Stakeout (Aurora Sky by Nikki Jefford Page B

lit up and a
smile cut through his cheeks. Clive took sick pleasure from pain in
any form.
    “Did your friend do
this to you?”
    “That’s none of your business,” I retorted,
standing my ground no matter how much I felt like stepping away
from him.
    “You need your family more than ever, Noel.
I’ll let your mom and brother know you’re coming home. You wouldn’t
want to let your little brother down, would you? Make him think you
don’t want to see him. I’m sure there’s a heart somewhere inside
there. Do the right thing for once in your life, Noel.” Clive
stepped around me in one fluid movement and headed to the door. He
unlocked the deadbolt and let himself out.
    There was a scream building inside my throat,
ready to erupt and echo through the halls of the building.
    I rushed to the front door and relocked the
bolt then stormed back inside the living room and threw my pump at
the spot where Clive had been seated. It missed the couch, banging
the wall instead, before dropping onto the cushions. But not before
leaving a black mark on the eggshell paint.
    I stormed into the kitchen and looked out the
window in time to see Clive walking down the dirt road sandwiched
between our building and a warehouse. So that’s how I’d missed his
car—he’d parked out of sight. Because that wasn’t creepy.
    Turning my back to the window, I surveyed the
apartment through the open space between the kitchen and living
room. It no longer felt secure. Not only had Clive found me, he’d
managed to get inside.
    I couldn’t stay here. There was just no way.
But where was I supposed to go on such short notice? Whitney and
Hope came from families only slightly less screwed up than mine.
Their parents would never allow me to crash anyway, not even for a
night.
    There was Aurora, but I didn’t exactly feel
comfortable asking her. I could tell her mom thought I was trouble
the one time I’d come over. And then I’d have to answer all kinds
of questions I’d rather not share the answers to.
    My life was personal. Private.
    I had a week to figure something out, because
no way in hell would I be sticking around this place at the end of
it.
    Just what I needed. First the school
transfer—thanks to Valerie. Then Gavin. Compliments of Valerie, yet
again. Then the reappearance of Clive. And now I needed to move out
of my apartment and go who knows where.
    I yanked open the knife drawer and stared
down.
    I felt like cutting open my chest and ripping
out my heart. I felt like holding the lifeless organ up to my dad
and Gavin and saying, “You can’t hurt me anymore, because now I’m
as heartless as the two of you.”
    I grabbed a pair of kitchen scissors and
stormed into the bathroom. Lights on, standing in front of the
mirror, I gathered my hair in my fist and began cutting through the
strands.
    The snipping sounds made my heart pump with
elation. I hacked my way through the rest of my hair and set the
long black rope of it onto the bathroom counter. Well, that was
freeing. I felt lighter already. Maybe I could cut off my head
while I was at it. Forget my heart. My brain was the real problem.
It’s where thoughts festered and turned into unwanted emotions. Off
with it!
    Scissors opened wide, I held one blade to my
throat and stared into my reflection. My hair hung jagged around my
shoulders.
    The scissors made one last slicing sound as I
snapped them shut and set them down.
    I had no desire to be dead. Not anymore. I
was made of stronger stuff than that.
    At ten, I started calling hair saloons until
I found one that could see me that morning. I covered Henry’s bite
mark with concealer and a studded choker, got my hair trimmed, and
spent the afternoon in a coffee shop with my laptop looking at
roommate-wanted ads.
    I’d love to rent a place of my own. No
roommates. No drama. Nothing but peace and quiet, or loud music if
I wanted. Who knew? Maybe Melcher would go for it if I took the
initiative and found something without his