He had the gun…and I can’t help feeling like he’s always going to beat me.
“Hey.” Trey commands my attention with his sexy voice. “Was it someone in your family?”
I blink and shake my head. “It doesn’t matter who it was. He’s gone and I can’t bring him back. I have to say goodbye to everything I knew. When this is over, they’re gonna give me a new start.”
I can’t even sound hopeful. A new start doesn’t excite or comfort me. I’m terrified.
Trey’s expression crumples with compassion as if he can read my mind. He pulls me to him and my head rests on his shoulder. He holds me tight.
“I know you probably don’t believe me right now, but it’s gonna be okay.”
My tears soak into his shirt. I can’t stop clinging to him. His shoulder is strong, secure. No other pillow will ever compare.
Trey knows what I am.
That should be bad.
But right now, it’s only good.
#20:
She’s A Chick Now
Trey
Chris is a chick.
Unbelievable.
I wonder what her real name is. I wonder where she comes from. I’m obsessed by what she saw. My imagination has been running wild since the second we snuck back to our dorm rooms.
She’ll be lying in bed next door to me. Is she on her back with her hand behind her head, staring at the ceiling just like I am? Or is her sexy body curled to the side, trying to ward off the nightmares?
My stomach clenches and I’m tempted to crawl through the hole in the wall and check on her.
It took me years to stop dreaming of fire. I still get the odd night where I think I can hear Mom screaming. My cowardice will haunt me forever…unless I can redeem myself.
Maybe Chris has been brought into my life as a second chance.
Those eyes, so big and filled with fear. Maybe I’m supposed to know so I can wash that look away, protect her from whatever flames are out to burn her.
It sucks that she’s been lying this whole time. I understand why she did and everything, but I’ve suffered a lot of confusion since she got here because I didn’t know the truth.
I was so relieved to have it all explained in the shower that I just had to kiss her. I needed to physically wipe away all my doubts. I wasn’t gay and I had to prove it.
A slow smile creeps over my lips.
She thinks I’m hot.
Damn, kissing her was nice. The way she leaned into it, fisted my shirt, held onto me like I was the candy she’d been craving.
I’ve never felt anything like it. I mean, I’ve made out with plenty of chicks, crushed on a few…lusted after many. But that shower kiss was intense. I wouldn’t say no to a repeat. There’s just something about her that makes me want more.
I’m not afraid of whatever she’s hiding from.
All I know is that I want to protect her.
And I will.
I’m not making the same mistake twice. Another innocent is not going to die because I was too afraid to do something about it.
*****
The cafeteria is humming in spite of the fact most of us look half asleep. I’m usually pretty good in the mornings, but after basically zero sleep, I’m in crap-mode right now. Kade would sleep until noon every frickin’ day if he could, so he’s basically useless, and Riley’s eyes are distant with their usual morning haze as he eats his oatmeal and goes over study notes for his biology test this morning.
I haven’t seen Chris yet. My eyes are glued to the door, constantly looking for her. I have to be careful not to give myself away, I guess. I can’t act like I know, or treat her differently. It could put her life in danger. But I do know, and I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do about that.
A shadow appears in the entrance and I sit up a little straighter as she shuffles into the dining hall. There’s a purple tinge under her eyes, giving away just how little sleep she had. I catch her eye and she glances to the floor, scratching above her ear and walking straight past our table without even a murmur. She’ll collect her food and go hang out in the back corner like she always does. I wish I could invite her to sit with us, but that’ll just get alarm bells ringing.
I swallow another mouthful of banana and glance over my shoulder. Ivan’s lining up behind her. There’s a smarmy smile on his face that grows a little wider. I follow his line of sight in time to see the duty teacher slip out the side door, a phone to his ear. I whip back to Ivan who’s now leaning into Chris’s space saying some shit that’s making her shoulders tense. My muscles tighten. I want to walk over there and pound him, yell at him to back off.
Slamming my teeth together, I spin back to face Riley. He glances up and gives me an odd look.
“You okay, man?”
I nod.
Kade nudges me with his elbow and grunts like a caveman, asking the same question.
“I’m fine,” I mutter. “Ivan’s just pissing me off.”
Riley looks over my shoulder, his expression darkening as he runs his finger over the bruise on his cheek.