Page 47 of Definitely (Maybe) Dating
“Get off me!” she yelled, and Josh immediately let her loose.
She looked young, and small, her baggy clothes making her body look like a coat hanger. Her hair was red and her eyes scared. She looked like a deer caught in a hunter’s scope.
Josh took a big step backward. “You okay?”
“No. You tore my sweatshirt,” she said.
“You ran.”
“Because I saw you creeping in the shadows!” She kicked him in the shin and went to run again.
“Damn it!” he grumbled. “And I wasn’t the only one in the shadows. I was waiting on a friend and caught you standing in the dark and I made an assumption.”
She crossed her arms around her backpack, holding it to her chest as if it contained gold bullion. “What? Because I’m wearing a hoodie in a good neighborhood, I must be a bad person?”
Well, when she put it that way, he sounded like a jerk. Which, he could tell, was exactly how she wanted him to feel. He gave her a long look, which she returned.
“What’s your name?”
“I don’t have to tell you.”
“No, you don’t. But unless you really want me to call the cops, you’d better answer some questions.” Not for Piper’s safety, but for the girl’s. Her sweatshirt was torn in several places, her pants dirty, and there was a small dark spot on her cheek—a bruise.
“Why is calling the cops like every adults go to?”
“Name?”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine, it’s Brandi. With an I. No E.”
“What happened to your face, Brandi?”
“What happened to yours?”
“My brother took a cheap shot.”
“Does he hit you a lot?” she asked as if they were peers and sitting outside the CPS office.
“Does yours?”
“I knew you’d go there!” Her gaze darted away from his. “And no, I don’t even have a brother.”
She may not have a brother, but someone in her past had been rough with her. It was in the way she carried herself, the stubborn set of her chin, the way she kept looking for a way out. Kind of like someone else he knew.
“Can I go now?” she asked, but she was already walking. Backpack slung over her shoulder, she started toward the front gate. Josh jogged to catch up with her, unlatching the gate when it looked as if Brandi with an I no E was going to scale it again.
“I thought you were waiting for a friend.”
“I was, but you’re ruining the vibe.”
Two beams of light came from down the street, momentarily blinding him. He felt more than heard the girl turn to run. He reached out and grabbed the loop of her backpack and pulled her back to his side.
“Look, your friend is home,” he said.
“She is my friend, and she said I could come here anytime I want.” She looked at Josh, really looked at him and then her shoulders slumped. “Never mind, she’s busy.”
This time it wasn’t Josh chasing her off. Nope, Brandi was leaving because she was certain that Piper would choose a guy over her. Which told him that Brandi didn’t know Piper all that well because if she did, there’d be no doubt that Piper would give the shirt off her back to someone in need—especially a rough-around-the-edges teenager.
“Rebecca?” Piper got out of the car even as it was slowing to a stop.
