Did I mention that she owned a gun?
Because she did.
And she'd used it before too.
More than once.
As the saying around town went...
One did not fuck with Grandmama.
Blowing out a breath, Ty pulled open the door and stepped to the side, letting the oldest hell-raiser I'd ever met into our apartment.
Wearing a floppy purple sun hat, turquoise framed eyeglasses, a floral dress that looked more like curtains than clothing, and fuchsia-colored lipstick, she looked every bit the nut she was.
Eyes narrowed, she pointed a hot pink-tipped finger at me. "You," she said, lips pursed. "You're the one I need to speak to."
Ty chuckled. "Good luck, bro."
If he'd been within reach, I would've punched him.
Hands up, I took a step back. "Don't know what this is about, Grandmama," I said, truthfully. "But whatever it is, I can assure you I didn't do it."
She rolled her eyes, putting her dramatic side on full display. "Lordy, boy, I already know that," she replied while looking at me as if I were the crazy one in this exchange. "That's why I'm here.' Cause there is something I need you to do for me, and it's a whole lot important too."
I blinked.
Not missing a beat, she dropped the oversized purse dangling from her curled shoulder to the ground and bent at the waist, digging through its contents.
I looked at Ty, who shrugged.
After a moment, Grandmama stood. "Ah-ha!" she said. "Finally found it." Holding on tight to what looked like a small photo, she sucked in a breath. "I'm getting too old to be bending over like that." Hand pressed to her chest, she exhaled. "Feel like I'm gonna pass out."
A mischievous smile crossed her face as she glanced back at Ty. "If I faint, you best be giving me CPR, Troublemaker. And make sure you take one of them selfies while you do it too, so I can show all my ladies down at the bingo hall. Dadgum hussies will be green as toads with envy."
Chuckling, I pointed to the picture, paper, whatever it was, that she held. "What's that?"
"This," she said, beaming from ear-to-ear, "is my newest grandbaby."
Confused, I arched a brow.
It was no secret that Grandmama claimed half the county as her own, blood relation be damned, but I hadn't heard who the latest adoptee was. Not that I paid much attention to what was happening around town to begin with.
Sporting a thoughtful expression, she stared down at the picture. "She'll be starting with you down at Toluca High tomorrow," she said. "Hasn't been in a regular school for a spell, but she's been taking some of them internet class thingamabobs on the 'puter. Thought she was gonna graduate that way, but she done went and told her Mama that she wants to spend her last semester going to class in person."
Online classes?
Why had she been taking those?
It was a question I didn't get the chance to ask because Grandmama kept talking, her focus still on the photo. "My grandbaby is smart as a whip, but it's still gonna be a big ol' adjustment. Can't help but worry that it'll be hard on her. Therefore, I'm asking you for a favor."
"What kind of favor?"
She didn't hesitate before answering. "The kind where you keep an eye on her for me."
Wanting no part of it, I gritted my back teeth together. "If she's in high school, why does she need me to babysit her?" It was a shit thing to say, but like the dickhead I can be, I said it anyway. "Isn't she old enough to look after herself?"
Fire danced in Grandmama's eyes. "'Cause, ya big dummy, she's been going through a rough patch here lately, and she doesn't need no more horsepuckey added on top of it. Poor girl has had to deal with enough."
Her reply made me feel like an ass. "What kind of rough patch?"
Grandmama opened her mouth to reply, but Ty beat her to the punch. "It's none of your damn business, Chase," he said, his voice stern and colored with disappointment. "Just keep an eye on her. That's all anybody is asking."
Somebody was in a pissy mood.
That much was obvious.
Jaw ticking, he moved over toward Grandmama, keeping his ass clear of the Crazy Old Biddy's traveling hands. "Ashley, right?" he asked her, glancing down at the picture over her hunched shoulder. "I've seen her with Shelby a few times, but I've never spoken to her."
