Toxic Bad Boy (6 page)

I copied his casual
position. “You’re from my old school.”

“
You’re totally guessing,
aren’t you?”

I nodded in
answer.

He held out a hand. “I’m
Kara’s brother, Gage.”

Since his hand was
stretched out patiently, I cautiously placed my own in it, shaking
once and pulling away. “I’m Gianna.”

There wasn’t much
resemblance to Kara and I figured they were half-siblings. Kara and
I had been friends for awhile when we were little, but I didn’t
remember her brother.

His hand disappeared with
the other one under the table and he gave me a small smile. “Well,
I don’t blame you for not remembering me. We never had any classes
together since I’m a grade older and the last time we talked was
when you came over to play with Kara in elementary
school.”

At the mention of my old
school, I wondered if he knew about what happened with Josh. Trying
to feel him out, I asked, “So what are you doing here?”

A hint of blush stained
his cheeks, giving me an unexpected feeling of relief. “Kinda sorta
got expelled.”

I hadn’t been expecting
that answer. “When?”

“
Last week. This is my
first day here. What about you?”

Maybe he hadn’t heard
about the incident last fall. He definitely hadn’t been friends
with the same crowd as me. “I transferred here last
semester.”

“
How do you like
it?”

It had never been a
question of like or dislike. The school was across the city from my
old life, that was all that mattered. Shrugging, I finally said,
“It’s alright.”

“
So, why’d you switch
schools, Gianna?” The question might have been nonchalant for him,
but it always forced me to be dishonest.

“
My dad bought a house in
Englewood. It was easier to switch schools than make the trip up to
Broomfield every day.”

I gauged his reaction,
happy when he appeared accepting of my lie. “Are you a cheerleader
at this school now?”

He probably remembered me
wearing my uniform to school on game days. “No cheering for me
anymore.”

“
Who do you hang out with
here?” He glanced over my shoulder then his dark brown eyes
returned to me.

“
I, um, don’t.” At his
look of curious disbelief, I explained, “Most of my friends go to
school in Denver and Aurora. I just get an education
here.”

Looking thoughtful, Gage
leaned forward. “Well, since you don’t have any friends and I don’t
know anyone here, I’ll hang with you for now.”

I couldn’t help my burst
of laughter. “Oh jeez, thanks.”

“
No problem.”

Checking the time on my
phone, I saw it was eleven minutes to first period. I slipped my
book into my backpack and zipped it up. I’d need to stop by my
locker to get rid of my bulky coat. “Time to get to
class.”

Once out of the booth,
without the barrier between us, I felt a little nervous. While I
put my backpack on, he reached over to grab my coat, handing it to
me. “Thank you.”

As I started to walk away,
he called out, “Do you mind showing me to my first
class?”

Whirling around, I reached
up to hold onto the straps of my bag. “Yeah, sure. Which room
number?”

Gage’s eyes dropped down
to the paper in his hand. “Room 117.”

Feeling like this guy
might be safe, I attempted to remain friendly. “Okay, come
on.”

On the way to 117, I
dropped off the coat at my locker. Gage told me his locker number
and we swung by so he could locate it. He didn’t have textbooks
yet, so he didn’t bother opening it. Walking to his class, he
informed me that he was an aspiring DJ. He still struggled to make
a name for himself, so he hadn’t gotten much work yet. When he
graduated at the end of the school year, he’d concentrate on
booking gigs full time.

We stopped outside his
class. “So, meet you in the lounge at lunch?”

Shifting from one foot to
the other, I hesitated. Not having friends at my new school had
worked for me so far. I wasn’t sure I wanted a new guy friend. But
he was Kara’s older brother, so it wasn’t like he was a total
stranger. It wouldn’t hurt to have one friend at this
school.

And it’d make me less of a
freak.

“
Okay,” I replied slowly.
“I’ll meet you there.”

He flashed me a grin.
“Later, then.”

I watched him approach the
teacher inside the classroom as a girl sitting in the front row
checked him out. He was cute now that I thought about it. Hot body
like a swimmer. The way he walked reminded me a little of
Caleb.

Hurrying to my own class
on the second floor, the rubber soles of my boots squeaking on the
shiny floor, I remembered Caleb’s request in his last letter. He
wanted me to visit him next week on Valentine’s Day. I had mixed
feelings on visiting my own boyfriend on the most romantic day of
the year.

As much as I missed him, I
couldn’t help being apprehensive at the prospect of facing him. I
was scared he’d take one look at me and realize he didn’t want me
anymore. I had no doubt Caleb cared for me, but would he still love
me the same?

Hell, I didn’t even want me anymore.

“
A kiss that is never
tasted, is forever and ever wasted.”

-Billie Holiday

VALENTINE’S DAY

CALEB

Showering this wonderful
morning, I whistled under the warm spray, eager to get my day
started. Valentine’s Day falling on a Saturday worked out perfectly
for me.

I passed by Ian as I
exited the bathroom. “Stop with your god damn happiness,
Caleb.”

“
Just ‘cause you don’t
have a beautiful girl visiting you today.”

I wasn’t about to let him
ruin my good mood. It’d been four months since I’d last seen
Gianna. Today felt like my birthday, Christmas and Valentine’s Day
all rolled into one.

Ian eyed the guard nearby
before answering. “Actually, I do have a girl visiting me
today.”

“
Only approved family
members are allowed to visit. Is she a cousin or
something?”

His lazy smile was
conspiratorial. “Nope.”

Now my interest was
piqued. “Your do-gooder pen pal?”

The smile transformed into
an intense scowl. “I would never let Alexandra come to this
hellhole.”

Trying to keep a straight
face, I asked, “Oh, it’s like that, is it?”

