Page 14 of Visions & Shadows

I raise my eyebrows at her. “You sure about that?”

“I know Robert better than you do,” Molly says all defensively, quick to protect her boyfriend. She gets up from my bed. “I’m going to grab some breakfast. See you downstairs.”

She’s out the door in a flash, as if guilt is pushing her from the room.

When will she learn Robert is nothing but a bastard who cheats on her with Megan and bullies half the kids in school? He’s trouble, but still, she ignores all the red flags and sticks with him.

I quickly go through my morning routine, and once I’m dressed, I head down to the kitchen.

Molly’s almost done eating a slice of toast and pauses between bites to say, “You have a minute to grab some coffee before we leave.”

“Why are you in such a hurry to get to school?” I ask.

“Robert keeps flirting with Megan, so I want to pay him back by doing the same with Ryan.”

Robert does more than just flirt with Megan, but I’m happy to hear Molly’s tired of looking the other way.

When there’s an unhappy twinge in my chest because she’s setting her sights on Ryan, I frown and shove the unwelcome emotion away.

Making myself a cup of coffee, I add extra milk so I can swallow it down quickly.

I don’t have time to rinse the cup and hurry out of the kitchen to catch up with Molly.

During the drive to school, we’re both quiet. I really hope whatever joke Robert and his friends are trying to play on me is over and done with. I’m not in the mood for a repeat of yesterday.

Molly has one of the best parking spots in the school, situated near the entrance. When she stops the car, I notice Ryan’s truck take one of the other reserved parking spaces.

Yep, he’s definitely one of them.

Getting out of her car as fast as I can, I tell Molly, “See you in class.”

I keep my head down as I hurry across the patch of lawn to get to the home ec building.

Hopefully, Ryan won’t be in this class, as the boys have a choice to take something else instead.

“Wait up,” I hear Ryan say, his voice sounding a little cautious before he falls into step beside me. “Morning.”

Shoot.

I contemplate ignoring him but then give in and mutter, “Hey, Ryan.”

I feel his eyes on my face as he asks, “How are you?”

Are we really going to do this?

Squaring my shoulders, I stop walking and turn to face him. “Why are you talking to me? Did the guys put you up to this? Because you can tell them I’m not falling for the prank again. Fun’s over.”

His eyes narrow on me as he shakes his head. “There’s no prank. I’m talking to you because I want to.”

When I realize he’s really serious right now and even looks a bit upset, it takes the wind right out of my sails.

“Why me?” The question’s out before I can stop it.

I feel my face changing color, so I do the next best thing and almost sprain my neck as I snap my head down to stare at my boots.

Ryan takes a step closer, and my eyes dart to his boots, which are scuffed and not a well-known brand like the elite of the school prefer to wear.

Am I wrong about him?

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