Caroline
*****
I stood at the full-length mirror behind the door and glanced over my outfit. Skinny cut jeans and a black turtleneck sweater and tall leather boots. My hair was tied into a ponytail at the crown of my head and the long blonde strands fell over my shoulder. Sighing, I adjusted my glasses and turned away from the mirror. As I walked down the hall towards the living room, I could almost hear Uncle James talking to me. He'd be sitting in a robe in his recliner with the newspaper on his lap and a mug of black coffee in hand.
Peering over a pair of bifocals, he was saying, "Those jeans are awfully tight. Are you trying to get boys to look at your ass? And what is that under your shirt? A push-up? Go change."
The memory hit me so strongly that I was startled at the sight of Freya leaning against the kitchen island. She was tapping away on her phone and shot me a quick smile.
"Coffee's in the pot and there's milk in the fridge," she said.
I walked past the brewing machine and instead poked around in the pantry until I found a granola bar. "Thanks."
"The bus usually gets here around 7:20," she added, her eyes trained on the luminescent blue screen between her thumbs. "I'd take you but then I'd be late for work. I gotta head out."
"It's fine. I used to walk from James' and you actually live closer."
She put her phone down completely now to look up at me. "He made you walk? Jesus, how far was that?"
"Two-ish miles. It's fine. I appreciated the exercise."
"Listen Caroline, I know he was fucked up but you don't have to keep walking to school. Just take the bus, you know?"
I glanced at my watch. The bus wouldn't be here for another 20 minutes. Truthfully, I hated the idea of buses. Cramped in a long, slow-moving vehicle with fifty other high schoolers. I'd rather take my chances and walk than have to sit next to a stranger for twenty minutes.
"What time are you leaving?" I asked.
Freya sighed and raked a hand through her curls, watching them bounce from the motion. "Now. I usually leave at seven but I didn't want to miss you."
I warmed a little at the sentiment. Smiling, I started on the wrapper of my bar. "Thanks. That was nice of you. You don't have to, though."
She smiled tiredly back. "I know. You're a good kid, huh?"
"I will try."
Waltzing over to me, she wrapped me up in a hug and kissed the top of my head. "Have a good day at school. I'll see you tonight. Maybe we can have another little bonfire? Celebrate your first day back or something."
My smile was weaker this time. "Yeah, sounds fun."
I sat and munched on the granola until Freya's rusty silver Honda scooted out of the driveway. Then I pulled the directions of my high school up in Maps. It was only a twenty-minute walk. Honestly, I needed to shave some more off my waistline. I'd gotten in the habit of stress-eating and it showed a little too well on my already plump figure.
I grabbed my backpack from my room and started the trek towards school. With my favorite playlist in my ears, walking was actually enjoyable. The walk required a few turns but it was mostly a straight shot to the building. The brisk edge to the morning chill kept me from getting sweaty too, which was always a plus.
It wasn't too long before the familiar red brick edifice came into view. I blew out a breath. The walk went much faster than I expected. A honk from the student parking lot briefly drew my focus towards the road for a moment. The hair on my neck stood as I hastily stole a second glance. The black truck I thought I'd seen was gone.
Jesus, now I'm hallucinating? Maybe it's some weird symptom of grief. If I can even say I'm still grieving that old bastard.
I shuffled into the warmth of the school and headed down the hall to my first class. The day ticked slowly by. It was as if absolutely nothing had happened. Not that I expected any change, but I'd been out of school for a few days. That's all the public school system gave you when you found your legal guardian dead in the shower from a heart attack.
Only one of my teachers mentioned the assignments I'd missed. The others just ignored me, as usual. Lunch period was a relief. I took my plastic tray outside to the picnic tables and pulled out my phone. I heard the door open again after me but I didn't bother lifting my head. Before I could plug in my ear buds, a voice sounded behind me.
"Mind if I sit here?"
I jumped and then froze as my wide-eyed gaze shot over my shoulder. My face must have reflected the shock and slight bit of terror I felt at seeing Greg Bush smiling at me.
"I come in peace," he added, flashing me two large, open palms.
"Uh . . ." I wet my lips and swallowed. "Sure, go ahead."
My body tensed as the school's famed football player and valedictorian plopped down across the picnic table from me. I couldn't get my fingers to unravel from my earbud cord or make eye contact with this unexpected visitor. Damn, I really just wanted to eat in peace.
"How are you?" he asked.
I slowly lifted my eyes to his, noticing for the first time how bright blue and clear they were. Greg was, of course, hot in addition to his other assets. He had faded chestnut-colored hair and a sharp jaw. He was gorgeous, in a pretty perfect boy kind of way. It was his perfection that unnerved me.
