"We should stay in bed all day?"
"Why not?" He propped himself on an elbow and looked down on me as I fell to my back. He smiled and murmured, "It wouldn't be the first time."
"Because you have soccer practice in three hours," I pointed out. "If you're not in school, you can't play."
A shadow of weariness passed over him as he sat up and moved to the edge of the bed.
"What?" I asked and sat up.
Bryce shook his head and reached for his pants.
"What?" I repeated and reached for my own.
"Nothing," he clipped out and moved to the shower. When I heard the water runn
ing, I dropped my clothes and crossed to the bathroom doorway.
I could see Bryce in the shower and his eyes found mine through the translucent glass shower door. He finished and stepped out a moment later. As he moved aside and dressed, I finished my own shower.
Bryce sat on my bed as he waited for me to finish dressing.
I couldn’t handle the silence and cracked after awhile. "What is it?"
"Nothing. Are you done?" He stood and grabbed a set of car keys on my nightstand. He knew I kept keys to all the cars in my parent’s garage. There was an extra set in my bedroom, one in my purse, and another in a kitchen drawer.
"Are you mad?" Even as I asked it, I felt my chest tighten a little. This was encroaching onto a conversation I didn't want to have, but I'd already asked.
"I don't want to fight so let's just…," he waved towards the door. "Let's go."
"What fight? Did I say something to offend you? Is this about soccer practice?"
Bryce opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He closed it and turned towards the hallway.
I followed behind and neither of us questioned it when Bryce drove us to school in my dad’s Maserati.
Chapter 3
The parking lot was full of students when Bryce pulled into a slot and turned the engine off. Neither of us moved as we watched the crowd outside the door. It wasn't uncommon for nearly everyone to flock outside, either in the back or in the front of the building when the weather was warm. There was an extended break between fifth period and sixth.
I couldn't stand the tension, but I also knew I didn't want to get out of the car with how things were between us. "I don't know what to do right now."
Bryce bit off a bitter laugh and shook his head. "You don't have to do anything."
"What?"
"You're always saying that. Get a clue, Sheldon," he snapped and slammed the door behind him.
I watched as Bryce was greeted by Chad, Trenton, and so many others.
Get a clue? What did that mean? And why did I actually care?
I followed behind, feeling just…uncomfortable. I didn't care that most of the students had knowing looks on their faces. Bryce glanced up as I neared where he stood, but I didn't want to stop and chat. It must've shown in my face because a path cleared for me so I was able to walk inside without any hassle. As I stepped into the girls' locker room to avoid people in the hallway, there were three girls at the sinks. All three stared at me.
"What?"
All of their eyes widened and turned away. When they left, I glanced up and saw that one had stayed behind. She had jet-black hair that streamed to her waist. She was petite with a cute green top over a faded jeans and black boots that stopped just underneath her knee.
"Hi?" What'd she want?
"You're Sheldon Jeneve, right?" she asked and tamed a strand of hair that was out of place. She didn't look nervous, just confident.
"Yeah. And you are…?"
"I'm Mena Cruiw. My brother is Denton Steele."
Oh. I studied her again and saw a faint resemblance in the eyes, but that was about it. The nose curled at the same spot.
"You have a different last name?"
"I was adopted by my stepfather, but they're having problems so they sent me out here to live with my biological dad."
"You and Denton are half-siblings?"
"No." She leaned against a sink. "We're full brother and sister, but he still loves our dad. Me, I'd rather not have anything to do with him. My mom and biological dad were your neighbors before they got divorced. My mom moved to New York."
This sounded complex. "Look," I murmured. "I don't really want to hear your family's genogram."
"That's okay." she shrugged. "I don't really want to tell you my family's genogram. We're messed up, that's the gist of it."
"And why are you talking to me…?"
"Because you shagged my brother and didn't give him the time of day afterwards." She grinned and it lit up her face and eyes. Corrigan would've called her hot without the smile, but he would've considered her deadly with the smile. "I wanted to meet you."
"Nice to meet you." I dismissed her as I turned my back to leave. I expected her to say something, but she didn't. When I got to my locker, I realized why—she'd followed me.
"What?" I grabbed my sixth period book.
"I thought maybe," she shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe we could be friends? You know who I am and you don't care about my brother. I like that. I heard around that you don't have a lot of friends."
"I don't do friends."
I cringed inside. Bad choice of words.
"This isn't about popularity. Trust me." She gestured to the hallway. I glanced around and saw a good portion of the guys were eyeing us, up and down. I'd grown immune to the attention, but I shouldn't have been surprised they were watching her.
Mena waved them off. "I know who my brother is. I can be popular off his name. I can be popular on my own too. I was Homecoming Queen at my last school for the junior class. I went to the largest high school in Manhattan. I'd like to think that says something."
"Becky Lew likes friends." Becky Lew liked followers.
Mena parroted my thoughts as she snorted, "Becky Lew likes to be followed around and fanned. She wants errand girls, not friends. I was lucky to get a few good friends at my old school. I like you. I heard all about you from Denton and this morning around school. You don't give a crap what people think of you. It works for you." She stepped closer. "And you don't play those childish games that all girls inevitably do. I'm tired of that life."
I frowned and moved away from her. I didn't know what to think of this girl, but then Corrigan interrupted us as he stopped between us. His back was to Mena. "Do I need to know what happened between you two?"
Corrigan did that so efficiently. It was a perfected technique that cut out everyone else.
For a moment, I thought he meant me and Mena, but then comprehension dawned and I whispered, "No. You don't need to know because I don't even know."
He meant Bryce and me.
"Bryce is furious. I'm asking." He shifted closer to me. "Should I know what happened?"
"You want to know all the dirty secrets?" I teased. "You want the play by play?"
Corrigan took the hint and returned, "You taped it. Right? Tell me you taped it."
Mena shifted farther to the side as Corrigan dropped to lean against the locker that she had been standing against. She frowned at his back, but our attention was thwarted when Bryce stopped beside us. He ran his eyes over us before he drawled, "Principal wants to see us."
I groaned and buried my head in my locker.
"Hope your nooner was worth it. I heard you guys were supposed to be at the library instead." Corrigan gave us a knowing leer.
"We skipped because you were hungry," Bryce pointed out.
The leer disappeared.