Read Girl Code for Free Online

for being right about Rico. I was angry with Leslie because she wasn’t there with me and because these things didn’t happen to her. I was angry, scared, felt violated and betrayed, and I was stuck walking three and a half miles home in a snowstorm without a coat.
    And I was angry with my mom and dad because they let me walk out of the house at eight o’clock at night without any question or comment, and they were most likely not waiting up for me.
    When a vehicle pulled up beside me as I walked, I didn’t look over. If it weren’t Rico, it could have been someone worse. It really wasn’t safe for a fourteen-year-old girl to be walking the streets after midnight, especially in this part of town. My heart raced and flashes of my dead body being found in some field raced through my head.
    “Tabitha!” My head snapped up when I heard Leo’s voice. He was behind the wheel of his dad’s truck.
    “What are you doing?” I cried out as he climbed out of the truck. “You don’t have your license!” I looked around frantically, expecting a police car to materialize out of the snow.
    “What are you doing out here in the snow without a…” he stopped speaking as his eyes raked over me.
    I had momentarily forgotten about my torn shirt and missing buttons. As I pulled the parts of my shirt together and crossed my arms to hold it in place, I imagined that my hair was probably a wreck and makeup was most likely smeared across my face.
    “What are you doing driving?” I asked, choosing to look at the truck instead of meeting his eyes. I shivered. I had not felt the chill of the air until then. I guess I was in some state of shock.
    “What happened?” Leo asked in a soft voice. I could feel his eyes on me, but I could not look at him.
    “I asked a question first,” I said harshly.
    “I borrowed my dad’s truck so I could come to the party,” he said quickly and then asked again, “What happened?”
    “People already think your family is in the mob, and now you’re committing grand theft auto.” I looked down at the space between us.
    “Tabitha,” he said my name delicately. I felt his finger under my chin and he gingerly raised my head so that my eyes met his ocean hued orbs. “What. Happened?”
    I shivered again and my breath came out in a shudder.
    “Since you’re driving—albeit illegally—can you give me a ride home?” I asked instead of answering his question.
    When his fingers wiped moisture off of my cheeks, I was surprised. I didn’t even know tears were falling from my eyes.
    Leo’s face hardened into a furious mask, but his tone was low and in control when he pulled open the passenger side door and quietly commanded me to get in. He wasn’t exactly a person I wanted to see after what I had just gone through, but I was still a little drunk, cold, tired, achy, and my insides churned at the thought of what almost happened to me. Besides, it was still dangerous for me to be out alone. After a moment of hesitation, I climbed into the truck. Leo climbed behind the driver’s seat a moment later. Belatedly, I wondered how well of a driver Leo was, especially in the snow. Maybe, I would have been better off walking.
    Leo jerked the wheel to the left and did a U-turn on the street and began to speed back in the direction I had come from.
    “Where are you going?” I asked in alarm.
    “To take care of something,” he answered darkly. “I should have known you would be hard-headed and sneak out anyway, of course, you would,” Leo said, shaking his head and gripping the steering wheel. “Rico is a senior and all of the girls who don’t know any better think he’s the shit. Of course, you were going.”
    I was a little thrown that he was able to figure me out like that. Leslie didn’t even believe that I was capable of doing something so dopey. I didn’t understand his anger and I didn’t appreciate his words.
    “I don’t think he’s the shit,” I angrily objected. “I never did. I just