The Bad Wolf Read online

  He noted the new girl’s arrival even as other students shuffled into the room. She looked wary this morning, perhaps afraid she’d be made fun of for her behavior in class yesterday. She didn’t make eye contact with anyone as she hurried to her seat at the front.

  Ryan watched her ease onto her assigned stool then he sighed in aggravated confusion. What the heck was that weird jolt he felt yesterday? It was like lightning had zinged down the length of his spine when their gazes met.

  Amy turned in her seat and a slow smile formed on her face. She must think he was staring at her. He dropped his gaze to the table, but it was too late. Before he could pretend to be busy doing something else, she was at his side.

  “Hey, Ryan.” Her hand rested on his upper arm. “Let’s sit together at lunch.”

  “No.”

  “No?” She pouted. Once upon a time he might have thought it was cute. Now she just looked like a constipated duck. “We could eat outside instead. Just you and me?”

  “I’ve got better things to do.”

  “Like what?” Humiliation heated her cheeks. “You’d rather sit with that freak instead of us?”

  His eyes narrowed and he snarled. “Yeah, it beats hanging out with you flea bags.”

  Amy’s face scrunched into a frown and she slunk back to the table she shared with Kelly. Unfortunately it was kitty-corner to his.

  Mr. Sanders moved down the row of tables. He laid sharp utensils and odd dissection tools onto each workspace. Then he placed a frog on a tray next to them. Finally, Sanders paused at the new girl’s table. “I’m pairing you with Ryan. Gather your things and move.”

  The other students shuffled in their seats and a wave of anticipation seemed to engulf the room. Amy and Kelly put their heads together to whisper in fast, excited tones.

  Ryan’s eyebrows pulled down. “I don’t need a lab partner.”

  Sanders smoothed a nervous hand across his comb-over. “I’m out of specimens and your grade depends on it.” He promptly turned on his heel and moved toward his desk.

  Damn it.

  Chloe scrambled atop the stool next to him. That weird tingly feeling brought goose bumps to his arms. She was kind of hot in a goody-two-shoes sort of way. He bet she didn’t even realize how pretty she was. Her shoulder length hair was champagne blonde, but probably lighter in the sunshine. She absently twisted a lock around her left index finger. A light sprinkle of freckles fell across her button nose. It was kind of cute too, if you liked that sort of thing, which he didn’t.

  Again he caught Amy watching him. A smug look formed on her face before she turned to whisper to Kelly. This was just great. There was no telling what they would report back to the pack.

  The pack was the term he used to describe the group of kids he usually hung out with. Travis and Amy, the brother and sister duo, were the biggest thorns in his side. Josh and his girlfriend Kelly normally just followed along with whatever he or Travis said. Lately, Travis had bucked the system and ruled them when Ryan wasn’t around. The pack was getting more adventurous in how they challenged him. He supposed it was mostly his fault. He was the one who pulled away from their influence over the past summer.

  He moved the tray with the splayed frog closer then allowed his gaze to meet hers. Zing! There it was again. He did his best to ignore it. “You aren’t going to freak out again, are you?”

  Chloe’s cheeks flamed with embarrassment. She bit her bottom lip then shook her head. Her big brown eyes searched his face then dropped back to the rubbery specimen.

  He turned one of the scalpels between his thumb and forefinger. It glinted smartly in the overhead light. “You want me to do the cutting?”

  Chloe picked up the diagram Mr. Sanders had passed out. “Sure, if you want. My class back home already finished this.”

  This statement won her a few annoyed glances from the others. Someone at the front of the classroom whispered something about her being a know-it-all bitch. Being smarter than the rest of the class wouldn’t win the new girl any popularity points either.

  He and Chloe took turns examining the slippery specimen, though admittedly he did most of the slicing and dicing. Chloe recorded their findings in a neat, somewhat loopy handwriting. He wouldn’t be surprised if she dotted each i with a tiny heart.

  “Have you lived here all your life?”

  He pretended not to hear her. He pretended not to feel the electric rush of being close to her.

  “I just moved from Fort Collins,” she whispered.

