Fighting to Survive (Guarded Hearts Book 3) Read Free Page B

friends.
    After living through the Spanish Inquisition and taking a shower, I’m lying in bed, trying to fall asleep. All I can think of is Shawn and the way he kissed me earlier. I can hear my phone buzzing on the end table and reach over to grab it.
    Shawn: Goodnight beautiful.
    I smile so big I feel like one of those creepy clown dolls. Should I reply to him? What the heck do I say to that? I decide to text him back a simple goodnight with a smiley face. As soon as I hit send I regret it. A smiley face? What am I, in high school? My phone buzzes again.
    Shawn: Do you want to meet for lunch tomorrow? My classes are done at 1.
    Me: Ok, do you want to meet at the fountain?
    Shawn: Sure, I’ll see you then, Princess.
    Princess? Holly and the girls usually call me Princess as a joke. I’m really not sure how I feel about Shawn calling me that. It’s the girls’ way of making fun of me for having money growing up. To anyone on the outside I probably look like the picture of a trust fund baby. My mom and dad definitely have a lot of money, and I do have a trust fund, but I try not to live like it. I haven’t ever touched my trust fund, and even though my dad deposits an obnoxious amount of money into my bank account on a regular basis, I don’t use most of it.
    Growing up in my house was easy financially, but that was about the only easy part. My parents constantly fought with each other, and it only stopped when they both started seeing other people on the side. They kept up appearances at the country club my dad belonged to because public image was everything to my mother. I was told on a daily basis how my most important job was to find a suitable husband who came from a “good” family. The fact that I actually want to get an education and work for a living drives my mother insane.
    I dread having to go home for break because I know that’s all she is going to talk about. ‘Why are you wasting your time at school, Cece?’ ‘Why don’t you come to the club more, Cece?’ ‘Cece, Scott Jameson is a perfect match for you.’ My mother insists on calling me Cece and pushing me on Scott, who in my opinion, is slimier than a slug. Every time my parents force me to go to the club with them, we just ‘happen’ to run into him.
    I decide to go to bed hoping that it will give me some break from my own thoughts. The entire time I’m trying to fall asleep, all I can think of is Shawn and what might happen tomorrow.

Chapter Three
     
Shawn
     
    “So, you’re really going to try to start something with her? You know if you screw it up Holly is going to beat your ass, Christen is like her sister.”
    “Thanks for the pep talk, J, you really know how to build a brother up.” I came to Jason for advice on how to handle this whole relationship thing. The reason I came to him is because he’s the last person I could ever see making one work, yet somehow he did. I think the main reason for that is Nicole. She always calls him on his shit and doesn’t let him get away with half of what he’s used to doing.
    “Listen, I’m just telling you to be careful. I know the pressure because Mads gave me the threatening talk when I started dating Nic.” We all thought he would screw it up, which would have been bad for everyone involved. He and Nicole still aren’t home free. All of the drama of having his mom be such a presence is not easy on them. Jason hasn’t been back to Nicole’s house, and neither has she, since the night they figured out who her stepmother is.
    As we’re walking up to the fountain where I’m meeting Christen, we see Nicole in a heated “discussion” with Stacey. We both look at each other, knowing there’s no way this will end well. Stacey has tried to break up Nicole and Jason multiple times, so saying that they have issues is an understatement.
    “Hey, guys, what’s going on?” Mads walks up and when she sees what we’re watching she just sighs. “What the hell is she doing? She’s just as