Page 11 of Saving Tracey (Finding Hope #1)

Chapter Six

TRACEY

T wo weeks. It had been two long weeks since I had been out of the hospital.

A total of three weeks since I last saw my parents.

I thought that being away from them would give me some freedom, but I still felt trapped.

I looked up as Kaleb walked in through the front door, a couple of guys from school following him in.

I had definitely seen them around before, but I didn't know their names.

One of them had wavy blonde hair with striking blue eyes.

He was tall and built well with a strong jawline and high cheekbones.

The other guy had black hair and dark eyes.

He was leaner with sharp facial features.

Trevor . The dark-haired guy’s name was Trevor.

Everyone knew him to be one of our best linebackers, and he was famous with the girls at our school.

Kaleb looked over at me as he closed the door behind them. He smiled at me. "Hey, Tracey, ready to go back to school Monday?"

I shrugged, looking away from him and turning back to the TV. I continued flicking through Netflix, finally having a hang of how to work the Wii remote. I didn’t want attention, and I could feel Trevor’s and the other guy’s gazes on my back.

Kaleb's mom came into the living room at that moment, wiping her hands on the apron that was tied around her waist. She smiled at the two boys that came in with Kaleb and hugged them both enthusiastically. "Paul, Trevor, I missed seeing your faces around here! Where in the hell have you been?!"

The blonde guy, Paul, grinned at her. "Life has been crazy.” He shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Mom got into a car accident and ended up breaking her leg. I've been helping her out. I finally got to escape today."

Mrs. Brinson pursed her lips. "I heard about that. Is she okay other than that?"

"Oh, yeah. Nothing has changed between his mom and dad.” Paul smacked Trevor, making Trevor snicker.

Miss Brinson laughed and pulled them farther into the living room so that they were both in my view and I in theirs.

"Boys, this is Tracey. She's my . . . daughter.

" I cringed, forcing my gaze to stay on the TV, resisting the urge to bolt out of the room.

I felt the couch dip near me, and I quickly glanced over for a split second to see Kaleb sitting down next to me.

"You two know Tracey, don't you? She goes to your school. "

They both shook their heads. "Actually, no, we don’t.” His eyes ran over me before they met Kaleb’s.

I couldn’t ignore the strange, yet relaxing chill that swept down my spine as his eyes ran over me.

The boys sent Kaleb an accusing glare. "Why haven't you introduced us to this gorgeous girl yet?"

Too much focus on me .

I needed air.

I jumped up, dropped the remote, and sprinted out of the room. When I got out to the patio, I took a deep breath and shakily ran a hand through my hair.

"Hey, are you okay?"

I jumped in shock and spun around at the sound of Kaleb's voice. I bit my lip and nodded my head. "Yeah, I'm fine." But my voice was shaky, betraying the turmoil inside of me.

He rolled his eyes at me and crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't have to lie anymore, Tracey.” I looked away from him.

“We're not them, okay? Nobody will hurt you, not anymore.

I promise." He ran a hand through his hair before sliding his hands into his pockets.

"I brought Paul and Trevor over because they're really cool guys, and I thought it would do you good to make a couple more friends besides just me that will help look out for you.

" He stepped toward me but stopped when I tensed up, ready to bolt if he got too close to me. "They won't judge you, I promise."

I shook my head. "I don't . . .” I drew in a shaky breath, “Kaleb, I don't know them."

"No, you don't, but if you don't give yourself the chance to get to know them, then you'll never get used to people, Tracey. I don't want you to be afraid your entire life."

I didn’t want to be either, but I was still too afraid to get close to anyone.

I nodded anyway. "Okay, but just . . . can you tell them not to get too close to me? I can't,” I blew out a harsh breath, “I still can't deal with that, Kaleb."

He grinned and nodded his head enthusiastically. "Of course, Tracey. Come on."

I followed him back into the house, and Miss Brinson sent me a worried look as I passed her. I snapped my gaze down to the floor.

She was so nice. I didn't want her to worry about me.

I sat back down back in my spot on the couch.

The boys both looked up from their game of Call of Duty on the tv screen and grinned when they saw me.

"So, you're Tracey, right?" Paul was the first to speak, while Trevor just intently studied me.

It was almost as if he could see directly into my soul.

