“Are you going to Beck’s party tonight?” he asks, pushing up the sleeves of his dark blue shirt.
I nod. “I actually am going to that one, but only because Wynter begged me to go.”
“What about the game?”
I shake my head. “Sorry, but I can’t make it to that. I have to go home straight after school. I really wish I could go, though.”
A pucker forms at his brow. He glances over at Willow before he turns inward and leans closer to me. “Your parents are letting you go to a party, but not a soccer game?”
I snort a laugh. “God, no. Even if I wasn’t grounded, they wouldn’t let me go to anything. I’ve always had to go home straight after school since I started kindergarten.”
His face contorts in confusion. “Then how are you going to the party?”
“My parents are out of town and Grandma’s babysitting me,” I clarify. “She sleeps like a rock, so it should be easy to sneak out.”
He doesn’t even so much as flinch from the mention that I have a babysitter. “That’s good . . . that you’re going to it.”
“Are you going to be there?” I ask, massaging my wrist as it starts to ache again.
He nods. “And I was thinking we could talk alone for a while when we’re there. I know we were supposed to hang out at lunch, but I think I might have to ask you for a rain check so I can study.” His gaze descends to my arm, and then his brows dip. “What happened to your wrist?”
My chest tightens as I glance at the bluish purple dots on my wrist. “It’s nothing.” I cover the marks with my hand. “I just did something stupid on the trampoline and ended up getting my arm caught in the springs.”
“Since when do you have a trampoline?” Willow gives me the same suspicious look as Grey.
“It was on Wynter’s,” I lie in an uneven voice as I tuck my arms under the table.
Willow presses me with a look, and I shoot her a pleading look back, begging her to let it go.
Shaking her head, she pulls out a highlighter and drags it across the page.
I know, the moment we’re alone, she’s going to bring it up again, and I have no idea what I’m going to tell her. The truth? God, my dad would freak if I did, but that doesn’t mean I want to lie to Willow. She’s one of my best friends, and I’ve already been doing too much lying lately.
“I wanted to talk to you at the party because I have some stuff I really need to tell you, that I should’ve told you a long time ago,” Grey whispers, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. “But now I think maybe there’s some stuff you need to tell me, too, like where those bruises came from because they sure as hell aren’t from trampoline springs.” He reaches under the table, and his fingers graze my injured wrist. “I don’t want you to be afraid. You can trust me. I promise.”
My heart thrashes in my chest every time his skin comes into contact with mine. “Okay.”
He smiles, trying to make me feel more at ease. But I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to relax. When my dad saw the marks this morning, he warned me that I was supposed to tell people it was an accident.
“If anyone asks, say you hurt yourself on a trampoline,” he said as he glared at me.
“But we don’t have a trampoline,” I muttered as I stirred my cereal, feeling too sick to my stomach to eat.
“Lie then. You’re good at that, aren’t you?” He slammed the cupboard and turned to me. “People don’t need to know what a terrible person you turned me into,” he warned. “This is your fault, Luna. If you’d just behave, then I could control my temper.”
I silently got up and walked out the door to go to school, but when I made it into the car, I screamed until my lungs ached and made the decision to drive to the gas station.
“Let’s get started with this,” Willow announces as she traces the marker across a page and highlights a sentence.
Grey keeps his hand on my wrist, eliciting shiver after shiver from my body.
“I’m all ears, teacher,” he tells Willow.
She faintly smiles then jumps right in, explaining to him why he missed certain questions.
I help when I can, but I’m distracted by what’s going to happen at the party tonight when Grey and I talk to each other. Alone. I’ve never been alone with a guy before at a party other than Ari and Beck, and there’s so much unsaid between Grey and I, so much he knows about me that no one else does. There’s so much he wants me to tell him.
What happens if I break down and tell him everything, and he discovers the nice Luna he seems to like doesn’t really exist?
I’m nervous as hell as I take the test, but after spending lunch and every free second I can get throughout the day studying with Luna and Willow, the questions make more sense than the first time around, which has to be a good sign.
I wait at my desk for Mr. Gartying to finish checking my exam, growing more anxious every time he strikes the marker across the sheet of paper. Finally, he drops the marker, picks up the paper, and scoots his chair back from his desk.
“So, did I pass?” I ask nervously.
“Why don’t you take a look for yourself?” He strolls up to my desk and places the test down in front of me.
I pick it up and smile at the red B+ on the top. “Fuck yeah!” I can’t wait to tell Luna and Willow. God, that’s a new feeling—wanting to tell someone.
It was crazy enough when I told her I couldn’t afford a new car. I let it slip out on accident, but she didn’t miss a beat and even told me she thought old cars were cool. My developing obsession with her deepened in that moment.
“Watch your language, Grey,” Mr. Gartying warns robotically then grins. “Now go win us the game.”
I nod and head out of the classroom. I make a quick pit stop by my locker to grab my bag and books before jogging to the parking lot. The game is in a couple of hours, and I still have to attend my very last group therapy session before I suit up.
As I’m hurrying toward my car, I pass by Beck, who’s sitting on the trunk of his car, looking bored as hell.
He glances up from his phone at me. “So, did you pass?”
“Yep, got a B plus thanks to Willow and Luna.” I swing my bag around in front of me to unzip it and tuck the test inside.
“Good. Maybe we won’t get our asses kicked, then.” He lowers his feet to the ground and hops off the trunk.
“Hopefully not, but you do know, just because I get to play, it doesn’t guarantee us a win, right?”
“Obviously, but it gives us a better chance.”
I used to love the pressure people put on me to win. I’d get amped up on it. With all the stressful stuff going on in my life, though, I feel almost too pressured.
“What are you doing out here, anyway? School got out, like, a half an hour ago.” And Beck’s definitely not one to spend any extra time at school.
He glances around the mostly empty parking lot and then shrugs. “I had some business to take care of, but I’m starting to wonder if the people are going to be a no show.”
I drape the handle of my backpack over my shoulder and rummage around in my pocket until I find my car keys. “I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you about the baseball.” I shift my weight, hating that I have to talk to him about this. I hated approaching him to begin with, but Beck is known as the go-to guy around our town. Thankfully, he’s a good enough guy that he hasn’t told anyone and doesn’t act all weird about it. “I had to use the money, so you can go ahead and sell the baseball.”
“That sucks, man,” he says with sincerity. “You looked like you were having a tough time when you gave me the baseball.”
“Yeah, I was.” Uncomfortable, I glance at my watch. “Look, I’ve got to go. I have to be somewhere in, like, ten minutes.”
“That’s cool. I need to get going, anyway.” He pulls out his key fob and presses the unlock button, causing his car to beep. “I won’t be doing any sales for a few weeks, so if you happen to come up with enough money by then, let me know, and you can get the ball back.”