Brody: I’m sorry for stopping you at The Dive.
Me: Why?
Brody: Did Jaden see?
Me: No. Kara’s nice. Don’t be a jerk.
Brody: Not all reputations are deserved.
Me: ?
Brody: Never mind. Goodnight, Willow.
Me: Night.
Brody is gonna cause me so much trouble.
Monday. Crap. Shut up, stupid, annoying alarm.
I slammed my hand on top of my clock until the incessant beeping stopped. Rolling out of bed, I stumbled to the shower. I washed with a body soap that promised to energize and invigorate. It lied.
Mondays should be illegal. I think that would make a great T-shirt. I’m so gonna go to the mall and have one made. Maybe today. Right after I have a nap.
I pulled on a black, long-sleeved tunic with a cowl neck and black leggings, lined my eyes in black liner, used midnight eye shadow and painted my nails in onyx polish. After adding my black boots and black leather messenger bag, I was totally rockin’ the vibe I was going for. I slipped my earrings in, a hoop with a skeleton key dangling from it in one ear and a hoop with a heart-shaped lock dangling from it in the other ear, grabbed my keys, and ran out the door.
“Who died?” Jenna asked when I walked into school twenty minutes later.
“Here.” I handed her a Starbucks caramel macchiato and slipped off my sunglasses.
“Holy wow. Are you working the Goth look today or what?”
“No. I’m working the I-hate-Monday-mornings-and-I’m-mourning-the-death-of-the-weekend look.”
“Well… you’re working somethin’. Thanks for the macchiato.”
“No problem. See you in history.” I slipped on my sunglasses and walked to biology, standing in the hallway sipping my Starbucks before going into class.
“What are you doing?”
I looked up to see Jaden standing in front of me. “Drinking my caffeine before class starts,” I said, holding the cup up so he could see it. “I’m not allowed to take it in the classroom. You want to do something this afternoon?”
“Like what?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at me.
“I didn’t know there were limits on what you were willing to do to spend time with your girlfriend.”
“Well…”
“Forget I said anything.” Dropping my half-full cup into the trash, I walked into the classroom. I flung my bag on the table before dropping onto my seat.
Jaden, being the idiot that he was, followed me. If he’d been smart, he would’ve taken the hint that I was done talking when I threw away a half cup of caffeine.
“What do you want to do?” he said with a sigh, as if it was a major imposition to spend time with me.
“Nothing, Jaden, I don’t want to do anything. I told you to forget it.”
“So now you’re mad at me?”
“Nope.” I started to pull stuff out of my bag. I was so irritated I grabbed things I didn’t need. I had a pile of five highlighters and was still pulling more out, slamming them on the table between Brody and me.
“Then what’s the matter, Wills?”
“Don’t call me that. Nothing’s the matter. It’s Monday, okay. I hate Mondays. I’m in a crappy mood. Just forget I said anything.” I pushed my bag away and threw my sunglasses on top of it, leaning back in my chair.
“Are you PMSing or something?”
“What? Seriously, you did not just ask me that! Just leave.”
“See ya at lunch.” Jaden bent down to kiss me. I turned my head at the last second, and his lips landed on my cheek. “Now you’re starting to piss me off.”
“Whatever.” I watched him leave the classroom. “Ugh!” I put my hands together like I was strangling him, shaking them back and forth.
Brody chuckled beside me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Did your hamster die or something?” he asked.
I blew out a frustrated breath. “No one died. I’m mourning the death of the weekend.”
“Oh. That’s cool.”
“I’m so glad I have your approval of my dress code,” I snapped.
“Well, there is one thing. If Jaden doesn’t want guys looking at you, then you shouldn’t wear that push-up bra.” He put his elbow on the table and rested his cheek in his upturned palm. His teeth bit into his bottom lip, his eyes traveling from my chest to my eyes and back again.
“Ugh, you’re a pig and completely lacking in the IQ department.”
