Nerdy Girl Nation (Nerdy Girl #1)

by Lindsey Gray

  She was patting her face with a paper towel when she heard the door creak. Assuming Cherry or even Rob was coming to check on her, she didn’t bother turning around. When she didn’t hear anything after a moment, she turned toward the door.

  A sheet of paper hung on the back of the door, blood red letters scrawled across it.

  Emma clasped her hand over her mouth to keep the sob from escaping.

  She never received threats in person, always through the mail. A letter delivered there could only mean one thing, her attacker was there.

  “Keep it together,” she chanted through her soft sobs. She took a piece of tissue, removed the note from the door, and tucked it in her purse. Her legs wobbled and she let herself fall to the floor.

  After a few moments, she was able to grab the basin and pull herself to her feet. The movement caused instant nausea. She turned and vomited, almost missing the toilet.

  When there was nothing left of her lunch to lose, she stood and gazed in the mirror. Her lips and cheeks were pale while the vessels in her eyes shimmered bright red. She turned on the faucet and cupped her hands to catch some water to drink.

  There was a soft knock on the door a moment later. “Emma? Are you okay?” Cherry asked.

  Emma had no idea what to say or do, but she wouldn’t be able to get out of there by herself. She turned off the water before she answered.

  “Can you come in, Cherry?” She sat down on the edge of the toilet seat.

  “Sure.” Cherry opened the door and found a pale, distraught Emma. “Oh, sweetie. You’re sick.”

  “Yeah.” Emma brushed her hair out of her face and felt the sweat from her clammy cheeks on her fingertips.

  “We’re wrapping things up. Can you get up?” Cherry offered her hand to Emma.

  “I think so.” She wobbled a little when she stood. Cherry dampened a paper towel and handed the wet blob to Emma. “Thanks.”

  After a little clean up, Cherry helped Emma out of the bathroom and into the hallway where they found Rob with the camera crew.

  “Everything okay?” Rob asked. Emma saw he moved his eyes up and down her body with concern.

  “I just need some rest.”

  Rob looked confused but he kept silent.

  “I was telling Emma we were about done. We should get her to the car.” Cherry said and continued to hold Emma’s trembling form upright.

  Emma saw Derek enter the hallway and note her pale complexion. “Em?”

  “Hey, I’m gonna cut out on you. I’m not feeling well.”

  Derek removed Emma from Cherry’s arms into his. Emma winced at the emotional pain the movement caused.

  “You need some of chicken soup? I can whip up my mom’s recipe.”

  “Thanks, but no.” She pulled back from him. “I think a shower and bed are best now. I hope the kids had a good time.”

  Derek smiled. “This made their year. Thanks again for coming.”

  “No problem.” She moved to grab onto Cherry’s arm, but Derek stopped her.

  “I’ll call you soon.”

  Emma nodded, took Cherry’s arm, and started for the car with Rob and the camera crew trailing behind.

  “Troy, I’m not feeling well and need to be alone for the night. Can we give the guys the rest of the day off and start back up in the morning?” Emma begged the producer of Hunt for Life. She needed some time to get herself together after a much-needed cry fest.

  “Only because I don’t want Ben hearing you hurl. We all know he can’t hold it in once someone starts in front of him.”

  Emma relaxed somewhat. A little time alone was just what she needed.

  “Thanks so much. I promise they can film me in the morning even if I’m still a hot mess.”

  “You owe me one. Dinner when you’re in LA?”

  “Sure. Talk to you later.” Emma ended the call and heard Ben sigh in relief.

  “Yeah, they don’t need both of us puking on camera.” Emma placed her phone in her bag. “Phil, can you drop me off at home and take the guys back to the hotel?”

  “Yes, Miss MacLean.”

  Emma relaxed back into the plush leather seat and prayed Phil would drive the quickest route home.

  Emma noticed Annie’s car in the drive before she entered the house. “Annie? Dad? I’m home. No cameras tonight.”

