Her friend just about drops her jaw to the floor.

  Mouthy girl squints her eyes and sets her focus on beaming me a telepathic death threat. “Bitch!”

  I snap back, “Neanderthal!”

  People in the back of the bus begin to catcall and laugh at her. Getting the reaction I sought, a lingering smile forms across my lips. Her arms fold tightly over her chest. She’s finally silent. I take it in before turning back around in my seat with gratification.

  Now that I’ve made my stand, I stare hopelessly out the window and recount the conversation I had with the one person I thought I could still count on.

  The one person that kept me from wanting to jump off the highest bridge.

  Joseph wasn’t just my boyfriend. He was the person I thought I had a future with. He’d been there for me when I was going through hell. He’d promised to stand by me even if there was a distance between us. Had it not been for social media, I may have never known he’d been stringing me along. It isn’t the way anyone wants to learn of his or her partner being unfaithful. The kick to the gut was quick. With my emotions already on overdrive, I experienced the usual combination of feelings.

  Pain.

  Betrayal.

  Anguish.

  Anger.

  Confronting him was a knee-jerk decision I made out of desperation. Had I waited and let myself calm down perhaps it would have gone over better. Probably not, but one can wish the outcome would have been amicable.

  With everything going on in my life, mom’s death, the move, changing schools, dad’s addiction, he was my one solid. When I found myself rocking back and forth in a dark sullen corner, he was the light who stilled my aching soul. I thought I knew a part of him he didn’t let many know. What we shared was supposed to remain between us, not end up as a slideshow on social media.

  After nearly a year of dating, it all ended with a text message telling me to check his Snapchat page, followed by numerous other girls giving detailed accounts of messing around with him behind my back. He was able to fool me because he kept his secret romps under lock and key. When your father owns a golf course and country club, you have a smorgasbord of spoiled rotten little hoes that will spread their legs for the attention. Ten minutes after our verbal confrontation, his Facebook status changed to single, and he posted a picture of him in bed, the room smoky, with a different female on either side of him only covered by one sheet. One was proceeding to lick the side of his face.

  I wanted to believe it happened after I’d left town. It was wishful thinking. Truth be told, he probably cheated the whole time we were together. His excuses were lame and my trust was immature.

  So embarrassed, I couldn’t face my so-called friends. I didn’t want to turn to them and feel more disgraced.

  I’d been naive to think someone like him, popular, powerful, conceited, could be anything but a pompous asshole. I suppose he felt sorry for the girlfriend who was losing everything. For a while his comfort helped me; I needed it to. Blindly, I let his promises give me hope, because without that I would’ve been lost for sure.

  Stubbornness is how I’ve coped. Being angry at the world. Focusing all my hurt into pure rage. I’m tired of crying. I’m sick of wishing this wasn’t my life. I used to be popular. I suppose I could be again if I wanted people to know me. That’s what changed. As I sit on this large, yellow school bus full of people my age, all I want is to be alone. It doesn’t help that I’ll soon be receiving more copious amounts of judgment. Kids are mean. I used to be kind and carefree. Now I want to be invisible.

  Chapter 2

  It’s official. I hate this stereotypical school, and their convoluted maze of halls. I hate these judgmental people. The know-it-all teachers didn’t make me feel any better either. I was basically called out for not being at the same point in the curriculum. By lunch I was ready to crawl into a hole and die. Instead, I carried my sorry excuse for a lunch and headed to a vacant table at the far end of the cafeteria.

  Sometimes being alone is a way for a person to take in their full surroundings and assess their future actions. It’s good to get the full spectrum of the situation firsthand rather than be thrown to the dogs.

  Doing my best to avoid the guy who I’ve caught staring at me several times in the hallway, I keep my eyes on the table. Because I’m staring down to keep from catching the eye of anyone else, I’m blind to what’s about to take place.

  Stalker guy circles the table then proceeds to point at me. “People of Weston High I have an announcement. We’ve got a newbie under our roof. Now, since I know the welcoming committee has already offered their pathetic excuse for kindness,” he pauses and looks toward a table where the bitch from the bus sits with her harem of cheerleader friends. “Yeah, I’m talking about you, Cassidy Manning. Everyone knows you like to talk smack about anyone you feel threatened by.” I watch as she rolls her eyes while flipping him the middle finger. Her lips are posed tightly shut while her eyes tell another story altogether. For a second I see fear in them, almost as if she accepts that he’s right. It really stumps me. I wonder if they’ve dated before and maybe one of them got burned.

  He waits for my reaction, while I continue to pretend he doesn’t exist. Suddenly he gets up and walks away. For a few seconds I think I’ve avoided a conversation with the guy who clearly just embarrassed me for his own amusement.

  Too distraught to eat, I sit picking apart the cracker package piece by piece, avoiding the commotion around me like the plague. Immaturity is soon displayed when a ball of mashed potatoes smacks against the side of my face. I know where it came from. The chatty table is full of eyes staring me down while they’re in hysterics.

