Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
When I’d seen Brett earlier, he’d given me a hug.
A tight hug.
And now she’d gone after me in the bathroom.
Jenny Woelfel was nothing more than a small-minded, petty, jealous little bitch. Why was I letting her bully me?
She crossed her arms defiantly, staring me down like she hadn’t done anything wrong. That’s when Peaches turned on her, offering the sweetest, scariest smile I’d ever seen.
“I’d think you of all people would know better than to listen to gossip, Jenny,” she said, her voice like honey. “Especially about the Starkwood Saloon. I saw Brett there just last week, and it seemed odd, because you weren’t with him. What—”
Jenny’s face turned pale.
“Shut your mouth, Peaches Taylor,” she snapped.
Peaches raised her hands innocently. “Hey, no need to get upset. We’re just a bunch of old friends talking, right? I mean, it’s so sweet of you to be looking out for Randi.”
Jenny took a step back, her mouth tightening. Peaches pretended not to notice, going in for the kill.
“Oh, and for the record, the fight didn’t have anything to do with the Reapers,” she continued. “Of course, we were lucky they were there. Rome probably saved a guy’s life, did you hear that part? He was like a super hero or something. He pushed through the fight and found a safe place for Randi, then he went back to rescue some innocent guy who’d gotten knocked out. It sucks that Randi got a black eye, but that was more of a fluke accident, later. She wanted some fresh air, and Rome was too busy literally preventing a man from bleeding to death on the floor to walk her out.”
Peaches turned to me, offering another sweet smile. “Brett sells fertilizer these days, did you know that? Didn’t I hear he’s up for assistant manager again this year, Jenny?”
Jenny swallowed, taking a step back.
“I’m not feeling very well,” she managed to say. “I think I should find Brett and go home.”
With that, she turned and marched out of the bathroom. Peaches burst out laughing, and so did everyone else. Not me, though. I was too busy thinking about Rome and his brother. Why hadn’t he told me?
“Oh my God, that was priceless,” said another girl. Tamara Deems. I remembered going on a campout with her during sixth grade. Something to do with a church youth group…
“You have to ignore Jenny—that had nothing to do with you,” she continued. “Brett’s been cheating on her their entire marriage, and for some reason she takes it out on everyone but him.”
“The man is a total douche,” Peaches agreed. “You wouldn’t believe how many times he’s grabbed my ass at work. I had to hit him over the head with my tray last week.”
Everyone laughed again. I waited for someone to say something about my black eye, or Rome, or even my mom. Jenny had blown all of them wide open, just to be a bitch. Instead, Tamara gave me a bright smile.
“So I hear we’ll be working together soon,” she announced.
“What?”
“I thought you knew already!” she squealed. “You totally nailed your interview with Dr. Andrews. I do some part time stuff for him. Mostly paperwork and billing. He asked me to call your references yesterday afternoon. I assumed he already offered you the job.”
I blinked, totally startled. “No, I hadn’t heard from him. That’s wonderful news, though.”
She grinned. “Okay, so when he calls, you have to pretend I didn’t tell you. We’re all really relieved you applied for the job, by the way. The last hygienist was… Well, she didn’t fit in around here. Grew up in a city, always bitching about how there was nothing to do in Hallies Falls. Having someone local will be a thousand times better.”
“Thanks,” I managed to say, still off balance. The stall door opened, and suddenly it was my turn to go inside. Closing it behind me, I tried to wrap my head around what’d just happened.
I’d been viciously attacked for no reason. Someone I hadn’t even realized was a friend defended me. And now I had a new job.
Oh, and I was a local.
I’d grown up in Hallies Falls, but in a town like this, you weren’t local unless your family had been here for at least three generations. I’d always been that outside girl who didn’t quite fit in, the one who wore thrift store clothes and couldn’t afford to get her hair highlighted. Or at least, I’d felt that way.
But these girls I’d grown up with—they didn’t seem to remember it that way. They were excited for me to move back, and when they told stories about our days back in school, I’d been in those stories.
Maybe I hadn’t been such an outsider after all.
Finishing up in the stall, I stepped out and washed my hands. For a second, I considered asking Peaches about Rome’s brother. Then I decided against it, because for some reason he hadn’t told me when he’d had the opportunity.