REBEL, a New Adult Romance Novel (The Rebel Series) (5 page)

“What the hell?” he says.
 
His mouth falls open as he takes in the scene before him.

The first sliver of fear sneaks into my heart.
 
“What?
 
Are you mad?
 
Will Rebel be mad?”

He doesn’t answer me.
 
His gaze roams the room and only stops when it gets to me.

My heart experiences a painful spasm at his expression.
 
“Please don’t tell me he’s going to fire me.”

A slight grin appears.
 
It might hold pity; it’s hard to tell in the dim light of the last remaining functioning bulb.
 
“He didn’t even hire you.
 
How’s he supposed to fire you?”

I give him the cheesiest grin I’ve ever concocted in my life.
 
“But I’ve earned a shot, right?
 
I mean, this shit is good, right?”

He shakes his head.
 
“You don’t know Rebel. Better prepare yourself.”

I want to tell him to wait, to not call out for my ultimate doom, but it’s too late.
 
He’s already shouting out into the main room.
 
“Yo, Rebel!
 
Better come in here.”

My fight or flight instinct kicks in.
 
I probably should run, but my poverty acts like cement in my shoes, keeping me stuck in place.
 
Guess I better be prepared to fight.

I square my shoulders and hold my breath as the Muscle God of Muscle Cars appears in the entrance to the office.
 
First he looks at the floor.
 
Then at the desk that is now empty except for the one pitiful bulbless lamp I found.
 
His last look is for me.
 
His face is mostly blank, but it’s possible I see steam starting to come from one of his ears.
 
Or maybe it’s just the haze of my tears making it look that way.

I’m prepared to stammer my way through an explanation, through my case for hiring me, but I never get the chance.
 
He turns and walks back into the car bay, leaving me there with the butthead skinny guy who at least has the decency to look sick for me.

“Sorry,” he says.
 
“Rebel’s kind of a hardass.”

“Yeah.
 
I noticed.” I snatch my keys from the desktop and take off, waiting until I’m out on the main road before breaking down in tears.

CHAPTER NINE

MY PHONE RINGS AS I’M getting close to Perry’s house.
 
I don’t recognize the number of the caller, so I don’t answer it.
 
I’m hiccuping too hard to speak anyway.
 
I’ve been crying so much I’m ready to vomit.
 
As soon as the voicemail alert goes off, I press the button and let the message play over the cell’s speaker.

“Hi, uh, Teagan? This is Melody from the dorm.
 
You have a package here.
 
Some delivery guy dropped it off.
 
I’m going to leave it in the break room behind the television.
 
I don’t want to leave it out where someone will just take it, but I’m heading out, so I can’t keep it for you.
 
You probably heard, but we had a weird break-in yesterday and so now we’re on some lock-down thing.
 
Anyway, hope things are going good for you.
 
Sorry about your dad.
 
Bye.”

Staring out the window, waiting for the light to change, I make a split-second decision.
 
I’m so not in the mood to go to Perry’s and face the doom that is my life, so I put on my turn signal and take a right instead of going straight.
 
Might as well see what this mystery package is all about.

Maybe there’ll be a pile of money inside it and I’ll be able to stop cleaning shithole offices for free in a sad attempt to get a job.
 
The idea, as unlikely as it is to be true, brightens my spirits.
 
By the time I arrive at the dormitory parking lot, I’m almost back to my old self.

I wait for someone to come out so I can get inside.
 
I forfeited my keys when I moved out; I guess Melody forgot that little detail.
 
Taking the steps because the elevator is once more out of order, I get to the second floor and make a beeline for the break room, hoping I won’t see anyone I know.
 
Talking to an actual person right now would probably be a really bad idea; I’m not in a good place at all.

Behind the television rests a padded manila envelope.
 
As I walk back to the stairwell with it in hand, I push its contents around and squeeze it a little. There’s something hard inside and maybe some paper.
 
Dammit.
 
Not a pile of money.
 
There’s no return address either, just my name and my address and a postmark from California.
 
My heart skips a beat when I take in the name of the town.
 
My father’s office is located there.

Now my heart is beating rapidly.
 
I half run, half walk to my car.
 
Once inside, I tear the envelope open from the end.
 
I have no idea what could possibly be inside this thing, but it could very well be the last words my father will ever share with me.
 
Or maybe it’s a check.
 
It could be a check that will send me out of poverty and into the first awesome summer I’ve ever had.

When I tip the envelope sideways, something hard falls into my lap and a folded piece of paper flutters down on top of it.
 
Lifting the paper, I find a toy car in my lap.
 
There is no check.

“What the … fuck?”
 
I check the envelope for more, but this is it.
 
A car and a note.
 
It’s like some kind of sick joke.

I chew my lip.
 
Maybe it’s not from my father.
 
Maybe it’s one of those home shopping channels that sent me something I ordered.
 
Did I HSWD again?
 
Home-shopping-while-drunk has happened to me in the past, I’m ashamed to say.
 
I still remember the day I opened up a box I got in the mail and screamed because I thought someone had sent me a severed head.
 
Turns out it was just a wig I bought, but still.
 
I swore to never do that again, and Quin has been very good about intervening when she sees me watching the wrong channels on television.
 
I cannot believe I would have HSWDed for a toy car.

I open the letter and read the words inside.
 
My heart sinks when I realize immediately that the note is written in my father’s chicken scratch.

Teagan. I mailed this to you for safekeeping.
 
It’s very, very important to me.
 
Please keep it safe and don’t tell anyone you have it.
 
- Dad.

