Finally Saved

Chapter 10

                "Sasha!" Meredith scolded.

                "What? She brought that on herself by saying her dad wasn't dead." I almost smiled at Sasha's reasoning. I guess I did kind of ask for her question.

                "He's just not in the picture anymore." I replied evasively before they started arguing.

                "So, do you have any siblings?" Lilly asked while I took Dustin's empty bowl and put it next to mine in the dishwasher.

                Yes.

                No.

                How am I supposed to answer that?

                "It's a long story." I finally replied. I grimaced when Sasha opened her mouth to speak.

                "It's not a long story. Either you do have a sibling or you don't." I knew I wasn't going to get away with just saying that.

                "I have an older brother but we haven't talked in years." I shrugged as it if it was no big deal but judging from the sympathetic looks I was receiving, I wasn't doing so well.

                "Well let's get going then." Dustin interrupted the awkward silence. I flashed him a grateful smile as we all got up and made our way to the front door.

                The ride to school was loud and less heavy. I found myself smiling the whole way, a warm happy feeling bubbling up in me. If this is what having friends felt like then I couldn't imagine how I'd managed so long by myself. The group kept me laughing throughout the ride as they retold stories about some of their adventures. I'll admit, they were a crazy bunch of people but at the same time it seemed fitting that they were all friends. They even managed to get me to admit I used to sing but was in retirement so to speak. What surprised me the most about the car ride to school was that I actually enjoyed their company. I'd never thought I would enjoy being around such loud extroverts but after hanging out with them, even after such a short time, I felt myself growing fond of the outgoing people in the car.

                "I can't believe it's only the second day of school. I'm so ready to be out of this place." Meredith complained as she climbed out of the car.

We all stood around Dustin's Range Rover while waiting for the bell to ring. I idly wondered where Nick was and caught myself as my eyes roamed the parking lot. I couldn't explain the fascination I had with him. It was like I was insanely attracted to him but I didn't know why. He had foreign feelings exploding within me and I couldn't find a reason why I reacted so strongly to him. Just the thought of him has my heartbeat quickening and my stomach doing flips. I frowned, forcing myself to stand behind Dustin so his back would block my view of the parking lot. I was starting to act like an obsessive stalker. I listened half-heartedly as Meredith and Lilly retold a story about the time they'd gone to the local waterpark and found someone's bikini bottoms floating in the wake pool. Sasha stood next to me but still continued to ignore my presence.

"You're kidding me." Meredith suddenly cut off, looking at something behind Dustin.

"What is she doing here? I thought she was going overseas for school." Lilly muttered, looking annoyed. It was then that I became aware of the loud clicking of heels against the pavement.

"I'll give it her. She has guts." Sasha said while looking mildly impressed.

I peered around Dustin's shoulder to see a striking girl walking towards us. Her jet black hair was straight and fell down her back in layered waves. Her skin was rather pale and contrasted greatly with her inky hair. Most people wouldn't be able to pull of the darkness of her glossy hair and the starkness of her skin but she managed to look undeniably gorgeous. She was model tall with a thin, hourglass figure. I was insanely jealous of the way she carried herself; so confident and sure of herself. I've never possessed that confidence and I didn't think I ever would. Black jeans and a white blouse adorned her body while a fitted black leather jacket encaged her arms. I almost laughed when I saw the long sleeved jacket. It was like eighty degrees and she was wearing a black leather jacket. She was obviously one of those girls that dressed for style rather than comfort.