The first bell had already rung while I was meeting the counselor and Nonna was explaining my situation. Which meant I was going to have to walk into my first period of the day late. Everyone would stare at me. The teacher would stop talking, and he would also stare at me.

I glanced down at my schedule. Mr. Hawks was my US Government teacher, and I’d be facing him first. I walked down the empty hallway lined with lockers until I found room 203. I could hear who I assumed was Mr. Hawks talking through the door. Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself that I had faced things far scarier than this. I had lived through six months with girls who deserved to be in a correctional facility. That had been truly terrifying. This was just a classroom of kids who would never understand me. Who didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I made the best grades I could and stayed completely out of trouble.

My hand touched the cool metal of the door handle, and I twisted it before I could delay this any longer and entered the room. Just as I predicted, every eye swung toward me. I didn’t make eye contact though. I kept my gaze on the balding older man in the front of the room with a button-up shirt on that barely covered his belly.

“You must be Willa Ames,” he said with a smile that didn’t meet his eyes. “Please take a seat, Willa. We were just going over last week’s notes. There will be a test on them two days from now. I will expect you to ask a fellow classmate for a copy of their notes and prepare yourself. No time like the present to get caught up with the lessons. Just be careful whose notes you ask for. Not everyone in here is a passing student.” He finished that last bit by scanning the room as he looked over his half-moon glasses.

“Yes, sir,” I replied before turning to go to the only empty desk in the room. I didn’t look at anyone around me. I kept my gaze focused on that desk like it was a raft and I was on a sinking ship.

The Tree House Looks the Same

CHAPTER 4

GUNNER

“What made you decide to mess with crazy? Thought you’d had your fill of that already?” West Ashby asked me as we walked out of first period. It was the only class we had together. Other than being a great running back, he was also brilliant. Most of the classes he took were advanced classes. I couldn’t figure out why he did it. He’d go to college on a football scholarship. It wasn’t like he needed an academic one too.

“Not sure what you’re talking about,” I replied.

“Kimmie, man. She’s telling everyone y’all hooked up and are back together. From the way I remember, y’all were never together.”

Kimmie? Seriously? I hadn’t even slept with her, and she was telling shit. Maybe I did owe Brady a thank-you for hauling my ass home last night. “She’s lying.”

West chuckled. “Then you better straighten that out with her. Because she’s standing at your locker looking like a lovesick puppy.”

I jerked my head up and looked over at my locker. Sure enough. There stood Kimmie, smirking at me.

“Shit,” I grumbled.

“You’re gonna have to get a restraining order on that one,” West replied in an amused tone.

I needed to get to my locker, but I didn’t need to that badly. I headed down the hall for my second period.

“Good luck,” West called out behind me. I wasn’t in the mood for his humor.

I hadn’t gotten very far before a hand wrapped around my arm. “You aren’t even going to come see me? I was waiting on you!” Kimmie’s chipper voice grated on my nerves.

“Let go of my arm,” I demanded through my clenched teeth.

“But I wanted to talk to you. After last night I figured we had a lot to talk about,” she continued as if I hadn’t asked her to let me go.

I glanced over her head and saw the sign for the girls’ restroom. Before this got any more embarrassing, I shoved her toward the door, then opened it and went inside, knowing she would have to follow me if she was going to keep ahold of my arm.

She began to giggle. “Bad boy, going in the girls’ restroom.”

I dropped my books on the edge of the sink, then reached over and detached Kimmie’s hold on me. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I asked, stepping away from her once I was free. “I was drinking. We made out a little. Hell, I don’t remember most of it.” Okay so that was a lie. I was not drunk. Just being stupid.

Kimmie looked as if I’d slapped her. “But I thought that you wanted to get back together. I thought you liked me.”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “Kimmie. I don’t do girlfriends. Everyone in this school knows that. We were never together. We hooked up. That was it.”

Her bottom lip began to quiver, and I wanted nothing more than to grab my books and get the hell out of here.

“But—but—I thought—” she began to stammer.

“You thought wrong. But I will make you a promise. I’ll never come near you again. Drunk or sober. So back off and leave me alone.”

Kimmie let out a sob and covered her mouth, then ran for the door. I knew this time I’d just had to be straightforward. The last time she thought we were an item I had tried being nice and letting her off easy. But she’d started showing up at my house with food and stalking me. I had used Serena to show her that we were not a couple. I wasn’t in the mood to do something that drastic again.

I reached for my books just as a door to one of the stalls opened. I had thought we were alone. Smirking, I waited to see who had overheard all this. Hopefully, it was someone with a big mouth so that the rumors that I was dating Kimmie would be squashed before lunch.