Chapter Seven-
Derek and I went back to my house, and I had to be honest; I was kind of looking forward to being with Derek again. I loved the way he did what he did, and I missed having my hair pulled so skillfully.
When we got to the trailer we were already making out, and he had me walking backwards into the house as he unbuttoned my shirt.
Needless to say we were both caught by complete surprise when we suddenly heard, "What the hell?"
My eyes widened and I broke away from Derek, grabbing my shirt to close it up and turning to face Alex.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, flushed.
"It's my damn house," he replied, torn between smiling and blustering. "What is he doing here?" Quickly throwing up a hand, he rethought his question. "No, I know what he's doing, but why is he doing it? No, wait," Alex said, realizing that wasn't what he meant to say either. Finally he settled with, "Shit," as he passed his hand tiredly over his face.
"I thought you were at Miranda's," I said.
"We broke up," he said, shaking his head, trying to figure out what to do in that uncomfortable situation. First he pointed at Derek, "Okay, you—leave." Then he pointed at me. "You—sit."
I shrugged apologetically at Derek and offered a little wave. He nodded at me and slipped out the door, probably glad to be avoiding the parental bluster.
Alex stood there for a moment, looking at the wall behind me as I buttoned my shirt back up. Finally, he sighed, looking down at me.
I offered a weak smile, not knowing what else to do.
"Probably a nine," he stated, breaking the ice.
I bit my lip, but smiled anyway.
He shook his head, sitting down next to me. "Okay, so... I gave you the condoms. I don't really know how to have this talk with a girl, not my daughter anyway, so... Be safe. And don't ever let me see anything like that again," he said, shaking his head.
I grimaced a little. "Well, I didn't think you were home."
"My car is in the driveway," he stated.
"I was preoccupied," I said, blushing.
That time, he was the one to grimace. "Wow, we're doing this now? Wasn't I just buying you an ice cream cone and flipping your pigtails yesterday?"
I had to smile, as that was the first fatherly type of thing Alex had ever said to me. "No, that was last week."
He smiled at me, shaking his head. "I have one last rule," he stated.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Don't ever bring home anyone like me."
That caused me to laugh, and I shook my head. "Don't worry, I won't."
He gave me a sardonic smile and shook his head, standing up. "Go... do your homework or call your boyfriend or something."
"Can I invite him over?" I asked hopefully.
"Absolutely not."
I frowned, pouting a little, but went to my room anyway, deciding not to push my luck.
"So, did you get in trouble?" Derek asked me later on the phone.
"No, he just told me not to bring home anyone like him. It just freaked him out a little. I guess it would freak me out too if my daughter walked in making out with some guy I had never seen before."
"Especially if he was undressing her," Derek added.
"Oh, especially then," I agreed.
"I guess I made a really good first impression then, huh?"
"Oh yeah," I replied. "He's definitely going to be inviting you hunting any day now."
"Am I what we're hunting?" he asked.
"No, he isn't that protective," I told him. "I was actually a little surprised he said anything at all. Alex has never been very excited about inheriting a daughter."
"Is that why you don't call him dad?" he asked me.
I nodded, flopping down on my bed. "Yeah. I guess it just seems... odd."
"Well, look on the bright side, at least he didn't walk in on us."
"Yeah, that's something, I guess."
"Hey, my dad needs to use the phone. Want me to call you back on my cell?"
"No, I have some homework to do anyway. Why don't we just see each other tomorrow?"
"Okay," he said. "Do you need a ride to school?"
I frowned slightly. "No...thanks, but I got it."
"Okay, see you later."
"Yeah, bye," I replied, a bit distractedly.
I hung the phone up, frowning more deeply. He was offering me rides to school? Was he being nice to me again? Or was he just hoping to pick me up a little early and get a quickie before school?
I decided it was probably the latter, so I just rolled my eyes, half smiling, and pulled out my school books.
Between my work schedule and his, it seemed virtually impossible to hook up at all that week. Even at school, I sat with Stephanie instead of him, because I didn't want to rub anything in Andy's face.
Plus, I wasn't exactly sure where we stood in the public eye. I hadn't told Stephanie anything yet, because she was friends with Kayla. I wasn't exactly sure what I would tell her, anyway. Technically, Derek and I weren't actually a couple; we were just glorified fuck-buddies, to be brutally honest. Granted, he wasn't cheating on anyone anymore, and neither was I, but we were still both single, we were just having casual mind blowing sex when we got the chance.
