Free No Second Chances by Marissa Farrar Page A

upset you.”
    I’d said the wrong thing. Her expression dropped. “He asked you to eat lunch with him?”
    “Err, yeah, but just in a friendly way. There’s nothing going on,” I said again, sounding like a broken record.
    “I thought you said he’d asked us to the band practice the other day because he liked me?”
    I realized I’d given her the wrong idea then, too. “Well, no, not exactly. I said he’d invited me to band practice and told me to bring some friends if I wanted. I assumed he was just using me to get to you. I mean, all the guys at Willowbrook High try to hit on you.”
    Her eyebrows shot up her forehead. “No, they don’t!”
    “Yeah, they do. What’s not to like?”
    “I could say the same thing about you.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please.”
    “Anyway, I’m not talking about lots of guys. I’m talking about one guy who I thought liked me, and now apparently likes my BFF instead.”
    I threw up my hands. “He doesn’t like me! He just invited me somewhere, and then I stopped him and asked him a question, so he put his arm over my shoulders while we walked. None of that is definitive proof of someone liking someone else.”
    She didn’t look convinced, and I had to admit, a thread of doubt had even started to weave its way inside me. Why had he invited me to his band practice if it hadn’t been to hit on either Taylor or Jas? Was it just that he’d spotted me sitting on the grass, with my skirt too short and riding up my thighs, and I’d looked like an easy target?
    My face heated. Shit. Did he think I was easy? Had someone else said something?
    The total opposite was true, but you never knew what sort of stories were going around the rumor mill. But yet, if that was the case, why did he barely acknowledge me at practice the other night? Did Cole think flirting with a girl’s friend was one way of getting her attention?
    “Hello?” Taylor said, continuing our argument. “I think you’re kidding yourself. But if you don’t even like the guy, maybe you can move out of the way for someone who actually does?”
    What was she asking me? That I shouldn’t have any contact with Cole so she could step in? There wasn’t even anything to step into, yet for some reason the thought of giving Taylor the green light made me uneasy. Taylor always got what she wanted, and the idea of her getting Cole suddenly twisted me up inside.
    She must have noticed my hesitation or recognized the expression of doubt I felt sure was on my face.
    “You do like him, don’t you? Jeez, Gabi. So you’re going after my leftovers now? How about coming over to my house and going through the trash as well?”
    I felt like she’d slapped me. “What?”
    “You heard me. These aren’t exactly the behaviors of a best friend, Gabi!”
    And with that, she spun on her heels and stormed off down the hall.
    People were sniggering behind their hands, exchanging glances and whispering to each other. I’d just about had enough of being the hall gossip for the time being. I’d spent most of my high school life being invisible, and I didn’t want that to change any time soon.
    It seemed as though if Cole Devonport was in my life that was exactly what would happen.

 
    Chapter Twelve
     
     
    Gabi - Eleven Years Earlier
     
     
     
    To delay going home, I’d spent most of the evening studying in the library.
    When eventually I forced myself back to the house, I discovered the front door wide open. I paused, my heartrate instantly picking up, climbing into my throat. It wasn’t like my dad to leave the door open. Did we have an intruder? I knew he was off tonight, and I thought he’d be catching up on some sleep after working nights for the last few shifts.
    Then I realized his vehicle was missing from the driveway. He must have gone out, but then why would he have left the front door wide open? Security was normally one of his things.
    “Hello?” I called out, not sure if I wanted a response or not. If a