What the hell? Had he lost his mind? This was Nicholas Leister—Mr. I Don’t Belong to Anybody.
His fingers touched my neck, this time on purpose. It was so sensual, I had to close my eyes to concentrate on what I was really thinking, what I really wanted. And what I wanted was not to be hurt again by Nicholas—or any other guy, for that matter.
“You done?” I asked. He stopped and observed me. Then he quickly adjusted the knot and gave it an expert look.
“Yeah. Good luck on your first day.” He got up and unexpectedly gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. I almost wanted to shout for him to hug me, hold me, take me to that stupid school in his car, kiss me until I passed out. But instead I stood there waiting to hear him go out the front door.
“Noah,” my mother said from the other end of the kitchen. I’d gotten lost in thought and hadn’t been listening to her. I turned as she set a cup of coffee in front of me along with a letter with no return address.
“This arrived this morning,” she told me, drinking the last sip of her coffee. “It must be from someone around here. It doesn’t even have a stamp on it or a return address. Do you have any idea who it could be from?”
I shook my head, took it with trembling hands, and opened it. My mother returned to her newspaper. I was glad she did because it meant she didn’t notice how I turned completely white just then.
The handwriting was the same as the other day:
I’m watching you. You shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t have ever come. PS. Good luck at your new school.
P.A.
I dropped it on the table in terror. This was really getting frightening. Who could be cruel enough to threaten me like that? Whoever it was had to know me pretty well because they knew I was starting school that day. Ronnie was the only person I could think of, and if that was true, then I only had one person to turn to, as much as I hated it.
I put the letter in my sweater pocket and stood up.
“Aren’t you going to finish your breakfast?” my mother asked.
“I’m too nervous. I’ll have something later,” I said, running up to my room. I grabbed the letter from before that I’d hidden in my nightstand and placed it next to this one. I was right—the handwriting was the same, the length was almost the same, too, there was just one difference: the signature. P.A. Did that mean more than one person was writing me? How could I already have enemies here? I hid the letters in a drawer and tried not to think about them. I didn’t want to be worried about something like this on my first day. If more came, I decided I’d say something to Nicholas. I didn’t want to, but I knew he’d help.
I went downstairs again, and Mom and I got into her car and headed for school. She’d insisted on taking me. Now I regretted it. I’d have rather gone in my own car. Driving would have taken my mind off everything.
The front door of the main building was packed with students dressed in green. Some were sitting on the benches outside, others filing in. A few outside were finishing their last cigarette or just dragging the minutes on until the routine of school began. I remembered it had been the same at my school. People were already gathered into cliques and seemed happy to see their friends again after summer.
“Have a good day, honey,” my mother said. I could tell she was stirred up.
“What the hell, Mom?” I asked, laughing.
She tried to act normal but failed dramatically.
“Hush. I’m just happy you get to go here, that’s all.” She wiped away a tear.
I shook my head and kissed her on the cheek.
“You’re nuts, but I love you,” I said, chuckling as I got out of the car.
She waved goodbye and left. As I walked toward the door, crossing the lawn and passing all the students still on the benches, someone appeared beside me, startling me.
“Oh my God, you look terrible!” Jenna said, shoving me. Seeing her in that uniform, glamorous as she normally was, cracked me up. Still, she was hot even in that god-awful green sweater and tie. Her legs were uncovered, her socks cute, her skirt very short. Mine wasn’t long, either, but it was modest compared to hers and the other girls’.
“Shut up!” I said.
“Come on, I’ll introduce you to my friends,” she said, dragging me off to one of the benches. There were two girls and three guys there, among them Sophie and Sam, whom I’d met at the party.
“What’s up, Noah?” Sam said. I remembered having to kiss him during that stupid game of Truth or Dare. He was blond and had attractive brown eyes, but at the same time, he had a mirthful air that made him look like a little boy to me. He stared me up and down. “You look good in that uniform.”
I rolled my eyes. No one but Jenna looked good in this horrible get-up, thought the boys were sexy in their button-down shirts and black slacks. Sophie, the girl who’d been eyeing Nick at the party, stared at me, and I wondered what was passing through her mind. Next to her, a brown-haired girl with bright eyes glared at me. I almost felt like I recognized her.
“Noah, this is Sam, who you already know,” Jenna said. I ignored her sarcastic tone. “This is Sophie, and this is Cassie, Anna’s sister. I mentioned her that time at dinner.” Now I realized why she looked familiar. She didn’t seem to like me any more than her older sister did. I tried to avoid her stare, turning to the other two guys. One was brown-haired with glasses and very handsome, and the other was the usual blond-haired quarterback type. “This is Jackson and Mark.”
“Hi,” I said, smiling.
“So you’re Nicholas Leister’s new stepsister?” Jackson, the guy with the glasses, asked.
“The one and only,” I said.
“You can’t imagine how I envy you,” Sophie said. She was evidently hung up on Nick, and I chastised myself for wanting to tell her he’d never be hers.
As Jenna and the guys finished their cigarettes, the bell rang.
“Torture time,” Mark said, stubbing out his and throwing his backpack smoothly over his shoulder. “See you inside, Noah,” he said with a smile.
As everyone else walked in, I went to the secretary’s office to find out my class schedule and get the papers I needed. That was in another building, and as I made my way over, I looked all around. I couldn’t help but feel someone was watching me, and I had a strange feeling in my chest as I went inside.
* * *
The day sped by without incident. Jenna was popular and introduced me to tons of people as the hours passed. I wound up having her in almost all my classes except math and Spanish. Mark, the hot guy, and Sophie were in those two. Cassie was in most of my classes, too, and I realized she couldn’t stand me over the course of the day. She tried to make me look stupid whenever she got the chance. She had a lot of friends; apparently her sister had been a legend in this school for millionaires, just like Nick. Everyone asked me about him, what he was doing, what it was like living with him, and so on. Some of them had been there for the race and had seen the fight I’d caused, and they felt that was reason enough to look down on me. Damn you, Nicholas Leister, was there anywhere you wouldn’t screw my life up? Everyone was also talking about the party that Friday to celebrate the start of school and welcome the new kids. I didn’t know what it would be like, really, but whenever it came up, everyone gave me weird looks.
When it was time to go home, my mother was outside waiting. She asked me about everyone and everything, but I was exhausted, and I didn’t say much on the way home. All I could do was rest, and I was happy I didn’t have to work that night at the bar. I lay down when I got home, but soon a familiar voice nearly made me jump out of bed.
“Wake up, sleepyhead!” it said. It had to be Jenna.
“What do you want?” I asked, opening my eyes from a deep sleep.
“Jackson and Mark have invited us over. Almost all the seniors will be there… You’ve got to come.” Her smile was radiant.