One Week Later...
This past week has gone by pretty quickly which I'm grateful for. School has been pretty much the same since the first day of class. Silas has been the same as he always has been and we haven't once talked once about our project. At home I try my best to stay out of the way of my mother and especially Phil. Last night my mother was at work but Phil was home. When dinner wasn't done by 5 o'clock sharp he freaked out.
"You useless little shit can't even have dinner done on time. Your mother works hard to keep this godforsaken roof over your head and you don't do shit around to help out. You're just a piece of shit daughter that can't do anything right. I thought this was the one thing you couldn't fuck up because of how much you love to stuff your face but Noooo, you can't even do that right!" Phil yells as she shoves me into the stove and I knock my elbow into the pan on the right burner and getting burning hot water splashed onto my arm.
I wince and immediately run to the sink to run cold water over my arm. My mother came in right after that and she continued to tell me how worthless I am and how she should have sent me away after my father left. After she finishes yelling at me she tells me to go to my room, that she doesn't want to see my face anymore.
As I sit in my history class thinking about my miserable life I see a huge shadow come across my desk. I look up to see Silas standing over me. With him being as tall as he is and me sitting down he looks almost like a giant looming over me. I don't say anything but look up at him.
"We need to talk about our project now" he says glaring at me. Why did Mrs. Michaels have to partner us together?
"If it makes it easier I can just do it on my own and put both our names on it, that way we don't have to talk or see each other more than normal." I say.
"As nice as that sounds, my parents are on top of me and they have been talking to my teachers so they know about the project and if I don't contribute they will pull me out of my sports. They want you to come over tonight to work on it. If you don't show up then they'll be all over me about not helping. So, let's just get this shit over with." he explains. God why does nothing ever go the way I want.
I think about it and my mother shouldn't be home tonight because she's working the night shift for the next couple weeks. During the school year I try to be home as little as possible. Most of the time she doesn't care where I am as long as I'm not seen.
"Fine. We need to pick the topic we want to research" I say, cause what else can I say.
After going through the different things, we could research for fifteen minutes we decide on doing a presentation about the political and presidential career of Dwight D. Eisenhower. As the bell rings to signal that class is over I am already packing my stuff into my backpack so I can get to lunch. I look over to see that Silas is already out the door. Damn I didn't even find out where he lives, ha, oh well, guess I won't have to go over there tonight.
I sit down at my normally vacant table in the library but I see a guy sitting there that I've never seen before. He looks up from his phone and stares at me for a few seconds before saying
"Hey" he says smiling at me.
I smile back but don't say anything.
"I'm Maverick. I just moved here two days ago from Chicago but today is my first day here." He extends his hand towards me and I just stare at it not able to believe he's talking to me. He is extremely good looking with broad shoulders, tanned skin and bright blue eyes. His hair is dark brown and hangs on his forehead.
"Hi" I manage to squeak out and shake his hand.
He cocks his head to the side and smiles, "So you going to tell me your name or should I start guessing"
"Cristina" I tell him and put my stuff down and open up my book.
I can feel his eyes on me but ignore him as I attempt to read my book. After a few minutes he looks away. I try to resist the urge to look over at him and stay focused on my book. After rereading the page I'm on for the third time, the library doors swing open and in comes Silas' sister Victoria. She comes over and leans on the table I'm sitting at.
"Cristina right?" she asks looking at me.
"Um, yeah hi" I say
"Hey, I'm Victoria Silas' sister. So, I know you are coming over tonight to work on your history project with my brother, and I know what an idiot he can be so I figured he probably didn't give you our address. I just wanted to make sure you had it and let you know that it would probably be easier if you just rode home with us. I believe you normally walk to school, right?" she says.
"Umm, yeah" I say
"Just meet us near the front door after school get out, we have to stop at the mall before we head home to pick up a present for my older brother, his birthday is this weekend." I just nod my head at her
"See ya after school" she says as she bounces off back out the door.
I just sit there and stare at the space she just vacated. She has never said a word to me before, positive or negative. Why does everyone seem to be being nice to me today? I didn't understand but I knew it wouldn't last.
While I'm packing up my stuff to leave Maverick starts talking to me again. "She seems nice" he comments on Victoria.
"I guess, that is the first time she has ever said a word to me" I say still in disbelief that she came over and asked if I wanted a ride.
