Four Letters in Reverse (FLIR #1) Read online

  Four Letters in Reverse

  (Volume One)

  Christina Channelle

  …

  Kindle Edition

  Copyright © 2015 by Christina Channelle. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form (including by electronic or mechanical means) or stored in a database or retrieval system without written consent from the author. Please respect the work of the author and not engage in piracy.

  This novel is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to people either living or deceased is purely coincidental. Names, places, characters, and incidents are figments of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious setting.

  .....

  Cover image provided by: Shutterstock/denniz

  Four Letters Series

  Those Four Letter Words

  Jaded Little Lies

  Love, Lies, X’s and O’s (Coming 2016)

  Blood Crave Series

  Dahlia

  Fallen Tears

  Rowan

  Sage

  Reap Series

  Reap

  Sow (Coming August 2015)

  …

  Also by Christina Channelle

  Dealing With It (Two Short Stories)

  To Amy, one of the best besties out there!

  CHAPTER ONE

  TWO BLACK CIRCLES SURROUNDED my eyes as I stared at my reflection in the mirror within the eyeglass store located in the nearby strip mall.

  I wasn’t impressed, not by a long shot. Sticking my tongue out at myself, I made a face then glanced over at my mother who stood next to me.

  “Do I have to, Mom?”

  Mom just smiled, running a hand through my dark tresses, then faced forward so she could inspect me in the mirror.

  “Well,” she started, tilting her head to the side and tapping a perfectly manicured finger against her chin. Dark eyes moved up and down my face and I caught her gaze in the mirror. “It’s up to you whether or not you want to see.”

  I examined the repulsive glasses currently perched on my face and wrinkled my nose. I was almost offended at how much I disliked them so much and wondered what had possessed Mom to pick such a pathetic and sordid thing for me to try on in the first place. “I don’t know if I want to at this rate,” I mumbled.

  “You can always get Marie to lead you around.”

  “Ugh,” I said, frustrated as I thought of my kid sister. That would be a disaster, the end of the world type disaster, to have an eight-year-old be my eyes for the unforeseeable future.

  “Can’t I just get contacts?” I pleaded. “Please?”

  My mother sighed, shaking her head. “You know what your optometrist said about getting contacts, Annabella. Dry eyes, my dear. For now, we’ve got to deal with the glasses. You might actually grow to love them.”

  “Never,” I declared, taking the fugly glasses off of my face and placing them back on the rack. “There’s nothing here I like.”

  “You’ve only been here ten minutes. We’ll keep looking.”

  I pouted, tugging on my mother’s leather jacket. “I’m the only one in the family who has to wear glasses. That’s so not fair.”

  “My poor baby,” Mom cooed.

  “I’m not a baby,” I grumbled. “I’m thirteen, almost fourteen. I’m practically an adult.”

  “I forgot,” my mother said, trying to hide a smile. “I’m sorry.”

  I knew she was humoring me.

  Calling on my inner adult, I sighed and spun around the eyeglass store, deciding on starting over. There had to be something here that was worth wearing. It wasn’t like I could go on wearing no glasses forever while bumping and tripping over things, and struggling to see the fine print in everything.

  Gah!

  It was so sad that my eyes were already failing me and I hadn’t even started high school yet.

  Abandoning my mother by the mirror, I walked to the corner of the store and stood in front of the glasses that were deemed Women’s Fashion. My eyes slowly went up and down the columns of glasses.

  Black ones, brown ones, even silver. Sometimes there’d be a touch of red or pink thrown into the mix now and again. They were all so … blah. Every pair I tried on were either too big for my face, too small for my face, or just too ugh for my face.

  I should have brought Jade. My older sister Jade, who was cool without even trying. I bet she would have walked right into this store, twirled her fingers in the air, and the perfect pair would have materialized in the palm of her hand. Then she’d slip them on and smirk at the rest of us poor souls who didn’t know the first thing about picking out the perfect pair of frames. This decision would either make me or break me come September.

  She would have been able to help me, I thought to myself.

  Mom was awesome but then again, she was my mom. She wasn’t exactly up to date on fashion, if you knew what I mean. Plus she’d say anything would look great on me. To her, I was the epitome of perfection, being her daughter. I could do no harm or look no bad in her eyes.

  I was going to high school next year and I had to make a good first impression. After all, I’d be there for the next four years. Young people were so judgy nowadays. It wasn’t the same back in my mom’s day like it was now. If I picked the wrong pair of glasses, it could very well ruin me for eternity.

  It was rough being a girl.

  “Why don’t you try this one, sweetie?”

  My mother walked over to me and placed another pair of glasses over my face. I immediately closed my eyes, dreading what I’d find when I looked in the mirror.

  “Come on, now. Open your eyes.”

  I exhaled then slowly opened one eye, then the other. My mouth proceeded to gape open as I stared at myself.

  Score! They were … perfect! I glanced over at my mom, amazed that she had done the impossible, then back at myself. The frames were squarish in shape and green, but so dark in color they appeared almost black unless I turned a certain angle. They even seemed to bring out my eyes, if that were possible.

