I lean against the bedroom door, resisting the urge to sink to the floor and fall apart. Ryan’s never going to give up. I need to prove that I’m not a homewrecking whore. My safety depends on it.
There's only one thing I can think of that might work. Fuck, this is going to suck.
***
The next morning, I answer the knock at my door. Arden's on the other side, and his wide smile makes my stomach sink.
“I wasn't going to wake you, but I saw your light was on. You want to join us for breakfast before the boys leave for school?”
“I don’t know,” I mumble.
“I’d like to catch up. I’ll be leaving again tomorrow. I’ll make it a quick breakfast.”
“Okay,” I relent, following him to the kitchen where Ryan and Brent both glare at me. Sitting on the stool next to Ryan, I throw him a smile even though the proximity has my hair standing on end. I take a few deep breaths and tell myself I’m a strong badass who can get through anything. Mind over matter and all that jazz.
“Omelets good for you, Emma?” Arden asks, stirring ingredients in a bowl.
“Sure. I'm not picky,” I reply.
“We already knew that, whore, didn’t we?” Ryan whispers.
“Picky enough to not go after you,” I whisper back, and he frowns.
“Everything went okay when I was gone?” Arden asks over his shoulder as he pours the egg mixture onto a skillet.
I shrug while Brent says boring and Ryan says fine.
“You excited about school tomorrow, Emma? I can take you.”
I’m a badass. “No offense, Arden, but I'd rather go on my own.”
“Okay, well, since I’ll have the morning off, how about I take you to breakfast instead? You boys can come too.”
“I'll pass,” I say, hating how disappointed he looks.
“Oh, okay. Boys?”
“Sure, Dad. Brent and I are down,” Ryan says, grabbing his bag from the floor. “We have to get to school.”
“No time for omelets?”
“Not today, Dad,” Ryan replies.
“All right, have a good day, guys.” Arden sets breakfast in front of me.
I try a piece and then spit it back out. “This shit is disgusting.” I scrunch my nose at the plate while hating myself for this. “You expect me to eat this? I didn’t even want to come down here. You’ve just wasted my time.”
Ryan and Brent pause to stare at me like I’ve lost my mind. Good. They can’t accuse me of trying to manipulate Arden if I’m mean to him.
“Boys, have a good day at school. I’m going to speak with Emma for a minute,” Arden says.
As soon as Ryan and Brent leave the room, I rush to say, “I haven’t been sleeping well, and I have horrible cramps. Cramps make any food that’s not chocolate taste bad. It’s not you, it’s me.”
Arden’s face softens. “Is there anything I can get you? I have melatonin that I use occasionally. And there’s Motrin in the bathroom cabinet.”
“I’ll grab some medicine before heading back upstairs. I’m sorry for acting like that.” I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Please don’t hate me, I plead silently.
“It’s okay. We all have bad days. You go get some rest.”
I head upstairs, hating that I was so rude, but it’s what I’m going to have to do in front of Ryan and Brent until I can think of something else.
Chapter 12
I spend the rest of the day creating a fake social media account and stalking my friends’ profiles like the pathetic loser I am. Knowing it would hurt the worst, I saved Jessa’s profile for last. There’s a picture of her posing with our best friends, Eddy, Corey and Tony. They had a bonfire the other night. I scroll through each picture of their night, feeling more and more depressed. They’re doing fine without me.
There’s a picture taken yesterday of Jessa with our friend Emily in front of the school on their first day of senior year. I should be there.
Unable to ignore my growling stomach any longer, I close the computer and head downstairs. Arden said he’d leave me a plate of dinner in the fridge after I refused to come down not long ago. Since I plan to treat Arden like dirt around his monsters, I’m going to avoid him when they are around.
I’m lost in thought and don’t notice the voices in the kitchen before I walk in. Ryan’s sitting at the bar, and a guy with white-blond hair is sitting next to him. Blondie is dressed like he’s going for a bad boy look, but his clothes are a little too perfect for him to really pull it off.
