Page 26 of The Sun
“What’s their deal?” Morgan thumbed toward the window where several girls from the popular’s table stood with their faces plastered to the glass.
I shifted, leaning back until I could see around them. Three boys loitered outside with a cloud of smoke billowing around them. Daisy and Hailey hopped up and made a beeline to the window while I just sat, spinning spaghetti around my fork, watching.
Principal Davis came out of nowhere, clapping his hands to break the group up. He shook his head before heading to the emergency exit and slinging it open. “Boys!” he shouted. “Put those cigarettes out this instant and come inside!”
The smokes were tossed to the ground and stubbed out by three sets of boots, then the trio strutted into the cafeteria with smirks—except for Elias. His head was down, and his hands were shoved deep in his pockets. Principal Davis instructed them to follow him to his office, and he led them down the aisle that ran in front of my table.
My pulse thumped, beating in my temples. The smell of cigarettes and outside wafted off them as they passed. Elias looked up, his watercolor eyes landing right on mine. No smile. No smirk. Not even a flinch. Just a cold, hard stare that sucked every bit of oxygen from the room.
Adrenaline burst through me, then faded into a weak, sinking sensation the second the door to the lunchroom swung closed behind them.
The hum of conversation buzzed around me filled withOMGsand gasps, titters about how hot the three new boys were. Thomas and Ben made a show of strutting down the aisle with their chest puffed out to poke fun at the guys they knew were now their rivals, and I just sat there with spaghetti still twirled around my fork and my cheeks on fire. I didn’t care about the commotion around me. Elias had looked right at me. Right. At. Me.
Dropping my fork to my plate, I took my tray and headed toward the trashcans. I felt foolish for the way my chest grew tighter with heartache. That boy may have been my entire world for two years, he very well may have occupied my dreams like some celebrity crush, but it was no excuse for my heart to break all over again from one, single, unacknowledged look. After all, it had been three years. People changed.
Daddy wasin the yard throwing baseballs with Simon when I got home.
Fostering kids had been harder for our family than I’m sure my parents anticipated. Most of the time, families didn’t get to keep the kids. Eight of my foster siblings had been picked up by their family over the course of my life—leaving us with empty hearts and a temporarily empty bedroom.
Simon was the only foster we had been able to adopt. He was legally my one, and only, little brother.
“Sissa!” Simon shouted before taking off across the yard, a cloud of dirt kicking up behind him.
Closing my car door, I crouched down, opening my arms wide to receive him when he slammed into me. He was all sweaty and little kid smelling. I brushed his blond hair away from his eyes and then kissed his damp forehead. “Missed you.”
“Missed you,” he said. “You know what happened today in Mrs. Richard’s class, huh? We got a baby frog that Jimmy Hailes diddy caught for him. We put it in this little tank, and it swims around and around and jumps on rocks, and we’re gonna catch it some flies to feed him. His name’s Bullfrog David—I picked out Bullfrog, and Jeremy Keith picked out David after his pawpaw and—” he sucked in a quick breath, and I prepared myself for another five-minute tirade about his day of first grade.
Smiling, Daddy tucked the baseball mitt in the waist of his jeans. “Have a good day, baby?” He kissed my cheek while Simon continued talking about Bullfrog David.
“Yeah,” I said.
Daddy narrowed his eyes. “You sure?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.” Sweat prickled my skin. I was terrified he knew Elias was back.
He squeezed my shoulder. “Just seems like something’s weighing on your mind.”
Elias Black weighed on my soul.
“Nope.” I reached for the door just as Daddy asked Simon if he wanted to throw a few more balls to which Simon agreed.
Inside, the savory smell of pot roast filled the entrance, and the tinker of dishes came from the kitchen.
“Momma? You already cooking?”
She stepped around the doorframe of the dining room, wiping her hands on Grandma’s tattered apron. “I’m going down to the Jimmy Hale Mission to help them sort through donations tonight, so I started early.” She smiled. “Did you have a good day?”
“Meh.” I dropped my backpack underneath the coat rack.
“Oh, come on. It’s your last year of high school, Sunny. Humor your old mama.”
“It was boring,” I said. “Well, except for the new language teacher that’s super young.” I rolled my eyes. “The guys were all excited about that.”
“Oh,” Mama snapped her fingers on her way back to the kitchen, and I followed. “That new girl. Real sweet. Pastor Fulmer told me I should ask her if she wants to come down to the Mission, you know, help her get to know some folks ’round here.”
I leaned my hip against the counter and arched a brow while envisioning Miss Weaver in her low-cut dress, standing next to Momma in a button up and high-waisted jeans, the two of them doling out food to wayward strangers.
“She doesn’t look like someone that would go down to help out at the Mission.”
