Ugly Truths: A Contemporary YA Romance (Astrid Scott Series Book 2)

by Blake Blessing

  “Rhys?” I took a tentative step forward. He didn’t answer me.

  I kept going, barely lifting my feet from the black and white tile. When I was right behind him, I raised my hands and laid them on his rigid planes of his back. He didn’t soften, but he didn’t reject me either. After a few seconds, I slid my hands over the soft cotton of his shirt until my body was flush against his.

  Hugging him.

  The warmth of his body grounded me as I rested my cheek against the hard muscles under his soft cotton shirt.

  The final bell rang, and other than the lone yell down the hallway and the sound of our breathing, it was completely silent.

  Rhys sighed, and then he twisted in my arms until I was pressed against his front. I sucked in a sharp breath and glanced up into wounded blue eyes. He closed his arms around me and tightened his hold until there wasn’t a scant centimeter between us. His heartbeat steadily thumped where my chin was now touching against his chest. With every inhale and exhale, I moved with him. It was the most intimate moment in my life and it felt right. We fit together.

  “I’m sorry, Astrid.” He lifted a hand to brush hair off of my shoulder, then settled his hand over my nape of my neck. Sorrow filled his eyes, and maybe it wasn’t my heart that was fragile. Maybe it was his.

  “What do you have to be sorry for? You stopped Trey from doing… whatever it was he was trying to do.” I took a deep breath of my own, pressing deeper into him.

  “It’s my fault. I should have taken care of him before now. I’d hoped he was done with his games, but he’s not. I knew he was the reason the twitch bitches targeted you.”

  Oh, yeah. Trey was the entire reason they came after me. With their lame schemes and lackluster execution, at the end of the day, they weren’t a real threat. Or I should say, they weren’t the only threat. Dang. I’d been wary of Trey this whole time, but I didn’t really believe he’d try anything else. No one knew exactly what had happened, but one day the twitch bitches lived to make my life hell, then the next… they pretended I didn’t exist for them. And I guessed, I no longer did. So even though it wasn’t common knowledge, people knew something made them back off. Trey should have been convinced I wasn’t worth it. A small part of me hoped it was behind me.

  “I knew too. But this wasn’t your fault. He’s the narcissist that won’t leave me alone.” I fist his shirt in my hands as if that would relieve him of any misplaced guilt. Because taking on the blame for Trey was ridiculous. It would be like me saying it was my fault that Mr. Bennet boned my dad.

  Gross. Blech. Why did I think of that?

  “What are you thinking? You made a face like something was wrong.” Rhys straightened up.

  “Sorry. I had a flashback to when we found our dads… you know.” I couldn’t bring myself to say it and heat crept up my cheeks.

  He grimaced and then laughed. “That’s a horrible visual. I can’t believe you thought of that now.” The hand on my neck slid down my back.

  An uncontrollable shiver rolled down my spine and he didn’t miss it. The thump of his heart picked up just as mine started to race. He, oh so slowly, lowered his head, keeping our gazes locked the entire time. His breath fanned my lips as his nose ran the length of mine.

  This is it. This is going to be my first real kiss.

  Somehow, one of my hands got under his shirt, gliding along smooth skin over taut muscle. I wasn’t going to question it.

  “Astrid?” Rhys whispered.

  “Rhys,” I mimicked his secretive tone.

  “I—”

  His phone blared from his pocket and I jumped out of his arms.

  What the hell? Why was the universe against me?

  With an apology in his eyes he pulled his phone from his pocket. His relaxed body tensed back up as soon as he glanced at his phone.

  “Fuck,” He cursed, his thumb hovered over the screen as if he wasn’t sure if he would answer it. With another muttered curse, he answered his phone.

  “Dad,” Rhys nearly barked.

  Fuck. Trey must have ratted him out.

  Would it be weird to hug him again? I needed to hear what his dad was saying, but I didn’t want to be rude by leaning over his shoulder. It would be less awkward if I hugged him. We were apparently on the hugging level now, so that would be fine, right?

  No, I couldn’t do it. It seemed fake, not to mention he would see right through me.