  I grinned widely. “I have the whole geek chic vibe going on, don’t I?”

  “They look perfect, Annabella.”

  I nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.

  “Thanks, Mom. But it’s AB. Call me AB.”

  Jade would be proud.

  My whole geek chic vibe instantly deflated a couple hours later when I got home to my younger sister staring over at me with big brown eyes above her cup of orange juice.

  “Hey, Four Eyes.”

  I glared at the younger version of myself, resisting the urge to toss my eyeglasses out the front door. I was glad I’d nixed the idea of bringing her any froyo home, the little snot.

  She didn’t deserve it.

  “Seriously, Marie! Why are you such a brat?”

  She grinned, setting down her OJ. “I’m no brat. I’m stating the obvious. You. Now. Have. Four. Eyes.”

  I looked to my mother who just walked in through the front door. “Do something about her,” I demanded, pointing at my current annoyance.

  Mom looked from one daughter to the next as she took off her jacket and rested it on one of the kitchen chairs. “Marie, stop annoying your sister.”

  “I’m not annoying her. I’m just stating that Annabella now has fo—”

  “Okay!” I said, raising my hands in the air. “I do not have four eyes. I have a pair of eyes that happen to be wearing glasses. You know, that thing people wear in order for them to see. Something that I’m pretty sure half of the population wears—maybe more!”

  I eyed my sister and pointed in her face. “Something that you yourself will also be wearing in the future, most likely. So knock it off with
the ‘Four Eyes,’” I threatened.

  “Or what,” she said with a smirk as she crossed her arms.

  She wasn’t in the least scared.

  Why, I’ll show you.

  “Or …” I trailed off, mirroring her smirk. “Or I’ll tell Jade that you still sleep with your stuffed elephant that Dad got you when you were born.”

  Marie’s face reddened as she stood up from her chair, hands clenched at her sides.

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “Oh, I will,” I said evilly. “Maybe I’ll even mention the whole thumb sucking you still like to do. I have evidence in the form of pictures.”

  “Mom!”

  “Annabella,” Mom said sternly and I looked over at her. I could see her trying to hide a smile. “Don’t threaten your sister.”

  “But she—”

  “And Marie, stop making fun of your sister’s glasses. They’re totally in right now.”

  Marie huffed but stayed quiet. “Fine,” she mumbled.

  Mom glanced over at me and I shrugged innocently. “What? She made me do it. I had to resort to the big guns.” Mom still continued to stare at me silently.

  I sighed, turning to Marie. “Sorry, sis. Wanna hug it out?”

  She gave a nod and rushed into my arms. “Sorry, Annabella,” she whispered. I gave her a big squeeze before releasing her.

  “There. All is right with the world,” Mom stated as she slapped a hand on each of our shoulders. “But as punishment for quarreling, you have to help me make dinner since Dad’s at work.”

  Marie and I stared at each other before exclaiming together, “Mom!”

  DINNER WAS LUCKILY NOT a disaster, thanks to Mom watching us like hawks. I wasn’t the greatest at cooking but I sure liked to bake. Breathing in nothing but baked goodness as I waited for whatever it was in the oven to finish up was sometimes the mouthwatering highlight of my day.

  Cupcakes, anyone?

  If only that was an acceptable form of food for dinner. But I doubt Mom would believe it if I told her that cupcakes and brownies were recently added as a recommended daily food intake for teens aged thirteen to eighteen.

  Sigh.

  Tonight was a meat and potatoes kind of night and I was currently stuffed to the max with it. I rubbed my stomach and yawned; it was a miracle the buttons of my jeans weren’t popping. I lay on my bed, eyes closed, thankful for the quiet.

  Marie was out playing with some of the other kids in the neighborhood, Mom was in her office writing, and Dad got an on-call appointment from the hospital during dinner so as soon as he’d finish eating, he was gone.

  I let my mind wander … sometimes it was nice to let it do that. It had just started raining so I listened to the pitter-patter of raindrops against the windowpane near the head of my bed. I smiled, imagining Marie running for cover, the little bugger. One arm was tossed over my body, the other flung toward my headboard as I nodded off.

  I wondered briefly what the kids at school would think of my glasses. Then I wondered why I cared so much. I thought about the rumor that Mr. Beech and Ms. Cooper were secretly dating and I frowned. I mean, how weird was that? I thought about the fact that my fingernails kept chipping and maybe it was about time I had my first real manicure, like Hannah, one of my best friends, kept pestering me to do.

  My phone vibrated next to me and I blindly fumbled for the device. Opening my eyes, I chuckled when I saw it was from Hannah.

  So … how does it look?!?!

  I sat up in bed, reached for my glasses on the nightstand, and put them on. I quickly snapped a photo of myself and sent the image to Hannah.

  I didn’t have to wait long.

  Ugh, now I wanna wear glasses! They look AMAZING!!! Soooo jelly!

  I smirked. Hannah was my own personal confidence booster. She was the best.

