Because this book is now published, content stops after chapter twenty. Please proceed with this information in mind.
N i n e
June Collins. The woman could make nuns swear and cause full grown men to cry. She was a grade A bitch with the icy attitude to match.
Now, don't get me wrong. She wasn't always like this. In fact, she used to be one of those carefree mums who wore her hair in a lazy ponytail on the weekends and walked around barefoot in summer. She used to be the kind of parent that would hide behind doors, water gun in her hands, waiting for her children to walk around the corner.
June Collins was fun.
Then Ryder's dad cheated on her and she changed. A lot. After the divorce, Mr. Collins left the house and went to live with his girlfriend that looked young enough to still be at school. Mrs. Collins immediately dropped Ryder and his brother off at her mother's and disappeared for a few months.
And when she came back, she was a whole different person. I remember in grade seven, before Ryder and I had broken up, I called her 'Mrs. Collins' and she looked like she was going to bite my face off. It wasn't my fault though. I mean, I was aware of the divorce and everything, but I didn't know what her maiden name was. I used to call her June. But when she came back looking like she'd just come back from boot camp, my confidence to call her by her first named dulled.
Ryder pulled out his keys and unlocked the front door. I was so scared; I tiptoed into the house and craned my neck like an ostrich trying to see if she was around. Ryder turned and saw me creeping around his house like a weirdo, so he rolled his eyes at me and kicked the front door closed.
And that was all the noise he needed to make to have Mrs. Collins head towards the front door. The instant she started advancing towards the door, I knew she was on the move. The sound of her heels clicking against the wooden floor echoed through the empty space of the house and a few seconds later, she appeared. Instantly, my back straightened, as if good posture would make me invisible to the woman.
"Ryder, darling," she greeted, walking towards her son.
She paused for a moment, realising he wasn't alone. Her blue eyes flickered to me and quickly scanned my appearance. I suddenly felt extremely exposed and savage, wearing a tube as a shirt. Mrs. Collins adjusted her work blazer and smoothed down her pencil skirt.
"Nora," she said, her tone as cold as ice. "I didn't expect to see you here. Why haven't you been home?"
"We've been doing a school project," I answered for him,
"Excuse me, Nora, but I don't remember addressing you," she snapped, tone clipped.
I shrunk into the background.
"We're doing a school project," Ryder repeated, stepping forward to kiss his mother's cheek.
She arched her lips tightly, her painted lips thinning to a barely-there smile as she kept her eyes on me. When Ryder stepped back, she said nothing. She just continued to stare, her hand reaching up to her ear lobe to fiddle with her pearl earring. It was something she did unconsciously when she was thinking.
"When will you come home?" she questioned, after a moment of silence.
"Tonight, if you want," Ryder replied.
My eyes widened. Since Mrs. Collins had directed her attention to her son, I tried to catch his attention in the corners of his eyes. I kept my arms to my sides but waved my hands around in alert, probably looking like a penguin in a failed attempt to fly. When that didn't work, I started making faces at him; crossing my eyes, tiling my head to the side, frowning and sticking my tongue out but he kept his focus on his mother.
"You need a drink or something?"
I uncrossed my eyes and looked at Ryder and his mum looking at me like I was a total weirdo. Coughing awkwardly, tried to act nonchalant.
"Nah," I said, racking my mind for an excuse. Then suddenly, blurted, "I just need to pee."
Mrs. Collins raised an eyebrow at me. "You always did have a weak bladder."
"Um... Thank you?" I said hesitantly.
She waved a dismissive hand and walked away. "Just don't mess up my bathroom, Nora."
God, that woman was so... Intimidating.
When she disappeared, I muttered, "You got one scary mummy..."
~♥♥♥~
After Ryder collected a few things, we headed to school. We had about ten minutes to spare before first period started, so we headed towards the lockers; Ryder's first.
The halls were pretty empty, other than the random student or two huddling around trying to find a heater vent to cuddle up to. As we approached the rows of lockers, I saw shadows lurking around the corner, hushed whispers mumbling through the hall.
A moment later, a pretty blonde stepped out, taking one last glance at whoever she was talking to before walking briskly away. She looked like a junior student, tall, but with a young face. Eyes focused blankly in front her; she brushed past us, hardly acknowledging our existence. After she had departed through the side exit, the harsh winds outside slammed the heavy doors back into place.
Returning my attention back in front of me, I saw Chris step out of the shadows, right where the girl had come from. He craned his neck and scanned the corridors until his eyes met ours. Instantly, he smiled.
"Nora," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets as he headed over. "I've missed you."
"Hey, Chris!" Instantly, my hand shot up and started dorkily waving. Quickly, I plastered it to my side.
He chuckled as he approached us; eyes flickering to Ryder's and darkening before focusing on mine, orbs melting into something more sincere. His tie was loose, top button of his white shirt undone as if he had rushed to school that morning.
"Ready for our date tonight?" he asked.
"Totally." I grinned.
Slowly, his gaze fluttered past me and focused on something in the distance. Clearing his throat, he said distantly, "Well, I should go... I have some," he paused for a moment, "business to take care of."
"Oh," I said, trying not to sound so disappointed.
He smiled at me, then kissed my cheek. "I'm sorry, Nora. I can't wait to see you tonight." His gaze followed down my arm and towards my wrist where it was locked with Ryder's. "Can't wait to see you too," he smirked.
Ryder continued to glare at him as he pushed past and disappeared down the hall. I heard Ryder let out a grunt once he was out of view before we headed towards his locker. Dreamily, I rested against the one next to his. Ryder jerked open his locker so fast, I wasn't even sure if he spun the lock or just forced it open. The door swung open, nearly smacking me in the face. Quickly, I moved out of the way, barely avoiding a locker face-attack.
"Calm your farm, will you?" I said, watching as he pulled out some books and slammed the door closed again. "What's got you all worked up?"
"Look," he hissed, "he's trouble."
I laughed. "You sure have no shame in showing your jealousy, do you?"
Ryder shook his head, slamming his fist against the rows of lockers in frustration. With a loud, quick bang, he spun and looked at me. His usual faintly tinted blue eyes had darkened into something filled with passion and rage, like the sky before a thunderstorm. His jaw was tight. I was pretty sure he had just put a dent into someone's locker but I didn't dare keep my eyes off him.
"Why do you care?" I whispered, feeling small.
He narrowed his eyes at me. "I don't, Nora. I stopped caring about you that night at the game. I just don't want your girly mess when he breaks your heart."
Venom laced his words and I was stunned into silence. Looking down, away from his intense stare, I looked at the floor, suddenly finding a huge interest in the dirty ground. A moment later, Ryder spoke.
"Let's just go to class," he muttered, turning as he tugged me along.
I stayed almost silent through the rest of the day until my date with Chris, where I was determined to prove that Chris wasn't a bad guy. That Ryder had just misunderstood him. That Ryder just didn't know him and put so much hate on him because he wasn't part of the same popularity group.
But in the end was I trying to prove Chris' innocence to Ryder or to myself?