Page 26 of Saving Tracey
Holy shit, I was holding an actual conversation with someone without needing someone standing by my side.
I walked down the bleachers with her and over to the section she had told me about. She sat down with me, and we easily began talking about stupid things that really didn't matter.
It was extremely easy talking to her.
When the game was over, Trevor jogged over to me, grinning. "We fucking beat their asses!" A big grin pulled at his lips, and my heart somersaulted in my chest. I smiled at him widely, my heart swelling at the sight of him so happy. His grin softened as he took in my smile, an indescribable look passing through his eyes.
He looked at the girl who I had come to know as Olivia. "Hey, Liv, I see you've met Tracey." He pushed his sweaty hair off of his forehead.
Olivia nodded, smiling. "I have, and we're best friends." She shot me an infectious grin.
Trevor rolled his eyes at her and smiled at me. "How did it go with Jamie?"
I winced at the memory, and he clenched his jaw. "Tracey, what the fuck happened?"
“I—I, they—" I was surprised to see Trevor so angry because someone was mean to me.
"They were a complete bitch to her and ganged up on her and threatened her. That stupid skank, Lacie, was with them, too." Olivia’s own anger at the situation was clear as day in her words.
Trevor sighed. "Fuck, Tracey, I'm sorry. I'll put Jamie and anyone else who messed with you in their place, don't worry about it."
"It's okay, Trevor. Seriously." I rubbed the heel of my hand against my forehead. "I just want to go home.”
He nodded in understanding. "Come on. Paul and I are staying the weekend at your place since his mom and dad are going out of town."
I smiled at Olivia and began to tell her goodbye. Before I could speak, she threw her arms around me. I froze, my heart beginning to pound hard and fast, almost choking me. Bile rose in my throat.
I was panicking.
She had to get off of me.
"Liv, get the fuck off of her!"
She jumped back immediately, and her eyes widened when she saw how panicked I was. I jumped up from my seat, scrambling to put some space between us. I collided with Trevor's tall, muscular frame, and he instantly settled his hands over my shoulders, his warmth and strength seeping through his hands into my body, surprisingly making me relax a bit.
"I'm so sorry, Tracey! It's just so easy to forget that you don't like to be touched and—"
I was a little bit calmer finally, so I gave her a tiny smile, though it was extremely forced. "It's okay, Olivia.” Trevor squeezed my shoulders gently. "It's just who you are.”
She nodded, but she still seemed a little worried. I sighed. "It's okay, Olivia. I just—it’s just who I am. It's not because of you." I felt so bad. She was freaking out because she’d overstepped, but she was so nice. I never wanted to see her upset like this.
She nodded. "I'll see you on Monday at school?"
I bit my lip and nodded, cringing internally at the thought that I had to go back to school on Monday. So, yeah, she would see me at school, and that was terrifying to me. I didn't know how I felt about returning to school. It made me sick to my stomach at the thought.
I wanted to stay where I felt safe, where I felt like almost nothing could touch me.
I hated the thought of being around people again.
When we got home that night, Lacie showed up with Kaleb once he finally got home. I sighed softly, but Trevor shook his head at me. "Don't worry about her. She's just a stupid girl that will never make it anywhere. One day, you'll get the hell out of this town, and she'll be stuck here."
I shook my head at him. He had it all wrong. "I have horrible grades. I won't be making it anywhere."
His eyebrows pulled together. "Why? You could have fought to make good grades so you could have gotten the hell away from your parents."
I sighed. "I didn't see the point in trying. I just wanted to die; sometimes I still do.” He swallowed hard at my words. “Why get good grades if my plan was just to kill myself at some point?"
"You wouldn't have been stuck with your parents until you killed yourself, Tracey. You could have made good grades and ran away once you finished school."