"So, what class do you have next?" I tell him I have Algebra next "Awesome me too. Maybe you can help me catch up on the stuff I missed" he smiles at me.
"Sure, no problem" I don't really know why he wants my help but he probably just doesn't want his grades to fall because he missed a few weeks of class.
After lunch Maverick and I head to our math class. I didn't notice how tall he was since he was sitting down but now he seems to be about Silas' height maybe a bit taller. I walk in and go straight to my assigned seat while he go over to the teacher. I'm watching the leaves blow in the wind when the teacher announces
"Guy's, we have a new student today. His name is Maverick Harrison. Make sure we show him some hospitality and make him feel at home here. Maverick you can take the seat next to Cristina over there" she says as she points toward the empty seat to my right.
He smiles as he sits down and I give him a small smile back before turning back to the front of the class to start taking notes as the teacher lectures.
Turns out Maverick and I have the rest of our classes together. He seems like a very sweet guy but I'm still hesitant about opening up to him because I still think there is a chance he is just playing with me.
"So, where's your locker at?" he asks as we leave our last class.
"Downstairs to the left locker 2219" I tell him. "Cool, mines just a couple rows over from yours 2380. Let me grab my shit and I'll walk out with you. Do you need a ride home or do you have a car?"
"I normally walk but I'm going with Victoria and Silas today. Silas and I have to work on our history project together" I tell him.
"Oh yeah I forgot about that" He said, a slight frown marring his face.
"I'm meeting them by the front doors of the school, we can walk up there together if you want" I say nervously.
I'm still not sure why he's being so nice to me he doesn't even know me and most people don't even give me the time of day. I kind of wish he would just ignore me like everyone else but he's been so nice and it's kinda nice having someone give me attention that's not negative. I watch a smile spreads on his face .
"Sounds good let me get my stuff, stay at your locker I'll meet you there". He says and walks off towards his locker.
As I'm grabbing the books I need for the project and the rest of my homework
Maverick comes back over but we are intercepted by Fiona.
"Hey Maverick" Fiona purrs
"I didn't know you were still here. You wanna come hang out tonight, my parents will be gone most of the night"
"Nah not tonight, I have a lot of class work to catch up on so I don't fall to far behind."
He says then looks at me "You ready to go?"
"Yeah" I murmur while smiling sweetly at Fiona. She now has a dumbfounded look on her face as looks between us both.
Walking up the stairs and towards the front door I'm kind of hoping that Silas and Victoria forgot about me and left already. I'm pulled out of my thoughts when Maverick says
"So, what are you doing tomorrow after school?"
"Umm I'm not sure, I will probably head to the library and pick up some new books to read" I say. After I said it I knew it sounded really lame.
"Well maybe I can go with you, I haven't been there yet" he says as he smiles at me.
"Uh sure" I say as we get to the front doors of the school.
"Do you want me to wait with you until they get here?" he asks. I look around but don't see Victoria or Silas.
"No that's okay if they don't show up in a few minutes I'll just head home" I tell him.
"Are you sure? It's no problem to wait with you and if they don't show I can give you a ride home"
"No go on home I'll be fine but thank you"
"Okay well I'll see you tomorrow" he says as he waves goodbye.
After a few minutes, I seen Victoria and Silas walking towards me.
"Hey! Sorry we got caught up, This, jackass almost got us detention" She says looking over and mean mugging her brother. She turns back to me and puts on a wide smile.
"Okay you guys ready to go? I'm super excited to finally have a girl to shop with"
"We're not going shopping for you today, remember? We are just getting Grayson a birthday present and there are plenty of girls that would go shopping with you from around OUR neighborhood" Silas says frowning at Victoria.
"No, I have plenty of girls that like to pretend to be my friend and go shopping because they want to get into yours or Grayson's pants. They would just tell me whatever I wanted to hear to make themselves look good so I will put in a good word for them to the two of you." Victoria say as she crosses her arms over her chest and rolls her eyes.
"She's not your friend either Vic, she's just here because mom and dad are making me bring her over to work on the history project so we can get this shit done. Besides you wouldn't want to be friends with someone like her anyway" I frown when he says that, he doesn't know anything about me but for some reason my presence makes his mood go south.
I can be a very nice friend to have if anyone would give me a chance. With the thought, I start thinking about Maverick and how me might possibly be a new friend, well my first friend, which kind of worries me. What if he wants to come over or starts asking about my family. I shrug off the idea and am pulled back to reality by Silas and Victoria's bickering.
