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)
Rodney, the school’s center, and a couple of other guys strolled up. “Damn—I see the reason for the obsession with her, Drake.” Rodney grinned. My cheeks darkened in embarrassment, not used to all the attention. Or compliments.
Drake pulled me tighter to him, possessiveness rolling through his body as his fingers dug into my skin. “Fuck off, Rodney. She’s taken.” Rodney grinned. Drake turned to look down at me. “What’s your schedule like?” he asked me.
“Um, I have first with you and Kaleb.” He nodded. “And first lunch.”
“I know those two,” he told me. “We also share last period together.” I frowned, realizing I’d never seen him in class. “I sit in the far back corner, and I’m normally sleeping,” he explained. “But you’ll be sitting with me from now on. What’s your second period?”
“Gym,” I muttered, a clear distaste for the class showing in my words.
Drake cursed. “Nothing we can do for you while you’re in gym,” he grumbled. “We’ve all got weight training instead of gym.”
“I know the guys and girls normally end up doing activities together.” One of the random guys spoke up as he texted on his phone. “If I’m not mistaken, Warren has gym second period. Not much we can do for her in the locker rooms, but he can be there as a buffer for her while she’s participating.”
“Who is Warren?” I asked him, confused now. And reeling a bit at the way they’d all of a sudden come together just for me.
No one had ever done that before, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
“My little brother,” the guy spoke up. “I’m Chandler, by the way.” He looked at Drake. “I know he’s a troublesome little shit, but he’ll look out for her.”
Drake shrugged. “As long as he keeps his fucking hands to himself, I don’t give a fuck. Just make it clear to him that she’s taken, and who she’s taken by.”
My cheeks were never going to go back to normal color at this rate. Chandler barked out a laugh but nodded his head. “I told him you’d be dropping her off at gym second period anyway, so he’ll find out.” Chandler looked at me. “Third period?”
“It’s a study period,” I told him. “I’m actually ahead in my courses.” My cheeks darkened with a blush again. “So, I have two study periods—third and fifth.”
“I’ve got study period fifth,” Drake told me. “I’ll come get you from your fourth-period class, which is?”
“Economics,” I told him.
Rodney flashed me a grin. “I sit in the back. There’s a seat empty next to me, so you can sit there.”
“Cool. We’ve got that figured out. And all of us have first lunch together, so you’ll be sitting with us from now on, got it?” Drake told me, arching a brow at me. It was a dare to defy him.
“You’re awfully bossy,” I grumbled, crossing my arms over his chest.
He flashed me a grin as he rubbed his thumb over the skin of my hip, just beneath my shirt. I shivered at his possessive touch. “I take care of what’s mine.” I didn’t think my cheeks could get any redder. “Come on, babe. It’s time to face the music.”
“I want silence,” I mumbled.
Drake leaned down and brushed his lips with mine. “We’ll enjoy silence together after school,” he promised me. “But for now, I need you to be brave, yeah? And remember, you won’t be alone all day.”
Swallowing thickly, I nodded. He removed his arm from around me but grabbed my hand in his, linking our fingers together. We began to walk with his friends following us, and he silently lifted our joined hands to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of my hand. I relaxed a little and gently squeezed his fingers in response.
“Be brave,” he whispered as we neared the entrance. My hand began shaking in his, and I was pretty sure I was going to throw up. My stomach was violently churning with nerves.
When we stepped inside, I instantly felt every stare of disgust boring into my skin. Drake drew me closer against his side, wrapping his arm around me but not releasing my hand, so my arm was pulled across my chest. “Locker?” he asked me quietly. “You need your books.”
I nodded. He led me through the crowd, Kaleb in front of us, forcing everyone to part. “Kaleb’s locker is two down from yours,” Drake told me. “If you ever need anything and you see him standing there and I don’t happen to be with you, let him know. He’s a good guy, Elizabeth. You can trust him.”
“Fuck,” Kaleb cursed as we got to my locker. Tears burned in my eyes as I stared at the metal door. In bold, red paint, someone had put WHORE on my locker in big letters all the way down. The words from Friday had been cleaned away, but someone wasn’t done with me.