Breaking Her Bad by Michelle Mankin

 

 

 

 

 

Claire

Kyle took two days off from school.

Once the adrenaline wore off, the pain from his injuries set in. He was sorer the day after and the following one than he’d been that night.

I missed seeing him at school. Each morning he wasn’t there, I glanced at the corner of the building that used to be his, expecting to see him, but a new dealer had taken his place. I hoped that meant Martin Skellin would leave Kyle and the rest of us alone, but I wasn’t counting on it.

As we strolled along the sidewalk from the student parking lot, Missy glanced at Kyle’s corner too. “I thought he told you at band practice that he’d be here today.”

“He did.” My brows drew together. Unfortunately, my mom only let me have the one sleepover with Kyle, so I hadn’t seen him since band practice. “Maybe he changed his mind, or maybe he had something last-minute to do for tonight.”

It was Tuesday. No Quarter’s first official gig at Footit’s was tonight. We were going to perform my mom’s song and the seven covers we’d agreed on.

In my opinion, we were ready, but Kyle wanted us to be better than ready. He took everything related to me and the band seriously. Protecting, defending, providing for those he cared for, it was what he did. It was Kyle.

“Hey, babe.”

Kyle came up behind me, and a thrill shot through me just from his voice. Tommy was with Kyle, but he veered around us to walk beside Missy.

“Hey.” I turned to look at Kyle. His unruly black hair spilled into his gorgeous gray eyes. Thankfully, the swelling had gone down, and only a little blackness remained around his right eye. It added to his already dangerous look.

My heart sped up as he draped a proprietary arm around my shoulders. “You look nice.”

He wore faded jeans and a heather-gray Led Zeppelin T-shirt that Missy had snagged from the back room at Janet’s before it went to the curb. I suspected she might have had a hand in it going to the donation bin with Kyle in mind.

“Thanks. So do you.” Raking his gaze over me, his eyes heated, and so did I from his perusal.

“You’ve seen me in this before.” I glanced down at my white oxford shirt and my old uniform skirt.

“Before, you weren’t officially mine.”

“You ready for tonight?” Tommy glanced past Missy to make eye contact with me.

“I’m nervous,” I said. “Excited too. I’m ready.”

“She’ll be better than ready,” Missy said. “She’s gonna knock everyone on their asses with her singing and with her outfit. I have the perfect one for her.”

“Another score from the discard pile at Janet’s,” I said, teasing.

“Yes.” She nodded. “Amazing the quality of the items that end up in the back room.”

“Hey, all,” Chad called. Waving at us, he left behind a bunch of guys by the gym who were almost as tall as he was.

We stopped, waiting for him just before the stairs into the building. He was wearing his red-and-black basketball varsity jacket. His blond hair was windblown, his hazel eyes active as he looked at Missy.

“Concert’s tonight, right?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said.

“Thought so.” He nodded. “My dad is coming right after his shift. But I can pick you up before. We can get dinner, then go to Footit’s.”

“No.” Missy shook her head, appearing more alarmed by Chad’s proposal than she was surrounded by armed men inside Martin’s penthouse. “I need to help Claire get ready.”

“So, we’ll swing by for Claire.” His eyes narrowed. “And the three of us can go over early together.”

She sighed. “All right.”

“Great.” Chad lifted his hand. “Gotta get to class.”

He jogged ahead of us into the building. I think he didn’t want to hang any longer, afraid Missy would change her mind.

“My dad’s coming too,” Tommy said. “Tonight’s gonna be awesome.”

I shifted closer to Kyle, my hip bumping his. Heat zinged between my legs, but I knew nothing could be done about it at school. I had tests in every period, and I couldn’t sneak away with Kyle during lunch, because I promised Chad that I would give him guitar lessons. For some reason, maybe because Missy liked music, he wanted to learn to play. He was a friend, and he was paying for lessons. I’d have to try to catch Kyle later.

“Ready to go into school?” Kyle asked.

“Ready to go in with my boyfriend’s arm around me?” I smiled at him, then included Missy and Tommy. “Ready for anything with my friends.”

“Love your smile, babe,” Kyle said near my ear, and my smile grew. “You bring the sunshine with you, even on a cloudy day in Southside.”

“It was rainy until you came back into my life.” I hooked my finger through his belt loop. “I have sunshine because of your love, even in the rain.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

“I know so.” I let my love for him shine in my eyes. “Lakeside or Southside, rain or shine, life’s good spent with people who make you happy.”