  Annie walked in with baby Sam resting on her hip. “How did the trip to school go?”

  “The kids had a wonderful time, but I’m not feeling so hot. The crew has the night off while I recuperate.” Emma took Sam’s outstretched hand in her own. “I wish I felt up to some playtime with my favorite guy. Maybe tomorrow?”

  “Sure. I came over to use your oven. Ours went out and the new one won’t be installed until Monday.”

  Emma nodded as she remembered. “The community center carnival is this weekend.”

  “Yeah. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a big deal.”

  “It’s fine. I’m going to shower and go to bed.” Emma squeezed Sam’s hand before she let it go.

  “I’ll check on you before I leave. Mick is doing a special cruise tonight and said he’d be late.”

  “Thanks for telling me.”

  Emma walked to her room and shut the door behind her. She dropped her bag and stripped while on her way to the bathroom.

  The water warmed within a minute of her turning on the tap. As she stepped under the spray, the warm water began to take the tension in her body away. If only it would take the worries in her mind as well.

  “Annie, right?” Rob asked the redhead who answered the door at Emma’s house.

  “Yeah. You’re Bobby Breyer.”

  “Yes. I was wondering if I could check on Emma. She seemed pretty sick when she left the school.” Rob held a bottle of ginger ale and some cheese crackers in his arms. He hoped the food enticed Emma enough to tell him about her sudden illness.

  “Come in.” Annie opened the door a bit wider to allow Rob to walk through. “She’s in the shower. You want to wait in the kitchen with me?”

  “Okay.”

  Rob followed Annie into the kitchen where he saw dozens of trays of treats on the counters and a playpen with a little boy snoozing in it.

  “Who’s this little guy?” Rob asked while he set his stuff down on the only uninhabited counter space.

  “My son, Sam. Don’t worry about being too loud. Once we get him to sleep, he’s oblivious to the world.”

  Rob laughed. He envied the kid. Not a care in the world besides who was going to feed and change him.

  “Nice for you and Harry?”

  “So nice. Our daughter was horrible when she was his age. It’s one of the reasons we waited so long to have another.”

  “Emma told me about Charlotte. Eleven?”

  “Yes.” Annie plated another dozen cookies. “When did you and Emma find time to talk about us? She hasn’t said anything.”

  “The cameras aren’t around, are they?” He hadn’t seen them when he came in and assumed they wouldn’t be in Emma’s bedroom waiting for her to come out of the shower.

  “No. Since she’s sick, they are off for the night.” Annie placed her spatula on the counter and turned to him. “What are you two up to?”

  “God, I wish she would’ve gotten a chance to tell you.”

  Annie crossed her arms in front of her chest, tilted her head a bit to one side, and stared at him, waiting for a response.

  “We’ve been getting to know each other. Did she tell you we met back in high school?”

  “Yes, at an IWA event. I was so mad I didn’t get to go.”

  “Well, we connected back then, but she was with Derek. But now she’s single.”

  “You are sneaking around!” Annie smiled and seemed rather proud.

  “Not sneaking. Waiting until the time is right. We agreed we didn’t want to start anything in front of the cameras.”

  “So you’ve been calling her every night? I was with her the other night when you called.”

&nb
sp; “Guilty,” he said, happy he was finally able to talk to someone about it.

  “She told me about the conversation you had in the car yesterday.” She grabbed a hand towel and smacked him with it. “What the hell were you thinking?”

  He laughed at Annie’s protectiveness. “I wasn’t. I was trying to play my part while getting some answers to a few questions I had.”

  “Your part?”

  “Yeah, I guess she didn’t tell you about that either.” He ran his hand through his hair and dislodged it from the product he had in it. “Aaron wants us eventually to be a kind of power couple. I was interested in Emma way before the announcement, so Aaron decided to change up his original ideas for me. The plan is for something big happen at the event in LA. Not sure what yet, but it’s also her last day shooting Hunt for Life, so I’m sure everyone wants it to be good.”

