Curvy Girls Can't Date Bullies
Chapter One
THE HOUSE WAS SO QUIET my footsteps
echoed on the tile. My phone was just as silent in
my hand. I kept waiting for a call. A text. Something.
But I was running out of time. I pulled open the
front door and walked onto the porch.
How could both my parents forget my last first
day of school? Last year, Mom rolled out a break‐
fast buffet for my older sister, Ginger, and had her
stand on the porch for a picture while tears rolled
down my mom’s cheeks.
But today? My last first day?
Crickets.
I had a contraband pop tart in my backpack for
breakfast to prove it.
To be fair, my mom was in LA with my little
sisters while they filmed their first movie, and my
dad was working, but I hadn’t even gotten a text
message. No requests for so much as a selfie.
Just for myself, I extended my phone and turned
the camera on me. After tucking a loose red curl
behind my ear, I smiled for the picture. I didn’t
want to remember this day as the one when my
parents forgot about me. As the confirmation that I
would always be less important than my sisters. But
so far, we weren’t off to a great start.
Not only was it weird to drive without my sister
at my side, but I also took Mom’s minivan. She got
a brand-new car to shuttle the twins around, and I
inherited the “mom car,” which wouldn’t have been
bad at all if the rest of my classmates weren’t
driving sports cars. The second I reached the school
and looked around the Emerson Academy parking
lot, I could tell it would be a horrible first day—if
not, year.
I pulled into my designated spot farther from
the building—my parents hadn’t paid extra for a
closer spot—and looked around for my friend
Nadira. Unfortunately, her car was one I didn’t see.
I sent her a text telling her I’d meet her inside and
got out of the van.
The sun shone brightly in my face outside of
the tinted windows. At least the weather was nice,
but then again, it usually was in our part of Califor‐
nia. I saw a girl from the basketball team leaning
against a car’s bumper with her boyfriend and
waved. She grinned back and wiggled her fingers at
me before getting lost in him again.
I wished I had a guy to walk inside with me.
Maybe this would be my year for romance. My
sister Ginger had met her boyfriend after second
semester started, and they were still completely in
love.
Feeling a little more hopeful, I readjusted my
backpack and continued toward the doors. The
loud guffaws of stupid guys sounded a few feet
behind me, but I ignored them. No doubt freshman
boys discovering their armpits could make fart
sounds.
“Stop, please,” a girl’s voice said, and my
stomach went cold. I turned on the spot to see
Ryker Dugan and a group of football players
surrounding Faith Kelley.
My blood boiled as I watched his friends
pretend to corral her like a cow while Ryker sat
back and laughed.
“Get out of the chute, heifer,” his friend Grant
said.
She fell to her knees amidst their prodding. Of
course no one in the parking lot did or said
anything. Ryker was the king of this school. Senior
wide receiver, rich as the dessert aisle at my parents’
store, and hotter than sin.
I’d spent the last year watching him bully my
sister and wishing I could do something to stop him.
But Ginger always stood up for herself. When he
said something mean, she fought back harder. Faith
was too nice, and they were crushing her.
I dropped my backpack to the ground, my fists
clenching, and stormed up to them. “Stop it!” I
yelled forcefully. “Now.”
Ryker turned his gray eyes lazily on me, his lips
forming a perfectly pouty smirk. “Who’s going to
make us?”
This close to him, I realized how much taller he
was than me. At least six inches, which was rare
considering I stood at five-nine. Still, I put my
hands on my hips and stared him in the eyes. “Me.”
He laughed, a deep, derisive belly laugh that his
friends echoed.
My cheeks got hot, and I wished more than
anything my light skin didn’t show my blush so
quickly.
Ryker took another step forward, then another,
so his face was only inches from mine, but I didn’t
step back. I wasn’t going to be just another girl to
back down from his power trip. This was ending,
and it was ending now.
His head lowered, and his eyes flicked from
mine to my mouth. My stomach swooped in
response, then my lips curled in disgust at him and
myself. Ryker might have been attractive, but he
was ugly inside.
Those full lips parted, and my breath caught in
my chest. What was he doing?
He bypassed my mouth and leaned in, his
breath teasing my ear. “You think you’re going to
save her? Who’s going to save you?”
I sneered, stepping back from him. “I am.”
His eyes danced, lighting for the first time since
I’d seen him that morning. I looked away from him,
breaking the spell, and met Faith’s scared eyes
instead.
“Let’s get out of here,” I told her, reaching for
her hand.
Ryker put his hand on my arm. “You sure you
want to start this battle?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “No, I’m starting a
war.”