  It seemed once she started talking, she couldn’t stop. Ryan poked at the frog’s smelly innards then grimaced.

  “This is a little different than what I’m used to. Actually, it’s a lot different.”

  Ryan glowered at her. Hadn’t Jenna explained that he was to be left alone? He wasn’t interested in being anyone’s friend or confidant, especially not to an outsider like Chloe Williams.

  “So, where does everyone go shopping? Thank god for the internet, right?” When Mr. Sanders looked up in search of who continued to disrupt the class, she leaned a bit closer. The ends of her hair tickled against his arm. “So what do you do to have fun around here?”

  Kelly twisted on her seat and glared. She elbowed Amy who also swiveled to stare. Kelly mocked Chloe by winding a finger in her long auburn hair. She moved her mouth as if she was talking and rolled her eyes. Ryan glared at them and they immediately turned to face the front.

  Chloe fell silent when Mr. Sanders moved down the rows to check class progress. Once he’d returned to the front, Chloe turned to stare at him. Ryan’s muscles tensed and his nerves prickled.

  “Jenna seems nice. Are you guys together?”

  Kelly and Amy giggled. Mr. Sanders looked up in search of who was still talking.

  “Do you ever shut up?” Ryan growled. He didn’t bother to lower his voice.

  Chloe snapped her mouth shut and focused on the paper lying in front of her. Her face was bright red as she studiously wrote the frog’s organs in the correct spaces. She even named the ones he hadn’t gotten to yet. The remainder of the period was hushed with only the occasional question directed at Mr. Sanders regarding the frogs.

  When the bell rang, the room erupted in a flurry of voices and moving bodies.

  Chloe grabbed her biology textbook then moved toward the exit as quick as her legs could carry her. Amy was still seated, but smirked as Chloe drew closer. Before Ryan could react or even shout a warning, Amy nudged the stool next to her into the isle. Kelly gasped in surprise, but didn’t bother to try and stop it. Chloe wasn’t fast enough to avoid the metal stool. One of the legs banged into her right shin.

  She threw out her arms to catch herself and the book struck the floor. As if in slow motion, her head aimed for the corner of the opposite worktable.

  Ryan darted in front of her. Chloe’s body smacked into his and thrust him backward. The edge of the table slammed into his back, forcing him to suck in a sharp breath. Her arms were wrapped loosely around his hips, her head against the flat of his stomach. He placed his hands beneath her arms then yanked her to her feet.

  Amy and her sidekick ran from the room. Chloe straightened then gripped his forearms. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

  “Go away,” he said through gritted teeth. He gave her a somewhat gentle shove then loped from the room.

  It was hard enough preventing the pack from misbehaving without worrying about this scrap of a girl. Why they had focused their malicious attention on her was beyond him. Even if he liked her, which he didn’t, it wasn’t his place to play protector. If she was going to make it in this school, she’d better learn to stand up for herself.

  Last period was art class. He almost skipped the class, but decided to go at the last moment.

  “Sit with us?” someone at the back of the classroom said.

  He glanced over at the pack’s table with mild curiosity.

  Travis curled his fingers around Chloe’s wrist as a sly smile warped his
face. She looked somewhat uncomfortable and more than a little wary. Her stammered excuse was ignored.

  Amy and Kelly were there, as was Josh. Amy’s upper lip curled in a snarl when her brother pulled Ryan’s chair out for the new girl.

  Travis grinned at Ryan as he passed then returned his attention to the nervous girl. “Come on, I saved you a seat.”

  Ryan wondered if this show was for his benefit. Did they think he gave a damn about what they did or to whom they did it?

  He moved to the next table over, pulled out an empty chair and dropped into it. The two boys sitting at the table stopped talking. They both stared at him for a moment then went back to drawing on scraps of paper. They usually spent the entire class doodling dragons or robots. Half naked barbarian women adorned their notebooks and book covers. The proportions were exaggerated, but otherwise they were pretty cool.

  “So I hear you’re only fifteen,” Travis said to Chloe.

  Kelly laughed. “She looks twelve.”

  Ryan tried not to pay attention to their conversation, but found it was all he could focus on.

