I know I look like a fool trying to haul myself over the edge of the pool, but I do it. I lie there for a minute, trying to catch my breath, but I finally manage to stand up and stalk through the house, ready to unleash hell. He's gone. That coward has run off after throwing me in the pool.
One of his cars is gone, his backpack is still tossed against the wall of the foyer, and there's no chance of me berating him before I leave.
Reality slowly creeps in. I have nowhere to go. I have no money to get another place right now. One of my scholarships comes in monthly installments, but I won't get it for another two weeks, and it'll only be three-hundred dollars. What the hell am I supposed to do if I leave?
Without another thought, I walk outside, step to the edge of the pool, and let myself fall back in.
Kade has done well to avoid me since our confrontation yesterday. Since I really had no other option, I decided to stay. Once the fury had worn off and the dire reality of my circumstances set in, I begrudgingly accepted my one and only option - live with Kade and endure the mockery.
Maybe I'll get lucky and some scandal will sweep the school and steal the spotlight from me. Tomorrow he's having a party. I never agreed to that, but I'm not calling Mr. Colton to tattle. I doubt I'll ever speak to the man again.
As soon as I leave my last class, I see the guy who harassed me in front of Kade yesterday. His hat is drawn so low I can't see his eyes, but you never forget those who love to torture you. Their image is always burned into your brain.
He runs all over me before I can sidestep his path, and my backpack falls from my shoulder. I curse when the zipper strips and all my shit spills out onto the ground. So now he's resorted to physical contact to humiliate me as well. Perfect. I almost made it through a whole day without anyone spewing their lies or taunts.
"S-sorry," he stammers out, sounding a little panicked as he rushes to jerk me to my feet. In his haste, he almost jerks my arm out of socket.
Sorry? Really?
He scrambles to start scooping all my stuff up and push it back into my bag, while I stand there stupefied. What's going on?
When he finishes the task of reassembling my backpack, he frantically starts trying to fix my destroyed zipper.
"Fuck," he growls when he's unable to make it work. "I'll buy you a new one," he says while standing up and carefully handing it to me without letting the sides fall open.
I warily accept it, still waiting on some major blow up. Should I look around to see if this is the distraction before the ambush?
It's then I notice his black and swollen eye - the reason he's hiding under a hat. An involuntary smile tugs at my lips. This asshole has apparently tried bullying the wrong person at some point and time. Serves him right.
"I'll get my own backpack," I mutter as his trembling hands release the bag. "I'd hate to end up with a backpack full of snakes or something."
He doesn't say anything else before almost sprinting away from me. I'll add that to the list of bizarre things that have happened today. Most people have gawked
at me, but no one has really taunted me. The group of girls who've been calling me "Daddy's dirty little secret" for several days have all but disappeared today.
Either they've resorted to hushed whispers, or my prayers for a bigger scandal have been answered. I'll gladly let them talk behind my back. There's no one here I'm trying to impress. As long as they leave me alone, they can ruin my name in this state.
"What happened?" Kade growls when he walks up beside me, his eyes on my bag.
I jump a little from the unexpected suddenness of his presence. "Nothing. Joseph ran over me, my bag fell and broke open."
I shrug, trying not to seem rattled. I'm still humiliated for letting him see me fall apart yesterday. I should be seething over the fact he threw me in the pool, but sadly, I'm almost glad he did. I would have probably left and been homeless if he hadn't.
He lets a snort of disbelief free, and then his eyes scour the grounds for something. I tilt my head, curious as to what he's searching for.
"Looking for someone?"
"Yeah. I'll catch up with you later."
He's gone before I can say anything more than that. It's not like it matters. He's so... confusing. He tosses me in a pool and then avoids me. Then he shows up at random to ask about my broken backpack before disappearing again. I wish he'd make up his mind about whether he hated me or tolerated me.
"Hey," a voice says, startling me.
I turn to see a girl with braided pigtails and a secretive grin. Here it comes. I should have knocked on wood or something. I jinxed myself by thinking they'd moved on from torturing me.
"Go ahead. Say whatever you want. I've heard it all," I mumble while turning away.
She jogs up beside me, and I chance glancing at her to see a frown instead of her earlier smirk.