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He chuckled in my ear, leaning around me to reach for a sandwich. “I missed you.”
Warm air brushed my skin, and I suppressed a shiver. But as much as I wanted to ignore him, Evan’s words melted away some of my cold mood. It wasn’t just things with Evan. Mom had barely looked at me this morning before I left for school, and the text messages from the unknown number continued to taunt me, even though I’d deleted them.
“When can I see you again?”
Ducking away from him, I shook my hair out trying to create a barrier between us. He was too close. I wanted to be closer, but Evan had set the terms of our ‘relationship’—if you could even call it that—which meant no touching in public. Nonothingin public.
“I’m working tonight.”
“After?”
“No.” I glanced around. No one seemed to be paying us any attention, not even Kendall and her minions, who were busy laughing at something or someone. All that mattered was they weren’t looking in my direction. That, for a second, I could pretend to be a normal girl.
“Now?”
Heat flickered in my stomach. Deep down, I wanted nothing more than to sneak off to the closet and lose myself in Evan, but I held firm. “No,” I said coolly. I needed time to figure out what I was going to do.
His hand caught my wrist closest to the counter. No one would see, but I felt it. “Becca…”
To my relief, I reached the front of the line. Yanking my arm free, I picked my lunch up off the tray and slid it onto the pile of other trays. I flashed my prepaid card at the scanner and hurried out of there. Evan’s heated stare followed me.
“Whoa, easy there.” Jay’s hands steadied me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” I shot back a little too defensively.
His brows knitted together as he released me and stepped back. “No reason. The guys are in the usual spot. You want anything? I forgot mayo for Lilly.”
“No, I’m good.”
Jay nodded and continued on to the cafeteria. “Porter,” he said, and I tensed, my grip on my sandwich tightening. It was probably going to be a mushed up inedible mess by the time I got to the table.
If Evan responded, I didn’t hear him. But I felt him. Watching me. And I knew if I turned around, I’d cave. I’d follow him to whatever secluded spot he wanted to go and give in to his request.
So I kept walking.
* * *
“Hey, sugar.”Cindy waved her towel at me as she wiped down the tables. “It’s just the three of us again. Mitch is—”
“Out,” I finished, and she laughed. “Yeah, you’re catching on. Get changed and come help me refill the salt and pepper mills.”
“Sure thing.” I headed straight for the office. Two minutes later, I was back out front ready to get down with salt and pepper.
“Good day at school?”
“Fine, I guess,” I said with a shrug. After walking away from Evan in the lunch line, I managed to avoid him for the rest of the day. He’d texted me to reconsider going to his house after I got off work, but I had yet to reply. Lilly had also invited me over to Jay’s, but I didn’t commit to that either… just in case I changed my mind about Evan.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see him because every part of me yearned for him. But I felt my façade slip every time I received a new note or photo.
What would my friends think of me if they knew the real Becca—the Becca before that night? She might not exist anymore, but this new Becca wasn’t the real me either. I was caught somewhere in between. Sure, I had my own worries, like the rest of the kids at Credence High, but I still had a family who loved me, and parents who gave up everything to protect me. Dad still had a decent job, and Mom didn’t need to work; well, not yet. My life had changed so much, but it was still nothing compared to what Evan was dealing with. Or Eric and Mischa. Or even Scarlett. For some of my classmates, college wasn’t even an option. They would be stuck in this town, working dead-end jobs with no hopes of ever getting out. I still had my future. I just had to want it. For me, Credence was only a stopgap, a fresh start, a chance to finish out my senior year. I wouldn’t be here forever. Maybe the person leaving the notes was right and I didn’t belong here. But I didn’t belong in Montecito anymore, either.
So where did that leave me?
“Becca? Earth to Becca.” Cindy stared at me, and I blinked, shaking my head free of the endless questions.
“Sorry, I zoned out for a second there.”
“Late night?” She winked, and I blushed. “I knew it. It was the hottie from last week, right?”
