Page 3 of Shadow and Skulls

“Nothing.” I kick my Nike’s off by his front door. “I fell in the mud.” I point to the back of my pants.

His gaze takes in the mud covering the back of my white jeans. He shakes his head. “Where’s your car?”

I hug myself. “I was with Jason.”

JD’s lip curls in disgust. He’s never hidden his dislike for my boyfriend.

“And a bunch of other people,” I add quickly. “We were having a scavenger hunt, and I slid in the mud. I’m just embarrassed about it, okay?” I slide past him. “I need to get out of these. Do you have a pair of sweats I can borrow?”

He grabs my arm and pulls me back to him, dipping his face toward mine. He sniffs.

“We weren’t drinking.”

“Just making sure.” He leans away from me, but his expression of concern remains unchanged. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, just worried Mom is going to kill me. Do you know how much these cost?”

“Your mother isn’t going to care about that, and you know it.” He folds his arms over his chest.

“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know what I’m worried about.” I wave my hand, dismissing my fear. “I’ll just hit the shower. When I’m finished, could you give me a ride home?” I back away from him toward the hall.

He sighs. “Yeah. I’ll find something you can change into.”

“Great. Thanks,” I say cheerfully, bouncing on my toes.

He follows me down the hall, ducking into his room before coming out with a neatly folded pair of sweats.

I give him a big smile. “Hopefully none of my classmates saw my walk of shame,” I joke, taking them from him before disappearing into his bathroom.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I strip down and quickly rinse myself off in his shower. When I get back to the living room, he’s just closing the front door.

Please don’t let that have been Jason … or my dad.

I stand awkwardly, holding the sweats at my waist. “Who was that?” I plop down on the couch to put my shoes on.

“Katie.” He lowers himself beside me.

Crap. That means my dad will be home sooner than I thought. I was hoping to be in bed before he got there.

“Oh, that’s good. Dad said you guys were out looking for her.”

“Yeah, well, she’s alive and well. I need to meet her out at the crusher in a bit. She’s got a truck for me to dispose of, but I’ll run you home first.”

I smile to myself. Katie is bad ass. She’s one of my favorite people.

He places his hand at the back of my head. “Your mom has been worried about you. She says you haven’t been yourself since school started.”

“Yeah, well it’s no fun being the oldest kid in high school. I should be in college by now.”

His hand falls away from my head, and he laughs. “Shit, kid, I didn’t get my GED until I was twenty-four. It’s not a fucking race, you know?”

“Iwishthey’d let me get my GED. I hate school.”

He looks surprised by this. “I thought you loved school. You’re a star student, a cheerleader, and you’re dating the school’s star basketball player. What’s not to love?”

My face falls. “I haven’t told Mom and Dad yet, but I quit the cheer team.”

“What? Why?”

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