Page 3 of Sinful as They Come
Yup, that made sense. Of course Sawyer went ahead and belittled The Chronicleandthe cheerleading team. Two things he very much knew I loved. And he went ahead and threw the football team in as well.
“Classic Sawyer,” I mumbled under my breath.
“You’re not a cheerleader, are you?” Brodie asked, a slight look of worry on his face. “You kinda look like you could be one...”
I forced a smile. “Head cheerleader, actually.”
Brodie winced. “Oh. Well, you don’t play football, right?”
“I don’t. But my boyfriend’s the captain.”
The wince on Brodie’s face widened. “Look, Sawyer says a lot of stuff about a lot of things. He’s got a big mouth.”
“Oh, that I know all about.”
“But he didn’t say anything about you! That’s a plus.”
“That’s honestly shocking,” I told him. “It feels like Sawyer takes every opportunity to call me names or make fun of me for being a cheerleader or tell me I’m gonna be a future mistress for some old, businessman or something.”
“Sawyer says the same stuff about me.” Brodie waved a hand at me.
I smiled at that. Brodie was trying. Bless him for being so sweet. Okay,maybehe was the only Westbrook that could be trusted.
But Sawyer didn’t like anything about me. I didn’t like him because he never let me forget where I came from, and how he always held my family’s wealth against me. Like I had any control over my parents’ money! I had never judged Sawyer for his background, though. Ever. And I never would. We didn’t get along from the beginning. I was the enemy and Sawyer seemed to love nothing more than tearing me down.
“Mhm. This is your room, by the way.” We came to a halt outside of Mr. Bailey’s classroom. “Mr. Bailey can be a bit… harsh. So, I wish you all the best with that.”
“Thanks.” Brodie shot me a smile. “And thanks for walking me to class. I feel like the prettiest girl at school already.”
I giggled softly. “You’re getting the special treatment. Next time I’ll carry your books. I gotta go to class now, but I’ll keep you updated about The Chronicle. Our first session should be this Wednesday.”
“Awesome. Thanks again. See ya, Holly.” Brodie waved at me before disappearing into Mr. Bailey’s class, leaving me all alone to make my waydown the hall to the English rooms.
I made it to class at nine-thirty and gave Mrs. Edwards the yellow late slip. She just smiled at me, nodding towards the seats. And when I looked over at them, I wanted to cry. Every seat was taken. Every single one. Except for the one in the second last row… Right in front of Sawyer Westbrook.
I glanced at Annie in the second row, her curly brown hair in a perfectly styled ponytail. She cringed, miming out a “sorry.”
I reluctantly made my way to Sawyer, and with each and every step I took, a smirk on his face formed. God, I hated him and his stupid, crooked smile. His green eyes just seemed to be lighting up at the thought of me sitting near him. And God, his hair was so much longer than the last time I had seen him. Didn’t he get a haircut over the summer? Apparently not, because he had to push back his dark brown hair out of his eyes.
He looked bigger too with his broad shoulders, his long legs stretching out in front of him. That was a worry. Sawyer was practically six feet tall last year. Looking at him told me he had grown a few more inches since our last interaction. He was already a lot to deal with the last time I saw him. A taller, stronger and bigger Sawyer was going to be even more of a pain. Especially for Carter. Those two were always getting into fights...
But I wasn’t going to focus on Sawyer. No. I sat my bag down on the floor before taking a seat. Pulling out a fresh notebook, I did everything I could to just concentrate on Mrs. Edwards and the sentences she was writing on the board.
“You know…”
I heard the gravelly voice from behind me. How was his voice even deeper than last year?
Here we go. I could feel his breath on my neck as he spoke lowly. He must have been leaning over his chair as I copied down the words on the board.
“I heard you and my cousin are gonna be hanging out a lot,” Sawyer told me.
God, I hated his voice so much.
“Who told you that?” I whispered. I didn’t talk in class. Usually. ButSawyer always brought the worst out in me.
“He did. He’s kinda new in town. Told me he wanted something that would look good on his college application. I told him to avoid the stupid fucking school paper at all costs. But once he found out about it, he wouldn’t shut up. You excited to be working with my cousin, Malibu Barbie?”
“You’re so annoying.” I rubbed at my forehead. Was he ever going to let that stupid nickname go?
