“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I sigh.
Sarah looks at me skeptically. She was the only person that kept in touch after I moved. Even though years had passed since we’d hung out, we picked up this past weekend like I’d never left. “I know Melody can be a royal cunt but give her time. She’ll get used to you.”
“I don’t know. She seems to hate me.”
“Don’t take it personally. Melody hates everyone, herself included.”
I force a smile and Sarah squeezes my arm. “Hang in there. It’ll get better. First days are always the worst.”
We both turn our heads at the roar of Logan’s engine as he skids into his driveway. He gets out, slamming his car door and glares our way. I know he can see me; Sarah’s windows are barely tinted. Logan flips us the bird then hurries up the front steps into his house.
Sarah lets out a breath the same time as I do. “I’m sorry you guys are neighbors.”
“Me too.” I chuckle, but it’s in no way happy. I realized we’d moved next door to each other yesterday. Logan was wheeling his trashcan to the road, and I had just set mine out. I smiled and waved, recognizing him immediately. He glared and flipped me the bird. Embarrassed, I ducked my head and went back into the house as fast as my feet would carry me.
“I thought you guys used to be friends. What happened?”
I shake my head. “No clue.”
4
Logan
P.E. and math. Why the fuck did Danika have to switch into my P.E and math class yesterday? She’s fucking everywhere. My lunch table, my neighbor, my hallways, and now my classes. But worst of all, she’s in my head. I can’t stop thinking about her pretty little lips and what they could spill.
“Fuck!” I beat my fists against the steering wheel. I need to get this situation under control. I almost wonder if I could sit down and just talk to Danika. She used to be sweet, reasonable. But she’s been gone a long time, and people change. Hell, I have.
I punch the steering wheel, the horn sounding in the parking lot, turning a few heads my way. Fuck’em all. If anyone has a problem, they can come and tell me to my face. Otherwise, they can keep their judgmental thoughts to themselves.
Someone knocks on my window, making my racing heart jump. I look up and who is it? Danika fucking Winters. I push the button on my door and roll down the window. “What?”
“Are you okay?”
I stare at Danika like she’s stupid because she has to be. Or maybe she hasn’t figured out yet that she’s an unwelcome pest that needs to be exterminated. But the reality is that I don’t want to make Danika’s life any harder than it’s already been.
If things were different, I’d pull Danika into my arms and ask how life in California was. I want to know how she’s doing without her mom. She was my first real friend. The only person who had nothing to gain by being near me. No popularity by association—not that I was the popular one, Cooper was and always has been. No lurid acts, no leverage for one thing or another. The sad fact is, if I let her, she would still be the only person like that.
“I’m fucking fine,” I growl, rolling the window up.
Danika stands upright, shakes her head, and leaves. Good. I don’t like having her around. I’m too conflicted, torn between picking up where we left off and intimidating
her to make sure she keeps her mouth shut.
I lean forward, resting my forehead against the steering wheel, and take a breath. I need to calm down before I do something stupid.
My passenger door opens and I squeeze my eyes shut, immediately recognizing the rosewater fragrance that is uniquely Danika. “Are you so stupid that you can’t take the hint?”
Danika closes the door, her scent smothering all air-space. “Probably, but something’s up with you, Logan. I don’t care that it's been a few years, people don’t change this much. What happened?”
“You know what fucking happened!” I snap my gaze up to meet hers. Why is she doing this? Why is she forcing me to say what she already knows? How could California have hardened her so much?
I grip the handle of my door and get out. She can stay inside and suffocate on her rosewater air for all I care. “Fuck. You.”
I lean against my locker and scroll through my phone, my thumb hovering over my Dad’s number. Should I tell him the Winters are back? I’m sure if he knew he would pay them a visit and remind Mr. Winters of what’s on the line. Mr. Winters, Dad, Sheriff Tomlinson, and me, we have a lot to lose if my secret comes out.
I change my mind and slip my phone back in my pocket. I can handle this myself. It would be my luck Dad would have a tail because of one of his clients, and everything would come out if he visited the Winters’ house anyway.