Page 123 of Dare To Live

She snorts. “You were barely here for a year.”

“And?”

She folds her arms. “It’s not like you were welcome here.”

My stomach twists, the memories of her vindictiveness awakening old pain. “I remember.”

Tina, Linda, and a few of the jocks detach themselves from their table to come and join us. We’re drawing attention from around the room, people staring and whispering.

The former cheerleader doesn’t smile. “So, why did you come back now?”

I wait for her friends to come to a stop behind her before I answer. “It’s none of your fucking business.”

There’s a stunned silence.

Lacy blinks. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I don’t have to explain my motives for returning to school. It certainly wasn’t to see any of you.”

Her eyes narrow, jaw clenching. “You’re the reason my dad had me mucking out the horse stables for six months after the academy closed.”

My anger stirs just beneath the surface. “So, you shoveled shit? It must have been a change from talking it all the time.”

She takes a step toward me. “You bitch—”

“Jesus, Lacy. Grow up.” Garrett appears out of the crowd and puts himself between us. “You’re not eighteen anymore. Get the fuck over it.”

Her lips curl in a sneer. “Oh look, Garrett coming to your rescue again.”

I step around him. “I don’t need to be saved because you and your little friends can’t intimidate me anymore. You were sad and pathetic back then, and it looks like things haven’t changed.”

“You’re nothing but trash, Gray,” Linda calls.

“That should have been swept away,” Tina adds.

I roll my eyes and sigh. “Why don’t you go and get a fucking life?”

Lacy sends me a venomous glare before turning on her heels and stalking away back to her table. The others follow in her wake, and for one brief second, I’m right back there ten years ago when they’d made my life nothing but miserable.

A hand touches my shoulder. “Forget them.”

It’s enough to bring me back from the shadows of the past and ground me to the here and now before they can spiral. I focus on the good-looking red-headed man in front of me.

“Garrett.” I hug him. “It’s good to see you.”

“Let me look at you.” Gently taking hold of my shoulders, he pushes me back and sweeps his attention over me. “Damn, you were gorgeous when you were younger, but now you’re stunning. You aren’t leaving here until I get your details. Now we’re back together, we are going to stay in touch this time.”

“I promise.” I glance toward Lacy and the others. “I guess that bitch was never going to change.”

“She and Brad got married about a year after we graduated.”

I arch an eyebrow at the revelation. “I didn’t expect her to stay with him.”

“I don’t think Lacy planned it,” Garrett’s voice drops to a conspiratorial whisper. “But she got herself pregnant, and her dad told her to marry him, or he’d cut her off. They have five kids, and he’s running one of his father’s car dealerships.”

“What about you?” I ask him, studying his face. “Are you married? Kids?”

He shakes his head. “No, not yet. Maybe one day. I don’t see a ring on your finger. Are you and Eli together?”

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