?” she gasps and shaking her head, she catches up to me. “I was worried about your image.”
I let out a chuckle. “I don’t care what everyone thinks.”
“Damn, you should,” Sully says from behind us. He shoves Brie hard, making her stumble.
Turning around, I shove him back. “Don’t touch her.”
Sully lets out a burst of laughter and manages to not lose his balance. “So, it’s true?” He shakes his head. “I thought everyone was talking shit, but you’re really into her.”
Brie scurries to her locker, and as I walk by her to get to mine, I snap, “You really need to start standing up for yourself.”
If she doesn’t start defending herself, they’ll never stop, and it makes me so damn frustrated.
I grab my book for English as Brie darts down the hallway and disappears around the corner. A sigh escapes my lips, and I shake my head.
“So, are you really into Brie?” Sully asks as he leans a shoulder against the locker next to mine. “Because you’re wasting your time with that one.” A bunch of girls passes by us, and he points at one. “Get someone with an ass like that.” He bites his bottom lip as he checks the girl out.
I slam the locker shut, and glaring at Sully, I growl, “Stay away from Brie.”
“Or what?” he laughs.
I glare darkly at Sully until he becomes uncomfortable, and an uneasy smile forms on his face. He rams his shoulder against mine as he walks away.
I’ve lost count of how many times Brie was bullied today.
It’s infuriating.
Once we’re driving down the main road, I grumble, “Why do you let them push you around?”
When she doesn’t answer, I glance at her. There’s a frown on her forehead, and she’s nibbling her bottom lip. She looks as frustrated as I feel.
Finally, she mumbles, “What am I supposed to do?”
“Fight back,” I snap.
Her gaze darts to me, and for the first time, I see something close to anger flash over her face. But it’s gone as quickly as it came.
“They’re bigger than me,” she states the obvious.
“Yeah, but they’re only picking on you because you allow it,” I argue. “Tell them to go to hell.”
“It doesn’t work,” she mutters.
“Then report them.”
She lets out an annoyed sigh. “I’ve tried that, and nothing gets done.”
“So you’re just going to take it?” I ask, exasperated.
She doesn’t answer me, and I shake my head, not happy at all. I wish I knew how to get through to her.
“I’ll walk from your house,” she says, and it makes me wonder whether she doesn’t want her mom to know that she rides with me. I don’t ask, and the instant I bring the truck to a stop in my driveway, Brie scrambles out. “Have a good night.”
My eyes go to the rearview mirror, and I watch until she’s out of sight before I get out.
With a heavy feeling in my chest, I walk into the house. I’m frustrated and… scared. It looks like Brie’s already given up, and it feels like I’m running out of time to help her.
Chapter 7
BRIE
The slap against the back of my head sends me stumbling forward, and I slam into the counter.
“You’re just like her!” Mom shouts. I hunch my shoulders, keeping my body turned sideways.
Since my mother got home, she’s been ranting about Kingsley Hunt living the life she should’ve had.
“It should’ve been me,” she cries again. “Because of her, he ruined me instead of marrying me.”
She’s referring to Mason Chargill. When my mother tried to drown Kingsley, she got sentenced to probation for what she did, and Mason Chargill exposed my grandfather for fraud. My mother was shunned from the wealthy circle she belonged to and lost her social status. Mason and Kingsley got married, and from what I can tell, they’re happy.
Unlike Mom.
“Just looking at you exhausts me to my core,” She cries furiously. “You should’ve colored your hair like I told you to.” My mother moves, and I flinch, but instead of hitting me again, she goes to open a drawer. When she pulls out a pair of scissors, fear prickles over my skin. I begin to shake my head, and the instant she takes a step toward me, I dart away and run for the safety of my room.
My heartbeat explodes into a frantic pounding.
“Get back here!” I feel her fingers claw at my back, and my body lurches forward. I take the stairs two at a time, and dashing into my room, I slam the door shut behind me.
There’s a bang against it, and the doorknob wiggles. “Open this goddamn door!” Mom screams, shoving hard against it.
I grab hold of the knob and hold on tight while using all my strength to keep her from coming in.
Another thud has me crying, “Stop!” I suck in an anguished breath. “Please.” She continues to hammer against the door, and I whimper, “Stop.”
I struggle to keep her out and have to push my body against the door every time she manages to bump it open.
“If it’s the last thing I do, I will cut your hair,” she hysterically rages. “Open the door!”
Desperation and terror make me hold out until she stabs at the door with the scissors. The blades break through the wood, and it has me recoiling. I run to the windows on the other side of my bed, but before I can try to escape, the door slams open, and my mother storms into the room. A whack to the back of my head makes me crash against the windows. She hits me again, and grabbing hold of my shoulders, she shoves me to the floor.
I try to scramble free, but she crouches over me, pressing her knee into my stomach. All I can see is her venomous face and the scissors gleaming right above me.
Terror shudders through me, and it feels as if my blood is being chilled.
I try to grab hold of her arms, crying, “No, Mommy.”
“Hold still!” When I keep struggling, the back of her hand strikes across my cheek. “I swear I’ll stab you if you keep fighting me.” The threat sends shockwaves through me.
She grabs a fistful of hair, and I hear the blades crunch close to my ear. “This is your fault. If you had gone to the hairdresser, I wouldn’t have to cut this shit off myself.”