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Things he hadn’t needed to buy.
He’d gone out of his way to help us, giving us a place to stay. I was an asshole for charging in here demanding…what?That we leave? I clenched my grip around the truth and glanced at Mom, finally understanding.We literally had nowhere else to go.
“Ryth…I—” Mom started.
“I’ll go.” I cut her off, my words slipping free as I met Creed’s gaze. “I’ll go to Dukes, whatever you need.”
Mom’s eyes widened with surprise as a look of utter relief washed over her.
But Creed grinned and crossed the room to take the statement from my hand, and pulled me into a hug. “I knew you’d come around. Thank you, Ryth, that means a lot to me and your mom.”
I let him hug me, then slowly pulled away. “But on one condition. I want Nick to drive me…”
Creed nodded, that smile growing wider. “Deal.”
EIGHT
ryth
“You want me to come in,”Nick asked as he stared at the entrance to the school. “Or are you good from here?”
My pulse was thundering, my panic out of control. But I just swallowed, clutched my MacBook to my chest, and yanked the door handle. “Thanks, I got it.”
My cheeks burned, even as I dropped my gaze and nervously tugged my hair lower.Don’t look at me…please, don’t look at me.I passed a group of girls as they crowded the sidewalk. But they didn’t laugh at me…they didn’t even see me.
“Holy shit, is that Nick Banks?” one of them muttered, staring.
The midnight Mustang idled heavily, throbbing, growling, drawing every female gaze in the vicinity. Of course they knew him, especially the girls. I mean, why wouldn’t they? Broody, dangerous…intensely good looking.
I’d notice, too…if I wasn’t living with them. Notice, and what…panic.Tobias crept into my mind, his cruel pinch of my breast, the way he'd trapped me with that savage stare.You want me to drive you, Ryth?I hugged the laptop tighter against me, shoving the memory of him down, until it left that throbbing sound of the Mustang to push in.
I half expected Nick to pop the clutch and roar past the school like every other rich hot-head did. But he didn’t. Instead, he idled the car, slowly crawling behind me.
“Hey, Ryth!”he called out as he lowered the passenger’s window.
Fire lashed deeper as I jerked my gaze over my shoulder.
There was concern in his eyes as he motioned his head at the drop-off point. “I’ll meet you here later, okay?”
I just nodded, turned, and scurried, feeling the heat of attention as I hurried for the admin building. It’d been days since I'd agreed to come here. Just enough time to try to forget what an asshole Tobias had been in the kitchen, and just enough time for the storm of panic to build at the thought of starting a brand new school halfway through my last year.
Creed Banks had called ahead and, of course, everyone was more than accommodating. Why wouldn’t they be? Rich and powerful. What he wanted, he seemed to get. All I wanted was my dad out of prison and my family back together. I shoved through the doors, my sneakers squeaking on the vinyl floor as I scanned the entrance, caught the sign, and headed for the office.
When I pushed through the doors, it was quiet. A few younger kids were sitting on a bench and one guy was standing idly by a display loaded with pamphlets.
“Help you?” an older woman called over the counter.
I licked my lips, tugged my hair lower, holding my hand over my face, and stepped closer. “Ryth Castlemaine. I’m here to start classes.”
“Oh, Ryth. Yes, we’ve been expecting you,” she smiled, then lifted her hand, motioning to someone behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder at the guy standing beside the pamphlets, then jerked my gaze away. He was gorgeous, with dark brown eyes and dimples when he turned to me and smiled. Panic rose inside me as I turned back to the woman. “What…what are you doing?”
She smiled carefully, then frowned. “Getting you an escort. Gio here has offered to show you to your classes.”
“I don’t need that,” I muttered as the sound of his steps grew closer. “I just need a schedule and a map.”
“Nonsense.” She met Gio’s gaze and smiled at him. “It’s good to make friends, especially on your first day.”
