Pushing past the lingering pain, I managed to nod and take a deep breath. Straightening my shoulders, I stepped back, trying to move out of his arms. At first I didn’t think he was going to let me go, but he dropped his arms slowly, reluctant to let me move away.

“I’m so sorry,” Riley whispered. “I didn’t mean to hit you hard. I was just trying to get you to go with him. I mean, it’s Rock Taylor, for crying out loud. He’s . . .” Riley paused.

“It’s fine. I think you just hit the wrong spot and, uh . . . hit my, uh . . . funny bone.” That didn’t even sound believable.

Riley scrunched her nose up and frowned. “I thought I hit your side. . . .”

I glanced back at Rock. He was going to think I was crazy. But maybe then he’d give up on trying to get me to like him. “I’m not going to lunch. I need . . . to go get a book from the library,” I said in a hurry, then turned and walked as fast as I could down the hallway. No footsteps followed me, and I took that as a good thing.

With me gone, Rock would probably turn the charm on Riley and she’d let him sweet-talk his way into her panties. The idea of that made me ill. I didn’t want Rock hooking up with Riley.

Shoving that thought away, I passed by the library and headed toward my next class. Lunch was one of my favorite things about school: I got a hot meal. I was hungry, and I doubted I would get much, if anything, to eat tonight. Fandora was in a bad mood. Her latest boyfriend had left her.

I had gone longer than this without food. I could make it until tomorrow at lunch if needed. What I wasn’t ready to do was face Rock after that fiasco in the hall. I doubted he’d try to speak to me again. He and Riley probably thought I was insane.

Chapter Five

Rock

I didn’t like Trisha’s friend. First she hurt her, then she didn’t run after her. Instead the brunette had started flirting with me. Which pissed me off.

After grabbing the burger off my tray in the cafeteria, I headed for the library to find Trisha. Eating would have been impossible while worrying about her. Something had been off about that whole scene. Riley had only elbowed her in the ribs. I’d seen it and I hadn’t liked it, but I didn’t think it was hard enough for the reaction it caused. Hell, if I hadn’t gotten a look at how pale Trisha’s face had gone and the pain in her eyes, I would have thought she was acting just to get my attention.

Her body had been trembling as I held her. She’d really been in some serious f**king agony. The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. The only reason someone would react like that was if they were hurt already. And if she was hurt there already, why not just tell us instead of making up some library bullshit and running off?

Preston had lipstick smeared on his face and messy hair, plus a blonde on his arm whose name I couldn’t remember, when I stepped back into the hallway from the cafeteria.

“You leaving already?” he asked, frowning at me.

“Got somewhere to be,” I replied, and headed past him before he could ask me any more questions.

“Need me to go with you?” he called out after me.

“No!”

Preston was always ready for a fight. He assumed that was the only thing that would pull me out of the cafeteria. He had his future riding on his baseball career just as much as I had my future riding on my football career. Pisser didn’t think about that, though. He’d jump into a fight without thinking about it if he thought we needed him.

I would too. But I’d worry. I would be careful. I was too close now. I didn’t just have a college career waiting on me. I had a dad for the first time in my life. He was proud of me. Someone cared, and that meant something. I hated that I needed my dad’s attention like a damn kid. But he’d never been around before.

If I could keep us out of a fight, I did. For me and for Preston. Dewayne and Marcus had parents. Good parents who would make sure they went to college. They had parents who loved them. Preston and I had to work a little harder. Hell, we had to work a lot harder.

Shoving open the library doors, I stepped into the quiet room stacked full of books. I only came in here if I absolutely had to. The place gave me the creeps. Too many damn books and no one was supposed to talk. Then there was the librarian. She was older than a human should be and mean as hell.

Her sharp eyes squinted at me and I froze like a naughty child. She was all of five feet tall and hunched over slightly. The little bit of white hair she had left was on top of her head in a tight bun. Seriously, I think she might have been sipping some everlasting life concoction.

I scanned the room, but none of the tables had the pretty blond head I was looking for. She had lied. This wasn’t where she had been headed. Deep down I’d known she was lying. But I’d still hoped I would find her here.

