Page 78 of The Pilot

“I will.”

He walked her to the door and watched as she headed to the garage, then backed the minivan out. He stood at the door, freezing his butt off in the chilly March air as she drove down the driveway. Only then did he close the door and take a deep breath. He had a lot to do to finally get the floors down here finished before she arrived home from work that afternoon.

But he did it with a smile and not feeling as if he would fall flat on his face because he hadn’t gotten enough sleep. He was a new man because of Harper. He wouldn’t change his life for anything . . . which wasn’t something he could say a few months ago.

Kash had gotten good at avoiding Donny and his jerk friends. He’d learned that if he got to the cafeteria at the very beginning of his lunch period, he could get in before Donny got there, get his food, then leave and eat lunch in the robotics club’s meeting room.

Today, he had a question for his Spanish teacher after class, which meant a late start for lunch. He knew without a doubt that he’d have a run-in with Donny as a result. But . . . that was okay. Because surprisingly, it was becoming a little easier every day to just ignore the bully’s taunts.

Maybe it was because he’d found a group of people he enjoyed hanging out with, who didn’t judge him for liking science and other so-called “nerdy” things. Maybe it was because he knew without a doubt that Linc liked him exactly the way he was. That he didn’t wish he was more athletic or “manly.” Maybe it was because his mom was so happy now, and it made everything around him seem not quite so . . . dire.

Whatever the reason, Kash walked to the cafeteria with his head held high. He decided he wasn’t going to let Donny get to him anymore. He wasn’t going to provoke the kid, he wasn’t that stupid, but he was done skulking around and going out of his way to avoid him.

He walked into the cafeteria and looked around for his robotics club friends. He didn’t see them, so he headed for the line to get his food.

Except he didn’t make it to the line. Owen and Scott waylaid him. They came up beside him, each taking one of his arms and turning him back the way he’d just come.

“Hey! Let go of me!” Kash exclaimed, trying to pull his arms out of their grasp, but they simply tightened their grips enough that it hurt—a lot. And since they were taller and heavier than he was, there wasn’t much Kash could do. The last thing he wanted was to make a scene. Bringing attention to yourself at school was never a good thing, so he kept quiet and went where the two boys led him . . . occasionally trying to jerk his arms free.

The next thing Kash knew, they were headed for the door that led out into the courtyard between the high school and middle school.

“Donny wants a word with you,” Owen told him.

“Why? I haven’t done anything to him. Let me go!” Kash said, deciding his earlier decision not to make a scene was dumb. He writhed, trying to twist out of the bullies’ grips, with no luck.

“Calm down!” Scott growled, as he struggled to hold on to a squirming Kash.

He was sure he was going to be taken to one of the restrooms in the high school and given that swirly he’d joked about with his mom, but instead of heading toward the building, Owen and Scott headed away from both schools.

Before he knew it, they’d left the property and were walking into one of the small neighborhoods that surrounded the schools.

His heart was in his throat, and his mouth was dry as dust. He was also cold, because it wasn’t as if he had his coat with him. Owen and Scott hadn’t exactly stopped to let him grab it from his locker.

All he had was the backpack with his schoolbooks. He found it easier to carry them around all day, rather than go back and forth to his locker before and after every class. Since his last name started with a B, and the lockers were assigned in alphabetical order, his was all the way at one end of the school. So, he carried his books with him.

Donny had made fun of him for that, along with what seemed like a hundred other things, but Kash didn’t care. His backpack made his life easier, and he wasn’t going to suffer simply because someone didn’t think it was “cool” to carry it around.

Realizing his mind was wandering, Kash blinked and found they’d cut across a few lawns and were approaching a house that looked as if it hadn’t had anyone living there for quite a while. Owen and Scott pulled him around back—and Kash’s hopes fell even further when he saw Ginger and Donny already there, standing under a dilapidated deck.

“I’m serious, Donny, give it back,” Ginger ordered, hands on her hips. “I need my phone!”

“And I’ll give it back, I just—oh, finally. Took you long enough to get here.” Donny had turned when his friends appeared with Kash.

Ginger looked annoyed . . . and confused. “What’s going on? Why is he here? All I want is my phone. Give it back, and I’ll leave you guys to do whatever stupid thing you’re planning on doing.”

“Oh, but we need you to make what we’re planning work,” Donny said with a smirk. Then he moved fast, grabbing Ginger’s upper arm much the same way Owen and Scott were holding Kash.

“Ow! Stop it! Let go!”

“Nope. I gave you a chance to come back to me, to get whatever bug you had up your ass out and come to your senses. But you didn’t. And now I hear you’re dating Alistair? He’s in the fucking band! What a joke! So . . . I decided since you humiliated me, and you seem to like nerds, I’d let you spend some quality time with the biggest nerd at school—Kash Bates.”

“This isn’t cool, Donny,” Ginger said, sounding scared now.

Kash wasn’t sure what the hell was going on. Donny had brought him here to get back at his ex-girlfriend? He was being used as punishment for her? It didn’t make sense. But he had a bad feeling about this. About whatever Donny had planned.

“Grab his backpack,” Donny told Owen and Scott. “And make sure you get his phone. We need his password too. Oh, and the combo to his locker.” He turned back to Ginger. “I’ve got this all planned out. It’s gonna be hilarious!” Then he got in his ex’s face. “You shouldn’t have broken up with me. Now you have to pay the price.”

“Donny, no.”