“Not that I care what you think, but I’m a member of the honor society.” He twirled his pen on the table.
“That’s not a surprise,” I murmured. I laid my head on my book and closed my eyes.
“No?”
“I’d heard they’d lowered their standards.”
He chuckled. “You’ve got a mouth on you.”
I opened one eye and looked at him. “Most people have mouths. Just thought you’d want to know that little fact, you know, before the next honor society meeting.”
Brody smiled and turned to face the front of the class where the teacher had started droning on about the earthworm dissection we’d be doing.
Sounds like so much fun, except for the poor earthworm.
“You want to go to the mall?” I asked Jenna as we walked out of school that afternoon.
“Always.”
“Good. I have a T-shirt to make.”
She threw her arms in the air and sighed. Loud. “Willow, if I’d known you were making another corny T-shirt, I’d have said no,” she said, her hands falling with a thwack against her thighs. “You must’ve had a babysitting job, and now you want to throw your hard-earned money away on a stupid T-shirt.”
“Don’t hate the T-shirts,” I said with a laugh. “Besides, you’re gonna like this one. But first, a makeover.”
“Oh, thank the good Lord. Your makeup is killing me.”
An hour later, we left the boutique. We’d been scrubbed, exfoliated, peeled, plucked, moisturized, and had our makeup reapplied. I had to admit they did a much better job than I did. No black eyeliner. Instead, a soft sable that blended better with my hair and fair skin. And even though I always promised myself I wouldn’t buy anything when Jenna and I got makeovers, I bought the eyeliner and shadow the make-up artist used—and it was way overpriced. Naturally.
Now if I can just take her home and have her put it on for me every morning before I go to school, I’d be doing okay.
“All right, let’s go get this shirt you’re so excited about,” Jenna said, stuffing a gigantic piece of soft pretzel in her mouth.
“Attractive, Jenna.” I winked at her.
“Yeah, like you looked so sexy inhaling that corndog a minute ago.”
I laughed and bumped my hip into hers. “After my T-shirt, I say we get slushies and really overload our bodies with junk food.”
“Sounds good. The pretzel I ate is lonely.” Jenna patted her stomach and pouted. I rolled my eyes.
Fifteen minutes later, I was armed with a new purple, long-sleeved T-shirt that read ‘Mondays should be illegal,’ and Jenna and I were on our way to the food court to satisfy our slushie craving. We walked around a corner and I came face-to-face, or rather face-to-chest, with Brody. I stopped just before I ran into him.
“Oh! Hi,” I said.
“Hey.”
“You’re, um, shopping?” It seemed odd that he’d be mall hopping by himself. Most guys avoided the mall like it housed a flesh-eating virus.
He shook his head. “No, I’m just running an errand for my mom.”
I looked at the bag he was carrying from a well-known and very upscale cosmetics store. “Well, you’re either running an errand or you’re a drag queen when you aren’t at school.”
“How’d you know?” One side of his mouth curved up in a crooked grin.
“Lucky guess,” I said with a laugh.
“Are you leaving?” Jenna asked.
“Yes,” Brody answered, stil
l looking at me. I felt my checks pink from a blush, and he smiled.
“We’re about to leave, too, but first, we’re going to satisfy our slushie craving. Come on and have one with us.” Jenna grabbed Brody’s arm, pulling him toward the food court. He looked at me over his shoulder. I schooled my expression.
I’m gonna kill her. I’m going to hurt her and then kill her. I cannot believe she just invited him to have a drink with us. She will die a long, painful death. I think I’ll put that on a T-shirt before I leave.
“So…” Jenna started after we sat down with our drinks.
Brody and I both looked at her, waiting for her to say something epic to break the awkward silence.
“What did you buy?” Brody nodded at my bag.
“Oh, um, a T-shirt.”
“Another sarcastic saying on the front?” he asked. I bit my lower lip to hide a grin. His eyes followed the movement. “What does it say? Oh, lemme guess. It says, I date dumb jocks.”
