The Bad Boy Falls in Love novel Chapter 3

“Hales, you look terrible!” Charlotte comments at the breakfast table. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Charlotte,” Halsey lies through her teeth. She could not sleep all night because of her kiss with Nathan. Halsey was torn whether to tell them of it or not but after seeing how Lincoln almost had a fight with Nathan, she decided that it was best to keep it a secret.

But she cannot forget the incident. Halsey feels ashamed of herself for not being able to stand up against Nathan. Her hands tremble whenever she thinks of him and her heart is beating too fast. She lowers her head, hiding her face behind the curtain of long hair as she eats her cereal.

“Lincoln, did you say anything to upset her?” Charlotte asks her son.

“What? No! She’s just too flustered by her burnt hand!” He exclaims.

Charlotte sighs and sips on her coffee. Even though she is 40 years old, she looks a lot younger than her age. She shares similar features as her son with strawberry blonde hair and a charming persona. There are hardly any wrinkles on her face and her smile is radiant. She maintains herself quite well with many of the neighborhood women throwing jealous glares at her whenever she passes by but Charlotte doesn’t care.

For her, only her family matters.

She owns a music lounge in the area, the only one in their small town. Fiercely independent and protective, Charlotte brought up her son on her own and later, even took in Halsey. Lincoln doesn’t know who his father is and Charlotte is unwilling to talk about it with anyone. The only thing people know is that Charlotte is an unwed mother and she is proud of it.

“Halsey, are you going to work today?” She asks.

“No, I have to babysit for the Smith’s tonight,” Halsey replies.

“Good, then can you drop off a parcel at the Antons’ house on your way?” Charlotte requests her. “They’ve ordered a guitar for their kid but neither of them can make it to the shop today coz of work. So they asked us to deliver it.”

“Sure!” Halsey says with a smile. “I’ll deliver it after school.”

“Great! I’ll be late tonight. There’s a band playing in the lounge and it’ll be packed.”

“Do you need any help?” Lincoln asks. “I can stop by.”

“No, it’s a school night and you two gotta wake up early tomorrow!” Charlotte says at once. “I’ll manage it.”

Halsey and Lincoln glance at each other, both worried that Charlotte is taking up too much stress lately. Making a mental note to pick up some calming balms for Charlotte, Halsey picks up her bag and heads for school with Lincoln.

The school is only a short ride away on the bus. Students are buzzing in the campus, talking loudly or heading for classes. It’s the first day of their lives as seniors and Halsey is excited to know more about her classes. Lincoln walks alongside Halsey, chatting with her about their class schedules. Several girls are giving him flirty glances but he barely notices them.

“We’ve got Chemistry together,” he sighs. “But that’s it.”

“I’ve got a free period at 12 PM,” she says. “What about you?”

“Nope,” he sighs. “My one’s at 10 AM.”

“Oh no…”

It seems that their class schedules are not matching. Halsey is a little disappointed because having Lincoln around makes her feel more comfortable than sitting alone at the library.

“I’ll head off for class,” Lincoln says. “See you!”

He dashes off towards his first class. Halsey waves at him and turns to walk towards her locker. To her surprise, there is a crowd gathering around her locker. They seem to be whispering among themselves and pointing at her.

“She’s so busted!” One of the students giggles.

“She must’ve made Lydia really mad.”

Halsey is confused and she tries to make her way through the crowd.

“Excuse me!” she says to them and finally reaches her locker. To her utter shock, her locker has been vandalized!

Green goo-like substance is splashed all over her old books and the word ‘sl*t’ has been spray painted all over the locker’s door.

Halsey is stunned by the sight. The people around her are jeering and taunting her in whispers.