Chapter 1
Tuesday morning came too quickly, and I got up early, only to find an empty house downstairs. I opened the refrigerator and found it still empty. I had no idea why I thought it would be filled with food, seeing she was out doing who knows what with the guy she had hooked up with the night before. I remembered what our next-door neighbor said one day, and I hated to impose, but I didn’t have anything last night. I headed upstairs to grab my stuff when Mom decided to come stumbling through the door.
“Where are you going?” She said, trying to stand up straight without falling to the floor.
“School. It’s morning, or did you forget?”
“Don’t talk to me like that. I’m your mother...I...I...I can do whatever the hell I want.” She staggered over to the table by the door, placing her purse on it. She proceeded to look at herself in the mirror, running her shaky hands over her disheveled hair.
“Yeah, like forgetting to pick up your child at school.” I watched her eyes widen in the mirror. “Oh, Bridget.” She turned around, unsteady on her feet.
“I have to go to school.” I ran up the stairs to get my things, hoping she’d be passed out on the couch by the time I got back downstairs. I walked over to my dresser, looking over my shoulder to make sure Mom wasn’t walking up the stairs, opened the middle drawer, reached in the back, and pulled out some money for something to eat on the way to school. Grandma gave me some money the last time she was here for things like this, because she knew Mom was getting worse. She told me never to let Mom know I had it because she would just spend it on booze, and keep it hidden where she’d never find it.
I hurried, closed my drawer, and walked over to grab my bookbag, dropping the money into it.
I tiptoed down the stairs, peeking over the rail, trying to listen to see if Mom was still in the house, but I couldn’t tell where she was.
“Where do you think you’re going?” She said, staggering out of the living room.
“It’s Tuesday, I have to go to school,” I said, inching toward the door. Her eyes narrowed as if she was trying to decide whether to believe me or not. “Mom, I have to go before I’m late.” I opened the door, closing it behind me. I sprinted off the porch, unlocked my car, jumped in, and took off down the road before she could come after me.
I turned up the radio to drown out the pounding in my chest and to also preoccupy my mind and calm me down before I got to Eclipse. I didn’t want to walk into my new job looking all stressed out.
I managed to find a parking spot in the lot next to the building, rather than out front. I flipped down the visor, running my finger along my lips and eyes in case my lip gloss or eyeliner smudged. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath in, letting it out slowly as I opened my eyes, flipping the visor back up.
I got out of the car, realizing I was forgetting the money I had thrown in my bookbag back earlier. I turned, leaned into the car, and reached into my bag.
“What are you doing here?” Bianca’s abrasive voice was like nails on a chalkboard. Every time I heard her talk, I wanted to rip my ears off.
I raised out of my car, turned, and slammed the door by accident. “Last I checked, it was a free country, and I could go anywhere I wanted.” I crossed my arms, glaring at Bianca as she stood next to her friend from our Math class. They glared at me, then swapped glances with one another.
“Isn’t it a little early for you two to be causing trouble already?” A guy approached us on our right. I looked and saw it was the dickhead who had almost knocked me over yesterday. I turned toward Bianca, who was now giving him her famous glare, but he seemed unfazed by it. “What is it with you and her? She just started school yesterday.”
“Why are you defending her?” She wrinkled up her nose in disgust, moving closer to him. She was almost a foot shorter because her head leaned back so that she could continue to glare at him. He smirked, running a hand through the top of his dark brown hair.
“I’m not, but you don’t have to be such a bitch either.”
“Whatever.” She turned, her hair whipping around, almost hitting him in the face. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. Her friends hurried after her to the front of Eclipse.
“You’re welcome. My name’s Wyatt.”
“I know, and I didn’t say thank you.” I started walking toward Eclipse.
“Wow...” He chuckled.
