Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 32934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
I snapped my eyes open in disbelief, staring up at the two guys standing on either side of me. Were they really on my side with this?
“Screw off, Brittany,” Drake snapped. “And leave her alone.”
Brittany’s face turned even redder, and her eyes shone with tears. I couldn’t bring myself to feel bad. She was a righteous bitch.
“My name is Whitney,” she seethed before she spun on her heel and rushed off down the hallway, embarrassed now. The presence at my back disappeared as her friend rushed after her.
Drake and Kaleb both kneeled down and grabbed my books. I quickly snapped out of my daze and dropped to my knees, gathering up some of my papers and sticking them haphazardly into one of my notebooks.
“Here,” Drake said, handing me the books he and Kaleb had scooped up. I situated them in my arms and stood up, afraid to look either of them in their eyes. Drake shoved his hands into the pockets of his letterman. “Learn to stand up for yourself, yeah? Otherwise, bitches like her will always walk all over you.”
With that, he and Kaleb walked off. I swallowed thickly, my heart still pounding in my chest, though now it was for an entirely different reason.
Drake Johnson just stood up for me.
I pressed my hand to my chest, drawing in a deep, shaky breath.
Be still, my heart.
2
Elizabeth
It was pouring rain when I woke up the next morning, the droplets pounding against my window, the wind howling against the house. Pulling back my curtains, I frowned at the dark sky, flinching when lightning lit up the darkness, thunder quickly following in its wake.
I hated rainy days. I always had to walk to school since my parents never left me with a driver, nor would they buy me my own car.
Most people thought having rich parents was amazing until they actually had rich parents. And maybe some were great. More often than not, in this neighborhood, they were pretty neglectful, though mine were a special kind of neglectful.
And hurtful.
They left for months at a time, only sending money once a month for me to buy food with and other bare necessities. The amount I got from them was only enough to do just that with. I was the accident child—the one that wasn’t supposed to happen.
I got treated like it, too.
With a heavy sigh, I let my curtain fall closed again and went to get ready for school.
I was about to hop into the shower when my cell phone rang. With a frown, I grabbed it off the bathroom counter, my eyebrows pulling together in confusion as I stared down at the unfamiliar number on my phone. Thinking it was just another prank call from someone at school, I drew in a deep breath and answered it, lifting the phone to my ear.
“Hello?” I asked quietly—hesitantly.
“Elizabeth?” Drake’s deep voice came down the line, making my heart skip a beat. I’d know his voice anywhere. I almost dropped my phone, but I tightened my hand around it, pressing my hand to my chest over my rapidly beating heart.
“Um, yeah,” I squeaked, internally cursing myself at how childish I had just sounded. But he made me feel pretty stupid just by talking to me.
“It’s raining like a mother fucker outside.” My lips twitched in amusement. God, why did he always sound so hot when he cursed? “I know you walk to school every day, so I was wondering if I could come pick you up.”
Oh, God, I was going to have a heart attack.
Was Drake Johnson actually asking to take me to school? I had to have woken up in some alternate universe where I was no longer Elizabeth Gray.
“What’s the catch?” I blurted before I could stop myself. I slapped a hand to my forehead immediately after for asking something so fucking stupid. And then winced because geez, that hurt.
He laughed, and it sounded like soothing music to my ears. “Just your companionship on the way to school,” he told me. “That’s all; I swear.” He cleared his throat. “I’m not an asshole, Elizabeth.” His voice was quieter this time—more solemn. It had some of my anxiety easing and melting away.
I swallowed nervously. My heart was on the verge of beating right out of my chest, skipping down the road, and landing in his lap—wherever he was. But I knew it would find him.
“I know,” I said quietly. “I’m sorry, it’s just—”
“Hey, I get it,” he told me. “I’ll be by in about forty-five minutes. Does that give you enough time?”
I nodded before remembering that he couldn’t see me. Idiot. “Yeah,” I told him, hating that I sounded so breathless. “That’s plenty of time.”
After we hung up, I shakily set my phone on the counter.
God, help me.
When Drake pulled into the driveway, I quickly rushed out of the front door and darted to his truck in the rain, thankfully not getting too wet on the way. He reached over and quickly grabbed my bag from me and gave me a hand to help me up, considering his truck was not only on fucking twenty-inch rims, but he also had a lift kit on it.