body perked up. Yeah. That’s exactly what I needed.
Chapter Two
It was lucky that Nurse Courtney had given me a pass, because it wasn’t easy skipping class when your mama was the principle. I’d stolen a pack of excuse slips from her office just a few weeks ago for when my anxiety got bad, but a legitimate pass was even better in case Mama asked me later.
Every time I saw Stephanie’s pleased face and Bonham’s disgusted scowl, my stomach churned with the anxiety that I’d grown so accustomed to. It wasn’t always like that. I wasn’t always so resigned to my place in the world, but I found that it was easier to run than it was to fight. It kind of scared me, if I was honest with myself. I couldn’t keep rolling over and taking this shit, no matter what Mama threatened me with.
Earlier that morning when I got to my locker, there was a used tampon hanging from the handle. The dried blood made me gag, and when I turned around, I saw a group of Stephanie’s girls laughing. I knew in my gut that one of the guys had put her up to it. It’s what they did—used others to make my life miserable so that they didn’t have to get their hands dirty. Cowards.
I could feel the joint I’d swiped from Mama’s desk in my pocket. She confiscated it during a locker search the day before, and the moment she had put it in a baggie, I knew it was mine. I’d been stealing things from her office since I learned I could get away with it. Seemed like the universe knew I’d need it today.
Like any good stoner, I went under the football bleachers to light up. I didn’t smoke often. Mostly when shit just got too much to handle, which seemed to be often lately. I didn’t like having anything in my body that could hurt my chances with gymnastics, but since Mama made me quit and ripped that dream from my fingers, it didn’t really matter anymore.
The moment the herbal scent hit my nose, I knew it was shitty weed. The preppy kid that bought it probably paid premium price and had no idea that it was dank. Of course, the only reason I knew anything about weed in the first place was because Godfrey and Luis liked to indulge. A lot.
Fuck. Why did everything always remind me of them?
I put the joint to my lips and inhaled low and slow, letting the smoke sit in my lungs for a bit while I closed my eyes. I held it in my chest until I knew I was going to burst, then exhaled with a cough. Yeah, it was bad. Not bad enough to stop, but bad nevertheless.
“Getting high under the bleachers? I wonder what Principle Livingston would say about this,” a dark voice said.
I was laying on the concrete ground and using my backpack as a pillow. With my knees bent and feet planted on the ground, I held my skirt down with my hand before dropping my knees open to get a look at my intruder.
Rogue fucking Kelly.
It was a silent understanding that Rogue was the leader of the Heirs. His family dabbled in everything. Oil. Arms. Real Estate. If it had a price tag, the Kelly name had its greedy hands in it. Their fiscal portfolio was so diverse, I wouldn’t know where to start.
My breath caught at his sudden presence. I had sank into my high, but my pulse raced at seeing him. I was a strange contradiction of tense and relaxed. Rogue was wearing his school uniform, but it looked effortlessly casual. The collar hid the tattoo I knew was creeping up his neck. His hair was wet, like he’d just taken a shower. That’s right, he had gym first period. I nearly slapped myself for knowing his schedule. We weren’t friends anymore, so why did I torture myself with trivial information?
I felt his eyes sweep over the skirt covering my white underwear before he met my gaze with annoyance. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
“What does it look like I’m doing here? Do you own the bleachers now, too?” I sat up and crossed my legs in front of me before I put the joint to my lips and took another drag.
Maybe this was how I could handle them. It almost didn’t hurt to look at him when I was like this. One of the first indicators