overactive heart. “Loom much?” I shrugged as though unconcerned by his question. “Nobody really wants to know the truth when they ask how you are anyway. I just save people the effort,” I said, my arms folded in a belligerent pose.
He leaned back against the wall and folded his arms as well. “So you hide behind that smile of yours so nobody can see you bleed?”
I tapped my nose. “I’d say everybody saw me bleed,” I said, but was disconcerted that he saw me so clearly, that he understood what no one else had.
Ben didn’t respond to my comment, but stood straight again, his head cocked to the side like a quizzical puppy. “You know, Shayla, if you ever let down that shield you hide behind, you might find there’s a bunch of people around here who’d like to know who you really are. Not everybody’s like Paul and London are to you.”
Oh, so the blond kid’s name was Paul, noted. “You want to know who I really am, Ben?” I asked, as anger rose inside me. “I’m a girl who woke up from a nightmare to find her whole world had disappeared. I’m trying not to lose my mind, so I laugh as often as I can, then I get criticized for it by some guy who can’t be bothered to stand up and tell his BFF to shut up calling me Lindbergh. That’s who I am. Who are you?” I asked, my lip curled back in a sneer.
“Paul is no friend of mine, but you’re right.” He took a step in the direction of the dining area. “I should have stopped him the first time. He won’t call you that again, I promise,” and he walked toward that table.
I grimaced. It would be amazing to see Ben beat the blond guy to a bloody pulp, but it was my issue, not his. He didn’t need to fight my battles for me and I shouldn’t have made him feel like he needed to.
I jumped in front of Ben, my hand on his stomach to stop him. It irritated me to have to look up so far, but I shook my head in hopes he would pay attention.
When he had stopped, I turned my lips up in a wide smile and whirled around, walking over to where that stupid kid sat. “You’re Paul, right?” I asked, but didn’t wait for him to respond. “I don’t like you and you have made it abundantly clear you don’t like me. Let’s leave it at that. You won’t refer to me as Lindbergh anymore and I won’t refer to you as the brainless blond,” I said and patted his shoulder. “Good talk. Let’s never do it again.” I walked back to my table, unsure how my sister and the Chief would react to the situation.
It wouldn’t be over with Paul, especially since I heard several of those guys laugh. When a guy gets laughed at by his friends . . . yeah, he would get worse. Hardly mattered though. He moved with a swagger which told me clearly he would be an easy takedown.
I sat and gave my little group a wide smile. They had ordered our pizza while I’d been gone and neither of them commented on the Paul situation. The pizza looked amazing and smelled even better. My stomach ached like it hadn’t seen food in years, so that feast was just what I had needed.
“Busy tomorrow?” I asked Kassia, scooping a slice of pizza onto my plate.
She nodded, but swallowed her bite before she responded. “Yeah, I’m teaching you how to drive,” she said, her eyes turned back to look at the group who pooled their money to pay for their pizza at the table behind us.
I smiled, pleased by the idea, but also confused. Why would my sister ease off the nagginess which had been the mainstay of our relationship since my return?
I wondered if the Chief had said something to her, but doubted it. There must be a reason for the change. Whatever it was, maybe I could scare the reason out of her during our driving lesson. Or maybe I could simply ask, whichever.
Six
I waved to Kassia as she dropped me off on Monday morning, my mind filled by dread for the day to come. I did not want to be inside. I wanted to be outside, to be free.
My skin crawled as I opened the school’s
He leaned back against the wall and folded his arms as well. “So you hide behind that smile of yours so nobody can see you bleed?”
I tapped my nose. “I’d say everybody saw me bleed,” I said, but was disconcerted that he saw me so clearly, that he understood what no one else had.
Ben didn’t respond to my comment, but stood straight again, his head cocked to the side like a quizzical puppy. “You know, Shayla, if you ever let down that shield you hide behind, you might find there’s a bunch of people around here who’d like to know who you really are. Not everybody’s like Paul and London are to you.”
Oh, so the blond kid’s name was Paul, noted. “You want to know who I really am, Ben?” I asked, as anger rose inside me. “I’m a girl who woke up from a nightmare to find her whole world had disappeared. I’m trying not to lose my mind, so I laugh as often as I can, then I get criticized for it by some guy who can’t be bothered to stand up and tell his BFF to shut up calling me Lindbergh. That’s who I am. Who are you?” I asked, my lip curled back in a sneer.
“Paul is no friend of mine, but you’re right.” He took a step in the direction of the dining area. “I should have stopped him the first time. He won’t call you that again, I promise,” and he walked toward that table.
I grimaced. It would be amazing to see Ben beat the blond guy to a bloody pulp, but it was my issue, not his. He didn’t need to fight my battles for me and I shouldn’t have made him feel like he needed to.
I jumped in front of Ben, my hand on his stomach to stop him. It irritated me to have to look up so far, but I shook my head in hopes he would pay attention.
When he had stopped, I turned my lips up in a wide smile and whirled around, walking over to where that stupid kid sat. “You’re Paul, right?” I asked, but didn’t wait for him to respond. “I don’t like you and you have made it abundantly clear you don’t like me. Let’s leave it at that. You won’t refer to me as Lindbergh anymore and I won’t refer to you as the brainless blond,” I said and patted his shoulder. “Good talk. Let’s never do it again.” I walked back to my table, unsure how my sister and the Chief would react to the situation.
It wouldn’t be over with Paul, especially since I heard several of those guys laugh. When a guy gets laughed at by his friends . . . yeah, he would get worse. Hardly mattered though. He moved with a swagger which told me clearly he would be an easy takedown.
I sat and gave my little group a wide smile. They had ordered our pizza while I’d been gone and neither of them commented on the Paul situation. The pizza looked amazing and smelled even better. My stomach ached like it hadn’t seen food in years, so that feast was just what I had needed.
“Busy tomorrow?” I asked Kassia, scooping a slice of pizza onto my plate.
She nodded, but swallowed her bite before she responded. “Yeah, I’m teaching you how to drive,” she said, her eyes turned back to look at the group who pooled their money to pay for their pizza at the table behind us.
I smiled, pleased by the idea, but also confused. Why would my sister ease off the nagginess which had been the mainstay of our relationship since my return?
I wondered if the Chief had said something to her, but doubted it. There must be a reason for the change. Whatever it was, maybe I could scare the reason out of her during our driving lesson. Or maybe I could simply ask, whichever.
Six
I waved to Kassia as she dropped me off on Monday morning, my mind filled by dread for the day to come. I did not want to be inside. I wanted to be outside, to be free.
My skin crawled as I opened the school’s
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