"Yep, that's her," she replied, pointing at the photo. "Shelby took her in as a foster kid some months back, but after her no-good, white trash mama back in Kentucky signed over her parental rights, she and Anthony adopted her the minute they got hitched. The whole thing, including Ashley's name change, was finalized a week ago."
Adopted?
Who the hell adopted a high school kid?
"Had to grease the right gears to get it done so fast, but we made it happen," she continued, pride flitting across her face. "Ain't she one of the prettiest things you've ever laid eyes on?"
Ty's face softened, something that didn't happen often. Well, except when it came to Heidi Johnson, the chick he secretly pined away for. "That she is."
My curiosity was piqued. "Hold up," I said, extending my hand. "Let me see the picture."
Crossing his arms, my big brother glared at me, his eyes burning holes in my head. "You hear us mention how pretty she is, and now all of a sudden you want to see her? Convenient."
Normally, I wouldn't have blamed him for being suspicious of my curiosity.
But right then, I did.
Because he was wrong.
I didn't give two shits if the girl was the next Miss America, because I wasn't interested in chicks. I had enough on my plate already.
Mainly keeping myself out of trouble.
Still, hearing that she was going through a rough patch, as Grandmama called it, didn't sit well with me. Maybe it was because I'd been through my fair share of bullshit, but I didn't like knowing she was having a hard time.
I only hoped she wasn't like Bianca.
Because if she was…
Hell, I didn't even want to think about it.
"You gonna look out for her?" Grandmama asked, holding the photo against her chest. "Make sure nobody messes with her or gets her all upset?"
Without thinking twice, I dipped my chin once in affirmation. "Yeah, I'll keep an eye on her."
"And you are gonna keep your dadgum hands to yourself? I know how teenage boys are.' Specially popular ones like you. Last thing my grandbaby needs is some jock with wandering hands to twist her up more than she already is."
"I'm not going to touch her," I replied, annoyed as hell.
"You better not," she replied, handing me the picture. "I mean it. No flirty looks, stolen kisses, or hanky panky. Keep it platonic. Else I'll jerk you bald-headed."
I didn't doubt that for one minute.
Taking the picture from her hand, I pulled in a breath, my fingers shaking the slightest bit. It was stupid as hell considering the circumstances, but for some unknown reason, I felt unsettled, entirely on edge.
It was ridiculous.
Turning in place, I gave Grandmama and Ty my back. Then, with my stomach in knots, I flipped the picture over.
And just like that, my heart stopped.
No joke, it stopped.
Chest tightening, I stared down at the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, wanting to memorize her every feature.
Almond-shaped, coffee-colored eyes.
Small, upturned nose.
Full, bow-shaped lips.
Scarred left cheek.
Long, chocolate-brown hair.
"Christ," I mumbled to myself, rubbing my sweaty palm across my jaw. "I am completely fucked."
No truer words had ever been spoken.
Because at that moment, it didn't matter that the girl staring back at me was a stranger.
The only thing that did matter was that something deep inside me recognized her, and with only one look, I knew damn well that nothing would ever be the same again.
In the end, I was right.
Chapter Seven
/> Ashley
I have a family.
The realization stirred in my chest as I sat in the middle row of my family’s SUV, my gaze flitting between the other four occupants, their loud voices, and warm laughter filling the space.
Seeing them, their smiling faces bright in the morning light, soothed my scarred soul, and knowing that they’d chosen to keep me, the girl with more demons than one could fathom, did funny things to my tattered heart.
Despite the horrific memories that still plagued me, and the excruciating feeling of loss that I’d never be rid of, having them by my side made the pain a whole lot more bearable.
“You ready for this?” Anthony, or the Dadinator, as I called him at times, asked from the driver’s seat. “Because it’s not too late to back out. If you’ve changed your mind, I’ll go in the school and—”
“She’s ready,” Shelby, also known as the Mominator, interrupted. Flipping open her visor, she stared back at me from the mirror. “Aren’t you, sugar?”
