Page 10 of When Wrecked Meets Ruined
“Stop making so much noise,” Mom said sharply. Then to me, “I need you to deal with this kid. I need my sleep.” She pulled the pillow over her head, and knowing her, she’d sleep right through a zombie apocalypse.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and prayed for patience.
This kid.
Yourkid, I wanted to shout. But arguing with my mother never got me anywhere.
I grabbed Wren, my school bag, and the diaper bag I’d packed last night and hurried out the door and down the porch steps, careful to avoid the rotting wood.
One of these days, someone would put a foot right through one of these steps.
Luisa Reyes ran the day care from her home, and luckily, she only lived four doors down. I jogged to her house with Wren on my hip and practically shoved her into Luisa’s arms as soon as the door opened.
“Sorry. I have to run.” I ignored Luisa's heavy sigh and dumped Wren’s bag at Luisa’s feet. “Thank you,” I called over my shoulder.
Securing the backpack on my shoulders, I sprinted to the bus stop next to the trailer park. Sweat trickled between my shoulder blades, and I nearly choked on the dust.
I really needed to get a car. How many eleventh graders were still taking the school bus? Two. Me and Kyle Metcalfe. In sixth grade, I caught him eating his own boogers.
The school bus pulled away just as I reached the corner. I ran after it, waving my arms and shouting. “Stop!”
Pride be damned. I lived outside the city limits, on the Have Not side of town. Seven miles was too far to walk, and if I borrowed my mom’s car again, she’d probably report it stolen to the cops like last time.
Thankfully, the bus driver took pity on me and slowed down. The hunk of yellow metal ground to a halt, and I hurtled myself through the door and dropped into an empty seat, setting my bag next to me so nobody would sit there.
Only one more month of school and I’d be free for the summer. Free. Ha! What a joke.
* * *
Cypress Springs High. My own personal hell.
I joined the sea of students flooding into the stone building and strode down the hall to my locker. Unfortunately, Dalton Smith blocked it.
I stifled a groan. It was going to be one of those days.
“Hey Evie, you wanna go to the prom with me?” His lips twisted into a smirk.
Dalton Smith was a baller and an asshole. In my world, the two went hand in hand. Ihatedfootball players. “I’d rather stab myself in the eye with a red-hot poker than go anywhere near you.”
He licked his lips, his eyes on my tits. “So that’s a no?”
I gave him the finger and tried to shove him out of the way but the meathead wouldn’t budge. “Do you mind?”
“Yeah, I mind.” He moved in closer, invading my space. He smelled like the inside of a Hollister store.Just like Chad. It made my stomach pitch.
“I just asked you to go to the prom, and you’re flipping me off?” His eyes narrowed. “What’s your problem?”
As if he didn’t know. Dalton Smith was a senior, and he was at Chad’s party my freshman year. He’d been one of the guys waiting outside the bedroom door. I wanted nothing to do with him.
“Right now you’re my problem. Move.”
“She’s a bitch,” Ainsley called out, giving her unsolicited opinion as she breezed past with her minions in tow. “Word of advice, Dalton. Unless you want an STD, you should stay away from that skank.”
Ainsley Thorpe. Queen bee. Resident bitch. And my archenemy.
I ignored her and focused on Dalton. “I don’t go out with douchebags so you’re wasting your time.”
“I don’t know who you think you’re fooling. Everyone knows you’re a slut.”