  “I did.” His answer was incredibly cold and another shiver worked its way over me. Only this one was much less pleasurable.

  “No, I will not.”

  Trey was such a douche. I didn’t want him to get away with what he did to me, but I didn’t want Rhys to be punished either. Maybe his dad would make it go away. He was a powerful man in town and he seemed the type to want to throw his never-ending wealth around. I hadn’t witnessed it personally, but it wouldn’t surprise me. That would mean Trey wouldn’t be punished, but at the end of the day, Rhys was more important to me.

  He hung up and shoved his phone back in his pocket.

  “Did you just…hang up on your dad?” My jaw was on the ground.

  A lot had changed since that day, but I still couldn’t see myself hanging up on either of my parentals.

  “He was being a dick.” Like that explained everything.

  “And?”

  “Let’s get you to the nurse. Then I want to get you home so I can come back. Dad’s trying to make this a bad memory, and this time, I’m not going to let it happen. Trey needs to feel the pressure and realize you aren’t fair game.” He said it with such iron conviction that I may have swooned if the situation wasn’t so screwed up.

  Biting my lip, I nodded. There wasn’t anything I could say that wasn’t awkward or lame.

  “Come on.” He held open the door as I ducked under his arm. Lectures droned on as we passed by a couple of classrooms with open doors. Bored stares caught us in the hallway as we walked by. More than a few people perked up when they saw Rhys.

  I know. He’s a god amongst mortals. I almost rolled my eyes. Almost.

  There was about two feet of space between us, and a mile of emotional distance. One minute we were fused together and the next, I was unsure how to behave or what he’d been about to do. He was going to kiss me. But, why now? I could have been making this up in my head, but as we walked parallel toward the office, the air prickled with awkward tension.

  Did he regret our almost kiss? Did I?

  No.

  I didn’t think so. It felt so right.

  Ever the gentleman, he held open the office door sending a brief but absent smile to Ms. Hadley, the young and vivacious secretary. She beamed at Rhys with mooneyes, definitely not the way an employee of the school should be smiling at a student. His godliness must extend past the students at Silver Ranch High.

  Mrs. Greene, the school nurse, stepped out of her office right as we got there.

  “Rhys? Is something the matter?” She looked from him to me, probably wondering why one of us needed an escort. Probably me. This town was old fashioned enough that Rhys wouldn’t need any help. Not as a strong young man.

  She smiled at me. “And who are you, dear?”

  “Astrid, ma’am.”

  “Can we talk to you in private?” Rhys placed a warm hand between my shoulder blades, nudging me gently toward her.

  “Of course,” she moved aside so we could pass and shut the door behind us.

  Her space was small, decorated with tons of bent and worn pictures dotting various cork boards hung on the walls. It had a very grandmotherly vibe going on. Mrs. Greene walked around us, wedging between the exam table and her desk, sucking in her rounded stomach to fit.

  “Come on up.” She patted the table and looked to me, as if I was the one here for her services. She was right. “What’s going on?”

  “I um…” Simple words escaped me as I tried to figure out the best way to describe the douche canoe that was Trey. I knew it had it be addressed, and Rhys was putting
a lot on the proverbial line to make sure he was punished, but I needed to pick my words carefully.

  “Trey Bennet cornered her in the boy’s bathroom. I wanted you to look her over before I take her home.” Rhys was matter of fact as he leaned against the wall.

  Would he shut up? I squinted my eyes at him, but he ignored me.

  The way he wore his anger and exuded protectiveness was an attractive contradiction next to the multitude of pink ruffles and fake toy horses in the pictures surrounding him. His jagged edge to their innocent sweetness. It would have been a great picture. Sitting on the exam table with the nurse’s attention was not the time to indulge my drug of choice. Damn, today wasn’t my day. Before the guys swooped into my life, I was invisible. Free to take the shots that needed to be taken. But now, it was as if I was always under someone’s spotlight, even if no one else noticed.

  She twisted toward Rhys, shock and maybe a little apprehension on her face. “Your cousin Trey?”

  “Yes.” Rhys nodded.

