AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fear ripped through me as I reread the message. But that fear was quickly replaced by something else, something deeper…something that didn’t make me cower. Instead, I smiled as I punched out a reply.
Ryth: At school.
And I hit send. Barely a second later…
Nick: I drive you to goddamn school.
My smile grew wider. “Not anymore, asshole,” I whispered.
“Shh…”another student hissed at me.
Even that didn’t dampen the excitement inside me. Nick and the others might’ve thought they had me all figured out. They might’ve thought that somehow, I’d do exactly what they wanted….
They might’ve thought I was meek and pathetic. I tugged my hair across my cheek.You gonna pay them a visit, my little lioness? You always were more like me than your mother.
Dad’s words filled me as I slipped my phone back into my pocket. A mouse…isn’t that what Tobias had called me?
A mouse.
Beep.
My phone vibrated, but I ignored it.
And when it beeped again…and again, I turned the notifications to silent.
A mouse, huh?
I’d show them just how much of a mouse I really was.
SIXTEEN
ryth
I worked on my assignment,finally nailing down what I was going to write before the bell sounded. Everyone else packed up in a hurry, so I followed, glancing at my schedule and the map as I found my way to my classroom. As usual, Gio was standing outside waiting.
“I looked for you this morning,” he grumbled.
“Oh, you did? I came early.” I strode past him and into the room, taking a seat off to the side.
“Yeah,” he said as he slid into a seat behind me. “Don’t tell me. Nick Banks had more important things to do?”
“No,” I answered, trying to ignore that nagging annoyance. “You ask a lot of questions where they’re concerned.”
I caught the shrug over my shoulder. “Just curious.”
About me or the guys I live with?
Stepbrothers, remember?I tried not to, shoving them from my mind as I focused on the class in front of me. But it didn’t matter how much I wanted to ignore the fact my mom was getting married to Creed, it still pushed in.
She'd brought home wedding cakes, for God’s sake. I winced at the thought, my heart aching for my dad. I wanted to see him, or at least talk to him. More importantly, I wanted to know what the lawyers were doing to bring him home.
The class passed in a blur, as well as the next one. I tried to think about my assignment due on Monday, and even though I had an idea of what I’d write my assignment on, getting it together in my head would require a serious amount of work. The bell rang for lunch, leaving me to push out my chair and grab my laptop. The moment I turned to Gio, he looked at me with a hurt expression.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re different today.” He shook his head. “I don’t like it.”
“Different how?”
