Chapter 12
Tillie
W hen you think my day can’t get any more horrible than it already is, how wrong I am.
At least I have a friend by my side to help me not panic and lose my shit.
Evan may not know it but he’s a life saver, if not for him, I would have lost it in the middle of the cafeteria in front of everyone.
Showing my weakness in front of those assholes would have made everything else worse but the moment I sat down across from my new bestie, he didn’t say a thing as he continued to eat his pizza.
Just passed me napkins and asked if it was diet coke or not.
My shoulders relaxed little by little, finding it kind of funny that it wasn’t the worst thing that’s happened to me and I loved the guy for making a joke out of it.
And for the record, it was diet coke. That bitch.
The rest of the day passed by pretty quietly, besides the stares and shoves in the hallways, no one bothered me.
None of my classes had the guys in it, and I count my blessings because I didn’t like the way I felt around them.
It felt like my skin was on fire, burning hotter and hotter each time I caught glimpses of them throughout the day though.
I know it’s something I’m not used to… lust. I was attracted to Cruz back in the day with a little crush, thought he was my whole world, someone to love me but not once did he make my heart pound in excitement and fear at the same time.
He didn’t make my panties wet with just one heated look.
My last class was gym. I was tempted to use the showers but by the nasty looks I kept getting in the locker room…
it was best if I waited until I can make sure no one would try to steal my clothes or some pathetic drama shit, even if my hair was sticky and gross.
I sat on the bleachers due to not having a gym uniform and it gave me a chance to look at the rest of the students.
I was used to seeing people with money, being near Las Vegas gave me that experience of seeing money thrown away, but here it’s very different.
My old school was dirt poor with being on the outskirts of the city, so I’m not used to seeing cell phones out in the middle of class and girls in high heels like they came out of the womb running in Louboutins.
My gaze skirts over the group of girls with short shorts, rolling my eyes as they twirl their hair and flirt with the guys across the gym, giggling and batting their lashes.
It was disgusting. I’ll never be the girl who flirts and giggles, I’m more straight to the point because you might not have a tomorrow.
That reminder makes me shift uncomfortably on the bleachers, the dull ache between my legs throbbing.
I shouldn’t have had sex with Logan, my apparent stepbrother of all things, but it felt so good.
Still don’t trust the fucker even if he made me feel things that I thought were impossible.
It’s absolutely ridiculous that after years of feeling nothing, scared to hope and dream that the past wouldn’t rule over me, I’m attracted to four men that I hardly know.
“Wat-watch out. Out. Out!” A girly high pitched scream comes from somewhere behind me and I instantly duck my head.
A basketball bounces off the bleacher higher up behind me, right where my head would have been. Straightening, I glance to the court, seeing Paris smiling with a lip curl at me as she pats a guy's arm lovingly, one of the jocks from earlier.
“Bitch. Bitch. Bitch!” The same voice that gave me warning from before shouts repeatedly and I turn around to see a girl with bright pink hair in a pixie cut flipping off Paris, not even looking at her.
Decked out in multiple colored neon tights, a deep purple tulle skirt, and a white shirt with Hello Kitty on the front, she buries her face back in the book she’s reading which looks like a romance from here.
She peaks over the pages, her almond shaped lime green eyes meeting mine for a split second before she ducks her head and goes back to reading her book.
I’m about to get up to go sit next to her because why wouldn’t I?
She looks like a real person instead of someone fake, plus I love the style she has going on, but the gym teacher blows his whistle, dismissing class just as I start to stand.
She bounces out of her seat quickly, her pink Jimmy Choo sneakers flashing as she runs down the steps and rushes across the gym to the exit but not before she chucks her book over her shoulder in a jerky movement without looking behind her like she had no control over her arm and letting out a small shriek at the same time.
It smacks Paris in the face, her screaming louder than the one who threw it. Justice served in my opinion. I’m determined to be that girl’s friend, she might just be my hero dressed in Hello Kitty.
