I glared at her. Was she insinuating that he had an effect over who I am? She doesn’t even know me.
“No need to worry. Roman hasn’t influenced me at all,” I shot back. If I knew she wouldn’t call Mom, I’d throw out this weekend as an example. But that would be screwing myself.
Her lips were pressed in a tight line. “Maybe try branching out. Find some girls around here to be friends with, too. I know a few I could send your way.”
I took a couple steps back. “I think I’m fine with the first friend you set me up with.”
Her face fell. I gave her a wave before I stepped out in the hallway.
I tossed my backpack in my locker and pulled out a notebook and pencil because that’s all I’d need in all these classes. The last half of senior year was a joke. Most teachers were just grateful we showed up.
All but one apparently.
I rolled my eyes and started in the opposite direction of her class. When I hooked a right, I ran into a girl.
Literally.
Her book smashed into her face. A shocked pair of blue eyes stared back at me. I took her in. Long, curly blonde hair. Dressed in jeans and a tee. Normal, but terrified right now.
“I’m sorry,” I rushed out. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
Was she in shock?
“No, no, no.” She held her free hand up, the one that wasn’t cradling her book. “I wasn’t either. It’s my bad.”
“You okay?” I looked at her red nose, and then back to her eyes.
A slow grin spread across her face. “Yeah, I’m usually clumsy, so this is nothing for me.”
“Oh, okay.” I clutched my notebook in my hands. This is why I hated talking to people. About thirty seconds into the conversation, if I couldn’t end it by walking away, I was about to enter into a full-blown panic attack. “Class,” was all I said as I took off.
“You’re Raquel, right? The new girl.”
I cringed. Stopping, I turned on my heel. “I’m Poppy. I know you don’t really talk to a lot of people, but I’m here until we graduate from this hellhole.”
I laughed. “Nice to meet you, Poppy.”
And this time I did leave. With my brows knitted together, I chewed over the last five minutes. Roman. Indigo. Poppy.
Fuck, life is weird now.
School was weird.
Which is fitting because so am I. And my entire life.
Roman was staring at me as he parked outside Grandma’s house. I was looking at my car, surprised it was still there. If Mom had her way, it would probably have a boot on it by now.
“You can go back to my house,” he broke me out of my trance.
I shook my head and unsnapped the seatbelt. “I need to figure out where I stand.”
He nodded. “They won’t do shit to you. Your mom is a head case, and your grandma just wants you in her life.”
“You’re right.”
“But call me if they give you shit?” His eyes were gleaming as a smile crept across his face.
“Do you live for confrontation?”
“No, but I already told you, I protect who I care about,” he said.
“Right. And you’re fixated on me.”
“Something like that.” He laughed this time. “But seriously, let me know how it goes.”
“I will,” I promised. That settled it, he visibly relaxed after that. Meeting me halfway, his lips pressed against mine. He was tender. No fire behind his lips like this weekend.
I broke free and jumped out of the Range Rover.
When I walked up to the door, he still hadn’t left. I shot him a curious look, but he was parked in place. He’s just waiting on me to go in.
I shouldn’t have been so hard on him. My heart tore a little, but at the same time, I knew he didn’t think anything of it. He knew how I got when I was stressed out, even in the short time we knew each other.
I honestly have no idea what the hell I’m walking into. Before, I would’ve never pulled this. And if I had? Mom wouldn’t have noticed I wasn’t there. I came home to take care of her. I couldn’t even think about rebelling like a normal teenager.
Add Grandma in the mix, I can’t even ballpark what’s behind this door. She isn’t stupid. She knows what’s going on with Roman. She knows where I’ve been. But Roman is right, she wants to be in my life, and I can tell that she feels bad about me taking care of Mom over the last year.
She’ll go easy on me. I think.
Here goes nothing. I opened the door and glanced over my shoulder one more time. Roman’s eyes were locked on mine as I disappeared into the house.
It’s so quiet in the huge ass house.
Eerily so.
Like when you’re watching a horror movie and every piece of your body is tensed up, waiting for the serial killer to jump out.
Right now, I’d pick a serial killer over Grandma. She’s kind of terrifying.
I crossed the space between the foyer and the front, grand living room. Better to face it head on, right?
She was there. Her eyes glued to mine, and she was as prim and polished as ever. My eyes scanned the room. Noticeably absent was Mom. Wow. Shocker.
“She’s still at work.”
Grandma tore me out of my spell.
Work. Right. We were still pretending mom could have a normal life.
“Good for her,” I murmured.
My shoulders had never felt so weighed down. I couldn’t tell if it was this backpack or the weight of Mom on my shoulders. I was just waiting on the other shoe to drop with her. It’s taking a while this time, I’ll give her that, but it never works out. Not with her.
“It’ll stick this time. I know you aren’t ready to talk to her. I guess that’s what this weekend was about, but she’s going to change.”
I refrained from rolling my eyes, really hard. She’d taken us in and been a better mom to me than Mom ever had, but I have my limit.
