“You know,” he continued as he sat down on the edge of my bed, facing me as I stayed curled up in the window seat, “school didn’t suck today with you to look at.”
I ducked my head and studied the blanket I was covered up with. He was going to flirt some more. I wasn’t used to this. Sure, I’d had boyfriends before . . . before everything happened. That had been different, though. We hadn’t been kissing or hanging out. It was more of a social thing that happened only at school or on the phone at night. My mother had been very overprotective, and I wasn’t allowed to date until I was sixteen.
Once, I’d also been a cheerleader and had a lot of friends. But that all changed, and over the past two years I’d lost that part of me.
“I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable or embarrass you. I’m sorry. I was just trying to make your transition to a new school easier.”
He was handsome and sweet. The kind of guy I would have liked in my former life. The kind of guy that any girl would like. I could ignore him and he would go away, but I wasn’t going to be rude. He was my cousin’s friend and, so far, my only almost-friend in town.
I reached for the notebook and pen I had left lying beside me after finishing my homework. He deserved something from me. I would like a friend here. Someone who didn’t look at me as if I were a freak.
Thank you. For being nice to me. This day could’ve been harder than it was, but you were a friend.
I handed the notebook to him so he could read it.
He read my note, and a smile tugged up both corners of his mouth before he raised his gaze to meet mine. “You got a phone? So we can text?” he asked.
I nodded and reached into my pocket to pull it out. I had been given a phone by my godmother, Jorie, when I moved in with her after everything had happened. Two years with Jorie had been anything but comforting. I was in her way, and she had no idea how to deal with me. When I continued not to speak, she finally gave up and called my uncle Boone and asked him if he still wanted me. He and Aunt Coralee had responded immediately. It wasn’t even one week before Jorie had me all packed up and ready to move. Since then, she hadn’t even called to check on me. It’s not like my number had changed; it was the same number she’d gotten me. The only difference was now my aunt and uncle were paying the bill. Nash held out his hand. “Can I put my number in it?” Again I nodded and let him take my phone from me. He took a picture of himself then added his information. I heard a ding, and he grinned at me. “I texted myself. Now I have your number too. Can I take a picture of you to go with your contact info?”
I didn’t really like the idea of him taking a photo of me, but I wasn’t going to tell him no. I gave him a small nod, and then he held the phone up. “Smile,” he said.
I didn’t smile, but he took the photo anyway.
He chuckled. “That’s okay. No need to smile.”
The door opened, and we both turned to see Brady walk inside with a furious expression. “Get the hell out of here, Nash,” he said, pointing at the door and glaring at his friend.
Nash held up both hands. “Calm down, bro. I was just talking to Maggie. We’re friends aren’t we, Maggie? Nothing more. I wasn’t doing nothing else, I swear.”
“Don’t care. Get out,” Brady repeated, still pointing at the door.
Nash stood up and glanced back at me, then held up his phone before winking and walking out the door.
Brady didn’t say anything until Nash was gone. But once the door closed behind him, Brady turned to look at me. “Be careful, Maggie. These guys are my friends, but they don’t always treat girls right. Hell, I don’t always treat girls right. You . . . just keep your distance. Okay?”
He barely spoke to me, but now he seemed to think he had to protect me? I didn’t need him telling me who I should be careful around. I understood others more than he did. If he didn’t want me around his friends, that was fine. But demanding it of me wasn’t fair. I lifted my chin and shot him a challenging glare. I had done everything to keep his parents from foisting me on him at every turn. But I wasn’t going to take this behavior from him.
Brady’s gaze found the notebook that Nash had left on the bed. Before I could reach it, he snatched it up. I waited while he read what I had said to Nash. It was meant to be nice and to thank Nash for today, but I knew Brady wouldn’t see it that way.
He threw the notebook back down and let out a hard laugh that didn’t sound amused at all.
He ran a hand through his messy hair. “I have a game to win Friday night. The whole damn town is counting on me to win it. But I can’t focus on the game and make sure you’re safe at the same time. I didn’t ask to be anyone’s guardian. I don’t have time for this shit. So just please stay out of my world. Find friends who aren’t on my team. And news flash: No guy is going to be your friend. Find some girls to be friends with. Jesus, how naive are you?” Then he walked out, closing the door hard behind him.
I wanted Brady to like me. I had tried to stay out of his way. I understood that my invading his life was unfair. But I wasn’t okay with him speaking to me that way. Fine, I would keep my distance from his friends. Not because he ordered me to. Simply because, if they all were prone to acting like major jerks, I wanted nothing to do with them. I didn’t need friends. I had survived without them long enough.
She Was All Over Me,
So I Let Her Enjoy Herself
CHAPTER 6