  She gulped. “You should probably call your father.” She turned back to me and laid cool hands on my shoulders. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

  Was I? I might feel differently after I had time to process everything, but for now, it didn’t seem like a big deal. It was scary, and Trey had tossed me into a small stall. That was the extent of his actions. At least before he was discovered. If anything, the possibility of what he could have done would tear at my mind more than any physical harm.

  I gulped, wired from the way she seemed to be peeling back the layers of my reaction. “Yes. I’m fine.”

  She waited. I stayed silent. After several long seconds, marked by the ticking cat clock on her desk, she moved on.

  “Okay. Do you want to tell me what happened?” She cast a quick look over her shoulder at Rhys, who stood as my silent sentinel by the door. “Do you want Mr. Bennet to step out?”

  Rhys started shaking his head before I even answered. I doubted anything I could have said would make him leave anyway. “No, he’s okay. He’s one of my best friends here.”

  Her head tilted like I just told her I frequently talked to burning bushes. As one of the most popular guys in school, it did sound kind of ridiculous. But he wasn’t a raging jerk like Trey.

  “Can you tell me what happened?” She repeated.

  Oh yeah. “I ran into Trey in the hallway and he started to taunt me. When I tried to walk away, he grabbed me and shoved me in one of the stalls. I don’t think he was going to do anything.” I crossed my fingers behind my back and hoped I was telling the truth. “He just stood outside of the door. I yelled for help anyway, and Rhys happened to be walking by.”

  “Lucky that.” He murmured.

  The nurse inspected my arms and neck, everywhere that was visible for signs of bruising. She hummed when she was satisfied and stepped back. With thin lips pursed to the side, she sent a brief but flat look toward Rhys. Warmth slowly seeped back into her gaze as she turned back to me. What was she thinking that put that strange look on her face when she had looked at Rhys?

  “All right, sweetie. I’ll write you an excuse for the rest of the day. Stop in sometime tomorrow so I can check on you.” She patted the back of my hand and moved to the cluttered desk in the corner, fishing out a small rectangular notepad out of a stack of loose papers.

  She glanced up. “You can go now. No need to wait for me. I’ll walk this straight to the office.” She smiled and went back to writing the note.

  Hopping off the table, I led the way with Rhys close on my heels.

  “That was weird.” I whispered as soon as we were a decent way down the hallway. The way it echoed in here, you could never be too sure how far words carried. It reminded me of the time I went on a field trip to Washington DC my sophomore year, and they took us to the whisper spot in Statuary Hall. It was kind of freaky how well you could hear the whispers from across the room.

  “Very.” Rhys agreed.

  The bell rang as soon as we exited the building and Rhys picked up the pace. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before the seniors start crowding the parking lot. Then I have to get back.”

  His Range Rover was immaculate in a way that a teenage boy’s car shouldn’t be. It was a little eerie honestly. Not that I’d been in many boy’s cars, but even Beck’s prized ride wasn’t this clean. Either Rhys was a neat freak, or his mom had it detailed for him.

  The air was so thick inside the confined space, I wanted to roll the tinted window down for some fresh air. I didn’t.

  “Are you all right?” I asked tentatively. My palm itched to touch him, but I kept it in my lap.

  “No.” His short answer was terse and livid.

  “Want to talk about it?”

  He gripped the poor steering wheel so hard; I was surprised it didn’t bend under his hands. “No, I fucking don’t.”

  I blew out a breath. Okay then. I could leave it alone if that was what he wanted. For now.

  The bright Colorado sunshine glared at us so hard, not even the solid tint job protected us.

  What was going through his head? And why couldn’t I comfort him like a normal person instead of being a weirdo by sitting here, keeping all my awkward words and unsure touches to myself. I wished I was the kind of person that could converse easily. Even with Stace, she was more of the comforter in the friendship, not that I ever gave that much of myself to need comforting. She was a great friend because she helped me focus on everyone else in our school.

  We pulled up at my house and he put the Rover in park. The sound of our mutual breathing drowned out any outside sounds as we sat in stilted silence. Not the good and companionable kind. This was a two-sided silence. His driven by the overabundance of emotions, anger maybe? Mine a forced reaction to his.