"How do you know I wouldn't want to be friends with her, maybe we will become best friends and I will have her over every day and we will have sleep overs every weekend. You don't even know her Si, we'll probably get along great, in fact I bet we will" She smirks, then grabs my arm and starts pulling me with her out the door.
"You know mom and dad wouldn't allow that. Their only letting her over now because we have this project" he says striding up next to Victoria.
"Ugh, whatever, then we could go to her house instead of ours" she says back, making me freeze. That is exactly why I don't try and have friends. She doesn't seem to notice my hesitation and just continues on.
We walk into the school parking lot and up to a large black SUV. Silas gets into the driver's side while Victoria gets in on the passenger side. I hop in behind Victoria and buckle myself in. Silas takes off down the road and I stare down at my old worn black tennis shoes. I got some paint on them from art class. So now I have spots of blue, white, and orange by the toes and on the laces. I stare out the window as we drive down the highway. I've never been to the mall and I'm not really sure where it is, but I am excited. It sucks that my first time going is with Silas but Victoria seems to make up for it.
...
Arriving at the mall about twenty minutes later, we pull into an empty spot in the middle of the parking lot. Getting out of the car I stare in wonderment at the huge two-story building in front of me. The sign by the front door says 'Green Meadows'. As we walk into the front doors I see tons of people milling about, some with shopping bags and some just hanging out in groups of people. "I'm going to get a pretzel I'll meet you in Nordstrom's" Silas tells us as he walks towards the food court.
"Okay well Nordstrom's is on the other side of the mall, so let's go" Victoria says as she links our arms together and starts pulling me down the hall.
This girl is a lot stronger they she looks, I don't think I could stop her if I really tried. I watch as people move around us and stare at the passing stores we are walking by.
"Let me know if you wanna go into any of the store's we pass, we should probably go to Nordstrom's first since Silas will meet us there but we can stop in on our way out if you want" She says and smiles at me.
I never thought that I would like anyone associated with Silas but Victoria seems completely different from her fucktard of a brother.
We walk into the store and she drags me over to where they sell the watches. She starts looking at all the different kinds and I take a peek at one cabinets and start reading one of the tags ''Heritage' Chronograph Leather Strap Watch, 43mm $850.00', $850.00 for a fucking watch?!? Holy hell, why would anyone pay that much for a watch. the only thing it does is tell time, smart phones do that and much, much more for around the same price tag, hell some cheaper than that. I have to admit it is pretty with the gold and dark blue face and brown leather band, but nowhere near worth $850.00, that's just ridiculous. I walk over to where Victoria is and the sales lady is pulling out a watch for her to look at.
"What do you think? Think a guy would like this?" she asks me.
This watch has a silver watch face and the band is black leather I heard the sales clerk tell Victoria that the watch was white gold.
"I don't know, it looks nice, I don't see why he wouldn't but you would know better than I would he yours brother" I tell her.
"Oh man, Grayson will love that" Silas says looking over his sister's shoulder. I jump a little cause I didn't even see him walk over to us.
"Then it's set! We'll take this one" she says to the sales lady. She rings up the watch and gives Victoria the total "the total comes to $1,266.70, will that be cash or card today?"
"American Express" Victoria says as she has over a black credit card.
"Holy shit, for a watch?!?" I say astonished.
"Yeah, not all of us buy our shit second hand " Silas says.
"Don't be an asshole Silas" Victoria says smacking her brother on the arm.
"He didn't mean that, he just likes being a dick" she says to me, but I know he did. Victoria is the one person who hasn't treated me horribly. I don't know why she's being nice to me, maybe she just feel sorry for me; who knows.
"Let's go look at the perfume section before we leave, I need to get a new bottle of Chanel no. 5" Victoria says and I follow behind her.
We get over to the counters that have bottles and bottles of perfume and cologne and I start to sneeze a bit. While Victoria is talking to the sales clerk wander over towards the makeup section. I've never been one to wear makeup, one because my mother says I look like a whore and two I have seen all the girls at school wearing it and it just makes them look like someone did a horrible paint job on their faces.
After a couple minutes of looking around the different makeup brands, the sales clerk approaches and asks if I need help finding anything. Before I can say anything, Fiona comes up from behind me.
"She doesn't need help Nina, she couldn't afford anything here anyways. She's trailer trash, although I would say she could use some concealer, it'd stop her from looking like a raccoon" she laughs.