“
No,” he snapped, turning
his back to me.

“
Move along,” a guard
ordered when I began laughing tauntingly.

In our cell, I sat down on
my bed and ran a palm over my buzzed hair. I wondered what Gianna
would think of my shorter hair. Closing my eyes, I imagined the
feeling of her hands last time they were in my hair. In my mind,
her nails were painted red as delicate hands journeyed below my
neck, stroking my chest. One hand dipped inside my pants as her
lips met mine....

Aw, fuck, juvie was
killing me.

I threw myself back onto
the thin mattress, clenching my fists in an effort to control the
porn show taking place in my mind.

Ian showed up, strutting
into our cell as he ran a comb through his wet locks. My eyes
rolled at his primping. He started rummaging through my stack of
magazines. “Do you have any cologne samples?”

I jumped up, snatching
the
GQ
magazine
my mom brought me on her last visit and rifling through it until I
found a Calvin Klein sample. As I rubbed some onto my skin, I gave
Ian a victorious smirk.

Unfazed, he grabbed it
from my fingers and did the same. “What the hell, man? I don’t want
to smell like you!”

He went back to playing
with his blond hair. “Don’t worry, Caleb. You’re too ugly to be my
Valentine.”

“
So, how do you plan on
getting a chick in here if she isn’t family?”

His grin widened. “My
lawyer got her on the approved list, said she was a second
cousin.”

A terrible thought came to
me. “Do I know her?”

His eyebrows rose along
with an evil smile. “Do you mean, have you screwed her?”

I granted him a black
look. “With Gianna finally coming I don’t want any
surprises.”

Ian frowned, rolling his
eyes. “Her name is Trisha...something.”

“
Real helpful,” I
muttered. Then again, even with a last name I couldn’t be
sure.

I snagged the red gift bag
from under the bed that my mom had brought my Christmas present in.
I didn’t have the tissue anymore, but I carefully placed into it
the painting I’d made for Gianna.

It was kind of cheesy, but
I’d painted the memory of when we’d gone tagging. I’d included
myself in the painting and it was a view of our backs as we stood a
few feet away from each other. Our arms were extended as we each
gripped a can of paint, aiming at the wall in front of us. Black
paint coated several of my fingers and bright blue paint dripped
down Gianna’s index finger and over the top of her hand.

While sketching it, I’d
thought it was kind of cool to paint a piece depicting the time
we’d created art together. I’d even painted part of our handiwork
that day.

Gianna’s delay in visiting
already had me feeling uneasy, so I didn’t want to stress about
whether she’d like my present. Half the time I was with the youth
corrections therapist was spent discussing Gianna. Not having met
her, my therapist could only guess at Gianna’s mental health. Dr.
Adler explained how avoidance was normal behavior after an
assault.

Patience was getting
old.

Gripping the handles of
the gift bag, I followed Ian out of our cell to line up for
breakfast. From the cafeteria, anyone with visitors would be led to
the visiting room and the rest would be taken outside to the
basketball courts or gym.

I practically shoved the
pancakes down my throat in my hurry to finish breakfast. A guard
began calling out the names of inmates with visitors waiting. If
Gianna didn’t show, I’d lose my shit. I could not go another day
without seeing her face, breathing in her presence.

The last four months have
been complete shit. I needed a strong dose of my girl to get me
through the rest of my sentence.

GIANNA

I’d been afraid to walk
inside the building. Gage had driven me to the youth corrections
facility Caleb was locked up in and waited in his car outside. I
was both elated and dreading seeing my boyfriend.

The pep talk Gage had
given me before I’d come inside was a borderline scolding. I didn’t
like to think of myself as weak, but hadn’t I proved it when I’d
allowed Josh to hurt me? Hadn’t I proved it when I’d gotten my
loving boyfriend imprisoned?

Gage had offered to
accompany me inside, but only family was allowed to visit the
inmates. As I waited for Caleb inside the large visitation room, I
considered how fast my friendship with Gage had evolved. After that
first day a week and a half ago, we’d hung out constantly. It was
obvious Gage only wanted a platonic relationship and the safety in
that was a relief. He’d even come to watch practice with the crew
last Saturday.

I was half convinced Caleb
was about to dump me. I’d styled my hair for the first time in
months. I wore an old pair of jeans, but went shopping earlier this
week for a new blue sweater. I thought it was cute, but now that I
was here, I worried it was boring. There was another girl around my
age wearing a red dress I would’ve thought too sexy for a prison
visit. Her matching lipstick was a lot bolder than the pink lip
gloss I’d applied to my own mouth.

I’d come clean with Gage
about what happened with Josh. Before driving me here, he’d wanted
to know what my boyfriend and Ian had done to wind up in juvie. I’d
have liked to introduce Caleb to Gage. I didn’t want Caleb to think
there was more than friendship between me and my new guy
friend.

Then again, Caleb could
end up dumping me today and it would no longer be an
issue.

Getting through the
security checkpoints had been more involved than I would’ve
thought. A guard had rifled through my purse and jacket pockets,
even searching the box of chocolates I’d brought for Caleb, before
patting me down. It’d been a female guard, so it didn’t seem too
intrusive.

From what I’d seen of the
facility, the place was a little dismal. Everything seemed so cold
and orderly. I hated that Caleb was stuck in here. The visitation
room was filled with small tables scattered in the center and
benches lining one side of the room. The motivational posters
covering one wall had mountains, a kitten and a rocky beach on
them.

The one titled
Courage
with a picture
of a penguin jumping off an iceberg cliff fitted my cowardly
feelings. If a penguin could jump off a cliff into freezing water,
surely I could face the guy I loved.