Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 151765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 759(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 506(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 759(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 506(@300wpm)
He went to a second set, and I scooted over next to him, the pizza in front of us. By the third set, I was lying on the floor in one direction, and he was lying down, facing the other way. He put the phone between us.
During the fifth set, I opened my eyes to find the pizza was gone. The wine cups were too. I had a pillow under my head, a blanket over me. Clint had the same.
I yawned and mumbled, “I can sleep in my bed.”
“Okay.”
He got up first, taking the blankets and pillows, and when I looked back, he’d wiped the counter clean.
The back door was locked, and he’d put out all the lights except the one above the oven and the one in the stairway. He’d found the old air mattress he used when we were little, and it was filled with air. Everything was ready.
I’d forgotten what this felt like.
I used the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and crawled into bed.
He came in from using the other bathroom, and he’d turned off the stairway light, but another light farther down the hallway was on. I was guessing the guest bathroom. He kept the door propped open as he got onto the air mattress.
I was almost asleep when I heard him say, “Nothing’s going to hurt you. Not here. You gotta know that.”
That. That was the feeling I’d forgotten about, forgotten what it felt like.
“I know,” I whispered.
I just wasn’t sure if I believed it.
7
RAMSAY
“You ditched yesterday afternoon, and your cousins went bananas.”
Gem informed me of this as soon as I arrived at school the next morning. I hadn’t even gotten off my bike. I did that now and pulled the bike to the rack, taking my lock out. I looped it and clicked it shut, then regarded my new friend.
She was giving me a beady-eyed look, holding on to her backpack’s straps with one foot resting against the other. It was an awkward stance, but somehow she was pulling it off.
I blinked a few times. “You actually like me.” It wasn’t a new experience. I’d been blessed in Cedra until I wasn’t so blessed, but for the first time, someone who’d only met me for one day actually liked me. That was new. Family didn’t count in this category.
Now she was the one to blink a few times. “Well, yeah. You’re cool. A Gem can always tell.”
My eyebrows went up. Third person?
“Incoming!” A baritone yell came from behind me, and a second later, I was lifted off my feet and twirled around. I reached down, guessing it was one of my cousins, and when I got a glimpse of Clint and Alex with Cohen and Scout, I decided it must be Trenton holding me up.
“Put me down, Trent.”
He did, tripping back but managing to keep both of us off the ground. “You rolled yesterday,” he said. “What the fuck? We were going to hit up Louie’s.” Alex, Cohen, and Scout joined the group. Trenton threw his arms around Alex’s shoulders and motioned to the other two with his thumb. “You haven’t officially met the rest of our group. This is Cohen and Scout.”
I was not making eye contact with Scout. I felt singed enough from yesterday’s glaring sessions, and seriously, I had enough on my plate. Cohen gave me a guy up-nod and a half-smirk, generally used to convey, “I think you’re cool and I’m cool, so what’s up?”
“Hi.” Both got the same polite wave, and for appearance’s sake, I looked at Scout’s chin. The only one who knew I wasn’t totally making eye contact would be him, and let’s see him try to call that out.
Cohen gave me another cool-guy chin-up. Scout did nothing. No greeting. His chin did not move.
Fine. I mean, I wasn’t making eye contact for a reason.
“Clint said you guys had a pizza and wine-out last night.”
I tensed, registering Alex’s not-happy tone. Alex was always happy, always kind.
Then he grinned. “Why the fuck weren’t we invited?”
“Yeah. What the fuck?” Trenton joined in.
Another arm came over my shoulder. Clint’s. I sagged into his side, already knowing what he would say.
“Back off, assholes. It’s her second day at school. Jesus.”
His tone was teasing, but there was another hint of something there. Both his brothers straightened. They’d gotten the message.
Alex redirected immediately. “Scout, you already got a fight?”
Topic changed. I relaxed a bit even though we were talking about Scout and his upcoming fight.
Different sensations were manifesting in my body, farther south, and it was uncomfortable. I squirmed out from under Clint’s arm but tapped his side with a fist to let him know I was fine. Moving around the group, I gave a small wave and headed inside.
Gem walked right next to me, but instead of the questions I thought would come, she kept quiet. She stuck to my side until we got to my locker. “I’m going to toss my bag in my locker,” she told me. “One second.”