The boy turns to me, lifting his chin. “Sup.” His gaze runs up and down my body. “You're new.”
“Silex just got back from visiting family,” Ryan tells me. “Si, you're not up to date. This is my new baby sister, Emma. She’s a whore.”
Silex grins, his light-blue eyes lighting up. “Oh, yeah? You busy later, Emma?”
I shrug, hoping to come off nonchalant. “Maybe.”
Ryan narrows his eyes, studying my face before saying, “I'm sure Emma will be here. Especially if you’re offering her money.” Ryan chuckles. “Isn't that right, whore?”
I sigh, acting like his words aren’t affecting me. “Whatever you say, Ry.” Being mean to Arden isn’t going to be enough, and it’s clear that Ryan likes to get a reaction out of me. He does a good job of it, but if I stop reacting, maybe he’ll stop pushing.
Silex smirks, popping a dark-brown brow. “A little sibling rivalry?” He gives me his full attention, that mischievous smirk still in place. “If you’d like to get away, you’re welcome to join me for the night.”
I shake my head. “No thanks. You boys have fun.” I back out of the kitchen, letting out a relieved breath as I make it to the living room.
Giving up on the hope of eating, I climb into bed and burrow under the blanket. Hopefully my new school won’t suck, or else I don’t think I’ll be able to handle my six-month sentence.
***
“You going to stand there all day?”
“Figured I'd stand here for a couple more minutes,” I tell the hot blond who just stopped next to me. I focus back on the building in front of me that looks nothing like any school I’ve ever seen. The school looks more like a country home. It’s a white two-story building with multiple covered porches and gray shutters framing the windows.
There’s a lake with canoes in the distance, and a concrete track that zigzags around the open property. There’s another beautiful building to the right of this one, but it’s half the size. The two buildings look to be connected by a covered breezeway.
“Mind if I stand with you?” His blue eyes look me over, but not in a creepy way.
I smile. “Not at all. This is a school, right?” I ask. “It looks like a resort.” My brows narrow as I focus on the tree line. “Are those treehouses back there?”
The boy laughs. “Have you never been to a Sudbury school?” I shake my head, and he laughs again. “I'm Robbie.”
“Emma.”
“Sophomore?”
“Senior.”
“I'm a senior too. Have you looked over the classes?”
I sigh, keeping my eyes on the tree line. Those are the biggest treehouses I have ever seen. “I was told to stop by the office and talk to Lucy.”
“Want company? You look a little freaked out.”
“I am,” I admit. “And I’d love some help finding the office.”
“We have to go in to do that,” he whispers, extending his hand. “Ladies first.”
I laugh lightly as I walk up the concrete steps. Robbie pulls open the wooden door, and I step into my new school.
“Hi, Robbie!” a little girl says as she skips past us, twirling a shimmery baton.
“Hey, Jenny,” Robbie hollers after her. “That’s my friend’s little sister.”
I watch as she disappears into a classroom. “What’s she doing here? This is a high school, right?”
Robbie nods. “Technically this building is for the younger kids. The other buil
ding next door is for us, but we can take classes here if we want, and vice versa.”
“They can take high school classes?”
Robbie shrugs. “We have a pottery room that the other building doesn’t. Oh, and our music room has a larger variety of instruments. The main building has an astronomy room and computer lab.” He tilts his head to the side with a smirk. “This isn’t like public school. You look confused as hell.” He laughs. “There’s a brochure in the office, and the internet has a lot of information. Basically, you choose what you do.”
“I pick my classes?” I ask as we walk past a room where several kids ranging in age are playing cards at one of several large tables. “Are there normal high school classes?” I peek into another room. It’s a small library with several shelves filled with books. There are a few tables and chairs scattered around, and a young girl is lying on the floor with a book in her hand and her bare feet propped on the windowsill.
He grins. “There’s so much more, and if you can’t find a class you want, we create it.”
I laugh. “Seriously?”
“Come on. The office is up here.”
I follow Robbie into a small room that looks like any normal school office minus the staff. Robbie hands me the school brochure and points to the empty office chair. “I’ll go grab Lucy. You can sit there if you want.”
