Wrong Side of Town

“Yeah, you’re right. I just wish I could make everything better for her.” Eddie had a look of defeat on his face, and feeling horrible, I reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Believe me, just having you in her life is making things better for her. Give it time, Eddie. Give her time to heal. She’ll get through this; just keep doing exactly what you’re doing.”

My hand fell from Eddie’s shoulder, and we were both silent, lost in our own thoughts. Finally, Eddie hitched his backpack strap higher up on his shoulder and gave me a tight smile. “Thanks for the talk, Estella. Let me know if you can find out anything from Hadie.”

“Of course I will.”

Eddie gave me a small nod before passing me by, and I slumped against my locker, trying to process everything he’d just said.

There was so much going on in my life at the moment that I kind of felt bad for relegating Hadie to the backseat. There was really only so much I could do for her, though. She preferred to be alone, and I could understand her need to be solitary. Still, it wasn’t right for her to completely withdraw. I would have to do something about that.

Hurrying outside, I made my way to the bus stand that was just across the street. The bus that came there went all the way through town before heading to Penthill. It was a long trip, but at least it was convenient.

As I was about to cross the street, I caught sight of something that made me falter.

Vincent was here.

He had parked his bike—illegally, of course—across the street at the bus stand, and was leaning against it with his arms folded across his chest. And, he looked good. By good, I mean good.

He had on a pair of faded jeans, a white denim shirt—thankfully, the sleeves were rolled down so my eyes weren’t assaulted by his numerous tattoos—and brown leather boots. He wore a pair of Aviators and looked sexy as hell. I mean, normally he was sexy anyway, but there was something about the way his shirt hugged his upper body that made me feel like I’d skipped a step and almost fallen over.

Gah. Why was I acting like a total idiot? I was supposed to be angry at him. I was angry at him. It didn’t matter how sexy he looked; he had really hurt me the other night. Vincent Madden could take his sexiness and go right back to Penthill for all I cared.

Straightening myself up to my full height, I stalked across the street and was mentally preparing myself to walk around him and his vehicular obstruction when he straightened up and stepped onto the pavement, waiting for me.

Those full lips of his were upturned in a smirk, and I tried my hardest to keep my mind focused. I would not let myself be distracted by the sexiest lips I had ever seen. No, I would ignore him a-and um-

“Stelle.”

That single word made me stop just as my foot hit the pavement. Why did he have to use my name against me? He had such an unfair advantage over me. One day, I’d have to find something to use against him, too.

“What?” I snapped, hoping my expression was as biting as my tone.

Vincent took a step towards me, the smirk still lingering on his face. His eyes drifted over my body before settling on my face. “Let me give you a ride to Penthill.”

My eyes narrowed at his words. “How the heck do you know where I’m going? Are you having one of your gang buddies secretly tail me and monitor my movements?”

His lips twitched in the slightest. “I know the heck because exactly three weeks ago I met you for the first time on a Monday night leaving the Penthill community center.”

“Oh.” My face heated up, and I stared at a crack in the pavement as embarrassment washed over me. I felt like a total idiot. Why couldn’t I just keep my mouth shut?

“Yeah, oh.” His tone was smug and it made me want to pummel him with my backpack. “C’mon, let me give you a ride. It’ll be a helluva lot faster than the bus.”

When I looked up, I found him scrutinizing me, his head tilted to the side. He cleared his throat and quickly glanced away, looking uncomfortable.

Sighing, I weaved my fingers through my hair, trying to find the best way to deal with Vincent. I didn’t really understand why he was offering me a ride to Penthill after our blow out on Friday night. Had he ridden all the over here just to take me to Penthill? That just seemed weird that he would go out of his way like that.

“Can I be frank, Vincent?” I fixed him with the firm look I often used when I was giving Savannah or Nathan a lecture. “I’m not sure what you’re doing here. I’m not entirely sure what your motives are, but I’ve already decided that I won’t be tutoring Dylan anymore. I’m not sure what you expect from me beyond that.”

Vincent ran a hand through his hair, his face pinching up. He let out a breath, exhaustion settling into his face. “Look, I just wanted to talk, okay? Let me give you a ride and we can talk later. I swear, I’m not gonna knock you off or anything.”

A smile crept onto my face, and I nodded. “Fine. You can give me a ride.”

Relief replaced the exhaustion on Vincent’s face, and he offered me the spare helmet. As I climbed onto the bike behind him, he reached behind him and grasped my arms, wrapping them around his waist.

When he started the engine, my heart gave a jolt, and I wasn’t sure if it came from the thrill of being on the bike or from being this close to Vincent again even after I’d decided that I didn’t want to have anything to do with him.

As Vincent sped off down the road, the mixed feelings I had towards him started seeping into my thoughts. Primarily, was I attracted to Vincent? I didn’t really pay attention to guys much, even though a few had asked me out before. Of course, I’d turned them down and I think eventually, other guys had taken the hint and moved onto girls who showed more interest in them.

That didn’t bother me though. I preferred to focus on my school work and taking care of my family. I mean, sure, it would be nice to have someone there for you in more-than-a-friends way, but the whole dating thing wasn’t appealing to me.

The last time I’d had a crush on a guy was when I was fifteen. It’d been at the end of freshman year, and Carter Hammond and I had been flirting for a while. I’d been pretty sure he would ask me out before summer break, and then we’d spend all summer getting close.

But all that had quickly been forgotten, because a couple of months before summer break, my dad lost his job, gambled away our savings, and my mom upped and left us without a word.

After that, my life fell apart around me, and I was powerless to do anything about it. The only thing I could do was try and hold my family together as best as I could. Savannah was about to start high school and Nathan had already started applying for colleges.

That summer, Nate couldn’t stand to live in the same house as dad, so he’d applied for a room on his college campus and moved away at the start of summer. He’d been lucky; he’d missed a lot of what had happened afterwards.

Because after Nathan had left, my life had truly become a nightmare. Dating Carter Hammond was the last thing on my mind when school started up in the fall. For that matter, dating anyone was the last thing on my mind.

News about my messed up family life had warded off the advances of other guys—no one wanted to deal with their girlfriend’s crazy, alcoholic father—and though guys looked at me, they never approached me with any other intentions.

But now, pressed against Vincent like this, I wasn’t sure what to think. He was the only guy in a long time who had dared to look me in the eye. Who only saw me, and didn’t see the girl who came surrounded by rumors.

I was being silly though. There was no chance for a guy like Vincent and a girl like me. We were way too different—we were from completely different worlds. Vincent wasn’t the kind of guy who settled down, and I wasn’t the kind of girl who could handle instability.

And, here I was running away with my crazy thoughts when there was no logical reason for me to be having these crazy thoughts about Vincent. It was never going to happen. I would never let it happen. And, besides, I doubted that I was even his type. He was the kind of guy who made a move when he liked a girl, and obviously there was no interest on his part.

Therefore, I should stop thinking about how firm his stomach muscles felt beneath his shirt. Yes. I. Should. Stop. Now.