Read Online Hickville Confessions: A Hickville High Novel by Mary Karlik - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Mary Karlik
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walk by the cafeteria on my way to class anyway.”
They walked the rest of the way without speaking and she maintained a two-foot gap between them. He tried not to let it bug him, but it did. What happened to the girl who’d had a death grip on his hand in the emergency room?
As they neared the cafeteria, he saw Kelsey waiting for her. Standing with his arm around Kelsey was Austin McCoy. They’d had a momentary truce at the hospital, but he still couldn’t stand the guy. If he hadn’t texted his sister…
Two years and the anger just wouldn’t go away.
Kelsey gave Justin a look that said
I’ve got this, so go away.
To Ryan she said, “Come on. We’ll sit together.”
Justin adjusted his backpack on his shoulders and turned to Ryan. “I’ll see you later. Text if you need anything.”
She nodded, but was already walking away with her sister and Austin. He turned toward his next class and almost ran smack into Ashley Boyd, who wrapped her hands around his arm. “Hey, cutie. Where have you been? We missed you at the afterparty Saturday night.”
“Oh, yeah.” He smiled down at her in full flirt mode. She was one of those girls who always wore boob-revealing shirts and liked to touch him—a lot. It was hard not to flirt, and yeah, he’d hooked up with her last summer after a party at the trestle. But that was all it had been—a summer hook-up. They’d both dated other people since, but flirting between them was like an automatic reflex.
Flirting in general was an uncontrollable response for him—except with Ryan. He sucked at flirting with her.
And then it hit him.
Was she distancing herself from him because of his reputation? He’d never given his player rep much thought. Hell, most of the guys on the football team were players. He thought of the words he’d heard thrown around in connection with Ryan.
Slut. Whore. Raunchy Ryan
. The last thing she needed was to hang around with someone like him.
“Hey. Are you in there?” Ashley tugged on his arm. “I’m speaking to you.”
“What?” He peeled Ashley off him. “Yeah, just tired.”
He took a deep breath.
Okay. So I don’t give up. I work to earn Ryan’s trust.
And if he was really lucky, her respect.
6
Ryan exited the food line and followed Kelsey and Austin to their table. She sat next to Kelsey, but couldn’t keep her gaze from drifting a few tables away. Seeing the empty chairs where she used to sit with the Macey Brown and the other Purity Club girls made her chest tighten.
Kelsey bumped her with her elbow. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just seeing all those empty seats. It’s my fault those girls are gone.”
“Whoa. It is not your fault. You didn’t ask for what they did to you.”
Ryan nodded. “I know. It’s just weird to think that five girls got kicked out of school.”
Kelsey’s friend Shelby Cox shook her red curls. “They should be wearing orange after what they did to you. I never did like that hypocritical bunch. How can you call yourself Christians when you go around judging everybody?”
Hannah Ellis said, “My cousin is in a club kind of like the PC, but it is nothing like this one. I think they take a pledge, but they focus on more than just that. They talk to other schools about dating violence.”
Kelsey wrinkled her forehead. “Is that a problem here?”
Hannah nodded. “According to her, it’s a problem everywhere. They talk about dating respect, date rape, stuff like that.”
Ryan had almost managed to slip a bite of the pasta through her barely open mouth when she heard the words
date rape.
The words still made her jump. Her fork clattered on her plate loudly enough for everyone to look at her. Even Austin stopped talking football with the guy across from him. “Oops.” She managed a half-smile and tried to will away the heat crawling up her face.
She stabbed another piece of corkscrew pasta, focused on her food, and shut the rest of the conversation out of her brain.
Mrs.
They walked the rest of the way without speaking and she maintained a two-foot gap between them. He tried not to let it bug him, but it did. What happened to the girl who’d had a death grip on his hand in the emergency room?
As they neared the cafeteria, he saw Kelsey waiting for her. Standing with his arm around Kelsey was Austin McCoy. They’d had a momentary truce at the hospital, but he still couldn’t stand the guy. If he hadn’t texted his sister…
Two years and the anger just wouldn’t go away.
Kelsey gave Justin a look that said
I’ve got this, so go away.
To Ryan she said, “Come on. We’ll sit together.”
Justin adjusted his backpack on his shoulders and turned to Ryan. “I’ll see you later. Text if you need anything.”
She nodded, but was already walking away with her sister and Austin. He turned toward his next class and almost ran smack into Ashley Boyd, who wrapped her hands around his arm. “Hey, cutie. Where have you been? We missed you at the afterparty Saturday night.”
“Oh, yeah.” He smiled down at her in full flirt mode. She was one of those girls who always wore boob-revealing shirts and liked to touch him—a lot. It was hard not to flirt, and yeah, he’d hooked up with her last summer after a party at the trestle. But that was all it had been—a summer hook-up. They’d both dated other people since, but flirting between them was like an automatic reflex.
Flirting in general was an uncontrollable response for him—except with Ryan. He sucked at flirting with her.
And then it hit him.
Was she distancing herself from him because of his reputation? He’d never given his player rep much thought. Hell, most of the guys on the football team were players. He thought of the words he’d heard thrown around in connection with Ryan.
Slut. Whore. Raunchy Ryan
. The last thing she needed was to hang around with someone like him.
“Hey. Are you in there?” Ashley tugged on his arm. “I’m speaking to you.”
“What?” He peeled Ashley off him. “Yeah, just tired.”
He took a deep breath.
Okay. So I don’t give up. I work to earn Ryan’s trust.
And if he was really lucky, her respect.
6
Ryan exited the food line and followed Kelsey and Austin to their table. She sat next to Kelsey, but couldn’t keep her gaze from drifting a few tables away. Seeing the empty chairs where she used to sit with the Macey Brown and the other Purity Club girls made her chest tighten.
Kelsey bumped her with her elbow. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just seeing all those empty seats. It’s my fault those girls are gone.”
“Whoa. It is not your fault. You didn’t ask for what they did to you.”
Ryan nodded. “I know. It’s just weird to think that five girls got kicked out of school.”
Kelsey’s friend Shelby Cox shook her red curls. “They should be wearing orange after what they did to you. I never did like that hypocritical bunch. How can you call yourself Christians when you go around judging everybody?”
Hannah Ellis said, “My cousin is in a club kind of like the PC, but it is nothing like this one. I think they take a pledge, but they focus on more than just that. They talk to other schools about dating violence.”
Kelsey wrinkled her forehead. “Is that a problem here?”
Hannah nodded. “According to her, it’s a problem everywhere. They talk about dating respect, date rape, stuff like that.”
Ryan had almost managed to slip a bite of the pasta through her barely open mouth when she heard the words
date rape.
The words still made her jump. Her fork clattered on her plate loudly enough for everyone to look at her. Even Austin stopped talking football with the guy across from him. “Oops.” She managed a half-smile and tried to will away the heat crawling up her face.
She stabbed another piece of corkscrew pasta, focused on her food, and shut the rest of the conversation out of her brain.
Mrs.
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