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I’m not halfway through the cafeteria before I notice something. Everyone is looking at me. This is my third day at the school, so I don’t know what they’re so interested in all of a sudden. Aren’t there any freshmen they can stare at?
It doesn’t take long for a guy to walk up to me as I’m getting in line for coffee. He slings an arm around my shoulders, and I stiffen, looking up at him in surprise. “Welcome to the family, little sis.”
“Excuse me?” It hits me that I’ve seen him before, and not only around the halls. This is the person Hayes was talking to. The one who told him to talk to his dad about whatever it is he’s going through. A part of me wants to shove him away and ask why the hell he didn’t put a stop to things yesterday. He must have seen Hayes shove me into that closet, right?
The bigger part of me wants to beg him to fess up. What’s Hayes hiding?
His easy smile reveals none of that. I wonder if he even knows I’m the girl his friend went after yesterday. Maybe he didn’t get a good look at me. “Word spreads fast around here. You’re an Ambrose now.”
Oh, right. I didn’t even think about this. “Not yet,” I remind him with a tight laugh. I feel the weight of at least a dozen pairs of eyes on me, and I hate it. Whatever happened to blending in and keeping my head down?
“But as good as. I heard you moved in and everything.”
“You know a lot about my life for somebody whose name I don’t know.”
I hear a girl laugh, but he pays her no attention. His smile only widens. “Shit, I guess I’m not as popular around here as I thought, if you don’t know my name yet. Three days in. I’m losing my touch.”
Even though he has a bad habit of being overfamiliar, I can’t help but like him a little. “I’m waiting.”
“Franky Miller. Best friend of your brother—sorry, stepbrother.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Yo, is it true? Do you really live with Hayes Ambrose?” The guy standing in front of us looks impressed, while the girl standing next to him shoots me a look that could boil ice.
“As of yesterday, yeah. We just moved in.”
The girl looks me up and down before snorting. “What, is your mom the housekeeper or something?”
Franky jumps in before I can even process what she said. “Are you deaf now, Hunter? Their parents are getting married. Try to keep up.”
She only rolls her eyes at him before turning around, arms folded.
He shakes his head before leaning down and whispering in my ear. “Good luck. There’s a lot of girls who are going to give you shit over this.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Yeah, and they’ll probably hate you for not doing anything because they think they would if they were in your shoes.” He grins at my confusion. “Don’t be surprised if some of them try to be friendly with you.”
I hadn’t thought about that. It makes perfect sense. I saw the looks many girls gave Hayes when we walked through the hall together that first day. Hungry looks. And if they want to get close to him, they might try to use me as a way of doing it.
“At least I know one person wants to be my friend for real,” I say.
“Who’s that?”
“Salem. Do you know her?” It only occurs to me now that I don’t know her last name.
His brows knit together for a split second before his forehead smooths out again. “Yeah, I know her. She’s cool. You don’t have to worry about her being a user.” I thought so but hearing him say it makes me feel better. “So what’s your story? Where do you come from?”
At least he removes his arm from over my shoulders, but he’s still standing next to me as we inch our way up in line.
“I don’t really have a story. I have a mom and a little sister, and yesterday I moved into a house that’s bigger than I ever stepped foot in before.”
“Yeah, it’s a big house. His dad is pretty cool. He lets us come over sometimes.”
“You’ll have to do it when my mom isn’t around.”
“So she’s like that, huh? My mom’s kind of that way, too. But she doesn’t care if we drink, so...” He shrugs with another lopsided grin. “Do you party a lot?”
I can’t remember the last time I went to a party. “Not recently.”
“So that’s a no.” He laughs. “Don’t worry. We’ll change that.”
I don’t have time to ask what that means before Theo strolls up. “Hey, Miller. Hands off. She’s an Ambrose now.”
“I’m really not,” I remind him and anybody standing nearby. I’m sure they’re all listening.
“As good as,” Theo insists. “And that means hands off.”
