Page 5 of Student Seduction
Elksboro was a small town. Most people knew what had happened to Drew. Not many of them knew why. No one, not even me, knew who had done it.
She looked back and forth between us. “Be quick, you two,” she said. “But drive safe, Emersyn.”
We thanked her and signed out.
It wasn’t until we’d driven completely off campus that I felt like I could breathe again.
Our small coastal town in North Carolina previously only had one pizza place, a gas station, and a bar. But a new contractor was revamping our dilapidated Main Street not far from the high school. Several shops were already open. One of them thankfully serving coffee. Once we’d settled into a round booth at The Nook, the new coffee shop bookstore combo, Drew brought our drinks over and leveled me with a serious stare.
I averted my gaze.
“This is so much better than the coffee at High Octane,” I observed, hoping to delay the inevitable.
Drew ignored my diversion attempt.
“You need to talk to someone, Em. Your dad. A counselor at school. My Mom. Someone. You shouldn’t be doing this all on your own.”
I traced the capital N of the logo on the cup.
“I know. I just…I’m scared of what might happen. Ethan is already talking about moving in with Dad. I can’t blame him. He went to baseball camp out there this summer, and I can tell, he didn’t really want to come back. She can see it too and it’s making her act awful towards him.”
“She’s pretty awful to you both,” Drew said quietly. “Look, if Ethan moved in with your dad and step-monster, you could stay at my house for this last year of school. We have an extra room since Stacy moved off to college, you know it’s already yours.”
It was tempting. Mrs. Echols made chocolate chip pancakes and biscuits and gravy and stuff like that. My mom had never been that type of mom, even before.
“I couldn’t just leave her all alone, Drew. That’d make me as bad as my father.”
Drew made a perturbed face. “No, it wouldn’t. And honestly, with what your dad is probably paying in alimony and child support, you could hire a home health professional to come check on her daily. Hell, you could check on her as often as you like. I’m not saying abandon her, Em. I’m just saying you’re not the parent. She is.”
“She won’t take the money my dad sends. She tears the checks up and throws them away.”
“Maybe her insurance would cover it,” he offered. “Either way, she obviously can’t take care of you or your brother and it’s all been falling on you. You used to have a life. You ran track and you were good at it. Remember me and Camille? You used to hang out with us. Just like you used to get crushes on cute boys and drone on about them for hours. Now it’s all work, paying bills, taking your brother to and from practice, cleaning house, doing laundry, and keeping up with your mom’s appointments. It’s not right, Em. You know it isn’t.”
I can’t help but smile at him. Maybe it was a sad smile, but it was the closest I’d felt to one in a while. Drew cared about me, and right now, I needed someone to. Badly.
“Being raised by a single mother and an older sister has made you very intuitive, young Drewskie.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, let me tell you how much my big, thick intuition gets me laid.”
“Gross.” He was still a dude, sensitivity and all.
“All joking aside,” Drew began, leaning forward conspiratorially, “what you did was pretty badass. And I think Singleton has the hots for you. He was all Mr. Sunshine and good times until you showed up.”
I shook my head, denying his observation. Heat crawled up my spine, turning my skin hot all over.
Drew scoffed at me. “He checked you out, I saw him. Head to toe. I think it worked him up, and then he was a royal ass because of it. Kelsey Atwell was five minutes late and had her phone in hand when she sauntered in and he didn’t say shit. You’re the only one that got reamed. Wonder why that is?”
“First of all, who says sauntered?”
“I’m bringing it back,” he informed me. “Along with exasperated, incredulous, and obtuse.”
“Good luck with that.” I sighed, glancing down at my khaki skirt and too tight plain black T-shirt. It was the best I could do on no budget for school clothes. Ethan hit a growth spurt over the summer and needed new jeans way more than I did. “Between mom’s meltdown, making breakfast, and getting Ethan up and out the door, I had, like, six minutes to pull myself together this morning. I doubt I worked anyone up.”
Drew smirked at me. “Oh yeah. Long blonde hair, perfect rack, gorgeous smile, perky ass, and mile-long legs. Can’t imagine what a red-blooded American male was thinking getting all hot for you.”
“Geez, Drew.”
“You’re like a sister to me, and I have known you half my life, so I don’t see you that way. Plus, we both know you’re not my type. Obviously.”
