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  She shrugs. “I don’t care.”

  Well, she is certainly no help. “How about we take a walk to the park?” I suggest. “I need to take Sassy for a walk anyway.”

  “Okay.” She’s still smiling.

  I excuse myself before running up to my room. I throw my things onto my bed and I quickly grab Sassy’s leash. When I walk back downstairs, Kelly already has Sassy in her arms. I clip the leash on her collar before I open the front door.

  “We’ll be back in a bit, Mom,” I call out. We walk out of my house and start walking in the direction of the park.

  Kelly puts Sassy on the ground and holds the leash in her hands. “So, Riley, tell me about yourself.”

  “Um…” What do people usually say in situations like this? “I like to read and listen to music.”

  “What kind of books do you read?”

  “I like reading romance and mystery novels.” I’m a sucker for the mysteries and the romances. I don’t seem like the type who would melt over a romance novel, but I definitely am.

  “How about music? What do you listen to?” she asks.

  I shrug. “A little bit of everything, I guess. Mostly classic rock and alternative.” I don’t think I’m giving interesting answers, so I switch the attention to her. “What about you? What do you like to do?”

  Her eyes shine. “I love to dance. I’ve been in ballet since I was three. I was into cheerleading until I came to Maxwell. I would read more, but I can’t seem to find the right books to read. My favorite TV shows are Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries, and Gossip Girl. My favorite movie ever is LOL, and someday I want to go skydiving.”

  Wow. She is the complete opposite of me. I hate all the shows she named; I have never even seen LOL; dancing has never crossed my mind, and I would never go skydiving, not even for a million dollars.

  “And you also have a mom who is getting married soon,” I say, switching the topic to something we can relate to.

  She nods. “Right.”

  “Are your parents…” I don’t know if I should ask this question.

  “Divorced?” She finishes for me. “Yeah, they are.”

  Curiosity gets the best of me. “Do you see your dad a lot?”

  She shakes her head. “Jenna and Ryan visit him sometimes, but I don’t feel like I need to see him. He left us, so why should I bother making the effort to see him and his Barbie wife?” she says bitterly.

  Ah, something else we have in common. “My dad left us too. He left when I was three years old.”

  “Do you remember him?”

  “Nope, not at all. I’ve only seen pictures of him.” Mom has a box of old things from her first apartment with my dad. I’ve gone through it once, just to satisfy my curiosity about him.

  “Seems like both our dads ran out on us.” She looks at the ground. “I guess it’s okay now. Robert is pretty cool with us.”

  Robert? “Aiden’s dad?”

  She nods. “Mom’s happy with him, so I’m happy for her.”

  Mom has never even mentioned another man in her life. I think she’s still hurt about my dad leaving us. She talked to him on the phone last year for some reason. I don’t know what they talked about, but she looked as if she were crying after she hung up.

  “That’s good,” I say as I glance at the houses we pass by. I notice we’re getting closer to Aiden’s house. “How long has your mom been with Aiden’s dad?”

  She hesitates. “About five or six years.” Her eyes flicker to the houses. “Let’s stop by Robert’s house, yeah? I don’t think you’ve officially met him, have you?”

  I shake my head.

  She grasps my arm and tugs me toward the Callaway residence. There’s a ‘for sale’ sign in the yard that wasn’t there a couple of days ago. The navy-blue truck from the other day is in the driveway also.

  We approach the front door, and Kelly rings the doorbell. A few seconds later the door opens, revealing the same man I’d seen at the bridal shop.

  He smiles at Kelly. “Kelly.” He sounds surprised. His eyes flicker to me. “And Kelly’s friend.”

  “This is my friend Riley. She’s mom’s new bridesmaid,” Kelly explains.

  I smile and give him a small wave. “Hi.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Riley.” Now I know where Aiden gets his looks from. Aiden looks just like his dad, except for the few gray hairs. There are some slight wrinkles by his eyes that are noticeable when he smiles. “Come on in,” he tells us as he opens the door wider for us.

  I pick Sassy up from the ground and I take the leash from Kelly.