What did that make me, I wondered?
"Whore," Kayla muttered one day, walking past me.
Luckily I didn't care what she thought of me, because I didn't like her. If she was bitter because Derek wanted me more than he wanted her, that simply wasn't my problem.
I really didn't feel the need for a conventional title, though. In fact, if he wanted to give me a conventional title, I would probably be a little worried. The last thing I needed was for him to go thinking we were a real couple. A couple of people, yes, and we both enjoyed the same things sexually, but that was the extent of it. I absolutely did not care about him in any other way. It was purely a physical thing.
And I wasn't jealous when he was with Kayla, I was just annoyed because she was such a bitch.
Weekend finally came, and Derek got off work at 1:30 on Saturday, while I got off at 3, so he asked me if I wanted to hang out that day. His dad was working that night, so he wouldn't be home for hours. This news pleased me, and we made plans for him to pick me up at five, and we would go back to his place.
When we got back to his house, he took me on a brief tour, skipping over his room, saying we would get back to that one. In the kitchen, he paused to ask if I was thirsty.
"Nope," I replied, crossing my hands in front of me innocently and looking up at him.
"Want to see my room?"
I smiled and nodded my head, and he lightly took my hand, surprising me a little, then led me down the hall to the room across from the bathroom. He opened the door and turned on the light.
His room was tidy, which surprised me, with a simple double bed, a television, a coffee table with various papers, school books and a couple black and white pony tail holders.
I climbed on his bed, lying back on my elbows and declaring, "This is my favorite room."
He came down on top of me, causing me to smile. "Is it?" he asked.
"Most definitely," I said with a nod, as he leaned in, teasing me a little, acting like he was going to kiss me, then kissing me on the nose instead.
"Tease," I accused, reaching up and pulling his pony tail out, letting his hair fall down around him.
"You like my hair, don't you?" he said, watching my face with amusement.
"Very much," I agreed. Then, although I don't believe I meant to, I blurted, "It never fails to turn me on."
He raised his eyebrows, nodding thoughtfully. "I'll have to remember that."
I nodded my agreement. "You should."
"So, do you want to watch tv or anything?" he asked.
I shook my head. "No."
He chuckled. "Nympho."
"And proud of it," I stated, pushing him down on the bed and straddling him.
"Hey now, that's my position," he said.
I gave him a playfully defiant look. "Well, I guess you'll just have to fight me for it then."
He rolled his eyes, easily rolling me over on my back, but I wrestled with him anyway, trying to get my position back. I didn't really want it back, but for some reason I found I greatly enjoyed struggling with him, the little twinkle in his eyes, just the general feeling of touching him and feeling his strength. I found it all very sexy, and I especially liked when he would say, "You liked it," or something like that.
Before long we were kissing, and he was fondling me again. He entered me the conventional way first, and he spent a few minutes pumping into me, but then he pulled out, using his fingers to toy with me and whispered, "Want to try something else now?"
"What?" I asked, writhing against his hand.
"Turn over."
"No," I said, thinking he meant anal. "Not gonna happen, buddy."
"Why?" he asked. "You enjoyed it before."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" I asked, but he was already rolling me over on my stomach. He guided me into the right position, making me feel extremely silly as I hunched down on the bed, sticking my butt in the air.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked skeptically.
He smiled. "Trust me." Then he came up behind me, and as soon as he pushed himself inside me I moaned, regretting that we hadn't tried that position sooner. He held onto my hips, slowly pulling out and thrusting forcefully back into me. Each time he did I would moan louder, not sure I was going to be able to last more than one or two more thrusts. I ended up only making it four more, then I was carried away by the pleasure of my climax.
I started to collapse back down on the bed, but he flipped me back over, finding my entrance and thrusting into me again. I still felt kind of tender, but instead of slowing down, he picked up the pace. At first, I wasn't sure it was possible, but then I started to feel the pressure building inside of me again.
Derek took me by surprise, rolling to his back and slowly guiding me down onto him.
Ooh, I liked that, too.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, am I?" I asked, experimentally pulling myself up and pushing myself back down, impaling myself with his length.
He laughed a little, responding, "Only if you stop."
I smiled, and started moving up and down the length of him, until before long I was enthusiastically riding him, making me think back to some comment he had made before. If I would've understood how good it felt, I might have taken him up on that offer when he first made it.