  “Only for a few more days,” she answered then brushed the stray bangs out of her face.

  Travis offered a friendly smile and said, “I was having a really bad day yesterday. I think we got off to a bad start. Want to start over?”

  He didn’t hear Chloe’s reply.

  Gary, at least he thought that was his name, looked up from the dragon woman he was drawing. “Why aren’t you sitting with them?”

  Allan looked up with a worried and somewhat expectant look on his round face. He pushed his glasses back up his nose. “Yeah, you could take the chair over there.”

  Ryan scowled and both boys seemed to shrink away. He didn’t owe them, or anyone for that matter, an explanation.

  After a few seconds Allan said, “You pushed me into a locker at the first of the year. I would’ve been locked in there for hours if the janitor hadn’t come by.”

  Ryan shrugged, not really caring. So he’d been a total dick to someone … what else was new?

  A little braver now, Gary said, “You do seem a little more laid back now. I don’t mind telling you that I was scared of you before.”

  Allan nudged his friend then whispered, “I heard they all got into a fight and Ryan kicked their butts.”

  The hint of a smile lifted the corner of Ryan’s mouth. That wasn’t too far from the truth. He didn’t bother to explain it though, let them believe what they wanted. He didn’t care. Besides, the story made him sound like a badass.

  Ms. Adams asked everyone to get out the papier-mâché masks they’d been working on. Pots of sticky paste were already on the tables, along with torn newspaper paints and other art medium. Posters depicting Venetian masks were taped to the walls to offer inspiration. Some students fashioned crude imitations, but his was totally different. He’d created a dark feathered mask with intricate beading. Honestly he had no use for it, but knew Jenna would love the black and purple craft. She’d hang it in her bedroom with all the other weird clutter.

  Suddenly Chloe squealed in terror then jumped from her seat. The chair fell over and the back of her thighs bumped against Ryan’s table and sent art supplies crashing to the floor. The pack laughed uproariously and pointed at the girl as she clawed at her hair and shirt. Travis was the only one looking his way. The expression on his face dared Ryan to do something about it.

  Oh he wanted to do something, but it wasn’t for Chloe’s sake. He didn’t care that the girl was being picked on. That’s what the first families in Hunde did. No one wanted the outsiders though they continued to flock to the small town. Before long, it would be overrun with people from the surrounding areas and would no longer be a haven for those who’d lived here their entire life. It meant the same for people like himself, those who’d come for refuge.

  The pack continued to point and laugh at Chloe who looked close to tears now.

  The urge to leap over the table and pound Travis into mush was so strong, Ryan almost couldn’t ignore it. His hands clenched into fists at his sides.

  Ms. Adams jerked Chloe aside to examine her. With what could only be described as an amused sneer, she thrust a hall pass into the girl’s trembling hand. “Go clean up and don’t bother returning if you plan on disrupting class again.”

  Paste hung in clumps and looked like someone had blown snot on the back of her head. Thick tendrils dripped onto the shoulders of her shirt then trickled down her back.

  Ryan didn’t realize he had stood up until Ms. Adams turned to glare at him. “Since you’re so concerned, why don’t you go to the lost and found to find her a clean shirt?”

  The teacher spoke in a somewhat mocking tone. Maybe she still held a grudge over the fight he and her son Josh had gotten into last summer. He’d broken Josh’s arm and had spent the first semester of this year in alternative education classes.

  “Damn it.” His curse caused the boys at his table to fall into a fit of giggles. He thrust his mask into Gary’s hand. “Make sure nothing happens to it.”

  Travis continued to laugh and his eyes sparked with malicious humor.

  In a snarling voice that would send shudders up anyone else’s spine, Ryan said, “I told you to leave her alone.”

  Travis grinned up at him, but there was a wary look to his gaze now. He probably was afraid Ryan would punch him. He said, “How sweet of you to protect the outsider.”

  “Maybe she’ll let you help get her shirt off,” Josh laughed. The rest of the classroom burst into wild laughter, but he ignored it as he pushed through the door in search of Chloe.

