Beautiful Disaster 02 Walking Disaster Read Online Free PDF Page B

that feeling made me want to be around her more.
    After two hours of staring at the ceiling, wondering if I would see her the next day, I decided to get up and find the bottle of Jack Daniel’s in the kitchen.
    The shot glasses were clean in the dishwasher, so I pulled out one and filled it to the brim. After hammering it back, I poured another. I tossed it back, set the glass in the sink, and turned
around. Shepley stood in his doorway with a smirk on his face.
    “And so it begins.”
    “The day you appeared on our family tree, I wanted to cut it down.”
    Shepley laughed once and shut his door.
    I trudged to my bedroom, pissed that I couldn’t argue.
    MORNING CLASSES TOOK FOREVER, AND I WAS A LITTLE disgusted with myself that I had all but run to the cafeteria. I didn’t even know if Abby would
be there.
    But, she was.
    Brazil was sitting directly across from her, chatting it up with Shepley. A smirk touched my face, and then I sighed, both relieved and resigned to the fact that I was lame.
    The lunch lady filled my tray with god-knows-what, and then I walked over to the table, standing directly across from Abby.
    “You’re sittin’ in my chair, Brazil.”
    “Oh, is she one of your girls, Trav?”
    Abby shook her head. “Absolutely not.”
    I waited, and then Brazil complied, taking his tray to an empty seat at the end of the long table.
    “What’s up, Pidge?” I asked, waiting for her to spit venom in my direction. To my extreme surprise, she showed no signs of anger.
    “What is that?” She stared at my tray.
    I looked down at the steaming concoction. She was making random conversation. Yet another good sign. “The cafeteria ladies scare me. I’m not about to critique their cooking
skills.”
    Abby watched me poke around with my fork for something edible, and then seemed distracted by the murmurings of those around us. Granted, it was new for my fellow students to see me make a fuss
over sitting across from someone. I still wasn’t sure why I did.
    “
Ugh . . .
that bio test is after lunch.” America groaned.
    “Did you study?” Abby asked.
    America’s nose wrinkled. “God, no. I spent the night reassuring my boyfriend that you weren’t going to sleep with Travis.”
    Shepley immediately became sullen at the mention of the previous night’s conversation.
    The football players seated at the end of our table quieted down to hear our conversation, and Abby sunk down into her seat, shooting a glare at America.
    She was embarrassed. For whatever reason, she was mortified by any attention whatsoever.
    America ignored Abby and nudged Shepley with her shoulder, but Shepley’s frown didn’t fade.
    “Jesus, Shep. You’ve got it that bad, huh?” I threw a packet of ketchup at him, trying to lighten the mood. The surrounding students turned their attention to Shepley and
America then, hoping for something to talk about.
    Shepley didn’t answer, but Abby’s gray eyes peeked up at me over a small smile. I was on a roll today. She couldn’t hate me if she tried. I don’t know why I was so
worried. It wasn’t like I wanted to date her or anything. She just seemed like the perfect platonic experiment. She was basically a good girl—albeit slightly angry—and
didn’t need me fucking up her five-year plan. If she had one.
    America rubbed Shepley’s back. “He’s going to be okay. It’s just going to take him a while to believe Abby is resistant to your charms.”
    “I haven’t
tried
to charm her,” I said. I was just getting ahead, and America was sinking my battleship. “She’s my friend.”
    Abby looked to Shepley. “I told you. You have nothing to worry about.”
    Shepley met Abby’s eyes, and then his expression smoothed. Crisis averted. Abby saved the day.
    I waited for a minute, trying to think of something to say. I wanted to ask Abby to come over later, but it would be lame after America’s comment. A brilliant idea popped into my head, and
I didn’t hesitate.