Saving Lexi

Chapter 3

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"They're going to kill me," Lydia groaned at lunch.

"It's just detention, you'll be fine!"

"Lexi, this is our second detention together! They're going to kill me, and then they're coming after you."

I just laughed. I never minded detention. It was more time at school before I had to go home to an empty house.

"What's going on?" Melvin and his best friend Ronnie walked up and sat at our table.

"Nothing," I said quickly.

"We got detention!"

"Lydia!"

"Again?" Melvin was amused as usual. "You're in trouble."

"You fold so quickly," I said to her.

"He was going to find out anyway!"

"It was for excessive talking again, wasn't it?" Ronnie asked, interrupting our bickering.

"It was for excessive hotness actually," I retorted.

"Oh, I bet," Melvin snorted. I shot him a glare and he winked at me, wiping the look right off my face.

"Just glue your mouths shut already and give us all a break!" Ronnie said, completely oblivious to the exchange Melvin and I just had. The boys burst into laughter.

"Who would you talk to, if you lost your only friends?" I retorted.

"You think we're friends? You're 7th graders," Ronnie laughed.

"Oh, shut up!" Lydia threw a bag of carrots at him.

"Thank you!" He smiled and opened the bag.

"No, I like those, give it back."

Ronnie took one but handed her back the carrots.

"I hate carrots, want mine, Lexi?" Melvin offered without looking at me.

I narrowed my eyes at him but he didn't turn to face me.

"No."

"Please, my mom—"

"Your mom will be pissed, fine, hand it over." I rolled my eyes but took the carrots. I knew what he was doing, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

"Thank you," he said with a satisfied grin. "What were you guys even yapping about?"

"Probably how dreamy I am." Ronnie grinned.

"Barf."

"Oh, Jesus, no, Ron."

"My sister," Melvin said and smacked the back of Ronnie's head.

"I was kidding!"

As close as Ronnie and Melvin were, Lydia was not someone the Tonelli boys played about. Everyone knew not to mess with her, even their close friends. Just another reason to envy Lydia, her brothers would destroy anyone for her— even their best friends.

I wanted that kind of love, that kind of loyalty. Although as her sidekick I enjoyed some of the Tonelli perks, it wasn't the same as having your own family to protect you.

It hurt to think about Luke, who had spent every night this week at his girlfriend's house without a second thought. He would never be the brother that I longed for. I was alone.

"We were talking about the home invasions, actually," Lydia corrected him. "And how our street is next."

"No one's robbing our house," Melvin snorted. "There's too many people in it."