It was the first time I had ever had Derek at my mercy, watching his face as my movements brought him pleasure. He gripped my hips and moved against me, and I knew he was getting close.
"Harder," he breathed. "You won't hurt me, just go harder."
I had been holding back, not understanding how I wasn't going to hurt him if I did what I wanted to do, but since he was telling me to go faster, harder, I figured I probably could. I pulled him completely out of me, lifting myself up, and he groaned as I slowly slid back down on top of him, taking him into my wet warmth inch by tiny inch.
"Fuck," he muttered. "Why are you torturing me like that?"
"Because you deserve it," I stated. "Honestly," I said, slowly pulling myself up, pulling him out of me again, "I should leave you here like this and walk out."
He chuckled jaggedly. "I'm warning you, if you do that, you won't make it past my bedroom door."
Considering he would probably pin me against the wall, I thought that might be a good idea.
Instead, he rolled me over so that he was back on top, stating, "You're abusing the power," and thrusting into me so hard that my whole body moved up toward his headboard.
"That's more like it," I moaned. "Pull my hair."
"I shouldn't," he said, wrapping my hair around his fist nonetheless. "I should leave you here like this and walk out."
I grinned as he yanked my hair and stated, "I'm warning you, if you do that, you won't make it past the bedroom door."
"Wicked woman," he stated, pulling out and thrusting forcefully into my body again. I pulled him closer and started suckling on his neck, finding a spot I liked and lightly biting, smiling when I heard him groan.
I wondered if his ears were as sensitive as mine, so I moved my lips to his ear, placing soft kisses there, and he rewarded me, thrusting harder, faster. I felt his hand move down between my legs, and that caused a whole new sensation. I moaned his name into his mouth, locking my legs around his hips and thrusting myself against him.
We moved together wildly, each thrust a little more desperate as we felt our elusive climaxes growing closer. I had already had one, but I was greedy for another and he brought me closer and closer with each powerful thrust.
Finally, he launched me into my second climax. He took his right after mine, so when he collapsed on top of me, still inside of me, I was content to be crushed, as long as he didn't expect me to move.
"Satisfied?" he asked once he caught his breath.
I rolled over, giving him a flirty look through my lashes. "Why, up for another round?"
He laughed. "You're going to kill me."
I giggled, resting my head on his chest. "No, I'm just kidding. If we do it again, I won't be able to walk tomorrow."
He shook his head, closing his eyes and sighing.
"Are you gonna fall asleep on me?" I asked, glancing up at his relaxed expression.
"Possibly," he said.
"But I feel like talking," I chirped.
"Of course you do, you're a woman. But I'm a man, I feel like sleeping."
"I didn't know it was possible to do that two times in a row," I stated.
He nodded, eyes still closed. "We'll go for three next time."
I chuckled. "No, then I'll die. I think I liked when you took me from behind the best. It's a silly position to get into, but boy does that feel amazing."
"Sex is fun," he said.
"Sex is fun," I agreed whole-heartedly. "I'm a fan."
He chuckled, playfully pushing my head down into his chest. "Go to sleep."
"But I'm not sleepy."
"Then just lie here for a few minutes."
"Oh no, we're not allowed to cuddle, remember?" I said.
"Shut up," he said, wrapping an arm around me and easily pulling me into his side.
I smiled, draping an arm around him, just resting my eyes, yawning a little, but telling myself I wasn't sleepy. Even as I started to drift off to sleep, I remember thinking that I definitely wasn't tired.
Apparently I was tired.
When I finally woke up, it was dark outside. I didn't know what time it was, but my first instinct was to freak out, wondering if Mike was home, if he had seen us. Since I wasn't welcome in the driveway, I suspected that I probably wasn't welcome in his son's bed.
I saw Derek's cell phone on the nightstand by his bed, so I picked it up and opened it, squinting my eyes to see the time, which read 3:48.
“Oh no," I muttered to myself. I put the phone down and started pecking on his shoulder, thinking I definitely wasn't going to walk home at 4 in the morning. It just wasn't going to happen.
"What?" he muttered in a sleepy tone, brushing my hand away.
"Derek, you have to take me home."
"No," he said, rolling over and ignoring me.
"Derek, it's almost 4 in the morning."
