I am for what Dad did. I have to make things right!
I quickly run inside. I grab my bag and lock up behind me. Aunt Janice has to leave early so she can beat the traffic to the city, and she gets home late. I’m okay with that, it gives me time on my own.
School is just around the next corner, but there is no sight of Lacey. She’s already gone in. As I walk through the doors of the main building, I feel everyone’s eyes settle on me.
“Yo, Brody!” I turn to see Hayden walking my way.
When he reaches me I scowl at him. “It’s Harper now. I told you I changed it.”
“I still don’t get why. You should keep your old man’s last name. Chicks will pity you for being related to a murderer. Work that bad boy image, you can score big time!”
I shove Hayden hard. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I can’t stand to look at him anymore and walk away.
“You have your father’s blood,” he calls after me, and I freeze in my tracks. “You should do the world a favor and off yourself before you start killing, too.”
I can’t believe he just said that. Slowly, I turn around. I see Hayden for what he really is, a bully, who needs to feed off other people’s pain to make himself feel better. I feel sad for the time I wasted on our so called friendship, but mostly, I feel sad for the person he has become.
~*~
Half of the kids are siding with Hayden, and avoid me. The other half still thinks I’m cool and treats me like nothing happened. I wonder if it’s the same for Lacey.
At least I have Marcus. He’s still my best friend. He came over right after Dad was arrested. We watched movies for two days straight. He didn’t expect me to talk about what happened, and he just said that it all sucked.
At break we sit at our usual table. Hayden’s running with a new crowd. It stings that our friendship meant so little to him.
I’m about to take a bite of my burger when someone shoves hard at my shoulder. When I look up, I’m surprised to see a blonde girl looking angrily at me. “How can you sit here as if nothing happened?” she shouts. I can feel every eye in the cafeteria turning on us.
I’m at a loss for words and don’t know what to reply. Will it help to tell her how bad I feel?
She shoves at my shoulder again and tears shimmer in her eyes. “She didn’t even make it through first period. She’s a wreck and you’re sitting here like nothing is wrong. People like you disgust me!”
For a moment I’m confused but then she says, “I don’t know what Lacey ever saw in you, but I’m glad she’s over it. You’re not worth a second of her time.”
She storms out of the cafeteria and I hear Hayden and his group laughing. None of that matters. She said Lacey is a wreck. It hurts to think that she might hate me as much as her friend does.
~*~
Chapter Seventeen
Lacey~
It’s day two of trying to go to school. I have to make it! I want my old life back. I want to be happy again, and the only way I can do that is by letting go of what happened.
I know I can do this.
I stand by the door of our RV, bouncing on the balls of my feet. I’m trying to take that next step. I even brushed my hair and put on some lip gloss. I’m wearing a dress. I’m really trying to make an effort. I see how my parents worry and I don’t want that for them. I want us all to be happy again. If they see that I’m okay, then they’ll stop worrying.
“I just want everything to be the way it was,” I whisper and force my feet to take that step.
One step becomes two, and two becomes three.
I don’t stop at the bus stop, but keep going instead. The cool morning air feels good. I concentrate on the sound my feet make as they hit the concrete. I stare at the grey beneath my feet. It’s so much better than black.
“Lacey!” When I hear my name, I jump with fright. I was concentrating so hard on the sound of my feet. I look up and shock vibrates through me. For a moment I’m confused. I watch Seth