Beneath Our Faults (4 page)

"Good morning, beautiful ladies," Tommy called, strolling in to the kitchen, wearing a black suit with a briefcase in his hand. Yep, he definitely had the whole "I'm a badass lawyer, don't fuck with me" look going on.

"Hi daddy!" Sophia shrieked, jumping out of her chair. "We are ready for school now!" She grabbed her pink princess backpack and threw it over her shoulder. We? Did the girl have a mouse in her pocket? Because I was not in her "ready for school club." What I was ready for was to climb my ass back up those stairs and form a Daisy cocoon in that comfy bed of mine.

"I bet you guys are," he laughed, grabbing her lunch box off the counter. Handing it over to his pink loving spawn, he gave my aunt a quick kiss on the lips, telling her goodbye.

"Alright, Daisy, you ready to go?" he asked, while I rinsed my glass out and put it in the dishwasher.

My brain was screaming a huge HELL NO on repeat but my head decided it wanted to turn against me. "Let me just go grab my bag."

I ran up the stairs two at a time until I reached my room. I went straight to my nightstand for my phone, but it wasn't there. What the hell did I do with it?

Then it hit me.

I had abandoned it during my crawl of shame last night. Opening the door slowly, I peeked my head out the door just in case anyone was out there. The coast was clear. I grabbed my things, sprinting back to my room and locking the balcony door. Sliding my phone in my pocket, I put my album back in the drawer. Now I just needed to get this day over with.

M
Y BODY
completely stopped when I walked out the front door. My lack of sleep was playing juju tricks with my mind because what was in front of me couldn't be real.

The guy from the balcony last night was standing in our driveway having an animated conversation with my uncle. My eyes shut suddenly, and then reopened to double check that I wasn't hallucinating. Nope, he was definitely there, but now his attention wasn't directed at my uncle. He was looking straight at me. The muscles in my chest tightened but I forced my legs to continue moving. If I had stood there with a blank stare on my face any longer, everyone would know something was up. The closer I got to him, the bigger his smile grew.

"Oh hey Daisy," my uncle said when I reached them. "This is our neighbor, Keegan. You two will be going to school together.”

Great, now I would be going to school with my porn star wannabe neighbor. Why was he even in school when he already had a great career choice in the making? I was incapable of forming coherent sentences, so I opted to raise my hand in the air and give him a lame wave.

He was hot I would definitely give him that. The eyes that were burning into mine looked straight at me, making me nervous. They had a slight slant to them but it was the color that intrigued me. They were a jaded green with a few grey spots that jolted straight through me. His hair was dark and cut short but I noticed a slight cowlick on the left side of his hairline. My eyes followed south, down his body, taking in the tight, black V-neck t-shirt covering his broad chest, clearly showing he worked out but also giving me a tiny peek of some sort of tattoo script.

This guy was the absolute epitome of a bad boy.

"Keeganator!" Sophia yelled out, running up to him. He lifted her up into his strong arms. Thank you for the save, little cousin. I wanted to give her a hug for saving me
again
from impending awkwardness. Was it possible to stick her in my pocket and take her to school with me?

"Good morning, princess," he greeted her, setting her back down on her feet.

"This is my cousin, Daisy," she told him, pointing at me. "I want to look just like her when I grow up. Isn't she pretty? She looks just like one of the Barbies that mommy got me," she rambled. I gave myself a quick mental note to inform her to quit referring to me as looking like a damn Barbie.

"You're absolutely right," he answered her, his eyes twinkling with interest as he dragged his fingers across his mouth. "She is very pretty. I especially like those dark eyes of hers." He overly stressed the word, confirming that he indeed did see me watching him. His hand moved away from his mouth, giving me a full view of the smug smile he was still sporting. Another flush crept across my cheeks and I thanked the genetic gods that my olive complexion helped conceal my humiliation.

"Daisy," it sounded so sensual coming out of his full lips, "If you're on your way to school, I can give you a ride."

Every pair of eyes shot my way awaiting my answer. The last thing I ever wanted to do was be in a car alone with him. I had just watched another girl give him a ride last night so it would be entirely too weird to catch one with him.

"Sure, that's fine," I answered, nodding my head and hating the fact I was too chickenshit to say no.

"I'll see you later," he told Sophia and Tommy before turning around towards his driveway. I waved to them, hoisting my bag over my shoulder and trailing behind him until we both reached a black Range Rover. He stepped in front of me, reached out and opened the passenger side door.

"Nice wheels," I complimented, sliding in between him and moving into the seat before he shut the door behind me.

He nodded his head and circled around the car to get into the driver's side. The ignition turned on and we started down the street, letting an uncomfortable silence take over the air. When the silence was finally broken, I wanted to punch the asshole in his pretty, perfect face.

"So have you always been into voyeurism or is it a new hobby you've recently picked up?" Embarrassment and anger shot through my body and I was surprised I didn't catch whiplash from how fast I twisted my head around to glare at him.

"I am not a voyeur," I hissed, shifting around in the leather seat to look at him. "Have you always been into exhibitionism or did you just happen to pick it up recently?"

He laughed. "I wasn't having sex in public. I was having sex at my own house. I can't help it if you were spying on me," he shrugged and stopped at a red light.

His sarcastic tone irked me. "Whatever," I mumbled, turning around to face the window. Our little discussion needed to end pronto. My muscles tensed up as worry set in, wondering whether he was going to spread word at my new school that I was a creeper. I kept my eyes out the window, watching trees and buildings blur past me, wishing I could be anywhere but in that car with him.

