* * *
“Do you mind if I have a friend over tonight, Mom?” Veronica asks. I open the pantry and pull out a treat for Charlie. Dad and I got back from breakfast at Jimmy’s Cafe a few minutes ago and now I’m waiting for Veronica to get her slow ass ready so we can leave for school.
“Depends on who,” Mom replies.
“Nora.”
I stiffen, mind immediately going to a dirty place. It feels like only minutes ago I was looking outside at her, wishing she’d part her legs just a little bit more. And now she might sleep over tonight.
Mom finishes making Veronica’s lunch and puts it into her backpack. “Of course I don’t mind. That’s nice you’re getting along well with the new girl. Especially since she’s our neighbor.”
“Our neighbor?” Dad echoes, taking the coffee pot from Veronica and filling up his mug before leaving for the day. “She’s staying with the Kellers?”
“Yeah. Her parents died when she was a kid and then her grandma got sick and got put in a home. Super tragic, if you ask me,” Veronica says.
I look up, inhaling sharply, feeling unnerved to suddenly learn the tragedy of Nora’s past, and not liking that Veronica actually does know her better than me. “What?”
“Did I stutter?”
“Veronica,” Dad scolds.
“Fine, sorry. Nora told us that she’d been living with her grandma after her parents died when she was like six, I think. Oh, and her grandma was an interior decorator and did celebrities’ houses and super expensive offices in downtown L.A. Nora has met like a million famous people.”
“What happened to her grandma?” I ask.
“I don’t really know. She said she got sick and that she couldn’t take care of her anymore. I could tell it upset her to talk about it, so I didn’t press.” Veronica looks up from her coffee, eyes meeting mine. I see empathy reflected in them, thank God. She sits across from me at the table. “I don’t think she’ll ever admit it, but she has to be lonely, right? I mean moving away from your friends has to be hard enough, but she moved away from…from everything.”
Every once in a while, my sister surprises me in a good way. Mom smiles at Veronica. “I think it’s great you’re making sure she fits in. You’re right. This has to be so hard on her.”
“She’s not a troublemaker, is she?” Dad asks. “Some of those kids have a hard time adjusting.”
“Dad!” Veronica shrieks. “Nora is nothing like that. I told you, her situation is tragic, not troubled. Ugh! You don’t understand anything!”
“Don’t be so quick to judge, James,” Mom says quietly. “I ran into Stephanie Keller at the grocery store this weekend. She said Nora is a polite and bright young girl stuck in an unfortunate situation. She went to a private school in L.A. and has a 4.0 GPA. She wants to go to Berkeley to study engineering. But she’s only sixteen, so when her legal guardian could no longer care for her…” Mom shakes her head. “I couldn’t imagine not having any family left like that. That poor girl.”
“That is tragic,” Dad agrees. “Maybe she can teach our kids a thing or two about being a go-getter.”
Veronica rolls her eyes and Mom gives me a sympathetic smile. I used to be a go-getter. I used to know exactly where I wanted my life to go and worked hard to get there. And then hell came to earth, consuming me with death and darkness.
“You two better get a move on if you want to get to school on time,” Dad says and stands, adjusting the holster on his belt. “Watch out for your sister,” he says quietly to me. “I know you will.”
I reply with a curt nod, give Charlie his treat, and go out to wait for Veronica in the Jeep. Nora is sitting on the bottom step of the Kellers’ front porch, long legs stretched out in front of her. Her head is tipped up to the sun as if she’s trying to soak up as much as possible in the short amount of time we have before the start of school.
The front door creaks open and snaps shut as Veronica leaves the house.
“Hey, Nora,” she calls and crosses the yard. Nora pulls her headphones off to talk to Veronica. A minute later, Nora goes inside for a moment and comes back out. Whatever she told Veronica made her smile, and they both start to come over to the Jeep. Then Charlie comes running out, spotting Veronica and Nora first. He jumps at Veronica, bumping into her right as she lifts her coffee to her mouth to take a drink. It sloshes out, going all over the front of her shirt.
