Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“I’ll see, okay?” I say, winking at her.
Her cheeks turn pink and she nods. “Okay. I really want you to come. You can share a tent with me.”
Oh crap.
Back up, Hollis.
Slow your fucking roll here.
“I, uh,” I start, but then I’m shoved out of line. I stumble a few steps and knock into some kid who barks out something in annoyance. When I swivel around, I come face to face with the guy from this morning who was with Roan. The stomach pains I’d been managing just fine come back in full force. I almost double over and have the urge to puke.
“Jordy!” Sidney screeches. “Don’t be an asshole!”
Jordy cracks his neck, his dark, nearly black eyes searing into mine. The guy is a bit bigger than Roan. Meaner too, it would seem. Violence ripples from him and I don’t want any part of it. I’ve never been in a fight in my entire life.
“Back of the line, fuckface,” he sneers, gesturing with a nod of his head in that direction.
“You can’t do this,” Sidney whines, but loses her fire when he peels his stare away from me to glower at her.
He takes a threatening step toward her. My stomach pains and the fear of a fight dissipate as I worry about the girl. I stalk over to him and step in front of her.
“Don’t.” I say the word quietly but laced with warning.
The crowd hushes.
“Or what?” Jordy bites out, bumping his chest to mine.
I want to swipe the spittle off my face, but I’m staring at a venomous snake. One false move and I’ll regret it.
“She’s just a girl,” I grumble.
“And so are you.” His grin is wolfish and evil.
“Let’s go, Hollis,” Sidney utters, grabbing my elbow.
I tug my arm free and don’t take my stare off Jordy. “We were here first. He can’t take our spot in line.” It’s not right.
Jordy laughs. “You have no idea whose goddamn school you walked into, do you?”
“This is my school now too.” I may not say them as vehemently as he does, but there is fire in my words. I believe them. I’m here for just a few months, but I’ll be damned if I let a couple of bullies make my life hell for no reason.
Before Jordy can go off, I feel his presence. Roan. Like a tidal wave of hatred growing so high it blots out the sun before obliterating everything below it. He’s about to crash into me and drown me.
“You heard him. Back of the line, rat. I won’t say it twice.” Roan’s stare is seemingly bored, though I notice the tick of his jaw and the way he has his hand fisted in Jordy’s hoodie.
I could maybe take one. But two? Hell no.
“Whatever. I’m not even hungry.” I shove past them, clipping Roan with my shoulder like he did me and away from the crowd of weak bystanders. Everyone just stood around and watched. No one intervened. That dude was about to kick my ass and no one cared. What’s wrong with these people?
“Hollis, wait,” Sidney calls out.
I ignore her until I get into the hallway outside of the cafeteria. She regards me with a pained expression.
“Are you okay?” she asks, reaching for my hand.
I cross my arms over my chest to avoid contact. “Yeah. Just another shitty thing to add to my already shitty day.” I let out a heavy sigh. This is not me. I don’t feel sorry for myself. Normally, when faced with a craptastic situation, I’d find the good in it. Forever an optimist. But now that we’ve been displaced and I’m in some level of hell, I can’t find it in me to try. “I’m sorry, Sidney.”
“It’s just Jordy being Jordy. He doesn’t hurt girls. That was all show for you.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “I don’t know what their problem is with me.”
“They’re Hoodlums,” she says as if this explains everything. “They’re used to telling people what to do and them listening. Once you get used to them, they grow on you. They’re not bad all the time.”
Another sharp pain seizes my stomach as my skin flushes with a cold sweat.
“I’m going to head to the nurse. I don’t feel so hot.” Not a total lie. I feel like shit, but I’m not going to go to the nurse.
“You know where to find me and Wendy. They’ll leave you alone now,” she promises, but I can tell by the flicker of her green eyes she doesn’t believe it.
I flash her my widest, albeit fakest, grin. “I’ll be back.”
“Oh good. And ask your mom about Campfire Chaos. Friday night after the basketball game, everyone heads over to the river. Cal’s dad owns a campground over there and we have permanent access to part of it. As long as we don’t trash it, he lets us use it. It’s really fun,” she promises. “Everyone drinks and roasts hot dogs. In the summer, we swim. In the winter, we cuddle up and stay warm.” Her smile is flirtatious and hinting of ways we could stay warm.