  We texted back and forth for a few minutes more before promising to see each other at school the next day. I got up from bed and stretched, ready to tackle my homework that had seemed like a chore just minutes before. School didn’t seem like such a torture to go to tomorrow and I was really curious about one thing.

  I wondered if anyone would notice my new look.

  CHAPTER TWO

  CLICK.

  I snapped a photo of four gray baby rabbits nibbling on some flowers nearby from where I sat on a bench outside on the school grounds. It was after school, the buses had left full of kids, and I was waiting for Jade to pick me up. We were going to have a girl’s day out, just the two of us. Marie wanted to come but she was sick with the flu and was currently being waited on hand and foot by Mom and Dad.

  I strongly believed it was karma for the whole “Four Eyes” comments.

  Since the parents were spoiling Marie rotten, it was only fair that I would be spoiled too by another member of the family.

  Jade was my sister but I’d only known her for not even a year. Mom and Dad had given her up for adoption when she was a baby when they were teenagers themselves, and had only recently been reunited with the family. I always knew about the sibling that I’d never met and wondered about her all the same: what she was like, what she looked like, if she would even like me.

  Finally meeting her made me so happy about the whole thing because it was fun talking to someone that I was sure would show me the ropes when it came to life. It was also pretty amazing to be the younger sister for a change.

  I stood from the bench and gingerly made my way closer to the bunnies, camera phone in front of me, finger hovering over the red button on my screen.

  Click.

  Rabbits were the cutest things ever. I wondered if Mom and Dad would notice if I brought one of them home, then laughed quietly at myself.

  Yeah, right.

  Marie wouldn’t be able to keep a secret and Mom would definitely kill me, or at the very least ground me for life, if she found out.

  I continued snapping pictures of everything and nothing, passing time and in no way in the mood for doing homework. I had been released from school early because the teachers were having meetings about something or another, and Jade wouldn’t be here for another half hour. Hannah and Mateo, my two BFFs, had left me all alone to go hang out at the mall because it was Mateo’s mother’s birthday and he needed a female opinion on what to get her.

  They were my only two real friends and I was totally fine with that.

  But it sucked sometimes when I was left all alone.

  “Callaghan!”

  I startled and turned at the sound of the male voice, heart hammering in my chest. I knew that voice from anywhere.

  Owen Wilder. He was probably the most likable guy at school. He wasn’t the hottest, he wasn’t the tallest, or the biggest, but there was something about him that made every girl, from sixth grade to eighth, swoon at even the mention of his name.

  Including me.

  Maybe it was his quirky grin, or the fact that he’d always pick the smallest kid when picking teams. Or the air of confidence that he took with each step, which was crazy for someone our age to have. But there was something about Owen that made everyone pause as you tried to figure him out.

  We were at the stage in life where everyone seemed to have a boyfriend or girlfriend. Hannah was currently seeing Scott (boyfriend number five). Despite being fourteen, Hannah was a serial dater and I could never keep up with whether Tim had been last week’s or last month’s boyfriend. According to her, she had to practice dating now so she’d be ready for when it was really important.

  Mateo had recently been dating Kiera before she kissed another guy at the talent show and they had quickly split, leaving Matty crushed for weeks. He presently wanted to experience the “single life”, not particularly in the mood for backstabbing girls.

  But I had never seen Owen with anyone.

  I wondered if he was gay like Star, my cousin’s BFF, and just didn’t want to say anything to anyone yet. But no matter what kind of rumors circulated about Owen in school, he was as popular as ever with the girls, perhaps
even more so with the possibility that he might be gay.

  Many would envy the girl or guy who would snatch Owen Wilder.

  I stood from my crouched position in front of these purple tulips and tried my darndest not to show how nervous I was.

  “Hey, Callaghan,” he said, approaching me. “What are you doing?”

  He dressed simply in a graphic t-shirt and jeans, holding his skateboard at his side.

  I held up my phone. “Taking pictures.”

  He nodded, noticing the rabbits nearby then grinned, eyes back on me. “Where are your sidekicks?”

  I sighed. “They’re not my sidekicks, they’re my friends. Hannah and Mateo are at the mall.”

  “And why aren’t you with them?”

  “I’m waiting for my sister.”

  He nodded then paused, brushing his dark hair off his face. “You want me to wait with you?”

  My shoulders raised in reflex despite feeling nervous as ever inside. “If you want.”

  He sat down next to my feet, laying down his skateboard next to him. I felt uncomfortable just standing there so I sat down as well and rested a hand on the grass, the other firmly holding my phone. He picked up a shard of grass and started playing with it, then glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “You know, Bruno has a crush on you.”

  My eyebrows rose. “What?”

  I didn’t expect that.

  Bruno was Owen’s best friend since … forever. If Owen was the most likable guy at school, Bruno was a close second. He probably wasn’t as outgoing as Owen but he was really good at sports and, for some reason, was obsessed with chemistry, even forming a club after school.

  I shook my head. “No, he doesn’t.”

  “Yes, he does.”

  “What, did he tell you?”

  He smiled mischievously. “No.”

  “Then how are you so sure that he likes me?”