by C. M. Owens
"What?" I ask, grimacing when the word comes out in a choked form.
"Shit. What happened?" His mock concern forces me to roll my eyes. The tears slink back enough for me to face him.
"Nothing. You'll be pleased to know I'm calling your father today to apologize for going back on the deal I made with him. You win. I give up. Call off the hellhounds. I'm waving the fucking white flag."
My voice starts cracking too much, and I take a steadying breath before deciding I can't face any more school today. I almost break into a run in an effort to escape him, but he grabs my arm and pulls me back.
"I didn't do this, and you can't call my father. He'll come to the school and raise hell if he finds out this is happening, and you'll have an even bigger target it on your back. What did you expect to happen? You'd move in and no one would say anything? That's not the way it works."
"So it's my fault they want to call me a slut and a charity case? Nice. Real fucking nice," I say in a deadly calm tone before walking away again, ripping free from his grip.
"Damn it, Raya! Stop. If you have me chasing you across campus they'll talk even more."
"Then stop chasing me. I'll just move out without calling your father."
I don't turn around to see if he stops, but I never hear him arguing anymore, so I assume he has. I cross the road without even looking, and a horn blows loudly as tires screech. I never even bother lifting my head. I hate this. It's high school all over again. This was supposed to be a new beginning, a new life - a life where I wasn't the trailer-park girl.
I sling my backpack across the room the second I reach the upstairs suite. I don't care about the small crack I just made in the sheetrock. It's as though I'm not allowed to catch a break. I'm not supposed to just have one frigging thing go my way.
It's not like I can call my mom and gripe. She feels so guilty about so many things already, even though she shouldn't. I can't call my Dad's family, they'd do something incredibly illegal, like hack the files of everyone hassling me and give them failing grades. I can't call my best friend, considering she and my ex-boyfriend got together the second I moved out here. I have no one, and now I barely have myself. This is not how everything was supposed to go.
I start shoving different things into my bag, bypassing the new fancy clothes I should have never agreed to accept, when the door slams.
"Raya!" Kade blares, making me jump.
How dare he yell at me.
I hear quick strides bringing him up the staircase, and I rush over to shut the door before he can see the tears that have started to fall. Before it can seal, I'm being thrown back as he barges into the room.
"You can't let them win. If you do, you'll be their doormat for the rest of the year. Possibly the rest of your college existence. You're a freshman, so that's not going to work out so well for you."
The hard edge to his tone isn't fair. He doesn't have the right to be mad at me or to speak to me like this is my fault.
"Go to hell, Kade. Maybe you shouldn't have told them to ridicule me if you didn't want your daddy to be pissed."
I sniffle and wipe my nose as more of my traitorous tears fall. He grinds his teeth before walking over to my bed and dumping out the bag I just finished packing with all my insulation-laced clothing. I'll itch to death before I wear that fancy shit again.
"Get your ass up and grow the hell up. Get over it, Raya. You're a poor girl who landed herself a spot in a rich house. People are going to talk. The only thing you can do is show them they're wrong. I've already spread the word that there will be a party Saturday. They'll start easing off you. Show up, drink, have fun... be a normal teenage girl."
I let out an incredulous laugh while dropping my head. "You're such an idiot. I won't be here in five minutes, let alone on Saturday. I'll live in the laundromat before I stay here for one more second."
He cracks his neck to the side before jerking me by the arm and dragging me out of the room. I stumble as I fight against him, calling him a string of names - none of which really make any sense.
"What the hell are you doing?" I bark.
"Keeping you from being a dumbass."
When I plant my feet and force my body to the ground, he leans over and scoops me over his shoulder. I squeal and scream as I beat his back ineffectively, probably hurting my fists more than his hard body.
I feel the air, the breeze, and the pool in one gust. I gasp for air, only to find a choking amount of water as I scramble to the surface, swatting my arms through the thick chlorine-filled beast that is burning my open eyes. That son of a bitch!
