Broken Hill High (Broken Hill High #1)(45)

It’s still early when I get home so I focus on making a difference.

From now on, I’m not some pathetic girl. I’m independent. I don’t need Nate shoving food down my throat. I don’t need Jesse coming and checking up on me. I don’t need Nate constantly trying to save me. From now on, I’m done with him. Jesse though, he’s different. He’s managed to worm his way back in, and so far, he hasn’t done anything to tear me apart.

With the extra time before I head off to school, I jump online and set myself up an account with the grocery store. I put a whole heap of items in my shopping cart and work out a delivery time for this afternoon.

Next up. I need to work out how to change the code for the damn gate.

That takes me nearly an hour and before I know it, I’m running back out the door with my handbag tucked under my arm, desperate to get my ass to school before the warning bell.

I make it with all of two minutes to spare. I pull into a spot that’s not so far away this time and don’t bother looking around to see if he’s here yet. I don’t want to know.

“Hey,” Brooke laughs as she appears on the other side of my Audi. “You picked a better spot this morning.”

“Yeah, apparently, I don’t suck at driving as much now,” I say, trying my hardest to appear my usual happy self. “What’s going on? How was your night?”

A big grin comes over her face as she walks up to the school with me. “It was so good,” she says. “I was with Maxen for most of the afternoon until my mom demanded I come home.”

I roll my eyes. “Let me guess,” I say with a bit of a snap. “He screwed you up against the wall? Or maybe on the hood of his car?”

Her eyebrows pull down as she looks at me. “What’s up with you?” she questions. “You’re a bitch this morning.”

I let out a sigh. “I know,” I say. “I’m sorry. I’m just having a bad morning.”

“Why?” she asks. “What did the boof head brothers do now?”

“Nothing,” I say with a grunt as I choose not to tell her what had happened between us. “It’s just Nate up to his usual games.”

“Oh,” she says before putting her arm around my shoulder and giving me a tight squeeze. “Chin up. He’s probably done worse.”

If only she knew. “Yeah,” I grumble.

We get to our lockers and Brooke ducks across the hallway to throw her things in hers when Maxen grabs her around the waist and spins her around. He pushes her up against the locker and kisses her while she giggles and gives him everything she’s got.

I roll my eyes at the scene, hating that it reminds me of last night, so instead, I focus all my attention on jamming my things into my locker.

A hard body falls into the locker beside me and I look across to see Jesse grinning at me like an idiot. “What’s up?” he says.

I give him a hard glare, wondering if his grin is there because he was in on Nate’s little game as well. “If you’re here to be a jerk, then I don’t want to hear it,” I warn him.

He holds his hands up feigning innocence. “What did I do?” he questions. “I was just coming to see what’s going on. You weren’t at home this morning.”

I study him a little closer and realize that he doesn’t know, so I leave it that way. “It’s nothing,” I tell him. “I just needed my own space.”

The roles reverse and this time it’s him studying me. He leans in a little closer and glances around at the people in the hallway. “Is this about what happened at dinner last night?” he murmurs.

I press my lips together, unsure how to answer. I feel my eyes stinging with the need to shed a few more tears when the warning bell rings, saving me from another round of embarrassment. “I got to go,” I rush out before slipping out around him and taking off.

“Hey,” he calls after me.

I ignore him and keep my feet moving. I’d rather be in my first class with Josh and Elle than deal with what’s going on with Nate.

I sit in class with Courtney, dodging glances from Josh, while Elle sits with the other cheerleaders, whispering and laughing while ignoring the substitute teacher. Though I don’t miss the way she keeps looking over here, so whatever secret it is that Jesse threatened to expose must have done the trick. For Elle to so quickly back down, means that her secret is enough to destroy her. Though, that doesn’t stop the curiosity coursing through me.

I get on with my school work, trying my hardest to keep my mind off Nate. Mainly the way he touched me and made me feel wanted. I feel that’s something I’ll never find again, not the way it was with him.

By lunch, I collapse down into the cafeteria bench beside Brooke. By now, every one of my friends have had their head bitten off by me at some point today and I hate that I’m being such a cow, but I can’t help it. My heart is hurting and if they want to continue laughing and discussing petty things, then I’m bound to snap.

“You still in a sucky mood?” Brooke questions besides me, making the other girls halt their conversation as they seek out my answer.

I prop my elbow on the table and lean my head into it before looking across at her. “Yep,” I say before pushing my tray of food away, though this time, it’s not my body issues that has me not wanting to eat, it’s the fact that I’m so ashamed of myself that the thought of allowing Nate in like that makes me feel sick to my stomach.