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He and Finn start talking about the football game they watched last night as we all head for the front doors of the high school.
I pull out my phone and scroll through the messages I didn’t have time to read this morning. There are a few new ones from my dad. He’s good about checking in with me and Sydney regularly. Of course, my angel of a sister has already sent him a lengthy response to his texts, telling him all about herwholesome weekend doing homework and hanging out with her best friend.
I type a short response and shove my phone back into the pocket of my fleece as we walk inside Pembrooke High School. It always smells the same in here—like cleaning supplies and paint. The high school is new. They finished building it four years ago, right before the start of my freshman year.
Every surface gleams, the tiled floors and the lockers that line the walls. Our school colors are blue and yellow, so the short strip of plaster above the navy lockers is painted a sunny shade.
The hallway is busy. We’re only a few minutes away from first bell. Finn and Mark follow me to my locker. I grab the green notebook I use for English.
I slam the door shut and hear a distinctive laugh. Like a magnet, my gaze snaps to Cassia. She’s standing across the hall at her locker. Sydney is right next to her. And Cassia…Cassia is talking to Spencer Barnes, who looks likely to shit himself over having her undivided attention. Over having made her laugh.
The pulse of possessiveness is expected.
Familiar.
Annoying.
I look away before anyone in the hall catches me staring. To them, Cassia and Spencer probably look like an obvious pairing. They’re both smart and strait-laced andnice. They are the ones teachers like and parents adore.
There’s more to Cassia, though. Or there used to be. I don’t spend enough time around her anymore to tell for sure. I do everything I can to make sure our interactions are limited, which is harder than it should be.
We go to the same school.
Live on the same street.
She’s best friends with my little sister.
And then there’s this stupid draw to her that I’ve never been able to fully shake despite my best attempts. Some compulsion to stare. A burning curiosity about whether she’s interested in the guy who’s beaming at her right now, even though I shouldn’t care. Shouldn’t have even noticed how he’s looking at her.
“See you at lunch, Adams,” Mark says, then splits off from me and Finn.
“Yeah. See you.”
Finn gives me a weird look as Mark heads to the left. “You good, dude?”
“Yeah. Fine.”
“You’ve barely said anything this morning. Is your dad back yet?”
“No. He’s not supposed to get back ’til Thursday.”
I’m not holding my breath, though. My dad works as a long-haul truck driver. He’s away from Pembrooke more than he’s home. I know he feels guilty about being gone as much as he is. I also know me and Sydney were unplanned, and a burden he was saddled with when our mom split years ago. He racks up a lot of miles trying to make up for that. Or maybe trying to drive away from that.
His lengthy absences take a toll on us as a family. On Sydney, especially. She tries to be perfect, churning out good grades and attending play practices instead of parties so he never has anything to worry about. Her future is a lot more certain than mine.
College is a long shot for me. My grades are average at best. My only chance of going is a basketball scholarship. Even if I do get one, I’m not sure leaving is a possibility. It will be the biggest shock to our family dynamic since my mom left twelve years ago.
“Is your dad going to cause problems next weekend?” Finn asks.
I shake my head. “Nah. He spends most of his time home sleeping.”
And if Finn is right about the amount of money Declan is offering, I won’t take no for an answer. I’ll sneak out if I have to.
If I’m not going to college, I need a back-up plan. And I enjoy fighting. I know it’s reckless—that’s part of the allure. More importantly, I’m good at it. Undefeated good.
Finn follows me into Mrs. Berwick’s classroom for first period. Grace is seated in the second row, talking with her best friend McKenzie Howard.
Both girls give me flirty smiles. I’m not surprised by Grace. But last I knew, McKenzie was hooking up with Jordan, one of my teammates.
