Page 4 of Reborn in Flames (Reborn 1)
“You walk to school?” Anani sputtered. “It’s freezing out.”
Or not.
I tugged on my hoodie. “All warm and cozy, I promise.”
Ledger frowned and pulled out a sleek black object before asking, “What's your number? We can pick you up each morning if you text us the address.” Number?Oh!That was a phone, I’d read about those.
I blushed, a bit embarrassed I needed clarification. “Texting? You would need a phone to do that, right?”
Both eyes darkened slightly at my admission as I flushed a bright red. Before they could respond, a solid arm crashed over my shoulder and caused me to hiss in pain. I flinched and it didn’t go unnoticed by either of the twins sitting across from me.
“Malloy,” Anani snapped, “get your fucking arm off her.”
The arm was instantly gone and a worried pair of of soft brown eyes appeared next to me. I frowned and scooted back just slightly. This guy didn’t give me a bad feeling, but my back hurt like hell and I was worried my new friends would notice. Plus, he didn’t make me feel like how Henry and the twins made me feel. This was more like the porridge that my mother used to give me on cold mornings.
“Now, what’s a pretty girl like you doing, sitting with these jokers?” He chuckled with caution. I was concerned about his well-being. He was my size and taunting the large giants across the table. The pipsqueak would end up getting killed.
“Stop hitting on her,” Ledger muttered.
I was naïve about the world. I knew that. However, in the past six days I had completely devoted myself to reading everything and anything. I had some general knowledge from homeschooling, but my cultural knowledge was absent. After reading a few magazines like Cosmo and a hefty stack of newspapers, I knew a little more than I used to.
For example, hitting on someone was what you did when you like them. I supposed I had never been hit on in my life before. Although the darkness, on those lonely nights in the basement, used to hold me. It used to comfort me.
God, I was a freak.
What would these boys think if they knew I had never been kissed? They wouldn’t want to be my friend, I’ll tell you that. Plus, I couldn’t ignore the small excitement that fluttered through my stomach at the appearance of their smiles. I would probably never be normal enough for someone to like me, but at least I could have friends. The butterflies would have to go. Now, if only I could find something or someone to tell me how to get rid of them.
“Right, cuz that’s what I was doing,” Malloy rolled his eyes not looking bothered in the least, “where is Henry at?”
“Busy,” Anani responded. His jaw was tense and those bright eyes trained at the place between Malloy and me. Ledger though was focused on my shoulders and face. Could he tell I had bruises? Crap. I hoped not.
The bell rang after a quiet lunch. The three of us walked toward gym as Ledger made a proposal, “come hang out with us after school, Maya.”
I nodded and agreed, “sounds fun.” Anani looked relieved and Ledger tossed me a small smile.
I walked into the female locker room and made my way to the coach’s office. At least, that was what the schedule labeled her as. Coach Julie. The locker room was made out of this God awful yellow and green tile pattern and the showers leaked, causing my ears to ring slightly. I swallowed and knocked on the door as a woman with messy brown hair looked up at me. Her eyes were wide and her skin like tanned leather over a muscular athletic build. I was totally jealous of how strong she was.
“You must be Maya,” the coach offered.
“Yes,” I whispered, “I’m here to pick up my uniform.”
“So you are,” she sighed, checking something on her clipboard, “here you go.”
I grabbed my uniform and went toward the changing area. Luckily, there were stalls. I stepped into one and opened my backpack. I peeled off my hoodie and hung it across the stall door. I stepped out of my skirt and pulled on the loose shorts and baggy shirt trying to avoid the gross water on the floor. I didn’t want to ruin what nice clothes I had. Unfortunately, you could see a small amount of bruising on my bicep and neck. It wasn’t terrible, but I knew it was enough that people would notice. I tugged back on my hoodie.
“There she is,” Anani said with relieved expression. The three of them had waited outside my locker room. I tried to ignore some of the dirty looks the other girls offered me. I wasn’t positive if it was something I’d done or if they didn’t like my friends. Maybe both?
I smiled and then my mouth dipped. It was hot as heck in the gym. So hot the glass was fogging. Everyone stood in the center as I joined. I knew the teacher would notice my hoodie as soon as she caught my eye.
“Maya, I don’t need anyone passing out. Hoodie off.”
Oh crap.
I bit my lip but stepped back from the group to pull off the hoodie. No one except the boys paid me any mind as we received instructions for the day. I hoped my hair would cover the bruising on the back of my neck. I tried to pull off the hoodie carefully so my clothes wouldn’t shift and reveal the bruising.
Ledger looked me over and his mouth tightened just enough to look distressed. Did he see them? My eyes shot to Henry and Anani.Yeah.They saw them.
Anani’s eyes were blazing as Henry offered me a heartbreaking look. I ignored them and kept my eyes forward.I needed a lie. I knew they would ask the minute she was done talking. I didn’t need anyone noticing the way my mother treated me. I only had 5 days left. 5 days until I never had to worry about it again.