I sit, hoping Lucy doesn’t get mad I’m in her chair. I turn the pages of the brochure, taking it all in. Numerous classes and activities are offered. There are no “teachers” but rather “role models” who are here to help guide and answer questions.
The school is on ten acres and has everything one could imagine: archery, canoeing, kayaking, skateboarding, fishing, music, pottery, art, culinary arts, a computer lab, library, history, literature, math, and… I knew it, those were treehouses. There’s a picture of several students standing in front of a newly constructed treehouse on the back page.
Full-time students are required to stay for a minimum of five hours a day, and the school is open from eight to five.
“So, whatcha think?” Robbie asks, walking back into the room. “I’m surprised your parents didn’t explain the school philosophy to you.”
“This school was a last resort,” I say, not correcting him about my parents. I’m not ready to get into details about my complicated life.
“It’ll probably take a little adjusting, but I bet you’re going to love it,” Robbie says, his eyes sparkling and his smile wide.
I grin. “You know what? I think I might.”
“Hey, guys,” a girl with a heart-shaped face and chin-length blue hair says from the doorway.
Her jeans are ripped in several places, showing black fishnets underneath. She’s got on a chunky purple sweater that matches her purple high-tops.
“You must be Emma,” she says with a friendly smile. “I’m Lucy. Robbie told me you were freaking out.”
“I didn’t say she was freaking out.” Robbie looks down at me. “I told Lucy you were nervous.”
I eye Lucy curiously. I was expecting a middle-aged woman, not a teenager.
“Really, Lucy?” Robbie says, shaking his head.
Lucy rolls her eyes. “I exaggerated a bit, and it’s totally normal to be nervous on your first day at a new school.” She steps into the room to stand next to me. “Mrs. Barnes is on maternity leave. It’s my week to fill in for her. You can hang with me today. I was going to watch my friends Ben and Kara skateboard. You down?”
“Okay. Skateboarding,” I say, feeling confused.
“I’ve got band practice, or I’d come with you guys.” He shrugs. “Meet me around noon for lunch?”
Lucy grabs my hand. “We’ll meet you for lunch.” She leads us out the room. “Robbie said you’re a public kid, and you’ve never even heard of a democratic school?”
“I’ve heard of private school, but this isn’t what I was expecting,” I say as we walk down the hall and then out a back door where a massive wooden halfpipe sits between the school and the lake.
“I think this type of school would be similar to Montessori.”
I give her a sheepish look. “I haven’t heard of that either.”
She winks. “This will be an experience for you, then.” She points toward the lake. “There they are. Did you want to board too? I forgot to ask.”
“No thanks.”
“Let me know if you change your mind and we can grab one from the supply room.” She raises her hand, hollering her friends' names.
From the concrete path, they lift their boards in the air in greeting. They’re both dressed casually like me in jeans and a plain long-sleeved shirt. I watch as Ben does a flip trick. Kara applauds and then mimics him before they both hop on their boards to roll down the path toward the halfpipe.
“Come on. We can sit by the lake and watch them practice.”
If Sudbury school is hanging outside, then I’m down.
Ben flies down the ramp. His black hat lifts off his head, landing in the grass. His dark-red hair is ear length and straight. I wonder if it’s his natural color, because he isn’t pale like most redheads. His skin is a warm sun-kissed tone.
Kara scoops up his hat as she rolls by, and places it on the top of her shoulder-length brown hair before doing a kickflip.
After chatting about the school and watching Kara and Ben, we head inside to eat lunch. The cafeteria is small, and there are only a handful of people sitting at one of the three tables. I don’t see Robbie, but it’s not quite noon. Everyone introduces themselves to me, and then we sit down to eat deli subs, fresh fruit, and roasted potatoes.
Not feeling comfortable enough to join the conversation, I listen to them talk about politics, favorite classes, goals they are working toward, and weekend plans. I’m used to kids my age gossiping or trying to find out what parties are going on.