I choke and spit in a heaving fit when I finally find air again.
"Cool off," he says with a smirk. "When you get out, go grab a shower, eat something, and get some rest. Things will be different tomorrow."
If I wasn't still coughing up all the intrusive water in my lungs, I'd scream at him. He walks away before I can manage to recover, and I lose my opportunity.
I know I look like a fool trying to haul myself over the edge of the pool, but I do it. I lie there for a minute, trying to catch my breath, but I finally manage to stand up and stalk through the house, ready to unleash hell. He's gone. That coward has run off after throwing me in the pool.
One of his cars is gone, his backpack is still tossed against the wall of the foyer, and there's no chance of me berating him before I leave.
Reality slowly creeps in. I have nowhere to go. I have no money to get another place right now. One of my scholarships comes in monthly installments, but I won't get it for another two weeks, and it'll only be three-hundred dollars. What the hell am I supposed to do if I leave?
Without another thought, I walk outside, step to the edge of the pool, and let myself fall back in.
Kade has done well to avoid me since our confrontation yesterday. Since I really had no other option, I decided to stay. Once the fury had worn off and the dire reality of my circumstances set in, I begrudgingly accepted my one and only option - live with Kade and endure the mockery.
Maybe I'll get lucky and some scandal will sweep the school and steal the spotlight from me. Tomorrow he's having a party. I never agreed to that, but I'm not calling Mr. Colton to tattle. I doubt I'll ever speak to the man again.
As soon as I leave my last class, I see the guy who harassed me in front of Kade yesterday. His hat is drawn so low I can't see his eyes, but you never forget those who love to torture you. Their image is always burned into your brain.
He runs all over me before I can sidestep his path, and my backpack falls from my shoulder. I curse when the zipper strips and all my shit spills out onto the ground. So now he's resorted to physical contact to humiliate me as well. Perfect. I almost made it through a whole day without anyone spewing their lies or taunts.
"S-sorry," he stammers out, sounding a little panicked as he rushes to jerk me to my feet. In his haste, he almost jerks my arm out of socket.
Sorry? Really?
He scrambles to start scooping all my stuff up and push it back into my bag, while I stand there stupefied. What's going on?
When he finishes the task of reassembling my backpack, he frantically starts trying to fix my destroyed zipper.
"Fuck," he growls when he's unable to make it work. "I'll buy you a new one," he says while standing up and carefully handing it to me without letting the sides fall open.
I warily accept it, still waiting on some major blow up. Should I look around to see if this is the distraction before the ambush?
It's then I notice his black and swollen eye - the reason he's hiding under a hat. An involuntary smile tugs at my lips. This asshole has apparently tried bullying the wrong person at some point and time. Serves him right.
"I'll get my own backpack," I mutter as his trembling hands release the bag. "I'd hate to end up with a backpack full of snakes or something."
He doesn't say anything else before almost sprinting away from me. I'll add that to the list of bizarre things that have happened today. Most people have gawked
at me, but no one has really taunted me. The group of girls who've been calling me "Daddy's dirty little secret" for several days have all but disappeared today.
Either they've resorted to hushed whispers, or my prayers for a bigger scandal have been answered. I'll gladly let them talk behind my back. There's no one here I'm trying to impress. As long as they leave me alone, they can ruin my name in this state.
"What happened?" Kade growls when he walks up beside me, his eyes on my bag.
I jump a little from the unexpected suddenness of his presence. "Nothing. Joseph ran over me, my bag fell and broke open."
I shrug, trying not to seem rattled. I'm still humiliated for letting him see me fall apart yesterday. I should be seething over the fact he threw me in the pool, but sadly, I'm almost glad he did. I would have probably left and been homeless if he hadn't.
He lets a snort of disbelief free, and then his eyes scour the grounds for something. I tilt my head, curious as to what he's searching for.
"Looking for someone?"
