Before her mother could say anything else, Aspen waved and sprinted toward the school building.
She raced into the first class of the day and hesitated when as she spotted Dylan sitting in the chair behind her desk, a vintage Led Zeppelin T-shirt stretched tightly across his chest. He watched her carefully as she entered the room. Without looking at him, she pulled her shoulders back and walked to her desk.
So what if he’d seen her with Ray yesterday? Dylan hadn’t stopped Ruby when she’d been holding on to him. It wasn’t as if they were in a relationship anyway, and if he thought that she was going to sit around and wait for him to make a move, then he had it wrong. She puffed at a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail. Maybe it would do him good to see how she’d felt last night.
Sitting still proved to be difficult, and she moved forward in the seat. The longer she pictured the two of them at the river, the more her temper flared, and soon her cheeks were flushed. If Dylan poked her with his pen, she would grab it and throw it on the floor. Her hair lifted on her arms, and she forced herself to calm down and breathe slowly.
Dylan didn’t speak to her but she could feel his presence, and his clean soapy fragrance enveloped her. After a while, Aspen sat back in the desk, but his warm breath tickled her neck. A rash of goose bumps erupted on her forearms, and she jerked forward in the seat once more.
His deep voice chuckled behind her, but she wouldn’t let him see how badly he affected her so she ignored him completely. As soon as the bell sounded, Aspen sprang up, grabbed her bag, and charged out of the classroom.
Time dragged after that, but once it was lunchtime, she slipped into the bathroom, thankful that Dylan hadn’t talked to her in any of her classes up till then.
After she’d checked out her reflection in the floor-length mirror and smoothed her summer dress against her thighs, she redid the elastic on her ponytail and washed her hands in one of the sinks along the wall.
With a quick tug, she pulled a paper towel from the dispenser and dried her hands. Miriam walked into the room just as she was about to leave, and she froze instantly.
“You little twit. I hate you! Do you know that?” Miriam sneered.
Aspen rolled her eyes. Nothing good ever happened in this bathroom, and she would definitely use another restroom in the future.
“You’re the cause of all my problems. I absolutely hate you!” Miriam continued and advanced toward her. “My dad is crying at home. He doesn’t eat and he can’t get dressed in the morning, and it’s all because of you. I know you told your mom to leave.”
Aspen didn’t speak and stared at Miriam. If Stephan wasn’t eating, it was probably because her mother wasn’t there to make meals, but she didn’t say a word.
“He’s a total mess and you’ve ruined my life,” Miriam went on. “I used to enjoy going home, but now the kitchen is filthy and the rooms are a wreck.”
Her lip trembled, and Aspen could see that she was really upset.
“Dad keeps arguing with me and nothing I do is right anymore. I hope you’re happy now.”
Miriam stepped so close that her breath puffed against Aspen’s cheek, and she poked a stiff finger in her chest. Luckily, the leather bracelet stopped Aspen from shocking Miriam. She felt a bit sorry for her stepsister, and didn’t want to add to her misery by electrocuting her. If Miriam needed a chance to rant, she would let her. The long mirror pressed coldly against her back as Miriam crowded her. The girl’s eyes were watery and red, and her clothes were wrinkled.
“Your mother destroyed my life. I’ve got no clean clothes to wear and I don’t get supper anymore.” Miriam raised her voice again. “Your mom is a complete slut, running away with another man.”
Aspen gasped. She’d felt sorry for Miriam at first, but no one insulted her mother. “Don’t you ever speak about my mom like that. Why don’t you wash the dishes and make supper yourself? Maybe if you weren’t so lazy, you’d be okay. And he’s my dad’s brother, by the way.”
It was as though Miriam was waiting for Aspen to challenge her. She raised both hands and grasped Aspen’s cheeks with a bruising force, then slammed her head against the mirror.
Aspen’s skull hit the solid surface, and she cried out in pain. The mirror shattered instantly from the blow, but didn’t fall apart. She reached up to touch her head and felt a sticky moistness in her hair.