After lunch, I spend a few hours sucking at pottery with two girls from lunch, and then it’s three and I’m walking out the front door.
I was expecting a bunch of preppy rich kids, but the people here are nothing like that. They all seem secure in who they are, owning their unique style and talents. It’s slightly intimidating to be around people who have their shit together.
I’m not looking forward to the two-mile walk home, but I’m not risking getting into one of Arden’s cars again. I watch as a handful of kids grab bikes from the bike rack next to the stairs. I’m staring at the rack, thinking I should get one, when a hand waves in front of my face.
Robbie’s standing next to me with his friendly smile and beautiful blue eyes. I didn’t hear him walk up.
“Hey, Emma. Sorry I missed you at lunch. We were absorbed and lost track of time.”
I smile, turning to face him. “No problem. I guess you had a good practice?”
“Yeah, we got a lot done.” He gestures toward the bike rack. “Did you ride a bike?”
“No, but I’m thinking I should get one. It would be faster than walking.”
Robbie looks up at the sky. “It’s gonna rain. Want a ride?”
I look up, just now noticing the gray clouds rolling in. “If you don’t mind? I’m not far.”
“I don’t mind at all. Anytime.”
We walk side by side to the small gravel parking lot at the side of the school. There are only a handful of cars, which makes sense because I didn’t see many people my age. “How many seniors are there?”
Robbie pulls keys from his bag. “Close to two hundred kids total. I think senior class has ten.” He presses a button on the keychain and the doors unlock. “Shit. My brother’s soccer gear,” he mumbles, running a hand through his hair. “He has homeschool practice in a few minutes. Mind if we stop by my house first?”
I hesitate at pulling the door open. “That’s fine, but if taking me home is too much trouble, I can walk.”
“No worries. I’m only a few miles from the school. It’ll just take a second. Hop in.”
I do, not telling him that I wouldn’t care
if it took the rest of the afternoon. I’d do anything to avoid rushing back to Arden’s.
Chapter 13
Robbie lives in a beautiful two-story home. It’s half the size of Arden’s, but it’s the kind that you’d only see in rich neighborhoods back home. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any trailers here. There were homes like this on the walk to school this morning. Maybe the whole town is rich.
Robbie’s mom invited me in for apple muffins, and I leapt at her offer. The opportunity to avoid Ryan and Brent for a little longer was too tempting to pass up.
Smiling, Robbie’s mom, Mrs. Anders, scoots a plate of muffins closer to me from the other side of the kitchen bar. The kitchen is all white, and the numerous windows let in so much natural light that it feels like I’m outside. It’s bright, clean, and smells like heaven. I think I already love it here.
I see where Robbie gets his looks. They have the same light hair, soft skin, full lips, and beautiful blue eyes. Grinning like a lunatic, I pluck a muffin from the stack.
“Organic and dairy-free. I added white chocolate chips, so they aren’t sugar-free,” Mrs. Anders tells me. “Feel free to take a few home if you like them. It was nice to meet you, Emma.”
“Thank you so much, and it was nice to meet you too,” I say before she leaves the kitchen.
“My mom loves to cook,” Robbie says, taking a muffin for himself.
I bite into flavorful and fluffy bliss. If Robbie wasn’t here, I’d devour this whole muffin within seconds. “This is amazing.” I take another bite, grabbing a second from the plate.
“Hey, guys,” Lucy says, skipping into the room. “Your mom said she made muffins?” She wraps her arms around Robbie and squeezes.
“Apple and white chocolate,” Robbie says, gesturing toward the plate.
“Great, I’m starving,” Lucy says, grabbing two. “Ben’s on his way.”
“You’re always starving,” Robbie says, rolling his eyes.
She laughs. “Pretty much. Hey, Emma. Didn’t expect to see you,” Lucy says, hopping up onto the barstool between Robbie and me.
“Robbie was going to give me a ride home, but we stopped here first, and Mrs. Anders invited me in. You ready to take me home?” I ask Robbie, thinking he and Lucy might want to be alone.
Bullies Love and Lies Page 9