Turning, I stepped back out of the library and began my search of the empty classrooms. I didn’t know what her schedule was or this would have been easier.

“Rock! Come on! Coach just called an early meeting in the field house. We’re supposed to go directly there,” Marcus called out as he, Preston, and Dewayne came walking down the hallway.

“We have fifteen more minutes left of lunch,” I pointed out, annoyed.

“Coach is fired up about the game Friday night,” Marcus said with a smirk.

Shit. After lunch I went to the field house to work out that period, then came back for Algebra II before heading out to practice. Coach was messing it all up. I wanted to find Trisha and make sure she was okay.

“Heard we’re leaving after a half day on Friday to get on the buses and head to Rock Creek. Coach told Simmons he wants us rested and ready to go by game time. So he’s getting us there three hours early.”

Glancing back into the hallway, I looked for the white-blond hair that fascinated me, but I saw nothing. I’d have to find her later.

Chapter Six

Trisha

Krit and Green were already waiting at the bus stop in front of school when I got there. Both of them had big smiles on their faces and were talking animatedly about their days. I didn’t have to ask how they liked eighth grade. Just watching them talk answered that for me.

My problems vanished as I watched my little brother grinning like he owned the world. He hadn’t been given many things in life to smile about. Knowing he’d had a good day was a relief. My ribs had throbbed the rest of the day, but I had managed to dodge any questions from Riley because we didn’t have any other classes together.

“Hey, babe,” Green called out when he saw me.

I shot him a warning glare and he started laughing. Krit rolled his eyes, not amused by his friend’s constant flirting with me.

“Don’t call me ‘babe’ again if you want to live,” I informed him.

Green waggled his eyebrows at me, and Krit shoved him and said, “Dude, stop it. Seriously.”

Green’s tall, lanky body hadn’t had time to adjust to his overnight height either. He stumbled back, then laughed. “Jeesh. You two are uptight.”

“Was your day good?” I asked Krit, ignoring Green.

Getting Krit through a school day without him losing his temper or having some kind of emotional snap was an accomplishment. He was severely ADHD, and I was beginning to think he also suffered from some sort of personality disorder that we didn’t know about. Fandora wouldn’t take him to have him checked out. She hated giving him meds at all. It took time out of her day to get them.

When one of her boyfriends had slapped me and Krit threw a brick at his head, she had gone and gotten his meds. But we were getting low again. Krit tended to get addicted to things. He was like a live wire, unable to stay still. Ready for the next adventure. And if you stood in his way, he lost it.

Keeping him calm was my job.

“I was an angel today,” he informed me, then gave me his crooked grin. My heart squeezed. I loved my brother. So many times I felt like he was mine. I wasn’t old enough to be his mother, but the way I felt about him was what I believed a real mother’s love would feel like. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for Krit. Nothing. When he was happy it made me happy.

“Don’t lie to her. You got sent to the office once,” Green added.

“What?” I asked, my heart sinking.

Krit shrugged, then glared at Green. “Nothing big. I told the teacher I’d get to the assignment in a minute. I was finishing up something. She got all pissy.”

That was typical Krit. He didn’t like being bossed around. Not by anyone but me. I could get away with it. In his eyes, everyone else needed to step back. Even his mother.

Krit started to say something else but stopped as his eyes lit up at something behind me. Frustrated with his erratic attention span, I turned to see who had his interest.

Rock Taylor was walking up from the football field dressed in pads and that tight uniform they wore. His helmet was in his hand, hanging forgotten by his side. As impressive as all that perfection was, the breathtaking part was that his eyes were locked on me. Me.

“He’s headed this way, I think,” Green whispered.

I wasn’t ready to deal with him again. What if he asked about my side in front of Krit? Crap. I had to get out of here.

I reached for Krit’s arm. “Let’s go. Bus is almost here. We don’t want those back seats with the thugs. Let’s be sure to get in line.”

