Red Hot Winter - K. Webster Page 0,23
much?
My phone buzzes again and I expect it to be August. It’s a number I don’t recognize, though.
Unknown Number: It’s Jenna. I got a phone for Christmas.
I turn in my seat to see the sad girl Jenna giving me a small smile. Once I’ve saved her name into my phone, I reply back.
Me: About damn time. I’m Winter…but you already know that because Coach yells it enough times.
Jenna: Ha…yep. This class is so hard!
Me: Coach’s butt is harder. Seriously, you could bounce chalk off dat ass.
She sniggers but thankfully he’s too busy droning on to notice.
Jenna: It is a pretty hard looking butt. I still think his class is harder.
Me: You think he’s bad for a teacher…I heard he’s even worse as a coach.
Jenna: Oh, God. I would die. I’ve seen kids running up and down the bleachers.
Coach whips around and starts yelling at a boy who’s whispering to a girl beside him. I give Jenna wide eyes and she has to cover her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing. When he looks our way, we both play it cool. Eventually, the bell rings and we’re saved from Satan’s torment.
“Don’t be a stranger,” I tell Jenna as I shove my book into my bag and then shoulder it. “If you need a study partner or just someone to talk to, I’m here.”
A smile tugs at her lips. “Thank you. See you around.”
She hurries out of the class and I make my way into the hall. I’m walking toward my locker when someone calls my name.
Callie.
We’ve texted about silly things but haven’t spoken much in a couple of weeks. She’s wearing a frown and I cringe, knowing that eventually she’s going to confront me about what happened with her mom that day at the mall. I got a free pass during the holidays because she spent nearly all her time with her boyfriend, Landon, but now that school is back in, she’s going to say something.
“Will you talk to her?” she asks, her brows furrowing.
Jackie? Fuck no.
“Your mom—”
“Not Mom,” she exclaims in exasperation. “It’s Lauren.”
I frown at her. Lauren is quiet and keeps to herself. I don’t know that I’ve actually ever spoken to Landon’s sister before. “Me?”
She nods. “She’s mad at Landon, which means she’s mad at me by default. But…” She purses her lips and looks over her shoulder. “She’s not doing so well. Landon doesn’t want just anyone in there with her. Please, Winter. You owe me.”
I owe her for fucking her dad.
Uggghhh.
“Right, sure. Where is she?”
She waves me to follow her into the bathroom. Landon’s worried stare meets mine when I round the corner. His shoulder is leaned against the door as he attempts to talk to Lauren.
“She’s sick. Like sick sick,” he whispers as I approach. “I want her to go home so Dad can take her to the doctor. She’s been getting worse the past few weeks.” Then he raises his voice so she can hear. “She keeps ignoring things, but this isn’t something that will simply go away.”
The way he talks to her annoys the hell out of me.
“Tell Callie to text me your number. I’ll let you know how she is later. I think you two should get to class. Let me see if I can talk to her,” I tell them.
He nods at me before taking Callie’s hand. She mouths a “thank you” at me. I rap my knuckle on the metal door.
“Lauren?”
Silence.
“They’re gone. Let me in.”
The bell rings for the next class and it’s then I hear the metal scrap as she unlocks the door. She’s sitting on the closed lid of the toilet, her long blond hair hanging around her face as she stares at the floor.
“You okay?”
“Just nauseous.”
“Pregnant?” I ask, frowning.
She lifts her chin and her brown eyes bore into me. “Kind of have to do the deed for that to happen.” Her expression turns sour and tears well in her eyes. “That definitely hasn’t happened. Ever.”
I let out a sigh and walk over to the sink where I get a few paper towels wet. When I make my way back over to her, I brush her sweaty hair off to the side and lay the cold, wet paper against the back of her neck. “Okay, virgin girl. What’s wrong?”
She snorts. “Virgin girl?”
“We haven’t exactly been formally introduced before.”
“Lauren is fine.”
“Lauren is not fine,” I say as I squat in front of her. “Lauren is sick, hiding from her brother and his girlfriend, and missing class. From