My jaw clenches and my throat closes.
 
I’m not sure if I’m suffering a breakdown or about to spontaneously combust; both are equally possible.

When my head finally stops spinning, I roar like a wounded lion.
 
I want to punch the window, but I’ve already broken enough of my poor Beetle today, so I throw the toy car as hard as I can into the back instead. It bounces off the seat and lands somewhere on the floor.
 
I huff and puff through my screams as I try to get control of myself.

I cannot believe that this is the best that bastard could do for me.
 
He effed me over for a piece of ass leaving me penniless, and now, because of him, my best-case life scenario is the asscar driver deciding to make me his ho.
 
At least then I’d have a place to stay.

I’m only half conscious of turning the ignition on and racing out of the parking lot.
 
Thank God for auto-pilot because I somehow make it to Perry’s place without killing anyone or myself.

Taking the steps two at a time, I get to the apartment and barge in, ignoring Perry’s questioning gaze and locking myself in the bathroom.
 
This will be my bedroom tonight. I just cannot bear the idea of sleeping out on his couch where anyone walking in the door will be able to see me being the desperate loser I am.

CHAPTER TEN

THERE’S A TAPPING AT THE door.
 
I lift my head off the side of the tub and listen to my friend’s voice.

“Teag … it’s me.
 
Quin.
 
Open the door.”

I don’t say anything at first, hoping she’ll give up, but I wipe the drool off my chin because I know her better than that.

“I’ll break this damn door down.”
 
She sounds about as stern as Quin ever does.

Perry’s voice comes through the door.
 
“You can’t break my door!
 
You’ll pay for it!”

“Shut up, Earnhardt.”

“Why are you calling me … ?
 
Oh, man. That’s … fuck you, Quin.
 
Fuck you.”

She’s giggling and I can’t help but smile along with her.
 
Perry needs to leave the country because no one will ever forget that he put a car in his ass.

That thought brings back the reason I’ve taken over the bathroom as my new bedroom and I get depressed all over again.
 
I’m afraid I’m going to have to offer him a BJ soon so I have somewhere to sleep that’s not on the street.

“Go away, Quin. I don’t want company.”

“I’m not company.
 
I’m me.
 
Now open up or you’ll force me to do very bad things.
 
Desperate things.”

I can’t help but be curious about that.
 
“What kind of desperate are we talking?”

Her voice comes right at the crack of the door.
 
“I’ll tell Perry you want to see the car.”

Because I know she’s dead serious, and because I know I will vomit if I see that car, I get up and unlock the door.
 
I’m leaning against the wall, still sitting on the floor, when she comes in.

She shuts the door behind her and sits next to me.
 
We’re both facing the sink, and it’s really, really dirty.

“So.
 
What’s the scoop, poop?
 
What’s up with the pity party?”

I shove her with my elbow.
 
“It’s not a pity party.
 
It’s my life, okay?
 
And it sucks.”

“Iiii’m pretty sure that’s the definition of a pity party.”

“Bite me.”

“Maybe later.
 
What happened with the job hunting?”

“You don’t want to know.”

She shoves me back with her elbow.
 
“Yes, I do, tell me.”

I sigh heavily, my breath coming out a little shaky as the memories of my shame assail me.
 
“I went into several places and got rejected by all of them.”

“Where? The mall? Department stores or independent ones?
 
Because I was thinking, maybe you should shoot lower to start.
 
Just until you get on your feet.
 
Everyone’s looking for summer jobs right now and you’re kind of starting late.”

I’m almost too embarrassed to tell her about my day.
 
Dropping my face into my hands in an attempt to keep the tears at bay, I explain.
 
“I struck out at the mall, so I went downtown.”

“Downtown … like to all the ritzy businesses?”

“No.
 
That’s uptown, dingleberry.
 
I went
downtown
.”

“Oooohhhh.
 
Like to the promised land? The land of the golden teeth?”

“Yes. Exactly.”
 
I lift my face up and breathe in loud and long through my nose.
 
“That’s the place.”

“And they rejected you?”

“Yep.”
 
My face heats up a little.
 
I can’t look at her.

Her voice gets softer.
 
“Oh.
 
That sucks donkey dong.”

“Yeah, and it’s not the worst part.”

“Please tell me you didn’t sleep with any of them.”

I elbow her, but keep my eyes forward.
 
“If I had thought it would help, I might have considered it.
 
But no, my virginity is intact.”

She snorts as she laughs.

“You know what I mean.
 
My virginity of the day.”

“Oh, okay.
 
You didn’t pop your cherry of the day.
 
That makes more sense.”

“Jesus, Quin, you act like I’m some kind of ho-bag running around and sleeping with every guy on campus.”
 
I finally look at her, too fake-offended to ignore her stupid face anymore.

“We both know what a ho-bag you are, so stop playing.
 
Tell me what happened.
 
Where did you look for a job?”

Another heavy sigh later and I’m ready to share.
 
“A pawn shop, a laundromat, and a car repair place.”

She’s laughing before I’m even done.
 
“A pawn shop?
 
Are you
serious?”

I’m half laughing with her and half mad.
 
“What the fuck, Quin.
 
I’m desperate!”

Shaking her head, she stands.
 
“You are not
that
desperate.
 
Come with me.”

“Where are we going?” I ask, taking her hand and standing with her.

“Wash your face and brush your hairy teeth.
 
We’re going out.”

“I’m not going anywhere.
 
I have a depression to tend to.”

“Nope.
 
Not gonna happen.
 
Come on, I got my birthday money early.”