Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
So far, we’d managed to avoid that uncomfortable scenario, and I planned on keeping it that way.
I was going to do this. I was going to go to this elegant party, chit chat about some of my work in the sculpture garden, then swoop in for the financial kill. Together, Vali and I would convince these generous people that A Kid’s Best Friend was a wonderful charity, worthy of their investment. In order to bolster my courage, I allowed myself to daydream about how happy the kids would be when they got their service dogs—companions that could literally save their lives. Just the thought of being blind…or having epilepsy and being in the foster care system made my heart ache.
The murmuring hum of what sounded like a large crowd grew even louder. In many ways, it reminded me of the sound of a gymnasium full of kids. Less screaming and shrieking, but still the same sound that only a large group of people could make. I tried to keep from flashing back to my disastrous attempt at high school, to force my mind to think about anything but a gymnasium.
I wanted to forget the day that one of the girls I’d thought was my friend exposed me to the school for the monstrosity I really was. I should have known my supposed-friend was a fake, should have figured out that she wasn’t really cool with her ex-boyfriend trying to hook up with me. Unfortunately, I was so sheltered, I didn’t have the same social skills as other kids, so when she’d pretended to be my friend, I’d believed her.
Never in a million years did I think she’d hold me down with her popular girl squad and scrub at my face with a makeup wipe in the stands during a pep rally. Even in my worst dreams I couldn’t have imagined she’d point out to everyone that I was a freak. I could still feel the eyes of a thousand kids filling the bleachers, all watching me as I ran crying out of the gym. Of course the girl was punished, and the whole school had to attend an anti-bullying lecture, but the damage was done.
Everyone knew I was different, revolting, and those kids who had pretended to be my friend when I wore my makeup were some of the worst once my secret was exposed. The whispers, the exclusion, the taunts and shoving. They called me hamburger face, pretended I had a contagious disease, and would pinch and trip me when no adults were watching. Kids could be incredibly cruel. All too easily, I could remember the feeling of sitting alone at a cafeteria table while it felt like the entire lunchroom whispered about me, teachers included. I lasted a week at the school after that before the bullying got so bad, I had to quit and return to homeschooling.
My poor adoptive parents. I think the bullying hurt them even more than it hurt me.
“Layla?” Diego asked in his smooth, lightly accented voice. “Are you okay?”
I sucked in a deep breath, forcing my mind back on the present. “What? Yes, I’m fine. Why?”
He made a show of prying my fingers off his arm with an exaggerated wince. “I think you cut off circulation to my hand.”
Flushing with embarrassment, I took a step away. “Sorry. I was, uh, spacing out. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
He smiled, his white teeth flashing in his tanned face. “You didn’t hurt me, chica. Takes more than your tiny muscles to wound a big stud like myself.”
I couldn’t help but giggle at his wiggling eyebrows and puffed up chest.
Taking his arm again, I glanced behind us to Leo and Hannah. The pair quietly talked as they walked together. They’d suggested we use the back entrance, so I didn’t have to walk through the gauntlet of media covering the event. As Diego’s arm-candy for the evening, I would’ve been mostly ignored, but Vali’s presence with his working vest would draw attention. I might be able to handle a crowded room under controlled conditions, but being on camera and giving an interview was way beyond my comfort zone.
Diego cleared his throat as he set his hand over mine. “I think you should know before we get there, Mark is here. And he’s pissed.”
I stopped walking, staring at my escort as Hannah sighed in displeasure. “Diego, I told you not to say anything! I didn’t want her any more worried than she already is.”
Diego lifted one brow in a look of perfect disdain. “And I told you I don’t want her to be blindsided by his appearance. Or by his attitude.”
“He won’t throw attitude with her.” Hannah glanced down the hallway. “Besides, he may be here, but he might just hide from her all night. He’s done it before.”