Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 69018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Pulling up at a stoplight, I read the text and felt my gut clench.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
Thoughts now drastically different from where they’d been moments before, I drove silently to her house and pulled up outside.
But, despite my bad mood, my manners still took front seat and I walked her to the door.
I didn’t get near her, though.
Thank God that I didn’t, too. When I glanced up while keeping two paces between us, her father was waiting on the front porch for us to arrive.
“Thank you for the help,” Perry whispered. “I… I appreciate it.”
I winked at her.
“Anything,” I said softly.
Her eyes wide, she walked inside, leaving me outside to talk to her dad.
I walked over to him and offered him my hand again.
He took it, giving me a squeeze before letting me go.
“You know what’s so good about this hand?” he asked softly.
I tilted my head slightly to the side.
“No,” I said. “What?”
With dead eyes, he said, “No fingerprints.”
I would’ve laughed had I honestly thought that he was joking.
He wasn’t.
“My brother-in-law and uncle are both amputees,” I said softly. “My brother-in-law is on the motorcycle patrol for the Kilgore Police Department.” I paused. “So no, I don’t think you’re incapable. I think you’re likely way more capable than most.”
He grinned. “Don’t you forget it, either.”
With that, he got up and went inside, not a limp in sight.
I watched him as he slammed the door closed, then turned out the porch light for added effect.
I couldn’t stop myself from grinning.
Though, I wasn’t grinning when I called my dad back the moment I got into the truck.
“What do you mean Vance transferred to Kilgore?”
Chapter 6
I love the morning without an alarm.
-Banner’s secret thoughts
Banner
To say I was in a bad mood would be putting it lightly.
When I showed up the next day, there wasn’t any overt signs that Vance was there.
But the moment that I got into my first class, not only was Perry there, but so was Vance.
I gritted my teeth and sat in the back of the room, on the complete opposite side of both Perry and Vance.
Perry’s eyes had met mine when I walked in the door, but I quickly dropped my gaze and moved until I was no longer able to see her.
Thank God Vance hadn’t caught the look that she gave me, either, because he would’ve been all over that.
When it came to me, Vance was like a predator. He was going to figure things out, and he was going to dig, and dig, and dig until every last crack was exposed.
And Perry was definitely a crack in my armor.
As I answered the roll call, Vance smirked at me and as always moved until I was in his line of sight in at least some capacity.
He wanted me to see him.
Even more, he wanted to make sure that everyone saw him watching me.
Like he did at our old school, he was already pitting me against him.
Some would choose him, while others would choose me.
Thankfully, once lunch rolled around, Titus had caught on that something was wrong.
We shared the same second and third periods on Tuesdays and Thursdays, meaning that he got a firsthand account of Vance putting on his show.
Luckily, Vance wasn’t in the same lunch period as we were. Meaning that when we all sat down to eat, Titus was the first one to demand an explanation.
I grimaced and sat back, not hungry in the least.
The girls who’d sat with us yesterday apparently weren’t in our lunch period either, which was a fuckin’ relief.
I scrubbed my hand over my face and groaned.
“Vance is from my old high school,” I said. “And the reason I left.”
Titus leaned forward. “Yeah?”
“What did he do to make you leave?” Tatum asked.
“Probably showed up with that pompous attitude and expected everyone to bow down to his beauty.” Abbott snorted.
I wished that was all.
“My dad shot his father,” I began, telling the complete story in a little over ten minutes. When I was done, I still felt sick to my stomach, but it was good to have them on my side if their annoyance was anything to go by. “Needless to say, my dad thought it would be best if I left.”
“Sounds like a prick.” Slone snorted.
Abbott, Slone, Titus, Tatum, and Graham had been friends before I arrived. Apparently, when Titus brought me under his wing, I became under all of their wings.
“It’s going to get ugly,” I said. “Vance has an ‘anything you can do I can do better’ attitude. So expect him to try out for the football team this afternoon. And also, you might want to watch out. He doesn’t like it when I have backup.”
Slone snorted. “Well.” He paused. “I mean, if he wants to try, I’m more than happy to let him.”
Slone was a linebacker, and really looked as if he could scare bark off a tree. Titus told me yesterday that Slone also fought to keep food on his and his sister’s table, and was one of the hardest people to get to know.