"Well, if your dad hasn't noticed you missing yet, I think it's safe to say he won't notice you for another couple hours," he reasoned, stubbornly refusing to get up.
"Okay, maybe my dad won't notice, but I think your dad might, and I don't think he'll be happy."
"Well, I'm not going to be very happy if you make me get out of bed at four in the morning."
"But Derek... I have to go home. Maybe Alex hasn't noticed me missing yet, but he will when morning comes."
He grumbled, still making no move to get up.
"Derek, come on. I have to go to the bathroom," I whined.
"So go," he said.
"But your dad's out there," I objected.
"He won't bite, Nikki."
I sighed, reluctantly pulling back the covers and getting out of bed. Then I chickened out, not wanting to have to face Mike ever, but especially not in my underwear in the middle of the night after sneaking out of his son's bed.
I decided that going to the bathroom simply wasn't that important, but just in case Mike hadn't spotted me yet and might for any reason open Derek's door, I pulled on Derek's discarded T-shirt and curled up beside him, closing my eyes and trying to go back to sleep for just a little bit longer.
When I woke up again, it was definitely brighter, and I grabbed Derek's phone, seeing that it read 8:52.
I shook Derek awake again, knowing he couldn't argue with me that late in the morning.
His eyes opened, and I was caught off guard, accidentally smiling at him. He looked so adorable when he was sleepy and just waking up. His hair was all messy, his chest was bare, and just looking at him made me want to cuddle with him some more.
But I couldn't cuddle, I had to get home before Alex actually grounded me.
Derek smiled sleepily, murmuring, "Hey, you're still here."
"Yeah, somebody wouldn't take me home," I accused.
"At 4 in the morning, no," he agreed.
"Well, that's fine, but it isn't 4 in the morning anymore, so will you take me home?"
"What time is it?" he asked, stretching and starting to sit up.
"It's 8:53," I told him.
His eyes widened, and he said, "What? Shit! Did my alarm go off?"
I watched in confusion as he jumped up off the bed. "No, I didn't hear it," I told him. "Why?"
"I have to be at work at nine," he said, grabbing clothes out of the bottom of his closet and throwing them on. "It takes me 15 minutes to get there. Shit," he said again, pulling a white T-shirt on.
"But... you have to take me home," I reminded him.
"I can't," he said, leaving his room to search for something.
I jumped off the bed, following after him. "What do you mean, you can't? Derek, I can't stay here! I have to work at eleven."
"I can't take you home, Nikki. I'm sorry, but I can't. I'm going to be late as it is."
"But Derek... I can't just stay here."
He yanked on the pants he must have been looking for and grabbed a brush, pulling it through his hair.
"I wasn't supposed to fall asleep," he said. "I wasn't supposed to stay asleep."
"Derek, I live too far away to walk home, shower, get ready for work and still get there on time. It'll take me probably an hour and a half just to walk home from your house, and if Alex finds out I didn't come home last night he might tell me to find my own ride to work."
"Nikki, I'm sorry," he said, pulling his hair back into a pony tail and going into his room, grabbing his cell phone and his keys.
Was he really just going to leave me there?
"I can give you a ride home."
My heart dropped, and I realized not only had we not been quiet, I never even thought to look and see if Mike was around. I swallowed, turning to look in the living room. Mike stood there in a pair of gray jogging pants and a white T-shirt. Sitting at the kitchen table was a blonde woman, glancing curiously to see what all the commotion was.
Shit.
"There you go," Derek said, so eager to get rid of me that he didn't notice the look of horror on my face at the prospect.
I gaped at his back, but he just took off down the hall, calling back to me that he'd call me later.
Then he was gone, leaving me to stand there in nothing but his T-shirt, forced to face his father, a man I pretty much hated.
Great.
See if I ever spent the night at his house again.
I cleared my throat, forcing myself to look up at Mike.
But he couldn't seem to look at me very long, so he looked away, saying, "Grab your stuff and I'll give you a ride home," then walking back into the kitchen.
I went back to Derek's room, consumed by dread, and pulled my jeans on, balling up my wrinkled shirt and opting to wear his home instead and return it to him later.
I really, really, really did not want to ride home with Mike, but I also didn't think it was a good idea to just turn him down and walk home. It wasn't close enough to walk unless I absolutely had to, or if I didn't have to work.
But of course I had to work.
Why couldn't the blonde woman give me a ride?
