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    Binding Off: New Girl
    Binding Off: New Girl
    Binding Off: New Girl
    Ebook97 pages1 hourNew Girl

    Binding Off: New Girl

    By Kelly Vincent

    ()

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    About this ebook

    This is a prequel to Always the New Girl – and it's highly recommended you start there, and first get to know Sarah Redmond as she begins her junior year at Sierra Vista High School.

     

    Because in Binding Off, you get to head back to eighth grade.

     

    Cringing yet?

     

    Well Sarah Redmond was, because being thirteen and unpopular was hard enough – then her mom got them kicked out of yet another boyfriend's house.

     

    And what this meant was they'd have no choice but to go live with her grandma again.

     

    But Sarah's been uprooted before, moving around is just another part of her less-than-typical life up to this point. And it all seems worth it this time around after she meets Mateo at her new school.

     

    But is Sarah truly ready for where this relationship could lead?

     

     

    Kudos for the book:

    Binding Off was a Finalist in the 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Novella

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKV Books LLC
    Release dateMay 10, 2022
    ISBN9798985151169
    Binding Off: New Girl
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      Book preview

      Binding Off - Kelly Vincent

      Binding Off

      BINDING OFF

      An Always the New Girl Prequel

      KELLY VINCENT

      KV Books LLC

      Copyright © 2022 by Kelly Vincent

      All rights reserved.

      Edited by Monique Conrod

      Cover by Fiona Jayde Media

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

      Vellum flower icon Created with Vellum

      For everyone who always sees the end of one thing

      as the beginning of another

      Contents

      August Eighth Grade

      Preview of Always the New Girl

      Books by Kelly Vincent

      Acknowledgements

      About the Author

      August Eighth Grade

      You stupid bitch! Mom’s boyfriend Steve yelled in the hall, jolting me out of my doze. Did you think I wouldn’t find out?

      It’s not what you— she started. I pulled the bedspread up to my chin.

      I should have known you’d do this. Steve laughed, but I knew he didn’t find it funny.

      It isn’t what you think, she cried.

      I didn’t know what was going on, but it sounded way worse than the normal way Steve talked to Mom. My stomach tensed. It was hot under the covers.

      You need to get out, Steve growled. Now.

      Get out? He’d never said anything like that before. My stomach churned up thick, black fear.

      You and that mini you.

      Then there was a crash against my door and Mom came stumbling in, her tear-soaked cheeks puffy and red. Her eyes were wide with fear. I pulled the blanket up to my neck and saw Steve wearing nothing but jeans. He crossed in front of the door on his way to the living room.

      Come on, honey, Mom said, her voice husky from crying. I need you to get up and get your stuff. We have to go.

      Go? Where? We’d been living with Steve for over a year and I’d thought we were going to stay. The last two guys had only lasted a few months, but Steve was okay most of the time. Mom must have done something. Had he caught her on a dating app?

      Mom sniffed just as Steve reappeared in the doorway, unshaven and red-faced. Hurry up! he yelled, his head jerking his long blond hair.

      Mom and I both flinched. He’d never been this mad before.

      She rested her forehead against mine for a second and said, Get your stuff, Sarah.

      I jumped out of bed and grabbed jeans out of the dresser.

      You better get a fucking move on, Steve said from the hall in a tight voice.

      Jesus, we’re going, Mom croaked.

      Don’t talk to me that way, you slut. He stormed into the room, got in her face, and growled. I can’t believe you thought you’d get away with that, Katie. He spat her name.

      I was trembling as I reached for a handful of underwear. Steve left again and Mom picked up my backpack, took everything I was holding, and crammed it all in.

      Get what you can, she said in a low voice. We have to go.

      I wasn’t going to even be able to get dressed? I was just in shorts and a tank top. I darted across the room and snagged my knitting bag. Mom reached down for my green Chucks and shakily put them in the backpack before crushing it to her chest.

      I glanced over at the door and saw Steve blocking it. I tried to swallow my fear. He wasn’t a big guy, but still he was a guy, his hands clenched into fists at his side. And his face was gleaming with sweat.

      Mom grabbed my hand and pulled me, stopping in front of him since he was blocking the way.

      We’re trying to go, like you want, she whispered.

      He stepped aside and Mom dragged me out, but he apparently couldn’t resist the opportunity to push her on the back as she passed so she stumbled forward, yanking my arm.

      We worked our way down the hall. By the time we had the front door open, Steve was behind us again and shoved me out. I stubbed my bare toe on the cement and only caught myself on the green metal railing opposite the apartment’s door, my knitting bag smashed between me and the railing.

      And get your bitch shit out of my house.

      I turned around in time to see him throw an open Costco box of tampons. They sprayed everywhere, littering the ground.

      Mom grabbed my hand again and we marched down the second-floor walkway to the rusty faded red stairs. At the bottom, I looked back and saw a small dark spot on every step. Blood from my toe.

      We got to our old gray Corolla that I prayed would start. We dropped my backpack and knitting bag in the trunk.

      What about your stuff? I asked. All she had was her purse.

      Don’t worry about it. Her voice cracked.

      Bitch! Steve yelled from the second floor. More tampons came flying off the walkway into the parking space next to the car. I ran back to pick a few up because I actually needed them right now and it was becoming clear that nothing was certain about the next hours … days?

      The door right in front of me opened. The old lady who lived there looked up toward where Steve was standing and shouted, Shut the fuck up, you asshole!

      Steve leaned over the railing and said, Fuck you, Rita.

      I scooped up four tampons and raced back to the car. Mom was already inside and I scrambled into the passenger seat, the calming scent of the vanilla air freshener weird given what was going on.

      But your knitting, Mom, I said. She had her own bag of projects. And all the sweaters she’d made …

      She gripped the steering wheel and rested her head on it, breaking into sobs.

      I just stared. I mean, what had just happened? And why? I looked at her, wondering if I should ask. Probably not.

      Another tampon hit the hood and Mom’s head jerked up. Sniffling, she started the car.

      Where are we going? I asked.

      She gulped. I’m not sure.

      More tampons flew into the parking lot, one landing next to the car.

      Mom pulled herself together. He found— I didn’t do anything, she said, backing up. Then she pulled onto the road.

      We were quiet for a while, and eventually I wondered if we’d end up in the same town as my father, like I always hoped when we moved. Because we were definitely heading out of town.

      Two days of driving and two motel stays later, Grammy opened

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