I nodded. “I’m ready.”
It was a lie.
I wasn’t ready, not at all, but the time had come for me to reclaim everything that had been stolen from me.
With Dominic no longer a threat, and Ellington out of the picture—hopefully for good if he had a lick of sense—my life had changed, and with it, I needed to change too.
Even if doing so scared me.
Like, a whole lot.
Besides, I had a promise to keep.
Carmen’s words, the ones she’d spoken moments before her death, echoed through my mind, lighting a fire in my belly and renewing my determination to forge ahead, despite the anxiety that gripped me, threatening to send me into a tailspin at any moment.
I need you to promise me that once you’re free of Dominic, that you’ll go back to school and get your diploma, she’d said. Maybe even go to college.
Terrified of what was to come that night, I hadn’t given her my word that I’d do as she asked, but I intended to do it all the same.
I owed her that, plus a lot more.
“Issy, ready!” Lucca, the best little brother I could’ve asked for, squealed next to me, his arms raised high in the air. “My issy ready to go, go, go!”
A lump formed in my throat each time he called me Issy, his version of sissy.
He was perfect.
Just like she would’ve—
Thumb caressing my tattoo, I fought back the memories that threatened to rise, bringing with them nothing but pain and sorrow. Needing to distract myself from the internal battle I never ceased fighting, I reached over and ran my shaking fingers through his curly black hair.
“Are you going to behave at daycare today?” It was a miracle my voice didn’t break. “Or are you going to drive your poor teachers batty?”
“Batty!” he shrieked, nodding. “U-ka drive teach batty!”
Smiling, Anthony groaned from the front seat, his shoulders shaking the slightest bit as he chuckled. “Of course, he will.”
“Well, duh,” Shelby responded, shifting in her seat. “He’s not my son for nothing.”
“The lady speaks the truth,” Felix, who sat in the third row behind Lucca and me, said. A once homeless Vietnam vet, he’d been taken in by Shelby—just like me—and now lived in the apartment above our garage.
Lucca and I called him Uncle Felix.
And to me, that’s exactly what he was.
“Zip it, Fe-fe,” Shelby said, turning in her seat. Eyes twinkling, she smiled. “I was only kidding, anyhow. We all know that he gets his troublemaking skills from Hendrix, not me,” she said, referring to her older brother and Maddie’s husband. “Ain’t that right, little man?”
Bouncing in his car seat, Lucca clapped. “Un-ka Henny did it!”
That earned a laugh from me.
Poor Hendrix.
He caught the blame for everything.
“Alright, Principessa,” Anthony said, his voice steady and gentle. “We’re here.”
Anxiety climbing, I looked at the building to my right as the car came to a stop. Stomach flipping, I took in its brick exterior, along with the various people, most of them around my age, that littered the sidewalk and breezeway beside it.
Just breathe…
Hand hovering over the door handle, I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth and bit down, cringing at the pain that zinged through me. “Guess I better go then.”
My dad, the man who’d chosen to love me when he had no obligation to, stared at me, his eyes filled with reluctance. Over the past few months, he and I had gotten close—miraculously so—and I knew he wasn’t ready to let me go.
That truth both warmed my heart and made it that much harder to take that first step.
But I had to do this.
If not for me, then I needed to do it for Carmen and Jade.
They wouldn’t have wanted me hiding out in my room, buried behind my laptop, taking one online class after another. Both would’ve wanted me to get out and live my life.
It was because of them that I found the strength to unbuckle my seatbelt and pop open the door.
I was just about to hop out when Anthony said, “I put some cash and a travel-size bottle of Mace in your purse. Attached a small Taser to your keychain too. If you need either, use them. No hesitation.”
Frozen, I blinked. “I’ll get in trouble.”
The look that came over his face was nothing short of comical. “It’s a good thing your dad is a cop then, yeah?”
I smiled. “It is.”
