“I didn’t mean to insult you,” I said glancing over my shoulder. Someone was standing near the gate watching but their face was a blur as Aria grabbed my arm and pulled me back to face her.
“Don’t look away from me when I’m talking to you,” Aria said shaking her head.
“I just want to leave,” I said softly.
She shrugged as she smacked her cold hand down on my shoulder. “Then go.”
She dragged her hand down my arms and the front of my dress smearing it with mud. The air dried it quickly and I could feel it crusting to my skin.
I closed my eyes and drew in a breath. I wanted to throw a fist into her face but that would have just made things worse. Who knew what her friends were capable of doing? I drew in a breath. It was just mud… it would wash off.
“Ta-ta now,” Aria said laughing as she turned on her heel back toward Silas.
Aria sat down swinging her legs over his lap and crossing them. She placed a kiss on his lips before turning back to me.
“Is watching your thing? Get out of here already,” Aria said waving her hand in the air. “You’ve been dismissed.”
There was a long moment before Silas looked at me from over Aria’s shoulder. His eyes were filled with a darkness I couldn’t understand.
“You don’t belong here,” Silas said in a deep voice. “And I don’t just mean at Aria’s house. I mean here, in this town.”
I swallowed hard, almost choking on the dryness in my throat as I turned away from them. The person who’d been watching in the shadows stepped out and opened the gate.
My eyes were down. I couldn’t look up until the gate was closed.
The dark brown eyes gazing at me were warm and comforting. But I was embarrassed he’d seen what had happened.
The guy with the glasses from earlier smiled as if nothing had happened at all. As if there wasn’t mud smeared on my shoulder and dress. “Can I walk you home?”
Chapter Six
“I don’t let strangers walk with me,” I said but I couldn’t even smile at my attempt to lighten the mood.
The guy with glasses grinned. “You didn’t ask your friends about me?”
“Sorry, I didn’t get the chance,” I said shaking my head. “They were too anxious to get me to come to this stupid party.”
“Stupid party?” he said placing his hand on his chest as he jerked away slightly. “How dare you call one of Aria’s parties stupid?”
“Sorry,” I said lowering my gaze.
He ducked down to look into my eyes. “Hey, I was just kidding. It was stupid.”
“Then, why were you there?” I asked.
“Because sometimes it’s better to go, then not to go. Sometimes you suffer to appease the powers that be,” he said sticking out his hand. “I’m Reed.”
I took his hand. “Alyssa.”
“I know. Everyone knows,” Reed said. “You know, she’s being exceptionally cruel to you. I think she sees you as a threat.”
“Ha! A threat? I highly doubt that. No one has ever seen me as a threat.”
Reed stuffed his hands into his pockets. “The pretty new girl getting all the attention—”
“Attention?”
“Attention. She’s worried. She’s going to make sure you know who is in charge.”
I snorted. “I don’t care who’s in charge. I’m only here because I have to be. It’s not like I wanted to move to this town and change schools.”
“You’re not the only one that doesn’t want to go to this school,” he said. “I turned eighteen in the summer. Legally an adult but if I didn’t finish here, my parents would probably kill me. I’m here to make them happy. There is a good chance this is the worst school in the entire United States. How old are you?”
“Eighteen,” I said.
“Then you could figure out an alternative,” Reed said.
My head was shaking before he finished his sentence. “It’s nine months. I need to get into a good college.”
“Guess we’re in the same boat. We have a lot in common, you and I.”
“We’ve only just met,” I said.
“And yet it feels like I’ve known you forever,” Reed said.
I smiled. A real smile. It was quite possibly the first time I’d smiled since moving to Spring Meadow.
“So, Lacey told me there was a death over the summer… a student?” I asked.
“That’s right. Piers Howard, seventeen years old. As they say, gone too soon,” Reed said kicking at a small rock with the inside of the tip of his shoe.
I stared at him for a moment. “You don’t seem too broken up about it.”
“I don’t think anyone was really that broken up about it. Except maybe Aria and only at first,” Reed said.
“Why only at first?”
“He was her step-brother. They’d become very close over the last few years,” Reed said. “He was just as big of a dick as his sister though if you want to hear the truth.”
I chewed my cheek. “You didn’t like Piers? Lacey told me everyone liked him.”
“That’s what everyone in town says of course now that he’s dead. But he wasn’t any better than the rest of them. Maybe even worse.” Reed said running his hand through his black hair. “That asshole tipped my lunch tray more times than I can count. Want to know why?”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because he felt like it. It’s fun to make fun of the guy with four eyes, isn’t it?” Reed asked shaking his head. “The funny thing is I have contacts. I’ve had them since the eighth grade but I don’t wear them because it felt too much like I was showing weakness. I didn’t want them to feel like they’d won.”
I shook my head slowly side to side, rubbing my hands on my goose-bumped arms.
“I’d offer you my coat if I had one,” Reed said as a breeze rustled the leaves over our heads.
“Who else didn’t like Piers?” I asked unable to stop myself from being interested in the mystery.
“Silas and his buddies,” Reed said. “Your new friend Lacey, in fact, she couldn’t stand him.”