“Get down, stupid dog!” she yells. “Now I have to change.”
Nora slips her fingers under Charlie’s collar, crouching down to pet him. That dog is my buddy and has helped me get through some tough shit. To say I’m protective of him is an understatement. Right now, he’s wildly wagging his tail, trying to lick Nora in the face. He plops over for a belly rub, ignoring me as I walk over to get him.
Nora looks from Charlie to me. “I think he likes my nails.” She scratches the top of his chest, and his hind legs start wiggling. A smile breaks out over her face at the dog’s response. “His name is Charlie, right?”
“Yeah. He likes you.”
“The feeling’s mutual, buddy,” she tells him. “How’d he get out?”
“He knows how to open the screen door. Veronica forgets to lock it all the time.” I do my best to keep the anger out of my voice. I’ve gotten into it more than once with her. If she lets Charlie out and he gets hit by a car or runs away, there’ll be hell to pay.
“So you’re smart as well as pretty,” Nora coos, making Charlie’s tail wag faster. He’s a friendly dog but can be a bit choosy with who he submits like this to. If he likes Nora, then…nope. It doesn’t matter. She’s two years younger than me. A minor. My sister’s friend. The fact that I can see down her top from this angle shouldn’t do anything to me. Her bra is light pink and thin, enough to faintly see the outline of her nipples. But, fuck, it does.
“I’ll take him inside.”
Nora gives Charlie one more pat and stands. I hold onto Charlie’s collar and put him back inside, reminding Veronica not to be a dumbass and let him out again. Nora is still standing by the Jeep when I come outside.
“Veronica asked if I could ride with you. I mean her. Well, you both, I guess. You don’t mind, do you?”
“No.” I open the door and toss my bag inside. “Want to sit?”
“Sure.” Nora gets in the front, and when she sits, her blue dress bunches up around her thighs. Her skin is tan and smooth, and I want nothing more than to be between those thighs.
I blink and look away. “She’s going to take forever changing.”
“That’s okay.” She’s holding her iPod in one hand, and I can faintly hear music playing through her headphones.
“Are you listening to Tom Petty?”
“Yeah. I love him.”
“Really?”
She smiles, green eyes sparkling in the early morning light. “You sound surprised.” She pushes her hair back, then lets her hand fall to her shoulder and runs it across her collarbone. I can’t tell if it’s deliberate or not, but I can’t look away. She inhales, and her tits rise inside her dress. “But yes, really. I listen to him a lot. Stevie Nicks is a close second. There’s just something…I don’t know…calming about it. The music is damn good, and the lyrics are deep without being over the top, ya know?”
She shifts in the seat, angling her body toward me. My eyes go right for her breasts, and I know they’re another thing I want to get between.
She’s sixteen.
I have to remind myself she’s underage in the state of California, where the legal age of consent is eighteen.
“I didn’t think any of my sister’s friends would have good taste in music.”
A smile plays on her face, and she takes her bottom lip between her teeth. “Are you judging me, Jack Harrington?”
Fuck, it sounds good when she says my name. “You’ve met my sister. And her friends.”
“Very true. I guess I should cut you some slack. But I’m not like them.”
I swallow hard
, taking another look at Nora. She’s nothing like my sister or her friends. Nora is more mature. She has a darkness around her, one she doesn’t flaunt or use to prove herself. Nora is different in that aspect, almost as if she has a scar on her soul and she’s given up hoping it will heal.
I nod and put one hand on the steering wheel and move my legs, doing my best to hide the semi I have going on right now. She leans back and inhales, moving her hair off her chest and twists it into a messy bun on the top of her head, securing it with an elastic hair tie from her wrist. My mind wanders and I’m wondering what she’d feel like on top of me, to have those large breasts pressing against my chest. To run my hands up the back of her thighs and squeeze her ass as I drive my cock inside her tight pussy.
