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Peyton
“There she is.”My friend Bryan bounced over to us, pulling me into a bear hug. “I’ve been worried about you, Myers,” he whispered, and I gently eased back to meet his crinkled expression.
“I’m fine.”
“Really?” His brow arched. “Because I—”
“Yo, dude, give the girl some room,” his friend Gav nudged him back. They played on the team with Kaiden, and it’s how we’d fallen into this weird friendship. Well, me and Bryan at least. “It’s good to see you back, Peyton.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t like the way they were all watching me. Sympathetic stares glittering with pity.
“Guys, stop.” I yanked open my locker and stuck my head inside, grateful for the reprieve. If I would’ve known how weird they would all act, I probably would have had second thoughts about coming back today.
But there was no going back now.
I was Peyton Myers. I didn’t cower or hide from anyone, and I wasn’t about to start now. Even if everyone was throwing discreet looks in my direction as if I was an exhibit in a zoo. I knew rumors were flying around school. I’d heard at least five of them just on the walk into the building.
Apparently, she was skinny-dipping drunk.
She was wandering drunk along the river and fell in.
I heard she got pushed.
Rixon High was a melting pot of gossip and my name was the word on everyone’s lips.
Of course I’d heard those rumors too—the ones that talked about me trying to kill myself. But I let them roll off my back. It was an accident. A spur of the moment mistake.
That’s all.
“Peyton?” Lily’s voice yanked me back into the moment.
“Huh, yeah?”
“I asked if you’re ready to go to class?”
“Yeah, of course.” I grabbed a couple of textbooks and slammed my locker shut, the sound reverberating through me.
“See you at lunch?” Bryan asked, his eyes lingering a little too long.
Bryan Hughes was a good guy, but he was a mistake I didn’t plan on making again. We hooked up a couple of times. It wasn’t supposed to happen, but he’d worn me down with his charm and goofy humor. And besides, I liked sex.
Or at least, I did… before.
Now, I just felt numb. Like my insides had been yanked out of my body, ground through a meat processor, and then shoved back in. My heart was a shredded ball of flesh in my chest, barely beating.
Not how I ever saw my senior year going.
But I’d been thinking about things a lot over the last few days. I turned eighteen in just a few weeks. Christmas Eve, in fact. I’d walk into the new year as an adult. An adult with no home, no family, and no real plans for the future.
My job at Cindy’s Grill gave me enough money to help the Fords with their weekly groceries and a couple of smaller bills, but it wasn’t enough to save for college or a security deposit on an apartment. Graduation was still another six months away. Six months in which I could be earning better money. I could pick up more hours at Cindy’s or try to get a few hours at one of the various stores downtown.
But I really didn’t want to drop out of high school. Getting my diploma was key to getting better employment or maybe even taking some community college courses.
I needed a plan and fast. But I was exhausted. Weary and numb. Plans could wait, at least for today.
“Yeah,” I whispered, giving him a weak smile. Bryan was a good guy. Funny and loyal, he had a bright future ahead of him playing football at Michigan. He was perfect boyfriend material without a doubt.
There was just one huge problem…
