Living with the Grace Boys

Chapter 18

Rae's POV

Shane and I spent the last hour in his room watching Teen Wolf. We just finished the latest episode when the front door was opened.

We both appear at the top of the stairs to see Sterling walking inside. He peers up at us with a questioning look.

"Why are both of you here? You don't get out of school for another half our. You didn't ditch did you? Because I swear-"

"We didn't ditch, Sterling. Rae wasn't feeling well, so I took her here. I just decided to stay with her." Shane explains.

"Okay good. Are you feeling sick Rae?" Sterling sizes me up. He looks skeptical.

"Oh, uh, well sort of." I manage to get out.

"When'd you come home?"

"After lunch." I stand here, playing nervously with the hem of my shirt.

"What happened?" Sterling hopped up the stairs.

"Oh, well my stomach was hurting and I-I had a headache." I've used this excuse so many times.

Sterling nodded, but he didn't seem to believe my story. Honestly I don't even believe my lie.

"Why are you home early, Ster?" Shane adds to take the focus off of me.

"I got off early today." Sterling turns away down the hallway.

Shane and I walk back into his room and lay on his bed.

"What're you thinking about?" I can tell that there's something on his mind.

"Sterling has never gotten off early the entire time he's had this job. Not once. Why now?" Realization strikes Shane's face  like a match.

He leaps off the bed and bounds down to Sterling's door. He pounds hard on the wooden slab until he is granted entrance.

"Chill out Shane. What's gotten into you?"

"You got laid off, didn't you?" Shane's anger is boiling.

"What? I didn't get laid off." Sterling's voice is unsteady.

"You're lying! Why won't you tell me the truth?" Shane makes himself bigger. He steps closer to Sterling.

"Shane, stop it." I step in between them.

"Don't tell me why to do Rae. This is why Eli can't stand you! You're so bossy. And I stuck up for you! If you hadn't gotten in the fucking way, you wouldn't have gotten punched by Eli!" He spits at me.

"What?" Sterling pulls me behind him. "You and Eli got in a fight? And Eli punched Rae! Why the hell didn't you tell me when you came home?"

"I don't know, why didn't you answer my question?"

I push past the both of them and storm to my room. I slam the door shut and lock it. I can't stand it when people blame me for everything.

I was blamed for breaking things, stealing stuff, and worst of all, I was blamed for getting raped. People said that I was "asking for it" and that I "deserved what I got". And that just blows. I crawl under the covers. I want to be anywhere but here.