  Just as I’m about to stand up and defend myself, someone plants their butt on the table positioning themselves to prevent me from reacting. He leans over and drags his finger against the remains of food on my skin then draws it up to his lips and takes a taste. “Mmm. The gravy doesn’t taste like shit today. That’s an improvement. Nonetheless, it has a fishy aroma that has me both concerned and grossed out at the same time.”

  I give some of the dripped mashed potatoes and gravy a once over and pass on ever having them.

  This guy reeks of rebellious tendencies. His smirk instantly becomes the most annoying thing I’ve seen today, and the fact that he’s sporting a full on five o’clock shadow in high school tells me he’s probably been held back at least a year, or he’s the worst excuse for a narc that anyone could imagine. A quick glance of his hand exposes a tattoo across his thumb. It says a word I can’t make out quick enough before bright copper brown eyes are baring into my own. “Do you mind?” I hastily ask. “I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

  A hand goes up and motions for me to continue. “Not at all, but obviously you do. Far be it from me to save you from yourself.” That’s when I see what his tattoo says. SORRY. It’s kind of deep for a high school student, or perhaps a stupid mistake he’ll regret later.

  His sarcasm leads me to assume he likes to be in control. Cocky and determined to remain within my personal space, I slam my hands down on the table to lift my body to a standing position. Face to face, I roll my eyes while backing away from the confrontation. “I don’t need help from you or anyone else. Leave me alone.”

  He’s following behind me, so I’m unfortunately going to have to be a bigger bitch to get my point across. Ignoring the commotion in result of recent actions, I exit the room, leaving what was started unfinished for now.

  It’s difficult to walk away when I know it means they got the best of me, though I require a time out to examine my current situation.

  As soon as we’re out of the cafeteria and in the corridor, I spin around to give him a piece of my mind.

  The corner of his lips lift as if he suspects my annoyance and somehow gets off on it. Out of nowhere he says, “Miss me yet?”

  “I know I’m new here, but most people pick up on negative vibes from body language. Even if you’re deaf and dumb, you’d still notice I don’t want you around.”

  “I like a challenge, especially when she looks like you.”

  “Save it for someone else. I’m never going to give you the time of day, not after what you did in the cafeteria.”

  “You’ll thank me later. So, are you into guys or maybe just girls? It’s cool if it’s the latter. Maybe I can watch sometime. What’s your social media info?” He’s pulling out his phone as if I would actually give it to him.

  My face contorts as I look into those brown eyes once again. Ugh, I hate that I think they’re irresistible. This time the overhead fluorescent light hits them in a way that displays flecks of amber and tan. They’re quite amazing, especially the left one that seems to have a black spot on the whole one side of it.

  He bites down on his bottom lip. It’s like he’s retracting what was to be said and rethinking his strategy. “They’re cool, right? I get that a lot.” He shrugs. “Some people are just born with perfect imperfections.” As he says it, he flips the front of his hair, that’s longer on top, away from his face. It reminds me of a runway model, a female one, so I immediately begin to cackle. This has him confused. Point for me.

  “Assume what you want. I wouldn’t call a birth defect perfection. Besides, I’m pretty sure a perfect imperfection is called a contradiction.” Pushing him out of my way, I continue walking, leaving him to mope alone. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m getting out of this shit hole.”

  “Good luck with that!” he interjects. “You’re one of us now. Leaving just got a lot harder. No one gets out of this town alive.” I make it ten more steps before he calls out again. “You can call me Garver, by the way, from what I can tell, your one and only friend here.”

  It’s not the last part that gets to me. His threat about leaving gives me chills. Why would he say something like that to me? Was it meant to scare me? Maybe he’s a deranged clown. Maybe that girl put him up to this.

  I really, really hate this place.

  Chapter 3

  It’s a miracle I managed to make it the full day without another incident. Following this morning’s fiasco, I decide to skip riding the school bus, which meant I was in for a six-mile hike. Being out of shape, I figured I’d stop in the small so-called town and see if I could find a job. Dad may put food on the table, but if I want to get the hell out of here I’m going to need my own nest egg.

  Passing the student parking lot as quickly as my legs will humanly allow, I head in the general direction of town in hopes that I’ve paid enough attention through our travels to not end up on some dead end road where a serial killer makes skin walls out of his victims. Thumping footfalls are approaching, though I don’t dare turn around to see who it could be. I’ve had enough socializing for one day. All I want to do is fill out some applications and head back to the joke of a house we’re living in, where I can go on social media and see what all of my ex-friends are up to without me.

  His heavy breathing gives him away. Blowing out a sigh of exasperation, eyes rolling, I glance over my shoulder to see Garver catching up to me. “Seriously?”

  He chuckles. “What? You’re not happy to see me?” He shoves me playfully with his elbow. “Come on. Lighten up. You’re walking. I’m walking. Why not do it together?”

  “You really can’t take a hint. I told you before, I don’t want company. I have friends.”

  “The way I see it,” he says while skipping over a large crack in the sidewalk. “You don’t have any here. In their defense, people aren’t too keen on new folks. Small town, small minded people. If you ask me, they all have sticks up their asses.”