We drove a short distance before he stopped in front of another large white house with huge columns around the front.

"Quick pit stop," he announced, slamming his hand down on the steering wheel and blaring the horn. I ignored him, keeping my eyes glued at the window that had slowly begun to roll down. A tall, skinny blonde came strutting out from the front of the house. Her bleach blonde hair was curled into large, perfect waves and clipped behind her ears. I rolled my eyes, taking in her outfit. The girl was wearing a white, extremely low cut blouse that was pretty much see-though giving me the perfect view of her bright red bra and a plaid mini-skirt that barely covered her vagina.

Clueless
called, Cher wanted her outfit back.

I squinted my eyes as she walked closer to the car and it finally hit me.

Holy crap!

She was the girl from last night. The moaner. Just when I thought the ride couldn't get any more mortifying. Her feet skidded to a stop when she spotted me in the passenger seat. An angry snarl twisted onto her overly made-up face. "Who the hell is this?" She asked through the window at Keegan. Her manicured hands set directly on her tiny hipbones.

I could have only guessed that I was in her seat. Leaning over, I started to unbuckle my seatbelt so I could get the ride over with, but a large, callous hand landed on top of mine, stopping me. Keegan tapped on my hand twice like he was giving me some kind of code then looked over at the serious blonde standing outside my window.

"My new neighbor," he informed her. "Now get in," he gestured his head towards the back seat.

"Hell no," she screeched, raising her hands. "I am not sitting in the backseat." I didn’t get why she was so pissed. I was fairly certain the girl gaping at me was no stranger to being in a backseat.

Keegan let out a long, tortured sigh. "Piper, get your ass in the backseat or drive your own fucking ass to school. I don't have time to play your childish games right now."

The blonde opened her mouth and I prepared to hear her argument, but she immediately shut it, changing her mind. Stomping her high heeled foot down on the concrete, she swung the back door open like a mad woman and climbed into the backseat, huffing. Her bony arm slammed the door shut harshly behind her.

"Piper, Daisy," Keegan pointed back and forth between us two girls. "Daisy, Piper."

"Daisy," she repeated and I didn't miss the distaste in her voice, She popped her head in between Keegan and I above the center console. "Is that your real name or your stripper name?" She didn't even give me the chance to answer before she continued on with her insult. "I mean, seriously, who in their right mind names their kid Daisy unless they were just wanting to set you up for disaster. Were your parents hippie stoners or something?"

I frowned. I had only been in the car with this chick for a few minutes and I found myself fighting the urge to throw her out in the street in front of a moving car.

"Piper," I mocked, using the same tone she had used with my name and raising an eyebrow. "Who in the hell names their kid after some fairy tale creep who led children to their death?" I usually wasn't a spiteful person, but she hit a sore spot. I adored my name. When my mom and dad were young, he picked daisies from my grandmother's garden and brought them over to my mom to propose. She told me it was one of her most cherished memories of them together. As soon as she found out she was having a girl, she immediately informed my dad that they were naming me after her favorite flower and memory.

I heard Keegan's chuckle beside me.

"What are you even talking about?" Piper asked, her face laced with confusion.

I shook my head at her; choosing to ignore her comment and moving my attention back to the colorful leaves that were beginning their downfall from the branches.

"Piper, play nice," Keegan warned the brat in the back. His hand hit a button on his steering wheel and Nickelback started playing out of the speakers in front of me. I noticed his thick fingers drumming along the steering wheel from the corner of my eye. Temptation was telling me to turn around and let the tramp know that I could care less if she "played nice" with me or not, but the better person in me decided to just keep my thoughts to myself.

I heard the pitchy voice of Piper's start to whine but I let the sound of music down her out. I needed to conserve what little energy I had for getting through the day. Not only was I starting a new school, but now I was walking in there with a huge target taped to my back. And the person holding the gun? That would be the bitch in the backseat.

M
Y NOSE
shriveled up at the potent scent of bleach when I walked into the girl's locker room. Every single girl in the room ignored my presence as I walked down the aisles looking for a locker. It didn't bother me. I wasn't there to make friends anyways. I mentally gave each scowling girl the middle finger as I passed by. Tossing my bag on the bench in front of an isolated locker, I let out a deep sigh.

"Hey girl." I jumped, whipping around to see a short girl with deep auburn hair pulled into a messy bun throw her gym back in front of the locker next to mine. "I was hoping we would have a class together." Her hands went down to the hem of her shirt and she pulled her shirt over her head, messing her hair up more. "I know being the new girl around this joint sucks major ass, so I just want you to know I'm here for you."

I definitely couldn't have agreed more with her last statement. I had practically dived out of the car when we pulled into the school parking lot. If I had to hear one more second of Piper's incessant whining, I was going to stick a pen in my eardrums and gouge them out.

My first two classes I had already had were absolutely dreadful. In both of them, the teachers insisted I stand in front of the entire class and introduce myself like I had just reverted back to my adolescent days. My chemistry teacher was the worst, though. She stood in front of the class with her oversized glasses and ill-fitting sweater, informing me that I needed to share three fun facts about myself to everyone. Problem was, there was nothing fun about me. I almost dared to tell her the first "fun fact" about myself was that I wanted to stick my foot up her ass, but I bit back my tongue. My parents most likely wouldn't have been too happy if I got kicked out of school on my first day for verbally assaulting a teacher.