Page 5 of Reckless
Chapter Two
Wrench
I didn’t recognize her at first, but I knew there was something I was missing.
When she bit her lip and twisted her finger in her hair, it hit me. Carly Ferguson was standing in front of me looking like a fucking wet dream. Every nameless girl has had her face since the day I lost her.
Today I’m gonna tell her.
Two years I've been her best friend, watched her go after one asshole or another. I've loved her since the sixth grade, but I could never bring myself to tell her. We are best friends, and I don't want to ruin that, but I can't stand by and pretend she doesn't occupy my every thought either. We're in high school now, sophomores, I need to grow a pair and just tell her how I feel.
Walking into the building, I head to the sophomore hallway and straight for her locker. When I turn the corner, she's leaning against the lockers talking to TonyBenson. He's a goddamn fool. I hate him.
Football star.
Player.
Dumbass.
And looking at her like she’s his next prize.
She isn't; today is my day.
I start to walk toward them again when his head dips down, and he kisses her.
My blood boils.
I've seen the way he treats girls, and there's no way I'll let him do that to Carly. I storm toward them my fists clenched at my sides, so hard that my nails are leaving marks in my palm. Once I reach them, I shove his shoulder, ripping him away from her.
“You got a fucking problem?” Tonytries to puff his chest out.
“Yeah, you asshole." I punch him right in the face, and he falls like a pathetic sack of potatoes.
“Jackson!” Carly screams, but I can’t even look at her.
Before I know it, the school officer grabs me and starts pulling me to the principal's office. I shake him off.
I know the way.
I got expelled that day. I always had trouble in school, mostly because I was poor, and I looked like I couldn't defend myself. Anyone who tried me quickly figured out how wrong that assumption was. That fight was the last straw; I never had the courage to reach out to Carly after that day either.
I look at her sitting in front of me and rub my hand over my face in frustration and disbelief. “What the fuck are you doing here Carly?”
Shock instantly sets in on her face. “My name is…”
“It’s not fucking Cece.” My tone is flat.
“How—how do you know that?” She shifts uncomfortably.
“You really don’t recognize me, do you?” It doesn’t surprise me. I’ve grown a lot from that scrawny kid she knew.
Her head shakes, but I can see the wheels turning in her head.
"How'd you end up here? Last I heard, you were married and living in a house in the suburbs." I cock an eyebrow at her. She doesn't answer me, but I see pain flash across her face. "What happened?"
She stands up. “No, that’s not something I want to talk about. I don’t even know who you are and you’re asking me about my life. I came here to escape, not be reminded.” She turns around to head for the door.
“I didn’t fucking dismiss you.” Anger rises in my voice, not at her but at knowing she’s hurting.
