Bitterroot Crossing (3 page)

   
The door swung open again and the boy who’d been sitting on the wall walked in. He looked a bit wild, uncontrollable, but I liked his face. And he’d been the only person I’d met so far who had not had something biting to say. All he’d done was point me in the right direction for my class, but at least no nasty comments had accompanied the directions. The boy walked to the back and sat down three seats away. I flashed him a little smile. He returned it with an intense blue-eyed stare before his mouth tilted up on one side.

   
Mrs. Hoffman clapped her hands loudly to get everyone’s attention. “Your review problems are on the board. Start working. I’ll be checking your calculations as you work.”

   
A quiet groan rolled around the room as heads dropped and pencils started moving. I fished out my own pencil and worked.

   
Several minutes later, a tall shadow fell over my paper. “Jessie, do the best you can. I’m sure this work will be very difficult for you.” Everyone stopped and took the opportunity to look back at me.

   
I glanced at the board and at the calculations on my paper. “Am I correct so far?”

   
Mrs. Hoffman pushed her glasses higher and peered down at my paper. Her mouth twisted into a bow. “Hmm, yes, so far you are correct.” She continued up the row seeming almost flustered by the fact that I knew how to do the math. She said she knew my mom growing up, and suddenly I wondered if she was someone my mom had liked. Something told me she wasn’t.   

   
Out of the corner of my eye, I could sense the boy with long hair was watching me again. It was a bit unsettling, and I decided not to look his way.

   
After a few minutes, Mrs. Hoffman drew our attention to the front board. “Who will volunteer to do problem number one on the board?”

   
All the students in the room slouched down simultaneously. One boy, it seemed, even purposely dropped his pencil so he could dive under his desk to get it. Silence filled the room as Mrs. Hoffman scanned the faces.

   
The prospect of writing on the shiny, white board with the thick, blue pen was more than intriguing to me. I raised my hand.

   
“Fine, Jessie, why don’t you come up and give it a try.”

   
The minute I stood I regretted my enthusiasm for writing on the shiny board. Several steps into what seemed like an endless journey to the front of the room, I heard snickers and giggles. I’d been such a fool convincing myself that I’d perfected a normal walk and that no one would notice my legs.

   
My hands trembled by the time I reached the board. I picked up the fat pen and wrote out the calculations as fast as I could. The walk back to my seat was nearly as torturous. People stared down at my boots. Nervously I peeked over at the boy with the long hair. He wasn’t staring at my boots. In fact his gaze never left my face. There was no ridicule or humor in his blue eyes. It was something else. The look he gave me made my cheeks feel warm. I was more than relieved to reach my seat.

   
“Perfect, Miss Sterling. I could not have done better myself.”

   
She looked around the room again. “Now who will do number two?” Again came the dreadful silence and students shrinking down in their chairs. Finally Mrs. Hoffman’s glare landed on someone in the back. “Mr. Crush, it has been a while since you’ve come up to the board.”

   
I startled when she said the name. And then he stood, the boy with the long hair and unsettling gaze stood to walk to the front of the room. The one person who had taken the time to be polite to me was the great-great-grandson of Zedekiah Crush.

Chapter5

   
Shortly after first period I discovered something else I loved about Tina’s tight pink t-shirt. It was easy to spot in a crowd. A flash of pink caught my eye as she was headed toward class. I dashed around the corner hoping she hadn’t spotted me. This morning’s ugly scene out front made me think twice about my girlfriend. I mean I knew she could be a terrible bitch, especially to other girls, but cruelty like I saw today was a whole other deal. Yeah, she was beautiful, wild, and willing to do just about anything a guy could want, but all those perfect girlfriend attributes were meaningless when you had to resist cringing every time she opened her mouth.

   
Tina’s latest victim, Jessie Sterling, was meandering down the hall with her heavy cloak around her shoulders. She glanced back and forth from her schedule to the numbers on the door. Twice I caught a glimpse of her amazing profile, a profile I had basically memorized during Mrs. Hoffman’s mind numbing math lesson.

   
Suddenly the gym doors flew open and a crowd washed out of the locker rooms and into the narrow hallway. Jessie pressed her back against the wall to avoid the stampede. I edged toward her through the crush of bodies. By the time I reached her, she looked on the edge of full panic.

   
She looked up at me, her green eyes wide with fear. I took hold of her arm. “Out here.”

   
I led her to the emergency escape exit and pushed out into the small yard where the school’s electrical boxes and maintenance equipment was kept. The second we stepped into the sunlight, a gust of wind blew through the tiny yard. She sucked in a breath, pulled out of my grasp, and yanked her hood onto her head. I was more than a little bummed that most of her face was now concealed by it, although I could still see her lips, which were, by themselves, pretty damn awesome.

   
“Guess you’re not used to having so many people storm toward you like that.”

