Page 11 of Sellout

“Henley, hey.”

My stomach muscles clench as he says my name. I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear, closing my locker. I look down at my feet for a second before looking up into his bright blue eyes. “Hey.” My voice comes out softer than I intended. I clear my throat.

He stuffs his hands into the front pocket of his jeans. “So, uh, you’re from New York, right?”

I nod.

“Did you have a lot of friends there?” he asks.

I look down as I answer. “No. No friends.”

“At all?”

I shake my head, daring to look into his blue eyes.

He furrows his brows. “Any family?”

“Just my dad.” I shift my weight. “He adopted me when I was born. He’s the only family I’ve got.”

His eyes widen. “You were adopted?”

I nod.

“What about your birth parents?”

I shrug. “I don’t know who they are. But they can’t be any good if they just left me. It doesn’t matter anyway. My dad looks out for me.”

Henley…

She’s talking to Parker.

I should say hi to her. I bet she’s friendly.

Oh, my gosh. Parker is talking to her.

Henley…

My ears begin to ring.

Parker says something, but I can’t hear it over the voices swimming in my head. He reaches out a hand, touching my arm. Instantly, the voices vanish.

Touching him is almost euphoric.

I sigh.

“Are you okay?”

I nod. “Fine.”

He frowns. “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Why do you say you’re fine when you’re clearly not fine?” He huffs. “Your nose is bleeding.”

I cover my nose with my hand and reach into my backpack with the other, pulling out a couple of tissues. I put it to my nose. “Sorry.”

“Is that normal for you?” Parker asks.