  We walk in and I examine our surroundings. There’s a staircase to our left, a long hallway to the right, and a hall in front of us. Similar to my house, just switched around a bit. Kelly seems to know her way around, as she walks straight. I follow closely behind her.

  “I see you’ve still got a lot of packing to do.” Kelly observes. That’s when I notice the few boxes that are stacked in a corner in the kitchen.

  Robert chuckles. “Well, it’s pretty much just been me packing things up. Aiden is still, uh, adjusting.”

  “Yeah, he’s made that very clear.” She sighs.

  And speaking of the devil, Aiden appears from the long hallway and scans the room. His gaze stops on Kelly and me. “What are you guys doing here?”

  Robert clears his throat. “I’ll be upstairs if you all need anything.” He looks at Aiden expectantly, but Aiden doesn’t turn in his direction.

  “It’s good to see you too, bro,” Kelly says sarcastically.

  Aiden gives her the middle finger then looks at me. “Aren’t you tired of her yet?”

  She shoves his shoulder. “Ha-ha. You’re absolutely hilarious.”

  “But really, what are you guys doing here?” Aiden’s eyes flash to Sassy, who is squirming in my arms.

  “We were in the neighborhood and decided to drop in real quick.” Kelly shrugs.

  He crosses his arms. “Riley lives in the neighborhood. Did you ambush her to get her to hang out with you?”

  Yes.

  “I did not ambush her. Anyway, we were walking the dog when I thought we should stop by to say hello. We’re heading to the park after this.”

  Aiden’s attention is on Sassy. He reaches out and starts to pet her. “What kind of dog is this?” He looks genuinely confused.

  “She’s a Pomeranian,” I tell him.

  Kelly then grabs Sassy from my arms. “She’s a pretty dog. Yes, she is,” she talks to Sassy like the dog is a baby.

  Aiden rolls his eyes. “God, Kelly, can you get any girlier?”

  Tell me about it.

  “Shut up, Aiden.” She snaps at him. “Let’s go, Riley.”

  “Actually, I need to head that way too,” he says, reaching into his pockets and fishing out his phone.

  “Really?” Kelly groans.

  “Yes, really,” he says, pushing past us.

  ***

  Kelly and Aiden bicker over who should hold the leash as we walk to the park. Even though Sassy is my dog, I continue to listen to their argument. Kelly thinks that Aiden should walk Sassy since he’s a guy and it would be the gentleman thing to do, but Aiden argues that walking a dog like Sassy will damage his reputation. He says she’s too fluffy.

  I silently take the leash from Kelly as they argue. They don’t even notice that I have the leash now. “Or I can walk her. She’s my dog after all,” I pipe into the conversation.

  Aiden smirks at Kelly, and she sticks her tongue out at him. “So, Riley,” she says, turning her attention to me. “Tell me about Fairfield.”

  “It sucks ass,” Aiden says as he kicks a rock on the sidewalk.

  “I didn’t ask you.” She snaps at him before looking at me again. “Are there a lot of cute guys there?” She winks at me.

  “Um, I don’t really pay attention,” I tell her honestly. It’s not that I’m not interested in boys. The boys that go to Fairfield High aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed.r />
  Aiden looks amused. “You see, Kelly? Riley here actually focuses on school and not the douche bag population that attends Fairfield.”

  “C’mon, Riley.” She ignores him. “There has to be at least one guy you think is cute.”

  “She likes me.” Aiden flexes his arms.

  I frown. “No, I don’t.” Aiden Callaway is the last person I could ever see myself dating. Sure, he’s obviously gorgeous, but his attitude takes away from that.

  Kelly cracks up laughing and Aiden huffs. “Did I just witness someone rejecting Aiden Callaway?” She continues to laugh.

  “Whatever.” He’s completely serious. “There are plenty of girls who like me.”

  Soon enough, we reach the park and Aiden leaves with a guy who’s already waiting here. I wonder what kind of lifestyle Aiden has when he’s not around his family, or step-family. What could Aiden Callaway possibly do for fun?

  Kelly and I hang out at the park for a while after Aiden departs. Kelly plays with Sassy and confesses that she’s tempted to dognap Sassy. I quickly protest and I make sure Sassy is in my line of sight at all times.

