A Whole New Crowd(25)
I shook my head and closed my eyes. “Stop, Jace.” This wasn’t my brother. He was the Panther’s leader now. “Stop.”
“You heard me.” Then he disappeared. The door closed a moment later. When I returned to my room, I curled underneath my blanket and flicked a tear away. I wouldn’t cry.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Mandy acted like nothing had happened. I was eating breakfast when she came down. She didn’t say a word to me and headed out. I grunted. Maybe I should take that way of living? Pretend nothing happened? It felt good and I nodded to myself. That sounded good to me. It was how I was going to handle the day, act as if nothing happened yesterday. When I got to school, no one said a word to me. I didn’t see Tray or Samuel. Mandy ignored me and was talking with a group of girls I didn’t recognize. Moving around them and the guys beside them, I headed to my locker and grabbed my books. Then I headed to class.
I took my usual seat in the back, then realized my table mate wanted to talk. She kept ducking her head down, glancing up, and would duck her head into a book again. When she repeated the process three times, I looked over at her.
She gave me a tentative smile.
Oh hell. “I’m Taryn.”
A squeal escaped her mouth as she extended her hand. “Molly Keeley. I’m your—”
“Classmate. I know that.”
“Yeah, and I’m in your health and gym class.”
Wait. “I’m in health?”
“You skip for study hall.”
“I thought I had study hall.”
“You should probably tell your teacher that.”
“Oh.” I sat back. “Thanks.”
“No problem. We’re playing volleyball next week in gym too. That should be fun.”
“You play volleyball?”
“Only with my family. I can’t wear contacts so I have to wear those goggle things in class.” Her cheeks flushed again. “It’s embarrassing. They look like microscopes, but my mom won’t let me get new ones. They’re not ‘cost-effective.’” She ducked her head again. “That’s what my mom says.”
“Keep your glasses.” The teacher stood up, and I leaned down in my chair. “You won’t give a shit in two years. They’ll help you find your soul mate in college anyway.”
She laughed, her voice squeaky. “You’re not like the rumors say.”
“That I’m a stone cold bitch.”
“Yeah and that you screwed Tray Evans.”
“Where?”
She listed them off with her fingers. “In the school parking lot, in the parking lot at the diner, at one of his parties, at Rickets’ House, and in his car.”
“I’ve been busy.”
She giggled and then squeaked before turning away. Her face got red. I looked over and saw Tray staring back. He had knelt beside me.
“What?” I gestured to the teacher. “He’s going to start class.”
“We have two days.”
“For what?” I wasn’t an idiot. I knew. I was just playing.
He wasn’t amused. “Will you please help?”
“I told you I would, but you didn’t spill the details. I had to hold my sister when she sobbed and asked questions. I couldn’t answer any of them.” He had helped me yesterday. Then Jace told me to stay away from him. I was getting whiplash from being pulled in so many directions. I sighed. “Let me think about it.”
He hadn’t gotten the answer he wanted. His lips pressed together, but he stood. “Saw Jace Lanser leaving town last night. Stopped at the diner for a burger.”
“Yeah. So?”
He backed off, taking his own seat across the room, but it didn’t matter. The entire class was listening. “Nothing. The guy’s a loser.”
“Keep talking and maybe I won’t help after all.” Jace was family. No one talked bad about my family.
Mandy hushed me. “Taryn, don’t talk to him like that.”
I ignored her. Everyone was waiting. No one spoke back to Tray Motherfucking Evans, but I just did. He didn’t shoot back and I could feel the confusion from everyone. My classmate leaned over and whispered, “You are officially my idol. No girl who’s slept with him has gotten away with talking to him like that, and he sought you out.”
She was so excited about the last fact. I sighed. This would be the number one rumor going through school for the rest of the day. I caught sight of Mandy’s warning glare and rolled my eyes. Another day that I had saved her from the gossip mill. When she waved her finger in the air, I flipped her my middle finger. No one was going to tell me how to think, speak, or feel. If she kept trying, she’d learn like everyone else did that they could kiss my ass. When she gasped again, I was tempted to make it a double deuce and flip my other middle finger too.