Chapter 1
Tyler
“Come on man, you’ve been sulking around all fucking day. Either tell me what’s pissing you off or take some fucking Midol.” I hiss out the words to my best friend Aiden after he slammed me to my ass for the fifth time since the start of practice.
“Remember Caroline? The lady my dad was married to for all of like a minute?” He huffs out his reply as he tries to catch his breath, because apparently he’s worked up quite a sweat laying my ass out over and over again.
“Yeah, they were only married for around a year, dude. What about her?” He helps me to my feet and runs a hand through his hair while exhaling a ragged breath.
“Well, she died of cancer or drugs, I don't know what, but it was some shit like that and happened a few years back. I don’t know if you remember her daughter Quincy, but she ended up living with her grandma after her mom died.” I think back to six years ago and can easily remember her. She was always following us around like a shadow and had an affinity for the color pink. Her light blonde hair was always pulled up neatly and her blue eyes seemed too large for her small face, making her look a lot like an anime character.
“Fuck, yeah, I remember her. That sucks about her mom and all, but what does that have to do with your jock PMS?” He gives me a weak smile and shakes his head, clearly feeling more than a little bothered by the information he’s about to share.
“Her grandma is moving to a retirement home, I think, and apparently Quincy has become a bit of a troublemaker. My dad, for some fucking reason, has decided to swoop in and play captain save a ho. She’s moving in and is supposed to be getting here today.” Ok, so maybe he has a reason to be a dick right now.
“Fuck man, that sucks. Hopefully she doesn’t plan to follow us around like a lost puppy again. That shit won’t fly anymore.” He moans as he rolls his eyes, but I know he's thinking the same thing.
“Dad hasn’t even seen her since he divorced Caroline, but I doubt much has changed. I can't believe I'm going to be stuck with her under the same damn roof yet again.” The coach blows the whistle to signal the end of practice and we hit the showers before heading back to Aiden’s house.
We turn the corner and Aiden slows down as soon as he notices a lifted black jeep wrangler parked in front of his house. He pulls into the driveway and the shift in his mood is undeniable and immediate. We both climb out, grab our backpacks and head in through the front door, ready to get this over with so we can go to his room and avoid the annoying brat. We both hear his dad’s voice coming from the kitchen and reluctantly make our way toward it so we can get the introductions over with.
“I know this is a big change for you, but I think it’ll be good for you to be away from everything there. Think of this as a fresh start, a clean slate.” His dad’s voice sounds uncharacteristically soft as we approach the kitchen and freeze in our tracks when we spot who he’s talking to. Leaning against the counter in front of his dad is an average height slender woman with black hair that flows down to her hips, fair skin, bright blue eyes with dark grey and black smokey eye makeup making them stand out even more and perfect curves that are wrapped tightly in black skinny jeans, a black crop top and to top it all off, she has a black leather jacket that ties her new look together perfectly. Little princess Quincy went goth?!
“I’ll try not to be a burden, Mr. Williams.” Fuck, that voice! Aiden’s dad sighs and places a hand on her shoulder.
“Still as formal as ever. Seriously, just call me Mark.” I notice the way she keeps glancing at his hand on her shoulder, almost as if its presence offends her.
“I’m going to go unpack.” Mark nods then steps back as he turns around and smiles when he sees us.
“Maybe Aiden and Tyler can help you. You guys used to be so close.” She gives him a very clearly forced smile and walks toward us before mumbling out a response that was clearly not meant for him to hear.
“Not a chance in hell.” We watch as she walks past us and hear the sound of her footsteps heading up the stairs.
“So, she leaves looking like a barbie and comes back looking like Morticia Adams?” His dad walks over and slaps him upside his head while giving him a stern glare.
“I’m telling you now, you will both be nice to her and watch out for her when school starts. You got me?” We both nod and head upstairs to Aiden’s room which, as it turns out, is right next to Quincy’s new bedroom. Aiden’s dad pops in and tells us he’s leaving for work then a few minutes later, we hear the front door close. We’re engrossed in a game of CoD when we hear a muffled shout from her room. We both share a curious look before muting his tv and sneaking to his door, pulling it open just enough to make out what was being said.
“Yeah, I fucking get it! I don’t care what it takes damn it. Good. See, that wasn’t so hard now, was it? Don’t worry, I won’t be late. Yeah, sure. See you soon.” The sound of footsteps and rustling caused us to back up.
“I’m going to head down an get something to drink.” I speak in a voice that’s loud enough to be heard without sounding suspicious, but luckily, Aiden catches on quickly.
“Yeah, let’s pause for a beat and refuel before I get back to kicking your ass.” We walk out of his room and make it halfway down the stairs before we hear her door close followed by her footsteps coming toward us. She reaches the top of the stairs just as we reach the bottom.
“Going out?” Aiden asks in an annoyed tone that barely masks how curious I know he is.
“I would’ve thought you’d be happy to not have me following you around. Catch you boys later.” She walks out the door and a few moments later we hear the sound of her jeep’s engine roar to life before slowly fading into the distance.
“I can’t believe she went from barbie to bitch. This school year can't get over fast enough. The sooner it ends, the sooner I get the hell away from her emo ass.” Aiden grumbles out as he continues to stare at the front door. We decide to make good on our ruse to spy on her and go to the kitchen to get snacks and drinks when I hear the ping of an incoming message on Aiden’s phone and watch as he pulls it out and a huge grin forms on his face.
“They’re racing at the track tonight, high stakes buy in. Want to go hang with the boys?” As if that’s even a question?! I love hanging out with my friends, but hanging out with my friends while drinking and watching muscle cars tear across a race track? Now that is a good time.
“Hell yes!” We abandon our snacks and run upstairs to his room to get ready. After picking up our friends, we head to the track in the hills, more than ready for a little excitement. None of us realized just what kind of excitement we’d be finding tonight, but by the time we make it to our seats, all we’ve heard everyone talking about is a new racer who happens to be the only female racer here.
