happened so I can tell my therapist.
I remove my wallet from my purse, hinting that I want to pay for the body lotion and leave. The sooner we get out of here the better. The only place I want to be right now, other than in Marcus’s arms, is at Grandma’s. More than anything, I want to see Smoky.
“Are you sure?” Emma asks.
“Yeah, I just need to get out of here.” I don’t want to explain beyond that. Emma has seen the scars on my back. She doesn’t know Paul whipped me until I finally stopped screaming. I told her the scars were from the broken glass when I tried to escape.
Emma and I pay for our purchases, then weave our way down the crowded mall, stopping every now and then to visit Emma’s favorite stores.
“There’s a book I want to look for,” she says, carrying several bags from various clothing stores she’d practically lived in when Crossfields was our home. “Everyone on the basketball team has been talking about it, so I figured I’d get it.”
“Okay.” Marcus isn’t due here for two more days. Until then, I’ll need something to keep my mind off how much I miss him. I hustle to the romance section in the store we end up in and scan the tightly packed bookshelves. Anything to keep my mind preoccupied for a few minutes, to keep it from heading to Marcus again.
My phone buzzes in my purse as I reach for a book. As if reading my thoughts from over two hundred miles away, Marcus has sent me a text: Love you . Will call after exams finished .
Love you back. Good luck!
“Here.” Emma hands me a book with a black-and-white picture of a couple on the cover. All you can see of them is the waistband of their jeans, their otherwise naked bodies pressed together.
Instantly my thoughts go to Marcus and I inwardly groan. It’s going to be a very long two days.
“This is the book,” Emma says. “The guy’s a hot guitarist and everyone’s in love with him.”
I grin. “Didn’t realize you have a thing for musicians.”
“I don’t, normally. They’re too moody.”
I hand it back to her and remove a copy from the shelf for myself.
“I thought you moved away,” a high-pitched voice says behind me, and what feels like a nest of spiders scurrying over my body puts me on alert. Melissa.
Against all instinct, I twist around to find my former classmate glaring at me. Nice to know things haven’t changed. She hated me even before Paul stepped into my life. His actions only intensified her venom.
“Back off, Mel.” Emma steps between us.
“I can’t believe you’re defending her after she killed your brother.” If Melissa were a dog, I’d have her pegged as a snarling pit bull.
“You know she didn’t kill Trent. She wasn’t the one responsible for the car accident. And she was as much a victim as he was.”
“Yet he’s dead and she isn’t.”
Yep, nothing has changed. Like when I was released from the hospital last spring and allowed to go back to school, and Melissa “accidentally” knocked me into my locker and I ended up with a concussion. She had planned to humiliate me. My concussion was an early birthday present.
“I would do anything for Trent to be alive.” My voice cracks. No matter how many times I say that, it will never bring him back.
She regards me through narrowed eyes. “If you hadn’t stolen him from me, he’d still be here.”
“Get over yourself.” Emma squares her shoulders, aiming for the intimidation she’s best known for both on and off the courts when she’s pissed. “Trent never would have dated a bitch like you. Amber’s the only girl he ever loved. And it doesn’t matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise, he was never interested in you.” She turns to me. “Let’s go.”
Without sparing Melissa another glance, Emma stalks off with me trailing not far behind. From the way Emma’s holding her body rigid as she walks, it doesn’t take much to realize she’s more steamed at her former teammate’s words than
I remove my wallet from my purse, hinting that I want to pay for the body lotion and leave. The sooner we get out of here the better. The only place I want to be right now, other than in Marcus’s arms, is at Grandma’s. More than anything, I want to see Smoky.
“Are you sure?” Emma asks.
“Yeah, I just need to get out of here.” I don’t want to explain beyond that. Emma has seen the scars on my back. She doesn’t know Paul whipped me until I finally stopped screaming. I told her the scars were from the broken glass when I tried to escape.
Emma and I pay for our purchases, then weave our way down the crowded mall, stopping every now and then to visit Emma’s favorite stores.
“There’s a book I want to look for,” she says, carrying several bags from various clothing stores she’d practically lived in when Crossfields was our home. “Everyone on the basketball team has been talking about it, so I figured I’d get it.”
“Okay.” Marcus isn’t due here for two more days. Until then, I’ll need something to keep my mind off how much I miss him. I hustle to the romance section in the store we end up in and scan the tightly packed bookshelves. Anything to keep my mind preoccupied for a few minutes, to keep it from heading to Marcus again.
My phone buzzes in my purse as I reach for a book. As if reading my thoughts from over two hundred miles away, Marcus has sent me a text: Love you . Will call after exams finished .
Love you back. Good luck!
“Here.” Emma hands me a book with a black-and-white picture of a couple on the cover. All you can see of them is the waistband of their jeans, their otherwise naked bodies pressed together.
Instantly my thoughts go to Marcus and I inwardly groan. It’s going to be a very long two days.
“This is the book,” Emma says. “The guy’s a hot guitarist and everyone’s in love with him.”
I grin. “Didn’t realize you have a thing for musicians.”
“I don’t, normally. They’re too moody.”
I hand it back to her and remove a copy from the shelf for myself.
“I thought you moved away,” a high-pitched voice says behind me, and what feels like a nest of spiders scurrying over my body puts me on alert. Melissa.
Against all instinct, I twist around to find my former classmate glaring at me. Nice to know things haven’t changed. She hated me even before Paul stepped into my life. His actions only intensified her venom.
“Back off, Mel.” Emma steps between us.
“I can’t believe you’re defending her after she killed your brother.” If Melissa were a dog, I’d have her pegged as a snarling pit bull.
“You know she didn’t kill Trent. She wasn’t the one responsible for the car accident. And she was as much a victim as he was.”
“Yet he’s dead and she isn’t.”
Yep, nothing has changed. Like when I was released from the hospital last spring and allowed to go back to school, and Melissa “accidentally” knocked me into my locker and I ended up with a concussion. She had planned to humiliate me. My concussion was an early birthday present.
“I would do anything for Trent to be alive.” My voice cracks. No matter how many times I say that, it will never bring him back.
She regards me through narrowed eyes. “If you hadn’t stolen him from me, he’d still be here.”
“Get over yourself.” Emma squares her shoulders, aiming for the intimidation she’s best known for both on and off the courts when she’s pissed. “Trent never would have dated a bitch like you. Amber’s the only girl he ever loved. And it doesn’t matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise, he was never interested in you.” She turns to me. “Let’s go.”
Without sparing Melissa another glance, Emma stalks off with me trailing not far behind. From the way Emma’s holding her body rigid as she walks, it doesn’t take much to realize she’s more steamed at her former teammate’s words than
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