I knew what she was asking me. "I've been good."
"How is the house doing? Any bidders?"
I hated discussing the sale of my parent's house, but I had to. If it didn't sell soon the bank would foreclose it. "There have been a feel people walk through but no one has made an offer." I snorted. "Believe me when I say there would be no bidding. I would take the first offer given to me."
"I know you would, Chick." Her eyes were sympathetic.
I bristled. "Don't look at me like that, Dee."
"Like what?" She scowled. "I wasn't giving you a look."
"You were." I argued.
"What look was I giving you?"
"The one that says 'I pity you'." I glared at her. "And don't say you weren't. I've seen that look more in the last three weeks than anyone should see in a lifetime."
"I don't pity you, Ella."
I interrupted her. "My parents are gone, Dee. I've accepted that. What I can't accept is the fact that I can barely keep my head above the water. I'm seriously drowning in my bills and I can't even afford groceries."
"I know," her eyes were misted and I knew she was feeling guilty. I didn't want to make her feel that way. She didn't deserve it. She'd been there for me through this whole ordeal and I knew she was doing everything she could for me. "We'll figure something out."
"I know." I took a deep breath in. "Thanks."
She nodded and smiled, but this time it didn't come close to meeting her eyes. "You'll get there. You should know your parents would be so proud of you."
I nodded and shoveled food into my mouth for the simple reason that if I spoke, I knew my voice would crack and tears would spill from my eyes. I hadn't cried in a week and I didn't want to. I refused to let myself start again now that I'd gone so long without breaking.
***
I stared up into deep blue eyes and my heart raced…
My alarm blared and I shot upright in my bed as blue eyes faded into the abyss of lost dreams. I slammed my hand down on my alarm and rubbed my temples. There wasn't one part of me that felt like walking through another day at school before enduring another evening at the dreaded tanning salon. But that was life. You had to go through the ruts before you could work out the kinks and hopefully after that it would be smooth sailing. I needed smooth sailing.
I clambered out of bed and padded to the bathroom for a shower as thoughts of Mr. Sexy Bod flitted through my mind. It was a damned good thing I didn't give him my name. The last thing I needed was a boy like him in my life. Everything about him from his ebony hair to his sapphire eyes and tattooed skin oozed danger.
Yup. I nodded to myself. He was all kinds of wrong for me. Hell, he was wrong for any sensible girl. He had heartbreak and deceit written all over him. There was no way a boy like him with eyes like his and the cocky confidence he possessed could ever be good for anyone. He wasn't safe. And he most certainly had no right infiltrating my dreams - or even my thoughts. From this moment on Mr. Sexy Bod was banned from my thoughts!
I finished my shower and quickly dressed myself for the day. I looked as crummy as I felt, but I really didn't care. I'd woken up late and wasn't meeting Dee at the gym so I didn't mind making today a comfy day. In ripped jeans and a sweater with my hair pulled up in a messy bun no one could tell me I wasn't comfortable. I had a feeling Tara would tell me how inappropriate my attire was for the salon, but I didn't care about that either. As a matter of fact, I didn't care about much today.
That felt good.
***
I collapsed into the chair across from Dee at the cafeteria table and let my head loll back. "You're really slumming it today, huh?"
I forced myself to lift my head. "It feels good." I scowled at her impeccable outfit and Kyle laughed. "You should try it sometime."
"I'm good." Dee scrunched her nose. "You look like something that crawled out of the woods."
I sat up straighter. "It's not that bad." I looked at Kyle. "Is it that bad?"
He raised his hands. "Do you really think I'm dumb enough to answer that?"
I shrugged. "Possibly."
"Oh," he looked at Dee. "She's grumpy too."
"Probably PMS-ing." Dee teased. She knew me well enough to know I wouldn't take offence. But I would tease back.
"If I am then you are." We were on the same cycle. Poor Kyle had to deal with two bitches when our time of the month rolled around. But he did it with grace.
Kyle shook his head. "Too much information." He stood. "What do you want for lunch, Dee?"
"I'll get a salad." She looked at me. "What do you want?"
"I'm good." I set steely 'don't go there' eyes on her.