Chem goes by surprisingly smooth and I can't believe I actually understood something today. It's fucking amazing. We pack up our shit and quietly make our way to the cafe. I'm nervous for lunch and seeing Ember. I need to be using this time to convince Adri I care about her but Ember is making that difficult.
We walk into the cafe and I spot Ember and Adri sitting with Jake, Jordan, Cara, and Charles. Travis clasps me on the shoulder and nods towards his group and table. He wants to sit with them as he always does and that's cool. I nod and start towards Adri. Time to amp up the pressure, I need Ember to get used to the idea of her and I.
I stand behind Adri and watch as she stiffens. She can sense me even before she sees me and I take that as a good sign. I bend down and wrap my arms around her neck and kiss her cheek.
"Hey." I whisper in her ear.
"Hi." She whispers back and sends a nervous glance in Ember's direction.
I stand up and sit between her and my sister, leaning over to kiss Ember's cheek with a loud smack and grab a piece of grilled chicken off her plate. At first she looks completely murderous but then I grin at her and she rolls her eyes then focuses back on her plate.
"You're brave." Adri whispers as she eats her fries. I steal one of those, too.
"I actually just shit myself." I whisper back and she starts to giggle.
"Bro, we skating today?" Jake asks and I look up at him.
"I rode my bike today, I couldn't bring my board. Tomorrow?'
"Yeah man, that's cool." Charles chimes in.
"Or maybe we can all head over to the local bar and strip?" Ember states as she stuffs some green leaves into her mouth.
"Ew, no thanks. You're my sister. Take Vin." I pretend to shudder and everyone at the table laughs, including my stone cold sister.
"I can't believe you two did that." Ember mutters.
"Travis got talent though." I say around a mouthful of Adri's burger.
"True dat." Charles nods and we all laugh again.
"Where's Vin?" I ask.
"Sitting with the drama folks. No peasants allowed." Cara says, "Ember is the only one that will sit with her fans."
"Thank you," Ember mock bows, "thank you."
I have yet to see Ember act and I'm hoping she gets another lead role this year. I heard she did amazing last year. When the bell rings, I groan and lay my head on Adri's shoulder.
"Don't make me go to trig." I whine.
"I'll be with you," Ember grins and yanks on my ear. "Let's go."
"Ow!" I bellow and hear the table snickering behind me as Ember drags me out of the cafe.
"You have some serious explaining to do." She releases me with a shove.
"I promise no kittens were harmed in the time you were gone," I hold up my hands as she narrows her eyes at me. "Just trust that the three of us know what we're doing."
"Both of you want to date Adri, at the same time?" Her brow raises.
"Something like that." Her eyes narrow again and I hold up my hand, "let us sort it out and then we'll talk to you, okay?"
"Fine." She grounds out and stomps off in front of me.
"That looked dangerous." Travis says walking up beside me.
"Can I sleep in your room tonight? I'm scared she'll kill me in my sleep." I steeple my hands and give him my best puppy dog eyes.
"Sure..." he drawls out, "no clothes rule though." Then he winks and walks ahead.
"Did you just flirt with me?" I whisper loudly behind him and watch as his shoulders start to shake. "God damn..."
17
When trig is over, my cheeks hurt from holding in laughter while listening to Ember and Emmett's bantering, I get ready and head to the gym for baseball. I get to my locker in the change room and see Kevin sitting on a bench in front of his locker.
"Kev," I call out to him. "Can we talk after this?"
"Sure." He shrugs and begins to tighten the laces on his shoes.
It’s time for him and I to have a discussion about Coach and what I suspect happened to him. Maybe if he knows what went down with me, he’ll want to open up. As soon as I told Vin and Ember what happened, it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders. For once people who actually cared knew what happened to me and wanted to help. Ember killed Coach but that was her way of helping. I want to be a help to Kevin and whoever else that sick fuck touched.
I’ve decided tonight I will go to ‘check’ on my mother and call the police when I find her body. I really don’t want her rotting stench sticking to the insides of that house any longer than necessary. Then I plan on demolishing that whole house down to the ground. Maybe I will rebuild in a few years, raise a family and be content for once. One could hope.
I tried calling Sonja’s cell phone once last night and again this morning with no answer. What the fuck did my mother do to make her not want to talk to us? She’s put up with a lot of abuse at the hands of those monsters for years and now I know it was so she could be near me, her son. I’m worried, I can’t think of anything worse than what she’s already been through to make her up and leave, but there’s always worse and I know that for sure. When I asked Christina where she was, she just kept repeating ‘she left.’ I have a bad feeling about it.
“Travis,” Coach Wheeler sticks his head in the locker room, “almost ready?”
“Sorry Coach.” I tie up my shoes. “I’ll be right out.”
Coach Wheeler nods and closes the locker room door. He’s a good coach,