  Once it gets dark, Kelly calls Jenna to pick us up. I convince her that I’m fine walking home by myself.

  “Sassy doesn’t seem much like a guard dog, though.” Kelly laughs.

  Jenna soon shows up and takes Kelly home. It’s now eight o’clock and I’m walking Sassy along the sidewalk. The cool air feels good against my skin as I walk. I close my eyes and breathe in the fresh air. Nights like this make me feel serene and calm. It’s peaceful.

  That peacefulness is shattered when I hear angry shouts behind me. My eyes pop open and I steal a glance behind me only to find that there’s no one in sight. I continue walking, but the shouting again pierces the air. That’s when I learn that the shouting is coming from inside of one of the houses.

  Specifically Aiden’s house.

  I tell myself it’s none of my business, but a door opens and the shouting grows louder.

  “Get back in this house now, Aiden!” I go ahead and assume Robert is yelling from inside the house.

  “I’m fucking done talking to you!” Aiden yells back from the doorway. He slams the door behind him and he starts walking down the driveway. He then turns and walks in the opposite direction I’m walking. If he saw me, he isn’t making it obvious.

  Part of me wants to follow him and make sure he doesn’t get into trouble. The other part of me knows he wants to be alone, so I continue to walk to my house.

  Chapter 7

  I leave the library before lunch is over so I can stop by my locker to switch out a few books. While at my locker, I notice Ryan walking by with Nicole Sanders hanging on his arm. They stop by the girls’ restroom and Nicole goes in, leaving Ryan to wait in the hall.

  I’m shutting my locker when I see him approaching me.

  “Hey, Riley,” he says casually.

  The fact that Ryan Dixon addresses me so nonchalantly now is still a strange concept to grasp. “Hi,” I say as I slowly face him. I immediately see that something is off about his demeanor.

  He rubs the back of his neck. “Have you heard from Aiden at all?”

  Why would I know anything about Aiden’s whereabouts? “No. Why?” I ask curiously.

  “Kelly hasn’t told you?” he asks instead of answering me. “Aiden got into another argument with Robert, and he ran off somewhere. He hasn’t been home.”

  The feeling of guilt instantly settles within me. I should have talked to Aiden when I saw him run out of his house. “What were they fighting about?”

  Ryan rolls his eyes. “Aiden doesn’t exactly like the fact that Robert is marrying my mom. He’s constantly fighting with Aiden about the whole thing.”

  “He got angry and just took off?”

  He nods. “I’m pretty sure Robert is close to dumping him from the wedding completely. My mom wants him to be a part of everything, but Aiden obviously doesn’t want any part of it.”

  I wonder what Aiden’s problem is with Anna. She doesn’t seem like a horrible person.

  I’m about to respond to him when I see Nicole walk out of the restroom. She sees Ryan talking to me and I can tell by her gaze that she’s sizing me up. Her expression is unreadable. She puts a hand on his shoulder and tears her eyes away from mine.

  “Ready to go?” she asks him.

  “Yeah,” he says. “I’ll see you later, Riley.”

  I give a small wave to him before I continue in the opposite direction in the hall. My mind is swirling with the thought of me going up to Aiden when he ran out of his house. Maybe I could’ve stopped him, convinced him not to run off somewhere. Would he have listened to me?

  ***

  When I get home, I’m once again greeted by Kelly. After a quick chat with my mom, we head upstairs to my bedroom.

  “Your room is so hipster.” She stares at my walls in awe. “I love it.”

  “Thanks,” I say as I throw my backpack on the floor.

  We sit on my bed as Kelly sighs dramatically and throws herself back. “I get that boys aren’t any of your concern right now, but I need to vent about one.”

  “Go ahead.”

  She continues to tell me about some guy who reached out to her on social media and goes to a different school in our city. She says he’s frustrating but cute at the same time and she doesn’t know what to do about it.

  She’s telling the wrong person about this, obviously.

  She sits up suddenly and pulls her phone out of her pocket. She sighs when she looks at the screen. “Hold on,” she tells me. “Hello? Aiden?”

