Page 41 of Saving Tracey (Finding Hope #1)

I blew out a harsh breath in annoyance. I really just wanted to be left alone and being around her was turning me into a hormonal twelve-year-old again. "Look, I just want to go home." I snapped at her. "So, run off somewhere, alright?"

She shrugged at me. I sighed in annoyance. It was clear she wasn’t going anywhere until she got her way. I fucking hated spoiled girls like her.

My scowl deepened at her persistence. "You look like you need a friend, so I'm not running off until you take me with you." She informed me, her tone showing how determined she was as she crossed her arms over her chest.

I glared down at her. She flinched slightly, but I pushed down any guilt that rose in me. I wanted her to scamper and playing nice wasn't going to make her go away.

When I saw that she wasn't going to back down, I turned toward my car, cursing loudly. "Get in the fucking car." I snarled, slinging my door open. "But I'm going home, and you can figure out how the fuck to get back to school to get your bike." I snapped at her.

She arched an eyebrow at me but grinned nonetheless as she crossed around to the passenger side of my car. I hated how happy she always was. It wasn’t normal for someone to always be so damn cheery.

"How'd you know I drove a bike?" She asked as she slid into my passenger seat, gently shutting my car door. I breathed a small sigh of relief. At least she was decent enough to treat my car with extra care.

I cut my eyes to her with a deadpan look as I began reversing out of the car park. "I'm pissed off, not stupid, Mel." I deadpanned, my mind instantly giving her a nickname.

I didn’t use real names. Growing up, the only time anyone used someone’s full name was when hell was about to break loose.

My therapist said that giving everyone nicknames right off the bat was a coping mechanism for me, one I would be lucky to outgrow since I’d been doing it for basically my entire life.

I knew Mel would be surprised that I’d called her Mel instead of her real name, but I was praying she wouldn’t say anything about it.

And thankfully, she didn’t.

The car ride was pretty much silent after that, and I was silently thanking the Heavens above for it.

I wasn't much of a talker. I just wanted to ponder my thoughts in silence, though that proved difficult considering the only thing I could think of was how damn gorgeous the girl sitting next to me was.

When I pulled into the driveway, Trev opened the front door with a scowl on his face and stood in the doorway of the house with his arms crossed over his wide chest. Trev was intimidating, and though I knew he would never hurt me, I still held a slight fear of him when he was angry.

He was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

It was one of the reasons people always said he and I were so alike.

Mel slid out of my car with me, and Trev’s eyes darkened.

I swallowed nervously. "So, not only do you fucking leave school within the first hour, but you fucking bring some girl home with you, too?

" Trev demanded as soon as I was out of my car.

I clenched my jaw as Melanie looked between Trev and me nervously.

"You've got a lot of fucking nerve, kid. "

I sighed. "I'm just not having a good morning, Trev," I muttered, walking up the porch, not even bothering to see if Mel was following.

He opened his mouth to snap at me again, but Trace cursed loudly from the kitchen, turning both mine and Trev's attention to her. "Charlie, no!" Trace yelled. "Charlie!" She screeched.

Trev swung around and rushed into the kitchen, and I followed close behind, finding Trace holding a paper towel to her thumb, and Charlie laughing hysterically on Trev's hip as he grabbed Trace's hand in his larger one, practically swallowing her smaller hand.

My older brother was extremely protective of Trace. The love the two of them shared was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, and though the idea of commitment made my skin crawl, I knew that if I ever did settle down with someone, I’d want the kind of love they had.

Trev saved Trace from herself, and in turn, she saved Trev from his own darkness without even realizing she had.

"She was throwing a toy, and I forgot about the knife in my hand as I tried to dodge it.

" Trace muttered as Trev moved the paper towel to reveal the slice on her thumb.

I grimaced. It was a nasty cut, and it would definitely leave a prominent scar once it healed.

She smiled at me when she saw me, though it looked more like a grimace.

I knew she was in pain. "Bad morning, Luc? " She asked.

"So, that's your first name," Melanie spoke up, turning all of our attention to her as Trev set Charlie down on the floor, instructing her to go play with her toys.

"Luc!" Charlie yelled loudly, completely ignoring her father’s instructions as she ran to me, wrapping her arms around my legs. Trev rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to his wife, knowing I would keep Charlie occupied so he could take care of Trace’s cut.

I grinned and lifted her up into my arms, letting her plant a big, sloppy kiss on my cheek. "Is that my Charlie?" I asked her with a grin, making her giggle.

"So, who have you brought home?" Trace asked as she looked at Melanie. Trev only arched an eyebrow at me as he wrapped Trace’s thumb in gauze.

"Oh! I'm Melanie Jones.” Mel introduced herself. “My parents and I just moved to town a few days ago."

Trace nodded with a smile, a mischievous twinkle lighting up her eyes. I groaned. I knew that look, and I knew I wouldn't like the next thing that came out of her mouth.

"Great!" Trace exclaimed as Trev finished bandaging her thumb.

Trev smirked, casting me a look that told me I was getting thrown in deep shit whether I liked it or not.

I groaned as Trace looked over at me. "So, Luc, since you like to skip school and bring new girls home with you when instead you both should be in class learning, you can take her home and invite her parents over dinner, yes?

" Trace asked though I knew it was a demand, not actually a question.

I scowled down at Melanie who didn't even seem bothered by Trace's request in the slightest. "You just keep causing me more and more shit, you know that?" I snapped down at her.

Had she not been chewing that fucking gum to begin with, none of this would be happening.

She shrugged and flashed me a grin at the same time Trev snapped my name at me for cursing in front of Charlie. I handed Charlie to Trev and pointed toward the door, glaring at Melanie. "Let's go." I snapped at her, my mood darkening even more.

I didn’t want to spend more time in her presence, and I certainly wasn’t trying to have dinner with her fucking parents.

Life sucked sometimes.

She walked toward the door after yelling bye to Trev and Trace. "I think she'll be good for Luc. What do you think, babe?" I heard Trace ask Trev.

My scowl deepened, and I cursed Melanie in my head.

More fucking hell.

Thank you so fucking much, Melanie fucking Jones.