I nodded mutely, feeling self-conscious under Trevor’s scrutinizing gaze. Paul ended the game, much to Trevor's displeasure. "Want to play?"

I shrugged. “I’ve never played before.”

He shrugged. "It's okay. I suck, too.” He laughed. “Kaleb and Trevor always kick my ass," he paused, cringing at Miss Brinson's sour look, "I mean, butt, at this game."

Trevor barked out a laugh at his word change.

I slowly reached forward and took the controller away from him, quickly snatching my hand back from him, not wanting him to touch me.

He looked a little alarmed, his head swinging to Kaleb, but Paul didn't say anything about it.

Kaleb just shot him a look that practically screamed ' keep your mouth shut ' and smiled at me. I could feel Trevor’s gaze on me, but I kept my eyes firmly on the controller in my hand.

After blowing out a shaky breath, I scooted a little closer to Kaleb, feeling some safety at being near him. "So, how do I play this?" I asked him.

Kaleb grinned and showed me the controls, and then Trevor started the game. "If you cheat, I'm never playing with you again.” Despite everything I was going through, I couldn’t help but admit that I loved how husky his voice sounded when he spoke quietly. "I hate cheaters."

I arched an eyebrow at him, somehow finding comfort in Trevor’s presence despite him being a complete stranger to me. "Um, how am I supposed to cheat when I've never played before?" I found myself snapping back before I could stop myself.

Paul snickered as Trevor stayed quiet, his eyes trained on mine, amusement lurking in their depths, showing me that he wasn’t the least bit annoyed with me.

That made me feel way more comfortable than I should have been with a complete stranger.

"Nothing to say to that, bro?"

"Shut up.” Trevor threw a pencil at Paul that he had pulled out of his pocket. Trevor grinned at me, and I swear, I almost swooned. "Alright, girly, game on."

I squealed as I dashed into a hiding place so Paul wouldn't be able to shoot me. "Don't kill me!" I giggled, surprisingly having a lot of fun with the guys.

He snickered evilly, and soon, my character died. I huffed and tossed the controller on the couch next to me. "No fair! You cheated!"

Paul got up, ignoring me, and started jumping up and down. "I finally won a game! Yes! Suck that, losers!" He pointed at Kaleb and Trevor as he thrust his hips forward. Trevor scowled and pushed Paul to the ground.

Trevor rolled his eyes at Paul. "Bro, you're acting like a fucking child. Act your age."

Paul pouted. "Trevor, your hurted my feelings." He was whining, talking like a five-year-old, making me laugh quietly.

Trevor sighed. "If you don't start acting like the eighteen-year-old you are, I'm going to hurt a lot more than your feelings."

I laughed softly. At first, when the two boys started throwing threats back and forth at each other, it sent me into a little bit of a panic, but I eventually got used to it, realizing it wasn't the same thing as when my dad made threats toward me.

They were friends. Friends joked around like this. It was normal .

Kaleb came into the room, pocketing his phone. "Lacie is coming over for dinner.”

Paul and Trevor groaned. I panicked a little. "Man, she's such a whiny little bitch. Why haven't you dumped her yet?" Trevor leaned his head back on the couch, his head surprisingly close to my leg.

Kaleb sent Trevor a scowl. "You know why."

"Just let her fucking do whatever she's stupid enough to do.”

This was the same girl that terrified me that day in the hallway. The one that I had to run to the safety of a classroom to get away from.

I jumped up, my entire body tensing when I heard the doorbell ring, knowing that it had to be Kaleb’s girlfriend on the other side of that door. Kaleb ignored it, his eyes locking onto mine. "Tracey, are you going to be okay? I swear, I will send her away the first stupid thing she says, okay?"

I nodded slowly. He sent me a small smile and went to the door when the bell rang again.

Paul and Trevor both rolled their eyes at the same time and smiled at me as they got up from the floor.

"Come on. Let's be the first bitches to get food.

" Paul barely got the words out before he sprinted from the room, heading for the kitchen.

"Not before me!" Krista screamed, running down the stairs.

"Hey, no fair! You can't push me out of the way!" Kaleb's littlest sister Emily shouted.

"Yes, I can, because I'm hungrier than you are!" I heard Paul shout back childishly.

"I'm so glad I'm not blood-related to him.” Trevor shook his head.

I raised my eyebrows at him in surprise. "Huh?"

They were related, but not blood-related ?