Free Anywhere But Here by Stephanie Hoffman McManus Page A

you’re not nearly as irritating as they can be sometimes, but keep that to yourself.”
    I laughed out loud. “I don’t think that’s any big secret, except maybe to themselves. I’m just surprised to hear you say it.”
    “Because I’m one of them?”
    “Well, yeah.”
    She let out a soft sigh. “Doesn’t mean I’m like them.”
    I was beginning to see that. Cammie Carlisle, her best friend, was a crazy bitch. Stuck up as hell, except when she was naked, and even then I’d only gone there the one time because I was drunk and she was hot and as wild in bed as she was annoying out of bed. That was pretty much par for the course with those girls though, and Jeremy and his football buddies were giant dicks. Probably because they had small ones. So the fact that Shae was not only tolerable, but actually kind of interesting, and funny and not a bitch, was unexpected to say the least. Not to mention that she was easily the most gorgeous girl at this school.

Nine
     
    Shae
     
    April 30
    Present . . .
     
    My phone ringing and someone knocking at the door was not how I wanted to be woken up on a Saturday morning after a late Friday night. Even worse was the wine hangover from the bottle I may or may not have drained. Okay, I definitely drank the whole bottle when I got home last night.
    The ringing phone was the first problem I addressed, and when I saw my mother’s number flashing on the screen, a quick swipe to the left took care of that.
    Now to deal with the cruel and hateful person banging on the door, at this ungodly– ugh I didn’t even know what time it was. Almost noon. Shit. I guess they weren’t evil. I was just more pathetic than I realized.
    I dragged myself out of bed and yanked a sweatshirt from my overflowing suitcase. Careful of the tender spot on my back, I pulled it on over the skimpy tank top I slept in and trudged my way to the front door. A peek through the peephole had me silently cursing even as I reached for the door to open it.
    Shit. Damn. Fuck.
    “Hey Trinity,” I said brightly, forcing myself to come to terms with the fact that Kellen’s little sister was standing on the front porch, so very grown up looking compared to the teenager I used to know.
    “Hi.” She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me. I returned the gesture, and something inside my chest started melting. Shit. I’d managed seven years without feeling guilty about leaving, only because I’d refused to think about the people I’d cut out of my life that hadn’t deserved to be left behind and forgotten like that.
    “Do you want to come in?” I asked when we pulled apart.
    “Only if I’m not bothering you.”
    I let out a soft laugh. “As you can probably tell, I wasn’t doing anything important. I have an appointment later today, but it’d be great to catch up.”
    She looked relieved and guilt swamped me again as I led her into Didi’s living room. Trinity had been the sweetest girl, and she was nearly as devastated as I was when things turned sour between me and her brother.
    “How have you been?” I asked as we both took seats on the large sofa.
    “Good, and you? It’s been so long.”
    My chest deflated. “I know. I’m sorry.”
    “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I just– it’s good to see you. I definitely missed you, but I understood.” Seven years had done nothing to change that she was still the same sweet girl.
    “I’m still sorry and I’d really like to hear what you’ve been up to.”
    We talked for quite a while, slowly falling back into an easy and comfortable dialogue. She’d graduated from Coastal University here in town last spring and was finishing up her student teaching at one of the elementary schools before she became a certified teacher. It was so good to hear that she’d been doing well and was on a good path. I was really proud of her and could only imagine how proud Kellen was. Despite what he’d done to me, he was a good brother to Trinity. He sacrificed