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Simpler times.
And before I knew it, I was yanking it over my head and basking in its familiarity.
“Becca, over here.” Lilly waved, and I crisscrossed through the flow of kids heading to class.
“Hey.” I smiled, tucking my hair behind my ear.
Her gaze drifted to my sweater, and I saw the flash of surprise in her eyes, but she quickly schooled her features. “I’m glad you came last night.” Lilly leaned in close, out of earshot of the guys. “Don’t let Kendall get to you, okay? Scarlett said—”
“I’m fine.”
She nodded, but I saw the suspicion in her big doe eyes. “So, Tuesdays we usually all hang at Jay’s. His dad goes out of town until tomorrow.”
“Do you guys ever just stay home?” It was a joke, but from the way they all watched me, I figured it was lost on them.
Jay slung his arm over Lilly’s shoulder, and he grinned at me. “You’re coming, right? I’ve rigged up the garage into a bar.”
Lilly coughed. “Man cave.”
He tickled her waist, and she shrieked. “Fine ‘bar’ is a stretch, but it’s pretty cool. I have a TV in there and a couple of old couches. You should stop by.”
“Okay, I guess.”
“Awesome. Well, ladies, I have to get to government before Mr. Phelps decides to boot my ass from his class for good.” He planted a kiss on Lilly’s unsuspecting lips and saluted before disappearing down the hallway.
“I guess that means we’d better get to chem,” Lilly said to Malachi who nodded. He didn’t seem like a guy of many words.
“See you at lunch?”
“Sure.” They left, and I quickly made my way to my locker to grab a book I needed. When I opened the door, a folded note drifted to the floor. Hands shaking, I leaned down to pick it up, and my stomach knotted.
Stay away from Rogues
I balled up the note and stuffed it into my bag, retrieved the book I needed, and closed the door. Glancing around, my eyes searched for her, but there was no sign of Kendall.
With a heavy sigh, I made my way to class, telling myself everything would be fine.
* * *
“What is she wearing?It looks like a cat up and died on her.” Low snickers erupted behind me, but I kept my eyes in front. Ignoring them. Okay, trying to ignore them.
It wasn’t Kendall. I didn’t share this class with her. But a couple of her friends sat behind me and made their allegiance perfectly clear with their taunts and jibes. From my sweater to my hair, even my sneakers had featured in their little bitchfest. Which was ironic, really, since they looked like the ones one of the girls was wearing.
I couldn’t win.
Try to fit in, and they hated me.
Try to be more like my old self… and they hated me.
So I did the best I could. Rolling back my shoulders, I sat a little straighter and concentrated on class. When it was finally time to leave, I stuffed my things into my bag and made my way to the door, but the girls caught up with me. One brushed past me as the other shoved me out of the way. I lost my footing and hit the edge of a desk, the corner butting against my hip. Pain ricocheted through my bone, and I stifled a yelp.
“Oops, my bad.” One of them offered a sickly-sweet smile, and I narrowed my eyes as I tried to swallow the pain. Sorry, my ass. “Though you really should watch where you’re going.” The venom in her voice didn’t match the sympathy in her expression.
They left the room, laughing while other kids rushed past me. No one bothered to stop and see if I was okay. Pressing a hand to the tender spot, I filed out, walking straight into Evan.
“Seriously?” Murmuring to myself, I moved to go around him, but his heated gaze rooted me to the spot.
His eyes surveyed me, sweeping down to the hand I had clasped around my hip. “What happened?”