I followed Mike out to his silver car and got in. We spent half the ride to my trailer completely silent. Finally, once I was about halfway home, I cleared my throat and forced myself to say, "Thank you for giving me a ride home."
He nodded in response, and I didn't think he was going to speak to me, but then he surprised me by asking, "So, you're dating my son?"
At first I wasn't sure how to respond—until I remembered I didn't care what he thought of my moral character, so I replied honestly, "No, not really."
"Ah," he said, as if he understood. "Well, you're sleeping with my son?" he amended.
"Kind of strange, huh?" I replied.
He nodded again, and there was another brief silence before he said, "I don't want you to think you're not welcome at my house. If Derek wants to date you... he can. I only reacted that way before because... you look remarkably like your mother, and it just..."
"I know," I replied quietly.
"As you know, we have a history, and it was... strange."
"I know," I said again. "My mother kept journals, so I know all about your history."
He raised an eyebrow, glancing over at me. "She kept journals?"
"Yep."
"She mentioned me?"
I scoffed. "Mentioned you? Yeah, she mentioned you."
He nodded, but didn't say anything else.
It was so hard to sit there in the same vehicle with him, and instead of saying all the things I had always wanted to say to him, asking him the questions my mother and I had both wanted to ask, instead of finally getting the answers to questions I've wondered about for years, I had to sit there quietly and be polite. I didn't want to be polite to that man.
Stupid Derek, putting me into that uncomfortable position.
"You live in this trailer park with Alex, don't you?" he finally asked, putting his turn signal on.
"Yeah," I said.
"I used to live in this trailer park," he remarked.
"I know you did."
He half smiled. "Is there anything she didn't write in those journals?"
"Yeah," I replied, not even trying to hide my bitterness. "Goodbye."
His smile fell, and he didn't try to talk to me again until he asked which road I lived on. I told him he had brought me far enough, flatly thanked him again, and got out of the car, making my own way down my road.
I heard his car not moving, and it made me unreasonably angry that he seemed to be just sitting there, watching me walk down the road.
One lousy ride home didn't come close to making up for all the damage he had done. It didn't make up for breaking my mother's heart, for all the tears she cried, for marrying Sarah when he actually admitted he didn't love her. And it sure as hell didn't make up for me losing my mother.
So I stomped down the road, but I finally got pissed that he was still just sitting there like some sort of stalker, so I whipped around, planning to give him a dirty look, but I saw that he wasn't watching me at all. He was just sitting in his car, staring blankly out the windshield, still not moving.
I frowned a little, wondering about the state of his mental health, and continued on to my trailer.
I ended up picking up another shift at work that night, so I didn't get to talk to Derek. When I finally got off, I had a voicemail from him saying he was sorry about earlier. I was too tired to call him back, so I just took a shower and went to bed, figuring I would see him the next morning at school.
At one in the morning, my cell phone started ringing.
I grimaced, rolling over and sleepily mumbling, "Hello?"
"Hey. Sorry, did I wake you?" Derek asked.
"Yes," I said, chuckling a bit.
"Oh, sorry. I was finishing up some last minute homework, I didn't even think about the time," he admitted.
"Mm, that's nice."
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Um... sleeping."
"Right. Sorry about earlier, by the way. I don't know if you got my voice mail or not, but..."
"It's okay, you were running late, I get it. But hey, I'm kind of half asleep, so can I talk to you tomorrow?"
"Oh, yeah, of course. Hey, you want me to come over and give you a ride to school? Kind of make it up to you?"
I accidentally yawned in his ear. "If you want to."
"Okay, I'll pick you up then."
"All right, but you better get some sleep," I advised.
"I will," he replied, then we said our goodbyes and I yawned again, rolling over and doing just that.
By the next morning, I wasn't sure about the idea of riding to school with Derek. When I tried to call to tell him not to bother, I could get a ride from Alex (who didn't notice that I didn't come home the night before, as he happened to be in the shower when I snuck in), he didn’t answer.
I was just stuffing my books into my backpack when Derek pulled in, so I called out a goodbye to Alex and went out to Derek's car. I saw him turn down the radio, which I was thankful for, and then I opened the door, sliding into the passenger seat.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hey," I replied, shoving my backpack in the floor. "I tried to call you."
"You did? Sorry, I must've had the music too loud."
"Well, I wasn't really thinking about this in the middle of the night when you called me, but maybe you should drop me off up the road from the school or something."
