The Moth and the Flame (When Rivals Play #2) - B.B. Reid Page 0,14

and been done with me a long time ago. It’s happened before, and I could count on my fingers and toes, and all of my many caseworkers’ too, how many times I’d gotten into a fight at group homes. The only good that came from it was that I was now pretty scrappy. It served me well whenever I decided I’d rather live on the streets than subject myself to warm, family dinners or perverted men. You name it, I’ve lived it. It’s been a hard couple of years, but I wised up fast.

“Hey, wait up!” I heard Eliza shout.

Ignoring her request, I didn’t stop until I reached the bus stop.

She was panting when she caught up to me. “You know I’d never rat on you, right?”

“I hear ya.”

“Seriously.” She tugged my arm until I faced her. “I want to be friends.”

Where have I heard this before? Oh, right. From a certain dark-haired gangbanger with eyes that changed colors, and who had a reoccurring appearance in my dreams. “Well, I don’t.”

“I know you want me to think you’re a total bitch, and if I’m honest, sometimes you’re really convincing, but I already know you’re not. I heard about what you did to that girl who called me a porker.”

Eliza was on the heavier side—a size eighteen she’d gleefully gloat—but that only added to the fact she was beautiful as fuck. She had red hair that fell to her thick waist, green eyes, big and round enough to make Bambi envious, and lips so pink and pouty even I’d wondered a couple of times what it would be like to kiss her. Hell, if anyone could convince me to give up boys, it would be Eliza.

All the girls at school knew she was a babe, and so did the boys, which is why she got more shit thrown at her than anyone else, including me. I was homeless, orphaned, and a loner. Wherever the totem pole ended at my school, I was ten feet below it. Eliza, simply because she was beautiful inside and out, had been forced even lower.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course, you do.” She huffed. “People are saying Cora Peterson will need plastic surgery if she wants her nose straight again.”

I shrugged while inspecting my nails. “Cora has a bad habit of not watching her step. I warned her before, but she’s so clumsy that she tripped anyway.”

“Into her locker?” Eliza questioned with a raised brow.

“It broke her fall.”

Thankfully, the loud rumbling of our bus stole her attention, and we both watched as it slowly approached the stop sign across the street. It hissed as it rolled to a stop and blocked my view of the cars that were parallel parked. But not before I glimpsed the sun beaming off the hood of a 1966 Chevy Impala. My legs suddenly turned to jelly, and if they shook any harder, my knees would be knocking together. The bus started forward, hissing and rumbling as it turned and rolled toward our stop, continuing to block my view. Once the bus doors opened, everyone pushed forward at once, and since I was standing in the middle of the small crowd, I was herded up the steps. I anxiously made my way toward the back of the bus, shoving aside the ones slow to take their seat, and peered out the emergency door’s window.

The spot where the Impala had been was now empty.

As hard as I tried to convince myself, I knew I hadn’t imagined it. I was warm all over, not to mention I felt like my blood was rushing and every pleasure point my body possessed had been awakened. I couldn’t quite catch my breath. Dazed, I sank into the empty seat next to Eliza and ignored her curious glances as my mind continued to race.

Why had Wren come? What could he hope to gain by stalking me? And most importantly, why the hell was I so excited by the possibilities?

I could think of nothing else. The entire day passed by in a blur, and I couldn’t recall a single moment beyond spotting Wren’s car. During the bus ride home, my eyes kept scanning the street and every parked car, but I didn’t spot the Impala hiding in plain sight.

Did he know that I’d seen him? Would he come back? Did I want him to?

I didn’t go straight to the Hendersons’ as I’d been instructed. Instead, I hopped another bus against Eliza’s warnings and spent the next