by Jade, Ashley
He juts his chin. “Your locker is down here, Bourne.”
I blink. “Bourne?”
He looks at me like I’m a Martian. “Jason Bourne.”
That doesn’t make anything clearer. “Am I supposed to know who that is?”
“Bourne Identity.”
Still drawing a blank. “Is that like a video game or something?”
He laughs, and this time, it’s genuine. “You’ve never seen the Bourne films?”
“Maybe.” I shrug. “I have no idea.”
“Right.” He snorts as we stop short in front of my locker. “The irony.”
I turn the lock to the correct combination, and it jerks open. However, there’s no way to swing my bookbag off and maintain my balance at the same time. Not when I’m still relying on my crutches for support.
Fortunately, Stone comes to my rescue and slides my backpack off my shoulders for me.
A tingle zips up my spine the second we make contact. “Thanks.”
My palms turn sweaty and I’m positive I’m blushing.
Luckily, Stone doesn’t seem to notice because he’s glancing at his watch. “We’re late for class.”
Class is the least of my worries right now.
* * *
Stone drops a tray of food in front of me. “Enjoy.”
I inspect the unappealing grayish meat and dollop of mashed potatoes. It’s definitely nothing like the lunches they serve at Royal Hearts Academy. “I appreciate it, but I could have gotten it myself.”
He eyes my crutches as he takes a seat across from me. “Really?”
He has a point.
Picking up my fork, I opt for the safer of the two choices and dig into the potatoes. They taste like they’re made out of cardboard. “These are…interesting.”
He shovels his forkful of meat into his mouth. “Sorry it’s not up to par, princess. Maybe you should go back to your rich, fancy private school.”
His words hurt.
But not nearly as much as hearing him reduce me to nothing more than a spoiled princess.
I look down at my plate. “You don’t even know me.”
Hell, I don’t even know me.
For a brief moment something flashes in his eyes before they turn hard. “Oh, but I do.”
I want to argue with him, but I notice a group of girls approaching our table in my peripheral.
“Can we talk for a minute?” the girl who tore up my schedule this morning asks Stone.
I expect him to oblige, but he doesn’t. In fact, he looks downright annoyed with her being here. “I already told you, Mercedes. We have nothing to talk about.”
Mercedes doesn’t look like she cares for that answer one bit, however it’s me she takes her irritation out on.
Leaning over, she slams her hand down on the table. “Guess you found yourself a new puta, huh?”
I’ve been learning new things about myself every day. Today I learned that I know some Spanish.
And that I’ve had enough of people’s shit. “First off—I’m not a slut. Secondly, you really shouldn’t talk about yourself that way.”
Stone’s lips twitch in amusement.
Mercedes coils her head like a snake. “Excuse me?”
Steepling my fingers, I calmly explain it to her. “You said Stone found himself a new puta. Therefore, one can only deduce that you must have been his first puta.” Picking up my fork, I swallow a bite of potatoes. “Like I said, you really shouldn’t talk about yourself that way.”
Or me.
“Oh, shit,” one of her minions jeer. “You gonna let her disrespect you like that, Mercedes?”
Why, oh, why does every mean girl seem to have an asshole sidekick egging her on all the time?
“Hell naw.” Mercedes looks like she wants to strangle me. “I ain’t no one’s puta, cunt.”
“I wasn’t the one who said you were,” I remind her. “You did.”
It’s clear our little verbal sparring is too much for her to handle.
“Bitch, I’m gonna fuck you up.”
She lunges for me, but Stone stands, putting himself between us. “I have some time before work today. Meet me in the parking lot after school.”
This seems to calm her down a little. “Yeah, okay.” She turns her furious gaze on me. “This ain’t over, puta.”
My smile is all teeth. “For the last time, I’m not a pu—”
“Bianca?”
I look at Stone. “Yeah?”
“She’s leaving. Let it go.”
“Right.”
Mercedes and her crew stalk off and Stone plops back down in his seat.
“How long did you two date?”
He freezes. “What makes you think we dated?”
He’s got to be kidding me.
“I might not remember most things, but I’m smart enough to know that when a girl acts like that, it’s because she’s jealous.”
He stabs his mystery meat with his fork. “Five months.” He takes a bite and wipes his mouth with a napkin. “I ended things with her a few weeks ago.”
There’s a weird flicker of disappointment in my chest.
“Five months is like an eternity in high school. You must have really cared about her.”
“Yeah.” He clears his throat. “But walking in on her fucking my brother when he was visiting last month put an end to that.”
Wow. Sometimes there just aren’t any words.
“I…uh. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Shrugging, he twists open the bottle of his sports drink. “Like Tommy said, at least I found out she wasn’t loyal before things got even more serious between us.”
I want to point out that Tommy doesn’t sound very loyal either, but it’s obvious he’s pretty close to his brother.
Given I’m close to mine, I can’t fault him for that.
He sighs. “Can we talk about something else though? Talking about my cheating ex is ruining my appetite.”
Understandable.
“Sure.” Searching my brain for small talk, I say, “Have you decided what college you want to attend?”
