Chapter Three - This Can't Be Happening

Gracie 

I am sitting in first class, tugging at the sleeves of my hoodie. I need to make sure they never crawl up, or people will see the bruises on my arms with my father’s fingerprints. He was drunk when I got home last night. He was rough with me. He always is. At least the bruising on my side is easier to hide than the one on my wrists.

“Are you not melting in that hoodie?” Lola chuckles from next to me. 

I laugh, shaking my head. “No, I am alright.”

The truth is, I am too hot, but I can’t take it off. If I did, people would see and start asking questions. You can tell by just looking at the marks that someone else’s hands caused them. I push my so-called father to the back of my mind and focus on class. There is something else distracting me, though, the stranger from last night. I am no closer to working out who he is. I may not ever know. 

Our class is interrupted by a knock on the door. It is the principal’s secretary. Our maths teacher, Mrs Holland, answers and talks to her for a moment. When she closes the door, her attention falls on me. 

“Gracie, the principal would like to see you in his office.” 

Why would he want to see me? I don’t ever see him because I don’t get into trouble. It makes my life more manageable. Some of my fellow students, oh, are all wondering why I am getting called to the office. I nod, grab my things and head out. I am nervous as I make my way to the office, racking my brain and wondering what I could have done wrong. I can’t think of anything. Maybe I am not getting into trouble. It could be for another reason.

Taking a deep breath, I lift my hand and knock on the door, waiting to be called in. It takes only one knock before he does. 

“You want to see me, sir?” 

I look up and realise he is not alone. Someone is sitting at his desk, their back to me. 

“Yes, I would like you to show our new student around. Ryland is in all your classes. He claims that you know one another.”  

I don’t know anyone called Ryland. He must have made a mistake. 

“We do?” 

The person turns to face me, a smirk playing on their lips. “Have you forgotten me already, brown eyes?” 

No! It can’t be! What is he doing here? Why is he asking for me? The mysterious, annoying and gorgeous guy from last night.

“You!” The tone in my voice makes it evident that I am surprised. 

A smug look takes over his face. “I did tell you I would see you again, very soon.” 

Ryland stands, strolls over and takes his place before me. There are only a couple of inches between us. My breath catches in my throat, struggling to have him so close again. 

He extends his hand to me. “It is nice to meet you officially, Gracie.” 

My name rolls off his tongue so easily, and it is enough to send a shiver straight through me. I pull it together and take his hand in mine. “Yes, it is nice to put a name to the face.” 

“Did you think about me last night?” he asks, confidently. 

I could lie, but what would be the point? “A little, maybe.” 

He keeps a hold of my hand, continuing to make eye contact with me. “I thought so.” 

I can’t handle the way his eyes are burning into me. It is intense. It feels like he can see right through me. We hear the principal clear his throat from behind us, reminding us that we aren’t alone. I yank my hand away and put some distance between Ryland and me. 

“I want you to stay with Ryland for the day. As I mentioned, he is in all of your classes. If there are any issues you come straight to me.” 

Ryland rolls his eyes. Issues? What does he mean?

“Issues?” I ask. 

Ryland shrugs. “Yes, he is referring to me not being well-behaved.” 

“Yes. Ryland, remember this is your last chance,” The principal points out sternly. “You should get to class before it finishes.”

Great, just what I need, a troublemaker. 

“Yes, sir.” 

Ryland doesn’t say anything. He grabs his bag and walks out. I sigh, following him. He is waiting outside for me, standing against the wall. 

“We could always ditch.” He suggests. 

I shake my head. “No, that will not happen. I don’t do that.” 

“Are you a good girl, Gracie?” 

“No, not quite.” The consequences for me if I ever ditched school would be dire and not worth it. 

“Meaning?” 

I don’t answer his question. I walk away, heading back to class. I hear him run to catch up with me, and soon he appears by my side. 

“I take that as you don’t want to answer my question? I will find out your many secrets, Gracie.” 

My many secrets? How does he even know I have secrets? I ignore him. He chuckles, finding my ignoring him amusing. I don’t know if I can handle him all day. I don’t have much of a choice.