Nina the sales lady is already on her way to help another customer. I look back at Fiona and notice a few feet behind her Sara is flirting it up with Silas. I roll my eyes and walk away.
I find Victoria finishing up at the perfume section and I find I can't wait until we're out of here.
"I just want to stop in Macy's real quick before we go. Silas will meet us there and then we'll head to the house" Victoria says.
We head into Macy's and I look over at all the clothes around me. I look at the patterns of a couple dress shirts and can't help but notice how ugly some of them are. I don't know why anyone would want to wear something with giant yellow sunflowers all over it but maybe that's just me. I look around and realize that I've lost Victoria. Making my way through the store, I turn a corner in the bedding department and walk straight into someone and trip over my own feet falling backwards. Not looking up at who I just ran into I quickly apologize.
"I'm sorry I wasn't looking where I was going" I say getting up to my feet dusting my pants off and grabbing my bag off the floor.
He doesn't say anything and just stares at me a look of shock on his face. I tell him sorry again and try to get around him. Right as I pass him he reaches out and grabs my wrist, which shocks the hell out of me. I feel this weird tingling sensation where he's holding my wrist.
"Hey, sorry about knocking you over. Are you hurt?" He says. Looking me over for invisible injuries.
"I'm fine thanks" I say really looking at the guy I ran into.
He has to be the most gorgeous guy I have even seen. He's tall probably around 6'3 or 6'4". He has tan skin, dark brown hair and green eyes that almost seem to glow. I notice he has a strong jaw and his tight grey t-shirt is pulled tight against his broad shoulders. When I manage to look up from the six pack I can definitely see through his tight shirt. He's older than me probably by a few years.
When I look down at my wrist he's still holding he follows my gaze and quickly lets go.
"Sorry again about that" he says.
"It's not a big deal I was the one not paying attention anyways I have to go find my friend" I tell him before walking away and going to look for Victoria.
Walking around again I pass by Fiona and Sara figuring they probably came in here with Silas but I don't see him. Fiona bumps into me and tells me to watch where I'm going. A few minutes later I find Victoria over by the registers paying for whatever she bought.
"Hey, there you are, I was wondering where you took off to. I'm ready to go if you are"
On our way out the door, Silas reappears alone, thank god. I don't think I would have made it through the rest of the day if Fiona and Sara came along with us.
As we walk out the door the alarm starts to sound. All three of use stop as a security guard comes up to us. Victoria is the one to speak to the security guard.
"Sorry, the clerk must have forgot to demagnetize one of the items" she tries to hand the receipt and the bag to security but he is looking at me.
"Miss I'm going to need to look through your bag" he says holding out his hand.
I stare at the hand blankly. Did he think I stole something? I hand over my bag knowing he wouldn't find anything. I may be poor but I'm not a thief.
"Is this really necessary?" Victoria asks looking mildly irritated.
"Sorry miss but it is, someone said they saw a young woman putting stuff in her bag. I have to check" the security guard says taking my bag over to a nearby counter. Victoria looks over at me apologetically. I give her a shrug of my shoulders and a small smile. I didn't take anything so I'm not worried. Security starts to rummage through my bag and I really hope he doesn't take anything embarrassing out like some tampons. He pulls out a six-inch rectangular box and I stare at it, not remembering what it is or ever putting it in my bag.
"Where did you get this?" he asks.
"I don't know" I say because I truly don't.
"I'm gonna need you to come with me" he says and I take a step back.
"Are you kidding me? You're a fucking thief now, just fucking great. I told you this was a bad idea Vic" Silas says looking at me angrily.
"I didn't take that" I all but scream at him.
Silas takes a step towards me and I take a step back trying to keep the distance between us. His fists are clenched at his sides and I'm not quite sure what he's gonna do.
"Can we just pay for it and call it even? I'm sure she didn't mean to do it" Victoria says to the security guard.
"That's not how this works, this cost's over $60 I have to file paperwork on it" he says.
Silas is still coming towards me and I'm still backing up until I hit a mannequin and nearly knock it over.
"What the hell is going on here?" a deep voice says
Everyone stops what they are doing. Silas even stops coming toward me. I chance a look over at who is talking. Standing there are two men, one being the guy I ran into.
"Grayson? What are you doing here?" Victoria asks.
