Toxic Bad Boy by April Brookshire Read Free Book Online Page B

didn’t want to stress about
whether she’d like my present. Half the time I was with the youth
corrections therapist was spent discussing Gianna. Not having met
her, my therapist could only guess at Gianna’s mental health. Dr.
Adler explained how avoidance was normal behavior after an
assault.
    Patience was getting
old.
    Gripping the handles of
the gift bag, I followed Ian out of our cell to line up for
breakfast. From the cafeteria, anyone with visitors would be led to
the visiting room and the rest would be taken outside to the
basketball courts or gym.
    I practically shoved the
pancakes down my throat in my hurry to finish breakfast. A guard
began calling out the names of inmates with visitors waiting. If
Gianna didn’t show, I’d lose my shit. I could not go another day
without seeing her face, breathing in her presence.
    The last four months have
been complete shit. I needed a strong dose of my girl to get me
through the rest of my sentence.
     
    GIANNA
     
    I’d been afraid to walk
inside the building. Gage had driven me to the youth corrections
facility Caleb was locked up in and waited in his car outside. I
was both elated and dreading seeing my boyfriend.
    The pep talk Gage had
given me before I’d come inside was a borderline scolding. I didn’t
like to think of myself as weak, but hadn’t I proved it when I’d
allowed Josh to hurt me? Hadn’t I proved it when I’d gotten my
loving boyfriend imprisoned?
    Gage had offered to
accompany me inside, but only family was allowed to visit the
inmates. As I waited for Caleb inside the large visitation room, I
considered how fast my friendship with Gage had evolved. After that
first day a week and a half ago, we’d hung out constantly. It was
obvious Gage only wanted a platonic relationship and the safety in
that was a relief. He’d even come to watch practice with the crew
last Saturday.
    I was half convinced Caleb
was about to dump me. I’d styled my hair for the first time in
months. I wore an old pair of jeans, but went shopping earlier this
week for a new blue sweater. I thought it was cute, but now that I
was here, I worried it was boring. There was another girl around my
age wearing a red dress I would’ve thought too sexy for a prison
visit. Her matching lipstick was a lot bolder than the pink lip
gloss I’d applied to my own mouth.
    I’d come clean with Gage
about what happened with Josh. Before driving me here, he’d wanted
to know what my boyfriend and Ian had done to wind up in juvie. I’d
have liked to introduce Caleb to Gage. I didn’t want Caleb to think
there was more than friendship between me and my new guy
friend.
    Then again, Caleb could
end up dumping me today and it would no longer be an
issue.
    Getting through the
security checkpoints had been more involved than I would’ve
thought. A guard had rifled through my purse and jacket pockets,
even searching the box of chocolates I’d brought for Caleb, before
patting me down. It’d been a female guard, so it didn’t seem too
intrusive.
    From what I’d seen of the
facility, the place was a little dismal. Everything seemed so cold
and orderly. I hated that Caleb was stuck in here. The visitation
room was filled with small tables scattered in the center and
benches lining one side of the room. The motivational posters
covering one wall had mountains, a kitten and a rocky beach on
them.
    The one titled Courage with a picture
of a penguin jumping off an iceberg cliff fitted my cowardly
feelings. If a penguin could jump off a cliff into freezing water,
surely I could face the guy I loved.
    Some moments were so
important they burned into a girl’s memory forever. After so long
apart, meeting Caleb’s hazel eyes across the visitation room
instantly became one of those.
     
    CALEB
     
    The kid behind me nudged
my shoulder as I stood still in the doorway. It had taken only a
heartbeat for me to recognize her, despite the darker hair. She
looked incredibly beautiful.
    She also