Page 4 of Unexpected Prejudice

“Give us five minutes so Jessie can finish getting ready, and we’ll meet you outside,” Levi said, making me grateful because I needed to focus on today’s outfit and not on Andrei’s dimples or Diesel’s new necklaces.

Once the two of them left, I finally picked out the right shirt, and once I finished dressing up, all I had left to do was to get my—

“Your backpack is here.” Levi raised my leopard print bag in his hand. “Everything you need is inside of it.”

“Thanks, Babydoll.” I jumped on him and gave his cheek a big, fat kiss. “I love you.”

Chuckling to myself, I watched the blush creeping onto his already-red cheeks. It was so cute how flustered he got whenever I told him those three words.

“Let’s go, or we’ll be late,” he grunted while stroking my back with his palm.

“Okay.”

On our way outside, we met with Pacha, one of our three puppies. Well, they were far from being puppies, with how big they were, but they were forever our little babies.

“Hey there, good boy.” My voice automatically turned childish when I spoke to him or any other animal. “How are you doing?” I gave his black nose a small kiss and got one in return just as Puma joined the party. She was the queen of their pack. We spent another minute petting them before Levi mentioned we were going to be late, and I was forced to let go of their fluffy fur.

“Finally, they’re here,” Diesel ranted from the passenger seat as soon as we joined them outside.

“Hey, guys.” Chief greeted us with a warm smile. He was always happy to see us, even when he was sad or tired. I noticed how he was dressed down in jeans and a T-shirt, which meant he skipped his morning surf today.

“You didn’t surf?” I asked as we stood beside the white pickup truck Andrei loved so much.

“No, kiddo.” Chief’s hand patted my shoulder. “You guys are starting your senior year. I thought the least I could do is drive you there?”

“Fuck, no,” Diesel barked. “Don’t you think it’s weird as fuck for you to drive us there?”

“Don’t be so ungrateful, D,” Andrei cut in. “It’s not that bad.”

“Not that bad?” Diesel threw his legs over the dashboard, took the cigarette he had tucked behind his ear, and shoved it in his mouth. “You want Daddy to drop you off at your new school, is that it?”

Chief wasn’t our dad. Not really, anyway. He used to be a stranger until he took us in after we got out of Juvie. Then he became our legal guardian. We were all over eighteen now, but he still took care of us and kept us safe.

I watched Andrei roll his eyes at Diesel’s comment when Chief spoke. “Fine, I won’t take anyone to school.” His attention was on me. “But I’m still allowed to wish you good luck, right?”

“Levi said we can eat tacos tonight.” I suddenly remembered that.

“Is that so?” Chief smiled.

“Yeah, I already invited Kai.”

Kai was Chief’s boyfriend. I mean, sort of. They liked each other, or at least, I think they did. Kai was cool, cooked the best food on the planet, and was super funny.

“Of course you did.” Chief chuckled and pulled me into a half hug. “So, I guess we have no other choice then, do we?”

“Nope.” I popped the P and wanted to say that I texted Kai about what hour he should come when Diesel sighed heavily.

“Okay, I think it’s time for us to go,” Andrei said as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “Jess, do you want to pick the music?”

“Hell, yeah!” I moved from Chief’s side and ran to the back door, almost stumbling.

“Don’t forget your seat belt,” Levi said by the time I started to scan my playlist. I was about to pick a song when the car suddenly filled with the sounds of heavy rap.

“Hey! Andrei said I can pick the song.”

“Tough shit,” Diesel hissed between smokes, dismissing my protest.

It was unfair. He acted like a bully, but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to make him mad. Ever since I was little, angry people scared me and made me nervous, mostly because I didn’t know how to handle it. Whenever someone raised their voice, my first instinct was to run. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t a good runner.