  I know it would be better if I ignored him until he felt uncomfortable and finally left me alone, but having the company makes me feel like I won’t end up lost. I’m still unsure about being murdered. He’s certainly not a normal teenager. He probably kills small animals for fun and keeps the bones as trophies. “Let me guess, you’re the one exception?”

  When our eyes meet he smirks with a shrug of the shoulders. “I am. Trust me, I’d like nothing more than to humiliate and destroy all of them. Too bad I have more important shit going on.”

  “Yeah, too bad,” I agree.

  “So your name is Sophie, right?”

  As sarcastic as possible, I answer. “Wow, you’re sharp.”

  A bus passes us by. Out of the corner of my eye I notice it’s the one I’m supposed to be on. Suddenly regretting my choice to walk, my feet halt. My eyes peer down at the ground. The sidewalk has stopped. Now it’s just the open road until I reach town. It’s going to be a long walk with an unwanted companion.

  “Where are you headed anyway? You live close?”

  “Why? You want to come over and mess around for a while?” Obviously, I don’t mean it. I’m just tired of trying to get rid of him.

  “Hey, I’m down for whatever, but that’s not why I was asking.”

  We’ve started walking again, so when I stop, he stops. “I live on the other side of town on the outskirts. You know that old dilapidated house that went to auction?”

  His eyes widen. For a second, I expect him to laugh or make fun of me, but that’s not what happens. His face contorts and I swear there’s skepticism plastered across that handsome grimace. “It’s a hard house to miss. I bet you just love it there.” His words aren’t literal. He’s offering to humor me, probably out of pity.

  “Trust me, it wasn’t my decision.”

  “Parents?”

  I cringe at the plural part of the word. Closing my eyes, I’m able to administer the truth. “Parent.”

  “My bad.” A few cars pass and neither one of us speaks for at least a minute. “I know what it’s like.”

  Having someone say they can relate to me is both offensive and comforting at the same time. I’m offended because I fear he’s only saying it to befriend me. I’m comforted because if he’s lost a parent than he certainly does know how I feel. “Really?”

  The confirmation is offered immediately. “I lost my dad years ago, then, in a matter of speaking, my mom shortly after.”

  “Damn.” It’s sort of an answer I don’t expect, and even though there are more questions regarding the way he answered, I’m left feeling compassion for him. I don’t want to have something in common with this Garver guy, however, I’m in a perpetual funk. I don’t have friends here. My boyfriend is a piece of shit. Ex. He’s my ex-boyfriend now. Like it or not, I sort of need this to pass the time. Plus, he can help me navigate through town. In light of the revelation, I decide to be cordial. “Were either of them sick?”

  He doesn’t respond. It was a morbid question to begin with. It shouldn’t be expected that he has to answer.

  I’m silently attempting to come up with something to change the subject when he takes me by the arm and starts pulling me away from the road toward a large patch of forest. “Whoa!” I hold my position, fighting his lead. My heart begins to beat heavily as I scan the area for an escape in case this goes in a dangerous direction. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Do you really want to take the long way home? If we cut through the woods, we can get there in half the time. I mean, since you invited me to mess around, I figured we could get to it sooner than later.” His sly smile makes me want to slap him. Okay, a small part of me imagines the messing around scenario.

  “In your dreams,” I mumble while still facing him.

  A flash of bright white teeth with one crooked on the side, glows in front of me. “It was worth a try. I get a lot of offers, but you’re new in town. Whether you like it or not, I’ve called first dibs.”

  I shove him away. “Dibs? Seriously?”

  He’s laughing, while backing up toward the woods. “Can’t blame me for trying. You’re hot. I’m hot. Why not?”

  My top lip curls. “Ew. Just Ew. You better not be screwing around about this being a shortcut. I know self-defense.”

  His hands rise above his head. “I’m not lying. I’ll show you how to get to that big ole’ house and then we’ll part ways, unless you change your mind about me coming in.”

  The leaves crackle with each of our footfalls. Bright sunlight shines through the treetops, sometimes blinding our trail. Twice squirrels startle me. “I was actually headed to town to look for a job.”

  “Don’t bother. There ain’t shit. Trust me.”

  “Trust you? I don’t know you.”

  Garver stops and walks over to sit on a fallen tree. He pats the spot beside him to offer me a seat, but I refrain from taking it and simply cross my arms over my chest. “Tired already?”

  His head shakes and that damn smile hypnotizes me again. “Na. I just figured you might want to thank me for being here.”

  “Are you freaking kidding me?” I spin around, marching away from the douche.

  “If you’re planning on turning back it’s your call, but I won’t be coming with you. I’ve got shit to do.”

  I stand bewildered as he challenges me to make a haste decision. He’s testing me, and as much as I hate it, I know I can’t let this one guy think he can get the best of me. “You know, I’ve had a terrible day. I’ve had a terrible past couple weeks.” Throwing my hands out to express myself, my voice becomes louder, so loud it bounces from the trees and echoes in the distance. “I’ve had a horrible year, and I’m sick of people telling me what I need to do. I’m turning back around now. I’ll walk. I’ll take the long route like I originally planned.”