“You haven’t been around her in the last eighteen years. She gets better and she gets worse. And guess who’s there to pick up the pieces?” I’m not going to cry. I looked up, blinking back a few stubborn tears.
She stood and took a few graceful steps to me. “You aren’t on your own anymore, Raquel. Your mother is on medication and in outpatient therapy. She can talk more about it with you when you’re ready,” she said. Now she was a foot away from me. I’d been focused on a painting across the room from me, avoiding her gaze. “Don’t worry about anything. Enjoy the last couple months of senior year. You’re going to college; I’ve had a trust put in place since you were a kid. You don’t have to worry about a thing.” She sighed, “Just don’t do anything that could risk your future because you want to get back at your mom.”
My face jerked back as if I’d been physically slapped.
“Trust?”
She nodded. Bringing her hand to her forehead, she brushed a nonexistent stray hair out of place. “I’d never told your mom, and I’d been hoping to hold off until graduation, regardless of if I’d been around you. Under the circumstances, I want you to know that I am going to see to it that your mother has help, and you don’t have to worry about college.”
My mouth hung open. “Um, that’s really generous.”
She cradled my cheeks in her hands, and it took everything I had not to panic and step away from her touch.
“It’s what families do.”
“I wouldn’t,” I murmured.
Her hands dropped to her side as a warm grin spread across her face. “And Raquel? That stays between the two of us, okay?”
“Why?” I shot back.
“Let’s just say, I haven’t been that generous with everyone in the family.”
She only had one daughter.
Her daughter only had one daughter.
There were three of us. Two out of three had money.
My brows knitted together as my brain went into overdrive.
Why is mom like this? Why are you like this to mom? What happened?
“Oh.” Was all I said.
I gripped my backpack straps, turned on my heels and began walking from the room.
“Your future, Raquel? Financially, it’s sound, but the rest,” pause. “The rest is up to you.”
Loud and clear.
She didn’t deserve a response at the moment, so I high tailed my ass up to my room. I wanted to overanalyze and overthink until I threw up.
I don’t know Grandma enough to know if she would be okay with me leaving this late on a school night, and since she scares the shit out of me, I thought I’d try my luck with a window.
Roman was below me laughing his ass off as I eased down the shingles, one foot at a time.
My foot didn’t catch the last shingle, I slipped and slid all the way down to the gutters. I had a split second to think; do I want to rip the gutters off the house or fall to my possible death?
I chose death today.
But Roman didn’t let that happen, as soon I let go of the gutter, his outstretched arms were around my thighs. The fall wasn’t graceful, but after I slipped through his hands, they braced the fall and I laid there laughing, knowing nothing was broken.
He was lying next to me, smiling at me.
“I’ll always catch you when you fall.”
I laughed harder. “I fell on you. There was no catching involved.”
My laughter must have been contagious because he joined me. “I tried. Okay?”
I turned my head to face him. “So, Romeo, why were you tossing rocks at my window?”
He rolled his eyes. “It was a text, no rock throwing involved. And I’m hoping this ends better for me than him.”
“My grandma doesn’t think it will.”
He snorted.
“Ryder is having a party. Nothing big. I just wanted you to be there for a while.”
“Ryder?” My brows shot up as I propped on my elbows.
He pushed off the ground and jumped to his feet. In the next second, he was reaching for my hands, pulling me up to him.
Inches away from Roman was always dangerous territory. A few feet away, I could think. Smashed against him, yeah, I wasn’t thinking. But being this close and not touching, my brain was fucking mush. I wanted those perfect lips on me, his hands to possess me. I looked into his eyes…I just wanted him.
“Yeah, he’s riding my ass. Making it his personal responsibility to keep me away from Rhett,” he said, shrugging.
I let out a hmmm.
“He just doesn’t know the one he needs to save me from, is standing in front of me.”
My breath hitched.
No trace of joking.
Completely serious.
What the fuck does that mean? He didn’t elaborate and I didn’t ask. Sometimes answers were scary. I just slid my hand in his and walked to his Range Rover with him.
As soon as I shoved the car into drive, I didn’t waste any time questioning her. It had been eating at me since I dropped her off a few hours ago. It took everything I had not to bust down that door and have her back against those two.
“What happened with the family?”
A nervous laugh escaped her lips. She shot me a bizarre look. “Not really sure. My grandma has decided to be super woman and take over my mom’s wellbeing, I have a trust for college, and I think she wants me to stay away from you.”
Her eyes locked on mine before she tore them away and focused on the houses streaking by.
Fuck. I gripped the steering wheel. “What did you say?”
She popped a shoulder up for a weak shrug. “There’s not a lot to say. Good luck with my mom, thanks for the money, don’t tell me how to live my life.”
I smirked. There’s my girl and the fighting spirit in her I love.
“Just a couple more months. Have you thought about college?” I asked.
Christ. Even saying it out loud was a punch to my chest. How would that work? I know we only said a few months of fun, but it seemed like we were past that. Maybe?
“I’ve applied to a few. All in state. I guess we’ll see.”