I sighed. “That comment really shows your maturity level, Brody.”
“Yeah, my advanced maturity level must shock and amaze you considering who you date.”
I stood up. “Let’s go, Jenna.”
“I’m not done—”
“Bring it with you.”
“See you tomorrow,” Brody called.
I wonder if it’s too late to be homeschooled.
“You guys so like each other. It’s amazing,” Jenna said as soon as we got in the car.
“What the hell are you talking about? We can’t stand each other!” I nearly screeched.
“Nope. That’s chemistry. You’re fighting it. When you stop fighting, there are gonna be fireworks… like I said before, you need someone to rock your world. Turn it upside down. Brody Victor is gonna do that and more.”
The next day, Brody and I snapped at each other like always. In biology, Jaden walked me to class. When he left, Brody asked, “Is it hard carrying on a conversation with him? I mean, it must be like talking to a toddler all day.”
“You know, Brody, you are the best proof that reincarnation does occur, because no one could be that big an idiot in just one lifetime.”
After that, we didn’t talk to each other for the rest of the day. We dropped our books on the table, flipped through pages harder than necessary, slapped our pens down, shoved our things in our bags, and made it known to each other, and anyone around us, that we were not happy to be near one another. It wasn’t until independent study that we spoke to each other.
I had my ear buds in, listening to music, when he walked up to the table where I worked. Taking out an ear bud, I looked up at him. “What?”
“Do you mind if I sit with you?” Brody asked.
I shrugged a shoulder, looking away from him, which was hard considering he was so very easy to look at.
He pulled out the chair next to me and sat down. “Calculus, huh?”
“Mm-hmm.” I popped a baby carrot in my mouth.
“Oh, you’re a rebel. You’re not supposed to have food in here.” He smiled.
“Why do you think I sit in the back, genius? Want one?” I held out my container filled with veggies and dip.
Brody looked at it like it was poisoned. “What is that?” He made a face and glanced up at me.
“They’re vegetables. Surely, you’ve seen one or two before. You know, they’re those things your mom makes you eat.”
“Not the veggies. The other gunk.” He took a celery stick and poked at my dip.
“It’s hummus. Do you want some or not? I’m not sitting here all day while you play with my food.”
“I’ll take a pass. Thanks.”
“Whatever.” I dipped a piece of broccoli in the hummus and ate it. Brody watched me with his nose scrunched. “It’s good,” I said, my mouth full.
“Okay. I’ll take your word for it.” He opened his calculus book and pulled out his notes. “Did you understand the chain rule we went over today?”
“Yes.” I tried not to look at him.
“I hate to admit it, but I didn’t completely get it.”
“Oh.”
“Willow, do you think you can use more than one-word answers when you talk to me?”
I put my pencil down and looked at him. “Maybe.”
Brody laughed. “You don’t like me much, do you?”
“Not particularly.”
“Whoa, was that a two-word answer? Progress.”
I rolled my eyes and put my ear buds back in, hoping to end our conversation and focus on my assignment.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him look at his textbook and tap his pencil against his notebook a few times before he looked at me. He reached out and pulled an ear bud from my ear.
“Hey!”
“Would you mind helping me out?” he asked.
“Really? You’re asking me to help you with your homework? You, a member of the honor society, are asking me, a bimbo jock chaser, for help?” I looked at him with an arched eyebrow.
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m sorry about the bimbo comment. That wasn’t cool.”
“Ya think?”
Brody lifted his book and looked at me. “Please?”
I sighed. “I can explain it to you, but I can’t learn it for you.”
He tilted his head to the side and considered what I’d said before laughing loudly. “I deserved that,” he said when he stopped laughing. “I promise, I’ll try to keep up.”
“Let me see what you’ve got.” I leaned over to look at his calculations and nearly groaned. He smelled so good. He looked beyond good. I had the overwhelming urge to touch him.
