“Well, look who it is!”
Stephanie’s lips were twisted in her usual fake smile, her eyes colder than ever. Lena glared defiantly back at her as she slammed her locker shut. Two weeks had passed since she’d had to deal with the girl, she’d started hoping it would stay that way.
“What do you want now?” she asked flatly. Stephanie’s smile dropped.
“I know you’ve been talking about Jason,” she continued angrily. “And I want you to stop.”
Lena crossed her arms, meeting the taller girl’s scowl.
“Can I at least know why you’re asking?”
“You’re the one who’s going to stop asking,” Stephanie spat. “Because Jason is mine!”
Lena smirked.
“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about, Steph,” she stepped back and flashed her own smug grin. “I’m not interested in guys stupid enough to want you.”
Stephanie growled in frustration, then stormed down the hall, shoving aside anybody who got in her way. Lena shook her head, turning when someone laughed behind her.
“About time someone else stood up to her,” Jason was smiling as he shut his locker. Lena noticed he was taller than she’d thought—the top of her head barely hit his shoulder. He wore a blue baseball shirt, dark jeans and square-toed black boots; a thin gold chain peeked out from his collar.
“How long were you listening to that?” she asked, thankful he hadn’t tried to step in and save her. She was sick of people thinking she couldn’t fight her own battles. He shrugged, running his fingers through his arrow-straight hair, worn loose today. She’d never thought much about the five o’clock shadow thing, but he definitely made it work.
“Long enough.”
He started toward the front doors, motioning for her to follow.
“Why the sudden interest?” she asked once she caught up. He looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been here for over a month,” she clarified. “And you’ve barely even looked at me.”
They turned onto the dirt path that ran next to the school.
“I don’t know,” he stuck his hands in his pockets. “Guess I got curious.”
There were a pair of benches halfway up the trail, made by wood shop students. Lena pulled off her headband as they sat down, rolled it up and shoved it in her pocket.
“Let me guess, you heard a skinny blond guy with a big mouth bragging about how he got me to screw him my first day.”
He chuckled again.
“Your name’s Lena, right? Ty said you guys grew up together.”
She nodded, a little surprised. Ty had spent most of the last week telling her about Jason, and now they’d all been talking about her, too?
“We were best friends from daycare,” she started, her eyes glued to her lap. Her skirt was wrinkled. “He was about the only one who wasn’t scared off somehow…”
She clenched her jaw as a spattering of memories ran through her mind, feeling the tears she thought she had buried rushing to the surface. She looked up sharply when Jason touched her hand, his skin rough and warm against hers.
“Everything okay?” he asked softly. She did her best to blink the tears away. She hated it when boys saw her cry.
“Y-Yeah, sorry,” she touched her forehead. “Got kind of dizzy for a second.”
“You sure that’s all it was?” he pressed gently. “You looked pretty upset.”
Her jaw tightened again, his worried gaze burning into her.
“I don’t talk about it,” she snapped. “Especially with people I just met.”
She noticed he was still staring at their hands, the edge of a fresh bruise peeking out from her sleeve. She pulled away, shoving her fists in her pockets.
“My stepmom was drunk,” she muttered, barely looking at him. “It was an accident.”
He visibly tensed.
“I always said the same thing about my family,” his coal-dark eyes hardened. “It’s never an accident.”
She swallowed hard. He was kind of scary when he was mad.
“But maybe I could help you,” he went on, his tone soft and comforting again. “Though you’d have to tell me what happened.”
She hesitated. It did sound like he wanted to help, but could she really trust him? According to Ty, she could, but Autumn’s doubts had wormed their way into her mind, leaving her stuck hanging on the fence. She told herself that nothing good had come from keeping quiet about it all back home, not that anyone had been trying too hard to listen, and that shutting people out had caused half her problems, anyway. She swallowed again, deciding she might as well take the plunge.
“Okay, but it’s a long story,” she looked up at him, taking solace in the warmth of his gaze. “And it started when my dad met a woman named Kara.”
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