“What?” I asked stopping in my tracks. My mouth dropped open with surprise. “She could have fooled me.”
Reed smirked. “Well, you didn’t hear this from me, but she had a crush on him since like the sixth or seventh grade. He had no interest in her but one night at a party, they hooked up. The next day when he acted like she didn’t exist… well, she didn’t handle that well.”
“Insane.” I turned and started to walk again, although each step was slower.
“I think everyone in this town had a reason,” Reed said.
“So, you think he was murdered? Not accidental drowning or a suicide?” I asked clearing my throat.
Reed shook his head. “No way it was a suicide. Accident? Maybe. If he was wasted. But there was no way that guy would have killed himself. Why so much interest in Piers anyway? It’s not like you knew him.”
“Who doesn’t like a good old-fashioned murder mystery?” I asked with a smile that quickly turned into a frown. “I think everyone hates me because I have his locker. His books. I probably sit in his desk.”
“Well, I doubt that’s likely,” Reed said. “He took all of the easy classes. Piers already had a scholarship thanks to his swimming skills.”
“Lacey told me there is a private investigator on the case,” I whispered.
Reed nodded. “He’s clearly not very good. I think he’s just lingering so he can continue to bill the family and get his piece of their pie.”
“Did the private investigator ever talk to you?” I asked swallowing down a thick lump that formed in the back of my throat.
Everyone in the town was a suspect. I realized I didn’t know the first thing about the guy walking me home in the middle of the night.
“He did. He talked to everyone I think,” Reed said. “That’s not true there were a few people whose parents who wouldn’t let their kids talk to him. As far as they’re concerned, it’s
over and they don’t like to be reminded of the tragedy.”
“Which students didn’t he talk to?”
“Hmm, I can’t remember exactly. Lacey didn’t talk to them.”
“She didn’t?”
Reed raised a brow. “Nope. Her dad is a very powerful man in town.”
“Does anyone have a reason they’d want Piers dead?” I asked.
Reed chuckled. “You’re a curious one, aren’t you?”
“I guess so. What else do I have to do tonight?”
“We could get a bite to eat?”
“Sorry,” I said with a frown. I was cold and still not in the best of moods after what had happened. “I just want to clean up and go to sleep.”
He nodded. “Another time maybe.”
“Yeah, that is unless tomorrow you’ll just completely forget who I am.”
“I’m not like them,” Reed said.
“Guess I won’t know for sure until tomorrow,” I said pointing at my house. “That’s me. Thanks for walking with me.”
He ran his finger through his hair and looked into my eyes. “Anytime, Alyssa. Anytime.”
A car squealed as it turned the corner. Music was blaring as the car sped down the road.
It slowed as it approached. I recognized the black car instantly.
“Eww!” a girl shouted from the car. “She’s everywhere.”
Silas’s face was blank. He grabbed something and threw it out of the window toward us.
A half-empty can of beer was spitting out liquid as it twirled through the air. It landed about two feet away from us, sprinkling my legs.
“Dirty skank!” Aria said leaning over Silas’s lap.
Reed was still there beside me but it was like he was invisible to them. They had their target and it wasn’t him.
“Come on, guys,” Reed said.
The car jerked abruptly as Silas shifted into park. He opened his door and got out of the car.
His slid his thumb across his lower lip as he strode toward us. He shoved Reed hard.
“What did you say?” Silas said. Now suddenly I’d become invisible. How quickly the target can shift.
Reed was shorter than Silas but his shoulders were broader. The major difference between the two was that Reed wasn’t a fighter. At least it didn’t seem like he was.
Reed pushed his shoulders back. “I think you should cool it. She got the message.”
“It seems like you’ve forgotten the message,” Silas said grabbing him by the collar with his left hand.
Silas glanced at me. Looking me up and down before turning back to Reed.
He stretched his fingers and before I realized what he was doing, his fist slammed into Reed’s Jaw.
“Reed!” I shouted as shock tightened my shoulders.
“Reed!” Aria said mockingly from the car.
Blood oozed out of Reed’s lip and dripped down his chin. He held up a hand in my direction when he saw me opening my mouth. He didn’t have to say anything for me to know he didn’t want anything to make the situation worse.
“I guess you need a reminder,” Silas said as he tightened his grip.
He jerked Reed so hard toward his car his glasses flew off his face and landed in the road. I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing as he hauled Reed to the car.
They were half-way to the car when my feet became unstuck. I ran up behind Silas and pounded my fists into his back.
“Let him go!” I said.
The back door opened and Silas threw Reed in the car. He slammed the door and turned to me.
Silas took a step and I backed up. He took another and I backed up again.
“Do you want to come along?” Silas asked.
“No,” I said firmly. “I don’t want you to hurt him.”
“Are you his bodyguard?” Silas asked.
My jaw tightened. “Of course not. But you can't just go around beating people up for fun.”
“I can and I will. You don't know anyone or anything about this town,” Silas said.
“I know I can call the cops. Disorderly conduct, DUI, underage drinking, God only knows what else.”
Silas let out a bone-chilling laugh. “Reed,” he said turning toward the car. “She wants to call your dad. What do you think about that?”