"Fine." I shrugged. "How are you?"
He pursed his lips. "I heard about your dad. I'm sorry."
My brows furrowed, wondering how the hell he knew about my dad but then I realized. "He was my uncle, actually."
"Oh, my bad." Was he blushing? "Well, I'm sorry. That sucks. Are you doing . . . okay?"
I sighed and looked around. Who had sent him out here? Was this some cruel joke? Dragging a hand through my hair, my fingers caught on an elastic and I winced. I forgot I had tied some of the strands back into a small ponytail.
"I'm fine," I said again. "Thanks for asking."
Greg clasped his hands together on the table top, automatically attracting my gaze to his thick, muscular fingers. When I looked at his face, he looked genuinely affected. His angelic features bowed with concern.
"I know we've never really talked or anything . . ." He swallowed and ran his teeth over this bottom lip. "I don't want you to think I'm a douche. There's only so many weeks left until graduation and—well, I don't know. I guess I've always wanted to say something to you but didn't know what."
I blinked, staring back into his eyes, before dropping mine to the cold food.
"So," he continued, "I'm sorry. For never saying anything. And I'm sorry about your uncle."
He moved to stand and I nodded. "Thanks, Bush." Then I grimaced. Why did I call him by his last name? God, did my social skills need work.
"It's just Greg," he said softly. He tucked his hands into his jeans pockets and stepped away. "Come talk to me sometime. Wilder.”
My cheeks flooded with heat. I caught the crooked smile on his red lips as he turned and walked back inside. As soon as I was alone, I buried my face in my hands with a groan.
So, Whitfield High’s golden child suddenly wanted to . . . what? Become friends? It was honestly preposterous. Greg had half the school as friends. It wasn’t like he needed more. And I wasn’t like any of his actual friends. Star athletes, brilliant academics, cheerleaders, chess prodigies.
It just didn’t make sense. I was even more confused by his genuineness. He never had to say a word to me about Uncle James passing but he clearly felt some strong conviction to do so.
I finally relaxed a little and started to eat my chicken sandwich. It was cold but it was one of my favorite meals the cafeteria made, so I gratefully ate it up. Just when I was about to start on my fruit cup, the school intercom clicked on.
“Caroline Wilder, please come to the counselor’s office.”
I sighed. Okay, so today was not my day.
Marshall*****My muscles cramped with exhaustion as I sat outside in my car, struggling to keep my eyes open. It had been a long week. A pain in my ass kind of week, too.We had recovered the damaged goods from the attack and I'd managed to get the local police off my back. Barely. They were persistent fuckers. The driver was still in my basement, though hardly alive at this point.Today, I couldn't give less of a fuck. Not about that guy or anybody else. I sat in my car and occasionally lifted my head to look through the heavily tinted windows. I could tell when classes were changing or lunch was out, since kids would flow out of the red brick monolith. Otherwise, the school was dead from the outside.This wasn't my first day. I knew when to expect my angel. She walked to and from this building every weekday at the same time. Ear buds in, feet at the ground. She never noticed me and I doubted she ever would.This morning, she walked out of the decrepit little house in skinny jeans a
Caroline*****I kept my head down as I hurried home. If he was following me, I didn't want to know. Or did I? He did proclaim himself as my stalker. I mean, I should have been scared, right? There was no soul behind those eyes. They were hollow, dark, abysmal.And yet, looking into them, I didn't feel afraid. The darkness in them couldn't scare me. I had no idea what my stalker's intentions towards me were and even I had to admit that they probably weren't good. He was older than me. Old enough to have a trace of dark stubble along his chiseled cheeks. Old enough to have multiple very nice vehicles.So why? What business did he have stalking me, some nobody high school girl? He had to be a pedophile. Granted, I was technically legal but what else could a guy like him want from me? It's not like I had anything to steal but my virginity.That should scare the shit out of me. I've never been intimate with anyone, much less an older guy. If he wants to hurt me, I should be running for th
Caroline*****And then the door flew open and a pack of wolves emerged. By wolves, I meant half of the cheerleaders and their friends. The tall, leggy redhead, Ally, who'd been Greg's date for every dance and formal for as long as I could remember, threw us a saccharine grin."There you are, Greg!" she cooed. "We've been looking everywhere for you."I glanced at him and was stunned by his discreet eye roll. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the pack."Hi, Ally." He smiled but it was so clearly forced that I almost laughed. "What's up?""Oh, we were just planning the after party at my house and I wanted your input on some things," she said, her friends bobbing their heads.I didn't miss the suspicious or even downright hostile look some of them sent me. As if I asked for Greg to suddenly befriend me."Okay. What things?" he asked."Well . . ." She looked warily at me.I was already rising to my feet, grabbing my backpack. "I was leaving anyway," I muttered."Caroline—" he starte
