Chapter 4

I clocked out after making decent money in tips alone. It would definitely help cover some of what I''d blown on clothes and basic stuff.

While I was relieved to be done with work, going home was a whole different nightmare.

When Tori dropped me off, Melissa wouldn''t be back for another hour. That left me alone with Frank.

I knew he was completely wasted the second I walked through the front door.

He was slouched in his recliner watching some static-filled football game. His face was twisted in anger and I sighed.

"Where the hell have you been?" he slurred, struggling to haul himself out of the chair.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes, knowing it would only set him off more.

"Working, Frank." I said it for the hundredth time.

I turned to head upstairs and escape his drunk ranting when something he said made me freeze.

"Working?" He laughed bitterly, swaying as he stood. "You were out slutting around like your damn mother."

This time I did roll my eyes. If he wasn''t drunk 24/7, he''d remember that Melissa made me pay for everything myself. I didn''t have time to "slut around" when I was busy supporting myself and finishing high school.

"Melissa isn''t my mother," I snapped, turning toward the stairs.

His hand clamped around my wrist and jerked me backward.

I didn''t fall, but I stumbled back several steps.

"Get off me, Frank," I mumbled, my body going rigid with fear.

The few times he''d gotten this close weren''t pretty. Frank always got handsy when he was drunk—sometimes violent, sometimes worse.

"Fucking slut," he spat, his beer-soaked breath hitting my face. He yanked me closer and I nearly gagged at his sweat-stained shirt.

My whole body went ice cold with fear. He was way too close.

I grimaced at the disgusting mix of stale beer and body odor.

His grip tightened around my wrist and I gritted my teeth against the pain.

"I said get off!" I screamed, driving my knee up between his legs.

Frank hissed in pain as his hand dropped my wrist. I could hear his drunken cursing as I bolted to my bedroom and slammed the door.

I fumbled with the lock through the tears blurring my vision.

Once the door was locked, I collapsed on my bed and let the tears fall.

Some days were harder than others, but it would all be worth it when I got out of this place.

Over the years, I''d given up hoping Melissa would ever treat me like her daughter. Now I just counted down the days until I turned eighteen.

I stayed on my bed for hours, not daring to move until I heard the front door open and Melissa come home.

Only then did I drag myself to the shower. The hot water masked my tears, so I finally let them flow freely.

I was always hyperaware of Frank''s movements in the house, always had to stay on guard around him. That alone was exhausting and kept me in a constant state of paranoia.

I climbed out of the shower feeling completely drained and fell into bed.

Morning came way too fast. After a few hours of restless sleep, I got up and dressed for school.

I put on one of my new outfits—skinny jeans and an off-shoulder long-sleeve top.

I winced at the handprint bruise on my pale skin and tugged my sleeve down to cover it.

As usual, my first two classes were with Tori. We sat and talked while working on assignments. My third class was the one I was dreading.

Kade''s comment about cologne at the restaurant had confused me, but I''d brushed it off. Apparently they hadn''t.

Kade and Alec both looked ridiculously hot. The twins'' hair was perfectly tousled in that effortless way other guys could never pull off. Kade wore a dark blue button-down while Alec had on a simple black t-shirt.

They sat at our usual table, except this time Alec sat across from Kade. I grimaced, realizing I''d have to sit next to one of them.

Kade seemed more serious than Alec, sometimes scarier, so I dropped into the seat beside Alec.

Alec smirked at Kade like he''d won some bet. I kept my eyes away from the stupidly attractive twins and pretended to focus on the teacher.

"Did our little doll finish the group project?" Alec teased, his breath warm against my ear.

A shiver ran through me and Alec chuckled. I pressed my lips together and ignored him. Of course I''d finished the project. I couldn''t let these troublemakers tank my grade.

When I didn''t answer, Alec''s fingers traced over my shoulder and along my collarbone. I sucked in a sharp breath at the tingles his touch sent across my skin.

"Stop," I hissed, keeping my eyes on the teacher.

I could hear some weird rumbling sound from Alec, and the urge to look became overwhelming.

My eyes flicked to him and caught a strange gleam in his dark eyes.

I couldn''t figure out these insanely gorgeous twins. First, they chose me to mess with. Second, they wanted to get a reaction out of me. Third, when they finally got one, they seemed pissed about it.

"Why don''t you make me stop, doll?" Alec gave me a sly grin, his fingers still tracing my exposed collarbone.

Just then, the teacher walked around collecting the group projects we were supposed to turn in.

Alec''s wandering hand pulled back and I dug through my binder for our project.

After handing it to the teacher, I nearly jumped out of my seat when a large hand gripped my thigh.

Alec smirked down at me and I felt my body tense.

"Where''s that feisty attitude, doll?" His rough voice was quiet and way too close to my ear.

I bit down on the inside of my cheek, determined not to give in to their games. I wasn''t sure if they got off on acting like this, but I wasn''t about to encourage it.

And that''s how I spent the rest of class.

Sucking in sharp breaths when Alec''s hand wandered where it shouldn''t. At one point his fingers found a strand of my hair and tugged playfully.

I had to turn my head to hide the aggressive blush spreading across my cheeks.

I quickly realized Kade was the quieter one. His eyes stayed glued to me the entire class.

When his blank stare wasn''t on me, his eyes flicked to his brother. I swore I could see jealousy burning there.

Great. They wanted to take turns tormenting me.