"I warned you about staying away from Kyle." She said snotily.
"He's my chem partner. It's kinda hard to stay away from him." I said a little harshly.
What can I say, I was kind of getting annoyed with her threats. Shes been on my case before i even walked in the school and im getting sick of it.
I went to walk around her to sit in a desk but she wouldn't let me pass her. I could feel myself getting angry. I knew something would happen if I didn't control it and just as i was about to scream at her to move an old plump lady with red cheeks and a nice face walked in and said "Mary.Can you take your seat please?"
So her names Mary. Huh.
She rolled her eyes at the teacher and walked away.
The teacher looked at me then and said kindly "You must be Lucy."
I was shocked and stuttered, "Um. Y-y-yeah. Im Lucy Porter."
"Well. It's nice to meet you Lucy. Im Mrs. Kane. You can sit right in that desk next to Courtney." She said pointing to a desk in the middle next to a girl with a nice smile and blonde hair.
I sat down next her and smiled.
"It's nice to meet you Lucy." Courtney whispered to me.
I smiled even bigger and said, "You too."
I can tell I was going to like this class except for the fact that Mary was in it glaring at me the whole time.
***
The bell rang ending the class and I was packing my stuff up when Courttney looked at me and said sweetly, "You can sit with me and my friends at lunch if you want."
I smiled at her and said, "Sure." She was the type of girl to make people smile. I liked that about her.
***
We were walking to the commons together and she looked at me and said, "I don't mean to snoop but are you good friends with Kyle Camden?"
I was shocked she was asking me about him but I answered her kindly. "No. He just helped me yesterday."
"Oh. People are saying you guys are a couple."
"Ha. No. I just moved here. And I barely know him."
She smiled and i realized we had stopped at a table with 3 other girls and 2 guys.
She looked at me and said, "Guys, this is Lucy. Shes new. Lucy, This is Meagan, Court, Adam, Leslie, and Amber."
Everyone smiled at me and said hey and i did the same.
I sat down next to Courtney and looked at everyone. Meagan had dark hair and a pretty face. Court had straight long brown hair and he was pretty cute. Adam had curly brown hair and was also pretty cute. Leslie looked like a model. Her face was beautiful and she had long beautiful blonde hair. Amber, I seen, was Courtney's twiin. They were identical.
I was sitting there talking to everyone when i felt someone staring at me. I turned around and saw Kyle looking straight at me. I turned around quickly and couldn't stop thinking about him.
"Looks like Kyle has a thing for you." Someone said.
I shook my thoughts away and realized Court was talking to me. I said, "No. He was just worried yesterday. I kinda freaked him out. And plus. Isn't he dating Mary?"
Court laughed and said, "No. They dated off and on for awhile but their over. Kyle said he's not interested in her anymore."
"Didn't I tell you to stop gossiping?" Meagan said teasingly and smiled up at him.
Court smiled back at her and then she grabbed his shirt and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
I smiled and Courtney said, "Meagan and Court have been dating forever. We all keep telling them that they are soul mates but she doesnt believe in soul mates."
"I don't believe in soul mates because theres so many people who don't have someone." Meagan said.
"Maybe it's cause they never looked." I said.
Everyone looked at me and went quiet.
I just shrugged and finished my yogurt.
The bell rang and we all got up to throw our trash away. Courtney grabbed my hand to stop me from walking away and said, "What's your next class?"
I grabbed my scheduale out of my bag and looked at it. Then I said, "I have Spanish next."
Someone said behind me, "I have that next. I can take her."
I turned around to see Leslie smiling at me and I smiled back at her and started walking with her.
"I think that you got it through Meagan's brain that her and Court truely are soul mates." she said to me. "They belong together."
"They look like it." I said kindly. "How long have you and Adam been together?"
She thought about it for a minutes and said with a smile on her face, "About a year and a half."
We got to class then and i looked around to see Kyle. Inside i was sccreaming with excitement and I had no idea why. He looked at me and nodded his head to the desk next to him. I looked at Leslie to see if she noticed and she did and said, "Go ahead. I'll get us books." And then she walked away.