Turning back around in her seat, Shelby handed me my backpack. “I made sure everyone’s number was programmed into your phone. If you need any of us for any reason, you call us, sugar. Understand?”
I nodded.
“And,” she continued. “If this all becomes too much to handle, you walk right out and hightail it across the street to the fire station. Hendrix and Pop will both be on duty all day.”
My smile grew at the mention of Pop.
He was Shelby’s father and my grandfather, but I had a hard time referring to him as such because the man didn’t look a day over forty.
So I called him Pop like everyone else.
He didn’t mind either.
The only thing he cared about was making sure his family was safe and happy, something we always were despite the different challenges we all faced.
“I’m going to be fine.” I didn’t know who I was trying to convince more—myself or my family. “No worries, guys.”
A high-pitched bell suddenly rang.
Eyes wide, I sucked in a breath. “Okay, y’all, I’m going.” Not giving my brain time to comprehend what my feet were doing, I jumped out of the SUV, slipped on my backpack, and looked back at my family one last time. After blowing a kiss at Lucca, who pretended to catch it mid-air, I waved good-bye to all three adults. “I’ll see you guys when I get home.”
Knowing that I needed to move before I chickened out, I shut the car door, not giving anyone the chance to reply.
Nervous as could be, I turned, facing the school.
Pulling my folded up schedule out of my back pocket, I gripped it tight, my hand shaking the slightest bit, and glanced at the building’s front door. “I survived two years with Dominic,” I whispered to myself, feeling my throat tighten. “Surviving high school should be easy.”
At least that was my hope.
Determined and more than ready to get the first day over with, I headed inside, my strumming heart beating in time with my hurried pace.
Little did I know, I was mere hours away from my entire world being upended, and my life changed.
Forever.
Chapter Eight
Ashley
My day was spiraling.
After not being able to get my locker open the half dozen times I'd tried, getting lost more than once, and being the center of the Toluca High gossip mill since the moment I stepped foot on campus, I was reaching the end of my rope.
I thought thi
s would be easy.
I thought I'd be able to handle it.
But standing at the front of the crowded cafeteria, lunch tray in hand, I realized that I had been severely mistaken.
As per usual.
Not knowing where to sit, I ignored the numerous sets of eyes glued to my face, along with the hushed whispers that surrounded me, and headed to an empty table that sat along the far wall.
Once there, I sat down and sent up a silent prayer that everyone would then turn their attention back to whatever it had been on prior to me entering the room.
I should have known better.
"Uh, excuse me?"
Fork in hand, I snapped my head up at the sound of the bitchy voice. When I saw the pretty girl standing next to me, her expensive purse dangling from her forearm, I knew that whatever was about to happen, wouldn't end well for me.
Raking her harsh glare over me, she sneered. "What do you think you're doing, new girl?" she asked, one perfectly manicured hand on her hip. "You can't sit here. This is our table," she continued, amused. "And you are not one of us."
A giggle sounded from behind her.
That was when I noticed the three girls at her back, each of them wearing matching looks of disgust on their pretty faces.
Great.
Just great.
"I d-didn't…" She arched a brow, her ruby-red lips twisting into a vicious smile when I stuttered, the words I needed to speak refusing to come. "I didn't know."
"Well, you do now," she said, her tone growing more hateful with each word. "So if I were you, I'd get up and leave before we decide to—"
I'd heard enough.
Gripping my tray tight, I stood, the bravery I'd possessed earlier in the morning nowhere to be found, and rounded the table. Exit in sight, I headed straight for it, no hesitation.
Too bad I didn't make it that far.
After only two steps, my left foot caught on something, and I stumbled. Unable to right myself, I lurched forward, my lunch tumbling from my hands.
The world around me slowed as it hit the vinyl floor, its contents splattering in different directions.
A squeal slipped past my lips as I started to follow it down, my descent into a new hell quickly approaching. Eyes closed, I braced myself for impact.
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