I remember she said her older brothers name was Grayson. He still hasn't taken his eyes off of me and I can feel heat creeping up my neck and into my cheeks. I look at his features again and notice he does resemble Silas and Victoria. He looks angry this time.
"I asked a question I expect an answer" Grayson says finally looking away from me and looking over to the security guard. I look over at the guard too and notice he looks to be frozen in place. He takes a deep breath before opening his mouth.
"I caught this girl stealing this" he says holding up the box and swings his eyes my way.
Grayson also looks over at me again; a stern look on his face. I try to open my mouth to defend myself but once my eyes look into his emerald green ones I can't get any words out. The he starts to approach me and I try stepping back again forgetting about the mannequin again. I turn and grab it before it can topple over, it's heavier than it looks. I turn back around still clutching the mannequin like a shield. Grayson stops about a foot in front of me and takes a deep breath through his nose. I feel like I'm memorized by the rise and fall of his chest. I can feel his eyes burning into me but I can't force myself to look up from his chest. He takes a step closer.
"Were you stealing Cupcake?" he asks and I finally I'm able to lift my gaze up. His eyes soften when I meet them.
"I-I wasn't stealing... I don't know where that came from" I take a deep breath and try to calm the tears that are trying to spring from my eyes.
"So how did that end up in your possession?" he asks.
"I don't know, I swear. I don't even wear makeup" I tell him and hope that he believes me.
Grayson takes a step closer to me and puts his hand on my shoulder. When his hand contacts my shoulder I feel that weird sensations again I have to fight a shiver that creeps up my spine. His touch feels comforting and safe but I don't know why I would feel that with a man I just meet. I should feel anything but comfort coming from this man. He leans closer and takes another deep breath.
"I believe you Cupcake, don't worry we'll get this all figured out" he says and runs his hand up and down my arm, then turns away from me.
When his hand leaves my arm, I already miss the warmth from it. I watch him walk over to the security guard who still hasn't moved from his spot. I realize how incredibly stupid I am for having these strange feelings. I straighten my spine and take a deep breath trying to right my brain. I walk over to Victoria and she gives me a small smile but she looks as confused as I feel.
I look back over at Grayson's back and like he can feel my eyes on him he turns around and winks at me, then turns back and follows the security guard further into the store.
After about ten minutes I look around where we are standing. I see the guy that was with Grayson earlier, now standing next to Silas and Reed. Huh, I wonder when Reed got here. I give the new guy a once over. He is extremely good looking too. He's about the same height as Silas with almost black hair and blue eyes. He's not as broad as Grayson but is still very muscular. Silas sees me staring at the guy and narrows his eyes at me, making me look away from them and I see Grayson is now walking back towards us.
When Grayson's standing in front of me arms but I keep my gaze fixated on the floor.
"You didn't steal anything" he says and I can see a smile on his face from the corner of my eye.
"I told you I didn't" I mumble to the floor.
"So, what the hell happened, a klepto fairy dropped it in her bag for shits and giggles?" Silas says not believing I didn't do it. Grayson Looks over at his brother the smile falling.
"Actually, more or less, yeah. A girl you bumped into earlier dropped it into your bag as you walked away. Do you know who I'm talking about" he asks.
I nod my head knowing Fiona was the one to do it. Why, I have no idea, I know she doesn't like me but still this seems a bit over the top. Silas huffs a big breath and takes off out the door with Reed. Victoria looks toward Silas then towards me, like she can't decide if she's going to follow her brother or stay here with me. She stays, giving me a concerned look.
"Well it's done with now. We should probably get out of here now. I'll drop you off at home" he says. I open my mouth to reply but Victoria beats me to it.
"She's was coming to our house, she has a project she has to work on with Silas"
"Well then let's head home" he says, putting his arm around my shoulders and starts walking towards the parking lot and walk up to a big black SUV.
Grayson opens the backdoor of the SUV standing back to let me in. He closes the door and walks over to the other side and gets in. Once his seatbelt is on he looks over and gives me a lazy smile.
Logan gets in the driver's side and once Victoria gets in, we take off.
I catch Logan looking at me in the rearview mirror, his eyes seemed to spark with what looked like irritation, but quickly glances back at the road. I don't know what I did to him to be irritated with me, but I don't ponder on it too long. Today has just been one of those really weird days and I'm not really sure what to make of everything that's happened so far. The back to their house is a silent one and I shut my eyes trying to stop the headache that's starting.