“Alyssa, no. I'll be fine,” Reed said.
“See, he’ll be fine. You don't need to worry your pretty little head over it,” Silas said inches from my face. The smell of cologne and beer mixing was rather off-putting. “Go on. Run on inside. Don't want to keep mommy and daddy waiting.”
I hesitated, nervous about leaving Reed with them. But my choices were limited.
I swallowed hard and lowered my voice. “If anything happens to him—”
“What exactly do you think is going to happen, hmm?” Silas reached over and I flinched. His fingers twirled around a stray strand of hair and he moved it away from my eye. He pointed at my house. “And even if it did, what do you think you could do about it, hmm?” He stared at me for a brief moment. “Go inside.”
I bit my cheek as I walked back to the sidewalk. Silas got back into the car and cranked up the music before speeding off.
I picked up Reed’s glasses, which seemed to be okay except for a small scratch on the side of his frames. Cold oxygen squeezed my lungs as I pulled in a breath.
I ran toward the house, slipping in as quiet as a mouse. My heart was pounding as I pressed my back to the door.
I touched my arm and felt the mud crusted to my shoulder. I’d forgotten all about it until I touched it.
“Is that you, Alyssa?” my mom called from another room
I didn’t want her to see me. Not the mud on my arm or the dress she wouldn’t recognize. The questions would have been endless.
I ran up the stairs and folded up the dress, tucking it into the back of my closet. I’d have to wake up in the middle of the night to wash it. Hopefully, it wasn’t ruined and I was in thousands of dollars of debt.
As I stepped into the shower, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I should have done more to help Reed. The hot water hit my arm, washing the mud down my legs and into the drain.
Aria was a bitch.
She caught me off-guard. I vowed that next time, I wouldn’t make things easy for her. Next time, I’d pick up my own handful of mud.
And even though I wasn’t looking forward to it, I already knew there would be a next time.
Chapter Seven
The next morning when I got to school, I was going to charge right over to Silas and demand he tell me what happened but before I got a chance, I saw Reed at the end of the hallway. Even at my distance, I could see his face was bruised.
He was wearing a new pair of glasses that were almost identical to the ones in my hand. I started to walk toward him but Lacey stepped in front of me.
“What happened to you last night?” she said smirking as she raised her brow.
I slipped the glasses into my pocket and flashed her a smile. “I went home.”
“Riiiight,” Lacey said still smiling. “That’s not what I heard.”
Suddenly my heart sank into my stomach. “Wait. What did you hear?”
Lacey looked around and grabbed my arm, pulling me into an empty classroom. She closed the door and her eyes widened.
“Everyone was talking about how the new girl hit it off with Spencer,” Lacey said. “I know you don’t really know everyone yet but Spencer is the guy that Nadia is interested in. It’s okay with me because I don’t think they’re right for each other but you like broke the girl code.”
“Two things, Nadia had her tongue down someone’s throat but it wasn’t Spencer’s because your friends told me it was his best friend. Secondly, I have no idea who Spencer is or what he even looks like.” I crossed my arms. “Actually thirdly, I didn’t hook up with anyone. Reed walked me home after Aria….”
My voice faded into nothing. Aria knew I had left. Aria had given me the mud bath and to top things off, s
he was probably the one spreading the rumor about me having hooked up with Spencer.
What I didn’t fully understand was why he wasn’t denying it.
“I don’t just hook up with random people,” I said feeling heat rise to my cheeks. Lacey was supposed to be my friend not standing there looking at me with a smug expression. “You walked away, leaving me standing there at a place I didn’t know anyone. I left. I walked home.”
“Well,” Lacey said her eyes softening slightly. “You’re going to have to convince Nadia of that.”
“This could be easily cleared up if someone just asked Spencer,” I said. “I’d ask him but again, I have no idea who he is.”
Lacey stared at me for a long moment before grabbing my arm again. This time a bit roughly. She opened the door and pointed across the hall about six lockers down.
“That’s Spencer. Any bells ringing?”
There was a guy with perfectly combed blonde hair standing at his locker wearing a football jersey with the name Tate on the back. He was smiling as he talked to the short girl next to him.
“No,” I said shaking my head. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen him. Why don’t you believe me?”
Lacey pulled me back into the room. “Because everyone in this school lies about who they hooked up with or they just outright deny it. Spencer was nowhere to be found and neither were you. Nadia made out with his friend for no good reason because no one even saw it.”
“Yeah, I’m still not sure that was a great idea,” I muttered.
Lacey waved her hand at me. “Doesn’t matter. They love each other and after we graduate, you’ll see.”
“What a weird kind of love,” I said. “Anyway, I didn’t do it. Ask my mom, she can tell you what time I came home.”
“I will.”
“Good.” Taking a step toward the door. Lacey was supposed to be a friend but at the moment I just wanted to put space between us. But something stopped me and I turned sharply. “What happened to you anyway?”
Lacey scratched the side of her head with a perfectly manicured nail. “A lady never kisses and tells.”
Thin Skin: A High School Bully Romance (Vestamont High Series Book 1) Page 4