His face lights up like the Fourth of July. “It’s a long shot, but I’m hoping to get into the pre-med program at Duke’s Heart.”
Well, damn. “Pre-med, huh? That’s—”
He cuts me off with a roll of his eyes. “Save it, princess. I’m well aware that not too many poor people like me end up becoming doctors. Like I said, it’s a long shot.”
“I was going to say that’s awesome.”
He narrows his eyes as if he’s expecting me to say something else. “And?”
“And what?”
Assessing me, he leans back in his seat. “Come on, you’re not gonna make a joke about me not having to worry because I’m half Asian and therefore must be super smart?”
I honestly have no idea what to say to that.
Actually, I do.
“I’m not gonna make a racist joke, because racist jokes are never funny. Secondly, I don’t judge people or their intelligence based on their race or ethnicity. And I sure as hell hope no one judges me based on mine.”
Although some people do unfortunately.
My mind flits back to the time Mom took Liam and me to the mall and one woman yelled that she and her ingrate kids should go back to India because we weren’t wanted here.
My mom was proud of being Indian and wanted us to be proud of it too. Seeing the crushed look on her face just about killed me.
There was also the time in second grade where we were supposed to give a presentation on our family trees and where we came from, and one of my friends suggested that I focus on my dad’s side from Ireland instead of my mom’s because people would make fun of me.
People can be such dicks.
Guilt colors Stone’s expression. “I’m sorry. I guess you out of all people know what it’s like.”
“Yeah.”
An uncomfortable silence stretches between us for what feels like for
ever.
“I know you think you know me, Stone, but…” I pause trying, but ultimately failing to find the right words to convey how I feel.
“But what?” he urges.
I push my half-eaten tray of food away. “I guess I’m just hoping you’ll give me a chance to show you the new Bianca, because I could really use a friend.”
Chapter 14
“You were quiet on the car ride home,” Jace notes as we walk through the front door. “How was class?”
“Oh, you know…fine.”
Given Jace and Cole are overprotective enough already, I’m definitely not going to tell him about Stone DaSilva.
My heart does a little flip. Despite only promising to help me for one day, he walked me to my classes and ate lunch with me again today.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy our time together.
Or that he wasn’t impossibly cute.
Angling my crutches on the staircase, I proceed the long hobble up to my room.
“Woah,” Cole calls out as he passes me on the staircase. “Where’s the fire?”
Shit. “No fire.” I fake a yawn. “I’m just tired.”
And by tired, I mean I want to go upstairs and do a little digging.
Which reminds me.
“Jace?”
“Yeah?”
“Were you able to fix my laptop?”
Evidently, it has some kind of virus. Fortunately, computers are Jace’s specialty and he’s fixing it for me.
He shakes his head. “Not yet. Still working on it.”
Damn.
“I should have it back to you by the end of the night, though.”
“Thanks.”
With that, I continue my long-winded journey up the stairs.
I breathe a sigh of relief the moment I enter my room…but the moment is short-lived because I hear a knock on my door.
I open it, intending to demand that my brothers give me some space, but to my surprise it’s Sawyer on the other side.
“Hi.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Hi.”
“Want to hang out?” Sawyer gestures to the plate of brownies she’s holding. “I come bearing gifts.”
Yeah, she did. And they smell fantastic.
“With an offer like that, how can I say no?” I gesture for her to come inside. “Come on in.”
After leaning my crutches against my nightstand, I plop down on my bed and gesture for the plate of goodies.
I know Jace and Cole said I was a health food nut before the accident, but I just don’t understand how anyone can live without chocolate.
Sawyer hands it over. “They have chocolate chips in them.”
It’s like music to my ears. “You’re a goddess.”
Laughing, Sawyer sits down on my bed. “So, make any new friends yet?”
I freeze, debating whether or not I should tell her about Stone. I know we were friends before, but this whole thing is so new to me.
Plus, there’s the fact that my family apparently ruined his brother’s life and all.
God, I’m so sick of all this drama.
“Um…kind of.”
She studies my face. “Kind of?”
Good Lord, it’s like she can see right through me.
“Okay, fine. It’s a boy,” I blurt out. “Quit drilling me, lady.”
Her lips twitch. “No pressure to spill, I promise.” Her smile is genuine. “For what it’s worth, I’m happy for you.”
“Don’t be.” I sigh heavily. “He’s amazing and awesome, and nice when he wants to be, but he has a crazy ex-girlfriend named Mercedes who wants to kick my ass every time she sees me.” I crinkle my nose. “Oh, and apparently Jace and Cole hate him, so the chances of us being anything more than frenemies is non-existent.”
I love my brothers, but sometimes they ruin everything.
Confusion spreads across her face. “Why in the world would Jace and Cole hate him?”
I pick at my brownie. “I’m not sure, but it has something to do with his brother.” I inwardly groan. “Evidently, we ruined his life which isn’t fair because Stone is—”
“Stone?” Sawyer all but squeaks out. “Stone DaSilva?”
I nearly choke on my food. “You know him?”