I spun around, marching back to him. “I didn’t need you to swoop in to save me. As I recall, you ran into me yesterday as I was walking into the school, without apologizing or checking if I was okay. I can take care of myself, I don’t need some guy to rescue me.” I looked into his ocean blue eyes. I turned and walked around the iron fence toward the walkway, not checking to see if he was behind me or not. I opened the door and stepped to the side when I saw Bianca and her friends headed my way. I braced myself for another interaction with them, but they opened the door and left without saying a word. My brows furrowed as I stood there, glancing back and forth between the counter and the door, trying to figure out what had just happened. I shook my head and walked to the counter, ordering my drink before anything else could happen to me, and I was late for school.
The barista took my order, and I asked whether employees got discounts when they were off the clock. Her eyes widened as her head popped up. “You must be the new barista they hired last night.” She smiled.
“Yes, I’m Bridget.”
“Hi, I’m Stephanie. We’ll be working together, probably on the weekends.” She grabbed my cup and started making my iced latte. A few minutes later, she handed me my iced latte and then went to check on the food I had ordered. “Oh my gosh, I almost forgot to have you pay.” She handed me my breakfast sandwich in a to-go box.
“It’s together,” Wyatt’s low voice said behind me. Stephanie smiled when her eyes caught his gaze. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.
“Okay.” She continued smiling and asked him what he’d like to order.
“It’s not together. I’ll pay for my own.” I glanced over my shoulder.
“She’s being stubborn,” he said, moving forward.
“No, I’m not. I just don’t want YOU paying for my stuff, is all. How much do I owe you?” I asked Stephanie, moving Wyatt’s hand out of the way. She glanced at us, not sure which one to listen to. I grabbed my money, got a twenty, and handed it to her. She took the money, glancing at Wyatt, who shrugged, placing his hand on the counter. She gave me my change, and I grabbed my drink and food and hurried out the door.
I managed to get in the car and make it to school without another run-in with Wyatt. I even had enough time to sit in the car and enjoy my iced latte and sandwich before I needed to rush into school.
I had made it through the school’s front doors without being plowed over this morning; now I just needed to remember how to get to my locker. Right as I was beginning to panic a little bit, Grace walked up beside me and told me to follow her. Grace’s blonde hair was up in a bun with a few strands framing her face. As I followed close beside her, she was telling me that Summer had said to her that I got hired at Eclipse. Then, she surprised the hell out of me when she told me that I’d be working with her on the weekends.
I opened my locker, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye, shocked by what she had just told me. She must have seen the shock expression on my face, even though I was trying my hardest to conceal it.
“Not all of us come from money.” She laughed, slamming her locker door. “Come on before we’re late for English.” She smiled, waving for me to follow her. She turned her back, and I let out a little sigh for what I was about to face after English.
“How did it go last night?” Summer asked, walking up to the left of us as we reached English.
“Good.” I smiled. “Phoebe’s great.”
“Isn’t she? I was so mad at Dad for not letting me work there.” She frowned, walking into the classroom.
“Okay, class, everyone, take your seats,” Ms. Mackey announced, walking into the room. I was hoping she’d be a little late to class so that time wouldn’t fly by and I wouldn’t have to face Bianca in Math.
I opened my book, praying time would come to a standstill and the next forty-five minutes would drag on forever.
The bell rang, and I closed my eyes for a brief second, trying to prepare myself for the next forty-five minutes mentally. I knew Bianca would make some rude ass comment, and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with her again today. I opened my eyes, grabbed my books, and headed out the door with Grace to Math class. Summer said she’d see us later in the Media Center. She held up her hand as she disappeared in the sea of kids headed in the opposite direction.
I continued to follow behind Grace as we made our way to Math class, praying Bianca wouldn’t say anything to me when I walked into the room, but I wasn’t holding my breath. She always liked to humiliate me in the middle of the classroom. The closer we got to the classroom, fluttering in my chest started, and I had to stop and catch my breath. Grace walked into the classroom, then must’ve realized I wasn’t behind her because she stuck her head out, while I was leaning against the wall. She walked out and toward me, asking if I was all right. I nodded and stepped away from the wall. I wasn’t ready to share my history with Bianca with anyone just yet, even though I knew it would eventually come out.