   
She shook her head. “It was silly of me to be so scared. But, yes, it was a lot of people. I didn’t realize how many kids went to this school. I’m Jessie, by the way.”

   
“I’m Nick. Unfortunately there aren’t too many school choices here in Bitterroot Crossing. In fact, this is the only choice.” The bright sunlight seemed to dim. I squinted up toward the sky. I sensed that Jessie had looked up too. Strange swirls of black smoke circled above us. We both stood there silently watching as the black mist thickened, coiled like a snake, and then evaporated into thin air. “That all has something to do with you, doesn’t it?”

   
“Quite possibly. Although I hope not,” she said.

   
Without warning, one of the town’s sirens pierced the air. Jessie startled and grabbed my hand with her small fingers. Instantly the skin on my hand tingled sending a shiver up my arm and across my shoulders. She released me as quickly as she’d grabbed me. Once her touch was gone a sort of sadness washed over me like I’d lost something I really wanted, really needed.

   
Jessie stared down at her palm as if she’d felt the same sensation. She lifted her chin high enough to look at my face. Suddenly I was thankful for that cloak she wore. Standing this near to her and seeing her face this close up made my heart rock wildly in my chest. I was sure I could hear it pounding.

   
“Are we going to be late for class?”

   
I was so busy staring at her like a moron it took me a second to figure out what she’d asked. “No, we’re not late.” I peeked through the small hazy window in the exit door. The hallway was mostly empty. Just then my phone vibrated in my pocket.

   
Jessie stepped back. “Your pants are buzzing.”

   
I smiled down at her and fished out my phone. It was a snarl message from Tina. I referred to most of her messages as snarls because no one could text over an angry tone through a few letters like Tina. “It’s my cell phone.”

   
Jessie’s eyes widened as my thumbs flew over the keypad.  I sent Tina back a snarl message of my own then nodded toward the door. “I guess we better go back inside. I’ll show you to your next class.” I opened the door and looked both directions to make sure there was no angry pink in sight. The coast seemed clear.

   
“Crush! What were you doing at the emergency exit?” Hammersmith’s loud voice rumbling in the nearly abandoned hallway caused Jessie to jump. Instinctively I felt the need to protect her. The urge had come from somewhere down deep.  I stepped in front of her to block her from Hammersmith’s scorn and turned slowly to face the man.

   
The principal’s close-set eyes skewered me with the usual mistrust. While I was definitely no angel, his wrath against me was mostly underserved. But with a last name like Crush, most people in this town were quick to judge me. Hammersmith was no exception. Supposedly he’d been a distant relative of the Bridger family, although no one seemed to know that for sure. The real Bridger descendants had moved out of town when my dad was young. They couldn’t take the pressure of living in a haunted town. Far as I was concerned, the Crush Gang was the only cool thing about this place. 

   
“Don’t you know what that emergency exit is used for?” he asked.

   
“Emergencies?”

   
“Very funny,
Crush
.” He always added a special emphasis on my name. “I know you were out there smoking.”

   
Jessie stepped around me. Hammersmith had obviously not seen his newest student yet. He stared down at her like a speechless fool. Couldn’t blame the guy really. “Please, sir, he wasn’t smoking. I was feeling dizzy and he saw that I needed some air. This exit was the closest door.”

   
“Uh . . . uh, well fine then.” His usual asshole expression faded as he gazed down at her. For a moment he almost looked human. Then he turned his attention back to me and the furious expression returned. “Don’t let me catch you out there again, Crush. Now get to class.” He stormed past, his entire demeanor returning to the familiar, self-important jerk I’d grown so fond of.

   
Jessie handed me her class list. We walked several doors down, and I was about to open the door when the town’s sirens rang. The students inside cheered. I pulled Jessie out of the doorway. Every door swung open and people filled the hallway again. The sirens blared so loudly now, the school building shook slightly on its foundation. Through the chaos, a slim hand grabbed mine. As small as it was, it sent a tremor through my arm, and I could almost swear the vibration jolted my heart. I squeezed the thin fingers without looking down and walked her through the swarm of bodies to the exit.

   
There would be no more school today. The loud, consistent bells outside were a warning to get home and behind locked doors. The Crush Gang was about to make an appearance.

Chapter 6

   
It seemed as if the entire student body of Bitterroot Crossing gushed from the two front doors of building two as we exited. The rush of bodies took my breath away and made my head spin just like moments before in the stuffy, impossibly narrow hallway. If Nick Crush had not been holding tightly onto my hand, I surely would have tumbled headfirst down the crooked concrete steps leading to the yard. Without a word between us, he led me safely to the front of the school. Parents were already lined up out front in a row of cars waiting to escort their children home. The owner of the sandwich shop across the street was dragging his chairs and tables inside and his next door neighbor, the pharmacist, had already shut his doors and pulled down the window shades.