  I took a deep breath and twisted in my seat. He was my friend. Acting like this was ridiculous. “Will you call me later?”

  At first, I thought he was still trapped in whatever smothering emotions that held him hostage, but his large hand covered mine.

  “I will. Will you be okay here?” With my parents, was what he doesn’t say.

  But I had been. I’d been alone with the parentals every night and whenever I stayed home on the weekends. Was he really concerned over this now, with Trey so fresh on our minds?

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Because you’re coming home before half of the school day was even over. I know your dad’s kept his end of the deal for the most part, but your mom’s a wild card. And if she thinks you’re skipping… I just don’t want you to get in trouble. You can hang out at my place until school’s out if you want. I have practice after, but I can stay with you as soon as I’m done.”

  My insides were smiling at this gentle giant of a Viking. His white blond hair fell haphazardly over his forehead as he leaned his arm on his steering wheel. He was extremely handsome in an annoyed sports model kind of way. Too rough around the edges to be a proper model, but with enough animal magnetism to draw eyes everywhere he went.

  The people of Silver Ranch worshipped him, and I doubted much would change over his life. No matter where he went, girls would wish they were his one and only, and men would compete for best friend status while secretly hating him. I didn’t have any desperate illusions that I would hold a piece of his life forever. Maybe not even past high school. But until the time came when he went off to do big things, I’d enjoy the time I had.

  The gushy feelings on the inside managed to tip the corners of my lips in a smile. “She’s going to get a call anyway. Even with the excusal, I doubt they’d take me off of the automated call list. I might as well work on some of my art. I still need to figure out what I’m going to do for the final portfolio, or if I’m going to keep my original one. Thanks though. Call me later, if you want to hang out.”

  I bent across the shiny console and kissed him on the cheek. My heart raced around my chest as I sat back. That was a first for us. Rhys’ eyes widened, just as surprised as I was wi
th my actions. But we were hugging friends now. What was a cheek kiss?

  She waved awkwardly before she disappeared inside that hellhole of a house. I wish I already had my own place. It would be too easy to offer her a safe place to stay. Whether or not she would have accepted the offer, I didn’t know. But she had asked Thatcher about his spare bedroom.

  Reversing, I went the opposite direction to avoid driving by my house. Dad was worse than a freaking idiot if he thought I would let this incident be brushed under the money rug he swept everything else that could ruin our name. Even though I reported it, Dad was probably at the school with the superintendent now, trying to throw money at the problem.

  My phone buzzed and when I glanced down, Trey’s name flashed on the screen. Why the hell was he calling? The phone had gone off almost continually, but where I thought it was Dad, maybe some of the calls were Trey’s too.

  Fucking Trey. Good thing I had to go to the bathroom during class. Damn, I left my books, backpack and everything, in class. Hopefully, Mr. Beach would set it all by his desk. He was pretty cool, a huge hockey fan. And he never took any of Trey’s shit, which made him okay in my book.

  My phone dinged again, this time with a text.

  TREY: Dude, call me. It wasn’t what it looked like.

  It was exactly what it looked like. Trey had a rancid history of attacking girls. I foolishly thought all this was behind us. But that made me the fucking fool now, didn’t it? When he sicced the twitch bitches on Astrid—and she shut that shit down splendidly—it should have alerted me to remain watchful. Trey was one of the most arrogant and egotistical psychos out there. With his past, he wouldn’t be able to let it go.

  I even mentioned to the others that we’d have to address it, but days turned into weeks, and when nothing happened. I thought maybe he was turning a new leaf. But now, I was kicking myself in the ass.

  When I parked at school, I wasn’t at all surprised to see Dad’s Bentley at the front curb. Since we caught him with Mr. Scott, we’d barely spoken ten words to each other, and that was just fine with me. We had nothing to talk about that held any meaning, so why talk at all. Mom was the only one I cared about. And she was a shell of herself anymore. Only caring about her next spa day or being seen at the ladies’ luncheon.