Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 149510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
“Where are we headed, Ace?” Gary asks from the driver’s seat, completely unbothered by my drunken siblings as they fumble around inside.
Ace looks at me expectantly. He doesn’t know our address, obviously.
“Thirty-two Oakwood,” I instruct. “It’s about four miles from here.”
Gary is already putting the address into his GPS. “You got it.”
“By the way, Gary, this little trip is under the radar,” Ace remarks with a sly smile. “Don’t want the parental units to get jealous that their life is way more boring than mine.”
Gary laughs. “Roger that.”
“I can’t believe you have a fucking driver,” Travis marvels, looking at Ace.
“Dude. You’re like rich, rich,” Jack adds, staring at Ace like he’s a damn celebrity. “I want your life.”
Ace just shrugs. “Gary’s been with me since I was fourteen. And before you agree to Freaky Friday with me, you should meet my parents,” he says with an overzealous laugh. “They’re fucking crazy.”
Willow bites into her lip and stares at her lap, and Jack and Trav look straight at me. We know crazy parents too. Just not the good kind.
“Heard your dad showed up to Winslow’s class on the first day to prank your ass,” Blake comments, and Ace just rolls his eyes.
“Yeah. Rat bastard.” Ace sighs and laughs at the same time. “All I know is that once I figure out my next move, payback will be a bitch for him.”
Blake and Ace chatter back and forth about Ace’s possible future pranks on his big-ass dad, and my siblings become less and less preoccupied by our shitty upbringing and more and more riveted by Ace’s explosive storytelling. I don’t miss the way both guys include my brothers and sister in the conversation, and I’m grateful for it.
A friend like Ace Kelly was nowhere in the cards when I was planning my first year at Dickson. And yet, I think I’d miss him. It’s so fucking weird.
By the time Gary pulls up to the house, Jack and Travis think they’re going to attend a college party—because Ace took it upon himself to invite them—and Willow’s face might as well be the fucking heart-eyes emoji every time she looks at Blake.
I sneak them all into my house while Blake and Ace wait in the driveway, and I slip out the back door once I know everyone is safely in their rooms with their doors locked.
There’s still a chance they’ll have hell to pay in the morning if my dad noticed them missing, but if he’s asleep now, he probably had no clue.
With my sister and brothers safely tucked away, there’s only one person left to worry about tonight—the girl I have no business thinking about at all. Before I climb back in the car with the guys, I send her a text I probably shouldn’t.
Me: Are you okay? It’s Finn.
Scottie
The concrete steps of the pedestrian court in front of Beckley Theatre chafe at my bare thighs as I look up into the streetlight so Kayla can grab the eyelash that’s worked its way into the corner of my eye.
We walked while I cried for thirty minutes or so, and then Julia suggested we sit down somewhere we recognized so we didn’t end up lost. It was a good idea. I’ve hardly spent any time on the east side of campus so far, and being this close to the football stadium will make it easy to find my way back to my dorm when I can get it together.
All my smoky makeup is caked beneath my eyes instead of on them—I can feel it—but Julia and Kayla have been nice enough not to mention it.
My breath comes out in a stuttered puff, the tail end of my sobs turning into uncontrollable shaking. Julia wraps an arm around me and rubs just as Kayla gets the offending lash.
“Got it!” she cheers, holding it up in front of me on her finger.
I laugh sardonically. “I think it’s a little late to make a wish on it, though.”
“I know you’re upset,” Julia says softly, squeezing at my bicep. “And you deserve to be after what happened back there.” Kayla nods in solidarity. “But I promise you, the only one who looks stupid is Dane. Outing all your business in front of everyone like that?” She shakes her head. “After being so rough with you in public?” She leans her head into my shoulder and hugs me. “You deserve so much better than that, and there wasn’t a single person at that party besides Dane and Nadine who couldn’t see it.”
Embarrassment sits on my lungs, heavy and all-encompassing, and it suddenly feels hard to breathe again.
I have two years of history with Dane, but with the way he’s been acting since we got to Dickson, all the history is starting to feel like it never even existed. It makes me wonder if my memories are clouded by rose-colored glasses.