Circle of Lies (Red Ridge Pack) by Sara Dailey, Staci Weber

not care.
    My damn brain just needed to inform my pathetic heart of that fact.
    *****
    I noticed him right away as I walked into school. He stood on the stairs at the main entrance, completely surrounded by a mob of eligible and even a few supposedly not-so-eligible girls. The scene made me want to throw up. How could I even be on his radar when half the junior and senior classes were vying for his attention?
    I pretended not to see him, walking right past like I had somewhere to go. I didn’t, of course, but thankfully the library was always open.
    Just as I got the door open I heard, “Teagan, wait up!” Aiden’s voice was unmistakable, smooth like silk but with the slightest bit of a Texas twang. Door in hand, I turned to see him hurrying my way.
    “How’d you manage to escape the paparazzi?” I asked, then immediately wished I hadn’t. It only proved that I’d noticed, and where I had been meant to sound playful, my delivery was way bitchy.
    Aiden stood there, only a few feet away, and he looked down at his feet. I glanced down as well to see if I was missing anything. No, nothing. What was he doing? What did he want from me?
    His eyes rose to meet mine, and I instantly turned to mush—but I refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing it. Trying desperately to appear as if he had no effect, I shrewdly asked, “So, what’s up? You chase me down for a reason?”
    Unintentional hostility oozed from my words, and again I regretted it. I wanted desperately to know what he wanted, but now he looked like I’d kicked his puppy. His gaze returned to the floor then flashed off down the hallway.
    “Never mind. Maybe I’ll catch you later.”
    Nicely done, Rhodes. Run him off. Why had I been such a bitch?
    He turned to walk away, and I couldn’t help myself. My hand reached out to lightly grab his arm. “Hey, sorry. It’s been a bad morning. I didn’t mean to be rude,” I said.
    He didn’t respond. With a small defeated smile, he turned and walked away.
    Had I really just hurt his feelings? Aiden Wright was that fragile? Now I felt even worse. I wanted to scream, “I’m protecting myself from the inevitable. If I let you into my life, I’ll end up gluing the pieces of heart back together until I’m thirty.” I couldn’t have been more certain of anything in my life. Still, the next time Aiden talked to me—if there was a next time—I wasn’t going to screw things up. I was going to be bubbly and sweet. Well, maybe not bubbly, but I’d at least try my best not to be a total jerk.
    I went inside the library and tried to work, but Aiden’s expression haunted me. He’d actually wanted to talk to me instead of all the girls who seemed to follow him everywhere, and I’d totally given him the cold shoulder. What the hell was wrong with me?
    Because I’d forgotten, my logical side reminded me: He’s not the one for you. He’ll break your heart. He’ll stomp on it, dance on the pieces then run off with some awful bitch like Becca. He’s one of the Beautiful People. Remember who they are. Remember where they live. Remember how your mom ran off on your dad. How she ran off on you, too.
    At the same time, I couldn’t stop my stupid heart from making excuses: How can you be sure Aiden’s like that? You don’t even know him. Maybe he’s not like those others, maybe his heart is good and kind and beautiful like the rest of him. How will you ever know if you don’t give him a chance?
    I felt as if I needed an exorcism. Were my brain and my heart actually arguing? This couldn’t be normal.
    Teagan, it’s completely normal!
    Seriously? I so needed to clear my head.
    I left the library and hurried to the restroom. Safely locked inside a stall, I stood and tried to reconcile my stupid feelings for this stupid guy I hardly knew, a guy who, for all I knew, didn’t even like me the way I half wanted him to. I had run him off every time we were together. I supposed I had to find out how he felt or I’d