Page 13 of Saving Tracey (Finding Hope #1)

Chapter Seven

I groaned and clutched at my head as it pounded incessantly.

Blinking slowly, I eased myself into a sitting position and glanced around my bedroom, my eyes landing on the person sitting in the chair next to my bed.

I sucked in a sharp breath of air in surprise and jumped back against the wall that my bed was against.

"Head hurt?" Kaleb was clearly upset, if the look on his face wasn't enough to go by.

Hadn't I told him to leave me alone ?

"Why are you in here?" I crossed my arms over my chest in a defensive gesture.

He sat up from his slouched position in the chair and ran a hand through his already messy hair. "Well, considering you thought it'd be a great idea to swallow an entire bottle of pills, you can't exactly be trusted anymore, Tracey."

I flinched and glared at him. "Like you can?" I wasn’t in the mood for his dumb-ass lecture.

Why couldn't anyone leave me alone when I decided death was the way I wanted to go ?!

"Let it go, Tracey. It's in the past. She's my girlfriend. I can't just kick her out of my house."

Let it go ?

Was he serious right now ?

"There's a reason you call this place your house.” I was angry now. "So yes, you could. Besides, you told me you wanted to break up with her."

What happened to that?

He shrugged. "She's changed a little bit. She's trying for our relationship."

I so badly wanted to scoff at that, but I stopped myself.

Instead, I just shrugged at him. "Who she is as a person doesn't change that you swore to me you wouldn't let something like what happened happen. Yet, you did. You had my trust, Kaleb, and you broke it.”

Someone knocked on the door before Kaleb could respond, and then they walked in before I could give permission. Trevor grinned at me from the doorway, and my cheeks flushed when I remembered crying in his arms in my bathroom until I passed out.

He leaned against the door jamb, crossing his arms over his chest. “I see you're awake."

He's not angry ?

"You're not angry at me for swallowing pills last night?"

He shook his head, crossing his arms over his muscular chest, making the muscles in his arms bulge. I dragged my eyes away from his toned upper body, focusing my eyes back on his handsome face.

"Tracey, you're in the process of healing.” I glanced away from him.

He was doing that intense thing with his eyes again.

“Healing doesn't just happen overnight, despite what some people may think or want.

" He gave a pointed look to Kaleb, who scowled back at his best friend.

"Sometimes, things happen that cause the healing person to backtrack.

Even though it sucks, it's okay because I know for a fact that you'll get to where you need to be one day. "

My heart swelled with adoration at Trevor’s words, and I resisted the urge to reach up and rub the heel of my hand against my chest. Instead, I rubbed a hand down my face and slid out of my bed.

Trevor clapped his hands together suddenly as I did so, making me jump in fright and clutch my hands to my chest.

Trevor shot me an apologetic look for scaring me. “Well, come on, guys. We're going to be late to the game."

I immediately began shaking my head at him. "No. Trevor, I can't go to that game. There are so many people." Fear crawled through my veins. The blood drained out of my face at the mere thought of going to a crowded game.

He rolled his eyes at me, making me scowl. His lips twitched with a smirk before he smothered it. "You think I don't already have that covered? Paul's girlfriend wants to meet you, and she has a couple of friends that she thinks you'll get along great with, and honestly, I think you will, too."

"But I don't know them.” And that terrified me.

Trevor sighed. "You're never going to heal, Tracey, if you don't get out more.” His voice was gentle and soothing, but it did nothing to quench my fear. “I know that it's terrifying, but you'll get used to it eventually."

I sighed as he and Kaleb left my room.

"Aaaand touchdown for Briar High!" The fans began standing up and hollering even louder.

I curled against the wall of the bleachers, flinching at the roar that surrounded me from the crowd. Paul's girlfriend wasn't what Trevor had said she was like. In fact, she was a really big bitch, not much different than Lacie.

She and her friends had actually ditched me to hang out with Lacie after they both ganged up on me, letting me know that I was hideous, no guy would ever want me, and that it was my own fault that my parents hated me so much.

I wanted to go home, but I was too scared to go by myself.

"Hey, are you okay?"

I jumped in fright and ended up roughly slamming my shoulder into the wall. I quickly turned to look at the girl in front of me. She had blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and she had a kind enough smile on her face.

”I—I, yes.”