  Annie slumped against the counter.

  “This is just like her.”

  “In what way?” Rob was a little confused by Annie’s statement.

  “She always keeps anything of a romantic nature away from us. After she and Derek broke up, she never wanted to talk about any of her relationships. She didn’t tell me about last year’s loser until it was almost over. A couple of the others I found out about way after the fact.” Annie shook her head with a frown. “She’s my best friend. I hear about everything else in her life, why not this?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Annie seemed on the verge of tears and Rob had no idea what to do.

  “When filming is done, don’t let her keep you a secret from us. Harry is a huge fan of yours and I’m sure Mick would love to meet you. Nan will love you too.”

  “I’ll be here for Sunday dinner every week if you want.” Rob smiled and Annie perked up.

  “We do family dinners on Thursdays.”

  “Thursdays it is.”

  “I heard the water go off a few minutes ago. I’ll go check on her.” She gave his forearm a squeeze and left the kitchen.

  Rob sat down at the kitchen table and stared at the sleeping boy. He felt an urge to pick up Sam and hold him in his arms. If he and Emma could get their shit together, one day he hoped to hold his own child in the same kitchen.

  “Come in,” Emma called as she ran her towel over her wet hair.

  “Feeling better?” Annie asked as she came in and sat on the bed across from Emma.

  “A little.” The shower had helped physically but hadn’t done anything to wash away the memories. How was she ever going to move past it? She thought by helping to educate kids and adults about bullying through the Nerdy Girl Nation, she was healing. When she found the note on the back of the bathroom door, she turned back into the terrified teenage girl she had fought so hard to get away from.

  “I know something that might help.”

  “What?” Emma let her towel rest around her neck.

  “Your boyfriend is in the kitchen. He seems worried about you.”

  “Rob’s here?” Emma smacked her hand over her mouth the instant she realized what she said.

  “Yes, he is. He already explained, but you don’t get a pass. You and I will be talking about this away from the cameras. Soon.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Annie patted Emma’s hand. “No, you’re not. You’ve always kept the guy stuff to yourself. Not anymore. I’ve already given him a standing invitation to Thursday dinners. You can’t keep him away from us.”

  “Okay.” Emma scrunched up her face and her bottom lip trembled. Annie was her best friend. Why couldn’t she confide in her like normal woman would?

  “Enjoy some time with your guy. I’ll come get everything before I go to the community center tomorrow.” Annie patted Emma’s hand again before she stood and left the room.

  Emma moved back to the bed to sit up against the headboard. The conversation wouldn’t be easy, but someone needed to know.

  “Hey,” Rob said as he peeked in.

  “Hi. Come in.”

  Rob entered and closed the door behind him. “Gifts.” He held up a bowl of cheese crackers and a glass of what appeared to be ginger ale.

  “Thanks.” She took them from him and set them on her bedside table. “Sit.”

  He sat on the bed facing her and took her hand in his. The towel slipped from around her shoulders when he pulled at the end.

  “I feel like something else happened today. You were so pale and shaking when you walked out with Cherry.” His voice caught in his throat. “Tell me what happened.”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “We’ve got all night.”

  Emma stood up and got her purse. She brought it back to the bed and dug the note out with a tissue.

  “This note was put on the back of the bathroom door while I was in there.” She laid it out on the bed with care.

  “What the hell does this mean?”

  Emma took a deep breath and slowly let it out to calm her nerves. “I told you how bad it was for me in high school, right?”

  “This has to do with something that happened twelve years ago?”

  She nodded. “It’s not the first note like this I’ve gotten, but it is the first one delivered in person.”

  “What?” He took her hand in his.

  “After Derek and I were nominated for Prom King and Queen, the bullying reached a whole new level. My childhood nemesis, Maria DeFazio, also got nominated. She did everything she could to make sure I wouldn’t win. Prom came and she and Derek won. When Derek refused to dance with her, she stormed off. Before we left, she confronted me for making a fool out of her. It was the first time I fought back. I ended up with a black eye and a ripped dress. The principal broke us up but made sure to tell our parents we would be meeting with him the next week.” A tear ran down her cheek when she thought of what she needed to admit next.