She gets off the bed and begins pacing. “Well, yeah, He…uh…he’s a dishwasher, busboy, and part-time hostess at Cluck You.”
Small world. “Then you know how cute and awesome he is.”
He’s also a hard worker from the sounds of it.
“Sure.”
A smile touches my lips. Given they’re co-workers, I can ask her a bunch of questions about him.
Her pacing picks up speed. “Dammit, of all the things.”
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that she’s privy to something I’m not.
“Sawyer?”
“Yeah?”
“What’s going on?”
She stops pacing and looks at me. “Did you say Jace and Cole ruined his brother’s life?”
“Yeah. That’s what Stone said.”
She flinches. “Yeah, that’s not…” She holds up a finger. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”
I eye her warily as she heads for the door. “Okay.”
A moment later she returns with an equally confused Dylan in tow. “What’s going on?”
Placing a finger over her lips, Sawyer closes the door. “Houston, we have a problem.”
Dylan looks at me. “What kind of problem?”
I shrug. “Beats me.”
All I did was tell her about a boy I like at school. I’m not really sure why she’s being so extra about everything.
Sawyer drops her voice to a whisper. “Are Cole and Jace still home?”
“No,” Dylan says. “They went to the gym.” Her nose crinkles. “Can you tell me what’s—”
“Bianca has a crush on Stone DaSilva.”
Dylan’s mouth drops open. “I’m sorry…what?”
“Hey,” I snap. “I told you that in confidence.”
Sawyer bows her head. “I know and normally I wouldn’t ever betray your trust, but this is a really big deal. Especially since Stone has you believing Cole and Jace ruined his brother’s life.”
Dylan’s eyes narrow into tiny slits. “Oh, that no-good, rotten son-of-a-bitch—”
“Okay, that’s it.” Making a fist, I punch my mattress. “Someone better spill the beans.”
I’m so tired of being kept in the dark about everything.
Dylan pinches the bridge of her nose. “I’m not sure why that little asshole told you that, but Jace and Cole didn’t ruin his brother’s life.” She sucks in a breath. “Tommy basically made it his mission to ruin Liam’s life.”
I feel like I was dunked in a vat of ice water. “What? How?”
Dylan takes a seat on my bed. “Tommy tormented Liam. Every day he would make fun of his stutter and scars and tease him with that ridiculous nickname.”
“What nickname?”
“History,” she whispers, her voice sounding every bit as shattered as I feel. “Because history always repeats itself.”
My stomach churns with the sudden rush of memories. “Liam used to come home with tears in his eyes.”
It broke my heart to see him so upset.
I literally wanted to kill Tommy for hurting him.
Dylan nods solemnly. “I know.”
“That’s not all he did,” Sawyer notes.
Dylan glares at Sawyer. “Jace doesn’t want us—”
“I know, but she has a right to know what happened that night.”
She’s right.
I look at them both. “Tell me everything.”
Chapter 15
I’m going to kill him.
Stone was right, we did ruin Tommy’s life…but only because he ruined Liam’s first.
A shudder runs through me when I think of all the vicious, cruel things he did to him.
Especially the night before his death.
I clutch a hand to my chest. Liam never told me.
Just like most of his pain, he kept it hidden deep down.
He didn’t give me a chance to save him.
My insides twist with rage. The fact that I was starting to have feelings for someone who could stand there and defend such a vile, evil person makes me want to wash my heart out with bleach.
Which is exactly why I took an Uber to Cluck You shortly after kicking Sawyer and Dylan out of my room.
I want to confront the asshole to his face.
I’m downright shivering with adrenaline as I march into Stone’s job.
It takes me all of two seconds to spot him standing at the counter.
I don’t think, I just act.
Balancing on my crutches, I pick up the nearest object and fling it at him. “You asshole.”
Stone ducks in the nick of time, narrowly missing the napkin dispenser I launched at his head. “Jesus Christ. What the hell is the matter with you?”
“You. You lied to me, Stone. You looked me right in the eyes and lied.” I hate the way my voice quivers, but I have no control over it. “I thought we were friends. I thought—”
“Bianca, that’s enough,” Sawyer calls out, rushing inside the building. “I know you’re upset, but this isn’t the time or place.”
Stone snorts. “Should have known they’d get to you sooner or later.”
I open my mouth to tell him off, but a short older man waving a broom yells, “You. I told you never to come here again.”
I have no idea what he’s talking about.
“Relax, Mr. Gonzales,” Sawyer says. “She was just leaving.”
Ha. Fat chance. “No, I wasn’t.”
He jabs a finger in my face. “Leave now, or I’ll call the police.”
“Call them,” I bite out.
Stone takes off his apron and throws it on the counter. “I’m taking my ten-minute break.”
Mr. Gonzales throws his hands up. “No. No break for you. You cause that mean girl to come in here and ruin my business again!”
Again?
Stone looks at Sawyer. “Cover for me?”
Sawyer is visibly outraged. “Are you out of your damn mind?”
“Please,” he insists. “I need to talk to Bianca.” He folds his arms. “Besides, you owe me for never pressing charges against your boyfriend.”
