Waking the Fae [BOOK ONE]

Chapter 3

Unable to keep the smile off her face, Rebecca walked to school. Last night had been perfect. Beyond perfect.

By the time she’d gotten home from school, her curiosity for the new kid hadn’t lessened. Honestly, Rebecca hoped he was ugly nerd with bushy eyebrows and is name would be Abbot or something equally ridiculous. She really didn’t need another popular guy harassing her. Not that she’d admit it aloud; she also didn’t want to watch the cheerleaders fawn all over him. If he was hot as they thought he’d be, the new guy would have girlfriend within an hour of being at the school – and then there was Rebecca who’d been there for years and had yet to be asked out. She didn’t want a boyfriend, but it still hurt. Even after three years, most of the school didn’t know her name; she was just the “freak” of the school. Seriously, even the nerds were called their real names. The thought of a guy coming into the school and his name being everywhere just depressed Rebecca.

Her father had been sitting on the lounge watching The Walking Dead when Rebecca had walked in the door, and she hadn’t even bother to change before sitting and joining him. She knew that she’d smelt, but her father had either not cared or he couldn’t smell her because he’d tucked her into his side, his arm around her shoulders the instant her butt had hit the lounge. Rebecca had melted into him without thinking, surrounded by his scent. He’d showered and changed into a shirt and jeans. They’d sat like that for at least an hour watching zombie attacks. In a total contradiction, her father loved The Walking Dead for the violence and considering he was a lawyer it was pretty ironic – he prosecuted people for violent acts and there he was enjoying it.

Finally he’d stood, announcing he had to get started on the lasagna. Of course, when Rebecca had offered to help her offers had been rejected. Rebecca had gone up to her room, grabbed Sempre from her bookshelf, and sat back down on the lounge. She absolutely was in love with Carmine and she’d memorised every Italian sentence in the book as well as the English translation she’d read them that many times.

When her mother had walked into the door, earlier than usual, Rebecca had stopped reading, still smiling. She loved the part when Carmine tried to teach Haven how to drive. Her mother had taken one look at the book and shook her head. After all, it was about the Mafia, and she didn’t want Rebecca to get any ideas, considering there was a chance she’d be the one to send Rebecca to jail if she tried anything. Rebecca just rolled her eyes; she was too much of a goody-two-shoes to even keep money she found on the street. Sensitive of other people’s situations more than others, she knew the true effect of stealing or anything illegal. Everyone had a story they kept secret from other people, something they were ashamed of, like Rebecca did. Few people knew the true extent of her childhood – only that she’d been an orphan who’d been to four different families. People made their own conclusions without Rebecca even getting a chance to defend herself.

Dinner had been amazingly good and Rebecca had eaten way too much; it was just too good to resist. She didn’t know why her father hadn’t become a chef, he could make anything taste like heaven. Rebecca hadn’t stopped laughing as her mother had ranted about the case she was working. Apparently, the defendant’s attorney had been an idiot who’d had not idea what he was doing and he’d been terrified of her mother – the reputation her parents held was intimidating. Her father had joined in the conversation as well and at the point Rebecca had zoned out – they’d started to use lawyer words that Rebecca didn’t even have the hope of understanding. She’d still laughed at them; they’d been so passionate about what they were talking about. They’d also both swore a few times which Rebecca would use against them in the future – her parents were adults, but they had a thing that if they swore in their daily life they’d use them in the middle of the case.

Now, as she walked to school, everything was still perfect. Rebecca wasn’t sure how long it would last though. She could ignore torment better than any one else, but little by little it always ate her – even self-inflicted hate kicked in. For now, though, Rebecca would take what she had and roll with it. She could deal with the inevitable torment later.