"Yeah. I'll catch up with you later."
He's gone before I can say anything more than that. It's not like it matters. He's so... confusing. He tosses me in a pool and then avoids me. Then he shows up at random to ask about my broken backpack before disappearing again. I wish he'd make up his mind about whether he hated me or tolerated me.
"Hey," a voice says, startling me.
I turn to see a girl with braided pigtails and a secretive grin. Here it comes. I should have knocked on wood or something. I jinxed myself by thinking they'd moved on from torturing me.
"Go ahead. Say whatever you want. I've heard it all," I mumble while turning away.
She jogs up beside me, and I chance glancing at her to see a frown instead of her earlier smirk.
"I wasn't going to say anything. Believe me, I know what it's like to be the brunt of a joke."
That stops me. I give her my full attention, while trying to keep from dropping my gaping backpack.
"Then what do you want?" I ask, unable to keep the disbelieving suspicion out of my tone.
She fidgets awkwardly and twirls one of her pigtails for a second.
"I was going to see if I could maybe come to the party tomorrow? I don't usually get invited, and I know you don't have a lot of friends, so... I don't know. I thought we could possibly help each other out."
I study her, waiting for this pretty girl with perfect hair and crisp blue eyes to lead me into a trap.
"Why don't you usually get invited?"
"Because I'm not a rich brat with big connections. That's all Kade invites."
Of course he does. He's a snob.
"It's not my party. I don't exactly have the right to invite anyone."
I turn to walk away, but she jogs up beside me again. "No, but since you're dating Kade now, I thought-"
"Whoa. Wait. What?" I interrupt, feeling my shock fall out with the words.
She tilts her head, suddenly seeming uncertain about whether or not she should continue.
"You're dating Kade, right? Not his father? It's all over campus. The rumor is that you and Kade got together before the bulldozer incident and that's why his father moved you in with Kade. Then Kade bought you a bunch of clothes because all of yours were ruined in the wreckage and he felt responsible. You didn't want to accept them, but he forced you to. I thought... You're not dating?"
A harsh breath falls out in the form of laughter. I don't know why I'm laughing. I suppose it's because it's so ridiculous.
"Kade Colton? You seriously think I'm dating Kade? He hates me most of the time, and he barely speaks to me the rest. Why on earth would you think I'm dating him?"
She looks over her shoulder before tugging me at my elbow and leading me away from any prying ears.
"You need to let people believe it. It's the only reason they've backed off. If you go around proclaiming the truth, then they'll start back up. It's not as scandalous for a rich guy to be taking care of his girlfriend after a bunch of jerks wrecked her house. It is scandalous to be the mistress of his father. And you're nothing more than a punch-line if they think Kade and his father simply feel sorry for the poor girl without another option."
I swallow hard. Shit. That's why today has been less brutal. For some reason, these idiots think I'm dating Kade.
"I'm not a damn mistress," I hiss.
I don't bother denying the charity case accusation, because in all actuality, that's basically what I am. My pride can't compete with reality. I'd have to leave school and return to Utah if I moved out.
"Well, I'm sure Kade will quickly refute that rumor soon enough. As in the second he hears it," I add, groaning inwardly.
I grip my head. My day was nice, and now I learn it was a mere misunderstanding. Damn it!
"Surely he's already heard it by now," she says in a low whisper.
I start to walk off, but I stop myself. This party tomorrow will surely tip everyone off to the truth when they see how very much we're not in a relationship. It might not be a bad idea to have at least one ally.
"Come tomorrow night," I say to the only person who's been nice to me since I've been here.
She squeals in delight before grabbing my phone from my back pocket. I jerk a little from the unexpected touch as she starts pounding away on my keys. One thing I've learned... my small town respected personal space, but this place has no boundaries.
I've had my ass grabbed, groped, and mauled numerous times by men and women. Most of it has been innocent, but for Christ's sake, couldn't someone simply warn me before they touch me?
