Lux was so tired. She was trying not to fall asleep, but her eyelids felt heavy. She'd been with Bug all night and they'd had more, uh, fun things to do than sleep.
She didn't look up as her teacher spoke, "Class, we have a new student today. Please make Brian Smith feel welcome."
It couldn't be him. It just couldn't. How many Brian Smiths were there in Oregon, Lux wondered desperately. There had to be more than one. It wasn't that unusual a name.
Lux glanced up and froze in fear as her eyes met his. She knew immediately that it was him.
He hadn't changed at all. He still looked every part the All-American golden boy with light brown hair, a handsome tanned face and the build of a star athlete. His eyes were just as cold as they'd always been, and when he saw her they widened and he grinned slowly.
As soon as the bell rang, Lux grabbed her book bag and raced from the room. But, she wasn't fast enough.
Brian had been watching Lux throughout class and was on her tail as she fled the classroom. It wasn't hard for him to catch her. He was a starter on the football team. "You can run, but you can't hide," he said softly as he fell into step beside her.
Lux swallowed hard, but betrayed no sign of fear when she turned to face him. She raised her eyebrows. "You weren't so tough last time I saw you."
Brian's grin vanished and was replaced with a look of pure hatred and fury. "This time you don't have Bug to save you," he spat out, venom in his voice.
Lux smiled.
He quickly regained his composure, irked that he'd allowed her to get to him, and the cocky grin returned. He put his hand on Lux's lower back as they walked toward the door. His smile widened when he felt her tense up. "You can take the girl out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the girl."
Bad memories swam to the surface when she felt his touch. Lux wanted to scream, but attempted to look unfazed. "What are you doing at Westmonte?"
Brian laughed, knowing the truth would drive Lux crazy. "My football coach accused me of drinking and kicked me off the team. Can you believe it?"
Lux rolled her eyes.
"Neither could my parents," he continued. "When he refused to put me back on the team, they transferred me."
"Some things never change," Lux muttered.
Brian smiled, thrilled at her reaction. His hand slid down lower until he was touching Lux's butt. "See you around," he whispered into her ear.
Lux closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. When she finally regained her composure, she headed for Baze's.
"Hey." Bug smiled when Lux entered the bar.
Lux returned the smile and kissed Bug. He ran his hand down her back and she couldn't help but stiffen. He drew back. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Lux lied.
Bug looked unconvinced.
"I just had a bad day," Lux admitted. "I need to talk to Tasha. Can I borrow your bike?"
"Lux!" Tasha cried happily, running to greet her friend.
Lux broke down crying as soon as she saw her best friend. Tasha hugged Lux and waited, knowing Lux would tell her what was wrong when she was ready.
"Do you remember Brian?" Lux asked when she'd finally stopped crying.
"Kind of hard to forget him," Tasha muttered. "Why?"
"Guess who just transferred to Westmonte?" Lux said dryly.
Tasha bit her lip. "Does Bug know?"
"No, and he can't find out," Lux replied. "Last time Bug saw Brian he ended up in juvie. This time he would go to jail."
"Yeah, Brian rapes you and Bug ends up in juvie," Tasha said furiously.
"He still gets away with everything," Lux grumbled. "You know why he transferred? He got kicked off the football team for drinking."
"Let me guess. He told his parents he didn't do it and they believed him?" Tasha finished.
Fresh tears stung Lux's eyes, as she remembered the injustice of the last time Brian's parents had believed his lies.
Brian had told her they wouldn't believe her. She remembered his words after the first time he snuck into her room in the middle of the night. "They're my parents. Who are they going to believe? Their son? Or you? You're nothing to them. You're nothing to anyone."
