In His Bed (18+)

Chapter 12

The tick of the analog clock was a background metronome to the crescendoing babble of the classroom. With mere minutes to go until the final bell of the school day, the teacher had given up on trying to control the noise and was just letting us chat.

Or, rather, them.

Sneaking a glance around, I saw the animated, lively conversations of my peers.

I could have had that.

I could have had those kind of friends – the genuine, loving, supportive kind who were there for you, the kind who would stick by you like family...

Instead, I had Faith and Sierra.

They were both in AP Lit this period.

I was stuck in Pre-Calc.

I was stuck in Pre-Calc, and I had nobody to talk to, so I was idly scrolling through apps, trying to look less like a desperate loser than I felt.

Being part of Faith's squad had an effect on your social life. At the beginning, I'd thought that effect would be rockstar popularity and the kind of school years that people dream about.

It wasn't.

Faith's friendship left a stain on you. It marked you as untouchable – nobody dared to get close, knowing that it opened them up to a world of mockery and humiliation.

So here I was, sitting alone in Pre-Calc, counting the seconds until I was free.

Free to spend the weekend doing sinful things to Jason Coleman...

I smirked, and I let my imagination carry me so far away that I almost didn't hear the bell ring.

At my locker, I was putting away my math book when Faith walked up next to me.

"Are you sure you have no time to hang out this weekend?"

"I'm sure. I have work."

Faith sighed. "Lame." She turned to Sierra. "Guess she's going to miss out."

"Miss out on what?"

Sierra smirked. "Owen got the keys to his dad's cabin."

"Oh?"

"There's going to be boys, a bonfire, and lots of booze."

I shook my head. "It'll also be like, three degrees below freezing."

Faith scoffed, "Yeah – that's where the bonfire comes in."

"Sorry, there's nobody to take my shifts."

That was a bald-faced lie, but I couldn't feel guilty about it. Even if I wasn't about to bed her daddy, there was no way I wanted to spend tonight with Faith shivering my tits off.

"Can't you call in sick?"

"I already did that last weekend."

"So? Do it again."

Frustration flared within me. Faith had a very loose idea of what it meant to be employed.

I paused before replying, "I'd kind of like to keep this job."

Faith groaned. "Even lamer."

"It is what it is," I muttered. "Give the guys my regards."

Faith turned to Sierra, whining, "It's going to be a total sausage fest."

"More for us?"

Faith frowned. "Maybe we can catch Rowan. She's usually down for a party."

And they walked off without so much as a goodbye.

As I watched them leave, my eyes narrowed with annoyance.

I call these people "friends"?

Irritated, I finished and slammed the door shut, following the hallway that led to the parking lot.

Then he turned the corner, and I froze.

"Oh – uh, hi Hailey."

I couldn't help the way my eyes scanned up and down his lanky form, noting the subtle changes in his posture and the lean muscles of his arms.

"Will." My reply was curt as I moved to step around him.

"Hey, wait!" He called after me.

I stopped, turning around. "What, Will?"

For a moment, he looked soft, vulnerable, and I saw the Will I'd once known.

Then, he said, "I haven't seen you in a while – how are things?"

I felt my brows draw together in an unconscious scowl.

How are things?

My blood began to boil in my veins.

The fucking audacity...

"You do remember why we haven't seen each other in a while, right?" Venom dripped from my voice.

He looked away, uncomfortable at the reminder.

"Yeah, but-"

"No 'but', Will. You lost any right to be a part of my life four months ago." I spat.

"Look, I just want to talk-"

"Then call up Faith – I'm pretty sure you remember her number."

Pivoting on my heel, I felt my heart pounding as I walked away from the boy who'd shattered it.