"You looked so scared over here, so I had to come check on you. I'm actually one of the cheerleaders.” She threw a thumb over her shoulder in the direction the cheerleaders were. “I had a girl take my place while I came over here. Are you not here with anyone?"

I shrugged. "I was supposed to be hanging out with Paul’s girlfriend and her friends, but it turns out they were just bitches looking to put me on the receiving end of their hatred."

She frowned. "Paul is so stupid, I swear.

He should have never let you hang out with those girls.

Have you ever seen Mean Girls?" I nodded in answer.

It had been one of the first movies Miss Brinson got me to watch when I moved in.

“Those are what those girls are. They're not part of anything.

They just like to put other people down and be the talk of the school.

They feel threatened by you, that's all. "

"I'm guessing you know who I am?"

She nodded. "Yep, everyone in this school knows who you are.” I cringed. “Do you want to come over to the section behind the cheerleaders so we can talk and gossip about the hot sweaty football players when I don't have to cheer?"

I smiled a little and nodded.

Holy shit, I was holding an actual conversation with someone without needing someone standing by my side .

I walked down the bleachers with her and over to the section she had told me about. She sat down with me, and we easily began talking about stupid things that really didn't matter.

It was extremely easy talking to her.

When the game was over, Trevor jogged over to me, grinning.

"We fucking beat their asses!" A big grin pulled at his lips, and my heart somersaulted in my chest. I smiled at him widely, my heart swelling at the sight of him so happy.

His grin softened as he took in my smile, an indescribable look passing through his eyes.

He looked at the girl who I had come to know as Olivia. "Hey, Liv, I see you've met Tracey." He pushed his sweaty hair off of his forehead.

Olivia nodded, smiling. "I have, and we're best friends." She shot me an infectious grin.

Trevor rolled his eyes at her and smiled at me. "How did it go with Jamie?"

I winced at the memory, and he clenched his jaw. "Tracey, what the fuck happened?"

“I—I, they—" I was surprised to see Trevor so angry because someone was mean to me.

"They were a complete bitch to her and ganged up on her and threatened her. That stupid skank, Lacie, was with them, too." Olivia’s own anger at the situation was clear as day in her words.

Trevor sighed. "Fuck, Tracey, I'm sorry. I'll put Jamie and anyone else who messed with you in their place, don't worry about it."

"It's okay, Trevor. Seriously." I rubbed the heel of my hand against my forehead. "I just want to go home.”

He nodded in understanding. "Come on. Paul and I are staying the weekend at your place since his mom and dad are going out of town."

I smiled at Olivia and began to tell her goodbye. Before I could speak, she threw her arms around me. I froze, my heart beginning to pound hard and fast, almost choking me. Bile rose in my throat.

I was panicking.

She had to get off of me .

"Liv, get the fuck off of her!"

She jumped back immediately, and her eyes widened when she saw how panicked I was.

I jumped up from my seat, scrambling to put some space between us.

I collided with Trevor's tall, muscular frame, and he instantly settled his hands over my shoulders, his warmth and strength seeping through his hands into my body, surprisingly making me relax a bit.

"I'm so sorry, Tracey! It's just so easy to forget that you don't like to be touched and—"

I was a little bit calmer finally, so I gave her a tiny smile, though it was extremely forced. "It's okay, Olivia.” Trevor squeezed my shoulders gently. "It's just who you are.”

She nodded, but she still seemed a little worried. I sighed. "It's okay, Olivia. I just—it’s just who I am. It's not because of you." I felt so bad. She was freaking out because she’d overstepped, but she was so nice. I never wanted to see her upset like this.

She nodded. "I'll see you on Monday at school?"

I bit my lip and nodded, cringing internally at the thought that I had to go back to school on Monday. So, yeah, she would see me at school, and that was terrifying to me. I didn't know how I felt about returning to school. It made me sick to my stomach at the thought.

I wanted to stay where I felt safe, where I felt like almost nothing could touch me.

I hated the thought of being around people again.

When we got home that night, Lacie showed up with Kaleb once he finally got home. I sighed softly, but Trevor shook his head at me. "Don't worry about her. She's just a stupid girl that will never make it anywhere. One day, you'll get the hell out of this town, and she'll be stuck here."

I shook my head at him. He had it all wrong. "I have horrible grades. I won't be making it anywhere."

His eyebrows pulled together. "Why? You could have fought to make good grades so you could have gotten the hell away from your parents."