by Ruby Vincent
I was in trouble. Big-time.
Christian’s crew took off after him while the cheerleaders lingered to give me dirty looks before they dispersed. When they did, I saw that the only people remaining were Xenia... and Estelle.
My best friend stared at me with her mouth hanging open.
“Christian was right, Bryant.” My gaze flicked to Xenia. She stood there with her arms folded, face expressionless. “You have made a big mistake.”
I didn’t say anything and she turned and left, leaving Estelle and me alone. Estelle frowned at her retreating back. “God, I hate that chick. That dead-eyed stare creeps me out.”
I couldn’t worry about Xenia right now. “How much of that did you hear?”
Estelle gave me a look. “Every single insane word.” She rushed me and grabbed my shoulders. “I told you to drop a few witty comebacks, not to get yourself killed!”
I clutched my churning stomach. “I think I should sit down.” Estelle hurriedly threw my hand around her shoulder and started to drag me out. “Alcohol! Bring alcohol and lots of it!”
“Oh, right.” Estelle ran back, snagged two bottles, and we escaped.
I didn’t think anything could be worse than what I went through in junior year, but from Christian’s chilling laughter as he walked away; he was going to prove me wrong.
Chapter Three
I emerged from my room the next morning with my clothes under my arm. I showered, brushed my teeth, and downed an Advil to kill the rest of my headache. I got a little carried away the night before drinking away my sorrows.
I didn’t regret what I had said—far from it. Pretty much the entire school had been making my life a living hell since I walked into class the first day of junior year four months pregnant. My fall from grace could be compared to jumping out of a plane with no parachute. I dropped hard, fast, and with no chance of recovery.
I went from cheer captain and most popular girl in school to gold-digging, boyfriend-stealing, pregnant slut, and no one was happier to ride me down than Madison and Christian.
Mom and Dad were seated at the kitchen table when I came downstairs. I had my backpack over one shoulder and my camera hanging off the other. They both stopped talking when I came into the room. Not a good sign.
“What?” I asked while I pulled the cereal down from the cupboard. “What is it?”
“Rachel,” my mom began, “there is something we need to discuss with you.”
“I figured that.”
“Sit down, sweetie.” My dad got up and took the box from my hands. “I’ll make your breakfast.”
I shrugged and took a seat at the table. Mom smiled at me. “Rachel, do you remember a few years ago we discussed taking in a foster kid?”
My brows drew together. “Yeah.”
“Well, so far it hasn’t worked out but not because we changed our minds. So much has happened to our family and it was never the right time. Now it is.”
Dad placed the bowl of cereal in front of me. I made no move to pick up my spoon.
“What do you mean now?”
Mom and Dad shared a look as my father took a seat beside her. “Rachel, we’re opening our home to someone in need. It’s not official or through Child Services but—”
I held up my hand. “I’m sorry. Can I just process that for a second? You’re telling me that you’re going to let a random kid into our house where you’ll feed, clothe, and take care of them for as long as they need?”
Dad frowned, no doubt at my tone. “Yes, young lady, that is what your mother is saying.”
“I see.”
Silence fell.
“Is there something wrong, Rachel?” asked Mom.
“Nope,” I replied, but my tone said otherwise. The chair legs screeched against the tile as I shoved back my chair. “Well, if anyone is interested in what I think, then I say it’s great. Honestly, I do. Every kid deserves a safe and loving home. I’ve seen what happens when they don’t have one.”
Margaret’s eyes flashed. She rose out of her chair. “If you’re implying that you don’t, then—”
“No, Mom, I wasn’t.” The look on her face said she wasn’t convinced. “Seriously, I didn’t mean us. I meant... someone else. Look, I have to get going. Estelle will be here soon.”
“But you haven’t finished your breakfast,” my dad protested.
I picked up my bag and headed for the door. “I’ll grab something on the way to school.”
“But wait, Rachel, we’re not done discussing this,” Mom called down the hall. “I feel that the idea of this is causing you distress and we should explore why that is.”
“No distress here! See you guys later!”
“But, Rach—”
Slam!
The door swung shut on my mother and I headed down the driveway just as Estelle pulled up to the curb.
“Hey, babe,” she said when I slid inside. “You okay? You got a weird look on your face.”
I shook my head. “My parents just told me we’re taking in a foster child.”
“A foster child?” She swung her head around to stare at me. “Wow. How do you feel about that?”
I groaned. “My mom asks me that question at least a dozen times a day. I can’t handle it from you too.”
She laughed. “Okay, I can rephrase, but I still want to know.”
I looked away, chewing my lip. Putting into words all the feelings swirling through me felt impossible, but I tried for Estelle. “It’s a surprise, but it’s also not. My parents told me back in middle school that this was something they wanted to do. I was all for it then and I am now. What they’re doing is important, it’s just that...”
“It’s just that they want someone else’s kid, but they didn’t want yours.”
Leave it to Estelle to see right through me. “Does that make me awful?”
Estelle took her hand off the dash and took mine. “Of course not.”
Tears prickled behind my eyes and I quickly rubbed them away. “Can we have a subject change please?”
