Page 95 of Reckless
When we walked in, my mom pounced on us. “Ooh, Bobbi,” Mom squealed, throwing her hands around Bobbi’s thin shoulders. “It’s so good to see you again.” When she released her, my mom couldn’t stop staring at the both of us. “I was hoping, now that Brittany is back, you two could be friends again. Don’t get me wrong, I understand one hundred percent why your father wouldn’t let you come over, but—”
“Mom,” I said. “How about we don’t talk about it?” Clearly my mom hadn’t heard the news that Brittany was MIA. That wasn’t something I wanted to drop on her right now, anyway. I’d wait until Ollie got home and tell them both at the same time, kill two birds with one stone.
She smiled. “Good idea. Do you both have a lot of homework to do? I could make you girls some snacks?” Mom almost sounded excited to make said snacks, so I didn’t have the heart to tell her I wasn’t quite hungry yet.
“Sure,” Bobbi said, taking charge. “Whatever you have, I’m sure it’ll be delicious.”
My mom blushed at her compliment, and before she could say anything else embarrassing, I took Bobbi upstairs. We went into my room, dropping our bags onto the carpet just before my bed. She wouldn’t be staying too long; she had to get home and eat dinner with her dad, but we had a little while to ourselves.
Fuck homework. I missed talking to my friend.
We sat cross-legged before each other, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I held in. A bodily response to constantly being under so much stress, a reaction to finally being able to sit down and relax without worrying about what would happen next. Brittany was missing, but you know what? Until that bitch’s ugly ass face was in front of me, I wasn’t going to think about her.
Plus, this property had a gate and a high fence; a girl with her lack of muscles wouldn’t be able to climb it. Ollie had also upgraded his security systems as much as he possibly could recently, after Midpark kids started turning up dead.
No, Bobbi and I were as safe as we could possibly be in this house.
“So,” Bobbi spoke, “I’ve heard the rumors, which you’ve been quiet about during school. Archer’s living here too, isn’t he?”
I glanced to the open door, hesitant to talk about it when my mom could pop in at any moment. But, seeing as how she was still downstairs making us a snack, I figured why not dish a little. “Yeah, he is.”
“And how is that going?” Judging from the tone of her voice, Bobbi wasn’t expecting to get a good report. “I’m surprised your mom let him live here, with how protective she is of you.”
“She’s actually been pretty good,” I said, still shocked about it myself. Mom hadn’t even mentioned how Archer and I had held hands at the funeral. Maybe she thought I was just comforting him, nothing more.
Bobbi shook her head and sighed. “I can’t believe how crazy things are. The first half of the school year was so boring—and then you came to Midpark.” At that, she gave me a tiny smile. “I’m glad you did, though.”
She was one hundred percent serious in saying that, and I almost said it, too—but then I remembered everything that had happened. All the chaos and the death, the lies and the truths. Maybe, in the long run, me coming to Midpark was a good thing, but it really depended on how you looked at it. I found my guys, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. I’d found Bobbi, who reminded me how great it was to have a friend who wasn’t trying to sleep with you.
No, Midpark wasn’t all bad.
I got up, declaring “I have to pee” like I was announcing I’d just discovered a new continent or something. Bobbi giggled, and I headed to the bathroom across the hall.
Things wouldn’t be awkward when Archer got here, would they? I wasn’t sure how close he and Bobbi were, if they’d ever spoken to each other before. Oh, well. Guess I’d find out.
I did my business, though I did stop and meet my reflection in the mirror before leaving the bathroom. Even though I got some pretty shitty news today—any news with Brittany was shitty news, frankly—I looked good. No bags under my eyes, no eternal sadness like the dark blue cloud that followed Archer wherever he went.
Even though I’d been fearful for my life, even though I’d lost countless nights of sleep here, I’d become adjusted. I became stronger. This place… nothing it could throw at me would kill me. Nothing. Not a snobby bitch and her rich friends, not a douche canoe of a dick and his friends who thought they could take whatever they wanted from my body, and not even a string of unsolved murders.
Nope. I was here, and by God, I’d be standing on that stage at graduation. Mark my words.
Breathing in deeply, I flung open the door and flicked the light off, heading over to my room. I was in the process of unzipping my boots when I noticed Bobbi wasn't there.
I set down my foot, looking all around my room. “Bobbi?” I asked, confused. Hmm. Maybe she went downstairs to help my mom with the snacks? If that was the case, I should go down there and help too, I guess.
I took off my boots, slipping my phone out of my back pocket and plugging it into the charger near my bed. I had a message from Vaughn, I saw, but I didn’t open it. Right now, it wasn’t about me and my guys. Right now was girl time. That was a thing, wasn’t it?
Before heading downstairs, I stopped by the bathroom to grab a hair tie, tugging my black lengths up into a messy ponytail. I hummed as I took the stairs, figuring I’d hear something, my mom and Bobbi talking, or the sounds of crinkling plastic wrap.
But I didn’t hear anything as I headed down the stairs. Not a single sound.
Since I could not stand the silence, I said, “Mom, I hope you’re not doing anything fancy. Bobbi has to leave in, like, an hour to…” I trailed off the moment I walked into the expansive, wide open kitchen.
I didn’t see my mom, or Bobbi, but the air did feel different.
“Uh, Mom?” My voice echoed in the wide room, the marble countertops feeling so cold all of a sudden. Running my fingers along the counter, I moved toward the fridge, where another hall sat that led to the laundry room. Maybe she paused in her snack-getting to switch loads and Bobbi was helping her?
It was as my mind came up with that possible explanation when I slipped in something. My sock caught no traction on the liquid, but since I was near the island, I was able to catch myself.
