Chapter 8 Sierra
CHAPTER EIGHT
sierra
SEPTEMBER, FRESHMAN YEAR
Sierra! Get the fuck down here, or you’re going to miss the bus! I have better things to do than drive your sorry ass to school!” The masculine voice boomed through the house, rattling the picture frames hanging on my wall.
My eyes flew open, and I scrambled to reach for my phone, knocking it off the nightstand in the process. It fell face up, and the screen illuminated, displaying the time.
No, no, no.
My alarm hadn’t gone off, and the bus would be here in five minutes. Practically leaping out of bed, I threw on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, not bothering to brush my hair or pull it back into a braid. That would take too long.
I grabbed my backpack, making sure my homework was in there—forgetting that and having to call home would be like setting off a ticking time bomb—then ran some toothpaste over my teeth and tongue.
“Sierra!” the voice, angrier, called out again.
“Coming!” I forced my voice to be strong and unwavering. I couldn’t show how anxious I was.
Darting down the stairs, I brushed past the figure at the base of them, silently praying that I could make it out of the door quickly and quietly.
I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, biting until the metallic tang of blood filled my mouth. My eyes squeezed as I waited, but the impact never came. Letting out a sigh of relief, I made it out the front door with my backpack hanging off one shoulder and my shoelaces still untied.
Leaves crunched under my feet as I jogged down to the bus stop. It was late September, and the weather could be unpredictable, but at least this morning there was a chill to the air. Long sleeves weren’t as out of place as they were in July or August.
“Good morning, Miss Bayley,” the bus driver, a kind old man named Mr. Hughes, greeted me.
“Morning, Mr. Hughes,” I huffed, a bit out of breath.
I’d been attending high school in Goldfinch for a little over a month now, but people still stared at me like I was a wild animal at the zoo. To be fair, I wasn’t going out of my way to make friends, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be a spectacle.
I’d at least developed a routine: Get on the bus, say hello to Mr. Hughes, avoid everyone’s gaze, and sit near the back of the bus until the blond-haired boy I met the first week of classes—Hayden—inevitably tried (and usually succeeded) to talk to me.
I’d never admit it to anyone, but despite my cool demeanor and general distaste for people, I actually enjoyed talking to him.
Something about Hayden was…calming. When I was around him, it was like driving under a bridge in a rainstorm.
Even if it was only temporary, his presence made me feel less on edge.
I slumped down in my seat next to another quiet girl named Clare, swinging my backpack around so it rested on my lap. We didn’t talk much on our bus rides, but she always saved a spot for me. I liked to think we had some kind of mutual understanding.
Keenan and Hayden were already in their seats two rows in front of me—the two rambunctious boys were among the first people to get on the bus since they lived outside of town. Keenan always sat by the window, and Hayden sat in the aisle.
“Hey, Sierra.” Hayden flashed me a toothy grin, never once taking his eyes off me.
My lips had a mind of their own, curling up into a smile as my cheeks flushed. “Hi, Hayden.”
Keenan pulled on Hayden’s arm, and he reluctantly shifted his attention off me.
But after a little while, Hayden turned back to me, ignoring Keenan and whatever elaborate story of the day he was trying to tell.
“Do you want to come over to my house after school?” When I didn’t respond, he added quickly, “We have horses.”
I suppressed a giggle, because what a way to convince a girl. “Oh yeah?”
He blushed, and as he raked his fingers through his shaggy blond hair, a few strands fell over his forehead. “Yeah, one of our mares just had a filly. So, do you wanna?”
I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth as I weighed my options. I could go to Hayden’s house and potentially get in trouble, or I could go home and potentially get in trouble. I thought the answer was pretty obvious.
“Let me ask my mom if it’s okay.”
He flashed me a bright smile then looked at me expectantly.
“Oh, now?” I asked when a few moments of him staring at me passed.
He nodded again, a tint of pink spreading into his cheeks.
“Okay.” Pulling out my phone, I typed out a message to my mom.
Can I go to a friend’s house after school?
Mom
Sure, just make sure you’re back home in time for dinner.
My heart lurched in my chest, but another text came through.
Mom
Who is it?
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes like a petulant child.
Just a friend I met at school
They have horses!
Mom
Okay… let me know if you need me to pick you up.
Three dots appeared and disappeared, but after a while, nothing else came through.
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I triumphantly announced, “She said I could go.”
“Awesome! You’re going to love the horses and all the animals we have!” Hayden tugged on Keenan’s sleeve. “Keenan, did you hear? Sierra’s coming to hang out after school!”