“Sure. I haven’t told you about my peanut butter sex romps with Ryan yet.”
I snorted a laugh as amusement broke through my dark mood. “I do want to hear all about that actually, but first on the list should be how I’m going to survive today— No, the rest of the year.”
“Babe, you should know that I’m super proud of you for standing up to Christian... but I’ve got nothing.”
I sighed, letting my head fall back. I don’t know why I dug up Old Rachel. All she ever did was get me into trouble.
“HOW MANY CLASSES DO you have with him?”
We were standing in front of my locker.
“Two. But he always sits in the back while I’m up front. Plus there will be witnesses.”
She nodded. “True. It’s when you’re wandering the halls all weak and exposed like a baby deer that we have to worry.”
“Not feeling that comparison.”
“Listen, you just have to avoid him at all costs.”
“I’m not the one who gets in his face,” I protested. “He and his little not-girlfriend are the ones who won’t leave me alone. Trust me, if I see him coming, I’ll be more than happy to go the other way.”
The warning bell sounded and Estelle leaned in and kissed my cheek. “That’s the spirit. I’ll see you after English.”
I waved her off and turned to get the rest of the things from my locker. Maybe I was being silly. What if Christian walking away last night meant that I earned his respect? Maybe he was finally going to back down and it would all stop. The taunts. The filthy looks like he had never seen anything so disgusting. The whispering when I pass in the halls. The laughter when Madison and her cronies come for me. Maybe it would finally stop.
A hand grabbed me from behind.
“Ahh!” Crying out, I spun around—chemistry textbook at the ready.
Ryan French smirked at me. “Someone’s jumpy. Good. That means you’re not a complete idiot and you
know you’ve landed yourself in some serious shit.”
I groaned. “What do you want, French? I’ve got to get to class.”
He jerked his head. “Walk with me, Bryant. Talk with me.”
I rolled my eyes but slammed my locker shut and followed him all the same. He threw his arm around my shoulder as we went.
“So spill,” I said. “What am I in for? What’s Christian going to do to make my life even worse?”
He shrugged. “No clue. The guy didn’t say a word about it last night. Just kept laughing. Which is somehow worse.”
I shivered. “You’re telling me.”
“I thought that was it for you when you shoved him the first time... then the second... then the—”
“I was there, Ryan. I know what happened.”
“But I’m saying, I’ve never seen anyone put their hands on Christian and get away with it. Remember the last guy who tried?”
I nodded, bones filling with dread. “Derek Chang.”
“Yep. Sophomore year.” Ryan relayed the story even though I knew it very well. Everyone in Meadow Creek did. “Derek thought that because he was a senior and on the basketball team, he could get away with running his mouth. The dude gets in Christian’s face, punches him, then gets his ass beat so bad they had to take him to the hospital. Christian only got away with not getting expelled because Derek was older than him and it looked like a case of a bully biting off more than he could chew.”
“Derek was a bully,” I agreed. “He was so slimy too. Always hanging back after practice to watch us work out and do our routines, and he would say the most disgusting things. But what he said to Christian...”
“Yeah... he should have known better than to throw Christian being a foster kid in his face. Everyone else who’s done that has barely lived to regret it.” He rubbed his jaw absentmindedly. “I once made a joke about dirtying the sheets with Miss Ruth and woke up fifteen minutes later on the floor.”
I patted his arm. “And you deserved it too. Miss Ruth is over sixty and is the sweetest woman on the planet. She’s off-limits.”
Miss Ruth was sweet. She was also Christian’s foster mother. Christian didn’t grow up in Meadow Creek. He was born in another town to a mother who ran off and an alcoholic father who beat him like a drum until Child Services took him away. He bounced around from foster home to foster home until he came to Meadow Creek and Miss Ruth.
Christian walked into the lunch room on the first day of middle school and sat right down next to me. He asked if I wanted to share my lunch and the rest was history. We got close and our families did too. Getting to know Christian, Ruth, and the other children she fostered inspired my parents to look into doing the same.
Everything was great until Miss Ruth got into that car accident in our freshman year of high school. With Miss Ruth hospitalized for months, all the children were sent to different homes including Christian. After she recovered, she fought to get every single one of them back, but when Christian returned in our sophomore year, he was different. Especially toward me.
I shook those thoughts away. I don’t know why Christian turned on me when he came back, and it wasn’t like he was going to tell me, so there was no point dwelling on it anymore.
“So my point is,” Ryan went on, “Christian doesn’t take crap from anyone so whatever he’s got in store for you... watch out.”
“But you have no idea what that is?”
“Not a clue.”
I looked at him out of the corner of my eyes. “So if you don’t know anything, why are you harassing me first thing in the morning?”
Ryan shot me a grin, his green eyes dancing. Of all the boys that rolled with Christian, I hated Ryan the least. He wasn’t into drama. He was the kind of guy who preferred to make people laugh, not cry. But he was also the kind of guy who stood by while others made people cry. Even though he never participated in my torment, he did nothing to stop it either.
“Can’t a guy just want to stroll to class with a beautiful woman—”
“No.”
