Fallen Crest Public(47)

My drama free night carried on to the next morning.
Helen had checked into her own room, but she was on a different floor.
When I learned that, my relief was powerful. My knees almost buckled, but I caught the table and plopped down on a chair. I landed harder than normal, but I didn’t care. I ignored the smirk Logan gave me and then he gave me even better news. They were going to spend the day with their mother. Neither of them asked if I wanted to go along. They both knew I’d rather hang out with Kate and her princess bullies.
It wasn’t long after that when I went for my run, but instead of running from the hotel, I drove to my old neighborhood. There was a trail from a nearby park that connected to the trail that went behind Quickie’s. The scenery was too beautiful to miss. Even before I parked, I was already itching to fly up the hills behind the gas station. Maybe it was the anticipation of pushing myself up those hills, but my run went faster than normal. It was invigorating and when I ran back, two hours later, I considered going for another hour, but I didn’t. I needed my energy to start on my homework. However, when I drove past my old house, I stopped the car. I don’t know why. I wasn’t nostalgic about the home. There were a lot of bad memories in it, but I sat in the car and stared at it. Maybe I was more tired from the run than I realized. Maybe I wanted to avoid doing homework. Or maybe I missed the slight semblance of normalcy that the house used to give me, but whatever it was, I stayed for an hour. I didn’t move from the car. I just stared at the house. No one was home, but when I saw a car that I thought was my dad’s, I started my engine and drove away.
I didn’t tell Mason about my run. I didn’t know why. There wasn’t anything significant about it, but I realized that I didn’t want to tell him about my old house. When they came home and he got in bed with me, I asked about their day with their mother. As he filled me in, I kept wondering if that car had been David’s. Maybe he’d been home. Maybe he saw me there.
“Sam?”
“Mmm?”
Mason grinned, tipping my head up to meet his eyes. “What’s wrong? You spaced there for a second.”
“Oh.” I shrugged, dipping my head back down. “Nothing.”
I could feel his gaze on me and knew his wheels were spinning. “I talked to my mom. She won’t come up here. She knows you’re staying here and agreed it would be for the best if she stayed away. Is that what’s bothering you?”
“Oh.” Had that been my dad in that car? Why was I even thinking about him? “That’s fine. I’m tired. That’s all.”
Mason knew I lied to him, but he didn’t push. I was thankful.
I was thankful for my social outcast status the next day at school as well. It was peaceful, but when I went to gym class, I should’ve been prepared. I wasn’t. Kate had warned me on the first day, but she spent the rest of the week focusing all her threats on Heather. It was only a matter of time before she turned her attention back to me.
It happened when I was done showering. All of my clothes were gone. It didn’t take a genius to figure out where they were.
“Um …”
The locker room emptied as soon as I stepped from the shower. It made sense now, but there was a girl behind me. She wore a baggy sweatshirt and a baggy pair of jeans. Her sneakers might’ve been white at one point, but they were frayed on the soles and almost black now. She brushed a strand of red hair behind her ear, but it popped back out instantly. It was frizzy, and I knew it would’ve been beautiful if she would put some hair gel into it. Her eyes held my interest. There was no sympathy or warmth. She jerked her hand over her shoulder and said in a flat tone, “If you need clothes, I might have some for you.”