Page 109 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
Hadley
It felt like a lifetime since Hadley last walked the halls of Gulf City High. She hadn’t wanted to go on the first day back from spring break, from her suspension, but her grandpa refused to let her stay home and care for him.
He insisted he had well-paid home nurses for that.
She’d woken up to a text from her mom asking how he was doing and had yet to respond. It wasn’t the best way to start the day.
“I’m grumpy today.” Hadley leaned her head on Charlotte’s shoulder as they walked through the familiar crowded halls.
“I’m sleepy.” Charlotte yawned. “Mom made me get up earlier for training this morning so she could get to a meeting after.”
“Jesse is dopey,” Roman added, earning him an elbow to the stomach from his friend. “Hey! I thought we were choosing dwarves.”
The boys walked behind them, letting Hadley and Charlotte get their morning girl time in.
“I feel like I barely saw you all break.” Hadley lifted her head and looped her arm through Charlotte’s.
“That’s because you went and became a rancher.”
“Don’t remind me.” In truth, she missed it. The wide-open fields. The animals—mostly Stammer. Even the work. At the end of the day, she’d leave feeling accomplished, her muscles aching.
But most of all, she missed the Lees. Eating lunch with them at the main house, working with Damien in the barn.
And Spencer.
A sigh rattled through her lungs as she took in the chaos around her. Students chattered, excited to see each other after a week off. They talked of great trips, and Hadley even overheard the word Paris from someone who must have gone on the school trip.
Lockers slammed and doors opened.
It was just another day in high school. They didn’t have many left, but she couldn’t say she’d miss it.
The boys went to find their lockers as Hadley stopped at hers, spinning the dial to her combination. Charlotte leaned against the locker next to it. “I know everyone keeps asking you, but are you sure you’re okay?”
Hadley hid behind the locker door as she considered the question. She’d gotten over the initial scare of her grandpa’s attack, and as soon as her worry for him subsided, other emotions replaced it. Loss. Grief.
“I’ll get over it,” was her answer.
Charlotte pursed her lips. “Okay… so I’m not supposed to tell you this.”
“But I’m your best friend in the entire world, so you’re going to?”
Charlotte nodded. “He’s been talking to Rome.”
“He who?”
“You know who.”
“Voldemort!” She gasped. “I always knew Roman was one of the bad ones.”
Charlotte shook her head with an indulgent smile. “Spencer.”
Hadley never introduced her friends to the boy who turned a punishment into the best week of her life. But after a few days of moping, Charlotte and Cassie made her spill about the breakup.
“I don’t want to talk about Spencer.” But she did. So much. Why was he talking to Roman? What was he saying?
Charlotte had always been able to read Hadley’s true meaning. “He’s been worried about you.”
“I’m not his problem.”