He heaved a sigh. “Fine. So here’s the thing. I was supposed to hook up with your friend Estelle last night, but she totally ditched me.”
I threw up my hands. “Here we go.”
“Come on, girl. Help a brother out. Tell me what her deal is. Did she say anything about me?”
“Let me get this straight. You turned up with useless information about Christian to bribe me into spilling info about my best friend?”
He cocked his head. “What? Not cool?”
“No, that’s not cool! You want to know what’s up with you and Estelle then ask her, Peanut Butter Boy.”
“Seriously? Am I ever going to live that name down?”
I gave him a wide smile as we pulled up in front of Mr. Biedermeier’s twelfth grade chem class. “You’ll always be Peanut Butter Boy to me. Now, I’d think twice about trying to pump me again for info on Estelle. I know all about your peanutty history, just like I know your weakness.”
“Weakness?” He made a face. “I don’t have a weakness. I—”
I lurched forward and skittered my fingers all over his stomach. Ryan yelped and jerked like a man who’d been electrocuted. Half shouting, half laughing, Ryan took off to escape my tickles.
“I’ll get you for that, Bryant,” he yelled over his shoulder, “and your little dog too!”
I giggled. Ryan had that effect on people. He could somehow make you forget that he was an asshole. “Well, if Estelle had to get with one of them at least he’s not as bad as Christian.”
I turned and took a deep breath. I had two classes with Christian. This was one of them.
I stepped inside and my eyes found him immediately. He was all the way in the back like I expected. His eyes were fixed on his phone as he lounged in his desk. His hair was still damp from the shower, causing it to curl at the ends. I put my hand on my camera.
I couldn’t take his picture now of course, but I carried it with me anyway. I learned a long time ago not to leave anything valuable in my locker.
“Miss Bryant?”
“Huh? What?” I shook myself and faced the front of the class.
Mr. Biedermeier bared his teeth. He was actually quite handsome for a dude over thirty. He had thick, sandy-blond hair and green eyes that were narrowed on me. “If you would sit down, we can begin class.”
“Right. Sorry.”
Titters broke out as I shuffled to my desk. I took a chance to peek at Christian through my eyelashes and saw him staring back at me. A smile stretched across his lips, and as my butt hit the seat, his laughter rang out louder than the rest.
“Mr. Moreau,” Biedermeier snapped. “Just what is so funny?”
“Nothing,” he replied. “Yet.”
Chapter Four
“I don’t know how, but we survived.” Estelle and I escaped school grounds and made for her car. “I thought Madison would have pulled something at least.”
Estelle chuckled. “She was too busy trying to hide those enormous hickeys courtesy of Liam. I heard the guy had octopus lips.”
I grinned at her. “You heard it or you experienced it?”
She winked.
Laughing, we pulled away from the curb and headed for my place.
“Nah, Christian didn’t pull anything but he’s been acting so weird. Ryan even came to warn me about him.”
“Ryan did? What did he say?”
I picked up on her forced casualness. “About Christian, he said that the guy is gearing up to go Derek Chang on my ass. About you, he seemed put out about not hooking up last night and he wants to know what your deal is.”
“He said that? He was disappointed we didn’t hook up?” She sounded strangely pleased.
My eyes narrowed. “Oh my god. Don’t tell me you like him.”
“I’m not telling you that,” she shot back. “I never said I did. It’s just nice for a girl to know she’s leaving them wanting.”
“Mmm hmm.”
/> “Besides... would it be so bad if I did like Ryan? He’s never messed with you—and believe me, I would have bounced him down the stairs if he did—and he’s funny. It’s refreshing to sleep with a guy who’s got more going for him than just what’s in his pants. He keeps me up all night laughing and... doing other things.”
“It sounds like you do like him.”
She lifted her chin. “It’s too early to say. We started hooking up after you left for the summer, but we never talked about having anything more than sex.”
“So talk to him now.”
She worried her lip as she looked across the dashboard at me. “It wouldn’t bother you if...”
I shook my head. “No, course not. I loathe Ryan the least out of all of them, and even if I didn’t, you don’t need my permission about who you date. You know I love you no matter what.”
She smiled. “Thanks, babe.”
“But,” I continued, “I am holding back my full blessing until you tell me about the peanut butter!”
She giggled. “Alright, he totally does. He loves slathering the stuff all over my—”
I held up a hand. “Don’t need that image. Just needed the yes. I’m calling him Peanut Butter Boy for life now.”
We laughed.
“He’s also super ticklish,” Estelle said. “I do this thing with my...”
We spent the car ride discussing Estelle’s sex life in graphic detail, and although I noticed she was praising more than just his skills in bed, but also how he made her laugh and the things they talked about, I didn’t mention it. She would get there in the end.
Beep! Beep!
I waved back at Estelle’s retreating car before turning and letting myself inside. I made it three steps before I heard—
“Rachel, come into the living room, please.”
I sighed. I knew I would hear about it for running out on them that morning but the curse of a mom who now worked from home meant I got it as soon as I walked through the door. “Coming.”
Mom looked up from her laptop when I stepped down into our sunken living room. She patted the spot on the couch next to her so I padded across the carpet to take a seat.
