A Whole New Crowd (A Whole New Crowd 1)

But I needed more. I didn’t know what for, but I knew I needed him to tell me more. “Wait!”

He sat back down. “Taryn, I have to go after my wife. She’s going to divorce me if I don’t. I know how she gets when she's in these moods.”

“But—”I needed more information. “What did Jace do?” I swallowed over a knot and pushed it down. I was so close to having the information I had been craving. “To make everything go away, what did he do?” I waited, but he kept looking at the door. He was going to go. I only had a few more minutes. “Please.”

The indecision cleared away. He leaned back in his seat. “I don’t know. I can’t tell you much.” He laughed. “I shouldn’t be telling you anything, but I know he asked out of love. He told me how violent and dangerous his little brother was. I’m glad we were able to get you away from him, if anything else.”

My stomach dropped. The darkness was forming again in me. “Brian could be violent, but he wasn’t to me.”

“What?”

I shook my head. “Jace lied to you. He said something to make you feel better about taking me in. Brian never would’ve hurt me and in the end, if you hadn’t adopted me…” Grief crashed down on me. “He might still be alive.”

If I had turned the adoption down, Brian would still be alive. I wouldn’t have left. He wouldn’t have gone asking questions.

It wasn’t only Jace’s fault. I had to accept my part. I shook my head, my voice hoarse when I spoke next. “I shouldn’t have believed it. The whole thing, this whole family thing, was too good to be true. I knew it in my gut. I should’ve listened to it more.”

“Taryn,” he started.

I heard the sympathy in his voice and shot my hand up. I glared at him. “Don’t start. His death is on you too.”

He frowned. “Death?”

“Brian. The guy that you were supposedly saving me from.” I didn’t only hate Jace. I hated Kevin too. “He’s dead. He wanted to talk to the social worker who set up my adoption. Word got to his boss that one of his workers was trying to find a government employee. What do you think they did?”

“He’s dead?” Blood drained from his face and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

Finally. He was getting it. I gritted my teeth together. “You fucked with my life. Someone I care about is dead because of that. His death is on your shoulders too.”

I had to leave. I couldn’t stay there any longer. The thought of being in the same room with him was suffocating me. Going to the desk, I turned one last time. “Austin and I have been staying at Tray Evans’ house. He’s enjoyed it. He likes Tray. And leave Mandy in treatment. She needs to get better, and she’s trying. I know she’s really trying. Don’t mess up her life.”

I swept out of there just as the last bell rang.

“Taryn!” Shelly was waiting for me outside the office. She lifted an arm, but the doors burst open and the hallway flooded with people.

I ducked my head and disappeared from her sight. Whatever they did from here on out, it had nothing to do with me. I was no longer a part of their family.

*

Austin moved back in with them, and I learned from his text messages that all things were good in their household. For some reason, that sickened me. Shelly had tried contacting me, but Tray became my guard dog. She showed up at the house a few times, and he would ask her to leave. She would call and send text messages, but I never answered. I should’ve. That would've been the adult thing to do, but I wasn’t ready to listen to any justifications or promises filled with empty words.

A week later, I shut my locker and started for the parking lot, but stopped. Jennica stood by her locker. She was a beautiful girl with almond eyes, dark black hair, and an olive complexion, but at that moment her eyes were strained. Her lips were pressed tight and she had a heated look in her eyes.

I waited and lifted an eyebrow.

“Mandy dumped Devon last night.”

My other eyebrow shot up, but I kept my shock hidden.

“I’m sure you’re ecstatic about that.”

I gestured to my face. “You can’t see it, but I’m doing somersaults on the inside.”

She grunted and flicked a strand of hair out of the way. “She dumped me too.”

Now I really was doing somersaults on the inside. “Really?”

“And Amber.” Jennica’s lips pressed together again and she looked away. It was the last day of the week. The hallway was emptying. “She’s done with us. She told us last night.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Her chin went down and she fixed me with a stare. “So congratulations. You got what you wanted.”