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“I get it. I sat by myself at my old school, too.” That got him to look at me—without a glare. It was the quickest of looks, but I saw it, and it fueled me to keep going: “But it wasn’t the same. You choose to sit by yourself, whereas I was never welcome at anyone’s table, ever. Not even when I was a kid.”

Memories flashed in my head, the day perfectly clear in my mind, though it had been years ago. “My grandparents were raising me then. My grandmother told me that I had to take charge, so, me being in first grade, thought I could pick a random chair in the cafeteria and I’d make friends with whoever was in the chairs around me. So, I picked a chair right next to a girl named Brit, but by the time I sat down, she and her friends had gotten up to move away. I never tried again.”

Elias frowned. “I don’t really care.”

“No, I guess you don’t. I’m just saying, you and I aren’t so different.” But we definitely weren’t the same. “Why do you sit by yourself?” When he didn’t answer, I prodded, “Come on, just tell me. I’ll promise I’ll shut up the rest of the ride home if you tell me.”

Again, he rolled his eyes. I was starting to think he wasn’t going to say anything, but right then he said, “I hate everyone else.”

“Why?”

His black eyes narrowed at me, but then they returned to the road before us. “They don’t get it. They don’t get how easy everything is for them. They’re so ignorant and stupid and…” He stopped himself from saying anything more about that.

“What about that girl at the party?” Yes, what about Dana? If he hated everyone at school, Dana was included in the collectiveeveryone. Why be with her if he hated her?

He let out a sound that was halfway between a chuckle and an annoyed groan. “Weren’t you supposed to shut up?”

“Yeah, but I’m curious—”

“Why? Why do you care? Why do you care why I sit alone or why I want to let off some steam and fuck some stupid bitch from school? My life is none of your business. I was doing just fine before you and your dumbass mom came along.”

Such vitriol. Such hate.

I really did love it.

When I didn’t say anything, Elias shot a quick glare my way. He did a double-take before asking, “Why the fuck are you smiling like that?”

Oh. Was I smiling? I didn’t even realize it. I guess Elias just had a way of bringing it out of me. I told him the truth, “You’re interesting. I wish I would’ve known you before.”

“Why?” He sounded suspicious.

I couldn’t tell him why. I couldn’t tell him that, maybe, if I’d known him before, I could’ve had other things to focus on—him, namely. Maybe if he would’ve been around, I wouldn’t have gotten into so much trouble. Maybe mother and I wouldn’t have had to run away.

In the end, I didn’t say anything more, choosing silence, like I’d said I would. We made it home in ten minutes, and Elias was the first one to get out of the car and disappear inside the house. I took my time in grabbing my bag and getting out, heading to the front door. When I walked in, I could see my mother in the kitchen, hurriedly putting something away in the fridge.

My bag slung over my shoulders, heavy as hell, I walked into the kitchen right as my mother turned around and gave me a fake smile. “How was school?” She held her hands behind her, but not quick enough; I saw the shakes.

I didn’t need to peek in the fridge to know what she’d been holding onto. Some drink. Some alcohol. Something she shouldn’t even look at. But, if there was one thing I knew about my mother, it was how weak she was.

She had a reason to be weak, sure, but she and I… we were nothing alike, in that respect.

“School was fine,” I said, not offering any details.

My mother didn’t ask for any, either. She simply sniffed, straightened herself out, and declared, “I need to run to the store. I’ll be back soon.” Without elaborating on what she was going to get, she grabbed her keys out of a bowl on the far side of the kitchen and was out the front door within seconds.

She wouldn’t be back soon. She’d go somewhere, maybe a bar, and torture herself by watching other people drink. Really, it was only a matter of time until she gave in and started to drink. I made her too nervous.

Oh, well. I shrugged and headed upstairs to start copying notes.

Chapter Six

Hours passed. Aunt Maggie was at work, while my mother was still MIA. I managed to speed through note-copying—irritating my wrist to hell, I might add—and then got to work on the actual homework part of the night. I was a good little student, I had to say.

I sat on my bed after I was done. Night had fallen outside. I’d packed up my bag for tomorrow and lay back, rolling onto my side as I got out my phone, seeing that I had a text from an unsaved number.

Just a simple,Hey.

I texted back,Hi. I assumed it was Jordan; who else would it be? I hadn’t given my number to anyone else.Please tell me this is Jordan.

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