“Freaking Drake,” I mutter. “And that will probably end in the ER, too—and maybe the burn unit.” The old version of Brielle would have been the one to land him there to begin with. And light the fire.
“But none of that compares to your situation, sweet, dumb Skyla,” Lexy insists. At least she called me sweet. “You’re like our own personal reality show.”
“Lucky me.”
“Please just give us something,” Michelle practically begs. “Which one is the better kisser? Logan or Gage?”
“I’m not answering that.”
“That means they’re both decent,” Emily translates.
“It means I’m not discussing my personal life with you nitwits.”
“Oh, come on, Messenger. We’re all friends here.” Michelle gives a sly wink, assuring me we’re anything but. “This is what we do. We gossip and overshare and make questionable decisions together.”
“Some of us make more questionable decisions than others,” Lexy points out while sizing up Michelle.
If only they knew how questionable my decision-making skills could be. And well, they’re bound to find out in just about any timeline.
“What’s that supposed to mean, Bakova?” Michelle takes umbrage with the fact her decision-making skills are under the white-hot spotlight—and her decision-making skills are definitely questionable at best. Some may even outpace mine when it comes to sanity and stupidity, and well, sluttiness, too.
“It means nothing,” Lexy says, feigning innocence. “Just that some people seem to attract complicated situations that may or may not involve hard-to-cure strains of STDs.”
Michelle gasps hard and swats her bestie. “You promised not to tell!”
Oh, good grief. I need to warn Marshall ASAP. For as many disease-riddled women he’s slept with, I know for a fact that heavenly host isn’t up for hosting any diseases himself.
And as much as I don’t like hearing about Michelle’s medical challenges, I don’t like the fact Lexy is mouthing off about them either.
I step between the two of them and glare at Lex. “And some people seem to enjoy creating misery,” I seethe. I know for a fact that Lexy Bakova remains a thorn in my side for many moons to come. She’s the pesky equivalent of Chloe, only when it comes to Logan. But, thankfully, she’s not nearly as demonic.
“Touché.” Em laughs up a riot. That’s the thing about Emily; she doesn’t take sides. She doesn’t mind slicing just about anyone to ribbons with her curt demeanor and blunt sarcasm. She’s always been my favorite bitch—Brielle withstanding, and well, Kate while she was still with us.
I glance past Lex and scan the crowd for a second, hoping that the Grim Reaper hasn’t shown up for his date with Kate a little early.
“Shut the hell up, Messenger.” Lexy steps into my face and seethes each word out as if she’s about to throw a fist my way. “You think you rule the world just because you figured out how to cast a spell on the entire football team and half the faculty.” Wow, she’s really expanded my reach. “And here, we’re all just placing bets behind your back, on which guy figures out first that you’re not worth the drama.” She sheds a wicked smile. “Here’s hoping it’s Logan. There’s always room for him in my bed.”
And I happen to know he never falls into it.
I’m about to launch another zinger when I catch sight of Gage right behind her, and my witty comeback dies in my throat. Gage is leaning against the wall near the massive stone fireplace, and Chloe is practically draped over him like expensive wallpaper. Her perfectly manicured hands are gesturing animatedly as she tries tocast her own spell, apparently, and she keeps touching his arm with the kind of intimacy that makes me want to gouge my eyes out with a fork—and hers, and maybe chop off all her limbs, even the one that I previously owned.
The worst part? Gage looks absolutely miserable, but that’s not stopping him from pulling away. Okay, so I’m projecting my own misery on him. But for the record, he doesn’t look all that thrilled either.
“Look at that.” Chloe’s voice cuts through the music as she notices me gawking at them. “It’s our little love triangle queen herself. How’s the juggling act going, Skyla? Must be exhausting keeping track of which boy you’re supposed to be in love with on any given day. Is it Dudley’s turn tonight? Or maybe you’ve added that new stepfather of yours to the roster now that Gage has officially dropped out of the race. You know what they say, incest is best.”
I’m about to launch her way when Logan appears from nowhere and catches me by the waist and pulls me back.
“Leave it alone, Chloe,” he growls at her.
“Leave what alone?” Chloe’s smile is pure venom disguised as innocence. “I’m just making conversation. After all, we’re all friends here, just like Michelle pointed out. Just a few friends having a friendly chat about friendly relationships. Because everyone should know that Skyla and Gage are just friends now.”
The way she saysfriendsmakes it sound like a four-letter word. Something in me snaps seeing her like this, so confident, so close to my husband. And just like that, I become unhinged.
“Gage and I are super friendly,” I say with a smile that’s just as toxic as hers. “Speaking of friendly, I see you’re still throwing yourself at guys who’d rather be anywhere else. Some things never change.”
I want to hurt her. I want her to suffer the way she makes me suffer. I want her to feel this white-hot rage inside me. I want Chloe Bishop to bleed.
Chloe’s eyes flash with more than a hint of danger. “At least Idon’t need two guys to feel validated. What’s wrong, Skyla? One not enough to fill the gaping hole where your personality should be?”
