Page 43 of That Pucking New Girl

“You should have some arnica cream for your neck,” Rachelle adds.

“Ugh, I almost forgot,” I sigh. “I don’t want to feel sleepy, so I’m going to skip the pain meds today. The bruises only hurt if I touch them.”

“Somehow, I’m not sure that’s a good thing,” she says.

“It’s not, but if I can ignore they exist, I’ll take it as a win,” I say, leaving the kitchen slowly.

I’m not feeling wobbly which is good, but I still don’t want to move too quickly.

Once in my room, I take off my shirt and find the arnica cream. I stand in front of the mirror and try to shut off my brain as I see all the bruises peppering my torso. I don’t understand what drives a person to be so violent toward someone else.

Like I said earlier, my existence seems to piss people off.

I liberally use the cream on my bruises, and then apply it on my neck and face. Then, I use makeup to make sure no one calls the cops on my foster family for how dark the bruises are getting.

That would be awkward, and they don’t deserve that. Digging into my closet, I find one of my favorite mesh tops, and pull that on underneath a t-shirt. Now I’ll be comfortable and warm.

My last addition to my outfit is a pair of compression socks with little ducks on it. They make me smile, and that’s how I choose my clothes. If it doesn’t make me happy, then I refuse to keep it.

Shoving my feet into combat boots, I bite my lip as I glance at my new knife that’s still in the holster by my nightstand. Blowing out a breath, I walk over and pick it up, hiding it in one of my multiple pockets of my cargo pants.

Now, I’m ready. I swear, I may take as long as the kids at this point. Walking out into the hall, I find that everyone is scrambling to make sure they have everything.

“Ready?” Liliana asks, carrying Adelina in her arms.

“I am,” I say. “Ah, I don’t need my phone, do I? I left it.”

“Nope,” Rachelle says, looking around to make sure we have everyone. “Let’s take two cars.”

“I’ll drive,” Ignacio says, grabbing a pair of keys. “My car is in the garage.”

“I’ll take the SUV,” Jared says. “Tiny people with me.”

I giggle as the kids cheer, and Ignacio motions for me to follow him as he walks to the garage. Liliana joins us, having passed Addie to Theo. Team work knows no bounds here.

Ignacio has a truck, and it takes me a second to climb into the back seat, but I manage.

“There’s a skate shop next to the rink that we’re going to stop at first,” Ignacio says, making sure everyone has seatbelts. “Everyone else will get set up at the skating rink so you won’t have to wait for them.”

“I don’t mind waiting,” I say, watching as the garage door opens. I haven’t been in here, and it’s a huge, attached area with several different cars.

“That may be true, but it would make Theo crazy,” Ignacio chuckles. “He likes to be efficient with the family’s time, and this makes the most sense.”

“He kind of freaked out when he found me this morning,” I admit, wincing.

“Theo wants to fix things,” Liliana explains as we drive. “People also sit in that category, and it frustrates him when he can’t. He’s getting better about it, but it’s difficult for him to understand that people don’t always need to be fixed. They just are who they are.”

“Pain and tears of people he’s getting attached to is also really rough for him,” Ignacio adds. “We’ve already plotted out the deaths of those little shits several times.”

“Nacio,” Liliana groans. “Let’s keep our crazy on the inside, please.”

I remember that he had mentioned that Liliana knew how to get rid of a dead body and make a vague humming sound as I think.

“I think the Devils are an inconvenience at best,” I say. “Don’t they say that ten years after you graduate, no one gives a shit about who was or wasn’t popular?”

“That’s true,” she says. “Most of it is petty bullshit. I was doing a little research online, and I found an online school bulletin board with things the kids post.”

“Is it actually run by the school?” I ask, confused.