"My name is Ember, and now you have my number," she says while handing me back my phone. My hands are full, so she simply slides it back into my back pocket. At least I had warning this time.
She runs off before asking my name. Who am I kidding? Everyone here apparently knows my name.
A warm arm wraps around my shoulders as a body sidles up close to me, forcing my head to snap to the right to see who's touching me this time. Kade?
"I'm back. Let's go grab some coffee. I'm bored."
I look around, somewhat curious if he's mistaken me for someone else. The only things I notice are the numerous pairs of eyes on us.
"Why would you want to get coffee? With me?"
He chuckles at my question while steering me toward his flashy Mercedes that is parked at the curb. Another one of his vehicles. His four-car garage hosts his nice selection.
"It's coffee, Raya. We live together, so we might as well get to know each other. It'll make it less awkward. Coffee is a start."
As we near his vehicle, I decide to capitalize on this rare moment of civility.
"I invited someone to your party. Is that okay?"
He tenses beside me, and his steps catch small lulls, as if I just caught him off guard.
"Care if I ask who?" It's like he's trying to sound casual, but it's forced. Have I just ruined the chance for us to try and get along by inviting someone who is poor like me? Well screw him.
"Her name is Ember. She's not exactly one of your socialite elites, but she was nice-"
"That's fine," he interrupts, sounding truly relaxed now.
Damn, he's moody.
He holds the door for me, and I climb in, refusing to entertain all the eyes on us with a glance. Kade's going to flip the hell out when he finds out that my rumors have now bled onto him. This small window of civility will be slammed shut, and he'll probably even join in on the next heckle-Raya session.
"Don't you work at the coffee place?" he asks, drawing me out of my miserable thoughts.
"I did," I mutter with a scowl.
I cross my arms over my chest and glare at the road ahead.
"O...kay. Anything you'd like to share?"
Should I tell the rich brat I was fired when I could barely reach above my head for three days? The bruises were so severe that it hurt when I tried to stock the cabinets. After two days, Mr. Grady, the owner, decided he didn't have the time to wait
on me to heal. He fired me, using the excuse he needed a full-time employ instead.
"Not really," I mumble, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing I lost my job because of his stupid partiers.
"Do you need a job? My granddad has a-"
"I don't need one right now. I have my monthly scholarship money. It's from my town church. They always pick a senior every year with good grades to give a scholarship, and they pay it in installments. I'll be fine until I can find something." Since I'm not paying rent.
He doesn't say anything. I'm sure he doesn't even know how hard someone has to work to earn a scholarship. I wrote essays, sent test scores, and filled out countless forms while submitting for all the scholarship money I could.
My mom would never have been able to afford college for me, I won't take Dad's money for fear of where he got it, and I didn't qualify for a student loan. My only option was a scholarship. So I spent night after night doing all the legwork while working at the local diner and saving up every penny I could. It wasn't until I got here that I realized how much more the cost of living is. For a smart girl, I made one hell of a stupid mistake.
We turn into the coffee shop, and I sigh in relief when I don't see the owner's car. I'm happy to not have to deal with Mr. Grady.
"You cool?" he asks, stepping out of the car as my eyes scour the lot.
"Yeah."
I hop out, trying not to seem affected, and he waits for me to pass in front of him before he places his hand at the small of my back. What is with people here and touching? Is it so much to ask for everyone to keep their hands to themselves if they don't know me.
I start to comment on it, when he removes his hand and opens the door for me. The second I see a couple sliding out of a booth, I make quick strides to snatch it up. I hate tables. I love the booths.
I expect Kade to slide in across from me, but instead, he slides in right next to me, forcing me to scoot over more.
"TV's up there," he says by way of explanation.
"Then I'll sit over there," I murmur, nudging him to move.
"You're already sitting down. We came to talk, and you'll have to talk louder if you sit over there. Just stay where you're at. I don't bite."
