Page 18 of The Love Interest
As the foam runs down my body the smell comes back with a force. I grin. This is his attempt at intimidating me? It’s almost funny. I stifle a giggle as I turn off the taps, shutting the water off. I rub the towel through my hair so it spikes down over my forehead, then drag the towel across my chest, mopping up as much water as I can. Then I wrap it around my waist and step out of the bathroom.
In the hallway is Dad, dressed in my uniform. It’s obviously too small for him, as the shirt is strained to capacity. One of the buttons, the one beside his belly button, has burst, and the fly of the gray slacks is unzipped. He’s standing there pouting, with his wrists as limp as possible and his butt sticking out. Oh wow, Kayleereallywasn’t kidding about the slim-pickings thing.
“Look at me,” he says, his voice high-pitched. “I’m Caden. Aren’t I a pretty boy? Look at me waddle!” He shakes his bum and flails his limp wrists around. “I work out all the time, and I…”
I grip the towel around my waist. Ihaveto ignore him. He wants me to break character, to reveal my real self, and that’s not something I can ever do. If I let my anger show, he wins, so I keep my eyes down and enter my room. I close the door and discover, thankfully, that it has a lock. I slide the latch across then drop the towel. My face is burning so hot the feeling has flowed down my neck to my chest, which feels like it’s on fire.
I run a hand through my dripping hair and take in a deep breath through my nostrils. I’m pacing in a small circle on the carpet. I did the right thing. It feels awful to let him get away with it, but it was the right call. I have to recognize that, because it’s the only way to deal with stuff like this.
My heartbeat slows to its normal tempo. I finish drying myself, then grab a pair of briefs, bright red this time, and step into them. Once I’m dressed I glance at my phone to check the time. Crap, I should’ve been out the door two minutes ago! I pull on a pair of socks, then black dress shoes. There. Done.
I take a step toward the door, then double back and grab my script from the desk. I’ll have to read it on the bus.
My fake dad’s in the kitchen now, still in my uniform, sipping from a bottle of beer. He takes a sip and eyes me. “I wear it so much better, don’t you think, Patty?”
“Shut up!” she screeches back, and she grabs the remote and points it at the TV. The green volume bar slides up. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
“Well, I’m off,” I say with a cheery wave. I’m acting Nice because I have to, but a childish part of me wants to spite this guy. What should I call him? I was hoping to call them Mom and Dad, to get some sense of normality, but that’s obviously not in the cards now. Maybe I could call him D? That’s perfect because it does technically stand forDad, but it also has a second meaning, one only I’ll know. “See you later, D.”
D sneers at me. “I look forward to thatsomuch.”
I wince, then slide past him, pressing my back against the wall to avoid his girth. He’s not fat, exactly, just solid, and he smells like the beer he’s drinking: salty and acidic.
The school bus is outside the house, waiting for me almost expectantly. I jog down the steps and run up to the bus door. The driver is a short black woman with straight hair. She smiles, and I feel the tension leave my shoulders. Not everyone out here is horrible.
“First day?” she asks.
“Yep.”
She pulls a lever and the door hisses closed behind me.
“Sit near the front. Some of the kids at the back can be pretty savage to you blazer types.”
“Thanks.”
I find a spare seat near the front of the bus. I swing into it as the bus pulls onto the road.
I’m on my way, Juliet.
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Mapleton Academy is a sleek, modern private school surrounded by a black fence. The windows gleam in the sunlight. It’s so picturesque it could be a set. But it’s not. I repeat it like a mantra.It’s not a set.This school is real. Everything that’s happening is real, because I’m finally in the real world. Dyl and I are the only things here controlled by the LIC.
I step off the bus and take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the school. The buildings are obviously new, and all the walls are smooth and freshly painted. There’s no grime, cracks, or creeping weeds. Flower beds filled with rosebushes and other colorful flowers I have no hope of identifying are scattered around the place.
Caden?
Yeah?
It’s Kaylee, obviously. How are you feeling?
I’m still a little freaked out about you being in my mind.
Get over that real quick. You need to be in position in twenty seconds. Do you see the steps that lead into the school?
In front of me, past the open gate, is a set of concrete steps that lead into a cream-colored building. Between me and the steps is a speckled concrete pathway filled with students bustling around, chatting or playing handball.