Caroline*****Mr. Mysterious didn't make an appearance even once the entire weekend. I constantly was checking the windows or taking walks, watering the bushes or washing Freya's car. I knew she thought I'd lost my mind. Maybe I had. What was I even doing? Waiting for him to come around? Fuck that. I wasn't going to wait for anyone. Not after what I'd been through. By Sunday evening, I was hating myself for wasting the weekend thinking about some creepy stalker. I tramped out to the living room and sunk into the recliner. Valentina and Freya were curled up, surrounded in a cloud of smoke. They'd been like this all weekend, not that I could judge."Wanna order a pizza delivery for dinner?" asked Freya. She was turning down the volume of the Seinfeld episode they'd been absorbed in. Valentina whined and tried to grab the remote, to which my cousin just ignored her."Sure." I sat up. "What do you guys want?""Pepperoni," Valentina moaned."Just get the meat trio or whatever," Freya sai
Marshall*****She almost had me. I felt her, really felt her, for the first time. My angel was the perfect combination of soft and warm. I almost lost my nerve holding her so closely. There was little stopping me from taking her, from sucking on her sweet lips and squeezing her until she moaned for me. She wouldn’t stop me. I knew that much already.I sat rigid straight behind the wheel. Her small figure shuffled up through the dimly lit street, a bit faster than before. She glanced around the street and hurried up towards her house.Good! She should be scared. This was not a safe neighborhood for a girl like her. She was too naive, too attractive, too small. I knew I wasn't the one man who would look at her with intent. Her openness with me was also concerning. Of course, I wanted to believe she was only that way with me, but I wasn't a fool. She was innocent and soft. My breath caught just thinking about her silky golden hair and round cheeks, the fullness of her curves under anyt
Caroline*****Monday was pretty dull, as to be expected. Greg stopped by during lunch to get his sweatshirt but he didn't linger for conversation. I had to study for an exam so I didn't take offense. The only things keeping me going were the thought of my stalker making an appearance and starting my shift at the gas station. That was only exciting because I was ready to make money for myself.I would have gotten a job sooner but I didn't have a car and Uncle James forbade me from working. He said my focus should be on my studies and that he paid for everything, so why should I work?Freya was indifferent about my decision but I could tell she was proud, in some way. I was happy to get out of the house, just in case Valentina popped up, and start saving. Maybe if it was enough someday, I could go to school. I wasn't going to set my hopes too high, though.Once last period was out, I went to my locker to grab the gym bag with my uniform in it. It was actually just a collared shirt in t
Caroline*****My favorite day! Friday. It's literally the best. Just a few hours of torture at school and then freedom for a whole two days. I wondered if I could be named Friday like Wednesday Addams. Probably not, she was way hotter than me.Fuck, why did I smoke before school?Groaning, I dragged my feet as I stared at the sidewalk leading out of the neighborhood. I was just starting it and I had so far to go. Why didn't I take the damn bus?Somehow, I remembered to plug my earbuds in and scrolled through my Spotify to find a decent playlist. There were an embarrassing number of Selena Gomez albums in there. I picked the Mac DeMarco playlist that had been stuck in my head. Each step became slightly more bearable.Honey, the stars keep on calling my nameBut don't worry, I've told you again and againWhen I'm down, you're always the first one to knowSkipping town, I'll take you wherever I goI finally turned onto the Main Street and started towards school. By happenstance, I glanc
Okay, this wasn't too bad. The bleachers filled in as the game started and by half-time, it didn't feel like I was even sitting alone. It didn't hurt that Greg was a pretty good quarterback. My football knowledge was limited but I could see that he was agile and had an impressive arm, despite being built like a linebacker. I even found myself yelling and hooting with the rest of the crowd as we scored touchdown after touchdown. At the final buzzer, my fellow spectators poured out of the bleachers. The old lady who sat next to me with her walker needed assistance so I waited with her until everyone was gone. Then I held her hand and guided her down to the ramp."Aren't you a sweet girl," she cooed at the bottom.I chuckled. "Less sweet, more sour."She patted my arm with a laugh. "Thank you, dear. My son is just over there. He'll help me to the car."Her son? That piece of shit wasn't here to help her down the stairs? My eyes followed her finger to the blue and white jacket hanging off