  Aiden might not like that his dad is marrying Anna, but I’m certain he has a soft spot for Kelly.

  “Where the hell are you, dude?” she asks him. “Aiden, everyone is worried sick about you. Just come home, okay?” The frown on her face deepens. She then holds the phone out to me. “Here. You try to knock some sense into him.”

  I slowly grab the phone from her, and I put it against my ear. “Aiden?” I ask awkwardly. I don’t really do well on the phone. I actually can’t stand phone conversations. Or conversations in general, but what can you do?

  “Put Kelly back on,” he demands.

  “Aiden, maybe you should—”

  “Listen, you tell Kelly that I’m done with this wedding shit and that I’m done dealing with everyone. I’m fine on my own,” he says angrily.

  I sigh. “Aiden, you know the whole world isn’t against you, right?”

  “None of this even concerns you. Just stay out of my business. We’re not friends and we never will be. Now, let me talk to Kelly again.”

  I hand the phone to Kelly, and she talks to him for a good five seconds before she looks at the screen and puts her phone down.

  “He hung up on me.” She presses her lips together. “I was sure he’d listen to you.”

  “Aiden and I aren’t friends or anything. He’ll never listen to me.” I look down. It doesn’t hurt my feelings. I don’t need a friend like Aiden Callaway anyway.

  Kelly invites me to a party. I try to refuse, but it’s kind of hard with her. She has already brought clothes for me and a huge briefcase that is filled with who knows what. My mom had told me that she would be working late.

  Apparently, Kelly had told my mom that I would be spending the night with her at her house, so I would have to go to the party.

  Sneaky that girl, let me tell you.

  I also refuse to wear a dress. I don’t like dresses and dresses don’t like me. So I reluctantly decide on black jeggings, a denim cut-off shirt, and some light-colored ballet flats. Kelly slips on a short blue sparkly dress with one sleeve. She puts loose curls in her blonde hair while my brown hair is given what Kelly calls beach waves. I complain to her how I don’t want to go to the beach, and she rolls her eyes.

  A friend of hers meets us at my house and we all make our way to the party. My hands are sweaty in my lap as we drive there. I am extremely nervous, not only because this is
my first party, but because I have a bad feeling about tonight.

  The music playing at the party location can be heard down the street it is on. I don’t know how they can even have this party without neighbors complaining. They must be used to it or something.

  Kelly squeals once the house comes into view. “I’m so excited!”

  I’m not.

  At least I don’t have to wear a dress. But these jeggings are skin-tight on me and this shirt is exposing my shoulders, which isn’t really me. I don’t feel like myself right now.

  We pull into a space between two cars about two houses away and get out. Kelly grabs my arm and smiles. “You’ll have fun, Riley. I promise.”

  “Have you ever been to a party before?” I ask her.

  She smirked. “Once or twice. But don’t tell Ryan or Jenna. They’d kill me if they found out I was here.”

  Kelly is only sixteen, two years younger than me, and she’s already been to her first party.

  We walk up to the house and enter without even knocking on the door. This definitely isn’t a good idea!

  The inside of the house is packed. People are dancing in a certain area with the music blaring next to them. Others have drinks in their hands and are talking to their friends. Laughter is everywhere.

  I notice a small blonde girl at the top of a staircase with a drink in her hands. She sways and laughs at something a guy told her. She hands her drink over to him and nods. That’s when she lifts her shirt and exposes her chest to everyone in view.

  I turn away and shake my head. She’d regret that tomorrow when she finds out it’s all over the internet.

  Kelly looks at me and grins. “You want a drink?”

  “Are you going to drink alcohol?” I ask her, raising my eyebrow. “You’re only sixteen.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Are you going to act like my mother all night? Or are you actually going to let loose and have fun?”

  How is getting drunk and acting like a moron fun? “I’ll get one later. You go ahead,” I tell her so she wouldn’t get mad at me. Of course, I won’t actually get a drink.

  She goes off with some other girl in a different direction and I sigh. Well, now what do I do?

  I walk towards a wall where no one is standing. I stand out of the way of everyone and try to make myself invisible. I have a feeling I am not going to enjoy tonight.