                                                                                 ****

Lunchtime is approaching. My morning has been interesting. Ryland is an instant hit with the girls, not so much with the guys. Some of the guys have been assholes to him and not very welcoming. Ryland never backed down from any of them. He stood his ground, and when they realised that, they all backed off like the cowards they really are. 

“Are you joining us for lunch, Ryland?” Lola asks as the last couple of minutes of class come around. 

Why would she do that? I hoped he would have lunch with someone else. It isn’t like he is lacking offers. I need a break from him, even for a little while. I can’t handle his charm, wit and flirting for much longer. 

“Yes, if that is okay,” he replies, flashing his best smile at her, “Is that okay with you, brown eyes?” he asks, looking over at me. 

I can’t say no, that would be rude of me. I smile and nod. It looks like he is joining my friends and me for lunch. All I can think of at this precise moment is how glad I will be when the day comes to an end. I don’t know what it is about him. He is getting to me. He gets under my skin way too easily. He is driving me crazy, and he has no idea how much. I wish he would stop calling me brown eyes. My name is Gracie, not brown eyes! 

The second the bells ring, everyone piles out. I sigh, taking my time. A part of me hopes that if I take long enough, he will get annoyed and find someone else, but of course, he doesn’t. He waits for me, telling Lola and Brooke to head to the lunch hall to get us a table. I glance at my friends, pleading them with my eyes not to leave me with him. They don’t listen. They smirk and saunter off, leaving me alone with him. 

“Come on. What is taking so long?” Ryland asks. 

“I am coming.” I groan, not trying to hide annoyance from him. 

“If I didn’t know any better, I would think you don’t want me to join you for lunch. Why is that?” 

The same smug look appears, the one I have seen too many times today. It is starting to piss me off. I don’t condone violence, but I find myself wanting to slap his stupid, handsome face. 

“What gives you that impression?” Sarcasm drips from every word. 

“Come on now, Gracie, don’t be like that. Admit it, no matter how much I annoy you, you are enjoying having me around. It brings some excitement to your usual dull life.” He chuckles. 

I toss my hands in the air, groaning in frustration, before I storm out of the class. I am acting childish. I don’t mean to, but I can’t deal with having him around. Why can’t he find some other girls to annoy for the rest of the day? I am sure they would enjoy it more than I. It isn’t that I don’t like him. It is more than he gets kicks out of annoying me. I turn into a pathetic, nervous wreck around him. It is embarrassing. 

Ryland catches up with me. “I am sorry. I promise to behave for the rest of the day.” 

“Somehow, I don’t believe that,” I say, snickering when I do. 

“You are probably right. I don’t know how to behave.” 

I laugh again and roll my eyes. At least he is honest. I will give him that. 

“I am curious, how did you know my name?” 

I have been with him since this morning, but haven’t gotten around to asking him. I still want to know how he knows. 

“Let’s just say that last night isn’t the first time I have seen you. I have seen you a couple of times. You have seen me, though. I know your name because I heard one of your friends say it.” He volunteers a better explanation. 

At least now I know that he isn’t some crazy stalker. I have not seen him since last night, which is strange. He saw me, but I didn’t see him, yet the first time I officially saw him, he drew me in instantly. I must not have been paying too much attention to my surroundings on those days, or I would have noticed him. 

“And there I was thinking you were some crazy stalker.” 

Ryland wriggles his brows at me. “I still could be.” 

“Try it, and I will kick you where it hurts,” I warn. 

Ryland lets out a loud laugh. It is beautiful. He has such a beautiful, unique laugh. I can’t blame people for being drawn to him. Ryland slips his arms around my shoulders and pulls me close to him. 

“With you around, maybe this school will not be as bad as I imagined.” He smiles. 

There are eyes on us as we walk towards the lunch hall. Everyone is wondering why the new sexy bad boy has his arm around little old me. I ignore the stares and keep my head down. I want to hide my red cheeks. My gut tells me that Ryland will not leave me alone any time soon. At least I only need to see him at school, not anywhere else.

I stifle out a laugh. “If you say so.” 

He nods. “I do.”

Senior year had gotten a little more interesting.