Page 52 of Day Break

It shouldn’t have felt much different than when Lane got close to me. Really, I mean, the men were practically identical in looks. But it did feel different.

My flight instincts kicked in, and I tried to duck under his arms and escape, but he shifted slightly until I was completely blocked in.

“We’re going to have a fun summer.” He pushed his body fully against mine. I felt his erection against my stomach, and I jerked back, knocking several items over on the shelves behind me. For some reason, that caused him to smile and push against me even more.

I was about to shove my knee into his groin when a deep voice sounded from the doorway.

“I’d back off now, if I were you,” Lane warned.

The anger was obvious in his tone, and Derrick jerked away. Using that temporary distraction to my benefit, I escaped the trap and rushed past Lane. Not wanting him to see the fear in my eyes, I kept my gaze on the floor until I stepped outside, and the cool air hit me.

It was raining again, so I stood at the farthest point on the covered patio, wrapping my arms around myself and willing my heart to stop banging against my ribs.

“Are you okay?”

I jumped, then glared over at Lane as he moved closer to me in the darkness.

“Sorry,” he said, tucking his hands into his jean pockets. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I shrugged and then jumped when lightning flashed in the sky, lighting up the entire yard.

“They’re leaving.” Lane motioned behind him. “At least for the night. If you want, I’ll wait out here with you, so my snake of a cousin won’t slither out here and scare you again.”

I smiled and instantly felt the tension retreat.

“Thanks. I was just very unprepared.” I wanted to promise him that it wouldn’t happen again. That now that I knew that both Derrick and Phillip were snakes, I wouldn’t allow them to corner me like that again. But the truth was, I knew it was probably going to happen again.

After all, even after Lucy had returned, Foxy and her gang had still been able to push me around, right up until the final moments before I’d been released.

We stood in the darkness, watching the rain until both of the other cars pulled out of the driveway. Then Lane helped me clean up the rest of the dinner mess, and I returned to my own rooms.

The following morning, after folding Sherry’s borrowed clothes, I headed up the stairs and returned the items I’d borrowed to their rightful place.

I wondered what would have become of me if I’d grown up in a house like this. If I’d had Lane as a brother. Then I frowned remembering the rest of his family. Lane had hinted that even George had been like the rest of them and that something last year had changed him. Lane didn’t say, but I assumed it was after his stroke.

I couldn’t see George being anything but kind. The old man I worked with every day was nothing like the rest of his family.

I was putting the shoes back on the floor of the closet when I noticed a loose floorboard. There was a red ribbon attached to something underneath the worn wood.

I glanced over my shoulder to make sure I was alone and tugged on the string until the board popped up.

Inside sat a small shoebox and a worn red leather book.

I sat down on the floor and pulled the items out of the hiding spot. I put the book on my lap and set the box on top of it.

Inside the shoebox was a young girl’s treasure trove of items. A gold locket with an R on top and a faded picture. It was so faded that I couldn’t make out who it was of. Maybe Sherry and a boy.

There were a few other pictures, mostly of Sherry and another girl I assumed was her cousin Tiffany, whom I’d heard about. A few pictures of a dark-haired girl. Several of the three of them together.

There were movie stubs, concert tickets, and some wrist bands from what appeared to be shows or parties. I almost missed the single joint that lay at the bottom, underneath some dried flowers.

Putting all the items away, I tucked the box back into its hiding place and then opened the book. On the front page it said “The Diary of Sherry Joy Robinson” in delicate handwriting in red ink.

I flipped to the first page and read the first entry.

“There is no one on this planet that I hate more than my family. They actually think that they can tell me who I can fall in love with. I don’t care what they say, Eric and I are in love. But since they have an ongoing feud with Eric’s family, they are all saying that I can’t see him. I’m fourteen, or at least will be next month. I can see whoever I want. I hate them all. My family sucks balls.”

I heard movement in the house and jerked the book closed. I was going to replace it, but curiosity won, and I shoved the book in the inside pocket of my jacket, hoping I could sneak it up to my rooms before breakfast. I don’t know what drew me to hold onto it. I told myself that I’d give it to Lane. Later.