“But I think Rock Taylor is coming this way. Like, to us. Or . . . you,” Krit said, watching Rock carefully now. He wasn’t so mesmerized anymore. He seemed to be thinking this through.

“He’s not coming for us. Let’s go,” I said, pushing them both toward the bus line.

“Trisha.” Rock’s voice stopped me. Green’s jaw dropped, and Krit’s eyes no longer held fascination. He was studying Rock hard now. A tight frown came over his face, and I watched my little brother turn into a man as he stood up straighter and stepped in front of me.

“What do you want with my sister? She don’t seem real excited about seeing you,” Krit said in a hard, cold tone.

Rock was a wall of muscle, and Krit had to tilt his head back to make eye contact with him. But Rock didn’t seem to care or back down. He was determined to protect me. He was doing that a lot now. I was so worried he was going to get hurt. It was my job to protect Krit. Not the other way around.

Rock’s jaw twitched, and it looked like he was trying not to smile. “Trisha and I decided to be friends today. Didn’t we, Trisha?” he said, looking over my brother’s shoulder to me.

I had to calm my little brother down. I nodded and stepped around Krit. “Yes, we did,” I confirmed.

“Then why were you trying to get us on the bus before he could get to you?” Krit asked, not buying this at all.

“Yes, why were you doing that, Trisha? Hurts my feelings,” Rock added. This time he was smiling. Dang him. He was amused by all this.

I stepped in front of Krit and lifted my eyes to meet Rock’s. “I just didn’t want to be left with the seats in the back of the bus. I don’t like those.”

Rock’s grin grew even bigger. “I got a truck. Lucky for you, I like giving my friends a ride.”

Oh, no. I wasn’t letting him see where we lived. Not today. Not ever. “Uh, no, that’s okay. The bus works just fine.” And as if on cue, the bus rolled up and Mr. Freds called out over his megaphone for the riders of A138 to board.

I grabbed Krit’s arm. “That’s us. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I told Rock quickly, and pulled my brother to the bus line. I didn’t look back, and I was almost afraid Rock would get in line with us. Even though he was supposed to be at football practice.

Getting this guy to back off wasn’t going to be easy. Getting my heart to stop going into a frenzy whenever he spoke to me was also not going to be easy. He was every daydream I had allowed myself to have since I was a little girl. A big, beautiful, strong man who could keep me safe. Someone who would love me and ride in on his horse and wrap me up in his arms so that no one could hurt me again.

Rock Taylor did not want to save me and my brother. He was a teenager with a football career ahead of him. Everyone knew the college scouts were watching him. He was going to be big one day. I would be a waste of his time.

“Rock Taylor has the hots for your sister,” Green announced to Krit as we sat down. I ignored his comment.

“Yeah, I saw that,” Krit replied, sounding pissed.

I turned to look at my brother. I would have thought he would love any excuse to get to talk to Rock Taylor. “He doesn’t have the hots for me.”

Krit scowled. “Yes, Sis, he does. I saw it. He’s not what you need, though. He ain’t got time to deal with our shit. He won’t stick around, and you’ll get hurt. Then I’ll have to kill him.”

Green let out an amused, hard laugh. “You can’t kill Rock Taylor. He can step on you and squish you like a bug.”

“You have no clue what I can do,” Krit said, staring straight ahead with a determined gleam in his eyes.

I had to deal with Krit. But not here on this bus where people could hear us.

Rock needed to understand I didn’t have time to be his friend or anything else. I wouldn’t fit into his world. I had my world to survive.

Chapter Seven

Rock

“You good tonight?” I asked Preston as we walked from the field house out to Marcus’s truck. This was a daily thing. Preston’s home life was shit. If it weren’t for his younger brothers and baby sister, he wouldn’t ever go home. His mother was a user. In a very bad way.

“Yeah. It’s all good. I’m anxious to hear about Jimmy’s first day of school,” Preston said with his easy smile that the world believed. But I knew better. Behind his pretty-boy looks and carefree smile was a guy who had seen bad shit. He was basically a father at seventeen. He was the only love and protection his siblings got.