“Drop dead.”
“Whatever.” He gives her a one-shoulder shrug. “One day, you’ll thank me.”
“Go away,” she grinds out.
Caleb looks at me for direction. I nod as I tuck my junk in my jeans and zip my pants. He sneers at me with a shake of his head because my friends warned me this was a shit idea. They have my back, but it doesn’t mean they agree with my plan. Caleb was the loudest voice of opposition since he’s also Faith’s best friend. I put him in one hell of a bad position, one he’ll make me pay for later.
After Caleb disappears down the hall, Faith spins back around. The pain etched on her face is a baseball bat to the backs of my knees that nearly drops me on my ass. Somehow, though, I remain upright and even find my voice. Points go to me for sounding like the perfect asshole.
“How’s this for a bright side, Fizzle? You get to start over in Brighton without a boyfriend back here in Mayhem.” I give her my best smirk. “You’re welcome.”
Faith takes a step toward me, and for half a second, I actually fear for my life. Lucky for me, we’re scanned for weapons every morning when we enter the building. With my life spared—at least for now—she stops and drags in a shaky breath. She closes her eyes, and when she opens them, a single tear slips down her flushed cheek.
I would rather have her stab me right through my stupid heart.
“I hate you.”
No one has ever said those words to me. I’m everyone’s favorite clown. The one who makes everyone laugh. It’s what I do. For Faith to hate me…
Yeah, as I said before, I done went and fucked my whole life up.
“Kinda figured you would after this,” I drawl.
“Why?” Her voice is like dry, brittle leaves easily crumbled to dust in the palm of my sweaty hand.
I shrug, because honestly, I can’t talk. Any words I want to say are stuck in my throat.
“Fine. Stand there all smug, asshole.” She picks up her dropped textbook. Notches her chin. Tosses her incredible brown hair over her shoulder. “It didn’t have to be like this. We would have made it work.”
Faith hugs the book to her chest and turns on her heel. I finally, somehow, scrape out two words when she reaches the door, stopping her cold. “Goodbye, Faith.”
Her spine stiffens, but she doesn’t turn. While I try to unstick myself from my spot to move toward her, she gets moving again. Away from me. Her shoes whisper on the linoleum tile as she marches out of the room and down the hallway. I watch her walk away, knowing we still have another month before graduation. Four weeks of walking these halls practically shoulder-to-shoulder with her. Of sitting only feet away from her in class. Of torturous lunch periods spent in the same social circle. Then there’s outside of school, where our friend groups overlap.Shit. I should have waited until we were closer to graduation before I staged this little stunt.
Um, no.
I should have never done it.
Too late now.
I drop on a chair, because if I don’t, I’m going to fall to my knees. Also, I shouldn’t have crushed the joint. I’m stoned, but not enough to deal with what’s going on in my chest. My heart’s pounding like it wants to bust right through the bone. Can’t breathe too well, either. My head’s spinning. I drag a hand through my hair, shoving the messy brown flop away from my sweaty brow. Is this a panic attack? Heart attack? Am I stroking out? Like, what the actual fuck?
“You okay?”
I look up and see Eric standing there. Didn’t hear him come in because I was too busy worrying if I was dying. “I fucked up.”
Eric, who is enormous for seventeen, drags over a chair, spins it around until it’s backward, and sits across from me. “Yeah, you did.”
I snort out a laugh. “I can always count on you to not blow smoke up my ass.”
“I’ll never lie to you, bro.” He nods at a random spot in the room. “I told you this was a bad idea.”
I heave out a sigh. “Faith told me she hates me.”
“You blame her?”
“No,” I admit.
“Truth?”
