Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 93312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
“You’re the one in my house,” I remind him.
“Still got that mouth,” he mutters, eyes zeroing in my lips. “But your brother isn’t here to protect you anymore, is he?”
Grey practically raised me, with my mom working all the time. He was like a brother, a best friend, and the only father figure I’ve ever known, all rolled into one. For the most part, I consider myself to be a responsible person. I got good grades and tried to follow the rules. Except when it comes to Thayer. Something about him brings out the worst in me, and I can’t ever seem to think clearly when he’s around. Not then, and apparently not now. He made me reckless, and I loved it.
No one would ever expect the two of us would fall for each other. He was the bad boy. The loner. The black sheep. I was just…Shayne. Grey’s little sister. But he knew the real me and I thought I knew the real him.
“Or maybe you’re the one protecting him now,” Thayer muses.
What? “What does Greyson need protecting from?” I ask, not understanding what he has to do with any of this. Grey, Danny, and Thayer were closest, being the oldest, but when Danny died, it somehow turned us into the Montagues and the Capulets.
Before he can answer, I hear the front door open half a second before I hear my mom’s heels click-clacking through the house. I turn, wide-eyed, to look at Thayer. If he’s nervous, he doesn’t show it. If anything, he looks annoyed by the interruption. I, on the other hand, am wearing only spandex and a sports bra, and all I can think about is how bad this is going to look.
“Shayne?” my mom calls. “How did volley—” She pushes my bedroom door open, stopping short when she sees Thayer. Her eyes flash to me in question before landing back on the broody boy in my room.
“Thayer,” she says, surprised, bringing a hand to her chest, her slender fingers fidgeting with her necklace.
“Elena.” He doesn’t bother to hide the contempt in his voice or in his expression. My mom eyes him warily, neither one speaking. My mom wasn’t ever the Ames brothers’ favorite person, considering their father’s status and affinity for bringing home gold diggers, so there’s no love lost between them. But this feels different, and I can’t put my finger on why.
“Thayer gave me a ride home from tryouts.” The lie rolls easily off my tongue, and I see Thayer tense out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t even see his car outside, but if she realizes it, she doesn’t call me out on my lie.
“How nice.” Her tone is polite, but her lips tug down into a frown.
“You know me. Always willing to lend your daughter a helping hand.” He winks.
My face burns with a mixture of anger and embarrassment, his meaning not lost on me, and he smirks, knowing exactly what memory is playing in my mind.
“I thought you were at Amherst.” It sounds like an accusation.
“He was just leaving.” I slip between them before he can answer her. The room suddenly feels way too crowded. They follow me down the hall and through the house, not bothering to make small talk. Mom waits behind in the kitchen while I walk him out. I jerk the door open, waving him through with my other hand. His eyes flash toward the kitchen, knowing she’s still within earshot.
“See you soon.”
I’m under no illusion that it’s a simple, friendly goodbye.
It’s a threat.
The next week flies by blissfully uneventful…when it comes to the Ames brothers, anyway. Taylor still got her digs in—pun intended—at tryouts, but where Thayer and Holden are more like hungry wolves, Taylor and Alexis are gnats. Annoying, but harmless. The last day of tryouts was Friday, and the results are to be posted this afternoon in the gym.
“Why do you seem nervous?” Valen asks around a mouthful of yogurt. “You know you’re going to make it.”
“I’m not nervous.”
She pins me with a look, and I roll my eyes, giving up the charade.
“It’s been a while and I’m rusty. What if they throw my ass on JV?”
“The horror!” she mock gasps, her eyes widening comically.
“Shut up.” The truth is, I’m not nervous about making the team. I’m nervous about playing again, period.
“Come on.” She throws her yogurt into the nearest trash can, then pulls me up by my elbow.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re going to confirm that you made the team.”
“We don’t even know if the roster’s up yet.”
Valen flicks her chin toward the hall where I spot Taylor, Alexis, and their friend Addison strutting through the double doors that lead to the lobby connecting the cafeteria and the gym. “I’m betting they do.”
“Fine.”
When we push through the double doors to the gym, a class who doesn’t have first lunch is playing basketball on the court and a group of volleyball girls is huddled around the list in the far corner. As I’m walking, the basketball somehow ends up rolling out of bounds, stopping right before it hits my feet. Aiden spots us, jogging over. We’ve seen each other in passing, but we haven’t said more than a few words together since he brought me home that night. I figured it was a one-time thing.