Keenan groaned before his head popped up over the seat. “Aw, you’re so lucky, Sierra. My parents won’t let me go to Hayden’s during the week because they say I won’t get my homework done if I do.”
“I mean, they’re kinda right, though.” Hayden laughed. “You get distracted pretty easily.”
When the final bell rang at school, Hayden was already waiting by my locker.
“You ready?” he asked as I grabbed my things.
“Yep,” I replied, awkwardly shifting on my feet. “But aren’t we just riding the bus?”
Hayden shrugged. “My dad’s picking us up.”
A million thoughts surged through my mind, but the only thing that came out of my mouth was, “Oh.”
“Don’t worry, he’s cool.” Hayden’s phone buzzed, and he quickly glanced at his messages. “Come on, he’s out front.”
“All right.” After double-checking that I had everything, I followed Hayden outside.
A sheriff’s deputy vehicle was parked in front of the school, and I froze.
What are the cops doing here? Did something happen again?
“Hi, Dad!” Hayden called out as a man who could be his older, taller twin stepped out of the vehicle in a GCSO uniform.
Dad? His dad’s a sheriff’s deputy?
“This is my friend, Sierra.” Hayden waved me over, and I realized I was still frozen in place at the top of the steps.
Reluctantly, I descended the stairs, crossing my arms over my chest when I reached the bottom. “H-hi.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Sierra. I’m Roy.” He offered his hand, but my body instinctively shrunk back. His eyes widened a bit, but I snapped out of it to shake his hand, hoping he didn’t read into it too much.
“Thanks for having me over.” I didn’t have very many friends growing up. The few I did have never came over to my house, so more often than not, I didn’t get invited to theirs.
“Of course. I’m glad my son is making friends. Right, bud?” Mr. Watkins ruffled Hayden’s hair, and he protested, smoothing the strands back out with his hands.
Once we got into the vehicle, Hayden and his dad immediately engaged in conversation, a small mercy for me. Most parents wanted to ask their kid’s friends questions, and that was overwhelming for me. It was one of the reasons why I didn’t go out of my way to make a lot of friends.
“Do you have homework?”
Hayden shook his head. “No, I got most of my work done during class.”
Mr. Watkins’s eyebrows raised in the rearview mirror. “Most?”
“Okay, I have like two things I need to do, but I’ll get it done, I swear.” Hayden rolled his eyes, but his dad didn’t even react. “Can we go see the horses?”
His dad chuckled. “Does Sierra want to see the horses?”
“Of course she wants to see the horses, Dad!” Hayden insisted. “I led with that, obviously.”
“Sierra?” His dad made eye contact with me through the rearview mirror.
“Yeah, that sounds fun. I like horses. I used to ride sometimes.”
“Well, there you have it.” Mr. Watkins chuckled at the same time Hayden’s head popped around the seat to look at me.
“No way, really? You ride? You should do high school rodeo with me!”
“Oh, I don’t know.” I looked down at my feet. “My parents probably wouldn’t let me. I don’t even have a horse.”
“That’s okay! Plenty of kids don’t have their own horses. You could use one of ours, and you could practice here, and—”
“Hayden.” Mr. Watkins laughed. “Let the girl breathe.”
“Sorry, it’s just that Keenan is my only close friend who does rodeo. The rest of the girls who do rodeo from GHS are kinda mean, and the other guys are more interested in the girls than rodeo.”
I held back a snicker at his comment.
Mr. Watkins chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head. “All right, well…”
I didn’t think Hayden’s dad really knew what to say, which prompted Hayden to continue. “You’ll think about it, right, Sierra?”
I pursed my lips and nodded.
The remainder of the drive was fairly quiet, and about five minutes later we turned off the main highway onto a long gravel road with a headgate sign spelling out Watkins.
Off in the distance stood a farmhouse with a barn and fenced-in arena.
Cattle lowed in the distance, and when we pulled up to the house, a Corgi ran up to the passenger side.
Hayden hopped out of the pickup truck, looking like he intended to head immediately to the stables, but his dad stopped him. “Go say hello to your mother first! She’s probably got snacks for you two.”
“Okay…” He drew out the word. “Come on, Sierra!”
Hayden took off, leaving me standing next to the pickup branded with the GCSO logo and Sheriff on the side.
“Thanks for the ride, Mr. Watkins,” I mumbled awkwardly.
“You’re very welcome, Sierra. Hayden’s a good kid, you know. Any friend of his is welcome at our place any time.”
You probably wouldn’t be saying that if you knew who my family was.
I offered a terse nod then speed-walked to catch up to Hayden.