Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 73153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
I shook my head at her. I understood—I didn’t want to, but I did. "It's okay, Tracey. I understand."
Though somewhere deep inside of her, she knew she could trust me, I was a guy. Anyone of the male sex would probably terrify her.
No matter how much I wanted her to just trust me, I knew she couldn't allow herself to.
But I would do everything I could to gain her trust and to get her to open up and trust other people, too. I was determined.
Chapter Six
TRACEY
Two weeks. It had been two long weeks since I had been out of the hospital.
A total of three weeks since I last saw my parents.
I thought that being away from them would give me some freedom, but I still felt trapped.
I looked up as Kaleb walked in through the front door, a couple of guys from school following him in. I had definitely seen them around before, but I didn't know their names. One of them had wavy blonde hair with striking blue eyes. He was tall and built well with a strong jawline and high cheekbones. The other guy had black hair and dark eyes. He was leaner with sharp facial features.
Trevor. The dark-haired guy’s name was Trevor.
Everyone knew him to be one of our best linebackers, and he was famous with the girls at our school.
Kaleb looked over at me as he closed the door behind them. He smiled at me. "Hey, Tracey, ready to go back to school Monday?"
I shrugged, looking away from him and turning back to the TV. I continued flicking through Netflix, finally having a hang of how to work the Wii remote. I didn’t want attention, and I could feel Trevor’s and the other guy’s gazes on my back.
Kaleb's mom came into the living room at that moment, wiping her hands on the apron that was tied around her waist. She smiled at the two boys that came in with Kaleb and hugged them both enthusiastically. "Paul, Trevor, I missed seeing your faces around here! Where in the hell have you been?!"
The blonde guy, Paul, grinned at her. "Life has been crazy.” He shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Mom got into a car accident and ended up breaking her leg. I've been helping her out. I finally got to escape today."
Mrs. Brinson pursed her lips. "I heard about that. Is she okay other than that?"
"Oh, yeah. Nothing has changed between his mom and dad.” Paul smacked Trevor, making Trevor snicker.
Miss Brinson laughed and pulled them farther into the living room so that they were both in my view and I in theirs. "Boys, this is Tracey. She's my . . . daughter." I cringed, forcing my gaze to stay on the TV, resisting the urge to bolt out of the room. I felt the couch dip near me, and I quickly glanced over for a split second to see Kaleb sitting down next to me. "You two know Tracey, don't you? She goes to your school."
They both shook their heads. "Actually, no, we don’t.” His eyes ran over me before they met Kaleb’s.
I couldn’t ignore the strange, yet relaxing chill that swept down my spine as his eyes ran over me.
The boys sent Kaleb an accusing glare. "Why haven't you introduced us to this gorgeous girl yet?"
Too much focus on me.
I needed air.
I jumped up, dropped the remote, and sprinted out of the room. When I got out to the patio, I took a deep breath and shakily ran a hand through my hair.
"Hey, are you okay?"
I jumped in shock and spun around at the sound of Kaleb's voice. I bit my lip and nodded my head. "Yeah, I'm fine." But my voice was shaky, betraying the turmoil inside of me.
He rolled his eyes at me and crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't have to lie anymore, Tracey.” I looked away from him. “We're not them, okay? Nobody will hurt you, not anymore. I promise." He ran a hand through his hair before sliding his hands into his pockets. "I brought Paul and Trevor over because they're really cool guys, and I thought it would do you good to make a couple more friends besides just me that will help look out for you." He stepped toward me but stopped when I tensed up, ready to bolt if he got too close to me. "They won't judge you, I promise."
I shook my head. "I don't . . .” I drew in a shaky breath, “Kaleb, I don't know them."
"No, you don't, but if you don't give yourself the chance to get to know them, then you'll never get used to people, Tracey. I don't want you to be afraid your entire life."
I didn’t want to be either, but I was still too afraid to get close to anyone.