Reason and Romance (River Valley Book 1) by Jenn Young Read Free Book Online Page A

that it had been downright insulting. He’d stood back and let his friends jump on her during the party. No, he didn’t have any decency.
    “He hasn’t been nice to me from the first moment we met,” she finished.
    Travis nodded thoughtfully. “Have you been nice to him?”
    A line creased her forehead. She didn’t have a mirror handy, but she could feel the frown setting in between her eyebrows. It was a question that disturbed her more than she cared to explain. As things stood now, she had two choices. She could either knuckle under to Alex’s social dominance, just like Nicky had done, or blaze her lonely path alone in the shark-infested waters here.
    Depressed, she leaned her head against the wall. In the end, there really was no choice to be made because it already had been made.
    Once again, the dean was too busy to see her, so when the bell rang for second period, she and Travis parted ways. Sad to say, he was probably the only friend she had right now. And even that was questionable.
    The next few classes were miserable. Word about her confrontation with Mr. Melbourne had gotten out because her classmates left an island of empty space all around her.
    Subtle, those kids.
    Lunch was even worse. She staked her spot on the grass outside the cafeteria. At this rate, she’d bake in the torrid heat, but dying from sunburn and dehydration actually seemed like appealing options. Anything would be better than sitting in the cafeteria utterly alone, with everyone else eyeing her like a fresh piece of meat.
    She checked her cell phone. Still no messages from Jason.
    Her shoulders slumped just for an instant before she remembered she was sitting in the open courtyard. Head high, shoulders straight. She wasn’t about to let those little monsters see any weaknesses, let alone one.
    They were all watching her. Every time she looked up from her phone or from her food, she could actually feel their gazes skittering away. Pity, fascination, cruelty, disdain—it was all there in their faces, and she felt every one of them. They weren’t even bothering to hide the fact they were talking about her because she could hear them just fine.
    “I heard Montgomery’s future stepsister wrote, like, this paper …”
    “She’s practically a pro-Nazi …”
    Justin Latimer fell into step with her when she got up to throw away her untouched lunch. She’d only picked at her sandwich, but at least she’d finished her water bottle. That had to count for something.
    “Yes?” she said.
    He flashed that quick smile she’d seen earlier in their AP English class. “Um, yeah, maybe you don’t remember me? We met at Alex’s mom’s party. My name’s Justin. I have a twin sister.” He turned and gestured at Bri.
    Since his sister was literally standing right behind him, tapping her foot and openly scowling, Adrian had the distinct feeling Bri wasn’t her biggest fan.
    “I know who you are,” Adrian said.
    Justin ran a hand through his hair. “Oh. Well, um, I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”
    “Sorry about what?”
    “Melbourne taking it out on you, I mean. So, yeah, you know, I feel bad and if there’s anything I can do …” He shifted his weight. “Look, I’m not saying this right. There’s this place near school. We always go there for burgers and fries. Milkshakes, that kind of thing. It’s a popular hangout. You want to come?”
    Much to her shame, her eyes began to burn. Yes, yes, yes.
    God, she wanted to throw her arms around him. How long had it been since someone had been friendly to her? Travis, yes, but he was only one person. She hadn’t seen him anywhere in the cafeteria; otherwise, she might have been tempted to talk to him some more. Her sister Nicky had abandoned her for greener pastures, so there was no real comfort forthcoming from that quarter. Justin, on the other hand … he’d waved at her yesterday, she remembered. He’d even smiled at her today. Maybe, just maybe.
    The sight of Alex cleared