Maybe it’s because she’s new. Maybe it’s because she looks at me like I’m just a normal fucking person. Whatever it is, Nora doesn’t feel like one of Veronica’s friends. I’ve known them all for years, and they feel almost like sisters. I’ve never so much as looked at them as anything more, and I know a few have had crushes on me over the years. But Nora…hell…I’ve never had this strong of a physical reaction just by looking at someone before.
“So,” she starts, turning to look at me. “I’m guessing you don’t want me to know.”
“Know what?” I ask and shift my weight again, thinking she knows exactly what she’s doing to me.
“Why you have to talk to the counselor every Monday and Friday.”
“Oh.” I let out a slow breath. “Right.” I stick the key in the ignition and turn on the radio.
“Why do you go?” Her voice is soft and gentle, but the words are like nails on a chalkboard. If I tell her, will she look at me differently? Everyone else does.
“Shit happened.” I don’t move my gaze off the steering wheel. I can’t.
“Please, spare the details.”
“If I wanted to talk about it, I would,” I spit harshly. Nora tenses, and slowly turns away. She tips her head down, and when I look over, I see the darkness back in her eyes. She’s not like everyone else.
I grind my jaw. The words are burning on my tongue and for some insane reason, I want to tell her. I haven’t talked to anyone about it outside of answering questions I’ve been asked by the police. I’ve never opened up to anyone and admitted how fucked up my head is. Not Mr. Levine. Not the therapist all the fucking way in Greendale my parents took me to. Not my football buddies. Not Coach Jefferson. Not a single soul.
I inhale, not letting myself think of the shock on her face when I blurt out the truth. Just then, Veronica opens the door and gets in, and for once I’m glad for her incessant talking.
Chapter 4
Nora
“Walk with me?” I ask Jack, rounding the front of the Jeep. We just got to school and are walking in through the parking lot. “We’re going to the same place, right?”
“Yeah.”
I pull my bag up on my shoulder. “I won’t ask again. I get it.” We fall in step together and I playfully nudge him with my elbow. “Besides, you’re already moody enough. I don’t want to poke a sleeping bear or anything.”
“I’m not moody,” he snaps.
I raise my eyebrows, trying not to smile. “Maybe broody is a better word.”
“How is that any better?”
“It’s not really, but some people say broody guys are sexy.”
“Do you think they’re sexy?”
“Depends. Angel was pretty broody. But he also had that whole undead thing going for him.”
“Angel? From Buffy the Vampire Slayer?”
“Yes.” I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear again. This constant mountain breeze is getting rather annoying. “I’m surprised you knew that.”
“My mom is obsessed. She and Veronica watch it together.”
“Maybe I’ll request it at the sleepover tonight,” I say. “And I promise not to tell if you want to sneak in and watch it with us. Buffy is a good show.”
“I heard you say my name,” Veronica says to Jack, turning around. She’s been taking Snaps of herself the whole way in.
“Just telling Nora how much of a loser you are. Gotta prepare her for her first famous Veronica Harrington sleepover,” Jack teases, and a lightness takes over his face. Veronica jerks her head up, and I think she’s going to tell him to fuck off or something. Instead, she looks at her brother in awe, like hearing him joke and seeing him smile is as rare as a Blue Moon. She shifts her eyes to me, then back to Jack. Finally, she smiles.
“Shut up. She already knows I’m a loser.”
“I do,” I agree. “Which is fine since I’m just as big of one, if not bigger.”
We walk into school together, and Jack and I part ways with Veronica, continuing on in the same direction of the offices.
“Have fun,” he says dryly.
“You too.”
He goes into Mr. Levine’s office, shutting the door behind him. I can almost discern what they’re talking about, but it feels wrong eavesdropping. A minute later, I’m called in to talk to Mrs. Freeman. We go through the same things as before, and she lets me go not long after I got in. Jack steps out of Mr. Levine’s office at the same time.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hey. Again. How’d you do in there? They tell you you’re certifiable yet?”
“I already knew that. What about you?”
“Oh, I’m totally crazy. Pretty much a lost cause. It’s only a matter of time before they declare me a danger to society and lock me up.”