  He found the bedraggled girl outside, just around the corner of the building. Her back was pressed against the bricks and her face was hidden behind trembling hands. “Why does everyone hate me?”

  Her hair looked like a failed attempt at dreadlocks. If she hadn’t been so upset, it might have been hilarious. Who was he kidding? It was still comical in a black, sadistic way. At least he thought so until she removed her hands from her face. The grin twisting his lips immediately died.

  Chloe’s eyes were red and puffy from crying. Her face was blotchy and her bottom lip quivered. She looked as though she might break into more tears any second.

  “Just leave me alone, okay?”

  Ryan sighed. He’d love to walk away from this. Instead, he dug his car keys out of his pocket then gripped her arm. “Come with me.”

  “Wait!” Fear radiated from her brown eyes. She didn’t trust him and he supposed he hadn’t given her much reason to at this point.

  He showed her the keys. “I’ll drive you home.”

  She shrank away from him. Her eyes stared at his outstretched hand as though she expected him to strike her. She even cringed when he grasped her arm.

  “You want to go back to class like that?” He realized his grip might be a little rough so he let go.

  “No,” Chloe hung her head.

  “Then come on,” he said in a gruff, inpatient voice. Crying females were not something he liked to deal with. It made him feel absolutely useless.

  She locked her legs and gazed up at him with wide, worried eyes.

  His patience had begun to ebb away. “What?”

  Chloe blinked rapidly and looked anywhere but at him. “I don’t trust you.”

  “Suit yourself. School’s out in about thirty minutes anyway.” He narrowed his eyes on her. When she clapped her hand over her mouth to silence a sob, he said, “Can’t you just call your parents?”

  She shook her head. “Mom’s in Fort Collins and won’t be back until after track practice.”

  Ryan shoved his hands into his pockets. He didn’t know how to make her feel better or cease her crying. And man, did he wish she’d stop.

  He led her through the parking lot to his Jeep. When she realized he had led her to his car, she stiffened. “Won’t I get in trouble for leaving?”

  She looked concerned and he suspected she wasn’t as worried about leaving
as much as leaving with him. He unlocked the door then cast a sideways glance at her. “Sometimes you have to bend the rules a little. This is one of those times, Chloe. Get in.”

  “Um…”

  “Haven’t you ever skipped class before?” Of course she hadn’t. She was probably the type who loved going to class and being Miss Popular.

  She looked like a wounded animal when she gazed up at him. He had to get away from her. He didn’t care about her, didn’t want to be sucked into her dilemma. “Would you feel better if Jenna went with us?”

  Chloe wiped her cheek with the back of a hand and nodded. Her gaze didn’t quite meet his.

  “Wait here.” Ryan jogged toward the building. He rushed down the hallway toward Jenna’s last class of the day. When he reached it, the teacher gave him a skeptical look. He offered a charming smile and lied, “Mrs. Grimes already signed her out.”

  The irony of relying on Jenna to rescue him from a bad situation was not lost on him. He paced the hall and muttered to himself while she grabbed her things.

  Moments later, she scurried down the hallway after him. Her long purple skirt flapped behind her like some sort of crazy sail. “Wait up! What’s going on?”

  “Just deal with this,” he said as he navigated the rows of cars.

  They found Chloe right where he’d left her, sitting on the curb next to his red Jeep Wrangler. Thankfully, she had stopped crying.

  Jenna ran the last few steps and inspected the younger girl. “Oh, Chloe. Don’t worry, we’ll get you cleaned up.” She glanced over her shoulder at Ryan. “It was the pack, wasn’t it? Why can’t they just leave people alone?”

  Ryan handed over the keys and stepped aside to allow Jenna access to the driver’s door. He studied the mess in Chloe’s hair. “Hurry, before I change my mind.”

  “I’m all sticky.” Chloe wiped her hands against each other in an effort to remove the sticky glue. “What if it ruins the seats?”

  Ryan unbuttoned his shirt.

  A fierce blush crept onto Chloe’s cheeks and she looked the other way. “What are you doing?”

  “Where’d you get that bruise?” Jenna demanded when he shrugged out of the material.