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“There has to be some reason she’s afraid of you, or at least a reason you hate her so much.”
Shrugging, she packs up her things and gets up from the table. “Psychotic bitches just aren’t my forte.”
Leaving that as her explanation, she leaves the cafeteria. My eyes stay glued to her until she’s out of sight, and I’d be lying if I said a part of me didn’t want to go with her.
“Bro, you’re so fucked,” Jace comments.
“Huh?”
He shakes his head. “She has a boyfriend, and even if she didn’t, you don’t have a chance in hell.”
I roll my eyes. “Like I’ve told you before, stuck-up bitches aren’t my thing.”
“And yet you flirt with Kinsley.”
Little do they know, every single thing I’ve done since I got to this place was to get a reaction out of Savannah. Still, I don’t know where their loyalties lie. I may be their teammate, but they’ve known her for years.
A devious smirk appears as I chuckle. “What can I say? A mouth is a mouth.”
I SIT ON THE window sill, smoking a cigarette and watching as the rain pours down outside. I should be at practice right now, but it was canceled on account of the weather. The house has been empty since I got here. God only knows where my mother is—probably out with Justin. I have half a mind to just kill him and claim self-defense. With his record, I’m sure I’d get away with it, and then I wouldn’t have to worry about him showing up here anymore.
A car pulls into the driveway of the house across the street—Savannah’s old house—and for the first time, I get a glance at the person who lives there now. She’s a young woman, probably early thirties. Judging by the stickers on the back of her car, she has a husband, two young kids, and a dog. I wonder if she knows the things that have happened in that house. The kind of secrets it holds.
I knock on the door, anxious to show Savi the new walkie-talkies my dad bought me. After a couple seconds, I get impatient and go to knock again when it opens. Savannah’s dad smiles down at me.
“Hey, Grayson.”
“Hi, Mr. Montgomery. Is Savi here?”
He nods and opens the door wider to let me in. “She’s in her room. Go on up, and I’ll make you two a snack.”
I run up the stairs and into Savannah’s bedroom, only to find her sitting on the bed with tears in her eyes. Dropping the walkie-talkies to the ground, I climb up and sit beside her. I tuck my hand into my sweatshirt sleeve and use it to wipe the tears from her face.
“What happened?”
She sniffles. “A boy in school called me ugly.”
I don’t know who this boy is, or why he had the nerve to call the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen ugly, but I already want to punch him in the face. This is why I wanted us to be in the same class, so I could be there to protect her from things like this. But our parents insisted we have at least some distance from each other. Stupid parents.
“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
A small smile graces her face. “My dad said boys who pick on you do it because they like you.”
If I wasn’t mad before, I am now. The idea of Savi spending time with any boy but me makes me want to lock her in my treehouse and never let her out. Catching me off guard, she looks up at me through watery eyes.
“Do you make fun of any girls in your class?”
I shake my head and watch as relief washes over her. She looks away and rests her head on my shoulder. “Good.”
“Yeah…good.”
I knew then that there was something more to her than just my best friend, and I made it a point to find out who made her cry. He wasn’t hard to find on the playground. It was fun to watch him go and apologize to Savannah. Even at eight years old, I was so protective of her.
How do you fight feelings that are basically wired into your brain? That girl has more control over me than I’ve ever been willing to give anyone, and it’s only a
matter of time before she figures that out. From the desire to have her attention on me at all times, to the way I’ve almost given in to temptation—if I don’t get a grip, I’m screwed.
I’ve already let my guard down around Savannah once. There’s no way I can do that again. I damn near didn’t make it through the first time she wreaked havoc on my life. She’ll never get the opportunity to hurt me like that a second time. I won’t allow it.