We fall in step together, leaving the office and walking down the hall. “Well, when they commit you, I’ll stop by once a month and play some Tom Petty for you.”
“I’m going to hold you to it,” I say seriously. “So you better keep your end of the bargain. I’m sure I’ll make some friends on the inside.”
Jack chuckles. “You’re thinking of jail, not a mental hospital.”
I cock an eyebrow. “Are they really that different?”
He shrugs. “Probably not.”
I stop, needing to turn and go down the hall to my locker. I can see Alice Bloom, one of Veronica’s friends, staring at me. She thinks she’s hot shit and is a typical mean girl. Her eyes narrow and she shifts her gaze to Jack.
“So, tonight,” I start, catching Jack’s eye again. The hallway is crowded with students, and someone bumps into me in their hurry to get through. I stumble forward, heels slipping on the slick tile floor. Jack catches my arm, steadying me.
“What about tonight?” he asks, voice deep and gruff. His hand is still on my arm, and his rough skin sends shivers down my spine. I blink rapidly, trying to find the words I was about to say.
“I guess I’ll see you, right?”
“Right.”
* * *
“How was school today?” Stephanie asks as I hang my bag on the hall tree. Stephanie is always at the house when I get home from school, and most of the time she’s in the kitchen ready to make me a snack if I want one. Usually, I say no, and go up to my room to study—really to be alone—but today I’m hungry.
“It was good.” I pull out a bar stool at the island counter and take a seat. Stephanie tries not to smile as she goes to the fridge, asking me if I want anything to eat, and I decide on strawberries and yogurt. “I got an A on my math test.”
“That’s great, hun! I knew you would though.” She sets a handful of strawberries on a cutting board. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks,” I say, wondering why she even cares. I divert my eyes to the bowl of vanilla yogurt in front of me, not sure what else to say. Our interactions have been like this since the day I arrived. It’s weird being under her care, knowing she’s not my mom and as soon as I turn eighteen, she’ll be out of my life, maybe forever.
“What time are you going over to Veronica’s?” Stephanie brings the cut up strawberries over.
“In an hour. We’re going to order pizza for dinner.” I add a handful of strawberries to my yogurt and
stir.
“You girls will have fun, I bet.”
“Yeah, I think so.” I eat a spoonful of yogurt, cringing at how freaking awkward this is. I don’t want to care about Stephanie. I don’t want to develop a relationship with her.
I’m going to leave as soon as I can, so what’s the point?
* * *
It’s not even midnight, and the entire house is quiet. Veronica passed out nearly an hour ago, and I’ve been laying here, using my Kindle to message Becca and mindlessly scroll through Pinterest. A low power warning pops up on the screen, and my charger is downstairs in my purse. With a sigh, I set the Kindle down and slowly get out of Veronica’s bed we’re sharing. She doesn’t so much as stir when the door creaks open.
Charlie, on the other hand, does.
He’s in Jack’s room, and I hear his dog tags jingle and his paws on the hardwood floor behind the closed door. I make it halfway down the stairs when Charlie bolts after me, nearly knocking me over. Maybe he can open that door too.
My purse is in the living room, and I sit on the couch as I dig through it. I should have brought my Kindle down to use for light. Charlie comes running, jumping up next to me and wagging his tail like mad.
“Hey, buddy,” I whisper, and put both hands around his neck, petting him. I have to hold him back from licking my face and covering me with dog slobber. With Charlie distracting me, I don’t hear someone else come down the stairs.
“Nora?” Jack’s deep voice rings out, startling me. A light flicks on and I blink rapidly, trying to get my eyes to adjust. “What are you doing?”
I turn my head up, eyes sweeping over his body and landing on his eyes. It’s like all the air got sucked out of the room and I forgot how to breathe. A chill runs down my spine at the same time heat makes its way in waves through my body.
Jack is only wearing boxers, and the dim light casts shadows over every mound of muscle on his body. He has a scar on his side, right above his hip. Thick, pink scar tissue forms a jagged line, looking like something tore through his flesh.
Small town romance boxed set Page 36
