Page 5 of Happenstance
“No,” I said, giving Chris a look that said ‘try me’, “And your girl isn’t helping.”
“Hey, I claim no responsibility for what Cherry Pie does.” Logan crossed his arms and leaned back. “It’s kind of hot watching her give you a hard time though.”
I snorted.Prick.
Rummaging through my bag, I shook my head and pulled my clothes out. “It’d be easier to talk to her if her friends didn’t get in the way.”
“Micha’s on board with you there,” Mase added. “He was yelling at Riley yesterday for getting involved.”
I actually saw Micha smile the other day. The last thing I wanted was to cause problems between them.
“Go to her house,” Logan suggested.
“Tried that.”
“Did you try kicking in the door?”
Was he serious? Of course he was. Logan would burn the whole world down to get to his girl. Though I had to admit, he might have a point. Maybe it was time to take a page from his book.
Mason leaned forward on the bench and rested his elbows on his knees. “You could always choose the other route.”
“What other route?” Seemed pretty black and white to me. Either I hunted Lana down, or she kept avoiding me.
“Make her come to you.”
Both Logan and I stopped and cocked our heads at him.
“I gotta say, Lana doesn’t seem like the chasing dick type,” Logan pointed out.
“Exactly,” I nodded at Logan. “She won’t even talk to me. How am I supposed to get her to chase me?”
Mason’s green eyes sparkled as they rolled up to meet mine. “You tell everyone.”
Chapter 2
Lana
“Have a good day, my sweet girl.”
I smiled at Nan and begrudgingly got out of the car. Sweet girl. Would she still call me that if she knew? I should’ve been smarter. I wasn’t one of those bobble-headed girls that got stupid over a guy. I wanted to be a doctor, for Christ’s sake. A pediatrician. All my life, I’ve watched girls fall for the crap guys said, and swore I wouldn’t be one of them.
Then again, I was always a little stupid when it came to Parker Whitley. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised that I fell down that hole, or about the way he treated me after. Parker was one of the Knights. Of course he was an asshole. It was something else that brought tears to my eyes. Memories of another voice whispering in my ear, while hands roughly held me down, and I stared at the moon, praying for it to end. That was the night my soul was shattered. Torn apart by someone I trusted.
“Bye Nan.” I managed to give her a small wave, “Love you.”
Nan gave me her‘go get em’smile and blew me a kiss. “Love you too.”
I rolled my eyes at the girls that had their noses turned up. Apparently our little beat down car didn’t meet their high standards. Brushing it off my shoulders, I sauntered past them. From a young age, I knew I was different from the other kids. I didn’t know why or how, just that they had something I didn’t.
In this school, there was a lot that the other kids had that I didn’t. Money, staff, prestige. But none of that caused the heaviness I felt in my chest. I didn’t realize what that was until I showed up for parent teacher interviews with my Nan. All the other kids were there with their moms and dads. They had parents. I had Nan and Henry, our goat.
That was the first time I noticed Parker Whitley. I saw him on the playground when Nan and I were leaving, beating up one of the kids that made fun of me. His little fists flew through the air, raining his fury down on the other boy.
I used to tell myself he was protecting me. I knew better now. Parker Whitley wasn’t a fairy tale knight, seeking to defend the maiden’s honor. He was the thing in my closet. The creature that made children scream in the middle of the night. They all were. Micha was the devil. Preston death, Logan war, Mason pestilence, and Parker famine. Which was exactly why no one could find out what happened. I couldn’t subject someone I loved to Ashworth’s apocalypse squad. No matter what he did to me.
Speaking of squads…
Naomi and her minions were standing by the front door. Hips cocked, while they rolled their eyes at people passing by. If Parker and his friends were the apocalypse squad, then these girls were Ashen Springs version of sirens. Lulling men to their deaths with sweet songs.
