“Same,” Hope groaned. “Band rehearsal at my place tonight. Call me later?”
“You got it.”
I pushed off the locker and pulled back my shoulders. Being afraid wasn’t my MO. At least, I tried not to let it be. All I had to do was make it through to the end of the school year. Then I’d be out of this hellhole and able to start my life without the past dragging me down.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Easton,” I said, my voice sickly sweet. I even fluttered my eyelashes for good measure. He’d told me he hated when I called him that, and I was in the kind of mood to get under his skin. Maybe I was looking for a reaction? Or maybe I just liked to annoy him.
“Aria.” He nodded and kept his face straight, but I noticed the small quirk of his lips. I knew he hated those words coming out of my mouth, but he didn’t have a choice because, here, he was my teacher. It didn’t matter I’d known him for more than half of my life.
“I’m sorry, Miss…” He trailed off, obviously not having a clue who the woman in front of him was. I bit down on my bottom lip to keep my grin at bay.
“Simmons,” Miss Simmons replied. “But you can call me Willow.”
“Like the tree?” Cade blurted out, and I couldn’t hold in my snort. He’d never been one for mincing his words, and I was one hundred percent sure he didn’t have a brain-to-mouth filter.
Her smile dropped a fraction, but she perked right back up and pushed her chest out. “Exactly.”
“Right.” Cade’s gaze slid back to mine as the bell rang out. “I better head inside and teach the youth of today.”
Miss Simmons giggled, and I finally spun around, screwing my face up at the way her voice tried to lure him in. Did that actually pick up men?
I headed to my usual seat and placed my books on the table. We were three weeks into senior year, and everyone was talking about college applications and what they were going to study. Football players were showing off the number of colleges that had written to them, and the cheerleaders were eating up every second of it.
I had no idea what I was going to do. Track tryouts were in a couple of days, and even though Mom had told Cade I’d be trying out, part of me wanted to deny her. But what good would that do? Maybe track would be the answer to everything, plus I’d get in extra running time to keep my thoughts at bay.
My gaze continually drifted to the clock, and I watched the seconds tick by. This was my last class of the day, and as soon as I was done, I could go home, get into my bed, and sleep the evening away. It was a tactic I’d taken to doing when I didn’t want to be in the world around me. It wasn’t that I wanted to leave it completely. I just…needed a break. I needed to reset, and it was part of my process. If I allowed myself to give in to my cravings constantly, it would never work. I’d given in six days ago, but I was determined to at least make it to seven days this time.
One day. All I needed was one more day, and then I could finally scratch the itch burning inside of me.
The bell rang, and I jumped out of my skin. I’d been so far in my own head, I hadn’t even realized school was almost over. The students filed out of the room and spilled into the hallways. I waited an extra second, shook my head, and then stood.
“Aria?” Cade called, but when I looked over at him, his attention was on his laptop. “I need a word.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me, and pushed my books into my bag. Mom had texted me to tell me Sal would be picking me up, which meant I couldn’t make him wait long because I knew he’d be heading back to the diner afterward.
“Sir?” I asked, my lips quirking on one side as he raised his brow and finally gave me his attention.
“Hate that,” he murmured, then stood to his full height, towering over me. “Tryouts are in two days. I didn’t see your name on the list.” He crossed his arms over his chest and stared me down.
“You know that doesn’t work on me, right?” I circled my finger in the air to point at his face. He narrowed his eyes even more, and if I were anyone else, I’d probably be shitting my pants, but I was Aria, the girl who watched on the sidelines as he practiced his lacrosse. The girl who laughed when he jumped at a scary part in a movie.
“What about now?” he asked, and I couldn’t hold in the chuckle dying to break free.
“Nope.” I tilted my head to the side. “You just look like a pissed-off teddy bear.”
He gasped and slapped his palm against his chest. “I’m offended.”
I rolled my eyes. “No, you’re not.” My breath left me in a whoosh, and I spun around. “See you tomorrow, Mr. Easton.”
His footsteps followed behind me, but I hadn’t expected his hand to wrap around my arm and stop my momentum. His fingers curled all the way around, meeting each other, and I couldn’t help but stare down at them.
I flicked my gaze up to his face, but he was staring at his hand too. I wasn’t sure what the frown on his face meant, but he didn’t let go as he looked up at me. “Try out for the team, Aria.”
“Why?” I asked. Why was he so insistent?
“Because I’ve watched you run. Your mom is right. You could get a scholarship.”
“Have you been stalking me?” It was meant to come out light and fluffy, but my voice betrayed me. The thought of him watching me made me feel like that same eight-year-old girl with a crush all over again.