He shot me a funny look. "Uh, why?"
"Because people could see me getting out of your car. People will know we came to school together."
"Oh no," he mocked. "I'm going to have to marry you for sure now; your reputation will never recover from getting a ride to school."
I rolled my eyes, reluctantly smiling anyway. "I'm not talking about my reputation, I'm just saying people will notice, then people will talk..." I trailed off, thinking he would get it.
"And it will be another normal day of high school? I'm not really seeing the big deal, Nikki."
"People might think... something other than what's going on," I said.
"Spell it out, 'cause I'm still not seeing the crisis situation," he stated.
"People might think we're dating," I said in the same tone some might say, "People might think I have the plague."
He merely lifted his eyebrows, remarking, "I'm sure stranger things have been thought."
I could only stare at him. "Derek, you hate me, remember? Why in the world would you want anyone to think we're dating?"
"I didn't say I wanted people to think that, Nikki, but... I mean, I'm single now, you're single now, and we are sleeping together, so..."
"Yeah, but not like that," I argued.
He shrugged. "I don't know, I wouldn't really worry about what people think."
If he wasn’t worried about it, maybe I was overthinking it. Maybe I was being paranoid.
“Here,” he said, lifting a Starbuck’s cup out of his cup holder.
“What’s this?” I asked, taking the cup and frowning at it.
“Hot cider. That’s what you like, right?”
I blinked. “It’s for me?”
Eyebrow rising, he nodded and lifted his own cup to take a drink. “It’s kinda cold out today. Figured it would be rude to drink one in front of you.”
I cut him a suspicious sideways glance, but I wasn’t going to turn down hot cider.
We arrived at the school soon after that, and since my locker was in the opposite direction of Derek's, we said we'd see each other in class and went our separate ways.
Unfortunately, Kayla appeared out of nowhere, storming up to my locker and standing there with her hand on her hip.
Not in the mood to deal with her drama, I merely peered around my locker, raised an eyebrow and asked, "May I help you with something?"
"Did you come here with Derek?" she demanded.
Well, so much for being paranoid.
"Why, are you my babysitter?" I replied.
"I heard you rode to school with Derek, is it true?" she asked again.
"Yeah, he gave me a ride. Is that a problem?"
"Actually, yes," she stated.
"Oh. Well, sorry about that," I said with no interest, peering back into my locker to get my books.
"You know, I'm not stupid," Kayla said.
That was a matter of opinion, I thought, but I didn't say so. Instead I merely said, "Okay..."
"I know what's going on between you two," she said in a slightly threatening tone, as if that affected me in some way.
"Okay," I said again, thinking she was incredibly melodramatic.
"And you better back off," she said, seeming newly angered that I wasn't shaking with fear.
"Last I checked, Derek was a free agent," I informed her. "Honestly, even if he wasn't, I do what I damn well please, and I'd like to see you try to stop me."
She narrowed her eyes, glaring at me. "You might want to be careful whose man you're screwing with," she threatened. "It sure would be a shame to see anything like that happen to your car again."
So it was her. That bitch.
I decided with that sly little admission that the gloves were coming off, so I slammed my locker shut and gave her the coldest look I was capable of. "You might want to be careful who the fuck you're threatening," I responded, my tone much more threatening than hers. Mocking her innocent tone, I added, "It sure would be a shame if you were driving down the road one day and realized your brake lines had been cut."
Her smug look faltered a little there, and she said, "Did you just threaten me?"
"Did you just threaten me?" I retorted, my face carefully blank, my eyes as cold as ice.
I could tell she was still angry, but she was also remembering the story of what my mother had done, and wondering if homicidal tendencies might run in our family.
She didn't need to know that I didn't even know where brake lines were on a car, and even if I did, I would be disinclined to dirty my hands by touching hers.
"You better watch your back," she said, although I saw that she was backing down, just trying not to show it.
"And you better hope nothing mysteriously happens to my car. Or Derek's," I added on a whim, thinking she might get a stupid idea to retaliate against him, and since he had helped me, I wouldn't appreciate that either.
"Or what?" she asked, giving me a cocky little look.
I merely smiled coldly at her. "I never repeat myself, Kayla."
With that, I navigated my way around her and headed for my first class.
But I heard her call behind me, "You'll see!"
I simply rolled my eyes and kept walking.