Hickville Confessions: A Hickville High Novel by Mary Karlik Page A

“He’s not. He’s sweet and caring.”
    “Pu-leeze, Ryan. He got kicked out of the Homecoming dance for fighting with Eric Perez.”
    “Again, he had to have a good reason. Look, all I know is how he treats me. And he treats
me
really nice.”
    Kelsey shook her head. “He’s got a lot of baggage. You can do better.”
    “God, Kel. We’re friends. End of story.” Ryan grabbed her pack and ran upstairs to her room. Just when she thought they were getting close, Kelsey had to go all judgy on her. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hang out with Justin, but she sure didn’t want her sister telling her she shouldn’t. Besides, the Justin she knew wasn’t crazy. That Justin was kind and gentle. But that Justin was also hot and made her want be more than friends.
    She dropped onto her bed and grabbed the throw folded at the end, pulled it over her, and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think about it. Any of it. But Justin’s face kept popping into her mind.
    Damn it. He was trouble. Big trouble.

7
    After a grueling football practice, all Justin wanted was to see Ryan or at least talk to her. Yeah, he was freaking crazy. They weren’t a thing. But she was amazing. After the hell she’d gone through, she’d faced everybody with a
bring it on
attitude.
    Still, he worried. As strong and freaking mind-blowing as she was, she was not invincible. Maybe it was just a feeling he had, but for a second, he’d seen a look in her eyes that frightened him. The look he saw in his mom every day.
    Helplessness. Hopelessness. Drowning.
    He shook the thought away. Ryan needed to fight. It would keep her from going to that bad place. He’d stand by and let her. And if she stumbled, he wanted to be the one who pulled her to her feet and let her enter the ring again. Would she let him? She had his cell number, but she hadn’t offered hers.
    Patience
. Right now, it was about earning her trust.
    He parked in front of his house and hope flickered. The blinds in the front window were open. Was Mom having a good day?
    He pushed through the front door and called, “Mom! I’m home.” When she didn’t answer, he headed toward the bedroom. “Mom?” She wasn’t curled up in bed. His heart began to beat a little faster as he made his way through the house. Things didn’t feel right. He headed toward his sister’s room. God, he hoped she wasn’t in there. He’d found her there once before wrapped in Chelsea’s bathrobe and hugging her stuffed bear. He knocked on the door. “Mom?” He listened for sounds of despair coming from behind the door. Nothing.
    He cracked the door and peeked into the room. Empty. He opened the door wide and stepped inside. He hadn’t been in her room in months. His mom didn’t do much with the rest of the house, but she kept Chelsea’s room clean. An extra-large Taco Bell cup stuffed with various sizes and shapes of paintbrushes sat on the corner of her desk next to a plastic storage box bulging with twisted tubes of paint. Her portfolio case leaned against the side of the desk. It was all so surreal, as if she might walk into the room any second and start a new project.
    He slid the portfolio case from the side of the desk, laid it on the carpet in the center of the room, and carefully opened the cover. Sketches of high school life filled the case. The first drawing was of a football game viewed from the stands. Cheerleaders were stacked in a pyramid while players fought to move the ball forward in the background. There was a drawing of girls huddled around a locker, giggling. The looks on their faces made him want to know their secret. His muscles tensed as he turned to the next sketch. He hated this one.
    Austin McCoy stared back at him with a shit-eating grin on his face.
    Justin closed the case and propped it against the desk, trying to replicate its exact position. Otherwise, his mom would freak.
    He turned to leave and froze. She stood in the doorway with her fingertips pressed to her mouth.