Focus. Calculus. The chain rule. Think about that and block out Brody. Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.
I forced myself to look at his work. “Okay, the chain rule allows us to differentiate a function that contains another function.”
I reached over and pointed to his calculation as I explained the problem. He strained to see what I was pointing at before he reached out and pushed the sleeve of my hoodie up my arm.
“Don’t!” I jerked away.
“Sorry.” He held out his hands, palms forward. “I was just trying to move it so I could see. That’s a pretty nasty bruise,” he said, pointing to my forearm.
I pulled my sleeve down, not looking at him. “I don’t like to be touched.”
“Okay, no problem. I’ll just turn the page sideways so I can see what you’re pointing to. Is there anything else I’m screwing up?”
I took a deep breath to steady my racing heart. “Um, yeah, remember if one function depends on another, and can be written as a function of a function, then the derivative takes the form of the derivative of the whole function multiplied by the derivative of the inner function.”
“So basically, I’ve messed up the entire thing,” he said with a grin, looking at me.
I sucked in a breath when I looked in his eyes. I’d never seen eyes quite like his before. I was so close I could see that they weren’t just blue, but striations of different shades of blue. Leaning back in my chair, I looked down at my own work.
“You didn’t do too badly. It’s a hard concept to grasp at first,” I said.
“You didn’t seem to have any trouble… for a bimbo, I mean.”
I glanced up, and he smiled at me. I laughed. “Please take a moment to appreciate my vast knowledge and experience.”
“I’m amazed by your exceptional calculus skills.” He chuckled.
I inclined my head. “As you should be, Mr. Victor.”
The bell rang, and I started gathering my things. I shoved everything in my bag, threw it over my shoulder, and stood to leave.
“Thank you for your help, Willow.”
“Sure.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“‘Bye, Brody.”
The next morning, while getting ready for school, I pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans and a black tank with an emerald lightweight sweater that fell off one shoulde
r. Jenna bought it for me for Christmas, saying it made my hazel eyes look green. Scrunching my hair, I blew it dry, letting it fall in waves. I lined my eyes with my new eyeliner, smudging on some smoky green shadow on my eyelids. I looked at myself in the mirror and didn’t think I looked too terrible.
Jenna cornered me at my locker when I got to school. “You are totally going for it!” she whispered.
“Going for what?”
“Brody. The fireworks.” She smirked at me, her eyes twinkling. “This is gonna be so much fun.”
“I am not,” I hissed.
“Then why are you dressed to the nines this morning?”
I bit my lower lip to keep from smiling. “I’m not. Jaden likes this outfit, and this happens to be one of my favorite sweaters. You bought it for me if you remember.”
“Uh-huh. Whatever you say,” Jenna said over her shoulder as she walked toward her class. “I expect details. Lots and lots of details,” she sang as she walked away.
What am I doing? I don’t normally dress like this. What am I thinking?
I started to go into the bathroom to wash my face, but the first bell rang and I didn’t have time.
Crap.
I walked into biology. Brody glanced up quickly before returning to his notes. His head shot back up, and he looked at me a second time. His eyes stayed on me, watching as I made my way from the door across the room to our table.
A slight smile touched his lips. “Hey.”
“Hi,” I said. “How are you?”
“Good. You?”
“Fine. Better than the poor earthworms are gonna be. It’s a deadly day for—”
A hand roughly grabbed my arm. I winced as I was swung around. A second hand wrapped around the back of my neck before a mouth descended on mine in a hard, demanding kiss.
I turned my face away, pushing against the person with both hands. “Jaden,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Damn, baby, you look hot. I’m gonna have to follow you around all day to make sure guys keep their eyes and hands to themselves.” His hand traveled down my arm to cup my rear. I stepped away.
“Jaden, not in class.”
“Later, then.” He winked at me before he left.
Unspeakable (Freedom Series Book 1) Page 7