Sticking as close as I can to the walls, I’m rushing out of the gym and trying to reach the front of the school without running into anyone in the crowded halls.
I can breathe easier once I’m outside, having a chance to glance around and groaning in misery when I see the guys surrounding Logan’s car with a group of girls hanging all over them, except for Nicky but they do try to get his attention.
Well, this is fucking fantastic. I’m going to have to bulldoze my way through the fan club if I want a ride back to the temporary house.
Glancing around desperately, I see Evan heading towards a bright red Jeep Wrangler in the back of the parking lot.
Not thinking about it, I start chasing after him, very aware of the stares as I jog with my bag clutched to my chest and the humid air making my shirt stick to my back.
“Evan!” I pant behind him, shoving a purple strand of hair out of my eyes.
He spins around startled and darts his gaze around nervously before settling on me, a slight smile turning at the corner of his mouth.
“Hey, Till. Shit. I’m sorry! I didn’t even think, just gave you a nickname like we’ve been friends for years instead of just a day.
” His eyes widen behind his glasses, a panicked look moving over his expression.
“I mean, uh, if you know… if you want to be friends. No pressure,” he gushes out on a deep inhale, running his hand through his thick curls on top of his head.
I can only stare at him, biting my lip as a laugh climbs up my throat.
A loud engine roars in the parking lot somewhere near the front of the school.
Clearly, the owner needs attention because the person keeps pressing on the gas, drawing the noise out.
I don’t bother to look, I can feel his stare burning into my back.
I quicken my pace with Evan until we’re standing at his front bumper.
“That had to be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Yeah, you dork, we’re friends.” I clear my throat to contain my laugh, punching him on the shoulder and pretending to not notice when he winces at the small love tap. “Would you mind giving me a ride to my, um, house?”
He glances out of the corner of his eye towards the asshat who presses on the gas again, only louder this time, and I swear Evan’s eyes couldn’t get any bigger at whatever he sees.
I blow out an annoyed breath fed up with the games.
I’m about to turn around until Evan grabs my cheeks, squeezing my face so that my lips pucker out like a fish.
“Don’t look. If you don’t move, maybe they won’t see us,” Evan whispers out of the side of his mouth, it hardly looks like he’s breathing.
I would laugh but it gets stuck in my throat as we hear multiple car doors slam shut, I wince at the sound. That poor car.
“Oh, God, they’re coming this way! It didn’t work! Screw it, get in the car!” Evan lets go of my face like I burned him, his expression horrified when he realized he was squishing my cheeks and touching me.
“Tillie!” Logans shouts, anger clear in his voice and that’s my cue to leave.
I shove Evan towards the driver’s side to get him moving and hurriedly dash around the front towards the passenger seat.
We’re both slamming the doors shut, tires squealing as he pulls out of his parking spot.
My gaze unwillingly glances out of the side window as we roll by.
Logan and Nicky stand a few feet away with identical clenched jaws.
Mad as hell honey eyes glare into my window and quickly shifts to Evan like he just signed his death warrant.
Shit. I didn’t think about this beforehand and now I’ve put Evan in the middle of it with a target on his back.
I’m not supposed to leave their sides without one of them watching my every move but I need a moment to myself.
My emotions swirling out of control after the day I’ve had, trying to drown me, and I refuse to let anyone see me this way.
My gaze flickers to Nicky for a hot second just before we leave the school behind, my throat closing at the look of red-hot hatred in his emerald eyes.
At least Tey looks amused as he laughs his ass off, pointing at the jeep with that unicorn next to a huge motorcycle. That beast must be Dalton’s, it has motorcycle club written all over it with the all black, shiny body and long handlebars.
“Should we just keep driving and never look back?” Evan asks jokingly, but by the uneasy way he keeps glancing out his side mirror, I think he’s serious. “So, where to?”
“You know where Logan lives?” Speak of the devil.