The Hard Crush 1 (Feelings For You)

TEN

"No way!"

"Yes way," Winifred nodded, rolling her expressive blue eyes in an exaggerated fashion.

She'd just revealed to Tristian that Travis and Beatrice West had recently become her siblings. He seemed surprised by the little information, but she could also sense his disappointment too. His brows furrowed as he was lost in whatever his thoughts were.

She frowned. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"How come Jerry never mentioned it to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You do know you guys are neighbors, right?"

"Oh yeah," she shrugged casually.

He didn't go further with the topic, instead he flashed her a smile and went on with his lunch.

She could still catch a glimpse at his disappointment behind that smile. He didn't seem to like the idea of Jerry being her neighbor. And speaking of Jerry, she wondered if he even knew they were neighbors.

Travis drove them home after school. She sat behind in his car with Beatrice.

Beatrice seemed to share a really strong bond with Travis. They both talked and laughed on the drive home almost as though they were used to each other's company. Beatrice tried to drag her in their conversation but to no avail.

Travis ignored her, probably because he feared she'd ignore him if he tried talking to her. She was okay with that. She just found it difficult to get along with the dude.

When they got home, Winifred looked around and found her mom in the kitchen. She was cooking, which wasn't necessary. Since Roderick was so rich, he could've easily hired a chef or something.

"You know you don't have to do this," she said, walking towards her mom.

"How was school today?" Mom asked instead.

"Fine."

"Made any friends?"

"Yeah."

"I'm cooking dinner. Your dad will be home a bit early today, probably by six."

She scowled at her mom for referring to Roderick as her dad. "That's not funny. And is it always going to be like this?"

"Like what?"

"He leaves the house early in the morning and comes home by six or seven."

"What's wrong with that?"

"How do you know he isn't banging some women out there?"

"Hey! Watch your mouth!" Mom warned, obviously getting annoyed. "Roderick is a good man, and he isn't doing anything stupid out there. He goes straight to the office and comes home once he's done."

Winifred scoffed. "You don't know any of that. We don't even know him that well to begin with."

"No!" Mom snapped. "You don't know him that well. And you know why? It's because you don't want to give yourself a chance to get to know him." Her thin lips flattened out in mild fury as her short brown curls quit bouncing after she'd spoken. Her blue eyes softened as she regained her composure. "Listen, honey. I just wanna ask one thing from you. Please show Roderick some respect, he deserves it."

"Well you're asking for too much," she snapped and turned on her heels and walked out.

She bumped into Travis just as she slammed the kitchen door.

"What's the matter with you?" He asked.

She ignored him and walked past him, heading for the stairs. This time around, he wasn't going to get ignored because he ran to meet her.

"Don't follow me," she growled at him.

"Oh, I'm going to do just that," he said as he walked with her up the stairs. "You talk about my dad like he's been abusing you or something. That's fucked up."

"Oh so now you've been eavesdropping?"

"That's not the point."

"There's no point in what you're saying."

"Shut up!"

"No, you shut up," she blurted as they stopped by her bedroom door. "Now don't follow me."

"It's my house so I'll follow you anywhere I want."

"But not in my room," she replied with a smirk as she threw the door open and walked in, slamming the door behind her.