Free So Trashy (Bad Boy Next Door Book 2) by Kelley Harvey Page A

by laughter.
    Lou didn’t hesitate. She plunged off through the trees,
following the sound.
    We dropped our bags a few yards into the woods, jumping
over brambles and brush as we went deeper. I almost ran Lou over when she
stopped. I grabbed her shoulders, and we stumbled to the edge of the line of
trees.
    Lonnie Fisher laughed as he pitched a rock at a
sad-looking lump of fur huddled on the creek bank, half in and half out of the
water. The pup yelped when the stone struck its back leg. Its eyes darted from
Lonnie to Darren Bledsoe standing on the far side of it, then at the creek rushing
behind it.
    Lonnie, a sophomore, was a year older and still bigger
than me. He was a helluva lot bigger than Lou. But that didn’t slow her one
bit. Before I could get hold of her, she thrashed through the last clump of
weeds, rushing Lonnie. He never saw her coming.
    With both hands, she shoved him into the creek. “You big
bully!”
    Darren pointed at Lonnie, laughing like an idiot.
    I pushed Lou behind me. “Get the dog, Lou. Let’s go.”
    Lou ran to the pup. “I got you. It’s gonna be okay.”
    Darren stepped into the water, like he was going to stop
her from taking the puppy. She waded to him and jumped a bit like she was going
to head butt him, faking him out. He fell on his ass with a splash.
    She nodded. “Good. Stay there.”
    Lonnie dragged himself to the bank, muddy to his elbows,
his eyes hard as stones. “You can’t leave with that dog. He’s mine.”
    Lou turned her body, as though shielding the sopping pup
from Lonnie. “No, he’s not. You don’t deserve him.”
    Lonnie climbed from the creek, dripping and red in the
face. “You little bitch whore—just like your momma.”
    My fist balled and my gut hardened.
    “Lou, run.” I glared at Lonnie. “Don’t talk to her that
way.”
    He laughed. “Oh, and what are you gonna do about it? Her momma’s
a whore and Loula Mae’s gonna be the same thing. Everybody knows it. Maybe
someday I’ll make her my whore.”
    I jumped at Lonnie, taking my best shot at his face.
    He grabbed my shoulders and tried to throw me aside. I
dug in my heels, gripping his arms and wrestling him to the ground. But he
managed to flip me over and punched me in the eye. Pain flared through my brain.
    I managed to get him off me and stand. We exchanged a few
more punches before he got in another headshot, knocking my scrawny ass to the
ground. Lonnie and Darren ran after Lou.
    I staggered up and darted into the woods after them. I
ran and ran until my side hurt and my lungs burned. But I couldn’t find Lou
anywhere.
    I eventually sat on a stump, head in my hands.
    God, please don’t let Lonnie find her.
    A few minutes after I gave up, a whisper floated to me on
the breeze. “Buck. Buck. Look.”
    I turned this way and that, trying to find her, but still
I couldn’t see her. A little branch bounced off my leg. I twisted to see where
it came from. There she was, up a tree, grinning like a possum eatin’ peaches.
She waved at me with the puppy’s paw.
    I stood.
    She tucked the pup under one arm and worked her way down
the limbs.
    She dropped the last few feet, rolling into the leaves,
puppy sprawling over her belly. When it licked her chin, she giggled and
reached for my hand, pulling me down to join them.
    I edge out from under Tuffy.
    He lets out a small whine, his tail thumping the hardwood
floor.
    I step over him and head to my room. Too bad Lou’s never
half as happy to see me as she is to see Tuffy.
    A throat clearing behind me pulls me up short. “Buck?”
    “Yeah, Pops?” I reach around the door frame and switch on
the light.
    Pops holds out a handful of yellow sticky notes. “Someone
named Adrianne keeps calling.”
    I clench my teeth. “You mean Arianne.”
    “Adrianne—Arianne, whichever. She really wants to talk to
you. Must’ve called here at least thirty times today.”
    “Fuck.”
    “Who is she?” Pops scratches his forehead.
    “Arianne is…lesson