“Same here,” sighing, “I was supposed to get a full ride with soccer, but I fucked that up.”
Her head jerked to face me. “You were that good?”
“Apparently.” I smirked. “I’m good at everything.”
“Why did you quit?”
I shook my head. “This whole year has been shit. I just wasn’t in it anymore.”
“Maybe you can try out when you pick a college,” she quipped, trying to be hopeful but we both felt the negative shift in my car.
We may have an expiration date. Our families will hate each other. And neither of us had a fucking clue where we’d be in six months. I guess this is the reason you aren’t supposed to get attached in high school.
“Yeah, maybe,” I replied as I pulled into my driveway. There were cars parked along the driveway and the street leading up to my house, but I drove around them and slid into the parking spot before the garage.
“So, who’s here?”
I shrugged. “I saw Ryder and a calm crowd, and I came to get you. I don’t want you to ever not be here when a party is happening.”
Her nose scrunched up. “Why?”
“If I found out there were a bunch of drunk guys at your house without me, even if you were locked in your room, I’d personally find every single one of them and kick their asses.”
I guess she thought I was joking because she laughed. “The most antisocial girl in the school won’t throw a party, promise.”
“You know what I mean. You know everything from here out.”
Her brows shot up and the laughter melted away. “Everything?”
Fuck.
“I’m an open book.” Her mouth opened. And I held up my hand. “Later”
That seemed to hold her over because her lips set in a determined line, and she nodded as she hopped out of the passenger seat.
I cursed under my breath as I took in the cars. They had doubled since I left, and I was hoping it was still a calm crowd. Ryder was supposed to be the reasonable one. Now he’s acting like Rhett.
She took me in, brows knitting together like she could see straight through me.
“What’s wrong?’
“There weren’t this many people here when I left.”
She shrugged, looking between me and the house. “If it’s that bad, we can hang in your room.”
I clipped my head in a nod. “Have I mentioned I hate people?”
She grabbed my hand, weaving her fingers through mine. “Once or twice.”
I opened the back door, passed through the laundry room, the back staircase, and landed in a kitchen full of people. I let out a frustrated groan.
Now I have to deal with fucking Ryder acting like Rhett.
Raquel peeked up at me, gauging my reaction with those ice blue eyes. She lifted her eyebrows, waiting.
“I can stay for a bit,” I said, and she laughed.
“You act like I want to be here.”
She had a point. She was more antisocial than I was.
I mean, she talked to people. She’d had friends and even a boyfriend in the past, but these days she was picking better company.
I smirked. As if I’m good to be around.
She doesn’t know enough yet. She’ll be long gone for college before she pieces together how shitty I am. I faced her again, studying. Maybe she knows and this is her way of rebelling.
“What?” Her face heated under my stare. There were a dozen people in my parent’s huge ass kitchen, but I only saw one.
I shook my head. “Just wondering why you’re nice to me.”
“Maybe I’m wondering that about you,” she clapped back at me.
I stared at her.
She stared at me right back, narrowing her eyes at me.
My lips twitched, tugging h
er hand, I walked through the kitchen, heading to the last place I saw my brother.
“Let’s get this party over with,” I grumbled, and I heard a chuckle escape from her.
Ryder was easy to spot, in the pool room, surrounded by girls. He was leaning against his stick for support as he vibrantly sloshed his beer around in the other hand. He was deep into a story, and the guys around him were eating it up. The girls, too.
Ryder fucking Pierce.
The best kid my parents ever popped out. Charming, athletic, smart, and very sneaky. My parents never found out about any discrepancies he had.
Middle child syndrome.
I wish I was the fucking middle child.
“ROMAN!”
His slurred voice tore me from my thoughts. He was walking this way, the crowd parted like he was fucking Moses as he made his way to stand in front of me. He didn’t stop there, he threw his arms around my neck, pulling me in for an awkward ass headlock as if I couldn’t kick his ass.
He was drunk and his friends were around, so I pretended to struggle until he let go. It was the brotherly thing to do.
He leaned over to Raquel, pulling her into a hug. Her eyes went wide, fixating on me. Fuck, she hates being touched.
Sighing, I grabbed my brother’s arm and pulled him off.
“Okay, back off my girl,” I said, pulling the attention back to me.
She sighed, shaking out her arms. Glancing over at me, she thanked me with her eyes.
“So, it’s like that?” His grin widened. “You two are that serious?”
I laughed, “Let’s have that heart to heart when there aren’t twenty people staring at us.”
“Why?” He smirked and looked at Raquel. “You’re embarrassed to be seen with him?”
Raquel’s eyes narrowed at him.
I got it. I hated being around drunk people when I was sober. Even my brother, in this case, it was Raquel over my own blood.
“Enough,” my voice came out as a growl.
He didn’t have time to respond because someone tore through the group. A guy, panting, and pointing at me.
“There’s a guy out here asking for y’all,” he yelled, breathless.
I narrowed my eyes at him, recognizing him. A junior. “Who?”
Dare Me: The Pierce Boys of Georgia, Book One Page 15