  Rob pulled her into his arms and she held on tight as she buried her face in his chest.

  “Come on, let’s lie down.” He lay down on his back and settled her into the nook of his neck. “Better?”

  She hummed and snuggled in closer.

  “Can we please stay like this while I get it all out?”

  “Okay.” He began to make slow, soft strokes up and down her spine with his fingertips.

  “Mom and Dad both had early days so they were going to meet me at school. I got out the front door and halfway down the walk when someone hit me from behind and knocked me out. When I didn’t show up at school, my parents came home to find me. They found my car still at home and my keys embedded in the grass beside the walk.”

  “Scared the hell out of them, right?”

  “They told me they called the police right away. By the time they had everything organized for a search, I had been found.”

  “I don’t want to ask, but I’d like to know.”

  She wiggled in his arms and brought her leg to drape over his. “I don’t remember much, just flashes. None of them good.”

  “Oh, baby.” His grip was like a vice, but the tight embrace was exactly what she needed to get the last of the story out.

  “The doctors say I blocked the whole thing out. I’ve spent years in therapy trying to remember, but I don’t dredge up anything more than I did right after the attack. I only remember a lot of pain and huge hands. The only clear memory I have is of waking up in the emergency room.”

  “How did you end up getting there?”

  “I guess someone took me to school and laid me next to the principal’s car. He found me and called an ambulance then even rode with me to the hospital.”

  “Were you in the hospital long?” His fingers trailed up and down her spine in a soothing motion.

  “Just overnight. They were able to set the break in my arm without surgery. There was not much they could do about the broken ribs, but a plastic surgeon came in to see about the …” She swallowed hard then whispered. “The bite marks.”

  “Oh, God.” His arms wrapped tighter around her. “Where?”


  “All over,” she choked up. Not very many people knew about the marks. Just the doctors, her mother, Harry, and Derek knew all the details. She couldn’t bring herself to tell her father. “All over my breasts. They had no suspects to compare the bites to and the dentals didn’t match anyone listed in their database. As far as I know, the case is still open.”

  “I know you’re scared, but please tell me you’re going to get these notes to the police.”

  “I think it’s time. But I don’t know if the notes were really the worst part.” She shifted to get a tighter grip around Rob’s body. “Each note had a picture enclosed. The first had a picture of me asleep in my hospital bed after the attack. Over the years, pictures of my family and friends were included. The creepiest was a picture of Sam when he was just a few days old.”

  “Sick bastard.” He squeezed her tight then kissed her forehead. “I’ll be with you every step of the way if you want.” He laid another kiss on her hair and nuzzled at her temple. “Are these threats the only reason you’re staying away from Derek?”

  “No.” She turned to rest her head on her elbow. “This, you and me, makes me nervous, but happy in a way I don’t think I’ve ever been. Right now, I need to be in your arms and sleep. Can that be enough for now?”

  “More than enough. Let me get comfortable.” Rob got up from the bed a slipped off his shoes, socks, and jeans. He crawled back into her arms in his tee shirt and boxer briefs. “Good?”

  “Perfect.”

  “What time will the cameras be here tomorrow?”

  “I’m not sure. Early I expect. I’ve got to help with the carnival tomorrow. Why don’t you come with me?”

  “If you’re sure.”

  “Positive.” She gave him a soft peck on the lips before she snuggled back and gave in to her complete exhaustion.

  Sleep didn’t come at all for Rob. Emma was restless, and he had to soothe her several times.

  Emma told him about the bullying when she was younger. She should’ve never suggested they go to the high school. They could’ve arranged for the kids to come to the training facility instead. Emma should never set foot on the campus again, not when some sicko could get to her so easily.