I walked towards Kyle and sat down at the desk across from him. He looked at me with a worried expression on his face and said, "I was worried yesterday. I mean. You just kind of took off and I went to look for you but you disapeared."
So he was looking for me. Huh.
"I just wanted to be alone." I said a little to harshly.
Leslie walked up to me and handed me a book. She sat down at the desk behind me and we all went silent. Kyle turned around and didn't speak to me all hour.
***
The day dragged on and at the end of the day, I decided to walk home. I walked by the student parking lot and seen Kyle with a few guys surrounding his jeep. He noticed me and said something to his friends and started jogging towards me.
"Do you want a ride?" He asked.
I looked up at him and said, "No. I kind of want to walk."
"Are you sure? We can stop and get some coffee or something." He said hopeful.
"I can't. My, umm, um. I just have to get home." I stuttered.
I turned around and walked away leaving him standing there staring at my disappeaing figure.
***
I decided it was a bad time to change and run home considering I knew Terry would be there and was probably walking around the house chasing all the other kids as we speak. The only reason they took me in was so I could take care of the five other little kids running around the house. They were pretty angry to find out that I couldn't get home schooled meaning that I had to go to school. It was fine by me. Being in that house as less as possible was my goal. Bob didn't even work. He counted on the money the state gave him for us to buy his alcohol.That why he agreed to let Terry be a foster parent to begin with. How social services let her get her license to be a foster parent was beyond me.
I got home and I heard yelling. It was Terry.
"Whats goin on?" I asked.
"Bob smacked Joseph and now he wont stop crying and Bob is yelling at Terry to shut him up." Margret explained to me.
"Well. Where's Joseph?" I asked.
Margret said, "He locked himself in the bathroom."
I went to the bathroom where Terry was standing banging on the door so Joseph would let her in.
"Hey." I said calmly.
"Where have you been?" Terry yelled at me. "I told you to be home right after school to help me."
I said, "I am home right after school. Let me handle this."
She walked away without protest.
I strained to hear in the bathroom and I could hear Joseph crying quietly.
"Joseph." I said knocking on the door lighly. "Will you let me in?"
I heard him stop crying to ask, "Where's Terry?"
"She walked away." I said and waited.
He let me in and he looked so scared. He had no shirt on and he had a red mark on his chest. Probably from where Bob had hit him. His face was red from crying and his blonde hair was a mess.
"I hate Bob. And Terry." He said quietly so they wouldn't hear him and get even more angry.
"I know." I agreed. "Let's go to my room and you can sleep there for tonight."
He waited to reply but he finally agreed.
I had to have a room by myself sense I was the oldest and Abby (my social worker) knew I wanted my privacy so i had a room down in the basement. I liked it. It wasn't the biggest room but it was away from everyone which was fine by me. Bob never came down there and Terry rarely went down there so it was a place I had all to myself.
***
Joseph layed in my bed and fell asleep instantly. I worked on my homework while he lightly snored away. I sat at my desk and watched him sleep. He was so grown up for an 8 year old. Out of all the 5 kids in this house, I loved him the most. It tortured me seeing him in this place. He was so smart and incredible and he was going to become something less than what he should be. It made me sad thinking it.
I was working on my homework when my stomach growled. I realized all I had to eat today was yogurt. I got up quietly and left the room with Joseph still sleeping.
I went to the kitchen and no one was in there. I made me and Joseph some soup and took it back to my room.
"Joseph." I said quietly.
He stretched a little then sat up.
"I made us some soup." I said, handing him the bowl.
He looked inside and then started eating it.
He said, "Thankyou Lucy."
"No problem." I replied back.
"Can I sleep in here with you tonight?" He asked quietly.
I said yes and then finished my soup.
When we got done eating I took the soup bowls back upstairs and put them in the sink. I heard Bob stumbling to the kitchen so I ran back to the basement.
I took a shower and crawled in bed next to Joseph. He was already asleep and I realized that I was exhausted. I closed my eyes and I seen Kyle. God, It's like everytime Im trying to sleep he evades my dreams. Why can't I stop thinking about him? He's just some guy but it's like he's my lifeline. Without him I feel like I can't survive and I barely even know him.
That night I barely got any sleep because all I could think about was him and for some reason I wanted him next to me instead of Joseph.